Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Queen Eclipsa. The Mewman of Darkness, The Black Butterfly, The Dreaded Spade, The Monster Lover. 

Moon had heard plenty of tales from the horrible menace known as Eclipsa, usually from storybooks that her mother used to read to her when she was a kid, tales of the long dead queen that once plagued all of Mewman kind with absolute terror and fear. A queen that fell from grace, abandoned her kingdom, and took up a monster for a king, a queen who sought the dark arts and took her gift of magic and used it for untold amounts of evil. Legends say her ghost still persisted, forever plaguing the land with untold suffering and darkness, while others believe her to be long dead, her bones burnt to ashes, her remnants scattered to the wind to be forgotten, lost to time. They were tales that never failed to leave Moon with a sense of terror, of urgency, of a sense of being watched, and her nightmares were always filled with images of glowing spades, of monster claws and fangs, of her kingdom crumbling into ruins, torn apart by the wrath of a deranged phantom. 

And yet, somehow, seeing the still-alive legend, gasping for breath and slumped over in a weak daze, half of her body still frozen, still crystallized, was enough to make Moon pause, hesitate, some of that fear slowly ebbing away beneath her trembling hands. She tried to tighten her grip around her wand, tried to steel herself, taking a deep breath, her eyes training themselves on Eclipsa’s shaking form, trying to look for any sudden moves, anything that looked like a hidden attack or weapon, trying to harden her voice so that it didn’t shake. “..Queen Eclipsa. I am...I am Queen Moon Butterfly, and I’ve come to seek your aid.”

The heaving breaths slowed slightly, more control forcing the Dark Witch's inhales to match her exhales. A ragged voice whispered almost unintelligibly. Moon's shoulders raised as a familiar chill fell over her. Her hands tightened around her wand.

"What was that?"

Another raspy inhale, but this time Eclipsa straightened herself, chin held high, a wild, intense gaze about her eyes. "Bee... fooore."

"'Before?'" Moon frowned at her. Was this a trick of hers? "Before what? What are you talking about?"

"Before." The ex-queen stuck her chin into the air, twice as if to indicate something.

A vending machine lay dormant only a few feet away.

"The candy?" Moon gave her a second glance. "Do you - do you want the-"

"B-Four! B-Four, B-Four, B-Four!" She nodded viciously, almost enough to knock her extravagant hat from her head.

That was enough to get Moon to blink, her attempt at a stoic and steady facade crumbling almost immediately into dust, unable to resist staring at Eclipsa in bewildered surprise for at least a second or two before finally looking away to walk toward the machine. Despite it’s edges being encased in crystals, it seemed to work just fine, and it only took a moment to grab the “snookers” bar from the slot and walk back over to the almost belligerent Eclipsa, unwrapping the candy just a smidge, holding it up so she could take a bite. “Uhh..Here.”

Eclipsa manages a bite, chewing noisily with a sigh of utmost relief, eyes closing to relish the taste of the chocolatey candy. The moment she swallowed, her eyes opened and she twisted in the crystal, yanking her right arm from her confines and quickly snatching the candy bar with purply black fingers. The sight of those fingers was enough to already get Moon to gasp, but as the candy was yanked from her hand, all she could do was stare in astonishment, her eyes drawn to the long dark scars that lined almost the entirety of Eclipsa’s arm, looking as if the black was scorched into the skin. It was enough to make her idly rub her own wrists, as if she could somehow even come close to imagining the pain that the older queen must feel from those awful scars. How could she even get those wounds in the first place? What did she do to maim herself in such a horrid way? 

...Dark magic...

Moon quickly shakes her head to rid herself of her treacherous thoughts, raising her wand in both of her hands, stomping her foot down hard on the cold crystalline ground, frustration making her teeth grit. “Eclipsa, l am Queen Moon Butterfly, and I demand your aid!”

Eclipsa coughs, looking down at her and swallowing roughly. "Queen? You're the new..." She squints at her. "Wait a moment. How long have I been down here?" She blinks. "Wait, better question. You're the queen?"

That last question stung in more ways than one, and it struck Moon silent for a moment, her mind momentarily hunted by images that she just couldn’t get out of her head.

Her mother, carrying the wand out into the wastes with a squadron of soldiers....

The destruction and chaos, erupting in clouds of fire, smoke, ash, while bodies stained the ground bloody....

Her mother’s corpse, carried back by the last surviving few, the ragged blanket they used to cover her long stained red....

The Lizard’s claws dripping with blood...

Before she knew it, tears were running down her face, soaking her cheeks, and she softly nods, silent, for there were no words to speak.

"Oh.... Oh my, I am - you're so young, I-" Eclipsa lowered her half-eaten candy bar along with her gaze. "I see. I lost my mother too, when I was not much older than you."

Somehow that response was enough to snap Moon out of her daze, and she lifts up a hand to wipe away her tears, hands clenching with anger around the wand’s handle, her eyes shining with both sorrow and rage. “I didn’t lose my mother! She was killed! She was killed by a monster and now, unless I kill that monster, the entire Mewman kingdom could be in peril! That’s why I came here, Eclipsa, I need a spell from you, a spell that’s powerful enough to kill an immortal. To kill a Lizard.”

"I...." Eclipsa's eyes were wide, and, for a moment, it seemed as if words had failed her. Then her face cleared, looking down at Moon with a narrowed gaze. "I can understand your need. But are you sure that's what you want?"

The sudden intensity in the imprisoned Queen’s gaze was enough to make Moon’s anger wither and die like a fading ember, and she sighs, lifting a hand to her head. “I..I don’t know. It’s what I need, really. The High Commission and the royal advisors are split down the middle, and I have to choose between signing a treaty or full on war, and..I..I don’t want to have to choose that! I’m just a kid! I can’t decide the fate of an entire kingdom! That was my mother’s job! And now it’s up to me and...” She was gripping her wand so tightly that the metal was starting to make indents in her palms, and she slowly relaxes her hold, letting out a heavy sigh. “..I need your help, Eclipsa. I need to kill the Lizard, and I can’t do it without your spell.”

"This kind of magic requires a contract," Eclipsa warned. "I can give it to you, but there will be a price." She laid a hand on the crystal still holding her and leaned closer to Moon. "I need you to be certain you want to do this. Is this the only option you have left?"

“...It’s the only option I can afford that won’t lead to everything I love being destroyed. I already lost my mother, I don’t want to lose my kingdom too.” She stares up into Eclipsa’s gaze, and a small part of her still trembles at the sight of her eyes boring intensely into her own, while another is...intrigued, by the stern gaze she was being given, like a parent lecturing their child.

For a moment, Eclipsa says nothing, but then she straightens again and nods. "Alright then. But to be clear, there are two costs to this: one for me giving you the spell, and another for casting it."

“..What are these costs?”

"My cost will be my freedom." She grinned before an exclamation could be given. "I know it's a lot to ask, but I assure you it is the lighter of the costs.”

That got Moon to blink in astonishment, her eyes flicking up and down Eclipsa’s frozen form. “What? I-I can’t free you! You’re evil! And, uh, even if you weren’t, I can’t break Rhombulus’s crystals! It’s impossible!”

Eclipsa's grin widened, as if holding back a small chuckle. She cleared her throat and calmed her gaze. "Now, the second cost is a bit more tricky. My spells have always been a bit more finicky than not, and, well, there tend to be... adverse effects to using them." She wiggled her fingers in example. "I do not know what effect will befall you, but it could be anything. Consider it a... curse, if you will."

“A... curse?” She glances at Eclipsa’s hands, their purple scars, and she instinctively shudders, going to rub her wrists once more as phantom pains make her feel uneasy for a moment. She almost felt like running away, running away from this nightmare of a situation and never come back, but...But she had to. She had to, for the sake of her entire kingdom, for the sake of her mother. 

“...Alright. I’ll take the costs.”

A grin lifts the Dark Queen's face, and she elegantly extends her arm. "Then a contract we shall have."

“...For Mewnie.” She lifts her hand and takes Eclipsa’s hand, meeting her eyes with a stern glare. It was official, she would do anything for her kingdom, as was her duty as Queen.

Anything.

••••

The Safe Kid. Right. That's what everyone thought of him. The door to Miss Skullnick's class gently clicked shut behind him as he made his way toward the principal's office. He took the shortest path, making sure to walk on the right side of the hall passing the language department, and took a breath as the office came into view.

Today was the day that Marco Diaz would forever lose the title of The Safe Kid.

The principal never called anyone to the office unless something serious had happened. Honestly, the school had less supervision than the neighboring dog park and local skaters' rink combined. The only teacher who ever actually punished their students for bad behavior was Miss Skullnick, and even then the worst she would do was give a day of detention and a failing test grade. So calls to the principal's were not something to be trifled with.

Or so the rumors went. Marco had never been called to the principal's before. Ever.

He racked his mind for something, anything, that would warrant a trip to the principal’s office, and he had to admit that a chill of nervousness went up his spine, mostly because he couldn’t think of anything. He was completely scot-free, nothing that would be so dire as to be considered worthy of punishment. It made his hands curl into fists within his hoodie pocket, biting his lip softly as he finally neared the door. It was only then that he paused, hearing several voices talking, muffled by the walls, but just barely legible. He considered - for a moment - eavesdropping on the conversation, but a door further down the hall opened and he was reminded that, yes, this was a public institution with dozens of other kids and adults who could catch him in the act. He didn't want to just barge in, though. Whoever was talking sounded a little upset, and he did not want to get between them and whoever was on the receiving end. So he went for the middle line and knocked on the door.

"Principal Skeeves? It's, uh, Marco."

The conversation almost immediately came to a halt, silence lasting for a brief second before the Principal’s voice was heard again. “Oh, Marco! Please do come in!”

He immediately opened the door and peeked inside. "Hey. You called me?"

The next thing he saw was something he wasn’t entirely sure he was actually seeing. There was a girl, a girl looking to be the same age as him, sitting in one of the 3 chairs that were in the office, who was currently waving wildly at him, her eyes wide with a giddish excitement that screamed of unadulterated joy, her feet, clad in purple boots, kicking like mad. She was wearing an odd dress that almost reminded him of overalls, and the headband she wore was that of devil’s horns. And...Did her cheeks have heart marks on them?

Beside her was an even stranger sight, an older woman, sighing in what appeared to be a begrudging reluctance, looking like she stepped right out of an old Victorian painting, with a big poofy blue dress and sparkling white hair done up in a complicated fashion. She also had cheek marks, but these ones were that of diamonds. 

The girl was also screaming at the top of her lungs. “HIIII!! OH MY GOSH, ITS SO GOOD TO MEET YOU!” With barely even a second to blink, she’s suddenly in front of him, grabbing his hand and shaking it up and down with a vigor that made it feel as if his arm was about to be wrenched from the socket.

The woman, presumably the mother, lifted her head to give the girl a soft, get stern glare. “Star, please let go of the boy and sit back down.”

The girl, presumably Star, goes from giddy to irritated in one fowl swoop, her hand shaking going lax as her eyes roll dramatically in their sockets, her back bending backwards so that she could look at the woman without turning around. “Oh come on, Mom, I’m not doing anything! I’m just saying hi!”

“You can “say hi” from the bench. Now come on, sit.” 

“UUUGH.” The girl finally trudges back to the chair, resting her chin in one hand, muttering. “When you’re gone, I’ll say hi to Marco as many times as I want. Ha.”

"Uh." Marco glanced between the mother and daughter before him, hand still hovering in the air where Star had shaken it. "Hi. My name's... Marco Diaz?" He had to physically stop himself as the statement somehow turned into a question at the end. Way to make an introduction, Marco.

“Hi, Marco!” Again, Star waves her hand wildly at him, her arm practically becoming a blur in the air, before she turns and grins victoriously at her mother. “Ha! Did it again!”

The mother ignores her daughter, massaging her temples with her fingers for a second before getting up to her feet, turning to face Marco, curtsying for a moment, presumably out of respect, before she smiles apologetically. “I’m sorry about the...eagerness of my daughter. She’s never been to Earth before, so she’s rather excited.”

He blinked a few times. "Never been to...?" What? Never been to Earth? What did that mean? Were they aliens? Were they from some kind of alternate Earth that was called by a different name? Were they-

Oh no. Oh no. Fancy dress. Hair done up exquisitely. Curtseying. She was Royalty! Capital 'R' Royalty, both of them, which means he's been stammering and saying nothing to Royalty this entire time.

He managed a small laugh and waved his hands. "Oh, no, nah, it's fine. It - happens all the time. Lots of - excitable people on Earth. Hahah."

The mother’s smile grew a little bit, and she let out a chuckle. “Well, then my daughter will have no trouble fitting in. I’ve been told by the head of this....school, that you are the safest person in the premises. Is that correct?”

For a moment, his shoulders sank, but he managed to stop himself before he could roll his eyes and refute the slanderous remark. "So the school's polling says, yes."

“Wonderful. I know this may sound...difficult to hear, but please bear with me.”

Star, from her chair, starts kicking her feet again, now looking almost smug. “I’m basically a super cool princess from another dimension!”

"Um." Dimension. Okay. He was kinda close. "Like a... dimension dimension, or an alternate universe dimension?"

“What’s the difference?” Star blinks, suddenly looking quite confused. “There’s more than one type of dimension?“ 

The mother sighs, and her grin lessens a bit. “To be more accurate, we’re from a place called Mewni. I am their Queen, Moon Butterfly, and this is my daughter, Star Butterfly. We’ve come here to shelter her here, away from Mewnie, and I have been told the safest place my daughter can be is with you.”

"Right," he said slowly. Why did it feel like there was something not quite being said here? He glanced at the principal, who only grinned widely, nodded vigorously, and held two thumbs up. "Because I'm the Safe Kid?"

“Precisely. Now...There is something else you should know. Star?” 

The girl springs up to her feet with an almost unnatural ease and suddenly there is what appears to be some kind of weird wand-looking thing in his face,  just as Star pulls back and starts doing dramatic poses with it. “BOOM! BOW! THERE IT IS! LOOK AT IT!” 

Moon promptly turns to grab the wand out of Star’s hands, leading to her deflating and losing said dramatic edge. “Heeeeey! Mooooom! You said you wouldn’t take the wand away from me!”

“I don’t want you blasting a hole in the wall, Star. You haven’t learned how to wield it correctly.” She then turns back to Marco, clearing her throat before presenting the wand. “This is the crown jewel of Mewnie, the Royal Wand. It’s been passed down through my family for eons, and now, it is within the hands of my daughter. Unfortunately, it is also a power that many of monster have craved to get their hands on, and I fear that it is not safe for my daughter to stay on Mewnie. That is another reason as to why I’ve come here.”

Marco looks between the wand and Queen Moon. "You... you really aren't here for some kind of spring get away, are you?"

“...Spring...Get away?” Her brow raises and she looks somewhat confused. “Get away from what? Is there a monster called Spring that you’re trying to flee from?”

"Oh, ah, no! Heheh. No, it's a thing humans do. Like a vacation, but during a certain season when the weather is supposed to be nice. Like, relaxing type stuff. Visit the beach, get a massage, do aromatherapy - that kind of thing."

“Oh, I see, it’s a little Earth event. How nice. I’m afraid, no, we aren’t simply visiting or anything like that. This is of remarkable importance, I assure you.” She then pauses, and she gives a soft smile. “..I know this may seem...worrisome, or scary, but I would be ever so grateful towards you and your family if you would shelter my daughter. From what I’ve been told, Earth is quite safe, so as long as you keep her in your sights and make sure she doesn’t get into any trouble with Earth law, you won’t have anything to worry about.”

"Uh." He momentarily glances at Star, who is eagerly jumping up and down impossibly high for anyone her size, hands fluttering at her sides as she holds a squeal behind teeth bared in a comically wide grin and the bookshelves behind her shake from her jumping. How does he argue with royalty again and explain that society isn't that simple? "Yeah, of course, that should be fine. My parents will be - ecstatic!" Like that. Yup. Definitely. Awesome.

“Wonderful. Thank you, Marco, I’m sure that Star’s stay here will be quite pleasant.” She turns back to face Star, giving her a stern look. “I better not hear any word of you using the wand irresponsibly, you hear me? Follow the rules I gave you, and call me on the mirror at the end of every week, and if I even so much as see a sign of you getting sick-“

Star’s sheer excitement is again turned to irritation as she rolls her eyes. “Ok, okaaaay! Jeez, Mom! We’ve been doing this since I was a baby! I’ll be fine!”

