"Where… where am I?" Marco got back on his feet, sweat pouring down his forehead, "Toffee?"
The lizard lawyer sat there in the middle of this… space. There was nothing around for miles. Try as he might Marco couldn't see what was beyond the horizon, nothing but an empty black space. The only light in this place was… well… here. Shining over a table and a chair where the lizard was sitting. Toffee sat there, tapping his fingers on the table. As if… waiting, waiting for something that will never come.
"What are you doing here?" Marco said, "Why are you even here? Why am I here? What is this place?"
"Nobody knows for sure… Marco…" Toffee said, "Nobody's ever been here before. As for me? I'm just sitting here… waiting. I could explain to you why, but you might not understand it."
"Star!" Marco gasped, finally realizing, "I have to get back to Star! I have to get out of here! How on earth do I even get out of here?"
"Don't look at me," the lizard continued tapping his fingers.
"Okay, look, you better stop playing games and start giving me some straight answers now you stupid lizard. Or I'll…"
"Or you'll what?"
The reptilian's glare struck at Marco's nerves, making him hesitant. The yellow spark in his eyes, the fiery cold look of a monster, it was a look that could petrify practically anything.
"Anyway," Toffee resumed, "surely you don't want to get out of here now do you?"
"And why wouldn't I… want to get out?"
"The world you came in from won't be the same world when you come out. When you're in here – you cease to exist, as in you have never existed and will never exist."
Shock began to clearly crawl over the kid's face. Toffee continued with a smirk:
"Even then, even if you wanted to get out… you can't. So why even bother? Just stay here, where it's safe." And that was the last straw. The anger, the shock, the confusion, the frustration just overtook his body. The boy looked around, the reality started to sink in. He was trapped, trapped like a helpless little mouse.
"NO!" He firmly said, "I won't stand this! Things can't end like this. Not like this. I am going to get back to my world whether you like it or not."
"Hmm," the lizard smirked, "I'm afraid things aren't up to me to decide…"
"SHUT UP!"
And without him even realizing it, Marco managed to deliver a punch to the lizard so hard that his head came piercing through the table, breaking it into countless splinters. With teary eyes and gritted teeth, he stepped back in shock. Here we have a kid, infamously called the safe kid, bursting out in rage without even so much as a second thought.
But then amongst the pile of broken wood something suddenly caught the kid's eyes. He hurried over, pushing all the pieces of wood to the side and thus to his surprise found a shiny crack on the floor.
Marco didn't have a clue what the thing was supposed to be, but he did not care. He knew deep down in his guts that the crack meant something. And that something could get him back to his world.
So the boy started to work. Hitting at the concrete floor with every ounce of strength left in his body. Bruised and exhausted, he did not care. He kept smashing it over and over again. Crumbs of rocks started flying everywhere, flying through the air, mixed in with the salty scent of his tears and sweat. He did not care… he did not care.
"I… I WILL SEE STAR AGAIN!" Marco bellowed as he drove his fist down once more. Tearing the floor into an enormous white vortex, sucking the kid inside. And just like that – he was gone.
The cold-blooded reptilian stood up, dusted himself and picked the chair he fell off from. Thus the waiting continued. The lizard just sat there with a bruised smile on his face.
He was back. Marco couldn't believe it. He was back!
The kid tried touching his body, feeling his arms and face. He wasn't dreaming. By some unexplained miracle he really did make it back.
The boy then quickly realized where he was transported just as he stood up, brushing the dust off his clothes – Mewni castle. There was no mistake about it. The reddish purple walls, the tall marble columns. Countless paintings and sculptures of previous queens displayed in this hallway. No mistake about it.
"Gotta find Star, gotta find Star," he muttered to himself.
But by corn, he did not even know where to start. The last time he was here the castle was in ruins, destroyed by war and magic. Which was another detail that was strange to him. The hallway here was way too polished and clean. Not even a single speck of dust around. No sign of destruction anywhere. Oh no, this is not good, Marco muttered, what am I going to… do…
"Now remember Star, you must always keep your composure…" A voice echoed in the distance.
Marco immediately spun his head around, gasping:
"Star?"
