It took all of Ponyhead's energy to appear calm and collected in front of so many people. Her family's disappearance weighed her down so much it was hard to stay floating in the air, but she had to keep moving and hope that she would find them again eventually. And to do that, she needed Star to do what she did best.

She needed Star to win.

The only problem was that it was obvious her best friend wasn't at her best. Something was holding her back, weighing her down.

She had never seen Star so stressed, not even when Mina attacked the castle. What that girl needed was a loving and caring boyfriend, so where was Marco?

Ponyhead hadn't liked the dorky kid at first, not because she was jealous or anything, because it certainly wasn't that…but he had grown on her, and she recognized how happy Star was when he was around. Ponyhead would forever be Star's best friend, but her relationship with Marco was a different kind of special.

With everyone preparing for an attack, it took Ponyhead a frustratingly long time to track Marco down, but she did. He was down in the basement, alone, shoving something into a closet.

"Marco!" She said, at a perfectly normal volume. "Girl, I have been looking all over for you. Why are you hiding down here all sad and lonely?"

He spun around, and Ponyhead caught a glimpse of yellow eyes before they appeared normal. It must've been a trick of the light.

"Ponyhead…?" Marco said. He clutched his head and groaned softly. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you, duh. I'm trying to help cheer my girl Star up, and you're the best man for the job."

Ponyhead looked Marco up and down. He looked awful, and he wasn't even smiling at the mention of Star like he always did.

"Hey man, are you alright?" She asked.

"I, uh, yeah, I'm fine."

"What did I tell you about lying to me?" She snapped.

Marco seemed confused. "I don't think you've ever told me anything about lying to you."

"Well, now I have. Don't do it. What's wrong with you, Marco?"

Marco squinted his eyes.

"What makes you think something is wrong with me? And why do you even care?"

"Why do I care? Because you're my best friend's boyfriend!"

"Oh, of course," He suddenly snarled. "You care about Star."

Marco got up and started walking away. Ponyhead flew around him and started poking him in his chest with her horn.

"Marco, what's gotten into you?" She growled. "When someone is trying to help you, you let them help."

"Who says I need help?"

"I do. Now sit down and tell me what's wrong."

To Ponyhead's surprise, Marco sat down.

"Okay, you really want to know what's bothering me?" He asked.

"Of course I do!"

"Star."

Ponyhead was silent for a minute. This boy had been madly in love with Star since the day they met. Were they… having relationship problems? She had to stop herself from squealing. This was her area of expertise!

"Well, why didn't you just say so!" She gushed. "Tell me everything."

Marco stared at her for a moment.

"This is serious."

"Of course it's serious! My dream couple is having some drama," Ponyhead said. "Don't worry, though, I'm here to help!"

Marco rubbed his eyes.

"I'm regretting this already," he muttered.

Ponyhead ignored it and waited for him to spill.

"Fine… Star is keeping secrets from me. I know she is, and I can't figure out why. Everyone here seems to know who I am, but I've never met any of them before. This town looks so familiar, but I know I've never seen it. And I've been so tired recently. The nightmares finally stopped when I made that dea – the nightmares stopped after Star and I got into an argument. We haven't spoken since…"

They sat in silence for a minute as Ponyhead absorbed everything in. Marco picked up a pebble and started fiddling with it in his hands.

"So, what, you're just hiding from your problems down here?" She finally asked. "What happened to the Princess who inspired others to fight?"

"I'm not hiding, I'm…" He trailed off. "I just needed some time away from everyone else."

"Fine," Ponyhead said. "Star may or may not be hiding something from you. If that's all you care about, I'll talk to her and work my magic."

"Are you sure that's the best idea?" He asked. "I mean, I don't really want other people to get involved in our problems."

Let me ask you this," Ponyhead said. "Are you going to let these relationship problems stop you from helping?"

"Helping?"

"We've got a battle to prepare for if you hadn't noticed," she said.

Marco opened his mouth to say something but stopped himself.