There were a few more words are exchanged, mostly the two arguing lightly over something that Marco couldn't entirely parse out, until Moon exhales and shakes her head in defeat. "Alright, fine, fine. Go on and get acquainted with the school. I'll finish up with Principal Skeeves."

“YAAAY!” Star springs up to give her mother a big hug, one that clearly took some of the wind out of Moon in the process, before she suddenly grabbed Marco’s hand and was practically yanking him out of the door. “Come on, come on, come ON! I WANNA GET TO EXPLORING!”

"Wh-whoa, careful, wait!" He let out a little yelp as he was yanked into the hall, quickly grabbing onto her wrist and trying to dig his heels into the ground to slower her. "I need to show you where things are first!"

Being pulled along by this strange girl felt akin to being pulled by a boxer or a bulldog that was chasing a squirrel, and it wasn’t until she herself halted and ceased her running did the momentum finally stop, blinking owlishly. “Oh. Oops.”

He stumbled a little at the stop, pinwheeling his arms to keep from falling, and grabbed at his chest. "Oh my god, you were running so fast. How do you run so fast?"

“I dunno. I just...run.” She shrugs in an aloof manner, before giving him a playful punch in the shoulder that felt like getting softly hit by a brick. “Can humans not run or something? That’s stupid.”

"Ow!" He rubs his shoulder. "No, we can run, just... you were running pretty fast. Well, this is the main entrance, I guess you could call it." He looks over his shoulder to where they came from. "We passed the language and the history classrooms already."

Her head swivels here and there, looking around with wide, fascinated eyes before she ends up spotting the water fountain, walking over to it, giving the metal a little tentative poke. “What’s this thingy? It looks all weird. Why is it jutting out of the wall like that?”

"You've never seen a water fountain before?" He walks over, pushing the button on the side after Star continues prodding the metal.

She lets out a soft gasp as the trickle of water flows from the nozzle, and she tilts her head. “Is that what this is? Why would you have a fountain in the building? And why is it so tiny? Usually these things are outside in front of the castles, not inside the walls.”

"It's, uh, so that everyone can... use it?" He blinks. "It's not, like, a water fountain that's meant to look nice. It's something people can drink out of."

“Huh...That’s weird. Usually we just get drinks from the waterfall or something.” She gives the side button a few more pokes before she tentatively holds it down, her tongue flicking out to  catch a few droplets as the stream trickled down the drain. “Even tastes different.”

"Yeah, school water is a little... not the best. Personally, I filter all the water at our house, so you won't have to deal with weird tasting water. Unless water on Mewni just tastes different than on Earth, which... would make a lot of sense." He glances down the hall. "Oh, down here are the lockers we'll be using."

“Lockers? Why are they locked?” She looks up to see them lining the hallway, looking vaguely confused. “Are they meant to lock away your enemies? Are they cells for the dungeon?”

"Dungeon?" He laughs. "No, they're just supposed to hold your stuff so you aren't lugging your books around all day. See?" He opens his locker and waves at the neatly organized interior. "I have all my folders for all my classes, and books for the classes that require them.”

“Books? Hey, I have a book! I got it when I got my wand! It’s in my room, though, so I can’t exactly pull it out right now.” She leans down to look at his folders, frowning a bit. “What’s...science?”

"Um...." He stares at her for a long moment, one brow raised as he contemplates the possibility of someone not knowing the word science. "Basically and explanation of how things work. Like, why apples fall from trees and how the weather changes."

“What? Isn’t that just magic?” She straightens up, pulling at her wand and gesturing to it. “I make apples fall all the time with this thing. And the trees but that’s not important.”

"No, well, that's, uh, that's different, I guess. Um. It's hard to explain."

“Whatever, I’m sure it’s not that important.” She waves a hand dismissively, rocking back and forth on her heels. “So, what do you humans do for fun? Tame Warnicorns? Fight monsters? Hit the dance clubs?”

"Uh, no. Well, dance clubs - yes. The others - no." He shrugs and leads her further down the hall. "Everyone does something different, I guess. Lots of kids have parties - careful, loose tile - but a lot just kinda play games and do stuff on the internet or hang out or whatever."

She’s practically skipping down the hall beside him, hopping to and fro to look at everything, wave at bystanders, bouncing around like a jumping bean. It’s only when she hears the internet does she pause, tilting her head a little. “The...Internet?”

"It's a whole thing; I'll have to show it to you later." He waves a little as if it's not important. "This is the math and science wing. You'll learn all about that stuff here."

“Hmmm...Sounds fine and all, but when do we get to learn about the fun stuff? The really cool stuff? This place just seems kind of, well, boring.”

"Well, it's school. It's... not really supposed to be fun." He shrugs a little, frowning at nothing in particular. "I guess the fun part is the people? You can meet a lot of new people here."

“I guess that’s true! Hi there!” She suddenly turns and waves frantically at a girl off to the side, someone who seemed to be polishing a skateboard. “Hi! Hi! Who are you?!”

The girl pauses mid-stroke and straightens, smiling. "Hey, you must be a new student or something. The names Jackie. You?"

“My name is Star! I’m a princess! It’s nice to meet you! I like your hair! What’s this thing?” Before Marco could even move, she’s in front of Jackie and poking at the wheels of the board with her finger, a wide grin on her face. “It looks fun! Do you hit people with it?”

Jackie stares for a moment, then grins and chuckles a little as the bell rings. "You're pretty spunky, Star. This is my skateboard, and I use it to do this." She skillfully slides the board onto the ground and hops on at the same time, skating down the hall. She makes a wide turn and waves when she sees Marco and Star. "See ya tomorrow!"

Star blinks as she follows the girl's exit. "Whoa."

"Yeah," Marco squeaks. "She's the coolest."

That was enough for Star to squint, before she begins to grin again, her smile coy, full of mischief. “Ohh, I see what’s going on here. You like her. You like the pretty girl!”

“Wh-wha-!?" He splutters, barely managing to make half-words as he feels the flush creep up his neck. "I-I - no! It's just that - that she's - she's the coolest girl in the school and - oh my god you just walked up to the coolest girl in school and she actually said something to you! Did - did she actually wave at us? I think that's the most she's actually noticed me. I-"

“Oh my gosh you totally like her! You’re a little lovebird aren’t you?” She playfully punches him, smiling from ear to ear. “Oh, I’m definitely gonna get all up in this romantic drama, this is soooo good.”

"Star, no!" Despite his shouting voice, he manages to make his voice soft enough to fall under the bustle of the other students. "I'm fine figuring this out on my own. Even if the idea of talking to her is absolutely terrifying. Ugh." He puts his head in his hands and rubs his face. After a moment, he pops up again. "Oh, I haven't shown you everything yet."

She blinks at how quickly he recovers from his embarrassment, but decides to throw him a bone and move on, giving him a little happy shrug. “Heh, well, nothing’s stopping you from showing me now.”

"Right. Math class." He pushes his hair back, relaxing an inch more at the seemingly seamless transition. "Did the principal give you a list of your classes? Would've been a paper about yea big?"

“Uhh...Maybe?” She pulls a bag down from her back, rifling through it, occasionally flinging out what looked to be glass bottles of weirdly colored liquid, the eye of a squid, and even what looked to be at least 5 daggers, before finally pulling out a heavily crumpled piece of paper. “I think this is it.”

"Uh... Thanks." Marco takes the paper with his index finger and thumb before carefully opening it, occasionally glancing over at the wreck of miscellaneous fluids pooling along the ground. "Seems like you have almost all the same classes as me. Which means you have Skullnick for math. This is her room."

“Skullnick? Ooh, she sounds nasty.” She presses her face to the glass in an effort to peer into the room.

The teacher in question is grumbling as she fills out paperwork on her desk. Marco shifts a little. "Yeah, she's one of the most difficult teachers in the school. Most strict too."

“Ugh, she’s strict too? Shit, I get enough of that from my mom.” She peels her face back and rolls her eyes. “It’s soooo annoying.”

"You're mom is... a Queen, though. Doesn't that kinda... come with the territory?" He walks her down the hall. "This is your science class by the way."

“Well, yeah, she is, but she’s even stricter to me more than anyone else!” She crosses her eyes and starts mockingly copying her mother’s voice. “‘Star, don’t go running in the mud.’ ‘Star, don’t go gambling with demons.’ ‘Star, you cant just run around all willy nilly, what if you get hurt?’”

"You've gambled with demons?" He blinks. "Wait, wait. Demons are real?"

“Huh? Oh, yeah. Used to date one, actually.”

"Used to... date one." He rubs his temples. "Okay, I can feel a headache coming on."

“A headache? You get those too? Are you sick too?”

"What? No, headaches happen all the time to people. Totally normal." He takes a breath. "Okay, let's actually show you your language and history classes."

“Ok, awesome. Anything cool about human history?”

"Not really, I guess. I mean, nothing that they teach here. I guess there's a few things that are cool, but it's really bland here." He shrugs. "I'm not much of a history buff, though, so."

Her face drops and her back bends over backwards again as she lets out a deep groan of irritated boredom. “UUUUGH. This is already boooooring! When do we get to fight stuuuuuff?”

"Fight stuff?" He laughs a little. "Star, that's - that's not what school's about." At the annoyed look on her face, he raises his hands. "Though - though I do have to say that I've been taking martial arts classes for a few years now. Not exactly fighting, but pretty close. Maybe I can show you some time."

Her head lifts up and tilts, eyes narrowed, her spine still bent. “Do we get to hit things?”

"Um.... Maybe?" He laughed nervously, thinking of the hit she had earlier landed on his shoulder.

“Good enough.” She straightens herself up, glancing over at the window to the principal’s office as they pass it by, and she huffs. “Holy shit they’re still talking. Just leave already, mom, jeez.”

"They're probably just finishing things up." Marco waves a hand. "Here's your English class. The only language class that doesn't actually teach the language."

“..Why do you have a language class for a language you already speak? That seems a bit weird.” She tilts her head, looking confused, but presses her face against the glass anyway.

"I dunno. Something about literature from old, dead guys." He looks up and down the hall. "And your history class.... Oh, we must have passed it."

“Ooh!” She goes to press her face on the glass of that door, but she lets out a yelp as the door swings open, falling flat on her face.

"Whoa, Star! Careful! Are you alright?" Marco scrambles to catch up to her.

“Yeah, I’m ok. It was just a little tumble.” She lets out a soft snort, only to look up and see that the door knob was...damaged. She frowns, softly, slowly standing up, peering into the darkness of the room. “..Get behind me..”

"What? Star, it's probably just an old door, or the teacher forgot to lock it."

“I said get behind me!” She whips out the wand, and it begins to glow with a sparkling pink light, waves of heat flowing from the crystalline center, the air in front of it beginning to visibly tremble. “Whoever you are, show yourself, or I’ll blast you into next week!”

Marco ducks behind her at the sight of the wand glowing. "Star, nothing's in here-"

"I'd actually have to say the Princess has a good eye for spotting monsters. Runs in the family."

Star’s teeth grit softly, but she doesn’t move. “Who are you? How did you know I was here? No one was supposed to know about my mom moving me to this dimension.”

"Who I am isn't quite so important, Miss Butterfly. As for how I found you? Well, it was a simple matter of watching you leave, if I'm honest." The pink light falls upon a greyish hand laying on the counter near the windows, all of which had curtains drawn. "I would ask you to tell your mother to be more careful, but I'm fairly certain she just stepped out."

Star’s hands visibly tighten around the wand, and she makes a step towards the hand, eyes narrowing in an attempt to peer through the darkness. “If you want my wand, you’re not getting it. You’ll have to pry it from my bloodied hands first, and trust me, killing me is no easy feat.”

"Oh, I have no doubt about that." The sound of glass touching on the counter echoes through the room. Star's light hits on an elegant suit. "Butterflys are no trifling matter, but my employer does indeed want that wand of yours. He's quite the impatient one as well. I hope you understand."

Her eyes narrow, and she stills. “...So you’re working for Ludo? Must be really desperate to work for him of all people.” She steps even closer and her wand flares brighter. “But if you’re here, where is he?”

The light fills the room, finally exposing the monster in his entirety. A long snout with jagged fangs protruding from the top, startlingly yellow eyes staring indifferently at the two of them, a slender tail lazily hiding below the desks. Marco silently grabs Star's shoulder, but doesn't make a move to run. The reptile lets out a small huff, one hand trilling against the counter he leans against.

"Your guess is as good as mine," he says, "but I suppose you could look behind you if you wanted."

Star immediately stills, her eyes going slightly wide, and she immediately whirls around, reflexively pushing Marco’s head down, screaming the first spell that comes to her mind. “SPARKLING NARWHAL BLAST!” The wand’s center hums and shines, and for a brief moment, nothing happens, only for a beam of light to come shooting out, colliding with the figures that loomed in the doorway.

Marco shouts, eyes widening as he hears a cacophony of inhuman screeches from behind him. His head whips around, panic filling him at the sight of triclops, deer-man, and six foot tall chicken plastered to the wall by narwhal horns and some kind of glittering liquid. "Oh my god, what is going on!?"

“MOVE!” She grabs his hand and immediately books it into the hallway, running as fast as she can, her grip like a vice around his arm.

"Holy crap!" He struggles to keep pace with her. "Do you - do you know those people? Are they the ones chasing you?"

“I know the person who that work for. Ludo, one of the many, many heirs to the Avarius family. Went crazy one day and threw his parents out of the castle. Now he’s-AHH!” She screams as another monster suddenly flies out from the corner, reflexively waving her wand in a horizontal arc. “JELLYBEAN HAZE DAZE!”

A stream of a jellybeans with smiling faces on them smack into the monster, hovering around the frog-like being as he stumbles back in a heavy stupor. Marco bites his lip, then reflexively launches a foot into the air as he hears a growl come from behind him. A large, uni-horned  bear stumbles back.

"These monsters seriously mean business, Star," he huffs.

“Yeah, I know! It’s why, It’s why Mom wanted me to get away from Mewnie, so this shit would stop happening!” She growls, and her hand tightens around her wand. “Where’s the biggest room in the school? We can’t stay in this cramped hallway.”

"Ah, the gym! This way!" He grabs her hand and pulls her down the one hall they hadn't gone down yet. "There is no way they just watched you leave and figured out you'd be here. I don't buy that for a second."

“Yeah, I know...That one monster, with the suit, I’ve seen Ludo’s cronies but I’ve never seen him at all.” She looks back and sees a two-headed monster pry one of the lockers from the wall. “WATCH OUT!”

He turns sharply, yanking Star with him, just as the locker goes flying through the hall. "Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap!" He pushes through two large doors, pulls Star in, and then locks the door and jumps to hit the magnetic lock. "Ah. Ah, okay, that should give us some time. Good. What the hell is going on?"

“I’m telling you, they want my wand. Ludo has been going after the wand as long as I’ve had it, which, admittedly, isn’t exactly long, but it still would be very bad if he got his hands on it. He, uh, kinds of want it to conquer the universe?” Star leans against a wall, not looking tired in the least, her wand still trained on the door.

"Okay. Okay, I can deal with that I think. Evil guy wants to take over the universe. Great." Marco shakes his arms as if trying to loosen up his muscles. He takes a few breaths, looking a little less freaked out and a little more focused. "And the only new guy so far is the lizard guy?"

“Yeah...He doesn’t seem like a fighter, considering the suit, and he didn’t try to attack me or anything...But he did break into that room...” She adjusts her grip on her wand, pushing herself up from the wall as the door jostles in place with a loud bang.

"Yeah, he looked like a business guy." Marco brings his hands up, readying a defensive pose. "Probably had him distract us 'cause he couldn't do anything else."

“Probably...But watch out for him anyway...If I saw him right, he looked like a Lizard. Those things have been gone for a long time, and it seems Ludo somehow found one.”

"Right. Sounds great."

The door splinters and cracks in a cascade of monsters pouring into the room with a chorus of shouts and war cries.

“GLITTER NARWHAL BLAST!” Star immediately screams at the top of her lungs, and the same sparkling light comes shooting out to clobber the chicken in the face. A two headed demon and a giant fly wielding a butcher knife comes racing at them. Marco took the opportunity to jump in and karate chop the demon, his body falling to the ground with a pathetic thud. 

