#he felt the narwhal in his soul

[emjayimpulses]

how to use chopsticks: a guide by thoma

[chilizychk]

TartaLi Black Market AU

Somewhere in Liyue’s darkest district, people auction a half-human half-narwhal on stage.

Zhongli, a multi-billionaire who buys everyone off the market to free them, got interested in this peculiar being. As others bid in tenth and hundredth thousands, he raised the price to million. Childe, the merman, glares and bites anyone who dares touch him and yet when Zhongli extends his hand to him… he felt a familiar pulse of geo within the man. He looked up and saw the same golden eyes he fell in love with.

Could it be? That his Morax reincarnated as a human? But this human seems so fragile compared to his dragon…

Either way, when Zhongli still patiently extends his hand in front of him, Childe can’t help but to nuzzle in his palm. Zhongli is taken aback. He assumes Childe would be hostile and maybe bite him but that didn’t happen.

Soon, Zhongli and his men took Childe away from that horrible place and temporarily placed the merman in his pool outside of his mansion. He told the nurse to tend to Childe’s wounds but the merman started hissing and scratching the poor staffs. It was until Zhongli took the matter to his hand. As he observed, Childe is docile whenever it’s Zhongli that is touching him. He wondered why. Zhongli also noticed how soft and gentle Childe looks at him. As if he is someone dear to him.

Interesting. Zhongli would like to know more about this man.

Childe can’t help but to feel warm whenever this human is near. He loves the way he gently tend to his wounds. He can’t help but to remember his dragon. His precious Morax.

It was hundred years ago but Childe knew if it’s Morax’s soul or not. He knew his mate’s eyes everywhere.

[brivetaroundtown]

Is it almost 3am on the day the collab is due? Yes. But you know better here then never right? THANK YOU SO MUCH @seita for letting me join your Corrupt A Virgin collab. Go check out the other awesome contributors! It’s very yummy if I do say so myself and I do say so

Link Here

Also I did look up if ducks could drown so that’s now a thing in my search history.

Aged Up Tsukishima Kei x Fem Reader

TW: LEMON ALL THE LEMONS. NSFW SMUT. Dub Con, Tsukki being an asshole, Corruption kink, yan vibes, my writing, virginity loss. use of lamb asa pet name. If you see anything else PLEASE let me know so I can tag it.

2,342 words

Tsukishima wondered if you had grown up in a bubble. That could be the only way someone could have been kept so pure, so innocent. So utterly unequipped to handle even the most mild of flirtations. Surely, you had to know that everyone on the Sendai Frogs has been flirting with you at some point or another. More importantly, he has been flirting with you. Sure, he isn’t the most generous when it comes to niceties, but my god woman you had to have had some sort of clue by now.

But as Tsukishima stares down at your innocent face, he realizes that you have absolutely no idea the effect you have on him. That only makes him want you more.

“Y/N” the smirk couldn’t leave his face even if he wanted it too “you want me to walk you home.”

“I don’t want you to go out of your way or anything! I-its just getting dark and I am not used to this side of town…”

“Of course not, wouldn’t want our little manager to get lost.”

Such a sweet thing you were, thinking of others. Let’s see how far he can push that… accommodating… spirit.

30 minutes later they had finally arrived at your place. Kei could have cut that time in half by taking a short cut you knew nothing about, but where would the fun be in that? Besides, as you got to your apartment door, he knew that you would feel obligated to let him in. Kei did go out of his way to help you home after all, it was the least you could do.

“Thank you for walking me home Tsukishima-san! Ah w-would you like to come in for a drink or anything? I feel bad for making you walk all this way.” Blush staining your cheeks, you unconsciously bit the corner of your lip, a nervous habit of yours. Kei doesn’t even think you know that you do it. “Of course, a water would be nice.”

Kei’s first look at your little studio apartment confirms his earlier assessment of you. Innocent. Still classy, what with the greys and blues in the modern style but the stuffed narwhals and other cutesy sea creature decorations offset the steel bookcases and matching steel appliances. What also doesn’t surprise him is how organized the place is, having seen some of your spreadsheets for the team and your current struggles to organize the equipment closet.

Kei watched you move around your little kitchen. The way you stood on your toes to grab a glass, shirt lifting enough to give him a teasing glance of your smooth skin underneath. It was enough to make a lesser man beg. Thankfully, Kei considered himself not to be a lesser man. He wouldn’t be the one begging tonight.

You felt nervous with Tsukishima’s eyes on you. It’s always hard to normal tasks when someone is watching. But it’s especially more intimidating when that someone is Tsukishima Kei. He was so smart and quick. He made you nervous, you felt clunky around him being so much shorter than he was. Rounder too.

But whenever he included you in on a joke or smirked at you, you felt the butterflies in your pulse, heat rising to your cheeks. Special. It was a little crush, one you were pretty sure was one sided. And now that crush was seated at the island bar in your kitchen. Looking ridiculously tall in such a little space.

You slide him the glass of water while rapidly trying to think of something to say, feeling like an awkward duck drowning in a pond. That’s how dumb you felt, you’re not even sure ducks can drown.

“Can ducks drown?” Wincing at the realization that you said something that stupid out loud. You go to save yourself trying to ramble about your weird thought process but were thankfully stopped short.

“I guess if they weren’t able to produce the oils to stay a-float they would. Why do you ask? Save a drowning duck recently?” The warm chuckle and smirk were comforting. In its own weird way.

‘Look at you,’ the thought comes, ‘breaking the ice and being able to maintain your awkward status. You should win a medal.’ Thankfully, this is not a thought that comes out loud.

“N-no, that would be silly, not even sure what I would do in that situation.” The giggles come unabated, a pleasant combination of flustered joy.

“It’s one of the many things I like about you,” Tsukishima continues “you always have the most interesting thoughts.”

“You have things you like about me?” Your face is hot. Butterflies turning into waves as you try to assess. The whole moment is overwhelming.

“Do you think I would have walked you home if I didn’t?”

Tsukishima doesn’t expect an answer. Enough is enough, if not now when? Taking advantage of your flustered state, Kei had rounded the little island, cornering you to a counter. Hands placed on either side you.

“You asked me to walk you home because you liked me too, didn’t you?” his voice was low in your ear, breath hot on your neck. All the sensations, the heat coming from his tall body, the smell of his cologne and him was becoming too much. Everything was just so new for you.

“I..i..i”

“Well now you have me here. Wanting you like you want me.” He quirks a brow “you do want me don’t you? Or are you just a slutty tease? How cruel of you.”

“N-no!” You weren’t a tease, you did like him, you did want to get to know him more. This was just all.. s-so so much. Too much. “I like you, I..i do! I-“

With his soft lips against yours Kei cuts you off. Its unexpectedly soft for someone re-known for their vicious tongue. Who knew that that the words of a devil hid behind the soft lips of a saint?

Easily lifting you to sit on top of your counter, Kei slips his body between your thighs as he continues to taste you, drinking your soul that comes out in whimpers. “So sweet Y/N-chan.” His lips keep softly pressing along your jaw, softly nibbling on your ear.

“Do you know what I think? I think you have been wanting me for a while. Tell me, do you think of me when you touch yourself here” long fingers teased along your inner thighs, under your skirt, to trace along your quickly dampening panties. Your head shaking no, body feeling thick with the unknown powers of lust, words not able to make it past your lips. Then he rubs your clothed clit, and it is nothing like the brief moments you have touched yourself. It’s a test that Kei has definitely studied for, your body instantly reacting, the lust building, knotting in your stomach.

Moans singing from your throat, you didn’t even realize that you had gripped onto his arms. As if they could anchor you to reality when all of your nerves were shooting off to space. Kei watched as you climbed higher, and once you were close to the precipice, so close to shattering he pulled back, kissing you soundly. “Now now, don’t want to be selfish. Don’t you want us to come together?” His grin is sharp but he still kisses you so softly. The difference makes your head spin.

“I..i have never done anything before… s’much too so-“ your whimpers are silenced by the soft lips of the devil. “I haven’t done much before either” he lies “but don’t you want me like I want you?” Of course you couldn’t, Kei thought, he wanted to own you.

“I never thought you would be so selfish Y/N” your head began to shake on your own. You weren’t selfish, you did like him. You did! Your frantically whispered “please” had the sharp grin in place.

Kei lifts you towards your bed in the corner of the room, thankful for your studio layout. Sinful tongue tracing down your neck as you are laid upon the bed. He slips skillful fingers beneath your clothes, taking his time exposing your skin. The slow burn of your innocence rising like smoke. In this moment you experience the clarity that, whatever happens tonight will change you forever. And you are powerless to stop it.

Too much too soon too much too soon too much too soon “ahhh” the shocked scream leaves your throat as Kei suckles a nipple into his mouth. The knot tightening in your stomach, winding you higher, overwhelmed by all the new textures and sensations. Nothing was as you imagined, you could have never prepared for this. “K-kei” his name spilling from your lips did something to him, grazing teeth against the sensitive nub.

As he continued to show attention to your sensitive nipples, his fingers had been tracing your bare pussy lips, gathering the wetness from between your folds. The long digits searched lower, gaining entrance into your wet heat. Stretching you open, exploring to depths that you have never dared go before. Pleasure rising within you, you begin to pant as you reach a higher peak than before, knot tightening and yet you still could not break.

“We should come together.” Kei mummers against your skin as he slowly rises up your body. You are just so small compared to him. Kissing you deeply, he moves your legs to be around his waist, letting you feel the warm hardness of his length. Looking down, nervousness began to coincide with the rising of your impending crash, he was thicker and longer than you would have ever imagined. Similar to the rest of him, the red tip angry and leaking precum as Kei rubbed it along the wetness leaking down your thighs.

“Its not going to fit” you whimper out, head tossing at the pleasure of his tip hitting your clit. “Shh shh my little lamb, don’t get selfish, you can take this like a good girl. Watch, I will show you how good you can be.” With a groan Kei grabs his length aiming at your entrance. “We will go slow, let you feel all of me”. With that he began to rock in, tip breaking through the first ring.

Head thrown back with a groan he continued to slowly rock his dick inside of you, inch by slow inch. Thumb constantly playing with your clit, rubbing against the side of the hood as he paused to let you stretch. You were so unbelievably tight, even beyond virgin expectations. Your breathing was labored, your whole world focused on the stretch between your thighs, unknowingly clenching against the intrusion. Too much too soon too much too soon.

“Easy lamb, breathe for me” Kei spoke through gritted teeth. He was capable of kindness, you were his after all. There would be plenty of time to slam into you later. You began to loosen as he cooed at you, Kei never stopping the slow rocking of his hips. After what felt like eons, he had finally broken through, balls deep inside of you, letting you adjust to his length while he caught his breath, gloating at being the one to experience your tight heat enveloping him, of being your first. And your last, if he had any say about it.

“My sweet little lamb, being such a good slut for me” Kei cooed kissing away your tears that you hadn’t even realized were on your face. “Lets cum together yea? Would you like that?” you nodded your head, ready for the fall, for the anything you just needed him to move. “Use your big girl words” Kei admonished still holding still, even his thumb had stopped moving.

“P-please Kei please move, I w-want us-s to cu-m together-r” you moaned, not even finished with your desperate pleading before Kei pulled his hips back to begin ricking his cock in. A steady yet faster pace than he had originally intended, but he was only human after all, and he needed you to cum with him. He needed you to need him.

You were overwhelmed, only capable of strangled moans of Kei, and too much, and don’t stops. His thumb continuing its assault on your clit, the pace of his hips steady and fast and deep. You could swear you could taste him, he was hitting so deep inside of you, his thick length dragging along your walls. Driving you higher and higher, to where pain was pleasure and pleasure was pain.

Kei was close. He knew you were close, could feel it as you fluttered around him. Lifting your legs to his shoulders he changed the angle, searching for the spot inside of you that would completely push you over the edge, would ruin you. With a keen cry tearing from your lips he knew that he found it. Angling his thrusts he kept up his pace knowing that it was only a matter of time.

“S’too much stop. cant cant cant” your head knocked back and forth, your body on fire, electric almost nuclear reactive. “Yes, you can. Cum for me lamb” Kei demanded. His voice hard, determined. As if his words could control sin, you shattered, body spasming as you fell back to earth, hitting every rock along the way. It was a relief filled with sharp edges, causing tears to fall and shakey breaths. Kei cooed at you, telling you what a good little slut you were for him as he fucked you through your orgasm, quickly cumming himself as you milked him dry, painting your inner walls white.

Kei pulled out, a stretched out beside you, gathering you on top of his chest. “What a sinful little lamb you are, letting me do all of that to you.” Exhaustion was overtaking your body, as you gathered your wits about you, shame starting to replace pleasure.

You tried to defend yourself, but Kei interrupted you “its ok to be a slut for me lamb. Because you want me, and now I have you.”

[imjustthemechanic]

The Price of a Soul

Part 1/? - Agent Russel Part 2/? - The Letter Part 3/? - Miss Lake Part 4/? - The Stewardess Part 5/? - An Assassination Part 6/? - Fallout Part 7/? - Face to Face Part 8/? - Deals, Details, and Other Devils Part 9/? - Baggage Part 10/? - Private Funding Part 11/? - Just Passing Through Part 12/? - Party of Four Part 13/? - Resolute Part 14/? - The Wreck

They find the plane - and Miss Lake definitely knows something she’s not telling yet.

-

Peggy would not have expected dogsled to be a very comfortable way to travel, and it was not – to somebody used to the solid bulk of aeroplanes and automobiles, this comparatively rickety contraption felt like it would be shaken to bits underneath her.  The wind was bitter on her face and the cold bit into her fingers and toes, numbing them.  Yet they covered the ground remarkably quickly, and there was the exuberance of the dogs, who were doing what they’d been born to do and clearly having a marvelous time at it.

Lake was certainly enjoying herself, laughing and calling out “mush!” as she tried to make their sled pull ahead of Howard and Jason’s.  It was enough to make Peggy rather resent her.  Who was she to be having fun while they were searching for a dead man?  Lake herself ought to be in New York tracking down Dottie, and then on her way to prison.  She had no right to consider this a holiday.

“Do you know why it’s called mushing?” she leaned down to shout in Peggy’s ear, over the whistle of the wind.

“I don’t!” Peggy replied.  “Why?”

“Because when the French settlers learned it from the Iroquois, they would order their dogs to marche!” said Lake.  “And the English are terrible at French, so they pronounced it mush, and that’s what it’s been ever since!”

It also took far longer to get to the site by sled than it had by plane.  As mile upon mile of icy wasteland rolled by, Peggy began to wonder if they were going in the wrong direction.  They need only start out off-course by a few minutes of arc and they would miss the place by miles.  But Howard and Jason had their map and their compass and they would stop repeatedly to check.  Peggy had to have faith in them.

The first sign that they were on the right track was when they came to the open path in the ice that the narwhals had been using yesterday.  There were none there today, though from a distance they spotted the tall black fin of an orca.  They had to make a bit of a detour to find a place where it closed over enough for the dogs and sleds to cross, and Peggy didn’t dare look down as they passed over.

“Unicorns are supposed to like beautiful young virgins,” said Lake cheerfully.

“Is that why they left?” asked Peggy.  She was not a virgin, and no longer particularly young, either, nor would she have flattered herself by saying she was beautiful… and regardless of her age or charms, Peggy was quite certain Lake did not meet the unicorn’s standards, either.

Lake giggled.  “No, I was thinking of them leading the way to Captain America!”

“I see.”  Steve had certainly been young and beautiful… even before Erskine’s serum he’d had the most angelic face.  His virginity was none of Lake’s business, though, so Peggy did not comment on it.

“This should be it coming up!” said Howard.

The sun was behind them, with their own long shadows stretching ahead across the snow, and the landscape beyond blindingly white. It was impossible to make out any detail.  Even the point where the snow met the sky was a little uncertain.  Peggy tried cupping her hands around her face to block out as much light as possible but that really did nothing… and then there it was. The flash of sunlight on exposed metal.

“There!” she exclaimed.  “A little to the south!”

As they drew closer, they found themselves approaching a tiny rocky island sticking out of the ice, no bigger than a block of Manhattan. There was not a single sign of life there, not even a bird or a patch of moss.  Against the harsh sunlight, the exposed rocks looked black as coal… but not all of them, Peggy realized, were rocks.  Some of them were too flat, or had ragged edges that did not look like they were made of stone, and then there was that thing the sun kept shining on.

She couldn’t take it anymore.  They were still a hundred yards off when Peggy threw aside the blanket covering her legs, rolled off the sled, and ran ahead.  As she moved the reflection pulsed rhythmically off slats of unpainted metal, and she realized what she was seeing… the immense fan of one of the Valkyrie’s jet engines, caught on the rocks and half-covered in snow.  Every time her angle changed, a different surface caught the sunlight.

The barking of the dogs and the shouting of her companions faded into the background as Peggy climbed the icy rocks to start brushing snow off the engine housing.  Under the soft layer that had most recently fallen was more that had hardened into rough ice.  Peggy beat this with her fist to crack it, and when her mittens couldn’t get a grip on the edges she took them off and used her bare fingers.  Pieces came away, revealing the metal underneath painted matte black, but with a symbol picked out in a higher gloss.  She couldn’t uncover very much of it… but it was enough to see the end of a tentacle.

“Peg!” Howard called out from below.  “What have you got?”

She blinked away tears, and looked to see the sleds come to a half at the foot of the rocky slope she’d just climbed.  Lake was kneeling in the snow reassuring the animals, while Howard and Jason looked expectantly up at Peggy.

“This is it!” she said.  “It has to be.  This is the Valkyrie… at least part of it!”

“I told you so!” Lake declared – but she didn’t sound mocking or gloating.  She was as delighted as they were.  She kissed a dog’s nose and told it what a very good girl it was, and then grabbed a shovel off the sled, paused to take in the position of the sun, and paced out a distance across uneven ice to the west of the shattered engine.

She had described seeing Steve’s body in the ice. She must know exactly where he was.

Peggy tried to slide back down the slope, but lost her footing and tumbled, coming to rest in a heap among the rocks.  Jason helped her up, and she murmured a thank you before seizing an ice pick and running after Lake.  The men joined them moments later, and they all set to work on the layers of snow.

The ice here was far thicker than it had been on the engine, and cutting through it was back-breaking.  Despite the cold, all four of them were soon removing hats and mittens as they sweated with the exertion.  Peggy could see in Howard’s eyes that he wanted to take a break, but when she offered him one, he refused.  He was stubborn enough to keep working as long as everybody else did.  Peggy certainly wasn’t going to stop yet, and Lake was digging like a woman possessed.

“Aha!” Howard said, and grabbed Jason’s write to stop him digging.  “Look! Look at that!  Peggy, move, you’re casting a shadow.”

She moved to the side, and the sunlight fell on the ice below them.  It was cloudy and cracked, and very difficult to see anything through but a vague white haze. When Howard pointed it out, however, Peggy saw it – a smear of red.

That reinvigorated everybody.  They resumed their work, more carefully now, since they didn’t want to chop right through and damage the body they’d come here to find. But the time they simply had to stop, they could see enough to know that Steve’s body was there exactly as Lake had described it – lying on his back against the top of the plane, eyes closed, his shield on his left arm and some small object clutched in his right hand.  His legs were not visible yet, but there was no sign that he was anything but entirely whole.

As the sun passed overhead, clouds blew in and the wind became bitter.  They made camp in the old polar bear den beneath the Valkyrie’s torn-off wing, which hadn’t had any bears in it for a very long time and was surprisingly warm even before they got a little stove lit to warm up coffee and supper. There, it was time to discuss what they were going to do next.

“Somebody needs to go back to the plane and radio Stark Industries with our location,” said Howard.  “They can send more helpers and better transportation.  Something that can land on the ice,” he added, with a nod to Lake.  “Guess that better be me.”  He looked at the opening of the den, and Peggy could see that he didn’t want to leave. After so long searching for Steve, and having finally found him, he was afraid that if he took his eyes off the crash site, it would vanish.

“I’ll go,” said Jason.  “It can’t be Miss Lake because she’ll never come back, and you two have more invested in this than I do.  People at the company know who I am and they’ll know the message is from you.”

“Perfect!”  Howard grinned, relieved.  “You can give them Peggy’s coordinates, they’re close enough to let them find the place, and we’ll wave them in.  Tell them we need something that can land on ice but that can lift… I’m gonna say at least two to four tons.  It’ll depend on how much of the ice we can get off him.  And we’ll need a ship with a big freezer on board.  We don’t want him thawing out before we can get him embalmed.”

Peggy nodded, glad Howard had thought of that because she couldn’t bear to.  She didn’t feel quite so terrible as she’d feared she might, but the initial triumph of actually finding the wreck had worn off, and she felt drained, as if she could curl up in here and sleep for a hundred years like Rip Van Winkle. There was a part of her that was sad she could no longer fantasize about Steve’s miraculous return, but mostly she was just relieved.  This time it really was over, and she would never have to say goodbye to him again.

That was exactly what Daniel had said, wasn’t it? That as long as Peggy didn’t know for sure where Steve was, he would always haunt her.  Now at long last, she could truly lay him to rest and move on.

Jason tipped the last of his coffee down his throat and stuffed a piece of tinned pork roast in his mouth.  “You want me to come back after I’ve delivered the message, or stay in Resolute with the plane?” he asked.

“Better stay there,” Howard replied.  “If they can’t find us they’ll find you, and you can lead them back out here.”

“Got it.”  Jason crawled towards the den exit.

“You’re going right now?” asked Peggy.

“The sooner I get there, the less time you have to spend out here in the middle of nowhere,” Jason pointed out.

“And the sooner you get a real meal again,” said Howard.

“Exactly.”  Jason smiled. “Good luck.”

“You as well,” Peggy managed.

It was about twenty minutes later, after Jason had no doubt vanished from view, that Howard reached into his own backpack and pulled out a bottle of bourbon.  “Damn,” he said.  “I was so caught up I forgot I brought this… doesn’t seem right to open it when we’re not all here.”

“Save it for when we’ve got Steve on the ship home,” Peggy decided.

“Then there’ll be more people who want some,” Howard complained.

“You can share,” said Peggy.  “For now… it’ll probably take a couple of days at least for your people to get here, so we just need to hunker down.”  It would have made more sense, really, for them all to return to Resolute, but she did not suggest that.  She didn’t want to leave any more than Howard did.  “It’ll give us time to think about other things.” Things Peggy wasn’t sure she wanted to think about quite yet, but which needed to be dealt with.

“Yeah.”  Howard stared thoughtfully at their little camp stove.  “He wouldn’t have wanted anybody trying to take him apart and see how he worked.”

“No, he wouldn’t,” Peggy agreed.  Whatever else he’d been, Steve was, above all, a human being, and they needed to remember him as that, not as the subject of an experiment.

“So we’ll make sure nobody can,” Howard said. “We’ll have to cremate him… we’ll have a public viewing first, because everybody will want to come pay their respects, but after that… and we’ll scatter his ashes at Ebbet’s Field.”

“Where the Brooklyn Dodgers play,” Peggy said with a nod, tears pricking at the corners of her eyes.  “That’s perfect… that’s exactly what he’d want.”

Howard looked at the bottle again, then tucked it back in his bag and raised his tin coffee cup instead.  “To Steve.”

“To Steve,” said Peggy, tapping hers against it.

“To Captain America,” Lake agreed with a glance at Peggy.

Peggy sipped her coffee, then looked at Lake.  Their uninvited guide had been full of energy earlier, probably working harder than any of them despite being the smallest. Since they’d stopped work for the day, however, she’d said very little.  As Jason was leaving she’d gone out to bring the rest of the dogs into the den with them, so that the animals’ body heat could help keep the space warm, but other than that she’d been quiet and still, as if thinking deeply about something.

“What about you?” Peggy asked her.

“What about me?” Lake said.

“Well, what are you planning to do next?”

“I’ve got an extensive to-do list.”

There was silence for a moment, and then Peggy swallowed hard to get all of her pride down in one lump before saying, “thank you. For leading me to him.”

Lake shook her head.  “Don’t thank me yet.”

“Oh, no?” asked Peggy.

“No.  You’ll know when.”  She gave Peggy a weak but apparently sincere smile.  “Trust me.”

[ikkaku-of-heart]

Beady eyes shone through the darkness of the hut as the crow-sized creature gazed down at the entering witch, perched between the beams that supported the roof. A regal and imposing sight - if it hadn’t been for the ruffled feathers and a peculiar bird-shaped imprint on the glass window where Lamy had collided with it earlier. Flying took some getting used to.

Arms laden with heavy shopping bags, Ikkaku managed to bump her front door open with her hip. She wasn’t worried about the fact that it was unlocked - the house always unlocked itself when her foot touched the front step. It wasn’t even an enchantment - whatever energy inhabited the old cottage simply knew its owner had returned.

However, the second she stepped inside the threshold, something felt...off. The air wasn’t as still as it should have been. Something - or someone - was inside, and considering the wards and protections her home boasted, there weren’t many who could break in without consequences.

Her first guess would have been Zoro. The incubus had a permanent invitation to enter her abode, even if the house hadn’t particularly seemed to like it for a while. But if it were him, Ikkaku would have known. Their bond would have informed her of his presence, or she would have heard him knock something over with his wings and grumbling about how she’d hidden the booze again. Or she would have heard him snoring on the couch. Either way, his presence was familiar and wouldn’t leave the air so tense.

The second option was Law. Another who had permission to come in without her being home. The hunter was a trusted friend and while he could sometimes be a bit abrasive, she’d made sure he knew her door was open any time he needed to chill or get away from Church duties. But he was away on a hunt and likely wouldn’t be back for another week, and typically Law at least would call ahead if he was visiting. He’d learned that lesson courtesy after the incident that had left him and Zoro fixing several holes in her living room walls.

The third and by far the least pleasant option was Daniel. No, Doflamingo. The Devil himself who had forced his mark upon her, and thus gained the ability to just come and go as he pleased. He didn’t show up too often, but enough to remind her who she belonged to and to leave her a bit paranoid. However, when he showed up, it was usually in her kitchen sipping coffee and demanding she bake him cookies while he regaled her with stories of what chaos he’d cause and cryptically hinting at what his plans were for her soul.

Since it was none of these, Ikkaku found herself both concerned and a little bit intrigued who had gotten inside. Unless the house had let them in itself, most beings would be left weakened by crossing a threshold without being given guest rights. That might give her a chance to take down whatever her “visitor” was should they be a threat.

This in mind, she looked around her foyer before finally craning her neck up to meet the beady gaze of a strange bird perched in the rafters. From what she could see, it certainly wasn’t some normal pigeon or falcon - there were too many wings, and the eyes belied intelligence. However, the ruffled feathers implied that perhaps it had had a little bit of trouble getting inside after all.

Setting down her shopping bags, Ikkaku pulled out her narwhal horn wand as a precaution before addressing it. “I wasn’t expecting any clients today, otherwise I would have made a pot of coffee. But since you’re here, in my home, how about you state your business? Otherwise I’ll have to assume you’re here to kill me, and I’m definitely not having that. Not when I’ve just bought a cute new outfit and haven’t had the chance to wear it out on the town yet.”

[ngame989]

“Enough” - TGG SVTFOE Fanfic Collection Ch. 11

Writing: @ngame989​

Art: @toxicpsychox​

Musical Arrangement: @ubercelloczar​

Editing: @ubercelloczar​, @seddm​

Alternate fic links - FFnet, AO3

Summary: Star, Marco, Tom, and Janna reflect on their pasts, arrive at a crossroads in the present, and make decisions about their futures when Echo Creek Academy hosts a dance with an uncannily familiar theme.

Comic Page

Masterpost

Merry Christmas, happy holidays, happy New Year! This is a very special chapter, slightly breaking the tradition of having its poster be a Polaroid photo (though one of those will be coming soon lol). Also, this was inspired by an actual real life event, Google the date for yourself. MASSIVE thanks to my friend @ubercelloczar​​ for the musical arrangement - I can’t embed it partway through so I’ll just link it when the time comes. Hope you enjoy!

Red. All these years, and she was just now realizing how little red there was in her expansive collection of outfits. Star could probably count on one hand the number of times she’d worn anything in that color besides Marco’s oversized hoodies. Though for all intents and purposes she’d moved into Marco’s room over a year ago, most of her clothes were still kept in her old room at Angie’s insistence. You leave pajamas in the mailbox ONE TIME and suddenly everyone’s all “please use a closet, Star.” Her fingers fondly brushed over the fabrics of dozens of dresses and skirts she owned. The turquoise with the narwhal? Timeless classic, though a bit worse for wear after so many life or death incidents on Mewni. Purple with suspenders? Eh, not so much… for whatever reason she just hadn’t felt like wearing that in a while. Her sleeveless sky blue dress, on the other hand, had made its way back into her rotation after the dimensions cleaved. Why, she couldn’t say, though she tended to skip the leg warmers these days. The pink overalls with the cute skirt were one of her favorite buys on Earthni - the perfect blend of dimensional fashions.

Minutes passed as she reminisced, her wardrobe a library unveiling its stories as her eyes roved its contents. One random winter night came to mind at the sight of her rarely used fuzzy yellow jammies. The heater had been on the fritz, so she and Marco had cuddled up even closer than normal. Her brain had been too frozen to think straight at the time, but in hindsight it was one of her favorite memories - spending all night watching movies with family, hot cocoa by the gallon, and holding Marco tight did more to warm her soul than any heater ever could. Some more notable memories were captured in the attire too, like the lavender dress she’d planned to wear to her first school dance before ditching it to resurrect a clown; the Love Sentence concert tee she’d made; her green dinosaur dress, captured forever on that fateful photo strip.

Experiences shared with Marco stood out among the rest - they usually did anyway, but tonight perhaps more than most, and for good reason. She’d once obsessed over a tattered, stinky hoodie of his as a source of calm and stability for some of the harshest weeks in her life, but tonight she felt like she was at her highest point. When her eyes finally spotted her target, the reason she had even been rummaging around an old closet and choking on enough dust to fell an adult warnicorn, her small, nostalgic smile stretched into a wide grin laden with too many emotions to count. If there’s any night to wear red, this is it, Star thought as she slipped into the silky dress awaiting her.

After all, she and Marco were once again going to a Blood Moon Ball.

Six Weeks Earlier

“Not sure if we’ll be able to pull this off, Diaz. They’ve got us surrounded.” Steam rolled out of Star’s mouth with the words, threatening to give away their location. She shivered despite the warm pink fleece she wore; the wind today was so chilly that even Marco had donned a winter jacket over his hoodie. They were in the midst of a battle, nay, an all-out war. We’ve got one, maybe two dozen? We’re doomed.

Where Star faltered, Marco’s resolve was firm. “Our only option is a last stand. I can lead a strong forward assault and draw fire long enough for you to flank their offense.” They’d found a secure location with solid cover, but it severely limited their scouting ability. Marco lowered his hood and stole a glance above the metal behind them, ducking back down instantly. Snow had already accumulated on his lashes and glittered softly in the sunlight, but Star couldn’t afford to linger on that image. It was do or die.

He took her hands and pulled her close, almost touching their noses. “If I don’t make it, Star, I want you to take care of Nachos for me, OK?” He scooped up his armful of snowballs and moved into position.

She theatrically reached out a hand towards him right as he got to the threshold of safety. “I’ll never forget you Marcoooo…” she whispered loudly. The pair giggled as Star grabbed her ammunition. “Alright, enough of that. Ready?”

“Ready.”

Marco dashed around the playground slide and into the fray. Right as Star followed, she heard him yelp and fall into the soft snow coating the playground, three enemy combatants hovering over him and pelting him mercilessly. “Marco!” Star yelled and trudged over with the gleeful cheers of their enemy ringing in her ears. “Speak to me, Marco! Don’t leave me!”

“Star… Remember me...” He grunted and let his head drop into the snow.

“Noooooooooo!” With one final breath, she flopped on top of him and accepted death by a thousand snowballs.

One extra large hunk of snow, far too large to have been thrown by any of the kids, exploded on Star’s back and coated her entirely in soft white fluff. Star heard the warm rumble of Antonio’s hearty chuckles at his successful finishing blow. “Alright, kiddos, your families are here. Have a happy break!” His beefy hand grabbed Star’s own and easily hefted her to her feet before doing the same for Marco. How the heck he was OK in the cold with just an ear-flappy-hat and his usual flannel shirt, she’d never know.

Star dusted herself off and watched the children skip through the snow - a much smaller group than usual, since it was the last evening shift before Christumpmasday break. Most were eager to return to their families, though Star had to help two little girls finish building their snowlizard and take a few pictures before they were willing to leave without bursting into tears; in their defense, it was a ridiculously cute and fun snowlizard. And with that, it was finally holiday break time!

As they walked back to the Center with Antonio, Star took in the sight of the campus covered in fresh snow. The sparkling white planes draped across the pristine Earth architecture contrasted with the raw, natural aesthetic of snow and ice intermingled with remnants of a once-thriving Mewman village, but it all blended together into something unique and beautiful. She caught Marco transfixed with a goofy smile on his face, in awe of her as much as she was with the world, and her cheeks flushed a tiny bit more than they’d already done in the cold. The crunch of snow underfoot and the gentle whooshing of the wind as they swung their joined hands back and forth were the only sounds disturbing this peaceful, perfect moment.

