Marco couldn't believe there had been a meeting held without him!

He hadn't even bothered to ask what was going on, but he'd been able to figure most of it out. Mina was on her way here with an army. Normally, Marco would be scared out of his mind at the thought of facing Mina again, but this time, he was just so tired of fighting the never-ending battle between good and evil. More than anything, Marco wished that this would be the final battle.

The one upside to Mina's army was that every monster was out in the woods getting familiar with the area and setting traps… which left the basement empty.

Not that Marco particularly cared much about being seen fixing the portal. It's not like he was doing anything wrong, but Bill had told him it was better this way, and he was too tired to argue. Bill had told him that the surprise would make his achievements even grander.

It was weird, being able to think while having no control over your body.

Bill was currently using Marco's body, and, ever since his fight with Star, Bill had even let him stay conscious during these times. This way, he could remember things that people said to Bill and not blow their cover.

Why was Bill being kept a secret again?

Marco shrugged.

Well, he shrugged in his mind.

There was so much he didn't understand these days. He still didn't even know how Star knew Mabel and Dipper, or how Mabel had known his name! If they were going to keep secrets from him, then it was only fair that he should keep secrets from them. Besides, they'd thank him once he fixed everything. And then he'd make them tell him everything. He was so sick and tired of being kept out of the loop. At least Bill was honest with him.

It was entrancing to see Bill work. Sure, the triangle man was limited by the physical characteristics of a scrawny teenager, but it seemed Bill enjoyed pushing the body to its maximum potential. Plus, the creature was more intelligent than anything he'd ever encountered. Marco could see the calculations flying around in his mind as Bill figured out the more technical aspects of getting the portal up and running again.

Plus, being in his head gave him time to think. Was the Realm of Magic really magic? Marco remembered an old quote he'd heard once stating that magic was just science that we didn't understand yet…

But Star's civilization was far behind Marco's in nearly every other way. With the exception of the wands, Mewmans were basically in medieval times. Did the Magical High Commission create the technology that everyone perceived as magic, or did they just maintain it?

And from what he understood, Glossaryck was the founder of the Commission. So maybe he created the technology? But if you could travel to any dimension, why not give it to a more advanced society?

"That's Cute, Kid," Bill said, using Marco's mouth, "But You're On The Right Track. Why Would Good Ol' Glossaryck Give Super Advanced Technology To Mewmans? Because He Was Arrogant And Egotistical. In His Dimension, He Was A Nobody. But By Giving Mewmans Such Power, They Worshipped Him As A God."

Bill knew Glossaryck?

"Glossaryck And I Have A Long History. I Was Even On The Magical High Commission Before I Tried To Stop Them From Enslaving The Mewman Race," Bill paused, "I Can Feel Your Confusion, So Let Me Explain. First Off, Glossaryck Isn't Some Manifestation Of Magic Like He Made The Mewmans Believe. Ha! Good Old Pointdexter Probably Saw A Few Of His Race When He Was Traveling Through Dimensions. If Glossaryck Had Never Given Mewmans His Advanced Technology, Then They Would Have Progressed Similar To Humans Because, Well, They Are Humans. Glossaryck Kidnapped Them For His Own Benefit. When He Gave Them Magic Wands, They Had No Reason To Advance Their Own Technology. He Also Gave The Wands To The Royal Family Specifically Because Such Power Ensured The Survival Of The Monarchy And Halted All Other Technological Advancements.

"Face It Kid, Glossaryck Was An Evil Scumbag, and Star's entire history is based on lies and deceit."

Marco's eyes were wide open. Well, metaphorically speaking since he didn't have control over his physical body – but it all made sense. It also helped explain why Bill was able to rebuild the portal. Maybe the Realm of Magic was like a generator or a battery. Just because a generator is destroyed doesn't mean electricity no longer exists. You just have to use a different source.

"Bingo."

Marco heard a sound behind him before his mind went black.

(Line Break)

Mabel hadn't meant to wander into the basement, but she was worried about Marco. He'd seemed so stressed and she wanted to make him feel better. She'd even started making him a sweater to replace that tattered red hoodie he wore.

She always thought back to last summer whenever she saw the broken portal. Even though everyone had told her not to, she'd refused to give up on her Gruncle Stan. Family was everything to her, and if she couldn't trust him, then she couldn't trust anyone. Her trust had turned out to be the right decision, but she still avoided the floor. Too much drama.