Everything almost seemed to become a blur of dodging, kicking, punching, dodging, arcane blasts of energy and magic lighting up the sky like unstable firecrackers. 

Star was shouting any words that popped into her head, anything to keep the monsters at bay, but occasionally she felt herself slip or stutter, and scratches and bruises began to appear on her skin, ones that could be easily prevented, and she felt her teeth grit, heart pounding in her chest, screaming with the thrill of combat. She felt her fist come into contact with the jaw of the giraffe, smiled as she saw a few teeth fly free, but pain soon filled her vision, a crushing punch being dealt to her stomach, feeling her body fly through the air.

"Now, now, Miss Butterfly." Somehow, the clacking of dress shoes makes it over the din of fighting monsters. "All we need is the wand. You don't have to fight us." The lizard stands above her, a small smirk to his face and his hands tucked behind him. "Though I do have to say you've done remarkably well for someone with so little experience."

Star slowly pushes herself up off the floor, her breathing a bit more ragged, her vision going slightly fuzzy for a second or two, her hands shaking ever so slightly. She feels wetness on her chin, and when she touches it, her fingers come away red, the sight making her heart jump, and her lips stretch into an almost twisted grin. “Heh...Hell of a punch you got there..” She wipes away the blood with her arm, before climbing back up to her feet, twirling the wand in her hand before tucking it back into her backpack, taking a fighting stance. “Hope you don’t mind if I show off my own.”

"Oh, by all means, Princess." He doesn't move from his relaxed stance."Go ahead."

She doesn’t move for a second, her eyes looking him over in an attempt to see any potential weak points. She’s never fought a Lizard before, she didn’t know what to go for, what was a hidden threat, what was their limits, anything. It was certainly going to be an interesting fight to say the least. Finally, she takes a deep breath, before turning to run up the wall, kicking off of it like a spring board, launching herself right at the monster’s smug grin with her fist swinging to the right.

He ducks at the last moment and she flies past him and skids across the gym floor. "Would you like to try again?"

The momentum of her attack leaves her flying over him like a bullet, and she gasps, managing to flip herself over to land on her feet, just barely keeping herself from falling over. Her teeth grit, and she pushes herself into a full tilt sprint using the momentum, making it look as if she’s about to rush him before springing to the side, bouncing off of the bleachers, going for a bodyslam instead. He just barely manages to brace himself, holding his arms up and pushing her off before she could properly hold onto him. He frowns a little at her, almost calculatingly, and slowly moves into a fighting stance.

She lands on her feet, taking a moment or so to catch her breath, eyes narrowed at the sudden stance, a hum rumbling in her chest, thinking of what to do. He clearly had reflexes, that was certain, and they were pretty damn good ones. She had to think of a way to throw him off, or at the very least, try to outspeed him, just so she could get a few hits in. 

Marco, meanwhile, is narrowly dodging ham-fisted attacks coming at him from all sides. Sliding under the legs of the deer-man, he runs across the room and crawls onto the bleachers to put some space between himself and the monsters hounding him. Where was Star? She hadn't thrown a spell in ages! He quickly scans the room, seeing Star leaping into the air toward-

Was that-?

The lizard from earlier?

He watches with awe as Star swings a foot towards the lizard’s head, and with a sudden flash of movement, the monster has grabbed Star by the leg just as she flies past him, using her momentum to toss her over his shoulder and slam her into the floor with a loud crack.

"Star!" In an instant, Marco was running across the bleachers to where she was flung. Some of the monsters stared at the lizard for a moment before following in pursuit of the princess' wand. Star’s eyes immediately snap open, and she springs up to her feet, whipping out her wand and aiming it at the monsters that were trying to rush her, only to gasp and duck as the Lizard’s fist narrowly misses her head, which slams into the wall, causing it to crack.

"Ahh!" Marco leaps from the bleacher, aiming for the Lizard's exposed back.

“MARCO, WAIT-“ That’s all Star can get out before the Lizard’s tail suddenly rises up to smack Marco in the face, sending him careening into the bleachers. He lands on his back amid the plastic seats, the lights spinning above him. He weakly pulls at his surroundings in an effort to stand.

The Lizard’s lips turn up in a slight smirk, turning his head to glance at the boy. “You’re going to have to do much better then-“

“RAINBOW FIRE BEAM!”

Within an instant, the gymnasium was filled with a powerful burst of light, searingly hot and filled to the brim with arcane power. When it finally fades, a whole section of the floor of the gym is left scorched, the flags and bleachers that got caught in the crossfire turned to melted piles of ash and warped plastic and metal. The Lizard was on the ground, unmoving, a gaping hole in his chest, half of his head left nothing more than bone. The other monsters gaped for a moment, shocked by the sudden turn of events. In the silence, the skin of the Lizard's face began creeping back over his skull, his eye reinflating, the hole in his chest knitting back together. His hands twitched and a small cough came from his mouth.

Star’s eyes widened at this, panting softly, and her eyes glanced over to Marco, noting how fatigued he was, before running over to him, grabbing him by the waist and hauling him over her shoulder. “Come on, we gotta go! Now!” 

She glances towards the nearest exit, the nearest door, and runs through it as fast as she can, out into the open, out into the parking lot of the school. She just kept running, running past the school entrance, running as far away as she possibly could.

"Star? Star?" Marco pats her back. "Star, you can slow down. We're - we're pretty far away at this point."

She finally skids to a stop, long enough to take a look around and realize just how far away she was. She finally places Marco back on his feet, trying to keep him steady. “You alright? Anything broken?”

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." He blinks a little. "Back hurts a little, but I think I've been through worse. He really hits hard, though. Are you alright?"

“Yeah, I’m ok..Aside from a few bruises and cuts. Probably a bit of internal bleeding.”

"Heh. Heheh. Yeah, same." He grins lightly and looks around. "My house isn't very far from here."

“That’s..good to hear. Mind giving me some directions?”

"Right, yeah. This way." He points and starts walking.

Star finally tucks her wand away, and sighs, wiping her forehead. “Phew, that was...Wow, that was a close one. I don’t think Ludo’s goons ever, well, planned something like that before. They’re usually kind of...eh..stupid.”

"Yeah, that might be the new guy at work." He frowns, putting his hands in his pockets. "He seems like he actually knows how to fight. I mean, I was basically hitting those other guys in the face even though I was right in front of them, but he managed to get me without even turning to look."

“Yeah, I tried to warn you. Tails that thick can usually double as extra limbs.” She rubs her stomach, wincing. “Yeah...He...We’ll have to watch out for him in the future...”

He rubs his stomach as well, swallowing. "How... often do these guys come after you again?"

“Eh...Twice a week? I think? Ludo just kind of makes them attack me after their wounds heal. It’s sort of random?”

"Agh. Sounds like fun. Maybe it'll take them a while to find my house, though." His face drops. "Wait, they're gonna try and find my house, aren't they?"

“...Maaaybe? They can’t use the dimensional scissors to do it, thankfully.”

"Ugh, I hope my parents don't get caught in all this." He rubs at his face.

“I don’t think they will...But maybe we might want to keep an eye on them, just in case.”

Marco sighs tiredly at the idea, continuing to show the way to his house. He stops Star before crossing the road a few times, explaining at each stop how cars worked and how deadly they could be. Eventually they end up reaching Marco’s house, or at least Star thinks they have, mostly because he unlocks the door using a spare key found under the welcome mat. She adjusts her headband, almost feeling nervous. “So...What are your parents like?”

"Oh, they'll love you, I promise." He grins easily, hand on the doorknob. "They love everyone they meet, they're really easy going. Don't be worried about them. And we've housed foreign exchange students before, so this won't be entirely new to them."

“You sure? I mean, I’m not exactly human you know.” She points to her cheek marks.

"You'll be fine, Star." He puts a hand on her shoulder and squeezes gently. "Just relax and be yourself. Alright?"

“Heh..Yeah, ok. Sorry, I guess I’m just tired. I’m usually not this nervous.”

"Well, let's just get you situated and then we can both rest. It's been a long day." He opens the front door. "Mom! Dad! I'm home!"

Star practically backpedals as a large man suddenly barrels through the door to scoop Marco up in a huge bear hug, swinging his son back and forth like a rag doll. “Oh, Marco! We just got a call from school! Are we gonna be having a new exchange student living with us?”

"Y...yeah, Dad. Lungs. My lungs." He takes in a deep breath as his dad lowers him back to the ground, but smiles. "Dad, meet Star Butterfly."

Star’s lips twitch up in a soft, nervous grin, giving a little wave. “Uhh...Hi-Ohmygosh-!” She can’t help but yelp as she’s swooped up into a similar hug, letting out a little laugh. “Woah, heh, man, you remind me of my dad.” 

“Oh, sorry, sorry!” The man quickly lowers her to the ground, giving her a sheepish grin. “My apologies, it’s just that we’re always so excited when a new person comes to stay with us! It’s so exciting! Tell me, where are you from?”

“Oh, uh..From Mewnie. It’s, uh, another dimension? Well, more specifically, another planet, in another dimension.”

"Oh, wow! That sounds like you come from further than Switzerland, ey?" He grins nudges her with his elbow slightly. "Come on in and meet my wonderful wife, Angie. Make yourself at home, please!"

Marco shoots her a thumbs up from off to the side.

Star blinks for a few seconds, and she visibly relaxes, taking a deeper breath before walking into the house, seeming to regain some of her energy judging by the way her voice rises in pitch and gets a bit louder. “Hi! Oh my gosh, are you Angie? Your hair is beautiful!” 

Marco chuckles a bit, taking a moment to look around the area one more time, before walking in and shutting the door, the lock clicking shut behind him.

••••

Toffee listened to the pain groans of the monsters as they accompanied him through the portal leading to Ludo's castle. He made no verbal comment, and his only physical cue so far was a small roll of the eyes as he led them inside. But that didn't mean he wasn't listening.

He had anticipated the attack to fail. He was working with untrained amateurs who time and time again went straight for the throat of their enemies. Sooner or later they would have to learn a more nuanced approach. But that would take years to instill and more to actually procure, so the attack was allowed on Ludo's terms - without proper information, without proper tools, and without proper technique.

That more than explained why he used the opportunity more for gathering information than actual combat. If he had it entirely his way, he wouldn't have gotten involved at all. Let the kids fight through the others and analyze their tactics from afar. But of course someone had to ask him to jump in. If only etiquette didn't have to get in the way of his plans.

Well, either way he found what he needed. The Princess was better equipped than he had been told, and she had found someone with an ounce of skill to help her. Things were getting quite interesting indeed.

Just as Toffee took a slow, deep breath, still feeling the insides of his flesh writhing and twitching as the internal wounds slowly closed, the doors to the castle throne room slammed open with a crash that made all the monsters cower and his blood pressure to immediately spike. 

“WELL?!! WHAT HAPPENED?!? WHERE’S THE WAND?!! OR DID YOU IDIOTS ALL FAIL?!! AGAIN??!?”

He held himself from clenching his jaw too visibly or rolling his claws into fists. Honestly, the gall someone would need to-

A practiced grin fell onto his face as he spoke before Ludo could crack his staff on Boo Fly's head. "It appears she had some unforeseen help this time, Prince Ludo. We were expecting to take her on alone."

The little prince’s eyes immediately narrowed, and were it possible for more veins to be bulging from his hideously bald scalp, they would. “UNEXPECTED HELP?! WHAT DO YOU MEAN?!! YOU TOLD ME SHE WAS ALONE, YOU TOLD ME THAT MOON WAS LEAVING HER ALONE ON A PLANET IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE?! AND NOW YOU’RE TELLING ME SHE HAS A BODYGUARD?!”

"Not quite," he managed. "Our information told us that she was going to live on Earth. It merely turns out that the person she's residing with has a basic grasp of hand to hand combat. Nothing we can't plan for in the next mission, right?"

That seemed to have placated the birdbrain’s anger, if slightly, his fangs gritting together, his beak shut (for once), turning to shake his staff at the rest of his goons, no longer screaming at the top of his lungs in that grating, screeching voice. “All of you! You’ve failed me once more! You will get no desert after dinner tonight! Go to your rooms! Now!”

A few of them argued for a moment, but eventually they all moped there way out of the hall and toward their respective rooms. Toffee took a small breath, watching them leave. At least no one would be hit over the head with a cane tonight.

"Do you want to return to scheming, or should we start that in the morning?" he asked smoothly.

“..No, no, just...Get out of my sight. I’m so livid with you all right now. How hard is it to get the wand from a single girl? She doesn’t even know how to use it! She just got it for corn’s sake!”

Some muscle hidden behind his ribcage ached. "I believe we might have to reconsider her abilities. She might be new to wielding the wand, but she could very well have been studying magic for quite some time." True, he was fairly certain Star Butterfly hadn't been studying magic, given her proclivity toward made up spells, but she was nonetheless powerful. Not that he could expect Ludo to grasp that idea.

Ludo lets out an aggravated sigh, dragging his claws down his face and momentarily dragging his eyelids down before he clasps his hands together, his voice taking on a mocking tone. “Oooh, that’s just GREAT! She somehow kicked all of your butts without even knowing how to use the damn thing!” He then marches up to Toffee, using his staff to lightly smack him in the chest. “IF YOU COULDN’T GET THE WAND NOW, HOW DO YOU EXPECT TO GET THE WAND FROM HER WHEN SHE ACTUALLY LEARNS HOW TO USE IT?! SHE COULD VERY WEL KILL YOU BY THAT POINT!!”

He kept his face straight, but refused Ludo the satisfaction of physically turning his face to look down at him. His eyes, instead, followed him dully. "From what I recall, you never managed to stand in the same room as her for longer than a few minutes before I came in. I was within arm's reach of the Princess, Ludo. Had it not been for the human, I'd have the wand today." He steps back, narrowing his eyes on Ludo as the staff slides off his chest. "I'm sure we'll be able to make a proper plan in the morning. Sleep well, Prince Ludo."

He turned and walked toward his room, hands comfortably held behind his back.

There was a moment of silence from Ludo, and all Toffee heard next was what sounded like belligerent cursing and muttering as the little brat wandered off back into the throne room. He couldn’t help but sigh, feeling the urge to physically break something, his anger and irritation at his “boss” making his tail swish and his innards shiver.

Someday, he promised himself. Someday soon.

Chapter Text

Star couldn’t help but grimace as she stood in front of the bathroom mirror, trying to comb through her hair in order to get a quite persistent knot out, each and every yank she gave only succeeding in causing pain to flare around her scalp, and she gave a little huff, letting go of the handle only to see the brush stay put, firmly stuck in the tangled curls, unable to resist grumbling under her breath. “Augh, you are being so stubborn right now.” She grits her teeth as she goes for another yank with the brush, her eyes flicking to  the side, where she sees Marco brushing his teeth, extending an elbow to give him a nudge. “Hey, Marco, I need help getting this last knot out. It’s a big one, and I don’t want to have it snag on anything at school.”

Marco looks over, sees the brush hanging in her hair, and nods while signaling her to wait. He quickly scrubs over his teeth and spits the suds out, washing his mouth and toothbrush. He reaches into his neatly organized mirrored cabinet. "I got something for that. Might not look like it, but this hair?" He points at his head. "Gets plenty tangled if I don't keep up with it." He pulls out a cylindrical bottle and shakes it lightly. "Might be a little cold, though."

“As long as you can get the knot out.” She manages to yank the brush out, grimacing as one of the teeth fly out with it, having been broken off of the base. She sets the brush down and picks up her own tooth brush, covering it in toothpaste, letting out a small sigh. “Man, school is definitely way more boring than I thought it would be.” She starts to brush but continues talking, her words becoming slightly garbled. “I mean, a few monsters bash in a door and rip some lockers off the walls and suddenly all the teachers there hate me!”

"They don't hate you, Star." He combs his fingers through her hair until he meets the knot, spraying the hair detangler onto it. "It just that, well, monsters aren't typically a thing on Earth. And the renovations aren't going to be cheap." He reaches over to grab one of his unused combs and gently goes over the knot. "To be honest, they'll probably be thanking you in the end. Those rooms seriously needed some remodeling."

