Forgotten Ventures

by Ronald reagan

If you could go back two years in your life, and you could remember everything, what would you change? When Marco Diaz wakes up in his old bedroom, with memories of events that haven't come to pass, he finds out that some things should stay the same. And that some things will change on their own. Rated M for language, violent scenes, and some spicy stuff.

51. My Lie Ability

Sup peeps, so, this is the house party chapter! There's music littered about for your enjoyment, feel free to ignore it if it's not your thing. Likewise, this is your party too! So if you want? Crank your own jams you know you like and enjoy yourself! Happy reading!

Song name ~ Artist

O - O - O -O - O - O - O

"Are you ready?"

Star grinned at him, but it wasn't a smile of sanguine preparation. Rather, it was a toyish ardor as their friends gathered, pairing with one another just as they had. "I was born ready, cool guy," she answered, taking his hand and pulling him close so their chests were pressed together. She relished in the heat of his body, but those thoughts could wait till later.

"Then let's show them how Echo Creek really throws a party."

Suavemente ~ Elvis Crespo

As the singer began belting his opening lines, a serenade begging for one last kiss, Marco pulled Star into one of his own, a fleeting peck before drawing her left hand out with his right and stepping back.

She met his retreat with rapid advancement, the two buckling their knees to cross as they held each other's gaze. And when the song kicked off, they truly began to move, eager to show off what they had learned. Marco kicked a swift step to replace Star's step back as she turned, letting him follow her in a small binary orbit about the living room.

The growing crowd of their friends and acquaintances quickly took to cheering the dancers on as Star pushed Marco back a step and turned right. Where she moved, he mirrored her walk with a careful stride until they reached the wall of people. There, Marco turned her about on her heels and led her back towards the center, Star being careful to match his gait.

When they reached the middle, he pulled her arm to swing her into a low dip, flashing a nervous grin as she kicked. She met his anxiety with an eye-roll and when she was brought up, the two locked arms and continued their dance in a small circle, Star kissing his cheek as their friends rushed to join them in the meringue.

As the two continued their close ritual of communal movement, two others in the crowd awkwardly kept their distance, and their eyes forward. Janna could see Fergusson visibly restraining himself from jumping right in with any partner within grabbing distance, and every so often she could almost swear he glanced her way. She tried to keep her interest in the music, or even the lively dancing going around, but it was an experience she wasn't familiar with.

Dancing, wild parties, loud Spanish music, they weren't really her thing, despite how she liked to portray herself, unless she could loosen herself up with some "special" snacks. Unfortunately, those were in short supply while Marco was around. No, this kind of party was far from her scene, especially when she was under strict orders from Jackie to not start any trouble, or else.

That girl in question was currently schmoozing it up with a pretty blonde number with a southern accent, so maybe she wouldn't notice just a little bit of mischief? Janna glanced over at the power couple of the party, Star and Marco, and found relief that they were so engrossed with each other, they wouldn't notice her slip away.

"You wanna ditch this party?"

Never one to be startled, Janna tossed a lazy look at the source of the unwarranted question, finding none other than Fergusson having snuck up beside her. He stood waiting for an answer with an almost shameful look on his face. 'Pitiful', she reasoned, turning back to watch the show. "I wouldn't've come here if I was just gonna leave after an hour. Especially with you." She stressed her last word with a glare, just daring him to give her a reason to send him into a hypno-induced coma.

But Fergusson didn't respond how she figured he would: like a douche, or angry. He actually looked disappointed and upset, which only served to spike her resentment. "You just look like you're miserable is all," he offered amicably, "like you'd rather be anywhere but here." Janna only rolled her eyes and made her way towards the closest supply of drinks.

"No thanks to you," she spat under her breath. And as intended, Fergusson heard every word of it. She poured herself a mix of whatever reds, blues, rainbows, and blacks she figured would work, and took a swig of the mystifying concoction as Fergusson began preparing his own, with mixed results.

Star's idea of a drink table had been to gather various potions, sodas, brews, elixers and juices together in unmarked bottles and wish everyone luck in combining them. Two people had already been forced to leave due to complications of the gut, but mostly everyone knew to stick to the sodas. Or just ask for water from the local safe kid.

"I was hoping you and I could still be friends. I asked you if we could, but you never answered," Fergusson reminded her, the two happy with their drinks at least, "if this is your answer, then I guess...I'm sorry for-"

"Don't be sorry, and don't get all sappy on me," Janna interrupted, poking a finger into his chest and leveling her eyes with his, "You were a waste of my time and energy, and you left me, so just get lost. There is no 'friends' for us."

Fergusson had expected some sort of abrasive response, typical for Janna when someone got a little too sweet, but her words bit into his mind, refusing to let go. "Don't make this my fault. You did things to me Janna, things I asked you not to do," he muttered, his disappointment dissipating in lieu of a flat, disgust, "you opened my mind and jumped right in. You toyed around in there and made me something different than what I was, just because you wanted me to be 'better'."

Janna made to withdraw, to defend herself against his accusations as the music faded out, but he leaned in close, a new touch of anger in his words fueling her growing unease. "You hypnotized me. You changed me, and I was lucky to find out. Who knows how many people you've changed before," he said with a wavering voice, "I was fine how I was, before you made me...this."

Blinding Lights ~ The weekend

"Confident? Bold? Athletic?" Janna listed, rolling her eyes and taking full advantage of his momentary weakness, "face it, I did you a favor, and you're only mad about it because I didn't tell you."

"I'm mad about it because you felt like you 'had to'," he answered, "nevermind how you tried to keep it a secret. You didn't like me for me, so you don't get to have me as I am now."

"Heyyyyy!" A chipper voice suddenly squealed from the other side of the 'potion' table, "how's my peeps doing? Are you guys having fun?!"

Janna and Fergusson both turned to find a semi-sweaty Star leaning over the table and grinning madly at them. Their response was a stunned and awkward silence before Fergusson turned to leave, giving Janna one last spiteful look.

"I interrupted something serious, didn't I?" Star asked, but Janna chuckled modestly and took another sip of her concoction. "Not a bit, Star. You saved my ass from an awkward talk, so I actually owe you one, on the house."

Star didn't really look like she was buying what Janna was selling, but thankfully Marco stepped in and saved her as well, giving Star a quick kiss on the cheek before pouring himself a mixture of blue, bubbling green, and ghostly white. "Some dance huh? Everyone seems to really be having a good time, he remarked. When he got no response, he found Janna gone and Star twirling her hair and staring at him.

Gods, his shapely form in that tight button-up white shirt that contrasted his satin black pants, it made it hard to focus on his question. Her outfit was a matching, slimmed down Jalisco dress, but surprisingly it breathed well enough to allow for such strenuous moves. Wait, was he talking to her?

"Way-wuh?"

He laughed in that same, adorable fashion and smiled warmly at her. "I said 'some dance huh?' Jeez, a guy wears some tight pants once and suddenly you can't take your eyes off me."

Star gave him a sultry, hungry smile and walked her fingers up his arm before pulling him into a tight kiss, curling her tongue over his as he ran his hand up her arm. After a brief war of the roses, so to speak, she pulled back and whispered only, "why don't we take this to the kitchen, Macho Man? I think it's less populated in there, since your parents went to dinner this time around."

Blushing, Marco only nodded, letting himself be pulled towards the deserted kitchen in a fashion reminiscent of their early days together: Star leading the charge and practically dragging him along. "Jeez, someone's eager for-"

"Just shoosh and wrap your arms around me," Star panted, practically lunging at him against countertop just out of view of the living room, "between the dancing, the romancing, that suave outfit, and the fact that we probably won't have another night of fun for-"

"Star," Marco interrupted her with a grin, finding her voracious nature just as enticing as always. Give a man a taste of nectar, and he'll never hunger for anything else, they say. "Trust me, I know. ...if you want, there's still time for us to head upstairs for a few-"

"Aaaarrrrrrghhhhhh!" Star growled through gritted teeth and fell to her knees, clutching her head as Marco frantically tried to keep her upright. "Star? What's wrong? Are you alright?" He asked as she motioned for him to calm down with a sweeping hand. With little else to offer, he stood there as she hissed through her teeth in pain.

"Ssssssss...it's… ahhhhhhhh...it's like a pressure," she muttered, struggling to stand with Marcos careful support, "something snapped, and I can feel this...huge weight...in the back of my head...it really hurts…"

"Hang on, I'll get you some water," Marco offered, helping her lean against the counter before darting to find a glass. Rushing had broken one, and a slippery hand had broken another, so by the time he had returned, Star was already standing upright and rubbing her temple as if nothing had happened. She still eagerly took the water and gulped it down, but seemed more or less unchanged.

"Is that uh...better?" he asked watching her carefully

Star nodded and closed her eyes, tilting her head back as though it was still weighted. What was that flash of green she saw? "Y-yeah...it feels better, but I have no idea what that was. It was like an explosion in my head..." She opened her eyes and exhaled sharply through the nose, giving him an apologetic look. "Sorry for ruining the moment..."

"Hey," he offered, holding her uneasy stare, "it's not the last. Tonights gonna be wild, but you'll have me for the rest of your life." He smiled, and Star grinned back, rolling her eyes at his remark. "Soo cheesy," she giggled, "but thanks. Hope we can… do stuff soon, though. Tonight's the last normal night we have for a long time."

He nodded and glanced at the oven, counting down the seconds until it's timer ran out. "It's only a few days of crazy, and maybe a few more months of rebuilding if things don't go as planned, but that doesn't mean we can't handle it together and still have time for fun."

Star held her smile and stood up straighter, happy to know that at least one of them was pretty confident in the future. Things had a knack for turning out alright in the end, after all. Marco took his mind off of the oven timer and tapped his chin, a mischievous smirk on his face. "I seem to remember that time we were helping rebuild the greenhouses after Toffee...happened."

A flood of red overtook Star's face as she laughed. "Noooo, don't remind me, that was hooorrrriiibbbllleee," but Marco laughed right along with her, paying no heed to her embarrassment.

"The owner gave us some free stuff she couldn't sell, and you ate so many strawberries, your teeth were red for two days," he laughed, almost as hard as Star. She waved a frantic hand in his face, shaking her head as she reminded him, "and YOU didn't tell me about it until the next day! Everyone was giving me weird looks and no one said anything!"

"Hahahaa, well yeah! You only ate so many because you were mad at me, and you wanted to prove you could eat more. Serves you right!" He chastised, elbowing her playfully. She didn't seem to find it quite as funny, but she let him have this one, for now. Shaking her head, she added, "At least this time, I have you from the get-go. No more awkward silences and weird hugs getting in the way."