And right there before his eyes at the end of the hallway – Star, all dressed up in her beautiful blue dress and her golden princess crown. The boy rubbed his eyes… but there was no mistake about it. There she was, her beautiful golden locks, the adorable little hearts on her puffy cheeks, hearts so bright that he could spot even if they were a thousand miles away.
"STAR!"
Not a second wasted, Marco leapt off the ground rushing down the hallway to where the girl was. He felt he was flying, pushing himself off the rock hard floor and into the air, launching himself toward her. He couldn't stop, he didn't want to stop. Tears in his eyes and a loud thumping sound in his heart the boy did not hesitate to wrap his arms around the girl, tackling her to the ground.
"Oh Star!" Marco "Thank Mewni you're alright, I thought I'd never get to see you ever again."
There was a clear visible red shade on the girl's cheeks…
But there was also a look of confusion on her.
"Um… I'm sorry… do… I know you?"
And that was what did it. What shot Marco through his exhausted heart, cracking it wide open. The two kids stood up on their feet. Marco looked her in her eyes and to his horror he knew then – the girl did not recognize him.
"… Star?"
"You there!" Queen Moon snapped, "Who are you and what are you doing in the castle?"
Marco didn't even notice Queen Moon there with Star in the first place.
"Yeah… and how did you know my name?" The girl asked.
"You… y… y… you don't… remember me?"
"No…" Star said with a somewhat worried look, "and… should I?"
"Star…" Marco whimpered, "it's me… it's me Marco… your friend?"
But the girl inadvertently shook her head.
"I… I'm sorry… I don't… know anyone by that name."
How could she not know me? The question echoed through the boy's head. After all this time, after all the adventures they had been through together. All this time… it was like none of that mattered in that moment. He didn't want to… but tears began crawling down his cheeks.
"Wow, hey, are you… are you crying?" Star asked, "Are you alright, man? Do you need a moment or something?"
"No Star… how could you not remember me?" Marco snapped, "It's me. It's me Marco! After all the adventures we've been through all this time! Don't you remember? Don't you remember the time we traveled to an intergalactic mall and how we almost never made it out alive? Don't you remember the time you took me and my parents into the Forest of Certain Death where monsters everywhere tried to gobble us alive? How about the time you took me to that time dimension because we nearly stopped time in the universe forever? And don't tell me you've forgotten about St. Olga's School for Wayward Princesses! Star… please, don't you remember? We went there… we went there… we tried to rescue your friend… you friend Pony Head… we went there…"
There was a noticeable worried look on Star's face, as she then leaned in and placed her hand on his shoulder.
"Look… um… buddy… maybe, um… maybe I can tell my mom to find you a… a lounge somewhere so you can rest up and be on your…"
"NO! No Star," Marco cried, "I won't let you forget! You can't forget… you can't. Because I haven't. I haven't forgotten about all the times we've been through together, all the hardships, the adventures. All the smiles and laughter we shared, all those time we bickered over meaningless things. I remember how… how you were so reckless and yet at the same time full of excitement and thrill. You have so much love for adventures, so much excitement. It's what makes you so lovable. You… you passed those excitements onto me. I haven't forgotten. I will never forget! Because all those things mean something, it means something Star! It means that… it… it… means that… it means that I love you alright?"
The girl began to blush, but Marco did not stop:
"I've made a promise to never lose you ever again! Because I can't bear to live without you. You… you were the one who made my life whole… you pushed me to be who I am today, pushed me to be a better person. I'll never forget it. You can't forget… you can't…"
"… Marco… I… I…"
Stop.
Everything stopped.
By some unexplained force – everything suddenly stopped.
Star stood there in front of Marco, frozen in place. She did not move, not a single inch. And so did Queen Moon. Marco was confused. He did not know what was going on. And yet… it felt so familiar, as if he'd been through this before.
"Curious isn't it?" A soft elegant voice approached Marco, "This time stopping spell really does come in handy sometimes."
It was the same feeling as seeing an eighth wonder of the world for the first time – just pure shock.
"Eclipsa?"
"Hello… Marco. It's been a long time hasn't it?"
"Wha… what are you doing here?"
