Chapter 12

Return to Echo Creek Part 2

Things have started to calm down when Molly and Libby returned from their insane multi dimensional adventure. The two of them returned to Echo Creek where they met up with Star and Marco. After taking care of Buff Frog's children, Star and Marco greeted Molly and Libby with a couple of smiles.

"You're back!" Star exclaimed.

"Hey, guys!" Molly waved. "How did things go with taking care of the tadpole children?"

"Oh, Molly! You should have been there! Buff Frog's kids just grew legs! It was a miracle to see them all grow up so fast, especially the late bloomer, little Katrina!" Star exclaimed.

"So how did things go with you two? Were you able to beat that Heartless?" Marco asked.

Libby nodded. "Of course! Although, Molly and I have went through a lot of crazy dimensions along the way. We even encountered different versions of ourselves. There was one reality where Molly and I have been friends since first grade, and another where Molly fell in love with some guy named, Ollie."

"Really? That's weird. It's kind of hard to believe that there is a reality where you and Molly aren't together." Star commented.

"Yeah, I have a feeling that alternate me never sang a love song about how loving and thoughtful Libby is. Don't worry, Libby! You'll always be the only one for me!" Molly told Libby before kissing her on the cheek, causing her to blush.

"Anyway, now that the Heartless is gone, would you two like to spend time with us?" Libby asked.

"Of course! A lot has happened since our last adventure together! Star took me on the craziest adventures!" Marco recalled.

At that moment, Molly and Libby walked with Star and Marco throughout Echo Creek, telling each other about all of the adventures they went on since they last met. While Molly and Libby talked about the time they finally defeated Xehanort, Star and Marco talked about all of the crazy dimensional adventures that they went on.

"And that's how Marco, Pony Head, Kelly, and I got to taste those delicious goblin dogs." Star just finished telling the story of one of her more recent adventures.

"That sounds amazing, Star!" Molly exclaimed. "That goblin dog must have tasted amazing!"

"You could say that. At first, it tasted like any regular hot dog, but it would soon taste magical!" Marco recalled the taste of the goblin dogs.

"So, what else has been going on with you and Star? Are you two dating now?" Libby asked, much to Star and Marco's embarrassment.

It was at that moment when the two of them remembered how much Molly and Libby used to ship them. It appears that some things haven't changed.

"No. Marco and I are just friends, remember?" Star reminded Libby.

"Sorry! It wouldn't stop us from thinking about how cute you and Marco could have been together!" Molly replied.

With a blush, Marco decided to change the subject. "Anyway, it sounds like you and Libby had your fair share of adventures! It's pretty cool that you were finally able to beat Xehanort!"

Thinking back to their battle with Xehanort at Scala ad Caelum, Molly and Libby hoped that they never had to see him again after his defeat. Neither of them knew how to tell Star and Marco that they would attempt to befriend a younger version of Xehanort from the past.

"Um, yeah! Xehanort didn't know what hit him!" Molly replied. "As long as Libby and I stand together, no villain can ever defeat us!"

Right as Molly said that, she and the rest of her friends were taken by surprise when a portal suddenly appeared in front of them. Out of the portal came a giant spider, along with a bird standing on its back.

Molly and the others gazed at the two creatures in silence before the bird unfolded its wings to reveal a smaller green bird. Upon taking a closer look, Star realized that she was face to face with her arch nemesis once again.

"Ludo?!" Molly, Libby, Star, and Marco yelled in unison, each of them shocked to see Ludo again.

"That's right! I'm back!" Ludo replied with a wicked grin.

Ludo looked a lot different since the last time Molly and her friends saw him. He was no longer wearing his skull crown, and instead of wearing his usual dark green robes, he wore a bag of chips as clothes. He also had a long unkept beard from being trapped in another dimension for so long. The most unusual part about him was that his arm was fused in the shape of a wand with the missing half of the star from Star's wand in the middle.

After getting over her surprise, Libby said, "But how is this possible? I thought Xehanort banished you to another dimension."

"He did, but I was able to escape thanks to the help of my two loyal minions!" Ludo explained, bringing his attention to his bird and spider. "I have grown stronger since we last saw each other. Now that I have magic on my side, I can finally have my revenge!"

Not intimidated in the least, Star aimed her wand at him. "I don't think so, Ludo! I beat you every single time thanks to the help of my friends, and this time won't be any different!"

"We shall see! Bird! Spider! Destroy them!" Ludo ordered his minions to attack.

With a screech and a hiss, Bird and Spider charged into battle with Bird fighting Libby and Marco, while Spider fought against Molly. Seeing the giant spider in front of her was enough to cause Molly to shudder in fear.

"Ugh! Why did I have to get stuck with fighting the spider?" Molly complained, still not over her fear of spiders.

Molly was caught by surprise when Spider leaped on her as it tried to bite her, not making her phobia of spiders any better. While Molly was fighting Spider, Libby and Marco teamed up to fight Bird. They both dodged the slashes of its talons while Libby countered by swing her keyblade and Marco countered with punches and kicks.

