This story takes place three and a half years after Cleaved and yes, Marco is now old enough to have his Neverzone voice.

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Chapter 34 - Star vs The Chain Restaurant Graveyard

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In a low-priced partially refurbished Class A RV, a college-age Star Butterfly has the gas pedal on the floor and her favorite Love Sentence dance club remix blasting over the blown out speakers. At the same time her fiancé stresses in the passenger seat while he stares glassy eyed at the oversized map in his lap. Desperately he's trying to figure out where in the Underworld Kingdom they are.

"Star, could you please turn down the music for a minute? I need to focus, we really should have reached that turn by now."

"Marco hun, chillax. There's no way we've missed anything down here. Seriously, I've only seen sand, boulders, and stalactites for the last ten miles."

"You mean stalagmites. Stalactites are the ones that come down from the roof of the cave."

"Oh, so I should be staring at the Underworld ceiling while I drive?" The young woman followed up her comment by pretending to focus up instead of at the barely visible dirt road in front of her.

"STAR!" Marco lowered his Greater-Mewni Gazetteer in panic only to find a wide smile plastered across his fiancée's face.

"Totally got you." She gave him a cute wink.

"Seriously Star! Can you at least slow down? It's way too dark and there is no way I'll see any landmarks with how fast we're going. Also, what if a rock falls in the road?" Marco leaned over trying to check the speedometer.

"Janna said the speed-dial-thingy is broken so why worry about that. I'm sure we'll spot a road sign before I accidently drive us into a sta-a-a-"

"Stalagmite or fallen stalactite?"

"Either. Just trust your bestie and relax. While I'm driving everything is going to be fine-e-e."

This was day two of Star and Marco's spring break. Tom had convinced the couple that a drive through the under-explored rural Underworld would be the perfect way to help the hard-working college students unwind. One Janna brokered RV rental later and the Cleavers of Worlds were cruising through a series of enormous underground caverns as they made their way to Vegas.

"Sorry. I'm just worried because the GPS doesn't work down here and...and I feel dumb that I can't figure out where we're going." With slumped shoulders the young man's expression clearly showed the disappointment he had in himself.

"Come on hun, it's alright. You're still my brainy lil karate master-" She couldn't help but smirk. "-even if you once needed a talking dog to teach you how to open a juice pouch with a straw."

"And now I'm being teased." He placed the poorly unfolded atlas over his head as if he was hiding from reality. "I should just sleep until we get there."

"Aww, you don't need to get all pouty. Hey look, there's someone walking up ahead! We can ask them for directions, okay?"

"No-no, I'll figure this out!"

Marco pulled the road map back in front of him, making another rushed attempt to preserve his manliness, but it was too late. Star was already slowing the six-wheeled vehicle while rolling down a window. The person she pulled next to turned to face the RV as it drew closer. It was at this point that the former princess noted that the gentleman was a bit more rotted than the average Underworld dweller.

"Ar-rgh-h."

"Excuse me sir, would you have a minute to help us out?"

The figure shambled up to the window, one arm reaching out toward the long-haired blonde. "Arrgh!"

Star couldn't read his facial expression in the darkness, but she still gave him her patented toothy grin. "So we're trying to get on route 667 toward Las Vegas but my boyfriend-"

Marco was quick to interrupt, "Fiancé."

"Sorry, my FI-ANC-A thinks we missed a turn."

"Ar-r-r-ragh!" As the figure groaned his one working arm lunged toward Star's face, but couldn't quite reach because of the RV's height.

"That way? Maybe we did miss a sign." Facing back toward her bestie she pointed in the same general direction that the skeletal arm waved. Looking over they saw what appeared to be a clear wide path to their right. "Oh, that must be it. Thank you sir, super helpful! I hope you have a fantastically-awesome-day!"

With that Star slowly drove the vehicle forward, the lone figure shambling after them. Once they reached the turnoff the young couple continued their journey into the darkness.

