Unbroken Bonds

by FlameyTheSnowman

"Cleaved? Now that's a funny word. You can cleave something apart, or you can cleave something together." (Glossaryck) After the cleaving of Earth and Mewni, Marco and Star are tasked with navigating the rough road ahead. Under the watchful eye of a dangerous government, the rebellious Mewman public, and an unnamed shadow, how will the two persevere? - Post-Cleaved.

4. The Harsh Truth

N/A: Howdy y'all, Flamey here. Wow, last chapter sure was something, wasn't it. Anyway, what I wanted to quickly chat about is how this chapter starts. During its first run, I received plenty of criticism and interesting thoughts over the pairing of two unlikely allies. I'd just like to say that these two frenemies have a new, much more realistic alliance.

Oh, one last thing: comments. Please, my dear reader, consider adding a quick comment to this chapter. It could be a simple 'nice', or a detailed description of the highs and lows of the piece. Criticism or praise are both very much welcome.

Anyway, here's Wonderwall

Unbroken Bonds

Chapter 4

The Harsh Truth

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The damp sounds of dripping stalactites and splashing small puddles of water did little to add to the dark cave's appeal, or more accurately, its lack of. Nonetheless, his mission required him to brave the decrepit and humid caverns in hopes of obtaining his sought-after strategic resource. To accompany him in his spelunking was a small detail of minor monsters, all wearing cloaks to cover their agitating faces. It was a must to keep their faces hidden from the guards escorting them, since their distaste for monsters went far beyond the possibility of reconciliation.

When pitching his plan to his master, he was in return offered a healthy heaping of criticism. Sure, it wasn't orthodox to try and ally yourself with your arguably most hated foe, but other than that, there was little he could actually do to set his plan in motion. He had to capitalize on the weakness and disorganization of the Mewmans before it was too late. That, or face a Human-Mewman force more advanced and war-ready than his.

Finally reaching the end of the cavern, he and his entourage were met with a small, noticeably crude bulkhead separating what he presumed was the real hideout. On each side were two scrawny soldiers, one standing at full attention while the other snored loudly against the cool backdrop of the dimly lit cave. The guards escorting his team made their way to the front, one even hitting the sleeping soldier on the shoulder to wake them up. He had been lucky enough to not have revealed his true identity thus far, giving him the luxury of entering the hideout without a pair of restraints.

"Alright, in with the lot 'o ya," beckoned a soldier, who held the creaky door open with one hand and motioned his group in with another.

The inside of the bulkhead was much dryer and well-kept than its exterior. Instead of squat muddy puddles and flickering torches, the interior had hanging lanterns and floorboards kept dry enough as to not muck up their travelers' shoes; if they were lucky enough to have some. Still, it was a large downgrade from the totaled castle that served as their headquarters not more than a few hours ago, but who could argue? Certainly not the megalomaniac who ran this place.

After being led down a winding assortment of linear hallways, they were faced with another door. "Hey, tall and gangly, your friends gotta stay out here," ordered one of their escorts.

"Fine by me," He scoffed, holding his hands behind his back and entering the bright office. The moment he entered, the seated woman immediately recognized him through his weak disguise and quickly unsheathe a sword to aim right at his neck. He had hoped to have the time to sit before his persona was revealed, but it seemed her hatred for him overcame that optimism.

"Motherfucker!" she shouted as she jumped from her chair to pin the lizard against a nearby wall. "Eey! Morons, snatch up his friends!" she shouted to her subordinates, who quickly ran out of the room to detain his entourage.

"I shoulda known it was you! You pompous, cheesy, smooth-talkin' shitlord!" She shouted, holding the blade up against his neck. "Gimme one reason I shouldn't decorate the room green with your entrails!"

"Oh, Mina," sighed the Septarian as he slowly lowered his hood, "We both know that'd do little more than to make me mad." His words were punctuated with a mutual disgust for Mina, ending his retaliatory threat with a gritting frown. This seemed to only invite the Solarian to press the blade up closer into his jugular, a move he didn't even reward with a reaction. "Now, are you going to keep threatening me on your tippy-toes? Or will you sit down and hear my proposal?"

With a hiss, she lowered her blade and slowly sheathed it back onto her belt. Taking a quick peak outside before sitting down, her mood was slightly improved by the sight of his accomplices tied up and bound to the ground. "Alright, back in!" She called before taking her seat.

"Sit, shit stain." Mina scoffed as her troopers surrounded the outnumbered lizard.

"Your hospitality is appreciated," he sneered in response before sitting down in the chair opposite the Solarian. "I've taken it that you've read my letter?"

"I wish I hadn't," she spoke with a low and disgusted tone, "I shoulda burnt it along with my messenger's hands for holding such filth."

"But you read it, did you not?"

"Yes, I've read it," Mina groaned, "And I will admit, I put some serious thought into accepting. Until I saw who was behind it."

"I mean, how stupid could you monsters be," she berated, "Are you just that desperate?"

"I'd like to phrase it more as optimistic," touted the reptilian. So far, the meeting had gone rather well. Even after the complete detainment of his detail and the handful of soldiers watching his every breath, he was still very certain he could persuade the Mewman to join his cause.

"I'll cut you a deal, Ms. Loveberry," he shifted his stance to come off as more welcoming and agreeable. "If you hear me out, and still object, You will have my, and my teams, heads."

"Deal," she said immediately as she sat back in her chair. "Kinda wish you woulda asked sooner. Never had someone come to me willingly offering their head."

"Quite," he said, not really listening to the short woman.

"Now, I'd be remiss to mention that our relationship, at times, has been just a tad bit strained."

"You can say that again," grumbled Mina, who's hand was propping up her head on her molding desk.

"Either way," he interrupted, trying to keep the room's attention on him, "I know your hate for me has no bounds, but I'm sure I can think of someone you hate even more."

Hearing this, Mina looked down at the floor and let out a low growl. She loathed to admit he was right, but he was. As much as she hated monsters, which was an ungodly amount, she couldn't help but feel the burning passion to personally behead Moon and her entire rodent-like family. What she had done was equivalent to the tactics of the animalistic monsters. She led her on with promises of valor and victory, only to be utterly humiliated by her in the realm of magic. She didn't just betray her, she betrayed almost every single Mewman both alive and dead. And now she resided in a towering castle guilt-free.

"Go on," she menaced in a low, serious tone.

"If it improves your mood, I can say that the feeling between you and I is mutual. The same goes for Queen Moon. Need I remind you what she did?"

"No," she said coldly, one part hating herself for listening to the monster, and another part disgusted that she was almost agreeing with him.

"I've vowed to topple the Butterflies years ago, and now you see why. A monarch with no honor is no different than a mongrel. You may say my kind are no different, but that doesn't dismiss her actions. Who was it that ousted you? It wasn't me, it wasn't my men. It was her."

He let his words marinate in the air long enough for his rhetoric to sink in. Even with her rigid beliefs he knew if he played his cards right, he could win her over. And so he did. "Right now, neither of us bolster the strength to overthrow her. Right now, neither of us can even organize an army. But together, together we can unite against our common foe. Together we can culminate our forces and eliminate our enemy, and become strong."

Mina was surprised by the amount of passion he spoke with, so much so that the side of her bolstering an alliance with him started to overcome the now quieter side of her warning against the consequences.

"How can I trust you?" she asked with narrow eyes, "How do I know you aren't using me as some kinda pawn?"

"Because with me, you and your people will be pawns to none." Things were going swimmingly for the contriving Septarian, having gotten to a point where she was seriously contemplating joining him was no easy feat, and he had just the thing to secure her loyalty.

"It's a shame you no longer possess the power to transform. The power to dominate all life with your Solarian state." He grinned as he leaned back in his chair. "If only there were some alternative…"

"You can't be serious," she said with a gaping mouth. Without her ability to channel the power of a Solarian warrior, her and her soldiers' chance of overcoming Moon would be next to impossible. But if he had some alternative, she thought, I would be next to impossible. "Oh, but I am," grinned the reptilian as he dug through his slouched pack. Pulling his hand out very slowly for extra effect, he placed a small, vexed looking flask containing some mysterious red glowing liquid on her desk. "Ever heard of the infamous 'dragon's breath'?"

"By corn," she breathed in shock of the legendary potion, "How did you get that!"

"Let's just say I have some friends in high places," smirked the lizard. "With this, your strength will be rivaled by none. Your army will be the fiercest, most ravaging force this world has ever seen."

"I'll need a lot more than that to fight," she argued, crossing her arms and sitting back in her chair.

