It was so easy, saying the coveted words.
They were gentle, barely rolling off of her tongue before she could feel it, like rain on her cheeks, a trickling emptiness that began to fill her where magic should have been. Dark, cold, abysmal; the worst things she wished she wouldn't have to feel...but she knew it would come. That it had to be done, no matter what happened, no matter how...gross it made her feel.
She wouldn't waver. She wouldn't stop.
Not until it was done.
Looking back, she knew she didn't have much time, not at the rate that the swirling, black miasma began to spread and grow, like a cancer around her hands...but not fast enough that she'd be able really make a dent in this...in any of the ceaseless, endless eternity that was the Realm of Magic. Shuddering, her body was strained, tired, funnels of her magic still pulsing impatiently within her as she tried to force more to leave her.
But it was persistent, almost appearing to laugh at her efforts.
'Ha!' It would say as she chanted hard, faster, rushing as the impending doom became her, exclaiming 'You'll never end me. I am forever, eternal. This was fruitless...pointless. You will die here.'
It shouted at her.
It screamed at her.
In response, she tried to keep her mind, to remain unmoved by the doubt and fear that filled her mind, just as cold had begun to. None of this would matter in due time, none of this would be of any consequence if this didn't happen. Beyond, Marco and Tom came to a struggle, though mostly Marco as he struggled to break Tom of the aura of the Realm's hold. Reaching out, she wished desperately that she could help, but knowing that stop now would just revert everything that she'd come to do...she held her urge.
Marco...Marco could do this. He was strong, clever; she didn't have to worry about him.
Or, at the very least, she hoped she wouldn't have to.
Again, she poured everything that she was into forming the words.
But it was slow.
So...so slow.
"Come on, come on. Please..." She whispered with quiet desperation. This had to work, it just had to! Despite herself, she pulled her hands from the golden waves, watching as the dark blotch below merely began to recede.
It was recovering, recovering faster than she could bring it to an end. Sputtering, she rushed to dip her shivering hands back into the water.
Again and again again, she chanted, whispered...pleaded. Over and over, but what did it bring? Nothing but strain as her body quaked with fatigue, and she realized with a start that she had no idea how long she'd been keeping this up for. Chancing a look back, she could see it; Marco was beginning to tire, his cycle of movements slowing despite his best efforts to avoid Tom and the Unicorn's advances. He'd only just narrowly avoid its hooves and Tom's flames as he ducked out the way, colliding with one of the many crystalline pillars that littered the horizon of the Magic Realm. Wincing, she noticed him halt for just a moment's time, as if to catch his breath before sending off another spell, speaking it into existence with a tired huff before he ducked away again.
Her heart twisted with guilt.
Just how longer did she think he could keep this up for? Despite this, Marco almost seemed to feel her worry, a placating look filling his chocolate eyes just as he'd smiled at her, a knowing look that seemed to tell her that it was going to be okay.
"Don't worry. You can do this." It said, it whispered, a tender voice lining her frantic heart even when everything else said otherwise, even when the very story read differently than their hopes.
But what would he say, knowing that she was thinking like this? He'd probably frown, tell her that thinking this wouldn't solve anything. Tell to keep trying. Tell her to never give up.
All things she knew she ought to do, but when Marco, in a moment of exhaustion, had been thrown into another pillar, the sound of his arm crunching beneath the impact, the girl had every intention on ditching her post, abandoning this mission if only to rush to his side. As it stood, she completely considered it, coming to a stand and shifting, the golds and light of her Butterfly form illuminating the swimming miasma at her feet. Taking to the air, she swooped in close, taking the distended boy into her arms and out of the grips of Tom and his umbran steed, the two bellowing with anger as they began to search for the two of them.
With only a moment between them, Star sat him gently behind two pillars, a decent cover for the time that they had, and she reached out, gentle with the twisted limb that rested in her hands. Marco, though he flinched from the pain, smiled again, biting back a whimper of pain at each of Star's unsuccessful attempts to heal him. With his good hand, he reached out, holding her hand despite the evident panic upon her face, her eyes brimming with tears as the severity of the situation began to dawn on her.
But he waited, wiping away the fear and tears with that smile. That loving smile that seemed to glisten despite the wrenching ache of his arm.
"Star, I'll be fine. Believe me. I've had worse during tryouts, trust me. But you have to get back there, you have to - " He tried to reassure her, but she was quick to refuse it, shaking her head vigorously at the notion.
