Forgotten Ventures
Together Again Pt 1
"YOU DID WHAT?"
Merina stared at Star, the young girl's eyes wide in disbelief. "Released him, like I said," she returned without question, "If we can get them back, and only if, Toffee will be set free from the Realm of Magic."
"Do you have any idea how- Do you know what he- Girl are you nuts?" Star demanded. After everything they'd only recently been able to best, after everything Vartek put them through since day one, and Merina wanted to set another Septarian free? "Why would you agree to that?"
Not that she had any inclination to defend herself, as she wasn't really in any position to be scrutinized, Merina shrugged. "I met with Seth, and he knew where we have to go to find the Nexus. It was the only way to bring them back. Or would you rather I simply walk away and give up then and there?" Star didn't answer right away, so she pushed a bit harder. "Is that what Marco would have wanted?"
"Don't use him as a some weird moral bargaining chip," Star grumbled immediately. "I get your reasoning but don't pretend like you even considered that when you made the deal. Toffee is dangerous, Merina, in a completely different way than Vartek."
"You said you had plenty of time to speak with him," she countered, "What did you make of him? What's done is done, but if we should be on our guard once we find Marco and Vartek, it would be in our best interest to raise an alarm now."
Given the choice of pressing on, or bringing the many chains of blunders Star would now have to answer for to Moon's attention, she'd be happy picking the former. They didnt know if they were acting on borrowed time, and there was no telling what that discussion would entail. Star took a deep breath, let it out as a weary sigh, and shook her head. "I don't think he's going to try what he did in my timeline, so for now we should be okay. With Ludo 'purified' and the other half of my wand under my mom's watch, he'll have to make new plans anyway." She narrowed her eyes at the dirt floor of Bullmond's hut, the men having been asked to leave for a private discussion to mixed reception. "I want Marco back, but throwing Toffee back into the mix puts him at risk. Not to mention the fallout with my mom when I explain everything. But.. yeah. What's done is done, and we can't have one without the other, so we need to keep moving. What else have you got?"
Merina nodded, growing a reed with her rejuvenated magic and taking to crudely replicating Seth's drawing. "Seth said we needed to find a temple, one that doesn't obey the laws of time. From there we can follow the Ones to the Nexus." Pulling back the reed, she gestured to the drawing of what looked to be a stone monument surrounded by hills; a columnous temple with an imposing dome. Star leaned closer to observe the building, nodding along. "Thing is, I know where we can find this place. It's in the same dimension as Father Time, and it's where Vartek made me with the idea that I wouldn't decay without a body."
Star gave her a sheepish smile. "Glad the guy had at least one good idea, huh?"
Nothing.
Merina didn't react at all, clearing her throat into her hand and continuing. "Seth said the Nexus was like a place, a thing, and an idea all rolled into one. The Ones made magic, and the Nexus came with it. It's the-"
"It's like a hub at the center of the universe," Star cut in, "The big guys built magic to connect everything and help the universe grow, and the Nexus is like the roots of it all." At a pregnant pause, Star looked up to find Merina staring. She shrugged. "Saw it in a vision, buncha magic junk, you know how it is. I'll give you the deets another time, but for now, we should find the temple and figure out where our boys are."
She didn't expect the sentiment to land, but Merina seemed rather taken by the idea. She was, after all, well versed in the potential prospect of meeting with him again, as Star was with Marco. But that wasn't important; there was a time and place for that kind of lofty talk. The two stood before Star handed Merina the scissors. "Lead the way."
Merina took the scissors, but the sheer weight and heat of them made her hands weak. These weren't just hand-me-down pairs given to many of the royal families. These were the fabled scissors of Marco Diaz-Butterfly. A general, a king, and a warrior unlike any other. To even have seen these in the future would have taken months of paperwork and wages. To hold them…? She shook those geeky thoughts out of her head and opened the blades carefully, using her memories to paint the picture she needed. With one fluid cut, a blue and green portal was cut through the air, and the two stepped through.
On the other side, they were met with a familiar sight to both of them: A dimension with rolling lavender hills of sand. There were trees, rock formations, a glittering galaxy that took up half the horizon, and clocks. Everywhere they looked there were clocks. But in the distance, finally, their progress was showing. The lost temple sat in the distant drifts of sand, cocked at a slight angle and crumbling; always in a perpetual state of stagnant disarray. "Seems easy enough," Star reasoned, taking a step forward. Right before a voice called her name.
"Star Butterfly!" a man cried out to her right. She followed the voice and found Father Time himself riding closer on his rolling cog wheel that probably made sitting down anywhere else a nightmare. And of course, pulled by hamsters, of all things. "I've been waiting quite some time for you to arrive."
"Heyyyyy, Father time," she called back, "Gosh… it's uhhh, yeah it's been a long time. Or, maybe not? How does that work here?"
"Oh my, even discussing that would put far too much strain on you, so let's not dwell on the details." He pulled the reins on the hamsters, slowing time to a crawl for everyone but those three. Gesturing to Merina he continued, "We don't meet until now, I'm the Father of all Time, writer of history, surveyor of mud, blah blah blah. Star, I have urgent matters to discuss with you, if you aren't too busy?"
Star hissed out a sigh and tried not to look as frustrated as she felt. "I uhhmmm… actually have a really important thing I need to-"
"Nerp! You have all the time in the world right now," Father time cut in, his demeanor shifting to one of impatient sincerity. He jumped down from the wheel and sat in a mud puddle, idly making mud pies with a frown above his beard. "Despite my best efforts, there's been another breach. And I want to make sure we're not dealing with a situation on the same scope as what I had to deal with during the singularity event."
Star stared at him, her eyes wide and her expression vacant. "Whut?"
Merina gave her a gentle shove. "He's talking about your fight with Vartek, hun."
"Exactly that. He was the first, and when his corrupted magic pooled into a singularity I felt ripples all over the timestream. Now, I won't point fingers, and I applaud your ability to give magic a new Millhorse, but I'd feel a lot more at ease if that kind of thing didn't happen again?"
He said it like they had a choice. Like people didn't die because of Vartek, but Star knew better than to bite. He was an omniscient, immortal being that could bear witness- "Did you say… a second?" She asked, her train of thought ripped back by that one passing phrase. "Like, Marco, merina, or Vartek? I don't really know which of them came back first."
Father Time stroked his beard full of mud and shook his head. "No, Marco was an idea. Merely information and memories passed from another Marco's timeline. Merina was created here with the same principle, and was even given a vessel from our universe. Vartek was the first being to come wholly from another timeline, bringing foreign time into our universe." He slapped the top of a mud pie and smeared it against his cheek. "With the presence of a second intruder, I'd suggest you try not to get rid of them the same way as-"
"You mean there's another person from the future?! Who is it?" Star demanded. Her voice was frantic and demanding, but Father Time didn't seem to mind.
