While Marco was busy learning how to properly make us of his enchanted little trinket, Star was doing some training of her own. Despite her usual, easy-going nature, that she could barely ignore, even in serious times, recent events have determined her to let that attitude go, and for the first time in her fourteen years, think of something else rather than having fun. However, it's not something you can just switch off at will, not for her, at least. This lifestyle was so deeply embedded in her brain, that, occasionally, she had to have an outlet. After today's intensive session of learning magic, she was completely exhausted, mentally. After all, it's not every day that you can pat yourself on the back for self-teaching yourself to cast a forceful pulse that would knock out any nearby enemies… She was now aimlessly wandering the hallways of the now deserted castle, trying to find any sort of new way of entertaining. After a couple of days, she had grown bored of playing with the plethora of critters from the castle's yard. They were cute and all, but she was not the person to repeat herself…
The corridors seemed empty, now that she knew what was behind every door. Even Scott's former dark area was completely explored…One more part, remained undocumented for Star. The palace had two towers. One harbored her room, the other was unaccounted for. She climbed the circular stairs, every step creaking loudly, making her wonder whether her late friend wanted to give this castle the atmosphere of a real-life medieval residence…She was now more careful, having her wand out to light her way. Suddenly a loud noise broke the unsettling silence, the wooden steps cracking before her, as if the universe was trying to let her know, along with all the other signals, that where she was headed was off bounds. She was startled for a second, almost casting a Narwhal Blast, but she regained her calm and skipped over the gap. But, as she landed on the other side, she was assaulted by a flock of bats, as cliché as that was.
"Awww, how cute, he even went to the effort to shelter these poor little bats." Star had a thing for animals, and animals had one for Star. They didn't attack her, but rather were circling her, trying to play.
"Well, I would love to play with you, little guys, but I kinda wanna see what's in this tower," she said casting a spell, that left a petite cotton candy for the little bats, on the other side of the hole. The critters rushed for the sweet food, leaving the princess go mind her business. What she had noticed is that, this tower had no windows, whereas hers was extremely well lit. Also, the paintjob was horrendous, it seemed like this entire area was meant to be as unattractive as it could be. Another heap of stairs later, she found herself face to face with a wooden door, whose handle reminded her of Ludo's castle entrance. It was simple, not many decorations, and a large iron handle with an ancient doorbell. She tried to open it, but it wouldn't budge.
"Ok, looks like we're gonna have to blast this open. Ahem," she cleared her throat while taking her usual spell-casting stance. "Rainbow Avalanche!" A waterfall of liquid rainbow spewed out of her wand, but the second it hit the door, it bounced back to her, almost knocking her off her feet. After she recovered, being covered by multicolored…goo, she noticed the blue glimmer of a shield, emanating from her 'target'. She realized that spells would do nothing but bounce off, so she had to take a different approach.
"Hmmm, think Star, what could you do to…cut a hole through this door…Oh, duuh,' she said banging her forehead as she heard herself. She pulled out her dimensional scissors from her little bag, and, literally, cut a portal open, straight inside the room. She was pretty surprised to see what was there.
It seemed to be, Scott's bedroom. It had a small bed in the corner and a small nightstand next to it, on top of which a little gas lamp was resting. The walls were seemingly wooden, despite the tower being completely made out of rock, and covered in animal pelts. The wall behind his bed had a couple of hunting trophies on it. She recognized a moose, a buck and a bear, but the last two were unknown to her. In the opposite corner, there was a small desk, with a bulb, hanging above it. There was a small book, left open on it, looking disturbingly like the one she had seen in the library and one, that had caused everything to go downhill…With a shiver, she averted her eyes from the disturbing reminder of what she had done, and focused her attention on the wardrobe. She opened the large wooden armoire to see that it was filled with trench coats…And that was just one row. The others were filled with marron and gray jeans and an enormous amount of colored T-shirts she had never seen him wearing. On the side drawers, she found hats, shades, even masks, making her believe that Scott had some strange hobbies…such as maybe dressing up as a private-eye…And of course, the crowning jewel of the chamber was the large bookshelf that was more or less like a file cabinet. She had opened a random book, being surprised to see that it was full of notes.
