Star is seen calling on her smartphone, half-dressed and a bit anxious as it rings, only for an automated voice to start asking her to leave a message. She sighs, hanging up. She grabs a shirt and throws it at a sleeping Marco, startling him awake, before continuing to get dressed herself. "Marco, we're gonna have to check up on Dad. I've been calling him since yesterday and uh… still nothing."
Marco groans a bit before sitting up, his hair looking an absolute mess, shaking his head a bit to get himself more awake. "Sorry, still trying to recover from our special time last night… where is he again?"
"He's in Miami. Poor guy probably doesn't even know about what's going on with Moon." She adjusts her headband in a mirror before turning towards her beau. "It might be best to tell him as soon as we can. Let's book our flights!" she punctuates with a raised fist.
"Star, uh...we can just take a portal to go there. Magic's back after all." Marco can't help but chuckle.
"Ooh, right. Dang, feels weird to not travel the old-fashioned way… or the new fashioned way? That's old now..." She gasps, "And we have the portal queen herself!"
"Don't think she's ever called herself that. But wait, before we go…" Marco starts, walking over to drape himself over her. "How would you rate my "cleaning" skills last night?" he finishes, with a breathy whisper.
Star chuckles, kissing his neck, "Let's just say that my mind being blown doesn't do it justice. But we'll have more fun sometime. Now let's take a quick shower. We're not seeing my dad when you smell like sex."
"Roger, m'lady~. Wait, does that even have a "smell", actually?"
Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Hekapoo is eating some hash browns and sausages, a pondering look on her face as Kelly approaches her. "Heeey, Hecky, eating your favorite breakfast ever, eh?"
"Hrm. Still trying to decipher the whole "magic returned" business.' I wonder if I can still access my dimension."
"Well, have ya tried yet?"
"Not really, unless Star has something planned for us today. Luckily, I don't think checking out that place is super urgent, but maaaan, my curiosity is peaking."
"Speaking of dimensions, didn't you tell me that you could open up and close any kind of dimension gate or something like that? Is there no way to prevent Mina from attacking here?"
Hekapoo gives a so-so hand gesture. "Well, me being a big dimension keeper was a bonus for being part of the Magical High Commission. A bonus that I don't exactly have anymore. I can still summon portals, and because my species created the Dimension Scissors in the first place, I can sorta control any portal from scissors I made. But Mina? She's a nutcase, but she's a smart nutcase. She's probably using something I didn't help craft to do her portals, and controlling that doesn't come as naturally. Plus, she could try searching high and low for any possible Dimension Scissors that could work." She takes another bite of her food. "I wouldn't worry about the whole "Mina could possibly attack here" situation, though. Star and Eclispa did a warding spell on the castle after the pizza party, anyways. We're safe here."
"Ohh…but I guess this means you got nerfed in a way?"
"Hey! Even if I don't have the MHC boost from Glossaryck, I still have my proper abilities. And I wasn't rusty when I did them."
"You should thank me for that. Told ya us sparring every couple of days and running around Woolandia would do wonders on the long run." Kelly lightly jabs her shoulder playfully.
The demeast chuckles, "And Vancouver as well, I guess. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if I accidentally end up on some B-Roll, with how many times they shoot moves there."
"Got that right, but still...boy that sure was a big info dump. Makes me wonder how you were able to have free time when you worked with those corrupt baddies."
"I guess I fluctuate from cool to, well, being quote unquote "sort of evil" in a way."
"Morning, guys!" Star skips into the kitchen, Marco following behind her. "Okay, so I admit… we may have some plans today. I need to check in with my Dad using the new-fashioned-old-fashioned way: portal hopping."
"And it's a good thing you joined us, too! You're like our long-range driver, except you don't have a license and can skip parallel parking!" Marco adds.
Hekapoo shivers. "Don't remind me… just from seeing videos of them, they seem to be one of the worst things to do in humanity."
"Eh, I give it a Top 40. Somewhere between going uphill on a road with only one lane and driving behind a log-filled truck."
"Can't help but notice that those all happen to be driving related." Kelly chimes in.
"Exactly."
"We probably don't need everyone for the Miami trip, though. Good thing too. Jackie's been competing in a skateboarding tournament, Janna's still doing her Late Model thing, Eclipsa's on a nice day out with Globgor and Meteora, and Tom has a big yoga-related appointment in Death Valley." Star explained.
"Huh, why would he go there?" Hekapoo questioned.
"Well, they give the Underworld sort of a second location of sorts. Made it into quite the community on top of that."
"Without magic?" Kelly questioned.
"Funny thing about that; since Tom's a demon, he still had magic of sorts on him. Something about how he can teleport between overground and underground.", Star continued.
"Knowing that place, it probably already rained fire even before it got placed there." Hekapoo smirked.
"Well, let's get ready to feel like we're overpaying our vacay stay!" Kelly said.
Hekapoo cracks her knuckles and summons her Dimension Scissors, opening a portal with them. "Alright, ladies, in you go. Not gonna lie, it feels so relaxing to not be the portal police."
"So does that mean if I ever make portals in my sleep again, hypothetically speaking, you won't bust on me?", Star replied.
"Phbt, of course not. Funny that I saved you that time, too. Plus, I know you probably did plenty of busting.", Hekapoo chuckles before realizing that maybe the innuendo was too on the nose.
Star raises an eyebrow, letting the Freudian slip right by her mind "Wha?"
Hekapoo then rapidly speaks as she pushes the rest of the crew inside of the portal, "Anwyaysletsgoinsidewheeeeee!"
[Opening Theme: "Trippin' On A Hole In A Paper Heart" by Stone Temple Pilots]
Don't cut out my paper heart
I ain't dyin' anyway
Take a look at Eiffel towers
Never trust them dirty liars
Sippin' lemon yellow booze
Old Lead Belly sings the blues
All dressed up on wedding day
Keep on trippin' anyway
I am, I am, I said I'm not myself
I'm not dead, and I'm not for sale
So keep your bankroll lottery
Eat your salad day, deathbed motorcade
[Full guitar solo]
Hold me closer, closer, let me go
Let me be, just let me be
So keep your bankroll lottery
Eat your salad day, deathbed motorcade
Chapter 5: "Don't Hold Back"
Leaving the portal, the quartet gets a surprisingly amazing view as they walk onto the roof of the Panorama Tower.
"Holy craaaaaaaaaap!" they all say in unison as a couple of establishment shots follow, the beauty of the city.
[BGM: "Miami" by Taking Back Sunday]
Miami, Miami, Miami
Well every hour on the hour (Every hour on the hour)
"You're welcome for the view. I made sure to be on the tallest building of this shindig to locate where we're going. Plus, better to be here than to be on the ground where we could get noticed." Hekapoo states, as the group spreads out to look around.
"Good thinking. Ya know, me and Marco have traveled to so many places, but never here, funnily enough." Star replied, doing a small whistle afterwards.
"Huh, maybe I should have just worn a bikini. People in Miami just wear those all the time anyways, right?" Marco muses.
"I mean, you're not exactly wrong, and I wouldn't complain but, uh… we're kind of on a mission here."