She narrows her eyes in disbelief, only scrubbing at her teeth harder, growling a bit before responding again, now spraying the mirror with globs of suds as they fill up her cheeks. “Ih not my faul’ tha monhers wen an’ di’ tha! An ye’ ahh oh the’ gihh me the hink eye!” She finally pauses enough to spit out the suds and rinse out her mouth, grabbing a towel to wipe her lips. “I swear Skullnick has given me at least twice the work that she gives everyone else! Well, except you, but you ask for it.”

Marco stares for a moment as he barely manages to process a few lines of gibberish. He blinks and laughs a little at the mention of extra homework, beginning to comb through her hair with more ease. "Ah, well, Skullnick is more harsh than the other teachers. She tends to give more homework to new kids and people who start trouble. You know when she's really angry with you when she sends you to detention."

“Wait, you have to go to that?” She furrows her brow in confusion, remembering how the irate teacher had handed her a slip labeled “ detention ” on it on Friday, the day after she had arrived to Earth. “Huh. Oops.”

"Wh- yeah?" He blinks, then frowns a little. "Sorry, I probably should've told you. I don't think it'll be a huge deal, and if it is, I'll smooth things over with her." He puts the comb down. "I think I got the knot out."

“Hm?” She reaches back to feel for the knot, only to blink when she feels that there’s nothing there. She can’t help but smirk, chuckling. “Are you sure Earth doesn’t have magic?”

Marco grins back at her, spinning the bottle in his hands. "Nope. Just science." He puts the product back into his mirror. "Feel free to ask for it if you need it again."

“I’ll keep that in mind.” She picks up her wand, glancing down at her outfit for a moment before humming and nodding. “Yeah, this’ll do.” She pockets her wand into her backpack. “So, just to be clear, if a teacher says you’re going to detention, you...actually go to detention? Like, do they force you to?”

"Well, they're not going to drag you there or anything. But they expect you to go to a certain room at a certain time or something. Janna says you're not allowed to do anything for however long you're there."

“Who’s Janna? I don’t think I’ve met her yet.”

"Oh, right, yeah, she's...." He shifts, searching for the word. "She's interesting. Might want to keep your belongings close by when you meet her, though. I always find something missing when I'm around her."

Star’s expression is puzzled for a moment before it widens in recognition. “OOOH, so that’s who that was digging around in my backpack on Friday!” She then starts to grin. “I dunno, I liked her. She seemed funny.”

"Janna was going through your backpack!?" His eyes go wide. "Oh my god, that is totally not-" A ring fills the air and he jumps. "Ah! We're gonna be late! I'll grab breakfast." He rushes out of the room, a distant "Not on my backpack!" echoing through the house, closely followed by tiny barks.

Star can’t help but chuckle at the sound of the puppies, shaking her head at their adorable antics; she had tried to use her wand to get just one puppy, but ended up spawning a huge litter, and Mr. and Mrs. Diaz just loved them too much to give them up. She peeks her head out of the bathroom and ducks just as a red laser beam comes flying up at her to scorch the wall behind her, leaving a small black mark tarnishing the paint. She immediately drops to her knees to pet the dog that was barking at her feet, her voice rising into a high-pitched coo. “Aww, look at you! Who’s a good boy! Who’s a good boy! You are!”

The pup barks happily, reaching up to lick sloppily at her face. Marco hurries past, hoodie half on and the rest of the puppy horde following at his ankles. "Twenty minutes, Star!"

“I know, I know! Gimme a second, ok?” She straightens to her feet and rushes into her room, pulling back the curtains to look into her mirror. She turns around and pushes her hair back, attempting to crane her head enough in order to see the reflection, eyes narrowing when she can’t quite see anything. She knows it hasn’t been anywhere near a month yet, but Mom always wanted to make sure she checked every day. Thin markings traced a line from the base of her skull and down past the neckline of her dress. They held a vibrant, black hue, healthy looking despite the lifeless color. She took a deep breath, nodding slightly to herself. Nothing out of the usual. No need to call anyone. Just another normal day.

She finally lets her hair drop back down before she races out of the room, hopping onto the railing of the staircase and gliding her way down, before doing a front flip as she reaches the bottom, straightening up with a vibrant grin. “Come on, Marco, you slowpoke! I’m already ready!”

The toaster pops behind him and he reflexively reaches out and grabs the two strudels as they hop up. "Good. Got breakfast ready. Ah!" He tosses the pastries between his hands, quickly moving toward the paper plates on the kitchen counter. "Hot! Hot! Hot!" He juggles with them for a moment longer, roughly tossing them onto the plate and blowing on his fingers.

Star can’t help but laugh at the sight, walking over to gingerly touch one of the strudels, poking at it to test if it really was as hot as it seemed to be. She quickly felt a sting of pain in her finger and she yanks her hand away, grimacing. “Jeez. You sure you put them in for the right time? They seem *way* too hot to eat.”

"Flash cooking," he says gingerly. "At least, the toaster kind. Helps cook it faster without burning. They'll cool on the way."

“Alright, if you say so.” She moves to wrap up her strudel in a paper towel, finding that it could be much more easily held that way. “My dad always taught me that if you’re really hungry, and you have no choice but to cook the food, you just gotta shove it in your mouth and swallow it super fast; that way your tongue won’t burn that bad from the flames.”

"Flames?" Marco almost looks scared for a moment, but then grabs a paper towel and follows Star's lead. "Sounds a bit overkill for just a bit of food." He walks toward the door.

“Well, it’s only with certain foods, like basilisk meat or the lungs of a three-headed cow, or at least those are the ones I can remember. Most meats tend to be super poisonous, and the only way to cook it enough without getting sick is to set it on fire, and if you put the fire out, it’ll just start getting poisonous again. So, you gotta swallow it, flames and all.” She quickly follows suit and is the first one out the door, walking  backwards in order to face him.

His eyes widen at the information. "Most meat on Mewni is poisonous? H-how do you tell what's poisonous and what's not?"

She blinks and pauses misstep for a second, a hand coming up to tap her chin. “Hmm...I think it’s whether or not the blood is a different color when you finally kill whatever it is you’re hunting. That and if the meat smells like ash, that’s usually a dead giveaway.” She shakes her head and turns around to face forwards once more. “We usually don’t go eating meat on Mewnie that much because of it. We usually eat corn, and, well, whatever stuff the other kingdoms send us. Eating meat is only for, like, emergencies, like when you’re lost in the woods.”

"Huh. It's kinda the other way around here, I guess." He taps his strudel. "Most people eat meat everyday, but if you get lost somewhere, berries and stuff are the emergency go-to. A lot are poisonous, though, so it's best to keep away from them if you can."

“Berries, huh? Well, I’ll try to keep that in mind in case if we ever go camping.” She gingerly pokes at her strudel with her tongue before biting into it, the heat having already dulled down considerably.

"I have a book of non-poisonous berries local to California if you want to look at it after school." He pokes his strudel again, but doesn't bite into it. "I guess the fire eating explains how you can eat something right out of the oven sometimes, though."

“It’s not my fault nachos are so good, Marco! I was starving, and they didn’t even feel that hot when you pulled them out!” She grumbles around a mouthful of strudel before swallowing, her eyes flicking up to watch as a small flock of birds fly by. “Besides, the hunting thing was just a fun activity my dad took me to do when I was bored. He really loves hunting, especially monsters.”

"Like the guys that attacked the school?" He blinks a little, looking around her in the direction of the school. "You hunt people like that?"

“Huh?” She blinks, looking behind her, seeing the expression on his face, and her eyes widen. “Oh, no! No, we don’t kill them or anything. That would be just, well, mean. Dad just likes to go and...rough them up a bit? I saw him fight a dragon once; knocked out a tooth with one punch.”

His eyes widen at that. "Whoa! A dragon? Those things are real? And your dad fought one? "

“Oh yeah, he has the tooth in his room as a trophy. They aren’t that common on Mewnie but they pop up from time to time.”

"Whoa." He stares in awe, imagining the fight. Marco had caught a glimpse of Star's dad when she was talking to her parents the other day. The guy was short, but stocky. He definitely looked like someone who would tango with a dragon in his off time.

Finally, they near the edge of the school, which, unsurprisingly, had a few construction vehicles parked out front, no doubt in the middle of fixing whatever damage Toffee and the other monsters did to the building. Star craned her neck and stood on her toes in an effort to peek over the wall lining the edge of the school, seeing what was most likely a class of kids sitting out on the grass, their backpacks next to them as they lazily scribbled on papers in their laps.

"Well, at least this is sunny, warm California." Marco sidles up next to Star and elbows her gently. "School every day of the week, no matter what."

“Yeah, I guess so.....Wanna try and climb the wall?”

"The entrance is just a little further down. I think I'll stick to that rather than risking a broken ankle." He points down the sidewalk to where a few other kids were either loitering or walking through a gap in the construction.

“Pfft, you’re boring.” She lowers herself back onto her feet and starts walking towards the gap, quickly scarfing down the rest of her strudel. Marco looks back at his pastry and follows suit, continuing the walk in momentary silence. There was the soft sound of something grinding against the pavement of the sidewalk, and as Star looks up, she sees that pretty blonde-haired girl that everyone seemed to know, balanced on top of her skateboard, helmet fastened over her head, one foot occasionally darting down to push against the ground, propelling the wheels forward. She finally puts her weight against the back of the board, successfully grinding to a stop and having the board flip upwards to rest in her palm, and Star watches as all the kids nearby clap or cheer in applause. 

“Hey, Jackie!”

“What’s up, Jackie?”

“You the best, Jackie!”

Meanwhile, next to her, Marco inhales sharply, practically freezing as Jackie passes them, and immediately starts coughing as a piece of strudel flies back into his throat. He covers his mouth, eyes watering as air barely makes it around the pastry. Star was too busy staring at Jackie, or rather, the reaction she had obtained from everyone else, eyes slightly wide. “Woah… Hey Marco, wasn’t that the girl you have a crush-“ She glances towards him, her brow furrowed in confusion. “Woah, you ok?”

"Ch-choking-" He wraps his hands over each other, sharply driving them into his stomach, and the pastries swiftly ejects from his throat and onto the sidewalk. He coughs a few more times and rubs his eyes. "Guh. This is why I don't eat at school."

“Man, you must really like this Jackie girl. I mean, I already knew you liked her, but choking on your own food just by seeing her...Heh, you got it bad, man.” She playfully smacks him on the back.

He stumbles a little, flushing. "I - I don't have a crush on her! She's just - super cool, and stuff. The choking was coincidental. Eating and walking don't mix."

“Suuuure.” She narrows her eyes at him with a knowing look, one that suddenly explodes into a look of sudden inspiration, quickly followed by a wide, mischievous grin. “Marco, I have an IDEA! ”

"Oh, no, you have an idea." He shifts as her grin widens.

“I’m gonna get you a date with that Jackie girl! Wanna know how?”

"Wha-! Star, no! D-don't do that!"

She holds up a fist and shakes it in determination, grinning with an almost fierce look on her face. “Ooooh, I’m gonna do it! I’m gonna do it by becoming Jackie’s friend!” She then grabs Marco by the shoulders and shakes him a little, her grin now much more amicable. “Come on, buddy! It’s foolproof! I become her friend, I start talking about you to her, and then I can give her a little nudge in your direction!”

He grabs the straps of his backpack, trying his best not to get whiplash from the shaking. "I - I don't know, Star. It - I don't - I've never even talked to her before!"

“Then you’ll learn about her through me! You’ll know what to do, what she likes, stuff like that! I really don’t see why you think this is a bad plan! It’s perfect!” She finally lets go of him, her grin still prominent on her face.

He shifts from one foot to another, nervously pulling his hoodie up over his red face. "Star, I don't know if - I can't - I mean, thanks, but-" He laughs. "Well, uh, you do what you do, and I'm gonna do what I do, which is not doing what, uh, what you do.... Heh."

“I’ll take that as a yes! You won’t regret this, buddy!” She playfully slugs him in the shoulder, only to pause as a new voice pipes up behind her.

"Oh, please." A wave of perfume hits the two of them, shortly followed by a face outlined in perfectly stenciled eyeliner and foundation, framed in curtains of silky sable. "If you think you can be friends with Jackie Lynn Thomas, you have another thing coming." The girl and three others pass them on the sidewalk, a few snickering as they walk.

Marco groans and pulls the strings on his hoodie. "Great."

Star frowns softly at the sight of the girl and her little crew, her head tilting like that of a confused puppy. “..What makes you say that? Does she not have any friends?”

"Ask her yourself if you're so keen on making friends!" Another round of laughter comes from the girls.

Marco slowly undoes his hoodie, pushing it back and straightening his hair. "Ugh, don't listen to her. That's Brittany. She's, like, the second most popular girl in school."

Star frowns even more as she watches the group walk away, laughing like hyenas, before turning to face Marco. “Popular? What does that mean?”

"It basically means everyone knows her. But Brittany isn't like Jackie." He relaxes a little bit as the group rounds a corner, then motions to Star so they can keep walking. "Jackie is popular because she's chill and relaxed and all around cool. Brittany is popular because she's the lead cheerleader and her parents 'donated' the library to the school."

A little bit of spite creeps into his voice and it's weird to hear. Over the last few days, Star had heard him laugh at jokes, grumble about early wake-ups from the puppies, screech at the sight of a spider, and cry over a couple breaking up in a drama. She had never heard him with even an ounce of indignation in his voice.

She couldn’t help but frown at him as they walk towards the entrance of the building, recognizing the slight hint of anger that had trembled in his words. “..Donated the library? What’s so bad about that?”

"Because every time a teacher tries to put her in detention for tripping a kid carrying their textbooks, either nothing happens or the teacher gets put on leave, or fired." He sighs a little. "Look, it's... there's technically no proof for it, but I've literally heard the principal tell a student that nothing could be done because her parents are rich. That's... how things are around here, but it's not how it should be. And Brittany gets away with everything because of it."

“...Oh, wow. She sounds like a real dirtbag.” She frowns again, but this time with a more stern look to her face.

"It's... I dunno, I mean-" Marco exhales, stopping at his locker and twisting the lock. "She walks on everyone, and that sucks. But it's not her fault that her parents are rich and the principal's easily bribed. She's just one product of a bad system. Not that that excuses anything she's done, but... it explains some of it."

“Has she ever done anything to you?” She slowly takes off her own backpack to open it up, digging through it in order to pull out a wadded up piece of paper with her locker combination on it. She starts trying to enter it in, half-heartedly, more focused on listening in to his response.

"Nothing worthy of note." He shrugs, fixing his backpack to one of the hooks in the locker. "She's called me names before, but usually I just repeat them in Spanish until she leaves me alone. The tripping thing has happened to a few of my other friends, Alfonzo and Ferguson."

Her frown increases in concentration, and she sighs. “Well, I’ll never talk to her again. You think she’ll try and make fun of me?”

"Maybe? I dunno. She kinda makes fun of everyone." He tries to smile and nudges her shoulder. "But, hey. How can anyone make fun of you? You're awesome! And you're an actual princess. How cool is that?"

That gets her to grin a bit, and she nudges him back. “You’re darn right it’s cool.” She jiggles the lock, only to grimace as it doesn’t open, letting out a sigh. “What even are these things? They’re useless!”

"They're meant to keep people from stealing your stuff. Want me to try?"

“Sure, knock yourself out. I think Skullnick’s class is still out in the field today, what with all the construction.”

"Probably." He takes her locker combination and starts entering it into the lock. "I don't think she likes teaching outside."

“I mean, she was covered head to toe in bug spray.” Her hands ball up into fists and she visibly shudders in disgust. “ A lot of bug spray. Guh, it smelled awful.”

"I think she had enough to keep the entire class mosquito free." He laughs a little and opens her locker. "There you go."

“Aw, thanks, man.” She stuffs her backpack into her surprisingly bare locker, said backpack taking at least three shoves in order for it to properly fit inside. She then opens up the zipper and digs through it, pulling out her wand as she pulls back and slams the locker closed. “Don’t care what Skullnick or the cops say; I’m not letting this thing out of my sight.”

"Heheh. Fair enough." Marco turns back to his locker and pulls out a textbook and folder. "At least being outside means having open space to fight off monsters."

“God, I really hope they don’t show up today. It’s supposed to be a normal day, you know? A day where I don’t have to worry about shit except for math homework that makes my head hurt. I don’t want to waste that with fighting for my life.”