"You don't know what you're talking about," He decided.

That was the wrong thing to say.

"Oh, I have no idea?" Ponyhead let out a snort. "Do you know where my family is? Because I sure don't. Almost all of my friends are either in danger or they're already gone. You don't see me sitting around and moping, do you? Do you think I'd let some relationship problems stop me? Do you think I'm going to give you a free pass to sit this one out?"

"I'm not moping around like some lovesick puppy! I'm -"

"Get over yourself, Marco! People are complicated. You need to see the bigger picture. Think of how many lives are at stake."

Marco's body subtly shifted. He sat up straighter, his neck a little longer, and his breaths came out in short, forceful bursts.

"Leave me."

"What?"

"Leave. I'm not going to be manipulated just because you think you can guilt trip me. If you really wanted to help your family, you'd go out there and find them yourself. Remind me again which one of us is hiding from their problems."

Ponyhead stared at him. This was not the Marco she knew.

"Fine," he said. "If you won't leave me, I'll go."

He got up and walked away. Ponyhead continued to stare at the area Marco had been in long after he'd gotten in the elevator and left. Something was seriously wrong with him.

She wanted to be mad at him. She felt his words like a slap across her face, but she could also see that something else was the cause of his outburst. Whatever was going on between him and Star had deeply upset him. He needed her help.

Ponyhead went to find Star, and then she would set off in search of her family.

(Line Break)

"So, you were a knight?" Stanford asked.

Cubert nodded.

"I wish I still had my armor for the upcoming fight," he said, "but I had to get rid of it in order to blend in. Apparently, nobody wears protection anymore."

"How interesting," Stanford was glad the mewman didn't appear to notice how forced the conversation was. "Knights on Earth often competed against each other for sport; was that common on Mewni?"

"It was supposed to be," Cubert responded, "but things got complicated near the end… I was asked to do things I didn't necessarily agree with."

"Like what?"

"When Queen Moon joined Mina, she created a new army of Solarian warriors with her wand. I'd never felt more powerful in my life, but then we were commanded to use our strength to hunt down and kill every monster," he sighed. "When I look back at what I did, it almost feels like we were the monsters."

"So why did you do it then?" Stanford asked, genuinely curious. It was in his nature, after all, but that was not why he was talking to the former knight. He needed something from him.

"Because that is what my Queen asked of me."

"But why would you follow someone so blindly? If you disagreed, you could've said something."

Stanford fiddled with the ring on his finger.

"That's not how it works when you're a knight," Cubert said. "I wouldn't expect a human to understand."

Stanford laughed loudly and clapped Cubert on the back.

"Quite right!" He said. "I've actually been to Mewni before, and there were a lot of traditions and rituals over there that I didn't understand."

He turned to leave, his mission completed, but Cubert turned with him.

"You've been to Mewni? How?"

"When I was younger, I created a portal device in the basement of the Mystery Shack and was… I went through it one day and traveled across the universe. I've seen things beyond your imagination."

"Well, I'm starting to think I've seen too much. Once the queen is safe, I'm starting to think I'd like to find a small shack of my own."

Stanford nodded but didn't say anything. The sooner the conversation died, the sooner he could return to work.

"The people here seem to look up to you," Cubert continued. "They think you're the smartest person in the room."

"I can't control what they think."

"I'm glad you're on our side."

Stanford didn't say anything.

"I mean," Cubert continued, "From what I've heard, you're a force to be reckoned with. I don't know if we'd stand a chance if you weren't as open-minded."

"I'm a realist."

"What do you think will happen?"

"When?" Stanford asked.

"When Mina attacks. You didn't seem as convinced by Dipper's plan to save the queen as everyone else.

Stanford had to tread lightly. He didn't want to spread seeds of disbelief. That would bring the plan's success rate from unlikely to impossible.

"I think Dipper's plan was the best one proposed at the meeting."

Cubert was silent for a minute.