The song fades out as Kelly looks around on the opposite site of the roof and gasps. "Uh… guys? That isn't the place, is it?" She points at a building, concerned by all the billowing smoke, as the others walk up behind her.
"The Fontainebleu Hotel… that's where Dad is!" Star growls.
"Yikes. Either Mina is being super reckless, or Moon just remembered she forgot to sign a prenup when ending things with your old man." Hekapoo winces.
"Doesn't matter. We're gonna make one hell of an entrance to let them know that we're here!" Star yells out, turning into her golden butterfly form.
"Whoa, Star! I almost forgot you could– GAH" Marco gives a surprised shriek as Star snatches him up into a bridal carry and starts speeding off.
"Kelly, hold onto me!" Hekapoo shouts.
"You got it, dudette!" The woolett jumps onto the demeast's back and holds onto her tightly, as Hekapoo jumps off the building to catch up to Star, settling into a glide next to her.
"Oh, right. And you can fly." Marco observes.
"It's more gliding, actually."
"Isn't that just falling in style?"
"Stylish falling in style, Marco. Jealous?" Hekapoo brags.
"I–what? I mean, no, of course–why would you even–yes. Absolutely." Marco gives up and sputters. "Wish I had cool Mewberty wings."
"You know… maybe there's a chance you could? I mean, think of this as your first time using magic in a big battle. Oh, you can borrow my wand! You could dual wield!" Star says before Marco can start sulking.
"Nah, keep your wand. Probably should have practiced using mine more in my free time, but–"
"Really? I thought you loved her wand." Hekapoo deadpans, again, bringing a bit of innuendo.
"What?" Marco furrows his brow, the Freudian slip also slipping by him.
Kelly questions, "Is there some coded in-joke I'm missin' here?"
Hekapoo then interrupts and gasps, "OH LOOK, HUMANS RUNNING IN TERROR, LET'S HELP!"
As they approach the building, they notice a lot of people running away from the hotel in a mass panic.
"Looks like we gotta split up to cover some ground around here, huh?" Kelly says, scanning the building and the dense crowd.
"Star and Marco, you will go inside the hotel. Me and Kelly will cover the outside!" Hekapoo orders.
"Huh, you read my mind, nice!" Star replies with a grin and two of her four arms giving a thumbs up.
"Break!" they all shout in unison. The group splits up, Hekapoo and Kelly angling themselves to land on the roof, while Star and Marco land on the street, Star depowering back into her regular form as they push past the last of the escaping crowd to run towards the entrance.
"Hey, wait, shouldn't you stay in that form?" Marco remarks, looking at Star.
"Only when it's urgent! Besides, I dunno how long I can even stay in it. It's been a few years, ya know?" Star replies, panting due to running.
The two turn their attention forward and yelp, ducking into a knee slide to just barely dodge a pair of scimitars thrown in their direction. The twin swords return back to their owner, a figure hidden in the shadows who points one of the swords at Marco. "Well, well, well, so that's your true form..."
"True form? Uh… Marco, do they know you?"
Marco ponders for a bit. "Wait a minute… that voice…"
The shadowy figure slowly reveals himself as the latino femboy gasps. "YOU?!"
"Yes! It is I, Wyscan, the prettiest and most good-looking of Mina's promising rising army!"
Star snaps her fingers, finally remembering herself. "The stomach magic sucking guy from Dimension X-103!"
"And it seems you aren't a big muscly guy in your home dimension, are you Marco? Oh well, it makes our fated rematch all the sweeter, don't you agree?" Wyscan snickers.
"Star, I'll take care of him, you keep going! Find your dad!" Marco yells as he gets in his fighting stance.
"Oh no, you don't!" Wyscan throws a scimitar at Star, as the couple yells out, "Super Duper Cake Drop!" Their wands quickly summon two layers of a massive birthday cake that drop right on Wyscan, stopping the blade too.
"Runrunrun!", Marco yells.
"Yesyesyes!" Star replies, leaping over the cake in a corkscrew jump, going inside the door to the hotel.
A sucking sound is heard as the cake is swallowed into Wyscan's stomach like a vacuum cleaner, the demon giving a good stretch as he gets up and wipes some frosting out of his hair. "Geez, I better be careful about my diet after that—whoa!"
"Hiyaaah!"
Wyscan gets hit by a kick from Marco, dropping him back to the ground. Before can follow up with an axe kick, Wyscan retaliates with a sweeping kick that Marco narrowly dodges, only to get hit by a second one, slamming into the ground himself. The demon springs back up, the effeminate mage hoping to do even more damage to his foe before getting knocked back when Marco delivers a crazy-looking spring up double kick to his face.
"Gah...! Okay, how about this?!", Wyscan uses his stomach's mouth to try to chomp away at him as said stomach yells out, "GIMMIE THEM TURKEY-SIZED THIGHS!" Marco starts to back away a bit.
"Ohhh, no way are you gonna try to have any part of me for lunch!"
"More like brunch, seems like the appropriate hour for it, no?"
Marco runs up and slides under him, then attempts an attack from behind only for Wyscan to do a well-timed elbow attack right on Marco's face. The brown-haired boy groans, unable to react in time to block a backflip kick that strikes him right on the chin. He falls down to the ground, groaning.
"You want more of that, don't you, boy?" Wyscan chuckles.
"Hey, I'm no boy. I'm an actual adult now! An adult who's not afraid to take shots to the face in more ways than one!" Marco smirks, then blushes and gives an embarrassed chuckle when realizing the accidental innuendo. "Uh...don't think too hard on that."
"Think hard of what?" Wyscan quizzically responds back.
"Uh, nevermind. Hyah!" Marco does another stylish get-up kick, knocking Wyscan away.
Meanwhile, Hekapoo and Kelly are on the roof of the hotel's main building, weapons out and heading towards one of the roof entrance doors.
"Kelly, stick by me. I'm feeling some sort of strong force. Whatever it is could strike at any–"
"SMOKE BOMB!" Kelly interrupts, having looked up and seeing some sort of ball-shaped object coming towards them. As they run from each other, a big cloud of smoke engulfs the area.
"Gak...bleach...Kelly, ya there?! Kelly?!" Hekapoo coughs, trying to yell out to her friend. She doesn't hear Kelly, but she does hear what seems to be a screeching noise that's getting louder and louder. She turns towards it and squints throughout the smoke.
"...The hell is that–OH CRAP!" She notices a big black bird flying right at her, revealing itself to be Mina's over-sized crow, Sebastian. Hekapoo concentrates and uses her hands to grab his beak before it can pierce her stomach, making her heels slide and scrap across the roof, grunting out loudly as they skid to a stop at the edge of the building.
"You're that mad woman's crow...! But even bigger! And even uglier!"
The crow screeches again and tosses its head back, causing Hekapoo to lose her grip and get sent into the air. The crow opens its mouth up wide to devour the demeast as she falls back down. She gives the avian a nasty glare.
"Oh, don't you DARE eat me! Inferball!" she yells out, shooting balls of fire right inside the crow's mouth, landing behind him on her feet as the crow screams out.
"Gonna need a lot of minty gum to cure that!" Hekapoo smirks.
