Author's Note: Here we are at one of the most pivotal moments in the events of SvtFoE season 1, one that I personally decided to include a couple of special guests.

Hope you enjoy the chapter. Any and all comments are welcome.

At first, the most unique part of the day was the red moon that appeared faintly in the sky. But then, during class, Star had received a visit from the last person she wanted to see.

When his demonic chariot emerged from the ground driven by a skinless skeleton horse on fire, he stepped out. He looked like a teenage boy, but he had sickly gray skin, demon horns sticking out of his red hair, and a third eye placed above the others. He came into Star's classroom wearing his black suit and black tie getting the attention of everyone he passed by.

When he got to Star's class, he gently moved everything and everyone out of his way with small fire blasts that wouldn't hurt anyone. He then floated above her, held out his hand, and made a red, crescent-shaped image appear above it.

"Hey, Star." he greeted. "I'm here to take you… to the Blood Moon Ball."

"Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope!" Star replied dragging the demon boy back to his carriage outside of the school. "You need to leave right now, Tom. Take your carriage and fire and dead horse, and go back to the Underworld."

"Wait. I'm dead?" the skeleton horse asked.

"Oh, come on, Starship." Tom said. "It's the Blood Moon Ball. It only happens once every 667 years."

"We broke up! Period!" Star reminded her ex-boyfriend.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait. Star, hang on." Tom insisted. "I'm a changed man, okay? I've got a life coach, Brian. He's awesome." He pointed at the figure who stepped out of the carriage beside him.

Star looked at him blankly. "Dude, that's your sister, Ana."

"What?" Tom asked before turning back to the carriage. Standing in the doorway, there was a teenage girl with a black outfit, flowing red hair, and small, thin horns on her head. "Ana, what are you doing here? I told you to butt out."

"And miss Star's no-doubt entertaining rejection of you?" Ana asked. "As if."

Star sighed. "I see you haven't changed."

"But I have." Tom said before another man walked out of the carriage, an overweight man holding a pink bunny. "That's Brian. He's been a big help. He gave me a happy bunny. And I have been anger-free for 53 days." He opened up his jacket collar showing a pin that read "53 DAYS ANGER FREE".

"53?" Star asked actually considering changing her opinion.

"In other words, he's become boring." Ana said rolling her eyes.

"That's not the word I'd use, but I really have changed." Tom said. He then held out his bunny. "Don't you wanna pet my bunny?"

Star looked at the bunny and smiled cutely at its little face. "Well, he is adorable."

"BACK OFF, DIABLO!"

In an instant, America shot into the conversation fast as a rocket. When she reached Tom, she threw a punch that sank right into his stomach. He groaned loudly feeling the pain in his stomach before growling and opening his eyes, which began to glow bright red.

"Oh, no." Star said with worry.

"Ooh. Things just got interesting real fast." Ana said with a mischievous grin.

Brian, seeing the situation, grabbed Tom by his arms and walked along in a circle with him. "Walk it out and talk it out." He repeated that sentence while guiding Tom.

"Ames, you better run." Star warned.

"Oh, no, no, no, no." Tom said before laughing. His eyes dimmed down and returned to normal. "That's why I got my support system. I'm good. Got the angries out. Everything is—Hoo—under control."

"America, don't super punch him." Star said. "This is Tom."

"You know him?" America asked.

Star nodded. "Yep. He's the prince of the Underworld, and also… my ex-boyfriend."

"You dated the prince of the Bad Place?" America asked.

"He wasn't that bad." Star said. "He's just… got a LOT of anger issues."

"Which I've been working on since we broke up." Tom reminded.

"Again, boring." Ana said. "So you're Star's newest BFF. The name's Ana. Well, technically, it's Satana, but, you know, everyone likes shortened names."

"Nice to meet you, I guess." America said feeling unsure. "Star, if this guy's your ex, what's he doing here?"

"He wants to take me to the Blood Moon Ball." Star said.

"Enserio?" America asked. "You're not really going, right?"