"I'm not sure. I wasn't able to pin down Vartek until after quite some time, and this one's fairly recent. They only popped up a few days from now."
Merina nudged Star and inclined her head towards the princess. "Wouldn't that line up with your vision of Darc? Could he have been warning you about them?" Star didn't react. She was too busy imagining the possibility of a second individual from the future, one presumably 'strong enough to make Vartek look like a schoolyard bully.' If something was really coming, and if it were coming from the future, from another timeline?! She balled one fist and grabbed Merina's arm with the other. "We gotta go. Sorry, Father Time, I'll be careful not to make any more black holes, and I'll keep my eyes open, I promise!"
As the two took off towards the distant temple, Father Time finished off another mud pie and called after them, "Just be sure not to let them linger too long! The barriers you keep running into are meant to keep the course of history loosely in line! If you strain them too much, then you'll exacerbate an already crippled timeline to destruction for both this universe and theirs!"
"Yup!" Star called back before cresting a hill and leaning closer to Merina. "One problem at a time, alright? We deal with Varco first, then Toffee, then this weird guy cutting in. And hopefully, he's not another Vartek?"
"I… I wouldn't know," Merina huffed, equally horrified by the thought. "We'll cross that bridge when we get there. For now, we get inside the temple and find the boys, get to the Nexus somehow, and rest. Got it?"
As if Star had any intention of resting. She'd done enough of that every single Thursday for six months, and the universe didn't show any signs of stopping now that it was rolling again. But before any of that, maybe a weekend in Vintal to take Macho Man for a recuperative test run was on the books. she shook "We can iron out the details later. For now, weird temple, then the next end of the universe."
The two ran straight shot for the lost temple, finally stopping to catch their breath in front of its withering wooden doors. Eerily, Varteks footprints were still fresh in the sand, as if no time had passed at all since his last visit. Visits Merina kept a clear record of, thank goodness. How or why the temple existed at all was little more than a passing afterthought as Star wasted no time kicking open the doors. A musty draft poured out of the temple out of time, and without caution, the two strode into the gaping stone maw around them.
With magic back on, Star pulled out her wand and blew softly against the bulb, letting it ignite into a soft pink flame. It lit up the dark, cavernous interior to reveal walls of carved stone and murals blanketing every surface. Etched into the rock were foreign languages, lost history, and even some english sprinkled into the mix if she looked hard enough. "Woah…" She breathed. Merina smiled and pressed on, running her hand over the walls.
"Woah indeed, hun. I had plenty of time to myself here when I was… imprisoned. A shame I didn't take as much away from it as we needed."
"Kinda hard to appreciate the art around this dump when you're stuck in a rock," Star remarked. "Plus, I doubt the parts we need to see are gonna be up here. I bet it's in the basement with a buttload of treasure."
"Such as?"
Star pulled away from the murals on the wall depicting war, creation, flora, queens, and stars. The two walked further down the corridor to the main rotunda. "I dunno, honestly. I don't even think this place is even all Mewman, so it could be mummies or pots for all I know." They stopped at a large set of stone doors. Merina smiled as Star worked to push one of them open, the stone grinding well-worn tracks in the floor. As the two stepped through the doorway and into the main room, Merina teased, "Oh, I believe you have a specific treasure in mind at the end of our journey. But I think this is a good step forward."
Gawking at the impressive architecture and scale of the main hall, Star didn't respond. The murals on the wall were eerily reminiscent of the carvings beneath Brittas. Images of Glossaryck, the big guys, the seven beings beneath them, and one new object of fascination. In every facet of the main room, there were roots weaving through the murals. All of them interwoven and surrounding the people and creatures depicted, and all lead to the center pedestal.
Merina did her best to hide her discomfort, staring at the spot her statue had sat for so many months. Without her, she could now see there were rings carved into the pedestal not unlike a tree stump, cut short and wide in the middle. Star snorted. "How do you think we find the map? Do we pray or something?" She asked, tracing her fingers along the rings, "Maybe water it and wait for it to grow. Wouldn't that be spectacular?"
"I think you may actually be on to something," Merina noted, approaching one of the murals. She gestured to a depiction of several humanoid creatures standing around a knot in the roots. There was a sapling growing from it, jagged and small, but growing all the same. At the center of it was a small window revealing a moon, or maybe it was a smile? "This may be some kind of mechanism or a doorway to the Nexus, and I think magic might be intrinsic to getting us through. If we can just figure out how to operate it…"
"Sorry, I think I slept through that lesson," Star muttered, glaring at the stump. She had a bad history with stumps, and it seemed like that trend wasn't going away soon. Merina quirked an eyebrow at the princess, but Star had a better idea. "Your thing is plants, right? Maybe it takes a certain kind of magic to make it grow. Come on." She whisked Merina over to the stump and stepped back.
Merina stared at the stone pedestal with more than her fair share of discomfort, but for the sake of getting out of there sooner, she let out a sigh and extended her hands. Her eyes shimmered with a wash of green light, but as expected there was nothing to latch on to. It was all stone, not a single living thing besides the two of them.
A few moments of silence passed through the temple as Merina tried every pose and spell she could conceive. Finally, she groaned in frustration and threw her arms down. "We might be looking at this all wrong. Maybe it's a metaphorical tree we're supposed to sprout, or maybe it's not even a tree at all. I really don't think-" Suddenly, her entire body went rigid as her hands closed into fists. Star readied her glowing wand and took an instinctive step back. It seemed all was quiet, no baddies lurking around the corner.
"Meriiina?" She called out, "you uh… you good, girl?"
The woman's eyes darted around the room, her attention locked on things that weren't there. She was seeing something, that was for sure, but thankfully it didn't seem to take away her ability to talk. "Y-yeah? I think?" She answered. "Are you seeing this stuff too? Or should I be worried?"
"That's gonna be a hard one to answer." Star lowered her wand and took a step closer. Whatever she was seeing must be pretty wild, but at the risk of sounding barbed, they really needed to get a move on. "Can you make it grow? Or are we thinking the wrong way?"
Merina nodded, then shook her head. "It's complicated… I dont think I'm supposed to make it do anything. I think it's more like a- I don't know. Like a circuit?" She opened both hands and gently lifted them while staring off into nothing. "I see… the roots of the Nexus, I think," she remarked. Star made to ask what that entailed when a smile began to form, a timid giggle escaping Merina's lips. "It's beautiful, Star. It's like I'm connected to everything, like I can see everything. There are roots going everywhere, to you and me and Mewni and the stars… it just keeps going."
"Can you… see Marco?"