"Exactly," Marco nodded, pulling her closer and squeezing her cheeks, "no more jelly-belly Star being all poopy with me?"

"Nooooooo!" She squealed, pushing him back with a shove, "I feel like I was rightfully poopy with you!"

"Well, things'll be fine this time around anyway. We have one crazy stop along the road, but at least we have help this time around." Marco smiled warmly at her in that special way that made her heart flutter, and made it hard to form a sentence.

Before Star could agree with that uplifting sentiment, the oven finally dinged, sending a signal to the immediate area that the pizza rolls were finally done. "PIZZA ROLLS, DIAZ! QUIT STANDING AROUND!" she yelled, nearly throwing him to the side as she ripped the oven open and jumped in place, waiting for him to pull them out.

"I kinda feel like we were having a-" he began as he stood, but a flash of salmon and lavender shoved him further out of the way as Tom shouted, "MOVE IT, DIAZ OUTTA THE WAY! PIZZA POCKETS ARE DONE!"

The demon pulled the ripping hot pan out of the oven and slammed them on the counter, already tossing them into a bowl as Marco struggled to regain his footing. Star and Torriditty crowded around the container of confectionary delights, watching as Tom produced a bottle of black, viscous liquid. "Patented Underworld hot sauce, trademarked," he quipped, dousing a pizza roll with the substance, "the only way to enjoy these."

Star looked on with Torriditty, their reactions ranging from horror to curiosity as the demon popped one into his mouth, smacking his lips at the fiery flavor. Marco cocked an eyebrow, asking simply, "I feel like it's obvious, but just in case: what exactly is 'Underworld hot sauce'?"

"Ohhhh these are fucking amazing," Tom groaned, unable to answer the question as he shoveled more in his face. Star shook her head and quietly answered, "he does this with everything. That stuff is basically lava, totally ruins the flavor of anything he puts it on."

"Noted," Marco grumbled, joining the rest as Tom carefully dabbed another roll with sauce, and held it out to Torriddity. She gave him a skeptical look, but he insisted, doubling down with another one to have for himself. "Trust me, babe. It's better than anything else we have down there. I would die for these."

Toroddity tossed a bored look toward her last hopes, but the two in question were themselves, halfway through the remainder of the bowl. She looked from the Pizza Roll back up to Tom, finding him patiently, expectantly, waiting for her to try one.

"Fuck it," she mumbled, grabbing the tar-covered roll and popping it into her mouth with complete disregard to the sudden silence. As she chewed, all eyes turned to her, and with a swallow, her eyes widened and shot toward the bowl. "Unholy shit," she muttered before snatching the bottle of hot sauce from Tom's tight grasp and dousing another pocket with the thick black substance, wolfing it down immediately.

Star and Marco could only watch helplessly as the two demons snagged, ruined, and ate pocket after pocket. In the end,, they could only grab one more each as their supply died down to crumbs and steaming flicks of residual sauce. Torriditty wasted no time in grabbing the bowl and licking it clean as Tom asked through stuffed cheeks, "by the way, are we 'shtill on for the 'chrip tonight?"

Star stammered over a handful of words, unsure of which to choose before Marco bounced in, answering for her with an excitable tone. "Yup, Moon's probably gonna be here pretty soon, if I remember right, so we can all leave with her. Hopefully things go according to plan from there, though. Right?" The question was open to the group, but Star seemed to take the most regard to it, glancing nervously between them before letting out a sharp breath.

"Yeah, here's hoping," she offered in an uncouth tone, "could you guys excuse me for a sec? I think someone just spilled their drink…on the wall."

With that, she left the kitchen with as much grace as her excuse, leaving the other three occupants to trade glances between themselves. Torriditty pressed her lips together and took a sip of her drink as Tom gestured for Marco to shoo, presumably after Star. When Marco didn't quite get the hint, Tom rolled his eyes and pointed out the kitchen, then to Marco.

"Oh, ohhhh, right right," Marco nodded, fumbling to make his way after his girlfriend, "sorry, I'll uh, be right back."

"No hurry, man", was all Tom offered before pulling his orange temptress closer. Marco was almost glad to be leaving as he caught a fleeting glimpse of what he left behind. 'Jeez, is that what we look like?"

Wicked Heart ~ Sublime with Rome

In much the same way, he caught sight of a flash of blonde weaving through the other partygoers and gave chase, handing out ''scuse me's' and 'coming throughs'. A couple of awkward squeezes and close calls with the ladies later, he pushed through the last crowd and found himself in front of the empty staircase, its steps leading up to level two of the party. But no Star. Marco looked curiously up the stairs, sure she had gone this way when a tap on his shoulder nearly had him jump out of his skin.

"Whoya lookin-"

"AHH! JESUS!" Marco whipped around and found Star smiling at him, barely containing a laugh at what he was sure was his expense. He inhaled to lay into her but Star kissed his nose before he could speak, silencing his rant before it began. Wordlessly, she led him to the base of the stairs, settling down on the bottom step and motioning for him to join her. Which, obviously he did.

"Sooo, lookin for me?" She asked, pleasantly this time, despite his still pounding heart. Marco nodded and finally let out a small grin, also at his expense. "I was, but it looks like you found me first," he chuckled, pushing his hair back. Star noticed that he usually only messed with his hair when he was nervous or uneasy; maybe it was the fact that they were sitting on these uncomfortable stairs again, with awkward tension running rampant. So, she opted for easing said tension.

"Sorry for running off like that," she offered calmly, watching other partygoers dance and sway to the alluring beat, "just...I could tell where that conversation was gonna go."

Marco nodded. "Yeah, super gross. Be glad you missed that display." He caught sight of Alphonso and Tuva, that Swedish girl from the school dance, schmoozing it up in a sea of dazy teens. He recognized the fragility of the moment, and how quickly the tempo of his world would change, so he asked in a softer tone, "are you sure you want them to come? Even if we could use their help?"

"What?" she asked a little too fast while keeping her eyes trained forward, "yeah, of course I am. Why wouldn't I be? Having them could help level the playing field, y'know?"

The world kept turning as a few seconds of silence rolled by, so when she finally turned her head to look at him, he was looking right back at her, a bored look on his face with an eyebrow half-cocked to the remark. Star felt blood rise to her cheeks as her words began to tighten in her mouth.

"I'm serious!"

"…"

"Marco I mean it!"

Marco pursed his lips, tilting his head and cocking his eyebrow further.

"Ugh! It's not them, Marco, it's the exact opposite. It's me, I'm-"

"Are you still nervous?" Marco interrupted, already reaching for his scissors, "because if you are, we can go back to Vintal and try something-"

"Marco." Star held his gaze with one of sincerity and gratitude. "I'm not- I don't- Look, I'm ready to fight, and go through all of...that, again. I think. But…" her words trailed off, much as her gaze drifted back to the rolling crowd of teens in the living room.

With patience, Marco waited for her to collect her thoughts, slowly reaching for her hand and giving it a squeeze. She squeezed his in return, and continued saying, "But aren't you a little bit 'nervous' about how different things are gonna be after it's over?"

"What do you mean?" was his very simple response, eliciting a grump from Star.

"I mean, are you still gonna go back home after the fight?" she asked, listing off issues on her fingers as Marco listened intently, "How different is Mewni gonna be after we beat Vartek and Toffee? Is there even gonna be a Mewni left? Is Eclipsa gonna be different? Is the battle gonna make things worse than before between us and the Monst-"

"Star." he was looking at her now, his eyes betraying a bit of exasperation, making her fear she had gone a little too far with his worrying job. But his forced calm broke into a laugh instead of a sigh, a smile spreading between his cheeks. "I'm not nervous, hahaha, I'm terrified!"

Star looked him up and down before leaning in closer, an easing smile growing for her as well, as if she found his laughter contagious. "Wait, really?" she laughed.

"Of course! But at the same time?" he let his laughter calm down a bit as he straightened his hair a little, "I'm hopeful." Star took notice of his remaining, rigid posture and scooched closer to him, keeping his hand intertwined with hers. "Hopeful forrrrr?"

"Hopeful that we can make the right choices now, so we can have a better future. I mean, yeah. Things are probably gonna be super different, and maybe that is a little terrifying, but when things change? It gives us a chance to make things better than they could have been."

She nodded in understanding and watched the partying teens move in swarms about the floor, like herds of badly dancing, hungry, borderline promiscuous cattle. "And you really think we can do that? Despite how 'warnicrazy' things are about to get? We might make things tons worse." She was trying to be pessimistic, he knew that much, but regardless, he gave her the benefit of the doubt. "With you, we have everything we need to stop the fight before it happens. You were bringing everyone together before the world was ending, so I have no doubt you can do it again."

Star smiled at his kindness and the sincerity at which he spoke it, pulling his clasped hand over her shoulder and nestling herself under his arm. "Thanks, Marco," she returned with a smile, "though you didn't answer my first question."

"And which one was that?"

"Are you still going home after everything's all said and done? Like last time?"

He got quiet, in much the same way as the last time she brought it up, likely the discomfort of a painful memory surfacing in his chest. So in much the same fashion as before, she waited until he was ready to give an answer. "You know I don't really have a choice. The universe is probably gonna glitch me home if I try to stay on Mewni," he reasoned, finding Star nodding in agreement, "But, I still think trying wouldn't hurt. I mean, worst case scenario, I have to go home anyway, right?"

"Yeah...right."

There was something about that hesitation, maybe it was playful, who knows. But before Marco could comment, Star shoved him to the side in a fit of giggles, pinching her nose and fanning the air between them. "Woooo! Cheesy Jesus, boy! You stink like onion salsa without the salsa!" He went through several varying expressions before landing on a grin of challenged spite, firing right back, "You're one to talk, pizza breathe, I can practically smell what you're thinking, which usually isn't much of anything!"

Star grinned back at him before leaning in close, throwing herself onto his lap and breathing hard in his face, holding his cheeks to keep him from running away. Desperately he fought to keep his face as far away from hers as possible, despite her breath smelling fine, however that only served to lure her closer.

"Ahem."

Both of them stopped moving immediately, slowly turning to look at who had cleared their throat. Hint, it was Tom. "Look, I get it, last night of chill, but for my sake, take it somewhere private. You guys gonna put some more music on?"