"Look, I can see you're mad." Tom said. "You think I'm a total jerk. I get it. But I have changed. Remember, I'm not the only one with horns." He pointed to the fake devil horns Star wore on her headband. He then reached into his jacket and pulled out a small bell to give to Star. "No pressure. If you decide you want to go, just toll this bell. I hope I see you there." He left with his carriage in a wall of fire.

"I can't believe you're actually going, Star." America told her friend through the door to the bedroom where Star was changing. "You're making a mistake."

"Maybe, but it could be fun." Star said.

"Fun with your ex-boyfriend?" America asked. "You broke up with him for a reason, remember?"

"Yeah, because he was a jerk with a short fuse." Star said. "But he is trying to make things better. So, you know, might as well humor him."

"Are you sure?" America asked. "I mean, we could just order a pizza. That's always fun, right?"

"Well, this is a different kind of fun." Star said.

"Maybe I should go with you." America said.

"America, you weren't invited. Besides, you gotta trust me to do the right thing for myself."

"I do trust you, Star. It's Tom I don't trust. I mean, when did you break up with the guy?"

"About 53 days. At least, that's how long he appears to have been in anger management."

America's eyes lit up when she realized something. "Wait. 53 days? That's… That's around the same time you came to Earth, right?"

"Yeah." Star chuckled nervously. "See, it kinda started very shortly after I got my wand. Tom and I got into a fight and broke up. I went to the Forest of Certain Death to blow of some steam. Long story short, I may have accidentally burned a village and got in trouble with my parents. So they then sent me here to Earth where I met you."

"Well, that's quite the exposition." America said. "And you really think Tom's completely changed in just a month and a half?"

"Well, I suppose there's only one way to find OOOOOOUUUUUUUT!"

"STAR!" America shouted bursting into the bedroom. "Is everything all right?!"

"Uh, yeah. Totally, totally, totally." Star said showing that she accidentally blasted a bright beam of light on her own face. "I just got gotta stop using magic on… on my face. Anyway, how do I look?"

America looked at Star and fell silent. She stared at her friend as she wore a beautiful pink dress. "Wow. Asombrosa."

"I take it that means I look good?" Star asked.

"Better than good." America said before whispering softly. "Don't go."

"I'm totally going." Star whispered back before picking up the bell Tom gave her. She tapped it with a little hammer and let it resonate a loud, deep gong.

Just outside the window, a wall of fire burst and a flying demon flew up slaving away and carrying an elevator which opened its doors for Star. Star took a whiff in the air and headed on inside while America watched with worry.

"Smells like burnt toast." Star commented. "Let's get this show on the road!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Tom shouted as he stumbled upon a hooded demon about to swing his giant mace at a shackled-up skeleton man just outside of a castle where the Blood Moon Ball was being held. "Okay, guys. I don't know what you're about to do, but I want to keep things low-key for Star."

"You want to turn the Blood Moon Ball into a greeting card holiday, go ahead."

Tom stared confused. He didn't know if that response came from the hooded demon or the skeleton man. "Wait, which one of you said that?"

"Me."

"No, okay, whoever was just talking, raise your hand." Tom said.

Before anyone could answer any more, Tom's attention was turned to one of his demon servants who approached him.

"Master Tom, Princess Butterfly has arrived."

The elevator lowered itself to the ground and opened up its doors. Star poked her head up and gazed admiringly at the door of the castle, which had a red, crescent jewel imprinted on top.

"Star Butterfly." Tom greeted with a smile. "Don't you clean up nice."

"Uh, thank you, I guess." Star replied.

"I got you this." Tom said. He held up a giant, red spider with demon horns on its body.

"What is it?" Star asked.

"It's a hair thing. It goes in your hair. It'll help you fit in down here." Tom tried to put the spider on Star's head, but the princess avoided it.

"How sweet, Tom, but, yeah, I kinda got my own thing going on here. I'm pretty happy with it. Let's go have fun now." She turned to head into the castle.

Tom groaned quietly in frustration, but Brian made sure he didn't go any further by placing his hand on his shoulder and assuring him, "You can be positive that your anger is negative." He then held up the pink bunny for Tom to pet.

