Author's Notes:

I don't have a ton to say here besides thank you. has been terrible lately, but you guys have still shown me support. I'm glad to be back from my break and I hope you enjoy the chapter! See you at the bottom!

Chapter Five: Friendship Thursday

"So, Marco," Star questioned, leaning against her hand as she sat at the Diaz family's dining room table behind a small pile of homework as the setting sun peered through the kitchen window. "How exactly do I… you know… do this?"

Marco chuckled.

"You mean this?" he questioned, pointing to the first problem on the paper, which sat beneath some very… inspired doodles, consisting of anything that Star could think of to keep herself distracted.

"This is just math," Marco noted. "Here, look."

He sat beside her, scooting close so she could watch as he demonstrated. Marco claimed it was simple, but it was nothing like Star had ever seen. Math was numbers. That's all it was supposed to be, but humans insisted on inserting letters into everything for some reason. So, when the worksheets called for her to "solve for the integral" of an equation with words like "sin" and "arctan" all over the place, naturally, she had no idea where to start.

Still, Marco showed her every step. He explained it all the best he could, but no matter what, Star didn't understand a word he said. She didn't interrupt while Marco was trying to teach her, but once he finally finished the work and turned to her, she could only give him an awkward smile.

Marco sighed, his smile barely shrinking.

"Don't worry," he reassured her, "We'll figure it out together."

Star sighed, leaning on her hand as Marco worked through her homework, leaving her even more confused than when she had started. She was smart. Or, at least, that's what she always thought, but watching him work on her homework made her feel like garbage.

Still, once it was over, probably sensing that Star was feeling down, Marco led her to the couch, turned on the TV, and walked into the kitchen.

She sagged into the sofa the moment she sat down, her eyes glazing over the TV's screen with confusion. It reminded her of the plays she used to watch on Mewni, only the characters felt less real. They were drawn very strangely, but for whatever reason, she couldn't pull her eyes away.

It was a simple show with virtually no dialogue—a cat chasing a mouse around a house, constantly being thwarted by the mouse's clever tricks. The cat would reach into the mouse's home—a small hole in the wall, but suddenly screamed in pain, pulling his hand out to reveal that the mouse had smashed his fingers with a mouse trap. Seconds later, the cat would once again chase the mouse but was slammed by a hammer as he rounded a corner. Then, the chase continued, and time after time, the mouse continued to thwart his pursuer.

A smile crept onto her face as she let out a deep sigh. All of her negative thoughts faded away as she watched the goofy cartoon, memories of her dangerous childhood exploits flooding into her mind.

She was so much happier then and life was so much more simple. She didn't have anything to worry about back then. She had her fists, her enemies, her friends, and an endless thirst for adventure.

She was childish then, but she regretted absolutely nothing. Deep down, a part of her even wished that she could go back, or at least adopt her carefree attitude of old, but she knew how that would end. She knew how every adventure of hers used to end. No matter what she did, she always caused trouble, even when she meant well.

Now, she had a lot more to worry about. She had her wand, her kingdom, and her new second family.

Her smile faded as she remembered her last day on Mewni. She never meant to cause problems, and even afterward, she felt that she deserved a second chance, but only now did she understand why her parents had to do what they did.

She understood why she needed to be sent away. It wasn't that her parents didn't trust her to do better, in fact, she knew her father would never have allowed her mother to have her sent away if it wasn't for good reason.

No, it was deeper than that. She needed to learn the very lesson that the Diaz parents sought to teach her. Yes, she had magic, but she needed to learn not only how to use it, but how to avoid using it.

She pulled her wand from her bag and stared at it for a moment, the memory of the accidental destruction she caused playing over and over in her mind. The wand glowed with magical energy as if begging her to twirl it at her every whim, but even as her wand called to her, she shook her head, pushing it back into her bag and crossing her arms.

Slowly, her smile returned, her eyes fixated on the ceiling. She would be better. She would do what she had to do.

"So you finally figured it out then?" questioned a familiar voice.

Glossaryck floated above her, smugly smiling at her as her smile shrunk to a smirk.

"Good," he remarked. "You are a smart girl after all."

Star's smile grew back to full size as she let out another sigh.

"Thanks," she said, her mind visibly elsewhere.

"Hey," he addressed, "One more thing…"
Star visibly focused, meeting her mentor's eyes, but just as he was about to speak, Marco walked back into the room from the kitchen.

"Star" Marco called with excitement, Glossaryck raising a brow as the boy chimed with excitement. He turned back to Star, ready to continue their conversation, but her attention was clearly on the boy and her smile was as large as ever.

He sighed, smirking.

"Another time," he mumbled, descending into her handbag without another word.