"And you will receive such," he leaned over and whispered across her desk.

"Wha… No, no no, no! You're my enemy! I've pledged to be your end countless times! I can't dip so low as to ally with you, no matter what dignitaries you bring."

"Huh," shrugged the lizard, almost unfazed by Mina's final statement. "If that's how you view me, then we have nothing left to speak of."

Sitting up to leave, he first picked up his sack and then swiped the Dragon's breath, making sure the Solarian had one last glimpse of the elixir. "Good day, Loveberry."

Stepping out of his way, the guards allowed him to walk towards the arc-like door marking the end of the room. But just before he grabbed the wooden door knob, he was stopped by Mina's cry.

"Wait, don't go."

"Why? My business here is settled?" he asked with a turn of his head. "If you plan on capturing me, you'd surely be mistaken with such a weak guard."

"No," growled Mina, whose offense to the comment was kept to a minimum, "I accept."

"Oh do you, now?" mocked the tall lizard, "and what so great had changed your mind?"

"I accept your alliance under the condition that once Moon's dead," she paused to collect herself, "I get to seek my vengeance on you."

Turning around to fully face the now standing Mina, the Septarian crossed his arms and smirked. "I'd have it none other way, Mina," he said with a jovial tone.

Extending a hand out over her desk, Mina watched carefully as the lizard took it and shook it twice. The prospect of forming an alliance with the man seemed nearly alien. Something so vial her ancestors would disparage her for taking up the offer.

"Neither would I, Toffee."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Is he hurt?"

"Doesn't look like it. He passed out the second he lied down. My guess is he's just tired."

"Hurt or not, what in corn's name made you think it was a good idea to have a sparring match after everything that's transpired today."

He was lying down, that was for sure. More than that, he was actually pretty comfortably; his head was propped up just right by a firm, yet comfortable pillow, and his arms were laid out parallel to his torso in a relaxed manner. He could tell by the short length and leather surface that he had crashed on one of the foyer's old couches. His only question was how he ended up passed out on a couch when his last memory was of him… huh, what was my last memory?

"The lad's faced off against all forms of beasts, I thought he could handle a light sparring match."

Feeling his senses come back to him, Marco could begin to string together the muddled words of a nearby conversation. He could make out three distinct voices, each carrying a different emotion. It wasn't difficult for him to decipher that the three voices belonged to a disappointed Moon, a relaxed River, and a nail-bitingly nervous and or furious Star.

"Dad!" Shouted Star, who Marco assumed was either biting her nails or holding back a tidal wave of rage. At least that's what he imagined, seeing as his eyes were covered with a cloth eye-cover that obstructed his vision. He could just remove the cloth and see for himself, but that would probably put an end to the juicy gossip he was eavesdropping on.

"Pumpkin, relax. I can assure you no harm's come to young Marco." Assured River, who he guessed to either have his hands held behind his back or an arm around Star's shoulder.

Next came a sigh that was indistinguishably Moon's. He felt pretty bad for the ex-monarch, even after everything that had transpired today, or yesterday depending on what time it was. In fact, he felt pretty bad for all three of the Butterflies. Not only had they been ripped from the only world they knew, but now their daughter's suitor almost killed their father with some kind of dark magic. Magic, that's what it was!, he shouted internally upon remembering what knocked him out cold. His brain was still pretty foggy, but his memory of the situation grew more and more detailed as he came fully back to his senses. There were still some gaps in his recollection, but he had enough of a retention of the event to give a sufficient synopsis.

"Well, as long as he's alright, I guess there's no foul. There's still the topic of his *ahem* outburst to talk about, but for now, I think it's just best if we let him rest." Said Moon who had an obvious, and justifiable, interest in his magical 'situation'.

"Do you just want to leave him here? When the fire goes out it's gonna get pretty drafty. I have a pull-out in my room if you think he ca-"

"That won't be necessary, Star. I'll fetch him some blankets and load the fire up before I head off to bed. All you need to focus on is getting back to bed, there's going to be plenty of questions tomorrow, and you'll need plenty of rest."

Hearing the nearby conversation begin to wind down, along with the failed proposal of him sharing a room with Star, Marco decided it was an overture moment to 'wake up'. Trying his best to act as if he were really waking up, he turned on his side and let out a low yawn. Following this he stretched his arms out and arched his back up. Realizing now that he probably looked, and sounded, like a complete weirdo, he swiftly flipped up his eye-mask and blinked his eyes clear of any haze. It took less than a fraction of a second for Star to spot his faux waking up, and she responded decisively by dashing over to his side and trapping him in a hug that would make a bear blush.

"Marco!" She shouted, pulling him close and wrapping her arms around him. "Oh, thank Hestia you woke up!"

"Hey, hey, hey hey hey. I'm all good, no need to worry," he soothed while trying to wiggle out of his arms. Eventually succeeding he shifted his legs around and sat in an up-right position, with Star eagerly sliding to sit directly next to him. His suspicions to where he had been resting were spot on as he took a gander around at the much more illuminated foyer. Along with the fireplace, there were dozens of candles lit up around the room on wall-mounted metal plates, lighting the room with much more vigor than before. However, even with or without the light, he was certain he would be able to spot the contrasting looks of moderate indifference and slight relief on River and Moon's faces respectively.

Moon was the first to approach the young man, her face now painted with a caring, more maternal expression. She said nothing as she stopped before him, knelt down and softly took his right hand and turned it over. "No char, consider yourself lucky."

"Huh, " Questioned Marco, who didn't quite understand the meaning of the diagnosis.

"When dealing with volatile magics, it's not uncommon for one to hurt themselves upon their first go." She said while still looking over his hand, flipping between either side before gently placing it back down.

"That is what happened, as I understand?" she asked, her tone still low and gentle enough for Marco not to feel interrogated.

"Can you define volatile…" he said meekly while scratching the back of his head with his left hand.

"Volatile magic, as in dark magic. I was told whatever it was you conjured was of a purple hue, though my sources may be slightly… inaccurate." Moon glanced back towards River, who still stood unmoved with his look of tranquility, his hands held firm behind his back and his back straight.

"Uuuh, yeah, yeah I think it was purple," answered Marco, who was taking glances between Star and Moon, not sure why he was acting foggy when he had a firm grasp on the events leading up to and even a little while after his outburst.

"You think, or you know, Marco." She said with a sterner voice, causing Marco to correct his laid-back posture and look straight across at Moon.

"U-uh. Yes, yes I know, m'am" his voice shaky and his face now tilted slightly to the ground to mask his stuttering.

"My apologies, Marco. I had no intention of spooking you," she apologized while standing back up on her feet, "I just had a keen interest in understanding what exactly happened, nothing more."

"Oh, yeah, no, you're fine, just a little groggy, ya know?" His words were met with silence, getting no other reaction than a slight tilt in inclination of Moon's head.

"Tired, groggy means tired," corrected Star, which soon after her saying was met with an understanding nod by Moon. "Yes, my apologies. I'll leave the questions for tomorrow, I don't mean to berate."

"Whatever happened seems to have no active affect on you in the present, which leads me to believe you're right as rain. I understand you were supposed to report back to your parents. But if you'd like, you're more than welcome to stay here." Thinking back to Star's attempted offer, Marco had already determined he'd be spared the long and potentially treacherous hike back to his house. Not that he was worried about being tardy, if his parents let him leave in the first place, they obviously knew there was a chance he wouldn't return till next morning. At the moment, the idea of staying with the Butterflies actually sounded quite pleasant. Despite the rare draft of cool air or whiff of almost certain mold, the stone castle felt cozy and pretty comfortable, especially only a few yards away from a roaring fire.

"Yeah- I mean, yes, thank you, that sounds nice," he said as he slowly let up on his straight posture and slowly sank back into the couch's cushions.

"Ya know," started Star, who upon speaking quickly drew the attention of the entire room.

"Star, we already discussed this." Hearing the retort from Moon gave Marco all he needed to know about what was soon to go down. He wasn't exactly crazy about sleeping in the same room as Star, seeing as how their relationship even before their big step up was already pretty personal, and that Star would certainly take strides to anything behind closed doors. But even more concerning was what her parents' reactions would be to the idea, something even more concerning seeing as they had already dismissed it once.

"Discussed what?" lied Marco, pretending to not have overheard their conversation.

"Nothing too important. It's best if you stay just there, walking may be slightly arduous for you at the moment," Moon said in a very kind, borderline motherly voice.

"Huh, whaddya mean; I feel fine," retorted Marco, who for the most part was being honest.