Inside the castle, Star and Tom got in line with a group of demons who were getting their pictures taken by an eerie, red-hooded demon. The thing was, just as each demon pair was getting their picture taken, a vat of pink liquid were poured onto them. Eventually, it was Tom and Star's turn.

"I'm so excited to be covered in blood with you." Tom said. "But don't worry. It's not real. It's from a unicorn."

"My best friend is a unicorn." Star said.

"Well, they're not related."

"I'm not gonna bathe in unicorn blood, Tom."

Tom scowled and growled lowly trying his best to keep it in. Star noticed Tom's hand reaching behind him and followed it catching him petting Brian's bunny.

"Whoa, wait a second." Star said. "Are you getting angry?"

"No." Tom insisted.

"Look, you do you, boo. I'm gonna get a drink." Star said before walking off.

Star stopped at the bubbling cauldron and stopped when she noticed a skeleton fish swimming in it. She smiled and watched it swim around and even hop out.

"YOU!"

Star turned around noticing two demons confronting her. One was a short man with an abnormally large hat with horns, and the other had a bat head.

"You must be Tom's date!" the horn-hat demon shouted.

"I guess I am." Star said.

"Well, I hope you're happy! He made this whole ball completely boring, all for you!"

"I wouldn't say it's boring."

"Oh, really?" The demon with the horn hat spun around pointing at things. "Aloof attractive people. Boring! Bubbling cauldrons that don't even melt your flesh off. What is it, nap time or something, because I'm bored! Piece of garbage that doesn't destroy the universe. Stupid cockroach that lives inside. I'm over it already!" He screamed and sobbed before running away leaving Star alone with the bat-headed demon.

"Do you wanna dance?" he asked before Tom interjected himself between him and Star.

"Her dance card's full."

"Oh, I get it." the bat demon said. "I bet you think that, like, your sault and, like, her soul are totally gonna…" He closed his hands together locking in his fingers.

"What's that mean?" Star asked Tom.

Before Tom could answer, his three eyes caught something in the center of the room. A black-and-blue portal opened up, and four ghosts floated in followed by another ghost wearing a very tall, authoritative cloak.

"The party don't start 'till I float in! Where are the hors d'oeurves?" the ghost in the hood proclaimed before zipping over to the catering table and eating everything.

"Uh, Tom, who's that?" Star asked pointing at the ghost.

"Uh… I think he has to do with Lady Death from the Ghost World." Tom said.

"Ghost World?" Star asked.

"Yeah. The Underworld's not the only afterlife, you know. That's Multiverse 101." Tom informed. "But I don't know who that is. I mean, he dresses like Death, but that's definitely not her." He noticed one of the ghosts float by and waved his hand up to get his attention. "Hey! Bartholomew!" The ghost managed to notice him. "Um, who is that? Where is Death?"

"Right. Him." Bartholomew said rolling his eyes. "Forgive us. We've been meaning to let you know. Death is away on a serious matter, so she gave Scratch there all her responsibilities until she returns."

Tom leaned his head toward Scratch watching him pick up a plate of mini hot dogs and sliding them all into his mouth. "She entrusted HIM?"

"Yeah, it doesn't make sense to us, either." Bartholomew said.

Once Scratch was done with the catering table, he floated over to Tom and groaned with a frown. "You know, the food was okay, but the atmosphere is dead, and not in a cool way. Seriously, Bart, why did I have to come here?"

Bartholomew sighed. "Because you're the Death Temp, Scratch. It's mandatory for you to attend these types of events, even those that occur on rare times like tonight."

"Well, nobody told me it would be a total snooze fest." Scratch said.

Tom chuckled as he approached Scratch. "Oh, at least give it a chance. Here, I'll give you a tour." He then turned back to Star. "Enjoy the party, Star. Try not to dance with anyone but me!"

Star stared watching Tom walk off with Scratch. "What's with him and dancing?"

At the side of the party, Ana kept watch on Tom and Star while taking sips of punch from her plastic cup. She kept a bored face as everything happened in front of her.