Star and Marco traded a confused glance, then fully asked what their positions would have looked like from literally any other angle, finding more than compromising. Immediately they seperated and smoothed their respective outfits over, Star answering, "you should ask Marco to sing for you, apparently he ca-"

"No, nonono, no." He finished, quickly cupping a hand over Stars mouth and moving to block her from view, "I'll put something on, just...gimme a minute? No questions."

Tom stared at him for a moment, his eyes darting to Star, then back several times before shrugging nonchalantly. "Whatever, man, long as we get some more music going, I guess. I'll try to scrub whatever this has been from my memory. Thanks." And with that, he left the two sitting at the base of the stairs in an uncomfortable lump. Star was the first to peel herself away, dismounting his lap and sitting back down beside him as they struggled to cool the heat of their shared blush.

"Soooo," Marco stretched, fixing his hair, "you wanna maybe dance some more?"

Star grinned. "Only if you sing for me again, Senior Suave."

"No."

"Awwww c'mon, not even just one-"

"Not a chance," Marco finalized.

Playing the tough to get act, typical of Marco when it came to something she really really wanted, Star reasoned. But no matter, she had a surefire way of getting what she really really wanted, and just the right girl to get it for her. "Mkay, babe. Well, I'm gonna go powder my nose, I'll be back in a few. Gotta find Janna," she offered before quickly getting up and disappearing into the crowd the moment she said it.

Marco was left sitting there, the whiplash of the last fifteen seconds still keeping him reeling. 'One, she never says 'powder her nose',' he listed mentally, 'two, Jannas involved, that's already a red flag. The only question is whether or not she's already too close to-'

"Chicken butt."

Marco face planted into the linoleum before Star could catch him, but Janna was already hoisting him up, shooing her away. "Relax. If I was anyone else, people would be suspicious. Go get the box, and I'll have him singing like a horny canary. Whiiiich, might not be too far off, if you play your cards right," she explained, "you want me to-"

"NO, no no," Star cut her off with chopping waves of her hands, "Just get him singing, I'll have everything set up. And don't go messing with anything else, pinky promise."

Janna looked from Marcos unconscious form to Stars already outstretched pinky before groaning to herself. "Fine. But we're even after this," she answered, squeezing Stars pinky with hers. And with that bit of business, the two parted ways, both on a mission to make the magic happen. And not the crazy, 'blow your butt to six different states,' kind of magic.

Within minutes, Star had a rainbow colored suitcase-looking device set up by the T.V., and a microphone hooked up to it by the time Janna had returned, carrying a drooling, semi-comatose Marco over her shoulder. With a grunt, she dropped him on the couch and nodded to Star, offering, "alrighty, sunshine. I got him thinking that singing is totally normal, and gave him some more confidence, just in case."

"Thanks Jannaaa," Star sung, eyeballing Marco with a less than stringent stare, "it's a wonder people don't ask you to do this more often."

Janna was quiet for a moment. Glancing around the room for, someone, before shrugging to herself. "Yeah, crazy stuff. Anyways, I'm out, good luck sis," she mumbled before making a discrete exit as the princess of Mewni used her best Queen voice to get everyone's attention.

"Students of Echo Creek Academy," she called out, drawing a handful of curious stares. When it was obvious that most of the party was still busy talking, drinking, flirting, or sucking face, Star cleared her throat and this time, opened with a slightly louder voice. *cough*andsomemagic*cough* She waved her wand, sending a radiating bubble of blue sparkles and strawberries through the house, drawing everyone's attention as she doubled down, "HELLOOOO EVERYOOONNEEE!"

When she was satisfied with the attention she was receiving, Star cleared her throat and introduced the event in question. "HIIIII! Sooo, to really give this party a proper kick, MARCO has agreed to come up and kick off a little bit of Karaoke for you!" She gestured to the Super Harmonious Acoustics Tracking System, or the...thing with the weird acronym, before turning back to the crowd. "Get your requests in now if you wanna sing next, and for everyone else? Enjoy the show!" She laid the Microphone in Marcos' nearly lifeless hand before pressing play, and stepping back.

Sunkissed ~ Khai Dreams

The moment Star hit the button to start the music, Marco shot from the couch at breakneck speeds, microphone in hand to face Star with the warmest smile she'd ever seen. He took a few gentle steps closer before reaching out and cupping her cheek, her eyes captivating every ounce of her attention. And as everyone watched with baited anticipation, finally the music began.

"So slowly a sunlit dream pulls me out of sleep

Feel the morning through the blinds,

I get to thinking 'bout your sunkissed face

And a quite place where I could give you all my time," Marco sang the notes at a quickened pace, suddenly pulling Star into his arms, the two instinctively swaying their hips and matching steps in time with the beat. The crowd immediately began to cheer them on to take it further, but all Star could hear was his sweet voice, all for her.

"You know I wanna be your rock... my love

You know I wanna be your light...

In darkness, how you find me just in time

To tell me what I needed to hear…" Marco let go of his partner and held her chin, drawing her closer and keeping their eyes locked.

"So if you don't know what you need

You can leave it aaall to meee

Don't want you worried 'bout a thing

I know you'd do the same for meee."

Without warning, Marco grabbed her hand and pulled his arm over her before reeling her out into a spin, their arms outstretched to one another. Star struggled to keep her heart from fluttering as she spun back into his arms, Marco dipping her low and holding her gently to his side.

"Cause you're so lovely, you're so lovely

I can't help but fall for you, love

When you love me, it's so lovely loving you

Oh-oh, oh-oh, so lovely loving you, Oh-oh, oh-oh"

As he cranked out those heartfelt notes, Marco watched as Star's eyes slowly became lidded with a lovestruck captivation he'd only ever seen at the Blood Moon Ball. As the two danced, their rythmatic orbit in time with the beat, she felt that any other experience that night would be eclipsed by this exact moment.

"So softly a tender breeze brush against my knees

On a summer afternoon…

I get to thinking 'bout the hazy days,

Under August shade that I used to spend with you,

I didn't realize it was all I wanted, what I had,"

"My riddled heart, I had to cradle back together just to see," Marco kissed Star's nose and spun her again, this time meeting her face to face, their chests pressed together in a tight dance, their arms wrapped around one another.

"It's all like magic to me,

you do magic, baby

When you love me, you're so lovely

I can't help but fall for you, love when you love me, it's so lovely loving you, ooohhh, oh-oh,

So lovely loving you, ooohh, oh-oh."

After a long bout of slow dancing to fast music, the rest of the partyers having already begun to flood in to join them, Star rested her cheek on his shoulder. Finding that familiar, calming heartbeat was easy, but to keep herself from buckling at the knees everything he brushed against her, that was hard.

"So slowly a sunlit dream pulls me out of sleep

Feel the morning through the blinds

I turn my head to meet your sunkissed face

In this quite place, I can give you all my time"

The party exploded with cheers and leers alike as the two broke it off, Marco even adding an extravagant bow before handing the microphone to the next singer. The two took off towards the alchemy drink stand, both nearly out of breath and half-baked in heat, ready to quench every kind of thirst. Star grabbed Marco shoulders and kissed him again, holding his jaw and rolling her tongue against his as they struggled to balance passion and breathing. Thank corn, he was just as willing to reciprocate as he squeezed her firmly in the rear and hungrily pressed closer for more.

Finally, when both had to come up for air, it was Star who reeled back first, dizzy from the mix of sensations. Panting, she asked simply, "so….bedroom...for a...few minutes?" He never even answered, grabbing her hand and pulling her toward the stars, their black and white attire getting lost in the rolling mass of teenagers dancing.

Sociopath ~ Stélouse

Janna watched them go, losing their trademark looks to the promiscuous 'upstairs' as she sipped her drink, pleased with herself for a successful 'job well done'. 'Who knew the guy could actually sing,' she mused, moving to find someone she knew well enough to brag to, 'Atleast, well enough to surprise-"

The music reverberating through the house suddenly took a turn for fractured and sporadic as the color seemed to drain from the world before her very eyes. The beat of the bass took on a muffled thrum as the once harmonious music was dulled, like sound passing through water. But Janna wasn't effected. Her clothes and feeling hadn't changed, so when a shadow zipped through the partiers like a raging, glitching animal, she hardly reacted at all.

She took another sip of her now tasteless drink and arched an eyebrow following the shadow with her gaze until it disappeared. And then came a voice from directly behind her, like a soft, yet demanding whisper.

"Don't let him leave…"

She whipped around, or at least, tried to. Her body reacted like it was moving through molases, and when she finally turned there was no one there. Save for a collection of equally slow-moving teens and a table of party snacks. Again, from behind, a slow voice growled in her ear, "He must stay here. He must not leave."

"Cut the shit," Janna barked, happy to find her voice working like normal, but no less displeased with the situation, "what are you and what do you want. I'm a busy witch and I don't have time for stupid games with stupid people."

As if on command, behind her was an out of place teal light, drawing her attention as it grew and amassed form. She watched, bored with the display as it continued to coagulate into a shape strikingly resembling, none other than Marco Diaz.

"Well well well," she hummed, inching closer with folded arms, "nice to see you again, number two."

Darc, if she remembered his name right, narrowed his eyes at her with impatience written on his face before stalking closer, his body soaking into and through anyone in his way. "Keep him here, or you will all. Die," he muttered, glaring at her, "If Marco leaves, you will lose, the Lizard's magic will spread, and it will corrupt everything in existence before the universe collapses into nothing."

"Sounds kinda dope, not gonna lie," Janna lied, giving him a bored, if not curious look, "Buuuut, I guess I can keep him here, for a price."

Darc's form glitched as his eyes narrowed further. He inclined his head in her direction, and speaking just above a whisper he asked, "what?"

As the music blared and partiers danced in undulating groups, Jackie swerved through flailing arms with two drinks tucked to her chest. One of striking green and the other of bubbling black, she was careful to keep them from spilling as she scanned the room for her friend. Where she had disappeared to, god only knew, but Jackie felt like it had been a long few minutes since Janna had been spotted, and that had a good chance at being...dangerous.

It kinda sucked, being put on "Janna Duty", as Marco had put it, but if it ensured no one put X-Lax in the punch, or that there wouldn't be an uprising of ravens storming the house, Jackie was the girl for the job, even if it meant stepping away from May. 'might have to ask Star a little about her,' she found herself reasoning before she looked up, right into the smug grin of Janna Ordonia.

"Sup, Gilmore?" she asked Jackie, snagging the cup of green fluid and swinging a sip with disregard to the designated color palette. Jackie glanced down at 'her' drink, finding that it disagreed with her, and set it down on a nearby table before asking politely, "Not much over here, dude. How are you holding up? I saw you talking to Fergs a while ago."