“Merry Christumpmasday, Antonio!” Star shouted as she gave her boss-slash-friend a big hug, and he laughed and returned the gesture with enough strength to lift both Star and Marco off the ground a little.

“Same to you two. Thanks again for staying late, I feel bad about keeping anyone here like this. My husband’s still out of town until tomorrow so home, work, it’s all the same to me, personally. Wish your whole family the best for me.” After saying their goodbyes, Star and Marco walked back out into the cold where their ride was waiting.

“Hey, girl” Marco’s voice was tender as he adjusted Nachos’ cute winter cap and stroked her back. As he was testing his foothold to make sure he wouldn’t slip and faceplant while trying to hop on, Antonio peeked his head out the door.

“Wait, before you go… an elderly lady gave me this flier for some kinda dance.” He scratched his chin through his beard. “Dunno why she brought it here of all places, but since I had it, I thought I might as well pass it along.”

“Oh, is it for that big dance the high school is throwing for all the teens in town?” Marco asked.

“Seems so. Maybe she just got confused about what kinds of kids it was for,” Antonio said, lightly chuckling. “January 30, it says, and it’s an all-nighter; that’s quite the shindig. If Earthni parties are anything like my high school days, it’s probably best I give you the whole next day off,” he said with a wink and a smirk.

All night dance? Even the Bounce Lounge was rarely that crazy - what was so special about this? Antonio handed the flier to Star and Marco who took hold of the other side of it, moving it between them as they gaped in shock at its contents.

“No way, there’s no way, what the-” she and Marco muttered in perfect unison. “Are you- seeing this? It can’t- how did-” They started and stopped as their attempts to stop copying each other canceled each other out.

Marco blinked a few more times to finally pry his eyes away from the page. “Well, eclipses do happen pretty often on Earth, I guess...” They both glanced incredulously back and forth between each other and the flier before the tension in their shoulders finally dropped. An unspoken agreement had been made: they might as well give this dance a shot. Star took one last look at the flier before hopping on Nachos, stuffing it into her jacket and wrapping her arms around Marco’s midriff for the ride home, its words emblazoned in her mind.

January 30-31, 2018. Super Blue Blood Moon Eclipse Extravaganza at Echo Creek Academy! Come dance under the red light of the lunar eclipse!

***

Present Day

“OK, Diaz, let’s see what you’ve got. Sweat prevention, check,” he noted with a quick whiff of his armpits. “Outfit, check.” Bright red dress shirt, sharp black jacket, sleek black tie. Marco posed in the bathroom mirror a few times, getting everything in order for a night he’d been looking forward to for months. “Hair, check.” It was just his usual style, but it never hurt to make sure it was ready to go. Looking good, Diaz.

His stare lingered in their bedroom mirror for a moment too long as thoughts began racing through his mind. Was he nervous? Marco Diaz, nervous for a big night with the girl he loved? More often than not Star was his reason not to be nervous about anything, but this was their first big formal dance as a couple and he did have a pretty dicey history with those. And what were the odds that it was on the night of the Blood Moon again? He wasn’t exactly worried about the curse, per se - there was some caveat or another in demon lore that the Blood Moon could only impart its curse when shining through a special Underworld crystal, the very same one embedded in the roof of the Lucitor ballroom years ago, Relicor had assured them. And it’s not like it even did anything bad to them in the first place, right? Marco still stood by his own words - it was all baloney. Still though, it did leave him with a decision to make. He experimentally put on his Día de Los Muertos mask and turned his head a bit. Should he?

“I don’t think I ever told you how cute you look in that mask.” He’d gotten pretty good about anticipating Star’s sudden appearances but had been caught up in his own mind enough that he still jumped a bit, much to her amusement. “Buuuuuuuut…” she drawled as she swiftly stepped forward and snatched it off his head. “I like your face more.” She grinned and pinched his cheek before they both stopped to truly look at each other. They hadn’t seen each other’s outfits ahead of time but as always they’d been on the same page. “I like the rest of you, too,” she muttered, biting her lip. Marco felt his cheeks turn the same color as his shirt at the comment, but also at her own appearance. Two wavy strands of hair in front of her ears framed her adorable face, though her hair had otherwise been left down as normal. Her red dress had a lone heart clasp on one shoulder, a pattern of moons and stars on a dark band circling the waist, a knee-length wavy skirt that gently swished as she rocked back and forth, and black high heels.

“Wow,” he uttered.

“You like it?” Star asked hopefully. “I thought, well, I didn’t want to go too over-the-top and wear the old Blood Moon Ball outfit but I still wanted to fit the theme so-”

“You’re beautiful,” Marco stated. Not that she’d needed to be wearing an incredible evening dress for him to think that, and he knew she knew that too, but she was still making him a bit dizzy right now. “Wait-” he stopped her when she tried to move in for a kiss, leaning back to their nightstand. He grabbed her horns and gently placed them on her head, brushing a wayward strand of hair back into place. “Perfect.” He leaned forward to kiss her, seeing her doing the same as his eyelids closed, and-

“Mijos!” Star and Marco’s eyes opened, freezing in place so close together that her breath tickled his lips, staring at each other for a second before turning towards the door. Daaaaad. “Oh, sorry, did we interrupt a moment?” We? Rafael stepped aside to reveal all their parents, plus Eclipsa and Globgor, crammed into the hallway. Star took Marco’s hand as they separated.

“Eeeee!” Eclipsa squealed in delight. “You two are absolutely precious. Come downstairs, loves, we must take your picture.”

“I’ve got two backup rolls of film!” Angie chimed in as Moon herded them all down the stairs and out of the way.

Marco looked at Star, who was goofily smiling at him as she squeezed his hand. It wasn’t that he minded being affectionate with Star around friends and family - heck, his own parents were still the most overtly lovey-dovey couple in the house - but he couldn’t help a bit of embarrassment when they were the center of attention like that. After double checking to make sure they had everything they needed, the pair headed out and walked down the stairs together to the oohs and aahs of their families. Star’s parents merely watched while Marco’s both wielded cameras, snapping pictures fervently. Nachos wasn’t due for another few minutes, so they decided to just endure the gauntlet.

“Didn’t think a sort-of-school dance was such a big deal,” Star murmured. Eclipsa sat down on the arm of the couch next to Globgor while Moon daintily folded her hands in her lap on the opposite side with River squished between her and the size-shifter.

“Well, when Marco left for Mewni, we were worried he’d never get to have a prom,” Angie cheerily responded, having evidently heard Star’s comment. “This is basically the same thing, though. Raf, honey, remember our prom?”

“Oh, yes, it was delightful,” he said, finally lowering the camera and turning to address the others on the couch. “We had actually just broken up that morning and went separately, but your mother just happened to walk directly into me as the slow music started and we ended up waltzing the night away. That was the last time we had to get back together.” How many details about my parents have I missed? Marco wondered to himself, before realizing he likely didn’t want to know quite a few of them and shuddering a bit. Still, it was better than being endlessly fawned over, so Marco stood perfectly still and shut his mouth.

Eclipsa set a hand on Globgor’s shoulder, smiling fondly. “Globgor and I met at a dance too! Well, not quite a ‘dance’, I suppose... he twirled me out of the way of an assassin’s arrow, and I swept him off his feet, but the principle seems about the same to me.”

“I was about to eat a guard until she blasted me to the ground. She cast a spell on me in more ways than one.” Globgor laughed. “Though the literal one was very painful,” he added seriously.

“Well, River and I had been to our share of Silver Bell Balls and other royal festivities,” Moon chimed in. “Though when I was Star’s age we weren’t together yet, and I was very focused on the kingdom by the time things were calm enough to enjoy them properly…”

“And now our little girl is going to big fancy galas with a handsome young man. Next thing you know she’ll be setting out on her own, never needing her parents again!” River wailed, clutching Moon’s arm. Well, the diversion was good while it lasted.

“River, please,” Moon gently chided. “You two are quite the adorable couple, though. Though I never wished to interfere in your personal affairs on Mewni, I am certainly glad things eventually worked out as well as they did.”

Eclipsa strolled over and enveloped both of them in a hug. “You two look positively astonishing together,” she cooed before releasing them to take them in one at a time. “Star, darling, you’re as stunning as I’ve ever seen you. And Marco...” She paused, placing her hands on his shoulders. Her purple eyes were laden with unbridled affection as they looked him up and down, her lips turning upward in as sincere a smile as he’d seen her display. “Marco, you sweet young man… You’re quite lucky to have each other, you know. Perhaps it’s not my place to say, but I’m so proud of how you’ve grown these past few years. Now have fun tonight, this is great practice for a certain other first dance I see in your future,” she finished with a wink, causing his blush to return with a vengeance.

“Picture time!” Rafael singsonged, getting up close and flashing a camera near Marco’s face. “Do some fun poses! Give the people what they want! We are not going to miss any more of our son’s major life moments!” His voice was filled with determination to the point of sounding angry, and Marco’s eyes widened in part sympathy, part stark terror. Minutes flew by as Star and Marco supplied their families’ demands, exhausting both the traditional prom shots and their signature poses: back-to-back, too cool for school, Star pinching his cheeks, drowning in a monster’s stomach acid… the list seemed endless, and though goofing around with Star was always fun, he’d been anticipating the dance so long that every second of delay felt like torture. Finally, Marco breathed a sigh of relief when his dad moaned in dismay at the camera clicking without anything happening; he was out of film.

“Oh dear, only one left,” Angie echoed. “Let’s get a nice one of a kiss. Don’t be shy.”

“Well, Marco? Shall we?” Star threw him a flirtatious grin, wrapping her arms around his neck.

He opened his mouth to respond with a quip of his own when he heard wheels screeching to a stop outside. Sweet freedom. “Well, that’s our ride!” Marco stated a bit too forcefully, breaking away from Star and heading towards the door to greet Nachos. Flying in on a dragoncycle would be a major departure from whatever prom fantasies about picking up Jackie in a limo he’d had as a kid, but he still wanted to do something special with a traditional flair. She snorted and cackled when the door opened and revealed his grand prom surprise: Nachos with a top hat and bow tie.

“Marco, what did you do to her?”

“Well, it’s prom, so our ride needs to be the fanciest it can be,” he giggled as she rolled her eyes. “Only the best for you, m’la-”

When Star’s lips cut him off sweetly as she tugged him closer, suddenly Marco didn’t mind staying a little bit longer, and the snap of his mother’s camera seemed to agree.

***

Chaos. Compared to any dance Star had been to before, this was the best kind of chaos. The energetic beat of the electronic music thrummed in her ears as her hips swayed and arms waved in the air. She wasn’t sure exactly how many people had shown up, but the gymnasium of Echo Creek Academy was more packed than she’d ever seen it. Still, it wasn’t so cramped that she had no room to get her groove on; when her butt bumped into Marco beside her, it was by choice as she slyly grinned at her boyfriend in his red shirt, now sans jacket. He smirked back at her and set his feet in place, slicing his hands wildly through the air. “I thought you didn’t like the sword-hand dance,” Star loudly spoke into his ear, though it was a whisper relative to the volume of the music and crowd.

“Yeah, but if everyone else is gonna do it anyway, I might as well own it.” They locked eyes as she began to mirror him, mimicking his karate poses in time with the music. He abruptly grabbed both her hands and swung them up and down, laughing as they just shook everything they had without a care in the world. She yanked him towards her and spun them both around, their backs flush against each other as they kept bouncing to the rhythm.

“Woop, woop! Starco in da HOUSE!” Ponyhead stuck her horn between them, forcing them apart as she floated up and down.

Tom also made his way beside them, drink in hand. “Anyone else want punch?” He lowered the plastic cups he’d been levitating over the crowd into Star and Marco’s hands, and Pony’s tongue. “Gotta say, this is pretty good punch. What kind of blood is it? Centaur? Unicorn? Oooooh, I’ve heard that giraffigator blood is hot these days.”

Marco eyed his cup warily. “What the heck is a giraffigat-”

“WHAT’S THIS ‘BOUT UNICORN BLOOD?” Pony screamed, getting up in Tom’s face.

Star quickly separated them, holding her hands up to try and ease her friends. “Guys, guys, there’s no actual blood in it, I think it’s just citrus.” Well, she was fairly sure. She took one trial sip, tasting the sweet flavor of- “Wait, yep, this is blood,” she said disgustedly after she spit it back into the cup.

“More for me, then,” Tom said nonchalantly, as he snatched Marco’s cup and took another swig while Pony floated in circles grumbling. It seemed like the DJ was taking a break from the upbeat dancing music for now, so the group made their way to the outskirts of the gymnasium where they’d left their belongings. Star laid down on the bleachers, resting her head on Marco’s lap after he’d put his jacket back on and sat down. He stroked her hair with his thumb as they relaxed after an intense hour of dancing. It struck her that this was actually the first time she’d ever truly had carefree fun at a formal dance. The original Blood Moon Ball left her with very mixed feelings to say the least, and her one experience with an Earth dance had been a bit of a disaster even though she didn’t actually go. Time had largely expunged the lingering venom she’d directed at herself for her relationship mistakes after returning to Mewni, leaving some life lessons and fond memories; but even some enjoyable fiery dances with Tom didn’t change the fact that the Silver Bell Balls were stuffy political dramafests. She reached up and intertwined her fingers with Marco’s, squeezing his hand and beaming at him - this was more like it.

“You know, I will say, this DJ is killing it tonight,” Pony said as she returned. “I was kinda expectin’ something lame but this is the best party I’ve been to since the Bounce Lounge closed.” Star nodded in agreement.

Tom leaned back and crossed his legs a few rows below them, taking a sip from his second cup so far. “Oh, yeah, I know him, he’s actually the cousin of my old anger management coach. His name’s Kim H. Brian.”

“I thought your coach’s name was Brian,” Marco responded.

“Yeah, Brian Brian.”

“Get outta t- wait, the Kim H. Brian?” Star bolted up at Marco’s words and they stared at each other incredulously.

“The producer of Love Sentence’s most controversial album, Prison Breakup?” Star and Marco said simultaneously.

“That’s the one,” Tom said, chuckling a bit. “Only you two could still say entire sentences at the same time without a demonic curse.” He stared into his drink for a few seconds, his visage suddenly becoming completely somber. All three eyes closed as he took a deep breath before floating up and sitting next to the couple. “Look, about the whole Blood Moon thing-”

Hold on, was he still in a twist about this? “Tom, it’s fine!” Star said, putting a hand on his shoulder. “We broke the Curse, you apologized, it’s all good.”

“I know, but it’s not that- after we went to the Severing Stone, deep down I knew that the Curse wasn’t why you two had those feelings, but I just kept pretending because I still liked you, Star. If I hadn’t been so caught up in that, maybe it wouldn’t have taken so damn long to sort our mess out. I know it doesn’t matter anymore, but… I guess the dance just got me thinking again about friendship and love and stuff. So if you’re OK with it, I actually asked Kim to do a little something special for you two later, to help give you the Blood Moon Ball you deserve,” he finished with a toothy smile.

Star’s eyes started to mist up; Tom had always been supportive of Star and Marco since they’d all sorted themselves out, but it never failed to move her. Star lunged forward, wrapping herself around him in a bear hug, and Marco followed suit. “Toooooom, that’s so sweet!”

“Yeah, man, that’s really-” Marco was stopped by the sudden intrusion of Ponyhead into their little moment.

“Hey, Lucitor, do you know where Janna went? I’ve been TRYING to ask her for the hot deets on totally eligible bachelors here. You know, name, height, bank account balance: the usual business. So anyway she hasn’t been, like, responding at all and I’m starting to worry I might not be able to score a good enough rebound to make Seahorse see that he made the biggest mistake of his life letting me dump him!”

Marco nodded toward the still-in-progress group hug. “Little busy?”

“Yeah, whatever, save your huggy feeltime for later, this is im-por-tant.”

“OK, fine,” Tom said, extricating himself from the embrace. “I haven’t seen her for a while but I can help look. It’s Janna, so she’s probably just splicing some gargoyle DNA to a class hamster or something.”

“Last I saw, she was by the old photobooth.”

Wait, that had survived? Star and Marco exchanged shocked glances at the thought of the site of their first kiss having survived the whole way to Earthni.

“You thinking what I’m thinking?” Marco asked. Star grinned and nodded, grabbing his hand to run off and make even more memories.

***

Janna Ordonia had never been more scared in her entire life. Okay, maybe that time a monster guy exploded into dust a few feet in front of her was more viscerally terrifying, but Janna was used to freakiness and death even before she’d spent so much time in the literal Underworld. Tonight, though? The pit in her stomach that left her unable to speak, unable to think, was something almost alien to her. She had so much unique expertise in dealing with all things mystical and macabre that it took something completely and utterly human to faze her, and now she found herself staring in a mirror struggling to cope.

Janna Ordonia had caught feelings.

She’d always known she had a thing for the spooky and supernatural, so an attraction to a half-demon with two horns, three eyes, and purple skin was basically inevitable. It hadn’t bothered her like this when she’d had a casual fling with a talking skeleton years ago, either. The only logical conclusion she could draw was that whatever she was feeling now was a different beast altogether. The night had started out so pleasantly: the Lucitors had invited her over for a casual dinner beforehand - whatever meat the Underworld used for burgers was damn good - and they’d taken the carriage together to the dance afterwards.

It just made practical sense, it didn’t mean anything, I don’t WANT it to mean anything. Some variant of this refrain had been repeating in her mind a lot lately, but staring at her own reflection, it felt thinner with every passing second. If it was true, she probably wouldn’t even be here now; she could be doing way cooler things with the night of an ultra-rare eclipse than drinking cheap punch and shuffling awkwardly on the dance floor to chart-topping pop trash. But Tom had seemed excited at the prospect, and the next thing she knew she had picked out a simple black dress with pink highlights - hell, it was even Tom’s nonjudgmental support that had given her the confidence to wear her secret favorite color more in the first place. One way or another, everything seemed to circle back to one simple fact. Each day spent learning about the Underworld and adventuring in its depths was obviously worthwhile on its own merits, but it was always better with him. If she couldn’t stop this storm brewing inside, then the only thing left was to take control of it on her own terms. Well, this is it, Janna. You have a serious crush on Tom Lucitor.

By the time her mind had finished processing its own confession, she’d already made her way back to the gym and meandered to a vacant corner to watch idly by herself, not unlike how she’d spent most of the dance so far. They’d arrived from the Underworld fashionably late and it had only taken a few minutes for Janna to ditch her friends and hide while she moped about her feelings, but of course as soon as she wanted company again there was none to be found. She huffed and pulled out her phone, switching between a few games to occupy the time.

“Hey.” She looked up to find Tom holding two glasses. “Anything fun going on in this empty corner?”

“Yeah, it’s pretty intense over here. Some dust bunnies got in a street fight.” She smirked and stole one of his glasses, raising it to her lips for a sip.

“Wait, don’t, that’s-” It tasted funny, fruity and sweet but with a metallic tang. “Blood.” Ah. She considered it for a moment before deciding to take another sip. She’d had worse. “Anyway, where have you been? We basically haven’t seen you since we got here.”

“Oh, you know, nowhere and everywhere. It’s what I do,” she deflected. “Where’re the others?” Star and Ponyhead were forces of nature when it came to stealing the spotlight, so Janna figured they were her best shot at getting through the night with minimal awkwardness.

“We were taking a break and then they ran off to a photobooth. I still don’t really get the hype, but you know how it is with them.”

“Yeah, it’s gross.”

“Yep…” They both fell silent, continuing to drink what was supposedly some kind of real blood punch as the dance droned on in the background. “Hey, so, uh, can we talk for a sec? About… us?”

She tried her damnedest to suppress the unexpected surge of conflicting emotions, burying her face in her cup until she thought she could reliably answer. One time, when they were in elementary school, she’d poured milk down Marco’s shirt at lunch and a few other girls had teased her, insisting that meant Janna had a crush on him. She never really understood that connection - she just kinda liked pranking Marco - but the taunts had gotten to her. There was a sort of pride she felt in being inscrutable, an enigma that could only be unraveled on her own terms. Had he figured her out so easily when she herself had been in denial? A mumbled “uh, sure” was the best she could as she ran through the last few months in her head trying to figure out if she’d betrayed her feelings.

“It’s pretty loud in here, can we head outside?” Janna only nodded in response, her own racing thoughts drowning out her surroundings. The DJ was announcing some kind of special song request as the gym doors closed behind them and they stepped out into the chilly winter air. “Oh, right, um-” Tom quickly took his jacket off, handing it to her. “Since it’s cold, and I can make my own fire, and-”

“Thanks,” she gruffly said, putting her arms through it. Damn him. She was cold, and he was being thoughtful and helpful, but it only made the upcoming conversation even more difficult for her to have. One hand idly pawed through the enchanted storage compartment she’d fitted in her dress (even in formalwear, she considered function most important). Damnit, she’d left her entire arsenal at home, save for a prototype glass bottle that would harmlessly evaporate on impact, which was filled with some leftover antigravity potion - no easy way out of this, then.

“No problemo,” he drawled, pointing finger guns at her before jamming both hands into his pockets and staring at the ground. “Since Star and I broke up, I’ve been trying really hard to just be my own person. Heck, you’re the one that showed me that’s what I needed to focus on. I had no clue what I was doing.... Honestly, I still don’t.” He paused again, turning back towards the school. “Being here, it just makes it hard to ignore how things have been kinda, you know, weird lately, between…” A little fireball coming off his finger zigzagged back and forth between them.

Why was he so insistent on bringing this up? “Look, Tom, we don’t have to-”

He turned back towards her “Yes, Janna, I think we do! If we don’t deal with it now it’s only going to get worse, and I don’t- I can’t-”

“Dude, drop it, OK? Let’s just go back inside so we can-”

“NO!” A puff of flame shot out of his head but quickly dissipated, leaving only a lingering sizzle and water in his eyes. “I can’t do this anymore! I like you, Janna. I really like you, and it’s screwing everything up.” ...wha? There were a few hundred possible ways Janna thought to respond, but none even made it beyond a guttural yelp in her throat, so Tom continued unabated. “I know you’re you, and you can stay really chill about stuff even when you care a lot, but I can’t, OK? You’re clever and fearless and everything’s more fun with you. You’re one of my best friends and that’s why I couldn’t keep doing this without telling you even if I’m probably making a complete idiot of myself right now.” Every second that Janna remained utterly paralyzed on the spot left Tom’s eyeliner even more streaked as his tears rained down, each tiny splash hissing on the cold pavement and melting the nearby snow and ice. “Yeah, OK, I get it. Look, forget I said anything, I just want to still be friends, OK? I- I totally get if you want some space for a while, so I’ll just- alright, bye.” He wiped off his face with his sleeve and turned around, floating off the ground and flying back into the building, leaving Janna alone on the sidewalk.

The oncoming shivers in Janna’s spine provided the final push to lift the dense fog clouding her mind. He’d just confessed to her, he had a crush on her, and she’d basically just snapped his heart in two. Pangs of guilt and sorrow and joy all ganged up on her; was this how bad things had been for Star and Marco? She almost felt sorry for ribbing them about their romantic struggles now. At this point the only thing left to do was to find Tom, so she sprinted into the building after him, braving the fray of the dance floor once more.

Can’t be that hard to spot a tall set of horns with three eyes. Even though there were all sorts of monsters in attendance, there were very few demons, but that didn’t seem to help her locate him. He wasn’t responding to her texts either, ugh! As Janna kept looking around, she realized she didn’t recognize anyone here. She’d left Echo Creek Academy at the same time as Marco but didn’t go to college, nor had she spent a ton of time with Mewni’s teenage population before the Cleaving. The Underworld was what she knew best; it was where she’d felt most at home, even with two whole dimensions merged together, and that realization spurred her to keep searching. Janna barged through another door into the hallway and rounded a corner, instantly colliding with someone.

“Ex-CUSE me! Watch your freaking face before I pulv-” Ponyhead shouted, shaking her hair back into place after being bumped into the locker. “Oh, it’s you, girl! Where you been? And is that Tom’s jac-”

“Tom. Have you seen him?”

“Oh, I see how it is, first Starco gets their own flipping song and runs outside to go boink under the moonlight or whatever, then my boyfriend runs off to sell a toaster or whatever, then Tom comes in here all moody and doesn’t want to talk to me, and now you’re abandoning me too? I feel like I’ve barely been around you guys lately, why does no one want to spend time with Ponyhead?”

“Wait, didn’t you dump- never mind, Pony, this is important, OK? I seriously blew it, I need to talk to him-”

“Hey, woah, is there some drama going on here? Shoot, why didn’t you say so? OK, so, he was floating around in circles out here for a bit. I came out here to do my bi-hourly makeup check just a minute ago and I do believe he was going back into the gym, mmhm, yes, that is where he was. Go do whatchu gotta do and give me the juicy deets after, mmkay?” Ponyhead winked and whacked Janna on the back with her horn.

Janna ran back into the gym and finally spotted Tom standing in the center of the floor, uninterestedly swaying back and forth to the beat of some crooning couple’s ballad. When his eyes met hers, his gaze became visibly pained as he turned to walk away. “Tom!” Her pleading shout was emphatic enough to keep him from running, but it also attracted an audience and left her standing there, too uncomfortable to speak.

Janna put one foot forward, then another, then another, willing herself forward against her better judgment. She’d frankly had enough: enough talking about her feelings, enough uncertainty about her own relationships, enough giving a single damn about “what-if”s. There’d be plenty of time later to tell him he was her best friend too, to assuage his doubts, and to put more meaningful words to her own feelings, but for now, she had settled on a course of action that began with reaching into her pocket to pull out the lone potion bottle within.

“Uh, Janna, what-” Tom stammered, a different kind of concern than the one he’d been stewing in all night bubbling up in his expression as the crowd backed up slightly. Some tiny voice in the back of her mind registered that they seemed nervous to the point of being frightened, and that comforting feeling pushed her to do the one last thing she needed to do. Before he could react, she slammed the bottle to the ground at her feet and felt the weak antigravity effect take hold. Janna closed the last few steps of distance to Tom, firmly grabbed both his shoulders, and kicked off the ground, crashing her lips into his as she hovered a few inches off the dance floor. Tom unconsciously did the same, letting her momentum carry both of them into the air until the confused, but cheering, audience was beneath them.

As he started to return the kiss, he hesitantly placed one arm on her waist and another behind her back to keep them from drifting apart, and Janna wasn’t sure she’d ever felt so secure.

***

Alright, that’s the last of them. Marco finished carefully stacking the photo strips in Star’s bag while he waited for her to return from the restroom. The photobooth had thankfully been a much more fun and much less emotionally exhausting experience this time around, though a very smug Ben Photino had still greeted them when they were done, $650 richer than before.

Now’s my chance, Star thought as she snuck up and affectionately pounced on Marco from behind. Nearly everything about tonight had been perfect so far - just her, Marco, and their friends getting a night of dancing and partying she wasn’t sure she’d ever forget. For so much of her life, it had seemed like nothing important could ever happen without a sizable dose of drama and conflict; by comparison, this all seemed like a dream, and she didn’t want to wake up anytime soon. Speaking of her friends, though… “Hey, where are the others?” She felt a bit guilty over ditching everyone else to go back to the booth for corn knows how much time, but she was certain they wouldn’t have gone too far.

“Not sure,” Marco responded, craning his neck and spotting a tuft of pink spiky hair and two brown horns across the gym. Why was he heading for the exit?

Marco started to lead the way across the gym floor when the sound system screeched with audio feedback and boomed with the sound of tapping a microphone. “Echo Creek, are we having fun tonight?” the DJ, Kim H. Brian, asked the cheering crowd. “We’re gonna keep this party flowing, but right now we have a very special song for all the soulmates out there, so get ready to twist and twirl your special guy or girl.” Star and Marco tentatively stopped in their tracks.

“Is that-” Marco started.

“What Tom was talking about?” Star finished. “We have to get him before he misses it!” What did you do this time, Tom?

(LINK TO AUDIO)

They had made it to the center of the dance floor when the lights dimmed and tinted red. It was obviously from a stage light, but the effect still flooded them with the same hopes and wants and fears from their run-ins with the Blood Moon. Marco gently smiled and took the lead, keeping one hand in hers and tugging her closer with the other on her waist. Piano chords opened the piece - a slow waltz - and Star and Marco were taking their first steps when the cello started to play a hauntingly familiar melody. It struck them both at the same time - this was the same tune that had played when they danced under the light of the Blood Moon only a few months into her friendship. Their moves grew more daring and flashy as the song went on, spinning and swaying to the rhythm.

“I always forget how good a dancer you are, Marco” Star dreamily sighed when he spun her around and dipped her down.

“My grandma taught me. She says that the only right way to dance is the fun way,” Marco laughed, lingering for half a second too long as the music swelled around them. Somewhere in those blue eyes sparkling with only love for him, he’d lost track of the world around them. Only after he noticed how the blonde curls in front of her ears shimmered in the red light did he snap back to reality and continue the dance, much to Star’s amusement.

“That’s good, because it’s always fun with you.” They stepped in harmony, slowly rotating as they box stepped to the same waltz that had once been a source of apprehension. Star took her hand off his shoulder and lifted it to his face, rubbing her thumb over his cheek. She knew the contours of his face inside and out, could describe every last detail of all the facial hairs that he’d given silly names, could picture every last one of the warm and loving ways his soothing chocolate gaze could pierce her soul, yet it didn’t stop her from being completely enraptured by it now. That intimate knowledge informed her when even the most trivial thing was out of place, which is why she decided to flick a spot just under his mole. “You had a fleck of corn.”

“In my defense, your dad’s cooking is really messy.”

“Yeah… it was cute, though. Like you had a second mole.” Something had changed in the waltz from what they remembered, a different theme slowly building until it led into a refrain that was entirely new yet somehow familiar in a way neither could place. It was a vibrant, comforting melody that felt right for them. Star shifted her hands to the back of his neck as the distance closed between them. Though Marco had grown noticeably taller than her, in her heels she found herself at nearly eye level with him as she rested her forehead on his.

Marco’s arms slithered around her waist, holding her tight as their lively waltz morphed into intimate, formless swaying. “This- this is really nice.”

“Yeah… I love it. I love you, Marco.” She paused a moment, leaning back to get a clear view of as much of him as she could; even after a year and a half of being together and years of friendship before that, she was still giddy over how much she truly loved every bit of him. “Nothing’s ever going to change that.”

“I love you too, Star. I’m not going anywhere.” Their hands joined once more as they resumed their spirited dance, their devotion to one another vaulting their joy to new heights. Neither cared about elegance or form anymore; their steps and spins and lifts came from the deepest places within, as if their very souls were mingling in the air above. Plucked strings accentuated the song as it grew calmer and entered what Marco was fairly sure was its final verse. A bittersweet sensation bubbled up from within his chest; he’d had plenty of moments with Star that he’d never wanted to end, but this one seemed to have an extra significance attached. The final chord of the waltz rung out, the pair both freezing in place in their final waltz pose, stunned at the beauty of what had just transpired.

The crowd’s clapping broke finally them out of their trance. “Woah,” they breathed out in unison. In her breathless state, Star idly wondered if the applause was for them, but she realized how silly that was as the full breadth of the outside world slowly trickled back into her senses. Shortly after, the dance went back to normal; had it been a dream? No, of course not, it had literally just happened mere seconds ago, but the impact it had on them felt otherworldly.

Returning from the daze, Marco finally recalled their goal of finding Tom, and the extent to which Marco wanted to crush Tom in a thankful hug and blubber into his shoulder gave it an additional sense of urgency. He turned to her with a determined look, and had it returned. “We should find Tom.” They went to the gym exit, but it was blocked by... Miss Skullnick.

“Oh, it’s you. Nice to see you, Star,” she saccharinely sneered. “Don’t be trying anything funny, you hear me? We’ve already had four couples’ ‘incidents’.”

A shiver ran through Star at the involuntary thought of Miss Skullnick catching her and Marco in a more... private moment, but she quickly brushed it aside for her own sanity. “Skullzy, we’re just trying to find our friend,” she whined.

“Well, too bad, you can’t use this door. The sidewalk somehow melted and completely iced over, and I don’t wanna be sued for liability!”

“C’mon, Star,” Marco said. “We can just go out the front door.” She was still indignant, but acquiesced and followed Marco into the main building and through a hallway. They rounded the corner to the main entrance and stopped dead in their tracks at the sight of Ponyhead passionately making out with Seahorse.

“Pony?!?” Star shouted.

“Oh, um, why hello Star and Earth Turd!”

“Greetings!” Seahorse added in his usual monotone chipper voice.

Star slapped her hand to her forehead. “I thought you broke up ‘for really-realz’ this time, Pony?”

“Well, yes, mmhmm, I do believe that is how I described the sequence of events that occurred. But then, well, you know how it is with him… we made up while y’all went off to take a bazillion pictures or whatever. That weird old human lady that kinda looks like a troll caught us while we were-”

“Pony!” Star yelled, cutting her off in shock. Really, though, the most surprising part was that Ponyhead had been responsible for only one of the so-called “couple’s incidents.”