The question was a fruitless one, and maybe it was a little overly optimistic. Star knew that much. But to be in the temple, to have revived magic, and now to have proof that the Nexus was so close Merina could see it? It reminded her of why they were here, and served to push her on knowing this was… real. But alas, Merina shook her head. "I can't see either of them, but we have our stepping stone," she reassured her. "When Seth told me history was recorded here, I imagined carvings or writing or something, like the magic archives. But he meant it's literally recorded here. I can see history if I think about it, I can see the present. I can even see-"
Merina gasped, and the entire temple shuddered before a loud blaring buzz rocked Star's vision. It was so loud it made her teeth ache, forcing her to wrench her eyes shut and fall to her knees. But as abruptly as the sound came, it was silenced; there wasn't even an echo. Stillness filled the temple, and when Star opened her eyes, she bore witness to what her visions had only alluded to.
Golden roots snaked and skated throughout the room, flooding the air and fanning out any exit they could find, all leading back to the single stump. Roots would open indiscriminately, splitting into new branches and revealing constellations, galaxies, stars, planets- everything. It was like the universe itself was locked inside that stone building, and it was tearing to get out. Merina stood at the helm of it all, her attention entirely spent on one split in the roots: a little girl. In the split there was a small child with seafoam hair playing in a field of flowers, her smile as bright as the summer sun and her eyes shining like stars.
Staring, Star took a tentative step forward. She didn't have to ask what she was seeing, nor did she have to as when she was seeing. But it looked… different from the last future Merina had shown her. So peaceful, and warm.
"Merina…" Star cautioned, her voice cutting through the tranquility like a claymore.
She trembled in place with wide eyes, desperately trying to keep her focus. Star made the wise decision of not interrupting that concentration, while Merina stifled a sob. Her eyes pooled with tears above a fragile smile, her breathing turning shallow. "I can see her…" she whispered, "I can see Silva… oh… my girl… look at her!"
"How is that possible?" Star asked, trying to convey curiosity rather than disbelief, "If you're from a different time, how can you see her in this timeline?"
"I don't know… but it has to be her… her beautiful hair, her smile…" It had to be real. The feelings even the sight of her daughter pulled at her chest like chains. That warmth she could only faintly remember since she'd been remade, it was too real to be a mistake. But still… she couldn't remember. Merina choked back another sob, her eyes a torrent of stinging want. "I can see her… she's so close, Star…"
"That's not your Silva," Star warned, her feet back on the ground and her wand back in her hand. "I feel like that alarm was a warning. This is way bigger than us, and if we push our luck we could ruin everything. Let's just get what we came here for and-"
"We…" Merina sighed.
Star stared at her.
"We? You mean you. I came here… for her," Merina clarified with grating emphasis, "Vartek wanted me, you wanted Marco, Toffee wanted equality, and Luna wanted freedom, but I want. My Silva."
"That's not Silva," Star countered, bracing against the tidal wave of power that flooded the room at the woman's query. It was like a hot wind written in pain as the roots writhed about the room. but she endured. Magic was messing with Merina's head, surely, given the size and scale of the root system, and she needed to end that train of thought. Now. "You're not thinking straight. That's just a little girl in the future, with a family of her own. Not you, but a different Merina and Vartek. If you want to get back to yours, you have to help me get them out. Otherwise, you're no better than Vartek: Taking someone precious from an innocent person who- …You need to close it. Now."
For a minute that stretched on forever, neither of the two moved. There was too much power coursing through the temple to act on emotions and set off chain reactions to who knows what! "You'll see her. But not yet."
Merina didn't need to ask what she meant, nor did she need to question the outcome should she refuse. If she wanted to chase that feeling, to ever have any hope of returning? Star was right, and as much as it hurt, she knew her path; it wasn't this. Merina wiped her eyes on her sleeve and took a deep breath. She stared at the girl, deaf to her name being called across the meadow by her parents, a happy little unbroken family she could have had, had fate deemed her worthy of it. "I'm sorry," she whispered, slowly waving her hand over the stump, closing the gap in the roots. The temple shuddered once more, this time accompanied by a soothing melody that lasted for only a second. Merina sighed. "I don't know what came over me, I just- I felt this-… I want-"
Star hugged her from behind. "It's okay," she murmured, letting the silence from her counterpart speak volumes. She wasn't a stranger to that tantalizing desire, nor the pain that came with having it taken away. "I've been there, I know what you're feeling, I promise. But right now, I'm here, with you. You're not as alone as you think, and you'll see her before you know it."
With a timid nod, Merina extended her hands as Star took a step back, the roots twisting and gnarling throughout the room. "Give me a moment. I'll find them."
As she looked, Star watched the roots twist further, images and doorways to the present coming and going in the blink of an eye. The entire history of Mewni was little more than a passing word to the history of the universe, eons passing like flashes. Stars were unmade, Galaxies were compressed into clouds, and then there was darkness. An uneasy few moments went by before Star made to ask what they were looking at, but she didn't have to.
"I think I found it?"
Star peered around the room, every root glowing a dormant gold. "You uhh… Are you sure? It doesn't look like-"
"It's empty," Merina answered, dropping her hands and letting the ethereal flora dissipate. The temple fell back into a dormant bleakness as she turned and stumbled, sitting on the stump. Crestfallen and weary, she shook her head. "I can see where the roots are, and I was trying to follow them, but it kept pushing me back. It's like it's sealed off or something, and anywhere I look to find the door is just met with… blegh."
"Blegh is pretty bad, yeah," Star agreed, taking a seat.
"Seth told me that to find the Nexus, I have to follow the Ones. And I can, but only to a point." At Star's interest, Merina sighed and waved a hand through the air. "There I was flying around in space, watching everything compress into nothingness. I saw a fantastical display of magic, and the roots, and the whole 'birth of the universe' nonsense, and then I saw a root bigger and brighter than any other. Everything led back to it, but when I tried to look at where it started, it just… stopped. Like I'm not allowed any closer. "
The two sat in silence for a moment, their options not hopeless, but bleak all the same. Having a path in mind was a good step, but searching for a locked door wasn't exactly going to win them any boons. Thinking her visions might hold an answer, Star tried to remember every waking detail she could. But the scale of it all was simply too great a force to comprehend. Narrowing it down to one singular root was too big an answer to- "What if it's not JUST the roots?" Star asked, earning a confused look. She shook her head and stood. "Think about it. We're imagining a place, like the realm of magic, or a thing, like Glossaryck, or an idea, like magic. But it's not really any of those things completely. So… what if it's just... the means to the end?"
Merina stared at her, a little cautious but interested enough. "Ooookay?"