Jannas smile cracked, barely noticeable to anyone who wasn't well acquainted with her, but Jackie caught it just fine. Waving it off as nonchalantly as possible, Janna hummed, "yeah, but I'm doing good, just focusing on me tonight."

"Atta girl," Jackie nodded, dodging a passing football player that seemed to be stumbling a bit too much, "Smile at the world, and the world smiles back. So long as you're staying out of trouble, I got good faith in you." Janna gave her a derisive snort but nonetheless nodded in assent, passing Jackie back a now-empty cup. "Don't go as crazy as Star with those fortune cookies of yours, Gilmore," she mused, shooting Jackie a lazy look, "But either way, I've got better ways to keep my beautiful smile glowing, annnnd it rhymes with black magic."

Jackie stared at her for a moment before asking, "Is it black ma-"

"It's black magic yeah," Janna sighed, folding her arms, "buuut, for now, I'm going clean until the end of the party. Because I have a job." Before she could explain anything, Jackie snorted and stifled a laugh, unsuccessfully of course. Janna waited patiently enough as she struggled to compose herself, the surfer finally noting, "Do you mean Brittas? Because last time I checked, they canned you for making everyone's burritos spicy."

Where she expected a nod off, Jackie was surprised to see Janna flashing a cheshire grin and reaching toward her neckline. "Old news, Jackie," she purred, pulling her shirt down just enough to expose her clavicle, "This, is my job for tonight."

There, on the upper part of her chest sat a small, wooden talisman surrounded with a chain of wooden beads. With a tap of the talisman, the beads glowed orange for only a moment before Janna pulled her shirt up, hiding the goods away from view. "This little fella might come in handy down the road, and from what I just heard, down the road is looking a little crazy."

Jackie didn't say anything, she stood there, wide eyed and confused, which was exactly what Janna was hoping for. Never one to miss the opportunity to throw a curveball, she tapped Jackie's nose and grinned. "Whassamatter, Gilmore, you look like you've seen a ghost."

"Sorry, just...what?" Jackie fumbled to answer, shaking off her confusion, "What even is that thing? What do you mean 'the road ahead?' Did Marco say something about the Future?" It was common knowledge at this point in their small circle of friends that both Marco and Star were basically oracles at this point, but given how tight-lipped the former could be, and how he could keep the latter from spilling the beans, it was a rarity to actually be told something of value.

Janna made to answer at least one of Jackie's questions, but before she could, the lights in the living room flickered several times as the music died down. All eyes turned towards the television, where Marco had taken place in front of the rainbow suitcase, giving the microphone several test-taps before clearing his throat.

"Hey, uhhh...everyone," he began with unease, the effects of the unknown hypnosis having mostly worn off, likely due to his strenuous activities. "I really appreciate everyone for coming over tonight, and I'd like to wish all of you a great summer in advance! This uh...this school year, god it's been crazy. But after long hours of studying, testing, and practicing, among other things... Well, we made it. Together."

A few scattered bits of applause sounded throughout the living room before Marco pressed on, steeling his nerves and giving everyone a smile. "In all honesty, though?" he asked, drawing some looks, "I don't know a lot of you. Most people here came because someone touched all of our lives, in so many different ways: Star Butterfly." Another round of applause, this time a little more enthusiastic, as expected. Marco gestured to Star, who was currently in a eating competition with Torriddity over Pizza Rolls, before pressing on.

"A lot of crazy things have happened this year, a lot of things have changed. For all of us. But one thing no one expected was Star. A crazy girl from another world that not a lot of us can even begin to understand just walked right in and changed everything. And now? Things have to change again…" some murmurs went through the crowd as Star's eyes widened, but no one spoke out right to what was being said.

"You might not see us for a while… probably a bit longer than just summer vacation. But, I hope, we'll be back before you know it. This party is really a short goodbye, to a change that was destined to happen, no matter how much we hoped it wouldn't." More murmurs, whispering confusion and speculation coursing through his fellow classmates.

"Enjoy the party, and I promise, there will be more to come," Marco concluded, his smile returning to his face as he looked around the room, "With Star, things can change at the drop of a hat, but she's always there for you. Thanks everyone, for being our friends."

This time, there was no applause, no rambunctious cheering for words well said, everyone was quiet. Marco handed the microphone to the closest classmate he could find, and stepped away as the party slowly returned to normal. Or as normal as it could be, the mood utterly shattered by the ominous premonition. He went to find Star, maybe to ask if she had something to say, and that she had better say it while she could, but he only found Torriditty cleaning a plate of pizza pockets.

"Hey uh, have you seen Star?" He asked, absently checking the immediate area, "I thought she was over here a minute ago."

"Oh yeah, she was, but when you killed the mood with your speech she said she was gonna go chill upstairs for a bit, hang out with the girls or something," she mumbled past the disappearing goodies. Marco looked at the plate, then back to Torriddity with a perplexed look. "And you're still here because…?"

"Oh, because these are amazing, and I wasn't finished yet," came the matter-of-fact answer. Marco nodded, glancing around the area for any sign of high energy blonde before Toroddity softly asked, "You two seem a lot better than before, huh? Guess my advice helped a bit."

She said it so nonchalantly, Marco almost missed it over the thrum of the music. He turned to look at her and found her already staring, suddenly no longer interested in the empty plate. Her pointed teeth made her look predatory, but the gleam in her eyes told him she was thoroughly interested in hearing his response. "How do you mean?" He asked, gesturing for her to follow to the kitchen for more snacks. As Torriditty eagerly followed, she waved her hand and listed, "Star freaking out, you worrying about her like crazy, plus that whole, 'possession' thing? You guys look like you're doing better."

"Well, we've been lucky these last few days," he admitted, tearing open the fourth bag of Pizza Pockets, "no transformations, I took Star back to our favorite hangout, and we got everyone together tonight, soo...yeah. We are."

Couch Potato ~ Jakubi

Toridditty shot him a smirk and nodded, though it was clear she was holding back what she really wanted to talk about. As Marco placed the pockets on the pan as instructed, she traced her pointed finger across the counter and asked, "So are you gonna stay with her?"

Marco nearly dropped the pan. "What?" He asked as collectedly as he could, but she kept smiling regardless.

"I don't repeat myself, Marco. So are you or not?"

He looked at her with a bit more scrutiny, narrowing his eyes as he formed a proper response, but her mannerisms suddenly reeked of Janna. It wasn't until he realized that she was talking about returning to Earth, and not dating, that he managed to answer. "So, she told you about that, huh?" He asked.

"Nah, I just have really good ears." Torriditty plucked a frozen pocket off the pan as Marco slid the tray into the oven, ruining its symmetry before heating the stolen goods with her hands. "I dunno what you plan on doing, but if you ask me? You should stay there, and let her figure out the details if she's so captivated by the idea. Remember my advice."

"You sound pretty confident in our chances in fighting the universe," Marco noted, "believe me, I've thought about it plenty, and we've talked about it just as much. We don't really have a choice if things don't want me to stay on Mewni. "

"Quitter talk," she barked before popping the pocket in her mouth. As Marco dialed in the timer, she made her way back towards the living room with a grin never having faded. The white fluorescent lights gave way to shifting rainbow, but her Sunkist skin never seemed to change a shade. "You should stay, because I feel like if you two really wanted to? You guys could make the universe change."

And like that, she rejoined the party, likely to find Tom, or Jackie, possibly even Janna. Marco didn't much care, because in all, she had a point he couldn't shake. They did change the universe. Of course, it was really Star that had done so, but he did help in his own way. The point being, Star never bowed down to an oppressive force, so he had no reason to believe this time would be any different. Right?

They had a lot riding against them for keeping their two months of separation consistent, and sure, they'd been apart longer thanks to Hekapoo, but honestly? Maybe it was Star rubbing off on him,, but he wanted to fight the universe for what he really wanted, and he didn't want to bow to any force that told him no. After all, they had a goddess that would definitely owe them one after Vartek was dealt with.

Making his way back into the party,, Marco reassured himself that he was going to find a way to stay on Mewni. Or break the universe trying.

O - O - O - O - O - O - O

"So what exactly happened between you guys?" Star asked, leaning closer to Kelly and grabbing herself a steaming brownie from the unguarded pan. The teal-haired woolette just smiled and shrugged, pleased with the intrigue her recent news was generating. "I guess you can say I just told him to give me some space. I just can't believe he actually went with it!"

"Well of COURSE he went with it! Girl you know how this song and dance goes!" Ponyhead shouted, despite the noise of the party below being little more than a thrum, "that boy goes away for a week, maybe a month tops, only for you to find that he never even left your head!"

Kelly turned seven shades of red from embarrassment to offence, but Star cut in first with a twirl of her wand, her grin as smug as ever. "Don't you wanna tell us about...Adam, Ponyhead?" Stars grin widened as Ponyhead matched Kelly's change of color palette in an instant.

"Girl you know there's nothin' to tell, that dick ghosted me faster than…" her eyes darted around the room and, was that sweat dripping down her nose? "...I don't know! A ghost or something! Stop looking at me like that!" But now even Kelly was interested in hearing the details. The Woolandia warrior rested her hands on her crossed legs and eyed Ponyhead with ardent intent. "You sure 'bout that Pony? Because, word on the street, is that-"

Before the prodding could finish, Stars door slammed open to reveal an orange demon looking for trouble in all the right places. Torriditty strolled in, closing the door behind her, and sat squarely between Star and Kelly. Already reaching for a brownie, she asked calmly, "you gals engaging in a bit of...gossip?"

"That depends on what you consider gossip, and what you consider old news," kelly muttered, eying Ponyhead. But as her smile turned lighthearted, she added quickly, "but if you've got some tea for us, please: pour away."

The demoness showed her satisfaction through a fanged smirk and extended a hand as she popped the brownie square into her mouth. "Name's Torriditty, nice to meet you."

Not one to shy away from a good conversation, Star leaned forward and happily listened to what would be said. All in total, she was much happier with this course of events than what she was dealing with last time. Heartbreak, awkward conversations, sadness, all things she was forced to endure alone, and all things she was happily rid of.

Fifteen minutes later, after the roudy group of girls had shared enough juicy information to drown in, and the gathering of party snacks had finally dried up, Kelly took a swig of her drink. "I'm just saying, I dunno where you found him, but if he's got a brother? I wouldn't mind going a few rounds."