"I don't know about his directions, Star. This looks more like a dry riverbed than a road. Plus there was definitely something wrong with that guy. He was sorta acting like one of those flesh eating zombies you see in a low budget horror movie."

"Marco! In the Underworld Kingdom they like to be called living-challenged."

"Sorry, you're right. Still, he seemed more CHALLENGED then others we've met. He didn't even say hi."

"Maybe he's dealing with a cold or something. But, instead of thinking about him, maybe we-e-e play a game!?"

Marco took a deep breath, he knew exactly where this would lead. "Truth or Truth?"

Star bounced in her seat with excitement. "I love playing Truth or Truth!"

"Every time we travel."

"Come on, it's fun and I love exploring that beautiful mind that is Marco Diaz! Plus I'm driving so I'm the one who gets to decide."

The former knight let out a long sigh. "Fine. What do you want to know?"

"Question number one, is there anything I cook that you really-really-really like?"

"I assume cooking means heat is involved?"

"I do pour a mean bowl of cereal but yes, food that involves an oven or an open fire."

Marco pondered for a moment. "Well, you do fine with hotdogs, grilled cheese, fried eggs, and you reheat really well."

"That's it? Didn't you like the half-rare, half-well-done steak I made the other night? It was like two meals in one. I get the feeling you're going to be the saddest husband in spouse-land if we end up sharing the cooking responsibilities."

"Roasted corn. I really like when you roast corn on the cob. Also your popcorn is good."

"Well, let's hope you never get sick of corn."

"My turn?"

Star gave a nod while keeping her eyes focused on what she guessed was the road. "Yes, but no lame questions like you always ask. Mmhh...what did you think of that paper I turned in last week? Mmhh...do you like the new sheets I bought? Those are some lame questions my dear."

"Fine. Since we're in the Underworld Kingdom, what did you and Tom do when you went on dates?"

The college student's eyes went wide as she thought about how to reply.

"Star?"

"Ah...err...are you sure you want that to be your question?"

"We've been together for a while now, I think I can handle it."

"I-I don't know. I don't want to open up old wounds."

"Star, you've already told me everything important. What could you possibly say that would...oh-maybe there's important stuff you haven't told me about?"

"No-o-o-o."

Marco wondered if he finally found a topic that might make his Star think twice about wanting to play Truth or Truth every road trip. "If you've told me everything then have you been lying about some of the details?"

"Listen dork-head, I remember lying to you once. Just once. And it was when you asked me if I had a crush after I watched you toss a plate full of pizza bites into your ex-girlfriend's mouth-hole. Man, you were so dorky-cute back then. And NO, I'm not counting Truth or Punishment when we were fourteen because I was lying to everyone, including myself."

"I forgot about those pizza bites."

"Listen, Tom and I went to get food sometimes. Other times we hung out in my room listening to music, we watched a few movies, we played ping-pong. I took him to Questbuy once but that wasn't really fun. We played a LOT of board games. Really, most of the time we did the same stuff you and I did back when I first lived on Earth."

"That's it? So why wouldn't you have wanted to tell me that?"

"We also went to some noble type events...you know, a few dances."

"Yeah, I know about the flying-flame-butterfly waltz you guys did. I would have been totally jealous if I was there but it doesn't bother me now. Plus with the sweet swing dance moves we've been learning we can do way better stuff than just floating through the air."

Star shrunk in her seat a bit as she continued. "True, but...th-this one might hurt."

The young man raised a brow, "Oh boy."

"Remember the Love Sentence, Parole Denied tour?"

"The one they canceled because Justin Towers had to go into rehab after puking on a bunch of fans?"

"We went to their last westcoast show. Just Tom and I."

"WHA!? YOU NEVER TOLD ME THAT!"

"Tom talked about inviting you, but I was still smarting from that Jackie concert mess."

The young man just shook his head in disappointment. "I can't believe you saw them without me. You know, Truth or Truth doesn't feel very fun this time."