"No! No, if I leave now, you're just going to get hurt again! I'm not leaving you! I can take you with me to the spot, and I can protect you while I finish it! Easy!" She declared, a look of conviction set deeply within her face.
And she meant it.
Despite the fact that her magic reserves were low, she could at least fly, and if things got too hard, she could just shift again, and -
"No, you...you have to do this now. If I don't keep those two busy, you won't get two words in. Don't worry! My legs are fine, and..." Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small pudding cup, a gift from Glossaryck, passed onto them from beyond. It was their last one, and in the moment that she thought about it, she knew what he was going to attempt.
And immediately, she was against it.
"No! You get close to that thing, and it'll stomp you, or poke you with it's horn thingy, or - " Placing a finger over her mouth, he smiled, coming to a stand to which she closely followed, looking as though she still wanted to protest, but Marco denied her attempt, planting a small kiss on her cheek as tears begin to brim in her eyes, falling gently down her cheeks. Wiping them with his remaining hand, he chuckled.
"You know, you worry too much, Star. Seriously. You think some weird horse and a guy with anger issues is gonna take me down?" Waving his hand, his eyes were cast elsewhere, landing upon the furious, plum horse, its rider just as angered, flames dancing within his palm. They were formidable, that was for sure, but Marco had fought worse, seen worse.
What were these guys to him?
Turning back to her, he hardly gave her time to respond before just as quickly, he was off, using his teeth to open the pudding, and, in scrambling after him, she was stopped by that look.
That smile.
Wide and rambunctious, even as Tom and his steed noticed his presence, and began charging towards him.
Even then, it never faltered.
It didn't falter.
On his lips, there were few lips...and she was too far to hear him.
But she knew what he'd said.
How could she miss it?
And she could think of only one response to give in return.
"I love you, too." He was turned away now, tucking his broken arm into his jacket as if dressing it in a sling, and ducked away again, holding its attention while he waited for an opening to give the pudding to Tom.
The perfect opportunity.
Shifting once more, she looked back one last time to Marco before she took to the air, spotting just a sliver of the darkness that she'd left behind from her attempts before. By now, the wound upon the Realm of Magic had since nearly healed, pulsing with residual magic as she dipped back down, the girl frantic as she started again.
She had to finish this now.
If not for her sake...then for Marco's. That was the least that she could do.
Whispering, the spell began to manifest on her lips, horrible yet quiet, a silent prayer for the end. The inky pool began to grow again, but just as it had last time, it was slow, more akin to molasses than a spell on its own. Even she found herself biting her lip, she tried to keep Marco's words close to her, and she continued, focusing wholly on the task at hand.
- (Same time, Marco) -
He hadn't expected the two of them to hit him that hard. If he had, then maybe he would have tried to be a bit faster getting out of the way, much more now that his arm rested, crooked and strange beneath his hoodie to the extent that it was more akin to a distraction now more than his own arm.
But he could ignore it, especially since he had way worse to worry about then something like that.
And they were heading straight for him.
Eying the pudding in his grip, he knew he'd only have one chance to get it to Tom, and not much time to do that, even, especially since both he and Star knew that, at any time, Mina could show up...and put this all to an end.
At the very least, they could at least try to free Tom while they were here, even if the two of them couldn't manage to destroy the magic right now. They'd both hoped that this would be the first and last of their attempts...but they didn't like chance.
If push came to shove, they could make it out of the Realm of Magic with Tom and just...try again.
If the chance ever presented itself.
But even that plan was difficult to pin down as it wasn't as though the prince was really making it easy for him to get him, much less make him eat the pudding. No, for some reason, despite never speaking a word to each other, Tom and the Unicorn seemed perfectly synched, each covering the other's weakness, strength and speed combined to make for an impossible for to fight with just one arm.
As it stood, it was even too risky to wield the wand, the youth too wary of the possibility that he might drop their one chance to free Tom of his state.
At least if they didn't succeed to wipe the magic, they could win in one way or another.
Two losses just didn't sit right with him, especially when it came to those closest to him.
Dodging a deep thrust of its horn, Marco had just managed to kick it away, the unicorn shrieking with anger as it tried to close the distance with Marco. Knowing he had little time to move, Marco spotted an outcropping, a column of pillars leading to a place too high for even the dark stallion to reach. Grinning, an idea came to mind, and, careful to hold onto the pudding, he called out the two, urging them to give chase.