"Oh please, you'd fight anyone with a pulse," Toroddity laughed with an eyeroll, "I think Stars got a monopoly on the crazy warrior type right now." The group nodded as Star blushed through her cheek marks, the princess of Mewni finding little to defend herself with. Thankfully, Ponyhead came to the rescue in a not so helpful way.

"Mmmm, I don't know, demon girl, like a year ago, Star had a monopoly on Tom too, I think you chick's are just hungry for her sloppy seconds."

If it was possible for Star to blush any harder, the world was going to find out as Torriditty and Kelly exchanged an uncomfortably long silence, the jade-topped woolette breaking it first to comment, "better to want second-hand hunk than an imaginary seahorse."

"Honestly, second-hand hunk kinda runs in this group," Torriditty noted, glancing around the small circle with a thin lipped smile, "I mean look at Star, even she's going after Jackie's old flame."

"BWHA- ugh! No! So not true!" Star fired right back, her earlier facade of a good time gone in an instant, and replaced with deep rooted offense. "Marco and Jackie never dated in this timeline, so I'm enjoying a prime cut of man. And even if it was true, who cares? I was with Tom, so it evens out."

A quiet, collected sipping of drinks from the other three was paired with nonchalant exchanges of glances as Star's patience was stretched even thinner. "Okay! So maybe we all have a problem, except pony, who's boyfriend isn't even real."

"GIRL HOW DARE YOU THROW ME UNDER THE CHARIOT LIKE THAT!" Pony flared, much to the amusement of Kelly and Torriditty. The aqua equine head snorted in frustration before pulling her compact out of her...neck? Pulling it open, she used her tongue to tap several buttons before holding the screen out for everyone to look at. "THEE? He'th real, and a thothal hunk!"

On the screen was, admittedly, a real horse, but whether or not the other three could attest to hunk material was in the air. A seahorse with skin of the deepest purple was there, with a flared black fin mane, a studded choker, and an ear piercing for good measure. Star was the one most surprised, doing a double take at the stunning difference between the 'seahorse' of her timeline, and this new, unchanged 'Adam's.

"Alright alriiiight," came Toridditties impatient response to Pony's shoving closer, "We get it, he looks badass, and real. No need to rub it in."

Star made to add a comment on how different he really was, perhaps to even congratulate Pony on such a steal of a man, but her words died in her throat when the entire house began to shake violently.

"W-w-what the h-h-hell?" Kelly shouted above the incessant shaking, but everyone else was largely concerned with just keeping their footing.

It started slow at first, but it built up into a quake Star couldn't ignore, even shaking the pictures off her walls and rocking the chandelier. She moved to brace herself and warn her friends about what this type of event was like, when the realization struck her.

The last time she had experienced an Earthquake was when they had broken the timeline and nearly been trapped in a time loop when Omnitraxus fixed it for them. And this one was bearing a striking-

"Star? You alright?" Torriditty asked, poking the side of her head to clear her from her daze, "you're zoning out on us here, did you hear what Pony said?"

"Wha?" Star barked as her eyes came back into focus, darting around the room to take in how much hadn't actually changed, "whassatnow?" There was no more shaking, the world had returned to its natural stillness, save for the reverberating thrum of the party below.

"Okay so, girl, you know how Adam was-"

*Knock Knock Knock*

All four girls turned to look at the door, with Star noticing that she alone seemed to carry a tinge of unease following that sudden, and ignored quake. They exchanged accusatory looks, either silently questioning each other as to who had sold out their hideaway, or to play a silent game of straws to see who would answer the door. Kelly, being the first to crack under the pressure of impatience, stood and motioned for the others to not trouble themselves.

"Yup, I got it, I got it. Nobody get up or anything," she grumbled as she neared the door, inching her ear closer to the star cutout on top as she asked, "who is it?" With stoic finality.

"It's Marco," came a dry but worrisome response on the other side, the boy in the red hoodie shifting his weight from foot to foot as he waited for a response of his own.

The earthquake had thrown him for a loop, and had shaken him well enough to abandon the party below in search of Star, due to the fact that he alone had witnessed it. It had brought back fierce reminders of the last instances of an earthquake in his home, and he was wasting no time in finding a quick answer for the 'imagined' shakes.

"What can I do for you, mister warrior?" Came Kelly's chuckling reply, though Marco was sure it wasn't in spite, "you looking to play spin the bottle? Or are you just checking in on the girls?"

Before Marco could answer, there came a wash of prismatic, refractory humming from the other side, and the door fell silent, further provoking his worrisome tendencies as he answered, "I was just coming to check on Star, actually. I had a feeling she might...I don't know. That she might have had a moment?"

Kelly was quiet, and he could hear the distant murmurs as the unknown females of the room discussed something, before she opened the door for him, a confused look hiding behind her glasses. "I actually haven't seen Star since I was downstairs,' the Woolette answered, truthfully as Marco could tell, but what caught his eye was the blink-and-you'll-miss-it residues of… 'was that a glitch?' He wondered. Scattered edges of Star's room buzzed with a smattering of pixelating chirps before quieting down, but he knew what he had seen. The universe had corrected something, and the thought of what it might be made his stomach turn.

"You sure you haven't seen her up here?" He asked, carefully watching Kelly's face. It wasn't that he didn't believe her, but he was watching for a sign to confirm his fears were true. And like clockwork, her brows furrowed as if she was trying to decipher her own memories from truth and fiction. He had gotten his answer already, but nonetheless waited as Kelly slowly affirmed, "no…? I don't...think so? No."

He nodded and turned to go as he offered a quick, "alright well, if you see her send her my way," over his shoulder. Kelly only nodded, her frown remaining as she closed the door.

'Well, Star's gone,' he quickly reasoned as he trudged through the hallway, 'but where did she go?' He remembered her disappearing for a short spell during the last party, but he had no idea where she had gone off to. And after she returned…. well it was safe to say they needed to talk when she came back. 'If, she comes back,' he finished the thought as his stomach tightened. That party ended in many variations of pain, and if things were correcting now of all times, he had to tread carefully to avoid disaster.

'Just make it back in time,' he thought quietly, 'and I'll help you sort things out.'

O - O - O - O - O - O - O

Star, on the other hand, was having an entirely different experience all on her own. That familiar yet disorienting glitching to right her and Marcos changes was something she hoped she never got used to. What she remembered was Kelly answering the door, hearing Marcos voice, Kelly said something she didn't hear, and then it happened.

A wash of purple, white and green sporadically pixelating her vision and stealing her senses made her queasy, and the noise was almost deafening. But just as quickly as it had overtaken her, it began to die down until she was standing on a barely recognizable rooftop, with the glitching fading from her vision in an instant. 'You gotta be kidding me,' were the words that popped into her mind as she looked around the rooftop at a scatter of vagrants, ne'er do wells and punkish kids about her own age or older.

And chief among them in her field of vision? Oscar.

He was sitting on some random car, which she still had no idea how it had gotten here, with his back to her as he played his keytar with both disinterest, and complete captivity. While others around her were milling about and destroying their own property in fires to the tune of the music playing, Oscar was playing his own tune, and seemingly oblivious to everything around him. As. Per. Usual.

Star huffed in annoyance and turned on her heels, happy to walk back home rather than deal with the boy she still couldn't believe she ever had a crush on. But she had only made it about fifteen steps towards the edge of the roof when that same sporadic glitching encompassed her vision, and dissipated to reveal she was now walking towards Oscar.

'Nononononono,' she thought, seizing up and backing away from the tasteless music, but once again the universe saw fit to keep her distressful position going. The glitching colors formed a type of barrier against her back, keeping her from leaving until she stopped her fruitless retreat. She took a step forward to get it to stop, but nonetheless she glared forward at the unintended outcome of her unintended visit. 'I gotta talk to him, don't I," came the rhetorical question in her mind, and curiously, a small trail of glitches fizzled toward Oscar as if to answer.

"Naturally," she mumbled, combing herself over and stealing her nerves before making her way over to the auspicious car, and the out of place boy sitting on it. Her first thought was of their last, real encounter together, as retold later by Marco, where she had threatened to eat him and thrown his car over the school. Her following thought however, was her short bout of pining after the lad and ultimately deciding, in the throes of impatience and annoyance, that Marco was the better choice to be the object of her affection.

And as she stepped around the fender of his car, leaning against it as he continued to drone those notes to his hearts content, Star decided to do what she felt was best in this situation: ignore the glaring issues and pretend to be amicable until she could leave.

"Hey...uh, Oscar," she mumbled, watching one of the raging homework fires burn inside a trash can, "how's it going buddy?"

The boy in question lazily turned to his right, his now unshielded eyes widening at the sight of her as he recoiled slightly towards the opposite fender. "Hey! Uhhh, Star, right? Look I can leave if you want me-"

"No no, you're good," she corrected, waving a dismissive hand to satiate his nerves, "I just have to talk to you before I can leave. Or atleast, that's the working plan these days."

He looked around, either to double check that this was real, or that his ears were still working, and nodded slowly as he turned back to look at her, his green eyes shining no matter his expression. "That's...cool? I think? Nice... to see you?"

Star couldn't help but roll her eyes at his incessant lethargy, but found that his obvious discomfort left her feeling at least a little guilty. Regardless of her varying histories with him, she did kind of drop off the face of the Earth, leave Marco to cut it off with him, and throw him a quarter mile over the school. She owed him at least something, and there was a good chance retribution was her only way out of here.

With a sigh, Star straightened up and turned to really look him in the eye before offering half-heartedly, "Look, I'm sorry I threw your car over the school...with you sitting on it, and I'm sorry for ghos-"

"What?" He asked so suddenly he nearly scared Star out of her skin, setting his keytar down and moving to stand in front of his car, "dude, don't even worry about my ride or 'nothing, I had like, assurance?"

"Yeah….Marco said something about that kinda stuff?" Star finally agreed, quick to note Oscar's sudden change of pace in their conversation. He nodded, slapping the roof of the car he had been sitting on as he gestured for Star to take a better look. What she could tell was that it was a new model, and it was also filled to the brim with his effects and clothes. "Yeah, the assurance company paid me like...enough for a new car? Since you wrecked my old one. So like, don't even worry, you know?"

He noticed Star's conflicted acceptance of his logic, so he rested his keytar over his shoulder and gave her a smile of good re-insurance. "Mango said you were like, having a bad day at the time anyway, so I get it. We all cut loose sometimes, so I can't… you know, blame you for anything. S'cool, you know?"

Despite her own personal narrative with him being painted with far more grievance and displeasure, Star found herself somewhat taken aback by the idea of Oscar harboring no ill will for her. Sure, he might have been a bit afraid of her, lots of people had every right to be, but this was something she wasn't expecting from him. "You wanna chill for a bit? Or do you have to go somewhere?" He asked her, sitting back down and pulling his keytar into his lap.