"Well, the new Death guy definitely caught Tom off-guard, but it's not making the party interesting enough." Ana said to herself. "Sure, we have the other guy that's going to show up later, but if we're really going to save this party, we're going to need something that'll make Tom blow a gasket." She thought for a second before an idea filled her mind. She thought about it some more before putting on a sinister smile. "And I think I know just who will do that."

DING-DONG!

America answered her door for the pizza delivery man who then passed his box to her. She looked inside and saw the fresh, hot pie inside.

"Gracias for the delivery, Diego." America said. "Tell Emilio I said hi."

"Will do." the delivery boy said before leaving.

Once she was alone, she sighed and walked across her room to sit in her couch. She opened up her box and pulled out a slice.

"I bet Star's having the time of her life in that fancy demon party."

BOOM!

"WHOA!" America cried out dropping her slice and jumping behind her couch. A pillar of fire burst in front of her, and when it died down, Ana stood before her. "You? What do you want? Shouldn't you be at that Blood Moon Ball?"

Ana shrugged. "Eh. My brother already made it a snooze fest just for Star. I was bored out of my mind, so I decided to check out what is it about this place that the princess seems to like." She looked around. "It's so… Indescribable. Though, that tower sticking out of the wall looks interesting."

"I've been getting that a lot." America groaned. "Look, can you at least just tell me how Star's doing?"

"Well, she's been getting an earful of disappointed comments made by other guests, and she's clearly unaware of Tom's plan to curse her." Ana said. "But all in all, she seems like herself."

"Whoa! Back up!" America cried out. "What's this about a curse?"

"Oh, you didn't know?" Ana asked. "My brother's planning to use the Blood Moon to enact a curse that he believes will make Star love him again. That's the whole reason he invited her to the ball in the first place. He wants to use magic to manipulate her into getting back together with her."

America's face fell. "WHAT?! No, no, no! That devious diablo will NOT be getting away with this! I gotta get in that party! But first, I'm going to need a disguise." She rushed into her room to get changed.

As she left, Ana flashed a small smirk before opening up another fire pillar that sent her back to where she came from.

Tom let out a breath as he returned to Star by the cauldron. "Whew! I think I managed to satisfy that hungry ghost. He really loves his tacos."

"That's nice." Star said. "So Tom, I know you've been so insistent on being the only guy I dance with, but you know, it's not like we're officially back together. I can be allowed to dance with other people if…"

"No!" Tom interrupted loudly. He then took a moment to calm down before he really lost it. "I mean, not quite yet. Can you at least wait until you and I have our dance? I'm really looking forward to it."

"Well… I suppose so." Star said.

She then gasped as she looked to the ground and noticed red streaks crawling across the floor. Everyone else noticed right after as the streaked came from every direction. They converged at the center of the ballroom as all the demons moved away from it. The streaks combined and formed a large, red figure that towered over everyone. It was soon revealed to be a cape which unfurled itself and showed a tall, red demon wearing it. Everyone took a good look at him and gasped in terror as they recognized him.

"It's Mephisto." one of the demons gasped.

"Oh, man. He's not going to like this."

From the far side of the ballroom, Scratch and the other four ghosts dropped their faces and gulped. "Oh, man! Is that…"

"Oh, yeah." Alistair agreed.

"This could be bad." Grimbella said.

Tom looked at Mephisto and panicked quietly. "Oh, no. I completely forgot he was supposed to be here."

"Uh, is that bad?" Star asked.

"Bad?" Tom asked. "Star, that's Mephisto! He's like the ULTIMATE demon! This is his realm! We're just governing it. And if he doesn't like this party…" He shuddered in fear as he looked at Mephisto, who looked around the ballroom without any sign of enjoyment in his golden eyes.

Just then, everyone was drawn to the sound of speaker feedback, even Mephisto. They gathered at the stage where a demon cleared his throat and spoke into his microphone. He too was frightened at Mephisto's presence, but went on with his speech (albeit without good pronunciation).

"Uh, good evening, ladies n gennlebremen. Now that Lord Mephisto is here, we can begin the Blood Moon ceremony. As such, it is my pleasure that I request you now to turn your head skyward." Everyone looked up seeing a beautiful, crescent-shaped red jewel in the ceiling letting in a little red light. "When the light of the Blood Moon drupples down and selects two lucky souls binding them together for eternity in its hypnotic ruby brodum."