"I know you're magic and all," Marco began, balancing a large plate with his hand. "But this…"

He waved the plate in front of Star, a steamy pile of human food gracing her eyes. She felt her mouth grow warm as drool nearly spilled from her mouth.

"Marco!" she practically screamed. "What… are… these!?"

"I thought you'd never ask," he gleamed.

He spun the plate on his hand, grabbing a single chip from the large pile and pushing it into Star's mouth.

He smiled.

"Nachos," Marco said. "My famous nachos. The best in the world!"

Star chewed on the crunchy, flavorful snack, her tastebuds aflutter as she leaned back on the couch.

"more…" she muttered, Marco smugly smiling.

"I didn't hear you…"
"MORE!" she practically screamed, pulling the plate from his hands and devouring his hard work.

Marco smiled, sitting beside her and eating what little he could before she finished the plate.

Marco chuckled as she stared at the empty china, her body practically trembling.

"They're… gone," she remarked.

"I… see that," he replied.

"More please," she requested with a wide smile.

Marco chuckled.

"Another time," he said. "Maybe we can do this again next week. We can call it… I don't know… uh… Friendship Thursday?"

Star's eyes lit up.

"YES!" she shouted, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and jumping on the couch with excitement before realizing what she was doing and regaining her composure. "Especially if it means more nachos."

Marco giggled, nodding.

Much more calmly, Star nodded back, plopping back down on the couch with her legs crossed.

Marco reached for the TV remote.

"Now, let's watch something more fun…"

Again, Star's eyes widened.

"There are more shows?!"

The night consisted of many new shows and many excited outbursts from the young princess and the following week was much the same. The school was still being investigated and their days became very habitual. Marco helped Star with her homework then the two would find another way to have fun.

He showed her all of his favorite activities, like video games and comics, but she never struggled to find her own fun either. Constantly, the urge to use her magic arose, but as she had for years before, she found fun elsewhere.

Life was going great. She was having fun and it seemed like nothing could go wrong. For a week and a half, there wasn't even a sign of Ludo or his monsters, but of course, eventually, he showed his face.

Star leaned against her fist as Marco guided her through her morning's homework and just like every other day for the past week, she remained confused.

"...Then you divide both sides by k and… here."

"Mhmm," Star replied, obviously not paying attention. Marco sighed but knew better than to start an argument with a lady. Instead, he merely finished the homework and sat beside her at the table.

"So," he questioned. "What do you wanna do today?"

Star grasped her chin and visibly contemplated.

"Hmm," she hummed. "We could just go for a walk or…"

Her eyes drifted to the backyard, a smile quickly growing on her face as a dark portal ripped open.

"Fun," she remarked, instinctually reaching for her wand as she jogged to the back door, but just before she could run outside, Marco grabbed her hand, reminding her of her deal with Angie and Rafael without a word.

She nodded, pushing the wand into her bag and leaping through the door.

Like clockwork, Ludo's monsters led the way through the portal, followed by their master, but something was different this time around.

The monsters were quiet, Ludo was quiet, and someone she had never seen before stood at his side.

A tall monster wearing a suit watched from a distance as the monsters stepped forward.

Star paid no mind to the spectator, readying her fists. Ludo finally broke his silence.

"Huh?" he questioned. "Where's the- Where's my wand?!"

Star smiled, squeezing her fists. Ludo growled, growing visibly angry.

"That's it!" he shouted. "I want my wand! ATTACK!"

The monsters obliged, leaping forward and swinging for the princess only to meet a very familiar fate. A dodge and a counter.

Star ducked under a monster's kick, then uppercut straight for the monster's jaw, knocking him out in an instant.

Another monster tried to attack her from behind, but like a bullet, Marco's leg slammed into the side of the monster's head, his body tumbling down with ease.

The attack was just like any other, in fact, it was even easier. The monsters seemed different. Maybe even stronger, but for whatever reason, they fell even easier than before.

One by one, the monsters attacked and fell until their bodies were stacked atop one another.

Star and Marco breathed laboriously but remained ready for another wave of attacks. They stared at the pile of monsters for several minutes, but they never moved.

Eventually, they turned to the monsters' leader, who merely shook his head.

"I don't know what you've done with the wand, but I will have it," Ludo remarked, his arms crossed.

He seemed completely serious, but with his monsters knocked out, he had no room to talk.

Star stepped in his direction, glaring at him.

"I don't even have it, but even if I did, you'd never be able to take it from me."

In the past, Ludo would have backed down without argument, but for some reason, he remained emboldened.

He stood his ground, his eyes locked in contact with the princess.

"You'll see," he remarked, his monsters exaggeratedly limping through the portal. "Soon."