"Hear me out. We're thinking about this like people, two super temporary, teenie tiny mortals that can't even wrap our noodles around any of this. All we have to go on is a super messed up dream that some old lizard had, so the details get washed up and narrowed to what we can understand. We gotta think bigger. Soo? What if the Nexus isn't what we're trying to find? What if it's just the path? Seth said you can't go to the Nexus, and Darc wanted me to find it, so maybe what we're trying to find isn't the Nexus? What if the Nexus is just how we get there?"
Holding her chin, Merina thought for a moment. It wasn't entirely ridiculous, but as the seconds passed she was beginning to follow. "I mean... I suppose it makes sense. If that was the Nexus, and we haven't found them, then we just have to navigate it to a specific place and time to find the root of it all," she reasoned, much to Star's enthusiasm. "But if I can't follow the Nexus to the start, then how are we supposed to get there?"
"By using the door!" Star shouted, immediately dialing it back a touch and looking around the temple. "We can look at it just fine, but getting there probably means we need a doorway or a portal or something. And I betchya that whoever built this place left us a little clue how to open it. We just gotta find it." She took off in a sprint, running from mural to mural, peering and pondering for a moment before moving to the next. Merina watched the frantic little blonde whirlwind go and, deciding she didn't have any better ideas, joined her. She stood up and dusted off her pants, making to move towards a particularly choice piece about wheat fields when she stopped cold.
"Star?"
Star stared at what she could only assume was spaghetti pouring out of a watermelon into a river of koalas. "What's up? I think I might be onto something here."
"Me too?"
With a sigh, Star turned around and found Merina staring at the stump. She made her way over and stood beside her. The two stood in silence for a number of minutes before Merina finally asked, "What does that look like to you?"
It was far more detailed than what she'd initially seen. A spinning maw that held planets and stars instead of knots in the wood, leading towards the center of a blank circle of polished stone. Staring at it, Star felt one particular description above any other. "It looks like a vortex…" Not unlike one she'd only recently seen. Not a memory, nor a clear picture painted in a vision, but maybe it was just an idea conveyed in a way she'd understand. She caught her breath and narrowed her eyes at the swirling mass she'd earlier mistaken for tree rings. "The first Mewmans went through something to get to Mewni, a crazy hole that was all wild and colorful and sparkly, and then bam! Swamps of Mewni a few thousand years ago."
"You think that might have been a branch of this thing?"
"I think so..." Star trailed off, staring at the odd little stump before brandishing her wand. It was probably a really bad idea to mess with things she didn't understand, but when had that become such a foreign concept to her? She was staring the door right in the face, and they'd been so wrong about everything it was almost hilarious. "This is it," she murmured, aiming her wand at the stump. "To follow the big guys, we need to open the door in the temple and make a Nexus. That's how we follow the roots. Not by trying to look at it or force our way there, we just have to use it to get where we're supposed to be."
Not waiting for more questions and hypotheses, Star spoke in a whisper, closing her eyes and letting her wand work its magic.
"Mend the bond… and weave the fabric."
"Sculpt the stone… and flow with Magic."
From her wand came a light. A soft golden ray, rather than a torrent or a blast or a creature. The shaft of sunlight bathed the top of the stump, and after a moment of waiting, Merina watched as a soft *crack* echoed throughout the temple.
The stump split with a web of cracks, the blank circle in the center of the vortex shattering into dust to reveal a sapling. A thin vein of stone arched towards the light, grinding and cracking as it grew. It reached towards the wand and sprouted small twigs that grew into branches, all weaving and twisting like gnarled roots to form a stronger whole. The two stepped back as the wand continued shining, and the tree began to take root on its own, reaching toward the ceiling and branching out in every direction. When it had reached the top and was lush enough to fill the room, the stone tree pulsed like a heart. From its roots, veins of gold raced up the trunk and toward the branches, flowing with the same light as Star's wand.
In the center of the trunk a split formed, folding into the stone and spreading until it created a hole ten feet wide. The door was open, now all they needed was a destination.
"Merina," Star whispered, not taking her eyes off the crazy thing. "Can you do it again?"
Without provocation Merina nodded, holding out her hands and focusing on the same energy she had when the tree was just a stump. She envisioned the birth of galaxies, the creation of the universe, the dawn of civilization, and then the single path in the middle of darkness. The biggest root led to the start of it all, and they just needed to follow it through. A rush of wind filled the temple, shaking the tree's stony leaves before a loud *whoosh* pulled them toward the center of the room. A flash of gold stole their vision as a portal was ripped open, dragging them closer. It was like standing in a hurricane, Star having to yell over the rush of wind the Nexus created. "This is it! You ready?!" she shouted, already losing her footing.
"Do I have any other choice?!" Merina yelled back, just before the vortex howled with more wind and drew them both in like a singularity. With a pop, they were gone, and as quickly as it came, the tree snapped back into a whole, every bit of wind halting instantly.
The next thing Star remembered, she and Merina were falling.
They screamed as they fell through the heart of the universe. Nebulas, galaxies, comets, planets- they saw the vast expanse of reality come and go in flashes before all they could see were blurring glints of celestial bodies. Star tumbled and held her wand for dear life, unable to even coax her butterfly transformation out. Her head was spinning with flashes of color and deafening sounds. Voices came from everywhere and visions of her life came in waves. Her body felt like it was inside out and turning to liquid as she squeezed her eyes shut. It was a nightmare in every sense of the word, like reality chewed up everything that made her Star Butterfly and molded it into something else. She felt Merina grab her hand, righting herself and struggling to keep the rush of air from stealing her voice. "BRACE!" She yelled, and then there was only silence.
The two stood on shaky feet, wobbling a bit as the ground beneath them felt anything but secure. Star gasped, made to speak, and promptly turned to pitch her lunch onto the stone floor behind her. Merina fared a bit better, coughing and wheezing as she patted Star's back. "There there- hurk -let it out… just a little bit of insanity to keep us on our toes, that's all."
"Easy for- uughhhh -you to say…" Star glared and let loose another pitch before wiping her face and using her wand to wash out her mouth with fresh water. She gargled, spat, and shivered before muttering, "Next time? I want an elevator and a bag."
Merina smiled and nodded. "I'll be sure to tell whoever built this place, hun. But uhm… I don't think they'll be answering any time soon."
Staving off a raving request for clarity, Star instead turned to see what all the fuss was about. She stared, and after a brief moment to soak it all in she let her smile run wild.
The two stood on a stone gangway that stretched for miles in either direction. One end led to a vast and eclipsing black hole, glowing with violet energy and swallowing the heavens that enveloped the entirety of space around them. As far as she could tell, there was no end to it, just an infinite expanse of the universe.
At the other end of the walkway was some sort of structure composed of stone and crystal, glowing golden like the first glimpse of a sunset. Towering monoliths that dwarfed anything Mewmans or Humans could possibly build stood proudly, encircling a gargantuan tree. Its trunk was impossibly large, glowing a soft amethyst as it reached toward the stars above. Its branches were littered with celestial bodies ranging from galaxies to planets before dissolving into the heavens. The sheer scope of it all was… impossible.