And like fish, they took the bait, fueled by their anger.
"Hey! Dumb and dumber! Come and get me!" Marco shouted back at them, and they were on him immediately, the teen barely managing to keep out of the path of the unicorn's timed stomps and tramples.
'Man, they're fast! Just gotta make it to the ledge, and I'm home free!' He voiced to himself, swerving away and banking towards the ledge he needed to reach the column to put his plan into action.
And he'd be high enough to do it.
He was closer now, the teen grasping the pudding tighter as he prepared to make a jump for it, hoping that his momentum would carry him forward, but Tom seemed to have other plans. Wielding his ancestral flame, Marco could feel it, the blistering heat building up behind him, angered, vengeful, its wrath peeling and pooling like boiling lava close behind him, breathing burns his back and head. Wincing, he was sure that he could feel it lick him, tongues of hate biting at him, and he knew then he'd have to jump now or else he wouldn't -
"URGGH!" He could hear Tom scream out behind him, and shortly thereafter, the ball of flame followed.
It was just a moment.
One moment that divided his future in half.
Blasted forward, Marco only had enough time to think, to consider, placing the open pudding into his pocket as his body as thrown, tossed like a bag of potatoes from the force of the explosion that ate at his heels. In fact, he was quite sure that his shoes had been blown off in the blast, but really, that was least of his worries.
Free-falling, it was hardly a moment later that he felt his head collide with something .
Something hard.
In fact, Marco opened his eyes again to find his vision doubled, no, quadrupled, swimming and unfocused as the shadow of the horse rushed him, collapsing like a choking void upon his eyes. Shaking his head, the youth tried to come to a stand, barely managing to get up before he realized that he'd made it to the pillars...just not in the way that he'd been hoping he would. Reaching up, he slipped up, doing what he could to try and coordinate his muscles enough to pull himself up, but it was like trying to mold jelly, his body wobbly and unsteady.
Yet still, their descent upon him seemed certain, and he knew, more so, that he wouldn't be able to get himself together fast enough climb them to get out harm's way. Just as suddenly, he began to feel...tired.
And sick.
Wincing, he reached up, dotting his head with his freehand only to find that there was blood.
No...no, a lot of blood.
So much that it trickled down his forehead, dipping past his lips and into his nose in a steady stream that made him want to gag...not that the throbbing of his head helped any.
"Yep, definitely a concussion...heh..." He chuckled, humorless.
His weary eyes looked out, meeting Tom and the unicorn, its head lowered, prepared to finish him.
They were close now.
Too close for him to move.
Taking out the pudding cup, Marco was markedly surprised to find that it was...fine.
Nearly completely full, save for the bit that lined his jacket pocket and stuck to his shaking fingertips.
It was more than enough, it seemed.
Eying them, he had about a second now.
He smiled.
'Guess there's only one thing I can do, right? Glossaryck?' He wondered softly, pulling his hand above his head.
After all, he did only have one shot.
And if he was gonna give his all anywhere...it would be right here, with everything on the line.
So he should make it count.
And just like that, second passed.
In that same moment, Marco released the pudding cup, just as the Unicorn came to a stop, and in those bated breaths, solemn seconds that wound forward on crooked time.
Each second wound past, slowly, monotonously...
In his eyes, Marco tracked it carefully, and it was only in that could he have caught the pudding cup landing squarely in Tom's face, its contents exploding out upon his face, but more importantly?
Into his mouth.
There was a moment of unrecognized clarity before the prince realized what he happened. The glittering dark of his eyes cleared, and in their place, his confused pupils took their place. Gasping, he looked around frantically, the demon unsure of what to make of where he was...until he looked down.
His expression fell into horror.
Marco rested on the ground before them, and his body sprawled carefully beneath the head of the unicorn. In any instance, it would have looked like the horse had been bowing to him, its lowered head symbolic of the gesture.
Yet here, with its horn crudely impaled within his abdomen, it looked anything but good. Quickly, Tom worked to push the horse's horn out of the teen, the unsheathing appendage slick with blood as it was forced free. Marco protested little, writhing from the pain but making little sound as Tom forced his way through horse's position. He was quick to the boy's side, helping him to a stand despite his protests to remain still, made even more evident as his balance seemed off, teetering unevenly as he placed a great deal of his weight upon Tom's shoulder. Concerned, the young demon clung to him carefully, easing away from the unicorn as it dipped back into the golden waters, out of view.