"Oh, well, my apologies. Here, take this lantern, I'll show you to a guest room," spoke Moon softly as she held out a lit candle lantern.

"O-ok, sure," said Marco with a hint of shock following Moon's uncharacteristic decision to cave pretty much immediately after his insistence of good health. However, he soon discovered why she chose to side with him since as soon as he rose to his feet, he was struck with a terrible wave of vertigo, causing him to fall face-first on the wooly carpet just inches before her feet.

"Hmm, that's not quite what I would define as 'fine', Marco," touted Moon before lowering the lantern safely onto the and kneeling beside the collapsed boy. Turning him face-up, she picked up his head and examined it for any bumps or bruises. Finding him relatively unharmed, she backed off to let Star come rushing to his side.

"Vertigo, it's an acute symptom following one's interaction with dangerous amounts of magic. I'd half expect for you to just shrug it off, seeing as this isn't your first encounter with magic, is it?" asked a condescending Moon with her arms crossed in disappointment.

"If you knew it was gonna happen, the least you could'a done was give me a warning," whined Marco as he slowly sat himself up with one arm, the other arm preoccupied with holding his throbbing head.

"I did, and you dismissed it," she mouthed, clearly not interested in an argument, " if you want to get better, I'd recommend you simply lie down and rest."

"Perhaps in Star's room, Moonpie?" sounded River from across the room. Everyone, including Marco, was in utter disbelief after hearing the bearded man's proposal. "If all he needs is a good night's rest, then locking him in a room doomed to run rancid in a few hours won't help him."

"I'm sorry dear, I must've had some wax caught up in my ears. Did you just recommend Marco bunk with Star, your daughter," reverberated Moon, who had gone from caring, to uninterested, to shocked, to now clearly appalled in under a minute.

"Now, now, you've twisted my words, you have. I implied he simply rest in her room, not alongside her. From what I've heard, Star's room was unaffected by the decay of the castle, ergo, it's most fit for habitation, ergo, it's the best place to let young Marco rest," beamed River, who stood with a straight posture, his hands neatly held behind his back.

"Not that I disagree, dear. But you of all people should know that's not what I'm most burdened by," pronounced Moon through gritted teeth, knowing full well River wasn't oblivious to her implication.

"And what would that be, mom?" dared Star, who was now standing with her hands welded to her hips, her one eyebrow raised in support of her question.

"I, well, if I-I must, well-" stuttered Moon, who found herself cornered by her immediate family. She was both stunned and aggravated at River's suggestion, and with Star's nerve to stand up and pressure her to admit an embarrassing worry in front of her daughter's suitor. She had two options: confess she had hesitations about the two teenagers sharing a room because of intimate possibilities, or fold and let the two sleep unsupervised under the same roof. Both options had their drawbacks, as well as their obvious advantages, but she couldn't deny that neither were ones she wouldn't refuse. Weighing the pros and cons of either choice, she found herself unable to retaliate against River's request.

"*sigh* Fine, I yield. If you can find a way to get him up seven flights of stairs, be my guest," she said with a teaspoon of indifference. What almost made her feel better about her decision, however, was the pure look of joy that quickly swept across Star's face. Her posture switched from one of entitled indignation to one of youthful excitement as she briskly pulled Marco onto his feet, only for him to be hit with a second wave of vertigo and crash down hard against the fluffed cushions of the couch.

Due to his head running circles around him, Marco found it difficult to comprehend what exactly was going on. He had the misfortune of feeling bouts of vertigo in the past, but never to this extreme. He felt almost nauseous, his dizziness making his stomach feel some form of motion-sickness. Thankfully, the disorientation lasted only a few seconds as he soon found himself reunited with his cognitive faculties.

Seeing him collapse again, Moon scoffed and picked up the glowing candle lantern from the floor. "I'm trusting you'll take things a little more slowly from now on, Star?" she asked, watching as Star silently shook her head halfheartedly before accepting the lantern and raising Marco back to his feet.

"Daddy, a little help?" she grunted, motioning for River to come over and help carry Marco towards the nearby stairwell.

"Yes, yes, one moment," sounded the short blond as he matched his way over to the bumbling pair of teenagers and threw his arm around Marco's shoulder to stabilize him.

Turning away from the troublesome trio, Moon gulped down her frustrations and walked off towards the secondary stairwell, knowing River would most likely be able to guide the teenagers on the rest of their journey. Her previous concerns were not put on the sideline, as her original ones began to reveal their ugly heads. She wouldn't sleep much that night, that she was sure of. In place of sleeping, she'd be searching. Searching for a clue in the Butterfly library.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Stretching his arms out in a deep, satisfying yawn, Marco slid underneath the cozy layers of his pull-out sofa bed. His journey up the numerous flights of stairs proved to be a tad bit easier than he imagined. Around about the halfway point his vertigo cleared up and he was as fit as a fiddle. River proved quintessential throughout their journey, the short yet powerful ex-king being a reliable crutch for Marco while Star was busy leading the way. When they reached her room, River was surprisingly lax about just leaving them to their own devices, saying nothing more than a 'good night' before pacing off down the dark corridor connecting the royal apartments and the master suite. He had a feeling that at the last moment he'd be pulled aside and given a strict, near threatening lecture about minding personal boundaries and staying away from his 'pumpkin'. But in reality, it seems the usually protective father trusted him enough to let him make his own decisions.

Speaking of decisions, choosing to sleep in Star's room was definitely the right one to make. The foyer was comfy, with the fireplace and aged furniture. But it was in no way a substitute for Star's room's amenities. To start, she had her own generator, fuse box, air conditioning and even her own water supply, the reason being her room was so massive that the house's pre-installed facilities couldn't quite handle the additional load of a three story villa. This made her room ten times more habitable than the rest of the dank and drafty castle. That, and her linens were most likely free of any rodents and or flesh eating bugs; neither were uncommon on Mewni.

He found it difficult to stay awake in such a comfortable bed, the only thing tethering him to reality being the distant sound of a running faucet, accompanied with the sounds of a toothbrush and muffled humming. Having already brushed his teeth, he was more than ready to head back to sleep. While his dizziness may have cleared up, he still felt pretty depleted, although he wasn't sure if it was from the outrageous day they had just lived through, or the magic he had just messed with.

With a sigh, he turned on his side and gave in to his weariness. He had a hunch that Star would try to finagle her way into sharing a bed with him, be it by force or coercion. Either way, there was a good probability he would have a night time buddy to doze off with. To be frank, he was actually hoping Star would ask if she could 'spend the night' with him. Not anything overly intimate, just a bit of cuddling or something of the like. It wasn't like he didn't want to spend time with his partner, he loved Star and would loath the thought of withholding something from her. But, he knew there had to be limits to things, even when their drawbacks weren't exactly clear.

With his eyes closed, he listened as Star finished up her nightly routine and exited the nearby bathroom. Despite her rowdy personality, her footsteps were soft and gentle, something he wasn't all used to from the once 'Rebel Princess'. He noticed as the footsteps stopped as Star presumably reached the lower right hand side of his pull-out bed.

"Marco?" She whispered, not sure if her partner was still awake.

"Yeah…" he said groggily, turning over on his back and prying his eyes open.

"Can I get your opinion on something?" She asked in a very gentle, almost sing-song like voice.

"Yeah, sure, what's up?" He responded while rubbing the exhaustion from his eyes.

"Whaddya think about my PJ's. Janna helped me pick them out a few weeks ago and I wanna know if they look nice?"

Pushing himself off the soft mattress of the pull-out bed, he found himself awestruck at the sight of his girlfriend. Instead of her normal pale blue moon-adored nightgown, she wore a black lingerie tank top which covered only her upper body. Covering her lower half were a pair of pink short-shorts, one's that just barely covered up the majority of her thighs. Her hair was done up in a loose bun, a rather spectacular one at that which was held together with a cute red bow, a placeholder for what he assumed were her red-horned headband. Her cheeks were ever so slightly rosey, which harmonized rather well with her pale alabaster skin. He couldn't muster a sound for a handful of seconds, a reaction that made Star's cheeks flourish with a deeper shade of red.

After gathering together his thoughts, he struggled to find the words to convey the allure of her nightwear. "Looks. Great" he said shakily, probably with a blush even greater than Star's.

"Thanks, she convinced me to get them, even though I think they're a little… revealing," she mouthed while shifting her weight to one side of her body while holding her elbow in an almost shy manner.

"N-no, I mean, I think you look beautiful," he reassured her, somehow still finding a way to trip over his words.