"Yeah-yeah, that's what I get for forcing you to play."

Marco took a deep breath, reinforcing his resolve to keep his Star in a good mood. "Alright, any question. Go ahead, no holding back. Everything's on the table so have fun with it."

"Really?" Star peeked over as she asked.

"Yup, anything."

"You sure?"

Marco put a hand on her shoulder to reinforce the point.

"Oh wow, the pressure is on. So-o-o are you still fine with us breaking the Blood Moon curse? No-no-no, I have a better one. Do you think I look better with make-up or without? Wait-wait, ah...I feel like I need to come up with a really good question now!"

"I think about the Blood Moon sometimes. I'm glad we broke it but I'm pretty sure we'd figured out a way to be happy together even if we hadn't. As for make-up, my vote would be without but I do recognize that it helps you feel more confident."

"Now that I want to come up with a good one I can't think of anything! All I was going to ask was silly stuff!"

"You want some help?"

Star bit her lower lip as she thought. "I don't need help, I'm awesome at Truth or Truth! I-I-I...I need your help."

"Since we've been engaged for a few months, how about we start talking about marriage stuff."

"Like what kind of swords to give out as wedding favors?"

"Like when do you want to start having kids?"

"...u-h...are you asking me this?"

"Sure, you ran out of time so that's my next question for you."

As Marco waited for Star to form an answer the RV began slowing down and for a few seconds he was pretty sure he saw one of his best friend's eyes twitching.

"...w-aah..."

"Star, did I break you?"

The young woman's brow wrinkled as she finally forced out her answer. "You know I totally-totally-totally-totally want to have kids but my brain is not in any way ready to go there right now. I don't know if you've noticed but things are kinda perfect for us. We're doing great and it's weird to say but I'm enjoying college. We have all sorts of great friends and our families are great...w-we have a lot of 'great' in our lives! On top of that, monsters and Mewmans are starting to get along and everyone finally seems to have recovered from the Cleave. Really, a lot of families are thriving in ways I never could have predicted, including ours. Why would I want to throw a wrench in all that? At this point in my life everything is pretty perfect and I want to enjoy it for a while. Perfect us, perfect here, perfect now. Having kids is going to be awesome but I'm not ready to move on from our perfect world yet."

Marco sat back in his seat blown away by her answer. "Wow, I didn't realize you felt that way."

"Until you got me thinking-" She briefly bit her lower lip. "-I-I didn't realize either."

The young couple sat in silence as they both mulled over Star's words.

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Several minutes later the six-wheeled RV is parked and the two best friends are walking toward a nearby hill, phone lights in hand. Star wanted to both stretch her legs and clear her head so a short hike seemed like the best course of action.

Everything was as they expected. The air was still and the only sounds were the occasional water drops falling from the cave's ceiling. Surrounding them was sand, dirt, gravel, and a few random boulders that had fallen from above. Everything was as they expected, until Marco accidentally kicked a tin can.

Star peered over, "What the corn was that?"

Wandering around with their heads down they found a pile of paper trash, old canned corn containers, and eventually signs of a fire pit. From what they could piece together they'd stumbled into an abandoned post-Cleave campsite. What was unusual however, there were markings on the ground that look like someone had been dragged away.

Marco followed the tracks with his light. "You want to check it out?"

"Dah! We're adventures Marco." Grabbing his arm she pulled him forward. "Come on slowpoke, I want to see where this leads-s-s-"

Star's words fell off as they approached a cliff side that was tucked behind the hill. There leaning against the rocky façade was a twenty foot wide 'Olive Garden' sign. Beyond that were scores of abandoned buildings stacked next to and on top of each other. Mixed in with the mess were a collection of gravestones all scattered about like wildflowers in an unkempt yard.

The former knight rubbed the back of his neck as he gazed at the scene. "Wow."

"Marco, what is all this?"

"There's a Denny's and above it is an Applebee's. I remember when I was a kid I got food poisoning from one of their appetizers. And on top of that TGI Friday's is some sort of Mewni style mausoleum."