"That doesn't mean you think it would work," He finally said.

Stanford sighed.

"Listen, kid," he said. "I've lived a long time and seen a lot of things. If I've learned one thing from my travels, it's that the future is never certain. You just have to prepare for the worst and hope for the best."

Cubert stopped to ponder his words, But Stanford kept walking. He took the long way to his destination. This way, he could be sure no one was following him. It also meant he got to spend more time in the luscious outdoors. He'd never smelled anything like the northwestern forests in all his travels across countless dimensions. It was a scent he was determined never to take for granted again.

Of course, the forest's atmosphere could only do so much to lighten his mood.

No one could know what he was doing. Their emotions stopped them from seeing the whole picture. They didn't understand that the entire world was at stake.

What Stanford planned to do was not the right decision, and he knew it, but that didn't mean it wasn't necessary. He would do whatever it took for society not to collapse.

As the sun started to dip below the horizon, Stanford reached the edge of the spaceship. He looked up at the climb he was about to make and groaned. He turned the magnets in his boots on and started the journey up.

"I'm getting too old for this," he said.

As much as he hated to admit it, it was true. He loved his grandchildren, but their abundant energy only made his arthritis even more apparent. His body just didn't move the way it used to. Not even a minute into his climb, he could feel his knees begging for relief. He powered through it.

Stanford's feelings towards his dad were complicated, but he never forgot when they watched Carmen Basilio and Sugar Ray Robinson's boxing rematch. After fifteen brutal rounds, Stanford's dad turned to him and said, "Son, people got fighting all wrong. Strength, true strength, is only 30% muscle. That other 70% is all determination."

Nobody had more determination than Stanford.

When Stanford reached the dome's apex, he took in his surroundings. He hadn't noticed the last time he was here, but Gravity Falls had remained relatively unchanged when the two worlds collapsed.

By his estimation, Earth was about 1.75 times the size of Mewni, which didn't make any sense since they had the exact same gravitational pull. Must've been magic.

But even so, that meant that there just wasn't enough of Mewni to cover all of Earth. Some places had to remain unchanged.

And what about water levels? Mewni had to have had giant bodies of water to keep the soil fertile enough for all the corn they grew. Did that water come to Earth?

If so, that could have a disastrous effect on the oceans' salinity levels, impacting marine wildlife and global weather patterns. Even if they managed to stop the Mewmans, they would have almost no way to control what could be happening to their planet.

Stanford took a deep breath, held it, and blew it out slowly. He needed to stay focused.

"One problem at a time."

He descended into the spaceship, avoiding all the defensive measures. It wouldn't do anyone any good for him to die here.

He thought back to his days under Bill, when he was still ignorant of how vast the universe really was. He'd been beyond excited to find proof of aliens.

Now? The walls seemed ordinary to him. He'd seen spaceships that blew this one out of the water. He'd even used technology that made spaceships irrelevant.

Time really put things into perspective, and he knew time would give him the same treatment.

How many people idolized Chinggis Khan, a conqueror of nations and women? How many idolized Julius Caesar, Vlad Tepes, Attila the Hun, or Nero? Ruthless men who schools hail as geniuses.

Not that Stanford considered himself as notable as any of those men. He was a humble man. Besides, he preferred to remain out of the limelight. He'd prefer if no one knew he was the cause of what was coming.

He wondered how those men were viewed by their opponents. Were they seen as gods or demons? How would the Mewmans view him as he threatened to wipe out their entire species? What would Cubert think?

Stanford shook his head, clearing his mind of the former knight's bleeding corpse. He couldn't let his emotions interfere. He had to think of the greater good.

"I was hoping this wasn't where you were headed," Dipper said.

Stanford would've jumped six feet in the air if his arthritis had let him.

"Dipper!" He exclaimed.

His grandson – technically grandnephew, but Stanford saw the boy as his grandson – was sitting on a metal ledge.

"What are you doing here?" The old man continued.