"Oh, you flatterer," she teased while pacing over to his bedside. The closer she got, the more noticeable Marco's ogling became. To his point, she was undeniably beautiful. Her pristine blond hair, her pearly white skin, everything about her made his head dance with Butterflies.

"So, I was wondering…" she started, moving aside a portion of his bedsheets to sit down beside him on the pull-out. "If it's ok with you, I'd kinda wanna try… well I think it would be nice."

With his hunch proved to be true, he gave in and scooted over to the far side of the bed. Having made sufficient room for Star, he lifted the linens off the cleared portion of the bed and patted on the mattress, giving the all clear for her to slide underneath the warm and cozy blankets. Without a word, she obliged and joined his side, snuggling down beneath the many blankets until only the top of her golden mane remained visible.

"Happy?" Asked Marco, hearing only a muffled mhmh sound from the other side of the bed.

Leaning over to turn off the bedside lamp, the room etched itself in darkness. The silence of the room now only interrupted by the breathing of the two teens. Feeling brave, Marco turned on his side and slid closer to Star, who had emerged slightly from the blankets, only so much as to let the top of her head show in the darkness. The two inched closer and closer together, the heat of their breaths tinging each other's noses. Being now only a handful of inches apart, Marco slipped his arm over top of Star's shoulder, who in turn shifted around to spoon comfortably with her partner.

"Now I'm happy," she mumbled as she pushed her back into Marco's chest, cementing their cuddling even further.

"Hey, can I say something weird?" Asked Marco, full well knowing the question itself was already pretty strange.

"Fire away, wild man," she joked, nudging her head into the groove of Marco's chest so she could look up and gaze into his eyes in the low darkness.

"I love you" he spoke, his voice even and smooth.

Star didn't respond immediately, how could she? It would be a lie to claim she didn't feel that way about him either, but just saying it so blatantly, and so soon too. It just wasn't a very Marco thing to do. She wasn't in shock of him saying it, she just wasn't expecting it was all. The pair stood in silence as Marco's words faded off into a distant memory, neither sure of what to say to follow up his confession.

It wasn't long before Marco tried to take his admission of love, taking Star's silence as a sign of indifference. "Well, because, ya know. We've just known each other for so long, and I know we just started dating but I already kinda feel like we've gotten to that point. And I don't really want to keep anything from you so I just kinda-"

"Love you too" she cooed, pulling her side of the blanket closer to her chest and pushing her back further into Marco's.

"Oh, oh ok. Good…" he sighed, relieved he didn't overstep their boundaries. "Sorry, for a second there I thought you were, uh… You know, because you didn't say anything."

"Huh? Nahh, you're good," she yawned as if they were talking about nothing more important than the weather.

"Really? I'm not trying to be pushy here, but you sound pretty, what's the word… insouciant."

"What's that mean?" she asked, turning over on her side to lie face-to-face with her flushed partner.

"It means like- like you're unfazed, you know? Again, not to suggest something that may be totally wrong, but I kinda expected you'd be a bit more enthusiastic." Seeing Star furrow her brow through the darkness was enough of a sign to let him now he said something he shouldn't have. As much as he tried to tiptoe around his fears, he appeared to have stomped right on its tail.

"And what do you mean by that?" groaned Star.

"Well, you're usually pretty hyper about these things. Not in a bad way; not at all. You being hyper is like water being wet. And to be honest, that's one of the reasons you're such a great person to be with. No matter what problem I'd have, you'd always find a way to turn it into something fun, or exciting. So when all you said was 'love you too', I was a little worried something was wrong." He found himself being even more open with Star than usual, not that he kept much from her, but rather he'd usually go into less detail when regarding a topic this sensitive.

Scooching closer, Star took up a cheerful smile and planted a quick peck on Marco's jawline. Following this, she slid her arms under and over his torso to hug him closely, making sure to rub her cheek affectionately on his chest. "Nothing's wrong, Marco," she whispered, "Nothing at all."

With a sigh of relief, Marco reciprocated Star's advance by wrapping his arms around her lithe, slender torso. "Thanks, Star. I just wanted you to know how I felt about you, that's all."

"I know, I know," chuckled Star, who was now very comfortable lined up in parallel with her boyfriend.

"Oh, by the way," added Marco, picking his head up to look down at Star, "Is this, ok?"

"Is what ok?" asked Star, who reluctantly picked her head up to look back at Marco.

"Us sleeping together. I mean, what if your parents walk in?"

"What, in the middle of the night? Nahh, they're probably both passed out by now. And even if they tried, I deadbolted the door, so we should be A-ok, pardner," replied Star, who finished her answer with a poor cowboy impression, followed by the tipping of what he assumed was an imaginary ranch hat.

"If you say so," he said, lying his head back on the pillow and closing his eyes, "G'night, Star."

"Nighty-night, wild man," she cooed in reply after snuggling back into his chest.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Rolling down the tinted window of the limousine, Stephen peaked his head out and took in his surroundings. They had almost arrived at their destination, at least that's what he hoped to be true. For the past few hours he'd been busy speculating where he was going, and why he of all people was being hauled in what appeared to be a pretty bourgeois limo. It's gotta have somethin' to do with last night, he thought, trying to regale the last twelve-ish hours in detail.

Having been picked up directly from work at around eight, he figured he'd been making calls and writing emails for at least five to six hours. His suspicion being one of the dozens of people he contacted forwarded the message to their boss, who in turn forwarded it to theirs. A cycle that probably ended with some higher-up reading something he didn't want to hear, and decided to catch the guy who started it all.

And by that logic, poor Sarah, he thought, realizing that if he was picked up, so too would Sarah have, seeing as he explicitly labeled the sat-tech in every email he sent out. His email's weren't all that descriptive, only ever mentioning an 'anomaly worth investigating' around eastern California. But it apparently was enough to warrant a government back kidnapping of two innocent engineers.

His thoughts were interrupted by a muffled ringtone sounding from his left pant pocket. Taking the call, he shut the tinted window and placed the phone to his ear.

"Hello, is this Stephen Hobbs?" said the stranger, seeing as the caller was described by nothing other than 'Unknown Caller'.

"Yeah, who's speaking," he replied, trying his best to mask his indifference.

"This is Edmund Brands, I work for the Central Intelligence Agency. You probably haven't heard of me, and generally that's a good thing, I only speak with those who the government's got a keen interest in."

"A keen interest, aye?" He repeated with a chuckle, "interesting enough to kidnap a man?"

"Yes, one hundred percent interesting enough. It might seem a little extreme, but I can promise you it's for our shared interest. Ever watch the movie 'The Men In Black'?"

"Yea, what of it?" Asked Stephen, who meanwhile was silently piecing together the story as to why he had been pseudo-kidnapped.

"Well, think of us as the Men In Black. You saw something you shouldn't have, and now you, along with Ms. Richards, are liable to spreading information the government wants to keep secret."

"Secret? I work a desk job where I manage other people who also work desk jobs, not that I might notice them, but I can't recall any secrets I've unearthed so far." Trying his best not to get annoyed with this Edmund Brands, although he did reserve the right to be due to his current situation, Stephen kept his cool and played along with the man on the other side of the phone.

"Not to offend your intelligence, but this 'secret' in question is what you've been writing emails and making calls about since around two in the morning."

Called it, thought Stephen, who was both satisfied and slightly annoyed with the revelation. On one hand, he was right, which never failed to bring him pleasure. On the other hand, he spent almost six hours of his life just to be kidnapped for doing his job. Either way, his interest in this 'secret', which he was now certain was connected to Echo Creek, was growing at an increasing rate.

"Is this about the whole Echo Creek thing?" he asked, already knowing the answer to his question, "Look, Mr. Brands, I have no intention of gossiping about what I only assumed happened, if that'll bring you any comfort."

"Mr. Hobbs, our worry is not with the amount of trust we have in you, but rather the consequences of a foreign power obtaining you and Ms. Richards and extracting the information we want kept secret."

"So even though I don't know what this 'secret' is, I'm still a candidate to have it tortured outta me?" The longer the conversation dragged on, the more Stephen realized that this wasn't a laughing matter. Him, his brothers, his parents; because of him, they were at risk of being targets to get to him. Just thirty minutes ago, he was happily minding his business writing emails, but now it was like his whole world was flipped upside-down.

"You, maybe not. Your subconscious, definitely. Even though you might not fully remember what you saw, your brain sure does, and that's reason enough to turn you into a target."

"Alright, then. What can I do to un-target myself," asked Stephen, the worry almost notable in his speech.