"Whoa…" Star said captivated by the jewel, but unaware of what the demon just said. Meanwhile, Tom kept his eyes on Mephisto, who still didn't' look happy and started to raise his hand up in the air.

"AGH! Oh, no! I can't let him ruin this!" Tom panicked. "All right, don't go anywhere. I'll be right back."

"Okay." Star said as Tom left, but she went ahead wandering around the ballroom anyway.

Tom ran over to Mephisto just in time to catch up to him. "Wait!" He looked down at him making him even more nervous. "Uh… Hi, Mr. Mephisto, sir. I'm Tom. Tom Lucitor."

"Ah, Wrathmelior's firstborn, the one who volunteered to host this event." Mephisto said fixing his deathly gaze at him. "So you're the one responsible for making this party so… mundane. What this place needs is a little Mephisto touch. Just one snap of my fingers and…"

"Wait, please! Don't!" Tom pleaded desperately. "I know you hate it. Almost everyone here does. But I need this party to go on just until Princess Butterfly and I dance under the Blood Moon light."

"The Blood Moon?" Mephisto asked looking up at the ruby in the ceiling. "Oh, so you wish to curse yourself and the princess?"

"Yes, exactly." Tom said. "I want Star back, but she'd never take me back. So I figured that with the Blood Moon Curse, she'll love me again, and we can be back together. So I need to keep her around just long enough for our souls to bond."

Mephisto blinked twice before letting out a ghastly laugh. "Oh, you adolescent fool. The Blood Moon Curse doesn't work that way. It connects your souls, but it doesn't create love."

"I… I don't understand the difference." Tom said.

"Of course, you don't."

"Look, I really don't need the details. Just please, please let this one go. I'll do anything."

"Anything…" Mephisto said. He raised his claws to his chin and rubbed it with a mischievous smile. "All right, kid. You've twisted my arm. I'll let this slide IF you promise to do one favor for me."

"Oh, sure. Of course." Tom said. "So… what is it?"

"I don't know. I haven't thought of it yet." Mephisto said. "But when the time comes, I'll want to cash it in, and you'll have to follow it without question. Do we have a deal?" He held out his hand to him, which then formed a black symbol in his palm emitting a black light.

Although Tom was concerned, he was desperate enough to get Star back. He took his hand and shook it.

"The deal is struck." Mephisto said releasing Tom's hand. "All right. I might as well do what I can to enjoy this sad excuse for a party. Tibbles!" He waved his cape revealing a little pig demon in a cute suit and a metal collar behind it.

"Eh, yes, Lord Mephisto!" the pig demon said frightfully.

"Fetch me a refreshment."

"Yes, sir!" Tibbles said without hesitating before scurrying off to the catering table.

Tom let out a soft sigh. "Whew. That was a close one. Now, I can get back to…" He turned back and was unable to see his date. "Star? Star, where are you?"

Star was wandering around the crowd unaware that a friend of hers was approaching her from within it. It was America, who was wearing a black, Mexican jacket, a sombrero, and a skull mask which she found just outside of the ballroom. She carefully followed Star trying to catch up to her.

"Star." America whispered out. "Star, I need to warn you."

Star was unable to hear America, so the latter moved in closer. She got close enough to grab Star by her hand and pull her over to her.

That's when the red light shined on both the girls.

The demons, the ghosts, Ana, and even Mephisto had their attentions turned to the red moonlight that shined through the ruby in the ceiling. It shined down on America and Star like a crimson spotlight.

The music played, and America and Star began dancing around the ballroom while the light followed them.. They weren't in complete control however. It was as though they were trapped in a hypnotic trance. They didn't care though. They both began to enjoy what was going on, including Star, who, at the moment, had no idea who it was that she was dancing with. Of course, it wasn't long before their dance was noticed by Tom, who groaned angrily at the sight.

"Star…" America started to say.

"How did you know my name?" Star asked.

"Star, it's me, America." America said removing her mask finally.