"Star, language." He closes his locker. "But, yeah, I hope so too. It's pretty nice out too. Good day to get some vitamin D."

“Crap, sorry. It just kind of slipped.” She flashes a sheepish grin before giving her wand a slight twirl, turning only to see a flash of blonde go around the corner. The hallways were already starting to grow empty, the cacophony of voices dying out.

"Well, class is about to start. We should probably get going to find where Skullnick is set up."

Star blinks and looks back at Marco, taking a moment to realize what he said and then nodding. “Oh, yeah, definitely. Sorry, I thought I saw something.”

"Hopefully nothing bad." He grins a little and turns with his books. "Let's get going."

••••

The grass on Earth certainly felt a lot softer. It also was a lot greener, and it didn’t poke into her legs, which was certainly nice. Star couldn’t help but watch the little tiny bug that was crawling across a particularly large blade, fascinated by how it moved, by the way it was shaped, and how it was colored. Red with black spots. It was definitely fashionable. She gently reaches out with a finger, trying to see if it would crawl onto it, the pencil and paper in her lap completely discarded at that point.

Marco, as per usual, was busy jotting down notes in his notebook. Skullnick still had them sitting in their typical places, though a few people managed to fudge the placement enough to be a little closer to their neighbors than the typical desks would allow. The back row was definitely further away than usual, and, if anyone dared to look back, Janna could be seen doodling in a notebook full of detailed anatomical sketches of rodents and other local wildlife.

Star sat back in the grass, watching as the little bug wandered across her hand, it’s little legs feeling like little more than a passing tingle, a feather-light pressure, and it was enough to make her lips twitch up in a grin. She twists her wrist here and there, trying to keep the bug in eye sight, only to blink at the sight of it’s back suddenly opening, it’s red carapace suddenly unfolding to reveal the flash of wings. She couldn’t help but gasp as it took to the air, it’s wings only offering the slightest brush against the tip of her nose, and she was left craning her head upwards in an effort to see where it went. But like a speck of dust, it seemed to have vanished.

"They're cute, aren't they?" The voice comes from just behind and to the right of Star, whispered just quiet enough to not be heard over Skullnick's booming voice.

She jolts slightly, and her fists clench just enough to avoid reflexively punching this mystery person in the face, looking over with her cheek marks gaining a slightly redder tint from embarrassment, giving a sheepish smile. “Uh..Yeah. I’ve..never seen one before. They look pretty.”

Jackie smiles at her. "They're ladybugs. They're all over the place, if you look for them."

“Ladybugs, huh? Any idea why they’re called that?” She tries to face forward, so that Skullnick wouldn’t spot her looking away.

"Not really." Jackie pauses for a moment as Skullnick turns and shouts something at the class. "Someone probably thought they were pretty or something."

“Well..I definitely agree...” She glances down at the paper in her lap and snickers. “Any idea what she’s screaming about?”

"Pfft." Jackie blows a bit of hair from out of her eyes. "No clue."

“I’m wondering how she got the name Skullnick. Did she once bash her ruler over some poor kid’s head? Bashed it so hard that their skull actually got a nick? I bet would’ve been a sight to see, right?” She smirks, pretending to pick up her pencil and write something down.

Jackie snorts, bringing a hand up to muffle the noise, but the deed was done. Miss Skullnick snaps around, eyes narrowing on Jackie. "Something funny, Miss Thomas?"

She sobers, though the tint of laughter in her eyes doesn't die. "No, uh, sorry, just saw someone in another class slap themselves in the face."

A few muffled chuckles spread through the class and Miss Skullnick grumbles. "Let's try and pay attention, everyone. Now, where was I?"

Jackie lets out a quiet, almost silent giggle as the teacher turned back to the wheeled board. "Nice one, Star."

Star has frozen up the moment she saw Skullnick’s head turn, her body tensing and her legs shifting so that she could spring up and start running, but as soon as the teacher relaxed enough to turn back to the white board she had wheeled out onto the field, she lets out a sigh, before flashing a smile at the girl behind her. “Heh..Thanks...” 

The loud rumbling of drills and hammers flare up in the distance once again; it had been a steady, somewhat familiar pattern for the last two days, and it made everyone in the class either wince or fidget, Star included. “Jeez, that’s loud...”

The class went on with little fanfare aside from the noise, though occasionally Star would inch just a touch closer to Jackie so that she could ask her the answers to certain questions, trying to keep quiet but at the same time wanting to talk so badly to one of the most popular girls in school, just to spite that weird Brittany chick from earlier. Eventually, the lunch bell rings from within the school, and Skullnick is forced to halt her mathematical argument in favor of shoeing the children before her toward the cafeteria. Everyone seems relieved to get out of the sun and, more importantly, away from whatever magics their teacher was playing at, and they all eagerly rush into the building.

By the time Star could bounce to her feet, Jackie Lynn Thomas had been lost to the crowd. She had realized it the moment she could no longer see that mop of pale blonde hair, so curly and stylized compared to her own, within the sea of kids and faces and outfits. She looked and looked, her head twisting side to side in an effort to spot something , until it all was hopeless. She lets out a sigh, defeated, starting to walk her way over to the general direction of the cafeteria. Then her defeated expression slowly wormed its way into a grin as she remembered the ladybug, the hushed whispers. She had talked to her! Star had talked to Jackie, the most popular girl in school - and Marco's secret crush. She was already a few steps closer to her goal. Maybe she'd be able to continue chatting with her throughout the rest of the school day. Her stomach gurgled a little as she neared the lunch room.

Her expression fell again slightly when she saw that the initial cafeteria, somehow untouched by damage or disturbed the construction, was absolutely filled to the brim with kids, not a single empty table in sight. Her eyes occasionally drifted to an empty chair, but every time the other kids would catch her gaze and immediately move to cover the seat up. Even Marco was nowhere in sight. There was a small balcony that was outside, out in the open, lined with small three chaired tables, all of them were empty; she supposed the other kids were simply tired of being in the heat. She takes one last look around the room before making her way toward said balcony. It wasn't a very long walk, but a few cafeteria shenanigans made it a journey to navigate, including but not limited to passing kids, a little woven ball kicked between a few kids that sailed over her head, and a milk carton laying sideways on the ground with its contents spilling out of it. The balcony doors were open, and a sign was pasted to the windows reading DO NOT CLOSE UNLESS INCLEMENT WEATHER . A light gust of air blew by her as she neared the doors, carrying a strange, light sound as it played with her hair.

She couldn’t help but blink at the sound, so light and so soft that she never would’ve heard it amongst the raging sounds of the other kids. It’s enough to make her brow furrow, and she slowly steps out onto the balcony, the gravel beneath her boots crunching as she did so. With the doors behind her, and the barest bits of wall auctioning her hearing toward the outdoors, the sound comes a little louder, still soft, but more defined. It was almost melodic, but... different. She had never heard this sound before. Well, it was similar to something she heard before, but she never bothered to learn what it was called because of how annoyingly twangy it always sounded. This was a better sound, and maybe even something else in addition. She couldn’t help but step closer to the noise, the need to eat having all been forgotten for the moment. She couldn’t help but instinctively move into a crouch, her back now flat against the wall, idly shifting closer and closer to the corner, where the sound was getting louder and louder. She tensed for a moment, when she began to hear a voice, but then slowly relaxed, realizing that whoever they were, they were...singing.

" ...or later the dudes at bodegas will hold their lips and own this shit, curlin' their toes on a shivery tip, but out here, oh, she don't know the gravity she owns as she pulls on the eyeballs of all the kids standing tall... " The tune fluctuated perfectly from moments of speed to lethargic, drawled notes, drawing in attention with its variance. " Hey mami, I know what you want, mami. Hey mami, I know what you want mami.... "

Star couldn’t help but sit there in awe, infatuated by the voice, by the sound of the song and the words that were being sung. It was amazing, and somehow so much more different compared to the many ballads that she heard all throughout her life. Those had choirs of kids singing the majesty of Queens long gone, but this...this was different.

There was a certain tinge of color to it, something she couldn't quite pin down in origin, that made the words feel more lifelike, as if they were more than mere utterances for just anyone to hear. Something about the voice, though, felt off, as if she had heard it before. But she hadn't heard any kind of singing like that in all her life! There was no way she had-

" She walkin' so fast, she walkin' so fast, she walkin' so fast. Oh, our lady, she don't know how she go. She walkin' so fast, she walkin' so fast... "

Star finally takes a deep breath, her fingers tensing against the groove of the brick as she slowly begins to lean, cautiously trying to peek around the corner, when her eyes catch the sight of blonde hair, frizzy and pale, and her breath stops in her throat. It was Jackie, clutching what looked like an overly large instrument, strumming away, her head tilted up as she sang along to the invisible lyrics that no doubt danced in her head.

Her eyes were closed, oblivious to her surroundings and her newly found audience as she plucked at the strings of her instrument. " ...She walk like a babe, oh, her image, it lasts. And I know she floats along as she goes. She owns the eyes as she flies right through the sound, moving her body all around town... "

Star couldn’t help the grin that weaves its way onto her face. Marco really wasn’t kidding when he said that Jackie was super cool! She had never heard singing like this, not with these lyrics or even with this instrument. She couldn’t help but lift her hands to start clapping, finally turning the rest of her body so that she was now properly facing Jackie, still in a crouch. “Wow! I had no idea that Earth had music too!”

Jackie shoots out of her seat, her instrument clinking noisily as her hands grab at it, eyes wide as she stares at Star. For a moment, she says nothing, hands clutching the guitar close to her chest. And then, in a split second, she swings the guitar over her head and down on the new student in front of her.

It’s only thanks to her instincts that Star manages to catch the guitar in her hands just before it comes crashing down on her skull, her heart leaping into her throat. She glances back at Jackie, her eyes wide. “Wait! What are you doing?!”

Her eyes meet Star's, almost just as wide as she quickly looks side to side. "W-well, you snuck up on me, so what are you doing!?" She yanks her guitar back.

“Applauding you for singing?! Why are you trying to whack me over the head?!”

"Because-!" She looks over Star's shoulder and her face pales. She drops the guitar onto the bench she had been sitting on. "I am so sorry for this." Before Star could ask another question, Jackie was tackling her, shoulder to the stomach and arms around her waist in what most residents would recognize from a certain famous Earth sport. Star, however, remains ignorant to the flawlessness of the move that sent her crashing the ground halfway between the glass doors leading into the cafeteria. 

She feels her skin burn as she slides across the asphalt, her lungs momentarily heave from the weight of the blow, and her instincts flare up within an instant. “Get off of me!” Her hands curl into fists and start wailing down on top of Jackie’s skull.

"Ack!" She instantly pulls her arms away, falling back and scooting away from her. As another punch comes her way, she launches a foot out and manages a solid kick to Star's chest.

“Augh-!” She manages to embrace the pain and grip Jackie’s ankle tight, long enough to get back on the offensive, bearing down on the other girl to start raining more blows right to the face.

Jackie tries to grab her wrists, but a solid punch to her cheek throws her off. Her hands land on Star's shoulders and she swiftly jabs a knee up into her stomach, once, twice, and forcefully pushes her off. She pushes herself back and quickly climbs to her feet. "Tough fighter."

The blows come as a surprise, and it leaves Star momentarily gasping for breath, before she hoists herself back up to her feet, taking a moment to wipe away a stray tear or two, her eyes watering slightly. Her voice was slightly hoarse. “..Same to you.” Her gaze hardens, and when she charges, she ducks under the first punch Jackie throws, wrapping her arm around her shoulders and driving her fist into her stomach, hard.

She wheezes, grabbing her shoulders tightly. She takes a deep breath, glowering into Star's eyes. "Too close." She simultaneously pushes her shoulder to the side and spins, sweeping Star's legs out from under her and leaping onto Star's back. Jackie quickly grabs an arm, twisting it behind her.

••••

Marco barely heard the scream above the chattering of the cafeteria, but thought nothing of it, continuing to shove sub-par mashed potatoes into his mouth while he listened to his friends blabber on about the latest set of playing cards. He let his eyes scan the room, or at least of what he could see of it, but didn’t spot the bright blonde hair of Star anywhere. It was only when a loud and solid thud was heard did he freeze, as did everyone else, their eyes straying to the entrance to the cafeteria balcony.

Jackie Lynn Thomas. Jackie. Lynn. Thomas. That was the first thing that filtered through his mind. The second went something as follows: Holy shit, someone just threw Jackie face first into the cafeteria doors, oh my God, her nose is bleed and - HOLY CRAP, is that Star!?

"What the fuck?" His fork clatters to the table as the words whisper out of his mouth. Alfonso and Ferguson stutter to a stop next to him, but his hearing was already shot with a new revelation: I'm supposed to be watching Star. He shot out of his seat. "Holy crap, Star! What are you doing!?"

Star doesn’t seem to hear him, her face twisted into that of what looks like adrenaline and rage as Jackie’s hand grabs a fistful of hair and just starts yanking, yanking, yanking, causing Star to start screaming with pain, raining punches down on what she can reach of Jackie’s face.

He makes it halfway across the cafeteria, weaving between people taking pictures and videos, before a hand grabs his hoodie and almost knocks him to the floor. "Wha-!? What gives?" He turns around, and freezes, eyes narrowing. "Janna... Why did you do that?"

"What? You mean stop you from getting yourself hurt?" She smirks and holds up his wallet. "Well, that and I wanted to get some popcorn."

There was another resounding thud against the glass, and Star has now been slammed into the door as well, writhing and struggling like an angry cat as Jackie tries to put her in a chokehold, to which Star begins to bite what she can reach of her arm. Janna's eyes widen at the sight. "Whoa." Her smirk comes back. "Star's vicious. Nice."

"Ugh! Janna! What is wrong with you!? Star shouldn't be-" He turns to properly see what she's talking about, seeing Jackie trying to shake her off her arm. "Oh my God, Star, stop!"

"Oh, please, Jackie can handle her. Aw, damn, you don't even have your card in here. Well, cash will do."

There was yet another thud as Jackie’s face smashes against another pane of glass, just as her fist is sent careening into Star’s eye, and she screams, falling out of view. The entire cafeteria starts screaming in either fear or excitement or both, it’s hard to tell amongst the crowd.

"Holy shit, where are the teachers?" Marco whips around, standing on tiptoes to try and see over the crowd.

"Probably having their lunch, or not caring about what we're doing."

"Not helping, Janna!" He bites his lip. "Crap. Ah! Mister Bullwalk!" He starts pushing through the crowd, then stops and looks back at Janna. "Don't steal anything from my wallet!" He turns back around, squeezing through the crowd and shouting for the teacher.

••••

Star couldn’t help but wince at the cold pain of the ice bag touching her eye, though the pain soon passed in favor of dulling the sharp throbbing that was currently making her feel as if a parasite was digging it’s way through her eye socket. She was looking down at the white floor of the nurse’s office, idly kicking her feet, the skin of her legs left bruised with several nasty scrapes. Jackie doesn't look much better, with a bloody nose stuffed with cotton swabs and a purpling bruise creeping along her jaw and forehead. Scrapes decorate her knees to a lesser extent than Star's, but solid bite marks ring around her right arm. She awkwardly sits across from Star with a bag of ice to her cheek. Taking a breath, she looks at the Princess in front of her, frowning worriedly as she sees all the damage the fight had brought. "So, uh... sorry about all that."

“Huh?” She blinks up at her for a moment, before she lets out a laugh. “Oh, are you kidding? It’s all good! This is basically how Mewmans end up making friends back home! It’s like a handshake!”

"Oh, it - it is?" She blinks for a moment, then chuckles and rubs the back of her neck. "Hell of a way to make an introduction."

“Heh, maybe, but that’s just how we roll. What about you? Where did you learn to fight like that? I’m used to taking on monsters that are least 2 times my size, but you were a real workout.”

"Oh, uh, my dad's a police officer. Mandated self-defense classes. TV shows inspired some of the moves if I'm honest." She shrugs a little. "But I was really talking about starting the fight, actually. I kinda panicked there, and I really shouldn't have hit you or anything."

“Eh, it was mostly my fault anyways. I was the one that snuck up on you when you weren’t looking and all that. Sorry about that.”