The crow turns around and loudly belches the smoke on her, pushing her off her feets, causing her to roll across the roof. Hekapoo groans, but it's less from the pain and more from the rancid breath.
"Ughhhhh…" She slowly gets up, annoyed. "Then again… Mina will think that smell is an improvement..."
The crow starts charging at her and Hekapoo braces herself, gritting her teeth. "Bring it, ya oversized dumpster fire of a bird!"
Cut to Kelly. Dazed and groaning, she slowly gets up, dusting sand off her shirt. "Grah… huh? I'm at the… beach now?" She glances up to see that she fell off the hotel's roof. Sword still in hand and seeing Hekapoo duking it out with Sebastian, she prepares to run up and help before her instincts suddenly activate. She whirls around in a flash, blocking the strike of a samurai sword with her own blade, pushing away her assailant, with the mysterious new foe using the momentum to backflip away. Kelly gasps, recognizing them.
"Y-you've gotta be kidding...!" The other individual is a Woolett covered head-to-toe in long, white, bushy hair.
"Long time no see..." said the white-haired Woolett, revealed to be a female through her voice, then showing the rest of her body, having pink skin on her.
"Galina Zibia...!" Kelly growls and frowns. "You were against me and Hekapoo's friendship!"
"And I still am. Really, how you managed to get me banished from Woolandia for trying to warn everyone of your friend's inevitable betrayal is beyond me."
"You tried to kill us both in our sleep! Of course we ran you out of town! And inevitable betrayal? Last time I asked, Hekapoo and I are still tight as hell. She's even becoming buds with Star freaking Butterfly now. Admit it. You were wrong."
"Tsk tsk tsk… still a fool even now, I see. For shame, for shame..."
"Seriously, Galina? Why can't you just understand? We've been roommates for 6 years and counting. We've gone through everything. We've argued, we've bonded, and we've done it all. Trust me when I say that Hekapoo isn't the Magical High Commission jerk she used to be. She's changed! And a lot of that stuff was out of her control anyway!"
"Another cover up… and really, why can't you trust me? Mina does. She gets everything I say."
Kelly grits her teeth. "Unbelievable… and you'd side with that nutjob?! Over your fellow kind?!"
"You say she's a nutjob, I say she's ahead of the curve… like myself. If the Wooletts won't take me back, then there's no path ahead than up! Besides… I'm way more of a warrior than you'll ever be, regardless of what they think." Galina smirks.
[BGM: "Fever Dreaming" by No Age]
"Oh, that's it! Hyaaaaaah!" Kelly starts running towards her, having no difficulty in the sand as their swords collide again, their blades making schwinging sounds as they try hacking and slashing at each other.
"Stop your delusions! She'll just use you and your friends! She's just biding her time!" Galina shouts.
"How about you focus on me?!" Kelly growls back. She tries to slash at Galina's hand to make the Woolett drop her sword, but the woman front-flips over her and makes a quick, deep slash to one of her legs, spilling blood. Kelly doesn't even flinch, though.
"That's all you've got? After getting hit by the Solarian Sword, a scratch like that is nothing!" she snarls.
"If that's just a scratch, have a thousand more! Haa!" Galina throws countless ninja stars at Kelly, who plants her sword to the sand, using the handle as leverage to jump into the air, somersaulting a bunch of times to avoid the onslaught as she leaps towards Galina. Galina follows up with a sword throw aimed directly at her neck, but Kelly weaves past it, even kicking off the sword for some extra speed, stunning the white-haired Woolett.
"Have a double knuckle sandwich!" Kelly slams both of her fists right on the top of her head, smacking Galinda straight into the group and causing a bunch of sand to explode between them. The latter Woolett groans, spitting out a bunch of sand, but getting up menacingly.
"That pun was trash… like you!"
"You think you fight for what's right… but we're gonna do that better, with the added party, of course!", Kelly retorted back in her fighting stance as the song stops.
Finally, we get back to Star, who's climbing up a stairwell, kicking a door open as searches yet another floor for her dad. She runs down the hallway, scanning the doors of all the many, many empty rooms for the correct number.
"Figures Dad just had to be at the end of the hall on the highest floor! Ugh, Hekapoo and I should've switched." The building rumbles a bit causing the lights to flicker for a bit, while some faint squawking sounds are heard. "Huh. Okay, maybe noooo– DAD!"
Star gasps and slows to a stop upon seeing a familiar green and fully muscled figure exiting a room while carrying an unconscious River on his shoulder. The figure turns towards Star at the sound of her voice.
"R-Rasticore?!"
"Star Butterfly…" he snarls.
"I-I thought you changed for the better! S-sort of, or at least not being evil again like this!"
"I was tired of being a damn joke! Always being cut down before I could reach my full potential! Do you know what that feels like? Do you? Well, never again. I'm showing everyone what I'm capable of now!"
"So you beat up my dad!?"
"Yep, straight up curb-stomped the old timer. Isn't that right, River?" He smacks River in his already heavily bruised face, before tossing him down on the floor with a harsh thud, enraging Star even more. She growls and whips out her wand.
[BGM: "Wax Simulacra" by The Mars Volta]
"Supersonic Leech Bomb!" A barrage of giant leeches shoot straight at Rasticore, who huffs a lot of air and then blows them back, returning to them to sender. Star gasps and quickly casts another spell.
"Rainbow Flytrap!" Her wand summons exactly what it says on the tin, however, the resulting explosion is still big enough to launch her back, but she remains on her feet, sliding backwards as the Septarian gives chase. His metal hand shifts into some sort of blaster, launching green energy orbs that explode as they hit the walls, floor, and ceiling. Star regains traction and leaps into one of the nearby rooms to gain cover.
"Okay, he might actually be a threat this time. That's not great." She pants, trying to catch her breath… sees two grenades get lobbed into the room. "BULLA SPIRO!" She casts a bubble-like shield around her as the grenades explode, protecting her from damage, but still launching her away as the shield disperses from the force of the blast, making her crash through a wall into the adjacent room. She groans as she gets out of the rubble, hacking up dust as she leans against another wall for support.
"Yeah. Definitely not great." She snaps out of her dazed state as soon as she hears a roar, rolling out of the way of Rasticore jumping into the room to punch his metal fist clean through where Star just was, making yet another giant hole.
"Can you please stop busting holes in walls! Are you trying to make the ceiling cave in!?"
"I don't care! I'm taking you dow–" Rasticore begins to scream back, before being interrupted by an uppercut from Star, followed by a punch in the stomach. Before she can land another hit, he punches her in the face, sending her flying into a ceiling fan that she grabs onto and uses to swing back around. She lets go of the fan and lands on top of him, tightening her leg around his neck.
"You think this puny hold can choke me? Your thighs are weak!" Rasticore snarls.
"First of all, my thighs are amazing, even if they're behind Marco's! Second of all, I may not be able to choke you out..." Star does some sort of headscissors takedown, making him smash through a big glass table nearby, gracefully dropping off as he collapses to the ground.
"...but I sure as hell can knock you out." Just as she's about to leave the room to get her dad, she stops at the sound of Rasticore giving a menacing laugh. She turns back around to see Rasticore getting up, dusting the glass shards off his body.