"Star, in case you have cast a spell on the unicorns outside that caused them to go crazy and trample the garden, go to the Glitter Depot and sprinkle any light-colored tube in their stables. Despite your best friend is a unicorn, I believe I should remind you that unicorns are extremely addicted to it, and would inadvertently follow you anywhere, should you provide them with glitter."
"Well, that would've been helpful the day before," she said looking out the only window in the entire tower, to spot the empty stables.
She was awed by the amount of notes her friend has written. The entire bookshelf was filled with collections of his little post-its, each book having about a hundred of them glued to every page…He never took risks, it seemed. He was quite like Marco in this aspect. From all of those miniature bookstores of warning labels, one really standing out. It was a light pink slim brochure on the top shelf, with an unreadable name, from that distance. Star summoned an owl feet to grab the book for her, and, after knocking the worn out diary that was lying open on Scott's desk, she turned on the flashlight function of her wand and started reading it.
"Star's Special Notes," she read the title. "Uuu, wonder what's inside," she said, turning the first page. A yellow post-it note, however blocked her from going any further.
"Star, if you ever open this book, I will be forced to leave you forever, and you will have to face Toffee on your own. I know it sounds harsh and completely uncalled for, but this is the truth, so please bear in mind this, before snooping around, which we both know you will."
"Pfff, he knows me waaaay too well." She decided to respect his privacy, remembering what she has caused before, but she couldn't defeat her curiosity. She slipped the little book in her small bag, then resumed her task…which was nosing around Scott's living quarters. Since, the room didn't have anything else to explore, she decided to leave, but leave the chamber as if no one had ever come in. Star lifted the worn out book from where she had thrown it, only to find out her title was a little bit less scary than what she thought it would be.
"The Reason Why I Built This Room"
She had nothing better to do and she figured out there was no harm in learning more about her friend…Even if he was now on the other side…
"First of all, whoever you are, person who reads this, I would like to apologize that I had allocated an entire book for something I could've written on a piece of paper. But, alas, I already tainted the pages with my ink, so I might as well just continue. I had built the castle, you'll find this book in, in order to shelter the princess Star Buttefly, during the time a great evil, the same queen Moon Butterfly had to face, had grown too strong for any place to be safe, apart from this one. This palace was designed to suit every need of Star Butterfly, providing her with the fun she craves for, a library filled with the best books, a magic tutor can resort too and perhaps the most important of all…cute animals. But alas, I had gone to the lengths of creating something for myself…This is the first time in my 1414 years of existence that I had finally managed to find accommodation. It's the first time I can finally settle down somewhere, as I plan this to be my permanent residence after…this fiasco of me serving the royal family ends. The room, you'll most likely find this book in, is an exact replica of where I used to live, prior to me transforming into what I am today…It's a memento of my former life, one that was…much simpler than what I have now and a lot more enjoyable. There is a hidden switch underneath my bed, by the way. I find that the good old secrets, my ancestors used to conceal their belongings are, indeed, the best. You'll find an extremely cherished item of mine in there, mainly because it's an expression of myself. I had a gift when I was a child, and only now, after finally being able to take a breather from all the commotion I had to go through, I managed to finalize what I had been working for a long time now…3 centuries almost. Star Butterfly, if it is you who finds this message, I would like to request that you do not open that little hatch…I am sorry, because I know I am extremely harsh with you, with all the interdictions and what-not, but I have my reasons for doing so…This is all that I have to say, to you, who have been brave enough to wander here…Farewell."
"Argh…why am I forbidden to do so many things around here…You know what? That's pretty much enough of what I can take!" Star said suddenly infuriated as she had started moving the bed to reveal the hatch beneath it. She opened it only to find another note, taped to an enormous scroll.
"Star…" she started reading the note, but she didn't go through with it, because she was too mad to listen to another thoughtful advice. She grabbed the scroll, put it in her bag and then left the room, using her dimensional scissors to teleport to her room. Without any hesitation, she started opening the scroll to reveal the corner of what appeared to be a painting.
Suddenly a flashing light emanating from the rugged paper, temporarily blinded her. After her vision returned to her, she was greeted by a strange translucent Scott ghost, who was staring blankly through her.