"No, it wasn't-" She pauses, biting her lip, and then takes a breath and gives Star a much more serious look. She lowers her voice. "No one knows I play guitar or sing or anything. And I don't want anyone to know. It's kinda complicated, but I just sorta panicked when you were so loud about it."

“..Oh. Why don’t you want anyone to know?”

"There's a lot of reasons. I mean, everyone thinks I'm super cool, so they're gonna have these high expectations about me." She scuffs the ground. "High school can be pretty terrifying at times."

That get’s Star to grow a lopsided, almost confused grin. “Really? It’s been super boring so far. At least to me. The only really exciting bits have been this fight, and all the monsters that attacked me and wrecked the gym.”

"Heheh. Yeah. I guess you haven't quite met Brittney yet, or any of the around the corner gossip." She leans back in her seat, smiling lightly. "If you do, don't pay attention to it. They're not worth your time."

Star nods softly, then shrugs. “Eh. The only thing about Brittany that I’ve heard is that she’s a total dirtbag.”

"That's one way to put it. She spreads rumors about anyone and everyone she doesn't like. And she's ruthless about it."

“Yeah, Marco was saying something like that earlier this morning. You know Marco, right? He’s the kid in the red hoodie in our class?” Star couldn’t help but grow a bigger smile, hoping that maybe she could figure out a way to pull the conversation towards her goal a little, just to get a sense of what Jackie thought of him.

"Oh, yeah, Marco. He usually waves to me in the morning. Pretty cool of him to do that, you know?" Her smile becomes a bit more genuine at the mention.

Star catches onto that little change, zeroing onto it like a magic missile, and she nods once, twice, inhaling to say something else before the curtains jerk back to reveal the school nurse, as well as the school principal. Star does nothing but give a little wave, feeling a tad nervous. “Uh...Hey...”

"How much trouble are we in?" Jackie shifts toward them, lowering her ice bag for a moment.

"Well, neither of you made an property damage, this time, " Principal Skeeves exhaled, "and neither of you have prior records, in regards to student on student fights, so we'll let you off with a warning this time. But you're going to be suspended for the rest of the day."

“Suspended?! You’re going to hang us off the roof of the building?!” Star’s back instantly flattens against the nearest wall, eyes going wide.

"What? No! Why would you think that?" Skeeves takes a step back.

Jackie blinks at her. "Suspension is just, like, we're kicked out of school for a little while. Nothing huge.”

“..Oh. Oh. Sorry. Uh...Little miscommunication there.” She instantly relaxes, her cheek marks turning a soft red hue as she sheepishly looks away.

"It's fine, don't worry." Skeeves waves a hand, muttering something under his breath about weird, new kids. "Just make sure you two are out of here before classes change. Do either of you want us to call your parents or guardians?"

Jackie shakes her head immediately. "No, I'm fine. I'll call my dad when we leave."

Star’s head snaps up as well, only the panic is much less subdued. “No, no, no! It’s ok! Don’t call her!”

"Okay, okay. Then as soon as the nurse here says you two can leave, you can leave. Try not to get into a fight while doing so." Without another word, he turns and walks out of the room.

Star instantly sighs in relief, only to wince slightly when she realizes she had dropped the ice bag, and bends down to pick it back up. “Ugh...Hope my mom doesn’t find out about this.”

"You two are lucky enough getting let off with a warning," the nurse says. "You two are fine, aside from the bruises and minor cuts. You've taken some Tylenol already, so I don't have any need to hold you two. If you still feel pain tomorrow or even later tonight, just take some more ibuprofen, or whatever you have on hand."

Star blinks up at the nurse and slowly nods, not exactly sure what ibuprofen was but not wanting to say anything else. Her gaze flicks toward Jackie before moving to pick up her backpack, sliding it on. 

Jackie grabs her skateboard, which someone had brought from the scene of the fight, but doesn't have a backpack to pull on. "Thanks, Irene." She glances at Star. "Wanna come with me to get my backpack?"

“Uh, yeah, sure.” She nods softly, awkwardly, before moving to hold open the door to the nurse’s office for her.

"Thanks." She walks through, exhaling heavily as the door shuts behind them. "Man, that was close."

“Tell me about it.” Star lifts a hand to rub the back of her neck. “My mom would kill me if she found out I beat up a human at school.”

"I can feel that. My dad is super strict about school. Like, ridiculously strict." She rolls her eyes as they walk toward her locker.

“My mom is just strict about everything in general. Nothing but strict all the time. She watched me like a hawk back home, and I’m sure she’d leap at the chance to watch me again over here.”

"Yikes. Sounds rough. I guess I'm lucky my parents leave me to my own most of the time."

“I guess so. Do they know about you...you know?”

"About what? My music?"

“Yeah. I mean, do you want them to know too?”

"Ah, no." She crosses her arms and frowns at the ground. "They don't, uh, 'approve' of most music. Some religious thing."

“..What? How does that make any sense? What does that even mean?” Star frowns, her expression shifting into that of pure befuddlement.

"Hey, don't ask me. I have no clue either." She walks up to a locker and puts in her code. "It goes against their belief of 'purity' and 'light,' and that's pretty much all I know."

“Well that just sounds like complete crap. Tell you what, maybe over the weekend, we can go hang at a fun place I know. I think you’d like it. There music, dancing, sugary food, all that fun stuff. Best part? No adults.”

"That sounds interesting. What's the place called?" She pulls her backpack out of the locker, sliding a few textbooks into it before shutting the locker with her heel.

“The Bounce Lounge. Me and my friend Pony Head used to go there all the time, sneaking out the window and all that.” Star chuckles at the memories, grinning to herself. “We used to go there to gossip about boys.”

"Ah, gossip buddy. It's always fun to talk romance." She sets her skateboard on the ground, testing how the wheels turn on the new tile floor with one foot. "Where are you from again? I don't recall you saying."

“Oh, I’m from Mewnie. It’s a planet from another dimension. I’m a princess, and I got a magic wand.” Star proceeds to pull it free of her backpack. “See?”

Jackie blinks a few times, then laughs a little. "Whoa. That's wicked. You're a princess?"

“Yup! Daughter of Queen Moon, otherwise known as Moon The Undaunted.” She gives the wand a little twirl, looking rather smug. “With this baby, I’m the strongest person here. It’s basically the best weapon the Royal Family has. Passed down to every single princess born into the family.”

"Heheh. Lots of history there." She nods down the hall and they start heading toward the main entrance, her scooting her board as they walked.

“Heh, definitely. There are soooo many bad guys that try to get their hands on this thing. It’s kind of why an entire section of the school is under construction to be honest.” Star’s smile grows a bit more sheepish. “There was...a lot of damage.”

"I heard a little about that. Must've been one insane fight." She picks up her board as they walk down the steps. "I don't think I've seen so many lockers bent in since, like, the second grade with Tommy Marcus."

“Who’s Tommy Marcus? He sounds cool!” Star jumps onto the railing and slides her way down, jumping off at the past second and rolling to a stop.

"I don't remember him much, but he had to transfer out of the district a few years ago. Major anger issues." Jackie sets her skateboard on the ground and hops on, gently skating to catch up to Star.

“Jeez. Sounds like someone I know.” Star’s grin turns into a soft grimace, before she starts to walk off, away from the school. “Any plans now that we have the rest of the day to do whatever we want?”

"Eh." She shrugs. "I might hang out at the skater's rink for a little while. No way am I heading right back home after all that."

“Ooh, they have a place for skating? That sounds so cool! Can I-“ She blinks as she hears a small sound coming from within her backpack, and pulls out her phone, seeing that it was ringing. She frowns, and flips it open to answer it, seeing the caller flash up on her screen. “Pony Head?”

"Yo, girl! Where you at? I, uh, heheh, I just rang your door and no one answered."

“I...Wait, are you on Mewnie?”

"No, girl! I'm on Earth. Everyone in, like, all the big kingdoms know you ain't on Mewnie these days. Plus your dad is, like, the bomb. He says he loves you."

Star blinks at that, and she can’t help but grin. “Aww, that’s so sweet.” She then frowns, remembering the encounter earlier with the strange lizard. “Wait, how does everyone know I’m gone? Mom tried to keep it all a secret.”

"Well, I mean, it's not every day you see royalty in Mewni get put in a carriage, a portal open in front of it, and only the King and Queen returning. And you haven't gotten in trouble in ages going into the forests to tame Warnicorns."

Star lets out a disgruntled sigh. “I only stopped doing that because Mom threatened to take me away to St. Olga’s.” She shakes her head, trying to get back on track. “Whatever, I’m down at school. Why are you looking for me anyway?”

"What? Two princesses can't hang out spontaneously without making prior plans or inviting intrusive questions that have nothing to do with what we're gonna do to have a wicked pumped up time?"

It takes a few seconds for Star to process what her friend just said, and then sighs. “Get over here.”

“Thanks, Star! On my way!” The connection ends.

Star shuts the phone and tucks it away, turning back to Jackie. “I have a feeling you’re gonna see the Bounce Lounge pretty soon. She’ll probably want to go there.”

"Oh, really?" She looks up at the sky, then shrugs and looks back at Star. "Well, it's not like I had plans."

“Heh, I don’t think either of us really did.” Star watches as the air in front of them suddenly unfolds into a bright sparkling white void, and she smiles as her friend materializes into sight. “Hey, PH, meet my new buddy, Jackie. Jackie, meet Pony Head, eldest princess of the Cloud Kingdom.” 

Jackie's jaw drops as a seeming rip in space develops in front of her, shortly followed by a legitimate and quite literal floating Pony Head. Glitter seems to cling to her, falling from her hair with every move and sparkling in her eyes as they meet Jackie's. Noticing she's staring, she blinks and rubs her eyes, then looks back at Pony Head to make sure she's not hallucinating. "...Whoa."

Pony Head’s eyes narrow at Jackie for a moment before she looks back towards Star, only to blink at the sight of her black eye and bruised skin. “Woah, what the hell? What happened to you, girl? Monsters again?”

“Oh, no, uh...Me and Jackie kind of got into a little bit of a scuffle.” Star flashes a sheepish smile. 

She just rolls her eyes. “Do you gotta go and beat up every new friend you meet, girl? How you gonna get a boyfriend like that? I’m sure he can’t kiss you if his teeth are missing.”

“It wasn’t anything that bad! In fact, she actually got quite a few hits in. Am I right?” She playfully nudges Jackie’s arm with her elbow.

"Heheh. Only because you kept getting close to me." She picks up her skateboard. "You have some pretty good moves yourself."

“Well, being babysat by the Royal Guard until I was 9 sure did help.” Star lets out a chuckle, before turning to Pony Head again. “Is it ok if Jackie comes along? Three friends is better than two after all.”

“Oh yeah, sure, yeah, why not?” Her eyes seem to almost roll in irritation before she grins once more, a little too quickly. “Come on, let’s get going then!” She extends her tongue with a “bleh”, and sitting upon it is a pair of gleaming scissors, the blades seeming to sink into the very air, a few quick snips opening up another portal.

"Whoa." Jackie takes a step toward it, curious and cautious. "What is that?"

Pony Head retracts her tongue and scoffs, rolling her eyes again. “Uh, are you dumb or something? They’re dimensional scissors, bro-beans! They how we go from dimension to dimension! Now come on! Come on, come on, come on! Let’s get our party on!” 

Star throws her arms up in the air, clearly excited! “Wooo! Come on, Jackie! Let’s go!” She runs through the portal and disappears from sight.

Jackie steps forward, leaning down slightly to stare into it. “So do I just step through or...?”

“Come on, girl! Just get in there!” Before Jackie can respond, Pony Head flies around her and gives her a harsh shove to her back, forcing her through the portal and sending her tumbling. She yelps, and then feels air whipping past her as she falls. A shout escapes her just as she hits a pillowy cloud and bounces down onto a checkerboard floor. She takes a moment to breathe and settle her heart before pulling herself to her feet.

Star can’t help but let out a chuckle as she reaches for Jackie’s hand to pull her  up. “Heh. First time going through a portal can be a doozy, huh?”

Jackie laughs a little, pushing her hair back into place. "Yeah, you could say that. So this is the Bounce Lounge?"

“Yuppers! In all of it’s Bouncy glory!” She spins in place once, twice, before gesturing all around her. Music, deep and synthy, shook the ground beneath them, and random people, from humans to what looked to be monsters, were scattered all around, dancing, talking, partying, etc. The skies above them were a glittering galaxy of stars, and the abyss below was dark, and dizzying.

"Wow." She could feel the beat of the music rumbling in her chest, the shifts in octaves and the tremble of vibrato shaking her converse. A laugh bubbles out of her at Star's carefree movements, the atmosphere of freeness almost intoxicating. She couldn’t help but shimmy along with her new, definitely not from Earth friend as the music dropped its bass. "What music is this? It's amazing!"

“Heheh! I have no idea! They get the latest hits from every dimension here! Isn’t it great?” Star’s practically beaming from ear to ear, a far cry from her subdued, almost bored demeanor that had been on her face when she was in school. 

Pony Head was doing loops in the air, her grin much less giddy, but still quite happy all the same. “Aww, damn girl! I haven’t seen you smile that hard since your mom gave you the wand! Earth been treating you that badly?”

Star spins on her heel to face her friend, letting out a playful scoff. “What?  No, it’s actually been pretty nice! It’s just, you know, it ain’t no Bounce Lounge!”

"I honestly don't know how you can stay on Earth for long when you have this. " Jackie laughs, both at the idea of someone not jumping to another dimension the moment they're able and at the idea that she's already so casually talking about Earth as if it were simply a pit stop on some cosmic map. She guessed it kinda was, in a way. Alternate dimensions. Huh. "If I was sent off to some random place for school and I could go somewhere like this whenever I wanted, I think I'd just bail and run off.”

Star can’t help but giggle even as she bounces her way closer to the other girl, dancing to the beat, as if she was unaware of the obvious awe Jackie was going through. “I know, right? No offense, but I have no idea why my mom ever sent me to Earth! It makes no sense!”

Jackie hears her voice trail off, absorbed by the crescendo of the song, and looks over at her and Pony Head. "What was that!?" A couple moves in front of her, blocking her sight of the only two people she knows in this party.

And this dimension, her mind adds helpfully.

"Oh crap."

When Star spins in place as the chorus of the song kicks in, she sees that there is no longer of a blur of blonde and blue, and immediately ceases her dance routine, straightening up to begin craning her head left and right. “Jackie? Jackie?!” She turns and taps Pony Head on the neck. “Hey, did you see where Jackie went? I don’t want her to get lost in here.”

"Oh, I thought she was following you, B-Fly." She blinks. "I guess she stayed in the mosh or somethin'."

Star blinks at that, and she turns to stand on her tip-toes in an effort to spot her, cupping her hands to her mouth. “Jackie?! Jaaaackie?!”

A slightly scruffled head of blonde and blue escapes from the mob, gasping for breath. "Oh my God, that's one intense mosh pit."

Star immediately sighs in relief, shoving past a few disgruntled party-goers to reach her and pull her free of the crowd. “Hahah! Just be lucky you didn’t fall into the actual pit! I dunno much about humans, but I don’t think they could survive that!”

Jackie chuckles a little when she sees Star's face. "Yeah, pretty sure invincible to pointy spikes isn't in the description for humans these days. Thanks for shouting though. Marginally helped me find you guys."

“Well I wouldn’t just leave you in there! Marco would kill me! And your parents, probably. Not sure about Skullnick though; if you ask me I think she would just be delighted that she has one less student to teach.”

"Heheh." She pushes her hair back. "Yeah, you're probably right about that last one. Skullnick hates her job."

Pony Head suddenly pops up from the side, her smile overly bright and eccentric. “Oh thank God, oh, we thought we lost you there, girl!” She turns around, almost seeming to be frantically looking for something. “Hey, tell you what, how about we take you someplace even better! Go on a real road trip, girl! Let’s go!” 

With another loud “bleh” of exertion, she balances the pair of dimensional scissors on her tongue and moves to cut another hole.

"You sure? The music here is killer." Jackie grins a little, though it's a little shaky. "Though I guess the spikes are a little too killer for someone who's never been here before...."

“Yeah, I think so too. Probably should’ve thought better than that. Come on, we jump on three, ok? One, two, three!” She loops Jackie’s arm around her own, and makes a leap toward the portal.