"No, I don't believe you can.", he growled, as a pretty decent chunk of glass is seen on his back, pulling it clean off with his own hand, without even flinching in pain as his blood slowly pours out of there, "I barely felt that..."
"Oh shiiiiit..." Star says in a low voice as Rasticore snatches her up and tries to headbutt her, as she barely moves her head out of the way of each collision before shimmying out of his grip. Getting some distance between them, she casts another spell. "Dagger Crystal Heart Attack!" A bunch of heart-shaped daggers fly at him, aimed at his eyes, making him grunt and stagger a bit as he tries to protect his sight.
"Gah, my freaking eyes!"
"Okay, you were right. Can't knock you out." Star gives a smirk. "But if I can't knock you down, I'll just have to blow you up again! Bazooka Boom Bang Blast!" Her wand turns into a powerful looking bazooka, shooting a missile right at Rasticore in a dazzling display… before unceremoniously getting stuck in his chest. They both blink and stare at the seemingly inert ammunition.
"Whuh-oh.", Star quickly runs to hide behind one of the beds while Rasticore gives a laugh.
"Foolish Mewman, it didn't blow–"
Cue him indeed getting blown up with his limbs scattered everywhere in the hotel room. Star peeks out from behind cover and gives a sigh of relief. "Wow, that was pretty gritty. Gotta check on Dad...!" As Star runs out of the room to check on her father, the building shakes once again and we pan up to the roof while the song ends.
Back on the roof, Hekapoo is still dodging Sebastian's attacks, the overgrown bird pecking at the ground trying to devour his prey. The demeast slashes at the oversized crow at every opening she gets, but despite drawing blood and eliciting a couple of screeches, it doesn't seem to faze him much. He soon switches to trying to stomp her with his clawed feet, she rolls out of the way as he misses.
"This might be a bad idea, but damn it, I wanna do it so badly! Hyah!" She jumps up and punches Sebastian right in the eye, which finally causes him to stagger and wince in pain loudly. Hekapoo jumps back to avoid the bird's frantic trashing.
"Huh, I guess punching anyone in the eye is a good call after all.", being a call back to when Marco did that before in one of their Dimension X-103 adventures. She gives a small smile, then looks at her twin blades, spinning them around a bit while eyeing the crow's neck. "Birdie's going bye bye...!" With the bird still out of it, Hekapoo runs back at the bird, jumping up and stabbing both her scissor blades deep into its neck as it yelps once more.
"And now it's time for a little swinging!" She starts to swing her body back and front, over and over a few times to build up speed, treating this like a horizontal bar event. "1...2...3...!" On three, she carves through his neck, going all away around in a full circle, before landing perfectly on her feet, swinging around her blades as Sebastian's head falls clean off. She looks back at the beheaded corpse with a satisfied smirk as blood begins to pool around body and head.
"That takes care of that… where'd Kelly go, though?" She walks over to the edge of the roof, scanning the ground until she notices two small figures having a fight on the nearby beach.
"Yep, that's her. I dunno who she's facing...doesn't seem to be any of the guys we fought last time. Don't tell me Mina is somehow recruiting more people." She gives a weary groan. "Well, at least I don't have to worry about–" She's interrupted by a wet, squelching sound coming from behind her. Hekapoo slowly turns around and sees Sebastian standing before her with a newly regenerated head. "...you?"
Sebastian screeches loudly once again. "Oh shiiiiit..." Hekapoo says, echoing what Star said below her, getting her blades ready again. "Mina experimented some gnarly BS on you, did she?" She takes a deep breath. "No problem." She glances at all the cracks in the roof behind the rejuvenated avian. "New plan."
Back with Star, she's carrying River over her shoulder down a stairwell, "Okay… I think I need my golden form for this. Jeez, Dad, what have you been eating?" Suddenly, her back gets slashed by Rasticore's claws, causing her to shout in pain and trip down a flight of stairs, her and River crashing through a door into the hallway of one of the lower floors. Star tries to get up, but winces due to the three deep and bleeding gashes on her back.
"W-wha?! How did you recover so fast?"
"It's over, Star. We were only here to capture your Dad, but I might as well leave you dead while I'm at it." He raises his hand to deal another blow to Star before the ceiling above them caves in, and he gets crushed by the bulk of Sebastian and a bunch of rubble as the two continue to fall through the lower floors, landing in a crater down in the lobby. Star inches her way over to the hole in the floor before looking up to see Hekapoo staring down at her from the roof. The demeast jumps down to where Star is with a slightly concerned look to her face, "Star, you're alright?! Dude, your back!"
"Hekapoo! Yep, it's messy...but I can manage! What in the world was that?!"
"Sebastian. Ya know, Mina's dumb pet." Hekapoo replies, giving another glance at the mess of bird and lizard flesh littering the hall several stories below.
"You're kidding!"
"And get this: I sliced his whole head off and it just grew back in seconds."
"That happened while I was facing Rasticore. Usually his healing is slow as a snail, but now… gah— there's no time to compare notes, we gotta get the hell outta here!"
"Wait, that's your Dad, right?"
"Yeah! He's beaten up, but still alive..."
Hekapoo gives a silly grin and snaps her fingers, opening a portal.
Star grins and guffaws, "Ohhhh, yeah, that's perfect! Just make sure we put him on a bed, I've seen many comic scenarios like this."
"You have my word, Star." They carefully carry River through the portal, lugging him to the guest bedroom back at Butterfly Castle and tucking him into a bed. Closing the door, they give a sigh of relief and head back towards the portal.
"Okay, now to finish off those regenerating rubes and get the rest of our squad. Luckily for you, Star, I've got a plan."
"Does it involve getting a bunch of big pillows and sheets?"
Hekapoo's eyes widen. "Wow, we really are in sync."
"Yeah, we are! Hi-five!"
While Hekapoo and Star are hi-fiving each other and putting together their next plan of attack, "Let's get tricky!", they said in unison.
Marco is still in the midst of his battle against Wyscan. Ducking behind a palm tree, he yells out a spell. "Tiara Tornado!" A small cyclone flinging tiaras and crowns makes its way towards the blue-skinned being, who dodges the head ornaments as if dancing, before actually starting to dance to show-off.
Marco mutters a curse, then, realizing the magic-eater might be a bit distracted by his own moves, takes the chance to cast another spell. "Shooting Star Explosion!" However, all the oncoming stars are casually eaten by Wycan's stomach.
"Oh, you're kidding! Do stars even have taste?!" Marco says in exasperation.
"Ah, yes. It's a combination of vanilla ice cream and banana milk." Wyscan responds nonchalantly.
"Huh. The more you know. Well, I guess there's no choice but—HAAAAAH!" Marco jumps out of cover, running right at him and charging them both into a pool with a big splash. Marco tries to sneak some punches at him underwater, but Wyscan's stomach bites onto Marco's leg to restrain him. Marco gives a scream and ends up swallowing some of the pool water, causing him to trash around from the lack of air. In his struggle, he manages to get a good kick in Wyscan's face and gets out of the water, coughing up the water and taking in a deep breaths, before rolling away from the pool once he hears Wyscan jump up, avoiding a scimitar stab that pierces the ground he was just on.