"To be honest, Mr. Hobbs, the likelihood of you going back to a normal life is pretty slim. As long as we intend to keep what's currently going on under-wraps, you're gonna have to stay on the down low."

"And how long do you intend on doing that?" he asked while clearing his throat.

"Not a short amount of time, I'm afraid. We understand this isn't an ideal situation for you, but with the only alternative being transparent about what's going on at Echo Creek, you'll have to learn to live with the former."

A moment of silence passed between Stephen and Edmund, neither of them being sure what to follow up with. Stephen knew he hadn't quite grasped the reality of the situation yet, with this whole life-changing conversation occurring in the last five minutes. "Can you at least tell me where you're taking me?" Asked Stephen, a simple enough question that should receive a simple answer.

"You'll find out soon, just sit tight. I promise you, when you arrive, everything's gonna make a whole lot more sense. I can't really divulge that much info over the phone, but when you get here, we'll have a whole presentation ready for you, experts and everything. I can assure you, it's not as bad as it seems."

Ending the call without as much as a warning, Stephen dropped his phone over the limo's floor and reclined in his seat. He'd already expected the worst during the car ride, but learning now that his family could be at risk because of his mistakes; it was crushing. All he could do was stare out the window and observe the actions of everyday life. A life that, just five minutes ago, he had dreams of returning to.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

It was cold, or hot; he couldn't really tell. All he knew was that he was surrounded by darkness, floating on what felt like a thick, molasses sludge. It was totally quiet, and still, very, very still. The only noise filling the empty void was his heartbeat, that and a far off buzzing, so faint it was barely noticeable.

He tried picking his head up, but his muscles refused to listen to him. In fact, he couldn't move any part of his body, like the sludge was keeping him from moving at all. He had no memory of how he got there to begin with, other than a slight sense of deja vu. The last thing he remembered was falling asleep after… something. His mind was pretty foggy, and his recollection was running pretty slow.

Still unable to move, he felt a shift in the dark sludge beneath him. Instead of floating peacefully like he had been before, the slurry now seemed to be pulling him underwater. He tried to fight back, finding his arms and legs full of life again. But nothing could stop him from being pulled below the surface of the thick sludge, only grabbing a thin gulp of air before parting from the void.

He fought as hard as he could against the sludge, squirming and trying to swim up as fast as he could. Unfortunately, since the liquid was so incredibly thick, he felt like he was only moving in slow motion, trapped in the sludge practically unable to move. Unable to hold his breath under the terrible pressure, the last of the air in his lungs bubbled out, floating slowly away from him up to the surface.

He was drowning, painfully drowning with no hope of escape, trapped in a strange liquid he could barely move in. Feeling the pain in his chest grow to an unbearable roar, he tried once again to fight back against the sludge. With the last of his might, he tried moving his arms, but his efforts were all in vain, since the sludge had seemingly hardened around his body, preventing him from moving at all.

That was until he noticed a speck of purple, floating around in the liquid above him, almost like a leaf gingerly falling from a high up tree. The purple speck stole his attention like a shooting star, his eyes glued to it as it traversed the sludge like air. As it came ever closer to him, his peripheral began to fill rapidly with a dark, violent purple. Infact, the once totally pitch-black void had turned into an ocean of violet. His eyes still focused on the speck, he watched as it daintily floated down to his hand, landing on it with the grace of a feather. The moment it made impact, he felt a rush of energy flood his veins, a shock rivaled by none other than the feeling of being struck by lightning. With this incredible burst of energy, he dug his hands in the nearly solid sludge, and pushed himself out, breaching the threshold of the surface and reuniting with the precious air.

Sucking in a deep gulp of air, he frantically looked around the pitch black room. He wasn't in the void anymore, that was certain. It took a while for his eyes to adjust, but when they did, he could make out the outline of familiar furniture. Star's room, he thought, understanding now exactly where he was. Attempting to sit up, he felt a heavy anchor strapped to his arms holding him down against the bed. Shifting his gaze down to his arm, he made out the outline of Star, fast asleep with her arms wrapped around his torso, his arm caught between the two of them.

The contrast of the purple void and the lukewarm bedroom made Marco take a second to collect himself. He was unusually sweaty, almost like he had come down with a fever. He was still pretty spoked from the whole dream-drowning, at least that's what he assumed it was. He'd had nightmares before, but never to the extent where they would inflict actual pain. What did bring him a little comfort was his close proximity to Star, so close in fact he could feel her rise and fall with her breathing.

Knowing she probably wouldn't mind, he ducked down closer to her and cuddled up closer to her, reorienting himself to properly align himself with her posture. He swore he heard a gentle sigh from her, a cute little interruption between her snoring. Strangely, that wasn't the only thing he heard. From the back of his mind, he could make out the faint repetition of a single word, not sure if it was audible, or simply his imagination.

Library.

Over and over, the word was repeated, sometimes loud enough to be heard, other times just an inaudible whisper. His nightmare was like a distant memory now, his focus primarily being on Star and the quiet voice echoing in his head.

He couldn't quite ignore the voice, no matter how hard he tried. Almost like it was someone trying to convey something to him, making it damn near impossible to not listen. He had a hunch the voice was referring to the castle's library, what he hypothesized now was nothing more than a rat infested mess after what the castle had gone through. Switching his focus between the voice and Star, he gave in to his curiosity and followed the voice.

Leaning in to plant a loving kiss on Star's forehead, not missing how her mouth molded into a little smile before it returned to its snoring, Marco dragged his arm out of Star's grasp and wiggled his torso out of her arms. It took a few minutes of delicate, surgeon-like precision, but eventually he found a way out of her loving grip. Standing up to look down on her sleeping form, he felt a little bad just leaving her all alone. Deciding to introduce a little light into the equation, he opened a nearby window by just a smidge, letting the pale moonlight draw lines of illumination around the room.

Now lit up by the fair light of the moon, Marco was smitten by just how beautiful Star looked. Her golden mane was laid out gingerly all over the bed, covering her form and painting the bed with a nice golden color. She layed curled up in a loose fetal position, a document of her recent grip over Marco. Every few seconds, she'd gently rise and fall with her breaths, which were sometimes silent, or other times faint snores. Her eyes were dainty shut, her mouth loosely open with a little pool of drool forming on top of the pillow she was resting on. Wanting desperately to crawl back in bed with her, he hardened his nerves and continued on with his pseudo-adventure. Walking over to a nearby dresser, he grabbed the unlit candle lantern they had used just the day before, and quietly exited the room.

Just like Star's bedroom prior to him opening the window, the interior of the castle was pitch black. WIth one hand holding on to the lantern, he used his other to search the stone walls for a mounted candelabra. Finding one, he traced his hand down to its mini platform, where he found its tethered flint and steel. Grabbing it and unhitching it from the candelabra, he opened the top of the candle lantern and tried to light it. It took him a few tries, with the hallway being pitch black and all, but eventually a stray spark hit the candle's wick, and the lantern came to life.

Now with a lit lantern to light his way, he started down the route to the library. The path he took was practically engraved in his mind, having navigated throughout the castle numerous times during his months staying with the Butterflies. While traversing the endless corridors of the stone hold, he spent some time mulling over his recent dream. He'd read once that dreams usually have a significance, like a message from the brain to the conciseness. But he found it difficult to correlate drowning in what seemed to have been mud with any real world message. The only part of the dream he thought held any significance was the purple speck, specifically the fact that it was purple of all colors.

Lost in thought, soon found himself before the large, looming doors of the library. Normally, they'd be closed, rational being it kept out any rodents or bugs looking to chew up the pages or book-covers. But upon reaching it, he noticed the doors were slightly left ajar, with dim light pouring out the crack between them. "Someone's in there," he whispered to himself while advancing closer to the door. Peering through, he saw a smoldering fire, next to it a tray of what appeared to be a tray decorated with wine, cheese and bread. The recognizable sound of pages turning was followed by a white-gloved hand setting down a glass of wine next to the sliced bread.

Pushing the door open and stepping through, he saw Moon seated in a large cushioned chair, wearing a pair of reading glasses while flipping through a massive leather-back tome. Hearing the door creak open, Moon looked up and smiled at her nighttime visitor.

"Marco, how nice to see you," she said while offering a small wave.

"Hey, sorry, I didn't expect anyone to actually be here. I can leave if I'm interrupting you," he apologized, turning back in preparation to exit.

"Oh, no, no, nonsense, Marco. You're welcome here," she touted, taking a last sip of wine before closing the tome and standing up.