“Lilacia gave a very high satisfaction rating to the Reflectacorp™ line of vibrating-”

Marco stepped in and clamping Seahorse’s mouth shut before they could be traumatized any further. Star rolled her eyes and took Marco’s hand once more, heading past the other couple towards the front door.

“Fine, I see how it is. C’mon, Seahorse, let’s go get freak-ay on the dance floor!”

“Reflectacorp™ disco technology allows you to boogie and/or woogie risk-free, guarantee-!”

The double doors shut behind Star and Marco as they stepped out into the cold. They walked around the building towards the gym and saw that Miss Skullnick had been telling the truth; but there was no one else in sight, only the snowflakes gently drifting through the air and a full moon above in the night sky. Star still wanted to get back to her friends, but the tranquil scene gave her pause as she stood beside him. Something had been subtly gnawing at her all night - though it’d been on her mind longer than that, if she was honest with herself. “Hey Marco?”

“Yeah?”

“When Eclipsa said earlier about ‘another dance’...” She swallowed, letting the implication hang between them. “Do you think that’s something that will happen?”

He glanced at her quizzically until the meaning sank in and his heart skipped a beat. Was she- did she- is she asking… His eyes blinked rapidly once, twice, three times while he processed the gravity of the question. But his surprise quickly dissolved; after all, he’d been thinking about it too. Maybe he hadn’t drawn that specific connection, but how many times tonight alone had he beheld the wonderful girl beside him and remarked to himself that he’d be happy with her for the rest of his life? He swiveled around to stand in front of her, taking both of her hands into his own. “If you want it to, then I know it will, someday.”

She sighed happily, lacing her fingers through his. It wasn’t even the first time they’d declared their love with permanence, but no matter how far they went, they couldn’t help but be concerned about how the other felt about the next step. “Didn’t a lot of people usually wait until they’re, like, 30 to get married on Earth?”

“A lot of them, yeah,” he admitted, “but, I dunno, I don’t really care about that.”

“Me neither,” she asserted, happily beaming at him.

“So we just… let it happen when we’re ready, I guess.”

“Mmhmm,” Star hummed, feeling a warmth deep inside that combated the chill prickling her skin. One of her hands left his and tangled itself in his hair, as her gaze fondly roved the face she hoped to see as long as she lived before finally settling on his lips. He had the same idea, leaning forward and sweetly kissing her. Their lips were a bit chapped from the cold, but it didn’t bother either of them; this signified something far more than physical gratification. She pressed them closer together until there was no distance left between them, the dual friction of his soft, inviting lips moving against hers and her silky dress rubbing on the coarse fabric of his jacket thrummed through her entire body.

When they separated, his eyes scanned the sky for a moment before sheepishly turning back downwards. “Huh,” he murmured.

“What?”

“Nothing, it’s stupid.” Star raised an eyebrow insistently, the pair still in each other’s arms. “It’s just, I thought that maybe- maybe the Blood Moon would be shining, or our cheekmarks would glow or something. It’s dumb, I know-”

“Well, that does happen to us a lot,” she conceded. “But I’m pretty sure the eclipse isn’t supposed to start until, like, 3 AM.” “Have you ever thought about when we broke the Curse?”

“What do you mean?”

Star stepped away from their embrace, folding her arms and stuffing her frigid hands under her armpits as she frustratedly tried to piece together her complicated thoughts. “Like, when we were in the Severing Stone, I remember it took us back to the Blood Moon Ball and we started dancing… what happened after that? If it never changed how we feel, what was even the point?”

Marco shrugged; when he’d finally accepted his feelings once and for all, he’d dismissed the entire concept of the Curse as bogus, but since then he had considered it in some new lights. “If it was actually a curse, I’m glad we got rid of it, but… looking back, I’m kinda glad that the Blood Moon Ball went like it did. That was one of the first times I saw how special you are to me.”

“Same. Plus, that’s where I learned you dance good,” she growled with a smirk. “But still… sometimes I wonder if I told you I loved you while we were in there. Because I did love you then, you know. Even if I was trying to push it away.”

“Maybe we’ll never know.”

“I guess I’ll just have to tell you every chance I get from now on, then, because you’re stuck with me, Diaz.”

“So long as we both shall live. Do you accept?” He asked with a cheeky grin.

Her laughter, bubbly and playful and sincere all at once, was answer enough for Marco. Not one to be outdone, though, Star carefully lowered herself onto one knee, lowering her head and closing her eyes solemnly before looking back up at him. “I dooOOOH-” She shrieked as the icy sidewalk took its toll and sent her toppling sideways. Marco reacted quickly, stopping her from hitting the ground and helping her to her feet. “Maaaaybe we should go inside now.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” he responded, draping his jacket over both their shoulders like a cape. “Still have to thank Tom.” She clung to him as they hurried back around the school and into its shelter from the cold - even shared body heat and emotional warmth could only do so much. Although they’d removed whatever eternal supernatural soul-binding curse the Blood Moon may have bestowed, Marco mused, they’d still shared a tender first dance and grown as partners under its light, once upon a time. Perhaps, in a roundabout way, it had always been a blessing, too. In a sense, they’d just cleaved their own souls together again with only a simple promise. No magic, no curses, just Star Butterfly and Marco Diaz... and that was more than enough.

They stepped back into the gym, ready for the hours of partying ahead of them, and were greeted by the sight of Janna and Tom floating in the air locked in a passionate kiss. Star and Marco’s eyeballs both nearly bugged out of their heads as their eyes whipped back and forth between each other and the spectacle in front of them, leaving them with only one possible response.

“WHAT THE-”

[radiojamming]

I feel like the low-hanging fruit of a prompt to give you is something around the canonical presence of the Franklin Expedition in TMA lore. Everchase fic?

[GRABS THAT FRUIT AND SCURRIES BACK UP MY TREE WITH IT BEFORE U CAN EVEN BLINK]

also i picked my 3rd favorite franklin expedition boy as the main dude here :3c and this isn’t terror-centric so much as it lines up with MAG 133!

- - -

Tom doesn’t understand what possesses the men he sails with. Some of them have such a want; such a craving and a desire that he cannot fathom, what with his simple daily tasks and basic training. He sees it, sometimes, when he’s tying off ropes or painting or tarring. He sees their hunger, spies it when they look out at where the sea is caked in ice, threatening the end of a cold summer. Out beyond the grey mountains and glaciers, the knife points of broken ice, the strange creatures, the dancing lights that curtain the stars, he knows they see the Northwest Passage. They see it so clearly that they’re blind to what’s in front of them now.

He sees a job. He sees chores and things that years in the Navy have taught him to do. 

Of course, he also wants things. Everyone does. Tom wants to make it through the expedition in one piece, whether it end in the Sandwich Islands or England if they have to turn tail. He wants to collect his double pay, count it out from his hands to his mother’s, and feel safe and warm again before the next set of sails and ropes entices him back to the sea. 

And once, he wanted adventure. He wouldn’t have had the thought to sign onto Erebus if there wasn’t some part of him that craved it. It didn’t capture his senses the way it does for some of the men, but there was a thrill that ran a gauntlet through his heart when he saw something truly strange, like the auroras or the twirled horns of narwhals peeking up through the ice. Sometimes, he would eagerly run down to the orlop after his watch ended and pen out a quick letter to his sisters, his brother, his mother, or his cousins—just hurried observations of the Arctic and how different it was from Gillingham. 

He wanted adventure. The past tense is deliberate and fierce. He wanted, because the only reason it was ever in the present tense at all is now buried under six feet of frozen gravel some two hundred miles north. If he must want something presently, he wants his brother back from the dead.

No, he doesn’t understand the men who seek the Passage like hounds on a scent. What’s the use of wanting something you’re not meant to have?

- - -

They freeze in for the second summer in a row. The sun kisses the horizon, pressing rosy lips to grey shale and pink ice—then draws back up into a powder blue sky to wink above them. 

That’s when people start to disappear.

First, it’s Sir John. He dies in June—or so Tom’s told. He apparently dies in the night, long after the dog watches take place. Captain Crozier tells the men that they’ll be burying Sir John right away, but Commander— no, Captain Fitzjames’ face is fixed peculiarly when the announcement is made. Dreadfully ill, Crozier tells them. He can’t be seen.

It doesn’t make sense. Many of the ABs echo the sentiment, but the mates and lieutenants are quick to quash their concerns. The burial is hasty, committing a simple wooden box to the gravel with only a large stone to mark the grave itself. This strikes Tom as stranger than all the Arctic’s oddest traits combined. His brother, a lowly able-bodied seaman, was afforded more decorum than Sir John Franklin. 

More disappear after that. Fairholme and Osmer apparently die on a hunting expedition. Aylmore, Goddard, and Kinnaird aren’t far behind, disappearing into that sun-soaked horizon with only whispers left behind. 

Reddington makes the oddest display before his disappearance; honestly, he’s the best hint to Tom that something very, very strange is happening. The night before he goes missing, he wakes half the ship up with a maniacal laugh, practically screaming in pure incoherence before Lieutenant Le Vesconte drags him into the Wardroom, presumably to calm him. Le Vesconte opens the door only once to ask for Captain Fitzjames and a glass of brandy before he shuts them both in and the screaming starts again. All Tom can catch is the howl of, “It’s there! It’s there! I’ve seen it!” before Fitzjames arrives.

The next morning, Reddington is gone. Fitzjames says he broke loose and ran off after the second dog watch, presumably having gone mad.

A few days later, Crozier says they’re going to abandon ship and begin a long walk south.

- - -

The craving begins in September, Tom thinks. 

If there even is such thing as September. 

In his mind, it’s The Craving, titled like a book. In this book, he thinks the plot would be about men so far gone in their hunger that all the humanity in them decays to nothing, leaving them crazed husks searching for the impossible. At this point, what with men falling into the stones and dying halfway through the descent, he feels they shouldn’t be like this. They should be tending their wounded and ill, making camp more often. But The Craving is in Crozier’s eyes, dragging them further and further towards… something.

Tom doesn’t think they’re looking for the Passage anymore.

He follows along, as he always has. Ever the seaman, now ever the AB, following orders from a boatswain with lips scarred from his whistle freezing to the flesh and tearing away. 

Then, The Craving gets carnal when their last food stores begin to dwindle. Tom barely notices, watching as if in a dream as the man who used to be Daniel Arthur cracks marrow out of a bone, greedily clawing it out of the hollows with his frostbitten fingers. He eats like an animal, and stops only when they begin to move again. 

Tom doesn’t eat with them. Every time he thinks of it, his mind plays some terrible trick. He thinks of John, entombed in ice and rock, emaciated and torn open like an animal was the one who pried his ribs from his body, and not a surgeon. He thinks of what John’s marrow would taste like, and imagines his brother watching him, eyes unfocused behind the mists of death, jaw unhinged in that silent scream of a corpse—judging him.

Tommy, he thinks John would say. Always stealing off my plate, huh?

He doesn’t eat. When the hunger saws at his stomach with iron teeth, he bites his hands, his lips, the wool from his coat, the copper-tasting metal of his buttons. He swallows snow until he vomits. 

And somehow, impossibly, he lives on.

- - -

There are no days.

No weeks.

No months.

Maybe years, but Tom’s stopped counting.

There are only steps, one after another. There are bloody footprints thousands of miles behind them. They abandoned the sledges back in the snow and gravel, leaving useless cargo and a trail of broken bodies. Men still die, but there seems to be no real reason why they do. Tom should have been dead… ten? Twenty? Fifty years ago? He can’t remember. All he knows is that he’s still walking, following behind Crozier and Fitzjames and a dwindling party of men still dressed for the Arctic weather.

They’re in a desert.

Surely they should have found the Passage by now? Tom thinks this as he sees a lizard scurry up a strange plant, spiked like a well-used pincushion. The sun bites his blistering flesh, scrapes its glowing teeth along the back of his neck. Still, he’s never felt the need to take off his slops. There’s something comforting about the What Was, after all.

Why is he here? He doesn’t Crave the way the others do. They always talk about the Passage. It’s over that hill, surely. It’s along this river. If we just walk over there, it will be within sight. He knows it won’t be. It never is.

So why does he walk?

Because you Want, something tells him. It’s a deep, odd thing set in his soul, prone to ring out when struck like a bell, reminding him that he Must Always Walk.

For what?

For the Wanting, it says. And what do you Want, Thomas Hartnell?

Somewhere beyond a flat-topped mountain the colour of blood and bile, he thinks about that question. What does he Want?

He wants his mother to kiss his forehead and tell him good night. He wants Charlie to take apart their father’s pocket watch and put it back together, just in time to proudly show it to Tom. He wants to hear Mary Ann sing old shanties while she kneads dough on Friday morning. He wants to sit at the base of an apple tree while Betsy throws down the fruit, giggling as she does so.

He wants John to come back from the dead.

He wants to go home.

And Home is over that next mountain, says The Craving. Tom looks up at another blood-red mountain, the winking sun pressing a kiss to the slant of its neck. Don’t you want to see it again? Gillingham? Kent? The River and the Sea?

Of course he does, but it isn’t—

Well, maybe it is.

So Tom Wants, and he Craves, and he Walks.

[twodaysintojune]

After the Storm

Part Eleven of In The Beginning - Gabriel’s Origins Supernatural, Gabriel, Warnings-None.

@archangelgabriellives​ One Shot’s Masterlist, Long Stories Masterlist

Find me at AO3

“I don’t care about them!”

A rogue wave crashed against the iceberg.

“They don’t care about me!”

A piece of the iceberg went down.

“I could even destroy all of this and no one would care!”

Gabriel screamed and sent out a wave of grace and power in frustration and broke the massive piece of ice apart. His breath was irregular and rough and he was still upset but that at least helped him diffuse a little. His shoulders slumped and somehow, at one point, his jagged breath turned into sobs.

He descended over another floating piece of ice and knelt upon the surface. The night was clear and the milky way filled the entire sky. The lack of strong winds made this a perfect night to look at the stars but all Gabriel could do was cry.

He cried and cried and cried, wondering where he had gone wrong and how he could not have seen it. He cried for hours, probably days, until his vessel felt just as bad and spent as a normal, tired, desperate human being could feel. 

He fell to his side and stayed lying in fetal position over the treacherously hard exposed layer of ice. He sighed and allowed himself to stop focusing on anything at all, letting the consciousness of all surrounding living beings clutter his own with all sorts of random thoughts proper of nature.

Hours passed and then some days, and then some months and then some years. A layer of crystalized water lifted from the ocean by the wind had already covered his figure but he still didn’t move. He didn’t have to in the end. Even when he could feel the cold seep through his pores, even when he could feel the stabbing air surrounding his makeshift tomb, he was not going to die. Nothing could kill him. He was an Archangel. 

No.

He was a God. And his people might need him.

Gabriel sighed. A blessing of narwhals passed by hundreds of meters below him, below the thick layer of ice. Finally, Gabriel moved his body, cracking his blanket of ice and laid on his back to properly look at the firmament above. A fleeting wonder for his brothers went through his mind but he quickly waved it away and sat. He looked around, wondering what he could do now.

He didn't even consider going back to Heaven. He knew there was nothing there for him. And he knew there was nothing in Asgard either. He had to find a new place to go; a new place to call home and he wondered, Had I been Loki, the real Loki, where would I have gone?

“Might as well ask.” Gabriel decided and flapped his wings once.

He appeared hidden several metres behind him. He always did it that way since they never knew who could be watching and he immediately felt disoriented. He knew for a fact that he was standing on a hill where several sacrifices had been done in his name and yet, now, a church stood at the top. It wasn't called a church yet, but Gabriel clearly felt the pull of adoration towards the heavens; people praying inside. He paced slowly towards it until he was by Loki's side.

"What in the Nine Realms?"

Loki sighed. "Some are calling it the true religion. I'm calling it bullshit."

He turned his back and began to stride away.

"W… what are you doing then? Why are you walking away?"

“Because there’s no point in trying.”

“What do you mean there’s no point in trying? We could subject them! Fill them with fear!”

“And that is exactly the problem, my boy.” Loki turned to face Gabriel. “Their hearts have already been filled with fear, and this one is much more profound.”

“So what are you going to do now?”

“Go back to the woods, stay for my most loyal people. Away from this madness.”

“So you’re pretty much running away? Going in hiding among those who adore you? If you’re going to be there then what am I supposed to do!?”

Loki sighed, frustrated. “I don’t know Gabriel, figure it out! It’s been a long time since you stopped being a child! Besides, weren’t you the one who first ran away from home? You should already know what to do on your own.” 

Gabriel saw Loki walk away from the hill, eventually disappearing into the woods. He had not been able to think of anything to say back with the sudden lash he had received but it didn’t help his mood at all. A person pulled his sleeve to call his attention. A beggar.

“Sir, a coin, please.”

Gabriel saw the man, saw his life, saw his deeds and that his greed had been what had initially plunged him into economic misery. He was already paying for his sins and regretful. Gabriel granted him a couple of copper pieces worthy of three meals. The man beamed and teared a little.

“Thank you kind Sir! You’ll earn a place on the Heavens.”

The man’s face turned into fear when he saw Gabriel’s features turn dark and fierce.

“Do not speak to me about Heaven.”

Fuming, he flapped his wings and went away. Loki smiled proudly behind the first rows of trees and sighed, relieved that Gabriel would keep his promise and stay away from the affairs of his kind.

Tibet. The place had nothing to do with what Gabriel was used to, and that was exactly the reason he had decided to stay there. Barren rocks were struck by cold wind day and night. Vibrant and colorful streaks of fabric of the nomads coming and going. He didn’t remember when he arrived but he did clearly know that it had been some time since the politics about the place have changed. 

Like many other days, he was looking at the distance, sitting at the edge of the railing surrounding the building. The Dalai Lama came and joined his silent contemplation for a while. He finally spoke.

“I believe it is time that our honoured guest leaves the place.”

“Are you sacking me now, old hag?” 

Calling him “old hag” was a bit too much from Gabriel considering this Lama was around his twenties, but Gabriel knew best. He had seen the soul of his predecessor leave his body and run to dive into a recently conceived body thrice already. And he was definitely not up to seeing how on earth this particular soul was able to do that while the rest properly went up or down. Maybe the man had found out some sort of cheat code on his first life.

The Lama smirked, “I am not sacking you as much as you are sacking yourself.” He reclined himself against the railing to properly face Gabriel, who was looking at him confused. “I have seen you sitting here, in this very place, life after life. And you are looking for something but have not found it yet. It is not illumination, since you do not look into our teachings. This means that it is time for you to go away, back to the world.”

Gabriel’s eyes widened. The sharpness of this man’s mind always impressed him, even when it annoyed him a bit that he had been able to see so easily into him; particularly because he had not realized that he was, indeed, looking for something and he was pretty much stalling.

“Well then, where should I go?”

“I guess that answer depends on what you want to achieve.”

Gabriel sighed. He knew that the man was right. He was only there because he was running away from all his problems and all his indecisiveness and really, all he wanted to do was just live without a single preoccupation, but for some reason every time he had involved himself with other people things never turned out right.

Maybe the problem was in himself. Maybe that was the reason that he still felt like he was not at peace. Maybe the Lama was right and he should go out and see if he could find a way to be happy, because even when he was not having any problems here, he didn’t feel happy at all.

He clicked his tongue, “What the heck, maybe you’re right, old hag. See ya later. Well, probably not the you from right now.”

The Lama gave him a wide smile and saw him disappear. 

Gabriel had never placed a foot in Ireland before but he liked it. The evergreens reminded him of his past home at the fjords but it definitely was not the same geography, which was a nice change. Like always, the reason he had chosen the place was because of all the things he didn’t want rather than the ones he did. 

He didn’t want problems, he didn’t want to face any of his past peers, either Heavenly or Asgardian and he didn’t want to be alone. The closest place he could think about was Ireland. He had never seen nor met the Fae Folk and this time seemed just as good as any to finally get acquainted with the Queen. Fixing his clothes to be a little bit more presentable, he walked towards a fairy ring and purposefully crossed the threshold into the realm of the Fae. 

The Fae folk lived free and careless. They ruled themselves by their own hand and respected each other as equals. Their nature was such that they recognized each other as kindred spirits no matter how visibly different their shapes would be. With that in mind, landing there as a pagan god was as much a stealth mission as trying to serve oneself a bowl of cereal in the middle of the night at five years old while your parents are sleeping in their bed. That was to mean, impossible.

The moment he was on the other side, he felt hundreds of curious eyes peeking at him. A jackalope approached him and stood upright with importance.

“Greetings” Gabriel approached the jackalope. “I am here today requesting for a meeting with your Queen in order to introduce myself. My name is—”

“Loki” Said the jackalope with a singing voice, “We know of you. Of all the gods.” The jackalope jumped a couple of steps away and turned towards Gabriel. “Well, come around now!”

Gabriel walked slightly behind the jackalope towards a hill that was no different than the other except for the fact that it was covered with white flowers. The jackalope stopped and turned around.

“She will come see you when the time is right.”

The jackalope ran towards a burrow and hid inside, leaving Gabriel alone. He looked around, waiting for something, anything, and when nothing seemed to come Gabriel sighed and sat on a flat rock that looked perfect just for that. A couple of minutes later, he heard a rustling behind. He turned around and met a Leprechaun, small enough that he couldn’t even reach his knee. The Fae stopped in his tracks.

“Oh darn the luck, I thought I had you.”

Gabriel snickered. “Hello my fellow...”

“O’Leary, you can call me O’Leary.” The tiny man shaped figure stretched his hand towards Gabriel who took it and gave it a shake.

“Loki.”

“You know better than most to give away your name like that.”

“I know better than most that some rules only apply to humans and those of their nature.”

O’Leary grinned a wicked smile, teeth showing up in a serrated pattern that Gabriel would not normally put to this type of creature. He sat by Gabriel’s side.

“So, what does a God of Tricks and Mischief do in our realm?”

“I’m waiting for your Queen.”

“Did she say she’d come?”

“She will come in time.”

“It’s not usual for her to show up right away. You might have to wait a looooong time.”

“I am no human, I don’t have urgent business to attend.”

O’Leary hummed in approval. “I like you. I thought you’d be more of a conceited asshole.”

“What can I say, maybe it’s because I’m adopted.”

O’Leary cackled with that laughter that shakes the entire body, he then slapped Gabriel’s thigh.

“Say, don’t you wanna come with me and prank someone?”

O’Leary jumped and began to dash away, turning after a couple of metres to see if Gabriel was still behind him. Gabriel looked at him for a second and pondered if it was okay to leave. He thought of all the time he spent by Kali’s side, first trying to woo her, then trying to keep her and then all the time he spent in self retreat. It had been long since he’d last played a trick on someone, anyone. He stood up, eyes shining bright just like his smile and paced behind the little folk with a mischievous snicker.

[thdorkmagnet]

Light of the Sun and Stars Chapter 15: Fight of Uncertain Death

Summary: His whole life Marco Diaz has been raised by monsters, living under the cruel rule of their leader, Toffee. But one day Marco escapes into Mewni where he meets a magical princess and Mewman like himself, who begins teaching him all about her world. Together they will learn about life, love, and the lights within each of them, as they change their world forever.

Chapter Synopsis: It’ s Star vs Toffee, as Marco and the gang rushes to Star’s rescue. Will they make it in time? Can Star beat the monster who is hiding a terrifying secret?

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Disclaimer: Star vs and all its characters are owned by Daron Nefcy and Disney. All rights go to them.

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Every monster blinked, trying to clear their spotted vision from the sudden bright intrusion on their senses, trying to see the condition of their boss after the surprise attack from the princess. Star, as well, had left herself half-blind, but she did her best to not show the disadvantage, staring forward with a hard look, bracing herself for another attack. Though she knew her magical narwhal had to have hit its target, she was confused by the lack of any indication it had met its mark, no scream of pain, no gasp from his lackeys, just silence. A silence that continued to stretch out, unnerving the already panicked girl.

Finally, Star regained some of her senses, able to see the dark forest that surrounded her once again. She did a quick look around to see there were no monsters sneaking up on her, all of them too busy rubbing their eyes to notice her. Star allowed herself a small smile of victory as she turned to the feared lizard once again. Maybe this wasn't going to be so bad after all. If she kept her head, maybe she could get out of this fight in one piece.

But any hope she had shattered as she finally saw the condition of her fierce opponent, her mouth dropping open and her eyes widening in fear. Toffee, in fact, had not moved an inch, not knocked down or crushed or even scarred, just standing there, hands behind his back, giving her that same blank look from before, the narwhal she had launched collapsed against the tree behind him. Did he seriously dodge it? Star thought in disbelief. “H-How did-” she muttered in disbelief, looking down at her wand as if it was somehow it's fault she had missed.

“Well I'll admit,” Toffee spoke, sounding unimpressed. “I certainly wasn't expecting that. But I'm afraid if that's all you have, then you are extremely disappointing.”

“Rainbow Fist!” Star screamed firing off another spell, shooting a glittering rainbow in the shape of a fist right at her hated enemy. And again, Toffee did nothing to dodge, just staring blankly at the incoming attack, then at the last second he held a claw out, the enchanted fist making contact with his claw. There was a bright flash of light, followed by a giant cloud of rainbow colored dust settling around the area, leaving several of the monsters coughing. But after a moment the multicolored smoke faded, Star smiling with pride at the sight of the lizard, his arm completely gone, destroyed in the attack.

“How's that for disappointing?!” Star taunted the so-called unbreakable monster, needing to come across as braver than she actually felt. She looked around at the rest of the monsters with a confident smirk, but to her surprise none of them seemed even slightly disturbed by the condition of their leader, in fact, their faces matched her own, even the lizard showing no pain or fear from losing one of his limbs. But before the royal could question the reason for this, Toffee spoke, “Did you really think it was going to be that easy, little princess?”

Star could only stare in horror as the monster leader's severed limb began to regrow itself, stretching and expanding outward at an alarming rate, in a matter of seconds the arm fully reformed. “H-How-” Star stuttered in terror, taking a few uncomfortable steps back, her fear showing once more. The lizard flexed the muscle, clenching his claw into a tight fist, to show the princess how truly futile the attack had been, Star no longer able to recognize any damage having ever been done. “What are you?” she muttered. But the lizard didn't answer, instead smiling wickedly at her, the first real show of emotion since his arrival, and Star felt her heart drop into her chest at the sight, shuddering against her will.

She tried to keep her hands steady as she shouted at the top of her lungs, “Crystal Heart Daggers!” Her wand instantly reacting as it fired off the appropriate spell, the tiny sharp daggers heading right for the lizard. Once again her spell made contact, ripping and poking into the fearsome lizard, who looked more annoyed than hurt. And once again, any damage was repaired almost instantly, as he brushed the tiny crystals off of him and straightened out his suit.

But that didn't stop the frightened princess, as she fired off another spell, then another, and another, desperately trying to wear down the lizard, to make some sort of progress against him, fear for her survival making her lose all self-control as she shouted off every spell she knew or could think of in that panic-filled moment.

Finally, she stopped shooting, as her mind drew a blank on what to say next, having already recited every spell she knew from her book, panting heavily, as she stared hopelessly at the monster leader, his suit slightly singed, small clouds of smoke rising off of him, but otherwise unharmed. Now Star finally understood why no Mewman had ever survived in a fight against him, how he had come to be so feared by the people of Mewni, everything about him shrouded in mystery, not a soul able to tell what made the lizard so deadly and powerful, that secret now known only by Star. Toffee wasn't just tough, he was invincible, any hit someone managed to land on him would be reversed in a matter of seconds, even magic useless against his incredible healing abilities. How was she supposed to win against a creature that was relatively unbeatable?

“Are you finished?” the lizard said in a cool tone and Star only panted in response, glaring daggers at him. “Good,” he continued, taking her silence for an answer, as he took a step closer to her. “Then I think we-”

“Super Glitter Bomb!” Star screamed, firing off a small glitter covered orb, which exploded the second it landed at Toffee's feet. For a few seconds, the forest was silent as the smoke cleared, the monsters staring wide-eyed, surprised by the courage of the young girl, most Mewmans at this point had given up any hope of winning and accepted their fate. Of course, this meant she was foolish as well. Star kept a firm gaze on the lizard as his dagger-like stare narrowed on her, clearly growing impatient with the girl, his body slowly healing from his injuries.

“I'm not giving up,” she explained via hiss.

“How noble,” Toffee dead-panned. He snapped his fingers and suddenly Star found herself surrounded by the monsters, growling as they all began to enclose in on the girl, rushing her from all sides. Star quickly became overwhelmed, as she had to dodge and weave her way around the monsters, shooting off spells when she could, doing her best not to get hit by the unending numbers of claws that swiped and grabbed at her, struggling to hold them at bay. Toffee just watched quietly from the sidelines, the sounds of grunting and screaming from combat echoing through the area, often accompanied by a bright burst from the girl's wand, waiting patiently as his lackeys began to slowly tire the princess, knowing it was only a matter of time before she was subdued. She was strong, yes, but inexperienced, she couldn't keep going forever, eventually the girl would slip up, and once she did then the game would be over. Yes, everything was going perfectly according to his plans, now all that was left was to wait for the final pawn to arrive.

...

Marco heard the explosions even from a distance, the loud booming sound echoing through the thick foliage that made up the Forest of Certain Death, the ground beneath his feet shuddering slightly as he ran. He turned to look behind him, Jackie and Janna still on his heels, the discouragement on their faces telling him they had heard the sound too.

The whole way there Marco had been hoping that he had been wrong about the trouble he suspected Star was in, that this whole thing wasn't a trap set up for his unsuspecting bestie, but he had been unable to shake the feeling that all was not right, the whole thing too methodical and suspicious to be nothing more than a bizarre coincidence. The timing was too perfect, an anti-portal generator going out in that particular forest in the the middle of the night, just after a monster attack, there was no way, it had to be Toffee. And as Marco watched explosion after explosion litter the sky, too familiar to be anything else but Star's wand, he felt a cold twinge of fear flow through him, chilling him to the bone, every step only increasing his worry over Star's safety, as the dark treeline drew ever closer, the same three words looping themselves through Marco's panic-stricken mind over and over again, please be alight, please be alright, please be alright.

“Hey guys, don't look now but I think we've got another problem,” Janna's voice suddenly called out, pulling Marco out of his daze as he looked behind him to see Janna looking over towards town, causing both him and Jackie to do the same.

It seemed the three friends weren't the only ones who had taken notice of the commotion, several of the townspeople coming out of their homes to try and spot the source of the disturbance, looking nervous and agitated as the colorful explosions lit up the sky within the dark forest that bordered their home, shifting uneasily on their feet and pointing to the sky with grim scowls, muttering amongst themselves as they tried to make sense of this seemingly troubling situation.

“Looks like Star's attracting an audience,” Janna finished.

“That can't be good,” Jackie said, her normally smooth tone troubling to the boy.

“Why, do you think their all gonna freak out like before when that statue got broken?” Marco asked worriedly.

“Well they do look like almost mob levels,” Janna said.

There was a short moment of silence as the three ran, looking at the increasingly anxious crowd with concern. Finally Jackie said in a low tone, “We better hurry.”

Marco and Janna nodded in agreement, the hooded boy increasing his pace, the thick treeline growing ever closer, as the ground around him shook and rumbled. He was starting to grow tired, his legs aching and screaming at him to slow down, but he pushed himself on, finding Star more important to him than a little discomfort. He didn't think he would feel comfort again until he found his bestie, until he knew she was safe from all the dangers that he had brought on her. He felt his stomach twist with guilt as a realization came to him, this was his fault. He was the reason Star was probably fighting for her life right then, he never should have come, shouldn't have been stupid enough to think that he could escape Toffee. He needed to make this right. He had to fix this, somehow. Even if that meant facing the dreaded lizard again. Marco held back a shudder as his gaze, once again, drifted upward, just in time to see a bright purple light streak into the sky, the hooded boy quietly muttering something under his breath, as if afraid the forest might overhear, before forcing his way through the thick foliage that bordered the Forest of Certain Death, Jackie and Janna close behind. “Hang on, Star. We're on our way, I promise.”

But, unfortunately for the boy, his whispered vow hadn't gone completely unheard, the small fly monster had overheard every word clearly from his hiding spot in the trees. And what the boy in the red hood also wasn't aware of, was the thousands of tiny eyes trained directly on him as he headed deeper into the forest, Boo Fly needing to make sure to keep a close watch on the young one for what was about to happen next.

…

Star swallowed down the lump in her throat, as she realized how hopeless this situation was becoming. Here she was alone and unguarded, surrounded by monsters, and facing off against an unbeatable foe with no chance of rescue. Not to mention the fact that with every second that passed she was growing weaker and weaker, panting heavily as she desperately dodged and weaved her way around the enemies that scratched and clawed at her, shooting off every spell she could think of, the forest around her growing more and more singed and destroyed, the smell of smoke filling the air. But even with her wand, she was still at the disadvantage, having to be careful not to hit any of the unconscious guards, some of the monsters picking up on this and making sure to stand between the princess and her comatose protectors. One such monster, a big alligator with a very human looking arm, tried this strategy, trying to lung at the girl from her blind spot only to be met with the backside of her wand, as she smacked it as hard into his face as she could, cringing as she hoped she hadn't damaged the magical device from the spur of the moment reaction, stepping out of the way, as the amphibian monster landed hard at her feet.