"You're still not giving it up, Marco?! Feels like we've thrown everything at each other!"
"Oh, no way! That's not even the most I've swallowed in the last 12 hours!" Marco replies with another smarmy innuendo.
"You… really like chlorine water?"
Marco guffaws. "Oh, I like making ya feel dumb!"
"Hey, stop it with the inside jokes!"
Back in the hotel, Rasticore is seen riding on top of Sebastian, as the two are flying through a hallway, searching for their opponents. "Grr...you better respect me well, bird..."
"Welcome back, you two!" Star yells out from a room the two just passed. The bird and lizard double-back to find Star and Hekapoo casually lounging around on a bed, the former wearing a makeshift bandage made of curtains to relieve the claws mark in her back, while the latter is sits next to a large, mewman-shaped bundle wrapped in bedsheets.
"How was the 'elevator ride', hmm?" Star continues, mockingly.
"It's one of the fastest around. Must've felt like you were in Homestead-Miami Speedway for a few seconds!" Hekapoo jokes.
Rasticore aims his metal hand, turning it into a blaster again. "Screw your jokes! You will give River to me in the next 5 seconds or I'll start blasting!"
"Aww, where's the fun in that? How about a quick game first?" Hekapoo picks up the bundle and holds it over her head while Star pushes open the window. "Oh Sebastiaaaaaan, you want him? You want this big-boned dude? FETCH!" Hekapoo then throws "River" out the window, far into the horizon.
"Oh, come on. That's obviously just a bunch of pillows. The bird won't fall for––GRAAAAAAAAH!" he screams as Sebastian crashes through the window to fly away with haste after the decoy.
"Hell yeah!" Hekapoo and Star both exclaim as they bump their chests.
"Wow, how have we not worked as a team this often before– oh, right, you were a brainwashed…"
"A sorta brainwashed bitch, yeah.", she replied with a bit of a disappointing tone on her voice.
"Hey, don't bring yourself down that much. You're lucky enough for us to be buds in this life than another life."
Hekapoo then nodded and smiled, "Yeah, glad we're girl-bros now."
They both chuckle, "Likewise. Now let's find the others before those guys get back!"
"Found Marco! He's right below us, still fighting Wyscan!" Star replies, looking down from the hole where a window used to be.
"W-wha? He's around?!"
"You know him?"
"We had a few encounters on my dimension, but that's not important. Hop on and let me fall in style!"
Star wastes no time grabbing onto her back as the demeast jumps down to glide towards Marco's fight.
"You've been two-for-two on plans all day, Hekapoo, so…"
"And you've been on my wavelength all day. So you know what I'm thinking, right?" Hekapoo grins.
"I bonk him on the head with my wand?"
"Even better."
"Ohhhh… yeah, yeah, yeah, let's go with that!" Star ecstatically nods.
Marco is on the ground as Wyscan has the tip of his scimitar on his neck. "I wish I could say you were a valiant opponent, Diaz, but you truly have lost your luster if you've fallen this quickly. Still, a W is a W. So, got any last words before I shish kabob you into medium rare pieces? And it better not be another weird inside joke."
"I promise. No more sex jokes."
"Those were sex jokes!? You were coming on to me!?"
"What? No! I am in a very happy and committed relationship, I just can't kinda help but brag…" Marco glances away from Wyscan and gives a smirk. "But there is something pretty hard coming your way."
"Something pretty hard?" Wyscan furrows his brow. "You just promised–wait, why aren't you…" Wyscan starts turning around to see what Marco is looking at and…
"DOUBLE CLOTHESLINE!"
Hekapoo and Star scream out their attack as they collide with the flamboyant otherworldly blue male, who corkscrews in the air from the force of the hit and lands a far distance away, dazing him for a while.
Marco gets up and hi-fives them both. "Okay, it's official, looks like you two are turning into a dang good tag-team."
"Yeah, I'm a professional tag-team specialist. You, Kelly, Star? Pair me up with anyone, and it's an instant win." Hekapoo replies, acting playfully aloof.
"You doin' good, Marco?" Star questions.
"I'm feelin' kinda rusty right now. Then again, there's a difference between pretending to cast spells and actually doing them."
"Kinda unfair when the dude can just eat up a lot of that, too. Anyways, we got my Dad. He's resting back at the castle, so we just gotta find Kelly and we can blow this popsicle stand!"
"She's at the beach. Looks like we all had an old baddie to deal with. And they all teamed-up under Mina's command." Hekapoo sighs as they head over to the beach. "…And now that I think about it, I know who's dueling with Kelly."
"The librarian!" Marco exclaims.
"The lib– what? No. Why would she be fighting a librarian, Marco?" Hekapoo bafflingly replies, while Star looks at him confused.
"I dunno? Maybe she wants revenge after me and Kelly absolutely wrecked her from way back?"
"Oh yeah, Kelly once told me about that incident, yeah...but it's not a book granny, Marco." Hekapoo deadpans.
Back with Kelly and Galina's duel, the latter is trying to break Kelly's sword by using her own as a club. "That sword isn't gonna protect you forever, you dope! And once you're down, I'll make sure I'll destroy all your so-called friends before I'll kill you!" Galina grunted.
"Grah… you're cracked in the skull! If you think– argh– for thinking you can– oof– beat us! And you just use your sword like a sword!? You're gonna dull the blade, ya dingus!" Kelly screams back, frustrated.
"Dull the blade?" In an instant, Galina switches from clubbing Kelly's sword to slashing underneath her guard, slicing through the green-haired Woolett's shirt to cut her abdomen, blood leaking from the fresh wound. "The tools of the righteous are never dull!" she retorts with a cruel grin as Kelly drops her own sword to clutch at her stomach. "I should strike you down now. An act of mercy for someone lead astray by a–"
"KELLY!" Hekapoo yells as she shoots a fireball at Galina, forcing her to back away from Kelly, the intensity of the fire turning the sand where she was into glass.
"Speak of the devil..." Galina softly snarls as the rest of the good guys run in to flank her, striking fighting poses.
"Another Woolett..." Star says.
"Yeah. Me and Kelly have a history with this bitch..." Hekapoo replied.
"You do?" Marco questions.
"When Hekapoo first started living with me, she doubted that our buddy here was redeemable..." Kelly says, trying to stand up straight.
"And I still think so. She's likely just using you all, not just Kelly. The fact that you, Star Butterfly, took her in, just shows how gullible you are." Galina mocks.
"It's been six. Freaking. YEARS, damn it!" Hekapoo yells, exasperated. "Yeah, I was a bit of a jackass when I started, but I actually put in effort to improve myself! You just didn't want to see it. And you? Looks like you spent these six years becoming worse. You're kinda reminding me of how I was for way too long."
Galinna gives a harsh laugh. "Oh, man, that's rich. I'd happily take you on, but I believe in finishing what I started." She gestures towards Kelly. "Just know that as soon as I kill your green-fluffed friend here, you'll absolutely fall apart… this will just take a minute. Poor girl can barely stand."
"Shut up. I will beat you, Galinna… it's not bad enough that you turned your back on us Wooletts with your intolerance, but you'd prefer to work with someone who wants to wipe us all out?" Kelly ignores the pain to step forward, brandishing her sword. "You're lost."