"Wouldn't want to disappoint that voice in your head, now would we."

"Huh," he gasped, shocked Moon knew about his internal library based ramblings, "How did you kn-"

"Auditory Psychosis, or as Stew Mckinley dubs it, 'Little Quiet Talking Man'." Holding the book with two arms, Moon paced over to a long counter stationed in the middle of the library. Once there, she hastily placed the book down and heaved open its pages. "Here, take a look."

On the open pages were diagrams of what appeared to be a head, painted with a swirl of blue and purple. Inside said head were words written in Quarkian, or for laymen, the Mewman Alphabet. Unfortunately for Marco, the royals rarely ever used Quarkian, so during his squirship he never had a reason to learn it. The book had a similar layout to the Butterfly Spell Book, only this book was almost twice its size. Even without knowing how to read Quarkian, he knew it practically followed the same rules as the roman alphabet, being read from left to right and all.

"What's this say?" he asked, pointing to the aforementioned blue and purple head.

"It reads 'Quake or Fluke, expect the Little Quiet Talking Man'," She read aloud.

"Ooookk… and what does that mean?"

"It is a little confusing without context, isn't it?" she smirked aloud while walking away from the counter. Stopping again at her seat, she reached down and grabbed an empty wine glass beside the half-drunk riesling, filling it with the white spirit before grabbing the already half drunk glass and walking back to the counter. "Care to indulge?" she asked, offering Marco the undrunk glass of white wine.

"Sure," he shrugged, grabbing the glass and swirling it around. Despite his cautious manner, he had in the past shared numerous drinks with the royal family. He knew what he liked, and certainly knew what he didn't, Riesling being a strong contender on the 'liked' list. Bringing it to his mouth, he cringed as the wine passed his lips. The hell is this? He screamed internally, finding the taste of the wine revoltingly sour.

"Wugh," he gagged, forcing the wine down his throat to avoid having to taste it any longer, "Why is it so, *ugh*, why is it so sour?"

"A mixture of pot-ash, alcohol and salt is listed as a remedy for the psychosis. It shouldn't interrupt you anymore while you're sleeping with my daughter." She spit the last few words out like venom, surprising Marco with how bitter they were.

"Whaaat, no I would. No, Queen Moo-well, you see, I, uh, I…" HIs words trailed off into nothingness as she stood staring down at his thinly veiled attempt to dispute her claim. Having seemingly boxed the poor boy in a corner, Moon took a deep breath and lowered herself onto one knee.

"Marco, I too was a teenager once; a rather wild, abnormal one at that. I know that given the chance, a teenager will, how do I put this, pounce on the opportunity. Not that you aren't a well rounded boy, in fact you're much more mature than any young man I've ever met, but paired with Star's… recklessness, I wouldn't put it past the two of you."

Marco's face went from unease as he realized now what Moon was talking about. When she had referenced 'sleep', he took it literally, as in sleeping in the same bed. But, as expected of him, he totally misidentified what Moon was talking about and was now having 'the talk' with his girlfriend's mother. Feeling the need to clarify what she meant, he interrupted Moon and blurted out, "Wait, wait wait. Just to be on the same page here, what do you mean by 'sleeping'."

"Oh, you know," she started, signaling with her hand that she was desperately trying to come up with a PG synonym for what he feared she meant, "When a man and a woman-."

"Oh, no, nonononono!" stopped Marco, throwing his hands up as a sign of miscommunication. "I thought you meant 'sleep' as in the actual act of sleeping."

"Oh!" perked up Moon, who too was now quite embarrassed. "Oh, my apologies Marco, I assumed we were speaking of the same… activity."

"Ok, yeah, no problem, totally understand," he reassured her, stepping back to give the ex-queen some room. "Star and I haven't really gotten to that point yet. And even then, I'm catholic, so, you know."

"Catholic?" asked Moon, who was even more confused now than ever.

"Oh, it's a religion. If you're catholic, you're not really supposed to do that kind of stuff before gettin' married. Not that I'm a really strict catholic, my dad's catholic but my mom's methodist so we're pretty lenient, but in general I try to tread lightly around these kinds of things."

"Oh, well, ok. I suppose that's good to hear. Not that I don't find you and Star a good match, but the idea of a grandchild at a time like this would be unbearable." Having corrected the discrepancy, both parties let out a relieved sigh, neither willing to talk more in depth about the current subject. Their chat hadn't quite ruined the atmosphere of the library, but it definitely yearned for another conversation to take the place of the last.

"Wait, do I have to drink all of this," asked Marco, his focus bouncing back to the terrible wine in his hand."

"I put about a day's worth of reagent in the cup, so if you want its full effects, you'll have to consume the full cup."

"Well, here goes nothing," gagged Marco, bringing the cup to his lips and stopping to gather together his will. Contrary to its taste, the wine smelled quite sweet, a common trait among rieslings. Moon's choice of wine,in hindsight, was actually a testament to her caring nature. If his memory served him right, she'd only indulge in dry, bitter wines, finding sweeter spirits too desert-like to be drunk at meals. He'd assume that if she wanted to enjoy some wine while reading, she would choose something more akin to a cabernet. Instead, she chose a riesling, a wine she knew Marco was a fan of.

With that comforting thought in mind, Marco sucked in a deep breath and chugged down the glass of wine, finding it just as repulsive, if not worse than the first time. Having consumed the glass, he withheld the urge to vomit and cleared his throat. "Ok, anything else I gotta take?"

"No, no, you should be alright with that. I don't assume the psychosis will last too long, so you might not need to consume any more of the potion." He breathed a sigh of relief upon the assurance that his symptoms were most likely taken care of; his primary concern now surrounding what exactly happened to him last night.

"Sooo… What exactly happened to me last night?" he asked, holding his hands up in a questioning pose.

"From what I've read, it's either what McKinley calls a fluke, or a quake." she remarked as she flipped through the pages of the huge book.

"Aha, here," she exclaimed, having found her desired passage, "Ahem, 'Having dealt with my fair share of concurrences, it's no doubt that I label myself reliable when discussing these matters. It's rare for one to be so misfortunate as to be plagued with volatile magics, but for those unlucky lot, this passage is for you.'"

"'To start, there are two emerging concurrences that exhibit the use of volatile magic, these being the Fluke and the Quake. Like its name, the fluke is an instance where nothing more can be derived from what happened. It's no sign of worry and no sign of impending change; it causes no more than chance or an interweblar disruption, which for the educated, you know aren't too rare. The ladder, as in being the Quake, is a different deal entirely. The quake, again like its name, is a direct contrast to the fluke. Unlike its brother, the Quake is a premonition; a foretelling of a volatile concurrence'."

"'For those who experience these concurrences, you again are unfortunate. There is no discernable characteristic I have discovered that sets these instances apart, other than that of the passage of time. For the safest outcome, I would recommend all treat dark concurrences as quakes, prepare for a second outburst, one unmatched in quantity, nor destructive quality.'"

Having almost fallen asleep halfway through the boring eighteenth-century English passage, Marco still had a few questions concerning the idea of a Fluke and or Quake.

"You have questions?" asked Moon, who again keeps correctly reading his mind.

"Yeah, just a few," he started, organizing his thoughts into legible english. "So, what's a concurrence, doesn't that just mean two things happening at once?"

"Yes; well, mostly. McKinley defines a concurrence as the unexpected use of magic, the usual magic being common magic, but as shown in your case, not always. He uses concurrence since in order to use magic, you have to pair the physical with the mental, a concurrence of realms if you would" She spoke, closing up the massive book and heaving it over to its place among the rows of bookshelves.

"Ok, alright, that makes sense," he reasoned, "So, I have absolutely no way of figuring out which is which?"

"I'm afraid that's the short of it. McKinley was and still is the most reliable writer concerning magical anomalies, so if he never wrote how to distinguish between the two, it's almost certain that there is no way to distinguish between the two." She said with a sigh, saddened that she couldn't help Marco any further. Try as she might, she truly couldn't find anything of use other than the psychosis reagent. Nothing to stop any visions, nightmares or even further concurrences. He truly was on his own.

"Do ya know… why whatever happened, happened to me?" Peaked up Marco, a gleam of hope still present in his speech.

"I'm sorry Marco, I have no earthly idea," her voice was somber and depressed. Her hours of frivolous searching wasted for a few lines of text. Poor, poor child, she thought, ashamed she couldn't help Marco any further. She imagined speaking with Eclipsa might possibly give her a reasonable amount of insight into his predicament, but the truth was Eclipsa's magical knowledge started and ended with Butterfly magic, more specifically Butterfly magic's volatile form.