"I saw you leave the Shack," Dipper started, "And I thought about where you might go. Then I thought about a conversation I'd had with Star about preparing for every possible solution.

"I thought we'd agreed this was going to be our last resort," he continued. "I didn't think you actually planned on using them."

"They are a last resort," Stanford said, "But that doesn't mean they shouldn't at least be ready in case they're needed."

It wasn't technically a lie. He would wait until Dipper's plan failed beyond any hope of redemption before he activated the robots. That way, there would be no doubt it was the necessary decision.

"Are you sure you've thought this through?" Dipper asked. "This is a door that can't ever be closed. Just like the atomic bomb."

"You're the one who pointed out how powerful of a deterrent nuclear bombs were.

"When did I say that?"

"At the meeting…"

Dipper stared at him.

Shit.

Dipper had said that before Stanford wiped everyone's minds.

"It doesn't matter," he rushed. "What matters is that these robots could be used to prevent any potential conflicts in the future."

"How is that fair?" Dipper asked, running his hand through his hair. "Only one side has the power to destroy the other."

"It's not about fairness, it's about survival."

"Life will always find a way to survive," Dipper countered. "Let me put it this way: how would you feel if the Mewmans had a technology that could destroy all humans? What would you do?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Of course it matters!"

Stanford groaned. He knew that Dipper knew what he would do. There were three options if your opponent had a big stick: you either steal their stick, get a bigger stick, or prevent your enemy from being able to use their stick.

"It would be different because this technology isn't from Earth. It can't be replicated here."

"So, the mewmans would forever be at our mercy," Dipper said.

"Which means they would never act up." Stanford winced as soon as the words left his mouth.

"Act up? Do you even hear yourself?" Dipper got off his ledge and started to pace in a circle. "You would condemn every mewman to spend the rest of their life in fear?"

"At least they would still have a life to live. Stanley and I traveled across the country to get here. You don't know how bad things are out there," Stanford jabbed his finger at Dipper's chest. "If they're under control, humanity won't fear them. Things will deescalate. We can move forward and start rebuilding."

"Is that…blood on your ring?" Dipper's eyes widened. "You're about to program them right now, aren't you? We don't even know how far away Mina is."

"Exactly. She could be here any day now. Don't tell me you're actually starting to have second thoughts about this. I need to be prepared."

"You need to be prepared? What happened about seeing past our personal agendas?"

Stanford's hand twitched towards his jacket pocket.

"You want to erase my memory!" Dipper gasped.

Stanford quickly put his hands in the air. He'd reached for the memory gun on instinct.

"You would erase my memory without my permission?" His eyes widened. "You already have! At the meeting. How many times have you messed with my head, Great-Uncle Ford? Do you wipe my memory every time you make a wrong move? Is that why I always thought you were amazing...?"

"No!" Stanford cried.

"How are you any better than Bill was?" Dipper whispered.

Stanford grabbed his memory gun, and Dipper bolted around the corner. By the time Stanford got to the intersection, Dipper had turned another corner. His footsteps fading fast.

"I trusted you," His voice echoed through the halls. "I trusted you…"

Stanford put his back to the wall and sank to the floor.

This was not how he wanted things to go.

AN: Time is so weird. You can have a reasonably solid writing schedule, and you happen to miss one day because you go to a local writer's convention, and then BAM! You don't work on this story for over a week. But I told y'all I was committed to finishing this story, so here I am.

Anyways, how are y'all doing? Did anyone do anything fun for Halloween, or, more importantly, is anyone participating in NaNoWriMo this year? I'm not in a position to be able to commit to 50k words in a month, but I joined a local Discord server and plan on participating in some of the write-ins. Hopefully, that'll help me crank out some more chapters.

Side note: does anyone know why Wattpad and always have different word counts? Wattpad says this chapter is 3,115 words, and Fanfiction says the chapter is 3,423 words. Word says it's 3,262 words. Weird.

Let me know what y'all think of the chapter, see ya!