"No, I'm right where I need to be–" Galina suddenly stops talking as if she hears something, her brow furrowed. She gives a nod, and sheathes her sword. "But another time."
"...Huh?"
"I'd like to keep on mocking you further, but it's time to make my leave."
"Oh, no you don't!"
Galina twirls around rapidly as the sand around her builds into a whirlwind as Kelly tries to approach. She leaps up and slices at where Galina stands, but when the sandstorm clears, she has vanished.
Star can't help but give a whistle, impressed. "I know she's a bad guy, but we gotta get ourselves a badass exit like that."
"Guess you were all dealing with your own battles, right?" Kelly asks, walking back to her buddies.
"Yeeeeep." They say in unison.
"Mina and my Mom totally hired some goons. Vengeful goons."
"Jeez, look at all this damage." Marco says concerned, looking around at the wrecked building and the disordered land around it. "I hope the staff don't mind. Or the police… maybe we should get out before they take us in for questioning. They might get the wrong idea about all this."
"Don't think we've ever fought this hard back then, either. Check out my battle scars." Star unwraps her makeshift curtain bandages to show off her back and the wound from Rasticore's claw attack as Marco and Kelly wince.
"Ugh. Okay, that makes my cuts look like paper cuts!" Kelly remarks, wide-eyed.
"Uh, guys? I see something coming right at us…!?" Marco starts to panic as he points to two figures in the distance coming straight for them, revealed to be Sebastian and Rasticore yelling like mad.
"Oh yeah, they had to come back at some point… oh wow, they're coming in FAST." Star starts freaking out herself when the duo start going so fast they set themselves on fire.
"Yep, we are going." Hekapoo snaps her fingers to make a portal, pushing them through. Hekapoo is about to enter herself but hesitates, staying behind a bit longer, giving the rapidly approaching enemies a confident glare.
She flips the bird to the bird with two middle fingers, "HEY, SEBASTIAN! SUCK MY COOOOOOOOO-", hopping backwards through the portal at the last second before it vanishes, the two villains crashing into the sand in a small explosion. When the sand and smoke clears, Sebastian is dazed while Rasticore lays groaning beside him, limbless.
"Mina should show you some damn tough love, bird!" he headbutts the bird.
Back at Echo Creek, near Butterfly Castle, Hekapoo lands on the ground after going through the portal, sliding to a stop on her back in front of the others while still having her middle fingers out. "-OOOOOOCK!", as the rest see her land
"Juvenile insult on the way out?" Kelly asks with an amusing expression on her face.
"To you, it's low-brow. To me, it's the height of wit and refinement." Hekapoo happily replies, putting on a posh accent as Kelly helps her up.
"That was a bit more than I expected. Was really hoping that it would be a quick check-up, but it turned into all that..." Star mutters to herself.
"Cheer up Star." Marco starts, elbowing his girlfriend. "What matters is that your Dad is in safe hands now."
"Yeah… you're right. But I wonder if he's emotionally ready for my Mom being all evil and stuff. Again. I kinda hope he isn't awake yet, but I have to rip off the band-aid." She heads inside of the castle as the rest follow her.
Meanwhile, Galina, Wyscan, and Rasticore are interacting with Mina and Moon in her throne room as the twin-tailed maniac chuckles. "I say today was more of a tie, guys. Not to mention all the chaos and panic you all caused."
"Why, you're welcome, Lord Loveberry. Although, Rasticore deserves as much credit for causing a bit of a boom there." Wyscan commented.
"Hmph… you complained about that when I suggested it." Rasticore remaked.
Wyscan shrugs. "Results can change anyone's mind."
Moon smiles in approval. "Perhaps this is a sign that my husband won't need to join my side. He'll likely be too crestfallen to even think of paying me back."
"Pshh, he was always holding you back anyways. You gotta let yourself free anyways, like a chicken… outta hell!" Mina is growling and snarling by the end of her sentence.
"Well, more like a cockroach coming back to life from a nuclear strike, if I do say so myself." Moon remarked.
"Whatever floats ya boat, Queenie." Mina chuckle.
"I outclassed my opponent. Her scars may be minor, and we're absolutely far from done. Although, I wouldn't mind getting up and close to duel with that so-called demeast… but there might be plenty of time for that." Galina remarked.
"I knew you'd be an asset to our cause. Tell you what, how about injecting you with some of that Solarian blood of mine, just like with Rasticore and my dear crow buddy?" Mina creepily smiles.
Galina chuckles. "No need… just serving you is enough to get my own blood pumping."
"So be it! Regardless, I stumbled upon something awesome! While you guys are doing your jobs rather well… I say we need more man-slash-womanpower. We're gonna be on an expedition out of here for a while becaaaaaause..." A brief pause follows where Mina seemingly loses her trend of thought. "Moon, I'm tossing the baton to you for this."
"Ah, yes, you see… I may have just found a forbidden terracotta army that Solaria Butterfly herself had hidden from not just Mewni, but to the Butterfly family themselves, and there's a chance some ruins around the world may have these soldiers laying dormant. So I think it would be in our best interest to investigate as this could be a major boon for our forces."
Mina squees. "Oh, yeah, me and Moon are putting together an army! And you guys could bully them if you want to! Those rough and tough warriors are the next big step in our ambitions for conquest! Ya'll better get ready, cause the wait will be worth it! Solaria, I will make you proooooooooud!" Mina's joyous screams echo out through the building.
Smash cut to River waking up as Star and Marco stand over him. "Huh? Wha...?"
"Dad!" Star jumps onto her father, giving him a hug.
"My goodness, Star! A little too… tight, don't you think?!" River grunts in pain.
"Sorrysorrysorry!" she releases him from her embrace. "I was just really worried. Rasticore must have rocked you hard, huh? Me too. Guess we've got matching father-daughter battle scars… that's neat." She trails off, frowning.
"I'm afraid I really showed my age there. These peaceful times didn't last long after all. I knew about magic coming back. I should have been prepared!"
"Do you think they were trying to lure us out? We wanted to check up on you, and then they attacked. Come to think of it, how'd they know where to find you?" Marco questioned.
"Well...uh...Moon called me. Said she wanted to talk. To fix things."
"So you gave her your location?" Star asks.
"Well, yes. How else would we talk?"
"That hotel… was one of the last trips you and Mom went on together before she left us. And it is almost the anniversary of that time, I guess." Star softly says.
"...So it was. I suppose it would be a fitting place for a reunion. But she never showed. I waited for hours, then the attack began."
"It's more my fault. Mom and I… talked the other day. I should have called you ahead of time."
"I see. Well, if Moon really is finished with me, I'll do my best to move on."
"...Dad? Mom was behind that attack on the hotel. Her and Mina. They're working together."
"Egad! That can't be!" River forces himself to sit up.
"Easy, River. And yes, I'm afraid so. Sorry about that, too." Marco says.
"B-but no worries, Dad! You can stay here for a couple of days while you heal up. Heck, stay as long as you want! Mi castillo es tu castillo!"
River sighs. "I need some time to myself in the best way I know how… being alone surrounded by danger in the woods! The old school way to cope with emotional pain!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, I don't think you should do that while being, well, hurt like this. At least stay here for the night, alright?" Star pleads.