She was holding her own for now, the monsters becoming weary of getting too close, knowing it would only be met with a supercharged hit from the girl's overpowered wand, instead circling around her, looking for an opening, knowing she couldn't watch all of them at once, all the while Toffee just calmly watched the scene from the background, claws behind his back, a blank, unamused look on his face, which infuriated Star to no end.

He was toying with her, trying to wear her down before going in for the kill, she had no idea what the monster had in store for her, whether he intended to simply kill her right there or try and hold her for ransom or perhaps something much worse, but whatever the outcome, she knew she couldn't allow herself to fail, knowing it wouldn't end well for her or the rest of Mewni. She had to get away, had to escape, or at the very least find a place where she was at a bit more of a tactical advantage and not prohibited from using her wand fully. She needed a plan, but what? Whatever she did, she needed to think of it fast, before she grew too tired, already starting to feel her limbs grow sore from overwork, her panicked adrenaline beginning to wear out as exhaustion took its place.

The girls' thoughts were interrupted as the bear monster nearly got a crucial hit on her, the girl moving out of the way at the last moment, his claws coming inches away from her face, Star feeling the air whoosh past her face as she ducked low to the ground, but she recovered quickly, holding her wand point blank out at the already singed monster and shouting at the top of her lungs, “Cotton Candy Devastation Blast!”

“Not again!” Bearicorn whined, as the magic in Star's wand finished gathering.

…

Marco heard the explosion followed by a loud yell echo around them, a hot air brushing against his face, smiling widely as he realized how close by it sounded, able to pinpoint the location of the struggle. He turned around to yell something to Jackie and Janna. “Hey gu-”

But he never got to finish his sentence, as his foot bumped up against a rope tripping him and sending him tumbling to the hard, forest floor, while behind him a thick net was sent hurtling to the ground, falling right on top of the girls, throwing them both to the ground under its crushing weight.

Marco sat up, staring in horror at his two now trapped friends. “Jackie! Janna!” he yelled.

Jackie coughed, trying to gain some air back in her lungs, all of it knocked out of her from the collision with the ground, her roommate's heavy body squished on top of her making it difficult to do so. “I'm okay,” Jackie managed to squeak out, hearing the boy's panicked voice calling out to them, trying to sit up and get her bearings back. “I think,” she added, upon finding her movements restricted by the net. “Janna you good?”

“Define good,” Janna's labored voice called out, sounding just as breathless as Jackie's. “Because this is not my ideal definition.”

“Can you use your monster strength to get us out?” Jackie asked, ignoring Janna's comment.

“I'll try,” came the strained reply. And in a second, the creepy girl had switched over to her monster form, trying to wriggle her way into a good position to try and pull the ropes apart. But once she had she was surprised to find them far more durable than she anticipated, the beanie-wearing girl grunting as she strained against the thick and tangled web of ropes that currently held the girl's hostage.  “Come. On. Just. Break. Already.” she grunted, gritting her teeth, putting every once of energy in her body into snapping the heavy knots, but found herself unable to get them to tear even a little, in fact the more she tugged the stronger they seemed to become.

Finally, she sighed, letting her aching arms rest, surprised to find the normally-simple task draining to her all of sudden, panting heavily as she rubbed her sore wrists. “It's no good. I can't break through them.”

“What? But how?” Jackie yelled in surprise, unsure how her incredibly strong roommate was unsuccessful in breaking a few simple ropes, something which normally should be second nature to Janna. “How did we even get in this mess?”

“I don't know, considering the way they had this trap set up its an incredible coincidence we even ended up getting stuck in this.”

Jackie gave Janna the stink eye, well as best she could from underneath her, saying in an unamused tone. “Not helping.”

Marco looked back in the direction Star was in, worry still clinging tightly to his insides, he was so close, he could practically feel her presence even from that distance and for a moment he was tempted to run on ahead and leave the other two behind. But he knew he couldn't do that, not to them, as scared as he was for Star, he couldn't just leave Jackie and Janna alone to fend for themselves, they needed Marco far more at the moment than his super-powered princess.

And so with one last longing look, he rose to his feet, calling, “Hang on, I'll get you two free,” before racing over to the two. But as it turned out the weak boy was far weaker than he thought, barely able to lift the heavy ropes much less pull them completely off his struggling friends. “Wow, this thing is heavy,” he said, trying to fiddle with the surprisingly complicated series of knots to no avail. “And these knots are really thick, I'm not sure if I can loosen them.”

“I know,” Janna agreed, trying to help the boy unravel the net, as well. “For a bunch of idiots, they do tie a surprisingly good knot.”

“Maybe you can bite it off?” Jackie suggested, trying to move into a more comfortable position so she could help but her arms were pinned uselessly to her side and her body was still trapped underneath her roommate, making her more dead weight than any form of help.

“I'm not sure my teeth are that strong,” Marco said honestly, trying to concentrate on untying the firm knots.

Janna rolled her eyes. “Uh, Marco...”

Marco stopped for a second looking at the creepy girl, who raised a knowing eyebrow at him, the reality finally sinking in. “Ohhhh,” he said, sheepishly. “She was talking to you, wasn't she?” He slowly pointed to Janna, who nodded.

“Yep,” Janna said. “And in answer to your question, Jacks, that would be a big fat no.”

“Why not?” Marco asked.

“Yeah, come on, Jan. How else are we supposed to get out?” Jackie pleaded, but the half-monster girl only scoffed in reply.

“Do you know how unsanitary that is. We don't even know where this rope has been. Besides, my teeth aren't exactly the strongest part of my body.”

Jackie sighed. “Marco, maybe you should just go on ahead without us,” she suggested, but Marco instantly shook his head.

“No way, I'm not leaving you two here,” he said determined, analyzing the ropes for any weaknesses. But the three were so caught up in their struggle to free themselves, that they didn't even see the shadow slowly darkening over them, as they tugged against the relentless net.

“Well, well,well.” The two girls and Marco looked up from their uncomfortable position on the floor in shock, only to see Beard Deer standing over them, giving the two trapped teens a sinister look. In half a second, he had grabbed Marco by the arm and pulled him to his feet, holding the boy by the hood to keep him from escaping.

“Marco!” Jackie screamed in concern, seeing the boy struggling in the monster's grip.

“Looks like we caught ourselves a little Impure and a Mewman to boot,” the monster continued, sneering at the two girls triumphantly. But neither Jackie or Janna showed any fear over their predicament, glaring at the monster furiously, Janna showing off her fangs in an attempt to psyche the monster out, a thick tension filling the already uneasy forest. “And I can't think you enough for bringing Marco back to us safely.” His eyes for just a second jumped to the frightened Marco, clearly gloating over how easily he had recaptured the child.

“Hey hands off the kid!” Janna screamed. “Unless you want a repeat of earlier tonight, tough guy!”

Beard Deer laughed cruelly at that. “Go ahead and try it, Impure. You couldn't break through those ropes if you wanted to. It's infused with magic, the more you pull the stronger it gets. We had it made special just for you.” Janna said nothing, just glaring hate-filled daggers at the monster, as she continued to struggle against her bonds, ignoring the exhaustion she felt with every tug.

“Beard Deer?” Marco suddenly pitched in, his voice a hurt whisper, looking at the monster with glossy eyes, hoping to try and talk him out of his evil scheme.

But the monster ignored the sharp pain in his gut from the boy's broken stare, having to remind himself that Marco wasn't behaving normally, he was being controlled by the Mewmans, he couldn't let the boy get to him, so instead he shifted his attention back to the two girls, giving them a death glare. “Not now, Marco!” he snapped, the boy flinching from the scolding tone and going silent, unable to think of a time when he had ever heard the monster talk so severely toward him.

“You thought you were so clever didn't you, Impure,” Beard Deer mocked. “So cocky and confident, acting all high and mighty. Well, look where it's gotten you. Completely at the mercy of the very monster you made a punching bag out of not a few hours before.”

Janna's eyes narrowed on the monster with every insult, keeping her mouth sealed shut. “And now, even as we speak, your precious princess is fighting for her life against the most feared monster in all of Mewni.”

Though Jackie hated herself for it, she was unable to stop her eyes from widening in terror and even Janna looked concerned for the princess' safety. But Marco looked the most torn up, his face scrunched up with worry, his own safety forgotten his thoughts only on his endangered bestie, a sense of hopelessness beginning to fill him as he realized he wouldn't be able to reach her in time. He felt hot tears beginning to gather at the corners of his eyes, his gaze looking helplessly in the direction of his beautiful bestie, as he quietly muttered in pain, “Star.”

…

Toffee was feeling confident. Though his outside emotions remained the same, inside he felt a growing sense of pleasure coursing through his veins like fire, as he watched his game slowly growing to a close, the girl obviously on the brink of exhaustion as she did her best to hold his elite monsters at bay, her last attack leaving them all a sticky, pink mess, the bear monster groaning in pain at her feet. He admitted it was surprising how much of a fight the princess had put up, capturing her taking far longer than he would have liked, her wand truly was a weapon to fear... in the right hands, anyways. But he hardly felt she was adequate for the job, her spells rather erratic and lackluster in his mind, more of a hodge-podge of adolescent daydreams than practiced spells. Her brave little attempt to save herself was cute, but hopeless. He had already calculated everything down to the smallest fraction and, though she didn't know it, the girl had lost this fight the second she stepped into the forest.

Suddenly, the lizard heard a familiar buzzing and turned to see Boo Fly approaching, his calculations still on point, as the small fly's appearance confirmed to Toffee that Marco had finally arrived there and that he was behaving as predictable as could be, unable to resist helping his little girlfriend from danger by falling right into the awaiting trap. The lizard turned his attention away from the stubborn, unknowing girl and onto his spy, who was eagerly awaiting to give his report.

“Boo Fly,” he greeted dryly, wanting to get straight to the point as always. “Has our other guest finally arrived?”

“Yezz, Mazzter Toffee,” the fly monster began, keeping his voice at a whisper, so as not to be overheard. “Beard Deer izz already with him azz we zzpeak.”

“Excellent,” Toffee replied, all business. “And the Impure?”

“Taken care of,” his minion buzzed evilly. “She fell for our trick just azz you predicted she would.”

“Good. Then everything is going according to plan.” Toffee allowed himself a small smile of victory. In a matter of moments he would have Marco back and the Princess of Mewni to boot. Yes, everything was coming along nicely.

Star kept a close watch on the lizard out of the corner of her eye, his attention having shifted away from her and to some fly monster thing, the lizard muttering something to the creature under his breath, the look in his eyes giving her the chills. Though she couldn't understand what they were saying, she could tell that the lizard was obviously too preoccupied with his minion to notice what was happening on the battlefield, clearly whatever they were discussing more important than even the inevitable capture of the crown princess, but in Star's mind this was a blessing in disguise, feeling a spark of hope ignite in her, giving her strength. Toffee was distracted and the other monsters were still trying to recover from her last attack, this was it, there would be no better moment to escape.

Now's my chance, she thought to herself, steeling her nerve, her grip tightening on the wand. All she had to do was lure them away somehow and then at least the guards would be safe from harm, Star knowing her men would be easily bypassed over her, Star being the more valuable prize. Still, she had no idea what she was going to do to escape, but whatever it was she needed to do it now while she had the lizard off-guard, her brain trying desperately to think of something to get her out of there.

…

“I warned you before, didn't I?” Beard Deer continued to gloat, his eyes narrowing on the hated Impure with every insult, who had gone completely silent, not letting an ounce of emotion show, giving him an empty stare. “I told you we would be taking back what was ours.” Beard Deer emphasized this point by pulling out a pair of dimensional scissors from his pocket and cutting open the swirling portal.

Marco, feeling a desperate need to act turned to the monster who held him, once again. “Beard Deer, please, you don't have to do this!” he begged, giving him the most pleading look he could muster, the kind of look he knew the deer monster would be powerless to resist.

And in fact he was right, Beard Deer having to look away from the boy and directing his attention to the floor instead. “I know what you and the other monster have been doing,” the boy continued, his voice chocked and tight. “That you've been killing Mewmans and that you choose to keep that from me, and that hurt a lot! But I don't believe for one minute that you're really evil.  Because I know that deep down you would never want to hurt anyone. So please, you don't have to let Master Toffee control you! You can do the right thing.”

For a second, Marco thought he had gotten through to the monster, Beard Deer staring at him silently, the two eyes locked with one another, Marco's pleading and Beard Deer's conflicted, and the hooded boy felt his heart filling with hope. Maybe Beard Deer would listen and let Marco and the girls go. Maybe he would actually turn against Toffee and help join them to stop his evil. And if he joined, then the others might join, too. Then they could all work together and save Star.

But the boy's naive hopes were dashed as the monster finally spoke, his voice a dull mummer of unsettled emotions, “I'm sorry, Marco. But... it's too late for that.”

Before the boy could even react, Beard Deer began pushing him toward the portal, the boy screaming at the top of his lungs, as fear took hold of him once again, closing his eyes tight against the swirling vortex he was about to be consumed by.

…

Star, still struggling to form some kind of plan, suddenly heard a very familiar sound echo through the treetops around her, a loud yelling from a voice she would recognize anywhere. “Marco!” she screamed, her wand reacting to her sudden fear, as the whole thing began to glow pure white, the brightness intensifying with every second that passed. Toffee hearing the girl's scream, hastily turned away from his subordinate to see the girl's glowing wand, his eyes for just a second widening, sensing what was about to happen, trying to shout his warning to the other monsters. “Stop he-” Then suddenly, the world exploded into an overwhelmingly bright light, as the magic in the wand finally released itself, coating the dark forest in its glow, blinding anyone unfortunate enough to be within close proximity of the beam, several of the monsters screaming in pain as their sensitive, night vision enhanced pupils burned from the sudden intensity.

…

The light spread outward at a rapid rate, managing to shine through to the area where Marco and the others were, taking all of them by surprise, the hooded boy the only one fortunate enough to have his eyes closed at the time, the rest all screaming in pain from the blinding beam, Beard Deer dropping the boy to try and cover his shell-shocked eyes as best he could as he continued to cry out in pain. Finally, after an agonizing few seconds, the light ceased and everyone paused panting, waiting for their senses to return to normal. Marco, from his position on the floor took quick note of his surroundings, having to blink a few times to get his bearings, looking up to see Beard Deer above him, his eyes blood-shot feeling around blindly for any signs of life around him, any signs of remorse now gone from the monster replaced instead with pure rage and hate. “Ah, my eyes,” the deer monster screamed in pain, as he stumbled around the forest drunkenly, Marco having to move out of the way to keep the monster from tripping over him. “That was a cheap trick, Impure! And it's gonna cost you!”

Marco, reminded of his two still trapped friends, looked over to the net worriedly, but was surprised to find only Jackie trapped within the compounds of the net, squinting as she tried to get her bearings, Janna nowhere to be found. Marco hoped that maybe Jackie would have some kind of idea of where the creepy girl could have gone off to, but from the looks of it the skater was equally confused as to the location of her roommate, though she did seem far more comfortable without the crushing weight of Janna pinning her down, finally able to move around somewhat freely within the restrictive net.

But Beard Deer was in no way aware of any of this, still spilling out worthless threats to the missing Impure as he tripped his way around the dimly lit area, while Marco did a thorough scan of the forest, looking for any signs of his creepy friend. “All you did was make things a million times worse for yourself! Because, in case you've forgotten, girlie, you're still trapped. And once I get my sight back, I'm gonna teach you a lesson you'll never forget!”

Marco stood, having no luck in spying his missing friend, and yelled without thinking, “Janna?!” The boy instantly regretted this action, as Beard Deer swerved on his heels in the direction of the sound he had heard, facing Marco, who tried to slowly back away from the now incoming monster.

“Marco? Is that you? Where are you?” the monster grunted, trying to decipher the blurry images in front of him from one another and spot the boy. But suddenly he saw a splurge of red and knew it couldn't be anything else other than the bright red of Marco's hoodie, a style the boy seemed to have picked up at some point while he was away.

Marco felt his heart stop as Beard Deer's focus landed on him and he knew he had been discovered, nervously saying, “Uh no, no it's not me, it's someone else.” He did his best to deepen his voice so as to not be recognized but it did nothing to fool Beard Deer in the slightest.

“Marco get over here right now, young man,” the deer monster scolded.

“Marco run!” the blinded Jackie called, not sure what was going on, but from the sound of it her hooded friend was in trouble again. The boy obeyed the skater's instructions as he continued to back away from Beard Deer, his eyes nervously scanning the forest around him.

“Uh, Janna?” Marco called quietly, still unsure where the girl was or if she was even still around.

Meanwhile, the deer monster eyes finally began to adjust to the dark, seeing the fleeing child clearly again. “Marco I said come here,” the monster said.

“Janna, now would be a good time to help me!” the boy tried again, louder than before, having to jump back to avoid getting grabbed by Beard Deer, who was hoping to catch Marco by surprise. But the action was not without consequences as, suddenly, much to Marco's dismay, his back hit a tree, trapping him as the monster drew ever closer.

“Janna I need you!” Marco cried in panic, trying to push himself as far against the tree as he could in feeble hopes of somehow holding the monster off.

“Enough, Marco,” Beard Deer said, becoming annoyed with the boy's stubbornness. “Stop fight me, you're Impure friend can't save you, that net is made of magic.” He pointed behind him to the trapped Jackie, but didn't even bother to turn around, confident in the half-monster girl's capture. “Not even her monster form is strong enough to get through that.”

“Good thing I have more than one form then, huh?” a smirky voice called from above, Marco overjoyed and Beard Deer dismayed and confused to hear it, the two looking up to see a small purple bat drop down from the treetops, transforming mid-air back into Janna, who landed gracefully between Marco and the awestruck monster.

“Janna!” Marco screamed in admiration, throwing his arms up in air in celebration, moving in so as to give his half-monster friend a grateful hug, the girl somehow sensing this as she turned to him and said, “Not now, Marco! Hugs after the fight!”

“Oh, right. Sorry,” he sheepishly apologized, lowering his hands and taking a step away from the girl.

“What, but how?!” Beard Deer screamed, looking back to the net, then back to the smirking teen, then back to the net with growing confusion. “How did you- Were you just a bat?!”

Janna shrugged, looking as nonchalant as ever. “What can I say, I'm full of surprises.” Then, with lightning speed she swung at the monster, catching him by surprise and managing to send him flying back where he crashed hard into a tree.

Jackie, who had watched the whole thing from her crapped position on the ground, yelled over to Janna with an annoyed scowl, “You couldn't have just done that earlier!”

To which Janna simply shrugged and said, “I was just waiting for the right moment!”

“And two minutes ago when Marco was about to be sent through a portal wasn't the 'right moment'?!” Jackie retorted.

“See, I knew you'd understand,” Janna answered, giving the skater girl a playful smirk. Then, out of nowhere, her smirk dropped as she directed her attention to Marco as if surprised he was still there, shouting, “What are you still doing here, Marco?! Go find Star! I'll handle this guy!” Marco was completely taken aback by the girl's bizarre mood shift, all joking mannerisms pushed aside, as she spoke to the boy in a serious, level-headed tone.

Still, Marco couldn't help but respond by asking, “Are you sure?” Still feeling reluctant to leave his friend alone to fight.

Janna rolled her eyes, before saying sarcastically, “Am I sure I can handle one badly dressed, stupid monster all by myself? Yeah, I'm sure.”

“Hey!” Beard Deer growled, looking annoyed at the comment, slowly beginning to recover from the painful ordeal, shooting the half-monster girl daggers of death, making Marco even more reluctant to leave.

“But what about Jackie?” Marco pointed out.

“Just go, dude,” the skater called, not looking the slightest bit concerned by the situation. “I'll be fine.”

Marco bit his lip, torn between his bestie and his two close friends, not sure who needed him more.

“Look,” Janna said persuasively, seeing the boy's uncertainty, putting a hand on his shoulder to silence his thoughts. “We don't have time to argue about this. Star needs help now and this monster isn't going down without a fight. And to be perfectly honest with you, right now you're more in the way than anything else.” Janna gave him a small, apologetic smile, possibly the most real and genuine one she had ever given him, before lightly pushing him in the direction of Star. “So just go. We'll catch up as soon as we can.”

Marco looked back for a moment, as if seeking permission, asking, “Promise?”

“Promise,” Janna said, with another reassuring smile, which did manage to soothe the majority of the boy's fears... though not all. Still, he knew she was right. Now wasn't the time for him to break down with worry, he needed to focus on the more important task at hand, finding Star, he would just have to trust Janna and Jackie to be able to handle themselves on their own. So he swallowed down the lump in his throat, giving the girl a small nod before heading off after Star and Toffee with no hesitation in his step.

Beard Deer, finally (mostly) recovered from the super-charged hit, spotted the boy's exit and quickly started after him, hoping to stop him before he reached Toffee and made a mess of their careful planning, that was until the hated Impure stepped into his path, looking as cocky as ever as she called to him, “Hey, muscles! Where do you think you're going?!”

Beard Deer felt red hot anger course through him as he stared at his hated opponent, who looked comfortable and relaxed there in the middle of the Forest of Certain Death. “Out of my way, Impure!” he hissed, every word just littered with venom.

“Oh come on,” Janna taunted, shooting him a knowing grin and he felt his rage explode at the look, his teeth grinding together as he growled, his hands clenched into extra tight fists, as he tried his very hardest to remind himself of the mission and not to get distracted on petty revenge. “Didn't I recall you saying something about teaching me a lesson?”

There was a short pause from the girl as she leaned forward, her eyes narrowing smoothly, giving him a deceptive grin, saying slowly but surely, “So then by all means... teach me.”

Beard Deer released an infuriated yell, before running at the girl full-force, while Janna, never losing her smile, just waited patiently as the monster drew ever closer to her, not even bothering to raise so much as a fist against him. Until finally, he got close enough to hit her, sending his enclosed fist right at her face, but found himself hitting air as she cleverly grabbed the monster's wrist, using his weight against him as she flipped him easily over her shoulder, where he smashed hard into the uncomfortable forest floor with a pained grunt. Marco for just a second looked back, hearing the monster's scream and Janna shot him a reassuring smile, giving him a quick thumbs up to let him know she had it handled, waiting until he disappeared into the forest's undergrowth before turning her attention back to the monster, who was struggling to stand after his painful encounter with the ground, holding him arm tightly.

She bent down so she was level with the monster, who glared daggers at her. “So, maybe wanna try that one again, buddy?” Janna asked, the monster finding her tone irritating. He growled, as he swung carelessly at her again, his clawed fist meeting her open palm, pain shooting up his arm as he realized too late how injured his arm actually was and he screamed. “Ow, ow, OW!”

Jackie, watching the whole display with growing skepticism as she tried to untangle the mass of net around her, heard the monster scream and rolled her eyes, saying softly to herself, “Jeez and I thought Tom had a temper.”

...

Star blinked, standing frozen in bewilderment, her wand still raised in front of her, as around her the monsters stumbled around blindly, bumping into one another, as they all either groaned in pain or yelled out their fellow companions names in hopes of a reply, clearly discombobulated from losing their vision and most of them still restricted by the cotton candy that coated the ground. Though they weren't the only ones experiencing confusion at the moment.

As crazy as it seemed, Star had no idea how exactly she had just managed to blind the entire battlefield of monsters, the unexpected spell coming out of seemingly nowhere. It wasn't like she had shouted off any kind of spell or anything, heck she had still been busy trying to think of a plan, the sudden action taking her as much by surprise as it had the monsters, though somehow leaving her vision untouched. Had she somehow performed a spell without having to cast or even think of one at all?

In fact, if she didn't know any better she could have sworn that the wand had acted all on its own, something that should have been impossible, the magical device somehow reacting to her fear when she had heard Marco scream. Wait. Marco! Star felt a new fear cling to her, a sense of overwhelming panic as she remembered the terror she had just heard in her bestie's voice, several worrying thoughts jumbling around in her head for a moment, all of which only managed to frighten her more. What was he doing there?! Why did he scream?! Did the monsters get him?! Was he okay?! That last thought stuck out in her brain, filling her with a deep dread.

And so, without another thought, she held her wand downward toward the ground, shouting, “Bunny Rocket Blast!” A magical stream releasing itself from her wand, boosting her over the blinded monsters, sailing gracefully over their heads, before landing lightly on her feet, racing forward in the direction of the boy... she hoped. “Hang on Marco, I'm coming!” she screamed into the dark abyss around her, pushing herself forward as hard and fast as she could.

“The girl's getting away. Don't let her escape,” Toffee called his monsters to attention, looking the least affected out of them from losing one of his senses, though behind his back and out of the rest of the monster's view his claws had clenched into extra tight fists.

“Yes, Master Toffee,” all the monsters responded doing blind salutes, before growling as they all tried to chase after the runaway princess, which quickly turned into chaos as all they managed to do in their sightless condition was trip and crash into each other, none sure which way the girl was heading, causing several of the monsters to start bickering with anger, giving the princess even more time to put distance between herself and her pursuers.

“Ow! Watch it!”

“You watch it!”

“Hey, get off me!”

“Out of my way, the girl went this way!”

“No, she went the other way, you idiot!”

“You're the idiot!”

“Hey, hey hey, guys, I think I got her, I think I got her!”

“Ow! No you idiot, that's me!”

“Oh, sorry Bearicorn!”

And as the hectic arguing of Toffee's most “elite” monsters filled his ears all the lizard could do was sigh and mumble under his breath, “Worthless idiots.”

He had often times wondered if this had somehow been Buff Frog's way of getting back at him, requesting a bunch of monster with little to no talent whatsoever, just to make his mission a bit more difficult and Toffee felt his anger burn at the thought. You truly believed you had beaten me didn't you, Buff Frog, the lizard thought. Thought you could turn the most feared monster in the world into a laughingstock. But we'll just have to wait and see who has the last laugh once I have you're little Marco in my clutches, now won't we?

…

Meanwhile, a safe distance away from the maddened monsters, Star continued to push her way through the Forest of Certain Death using her wand to light the way, retracing her steps, as she fought against the tangled vines and vegetation that now seemed to constantly block her path, as if the forest itself was trying to keep her from Marco, her thoughts racing as she pushed onward with excess force, worry over Marco making her frantic. She was so focused on finding Marco, in fact, that she barely even noticed as stray bushes and brambles jumped out at her, cutting her in odd places as she went, the adrenaline in her body numbing the pain and her own exhaustion, her heart pounding wildly both out of fear for Marco and from pushing herself to go faster in hopes of reaching the boy quicker.

She turned to look behind her, making sure there were no monster behind her, but it seemed she had actually managed to escape them, for now, but if she wasn't careful they would find her again. Which meant Star needed to get out of the dangerous forest as quickly as possible. Except, Marco was there now too, and she couldn't, wouldn't, leave him behind to fend for himself, not with Toffee still lurking about. Star felt a chill run up her spine at the thought of the lizard meeting Marco again. He had mentioned him by name, did he know he was in the forest, too? Had he come to not only capture the Crown Princess of Mewni, but also exact his revenge on the only Mewman who ever managed to elude him. The thought of it made Star sick to her stomach. If he found Marco before she did...

No, Star told herself, her hands clenching into tight fists, forcing the rebellious thought out of her head. I won't let that happen. I'm not going to let that lizard lay so much as a finger on my Marco. But her determined thoughts were interrupted as she heard footsteps approaching and the rattling of leaves as someone seemed to be fighting their way through the harsh vegetation in front of her. Before Star could even begin to ponder what that meant, Marco came crashing out of the bushes, screaming as he spotted the girl in front of him. And Star, who also shrieked in surprise, managed to slow her pace enough to keep from crashing into the boy, coming to a stop just in front of him, both lit up from the glow of the girl's wand.

“Marco!” Star screamed, her voice cracking, overjoyed to see her bestie unharmed.

Marco, as well, felt relief flood through him at the sight of his best friend, screaming at the top of his lungs, “Star!”

And then, at the exact same time, the two threw their arms around each other in a tearful hug, squeezing each other tightly, as the fear they had been experiencing finally melted off of them, feeling safe in each other's arms. Suddenly, nothing else mattered, Toffee and the secrets and the monsters and the danger all faded away, until only their hug remained. “I'm so glad you're okay!” the young royal admitted, holding on tightly to the boy she had been afraid she had lost, comforted by the mere feeling of him against her.

“You too,” Marco replied, burying his head into her shoulder. “I was really worried.”

“How did you know where I was?”

“I saw your explosions and followed them here,” the boy quickly explained, Star feeling her heart drop at his words. Suddenly, the fear came flooding back to her, the moment broken, as she remembered where they were, acutely aware of all the dangers and shadows that lurked just out of reach from the two. She broke off the hug, much to Marco's surprise, looking deep into his brown eyes, her happiness replaced instead with fear, which Marco could see shining in her bright blue pupils, feeling his own fear return as he realized this was the most frightened he had ever seen his bestie. “You can't be here,” she said, sounding panicked, looking around her as if afraid something might jump out at them at any minute. “You need to get out of her, now,” she added, giving him a little push away from her.

“No way, Star, I'm not- ” Marco started to argue, but the girl didn't let him finish.

“No, you don't understand, Marco,” Star cried, breathlessly, practically shaking with fear, as she grabbed onto his shoulders. “It isn't safe.” She hesitated, conflicted on telling the boy the truth, unsure on how or if he could take it, before ultimately deciding that like it or not, he had to know. “There... There are monsters everywhere! They attacked me and I managed to get away, but they're still out there, looking for me, right now. And if they find us, they'll, they'll...” Star's voice cut off, unable to finish the chilling thought, having to lean against the boy to keep herself steady.

She let out a shaky breath before continuing. “So you need to get out of here as soon as you can.”

“No.” Star froze, completely shocked by the firmness in the boy's tone and the bravery she saw shining in his eyes, instead of the fearful look she had been expecting. Though there had been a slight quiver in his voice, otherwise he seemed to be taking the news far better than the girl expected, Star sure he would go into a full-blown panic attack upon the mere mention of the monsters in the woods, much less the fact that he and Star were now being hunted by them. “No. I'm not leaving you, Star.” Marco paused for a minute, obviously feeling conflicted about something, closing his eyes tight as he added, “Besides, you're not the only one they want. They're here for me, too. They're here... because of me.” Star felt a lump form in her throat, as the boy's voice cracked, sniffing as he tried to regain his composure. Star thought for a moment, letting the boy's words sink in. So Star's suspicion had been correct. Toffee was planning on doing away with the both of them, luring them easily into his trap, like moths to a flame. Star felt an anger burn through her, frustrated at herself for allowing both herself and Marco to fall victim to the venomous lizard.

Finally, Star took in a deep, shaky breath to try and calm herself, knowing what she had to do, her need to protect the boy far greater than anything else right then, forcing herself to stand up straighter, giving the boy a level-headed stare as she spoke, a grave resolve in her voice. “I won't let that happen, Marco. I'm not gonna let them hurt you. As far as I can tell, the monsters don't know you're here yet, which means there's still a chance for you to make it out of this alive. If I lead them away from you that might buy you enough time to-”

“No, you can't do that, Star. I won't let you. There's got to be another way,” Marco exclaimed, sounding desperate, his brain trying eagerly to come up with some kind of plan. “We can make it through this together. Y'know like we did in that yarn thing's cave.”

And right then, Star had an idea, Marco's words striking some kind of cord in her brain, the girl going stock still, her eyes widening to the size of saucers, her sky blue pupils dazed and out of focus, her cheek marks switching to glowing light bulbs, as a plan began to form in her mind, the little gears in her head going a mile a minute as they tried to work out every little detail of her scheme. Yes, she thought to herself. That might actually work. A small smile graced her lips, as she finally returned her focus onto her friend, who looked very confused and concerned over the girl's odd behavior. “Marco,” she said softly, cupping his cheeks in her hands, her eyes shimmering in admiration. “You're a genius!

“I am?” Marco said, raising an eyebrow, still lost as to what exactly he had done or said that qualified him as being a genius.  

“Yes!” the girl squealed, before grabbing on tightly to his hand, dragging him quickly behind her, as she ran off deeper into the woods. “Come on!”

“Wait, Star, where are we going?” Marco called after the girl, dumbfounded, trying to keep pace with the over-eager girl, having to force his sore legs to keep moving as they cried out for more rest.

“You'll see,” Star yelled over her shoulder, distracted as she tried to recall the path she had taken before, looking around for any familiar clues that told her she was going the right direction.

“But shouldn't we be heading away from the monsters?” Marco asked with concern.

“Trust me,” was all Star said, but the confidence in her voice silenced the boy's worrying thoughts, Marco deciding to just go along with whatever the girl had planned, knowing she wouldn't lead him astray. Besides it wasn't like he had any kind of a plan. So, he quickened his pace, following after her willingly, having complete faith in his bestie and he squeezed her hand just a little bit tighter to let her know that.  

Star, for just a moment, lost focus, as she felt a gentle squeeze in the palm of her hand, her twin hearts thumping once in response, followed by a soft whisper behind her. “Okay. I trust you, Star.”

