Star felt herself being dragged under by the flooding darkness. Her magic was gone, and Toffee was back because of her mother.

Her mother…

No, no this wasn't right. Where was Glosseric? Wasn't he supposed to raise her? To save her when she needed it most? She still felt herself falling, deeper and deeper into the abyss. Star was going to drown in it, to die, to leave Marco—

Why was she so stupid? So naive to think she could go against the one being, one monster her mother had to curse in order to wound.

She was nothing but a setback now, a liability in the eyes of her friends and family. It's not like she would ever be able to see them again anyways.

Down….down…down…

The thoughts and regret stung her heart, turning it black and frail.

I was weak.

I made everyone die.

I brought back Toffee.

Her eyes closed, and the pings progressed unmercifully.

I'm not a good friend.

I let everyone down.

I let my mother down.

I let Marco down.

Star could see his face, clear in her eyes, and surrounded in darkness. His soft milky blues and warm smile turned sharp and hostile. The warmth he radiated flushed cold in her senses, she heard him whisper in her ear: 'Was it all worth it, Star?' She reached out with her hands, grasping her shoulders and chest for leverage, but they simply swished like clouds. Her open hands clenched together, so tightly her knuckles and cheeks flushed red and white. Her eyes narrowed into a scowl she was unsure of.

This all isn't real. Isn't it?

No, no— this is real.

The light Star once held dear in her heart faltered for a moment.

Another ripple in the water.

And another.

What if I gave in?

The question was poison. Why in all of would she give into it? The small black dot in her mind that urged her to let go. To stop the irrational fighting between good and bad. Toffee had such control, such assurance of victory without falter; yet she herself felt on the winning side.

She underestimated him.

She overestimated herself.

Star wasn't all happy, peace loving and caring. Under all of that? That's what she kept herself from alluring into. From giving into the sharp and steady force inside. Moon had always known she was powerful— when she was serious at dire matters. When her true power was one of timely need. She was a Butterfly, a force to be reckoned with, and that proved it.

So maybe, tapping into that addicting force for just a moment wouldn't hurt. Eclipsa was powerful at her prime, even now. But Star was sure that she would be no match for anyone at her state.

When she finally let go.

And let it out.

Star's eyes opened the bright gold reverberating around the surrounding water; illuminating the darkness as her bright blonde hair dimmed to an inky black. The golden light in her eyes faded to an ominous emerald; expression sour from the taste of power. The currents rippled in one united current, her arms flinging out from either side in her own bubble.

The darkness spread through her skin and veins like wildfire, powering her every move to the max capabilities. Star felt the sensations more pleasurable than saving the world, than being loved by her parents—

No. She contemplated. This was who I really am.


"No, no, no! This— this has to work! We have all the pieces what if—" Moon was hysteric in Buff's arms, her cheeks reddened from exhaustion and the explosion of emotion. She'd lost her daughter to him.

"Queen—" Buff started, but decided to just squeeze her shoulder in support as she rubbed her eyes dry for the dozenth time again. Her lips trembled in agony, fighting the urge to yell, kick, and scream.

Her hands and body began to shake, but she wasn't the one shaking. The ground underneath her groaned, the small pebbles and large pillars shifting in a united riot. Her words stumbled, only for, "What the hell—?" Star's wand felt so fragile in her hands so suddenly. Moon gripped it tightly, but as if it was made of ash, crumbled into black dust from the slightest grip in her hands. "No no!" She reached out with one arm pulled back from Buff. Star's wand was her last lifeline, and Toffee was just prowling away, like a god. Or so he thought.

A portal deep as night ripped the fabric of time and space from the ashes that rose from Star's old wand, she floated in as it closed behind her, appearing back to where she was before. The sun beamed against her pale skin, her darkened cheeks and midnight hair. She saw Toffee hesitate, the slightest breath hitch from his long teeth. It was as if the world went five degrees colder by her mere presence.

"Star?" Marco groaned, clutching his chest as pain screwed his expression of hope.

Moon had also lined her face to Star's, but fear riddled her expression. She took a step back, holding River tightly by the arm.

Star's feet hovered a few feet from the ground, her head held high as her arms were to their sides; and in the palm of her left extended hand, a new wand came to existence. Green sparkles and black clouds formed from existence, compressing into a single form, similar to Marco's own version.

It was all black, the gemstone inside a colorless gray, two wings on either end were replaced with a thicker black. Tattered and worn at the ends, and a lime green outline around the rim that held the centerpiece.

Star's face was unreadable, yet, it was calculating, tentatively searching for the weakness of her enemy. To which she growled, "Where is he?" Her voice was deep and booming.

Toffee took a beat to collect himself, holding back the urge to grin. His eyes locked with her emerald pit eyes. Toffee sounds practically taste the darkness radiating from her body, from her dark wand at hand. He had won. He had gotten what he was there to do. Yes, it was not planned, but for Star to give in to the thing she had sworn to defeat was more than a win of the battle, but a succession to the war ahead.

Magic quietly hummed around the air, penetrating his and her family's eardrums. She did not reply, only for her eyes to narrow, forming sharp blades that petrified him into his place. She raised her wand.

There was no wind up, no magical spell or witty comeback… but a deadly blast that continued for seconds. Incinerating Toffee the second it touched his bare scails.

She not only wanted to see him die.

But to suffer.

To feel her pain.

Ludo and Marco leaned back in a conjoined wince devoid to the annihilation of Toffee. He was gone, their enemy gone in seconds. Star's inky wings flapped slowly in unison with each other, slowly landing to the ground before they materialized into thin air.

Her back was turned from her group as her steady landing resorted to a wobble, and leaned on the nearest pile of debris she could find. The black slowly fading to blonde roots and down. She dropped her wand, turning around to be face to face with her team. Panting heavily, "Hey guys."