"Well, uhhh… Ya know what, I feel fine. If something happens, we'll fix it. And if it doesn't, then that's even better. I'll worry about the future when the future comes, and until then, I'm just gonna go about my life like it's any other day." Stated Marco, who for once wasn't caught up with what would be, and what actually was.

"That's a very dangerous, potentially catastrophic outlook on this whole situation, Marco. If you experience another concurrence, it won't be pretty. I pray you understand this." Moon was struggling to find the words fit to describing just how ludicrous Marco's proposal was. Not that she had any intention of belittling him, but put it simply, his plan was absolute trash.

"I know, I know. But I'm sure I can adjust my lifestyle to try and avoid any future outbursts. I'm pretty sure what set me off yesterday was a hard hit to the head, that or I just straight up lost my temper. Either way, based on empirical data, if I avoid those two things, which shouldn't really be too hard, It'll cut down on the chances for another concurrence, right?" He was practically talking utter bullshit, and he knew it. He was aware that Moon had a vastly superior arsenal of magical knowledge compared to his, and him straight up making things up wouldn't help his case.

With a sigh, Moon surrendered and gave in to Marco's nonsense. She knew full well he had no idea what he was talking about, and more so she was certain his plan wouldn't work. There's no reasoning with magic, especially since magic isn't a conscious, complex thinking being. However, she found little use in arguing with the young teen, seeing as he was unexpectedly calm about the whole situation, something she both didn't expect, and welcomed with open arms. "*sigh*, to be frank, I see no real alternative to your proposal, save locking you in a box until whatever happens, happens. If you truly are confident in your capacity to change what's already been set in motion, I see no reason to talk you out of it."

"Oh, huh," shrugged Marco out of surprise, "So, uhhh, I'm free to go."

"You always were; I never dragged you here. But if you feel content with your knowledge, I wouldn't want to keep you any longer than I must," she said, flashing Marco a caring smile.

"Sweet," quipped Marco, cracking his knuckles before reaching over to retrieve his still-lit candle lantern.

"Sweet indeed," chuckled Moon, who took a long sip from her glass of Riesling. "Oh, and if it isn't too much to ask. If things between you and Star do escalate, please use protection."

Hear this, Marco stood still, drenched in a dark red velvet with a side of embarrassment. He was taken by complete surprise by Moon's words. Not that they weren't rational, hell, they were completely justified. It's just that he didn't expect it from her right then and there, especially since they had already finished their long, and quite awkward talk. "Uuuhh, s-sure. I'll, uuh, I-ll d-do that," he gaffed, pulling his pajama top higher up his back to contain his embarrassment. How Moon knew about that kind of protection, especially since latex or any other polymer, was beyond his consideration. All he cared about at the moment was escaping the suddenly claustrophobic library.

Making his way back to the castle's apartments, he was content in the fact that he had significantly fewer questions than when he first woke. Sure, his nightmare was a little concerning, and not mentioning it to Moon may potentially cost him in the future. But other than that, he didn't have much to worry about in the present. Gonna go back upstairs, sneak back in bed, and go back to sleep, and wake up just like every other morning, he fantasized, making sure to not focus too much on the fact that the sun had already risen and Star almost definitely woke up without him.

Shit, maybe I should get a move on here, he thought, realizing now what a catastrophe he may have unintentionally set in motion. Dashing up the last few flights of stairs, Marco flew down the castle's stone corridors until he noticed Star's door. Skidding to a stop before it, he took a moment to calm himself down before going inside. Opening the door, he let out a sigh of relief seeing as everything was basically as it was before he left. The only difference was that Star was noticeably absent from the equation, their shared bed absent of any blond-haired princesses.

It wasn't long before he realized where she had run off to. The faint sounds of running water and muffled singing coming from the illuminated bathroom caught his eye, letting him know she hadn't run off too far. Pacing over to his pull-out bed, he moved to lie down before his eyes caught hold of a lone piece of folded paper, propped up by a protuberance of blankets and pillows. Picking it up, Marco unfolded the paper and scanned the barely legible handwriting.

"Dear Marco. First off, how dare you. You forced me to wake up without my cuddly-wuddly cinnamon bun; you're basically worse than Toffee. Second off (do people say 'second off', ya know what, this is my note, I'll do what I want). Second off, seeing as you left me all alone, I assumed the only reasonable explanation for doing something so awful was that you're preparing a HUGE breakfast that you'll deliver to me in bed (How thoughtful!). Anyway, I'm taking a shower right now, which you probably noticed with your big smart-guy brain. And if I don't come out to a buffet, I'ma be pretty darn cranky. Anyway, if you need anything, just knock.

P.S. - No peeking!

P.S.S - JK, peek all ya want, I don't care (Teehee).

You're girlfriend (Who else, dummy), Star Butterfly."

Holding the note, Marco felt a wave of warmth run over his skin, flooding his heart and making him turn pink in a slight blush. It was like a treasure to him, a barely readable, pink-colored treasure. God, she's so freaking perfect it's unbearable, he thought, unable to keep his emotions at bay. He took a second to read over the note again, making sure to admire the love he knew Star embroidered it with. Having read it to his heart's content, he folded the paper up and stuffed it in his pocket.

Ready to make himself known to the blissfully singing Star, Marco paced up to the door and let out a few solid knocks.

"Star! Star, you in there?"

"Oh, hey babe!" Rang out Star, her voice muffled by the sound of pattering water.

Babe, he thought, blushing even harder than before. To be honest, he was shocked how quickly their relationship had flourished over the past sixteen hours. Kissing, 'I love you's, now they were even calling each other by pet names. He couldn't help but feel slightly giddy about the whole ordeal, like a twelve year old asking out his school crush.

"Babe?" He called out with a snicker, "When'd we… When'd we start calling each other that?"

"Sorry, can't hear you," called out Star over the rushing water, "if you wanna chat, ya gotta come in."

"Huh, what?" Laughed Marco, knowing full well Star was lying through her teeth. "What do you mean 'Can't hear you?'."

"Sorry, babe, I can't hear you. Gotta come in; I don't make the rules!"

Puffing up his chest, Marco sharpened his focus and pulled the door open. Pulling it open, a cloud of hot steam blew past his face. Star sure does love hot showers, he said internally. "Star? Can you hear me now."

"Hmm, yeah, one sec?" Echoed Star, her silhouette visible through the fogged up shower curtains. Hearing the sound of the water shut off, Marco turned away as the curtains flew open. Remembering the final note on Star's letter and afraid of what came next.

"Don't worry, I'm decent," cooed Star in a melodic voice.

Turning around, his fears were alleviated when he saw Star, one towel covering her body and another covering her long mane. "What, ain't the first time we shared a bathroom."

"I know, I know," said Marco, who was trying to conceal his blush but ultimately failing.

"Soooo, good morning, babe," she sang as she approached him, walking up to him almost seductively to wrap her arms around his neck and plant a quick kiss on his lips. The warmth radiating off her body tantalizing him to reciprocate her embrace, which he did hesitantly. She was well aware of the fact that Marco was totally flustered, a fact that only seemed to drive Star to push her luck even further. Slowly but surely, she shifted her arms to tighten around his neck, pulling him closer to her to stare face-to-face.

"Where were you when I woke up?" She said, flipping her hair in a hopefully sultry way while running her finger down his upper chest. "Getting your sweet girlfriend some breakeyfast?"

"U-uhh, n-no. Library," he stuttered, frozen in place by Star's advances.

"Library?" She replied, loosening her arms around Marco's neck and pulling away from their embrace. "You left me all alone to go read some dusty old books?"

"Well, no. I mean, technically, yes, but there was this voice in my head, and then I met your mom-"

"You met my mom at the library at-" Star leaned over to check the digital watch attached to her bathroom, "-7:04 AM?!"

"She was there all night! And she gave me this weird wine that would make the voice thingy go away and-"

"Marco," said Star in a stern voice, giving him a serious look while she reached out and grabbed his hands, "what the hell are you talking about."

"I don't know, honestly, I really don't know." is hand to run against her cheek, turning her serious stare into a Marco raised his hand to caress her cheek, turning her annoyed stare into a gleeful smile. She reciprocated his loving gesture by gripping his hand with both of hers and holding it tight against her cheek, nudgeling it gently almost like a feline. As the two met each other's gaze once again, the two couldn't contain their laughter and finally broke character, giggling about how bizarre the whole situation was.