"There's been a disturbance in all of time space itself," the old queen said, "it just caught my interest that's all. I mean… after all, it's not every day that you get to see a time space disturbance of this magnitude."
"What do you mean?"
"This isn't the first time someone vanished from existence, you know. There has been plenty before you who had fallen out of the timeline, whether by pure bad luck or by arrogance, playing with magic. But there's never been anything like this before. The timeline has never, I repeat, never changed this much with just one person. When you vanished from existence… everything changed. And when I say everything changed, I mean ever-y-thing. And why? Because it all revolves around one single event – the day you met her."
"You mean…" Marco stammered, "you mean… Star?"
"Precisely."
"Oh my gosh, what am I supposed to do now?"
"Well…" a slightly sinister grin suddenly appeared on Eclipsa's face, "maybe I can help you out."
"What?"
"I have the power to bring you back to the timeline where you belong. Back to the moment before you vanished from existence. But… to get something from me, you need to make a magical contract. In order for me to bring you back, I will need something from you."
"Okay," Marco said with a strong sense of uncertainty, "what do you want from me?"
"No, no, no, it's not that I want it. This is a price that you will need to pay. Meddling with time and space isn't a matter to be taken lightly. In order to change anything in time and space – even the tiniest of things – a price needs to be paid. As for the content of that price, I cannot tell. Only you and you alone will know what you have to pay. It will be a hefty price and you will most likely not be the same person as before. You might even lose your humanity, or even the thing you held most dear. Now do you…"
"I'll do it!" Marco said firmly, planting his feet on the ground.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes I'm sure… I don't care what must be done. I don't care if I have to lose an arm or a leg. I don't care if I have to travel to the edge of this universe. All I want… is to see Star again."
Eclipsa smiled, but only a little.
"Then do we have a deal?"
Marco was hesitant at first but ultimately decided that he will see Star one more time. Even if it was just to tell her how he felt. The light in the hallway suddenly darkened as the storms began to rise. The thunder rose from the outside, striking the clouds, echoing in the distance. It felt like something forbidden, something unholy. It felt like they were plundering the heaven blind, stealing from divine beings.
When the storms subsided and Marco finally looked around, expecting to see something different… but no. There was nothing.
"Um… was that it?" He asked.
"We have made a celestial oath," Eclipsa explained, "it is the most powerful thing in the universe. No other power can break it. More powerful than any magic, more powerful than time and space itself. Now when you walk down that hallway there, just turn right – and you'll find what you're looking for."
"Are you sure?"
"Once a celestial oath is made there is nothing in the world that can stop you from fulfilling it. No matter how long you have to travel, no matter what happens from now on – it shall be done. Now go!"
Marco nodded and dragged his exhausted feet towards the end of the hall. But then slowly, gradually, the exhaustion turned into mild dizziness, then mildly blurring his eyes. He felt a strange energy in his legs, it moved slowly through his body at first before finally stabbing viciously into his nerves.
No, Marco told himself, I will not give up! I will find Star again, no matter what.
And so he disappeared behind the corner into the deep unknown.
The Queen of Darkness still remained there in this dimension. Smiling as the timeline slowly began to crumble. The walls folded itself in, the statues faded away, and the paintings melted out of its golden canvas.
"Huh… this is not like you at all, Eclipsa," an old voice suddenly echoed from behind.
"Oh, Glossy, I didn't see you there. I thought I was the only one here."
"Tell me, why didn't you do it?"
"Do what?" She asked.
"Oh, it's just that you're not the kind of person who makes deals without wanting something in return. Just strange seeing you start doing that all of the sudden. You haven't gotten soft have you?"
"And what gave you that idea?"
"Really Eclipsa? You honestly think I didn't notice?"
"So what if I didn't charge the boy anything? Big deal."
"But why?"
Eclipsa responded with a smile:
"I admire the boy's… spirit. Reminds me of myself when I was younger… when I was in love. The 'price' was of course a lie. But it needed to be lie. The boy needs to push himself. I want him to earn it. And with strong willpower like that I have little doubt that he will succeed. Ha-ha, I can see why the girl fell in love with him in the first place…"