She was slightly surprised to find it empty of monster refugees, but brushed the thought aside. They were probably all out doing something. What did surprise her, however, was Marco.

Mabel's greeting died in her throat when she saw that he was hunched over one of the sections of the broken portal machine. What was he doing? It almost looked like he was fixing it, but how could the machine work when they destroyed that magical realm? Or, more importantly, how did Marco even know what the machine did?

Mabel put on her skeptacles and tiptoed closer to him.

Was he… talking to himself? She was even more sure that the man needed a decent night's sleep. Or three.

Mabel could hear him now, but it didn't make any sense to her. What was a Glossaryck? She was about to say something when she froze. Marco had muttered "Pointdexter."

She started to backtrack back towards the exit. Something was wrong here. Very wrong. There was only one being she knew of that had ever used that term.

Mabel flinched when she stepped on a metal pipe. Marco's head snapped up and then slowly turned around. His face was a smile with too many teeth, but all Mabel could focus on where the eyes.

They were slits.

She didn't know how, but Bill was using Marco's body. He had survived Weirdmagedon.

"Well, Well, Well. Isn't This Interesting?" Marco's body said. Now that Mabel knew who was really in charge, she could hear how Marco's voice changed. Like it was a hundred voices all saying the same thing at the same time with slightly different tones. Her mind flashed through all the times the demon had tried to kill her.

Mabel turned to run, but Marco was already charging towards her and tackled her to the ground. She let out a grunt as he knocked the wind out of her. Bill deftly maneuvered Marco's arms around Mabel's neck and applied steady pressure. Not enough to stop her from breathing, but the threat was obvious.

"You Don't Seem Very Happy To See Me."

"Bill." The name was poison on her tongue. He laughed in response, and she couldn't help the shiver that ran down her spine.

"I Was Hoping To Remain Unnoticed For A Little Longer, But No Matter. The End Is Coming Soon Enough."

Mabel leaned her head forward before slamming it behind her. She knew Marco would feel in pain when – if – he got his body back, but she could apologize to him later.

Marco's grip loosened, and Mabel threw her head back again before slipping out of his grip. Bill may be an all-powerful being, but he was in a human's body. She slammed her palms in to Marco's ears to disorient him and then sprinted towards the elevator.

Mabel pressed the button and the elevator doors slowly slid open. She squeezed through them as soon as they were wide enough, but she felt a hand grab her sweatshirt and yank her backwards.

Marco straddled her stomach and punched her nose. Blood immediately started oozing out of her nostrils and he laughed.

"You Are So Lucky I Need You As Leverage," The demon said, "But I Will Enjoy Slicing Your Skin To Ribbons. You Will Wish You Had Never Been Born When I'm Through With You."

He threw another punch at Mabel's chest, purely for his own amusement, before placing both hands around her throat. Mabel tried desperately to pry his hands away, but she grew weaker every moment. Black spots clouded her vision until black was all she saw.

(Line Break)

Star watched in resignation as everyone around her prepared for battle. This wasn't right. It wasn't that she believed she could convince Mina to back down; that woman was beyond crazy, but she was certain that everyone following her had been deceived. From what Cubert told her, most mewmans believed they were searching for her mom. If they could prove that Mina was lying to them, then they wouldn't fight.

Monsters were being sent as scouts to try and figure out how far away Mina and her army were, how many were there, and what kind of supplies they had.

Star rubbed her face.

Why did everything have to be so complicated? Not for the first time, Star wished she could just live happily ever after with Marco. Had they not earned the right to a happy life?

Now, things were just weird between them. She was mad at his perspective of the war and the fact that he destroyed that flash drive, but she still believed in him. Just because they were going through a rough patch didn't mean she stopped having feelings for him.

Maybe she should try and make some time for him…

After the battle.

Star would talk to Marco after Mina was taken care of. She may not be the princess anymore, but she still cared about her friends and they were counting on her.

Star saw Buff Frog across the meadow and walked up to him.

"Well, what do you think about all this?" she asked.

Buff Frog rubbed his chin and thought for a moment before answering.

"Mina is bad news, but she is not the worst news."

Star looked at him, and he sighed.

"We made much progress between mewmans and monsters, but still there is discontent between us. Too much bad blood."

He sighed and looked around him.