Merina broke the silence by clearing her throat. "So… I suppose we should… probably head towards-"
"Let's go!" Star shouted, throwing caution to the wind and grabbing Merina's hand. Transforming into a butterfly she boomed forward down the walkway at breakneck speeds, ignorant to wind and cold and shouting from her partner. The ring was so far away that as they approached, it only seemed to get bigger and bigger until you couldn't even look at the whole thing at once.
Stone archways and bridges connected towers and crystal monuments depicting a myriad of species she didn't care to investigate. She was actually here, this dream of only a few days ago was a reality. Marco was in here somewhere, and she had every intention of- "OOF!"
The two slammed into an invisible barrier at full speed, a ripple of iridescent woven material shimmering solid gold. Star and Merina were left in a groaning heap at the foot of it, between two of the larger structures that made up the ring's stone monoliths. "Whahappened?" Star mumbled.
"You- owww- ran into a wall, hun," Merina answered, pulling herself free and shaking her head. "I was trying to warn you that the Ones might not have wanted guests disturbing their rest. They likely put up a barrier to keep meddlers at bay."
Having realigned her bones and stretched, Star hovered over to the barrier and gave it a gentle knock. The warm fabric that seemed to make up the bulk of it rippled softly to her touch, shimmering solid gold. "Huh. How do you think we get through? I don't see a welcome mat hangin' around anywhere."
Merina tapped the webbed material for herself, noting the ease of its manipulation, to a point. "We were able to get here, so I have it on good authority that we aren't barred from entering. Perhaps we just have to speak a password or deactivate it. Maybe that spell of yours?"
"Nah, this thing looks like it's made of magic, and my spell would just make it stronger. Annnnd the whispering spell would just mess up the wand," Star huffed, pressing herself against the webbing. She eyed the towering structures on either side of the stone walkway, having to look straight up just to see the top. "What else did Seth say? Did he mention a wall or something?"
"No, I'm afraid not. He seemed to be as ignorant as we were, believing the Nexus to be the object, rather than the means." Merina stared up at the tree and marveled at the constellations that filled its branches. Something that powerful probably didn't need a source of energy to keep it going, so it stood to reason opening the barrier would be easier than pulling the plug. "Scissors, perhaps?"
Star tried to use Marco's scissors to open a portal, but nothing came of her slicing waves. Not to Mewni, not inside, not anywhere. That would be a problem they could deal with when they needed to leave. Maybe now, they could simply open one of the trees roots and ride the Nexus to where they needed to go. Glaring at the wall, Star sighed in frustration and poked the webbing. "All this trouble to get turned away by the bouncer. Harsh."
"Not turned away, just… told to let ourselves in somehow," Merina sighed. "It's just another door, so we need a key that can open it. To open the Nexus, we had to use my magic, and make magic… so now… what if we need to remove it?"
Star scoffed. "Yeah lemme just go home and get my 'magic vacuum', I mostly use it for dust bunnies, but why not?"
Merina tapped her shoulder and shook her head. "No need. We already have one."
Star turned, following Merina's gaze to... "The black hole…" she whispered. Her wings quieted as she fluttered to the ground to stand beside Merina. The imposing sphere of darkness took up a majority of the distant horizon, a deep violet glow eclipsing around the edges. It was a whirlwind of cosmic proportions, and exactly what they needed. Going off of the color alone, Star had a pretty good idea of how they could open the door. "Dark magic," she noted, eliciting a curious nod from her counterpart.
"Why Dark magic?"
Star shrugged. "I've seen it do some pretty wild stuff, and I'm all out of options here. Stop me if you think of something better."
"According to research since your time, we learned that Dark magic is both the same as, and the opposite of regular magic, like the negative Darc was telling you about. It operates on the same basic practice but with an entirely different function. If we use dark magic, maybe it'll counteract the barrier and shut it down." Merina tapped her elbow and stared at the gaping maw in the distance. "That, or it'll blow up in our faces. Can you even use dark magic, hun?"
Apparently, today was a good day to learn all sorts of new things about stupid magic. Already brandishing her wand, Star returned to her normal form and held it out in front of her. "I remember a couple spells from last time, but I don't know if they'll work against a solid magic net. Plus, I doubt I'm as strong as Eclipsa was when things went all crazy."
Merina held her chin and nodded. "Yes, the legendary Solarian-Mewman war. We can likely replicate what she could do if we can just figure out how. If we can draw power from that," she gestured to the black hole, "as easily as we can from the Realm of Magic, then we'll have all the strength we need to get through the door."
"No keys required, nice." Staring at the swirling singularity, Star inclined her head towards Merina. "You think the big universal toilet over there works the same way as the Realm of Magic?"
"It very well might, but in the opposite direction; taking, rather than giving." Merina took a few wide steps around Star, just in case. " Let's start with the basics: Dark magic works on the same principle as magic, in that you have to envision the result, and make the request through the wand."
Star nodded and fought back a groan at another lesson she had to sit through. At least here it was for a good, tangible cause. She narrowed her eyes at the vortex and thought hard. There was always a mental image she had to conjure when using the wand, and more often than not it was accompanied by a bubbly feeling in the pit of her stomach. It felt good to use magic, like she was opening a part of herself and letting something out.
"But with Dark magic, it's not quite the same direction," Merina continued. "It's a negative form of magic in every facet. It relies on negative emotions and feelings, and rather than pushing magic out of the wand, you have to pull it from somewhere else, someplace deep down inside where the darkest parts of you lie. Its power is pain and fear. But when used with skill, it can be the most destructive force imaginable, and an object of limitless creation."
It would explain the seemingly greater potential for Eclipsa's spells and their effectiveness in combat. But maybe the future held more of a stigma against it, the same as those in power now. If it was truly just the reverse of magic, then Dark magic had no intention, malicious or otherwise. It was just a force that could be molded and formed into greater possibilities, while also relying on the other side of the user's emotions.
"So if I wanna use Dark magic… I have to be upset?" Star asked, "Eclipsa used Dark magic all the time, and she never really seemed all that angry."
"Sometimes it's not anger," Merina answered, inclining her head towards the singularity. "Sadness can be just as effective a force as anger. Fear can be as powerful as love. You don't have to want to hurt, but maybe it's a desire to protect. To have what you love returned to you, or to take something you want more than anything. Dark magic isn't evil, and it isn't just there to hurt people, Star. It comes from pain, in whatever fashion manifests best within the user."