…

Janna was definitely winning. Though Beard Deer would never, ever admit to it, he was out of his league, the Impure far too powerful for him to handle on his own, her mutated blood giving her the strength to take on a large group of monster, and he was struggling to gain an upper hand by himself. Even though he was giving it his all, every punch fueled purely by his rage, there was very little he could do to throw off the smirking half-breed, unsuccessful in landing even a single hit on her yet. On the other hand, every unfortunate encounter with the super strong girl's fists was met with a far greater price, as painful vibrations surged through his already sore body. The only reason Beard Deer had lasted as long as he had was the fact that while the girl was strong she was clearly inexperienced in a fight, her technique sloppy and easy to dodge for the already trained killer, but it was only a matter of time before that changed.

Janna took note of her opponents weakening condition, his strength seeming to diminish with every hit, his breath becoming ragged and his eyes pain-filled, and she decided to take the time to taunt the tiring monster, giving him a knowing smile, “What's the matter? Tired? Or are you just now realizing you're gonna lose?”  

In that moment, Beard Deer felt a last wave of energy fill him as a blind rage overtook him, her words striking a nerve in the monster's anger-filled mind. How dare she insult him! This was all her fault, after all. Thanks to her, everything was ruined, all their careful planning meaningless. It wasn't supposed to happen like this, at this point the half-monster girl was supposed to be subdued and Marco recaptured. But thanks to her and her stupid tricks, that had all fallen apart and Beard Deer had no doubt when this was all over Toffee would punish him severely for his failure. Even though she was the one who had taken Marco away from him, having no doubt she was somehow involved in the boy's kidnapping in the first place and all he wanted was to make her pay for her interfering, wanting nothing more than to wipe that annoying smirk off her face, his body reacting to his twisted desire, moving on its own, lunging at the girl with a new ferocity, putting all his anger and hate into the single attack.

Janna seemed genuinely surprised by the tired monsters sudden action and though the girl managed to block it at the last second the impulsive attack had caught her off guard, her shifting feet betraying her as she was pushed back a few inches, leaving her wide open for another attack. Beard Deer, still in his maddened state didn't let up his assault, hitting her with a barrage of blows, too many for his inexperienced opponent to handle, as his one of his fists managed to make contact with her gut, sending the girl flying back, where she slammed hard into the ground, before skidding to an uncomfortable stop right by the still-opened portal that Beard Deer had neglected to close, laying still for a moment, her body shifting back to its Mewman form.

“Janna!” Jackie screamed in fear, seeing her roommate in pain, trying to reach out a hand to her, but prohibited from doing so by the bothersome net she was still trapped in.

Beard Deer just stood in shock for a moment, his frazzled mind having trouble processing what he had just done, in disbelief that he had actually managed to land a critical hit on the pesky Impure. But as he watched the girl struggling to rise to her feet, moving slowly and carefully, the girl coughing as she struggled to regain her breath after losing her precious air flow, the monster felt a dark sense of pleasure rush, as it seemed beneath all that bravado and strength, she was just a weak, little Mewman girl, one that he had completely at his mercy. Even if she could stand, which it seemed obvious she couldn't, the dimensional portal behind her prevented her from escaping him.

“What was that you were saying about me losing, Impure?” he hissed giving her a sinister grin, cracking his knuckles menacingly, preparing to give the annoying brat the pounding of her life.

But, much to the monster's and Jackie's surprise Janna started to chuckle, and Beard Deer felt a moment of confusion. Had she lost her mind? Or did she know something he didn't? “And what's so funny?!” the monster demanded, trying his best to hide his unwanted feelings of reluctance beneath his iron mask, refusing to let her get to him. It was clearly a last ditch effort to save herself and he wouldn't allow one of her little tricks to get the best of him again.

Finally, after a tense moment, Janna looked up at the monster, no signs of pain or fear on her face, just that same cryptic grin that she always had on, Beard Deer only glaring at her in response. “Man you're an idiot,” the girl said, still chuckling at some weird inside joke the monster clearly wasn't aware of, her voice not sounding the least bit strained. She stood easily, forcing the startled monster to take a step back, as she began patting the dust off her clothes without a second thought toward the monster still standing in close distance of her. “I mean, seriously you just fell for the oldest trick in the book.”

“And what's that supposed to mean?!” the monster yelled furiously, outraged as he realized the girl had been faking the whole thing, only pretending to be hurt, though for what purpose he had no idea.

Janna shrugged. “I just mean while you were busy gloating over the fact that you were actually beating the 'helpless Impure',” she explained sarcastically. “That left you too distracted to notice anything else.”

The half-monster girl buried her hands into her pockets, giving him a look just dripping with arrogance. “Which left me plenty of time to swipe these.”

And then, to add even more to the monster's surprise, the beanie-wearing girl pulled out a pair of dimensional scissors from her pocket... his scissors. “What?!” Beard Deer exclaimed, instinctively patting his pockets, frantically searching for the magical objects he hadn't even noticed he had lost. “How did you-”

“Easy I'm a professional pick pocket,” Janna boasted, twirling the scissors expertly around in her hand. She stopped spinning them, pointing them at the infuriated monster, adding, “And you're a dumb monster.”

The monster roared in anger, lunging at the girl once more, trying to grab the scissors out of her hand, shouting at the top of lungs, “Give me those back you little-”

But, before he could finish his insult, Janna just seemed to vanish from sight, turning into her bat form and flying straight up to avoid getting tackled, leaving the monster flying toward the opened portal, swirling menacingly as it waited to swallow him whole. Beard Deer stumbled, his arms waving wildly behind him, but somehow managed to stop himself just in time from passing through the tear in reality, one of his horns phased slightly through the rip in dimensions and he let out a loud sigh. But his relief was broken a second later, as Bat-Jan suddenly dropped out of the sky, shifting back to her monster form as she landed hard on the unsuspecting monster's back, before pushing herself off of him and doing a full flip in the air, landing gracefully on her feet. Meanwhile, the less than graceful Beard Deer was sent hurtling through the portal, his scream cut off as he vanished from view, the forest going surprisingly quiet, as Jackie and Janna were left alone once again.

With the threat now gone, Janna shifted back to her normal, less creepy look as she walked over to the portal and used the stolen scissors to close the tear to prevent the monster from reentering. “Well that takes care of that,” the half-monster girl said, putting a hand on her hip, shooting her trapped friend a confident smirk.

“Yeah,” Jackie agreed. “Now we just need to figure out way to get me out of this.” The skater held up the entrapping rope to emphasis the dilemma she was still in, speaking to her friend in a reminding tone, raising a shifting eyebrow at her friend.

Janna scoffed, rolling her eyes. “Uhh, why do you think I went out of my way to get the scissors?” She snipped them together for a moment, to demonstrate her point, before adding, “Pretty sure they function as actual scissors.”

“Yeah, but Heckapoo would be pretty furious if she found out you were disrespecting a pair of her dimensional scissors by using them for this,” Jackie argued, though she did hold out the rope so Janna could cut it better.

“Well if she didn't want them to get used wrongly, then she shouldn't have given them to a bunch of monsters,” Janna pointed out, as she bent down and began cutting the net with the special scissors.

“Good point.”

There was a short moment of silence between the two, as Janna simply snipped away at the thick knots of ropes that held Jackie hostage, the light-haired girl's strength diminishing as she struggled to hold the enchanted net up and the dark-haired girl too focused on her task to say much of anything.

“That was really dangerous y'know,” Jackie finally said in a scolding tone, breaking the silence.

“I know,” came Janna's immediate answer, as if she had been expecting her to say that (which she had), not even bothering to look up from her work. “Didn't see much of a choice.”

“You could have been more careful. That looked like it really hurt,” Jackie said, her tone sounding less scolding so much as concerned.

“Ahh, I can take it,” Janna simply said. “Honestly, for all his talk, he didn't really pack that much of a punch.”

Jackie sighed, before saying in an exasperated tone, “Just next time, maybe think a little, okay? I was really worried about you.”

Janna looked up for a second, seeing the fear shimmering in her friend's eyes and felt her gut clench with guilt. “Sorry,” she muttered quietly, Jackie almost not catching the whispered apology.

“That's okay,” Jackie said, being careful with her tone, knowing how rare it was for her cryptic friend to admit to being wrong, quickly changing the subject as fast as possible. “So how much longer do you think this will take?” the skater asked, beginning to feel impatient.

As if reacting to Jackie's statement, the scissors finally cut all the way through the section of rope Janna had been working on, the mass of knots finally unraveling enough to create a very small opening, probably big enough for Jackie to stick her hand through, the two girls sharing a look with one another, Janna admitting calming, “A while,” causing Jackie to sigh in annoyance.

…

Star and Marco panted as they continued on deeper into the danger-ridden forest, Star in the lead, keeping a firm grip on the boy as she squinted trying to see further ahead, the area around her feeling vaguely familiar. She was pretty sure she was heading the right way, but she needed to be careful, the forest no doubt crawling with monster on the hunt for her, meaning one wrong turn and it would all be over for the both of them. “Come on,” she muttered quietly, trying to urge her feet to move faster, her impatience starting to get the better of her. “Where are you?”

While, behind her, Marco was doing everything he could to simply keep up with the fast-moving girl, his sore legs beginning to wear out from the incredibly long trek, while in his head his thoughts were still continuing to move a mile a minute with no sign of stopping, the still untold secret clinging tightly to his mind and refusing to leave until he confessed to the girl. He knew this probably wasn't the best time to bring up the uncomfortable subject, out there in the middle of the woods, being slowly hunted down by the monsters who had raised him, but he wasn't sure how much longer he could hold out, desperately needing to get the troubling weight off of him. And with every step further into the unknown, his need only grew, still not sure how this would all turn out. So, if he was going to tell her, he reasoned, he had to do it now, while he still had the chance. He was reminded of Jackie and Janna's encouraging words from before, which managed to fill his heart full of momentary bravery, and he decided to use his newfound confidence, as he brought himself to a sudden and abrupt stop, panting heavily as he tried to regain enough of his air flow to talk.

Star was pulled back by the boy's sudden action, his still intertwined hand preventing her from moving anymore forward, causing her to stumble, and she turned to the boy with surprise, about to ask what was wrong. But she stopped, the royal feeling her heart swell with sympathy for the boy seeing his obvious exhaustion, Marco bent over, huffing and puffing, sweat slowly dripping down his scrunched up face as he tried to regain control of his throbbing lungs. She knew he had to be tired from the long run and for a moment she was tempted to let him rest, her eyes jumping back and forth between the waiting woods and the fatigued boy, trying not to think about how close they were to their destination. But she couldn't help it, with every moment that passed she could almost feel the monsters

closing in, a cold chill slowly beginning to creep up her spine, freezing her to the bone, as if the invisible claw of Toffee himself was reaching out toward her, just out of sight, and she knew in her paranoid state that they didn't have the luxury to wait and catch their breath, the little time they had slim, but precious.

“Marco, we really need to keep moving, we can't stop yet, it's just a little further I promise,” Star said hurriedly, pulling on his arm to get him to move, her eyes on the path ahead of them, her feet desperate to continue forward.

“Star,” Marco finally began, the crack in his voice finally managing to gain the girl's full attention, as he cleared his throat before continuing. “There's... something I need to tell you...”

Star, her sky blue eyes locked with his brown, saw the look of worry on the boy's face and asked in concern, “What is it Marco?”

The hooded boy hesitated, not sure where to begin, biting his lip as he tried to work up the nerve to tell the girl his secret, feeling shaky and unsure, terrified of her rejecting him. But he forced himself to bury his fears, squeezing the girl's hand tighter, his eyes shimmering with a thousand emotion, as he sucked in a breath before blurting,  “I-”

“There zzhe izz!”

The two looked up in fright, only to spot Boo Fly hovering overhead, pointing out the two startled teens, the rest of the monsters right behind him, growling in anger at the stubborn royal. “That's her alright!” Bearicorn rumbled needlessly, his eyes narrowing on the princess, who put a protective hand in front of Marco, her other flashing her wand threateningly at the creatures, daring any of them to come closer, as she slowly began backing away from the large group of highly-trained killers with a hard look.

But it did nothing to ward the monsters off, as Three Eyed Potato Baby garbled something hastily, Lobster Claws relating his message to the other monsters, “Yeah, he's right, she's got Marco!”

Star, hearing the mention of the boy, instinctively shouted at the top her lungs, “Jellybean Mist Hallucination!” firing off the proper spell at the monster, as a jellybean filled mist coated the monsters, distracting them and giving her a few seconds of escape.

The determined blond grabbed Marco's arm, the boy looking over to her in daze, mesmerized by the magic display, as she shouted, “Run!” the two taking off together down the familiar path. After a few seconds, Star heard one of the monsters shout, “After her!” looking back for a second to see how far away they were. But she instantly regretted the split second decision, her heart leaping into her throat in terror at the sight of every single monster chasing after her, full speed, quickly gaining ground on her and Marco. So she focused her attention back on the path ahead, trying to pick up her pace a bit more in an attempt to get ahead of the monster's as much as possible, ignoring the tinges of fear that still clung to her, knowing the monster weren't that far behind. Come on, she thought, her eyes scanning the undergrowth in front of her. Where is it? It had to be around there somewhere, right? Unless she had accidentally taken the wrong path. She pushed aside the troubling thought, focusing instead on keeping ahead of the monsters.

Marco, on the other hand, didn't seem to be able to get his mind off the monsters as easily, his eyes jumping back to see his old family gaining ground on them, calling to Star in a concerned tone, “Starrr, they're getting closer.”

But the girl was too distracted to hear the boy, as she spotted a bright flash in the treeline beside her and she felt her heart leap with excitement. There. Star gave the boy a gentle tug to draw his attention, before pointing out the desired direction to him, shouting, “That way!”

Marco didn't argue with the girl, instead nodding once in understanding, obeying her command as he suddenly switched directions, fighting his way through the lush undergrowth, the princess right behind him. Star heard several of the monsters shout in anger and confusion, thrown off by the unexpected action as the two disappeared from their view and she couldn't help but smile at how well things seemed to be going so far.

Marco finally escaped from the last of the entrapping vegetation, stumbling as he escaped from the claustrophobic area, freezing for a moment as he stared up at the gigantic, danger-ridden cave from before, looking as menacing as ever, the entrance still coated in Star's magic, glowing brightly in the low light of the forest, probably caused by its creator's presence. “Come on, Marco,” Star panted, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder to draw his attention. “We need to-”

But the girl didn't have time to finish her sentence, as the monster busted out of the bushes behind them, immediately surrounding them to prevent escape. Marco clung close to his bestie, looking scared, as Star gave the monsters a hard look, holding tightly onto the boy's hand from behind her back. The monsters, however, all looked quite satisfied with their cornered prey, creeping slowly forward with sinister grins. “End of the line, princess,” Bearicorn growled darkly.

“Star,” Marco whispered, his voice a scared whimper.

“It'll be okay,” Star said in a surprisingly reassuring tone, giving his hand a gentle squeeze, the hooded boy shocked by the confidence radiating in her voice. “Just stay close to me.”

Star held her wand out, but to everyone's surprise, including Marco's, she aimed the magical device not at the monster's but instead at the cave's glowing barrier, yelling, “Anti-Shield Depletion!”

Before the monster's could stop her, a beam of magic shot out of her wand, colliding with the shield, before it faded from existence, exposing the raw darkness within. A loud chattering noise sounded from within the cave, echoing around the area, making several of the monster's back away in fear. Then, out of nowhere, the same familiar yarn vines shot out of the cave's mouth, spreading out in all directions, taking all of the startled monster's by surprise, Star wasted no time as she immediately slammed into Marco, throwing both of them to the ground, covering her head as best as she could as yarn webs shot harmlessly over their heads. The area turned into pure chaos, as the monster's were suddenly overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of webs shooting of the cave, screaming in panic as the thick webs wrapped around them, which only managed to draw more in their direction, pulling and tugging as they tried to free themselves from the fabric's iron grip. No monster was safe, several trying to flee the scene only to be thwarted by the tangle of vines latching onto them and preventing their escape. The yarn creature, becoming frustrated, began to lift the monster high into the air, where they dangled uselessly, their bodies slowly beginning to be encased in the scratchy fabric, the rest being dragged back to the cave's dark mouth.

After a few moments, Star risked a look up, and seeing no monster around turned her attention to the hooded boy, who had his eyes closed tight, feebly trying to cover his head with his hands and Star couldn't help but smile at how adorable he looked. The royal very carefully laid a hand on his shoulder to draw his attention, the boy jumping from the unexpected touch as he looked up at her, his wide, brown pupils locking with hers. She put a finger to her lips to let him know to stay quiet and he nodded. She moved off of him so he could sit up, before pointing to a break in the treeline ahead, then did a downwards gesture with her hands to let him know they needed to stay low to the ground, making sure he understood what needed to be done. Finally, Star took a deep breath, before crawling away on hands and knees, Marco following right behind her.

The two weaved their way through the continuing chaos, the monsters too distracted by their fight with the yarn creature to even notice the escaping teens, the going slow and agonizing for both of them. Until finally, they felt they had reached a far enough distance away without having to worry about being seen, as they stood and began racing away from the monsters and the cave without a second thought, hearing the yarn creature roar behind them.

Star let out a relieved laugh, unable to believe her crazy plan had actually worked. Sure there was still a likely chance the monsters would probably escape the yarn creature's lair, but by that point she (and especially Marco) would be long gone. She would just have to be sure to send more guards in to detain them as soon as she made it back to the castle and reseal that cave so the yarn creature couldn't do any more damage, but that was for later, right then, she felt an overwhelming joy surging through her, her triumphant victory over the evil monsters making her giddy. “We did it, Marco!” the girl screamed at the top of her lungs, shooting the boy a wide smile. “We won!”

Marco smiled affectionately at her saying, “I knew you could do it, Star. You were amazing!”

Star's eyes shined at the praise, her heart filling with joy and love for the boy, as she looked deep into his bright brown eyes. And as she raced forward without a care in the world, heart pumping full of adrenaline, Star felt content with the world once again, the danger at last behind her, her bestie beside her, and their freedom waiting just ahead. Without thinking, she reached out a hand toward him, needing to feel his touch and Marco did the same, everything between the two feeling okay at last.

But just before their hands could touch, Star was hit by an overwhelmingly strong force, knocking the air out of her lungs, leaving her powerless to stop herself from being thrown back, slamming hard into something, making her cry out in pain. The world vanished into a swirl of nauseating colors, as she heard, in her dizzying state, Marco scream her name, his voice sounding faded and far away. After a few agonizing seconds, Star was able to regain some of her senses, the fog in her brain lifting, as she slowly peeled open her eyes, ignoring the ringing in her ears, the world spinning out of control for a moment as she waited for the dizzy spell to pass. She tried to sit up, her body aching as she forced her muscles into action, grunting as she fought through the pain, using the tree she had slammed into as support. “Marco?” she coughed out, her voice strained and tight.

“My, my,” Star felt her heart stop at the sound of the cold monotone, looking up to see Toffee only a few feet away, giving her an empty stare, but she felt shivers run down her spine as his dead eyes dug deep into her skin. But her fear worsened, as she spotted Marco laying submissively at the cruel monster's feet, frozen in fear, his whole body shuddering as he stared up at the lizard with wide eyes, the lizard's tale wrapped around his leg to keep him from running away. “It seems the little princess has fallen,” he continued, in a mocking whine, as if he was talking to a child.

“Stay back,” Star commanded, her voice shaking with fear, as she reached for her wand. That was until she remembered that it had been in her hand when she was hit, meaning it must have fallen when Toffee had thrown her back. She looked frantically around for any signs of the magical object, not bothering to mask her fear, as she scanned the forest floor around her.

Finally, she spotted it laying a few feet away from her, and Star started to make a dive for it, but  felt her heart sink as she realized she couldn't move, her body refusing to budge even an inch more, the hit taking far more out of her than she had thought. Toffee seeing the princess' powerless state, gave a small wicked smile, before hiding it behind his emotionless mask once more. “There's no need to be so rude, princess. After all, you're hardly in the position to be making threats.” Toffee's eyes jumped to Marco for a second, the boy shrinking under his intense gaze and Star felt her heart drop.

“If you lay so much as a finger on Marco, I swear I'll-”

“Now, now,” Toffee interrupted, looking slightly agitated at the interruption and Star felt her skin crawl. “There's no need for that, I have no intention of harming Marco, unless you continue to annoy me.” His voice lost all its hollowness as the true killer showed itself, his voice a cruel hiss, causing Star to go silent and allow the monster to continue.

Toffee seemed to recover very quickly, seeing the girl becoming passive, as his business-like demeanor took over once more, straightening his tie before continuing. “That's better. Now then, as I was saying, you have proved to be more difficult than I expected you to be, princess. Somehow you managed to even best my monsters with a childish trick, but I think you will find that I am not so easily mislead.” Star said nothing, matching his iron stare with the bravest look she could muster, trying her best to mask the fear and helplessness she was feeling as Toffee loomed over her, doing her best to keep her calm as she tried to think of some kind of plan to escape the dreaded monster, or at the very least get Marco away from him, the boy looking more and more panicked with every moment that passed, Star hating the look of terror on her sweet bestie's face.

“Now then, I believe it's time we finally get down to business,” Toffee said, drawing the girl's attention to him once again, trying to ignore the pounding in her heart as the lizard's intense gaze locked with her frightened one. “It's time for you to come with me...” Star's hands clenched into fists, as she awaited her punishment. How could she have been so stupid, thinking she could beat the invincible monster, thinking she could somehow escape his wrath? She had grown cocky, somehow believing she was actually capable of doing anything other than screw up and in the end it had cost her everything.

She closed her eyes, hoping whatever grim fate Toffee no doubt had in store for her would be over quickly. But she doubted it. She was the Princess of Mewni, after all, and he was probably going to make her suffer for her people's crimes. She had failed, miserably, and now it was time for her to pay the price.

“...Marco.” Star's eyes flew open in shock as she saw Toffee looming not over her, but her hoodie-wearing bestie, the boy trying to back away from the cruel monster, but was stopped by the tail still wrapped around his leg. Star felt her blood boil, feeling a new source of energy begin to fuel her tired body, needing to protect her helpless friend from the cold-blooded monster, trying to force her body to stand so she could rush to Marco's rescue, unable to just sit back and watch as Toffee exacted his revenge on her Marco. “Toffee!” she screamed, struggling to rise, her aching muscles refusing to listen to her commands. “You get away from him right now!”

“Now why would I do that, princess,” Toffee said, an almost taunting tone to his voice. “After all, Marco belongs to me.”

Star froze, feeling lost and confused at the lizard's words, her eyes widening as she stuttered out, “W-What?!”

“Oh,” Toffee said in obvious mock shock, looking over to the boy quizzically. “You mean you never told her about the monster that raised you.”

Star felt the world around her crack and break apart, as she struggled to find some sort of meaning in the madness that she was being told, her brain trying to deny the lizard's unexpected revelation. How could that be true? That couldn't be true. There was no way. Marco was such a sweet, kind person, how could he have been raised by such a psychotic creature. It had to be a joke, or a lie. Yeah that was it, Toffee had to be lying, trying to manipulate her for some sinister purpose... right? She looked over to Marco, hoping that he would be able to somehow settle any uncertainty she was feeling, but the guilty look in his eyes silenced any doubts she had, his eyes shimmering with pain and hurt, as he refused to meet her eye.

“Marco?” Star whispered softly, the boy visibly flinching at her pleading tone, still looking away from her direction.

“That's right, princess,” Toffee continued, clearly enjoying every second of this of the uncomfortable confrontation, soaking in the wounded look on the young royal's face. “It seems your little boyfriend wasn't who you thought he was. He's been lying to you all this time, keeping secrets to selfishly protect himself.” He looked down at the still-shaking boy with an iron glare. “Isn't that right, Marco?”

After a moment, Marco slowly nodded his head, finally looking over at his bestie, his eyes full of regret as they connected with hers. “I-I'm so sorry, Star,” he said, his voice filled with emotion. “I wanted to tell you so bad... I was just... afraid that-”

Marco was silenced, however, as Toffee suddenly, grabbed onto the boy's arm, onto the boy's arm, roughly pulling him to his feet, Toffee taking no care in the act as his claws dug deep into the boy's skin, causing the hooded boy to cry out in pain, his fragile limb aching from the unexpected tug.

“Marco!” Star cried in concern, trying to run over to his rescue, but all she did was lose her balance without the support of the tree, collapsing hard onto the forest floor, pain shooting through her body from the reckless act, the breath temporarily knocked out of her lungs.

“That's quite enough of that,” Toffee scolded, Marco trying to pry his way out of the lizard's iron grip. “Don't pretend to justify your sins. You've been very bad, Marco. You've caused quite a bit of trouble for your friend, haven't you?” Marco said nothing as he stopped struggling, but the shameful look in his eyes told Toffee all he needed to know. “But not to worry, I'm giving you a chance to make it right, that is if you come back with me without a fight.”

Marco's eyes widened, surprised by the cruel lizard's offer, looking over to his friend for a second, his stomach turning at the sight of her bruised body laying helplessly on the floor, her whole face scrunched up with pain, the guilt he was feeling almost unbearable. This was all his fault. He knew it was. If he hadn't come in the first place, then none of this would have ever happened. It was because of him that Star was hurt, all his lies and deceit endangering her in ways he couldn't have imagined. But if he gave in and obeyed Toffee's wishes then maybe he could make everything right again, maybe he could make it up to Star and the others, his gut twisting again as he remembered his other two friends who were busy fighting off Beard Deer, yet more people he had endangered just by being near them.

So, though he hated doing it, he forced himself to match Toffee's gaze as he said in the strongest voice he could manage, “If I go back with you, Master Toffee, then you have to promise me that you'll let Star go and call the rest of the monsters off.”

Toffee said nothing, his face unreadable, and though Marco felt an uncomfortable tension beginning to grow he kept a level gaze with the monster leader, nervously awaiting his crucial answer. Meanwhile, Star was forced to simply watch as her best friend stared down the most feared monster in all of Mewni, still struggling to regain enough air flow to talk, her voice no more than a breathless squeak, overwhelmed as the alarming situation continued to spiral out of control. She kept gazing longingly over to her discarded wand. If only she could reach it somehow, then she could actually damage the horrible lizard and save her friend. Please, she silently pleaded with the magical object, remembering it's strange behavior before, begging it to act on its own. Do something, anything, before it's too late.

Finally, after what felt to both Star and Marco like a lifetime, Toffee gave his answer, their hearts stopping simultaneously. “Very well, then, Marco. If that's what it takes. I promise you, no harm will come to the girl.”

Marco feeling a mixture of relief and regret, dropped his gaze to the floor, taking in a deep, shaky breath, before hesitantly answering, “Then I'll go with you.”

“No!” Star squeaked, finding her voice once again, as she felt a deep dread overtake her.

“Good boy,” Toffee praised, though his voice sounded far less than enthusiastic, patting the boy softly on the head, Marco holding back the shudder he felt rising inside of him. “I knew you'd see it my way.”

Marco said nothing as Toffee pulled out a pair of dimensional scissors, cutting open a glowing portal, before standing by, awaiting the hooded boy to enter. “After you. The others will be joining with us shortly,” Toffee said, all formalities again. Marco tried to will his feet into motion, his heart beginning to pound in fear, wanting nothing more than to turn back, to escape from the dreaded monster and stay with Star. This is for the best, he reminded himself,trying to coax his heart rate down, his hands clenching into tight fists. I'm doing this for Star. She's better off without me. Finally, he took a step forward.

“No!” Star screamed, her voice a broken whimper, drawing the boy's attention, as she tried to crawl her way over to him, desperate to stop him from going with the awful lizard, she had no idea what was going on, but she wasn't going to just let him walk away like that. “Marco! Stop! Please, don't go with him!”

But Marco merely gave her a sad smile, saying softly, “Goodbye Star. And I'm sorry again, for not telling you the truth. For what it's worth, I had a lot of fun while it lasted.” He took a shaky breath, as if fighting back tears before adding, “I'll never forget you.”

With that, Marco turned away, disappearing into the glowing vortex, lost from Star's sight, the heartbroken royal feeling hot tears sliding down her cheeks, as she stared at the portal in sorrow, unable to believe the boy was really gone. Toffee, smiled seeing the hated princess breaking down into tears in front of him, the look on her face far sweeter than anything else he could have done to her. “Just so you know,” Toffee said, the girl staring at him with a lost look. “If you ever get in my way again or try any sort of foolish attempt to rescue the boy, there will be severe consequences.”

Star's hurt-filled face, turned to one of anger, glaring menacingly at the monster, who merely gave her a blank, empty stare, but she could see the killer instincts in his eyes, as he said in a swift monotone, dropping into a final, mock bow, “It was a pleasure to meet you at last, Princess Star.”

Then, the lizard turned and left through the portal as well, leaving Star alone to grieve and think, barely even hearing the dimensional tear closing as she wept. She couldn't believe he was really gone. Just like that. And all she had done was watch, helplessly, as the most important person in her life had traded himself to the most feared creature in the dimensions just to save her. She was pathetic, how could she have let him down like that? How could she have done nothing? And now he was gone, taken away from her, all because of her uselessness.

“Star!” a familiar voice screamed, breaking into her sorrow-filled thoughts, as she looked up with bleary vision to see Jackie and Janna running over to her.

“Jackie! Janna!” Star squeaked in surprise, her throat tight from crying.

“Star, what happened?!” Jackie asked in concern, seeing her friend's tear-streaked face, helping the blond to her feet, before having to catch her and hold her up, as her legs tried to give out on her. “Are you okay?”

Janna, picked up Star's wand, looking around for any signs of bright red in the dark forest around them. “And where's Marco?” the beanie-wearing asked, handing the magical device over to the blond royal, who took it eagerly, already feeling the magical energy flowing through her sore body.

“Toffee took him!” Star panted, breathlessly, her eyes full of fear.

“What?!” Jackie and Janna cried as one, both with equal looks of horror.

“How?!” Janna managed to add, her cryptic attitude gone as concern for the boy overpowered her casual demeanor.

“I don't know!” Star cried, sniffing, as she wiped the tears from her face in frustration. “It all happened so fast! He-He gave himself up to protect me! Apparently, Marco- he was- was-”

“Raised by monsters?” Janna finished for her, Star looking at the girl in shock.

“You knew?” she looked between the two, before gasping, taking in the guilty look on both of her friend's faces. “You both knew?!”

“Yeah,” Jackie sheepishly responded. “Marco told us.”

“When?” Star asked, unable to believe he had told them such a mind-shattering secret before her and that they had kept it from her for so long.

“Just earlier tonight,” Janna promised, raising her hands in surrender, seeing the hurt on her royal friend's face. “After your kiss.”

“What?!” Star screamed, now even more upset.

“Yeah, some of the monster's tried to kidnap him then, too, after you left,” Janna continued.

“WHAT?!”

“He wanted to tell you,” Jackie took over, before Janna could make the situation any worse. “But he was afraid of how you would react.”

“Yeah, he said something about that,” Star muttered miserably, hanging her head in defeat. “I just, I can't believe he's really gone.”

Jackie, pulled the troubled girl into a hug, as she said in the most soothing voice she could, “I know. But we'll get him back, I promise.”

Star said nothing, feeling almost numb as she looked for clarity amidst the shocking new revelations and bombshells that had just been thrown on her on that awful night, even Jackie's comforting embrace doing little to untwist the tight knots in her stomach as she thought of her missing Marco. Suddenly, everything made sense, every moment she had spent with the boy finally adding up in a new startling way, as memories flooded through Star's frazzled brain, words popping into her mind, one after the other, making her whole head spin. Why would the monsters steal food... No, I don't really have a home at the moment.... She's got Marco... This scar it means I did something wrong... These claw marks could only be the work of Toffee... What happened to you was awful and hard to forget, believe me I get it... Besides, you're not the only one they want. They're here for me, too. They're here... because of me. It seemed like there had been so many signs now, so many clues to the truth and Star couldn't believe she hadn't seen it sooner. It seemed Star had been so busy trying to protect Marco from the truth, that she had ignored the the answers that had been right in front of her, which ironically only led to her inevitable failure to fulfill her self-made promise to take care of him.

Finally, one last memory returned to her mind, that tear-filled night, when Star had poured out her soul to the boy, telling him all the suffering she had gone through, instantly recalling the image of the boy's face and that look of true understanding she had seen in his eyes. At the time, she had mistaken its meaning, assuming it was his traumatic encounter with the feared monster's, but now with the truth finally exposed she finally understood what he had been so upset over. The suffering he truly endured and she knew what had to be done. Her hands clenched into tight fists, feeling a fire beginning to burn within her chest, her wand fueling her with energy once more.

She pulled out of Jackie's grasp, the skater girl temporarily thrown off-guard by the unstoppable determination she saw on the girl, strength and resolve seeming to flow off of the young royal, as she said hastily, “Then we need to get to him, right now, before it's too late. I've seen what Toffee's done to Marco in the past and I refuse to just stand by and let it happen again. I can't. Not to Marco.” She was quiet for a second, Jackie seeing the love shining in the girl's teary eyes. “I don't know how, Jacks. But we have to reach him, somehow.”