Star looked back towards the ledge, then back to Oscar, before taking a seat beside him on the hood.

"So how's things been going? Feels like I haven't seen you and Mango in like, forever, you know? Heard you two started dating?"

Star nodded and leaned back against the window, focusing her gaze on the night sky, and the dancing homework embers that intermingled with her twinkling namesakes. "Crummy," she answered bluntly, "things have been crummy. For a lot of reasons, and they're not about to get better anytime soon. But yeah...Marco and I are dating now."

"Wow, bummer," was all Oscar said before he quickly began to correct himself, "not you and Mango dating or anything, that's like...super awesome. Bummer that-"

"I know, Oscar. Thanks," Star interrupted hastily, but she gave him a reassuring smile to show that it wasn't annoyance shortening her words, but rather just her own impatience. He nodded back and joined her in staring at the stars. "Do you like, wanna talk about the crummy stuff?" He asked, "I talk to my therapist about the stuff that eggs me all the time, and it like, really helps me balance out stuff, getting it off your chest, you know?"

Star slowly turned a haphazard glance his way, her idea of 'the stuff that eggs' her and his being very different. But regardless, she saw little reason to be cagey about it to him of all people, so she opted to just tell him. She was likely here for the long haul anyways.

"I have to fight someone, within the next few days, and no, not like. With my fists. But, it's gonna be crazy. I dunno if we're gonna get through it, and a lot of people are counting on us to win," she told him, biting the inside of her cheek. She could only imagine what Marco would say if he was here, but she could also imagine how far less uncomfortable this would be. Wondering how different her first experience here would have been had she brought Marco, Star was surprised to hear Oscar comment, "it sounds like you have a lot to worry about."

The cackle of burning backpacks began to grow more prevalent as the other degenerates of the rooftop enjoyed their first night of freedom in months, and Star simply nodded into the night sky. Oscar, for all of his faults, at least seemed to notice that her next few days were nothing short of daunting. "You keep saying 'we', and 'us', but you don't say it like it's a good thing," he added, scratching his chin, "are you, like...fighting this guy with Mango?"

Star bit back a sparky response before weighing her answer. "Yeah. Marco and I, we've fought him before, but last time he got messed up pretty bad. And I honestly never want to see him like that again."

"So...would it be better if you...didn't bring him?"

Star scoffed as though the idea was incredulous, to put it lightly, and waved it off just as easily. "Well it's not just us this time. We have other people to back us up, and I can't just leave him behind."

Oscar seemed to consider her points, thinking however hard he was able to, but Star noticed he either wasn't that invested in the issue, or didn't see her way of thinking in the slightest. And as the rooftop party raged further, the two individuals enjoying a moment of peace on the hood of the car continued to relax. "Well, if you're worried that he might be a...lie ability? Maybe it's safer for him to stay. I've seen you do crazy things, so maybe...you don't need Mango to beat some guy up, and you can come back home without seeing him all messed up?"

Once again, Star scoffed at the idea of leaving Marco behind, but this time there was less allegiance to the act. She had left him behind last time, after all, but the way things were set now? She didn't have a choice. "I can't. I can't do this without him, and I made a promise that we'd do it together."

"Even if it's like, not safe for him?"

Star found herself nodding and glared up at the stars above. She hated that very idea, that brining him was in effect putting him in danger, but that was the cost of battle when it came to their forever changed lives. "I can't make the mistake of going it alone again."

Oscar nodded in assent to her ruling and began to lightly tap seemingly random notes on his keytar. "S'cool. Whatever you think is best, right? Just playing...uhmm…." More random notes, but with a growing melody Star hadn't noticed before. A rising and falling of highs and lows that was as rhythmic as breathing in one's sleep. "Devil's lawyer? I dunno. My therapist says it alot."

Star turned a bit to give him a sideways, but curious look. "What do you see a therapist for? You seem so laid back," she noted, finding a simple kind of peace in the steadily entrancing music.

"My mom died, like...a year ago I think," he said quietly, but without much hesitation, "was pretty hard for a few months, she was the only person I really had left. She uhm…" Oscar looked down at his keys in a sudden wave of focus, and like that, the music fell out of harmony, back to its cacophonic nature. "She gave me this. I never really liked playing, but she did, said if I practiced, I'd be amazing at it. One day, I wanna be as good as her, you know?"

His question was all but missed as Star was still reeling from everything she had just heard. Both musically, and emotionally, Oscar had just hit her like a truck, and she had no idea in what manner to respond beside a simple, "I'm sorry for-." But he was fast to cut in.

"No no, you like- you know. You have your own stuff, I hate to like...take away from that. S'in the past and junk, just gotta keep moving forward, even if it stinks to leave people we love behind," he finished, donning that satisfied grin he always wore whenever he played those awful notes.

Star was left to mull over that notion beside him, too distracted by her own premonition to give him the support she felt he still deserved. He made a good point, but in the end, she had her mind made up, even if his idea was now permanently burned into her brain. "Thanks, Oscar," she gave him before reclining further onto the hood, trying her best to enjoy his music.

"Uhhh, for?"

"I guess just, being you," she answered. And as those sporadic clouds of glowing backpack embers burned like twinkling stars all their own, Star closed her eyes and tried to feel as free as he probably did every single day. What she wasn't expecting was when Oscar nudged her arm and offered a thick stack of papers, smiling as he asked, "you wanna burn some shit?"

O - O - O - O - O - O - O

"Nah man, that's not even the point, I could give two shits about politics and whether or not we actually save the world," Tom pointed out, slamming both hands onto the countertop and glaring at Marco, "but Love Sentence is coming out with a new album in a few weeks, so I'm not trying to fuck all of this up and have to miss out on that!"

"Sooo, you don't care if one of us dies, as much as you care about seeing these flamboyant dudes singing?" Toriddity cocked an eyebrow, stepping closer to loom over him as Tom hurriedly held up two hands defensively and made to wrap his arms around her. "Nonononooo; I don't care if most of us die, so long as I still get to see them in concert baaaabe, cmonnnn," he pressed, but she merely scoffed and shoved him back.

Marco grinned, sipping a questionably yellow, foamy drink from his solo cup before adding, "if it's all the same Tom, I'd leave you to die if it meant scoring those tickets."

"Thank you, Marco, finally someone with some common sense!"

Toriddity rolled her eyes and left the two morons to rave about sold out tickets and the less important fate of the world in search of something more interesting. Once she was gone, Tom gave Marco a pleased grin, his sauve demeanor shifting towards one of gratitude. "I gotta say, Diaz, I never really expected much out of you when you scuffed me in the street that day."

Marco waited for a moment for some sort of continuation of the thought, rolling his hand as he offered, "buuuuut?" Tom stared at him with a confused look on his face before taking another drink, adding into the cup, "nah, that was all I had. Just feels good to get it off my chest."

"Well, I never," Marco mocked, shaking his head with a grin, "Better hope it doesn't come down to me to save your life tomorrow."

Tom, finally breaking his facade, burst into a fit of laughter before finally chuckling, "you know I'm kidding, c'mon, don't do me like that. What I mean is, you're definitely not the shriveled up little meatbag I took you for at first. I'm honestly just glad I never burned you alive like I wanted to."

"Touching, Lucitor, really," Marco fired right back, slugging Tom on the shoulder, "but honestly, I wouldn't be half of what I am now if I hadn't danced with Star that night. We got beefed up apparently."

Tom set down his drink with sudden clarity and shook his head, jabbing a sharp finger into Marco's chest. "Power doesn't make the man, Diaz. I'm talking about what's in here. You're a lot more than I imagined was possible, coming from a human, you know?"

Stammering, Marco tried to see the compliment through the not-so-subtle insult to his, species? "Thanks...Tom? Glad we could be friends in this timeline too," he added quickly, just as an orange blur swooped in and grabbed Tom by the collar of his shirt.

"Stealing my- our boyfriend for dancing, Marco!" She called over her shoulder as she dragged him into the crowd, the next song drowning out his protests and ultimately, his acceptance.

Ashes ~ Stellar

As Marco watched them go, a contented feeling in his gut at seeing one of his best friends beginning a dance with the largest smile on his face, a peculiar flash of yellow caught his eye just behind the crowd of half-inebriated teens. "What the…?" He mouthed, leaving his post in the kitchen to investigate. Weaving through the churning mass of people, that flash of blonde caught his eye again until finally he broke through, finding none other than Star having just made it through the back door.

She was out of breath, her jalisco dress thoroughly covered in dirt, and her hair singed in more than a couple places, but regardless, she smiled when she saw him and pulled him close for a quick kiss. One he was all too eager to reciprocate. Once they finally parted, he looked her up and down once more and asked, "soooooooo….how uhm...how was it?"

Recognizing that Marco likely had no idea where she had been, Star nodded and gestured toward her dress and hair. "It's just a little soot from a fire."

His blank expression told her he needed at least some more context, so she elaborated further, her excited smile never faltering. "I got whooshed off to Oscar's rooftop party, some place I went last time, and we were burning some schoolwork and backpacks to celebrate the end of the year."

"That sounds...fun?" Marco noted, his skepticism apparent by the crooked smile on his face.

"It was, until I got a little carried away with the fire, and kiiinda almost set Oscar's new car on fire," she added, though she was fidgeting with her hair, "they...politely asked me to leave after that, and I remembered our time crunch over here, so I came running!"

She finished that note with a torrent of oddly enthusiastic laughter, prompting Marco to ask with more concern, "so, nothing crazy happened besides that? Are you alright?" He was, of course, referring to the glitching that must have taken her there, but Star saw the question as a veiled prod about whether or not she was still on board for tonight. So with a furious nod, she answered, "Yup! Doing good over here Diaz, super ready to go, no issues whatsoever!"

"You sound like you're covering up a murder," Marco noted, his expression oozing with more skepticism, "you sure you're alright?"

Star's eyes darted about the room before landing on his, and she started as if she had just realized she had been asked another question. Finally, she relaxed some and dialed her excitable attitude back down to an eight. "Yeah, just some uh...painful memories of tonight? And I guess I'm kinda nervous to see...my mom?"

Nodding, as though that answer was at least somewhat acceptable, Marco gestured to her ruined outfit and offered simply, "well, you should probably go change, so she doesn't think you burned down another kingdom, right?"