"But here, in this world?" he continued. "We will have to start over. None of our human allies believe that monsters will be accepted by everyone. Yes, we have battle coming our way, and I believe we can win, but I do not think I will see peace in my lifetime. Hopefully, my children will live freely."

"I'm sure they will," Star said, "We'll convince everybody one by one if we have to."

"You always see the potential in people, not who they actually are," Buff Frog retorted.

"We used to be enemies, but now we're friends. My mind's been changed, why can't that be the case between races?"

Buff Frog paused for another moment. This was not an argument he wanted to debate. He knew that Star would do everything she could for him, and he appreciated it, but he was not a fool. He knew that neither the humans nor mewmans would never accept his kind. They would always be seen as the "other."

"We are weak on eastern side of cabin," Buff Frog said, "I will go prepare fortifications."

Buff Frog walked away, but Star was determined not to let their disagreement get to her. She walked over to Dipper, who was busy writing something down in his journal.

"What're you working on?" She asked.

"Escape routes."

"What, why?"

"Well," Dipper started, "I was originally trying to think of the easiest way to free Queen Moon and how effective it would really be," he grumbled while chewing on the end of his pencil, "Cubert had said that the warehouse was filled with mewmans, but that she'd also used humans to take down Butterfly castle. If the army is made of mewmans, then you and your mom should be able to turn the tides, but if the group is a bunch of humans… well, the odds aren't going to be in our favor."

"Mina absolutely loathes anyone who isn't a mewman," Star said, "I doubt she'd actually lead an army of humans."

Dipper nodded, but he didn't look convinced.

"But if she's as smart and ruthless as everyone makes her out to be, then it's possible she'd put one of her enemies against the other. That way, no matter how wins, they're weak enough for Mina and the other mewmans to beat."

"That's horrible!"

"It's war."

Star started pacing around in a small circle.

"But, if that's the case, why are we planning on an escape route rather than a plan of attack against humans?"

Dipper hesitated, and suddenly, everything made sense to Star. She stopped pacing and stabbed her finger into his chest.

"You don't want to fight against your own people, do you?" She said.

"Who would?" He said sheepishly.

"That's what I've been saying this whole time!" Star threw her hands in the air. "I was outvoted into fighting against my people. People that used to be under my family's protection, I might add. But you get to decide it's better to run away from humans because you don't want to fight them. That's not fair."

"It's more than just that, though," Dipper said. "Can't you see that humans are more dangerous than mewmans? We're more volatile, possess deadlier weapons, and don't like listening to authority. If we face humans, they won't stop attacking just because one person said so."

They were silent for a moment.

"I am trying my best to help you, Star," he continued. "But we need to be prepared for every possible outcome, even the ones where we lose."

"We can't lose," Star countered, "If we lose here, then mewmans won't stand a chance anywhere."

"No, if we die here, then the mewmans won't be able to stand a chance," he replied. "You're the bridge between worlds. If you die, there's no chance. If the battle is lost, you'll have to flee."

Star threw her hands in the air.

"Your race isn't facing extinction, so how could you possibly understand? Hell, this is probably all some sick game to you! A way for you to see how smart you are. You humans just don't understand what's really at stake here."

Star briskly walked away behind a tree and broke into tears. Why was she the one who was in charge of this? Why did she have to be the one to endure through endless battles?

It wasn't fair.

She just wanted to lie down and never get up. Star wanted to let someone else take charge for once, but she knew she couldn't do that. It wasn't in her nature to give up.

AN: What's this? An update?

I actually wrote 97% of this chapter a few months ago but didn't want to publish it until I knew I could commit to finishing the story. So here I am. Finishing it.

Well, finishing it eventually.

So many things have changed since the last chapter was published. I've graduated college, had some of my work published in a magazine, got a full-time job as a technical writer, and just started volunteering for a local creative writing group.

But even with all that, I'm committed to working on this story until it's done. I will finish this.

For all of those who read this story years ago and are still here, thank you. I hope you enjoy what I have planned.

I don't really have an update schedule planned, but I will try to work on this story 2-3 nights during the week and then one day on the weekend.

More of a side note, but I had to go back and reread this story because I'd forgotten almost all of the smaller details. Even with all of the flaws, I'm impressed by a lot of the ideas I had. There's some wild stuff in here.

And with that, I'll see y'all around.

Bye!