“Maybe there is a way,” Jackie said thoughtfully, her voice getting louder and faster with every word. “Jackie stole a pair of dimensional scissors from one of the monsters, we can use those to get to Marco.”

Star felt her heart leap at the news, grabbing on tightly to her friend's hand. “That's perfect!” Star cried, a smile finally gracing her lips. “Okay, then let's get going right now. You guys can tell me everything on the way-”

“Um,” Janna suddenly interrupted, raising a knowing finger in the air. “I hate to burst you two's whole 'rescue mission bubble'.” The dark-haired girl doing air quotes before continuing. “Buttt, there is just one tiny detail you two seemed to have forgotten.” The two gave her a confused look and she sighed. “Those scissors are useless unless we know where Marco is? And last time I checked none of us, not to mention the rest of Mewni, knows where Toffee's base of operation's is even at.”

“I do.” the three girl's all turned on the heels, as they stared wide-eyed at the monster who had just stepped out of the shadow's behind them, his large, muscular frog-like body, looking quite intimidating to the three teens. “And I show you way.”

“Who are you?” Star asked suspiciously, raising her wand, skeptical of the new monster, the amphibian seeming to have just appeared out of nowhere, Jackie and Janna tensing up as well.

“My name is Yvgeny Bulgolyubov,” the monster answered. “You may call me Buff Frog. And I am here to save my son.”

[ficrecsforklaine]

even more Soulmate!Klaine fic recs in response to this ask “could you give a few more recs for soulmate fics?” because I couldn’t resist adding more fics that I enjoy:

To Light a Match by tchrgleek [AO3] (36,928words rated Teen&Up)*

*you must be logged in to an AO3 account to read this fic

Blaine gets marked with his soulmate’s name, but it isn’t as easy to find him as he’d hoped it would be.

All for you by reidbetweentheelines [FFN](18,847words rated T)

"Never be afraid to love." Too bad Kurt never wants to find his soulmate, but sometimes fate has a funny way of doing the exact opposite of what you'd like. After the death of his father, Kurt moves to California to live with his cousin Nick Duval. A new state, new school, new family, and a Grammy nominated singer who wants nothing more than to find his soulmate.

un jour, mon amour by nightbirdrises [AO3] (5,249words rated Teen&Up)

Everyone has a soulmate. The problem is finding him. Blaine doesn’t try to think about it much until a professor’s innocent suggestion accidentally turns his world upside down.

10 more fic recs under the cut

Soul Mate by fablewriter [AO3] (5,195words rated G)

Special request from a friend on my Tumblr. theladyoftheland asked: hello, this au has been floating around tumblr for a while and it’d be awesome if you wrote it!Klaine soulmate AU | They don’t know each other, but people know them.Kurt Hummel is the famous fashion designer, who wears a cuff around his wrist and says that his soulmate’s name is his own business, but jokes at interviews about it.Blaine Anderson is a young, successful singer-songwriter who does the same things, keeping the name hidden from everyone. But what happens when he accidentally tweets.

Worth It To Me by xonceinadream [FFN] (12,362words rated M)

[GKM Fill] Blaine's felt worthless his whole life. Kurt started feeling worthless when his soulmate started sleeping around on him. When they meet, they slowly fall in love and reassure the other of just how much they're worth. [Soulmates AU]

Hearts We Hid Up Our Sleeves by groovymoonshoes [AO3] (82,691words rated Mature)

Blaine Anderson had been waiting his whole life for the countdown on his wrist to hit zero, for the day to meet his soulmate to finally arrive. He didn't expect the meeting to be on the day of his biggest job interview to date. He didn't expect that it would take place in an elevator. And he definitely didn't expect that his soulmate would be another man.

 Breathe You Into My Heart by SlayerKitty [AO3] (4,524words Rated Teen&Up)

I raffled off a fic for the Klaine Fandom Charity Giveaway. My winner was keepingthepeaceinouterspace. She prompted a soulmate fic with names written on the body with a side of Anderberry siblings (but light on the Rachel). I've never written either one before, so this was very interesting for me. I hope you like it. Title from "Not the One" by Daniel Beddingfield. Thanks to missgoalie75 and star55 for being awesome betas.

The Greyhound Way by Mildredo [AO3] (2,666words not rated)

Soulmates can occasionally read each others' minds. That's how Kurt discovers that his soulmate is one of his fellow bus travellers. And his soulmate just happens to be checking out a girl.

Hey Soul Singer by bossy narwhal [FFN] (60,498words rated K+)

When you hear a song in your head without any prompting, it might well be your soulmate! when Kurt and Blaine start hearing songs that they would not usually listen to, are their two souls becoming one? Eventual Klaine fic based on series 2 but Kurt does not transfer to Dalton before Sectionals. Enjoy!

In Ivy and In Twine by rubblerousing [AO3] (32,643words rated Mature)

A fill for this prompt on GAM. A semi-AU. Kurt and Finn hate the idea of soulmates, mostly because neither of them know the name of theirs. But all their friends are a little obsessed, and decide to try to find Kurt's soulmate for him. What they find instead is Cooper Anderson, who says if Kurt doesn't visit a mysteriously ill Blaine in the hospital soon, they both could be in danger.

Fate Comes Crashing In by Switch842 [AO3] (6,084words rated Teen&Up)

From the moment Blaine literally fell into William’s life, there has been nothing but chaos and turmoil. But Kurt seems to like Blaine and Blaine's roommate Kate isn't really that bad, once you get to know her, so William tolerates their presence. The fact that Kurt seems to like Blaine so much makes all his moping over this stupid puzzle piece really confusing and all it ends up doing is cut into William's "me time." So, William, being the kind, loving, helpful soul he is decides to help push things along. What’s a little invasion of privacy between roommates?

Only A Name by unshurtugal [AO3] (22,577words rated Mature)

Soulmate!AU: Kurt and Blaine are activists part of a revolution where they ritualistically adopt aliases and wear wrist cuffs as to not reveal the names imprinted there. They believe that people should fall in love the ‘natural way’. Little do they know they are each other’s true soulmate.

Standing in the Light by glitterandpaws [LJ] (31,700words rated PG13) [PDF download]

Each person has their soulmate's name written on the back of their neck, visible only to their destined partner. Blaine moves to New York for his first year at Tisch, full of hope and small-town ideals. He stumbles on Sugar Motta's coffee house, where he meets Kurt. Kurt is Blaine's Pandora's Box, opinionated and a little jaded. But is Kurt the one he's looking for?

-

[abalonetea]

“You told me that you were okay! You promised!” - you can use any characters you like :D

!!!!! thank you!!!!!

i wrote for Tano and Baoba, because??? it felt rightfully painful ~

  “You told me youwere okay. You promised.” Tano leans forward, twists his fingers tighter inthick white fur. “You said everything was going to be okay!”   Baoba opens one eye, already bloodshotand riddled through with red. There’s oil dripping from her tear duct, makesher look like she’s crying shadows. “Don’t cry, pup. Dry your tears.”   Tano sniffs. He didn’t realize he wascrying. “It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. You – you saved them! You weretrying to help them!”   “Humans are cruel beasts,” rumbles theonce great god. Baoba’s flanks rattle with each haggard, wet breath. “They willdestroy every kind thing offered. They will beg for help, and then when helpcomes…they will never be grateful. Only furious. Unjust fury.”   “Mom – “   “I knew that I would die here one day.My bones are born from these trees. But you – my pup, it is not your time todie. Not yet.”   “Mom, please – “   “Run. Do not let the shadows take yourbones. Do not let their machines take your soul. It’s too bright for that. Myfull moon child.” Baoba’s ears flick back. The wound on her breast is pouringout oil instead of blood, the corruption moving through the massive wolf quickas a wild fire through a drought stricken field. With so little of the forestleft standing, the Forest God’s protection grows weak.   Still, she stands up. Her legs shake,and her tail drags on the ground.   But Baoba stands, for she is a god ofold. She stands, for her children still live, still breathe, and though she iscontent to die in the remnants of her forest – though she is content for it tobe the end of her time in this wretched, twisted place – she knows with hermarrow that it’s not the time for her pack to die.   And Tano stands too, scrubbing at hisface with an oil stained hand. He smells of burnt wood and singed fur, thewhite cape draped over his shoulders as sullied as his mother’s pelt. “It’sgoing to get worse if you keep moving.”   “Oka has been pushed back to thesnakes old den. There is still forest there. Not much, but some. Enough to livein. Enough to keep you hidden.”   “If you’re fighting, I am too.” Tanocan keep pace with her easily, and that’s how he knows something is dreadfullywrong.   “This metal will kill me.” The air isstill thick with smoke. In the far distance, people can be heard shouting. Gunsare still firing.   How much more is there to destroy?   A lot, a lot, the answer is always a lot.  Just like the answer now is, “it won’t kill all of you.”   Beneath Baoba’s paws, the earth isdead, dead, dead. Her golden eye glints in dying sunlight. “No,” she says. “Itwon’t.”   No one has to say the rest out loud – you will – because they both know italready.   There is only one outcome to this war.   There has only ever been one outcome.    

tag list -

@writings-of-a-narwhal​ @elaynab-writing​ @writer-grandma​    @cometworks​ @deadlyessencewhispers​ @nora-wrote-a-book​ @georgiacambrielwritblr @rmorada​ @simplelinesunfashiond​ @drabbleitout @inked-foundry @ruins-of-gold @groovytheoristbat

[viskafrer]

character moodboard / Dror, The Patron Of Stars, and Peregrin, The One Who Be Named

Peregrin could always tell when someone's last tomorrow was. Their unnatural frosty fragrance and a wisp of grounded pepper never failed to tell on them. It was a task most dire, only taking, never giving.

His gnarled hands clutched today's newspaper a bit tighter, however, his hazel eyes hardly glanced at the neatly lined letters and cropped pictures.

Dressed in brick-red linen pants, a white shirt, brown slippers, and a navy blue sack coat, he almost belonged. The newspaper, the steaming black coffee resting next to him on the wooden bench, and the golden-furred associate who'd taken the shape of what humans called dog stepped up his game ever so slightly. 

A female mortal, hunched over a cane and trembling with each breath she took, smiled at him and for a fleeting moment, Peregrin saw her at her life's peak.

Long black hair, eyes of a vivid lake, skin drenched in sunlight, a heart soaked with regrets, and a soul scarred by secrets. He smiled back, nodded at her but payed her no second thought. Too chalky; still like a fine drizzle of spring rain and all topsy-turvy. Sorting her out would be messy. The secrets would spill everywhere, all loud and energetic, too bright, too wrong, just as the place they'd been kept at.

The thought made the wrinkles etched into his skin tense. He scratched at them, shaded the map they carved with lines of his slivered nails and only stopped when the woman disappeared around the corner nearby.

"You might think they never leave their rebellious age. Always thinking they are old enough to do it themselves, do they?", he mused, wary of the work awaiting him once he'd have to belong here for her.

Wrong place, his associate voiced into his thoughts and with a huff, Peregrin got up. Indeed, the local park seemed not to be the right place to be at right now. He may belong with his human clothes, mundane necessities, and his associate in dog-shape, but he was supposed to belong where he was needed.

"Lead the way then.", he grumbled, heaved his body from the bench and leaned on his cane much more than what was accepted of a person tasked with his duty. 

A shiver raked down his spine. Just the thought of more to come made his toes curl and the thin hairs on his arms stand up.

They shouldn't have robbed you of the promised apprentice. You're getting less and less useful with each day passing.

A gentle breeze playfully ruffled his associate's golden fur, and for a second, a breathtaking starry sky dotted the plain cover it had chosen. Peregrin wanted to say something, but as always, even the slightest glance of his associate’s true form had left him speechless. It stilled, possibly felt the admiration in his old eyes, and watched him warily.

The being of golden fur, ancient times, and starry skies, however, did not focus on his servant's admiration. It caught a notion of anger boiling in the too old man, smelled the rapid passing of his time, and couldn't help but stare at the figure who'd spend his entire life at it’s side. His hair - back then a rich earthy brown and now as white and thin as the finest tuff of frozen air - had very much its own ideas about how it wished to arrange itself but his servant did not bother about the way it curled over his forehead and robbed him of his vision. He simply stood hunched over the cane, anger edging into the air, bones creaking, and lungs rasping with every breath.

It seemed like yesterday where this one - the first one to earn his very own name - had made his first step, spoken his first word, and harvested his first secret.

Not long, and I’ll be able to pick someone more capable anyway. No matter his current restrictions, it thought to itself and nudged it’s servant's leg.

Eastway it is, it commanded and together, they disappeared.

wip tag list under the cut, please let me know if you want to be added or removed:

@aesthetic-snake @alinakerrin , @arynneva , @brimorganbooks  @crayon-ink , @dragonsandheists ,  @feathertoquill , @feyryver @forlornraven , @hell-yeah-fantasy , @indecentpause , @infinitelyblankpage , @jess-is-a-writer , @katiehahnblogs , @king-of-hells , @kitwillan , @lady-redshield-writes , @leicaraj , @lmorasey , @lonelyartistsandwriterssociety , @magicmoon65 , @mauve-uhlous ,  @ramblingsofabourbondrinker , @randomcreativeperson , @reeseweston , @rosedoestumbling , @sadragons @siamonbonhon @sleepy-and-anxious , @sophisticated-narwhal ,  @startledserpentwriting , @thebravelittletoasterthatcould , @the-ichor-of-ruination , @the-writers-blocks , @thewritertiffany , @wolfdancer333 , @writerofscribbles @yetanotherwrittingblog , @zwergis-spilledink 

(confused why you are listed here? you probably liked/reblogged/commented on this post or added yourself on the writeblr spreadsheet; let me know if you want to be removed. If you are not on my tag list yet and want to be added, feel free to message me, mention it in the tags of a reblog or simply comment this post)

[skia-oura]

Orange Lilies, 8/12?

A/N: I wrote 11k in 48 hours. Please be prepared to read this in several sittings or not move for an hour or two. I apologize for its length.

Prologue // Previous // Next

Ao3 ff.net-->refuses to accept my copy and paste as non-coded text.

Enjoy!

Chapter 7: Lloyd Remnit is the Victim of a Break and Enter and Subsequent Theft

           It takes several days of ever-heightening tensions to find Lloyd Remnit. In the interim, Torako shouts at Dipper twice to quit hovering (she wants to shout more), Dipper stubbornly refuses to answer any summons (the third time one comes through, he makes a disgruntled expression and mumbles something about an answering machine, whatever that is), and they have a harrowing experience at a Twin Souls convention in South-Central Canada because of a thief. Torako might have enjoyed Dipper’s shock and subsequent revulsion at a graphic Mizcor fanfic reading in room D27, but she was a little busy. Not only was she trying to hunt down the little shit that stole her phone and all the evidence on it, but her period was also square on day two. Yes, she had a MagixTampon in. Yes, she had extras. Also yes, stress fucked her period pain up to astronomical levels, and the cramping was making everything ten times worse than usual.

           Honestly, there were only a few things that saved the convention from being razed to the ground between Torako’s pain-enhanced irritation and Dipper’s Twin Souls related disgust. They were that one, Torako managed to corner the thief between a rarepair merch stall and somebody selling fanart just safe enough to be shown to the public and just raunchy enough to make Dipper squirm, two, Dipper remained stubbornly attached to her hip and was therefore unable to wreak havoc on the convention-goers, and three, the thief apologized in a small, tremulous voice before offering Torako all his money, please, just don’t hurt me I didn’t realize you were this intense. Torako showed mercy. Torako only took half—and she only took it because the thief had wasted time that she could have spent finding Bentley. Even half wasn’t an insignificant amount of cash.

           In the end, however, Dipper managed to find Lloyd Remnit’s residence, and they blipped just outside the walls before continuing on.

           “I still think you should have taken all that dude’s cash,” Dipper said in a (recently) rare display of emotion beyond guilt, protectiveness, or rage. His footsteps were purposefully heavy as they walked up the long gravel drive to Windfall Manor proper. There hadn’t even been a gate, but even with Dipper running interference the hum of the wards they passed through had set Torako’s teeth to vibrating. Rich people, Torako thought.

           “Does this guy even need this much land? This much grass?” Torako said instead of answering Dipper’s question. It was moot point anyways. Torako looked out at the wide, hilly lawn surrounding them, exquisitely cultivated ornamental gardens dotting the landscape here and there. She hadn’t seen so much useless grass in one place in her life. The gardens didn’t even look like they had any fruit- or vegetable-bearing plants in them. It was, quite frankly, insane.

           Dipper did his shrug thing. “Grass was pretty normal a millennia or so ago.”

           “Weird,” Torako mumbled. She stared at a bush shaped like a narwhal as they passed. She half-suspected that it wasn’t even real. “This is a really weird dude.”

           Dipper hummed. They then walked in relative silence, the crunch and rasping squeal of stone against stone the only sound. There was no birdsong, no rustling grass, just clear skies up above and a suspiciously perfect hill just ahead. When Torako took a deep breath in through her nose, she could only just smell wet earth and crisp grass, like a ghost of the real thing. Except, you know, less belligerent and murderous than a ghost. She hoped. Murderous grass was uncommon but not impossible, and she’d already had the dubious pleasure of such an encounter. She wasn’t exactly looking for another one.

           At the crest of the hill, Torako hefted her bag up on her back. It was heavier, after a pit-stop at the grocery store for a bunch of goodies. She’d even picked up a box of Moffios before putting it back. She wanted Bentley to yell at her about sufficient nutrients and the folly of eating something literally made of sugar. And there, on that hill, Torako stared at the mansion for the first time, and felt her heart swell with hope.

           And also vague disbelief. Windfall Manor was located down the other side of the hill and a few meters out from the bottom of the slope. It was one of the most ostentatious buildings she’d ever seen. Bits and pieces of what had to be rooms but weren’t shaped in any way like rooms were floating above the main structure, all elegant curves and impossible spires. There were no stairs, anywhere. So either the floaty bits were yet more ornamentation, or the entire house was connected by a localized teleportation system, which would be completely and utterly ridiculous. It would also be in line with what Torako had seen so far, and so she steeled herself for more extravagance. The walls were a beautiful creamy color that faded in and out of opalescence, and the edges and corners were gilded, shining—gorgeous, but enough that Torako could cry in frustration. The moment the thought struck her, Torako had a bad feeling about the situation.

           “What a piece of work,” Torako said into the still air. Beside her, Dipper was forgetting to breathe convincingly. Oh well, it probably wouldn’t matter much longer.

           “Bentley hasn’t pissed off any rich people, has he?” Dipper asked. Torako raised her eyebrows in his direction and told herself that Mr. Self-Laceration wouldn’t blame Bentley.

           “Sure it’s not you?”

           “Me?” Dipper gestured at the house. “I’m not the owner of that thing, as glorious as the spellwork and as handsome as the mathematical precision is.”

            “No, idiot,” Torako said, frowning. “I mean, have you made any rich enemies that would target Ben in order to hurt you, seeing as you’re kind of hard to hurt yourself?”

           Dipper tilted his head and looked up at the sky. “Not that I remember. You?”

           Torako scowled. They were still standing up on top of the damn hill, having a stupid conversation about inconsequential things and her uterus was set on trying to mimic the pain of being torn apart. She was, perhaps, a little sharper than she meant to be. “Geez, I dunno,  targeting him and then citing you as one of the reasons for kidnapping seems like a pretty good indicator that I’m at fault here. Clearly.”

           Dipper drew in on himself, shoulders up and arms in. He turned away slightly. Torako felt both guilt and a kind of ugly triumph burn through her. She put her hand on his shoulder. She took a deep breath, and tried to focus on what was important.

           “Let’s just…get Bentley.” Torako squinted at Windfall Manor. “I think this place looks promising. Enough money to have enough space to hold somebody, and definitely enough money to do whatever it is to dampen your connection to Ben.”

           “Maybe,” Dipper said. He waited for her to step forward, her hand trailing down and off his arm, before he followed. Torako didn’t know if she felt more like a mob boss or an unwitting mother duck.

           “Do we have a plan for this, anyways?” She asked a couple minutes later, just an arm’s length from the front door. The glass set into the front was frosted, but was also animated to swirl in aesthetically pleasing patterns at random. The door jam was adorned with gilded scrollwork, which in turn were inset with tiny runes and wards. Some of them were actually augmented with literal gemstones, which explained the thrum tugging on the edges of her ears, settling into her fingerbones. Torako whistled. She was looking forward to smashing this dude’s face in and then dragging Bentley out before suing the rich shit for all the money she could give to charity. And also invest in therapy for Bentley, because she’d be damned if a cent of his money went to fix things that he wasn’t even remotely responsible for.

           “A plan?” Dipper came in closer and peered at the runes and wards. He didn’t touch her, didn’t drape all over her like she was his and he was hers. “I was just thinking find Ben and crush this place into dust.”

           Torako tilted her head and grinned a little. It felt plastic on her face. Her eyes ached. “Sounds good to me. Want a pack of gunny bears in exchange for shutting down the Manor defenses?”

           “It’s a deal,” Dipper said. They shook hands. A moment later, there was a harsh crack, the smell of burned ozone, and the gild had melted over splintered gemstones into a mess of dripping gold. It was somehow still elegant. Torako hated it.

           The door, now unshackled by layers of what had to be intricate spellwork, drifted open. Torako reached out, pushed it in, and she and Dipper stepped into Windfall Manor. When she held out her hand, Mizar’s Cultbasher was deposited in it, heavy and comfortable in her grasp. It slid down until the end of it, the hilt of it, pressed into the edge of her palm and pinky finger, grounding her.

           The door closed behind them. Dipper kept his feet on the ground, but that was probably because he liked how his steps echoed in the large reception room around them. Torako looked up and around; the ceiling was like that of a giant greenhouse’s, glass set against glass impossibly smooth. The floor was tile, patterned in giant floral swirls of color. It was cracked, in places, runes and wards and deployment circles cut into unsalvageable bits. Torako swung the bat up to rest against her shoulder.

           It was quiet.

           “Any sign of Ben?” she asked, surveying the empty room around them. It looked like on the end of the far room there was a chair like a throne, but it was empty. There were walls all around, walls of glass. No hallways. No way out except for the way they came in, and they weren’t leaving empty-handed.

           “No,” Dipper said, a tightness in his voice. It sounded like he was on the verge of trembling, but from what Torako couldn’t guess.

           “What about the other one? Lloyd?”

           Dipper didn’t answer immediately. The silence had a cant of unsureness, a measure of disbelief and a dash of exhaustion.

           “Dipper?” Torako turned to look at him. He had risen up, shedding the remains of his human form until he couldn’t be taken for anything but supernatural.

           He avoided her gaze. “I’ll take you to him,” he said, and held out his hand.

           Torako narrowed her eyes, swung the bat off her shoulder. “What price?”

           “Just a small candy bar.” Dipper was quiet. The hair rose up on the back of her neck. Something was wrong, this wasn’t guilt-quiet, this was a dread-quiet.

           “Dipper,” Torako asked, “what’s wrong?”

           “Nothing—” Dipper glanced at her and met her eyes for a second before looking away like she was the one who inspired instinctual fear. “Bentley’s gone, that’s all. Let’s—just get me the candy bar, and I’ll take you to—to Lloyd. Remnit. Him.”

           Torako didn’t want to give the candy bar up until she found out what was wrong with Dipper. The room seemed to yawn around them, the space wide enough to swallow, wide enough to take the mere half-meter between them and twist it into an abyss. The false sunlight peering through was almost oppressive, the sparkling of the split tiles below vicious, like teeth, and Torako was hit with the sudden realization that they needed to fix whatever was between them, without Bentley there to cover up the divide and make it all better. But that was the thing, she thought to herself. Bentley wasn’t there. Bentley had been taken from them.

           Torako stuck out her hand. “Deal,” she said.

           Dipper shook it without ceremony. There was no flash of blue flames. He didn’t smile, roughish and dangerous in the corners or between the press of his teeth. Instead, there was the familiar sensation of being tugged somewhere, and suddenly they were in a bedroom.

           It was dark. The curtains, heavy and thick and embroidered with giant moths, were drawn over one entire wall. She could just barely see the outside light hemmed in on the floor below what had to be windows. Torako walked over to them, traced the exquisite workmanship, the painstakingly stitched forms soft ridges under her fingertips. She looked back at Dipper, who was staring at the bed and the figure under the covers. They were snoring, just slightly. Dipper’s shoulders were slumped, but she couldn’t quite make out his features in the dimness, just the golden glow of his eyes.

           She set the nailbat down, clenched the heavy curtain in her fists, got a feel for the fabric and the heft. “Dipper,” she said, quiet. The relative smallness of the room, the darkness, dampened the sound into something comfortable. Dipper turned his head to look at her.

She tilted her head, held her swathes of curtain up a little. Light billowed stronger onto the ground below, carpeted, spotted with burned magic.

           “Okay,” Dipper said.

           Torako took a deep breath. She closed her eyes, centered herself. Bentley, she told herself, and then she pulled the curtains back as hard as she could.

           Sunlight shone in like a sound, like the sudden blare of a trumpet or the screech of bow against strings, harsh against the preceding silence. The curtains slid, silent, across an invisible track of magical technology. Torako squinted her eyes a little against the invading light, and looked out the window, across the land surrounding them.

           It all seemed so small, from so far up.

           A few moments later, Torako heard the man in the bed groan a little. She turned around, bent down, picked up her nailbat and stood, back to the window. It would disconcert, possibly even frighten, Mr. Remnit. Dipper made no such move, but he was a demon, which was kind of intimidating enough.

           “What the…” the man groaned. He waved a hand at the light coming in. “Wals, I gave you the day off so I could sleep as much as I wanted all day, goddammit.”

           Torako glanced at Dipper. Dipper was still staring at the man, at Lloyd, like he’d broken his favorite toy and then kicked a puppy or two. Alright, then, no help coming from that corner, so Torako opened her mouth and said, “Well, that explains why the place was so gosh darned empty! And why you’re still asleep at four in the afternoon. You’re wasting daylight!”

           God, she was turning into her dad.

           The figure on the bed didn’t move for a long moment. Then he snuggled back down into the blankets and pillows, grumbling something about awful dreams.

           Torako closed her eyes. Then, she opened them and looked up like the ceiling held answers, but no, there were just—lots of images of coquettish, nearly-naked people of all species and gender. One of them winked at her. She felt herself flush, and looked back at the bed. Torako was hit with the sudden thought that maybe, possibly, this man was naked under the covers.

           Torako steeled herself. She had endured horrors few others had, had seen dismembered corpses that still gave her nightmares, had come home to an empty apartment and evidence of kidnapping. She could handle one naked man.

           “Sorry, buddy,” she said. “This isn’t a dream. Isn’t even a nightmare. Out of luck there. Yo, Dip, do you mind making our friend here a bit more aware of the situation he’s in?”

           Dipper stared at her. She pantomimed pulling the sheets off. He stared at her longer, then looked back at the sheets, at the figure stubbornly underneath them, and then lifted his eyebrows in what was clearly a, he might be naked under there, do you really actually want me to do that? gesture.

           She pressed her lips together and nodded once, short. It was her best attempt at a nonverbal no, I really don’t, but this is probably the best.

           Dipper slowly reached his hand out and curled his fingers into the folds of the sheets. He looked back at her, almost pleading. She tilted her head at him and held up a free hand, because what else could they do?

           Wide-eyed, Dipper pressed his lips together. He tugged the sheet once, sharp, but not hard enough to dislodge it. Before Torako could do more than wonder why exactly he was being so weird about it, he opened his mouth and spoke. “I don’t think you want to know what we’re going to do if you don’t get up.”

           Lloyd Remnit shifted in bed, turning around enough to get a glimpse of Dipper. He blinked, then rubbed his eyes, and sat up. He definitely wasn’t wearing a shirt. Torako looked just enough to get an idea of physique; arms a little toned, but mostly old muscle and normal levels of fat for his age. He was a bit aged, Torako thought, but more like uncle than grandfather. Then he leaned back against the headboard, all casual, and smirked down at Dipper.

           “Well, aren’t you a treat?” Lloyd Remnit said. He looked Dipper up and down. Dipper stepped back a little, clearly unnerved by this turn of events. Torako felt a well of anger at Remnit and stepped forward to put herself between Dipper—who clearly knew something she didn’t and was made uncomfortable by it—and the man they’d come to interrogate. That was working well.

           The moment she did that, though, Remnit burst into action, slapping a hand against the closest bedpost. It lit up for a split second before cracking further, green sparks flying out to die, harmless, mid-air. Remnit stared at the bedpost. Torako smiled as she finished blocking Remnit’s view of Dipper.

           “Yeah, we took care of that,” she said, affecting nonchalance and confidence. Even though the room was small, everything in here was clearly quality that would take a decent chunk out of her parents’ paychecks, even before donating a great deal of it to charity. “Any more questions?”

           Remnit squinted at her. “Could you get out of the way? I’d at least like some eye candy to look at.”

           Torako’s smile thinned. She made sure to heft her bat up again, so that Remnit clearly saw what exactly was in store for him if he didn’t stop with his shit. “I’m not eye candy enough for you?” she asked.

           “He’s more my taste,” Remnit said.

           Dipper put a hand on her shoulder. She raised her eyebrows at Remnit, even though she was really raising them at Dipper. There was a moment of silence from him, and then Dipper said, “It’s okay, Ra. If he wants eye candy, I’ll give him eye candy.”

           Torako obliged, and stepped out of the way. Dipper strode past her, got closer to Remnit, and sat on the bed. Remnit seemed a bit taken aback by this gesture.

           Then Dipper held up a hand, and Remnit recoiled, screaming. Sweets poured onto the bed. Torako connected the dots and had to swallow hard at the mental image that came forward.

           “What the fuck!” Remnit screamed, on the other side of the bed. “What the fuck??”

           “You don’t have to eat it,” Dipper said, quiet. “You just said you wanted to look, right? So here it is.”

           “What the fuck are you?? Why are you here, holy fuck!”

           Torako shifted so that she could tackle Remnit if need be. He might try to run. They weren’t going to let him. She would break his arm before letting him go. There was a wardrobe half in the way, but it would slow him down just enough to help her catch him easier.

           “We’re here for an important friend of ours,” Dipper said. There was an undercurrent to his voice that had Remnit paling. “And last thing we found pointed to you.”

           “In case you need reminding,” Torako said, an easy smile back on her face, “it has to do with a fridge you commissioned. Could transport live bodies?”

           Remnit’s dark eyes, somewhat familiar, flickered between the two of them. “I have…hypothetical knowledge of that,” he whispered, then wet his lips. “What’s…in it for me?”

           Torako laughed a little. “What do you think is in it for you?”

           “You should probably answer wisely,” Dipper said, eyes clear, still on the bed. Anyone who didn’t know him wouldn’t see how wrong he was arranging himself into something casual, unaffected.

           “I…” Remnit said. “I…didn’t get to where I am now by settling.”

           Torako smirked, but she was watching Remnit’s hands. They were twitching in a way that seemed half-controlled. She thought about the level of magic set into the house, how much everything relied on it.

           “Dipdop,” she said.

           “I know,” he said. “He won’t do anything.”

           Remnit’s movements faltered. “What?”

           “He won’t want to tell us anything either,” Dipper said. He shifted. “If he’s anything like the man I once knew…is this about family, Lloyd?”

           “I haven’t met you before,” Remnit said. He took a step back, back against the tall, ornate wardrobe Torako had noticed earlier. It was very clean, light glinting off it like the wood was alive. Torako’s smile felt frozen to her face.

           “Not that you remember,” Dipper said. “And I guess that makes all the difference, doesn’t it? I’m not family, somebody else is. The somebody who has Bentley.”

           “What are you even on about?” Remnit snapped. He slapped his hand against the wardrobe, transferred whatever spell he’d been crafting between his fingers into the wood. It crackled, distorted, then shot at both Torako and Dipper. Torako tucked into a smooth roll and slammed the nailbat into the wood hard enough to punch holes, the enchantments on the bat combating with the enchanted wardrobe.

           Dipper had tessered right up against Remnit, who sucked in a quick breath and stilled. Torako stood, watched.

           “Bentley,” Dipper said, “is my family. You were once, Stan. But that was lifetimes ago, so I can’t blame you for not being now, right?”

           “Dipdop,” Torako said.

           “What the fuck?” Remnit whispered.

           “Except I will blame you,” Dipper said. He set his hand against Remnit’s forehead. “Your loyalty has been given to the wr̢ò͏n͏̢g̨҉ person this time, Stan. Tell me where m̘ͦͥ͆ͯ̀y̳̩̘͉̑̉̄̀̇ͨͦ ̡̈͊̚s̬̹̗͎̲͂̈́ì̥̩ͅst͇̙͙̝͓e̝̹̟̹̮̯͒̒ͧ̇̈́r̴̗̝̖̭̫͌̒̚ ̧͓͈̠̯ͦ̅́ͤ̑̆ͦi͓̞͕̮͉̳̫͡s̡̩̪̰̋̌ͧ̏.”

           Torako’s smile slid off her face. She stepped forward.

           “I don’t know,” Remnit said. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

           “Who did you commission the stasis fridge for?” Dipper crooned. “I will give you what you desire most if you just tell me who you commissioned that stasis fridge for.”