Star smiled and pulled him in for another kiss, this one lingering for a few moments longer than the last. "Are the girls still up there?" She asked into his shoulder, letting him wrap his arms around her waist. "Nah, they cleared out the moment they heard someone brought booze."

Her eyes widening and her lungs quickly filling with air, Star mocked a gasp and asked, "and the Marco Diaz is okay with boooooze at his party?"

"No," he answered with deadly finality, turning an impatient glare at the frosty keg now resting underneath the potions table. It was anything but discreet, and yet Marco had let himself be pressured to keep it. Go figure.

"Look at you, all cool with the illegal stuff," Star chided, grinning at him as they seperated, "lemme go get changed, and maybe we can show these losers how we drink on Vintal."

"That's a horrible idea," he noted while giving her an earnest smile, "but...if it's not too crazy, maybe a little."

Star beamed at him and made her way closer to the stairs. "Atta boy, Diaz," she remarked, turning to go before stopping just a few feet shy of the first step. He watched her as she stood there for a moment, hesitating to ask what she was doing until finally, she turned and came bounding back to him.

"Woah wha-" was all he could ask before she collided with him, drawing him into a kiss he wouldn't soon forget. She played a song with her lips against his that sent shivers up his spine, and held his jaw as he held her closer. The party, the music, the plan, the future; it all faded away until all that was left was the softest of lips on his, and the faint smell of smoke.

He sighed with pleasure, deepening their kiss as Star pressed closer. She dragged her hands down his chest and let them rest just above his naval, a smile forming between her cheeks as she felt his abs. Finally, Marco pulled away with a soft chu, and let himself be hypnotized by her radiant sapphire eyes. She giggled at the sight of his stupor and immediately went in for a hug, content to simply rest in his arms for a moment longer.

"I wish we could go back to the day we met, redo everything, you know? We could stop all of this before it started, and just enjoy being us," she sighed. Marco was quick to nod, squeezing her as he answered, "that was sorta the plan when they sent me back the first time. But then again, when do we ever get what we want."

"Mmm, usually when we run away and hide," Star noted, stepping back and admiring the view in full detail, "I'm especially good at that, which you'll find out pretty soon."

"I noticed," he chuckled, but after a moment, in a more somber tone he added, "but after this? We don't have to try hiding anymore. Imagine all the trouble we can get up to on Mewni." He waited for her to agree with her usual, troublesome enthusiasm, but Star donned a faraway look, her smile wilting. "Let's focus on making it through, first. And then we can celebrate with some corn shakes...among other things."

Marco grinned at the sentiment, but before he could respond, Star tapped his nose and took off without another word for the stairs, rounding the banister and launching up the steps at breakneck speeds. Her stomach was positively overflowing with butterflies for the next few days, but whether it was fear, excitement, spite, or dare she say it, lust, she wasn't sure. All she knew was that Marco was involved, and for that reason she was happy.

But when she reached her room, kicking open the door in a mad dash to get changed and back downstairs, she was met with a sight that replaced every emotion that had been building since she got back.

"Hello, Star," Moon breathed, her voice hoarse and her chest heaving with every breath. She was wearing her armor like last time, but neither she nor Star was surprised to see the other in their current states, Moon looking far worse for wear.

"Hey, Mom. ...and, Dennis? Annnnd Ludo?" Star threw a quizzical look at the two avarius brothers, one of which was unconscious and bandaged, but found it best not to ask. She'd have plenty of time to talk about when everyone was loaded up in the chariot and screaming towards the magical sanctuary. "Are you ready to head out?" Star asked, moving towards the closet to change, thankfully out of view.

Moon started to argue a point that hadn't been said, but found her words dying in her throat. "I- you-...Y-yes? We are," she stammered. Looking down at Ludos unconscious form, then to Dennis. However, Moon found her second wind and stormed towards the closed closet door. She was furious that such an event as the one she had just narrowly survived had been kept a secret from her.

"Star! Why in Mewni's name did you not inform me of the magnitude- the devastation that thing is capable of?!" She shouted, her voice cracking under the strain of her words, "I was barely able to escape with my life, let alone Ludo! And the high commission is going through who knows-"

"Mom." Star poked her head from her closet, wearing her favorite narwhal dress and kitty boots. She marched right up to Moon and glared at her. "You know I can't tell you about that kinda stuff. Warning you about what happens, makes things not happen how they're supposed to."

"W-well yes, but-" Moon fought to keep her vivacity but Star was on a roll, listing off on her finger, "plus, I can't change things even if I wanted to. If I step out of line? The universe goes all crazy and changes things back, even erasing stuff if it has to, so I knew you'd make it out okay."

Furious, Moon started to raise a point against that logic, but found that all the wind had left her sails when Star moved to hug her. Her daughter was still safe, despite everything, that was all that mattered. And she had to keep it that way. With one swift motion, Moon drew her pair of dimensional scissors and cut open a lavender portal. "It's time to go, sweetheart."

Star tried to ignore how worn out Moon seemed and took a step back, nodding in assent as she gestured toward the door. "I knew you'd say that. Lemme just grab Marco, Tom, Torr-"

"No," Moon suddenly snapped, shattering the moment and shooting Star a horrified look, "Marco is not coming. And Thomas can find his own way home."

Star looked at her with shock apparent on her face and asked quietly, "...What? Why not?" Maybe she missed something from last time, but was her mother that against Marco tagging along? Sure it would be dangerous, but if Moon planned on hiding, wasn't it better to bring-

"I know what happened to him," Moon breathed, spitting out the words like they both terrified, and repulsed her. She was shaking, a detail Star had somehow missed, but regardless she stood tall, watching her daughter was careful scrutiny. Star stepped away from the door, watching Moon right back with wide, confused eyes as she asked, "what do you know…?"

Moon waited for a moment, wasting precious time surely, but finally exhaled after some deliberation. "Marco...has been compromised," she answered, the bitter feeling of betrayal from her own daughter lingering, "you kept your fight with Vartek a secret from me. His stolen soul, you sharing yours, corn, the fact that Vartek used him as a puppet to fight you?"

"None of that matters, Mom," Star fired back with a wave of her hand, "we handled it, and Marco can still fight just fine."

Growling in frustration, Moon argued her point with a thinning patience Star had grown accustomed to. "This is not up for debate. That Monster told me he controlled Marco before, and left him for dead after you had to fight him. Star, we cannot bring him because he could be used as a weapon against us! As he is now, he's a liability."

Star Narrowed her eyes at the second instance of that being said in one night.. 'He's uhhh... a lie ability…?'

"CAN YOU GUYS STOP TELLING ME MY BOYFRIEND IS BASICALLY DEAD WEIGHT!?" Star snapped, storming over to Moon and pushing a finger in her face, "I beat Marco and Vartek single-handedly! And IF It comes to it, I can-"

"ENOUGH!" Moon boomed, now well and through with arguing. Both Dennis and Star took a sudden step back, and both for different reasons, as Moon towered over Star with a growing, battle hardened adrenaline and rage the princess rarely saw. "If you try to bring Marco, you'll only get him killed. Is that what you want? To be responsible for his death? All because you wanted to bring him along?"

Star remained silent against Moon's logic, her bubbling attitude now shriveled into nothing. Dennis watched from the other side of the room, though he felt he should be anywhere but here. Sensing her daughter had no argument for her question, Moon pressed on.

"Your safety is my responsibility, above anything else in the universe. But his safety shouldn't be yours," Moon offered, kneeling to level her eyes with Stars, "you have to trust me, and leave him and your friends here. It's what's best for them."

"Why?" Star finally managed to ask, her look of shock exchanged for one of deep intrigue. Moon stood and glanced back at Dennis before tilting her head and asking back, "why what?"

"What did he do that scared you so bad that you don't think all of us can stop him?" She elaborated. Her tone wasn't skeptical or demeaning, no, she was genuinely concerned and it showed in Moon's grave answer.

"Star… Vartek turned the entire High Commission into those...things. Those poor fools would have killed us if we hadn't gotten out in time."

Moon was, of course, leaving out her dip in the darkest of magic that allowed her to subdue Vartek long enough for her escape. But in Star's own words, none of that mattered now. All that mattered was that they had a second chance, and Moon wasn't going to waste it. "Vartek isn't that strong," Star noted, narrowing her eyes at her mother, "and even if he was, we'd stand a better chance fighting him together."

"Star…," Moon breathed, her exasperation rising to its limit. But she tried to hold firm, instead going for the easier, more logical route. "I have to keep you safe from that monster at all costs, but from my understanding, he already has what he needs from Marco. That stone, with his...soul?"

Moon's efforts were rewarded with Star's heightened interest in her point. The young princess listened as intently as Dennis, waiting to see where this was going as Moon continued. "You know he'll be safer here, and as for Thomas and princess...Torid? We can't risk dragging underworld nobility into this, corn forbid letting the son of our most powerful ally die in our fight."

Desperately, Star looked towards Dennis for any kind of support, but almost as expected, the Avarius simply gave her a sullen shake of his head. "I...I didn't personally see...what happened," he breathed, his exhaustion evident, "but even I could feel that magic a mile away. We have to leave, preferably soon."

"But-...we can-..." Star floundered as she looked from Dennis to Moon, and back. She wanted to flat refuse, or to just say fuck it and do what she wanted. Like she always did. But she didn't. she was sitting here, arguing the point. And part of why that was so terrifying was that she didn't have a real argument of her own.

If Vartek could turn the entire High Commission, instead of just draining them like Toffee had done, who was to say that he couldn't use that same magic on Marco. And who was to say that he still didn't have some semblance of control over him anyways?

Marco could fight, and he had power that could keep up with Star's when he was at his best, so the thing that scared Star the most wasn't that he might not be strong enough. Now, it was that Vartek might use Marco against her, as a hostage or a weapon. Marco had sacrificed himself in that desert to save her before, and it had gotten him killed. So now, with not only her mother telling her it was better to go alone, but the past as well?

"Fine." Star glared at Moon, sickened that in the end, she was actually agreeing to this. "I'll leave him here, for now."

"What?"

All parties present turned to look at the door, and all but Moon were surprised to see Marco standing in the threshold of Star's room. His expression was little less than complete shock before it suddenly shifted to an anger she hadn't seen of him in some time. "Like hell I'm staying here!" He shouted, mostly at Moon, though Star suffered the most recoil.

Quickly, Star closed the gap between the two and wrapped her arms around him. Much to her delight, he wasn't so pissed as to not hug her back, but much to her despair, he was still pretty pissed. "Star what the hell? I thought we were doing this, together," he hissed through clenched teeth, "we have a plan, and it won't work if it's just you by yourself!"