"I suppose it's best to not be too reckless. Many thanks, sweet daughter. Future son-in-law." River smiles.
"Don't forget to thank them, too!" Star points out Kelly and Hekapoo standing by the bedroom door, the former giving an energetic wave while Hekapoo's is more subdued.
"Hi." They say in unison, albeit in differing tones.
River gasps and stage whispers to Star and Marco, pointing and squinting at Hekapoo. "Wait a minute! Isn't she evil?!"
"I turned over a new leaf, uh...sir!" Hekapoo chimes in.
"My ex-wife is evil and she's not a villain anymore?! It really feels like everything is truly upside down." River lays back down on the bed again. "I think I really do need sleep."
Star smiles lightly. "Rest well, Dad." She kisses him on the cheek and Marco does the same as they exit the guest room. Star sighs as she closes the door. At the moment, her smartphone starts to ring and she answers.
"Star?! Oh, you're okay, aren't you?" Eclipsa yells.
"Eclipsa?! Wait, what's going on?"
"You're on the news! You were just in Miami, weren't you?!" Star and the others look at each other before racing to the entertainment room and turning on the TV, Star using the remote to flip through channels until they find a news report on their battle at the Fontainebleu.
"A crazy incident happened at one of the most iconic hotels in Miami! The Fontainebleu suffered what is believed to be a terrorist attack earlier today. The inside of the building is heavily damaged, with various rooms in various states of disarray and several floors destroyed. Amazingly enough, no injuries have been reported, but what has been described as 'hunks of lizard beef and blood' decorating the interior of one hotel room. There is evidence of fighting within the complex, with unidentified blood stains in a number of locations both inside and outside the premises. A photo taken by one fleeing civilian reveals three unidentified beings and what looks to be a giant crow staring up at one of the buildings. More pictures are coming in, including what appears to be that giant crow battling what looks to be a demon-like being in an orange and yellow dress. The presence of the crow has been confirmed by way of its disembodied head being retrieved from the broken roof. We'll continue to provide updates to this developing story."
We also cut to Jackie-Lynn, Tom and Janna all watching the news report. While the first two take in the information with a serious air, Janna couldn't help but be amused. "Totally stealing that head some day." Cut back to the main group, with Star putting the TV on mute.
"This is a lot of attention." Hekapoo remarks.
"Yeah… usually when we had fights all those years ago, most of the really intense stuff was limited to Mewni. But now that magic is back and the worlds are merged..." Star replies.
"Earthlings aren't used to this sort of chaos, either..." Kelly adds.
"Our fights in Echo Creek were also, like, limited to a karate dojo or someone's backyard. Not major tourism sites." Marco also points out.
"Mina's not kidding around, it seems. She keeps recruiting more people to join her cause. While I don't think it'll be an everyday occurrence, we really need to keep the alert up." Eclipsa says, still speaking through the phone.
Hekapoo puts an arm around Star's shoulder. "We have your back, Star."
Kelly puts her arm on Star's shoulder, too. "We've got the power of positivity and friendship on our side! Woo!"
"Anyway, I'm gonna grab the first aid kit. Star, your back definitely needs some attention." Marco starts to get up, but Star waves him off.
"Nah, leave it."
"You sure? Like, we should all probably get patched up now that I think about it." Hekapoo adds.
"Oh, no, you guys can totally clean yourselves up! Me? …This was sort of a long time coming for me."
"Star...what do you mean by that?" Marco delicately holds her hands as Hekapoo and Kelly both let go of her, all of them looking concerned.
[BGM: "Pull Me Through" by Royal Blood]
"Me destroying magic. I mean… I… might have killed magical beings doing that, all those years ago. Every once in a while, the thought comes up and it's been haunting me, and... what else could I have done? Sure, it was the first idea that popped into my head but there was no time for anything else!" Star gets up and starts pacing the room.
"I couldn't just sit around for hours and hours to figure out a Plan B. At least, that's how it felt at the time. And there might have been some bad people abusing magic or made of magic, but there were also some good ones out there. I was just so focused on saving all the monsters I could that it didn't… I didn't realize that I might have traded one genocide for another. I'd always think about if I could somehow have spared magical beings by bringing them down to normal or something, but… I dunno." She stops pacing and looks at the others still sitting on the couch.
"You know, there was a good while where I wanted to imprison myself for what I've done. But I wasn't sure if it would even make sense… so many nights thinking of 'what-if' scenarios where we could have stopped Mina without any possible casualties. Ideas I maybe could have come up with. That could have worked. If only I didn't listen to a stupid tapestry. If only destiny didn't say it had to be that way." Star crosses her arms and puts her back to the wall.
"Sure, now magic is back. And all the magical creatures are returning to… but it doesn't make me feel any better." She slides down the wall to sit on the floor.
Miles from the surface I ride out and weather the war
In a tin submarine where the seams couldn't hold back the shore
On a bed made of "what have you done?"
Tone-deaf with a headache for one
Back to the water below
Alone as I float like a stone
The others look at each other. Hekapoo walks across the room to kneel next to Star, putting her hands on her shoulders, looking directly at her. "Star… listen. Sometimes, it's hard to tell if we do the right thing or not. Maybe if we could go back in time, you could do something different. I know I would, too… if I was only more strong-willed back then, I wouldn't have let what Glossaryck fed me to mess with my head. Maybe we could have been friends back then. I could have made up for what I did to your family… to Eclipsa. But what's done is done. You can't go back and mess with it. Besides, I don't believe in fate or destiny. I don't think that tapestry of yours reflects some destiny. We make our own paths, then we deal with what comes. There are too many choices in life for there to be just a single right one. And… that can suck sometimes. But that also means we're in control of how to fix things. Make things better. Like you said, magic did come back. And now you have some new choices to make. So instead of getting hung up on what was, keep your eyes on what can be. It will be hard, but… I have faith that we'll get through it. And I do mean we. Whatever you have to deal with, whatever bullshit Mina or Moon throws our way, we'll be right there with you. It's the least I can do after you still gave me a chance." Hekapoo pulls her into a hug.
Sinking to the bottom, lost but not forgotten
Down I go again, heart swinging like a punchbag
Waiting on you
To pull me through
Kelly joins in on the hug. "No one is going to pretend like that was an easy choice you made. I know in my heart that if there was time for a better plan, you would have done something different. But you made the best of a bad situation. And you know what? The choice you made? It was a choice that saved people, Star. So, so many people. Trading one genocide for another genocide? …The numbers game is never a fun one. But you saved so many. Me, Jorby, Talon, Rich Pigeon, heck, the countless monsters you saved that day from a cruel death? You can't forget that. You should never forget that.