Star huffed as Ludo and the monster in the suit walked through the portal, turning to Marco with confusion.

"That was… not as fun as it usually was," Star remarked.

"Yeah," Marco agreed. "It was like they weren't even trying…"

Star sighed, turning back to the house without another moment of hesitation.

"Whatever," she said. "It's hot, let's just play a game or something."

Marco nodded, staring at the ground where the portal used to be for several seconds before following her inside.

Just like she said, the duo made their way to the boy's room and played video games for several hours as the night sluggishly approached.

She had fun, but not as much as usual, as Marco seemed distracted most of the evening, and as the night finally came, she bid her friend adieu, trodding down the hall to her room and diving onto her bed, planting her face into her pillow for several seconds before rolling over and staring at her bed's canopy.

She reminisced on the strange day. It seemed like any other outside of the attack, but the monsters didn't give them any trouble. Even then, though, she couldn't shake a strange feeling. She felt vaguely unsafe, even to the point that she walked around her room, ensuring that every window was locked and that her curtains were tightly shut before returning to her bed and wrapping herself with blankets.

It was like she was hiding, but nothing was there. She was alone. She knew that, but even as the hours passed, she couldn't force herself to fall asleep.

Her hand lingered at her side, her fingers wrapped around the hilt of her wand. It was past three in the morning when she'd finally had enough, sitting up and pointing her wand around the room like a flashlight.

She wandered around her room, checking every corner, but sure enough, there was nothing there. She peeked out of every window, checked under her bed, and even looked inside her closet, but there was nobody there.

She sighed, dropping her wand and holding her face in her hands when suddenly, someone pounded on her door.

Her heart dropped as she hurriedly reached for her wand and ran to the door, aiming her wand in the doorway as she swung the door open and stepped back.

Her eyes widened as the Diaz parents stared back at her, panic in their eyes.

She lowered her wand and palmed her face with her off hand when Angie finally spoke up.

"STAR!" she screamed, barely able to breathe.

She sobbed.

"He-" she struggled for breath. "He's GONE!"

"MARCO'S MISSING!"

Star nearly fell to her knees as she heard the news, but she kept herself upright long enough to sprint down the hall and burst through Marco's door.

The room was dark but cold. His window was open, his curtains blowing in the breeze. His bed was a mess, his blankets scattered across his bed and even on the ground beside it.

She pulled her hair with both hands, her body trembling when suddenly, she heard a faint ringing coming from her room.

Her head slowly turned toward the sound, her legs hardly able to support her as she nervously trudged into her room, staring at her ringing mirror from the doorway for several seconds, the words "UNKNOWN CALLER" prominently staring back at her from its screen.

She stood in front of the mirror, almost unable to force herself to lift her hand, but just as the call was set to end, she answered its chimes, a blurred camera feed immediately overtaking her screen.

There was initially almost no sound coming from the other end, but as the camera focused, the faint tremors of a monster's breath poured through the screen.

The video was dark for a while before, finally, a flash illuminated the video, immediately revealing a dried puddle of blood on the ground.

Star fell to her knees as the Diaz parents finally entered the room, Angie screeching with fear as Rafael wrapped his arms around her.

"I told you," the monstrous voice finally muttered. "... You'd see."

"Ludo," Star muttered, a flicker of rage piercing through her as she sprung back to her feet, gripping the edges of the mirror and gnashing her teeth.

The camera slowly climbed and Marco's unconscious body entered the frame.

It was obvious that the blood on the ground was his, but there was clearly more than they had seen. They had him tied to a chair, his body leaning forward as blood dripped from his forehead, nose, and chin.

His eyes were closed, but it was obvious that he had been awake for the worst of his torture. Still, the sight of Ludo, who turned the camera to face him, was worse than anything else.

His hands were bloody and his face was smug. Before he could even open his mouth, Star thrust her fist into the wall beside her mirror, piercing through the entire wall. She felt the breeze of the night on her knuckles before pulling her hand back through, glaring at the monster with nothing but fury in her eyes.

"The wand. Bring it to my castle in two hours or he dies."

"The only one dying is gonna be YOU-"

Author's Note:

Welcome back to Sinister Shadows, my current primary project! I'm back from my extended hiatus and hopefully, my productivity will continue. I have college finals coming up, but after that, I should be mostly free, so I shouldn't have any problems writing. Still, I'm not gonna push it, as I am trying to avoid falling into another slump.

Still, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I hope to see you all again soon. Views still seem to be broken on , but your follows, favorites, and reviews will help me to gauge how much you guys are enjoying the story. I'm trying really hard to make this fic great and I know what potential my story has. Like I said, I hope you enjoyed! See you soon!

~ lucash21