"Marco, do you trust me?" She asked with an unsettling, calm look. Marco hesitated for a moment, hoping she had something in mind, or she was going to fill him in on some last minute plan, until finally he nodded yes. Star let him go from their hug and took a few steps back until she stood just before Moon.

But rather than enact some plan, or jump start a last ditch effort to go their own way in spite of the universe telling them no? Star only lowered her eyes and kept her hands held behind her back. "I'm so...so sorry, Marco. But, my moms right."

"Wait, Star what are you-" he began, but it was like he was talking to a wall.

"If Vartek turns you back, or worse, Marco? Your safety is my responsibility, and I can't risk losing you again," Star affirmed, her downcast look quickly replaced with one of grave determination. "Not to him, not to Toffee, not to anyone."

"You can't just tell me to stay," Marco shouted, glaring at everyone present, "I'm not just gonna sit here and let you all go kill yourselves alone! We have a plan Star! And if you leave, I'll just follow you to Mewni like last time!" He was turning beyond reason, but he didn't care. If she left alone, they were as good as dead.

But what no one expected was for Star to pull Marco's scissors from behind her back, and swipe them to her right, opening a swirling violet and cyan portal. "I can't let you kill yourself to keep me safe again. You're staying here, Marco," she said in a voice so quiet, the gentle hum of the party below nearly drowned it out.

Horrified, Marco checked both his pockets, his eyes shooting wide open as he found nothing in them. 'The hug…' he realized, 'she stole them during the hug…'. Marco stared at her in shock as Dennis carried Ludo through the portal, leaving him, Moon, and Star. Without warning, and not one to dwell on ceremony, Marco charged forward, hell bent on getting his scissors back, and at the very least, reaching Star.

But as always, when did he ever get what he wanted. The universe decided not to take pity on the boy, and in his way formed a wall of pixelations and glitching sparks, creating a fragmented membrane he couldn't cross, as hard as he tried. It was as solid as iron and burned at the touch, but still he pushed, desperate to keep Star from leaving as it pulsed and rippled.

"Marco, please," Moon sighed, stepping toward the portal, "I'll see her safely returned. Of that, you have my word. Please, just-" Marco had heard enough.

He pressed harder against that invisible membrane, the pixelating sparks darting through his hands as he released that familiar pressure in his gut. With a warmth that grew like wildfire, up his arms shot blue flames that lapped against the surface. But still, it held firm as Moon turned towards the portal. "Please. Stay here, Marco. For her," she asked.

Star watched with growing indecision as Marco pressed harder, his flames burning brighter by the second as he fought to not only control them, but to ignore the searing pain that came with fighting the wall. "P...please. d-don't go…" he struggled, his eyes rimmed with azure flames, though firmly locked with Stars.

"Tarda."

She stared at him. The boy she promised to stick with, the one person she trusted above all others. The man she was now leaving behind. Star covered her mouth and fought back the stinging droplets clouding her vision, before turning towards the portal. Marco watched as the world fell silent, his vision narrowing to encompass only Star, as she stepped through.

Now alone with him, Moon stepped closer and pressed a hand against the sporadic membrane, the warmth of the other side barely seeping through. "I'll bring her back, Marco. I promise," she whispered, only to him.

But as she stepped away, Marco lost what little control he had left, the heat engulfing his arms sparking as recklessly as the glitching wall of pixels. "HE'LL KILL ALL OF YOU! DON'T! LEAVE!" He screamed at the top of his lungs, forcing every ounce of what he had left in his body directly in front of him. But when the wall held true, he brought both hands to his sides in a ready stance and felt a coursing wave of energy building up in his chest until finally, he released it.

Marco brought both hands together to form a point and like a lit acetylene torch, the blue flames screamed just as loud as he pushed harder. Fire began to roll over every surface on his side of the room, waves of hot air rippling in every direction. His hands were like beacons of searing, blinding heat that fought hard to break the barrier. But the universe fought harder.

"Siccabitur."

As his immediate surroundings were reduced to ash, and the flames before him roared like a jet engine, Marco pushed with all of his might, forcing more and more fire at the barrier. But even with every ounce of energy he could control, the point refused to budge. The barrier held, and he was no closer to following Star to Mewni. To battle.

Without another word, Moon stepped through the portal, closing it behind her as Marco pressed further, when suddenly, every ounce of energy left his body.

"Cadere," Janna whispered from the doorway, her shadow overtaking him as his flames died out.

His body began to scream with pain the longer he fought to keep it upright. Finally, he succumbed to his exhaustion, pulling back the reigns and letting his smoldering arms slump to his sides. He fell to his knees with the fresh realization that he was now alone on his mind, but fate wasn't done with him. It still had one more thing to take.

All around him, as hot tears fell down his cheeks, Marco watched as the glitching from the barrier began to spread to every corner Star's room. Her chest began to pixelate, her bed sporadically glitched into nothing, until finally, even the walls began to charge and jolt with latent energy. Before his very eyes, the room his best friend had coaxed from thin air, glitched back into the spare bedroom from their first day, only a few lazy pixels remaining.

The familiar thrum of the party downstairs returned, and was accompanied with heavy stomping and running footsteps, but Marco didn't care. He stared at the room that used to be filled with joy and splendor as Tom and Toridditty burst in behind him, pushing Janna out of the way to see what was going on.. He didn't turn around, though, he just sat there, his eyes locked forward and his hands still smoking from the contact.

"What the hell happened in here?" Tom demanded, looking around the unfamiliar space as Torriditty stepped over to Marco and knelt beside him. "My work here is done," Janna murmered, her obvious disinterest not hidden from the rest of the room, "though, you guys missed one helluva show." Her talisman fading from orange back to brown, no one else noticed as she tucked her shirt back up into place.

"What the hell happened?" Tom asked, stepping closer to Marco and eying Torriditty. But Marco only shook his head, his eyes trained on the spot Star had been standing. His breath caught in his throat as he answered in a voice like gravel.

"...she…left…'

"...what...have you done?"

"What. Did you do to me…?"

O - O - O - O - O - O - O

"Do you believe in fate, Darc?"

"You know that I don't."

Glossaryck toyed with the now rolling teal campfire between them, poking its embers to coax even more heat from the logs. "I didn't think you did. The future can be such a brittle thing, anyways, always changing and bending to one's will. I think that's why this worked so well."

"Do enlighten me," Darc grumbled, his head resting lazily in his hand. He glared at Glossaryck, the impish little weirdo and felt nothing, but the front he held was almost a requirement in their dealing with one another.

"You had your hand in giving Janna that talisman, you can work directly to steer events as you see fit," the small elvish creature pointed out, "wheras I, 'the almighty and all knowing Glossaryck', cannot. I gotta work through other people to get what I want, to steer the future. But not you."

"I saw that," Darc noted with glum acceptance, "you got lucky. The glitches worked in your favor this time. I didn't think your little wall would hold him back, much less that you were even allowed to interfere like that. "

"Yet here we are. Thankfully your little gift to that pleasent young lady helped keep things on track." Glossaryck smiled at him, a sign of pleasantries that was not returned. As the dark space around them periodically cackled with blue electricity, Glossaryck's eyes shot open as if he remembered something. "Have I told you why these things happen in every single timeline?"

"If it's something about fate, or destiny, I don't wanna hear it," Darc grumbled before pausing for a moment. He eyed Glossaryck with a sudden, growing interest before asking, "unless, it's not?"

The impish little blue man grinned, his buck teeth sticking out in a pleased smile. "It's amazing what you can make happen with a little subliminal messaging, Darco. You put Marcos files on top of the principals desk, he gets called to the office to "show the new girl around". You turn off every porch light but the Diaz's, and Star thinks its the most inviting place. You see, fate is a lie that mortals tell themselves purely out of laziness. The future is not set in stone, and it can change on a whim. And when things start to go in a direction I don't like? Down a path that doesn't lead to my goal? The butterfly effect can be a powerful tool."

Darcs eyes widened slightly, but by enough for Glossaryck to notice. The being of darkness stared at him for a moment before asking, "so you're behind everything, aren't you?"

"No, not by a long shot," Glossaryck admitted with a shrug, "but the universe- this universe and I, we want the same thing: no more magic. And when our little friend came back with a mission of ruining that, we stepped in to fix it."

"And what happens if you just let things be? What if your "goal" doesn't happen?"

Glossaryck mulled over the question for a moment before pulling a pudding cup from his robe and peeling it open. Darc waited patiently for his answer, which came as simply, "the Ones in charge would be happy. And, well. I can't have that."

"Were they happy when you erased Merina?" Dark asked, sitting up straighter and eyeing his counterpart with more intensity. It wasn't like he took personal offense to it, or at least, not anymore. Glossaryck however, dropped his smile and lowered his gaze to the fire, his demeanor having all the wind sucked out of it.

"No...and neither were we. We intervened where we shouldn't have, and we very nearly paid the price for it," he breathed, lowering himself until he sat on the ethereal ground next to the fire. For a void, it was still rather warm. "But, in light of our recent mistake, we're now trying to fix it. And if all goes well? You'll be back where you belong, Luna will be where she belongs, but those two will have to forge a new future for themselves, unable to return to where they belong."

"Sounds complicated," Darc murmered to himself, leaning back and laying down on nothing, "wake me when he finally comes around to asking for my help."

AUTHORS NOTE

Hey Ya'll! I hope you enjoyed the last chapter before….duh duh duhhhh, BATTLE FOR MEWNI! It's gonna be a four part chapter, kinda like how the show handled it. No, they won't be shorter chapters, and no, they won't be super delayed. Dovetailing off of that, sorry for the long wait everyone, but after months of work, both physical and financial, WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!

Nancy and I should be moving in within the next few weeks, which will mean more time for Forgotten Ventures! Of course, until then, I have Fleeting Moments to expand on, my next turn at The Once and Future Queen, and maybe some art thrown into the mix, but I promise it won't be a million years like this one. Ya bois about to have so much more free time than I've had these last few months. Overtime out the ass, house hunting, driving all over Texas to find a good deal, its been wack. But finally, things are settling down.

So, yeah! More content is on the way, and at a better pace than it's been. Thank you all so much for reading this story, and being a part of its journey. You guys are seriously awesome. If you wanna leave some feedback, groan about the music choices, AMA, or you just wanna say something to yours truly, review or PM me, my inbox is always open to you. Thanks again, and I'll see y'all around the bend! BUH BYYYEEE!

~Mr. Ronald Reagan