Washing off the soft soap, sleeping on a tightrope
Everything I prove, got nothing left to use
Want the truth? I need you
To pull me through
Finally, Marco joins in. "Star, oh jeez, everyone took all the good lines." Star gives a little chuckle, leaning into his touch. "...I trust you Star. So, so much. I wouldn't have followed you into the Realm of Magic to help if I didn't believe that you made the best call possible. When we first met, you were the most reckless and impulsive person I'd ever met. The moment an idea popped into your head, you'd follow it until another random thought pulled you in another direction. But you grew. You learned to think things through, to see the bigger picture. Like, when we first met, I felt it was my job to keep you out of trouble. But by the time we were saying what we thought were our final goodbyes? I would willingly follow you into any danger. Not because I thought you messed up and needed my help to escape. But because I knew you weighed the odds and made a choice that had to be made. You weren't the dumb princess who had to be dumped in another dimension to learn responsibility anymore. You learned that lesson several times over."
So won't you pull me, won't you pull me through?
Through, though
Won't you pull me, won't you pull me through?
Star hugs them all back, almost on the verge of tears "Thank you, guys… really. I do… maybe… sometimes, I just get stuck in my own head and end up thinking about things like this. It feels good to finally confess what's been bugging me for so long..."
"We got your back, Star… no matter what." Hekapoo says.
Hours later at night, Hekapoo and Kelly are chatting away while watching TV sharing and eating gummies on a bowl, although the woolett looks a bit down.
"Kels, you okay? It's cause of Galina returning, huh?" Hekapoo questioned.
"It's more the fact that I don't think we can fully reform her now. I wanted to hope that her time away could make her into a better person, but...she just pissed it all away."
"That's...kinda eerie. I even sometimes thought the same for my former MHC mates."
"You don't think they can be reformed, either?"
"I recall Star being pretty friendly with those two at one point. Not to the extent of me and Marco, but they were decently mutual."
"I mean, they got a second chance in life and they still prefer being against us."
"That could take a while, and if they don't stop working with Mina...I'm afraid they can't be saved, either."
"I'm just glad you turned out alright yourself. Better late than never to get yourself fixed up."
"Yeah...I still can't thank ya enough."
They both nod and smile in approval.
"Wonder how Star and Marco are doing?", Kelly then questions.
"Probably making the bed creak like a duck.", Hekapoo replies back as Kelly couldn't help but chuckle.
"You, uh...aren't gonna go as far as snooping on them using a portal...right?"
"Nah, I can probably just image it in my mind. Star's this big chad and Marco's the cutie who tries to sound innocent but really wants it. With some cute setup, of course."
Meanwhile, Star is only in her panties and her familiar orange and purple thigh highs as she enters her and Marco's bedroom. "We're out of scar cream. Looks like I'm gonna have to live with these claw marks. Could have been worse."
"I don't mind whatsoever, Star~." Marco is already in bed, lying on his side fully naked while wearing purple thigh highs, making a very seductive face.
Star wolf whistles as she gets in bed too. "Well, someone's already eager. But I kinda wanna talk first."
Marco instantly becomes more serious, sitting up at attention. "Is it about earlier today?"
"Not...really. I mean, you mentioned how you were basically my parole officer slash babysitter while cheering me up, and it got me thinking." Star stares at the ceiling. "It's funny, isn't it? How our relationship went through… a lot back then. Within two years, we met, became friends, I had a crush on you, you dated Jackie, I got back with Tom, then you got dumped and started crushing on me, then you dated Kelly for a bit, you two then turned into "breakup buddies" then me and Tom broke up..." She sighs before turning back to Marco. "When laying everything out like that, it was such a ridiculous mess. I'd never trade what we have now, but a part of me wonders what it would have been like if none of that complicated teenage romance stuff happened. If we were just a boy and a girl, and we were friends, end of story."
"I mean, maybe in another alternate universe you're with someone else, I'm with someone else and we're still cool with each other, being best buds and eating as many nachos. Ooh, or there's a role swap dimension where I'm the one who's a princess from another dimension and you're the normal earth dudette."
"That'd be something. It's just… I know I shouldn't be thinking too hard about what ifs, but it's hard not too right now. I've been so thankful for the last few years. Sure, Mom… left, but we've been going strong, lovey-dovey as ever. All our friends are happy and pursuing their dreams. Eclispa finally has her family. All that good stuff. But now things are getting dicey all over again..."
"No kidding, I mean, my fight with Wyscan wasn't the best. I was so hyped to do more spells like you, but then I faced someone who literally eats 'em!? What the heck!" Marco comments as Star giggles.
"Did you try overloading him with an ice cream spell to give him a brain freeze? Or something spicy to cause a tummy ache?"
Marco stares at Star blankly before facepalming, making her smile even wider. "Whoops..."
"Well, there's always a next time."
"Imagine if we didn't have Hekapoo and Kelly, though. We might as well have been dead and deader."
"I know, right? We'll get back into the groove soon, though… huh. Back into the groove. Our teenage years were too eventful for our own good. Wish we had more chill time than we got. Just human and mewman hanging out."
"And making out..."
"And making out… I hate how Mom was cool with us being friends, but lost it when we started dating."
"Me not exactly being a manly man didn't help, did it?"
"I wouldn't be surprised… she's all about gender norms and blah, blah, blah."
Marco sighs. "It did take a while before my parents accepted me being all curvy like this. Or even really understood. Took a while for Mariposa to understand that wider hips doesn't mean 'big brother' is now 'big sister'. Even if he can rock a dress and high heels better than most women in this town.
"Well, I love my cute and curvy boyfriend." Star giggles, placing her hand on Marco's hip.
"We even swapped the color of our capes… think we went too far with that, too?"
"Nah. But maybe I should have changed it to like orange, but blue still fits me well, too." Star says as she shuffles closer to Marco, moving her hand up to rub his face.
"Mn… hey, Star… ?"
"Hm?"
Marco grabs her, holding her body flush against his, nuzzling her face before starting to kiss her neck. "Let's screw around with gender norms again~. Time to ride your "second wand", Star."
Star can't help but guffaw a bit. "You really went there… let's go, then!" she replies with a smirk, eyes beginning to cloud with lust as Marco smirks back.
He lets go of her so Star can remove her panties. She uses her wand to once again summon her penis. Marco gives it an appreciative kiss before the screen fades out… and skips straight to Star ramming her phallus into Marco, grabbing onto his plump buttcheeks as Marco starts moaning out, his eyes having small hearts in his pupils while Star grunts.
"Ahn! Star… yeah… it-it doesn't ever hurt… ruin me… ruin my bussy, oh, harder… harder~! I love you, I love you… oh, that's it… that's it… harder, deeper… please! GUH~!"
Star gasps slightly as she pumps her seed inside of him, some of the semen leaking out of his plugged orifice. "I...I came...inside you...wow..."
"Wow.. .indeed..." The both of them pant.
"Star… I want more~..."
"Don't worry, Marco… there's more where that came from~." They kiss once more, and we fade to black.
[End Of Chapter]
[Ending theme: "Oblivion" by Royal Blood]
Fire in my lungs, I'm spun, walking on wire
In delirium, descending higher and higher
Can't live like this forever, running out of lifelines
Going hell for leather for just one last ride
This gravity's pulling me down
It's time I got myself found
But just before I turn out the light
Tonight
I ain't stoppin' for nothin'
My devil is done
Into oblivion (Oblivion)
Yeah, I had it coming
Too close to the sun
Into oblivion (Oblivion)
Oblivion
Oblivion
Oblivion
Oblivion