           Torako took another step. “Dipper, stop. You’re getting out of hand. Dipper, stop.”

           Remnit paused. Then, he laughed, hard and long, startling Dipper enough that he pulled away just a little, just enough for something in the air to loosen and for Torako to breathe a little easier.

           “Nothing,” Remnit said, “is more important than family.”

           Dipper didn’t even breathe. He canted his head back towards Torako. “I agree,” he said. Torako read the question in the quirk of his pointed ear, in the set of his hand on his hip. She pursed her lips.

           “There’s no other way?” she asked.

           “Stan is stubborn,” Dipper said. “I admired that, once.”

           Torako readjusted the grip on her nailbat. “A bag of Octopods and a bag of Chocolate Chicken Waffle Chips?”

           “And a lock of hair,” Dipper said.

           Remnit had lost some of the courage he’d pulled together only moments before. It had, Torako thought, evidently fled in the pieces he’d finally put together. “No,” he said. “My wards, they’re too strong.”

           “And a lock of my hair,” Torako said, “in return for the knowledge of who took Bentley, and where they live.”

           “Who are you?” Remnit hissed. He held up a hand, desperate energy crackling in it, and shoved it into Dipper. Dipper looked down at it, then grinned at Remnit.

           “Ḓ̸̥̯̈ͣ͌ͪ̇̏̎͢e̸̥͕̼̎̂͂ͤa̶̡̼̰͉͓ͭ̽̉ͤ̊ͭͅl̀̈̍̋͡͏̥̙͖̤̻̬͍̠ͅ,” he said, blue flaring high, and set his hands on Remnit’s head like he was going to pluck the strings of a harp, delicate but firm.

           Remnit didn’t scream. He let out a hitched sob. Dipper withdrew something from Remnit’s mind, and then flung it out. A heartbeat, two, and then Torako knew.

           Torako stared at Remnit. He was collapsed on the ground, a puppet with cut strings, a man whose base morals had been violated. Torako remembered Bentley, kneeling at his father’s funeral, accepting orange lilies with shaking hands. She remembered dark, flat eyes. Something dark and horrible and scared welled up in the pit of her chest, nearly choking her. She wanted to scream. She wanted to cry. She wanted to kill Remnit.

           “How dare you,” Torako told Remnit, voice shaking. “How fucking dare you hide behind family to justify their actions. You fucking supported them! What the actual fuck?”

           “You took it from me,” Remnit whispered to his hands. “You took it from me.”

           “And your nibling took my partner from me!” Torako screamed.

           “Torako?” Dipper asked.

           Torako lifted the nailbat. Her hand hurt from how tight she was gripping it. She wanted to drive Mizar’s Cultbasher into Remnit’s skull, over and over. How dare he. How dare he.

           Bentley was more important.

           “Dipper,” Torako said. She dropped the bat, stared at Remnit, heartbeat roaring in her ears. “I will give you another bag of candy, one in my bag, to make sure he can’t warn anybody about what’s coming for them. He can’t tell anybody we were here. He can’t tell anybody we’re coming. He can’t tell anybody what was done to him. He can’t let anybody know that they’re in danger.”

           “I mean, okay, but Torako?”

           “Do we have a deal or not, Alcor?” Torako snarled. Remnit flinched at Alcor’s name, started crying.

           Dipper was silent for several rapid heartbeats, then he said, “Deal.” Torako’s backpack lightened again, and Dipper put his hand on Remnit’s head again. Blue flames flared, then died, and Remnit curled over, hiding his face in his hands.

           “Let’s get out of here,” Torako said, after a long moment. She felt vindicated, and terrible, and angry and scared because Bentley had told them he was Mizar.

           “Torako, who was it?” Dipper caught her arm, talons digging in just a little. Torako looked into his eyes. Her body was light, carried on a wave of turbulent emotion.

           “Once we get out,” Torako said, and no sooner had she spoken were they on the lawn by the wardstones, right at the beginning of the gravel path. The sky was still, there was no birdsong, and the grass under their feet was artificial at best. Everything was wide and open and wrong.

           “Tell me,” Dipper said. She couldn’t stall any longer.

           “Dr. Fantino,” Torako said. “Their name is Vallian. They gave Bentley orange lilies at Philip’s funeral.”

           Dipper froze, eyes wide in horror. The air was suddenly like syrup, pressing down on her shoulders and leaving her slow, heavy. “The one that Bentley…”

           “Cursed.” Torako gripped Dipper’s hand with everything she had. She laughed a little at a sudden thought, high and on the hysterical side. “Bentley really did piss off somebody rich, I guess.”

           Dipper snarled. The air around him turned dark, almost misty. Everything around them seemed like it was moving, but Torako felt nothing. His wings curled and grew into a shroud around them, at once shielding and suffocating. “I̢̛͉̳̓̓ͯ̔ ̵̶̷͙͉͔͈̱̫͚̑̀̏̐̌ͫ͒ͅw̷̝̜̜͙̯̻ͧ̇̑̍͌ͅi̶̸̗̲̿͆l̵̖̻͈͈̙͙̱͉͑ͤ̽ͤ͑̇̔͢l̹̤̥̼̼ͦͦ̾̉͜ ̞̬͇̥̖̻̖̓̊̾̓͌̑̿̃͝d̸̶̮͍̠͇̂ͥe̛̝̻̖̰̥͕̓͌̍ͤs̛͕̭̟̔͗ť̬͔͍̍̽ͩ̌́̚͜r͋͂̀̊͏͏͙͈̥o͔̪̥̲̠̎͛ͧ͢ȳ͍ ̯͇͇̗̱̘̭͈̻́ͮ̊̌̊̇̒́͝ḩ̤̠̘̮̳̠̞̐ͭͩͤ͡i̴̼ͯͩ̈́͐ͣ̋m̪̫̠͑̓ͩ͊́͆ͥͩ̇͘͟,” Dipper said. “I̤̣̭̹̻̾̽̓͊͋̍̏̈́’̺͈̪̲̪̖̘͂̿̈̔͞l̞͇͈͔̩̩̙͙̗̊̋ͧ̚͘l̢̧̰̾̀ͩ̓ͭͭ͋͘—̛̬͕̗͍͇̲̜̫ͬͪ̇̐̾͘ͅ”

           Torako’s phone chimed, the chime from Lata’s parents. It cut through the syrup around her; the last she’d heard from Lata’s parents hadn’t exactly been positive news. Her heart in her throat, she pulled it out, navigated to messages. She choked, her fear rising above her anger. Bentley was important, but Lata was—Lata was a baby.

           “Dipper,” she said. “Lata’s missing. Lata’s—we have to find Lata.”

           Dipper let out a noise that was more squealing tires and thunder than human, tugged her close, and they left Windfall Manor more abruptly than they’d arrived.            

           Bentley had lost track of time.

           He also lost track of what it’s like to actually chew or ingest food orally; all of the nutrients his body requires have been supplied to him so far by a NutriPatch, even though those are really only supposed to be used short term. He should know, he visited Torako in the hospital and got that lecture from the nurse on Torako’s behalf. That had been a little uncomfortable. Maybe not as uncomfortable as the saline drip embedded in his arm—that was sure to leave a scar and he was high-key avoiding those thoughts—but certainly not fun.

           Bentley had also lost track of what it’s like to move more than five steps at a time. He was always strapped down to the bed when people come in to check his vitals, take DNA samples for some awful reason that he would freak out over if he thought about it, so he didn’t. He also was reduced to dragging around his IV drip with him, because there was some sort of non-tamper seal on the drip and he hadn’t managed to get his hands on anything that would allow him to sigil it off. He wanted to save the last-resort of using his own blood as a medium until he had a clearer chance to escape.

           What Bentley had gained, had slowly been gaining, was energy.

           Not quickly. No, residual, fragmented nightmares kept him from actually getting the sleep he needed to make a decent recovery. At the same time, he also wasn’t being actively sucked of energy in order to fuel his own nightmares and keep him locked in a mirror hellscape funland of his own imagining, so, the pros were outweighing the cons at the moment. Bentley was going to take whatever the fuck he could get.

           Which, he thought as he sat in a corner in the dark, pale hospital gown pooling around him, wasn’t exactly a lot.

           He pressed his chin to the valley between his knees, looked out to where he knew the vase of orange lilies sat in a protective alcove. For somebody who professed not to ascribe to acting based on illogical emotion, Bentley thought, Dr. Fantino was really, almost hilariously petty. It made him really angry.

           Even after what felt like at least a week of knowing the lilies were there, they made Bentley want to cry. The slight against his father had been turned into something worse, something to taunt and goad Bentley with rather than an honest, if despicable, act. Dr. Fantino, Bentley knew, was using Philip to get under Bentley’s skin, and it was working. When he wasn’t too exhausted to feel, or too stressed and sad to think, Bentley was constantly furious. Dr. Fantino being absent whenever Bentley was awake only fanned the flames higher; they had the gall to kidnap him, subject him to torture that was sure to set him back years’ worth of therapy, and then? They didn’t even? Interact? With him?

           Bentley hugged himself tight, digging his hands into his legs. He was losing weight. His hair was uncomfortably long. His nails were kept trimmed and soft, but they would be longer than he was used to if they hadn’t been. Bentley was losing time.

           He closed his eyes, started to doze in the corner. He woke an indeterminable amount of time later, feeling space closing in around him, crushing him, welding his throat shut and unable to make a single sound.

           Bentley yelled at the walls to make himself feel better until nothing came out but a raspy, whistley noise. Then he couldn’t make noise with his throat, and it was awful, but drumming his fingers on the floor helped, standing and moving just because he could helped. When he was able to think again, Bentley set his forehead against the wall and closed his eyes.

He lifted his hand, one finger outstretched, and began to trace the shape of sigils into the wall. “Fire,” he said in a whisper, tracing fire and then breaking it. “Water. Earth. Lightning. Air. Connection,” and so on, creating and detonating in his mind’s eye. Every so often, he traced Alcor’s circle into the wall. Said please. Waited long moments in which he knew nothing would happen, but hoped anyways, before moving on to more complicated, more powerful, more theoretically dangerous things. Bentley wondered, absently, why Dipper hadn’t come yet.

  Then, the lights came on and they gassed the room to knock him out. He drooped down the side of the wall, throat sore, and watched the blurry images of the nurses come in to bundle him back into bed. He was harmless. His limbs didn’t move. They showed no fear.

Bentley was losing time, but there was nothing he could do but bide it.

           Lata was in Australia. Lata was safe. Lata was happily playing with a very tired woman Torako’s never met, who Lata apparently has and who Lata had also successfully conned into letting her visit. The woman did not yet know this. Lata had whispered it gleefully in Torako’s ear because Torako was the Fun One, right before Dipper had pulled Torako abruptly aside to demand they destroy everything Fantino held dear.

           Torako had to convince Dipper that that did not mean it was time to lambast Fantino’s house, under her breath and doing her best not to let the woman whose house they were in know that, you know, she had let a demon inside.

           “It’s home,” Torako hissed to Dipper. “Yeah it’s where he lives too, but you’ll go overboard and cause another international incident, beyond the mysterious glass found in the middle of the desert. Yes, I saw that article, you didn’t hide it nearly well enough.”

           “Bentley could be there,” Dipper hissed back, his face inhuman because he wasn’t looking at the Australian woman—Torako thought her name was Tom, or Tam, or something. “We need to get Bentley and make that man pay.”

           “We don’t even know if Ben’s in the house,” Torako said.

           “We don’t even know that he isn’t,” Dipper retorted. Their faces were close in order to facilitate better hearing at lower decibels, and also in order to increase the intensity of their glaring at each other.

           “Whatchu doing?” Lata asked, flopping over Torako’s back. Torako tipped forward at the unexpected weight. Her face smooshed into Dipper’s, her nose almost jamming into his eye.

           “This is a private conversation,” Dipper said, tense but trying not to make Lata cry. Torako braced her hands on his shoulders and pushed herself back upright. Lata giggled.

           “This’s private property, and it’s seven fucking thirty in the fucking morning,” the Australian Woman Tom Slash Tam said.  “You got something to say, say it loud’n clear.”

           Dipper and Torako exchanged a look. Torako turned to face Tom Slash Tam, and said in the flattest tone she could manage, “Lata did not tell you that their parents had no idea they were going to Australia.”

           Tom Slash Tam stared. “What.”

           “I got a text, just earlier today—” which was not a lie, just a very misleading turn of phrase “—in a panic about where Lata had disappeared off to. I need to let them know where they are. Dipper thinks we should return immediately. I think you need to be told what’s up.” That was a lie. They hadn’t even discussed it.

           Tom Slash Tam gaze shifted to the limpet on Torako’s back. They had their face pressed into the back of Torako’s neck. “Lata,” Tom Slash Tam said.

           Lata whined and squeezed Torako’s neck tighter. Torako choked a little and tapped Lata’s crossed arms furiously.

           Tom Slash Tam crouched down lower. “Lata,” she said, voice low. “Did you lie to me?”

           Lata whined again and kicked their feet against Torako’s butt. Torako pried their arms from around her neck and breathed a little easier, but didn’t move to make Lata face the other woman.

           “Lata,” Dipper said. Torako glanced at him. His eyes were white and brown again, which was disconcerting every time she saw them like that. “Answer Tommy, please.”

           Lata said something into Torako’s neck.

           “Speak up, please,” Torako said.

           “I said I don’t feel they right now, I feel she,” Lata said, directly into Torako’s ear.

           Tommy nodded. “That’s fine, thank you for telling us. But Lata, did you lie to me about coming over?”

           Lata paused. “No,” she said in a bald-faced lie.

           Torako raised her eyebrows at Tommy. Tommy raised hers right back. They shared the look that adults do when kids decide to be more difficult than the situation calls for, and then Tommy pressed on.

           “Then did…Torako, was it? Right, Torako. Then did Torako lie?”

           Lata paused again. Torako knew that she was going to be thrown under the bus as last-minute sacrifice when Lata said, “Yes.”

           “So,” Tommy drawled, “you didn’t actually try to pull the wool over my eyes by fabricating—making up—several messages saying that yes, they’d be glad to let you come see me, yes they were happy to’ve meet me and make sure I wasn’t some sort of creep after their kid and I made a real good impression, can you take our kid in a couple days?”

           Torako did not point out that the whole situation was unrealistic. She honestly didn’t understand how Tommy could have been fooled by a five year old.

           “Yes,” Lata said. She dug her hands into Torako’s shoulders, and Torako hissed in discomfort. “I’m only five.”

           Tommy narrowed her eyes at Torako. Torako sighed, pulled out her phone, and navigated to the message in question. Tommy took the phone, read the message, and sighed back at Torako. “I’m a fuckwit,” Tommy said, before pulling out her own phone to call Lata’s parents and walking a few steps away.

           Lata leaned into Torako and whispered, loudly, “You sold me out!”

           Torako looked, unimpressed, at Dipper. At the look on his face, her expression faltered. “Dipper?” she asked.

           “Are you done?” Dipper asked. He’d sunk his fingers into the floor, curved and rigid in ways human hands were never meant to be. Torako’s heart sunk, and she felt Lata scrunch down more behind Torako’s back. “Lata is fine. Lata is safe. We should be finding Bentley.”

           Torako narrowed her eyes. “We’re not going to the CalFed.”

           “It’s our only clue,” Dipper hissed.

           “And they will know you’re there,” Torako said, straightening up. Lata slid off her. “Because you will have no chill while you’re there, and then they’ll find out that I’m involved, and we’ll never be let back into the country.”

           Dipper snarled. His eyes flashed black and gold before they turned back to brown and white. “You’re worried about being let back in to the country?”

           “My family lives there,” Torako snarled right back, nastiness blooming in her. “We are not putting them in danger.”

           “They won’t be in danger.”

           “Tell that to the glass in the Sahara Desert,” Torako said. She leaned forward and bared her teeth. Dipper bared his right back, sharp like sharks’ and wide enough to clamp around her throat. Torako didn’t back down.

           “Do you even lo̕v̡e Bentley?” Dipper sneered, and it was like he’d stabbed her in the heart. “You’re messing around here and he’s in the hands of an egotistical shit who knows who he is and if you l̸o̸v͠ed̢ ̡ him, you’d go s̛͝͡av̵͡è̀͘ ̵h̵̵̡im͢.”

           Torako moved through shock, to hurt, to grief and then back to anger fast enough that if it had been turns on a roller coaster, she’d have suffered whiplash. She surged forward, pushing her face up into Dipper’s and grabbing a fistful of his shirt. “Who was the fuckhead who ran off and wasn’t there for Bentley in the first fucking place?” she said, voice low, deep like it was coming from her chest.

           Dipper’s face twisted in guilt and fury. His eyes flicked from her eyes down to just below her chin. She lifted it, exuding as much I’d like to see you try as she could. Deep down, underneath her hurt and anger, something was screaming at her to back down, to get away and to stop threat-posturing in front of something that could crush her without a second thought.

           “What the fuck is going on here?”

           Torako blinked. She remembered, suddenly, where they were, who they were with. She realized, a split second after remembering, that Dipper’s face was sporting some decidedly unhuman features, and she tugged Dipper in closer so that Tommy couldn’t see. Torako looked up at Tommy.

           “We’re…fighting,” she said.

           Lata was standing next to Tommy. Her eyes looked suspiciously shiny, and Torako watched as she tugged on Tommy’s well-worn shirt. “They said Uncle Ben is gone, and they gotta find him.”

           Tommy crossed her arms. “I think you need to explain what batshit fuckery is going on. Not on the floor. We paid for the fucking couches, and so you’re going to use them and be civilized about it, not like a couple of pixies fighting over a scrap of magic in the local tarot reader’s dumpbin. “

           Dipper stood. Torako knew that he hadn’t put his human guise back on by how Tommy inhaled sharply and took a step back, herding Lata behind herself.

           “We don’t have time,” Dipper said. There was a buzz against Torako’s skin, like a cacophony of cicadas pressing into her. She took a deep breath. “Bentley isn’t safe, he is o͘u҉rs, he is m̧i̸͟n͏e̵̴, and he n͢͏̸e̷̴̕e̴͟͢ḑ̸͏s͟͞͠ ͜t̶҉o͜͠ ́b͝ȩ ͝s̛̛͜av͡͏ȩ͢͞d̡̛͟.”

           Tommy looked between the two of them, eyes narrowed. Torako stood up, angling herself between Tommy and Dipper. She didn’t know which one of them she was supposed to end up stopping, if it came to blows.

           “Dipper,” Torako said. “I told you, going to Fantino’s house isn’t going to help anything.”

           Dipper dug his hand into her arm (again, what was with him and her arm lately) and spun her around. Something inside her strained at the manhandling. “Y̴̡o̶̵̢u͜ ́k̨ņow̢͘ ̷͡no͜t͡h́͝i̶n͞g of where he is,” he said, static peppering his voice and burrowing beneath her skin. The tone, the words, made that strained something snap, and Torako stood tall. “You are m̢͟͟͠͠o̡̡͜r̷̴̶̀͟ţa҉́͏̛ĺ̵̶͢ ̢̢̀͢͞  and you can’t b̴́e̵̢gin͠͠ t͠͞҉o͢ ̕u̢̕n̶d̡̢͢e̡r҉̴s̢t̴̢͞a̴n͏͟d͡ ̷͏w̶h̀͡a̢̕t̡ ͞it’̴̧͟s̡ l̴í̵͝k̕é—”

           “I love him too,” Torako said, pushing right back, grabbing his arm right back and squeezing tight, curling her fingers as much into claws as she could. He had melted back into his suit, void-black and snow-white and intimidating as all fuck to people who didn’t know him, which was most of the planet and more. She knew him, though. She wasn’t fucking intimidated by his fancy-ass suit or his impossible fabric or even his goddamn teeth. Torako stared him down, using her height to her advantage. If he wanted to float and be taller that way, he’d have to shove her face out of the way. “I love him, I told you I love him more than I love myself—”

           “Ć̷ĺ̴ęa̵̸͜r̡͢͞l̸y ỳo̧̕͘u͢ ͜d̴̛o҉̧n’̷͘t̛̕͟,̷͘͠ ̢b̡̛ȩc̷̡a̶̡u͝s̶͠e ̀y̷͡ou̸̕ ҉a̵r̵͟e̵ǹ̵̡’̷̧t̢͜͢ ̴͡ w̴͡í̴̡͝l̶͡ĺ̵͜͡҉i̕҉n̕g̢̀͡҉ t̸͠ơ̴͠—͟͞”

           “I do, you absolute fuckface, and you also don’t know where he is, that’s the whole fucking reason he’s still not safe—”

           Somebody was crying, but Torako didn’t care because Dipper needed to be shut down and also kicked a little, probably.

           “I kn̶ow͏ m̸ore t́han y̧ou, y̵ou̧ w͝oul̸d ̶kn̡o͢w ͢nothi͠ng ҉i̷f̸ it ̵w̵eren’t̢—͝”

           “And neither would you, because you left, you left and went off to have a fucking pity party instead of being with us—”

           “HEY!”

           Torako, without looking, snapped over her shoulder, “Shut up and stay out of it.”

           Dipper hiss-snarled from around her shoulder. His wings had come out, sharp and wicked and shadow. Torako drew herself up even further and pushed down on his arm.

           “Stop l̛̀͠ò̡̧͝o̷̷̧͘͞m̴̴i҉̨̛n̸̢͠͞͏g͠҉̵̕,” Dipper growled.

           “Stop hurting me,” Torako growled right back.

           “Jus̶t̡ ͟imagi͡ne wh̴at͞ Bȩntl̵ȩy’s ́g̛oinģ thro̷ug̴h͘,̡” Dipper said, “bec͞au̷se y͏o̢u ̧woưl̷d͞n’͠t ͘l̷e͠t̢ m͏e̛ ͏ t͏e̴a̛r ̢͞t̸͞h͏̸a҉t̶̷̨ p͢e͘r҉s̷̷on͠’̧̀s̴ ҉h̸͜o̢m͟e̡͠͠ ̷͝͡a̕͜p̸á̢͏r̸̡͡t̴҉ ̵̧t̕͞ǫ͝ ̵́́fín̨͟d̀ ͟͝hìm̕͠͏.̧”

           “Just imagine what Bentley would feel,” Torako said right back, “when he found out you decimated the place he grew up because you weren’t thinking straight.”

           “J̛́u͜s͜t̡ i̴͝m͢a҉g̸͝i͢͢ńe͏̧,” Dipper started, but never finished because suddenly there was a deluge of icy water being splashed on them. Torako shrieked. Dipper jumped up in the air and stayed there, blinking the water out of his eyes. Torako wiped soaking hair from out of her face and tried to process what had just happened.

           “You get to clean that up, by the way,” Tommy said. Torako looked over, finally, and Tommy was holding Lata in one arm so that Lata could press her face into Tommy’s chest. There was a bucket in her other hand. “Towels’re in the bathroom. Get your arses dry and mop the floor up and then come sit on the damned couch. Stop making the kid cry.”

           Torako, dripping water, exchanged a guilty glance with Dipper. Dipper caught her eye, and looked away.

           Yeah. Torako nodded, fight gone, and turned around to go get some towels. If she took a while coming back, and if her eyes were a little red when she finally emerged, then nobody would say anything.

           Dipper curled up on one end of the couch. Torako was curled up on the other, a towel around her shoulders. There was as much space as possible between them.

           Dipper hated and needed it all at once.

           Across from them, on a ratty armchair that looked as though it was held up only by layers and layers of threadbare spells, Tommy nursed something slightly alcoholic and stared them down. Crackles of amber irritation lanced through her aura. She’d sent Lata to another room to play with their dog. Dipper hadn’t even noticed the dog, coming in, too caught up in Fantino, and Bentley, and the all-encompassing need to save and fix.

           “So,” Tommy said, finally. “I’ve got a fuckin demon in my house.”

           Dipper scrunched his shoulders and crossed his arms. He looked away at the bookshelf, which held an eclectic collection of physical books, datapads, storage drives and also various animal skulls.

           “Which one is he?” Tommy asked. Dipper hunched over more and noted one book was about astrophysics. More specifically, he realized, the mingling of magic with astrophysics, and postulation as to whether or not there was a limit to how far magic extended from Earth, and if it was an Earth-only phenomenon or one that extended throughout the entire universe, or something inbetween.

           “Alcor,” Torako said, quiet and not quite like herself. Dipper wondered if she’d ever been herself, since Bentley had been taken. He’d been too wrapped up in himself to notice.

           “Of course,” Tommy drawled. “Of fucking course. I threw water on one of the most powerful known entities in the universe.”

           Dipper thought of the glimpses of his future, aching loneliness and power enough to burn whatever he touched. He didn’t like thinking about that, so he started thinking about magic and astrophysics again, while half-paying attention to the conversation going on in the same room.

           “It happens,” Torako said.

           “And you!” Tommy said, louder. “You were going nose to nose with that overpowered soulsucker, what the fuck are you?”

           “His…friend? Partner?” Torako paused. “I’m human, if that’s what you’re asking.”

           Dipper switched his attention to the couch under his hand. He started to trace the weave with his claws, dulling their edges so that he didn’t snap the threads on accident.

           “You arse-tipped dick-waffling crazy shit,” Tommy said. “And there’s…another one of you, right? The one that’s missing?”

           Guilt and grief and anger gripped Dipper so tight he forgot himself, punching a hole into the couch. Seized by terror, he checked that connection between himself and Mizar again—still dampened, still there, butterfly-wingbeat-weak against his senses.

           “My couch,” Tommy said.

           “Sorry,” Dipper said. He glanced over at Tommy, aura a confusing mix of colors, and then away. “Sorry.”

           “Yeah,” Torako said. “Bentley. Um. It’s a long story.”

           “That’s fine,” Tommy said. “Give me the important shit.”

           “Um. I guess. Bentley got kidnapped, about five days ago? I can’t remember exactly. I was useless the first day, and after that things have gone so—so fast. We finally found out who took him, today, and we know why, but we don’t—we don’t agree on what to do next.”

           “Shit,” Tommy said. “And you’ve only had each other for company for five days?”

           Torako laughed. Dipper concentrated on curling in on himself as much as he could at the bitterness there. “Yeah. We—we’re kind of a mess, aren’t we?”

           “Fuckin understandable, though,” Tommy said. She paused. “Is it normal for him, to, uh, do that?”

           Torako shifted. She huffed a little, but when she spoke there was a bit of a smile in her voice. “Dipper, your tween is showing.”

           Dipper looked back at her. She seemed a little larger than before, and with an aura dulled with emotional exhaustion it meant that he’d shrunk again. Dipper put his face in his hands.

           “I take that as a yes.” Tommy was sitting with one leg crossed over the other, drink held loosely in one hand. “Not the weirdest thing I’ve seen, though.”

           The front door opened. A voice floated in, strong and upbeat. “Darling, you called just a bit ago? Is everything all right?”

           Dipper stared at Tommy over the tips of his claws. Tommy took a long, languid sip of her drink before answering. “In the living room, Filara! We’ve got some…disastrously interesting guests. Lata’s in the bedroom with Fuzzles.”

           “That’s right,” Torako said, a little faintly. “You have a wife.”

           “I do,” Tommy said, a kind of proud, self-satisfied grin on her face.

           “She…going to be okay with this?”

           “Well, she might be able to help you. She knows a bit of everything. Smart woman, my Filz.” Tommy’s grin took on a shit-eating cant. “Also the reaction’ll be balls hilarious.”

           Dipper groaned. Pathetic. All-powerful demon and Acacia’s troublemaking nature always made him quail.

           “What’s that about your balls?” Filara asked. Dipper looked at Filara, and then kept looking, because that was Lionel and what was Lionel doing married to Acacia?

           “Our guests might have a couple of questions for you,” Tommy said. She gestured to the both of them, sad and huddled on the couch, like she was unveiling some great and wonderful monument to the world.

           “Oh, I’m happy to answer…” Filara looked from Torako to Dipper and trailed off. She stared. Dipper stared back, still lost in the mental gymnastics of but this is my dad but that is my niece but this is my dad and my niece married???? and only distantly aware of the fact that he looked like a prepubescent non-human in an impossible suit.

           There was a beat of silence born of mutual surprise.

           “Uh,” Filara said. “Darling?”

           Tommy took another sip of her drink. Out of the corner of his eye, Dipper could see smug pinpricks of orange-lilac in her aura. “Yes, Filz?”

           “Ignoring the gorgeous woman on our couch,” Filara said, “there’s…a thirteen-year-old on our couch?”

           Torako made a gurgling noise. Dipper was almost impressed. Most people pegged him for ten or eleven. Nobody overshot his age (even if it was just barely) in this form.

           “Kind of,” Tommy said.

           “And he’s…they’re…she’s…not…human?”

           “That’s speciesist. Wow Filz. I expected better of you.”

           Torako kind of half-raised her hand. “He’s a demon.”

           “Yes, a demon. Thank you, gorgeous woman whose name I don’t know.” Filara took a half step forward as Torako gurgled again, and shifted her corrective lenses. He almost hadn’t seen them. “Darling, why is there a demon on our couch?”

           Tommy hummed. “Ask him.”

           Filara took a deep breath, then turned to face Dipper more squarely. “Why are you on our couch?”

           Dipper gestured at Tommy, and every answer except for, “She told me to” escaped his mind in that moment.

           Torako supplemented the information. “I got a text from Lata’s parents. They didn’t know she’d come here, though I think they know now, and they know where the bill for the ticket to get here came from.”

           “Ah.” Filara said. She waved her hand, and a rocking chair appeared from nowhere to settle in next to Tommy’s threadbare monstrosity. Dipper recognized the echo of Lionel’s taste in furniture in the cushions, firm but not flat. “That explains a little more, but not enough. Start from the beginning?”

           Dipper opened his mouth.

           “Not you,” Filara said, and proceeded to point at Torako. Tommy took another smug sip of her alcohol. There was lemon in it. Dipper bet that it was something Torako would like. “You. Mr. Demon seems a little useless information-wise, and no offense but I’m not sure I would trust him. Also,” she said, glancing back at Dipper, “can I get a name so I don’t call you Mr. Demon? It seems a little odd to, especially when you’re being so quiet and polite and not actively bartering for my soul or my left arm.”

           “I’m Tyrone,” said Dipper.

           “He’s Alcor,” said Tommy a heartbeat later.

           Filara settled back in her chair with an air of confusion and also mistrust. She looked at Torako.

           “He’s both,” Torako said. “I call him by a nickname. You’d know him as Alcor.”

           “Cool,” Filara said. “Cool cool cool, I’m just going to ignore that he’s Alcor in my sitting room. Please tell me why you’re here and what’s on your mind, Ms. Gorgeous.”

           Torako gurgled again. Then she obliged.

           “…and then we got into a big fight in front of Lata and your wife,” Torako said before taking a sip of the drink that Filara had insisted on getting for her. Lata had come out at some point, and was clinging to the Hangars’ beagle mix between Torako and Dipper. She was also asleep, so everybody was trying to be as calm as possible. Aside from a couple of tense moments, mostly because Dipper said something snide and Torako said something snide back, they had succeeded.

           “She threw water on us,” Dipper said. “It was effective.”

           Filara hummed. She seemed less concerned with the fact that Dipper was in the room and more preoccupied with what Torako had said. “And you said that Alcor said that he couldn’t feel Bentley very well?”

           Torako nodded. “He can explain it better than I can, obviously.”

           “Explain, please.” Filara pulled a stylus and pad out of what seemed to be thin air. Tommy had long since gone to the kitchen to make food. It was lunchtime. They had been in this house for hours. Torako was very, very hungry.

           “So, it’s like he’s in another dimension,” Dipper said. “Except nobody should be able to do that? So it has to be a pocket dimension, but it doesn’t feel like a pocket dimension. It’s like, there’s more layers between us, muffling everything. I should be able to feel how he feels, but instead it’s hard enough to tell that he’s still alive.”

           “A little creepy, but all right.” Filara jotted down notes, appraised them. “And you said the kidnapper has access to significant funds?”

           “Yes,” Torako said.

           “And also used cutting-edge technology to use a sophisticated but also very traceable way to transport Bentley while in forced stasis slash nightmares?”

           “Also yes.” Torako took a swig of alcohol, closed her eyes at the sharp burn of liquor and citrus. It grounded her. Torako did not necessarily want to become an alcoholic, but by everything good was it helping. She had needed this.

           She also, desperately, needed some of whatever was cooking in the kitchen, because it smelled absolutely wonderful.

           “Interesting.” Filara continued taking notes, switching from her right to her left in order to gesture at the bookcase Dipper had been staring at earlier in sullen silence. A couple books and a datapad floated over to her. One title was in a language Torako couldn’t read, and the other was made up of such outdated terminology that Torako could barely understand it was about warding theory.

           “Is it okay to be here, though?” Torako asked. “You came back from somewhere really early in the morning.”

           Filara flapped her hand at Torako. “It’s fine, that contract was paying me pennies for the work they wanted anyways. I only took it because I was bored. I’ll find another short-term job soon enough.”

           “Isn’t the Australian job market kind of bad right now?” Dipper asked. He was leaning back, a little more gangly and teenager than he had been earlier.