"On three?" She yelps as she's tugged forward, spinning for a moment as her one side is pulled by Star, and her eyes just barely skim the crowd and spot a strange looking, orange eyed person in amongst the crowd before stumbling and tripping through the portal.

As Star flies through the other end of the portal, she expects to land in a tree or on a couch, or even on the cold hard ground. She was used to hopping through portals with her energetic sort of charisma, and equally used to landing head first into something that ended up either cushioning her fall or make it worse. But she certainly wasn’t expecting to land...and keeping going. She let out a yelp of surprise as her vision quickly filled with light, almost transparent blue hues, feeling her legs suddenly fly out from under her and sending her tumbling until she feels something (most likely a wall) crash into her back. She lays there for a few moments, visibly disoriented. “Ow...”

Jackie falls flat on her stomach, skidding in a lazy circle for a moment before managing to get to her hands and knees, worry easy to read on her face. "Hey, guys, I thought I saw-"

"Oh, no, no, no." Pony Head floats over the two, quickly sending nervous glances around the room. "Why are we here? I didn't mean to come here."

"What?" Jackie glances around, seeing almost everything was made of crystals, even the ground they had slid in on. Her eyes widen and she gulps at seeing various people frozen inside pillars of the crystal. "Um. Where are we?"

“Ugh...What?” Star lifts up her head, blinking once, twice, before her eyes widen and she scrambles to her feet, looking alarmed. “Oh my god. Oh my god, Pony, why did you send us here?”

Pony Head’s eyes were wide, also looking similarly distressed. “I-I don’t know!”

“What do you mean you don’t know?!”

“I mean I don’t know! I-I just kept thinking of a safe place you know? A safe boring place where nothing happens?! I don’t know why we’re here though! This is the last place I want to be!”

“Well, just calm down and get the scissors out again before he-“

“BAAAAAA!”

A large shadow passes over the three, and Star visibly winces, paling rapidly. “...finds us..”

Jackie flips onto her back, a shout jolting from her at the sight of what looks to be a standing goat with demon wings standing just a few feet behind her. She kicks one foot against the ground, expertly sending her skidding back across the slippery floor and landing with a soft thud next to Star. "Wh-wha- who is that?"

“C-Calm down...Let me handle this..” She lets an overly friendly grin pass over her face as she walks over to the strange creature. “Heeeey, Lekmet, buddy. Hehe, long time no see, eh?”

The goat, whose face is both stern and impassive, merely raises a brow. “..Baa.”

“True...True, you did see me last month, but, you know, it seems like so long ago! Missed you buddy!” 

Lekmet’s eyes turn to face Jackie, and lifts a hoof to point at her, looking mildly confused. “Baa?” 

“Oh, uh, that’s Jackie. She’s from Earth. Jackie, meet Lekmet. He’s, uh, the leading member of the Magic High Commission. He...works with my mom.”

"Oh, uh, h-hi, Mister Lekmet, sir, um." She swallows. So much for being cool in all situations. "Hi."

There was a moment where nothing happens, but he does nod and (presumably) bleat out a greeting. “Baa.” He then turns back to Star and folds his arms. “Baaa. Baa, Baaaa?”

“Uh...I kind of wanted to show her around other dimensions, you know? Earth doesn’t have any dimensional scissors so she had no idea about any of this stuff.”

“Baaa?”

“Uh...Pony Head...had...them.” 

His gaze sharpens, and he snaps his head toward the floating equine head in question, who flinches. He narrows his eyes. “Baaa. Baaa, Baaa, Baa.”

Star’s eyes widen, in shock, and she too turns to face Pony Head. “You WHAT?!”

"What's going on?" Jackie's eyes dart between all of them.

Pony Head looks almost as confused as Jackie, but something in her eyes says she understands something, but she smiles through it anyways. "I - I don't know what you're talking 'bout, B-Fly. What's he saying, girl?"

“He said you’re running away from your father! What did you do?! Oh, please tell me your sisters haven’t gotten into their shenanigans again!” Star looks both shocked and worried all at once and her hands instinctively clutch at her hair.

"I didn't do anything. And you know all them crazy sibs of mine are always into shenanigans, girl. It's their way."

"W-wait." Jackie carefully stands up. "Does this have something to do with some weird guy with, like, glowing eyes and a pretty obvious mask on his face or something? 'Cause I coulda sworn I saw someone like that stare, like, right at me when we went through the portal. Creeped me right out."

Star turns towards Jackie, her face paling. “...Did this guy have a brown suit on? Black gloves? About, like, 7 feet tall?”

"Uh." She quickly glances at everyone else, feeling the intensity of their gazes sharpen on her. "Yeah, sounds about right. Dunno about how tall he was, but, yeah, suit, gloves, all that. Why? Who is he?"

Star’s hands clasp to her mouth, and Jackie swears she sees tears well up in her eyes. “No...No! Not that!” She works around to face Lekmet, hands clasped in front of her as if she’s about to beg. “Lekmet, tell me it isn’t true!”

He stares for a moment, before he sighs and shakes his head. “Baa.” 

“No! Not St. Olga’s! Anywhere but that!”

"What's St. Olga's?" Jackie feels the skin on her neck crawl.

Star seems to shiver at the sheer mention of its name, turning back to face Jackie. “Oh, it’s this horrible place. Arguably the most awful place in the multiverse. It’s this...this...reform school for princesses, but all the princesses in all the kingdoms know it’s secretly nothing more than a death trap. Many who’ve gone there haven’t come back, and those who do come back...They come back changed .”

"That... sounds horrifying." She swallows, glancing at Pony Head, and then at Lekmet. "We... is there anything we can do?"

Lekmet’s ear flicks, and he shakes his head, slowly. “Baaa.” 

“IM GONNA MISS YOU, GIRL! IM GONNA MISS YOU SO MUUUCH!” Pony Head suddenly barrels right into Star, her eyes full with tears.

Star, not missing a beat, wraps her arms around her friend, similarly swamped with tears. “IM GONNA MISS YOU TOOOOOOO!”

Jackie watches the two, feeling something in her chest tighten at the sight, and she pushes from the wall and catches on Star's shoulder. "Hey, hey. We'll figure something out, guys. There's gotta be something we can do. Right?"

There was no answer, only more tears. There was a long, long, pause, the silence only filled by the sound of loud, almost boisterous crying, before there was a pained, aggravated sigh. “....Baa.”

Within an instant, Star and Pony Head pulled apart, completely fine and no longer crying, laughing jovially, the latter doing loops in the air. “HAH! Works every time!”

“I know, right? Too easy!”

Jackie blinks. "I am... so confused right now."

Lekmet sighs, making a shooing motion. "Baa. Baa, baaa!"

Star lets out a giggle before running up to Lekmet and wrapping her arms around him, giving a big hug. “Heh. Love you, too, buddy.”

He wheezes from the sudden hug, looking to be in pain for a few moments, before he just sighs and gives her a pat on the head, smiling softly. “Baa.”

“Don’t tell my mom I was here, ok?”

He shakes his head. “Baaa. Baa, Baaa.”

“I’ll give you a bunch of tin cans.”

“....Baa.” 

“You’re the best!” She gives another crushing hug before she runs back to Pony Head. “Ok, quick, let’s get out of here!”

"Let's try and go somewhere more inconspicuous this time," Jackie mutters, trying to keep up with how fast everything is going.

As the portal closes behind Jackie, Lekmet drags a hoof across his face and takes a deep breath. What he would do to keep someone young. He doesn't jump at the sound of another portal opening behind him, but he turns with a quickness as if he had. Three sentries, dressed in brown and donning black gloves, with eyes of a fiery orange, stare at him, starting to say something about princesses, but he bleats loudly, insistent, and waves his hoofs as if to illustrate some elaborate story.

"Sir? Sir - I - what are you - I don't understand-"

"Baaa! Baa baa, baa baaa ba baa, baa!" He waves at his staircase, then at the half-crystalized kitchenette across the room, then makes some abstract motion that even escapes his own understanding.

"I'm sure the Princess must have spooked you quite a bit, Sir, but if you could tell us-"

He shakes his head, waving his hoofs in the air and positively bleating, letting his legs shake as if all his old age had suddenly made itself known right at this inopportune moment.

“I - Sir, sir, please, you need to calm down. If you could just tell us where they went, we’ll be on our way.”

"Baaa? Baa, baa baaa ba ba?" He tilts his head, quieting and tapping his hooves together. He frowns, then motions over the guardrail at the stairs again. "Baa. Baa ba baa."

The three sentries glance at each other hopelessly, not having any idea what this old goat was trying to say. One of them finally looks toward the stairs, and their eyes narrow. “..So they went upstairs? Downstairs? Did they use a portal to leave?”

"Baa." He points at the stairs. "Baaa." The lower level. "Baaaaa." The conveniently open door across the room.

There was at least five seconds of a beat before all the sentries all immediately begin to climb over each other to leap down into the lower level, running out the door as fast as they could. Lekmet watches them for a moment, before he simply smiles and chuckles. “Heheh....I do way too much for that girl.”

He turns, trying to keep his laughter quiet as he walks back to his room, considering how much he had just aimlessly ranted about the unseasonable cold and Rhombulus' recent disagreement with the microwave and freezer. Well, at least he was able to vent a little. And those girls had a few more moments with each other.

He pauses in front of his room, and then grabs a pen from just inside the room and writes a quick note for Rhombulus: Saw sprinkles on the ground outside room. Please sweep up.

••••

The rest of the school day he had spent keeping an eye out for her, and even when Marco had heard the last bell ring, he hadn’t seen Star at all. He tried to not be super worried at first; after all, she was a super cool artist princess, and he had seen first hand how she could take care of herself, even against monsters. But soon, that confidence began to crumble, like a wall with dried out paint that hadn’t been re-coated in a long, long time. He waited outside Skullnick's until the teacher herself came out and yelled at him to leave the school, and then proceeded to wait outside the school in case Star, by some miracle, was still going to come out of the school. They always walked back to his house together, and she had very nearly walked off in the wrong direction multiple times just that week after getting distracted by a particular car or neighbor's dog. She was great at fighting and all the things that came with being not from Earth, but navigation was not one of her strong suits.

Yet. He had to admit that she had acclimated to the school pretty quickly after the first few days. Given the number of halls and seemingly random dead ends, that gave some promise for the similarly annoying neighborhoods around Echo Creek. "Ugh, come on, Star." He fidgets where he stands, conscious of the laser puppies waiting for the two of them to get home. After half a second of deliberation, he dives a hand into one of his pockets and searches for his phone. His hands comes out empty. "Wha-? Where's my...." He groans. "*Janna!*"

He grits his teeth, but manages to let it go; if anything, the most she’ll do is snap at least 5 pictures of herself and change all his contacts to “Marco is a Buttface” before giving it back to him the next day. He was beyond used to her antics, he just wished they didn’t come so often, especially not when hey mostly targeted him. He takes another moment to look around, eyes flicking from left, to right, then suddenly back to left again as he sees some strange figure wearing a jet black hoodie walk around the side of the building. It wasn’t exactly *un*normal, but it was definitely noticeable enough to get his head to turn. Everyone had left school already, aside from a few kids for extracurriculars, but there wasn't really a reason to go *around* the school if you could just go through it. And Marco was fairly decent at keeping track of his surroundings. He shot his eyes down to his watch and bit his lip, then cursed under his breath and ran after the figure.

It wasn’t until he turned the corner did he see the hooded figure again, walking slowly around the parking lot, almost in circles, seeming to mutter stuff under his breath. Occasionally he would look back toward the school, then look back to the parking lot, then back to the school again, almost looking puzzled, as if trying to map something out. A hand comes up to momentarily pull down his hood, scratching at his hair, and that’s when Marco sees them. Two devil horns, sticking up out of bright pink hair. He couldn't help but suck in a deep breath, darting back behind the corner of the building and flattening himself to it. Another monster? So soon? And Star was nowhere to be seen. Were there more inside? Did they have her already, and this one was just some kind of lookout?

Crap, crap crap. He had to do something. He couldn’t just stand by and do nothing! What if he was looking for Star? What if Star came back right now and got attacked? Did this guy work for that Ludo person? Was he sent by that lizard guy? Calm - calm down, Marco. He takes a deep breath and carefully peeks around the corner again. The guy is still walking around the parking lot, but he's closer to the building now, almost tracing little ovals in front of the back entrance's stairs. Marco crouches to the ground, waits for his back to be turned, and rolls into the parking lot and behind a car. The monster doesn’t seem to notice, his head turning this way and that, head tilted up to stare at the rooftops, a hand coming up to tap his chin, very clearly trying to think about something.

"What are you doing?" Marco whispers, rounding the car to get a little closer. He could be waiting for someone. Or maybe he was just scoping the place out? A scout of sorts? He could almost hear what the monster was saying from this position.

“Gargoyles...No.....ombies? No, they’d eat...human’s 

brains...Hmm...Maybe...hellhound?”

Okay, yeah, no. No one is about to make plans to attack his school while he's ten feet away from them. He rolls into the open and pops up into his typical karate stance. "Okay, hold it right there, buddy!"

The figure seems to startle, to jump, and as he whirls around, his face is revealed; light purple skin, sharp fangs, and a third eye, plain as day on his forehead. He looks almost defensive for a moment, before he blinks. “Uhh...Who are you?”

“Who I am is none of your business. Why are you here? Who sent you to Earth? Tell me before I have to kick your teeth in!” Marco’s eyes narrow in a slight glare, hoping to god it would be enough to get this guy, whoever he was, to drop the act.

The monster bared his fangs and narrowed all three eyes on him. "Why I'm here is of no concern to you. And I sent myself, thank you very much." He frowns after that and blinks, tilting his head at him. "Actually, wait. You should be freaking out right now. Isn't that what humans... do? So why aren't you freaking out?"

“Uhh...” His glare dissipates entirely, finding his mind to be absolutely empty of any kind of excuse that could help him in this endeavor, but then shakes his head. “Stop asking questions! I’m the one asking questions here! Who do you work for?”

"Maybe this...is you freaking out?" He laughs, as if the idea amuses him, his face softening. "Sorry, sorry. I don't talk with humans very often. Usually because of the whole exorcism thing you all have going on." His face drops and he starts walking toward him. "You know anything about that, buddy?"

Marco feels his muscles tense, and he begins to lean in on one of his legs. “Don’t get any closer! I’m warning you! I know what you’re here to do! I won’t let you do it!”

"Oh, trust me. If you knew who I was, you'd let me do anything I wanted." His eyes take on a faint, pinkish red hue, his pace not slowing in the least. "And if you knew me, you'd know I hate being interrupted."

Marco feels his heart skip a beat in his chest upon seeing hellish glowing in this strange monster’s eyes, but he doesn’t back down, not even for an inch. “Fine, if that’s how you wanna go, great! Give me your best shot!”

The monster laughs again, even as fire starts tracing over his outline. He waves one hand while the other tucks into a pocket. "You know, you might have a point there." His voice steady lowers into impossible baritones, some staticky interference playing between words. His eyes deepen in color. "I've been working on my aim."

A ball of fire erupts in his hand, the faintest image of sharp fangs hovering within it, and the monster hurls it at Marco.

••••

“So...What are these things again? Burritos? I recall Marco mentioning them but I’ve never had them before.” 

Star holds up the expertly wrapped tortilla in one hand, examining it with an eye of slight scrutiny, unsure of what to think of it. She never quite encountered any food that she had to use her fingers to eat, aside from the occasional drumstick, but this was completely different from any Mewman food she had ever seen. A plastic bowl with a paper sheet rested in front of her, one half empty, where the tortilla had rested earlier, while another side held these strange yellow potato sticks, called “french fries”. She didn’t know how potatoes could be “french”, or even what “french” meant. A cup filled with soda was also right next to the container, and although the name of the type of soda was foreign to her, the concept seemed to stay the same.

"Yeah, burritos." Jackie sat across from her, munching on a few of her own fries. There was a noticeable lack of a certain floating Pony Head, but neither of them wanted to call attention to it. "I'm surprised Marco hasn't shown you this place yet. He used to love this place."