"I love you Star, I really do," he said, pulling his hand away from her cheek to wrap her in a bone crushing hug.

"Aww," cooed Star who didn't hesitate to slide her arms around Marco in response to his embrace, "I love you too."

The two stood there holding each other for what could have been seconds or hours; neither really cared to time it. What seemed to break their trance was the withdrawal of support from Star, who upon breaking their hug looked down, and then looked back up at Marco with a sultry smile through a thin layer of rose plastered across her cheeks.

"What's up?" asked Marco, cocking his head to the left in confusion as to why Star cut their cuddle session short.

"You are," she teased, holding back her giggles by throwing her hand up to guard her mouth.

"Whaddya mean-Oh shit!" he yelled, hopping back from the blond haired girl to aggressively adjust his pajama bottoms. He had already had his fair share of blushes that morning, but the one he had now was unrivaled by far. Usually, he was a pro at hiding his excitement, be it their nigh-cuddling on the now outdated friendship-thursdays, or when picked at random to present in front of his class. But it seems that he had failed in restraining himself, and their blissful embrace had shattered into a storm of embarrassment.

"Jeez, Star, I am so sorry. It's just, you're wearing a towel, and you've been acting really, I don't really wanna say it, but you've been acting in a way that would make me get a little… a little…" His voice trailed off into silent mumbles as he watched Star inch closer to him, her walk visibly seductive and her stare unchanged. She stopped just inches before him, standing almost face to face if not for their subtle height difference.

"What… What are you doing," He asked, his blush burning hotter than ever.

"Corn, Marco. Just shut up and kiss me," she groaned, taking his head in her arms and pulling him down to her lips. He immediately melted into her advance, his blush faded away and his arms wrapped around her lithe waste for what felt like the tenth time today. The tone of that singular bathroom had shifted drastically over the course of just a few minutes, but Star's daring show of affection was certainly welcome.

Having Marco firmly in her grasp, she wasted no time in parting her mouth and letting her tongue run wild, sliding along his lips, begging for entry. It didn't take long for Marco to surrender and open his mouth to her, noticing a tightening of Star's arms around his neck as she attained what she desired. For him, it was paradise. Sultry, sensual paradise. Sure, being a fifteen year old boy, he had his fair share of fantasies, as did Star. But he never really had the confidence to act on any of them. But Star on the other end, her confidence practically had no end. And thus, there he was, passionately making-out with the girl of his dreams, her wearing a towel and practically begging for the two to advance in their intimacy.

Breaking the passionate kiss, Star looked Marco in the eyes, and with a totally straight face, asked a question just a few minutes ago he had only hoped he would ever hear. "Is that?" she pointed downwards at what he assumed was what got him in this whole mess, "Is that off limits?"

"Uhhhhh," he gaped, unsure of how to answer such a bizarre question.

"I'll take that as a no," she smirked, Pulling him back into the kiss with one arm, and tracing a finger down his chest with another. One finger turned into a whole hand as she passed his pajama-donned abdominals, clearly putting more effort into the kiss the further south she went. The last few moments passed seemed to move in slow motion as Star located what she sought, receiving a satisfying sharp intake from Marco that only served to motivate her intentions.

Gripping it with her hand, she gave it a quick squeeze, not without missing how Marco seemed to perk up upon her contact. Finding the wall to her left, she spun the two around and pushed the young teen up against it, pinning him in her grasp and consolidating control. Not that Marco minded, not at all in fact. Excluding last night, it was the first time he'd experienced something to this degree, and he sure as hell didn't want to mess it all up.

Backing off yet again to stare into his chocolate-brown eyes, she let out an almost aggressive sounding pur before leaning up to whisper in his ear, "I know we probably have gotta get a move on, but I really wanna keep going."

"Yeah, so do I," he moaned back, Star's hand still gripping his excitement through the thin layer his pajama bottoms offered.

"We're probably not gonna have an opportunity to do something like this for a while, so I reeeeally want to use the time we have wisely

"A-agreed," gaffed Marco, who wasn't really focused on what Star was saying, but more so on what she was doing.

Letting out a cute giggle, Star turned her focus downward, her hands momentarily backing off before re-engaging at a different angle. She gently gripped his manhood through his pants and slowly slid her hand down to its base. "F-Feels good?" she asked, her own uncertainty finally shining through her unmatched confidence.

"Y-Yeah, yeah it does," He groaned, his eyes shut almost painfull tight as he took in the feeling of Star's hand. Sure, it was through two layers of clothing, but just the thought of it being someone else for a change, especially Star, was enough to overload his senses entirely.

Seeing just how much of an effect she was having on her partner, Star progressively ramped up her workings, noticing how Marco struggled to tolerate such administrations. Until suddenly Marco stepped forward and gripped Star by her shoulders, making her release him from her grip and look him in the eye. Shit, she thought anxiously, worried she did something wrong and ruined the moment.

"S-Star," Marco stuttered while catching his breath, "You're doing this all for me, and, well, I kinda feel a little bad that… you're not getting anything i-in return…"

"Oh," pronounced Star, relieved she didn't do anything that ruined the moment. "Well, Marco, I'm wearing a towel. See, for you, ya got yer cute little jam-jams, but for me, you would be… you would…" Her voice trailed off as she fantasized about just how incredible the feeling of Marco being mere inches away from her core would be, the sheer attraction she felt at the moment probably not even coming close to that of what he just offered. She started involuntary quivering at just the thought of it, something that gave Marco innumerable confidence.

"Soooo… is that a yes?" he asked slyly, giving her the same look she gave him just moments before. Instead of speaking, Star nodded vigorously, signaling she was more than accepting of his proposition. Taking a deep breath, he unlaced his hands from behind her back and slowly traced them around her slim figure. His right hand sliding up to coax the back of her neck, and the other trailing down to the end of her towel. Reaching the turning point, he could almost feel the warmth radiating off the interior of her single layer of clothing, an unmatched humidity that made Star blush and Marco swell with confidence. Creeping further inside, he tantalizingly trailed his fingers up her inner thigh, receiving a sharp inhale from Star as a reward.

The further his hands crept up her thigh, the more erratic and heavy her breathing became. Just inches away from her womanhood, Star moved forward and leaned into Marco, her panting mouth now inches from his ear, and her eyes shut in anticipation.

"Can I?" he asked, his fingers eagerly waiting for permission.

"Hmmhm," groaned Star, who took another sharp inhale.

Closing those final few inches, he finally felt what he could only assume was her core, and from her reaction, he was right. Right after reaching his destination, Star let out a sharp eep, only for her hands to fly to her mouth to silence her from making any further noise, even though there was basically no one around to hear it but them. Feeling Star's heartbeat begin to accelerate, Marco pressed his finger deeper against her molten core. The sensation of Marco against her forced a staggered moan out from her lungs, a moan that made her partner chuckle in gratification.

"Feels good?" he asked, turning her own question against her.

"Hhmmmmmm!" groaned Star, who had her eyes shut so tight she started seeing patterns in the dark.

Having gathered the necessary confidence, Marco plunged his finger into her womanhood, reeling back as Star let out a yelp of satisfaction while also digging her nails into his neck. The intense feeling of her insides felt almost surreal to him, like she was gripping him and refusing to let go. Coming up with the grand idea of wiggling his finger, he basked in the satisfaction of watching Star squirm around him, battling what almost looked like a painfully pleasurable feeling.

Having his fill of fun, he retreated from her womanhood and slowly ran his finger down the inside of her thigh, not missing the audible groan from Star when the two parted ways. "How was that?" he asked, leaning in to give her a peck on the forehead.

"I think, 'Huff'," she panted, fighting with her lungs to suck in a reasonable amount of air, "I don't think I've ever felt something like that before in my entire life. I mean, I've done it myself, a few times actually. But none of those can even compare to what I just felt."

"Wow, t-thanks," he chuckled, surprised to hear such an admission from his partner, "As long as you enjoyed it, that's all that matters."

"Aww," she cooed, resting her head in his chest and holding his hands lovingly, "Thanks babe."

"No problem… babe."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Wow, what a liar I am. Ok, just to start, I'm sure my writing style is ALL over the place right now. And, to be fair, I haven't exactly been updating this thing daily, so it's no surprise that I'm getting rusty. Hopefully the fact that this thing is 14000 WORDS LONG should make up for the fact that I'm losing my touch.

Anyway, that's all for now, please don't forget to comment, follow or whatever else the website lets you do. The more of a response I see from the community, the more I want to write, the better my writing gets, the more entries there are, yadda yadda.