As for Star, she took on Ludo one on one. They both started blasting lasers from their wands while hiding behind random objects to dodge each others spells. This didn't do any good for Star though as Ludo simply chanted, 'Levitato' to levitate the objects Star was hiding behind into the sky.

One by one, Star slowly ran out of hiding places until she only had one more hiding spot left behind a nearby trash can. Knowing that she would have to think of another way to defeat Ludo, Star decided to take him by surprise. Once Ludo used his magic to lift up Star's last hiding spot, Star surprised him by hitting him with a syrup tsunami shockwave spell. The impact of the spell caused Ludo to get stuck to the ground in the sticky syrup. This gave Star the chance to hit him as she blasted him back with a rainbow blast.

Shortly after Ludo was defeated, Molly knocked Spider back with her keyblade while Libby and Marco hit Bird at the same time. This left Ludo's minions lying on the ground right next to him. Now furious, Bird and Spider got back up to fight some more, but Ludo held up his hand, motioning them to stop.

"No, girls. We have done enough." Ludo said as he stood up as well. "This isn't over, Star! You may have won the battle, but I have already won the war!"

"What are you talking about, Ludo?" Star raised a confused eyebrow.

The sinister grin on Ludo widened before he burst into laugher. "You really have no idea? When was the last time you spoke to your parents? I'd tell you what I had done to Mewni, but I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise!"

Without another word, Ludo, along with his bird and spider leaped into a portal back to Mewni. Desperate, Star tried to jump in after him, but the portal already disappeared. As Star laid down on the ground in defeat, Molly and the others approached Star.

"Star, are you okay?" Molly asked.

In response, Star stood back up and turned to her friends. "I have to get in contact with my parents now!"

Wasting no time, Star ran through the neighborhood with her friends following close behind her. As she tried to keep up with Star, Libby couldn't help but think back to the fight with Ludo. She thought back to how strange Ludo's hand looked, and it wasn't just because it was fused with a wand.

"Hey, did anyone else feel that there was something strange about Ludo's hand?" Libby asked.

"Strange how? Like it was in the shape of a wand?" Marco asked, as if the answer was obvious.

"No, I mean, yes. That part was strange. What I mean was that Ludo was missing a finger. Almost like-"

"Like Toffee?" Molly answered Libby's question for her.

Both Molly and Libby remembered their last adventure in Mewni when they faced off with their reptilian like nemesis, Toffee. He worked with Xehanort to kidnap Marco and force Star to destroy her wand.

"You don't think that Toffee is back, do you?" Molly asked.

Marco shook his head. "No, it can't be! Toffee died in the explosion at Ludo's castle, remember?"

As unnerved as she was with the idea of Toffee returning, Libby took Marco's word that Toffee couldn't come back. "I suppose you are right."

Once Molly and the others reached Marco's house, they rushed up to Star's room so Star can call her parents. Star stepped up to the mirror before telling it to call her mom. After a few moments of waiting, the mirror showed an image of Queen Moon, who looked distressed about something.

"Star?"

"Mom? What's wrong? Is everything okay?" Star asked her mom.

"Listen, Star. Now is not the best time for us to talk." Moon suddenly let out a gasp before dodging out of the way of a leaping Heartless.

"Was that a Heartless?!" Star gasped in shock. "That must have been what Ludo was talking about. He is attacking with an army of Heartless."

"I'm afraid it is worse than that, Star. Ludo is merely a pawn in all of this. He is currently being manipulated by Toffee!" Moon explained.

Shocked by what they heard, Molly and her friends realized that the situation in Mewni was a lot worse than they thought. Libby had a feeling that there was something strange about Ludo's wand hand, and she now understood why.

"Toffee is trying to corrupt all magic in Mewni. Just stay on Earth and let us handle everything." Moon suddenly paused when she suddenly looked out a window. "River?!"

Star was now more worried than ever when she heard her dad's name. "Mom, what's going on? What's wrong with Dad?"

Unfortunately, Moon couldn't say a word before a Heartless shattered the mirror on Mewni, disabling Star's connection with her mom.

This left Molly and the others silently trying to process what they just saw. Not only was Toffee back, but the Heartless were taking over Mewni once again. Knowing that Star needed their help now more than ever, Molly and Libby turned to one another and nodded in agreement.

"Don't worry, Star! Libby, Marco, and I will help you save Mewni!" Molly promised.

"Yeah! We defeated Toffee once! We can do it again!" Marco encouraged.

Happy that her friends were there by her side, Star took out her wand, ready to save her home! "Thanks guys! You're the best!"

"Okay! So, what are we going to do first?" Libby asked.

"First, we'll use my dimensional scissors to go back to Mewni. After that, we'll take the fight to Toffee!"

Everyone nodded in agreement as Star used her dimensional scissors to create a portal to Mewni. None of them knew what Toffee wanted with Ludo or what his goal was, but they were all willing to do whatever it takes to save Mewni from being consumed by the darkness.