That was an intuitive process if ever there was one. If she really thought about it, Dark magic seemed less like what the high commission thought, and more in line with Eclipsa's views. It wasn't bad, and it certainly wasn't evil, it was just… magic. And to use it one had to pull it out from within, rather than giving it from somewhere else. Pull rather than push. Star continued to stare at the black hole looming over them like a cataclysm.
If negative emotions were the object of that pull, then it meant two things. The first being that she had to keep herself in check, because rampant emotions would result in uncontrollable spells. And the second was that she had more than enough 'negative' to go around, but that meant more of the first rule. Star let out a slow breath and closed her eyes. Dipping down, her cheek marks turned a ghostly white as her hair began to flow behind her.
On the surface, she looked to her emotions to call forth whatever magic would answer. She could feel her optimism, her joy, her wonder, and her excitement all bubbling forward, loudly and proudly. These were the feelings she commonly used whenever she felt magic. But she had to dig deeper.
Thinking back to the time she'd used the all-seeing eye spell, she remembered what emotions were fueling that power: Jealousy, isolation, and the fear of seeing Marco move on without her. She had to chase the same emotion and pull it out of herself. And with it, dark magic. Delving deeper into the sitting cauldron she usually imagined, those burned bits of magic soup were in there, allll the way at the bottom. She just had to pull em out.
Star felt a hollow throb in her chest at the fear of losing Marco forever. Her heart raced at the thought of his demise. If she couldn't do this, then he was really gone for good. All those frigid nights would forever stay, and that fear brought the soup of a tepid bubble. But she needed more.
And who was to blame? Vartek was a man who stood high above her list of problems. It was his fault Marco was gone, and with them hundreds of innocent people. His actions had brought her here, and a wave of searing anger to see him punished fueled the cauldron to a rolling boil.
All of this would mean nothing if she couldn't get past the door. She would walk home alone. She would sleep in a cold room alone. She would dance alone. She would live the rest of her life alone. Marco was gone, taken from her, and with him any semblance of joy or happiness. Star Butterfly died with him that day, at least that's how it felt, and that void in her chest would never fade. She was alone, and that sadness filled the cauldron, sending its turbulent contents over the side.
The magic she was looking for. It felt so… powerful. But that meant respect was a virtue better spent than haste. Star had everything to lose with this. She had a world she had to fight to see it through. She wouldn't be whole again until she got what she needed back. And the only way to do that was to take it.
"Hun?"
Merina's voice ended the dive, and Star inclined her head to the right. "I'm trying, but it's a little hard to get this stuff going when-"
"Star!"
Opening her eyes to the cry of alarm, Star noticed two things immediately. The first was that Merina looked more than a little concerned, and the second was that she had a subtle lavender glow cast on her. Star's eyes trailed down to her arms, finding veins of deep amethyst trailing down her wrists to the wand. Black energy swirled like smoke around the bulb.
"Woah…" She breathed, staring at the wand's purple glow. It felt nothing like it always had: warm, light, and energetic. It was like an orchestra of emotions, crashing waves of feelings that felt far bigger than any spell she'd ever used. It was a sad song that made her catch her breath with the memory of something far away. "I think… I've got it…"
Merina nodded. She didn't want to stare at the obvious differences, but the opportunity to learn something new proved too great a temptation. "Your hearts are purple, and the wand... How do you feel?"
"Like I just lost something, and I can get it back," Star answered, turning her attention to the black hole beyond the horizon. "I can feel it pulling at me, but it's pulling like it wants a hug. Like it's cold and alone and I'm supposed to be its best friend?"
Not the best diagnosis, but she could roll with it. Merina stepped back and gestured to the wall. "I wouldn't recommend that, as you'd almost certainly die. Would you mind trying a spell?"
Star shook off the last wisps of fog that had filled her mind. She put her emotions in check and nodded, turning to face the woven lattice of energy barring the way to Marco. "Should I… not do anything? What are the rules of this stuff? What happens if it doesn't work? Can we-"
"Hun," Merina soothed, gesturing to the glowing wand. "I know only the basics, and we're well past that now. Do what feels right, and trust yourself. I'm right here if anything happens, and I can clean you up if you break something. Just be yourself."
Star swallowed and held the wand up. It hummed as it pulsed purple, a cold and vast feeling in her hands. "Okay… uhmmm…" she thought about the spells she knew, and the one she wanted to use. It was dangerous, but the most powerful spell in her arsenal. One wrong move, and everything would fall apart. But do it right, and no wall could stand before her. Nothing would keep her and Marco apart.
One last, slow breath, and Star focused on the emotions boiling inside her.
"I call upon the spell with no name…"
Her wand was suddenly flooded with magic, a vast and limitless pool at her disposal. The air seared with heat as the black hole in the distance blared with thrumming dark energy.
"My Great Grandma's gift, with which she reigned…"
She brought her wand up, serving to elevate the pooling energy trailing from its body. It curled like smoke from an extinguished fire around her, collecting to form a ball hanging above her head. The bulb cast a cool, dark light around her.
"Eclipse my heart with rightful power…"
A cold wind replaced the heat, and the black hole began to glow a fierce violet to illuminate the stars around it. Star had to fight to keep her wand raised, the sheer weight of the spell almost too much to bear. The wisps of dark magic formed the familiar shape of a skull. Wings fanned out behind it, all glowing with a color to match the singularity. This was it. He was right there…
"STAND BEFORE THE QUEEN AND COWER!"
A pressure wave nearly knocked Merina from the bridge as she watched Star thrust her wand forward. The fluttering entity above it chimed with a bell as it surged toward the wall. It carved a burning rut into the stone bridge, flapping madly to a shrill whine. She braced herself as it struck the barrier, the gold and purple colors fighting each other for dominance.
Star held her wand aloft and hoped beyond reason to see it work. Energy cackled as the spell boomed with displaced air, unwilling to submit to the wall. Pools of crystallized energy boiled where they met, chunks of stone reduced to violet slag with each pressing flap of its wings.
The barrier was fighting back with such ferocity, it made her teeth ache. The weight of the world was pushing back against the spell, but Star was unwilling to relent. Anger burned at it, desire pushed it back, sadness weighed it down, and the fear of losing now was larger than any wall in her way. Star pushed with everything she had, fighting every burning nerve in her body to see Marco again. She wouldn't give up, no matter what the universe could put in her way.
And finally, the chime was struck. Star felt a searing wind blow as a flash of light blinded her. The sound of the whine was so loud she could only cover her ears and hope.
There was a voice, lost like a leaf in a howling wind. something about a seal, but Star was deaf to it. What followed was a hollowness to the pressure and sensory overload. It was as if someone had just muted everything and stopped the battle. When Star opened her eyes she saw a half of a singed crater burned into her side of the barrier. But now there was nothing standing in her way, nothing to keep her from moving forward. She let go of the emotions fueling the Dark magic, the bulb going dim as the black hole went dormant to match. Immediately, every ounce of strength faded from her body before she slumped to the ground and laid flat on her back, staring at the constellations above.