Star's eyes widened surprised by the realization. "America?! What are you doing here?!"

"Star, Tom's trying to trick you." America said. "He's got a…"

America was interrupted by an angry growl that came from Tom, who forcefully pushed America away from Star.

"Hey! What's the big idea, idiota?!" America shouted.

At that moment, the moonlight began to close. Everyone, including Tom, looked up and saw the skylight close ending the dance. The lights returned to normal, but Tom stared in disbelief before his eyes turned red.

"You…" Tom said with a soft growl. "That dance… was meant… FOR ME!"

Tom's rage created a burse of fire that surrounded the entire ballroom causing everything to erupt in a fiery explosion. Tom's life coach tried to calm him down, but Tom pushed him away.

Mephisto, who was watching from afar, began to smile at what he was seeing. "Well, it turns out this party wasn't a complete bore after all."

"I know, right?" Ana agreed from beside him.

Tom let out a demonic roar as he hovered above with his fire which he planned to use on America, who readied herself for a fight. However, she didn't have to.

Abruptly, Star pulled out her wand and fired a magic blast on Tom instantly trapping him in a block of ice. He stayed still as Star also zapped his button making it read "0 DAYS ANGER FREE" instead.

"America, star portal us home." Star said with a disappointed tone.

"Fine by me." America said before punching a star-shaped portal in the air. She and Star crossed through it before it closed.

"Well, it was fun while it lasted for about five seconds." Mephisto said. "But still, the boy's still in debt to me. I wonder what I'll have him do…"

From the far side of the room, Scratch emerged from his hiding place along with the rest of the Ghost Council. They exchanged looks getting the same idea.

"So… we're all done with this place, right?" Scratch asked. "I filled out my mandatory time and all or something like that?"

"I'd say so." Alistair said.

"Mmhmm." Bartholomew said.

"Why not?" Lucrecia asked.

"Let's go home." Grimbella said.

"Great." Scratch said before opening his ghost portal. "As long as we're all in agreement."

As soon as Star returned to her tower balcony with America, she groaned furiously. "So infuriating!"

"I hate to say it, but I did warn you about Tom." America said.

"No, America. YOU'RE infuriating."

"Que?" America asked. "What are you talking about? Tom was the one who was scheming against you."

"You don't trust me to do things by myself." Star said leaning on the rails of her balcony. "I'm fourteen. I can handle a demon. I know you're trying to look out for me, but you have to let me figure things out on my own. I don't need a hero. I need a friend."

America frowned before joining Star. "I'm sorry, Star. It's not that I don't trust you. I already know how hardcore you are. It's just… Well, when I heard that Tom was planning to use some kind of love spell on you, I guess I couldn't help it. I just wanted to warn you. Though, I admit, that's no excuse. So I'm sorry."

"Well, it wasn't a total disaster." Star admitted. "I got to see some pretty interesting people, even some evil ones like Mephisto."

"Yeah, I saw him too." America said with a shudder. "Man, he's even scarier in person."

"Right?" Star asked. "Plus, it turns out, you can dance."

"Would you believe I've never danced with anyone before?" America asked with a smile.

"No way! With those moves, that's hard to believe." Star took America's sombrero and put it on her own head. When she did, she revealed America's hair being messy, which they were both amused with.

"Hat hair." They said at once before realizing it. "Whoa, we both said… the same thing…Okay, stop that." America covered her mouth and Star pulled out her wand. They both stayed silent before laughing.

"Well, that was new." Star said.

"You're telling me." America said. "You know, looking back, I probably shouldn't have taking the word of Tom's sister like that when she told me about the love spell."

"What exactly did Ana say?" Star asked.

"That Tom was planning on using some kind of Blood Moon curse to make you love him again."

"A Blood Moon curse?" Star asked. "How does it work?"

"You know, she never really answered that." America said. "I'm sure it's nothing though. The ball's already over, and you're clearly not in love with that jerk again, right?"

"Oh, absolutely not." Star answered.

"Then there's nothing to worry about." America said. "Say, I still have a pizza in the living room. Would you care for that while we look for a movie that'll save the night?"

"You read my mind."