Watching it, Marco's attention was already drawn away from himself.
Just as Tom knew that it would.
That was his problem, always putting everyone before himself. That's exactly how he ended up in situations just like this.
"We have...we have to get to S-Star. Before...it...the u-unicorn..." Trailing off, he blinked slowly, finding it a little hard to keep his eyes open, but he clenched him eyes, blinking them deliberately if only to try and keep himself awake...aware.
He couldn't afford to pass out, not when -
"Dude! You can't even stand! How in the realms are you gonna get all the way to them?!" Tom exclaimed, gesturing to the whole of Marco's body, but he ignored him.
Yeah, sure, he was roughed up...but he had to try something.
Anything.
"Look, me being...r-roughed up won't matter if there aren't any realms left to call...h-home! Star has to finish the spell to finish off Mina! That's all that matters right now!" At his words, he made an attempt to stand again, pulling himself up only a bit before he cried out in pain, the teen grasping at his stomach before he began to cough. Cupping his hand to his mouth, Marco felt something cold brush past his lips, sticking to his hand as he pulled it away from his face.
In his palm, there were speckles of a purple-black substance, splattered across his palm.
In the silence between them, they both realized very quickly that not only was Star on borrowed time...but so was he.
If he had to go...at least have him go fighting, doing the right thing...working for a better world.
Was that so much to ask?
Neither of them said anything as they stared into each others eyes, the solemnity of their promise agreed as Tom sighed, pulling the teen to his feet. Looking to him just once more, the demon didn't protest as Marco pulled the wand from his jacket, and was taken into his arms. Tom was careful, easing him up into the air before he blasted forward, giving chase to the dark beast that set about Star.
- (Same time, Star) -
It was larger now, black and thick filaments crowding around her arms, as one would find when wading through syrup.
This was better, much better than before.
But she still needed so much time, much more than she knew that she had.
However, it would seem as though it would be cut woefully short.
A hand would grace her shoulder, both her mother and Eclipsa, donning expressions of dolor that should have only graced the most dour of funeral. Though, the girl joked crudely, she supposed it was a funeral...in the loosest sense.
But the two only kneeled beside her, not minding the inky black that swirled and swam around their feet.
She looked at their faces for only a second before turning away, steeling herself against them.
She knew what they were here for, and just as easily, she wouldn't give them the time of day.
"If you're here to stop me, you're wasting your time. I know what I have to do, so if you're just going to try convincing otherwise, don't." She stated as she pulled her shoulder away, returning to her chants...but the women were undeterred.
Pulling closer, Eclipsa sat at Star's other side, Meteora babbling lovingly at Star as the girl smiled at the infant, but she couldn't stop now.
Not after everything that could go so...so wrong.
Looking between each other, the two queens exchanged unsaid words, but Eclipsa was the first to speak, her child perking at her mother's voice.
"We...aren't here to stop you, Star. We're here..." She started, looking to Moon just once more before she steeled her resolve.
"...to show you another path." She finished slowly, standing up to take Meteora out of her carrier, and in that moment, Glossaryck appeared, healed and returned to his old self. Star would have loved to celebrate, the girl grinning with elation to see her old friend restored...but something else came to mind.
Another path? What was that supposed to mean.
Sensing the question, Moon chimed in, coming closer to the girl.
"We've come to show you...that maybe there is something else that could be done. That erasing the magic, the foundations of our worlds...doesn't have to be the only way. " She answered, standing up and setting herself before Star. At the suggestion of it, the princess bristled.
If they could have done this before...then maybe...then maybe Marco wouldn't have had to get hurt! That they wouldn't have had to come here in the first place! Gritting her teeth, she mustered up enough self-control to as just that, the question burning in her mind.
"If you knew that already, than why didn't you - " The queens interjected, again knowing what she might say.
"Tell you?" They spoke in time, and Meteora gurgled curiously at the tensing air. Sighing, the two of them spoke lowly, as if exchanged grand secrets...and in a way...Star supposed they were.
"We didn't want this to be the route that we took. Truly. This was the only path we had left to take, so if we had anywhere else to go...we would have taken it. " Eclipsa explained carefully, stroking Meteora's hair in kind. The child babbled at the contact, leaning into her mother's hand.
But Star didn't understand.
What could have been so bad, so unspeakable, that even they wouldn't resort to it unless they really had to? To two of them had already done just that, resorting to the unspeakable, the unacceptable, to protect their thrones...their kingdoms...as far as Star knew, they'd already gone as far as they could go.