“I guess he’s just been busy adjusting to...you know, me.” She shrugs a bit. “I don’t blame him. I’m probably pretty strange to everyone around me, What with being a princess, and not human, and all that stuff.” She goes to take a bite of the burrito, eyes going slightly wide when the taste dances across her tongue, hot, close to burning against her tastebuds, yet so very meaty and bursting with flavor. She couldn’t help but take another bite in her haste, cheeks bulging slightly as she chews, finally swallowing down most of it to speak. “Oh my God! This is amazing!”

Jackie snickers. "Don't choke yourself. And you're eating the paper. Don't eat the paper." She takes a small bite from her burrito, shaking her head a little. "I don't think it matters that you're not human, Star. I mean, like, all of us humans are crazy different from each other, but we get along decently well. We manage. I don't think you should worry about any of that stuff."

Star can’t help but frown at the fact that on the paper of the burrito there was already a tear that looked suspiciously like tooth marks, before sheepishly moving to tug the paper further down, taking another, smaller bite before speaking, her voice a bit muffled. “Sorry, my mind tends to go a bit nuts like that. I keep thinking about that Brittany chick from earlier. I’m not exactly used to...people not liking me. Does that sound weird to say?”

"I mean, you're a princess, right?"

"Of Mewni, yeah."

"Then I guess it makes sense." Jackie shrugs. "Like, there's actually princes and princesses on Earth, but they're more like... I dunno, they're in different countries. It's weird. But they live pretty sheltered lives. They probably don't have a lot of people disagreeing with them and stuff."

“Huh...I guess I never thought of it that way.” She raises a brow in shock at that, but then she lets out a slight snicker. “Well, I’m trying to get away from all that anyway while I’m here. Have some fun while I’m trying to learn spells and stuff.” She points toward Jackie, still grinning. “How about this? When we hang out more, don’t hold back. Call me a dumbass if I’m acting like one. Disagree with me if you gotta, if I’m about to do something stupid, like, I dunno, poking a sleeping chimera with a needle.” She pauses for a moment. “...Does Earth have chimeras?”

Her grin widens at the deal she was trying to strike, and she looks off to the side at the question. "Uhh... We have stories about chimeras? They're, like, different animals fused together or something, right?"

“Aww, that’s lame.” She huffs, but it’s clear that it’s all in jest, the grin coming back to her face in less than a second. “Guess that means we have to make one. Heheh.” She suddenly snaps her fingers and points again, her finger wagging up and down while her thumb is up in the air. “Ok, ok, here’s a fun question. What kind of monsters or animals would you make a chimera out of?”

"Oh, man." Her eyes widen slightly, her burrito lowering. "Ooh, if *I* had to make one? It'd be, like, aquatic. Like, uh... a sea lion and an angelfish or something. Maybe a turtle."

Star’s grin is positively vibrant at this point. “I have no idea what any of those are, but that sounds awesome! I’d probably make one that can fly! Like, a dragon, mixed with a pegasus, maybe even a giant dragonfly!”

Jackie laughs again. "Aw, yeah, that'd be awesome. What kind of wings would it have? Or would it just have all the wings?"

“Oh, all the wings, no question! It wouldn’t be a good chimera if it didn’t have all the wings!”

She bows her head, trying to hold back another chuckle, but a snort makes its way out instead. She covers her mouth and starts laughing at herself instead.

Star can’t help but start laughing herself, the pit that had weighed down in her stomach from seeing Pony Head becoming shackled and led away to St. Olga’s finally dissipating, covered up by the warm taste of human cuisine tingling on her tongue and the laughter in her throat. “Heheh! Oh, imagine that it didn’t have any legs! It’d be squirming! Like, like a noodle!”

"And at least three heads," Jackie managed. "This long, noodle-y dragon head, this horse face, and a - a dragonfly head with those big eyes-" She gestured with her hands. "And it's all like bzzzzt!"

“Just imagine the sound it makes! It’s so horrifying but so hilarious!” She can’t help but snort to herself. “It flies into a thunderstorm like it’s a bug zapper!”

Jackie hammers the table with her fist, wiping tears from her eyes. "Oh my God. Oh God. Wow."

“Oooh...Oh, my stomach...” Star herself is wiping tears away. “Ooh, I haven’t laughed that hard in a while. I think the last time I laughed that hard was when my dad accidentally stepped on Lekmet’s foot, and he...” She starts giggling really hard just from remembering it. “He...He screamed...like a goat!”

"PFFFT-" Jackie hits the table again. "Okay! Okay. Stop. Oh my God, I can't even-" She takes a deep breath, deflating into giggles again. "Like a goat."

Star herself has a hand clapped over her mouth, giggling and snorting into it, desperately trying to get control of herself. Finally, slowly, after at least 3 seconds, she finally lets her hand fall away, moving to take a sip of her soda, letting out a sigh. “Oh...Man, I gotta thank you for hanging out with me...It’s really cheered me up.”

"Ah, don't mention it." She finally recovers and grabs her own soda. "It's been a wild day. I can't remember the last time I had so much fun."

“Well, hopefully we can have a lot more fun times later on, right? I’d be happy to take you and Marco on adventures. There’s a whole lot more than just the Bounce Lounge, trust me.” She grins at the idea, but then her grin falls, and she leaps up from her seat. “Oh my god! Marco! I totally ditched him at school today! He’s probably looking for me right now!” She scrambles to pull out the pair of scissors that Pony Head has given to her before she was taken away, and with a deft motion, rips another hole in the air. “Come on, we gotta go get him.”

"Oh, yeah, sure." She tosses the last bite of burrito in her mouth and rounds the table. "Are you sure he's still at the school?"

“He wouldn’t go home without me, that’s all I know. He doesn’t seem like the type to just let me walk home on my own.” She’s quick to grab Jackie’s hand, and with a quick leap, she finds that her surroundings have changed completely, and what she sees is enough to make her jaw drop. “WHAT THE HELL?!”

The parking lot, and, to a smaller extent, the back of the school, was a mess of flames and vaguely melted metal. Marco was dodging and weaving between the school vans, flipping and tumbling through the air as he hopped from roof to roof. A pink hair, horned demon stood in the middle of it, fire seeping from his skin and somehow not setting his clothes on fire. He packed fireballs like they were snowballs and sent them hurling after Marco.

“Had enough yet?!”

“I’ll only have enough when I’m dead! And guess what? I’m already dead!” 

“What?!”

“Well, half-dead, I guess. I-Whatever! Just die already!”

Star is left staring in absolute shock for a long, long moment, before she takes a breath, a hand coming up to pinch the bridge of her nose. “Ugh...Jackie, hold these for a second.” She holds out the scissors to her.

"Er, yeah." She takes the scissors numbly, watching as Marco all but rolled across the pavement and sprung into a series of cartwheels to avoid more fire. "Who is that guy?"

“No one, just....my ex-boyfriend.” She stalks toward the figure wreathed in flame, until she’s close enough to touch him, reaching out to grab him by the ear and yank, causing the flame around his body to fade. 

“Ow, what are you-!”

“Tom, what in all levels of hell are you doing here?” She glares at him, eyes filled with anger and irritation.

"Ow, ow!" The flames immediately die away as Tom lets his feet touch pavement again, wincing at another small tug. The glow in his eyes fades. "Ah, geez, okay. I was just - just looking for you! Can you let go? Ow."

“Looking for me? Why?” She finally does let go, eyes narrowing, arms crossing. “And why are you throwing fireballs at Marco?! Do you know how much trouble I could get in for all of this?!” She gestured wildly towards all of the fires that’s still burning against the asphalt.

Tom rubs his ear, glancing over his shoulder at Marco, who was watching them from behind a car. He turns back to her with a confused look on his face. "Wait. You... know that guy? Crazy, karate kid who threatened to kick my teeth in if I didn't tell him who 'sent me' here?" His brows raise.

“He...Ohhh my Gods...” She groans and covers her face, slowly letting them slide downwards in a fit of exasperation, before finally turning back to Tom. “He...You know how my mom is. She assigned him to be basically be my guardian while I’m on Earth and instructed him to protect me in case monsters showed up. He must have thought you were one of them.” She glances over where she sees Marco and waves her hand. “Come on over, Marco! I know him! He’s fine!”

"You sure?" He stands up, slowly, frowning at Tom. "He burned my hoodie pretty good."

Tom spun to face him. "Yeah, and you're lucky it wasn't your face, you-"

She grabs his ear again, tugging his face close to hers. “Tom, if you don’t calm down right now, I will dropkick you back into your room. Marco is a friend of mine and I would appreciate if you didn’t go trying to light my friends on fire.”

"Yeah! I'm cool, I'm cool! Sorry. Sorry, won't-" He winces, but tries to grin, clenching his fists to keep the fire from reigniting in his palms. "It won't happen again. Sorry."

She sighs softly, and lets go of his ear. “Good. Now can you please put all these fires out before the police come again? I don’t want my mom knowing you came in here and started lighting cars on fire.“

"Right, right. Your mom..." He huffs and looks around, then snaps his fingers and snuffs the fires.

“Thank you..” She nods, and then taps her foot on the ground. “Now what were you doing here? Why are you up on Earth? I thought your parents hated you coming up here.”

"He was snooping around the parking lot muttering to himself about zombies and skeletons." Marco walks up to them, patting at a small ember clinging to his sleeve.

"I wasn't snooping, I was..." Tom crosses his arms, looking away. "I just wanted to check the place out. And see if you were still here, Star. I dunno."

"Ooh, I've seen that look on people's faces before, and it never ends well." Jackie finally meets them, tapping the dimensional scissors against her palm.

Tom groans, a hand slapping against his face.

“You...You wanted to see if I was still here by showing up to my school without telling me?” Star’s eyes widen, and her face twists into something more incredulous. “Do you realize how creepy that sounds, Tom?!”

"Well, I - I just- Ugh!" He drops his head back, clenching his hands again to keep his fire in check. "I was just going to drop by and walk in and see if you were here, but I was late and I freaked out a little, alright? And then Mister Shining Knight over here threatened to kick my head in."

"Hey, I didn't-"

"Just. No." He gives Marco a glare and turns back to Star. "It's not like you've been ignoring my calls and texts either. And the mail system's been on the fritz again. And takes ages to actually work."

“Tom, I told you before I left that I can’t just have you barging in like this! What if Mom came by to do her annoying checkups and she saw you with me again, when we had already broken up?! Do you know how that’d look?! We both know she hates you enough as it is!”

"So I shouldn't be worried about my friend suddenly being dropped off in one of the most annoying dimensions of them all?" He spread his arms out, brows furrowing and third eye rolling. "I shouldn't worry when the Queen of Mewni, notorious for not telling anyone anything, labels your whereabouts as a matter of secrecy and safety?"

“I-You-...” She balls her hands up into fists, and for a moment she looks about ready to explode into some kind of screaming fit. But then she simply turns away, shoulders hunched. “Just...Just go away. You already caused enough trouble as it is.”

Tom says nothing for a moment, then sighs and digs into his pocket. He unveils a slightly crumpled, lavender envelope with a black border. "At least take this. It's the letter your mom sent my parents. It has information in it that I think you'd want to know."

She glances back, and for a moment, she doesn’t move, then slowly, she takes it, stuffing it into her bag. “I don’t care what it says. You’re wrong.”

He frowns, but merely shakes his head. "Just... take care of yourself, alright. The Avarius Family isn't a laughing matter."

“I’m fully aware, Tom. I’ll be fine. I have my wand.”

"...Yeah. Sure." He doesn't move for a moment, then mechanically turns around and starts walking away, shoving his hands in his pockets.

There was a sudden blaze of fire that envelops his body, and as suddenly as he appeared, he was gone. Star’s shoulders sag, and she lets out a sigh, turning to gesture to the scorch mark he left behind. “Marco, Jackie, meet my ex-boyfriend Tom Lucitor. Prince of Hell.”

Marco's eyes go wide. "He's a prince!?"

"I guess that explains all the fire." Jackie crosses her arms. "So, uh, demons exist? That's, like, they're real too?"

“Yup. Down in the underworld. They’ve been allies with my family for a long time, and, well, we used to date.” She shrugs, as if trying not to let it bother her. “We ended up breaking up. He...had issues with my mom. Don’t get me wrong, I did too, but...The things he said were...mean.”

Marco frowns. "He definitely seems like a jerk. And I'm not just saying that because he threw literal fireballs at me."

“You aren’t hurt, right?” Star turns to face him, a brow raised.

"Nah, I'm fine. My jacket, on the other hand..." He shows off a few holes laced in scorch marks. "Well, I have others."

Star sighs a bit, shaking her head before turning to face Jackie, giving an apologetic smile. “Sorry you had to see all that. I didn’t think he’d show up here.”

She shrugs. "It's fine. I've seen my fair share of overly protective guys. Earth has plenty of them too."

Star nods once, twice, before turning back towards Marco and giving him a pat on the back. “Come on, we better get out of here before the police show up again. I don’t want the blame to get pinned on me.”

"Yeah, definitely." He glances at Jackie. "Well, uh... see you... tomorrow?"

She smirks, noting his hesitation. "Yeah, sure. And here are your scissors, Star. Had a blast."

“Oh, right. Thanks for holding onto them.” She reaches out and takes them, grinning at Jackie and holding out her hand for a fist-bump. “I had a really fun time today. Definitely needed it. See you around?”

"Yeah, definitely." She meets her fist with her own. "Oh, we should totally trade numbers. Inter-dimensional princesses still have phones, right?"

“Oh! Oh, yeah, of course we do!” She’s quick to pull out her own phone, something that looks more akin to a makeup kit than anything, handing it over.

“Oh, that’s cute.” Jackie takes it, looking over the keys before punching in her number. “Yeah, call me anytime, alright? Can’t be out there fighting monsters by yourself. You too, Marco.”

He tenses, face flushing as his shoulders ride up to his ears. “Wh- uh, me?”

“Yeah, sure, why not?” She hands Star her phone back and pulls her skateboard out of her backpack, as well as her helmet. “You two both seem like you’re gonna be getting into a lot of trouble. Might as well have someone else on speed dial.”

Star can’t help but grow that jubilant grin once again, practically bouncing in place. “Oh, yeah! Of course! Of course you can help us fight off monsters! That sounds awesome! Right, Marco?” She’s quick to elbow him in the arm, her gaze growing quite pointed.

He stammers, breaking out of his stance and rubbing the back of his head. “Oh, er, heh, yeah, definitely. Yeah.”

“Cool.” Jackie fastens her helmet to her head. “Well, I’ve gotta head out. Late for the skate park.”

With one steady push, Jackie sends the skateboard steadily rolling down the sidewalk, her foot occasionally sliding back out to push against the cement again as the board gets farther and farther away. Star lifts a hand up to wave, grinning serenely. “See you later, Jackie!”

The moment she dips out of sight, Star turns around to face Marco, her grin falling into an irritated scowl, hand folding. “...What did you say to Tom?”

Some excited words about Jackie remembering his name die on his tongue and he frowns. “I didn’t say much. I asked him what he was here for, and who sent him, since, you know, the whole gym incident. He told me off and then got all weird and said something about exorcisms and then started throwing fireballs for no reason!”

She stares for a moment, before letting out a sigh, a hand coming up to pinch the bridge of her nose. “Right, right...Ok, I’ll take the blame for that. I never told you about him, so I can’t blame you for thinking he was...one of them. Just...don’t make the same mistake again.”

“Right, yeah.” He rubs the back of his neck, looking away and cringing at the half melted cars. “We should, uh, probably start heading out.”

“Yeah. Come on, before anyone else sees us.” She turns and starts walking down the sidewalk, her fingers idly drumming against the handle of her wand, something in her expression looking troubled.

Marco follows her, unsure what to say. There’s a solid moment where they merely walk toward home, passing a few strangers. He rubs his arm and says, “If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine, but is he... always like that? Like, throwing fireballs and shouting and all.”

“No...” She hesitates. “...Well...” She hesitates again, before letting out a frustrated growl. “It’s complicated, okay? He’s only like that when he’s angry, but he’s almost always angry. It’s this hairpin trigger of his that never seems to go away, and it’s partially why we broke up. I just got sick of dealing with it.”

“Yeah, I think I would too in your position.” He sticks his hands into his pockets, then tries for a grin. “Well, hey. Let’s get home, have some fun with the puppies, and watch some more of that show you like. I think my mom got ice cream the other day.”

Star can’t help but let a grin come to her face after that, and she lets herself chuckle. “Thanks, Marco. I appreciate it.”