"I'm ready to take a nap now," Star sighed. The spell was every bit as draining as she'd expected, but at least they had their in. "That's it, right? No more weird tricks? No more crazy nonsense and puppet shows or anything?"
Merina, who'd moved to inspect the damages and marvel at what remained of the barriers' effects, shrugged. "I don't know. But after that, I think it's safe to say we can just walk in." She wiped some of the dust from her fingers and leaned back to look at the towering tree. "We still have to get them out of whatever place they're in. Hopefully it's not so hard, and we can be home by morning."
"Mmhmm, sounds good. Wake me when we… get… there…" Star heaved a contented sigh and let the encroaching darkness envelop her. Too tired to keep her eyes open, it was easy to just think Merina could finish things up. She'd find a way while Star took a quick nap.
For a while, she knew she'd been in a deep slumber, not even dreams to fill the instantaneous passage of time. Following that, she was in and out of it, aware that she was riding on Merinas's back toward a big piece of glowing broccoli. Occasionally she woke up enough to ask for snacks, a request that was denied at every available instance. Rude, but fair. There were fading glimpses of towering statues, buildings, sculptures, dying gardens, and flowing rivers of magic that cascaded into nowhere. It was all very nice, but the sleep was even better. She could stare and appreciate the finer decorations when she had Marco.
Eventually, Star realized she was leaning against a rock, or maybe a pedestal, not that it mattered. She felt a gentle rocking on her shoulder and a muffled voice asking her to "Wake up hun. We're here." Her eyes fluttered open as she drew a steep yawn, stretching and smacking her lips as she looked around. Merina was crouching in front of her, smiling wide. Star leaned around her to look at the broccoli- er, the giant tree they sat at the base of. There was a massive growth of roots that formed a dome around them, pulsing with veins of gold and surrounded by a flowing moat of magic. And in the middle of their little plaza? Star bolted upright to stare at the object of her deepest desires: a black circle, hovering in place about ten feet off the ground.
"That's them!" Star shouted, scrambling to stand as a startled Merina moved out of her way. "That's the orb I saw when Marco-" she clutched at her chest, her smile faltering, "that's what I saw. They're in there, I know it. We gotta get them out!"
Merina nodded and stood, standing beside Star to stare at the mysterious ball of refracting light. "You've been out for a few hours, and while I was carrying you I had time to think about that exact problem." She approached the Orb, standing a careful distance away to avoid its pull. "What if we used the whispering spell on it? Destroying the magic sealed inside with them wouldn't be a problem since you've effectively replaced it- I think the tree is helping in that regard too- and without the energy to sustain the singularity, they should just pop right out." She faltered. "Of course, this is still all based on theories and my, admittedly, fuzzy recollection of studies."
Brushing past the growing revelation that Merina must have been far smarter than she looked, Star nodded, inclining her head to stare at the tree. So this was where the magic really came from, little knots in the wood spouting sap like fountains to fill rivers of magic. Evidently, the tree just needed a little love to get back into its groove. Star turned her attention to the orb. "It's not like we have any better ideas. So… let's do this. No more gimmicks, no more walls."
Merina nodded, motioning for Star to stand beside her. It would take a sizable amount of their strength to effectively destroy the magic locked inside, and Star was already running on fumes. When the two had positioned themselves appropriately, they held out their hands to feel the orbs pull before beginning the whispering spell.
"Break the bond, tear the fabric. Cleave the stone, stop the magic."
"Break the bond, tear the fabric. Cleave the stone, stop the magic."
The orb began to shift, darting in and out of view as the refraction would fade in and out of clarity. It buzzed in place as it blurred, its edges sporadically trembling like static. The pull began to grow, then fade in irregular intervals. Whatever they were doing to it was having some effect on it, but it wasn't enough yet.
"Break the bond, tear the fabric. Cleave the stone, stop the magic."
"Break the bond, tear the fabric. Cleave the stone, stop the magic."
Star struggled to keep her concentration on the orb as the tree above them groaned in protest. The constellations of its leaves seemed to shake and shudder to match the orb. It was unknown if what they were doing was having an effect on the tree, but it didn't matter. To Star, all that mattered was Marco, and he was right in front of her. If magic had to die again and again just to get him back, so be it. She would trade it all in a heartbeat just to have one more minute with him.
For Merina, she was of a similar mind. Whatever the cost of seeing Vartek again, she would pay it. He was the key to seeing Silva again; he knew how to go back to their future, and he would undo what he'd done one way or another. Whatever happened, she was determined to see her daughter again even if only for a moment. The tree, the orb, the Ones, the Gods- nothing would stop her from getting home.
"Break the bond, tear the fabric. Cleave the stone, stop the magic."
"Break the bond, tear the fabric. Cleave the stone, stop the magic."
The orb jolted back and forth across the plaza, arcs of electricity spouting like fountains of energy to skate over the polished marble below. Chunks broke off with dust and debris, only to be pulled into the orbit of the singularity. It thrummed with reverberating heat and power, shifting and refracting the light of its surroundings. Swirling air and rocks whipped around them, but Star would fight to the bitter end if she had to. It was putting up a fight, but it would have to give up eventually. And it did.
"Break the bond, tear the fabric. Cleave the stone, stop the magic."
"Break the bond, tear the fabric. Cleave the stone, stop the magic."
With one last throw, the orb zapped trenches into the marble and blared an ear-piercing whine that filled the air. It spun like mad to slam chunks of stone and plant matter into each other, creating a gale of debris that threatened to perforate its surroundings. The two held fast and braced for the worst as the whine stopped, a moment of soft clarity before the whole thing blew wide open. There came a sudden blast of energy as the singularity was ripped apart, sending a booming pressure wave that rippled the stone and knocked both Star and Merina off their feet. Gasping, Star clung to bare ruts in the stone and refused to give, letting the wave of energy and air subside rapidly.
A long cascade of clapping thunder rocked the Nexus as Star witnessed the end of her isolation with insurmountable anticipation. With a *pop* and a flash of green light, there they were, as if they'd never even left. Vartek and Marco were thrown in opposite directions of the singularity as it blew itself apart, both of them looking exactly as they did that fateful day. Marco wore the tattered remains of his Vintal armor, and Vartek looked as though he'd been run through a blender.
As the booming echo died, and the shock of the explosion faded, Star stood on shaky legs as fast as she could. There lingered a quiet voice that told her it wasn't real, that she had to see for herself to believe it, but she quickly found that now wasn't the time. As fast as they'd been returned, a new problem came with the sound of shouting.