So it struck her as even more frightening to think that they could stoop lower than they already had.
"What do you mean?" She asked, her mind racing with far too many questions to ask. Glossaryck came this time, setting upon her face in time.
The small blue man inspected her quietly, sighing before he spoke.
"We mean...to take someone for a vessel. A container to hold all of the magic." As he finished, the princess could hardly understand it.
Wait...that could be done? Someone could become...magic? Be its container?
But how would that help?
"You're serious?! How is that possible?!" She sputtered out, barely holding in her shock before the group, but she didn't care.
She'd never even known that could be something that could...could happen. Her shock was expected, deserved, and she couldn't hold back the curiosity that filled her very being. Looking amongst each other, both the queens and Glossaryck still looked grim, an expression, given what they just said, she didn't think made a lot of sense. Why were they still so sad when the solution was right in-front of them?
"Yes, it is possible...but there's more to it than just being 'possible'." Moon elaborated, and from her satchel, she removed a small shard, a fragment of something that Star recognized immediately, eliciting a gasp from her.
"Is that a piece of the Book of Spells? But...what does this have to do with anything? We can't use it anymore, can we?" She asked softly, grabbing at the remaining and pages with a tender hand that wanted nothing more than to keep it safe. In her stead, the three of them convened, silent except for answering words.
"Not in the way that we used to...but it can serve another purpose." Taking it from her hands, Glossaryck held it, and within his hands, a blue light began to glitter and glow, enveloping his palms until the remains of the book were burned away. Star could hardly believe her eyes, seeing the book intentionally destroyed. She went to ask, opening to mouth to speak when the light coalesced, and from it...a seed, pulsing with dark, black light. At the presentation of the seed, the magic creature held it close.
It was in that that Star understood.
No, she understood perfectly.
"You put that in the vessel, right? Then...do you know who it will be?" She asked, looking between the three of them carefully to note any changes in their expressions. But they didn't change.
They didn't become hopeful, or relieved.
There was a constant, soft anguish that filled their faces, much to the behest of the young princess.
What was looking sad going to do when they needed to act now?! It was starting to get on her nerves!
Sighing, she took a wide guess.
"So I guess that's a no, right? You don't have a vessel?" The girl assumed assuredly, and the three said nothing.
Just as she'd thought.
Then what was the plan then? To convert it...but have no one that it could go into?
She perked up, a thought, and idea, forming in mind. One so obvious that she didn't know how none of them had thought of it earlier.
"Oh, then Glossaryck could be the vessel, right?! He's super magical and everything, so we could just have him do it and - " Holding out her hand, Moon stopped her daughter from speaking, a knowing smile upon her face.
"Believe us. We thought about that, too, but with a form as variable and unstable as his...it would be too risky to ask him to hold that much magic." Moon answered solemnly, casting an apologetic look to the small creature, but he agreed. Holding the seed close, his good humor didn't fade, though his tone was far deeper and much more serious than it had been before.
"No need, Moon. You're right. Though I am made of magic...that is precisely the problem. With that much magic...I might just pop, and all of that unkempt magic flying willie-nillie like that; that's just asking for disaster. Who knows what sort of cataclysm could come of something like that? He asked, though they all knew the question was merely rhetorical.
They needn't answer nor wonder what that sort of power in the wrong hands could do.
But that didn't solve their problem.
Then who? Who or what could be the vessel, then?
Who?
Between the four of them, Eclipsa stepped forward, offering her own words.
"It would have to be someone who could wield magic...but with a far more stable body than that of any of the magic beasts or creatures that you know." She added, leaving it hang heavily above them as Star considered the notion.
Someone who could wield magic.
Someone...with a stable body.
Someone like...someone like...
Snapping her head up, something struck her.
Violent and sudden, she couldn't help the thought.
Wait.
Wait, she could -
"What if...what if it were me?" She offered, and all at once, the silence became deafening.
And just as quickly, the queens were fast on her heels to completely reject the notion in its entirety.
"NO! Absolutely not! That is off of the table!" Her mother was first to reject the idea, facing her child outright to grip her shoulders with a sternness Star rarely saw wielded. But it was not to be taken lightly, the girl recoiling at the rush of tension that filled that spaces between them. But still, her heart pounded impatiently.