"You didn't listen Star, and I knew you wouldn't…Two beasts are going to be spawned who will ruthlessly destroy the castle and hunt you, until that scroll is put back in its place. Okay, maybe I am a bit too rough, should I go through with this?" Scott's ghost seemed uncertain as it disappeared, leaving his rhetorical question unanswered. The painting was now glowing red, a weird rune appearing on it…Star wasn't afraid of anything that would come. She had been fighting monsters her whole life, what could Scott possibly get to defeat the undefeated?
A wicked gigantic paw had exited the portal, and after it the small body of a creature resembling a Chihuahua followed. Soon enough, the second beast was spawned. It was a little turtle, with little sharp claws on its front flappers. The two were extremely cute, Star's only real weakness.
"Awww, he sent you two poor things to fight me? Woah, don't kill me with your ruthlessness," she taunted the pair of guardians, Scott has chosen to protect his dear painting, while petting them. The two critters were calm, the dog, panting absently while the turtle was retracting in its shell. Star approached slowly, the Chihuahua jumping in her arms, shaking nervously as she petted it. She grabbed the turtle and, while holding them both, she started further unfolding the painting…
The second she touched the rolled up paper, she could hear the little dog growl and feel his unusually sharp teeth digging into her hand. Instinctively she threw him across the room. As its paws touched the ground, he recovered instantly and, after frontflipping through the air, he landed on all fours, his snout filled with foam. The turtle, hastily jumped out of her grasp and, with insane speed, rejoined its friend.
"Okay, that's usually not a good sign," Star exclaimed grabbing her wand, slowly, as to not trigger the attack of the two apparently innocent animals. "Nightmare Narwhal Blast!" she yelled as the narwhals flew from her wand towards the formidable duo.
Not only did the aquatic mammals do no damage, but they…were absorbed by her enemies who grew bigger. The Chihuahua's eyes turned red and it barked, sending a shockwave towards Star, who avoided it at the last second. It was so powerful, that it threw her bed through the brick wall behind her…
"Okay, looks like nothing that summons things can work…Dagger Crystal Heart Attack!" she yelled, trying one of her usual, more powerful spells. The sharp heart-shaped projectiles, merely grazed their skin as they bounced off, ripping apart the pink carpet beneath them…It didn't even hurt them but rather it annoyed them, because it was their turn now to attack. With its limping run, the dog started charging Star, while the turtle retracted in its shell and started spinning. Using her Bunny Rabbit Blast, she jumped out of the way, but the Chihuahua was unable to stop its reckless run. It crashed through the wall, further enlarging the hole from earlier.
"Phew, that was close," she said gasping, but she couldn't catch her breath, because after gathering enough momentum, the little turtle transformed itself into an incredibly fast projectile, that flew past her ear at a blinding speed, bouncing off the walls of her room. Covering her head, she used her dimensional scissors to cut open a portal to escape her trap. As she was stepping through, the little organic shuriken was still chipping away the integrity of her chamber and the walls started shaking, signaling that the room would be collapsing soon.
She reappeared in the castle yard, just in time to see her tower falling down.
"Crud…Where am I going to be sleeping now?" she said to herself. The sound of crumbling bricks was covered by an unsettling howl that escaped the Chihuahua's throat. Right after that, a small quadruped figure was seen escaping the ruins of her living quarters. It was the dog. Breaking a lower level window, the turtle also got out from the castle, landing in the empty stables, causing them to break instantly. The little dog was now sitting about twenty feet across from her, growling in the low pitch of a St. Bernard, showing its extremely long fangs that gave him a threatening yet derpy look, making him seem like he had an enormous under bite. Letting loose another howl, he started charging again, like a ram, crushing the grass underneath its feet. A couple of inches away from Star, the Chihuahua lunged forward with its monstrous paw, but she was too nimble for it. The dog's wicked teeth got stuck in a tree behind her. In the meantime the little turtle had already destroyed the stables.
Using her Rainbow Blast, she propelled herself up in the air, landing in the middle of the hedge maze. She hid behind the tall bush walls, hoping to relax for a bit and find a way to face the immune-to-magic beasts. She couldn't even start elaborating a plan, because Scott's ghost appeared near her. He was apparently programmed only to speak at certain moments of time. Therefore, an attempt to have a conversation with his projection was not possible…
"Look, Star, these beasts are unbeatable…for once, you must follow the rules and stop being so reluctant. Just put the painting back from where you took it. Let me have my secrets, like you do…You still have that closet with you, but I couldn't transfer it from your parents' castle…Just let go…" Scott's ghost said as it faded away again.