Star's eyes scanned across the apocalyptic landscape. "Is this where all the missing chain restaurants and graveyards went?"

"I remember reading about a bunch of things that were never found after the Cleave. Maybe chain restaurants and graveyards ended up here."

Taking his hand, Star began leading Marco through the closest Waffle House entrance. "Come on, we're going to see what's inside."

The pair entered the quagmire of family style establishments. Within was a maze of booths, kitchen equipment, headstones, and half-broken walls. Star and Marco carefully stepped around debris as they followed a path that seemed to connect one themed restaurant to the next.

Star's voice trembled slightly as they walked. "Why would the Cleave have done all this? Look, there are still dirty dishes and tips on the tables. People must have been right in the middle of eating and-and-and everything changed. Even the graves have faded flowers like someone visited right before the portals exploded. Why would the magic hide places like this?"

"I don't know Star, maybe the Underworld was the best place for-" Marco's words were interrupted by the noise of distant dishes crashing to the floor. Quickly they turned their lights as they searched for the source of the noise.

"Hello! Anyone there? We don't mean any harm. Just me, Star Butterfly and my fiancé Marco Diaz on-on an adventure."

For a few fleeting seconds their thoughts jumped back to being fourteen and watching zombie movies on a Friendship Thursday. Just like in those memories, undead figures began appearing within doorways, around corners, and behind counters. And just like in all those cheesy low budget flops, the walkers clearly saw the young couple as this week's lunch special. "Arrgghh! Arrrrgh! Awwwrgh!"

Realizing what was about to happen Star and Marco knew better than to stay and talk. Instead they sprinted together, running out the same way they came while kicking and punching every limb that reached out to grab them. With just one salad bar to go, a particularly portly zombie blocked the main exit. Undeterred, Star knocked him over with a flying kick.

"Star, get the RV started!" Marco flipped over a few tables and a dessert display in an attempt to block the path but gave up once he saw a zombie horde spilling out from the surrounding restaurants.

With keys in hand the former princess tossed open the door. Once in the driver's seat she turned the ignition. After hurdling over a few of the quicker undead, Marco joined her inside the RV. As he rushed to his seat he could hear groaning coming from every direction, but to his surprise the vehicle wasn't moving.

"Star, is everything okay? I'd like to get out of there before they try climbing in through the sunroof."

"Marco, look at these two in front of us?" Star pointed at a couple of female shamblers which were both in a type of Mewni dress that had been in fashion a hundred years before. "They look like each other. I wonder if they were sisters. And that pair there, they look like a married couple. I wonder if they had kids and all that. Hey, do you think zombies like this still remember their families?"

The former knight was doing his best not to panic as he answered. "I don't know, maybe!? I know you probably don't want to hear this but it's time to stop shipping the living-challenged and get us out of here. Also, I think we're going to have to run a few over."

"I know, I know."

With that Star honked the horn before the RV slowly rolled forward. The former princess did her best to avoid as many undead as she could, but the cabin still shook as they went over several mewman size 'speed bumps'.

A few minutes later they were driving back the way they came. Other than the noise of the engine, the cabin was silent as the young couple tried to wrap their heads around what they'd discovered.

"Marco, remember what I said about our world being perfect?"

"Yeah."

"I still think that we're awesome and now is pretty great but maybe…maybe I wasn't looking hard enough at our world."

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Been awhile. This is another one of those reddit contest stories that ended up winning. It just took me forever to get around to cleaning it up.

For those new to the series, if you want to find out why Star and Marco are engaged at such a young age check out 'Operation Starco'.

On to the serious stuff, it's been months since I've worked on something new. I had originally planned on one more big SvP plotline but I'm not sure if I have it in me at this point. If I do, it'll tie together all the little plot threads I've woven throughout these stories. Until then I'll be focusing any writing time on wrapping up existing stories. - Olin