Each and every suggestion she'd given was shot down, refuted, ignored...yet she didn't see a single one of them trying to offer any themselves. Just negativity again and again.
How were they supposed to figure anything out if they weren't trying to?
"But, Mom! Why not?! I can use magic and, last time I checked, I have a pretty sturdy body. So wouldn't I be perfect for it?!" The girl asked, pulling away from her mother as she pushed back against her vehement denial. Moon snapped back, nearly as fervent as her child.
"It wouldn't matter either way! I wouldn't care if it was written as a prophecy for you to do that, I forbid you to act as the vessel!" She declared, pursing her lips as her stature became immovable, and Star knew when that happened, she could kiss any chance of convincing her otherwise goodbye.
But it didn't make sense. None of this made sense!
"But why not?! Don't you want to save the realms?!" The girl bit back, he mind swimming with confusion. This took her mother back, Moon biting back a response as the question hung over them, just as it had before.
That was right.
This wasn't really for their sakes, the girl thought, bright, blue eyes piercing through the woman.
This was for the world. Every world. Every monster.
Even if it meant that she became something different...she didn't care! She wanted this! Didn't she have the right to choose her own path?
Moon only managed to parse out a few words, her restraint spent.
"Yes, I do. Very much so...but there is a reason that this wasn't what we chose to do first. There is a reason that this remains unused, this single spell." Pausing, she looked up, as if considering the sky for only a moment, thought the anticipation was killing Star.
"You see...this spell isn't a spell at all...it's a...bargain. a promise, of sorts." She tried to explain the best way that she could, and Star could tell she was struggling to do so in a way that she could understand. Yet even still, something didn't make sense.
A bargain? You didn't make "bargains" with magic. It didn't really work that way. You either cast the spell...or you didn't. Why would you need to do any of this?
"But Mom...if you're making a promise...who are you making a promise to?"
And no one answered her.
They didn't know how to.
Glossaryck remained silent throughout all of this, gazing solemnly at the seed before something rushed beneath the golden waves. The four of them tore their eyes away as a horn pierced through the grain, and they knew immediately that their time was running short, the purple unicorn coming from the sea of gold to run straight at them. However, at its heels, Tom and Marco weren't far behind
Elated to see Tom back, she waved to him excitedly.
"Tom! You're okay!" She shouted, the demon waving back to her with the hand that he could render free. However, Star gasped at the sight of Marco.
From his bloodied head to the strange, dark splotch that grew ever larger upon his jacket...to the strange, black veins that traveled from his neck along his face...he didn't look good.
No, he didn't look good at all.
He was...he was dying.
Star knew it all too well.
"Marco?! What happened to you - " Holding up his hand, the teen smiled softly, though it looked tired...worn.
"Don't worry about me! How's the spell goin'?!" He asked, looking to the queens and Glossaryck with a curious look. Star could tell he was confused, and sighing, she tried to smile back, despite the conundrum they'd fallen into, if only to bite back at the guilt she had.
She couldn't perform it alone. That path was already sealed away.
Now they were one another...but they were stuck, trapped in their own inaction.
At this rate, Mina would be here before they could finish arguing about why she couldn't do it, and even with their lackluster "explanation", there were too many things she didn't understand..
How did making a bargain save magic?
How could one person be the vessel for magic?
Why didn't they just put it in a book instead?
Why? Why? Why?
Too many things she didn't know...too many she didn't understand...but if they got out of this, they'd have to answer them.
They'd have to.
"Oh, it's great, guys! Keep it up, we're just, uh, talking!" She tried to reassure him, though her heart just wasn't in the response.
Turning to her, Glossaryck seemed pensive.
Looking to the seed again, and back to Marco, the small, blue creature considered him for a moment, and the wand that held in his grasp. Following his line of sight, Star was curious.
"What is it, Glossaryck? Why are you staring at him?" She asked, wary of his silence. Something in her told her that he was interested in something, and she could only guess it had something to do with Marco being able to use her wand. She would have been interested, too, if she didn't already know. Seeing as she found this out a while ago...she still didn't quite know why it was that he could do that at all.
It didn't make any sense, considering the circumstances, but none of them really questioned it too much.
But now didn't seem like the right time to wonder about that sort of thing.
Then it struck her...hard
It wasn't often the he was serious like this. If there was something that he knew that they didn't, it would have been nice for him to them. But he just turned to the rest of them, silent until he spoke.
No, he didn't think that -
"What if…Marco was the vessel?" He proposed, and in an instant, it was Star's turn to deny it.