"Great…He will be back again to scold me, that's sure. Okay, Star, think," she said chewing the top part of her wand trying to come up with a battle plan. "So, I can't hurt them with magic of any kind…so I will have to use physical force. That's fine," she smiled wickedly. With a flick of the wrist, her wand changed into an axe. Her teal dress turned into a black suit of armor, and the hearts on her cheeks turned into skulls. She put on a helmet, she kept in her little, yet spacious bag. It was just in time. She saw the green walls of the labyrinth flying over, probably knocked up by the raging Chihuahua. The second it had charged through the last barrier and jumped towards her with its sickening jawline, Star reacted by jabbing the critter with her enormous axe. The dog squealed in pain and was thrown back on the path he had created. But it didn't even seem affected, despite its tormented screech. It had a bleeding wound on its chest, but it only seemed to fuel the rage in his eyes. It started charging again, faster than before, leaving her little time to strike back. She stroke again, her axe sending him flying in the air. It recovered while still airborne and, with an unknown surge of power, it started diving towards her. She was ready, holding her axe like a bat, like the lil' slugger she was. However, its velocity was too much for her. Realizing she wouldn't be able to counter its attack in time, she jumped out of the way, but the Chihuahua fell like a rocket, digging deep in the ground, forming a crater, the shockwave of the impact, knocking her away.
The dog was stuck, but she barely managed to get up in time, to parry the turtle that, with blinding speed, sprung itself towards her. The collision was too much for the wand-axe, its blade shattering. The wand was powerful and durable, but if it were damaged in any of its forms it would lose its strength until it was fixed. Reverting to its original shape, Star noticed that the little wings on the wand's side were broken, their little feathers falling on the ground.
Star wasn't the only one harmed in the impact, as an important law of Physics dictates that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. With a cracking sound, the turtle's shell broke, letting the small, yet extremely swift animal to shriek in agony…Suddenly Star realized what was happening, but needed some time to think through a plan. In tense situations, when you must be quick-minded, ideas came to her slower than ever. She, however knew that she had to leave as fast as possible, as she could hear the dog's blood-freezing howl, echoing throughout the dawn… She sliced a portal open and stepped through it, avoiding the Chihuahua's deadly charge at the last second.
She didn't know quite where to go, or what she should be doing. She found herself in the middle of an arena, stranded on the pillar surrounded by rivers of molten lava. Her memory got jogged soon enough. She remembered the layout of the castle, as she saw it on the map in the main hallway. It had two above ground stories and one underground level…She could vaguely recall seeing the word 'coliseum' somewhere around that area. But that didn't matter.
The arena was perfect for skirmishing with the two brutal beasts. She could hide in many places and numerous weapons were scattered across the floor, meaning that she could engage in melee combat multiple times, without the fear of being left unarmed. Hearing the destruction above, as the critters were decimating the castle, in their rampant search for her, she knew that she had to come up with a plan fast. Star hid behind a huge rock, on the left side of the pillar, trying to calm herself down and think.
"Okay, apparently the more I try to damage them with magic, the more powerful they become and the same goes with physical attacks. However if I strike them with any weapon, they get hurt, but perhaps their bonus is bigger…I must find a way to one-shot them," she said hopelessly looking up. That's when she saw the enormous stalactite being held by a collar and four chains. She didn't know why it was there, nor did it make any sense for an enormous geomorphic structure to be there, but how could she argue with Scott's flawless logic. After all, he was sent to protect her, and his hellspawns were now after her, trying to kill her. Just over a stupid painting.
"I swear, that if that painting is not something that shows him getting his first haircut or anything embarrassing, I will be extremely mad at his dead face…"
She didn't have time to think through her half insult, as the Chihuahua and the turtle came crashing in the arena, landing on each side of the pillars. The fury and rage in their wrath-filled eyes was burning a hole through her. Without any warning, the two began their simultaneous thrust towards her. It was at this point, that she thought her plan was going to be rendered moot. She blasted herself high in the air, grabbing one of the thick chains, holding the stalactite in place. The feral duo were now bound to crash into each-other…Should they not be Scott's spawns. They were not as stupid as she gave them credit for. They merely grazed each other's fur and scales, passing just inches away from each other. They jumped from the arena's outer walls, straight towards Star's hiding place. Seeing them, Star dropped, cushioning her fall with her Rubber Sparkle Bounce House, but now her plan was ruined. The immense rock, she was going to crash the two beasts with was turned to rubble.