Marco and Vartek barely reacted to their new surroundings, the two of them surging toward one another with nothing but their hands and voices. Whatever had happened was little more than an afterthought as they met at the center of the plaza. They had to fight. The battle was still raging. It was 'him or me' till the very end. Marco swept under a wild haymaker, looking for the gap in Varteks armor to- *BOOM*
A bolt of pink lightning rocked the two men from their fight, the cackling energy skating dangerously between them before dissipating. Bot vartek and Marco stared for a moment, wincing as if they'd been struck to the head. Vartek had a split second to react before the ground beneath him erupted in an explosion of roots and vines. A wall of flora slammed into him with enough force to push him into the dome ceiling. A fist of roots squeezed around his waist. Brambles and branches tied his hands to his sides. He was trapped like a fly in a web, the roots behind him curling to secure him in place.
Marco watched him go as several seconds passed, his mind racing on adrenaline to catch up. He made to charge after him when a blur of yellow and red slammed into his side with all the force of a truck. A writhing mass of grasping arms squeezed him like a vice even as he slid to a stop. He struggled for half a second and desperately tried to get free before he managed to calm down enough to assess his surroundings and his bindings. With gasping breaths, he stared down at… horns? Blonde hair, ivory skin, narwhal dress?
"Star?" He asked through a choked squeeze. "What are- how did you-"
*SLAP!*
His face lit up with burning pain as he only then began to realize she had pulled away, glared at him, reeled back, and slapped him nearly sideways. He stared at her in muted surprise as she glared back, her eyes flooding with a torrent of tears above her choking sobs. Her body shivered from joy and fear and anger all at the same time, and when she spoke her voice wavered uneasily with a volume he was vastly unprepared for. "You said we'd stop meeting like this!" She shouted at him through her stifled crying. Marco could only stare back in silence as he tried to catch up to his situation. "You said I'd have to pick up the pieces, and that I'd be at the front pulling everyone forward, and I did! And you promised me- you were supposed to be there too! But where were you? Who was there for me when I needed help?!"
Marco could say absolutely nothing, watching her as she clung to him for dear life, wiping a mess onto her sleeve. "You left me behind! I thought we were gonna go together or make it together, or- or something! But then you went and died! You abandoned me! Y-you- you asshole!"
Slowly, his eyes darted around the room and over her, until he finally seemed to be catching on. He bristled at her scathing accusations and slowly brought himself to speed, recalling the last few moments with difficulty. "I-... I died…" He muttered, narrowing his eyes at her with just the same scorn. "I told you to hang back, didn't I?! 'Work as a team', right? You were supposed to…" He trailed off, his expression unreadable. He didn't seem to have the steam in him to keep it up. She glared at him as he shook his head and offered, "I didn't know what else to do, and you were gone. But I'm here now, right? It looks like we did it?"
Star narrowed her eyes and looked away. She folded her arms and glared at anything but him. Just hearing his soft voice, just touching his skin; it was enough to remind her of why she'd fought so hard for this. And why her anger was almost unwarranted. She shook her head. "Do you have any idea what you put me through? Six months without you, and I just- I've been trying to keep it together as best I can but there was the funeral, and the search parties, and- and talking to our friends! And I just-..." Looking back at him, she didn't have the strength to keep herself at bay. She pulled him into a tight hug, relishing the warmth he provided. Despite what her anger wanted her to do, she needed this more.
Marco blinked. "Six months? It's been like two minutes since... since…" He wavered, right before he coughed hard enough to send knives of pain up his abdomen and into his chest. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth as he and Star looked down to his gut, finding a pool of red dripping to the ground. Star's arms were covered with his blood and streaks of crimson stained her dress. He made a gasp to say something before his eyes fluttered and he started to go limp.
"Marco!" Star screamed, frantically drawing her wand to cast any of a multitude of healing spells on him. Where had the blood come from? Did he get hurt by the spell? "Radioactive healing slugs!" She yelled, her wand firing a barrage of slimy, glowing, green slugs onto his chest. As they hit, they pulsed with emerald light that ripped across his torso. They began to hum as Star smacked his face and held his head upright.
She'd worked so hard to bring him back, just so she could hit him and yell… that was all she gave him. He made it back, just so she could remind him how angry she was with him. "Marco! Marco stay with me, keep your eyes open, okay? Try to focus on my voice..."
After the slap, Merina tried to tune out the exchanges happening behind her. She held Vartek against the dome with her plants, approaching him with wide eyes. And despite his bindings, he stared back at her with eyes of brilliant topaz. "You're alive…" was all he had to say for himself. That was all he cared about, his precious copy that he'd traded hundreds of lives for. Merina twisted her magic to lower him to her level, staring at him with mute curiosity.
"You seem better. Far better than you deserve," she muttered, "Thanks to the Blood Moon, and in spite of your murderous rampage, yes. I am alive."
Vartek didn't show any signs of expression. Not disbelief, not anger, not sadness, he just stared at her and spoke in a voice as soft as an autumn breeze. "I fought it as best I could, but I wasn't strong enough." He looked down, his eyes finally creasing into… could it have been regret? It knocked the wind right out of her sails, and Merina found she couldn't answer. At her silence, Vartek shook his head. "You're alive, that's all that matters. Do what you must."
Despite the dozens of practice runs she'd conjured with her memory, Merina was at a loss for words. She didn't know what she expected to find when they made it, but she never imagined she'd see him like… this. "I've rehearsed this moment a hundred times over, and still I find myself clueless," she sighed, leaning forward and brushing the side of his cheek. "You- there's a lot- We never- …I wasn't prepared to find you as you were the night you lost me. I have so much I'd like to say, but there are no words to describe what you've done. What happens next isn't my decision to make. You know that."
Vartek nodded. He refused to look at her. He didn't deserve such a reward. He'd paid in blood and come up short. He got what he wanted, but he failed in every aspect that mattered. "I understand. Without your magic, I can see everything I've done with clarity. I won't resist whatever fate they have in store for me. I deserve worse than death, and I'll gladly bear it as recompense. But…" his voice cracked as he struggled to force his words out. "Please. Despite my actions and crimes, know that you bear none of it. Know that I loved you more than anything, Merina. Remember what I did, cast me to the wolves, make me pay, hate me if you must. But please, remember that I loved you when I was still whole. Remember me as I was when I loved you. That is all I ask of you."
Silence reigned between them for a moment before Merina sighed. This was one eventuality she'd prepared for, but to find it coming to fruition instead of all the others was a bother. She pulled up his chin so he could look at her. The wonder in his eyes as he drank in the sight was all she could see. "You will have to answer for what happened, but I couldn't hate you, even though I should," she answered to his silent question, "I live every day wanting…"
"...so I will give you everything I have," Vartek finished, just before a shrill cry overtook the plaza.
"MERINA!"