It was everything that she had feared.
No, she wouldn't let them.
"What?! NO. No, absolutely not! You can't - I won't let you do that!" Shifting, she got closer to Glossaryck, her six arms prepped to wield what little magic she was able to recover. Sure, she probably wouldn't win, but she wouldn't just let them use him as a bargaining chip. Not after everything that he's done. But none of them were fazed, quiet as Meteora whined softly, unsettled by the tense air around her. Cooing gently, Eclipsa picked her up, stepping up the Star, her face shaded with resolution. She didn't have to say anything for Star to know that she agreed with him, a look of hurt striking her face at the notion that she'd even consider doing something like that, especially now when they'd only just...
...especially after they just told her about that stuff with the promise and bargain and -
They were just willing to use his a betting chip?!
Sighing, the woman tried to smile, a kind one that she knew she'd hoped would quell her fears, but it didn't help.
Not one bit.
"Listen, sweetie. I know the feeling of giving something up. Believe me...I do..." Holding Meteora close, the child squealed with delight, burying her head into her mother's neck affectionately. Continuing, she stepped forward, taking a hold of one of Star's hands.
"...but to be a queen means sacrifice. Even of those close to us. You understand this...yes?" She tried to reason, her empathy rolling off of her in waves. Star looked back at her, eyes brimming with tears once more.
She did understand, she really did, but...but it didn't mean it wouldn't hurt. That the very thought of it didn't make her sick.
"I just...how can you all be so...so cold? It's like you don't even care, and...I-I just..." Wiping at her face, the girl didn't resist her mother's embrace, too overwhelmed to stay angry with her. Stroking her golden hair, Moon, quieted her, holding her close as they watched Marco for a while longer.
"No, no, Star. We're not trying to be cold, it's just that...we are trying...keep you safe." She began to explain, but it struck Star as odd.
Keep "her" safe?
"B-but...but what about Marco? Shouldn't you be trying to keep him safe, too? Why just m-me?" She demanded to know.
If all of this just came down to favoritism...she was going to lose it. Marco had never been particularly close to any of her family, sure, but she didn't think that they would be so willing to just...give him up like this. No, the idea was unfathomable.
How could they do that knowing that he needed help, too? The thought made her sick, but with none of them answering, it was left up to speculation alone.
"No, sweetie. It's not like that at all. It's just that...you're a Butterfly. You're my daughter. I could never willingly put you in harm's way - " Scoffing, Star didn't spare a breath allowing he to finish.
"But you'd put him in harm's way? How is...how is that fair at all?" She asked...and Moon didn't have an answer.
None of them did.
Before them, the horse was drawing closer, and closer still, both Tom and Marco falling slower and slower, but the latter was much worse off. His face was crossed and lined strain, the youth pushing just to keep his eyes open, but his skin, wasn't lovely and tan, was parlor and greying, set with dark veins that pulsed with his beating hear.
He looked just about ready to collapse.
And so he did.
Right out of Tom's arms and face first into the golden dew beneath their feet. Star shrieked, shifting quickly before she was given pause.
Oh no.
Mina was here.
They could feel her overwhelming power, shifting and bending the magic around them, and at this rate, they knew that they didn't have much time.
"We have to get him! We can't just leave him there!" Quickly, she tried to blast away the horse, forcing her way past it to get to Marco, and his condition was so much worse up close. Opening his jacket, the lines from his stomach to his neck were angry, scrawled on his skin like ink as he struggled to breathe.
No..no. no, no, no, no, no -
Behind her, Gloassaryck appeared behind her, resolved.
"Listen, Star. I know you think that we're just being cruel, but..." Looking at the seed, he considered her again before speaking.
"...a promise can be of great help. A promise of life, that is." Watching her carefully, her eyes widened. Beneath his weaving breaths, Marco clung on, gripping her hand tightly as he smiled up at her.
Reaching up slowly, he wiped them away.
And breathlessly, he spoke.
Just a few, simple words.
"I...love you..." And with that his smile faded...and breathing began to slow.
Growing slower and slower.
"Marco! Marco, please! Don't - " In her mind, words struck forth.
"A promise of life..."
'A promise...of life...that means...'
...
...
...
And in that moment, she knew what she had to do.
He didn't have much time. None of them did.
Even if she didn't understand...even if...she didn't want to do this...but if it meant saving his life...
...then she'd do just about anything.