Now she had to think fast and act even faster…The longer the fight went on, the lower her chances became. She was exhausted and barely able to make decisions anymore. After this much stress and spell-casting she knew her reflexes were going to fail her, should she be forced to jump away again. Her armor, albeit thick, couldn't take the blow of their shattering attacks. The turtle and the dog, shook their devastating impact off and, using the ceiling as a spring, they were plummeting towards her bounce house. She got up, but by the time she had left her inflatable safe place…they were ten feet above her. Judging by their momentum, she had about half a second to react.
They say that time slows down in the face of imminent death. And so it does. Star could move faster in comparison with her two assailants, but it was only in her mind…This Ex-Machina trick only bought her more time to contemplate…her helplessness. Suddenly a thought came to her mind. Why did Scott do this? Why is he trying to harm her, when he had sworn to protect her? Was it because he died, that he had no control over this kind of thing? If he were alive, wouldn't he stepped in at the first sign of distress? But now, with him gone… she was about to die as well. Come to think of it, she would have gotten in trouble a lot more often if it hadn't been for her two boy friends. They both saved her countless times. She had saved Marco in return, but Scott never needed her help…Maybe in the afterlife she would have time to repay him…
"STAR!" a familiar voice yelled. Scott's ghost appeared next to her.
"Yeah, what? I'm busy dying… "
"Use Levitato and crash a rock into them. They will be sent into the molten lava below, due to their velocity and they will perish."
"Oh, okay…"
She did exactly as told…Threat eliminated.
"Hold on…I thought you were just a robot…you know, programmed to just say things, not actually answer…"
"I've split a part of my consciousness in this fail-safe. It is supposed to only trigger when you'd be close to dying."
"Why did you do this?!" She asked, trying to violently shake the ghost, but she ended up falling through him.
"Okay, I'm limited to answering one question, because the spell I used wasn't the best. When I cast it I was…pretty distraught," Scott's ghost said a bit nervous. That was strange…
"Yeah, amazing…What the heck made you do all this?"
"What I am hiding has an enormous emotional value to me…You weren't supposed to see it…but there was no harm in seeing it. I guess, I overreacted a bit…"
"OVERREACTED A BIT?! ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND, I ALMOST DIED!" But she was yelling at nothing…Scott's ghost faded away, for the last time, perhaps.
"Ugh!" She grunted infuriated. She used her scissors to teleport back to the ruins of her room…Actually, the whole castle was now just a ruin, akin to what was left of Ludo's palace. The scroll was completely unharmed though…She unrolled it, revealing Scott's "great secret"
It was…beautiful. It was an enormous picture…showing all the queens before her, each represented in her own unique way, as if those images were taken from her wand…She localized her mom. She was painted with clubs on her cheeks and so were a couple others. Star didn't quite understand why. Eclipsa was shown laughing, but not in an evil way…her gaze was innocent and thoughtful, not twisted and condescending. She seemed…different from the way everyone knew her…Did Scott know something she did not, about Eclipsa? There was also, someone she didn't quite remember among her relatives. It was a brown-haired girl...that she had seen somewhere before. She was the first from the left...
Something clicked in Star's mind. Her mother was the rightmost figure…her ninth great grandmother was the eleventh. There was no one else from outside the family in that picture. Did that mean that she was a relative of hers that she didn't ever hear of? Most important of all, she finally recognized her. It was…Scott's girlfriend. Was she…somehow related to her? And there was something else that bothered her, or surprised her, actually. She was the one who was put in the center of attention. She was portrayed, with her wand raised to the sky, smiling and blushing. Star wasn't wearing her royal gown, but her green dress, her rhino boots and her pink-orange stockings. She was looking up...towards nothing apparently. But only then, she saw the heavy-handed symbolism. The tip of a red hoodie was clearly visible… There were only two little details she didn't notice. Scott was also present there. His shadow was cast at Star's feet, his trench coat silhouette being clearly visible...And the exquisite piece of art had a title too, but its last word was scribbled off.
"The one(s) I never got to…" the only letter still visible was an 'e' at the end…