           “That’s why I can’t find anything not short-term,” Filara said. “Also why I decided I’d throw my net wide instead of deep, so to speak. More variety of possible jobs. I let Tommy specialize.”

           “Park management?”

           “With endorsements in both mundane and supernatural creature handling,” Filara muttered. She flipped the warding book open to the back, indexed whatever she was looking to find, and then started turning back to the relevant page. “Specifications which are archaic and vestigial leftovers of an age shocked by the sudden appearance of unprecedented species, both sentient and not, but whatever they want, I guess.”

           Torako saw Dipper perk up at the nerdspeak. “I agree,” Dipper said. “It’s literally been over two thousand years since the Transcendence. Why, with the evolution of language, do such—currently—arbitrary classifications exist?  It would make far more sense to align everything on a scale of sentience alone. The laws of science have changed so much, and possibilities have altered to an extent that nullifies the importance of separating non-sentient and originally non-magical creatures from non-sentient and originally magical creatures.”

           “True,” Filara said. “Okapi were once seen as utterly mundane until scientists observed the emergence of magical traits conducive to predator and sustenance detection…”

           Torako tuned them out, looked down at the drink in her shaking hand. She swirled it a little, then watched the tumbler continue to tremble, ever so slightly. Torako admitted to herself, under the safe umbrella of being momentarily ignored, that she was tired. She was stressed, and scared. And she had begun taking it out on Dipper. And maybe, just maybe, Dipper was the same, and he’d started taking it out on her.

           He was unstable without Bentley, even though they kept stressing to him that he had to be stable without Ben. Though, Torako thought, a wry smile on her lips, maybe she wasn’t so different. She felt pretty unstable herself.

           They were going to be lucky to get out of it all in one piece. They were all definitely going to need therapy, group and individual. Torako wanted to laugh and cry, but there was a dull edge to her emotions that pressed the urge down into something less overwhelming. Where were they going to find a therapist that would take them seriously and not report things like Bentley being a reincarnation of Mizar, or Dipper being Alcor, or Torako breaking and entering and bartering for demonic force as a tool to suppress and punish people outside the court of law? Dipper and she had discussed it, back when Bentley had first been taken. Dipper had promised that he’d take care of it, but…somehow, that seemed like a really bad idea. Would it be better than no therapy? Worse?

           Torako didn’t know. She swirled her drink again, then took another swig of it.

           “Torako?”

           She looked up. Filara had a manic gleam in her eyes, which shone a faint purple. Probably from magic exposure. “We figured something out, maybe.”

           “It seems pretty possible,” Dipper said.

           “Lay it on me,” Torako said, and leaned forward.

           “So, this is highly theoretical stuff, and I’m definitely not a specialist in any practical sense so I don’t know how possible it is,” Filara said, drumming her manicured fingers on her knees in excitement. “But because extradimensional travel, like to legitimate other dimensions, is impossible by human means and, Alcor assures me, highly improbable even by demonic means, there’s only an infinitesimally, insignificantly small chance that Bentley has been spirited away to another dimension. Which means that to fit the parameters of ‘not being in this world proper,’ Bentley has to be in a pocket dimension. Which, in and of itself, is not sufficient, because Alcor can sense Mizar through those, right?”

           Dipper nodded vigorously.  

           “Have to wonder how your kidnapper knew how to counteract that, but no matter. Might just be plain paranoia, which is healthy to have when kidnapping a Mizar attached to a very very powerful demon. Anyways!” Filara flicked up a screen and began to draw a quick sketch. It wasn’t very artistic. “so you have the pocket dimension, with Bentley in it, with Alcor here, and there’s extra stuff inbetween. It has to stop demons from entering. More than that, it has to stop a very strong, the strongest, demon from even sensing through it. Which is hard. It’s like, you have a window, so you can’t pass through the window, but you can see through it and sometimes even hear through it, right?”

           “I get that,” Torako said. She set her drink on her left knee. “So something that would stop that would be, like…sigils, right?”

           Filara blinked, stopped mid-drawing of a window with a person looking out of it. “Actually, yes, maybe? But there aren’t too many people who use sigils to that kind of degree, and they might be a little too finicky to mesh with a pocket dimension the way this kind of near-airtight technology requires. As it is, the pocket dimension is probably a bit destabilized by this. The theory is old, but incredibly difficult to actually execute. So if you’re looking for something reliable…”

           Torako snapped her fingers as she connected the dots. She grinned. “Wards.”

           “Right. Runes don’t pack enough punch and can get a little frisky, but wards are solid. They’re dependable. Reliable. They’re like a middle-aged rottweiler.” Filara drew a stick dog on the screen between them, then put a smiley face on it. “Loyal, and forgiving, but also capable of turning nasty if you poke it enough with the right stick, which is why this is still theory. Maybe. It might be real if Alcor’s unable to sense Bentley.”

           Torako’s stomach turned and her good mood evaporated nearly as quickly as it had come on. Dipper was quiet, which could mean several things. She hoped he wasn’t going to sink into a brooding spiral again. “Which means Bentley’s stuck in something potentially unstable.”

           “Unfortunately, yes.” Filara pinched the screen back into nonexistence. “And because Alcor is as powerful as he is, even the ward alone might not be enough. There’s possibly another element, which would destabilize it even further. Bentley could be younger when he comes out. He could have grown extra limbs. Maybe he knows more languages than he knew going in. Maybe he loses the ability to write, but gains the ability to telepathically communicate. Everything we know about unstable pocket dimensions comes from a long time ago when they were new and unrefined, and when you add magic to magic, weird things happen.”

           Torako closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Okay. Okay. So we need—we need a good wardist. Who knows their stuff, and is connected to the warding professional world, and it can’t be Meung-soo because I hate her and also I don’t trust her to know enough after being kept in the dark about her own nephew. Fuck.”

           Next to her, Lata slept on, curled around Fuzzles the beagle. Torako wished she was five and the world was uncomplicated again. She’d also settle for a long nap, at this point.

           “I’m sorry,” Filara said, quietly. “The downside of casting your net wide, is, well, you don’t really know the super serious pros very well. Especially ones who don’t thinktank, and do stuff instead. I can’t help you there.”

           Dipper straightened up. He looked solidly in the realm of his 20s now. That was both a promising and frankly miraculous sign, considering the situation was ‘Bentley trapped in an unstable affront against the laws of dimensional boundaries’ and his reaction to Bentley’s situation before this particular calamity. Torako was unable to wrap her head around how his brain worked, sometimes. “I do.”

           Torako couldn’t even muster the energy to raise her eyebrows at him. “You do.”

           “Yes.” He nodded, and stood. “Soos’s reincarnation’s mom is a wardist. She told me.”

           “Who?” Torako asked. She couldn’t remember a Soos. Then she registered the word ‘reincarnation’ attached to Soos, and not knowing made more sense. Except, “When did you meet Soos’s reincarnation?”

           “Last week,” Dipper said. “She gave me ice cream in exchange for homework. It was a nice deal. But, Soos’s reincarnation’s mom. She can help us. Definitely.”

           Torako narrowed her eyes in confusion. “But…does she know you’re you?”

           Dipper reached over Lata and grabbed Torako’s hand. She swore as she fought to keep her alcohol right-way up. “If she doesn’t now, then she absolutely will in about five seconds!”

           “Wait, wait, where are they, Dipper?” Torako asked, but it was too late—she felt the tug across her body, and they were elsewhere.

           Filara stared at the place Torako and Alcor had once been.

           “Darling,” she called, after a few moments.

           “Yes?” Tommy yelled back.

           “Our guests left with a towel and a tumbler of your lemon cocktail,” she said. She tilted her head at Lata and Fuzzles, and added, “Also, they left sans child.”

           There was a clang. Tommy appeared moments later at the entrance to the sitting room, staring at the empty spots on the couch, then at the backpack still on the floor.

           “Dipshits,” Tommy said. She sighed. “I’ll call Lata’s parents and update them on the situation, then.”

           “Thank you, darling,” Filara said. She stood, and stretched, and then stepped over to give Tommy a kiss on the cheek. “I appreciate it.”

           Tommy grinned, kissed her back on the cheek. “Always, dear heart.”

           On the couch, Lata shifted next to Fuzzles, but kept sleeping.

[hellomissmabel]

Nostalgic in New York part 1

MASTERLIST

AO3 account

Pairing: Steve x reader

Warnings: Mentions of cancer, dementia and death.

Word count: 1.341

Summary: On Christmas Eve Steve’s son Joey convinces him to share his story on a radio show. While driving to Bucky’s home, Y/N listens to Steve’s story and it awakens something inside of her. Is she sure about her relationship with Bucky? Or is there something missing?

A/N: Inspired by “Sleepless in Seattle” and written for @sgtbxckybxrnes

Series masterlist can be found here

It’s a long, long drive from your parents’ house to Bucky’s, the highway almost deserted except for some stray cars taking a different exit, probably also on their way to their own Christmas party. You keep your eyes on the road as your lips sing one Christmas carol after the other, until your favourite radio programme is interrupt by static and now you’re forced to switch stations. After going back and forth between either a documentary on Santa Claus or a radio show hosted by some well-known psychologist, you eventually opt for the latter.

The point of her show is the following, she invites people to call her and tell them what troubles them. This can be anything, from a cold turkey to complaining in-laws. The first caller is a young woman from Maine dating a married man who asks the psychologist for love advice. She dubs her the Mistress in Maine. The second caller is a man from Denver who just got kicked out by his girlfriend on Christmas Eve. The psychologist names him the Dumped in Denver.

However, it’s the third caller that really captures your attention. It’s a little boy named Joey from New York. The woman asks him why he called her programme, to which he replies he’s calling regarding his Christmas wish. He wants his father to find love again, he wishes a wife for his father and a mother for himself. Joey hopes that his father will smile again and she asks him if he can put his father on the phone and the boy immediately chimes yes.

“Dad!,” Joey scream from the other end of the living room, holding his father’s cell phone to his ear. “Someone’s asking for you!”

“Alright, buddy,” the blond chuckles as he waves his son over, Joey nestling himself on the couch next to his father, giving the phone to his father. “Hello, this is Steve Rogers speaking.”

The lady then proceeds to inform Steve about his son’s Christmas wish, and Steve sighs heavily as he looks down at his son with a stern gaze. “He’s told you all that, hm?,” Steve replies dryly, Joey looking up at him with red cheeks and a little grin.

“Do you mind sharing with us your story, Steve?”

The blond ruffles through his son’s dark brown hair. “Well, it seems Joey’s already told you most of it…” Hugging his son closer so he can’t wiggle away, Steve continues to tell the psychologist whatever he feels comfortable sharing.

“So my wife died a little over a year and a half ago. Her name was Peggy. She, euhm…,” Steve swallows the lump in his throat. “I’m an architect and she was one of my clients. That’s why I wasn’t really eager to ask her out. But boy, am I glad I did because as soon as I saw her in that red dress…” Steve whistles and it makes both himself, Joey and the woman on the other end of the line laugh.

By now, the entire country has fallen in love with Steve Rogers and you find yourself swooning softly to the kind timbre in his voice. The way he speaks, so full of love, about his late wife. It all makes your heart beat so much faster until it makes you feel so guilty once Bucky crosses your mind again. Sweet, sweet Bucky. What’s happening to you?

But the mood soon changes as Steve reminiscence further, nostalgia seeping through his bones. “Joey, Peggy and I had a good life back in Seattle. She had brain cancer which caused early dementia. In less than six months she deteriorated badly and eventually died. I got a job offer in New York two months after I buried her and I thought that a new environment would do us some good, so I accepted. The job’s almost over and we’ll be flying back to Seattle the day after Valentine’s day.”

“What’s this?,” your best friend Wanda queries as she holds up the crumpled piece of paper you threw away in the trash about an hour before she got here.

You shrug half-heartedly, trying to pry the letter away from her curious fingers. “Nothing. Just a letter that got delivered earlier.”

“Oh really?,” Wanda sees straight through your lies, folding open the letter again and reading the first words out loud.

“Dear mister Rogers…” She kinks a suspicious eyebrow at you. “I’m writing you this letter regarding your radio interview on Christmas Eve.”

Fighting to get the piece of paper away from Wanda and back into the safety of the deepest, darkest chambers of your mind and soul, you run after her as she parades around the house, reading still and much to your embarrassment.

“So you do listen to those stupid radio programmes? What’s this one’s nickname, hm?”

“Nostalgic in New York,” is your quick reply. “Come on, Wanda, don’t…,” you whine in response, halting your chase and leaning against the couch, head hung low. “It’s just a stupid letter. I wasn’t going to post it anyway.”

“Y/N…,” Wanda sighs softly as she joins your side, pocketing the letter and wrapping an arm around your shoulder. “It’s such a beautiful letter, why not send it?”

Your lack of reply rings an alarm in Wanda’s head. “Oh sweetie… Is this about Bucky?”

“He.. euhm…” With your pause hanging heavily in the air, you fidget with your fingers. “He proposed.”

“What?,” she squeaks out, looking at you with ardent eyes, burning questions on the tip of her tongue. “I thought you weren’t that serious?”

“Bucky and I have known each other for 9 years!,” you defend yourself, wild eyes filled with doubt as your mind mulls over Wanda’s words.

“Yeah, but you’re forgetting there’s a 4 year gap in the middle from when you moved to Chicago!,” Wanda utters faster than you can think of a good comeback. “You dated for 5 years and then you broke up because you wanted different things in life. You took that job in Chicago so you didn’t have to deal with Bucky anymore.”

You chuckle sourly, no soul left in your voice. “When we first met, we told everybody we met through Tinder while we really met through friends. Bucky is funny and spontaneous and so sweet.”

The memory stings like a thorn, especially since you’ve tried to make it work again so hard, poured your heart and soul into a second chance for your relationship… You just don’t want that all to go to waste.

“Bucky and I first saw each other again at that coffee place I took you last week. It had only just opened and the barista messed up our orders. I asked for a white mocha latte with extra whip cream and caramel on top. Bucky asked for a white mocha latte with extra whip cream and chocolate on top. Like, it’s such a coincidence that somebody has the same order as me because it’s so specific! And for that person to be Bucky… Even after 4 years… It just felt like destiny.”

“Y/N, sweetheart,…” Wanda sighs softly as she notices tears are welling up in your eyes.

“I fall in love with a voice over the radio, a guy I’ve never met. But I can’t say ‘I love you’ to my fiancé without having to think it over. I’m a horrible person…”

Wanda squeezes your shoulder, embracing you in a warm hug. “Talk to Bucky, Y/N, I’m sure he’ll understand. After all, you broke up because you wanted different things in life… You wanted to wait with kids and focus on your career as a columnist while Bucky wanted a family as soon as possible…”

“Okay,” you nod with a feebly voice, “I’ll talk to him.”

“Your letter,” Wanda continues softly, “You still wanna meet this guy, don’t you? So how about I post it for you?”

“Thanks, Wanda,” you smile gratefully, wiping away the silent tears with your sleeve. Her kind eyes are too good for this world. “I just hope he writes back…”

 Tagging: @avengerofyourheart @a-little-hell-to-raise @marvelingatthewonder @mrshopkirk @hardcorehippos @knittingknerdy @winterboobaer @italwaysendsinafightt @viollettes @hymnofthevalkyrie @feelmyroarrrr @justareader @austinamelio @volklana @howlingbarnes @themcuhasruinedme @theoneandonlysaucymo @caplansteverogers @amrita31199 @emilyevanston @minervaem @howlingbarnes @buchananbarnestrash @youandb @you-and-bucky @fvckingsteverogers @thatawkwardtinyperson @barnes-heaven @that-sokovian-bastard @abovethesmokestacks @marvelrevival @marvel-fanfiction @justanotherbuckydevotee @barnes-heaven @heartmade-writingbucky @buckyywiththegoodhair @captnbarnesrogers @its-not-a-phase-hux @melconnor2007 @ivvitm1109 @toofuckinfabulous @ailynalonso15 @hollycornish @delicatecapnerd @camigt1999 @learisa @curlyexpat @palaiasaurus64 @fanndas-snow-goddess @crisssivonne @yourenotrogers @tomhollandzs @supernaturaldean65 @beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep @aletheladyinred @sniktlogan @xbergiex @reniescarlett @promarvelfangirl @capbuckybuchanan @lovemarvelousfics @yknott81 @rrwilson66 @pegasusdragontiger @salty-holographic-stickers @sammyissassy @sebstanchrisevanchickforever19 @kudosia @bellejeunefillesansmerci @lumelgy @mizzzpink @southernbellestatues @daringtodreamawake @neurotic-narwhal @cokamarie24 @blue1928 @movingonto-betterthings @breezy1415 @isnt-the-blog-youre-looking-for @jesspfly @weenie-butt @debzybrazy @fuckingchaotic  @always-an-evans-addict @petersunderroos  @thegreentgirl @nedthegay

Strikethrough means Tumblr wouldn’t let me tag you!

[xxxprettydeadgirlxxx]

Dark Paradise

Loki/OFC Rated M for Violence and NSFW Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4

I tagged those who have been responding to the fic. If you would like to be added/or removed from the tag (or if I missed someone), let me know. :)                                                                                                 Chapter 5

When Octavia and Loki had finally woken up from their sex dazed slumber, the word awkward was an understatement. They had ended up having sex four times in total throughout the night, but the last three times had been longer, and before they realized it the sun had come up and the sex was no longer necessary. They had both fallen asleep immediately, curled up against each other. When they awoke they awkwardly sat up, and Loki magically dressed them, since he'd fallen asleep before he'd had a chance to do so.

"I should check outside. Make sure it's safe before we move on." Loki told her as he stood up, walking over to the cave entrance.

He was in a decent mood this morning. Although, he had realized half way though their sexcapades last night that he had a thick fur blanket in his magic pocket, and he could have just used a spell to warm her up. Why he had not thought about that before he had already fucked her twice he couldn't figure out. Maybe it was his dick screaming out for him to get laid. He decided he was going to keep that bit of information to himself; he was sure she would not be happy. Plus, her not knowing had its advantages. He'd get to fuck her quite often and although he wasn't too thrilled about the idea at first, now that he'd finally released some of his sexual frustration he wasn't ready to give it up just yet. Though, it was a little weird now. Usually, he'd just kick people out of his bed when he was done with them; he never kept the same partner for very long, but this was a slightly different scenario. He actually had to face her the next morning, and he honestly wasn't sure what to say at this point. "Damn..." Well, there went his good mood; maybe...

"What?" Octavia groaned, almost afraid to even ask.

Loki sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, letting out a chuckle. He wasn't sure whether he was pissed or thrilled right now. "We slept all day." When his words didn't register he elaborated. "It will be dark in an hour."

Octavia's eyes grew wide with horror. "WHAT! Are you fucking kidding me, an hour!? Oh my fucking, JESUS FUCKING CHRIST!" she exclaimed, realizing her only hope was fucking Loki again. "How could you sleep all day!"

Loki gave her a 'don't fucking blame me', look. "You slept all day as well!" It really wasn't like him to sleep so long, but under the circumstances....

"Fuck, fuck my life!" She threw her hands up and growled. "At least tell me that stream is clean enough to bathe in? Please, please, please!" she pleaded. "I feel so gross. I'm dirty and full of Loki semen. I cannot fuck you again this gross and I'm not fucking you until you bathe as well!"

Loki only chuckled at her comment and confirmed that yes, it should be clean enough to bathe in. He was actually about to suggest it, feeling rather gross himself. It wasn't far from where they were staying so they had time. Loki took the lead and they quickly made their way back to the stream to clean themselves up.                                                     *********** Octavia had basically stripped when she got there. Loki had already seen her naked (her shirt came off at some point last night) so what was the big deal now. She was going to have to screw him again anyway. She threw her clothes down and stepped in and started scrubbing herself with her hands. Turns out they both needed each other's help to remove all the dirt and that was annoying, though Loki didn't seem to mind, which annoyed her even more. Loki had magically cleaned her clothes for her, for which she was grateful, and they headed back towards the cave just as it was beginning to get dark.

"I'm hungry." she whined as they headed inside. "I guess we aren't eating tonight?"

"No." He said almost regretfully. "Too dangerous to hunt."

She sighed and nodded, but didn't complain. There was no point. It really wasn't his fault the sex had been so amazing they both went into a coma afterwards. Octavia just hated to admit to herself that she had enjoyed it. A part of her may have even been excited about the fact they were stuck in the cave another night, though being cold was getting old.

"I shall stay awake this time and make sure we leave at a decent hour tomorrow." Loki assured her, getting comfortable. He gave her a dark, lusty smirk. "I suppose we will be having a repeat of last night?"

"Shut up." she almost laughed, but stopped herself. No, do not start to like him; he's an ass. Octavia rolled her eyes and walked over next to Loki, sitting down beside him. "Before it gets too cold, tell me something about yourself." She gave him a pleading look. "I can't keep fucking you and know nothing about you, other than your a god, arrogant, an asshole, and apparently a Frost Giant."

Loki chuckled. "What do you wish to know?"

She thought for a moment. What did she want to know? "Well, basics. Favorite color, age, and perhaps some things you enjoy?"

"Green I suppose would be my preferred color. I also like black, as well as gold. I'm over a millennium in age, which is equivalent to about twenty-two Midgardian years." he explained. "I enjoy the dark arts; magic, as well as reading. I like knowledge." he smirked. "Now you. Same questions."

"Okay, well, I like black and hot pink, mostly together. I'm twenty-three so that makes me older, and I also like books. I paint and draw as well. I like pretty things..." she trailed, remembering her world and how beautiful it was, and how horrible and violent this one was. "Anyway-" she began, snapping out of it. -"So, if I overstep my boundaries, just tell me to shut up." she paused. "Why did Odin take you? I mean, if he was at war with them why take you back?"

"As a bargaining chip, basically. For peace." he spoke sadly, and Octavia didn't miss the tone. Why Loki was even telling her this he wasn't sure. Maybe because he didn't expect to make it off this miserable planet, so what did it matter. "I know he regrets it. He told me my birthright was to die, cast out on a frozen rock." Loki's voice had converted to a whisper. "Instead of the ax, I was to be locked away in the dungeons for the rest of my days, never to see my mother again."

"Where is she now?"

"Dead." Loki growled, causing Octavia to jump. "She's dead." he repeated, burying all his hostility back down deep inside his haunted soul. "I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye. I wasn't even allowed to attend her funeral. I was told after the fact..." Loki trailed, his eyes wet and slightly red now.

"I'm so sorry." she told him sincerely.

"I do not want your pity." he growled.

"It's not pity." Loki glared at her, unsure how to take her comment. "I just know what it's like to lose someone you care about, that's all. I lost my dad, though, he was a good dad and not a shitty one like yours sounds."

Loki chuckled silently, then gave her an apologetic look. "I am sorry, for your loss." he told her, brushing a stray piece of hair behind her ear. "Death is never the end, you must remember that."

Octavia could only nod in agreement. Not only did Odin sound like a dick, but Loki's mother had died while he'd been locked up and had been forbidden to go to her funeral. Hell, even on her planet in certain circumstances, they allowed prisoners to attend funerals. From the way he was speaking she had been very important to him and Octavia couldn't help but feel remorse for Loki, even a little guilty for being such a bitch. "Why were you locked up?"

"For a crime I committed in Asgard-I'd rather not talk about it, and New York. I'm sure you heard about that."

"I did." she paused, unsure what to say next. "How did you get out of the dungeons?"

"Thor released me to help defeat the dark elves and I died. I cheated death and I don't even know how. I should be dead." He licked his lips. "Odin I suppose, decided banishing me was better. I am never to set foot in Asgard again. My home is lost to me." Loki missed Asgard. He missed his room, he missed the gardens, the library, but most of all, he missed Frigga. He supposed he was better off; too many memories of his mother. His dead mother...

"Wait, you died?" What the hell?

"Yes, or so I thought. I don't know."

"You sure have been through some shit, haven't you?"

Loki chuckled darkly. "Oh pet, you have no idea."

She wanted to ask more, but she started to shake; the cold was beginning to set in. "Won't be long now." she laughed, shaking her head. "The things I do to stay alive."

"Is it really that dreadful?" he questioned indifferently.

"No, not really." she answered honestly. "I mean, I don't have a lot to compare it too, but it was definitely better than what my ex tried to call sex." she giggled, and Loki chuckled with her. "Seriously, it was awful." Octavia met his gaze and licked her lips. Damn. "You're definitely not awful." No. No, no, no.

Octavia didn't get very long to argue with herself since Loki had pinned her down and crawled on top of her. He'd already magically removed her clothing, as well as his, and had begun to ravish her womanhood with his mouth. She should have told him to stop, that this wasn't necessary just yet, but she couldn't. All she could do was fall apart, gushing against his mouth as he lapped her juices up greedily. Just like the night before Loki fucked her all night, only this time he had found a few new positions to try. She didn't fight it and had decided just to let go completely and enjoy the intense, amazing pleasure Loki was giving her. For a guy she couldn't stand and couldn't stand her, he sure did know how to fuck her.

Loki had once again fallen asleep, but he had at least remembered to dress them this time. However, he hadn't been asleep for very long when he felt Octavia being yanked from his arms, letting out a blood curdling scream.

Sorry, I like gifs.... xD @mastreworld @neurotic-narwhal @helenaisabel @hellokittyismyspiritanimal @court-of-thorns-and-roses @mad-about-britain @archy3001 @iamhisgloriouspurpose @burningarbiterheart @scoobysnacks31 @sweetangelfan @Kidamon 

[blueneonlightshow-blog]

Two for One Combo (Part 1)

Star pointed her wand at the numerous rats charging after her. "cotton burst ice blast!"

A wisp of cold blue light shot at the monsters and froze them to a tree, nearly missing Marco's head. "Hey, careful, Star! Hyah!" he shouted, kicking his attackers away.

"Sorry!" Star looked back and saw more rats approaching her. She took aim, but quickly moved out of the way, avoiding Ludo's green blast of energy.

"It doesn't have to be this way, Star Butterfly! I just need your book and I can be on my way!" he shouted, shooting more green energy at her. "And don't think you can escape from me this time. I've had practice."

Star landed safely from Ludo's barrage of attacks. "Wait, me escape? Aren't you the one that usually runs away from these fights?"

"Wha- no! I do not!"

"Yeah you do. Marco and I kick your butt all the time and then you run away… all the time."

"Silence!"

"I'm just saying."

He angrily shot another green blast at the girl. "Give me that spellbook!"

"Not gonna happen Ludo!" She shot a narwhal blast at the little bird man and the surrounding rats. Smiling at her work, she looked in Marco's direction to see her friend fighting off Ludo's spider and eagle. "I got you, Marco!" She held up her wand. "Taffy Rope Net!"

A web of taffy flew towards the attackers. Marco struggled against the spider but was able to land a punch and throw it into the eagle. He jumped to his feet, taking his fighting stance again. "Ha! You can't pin me down. I'm a master at judo- Ah!" The net enveloped Marco against a tree, leaving his body stuck on its side. "Star!"

"Sorry!" She ran over to Marco and tried to pull the net off.

"Uh… Star?"

The princess looked behind her and saw Ludo standing on top of his spider and bird with his army. "Nowhere to run, Princess Butterfly. Now hand over the book!"

Star smirked. "How about I give you THIS!" Ludo looked up into the sky as Star jumped in the air. "Mega Tune Music Wave!" She fell to the ground and slammed her wand into the earth, creating a pleasant musical note in the air. The shockwave, however, was not so pleasant. The army flew back, the rats and Ludo groaning from the pain.

The little monster held his head, disoriented from the sound. "No, I think I much prefer the book…" he said in a slur of words. He shook his head and regained his focus, growling at the princess. "Fine. You win this time! But don't get used to it!"

"But isn't this like the gajillionth time I've beaten you though?"

"No! And that's not even a real number."

"Sure it is. They had to invent that number because that's how many times I've beaten you."

"Silence!"

"I'm just saying."

Ludo got up and dusted himself off, pulling out his makeshift scissors and tearing a portal in reality. "I'll be back for that book! And when I do, you'll be sorry!" He jumped in with his army of rats, giant spider, and eagle trailing behind him.

Star crossed her arms. "No need to be all dramatic about it..." Her attention shifted focus when she heard Marco struggle from her spell. "Oh! Marco!"

The boy tried to free himself from the net but failed to make any progress. Star ran up to him and tried to pull him off the tree, but it was of little help. "Jeez, this thing is strong."

"Yeah… who knew taffy would be so hard?" She tried to move her hands to get a better grip, but the taffy net didn't seem to budge. "Well… looks like I'm gonna have to use magic to get you out."

Marco widened his eyes. "Uhh… I don't know, Star. Remember the last time you used magic on me?"

"No."

"I stayed invisible for four days! And you had to call your mom for help?"

Star thought for a moment, trying to recollect her memory.

-------------------------

"Hey Marco, lemme test this one spell on you!"

Marco sighed. "Why me?"

"Because I need a live test subject- I mean partner! I need a partner to test my invisibility spell!"

"Did you just say-"

"Nope!"

Marco stared at his friend in suspicion, but eventually caved. "Alright fine. Just… don't mess me up too much, okay?"

Star scoffed, waving her hands. "Don't worry, it'll be fine!"

-------------------------

Star scoffed. "Don't worry, it'll be fine!"

"That usually means it won't be..." the boy said with a deadpan voice.

Star raised her wand and pointed it at Marco. "Well, seeing how you're stuck to the tree and I'm the one with the wand..."

Marco let out a sigh. "Alright, go ahead."

"Yay!" Star cleared her throat and took aim at Marco. "Mystic Ghost Transform!" A grey beam shot at Marco, making his body shake from the affect.

"Woooaaaahhhhhh S-S-S-Staa-a-aaa-a-ar thii-i-i-i-i-is fe-e-ee-e-e-els wee-e-e-e-eii-ird" He felt his body become free from the net and slowly slide down from the tree. The beam lasted for a few more seconds before Marco landed on the ground. "Oof! Huh? Hey, it worked!"

Star's eyes widened. "Uhhh… Marco?"

"That's a cool spell. When did you learn that one?"

"Marco?"

"Yeah?"

She pointed at his body. He looked down at himself and saw that he was now semi-transparent. "What the…"

"You're kind of… see-through."

He held up his hand, able to see the trees through it. "What is this?"

Star examined the transparent Marco, taking note of his condition. "Hmmm…" She looked back and forth between the body and spirit, even sticking a hand through her friend, causing him to 'eep!' "Hmm… that's interesting… Yup! You're a ghost!"

"Okay… so can you change me back?"

"I… don't know how," she said, laughing nervously. "I didn't get that far into the spellbook… But don't worry! I'm sure we can fix this… although it's kind of neat, don't you think?" She tried to nudge him with her elbow only to passed through his body, sending shivers down his… ghost spine.

"D-don't do that. It feels really weird." Star smirked and stuck her arm into Marco's ghost body. "Gah! Star! Quit it!"

She giggled. "So cute~ You know, you could be really spooky and scare people. Haunt people's souls… or at least that's what Janna says ghosts do."

"I'm not gonna scare people!"

"But you could."

"Star!"

"I'm just saying."

-------------------------

Star pulled out her large spellbook from under her bed, turning the covers over to a random page. "Hey Glossaryck? Are you in here?" she said, flipping through the pages for the little man.

"Yeeeeesssss m'lady?" He stuck his head out from under the bottom cover, looking up at Star and ghost Marco.

"Heyyy, Glossy. I have a bit of a problem here… sooooooo I used that ghost spell on Marco totally by accident and I don't know how to get him back to normal."

"By accident?" Marco repeated, giving Star a deadpan look. Glossaryck crawled out of the book and floated towards Marco. He examined the boy, taking note of his transparency before floating right inside him. "Gah! Stop that! Get out of there!"

The magical being didn't listen and pretended to backstroke in his body. "So… how long was the spell used on you?"

Marco quickly jumped back, shivering at the intrusion. "I dunno… like… a few seconds?"

Glossaryck placed his hands on his hips. "Really, hmmmm... Well, from my years of experience, I can definitely say that my professional conclusion is… I don't know how to fix this."

"What!?"

"Did I stutter?" The little man flew back onto the book and sat comfortably on the pages.

Marco on the other hand was in a complete panic. "You mean to tell me I'm stuck like this forever!?"

"I didn't say that. I just said I don't know how to fix it. Chances are, the spell will wear off in a few days… probably. Look on the bright side, kid. You can be all spooky and scare some people."

Star gasped. "That's what I said!"

"I'm not going to scare people!"

"Well, you might as well enjoy your ghost powers, kiddo. Who knows, maybe it'll be more fun this way. Ahem… Dip doooowwwwn," Glossaryck chanted before diving into the book, disappearing from existence.

Marco sighed. "Well that was useless." The princess approached the ghost and stuck her hand inside his body once more, making the boy squeal. "S-Star! Quit it!"

She giggled even more. "Sorry, sorry! It's just so cute the way you do that."

A blush came across his face. He pulled his hoodie over his head and turned away from the girl. "Yeah, yeah…" he muttered.

"Anyway, I'm sure it's not all that bad. I'll just do what I did with your monster arm and make up a new spell to get you back to normal!"

Marco sighed. "Alright. Why not?"

Star smiled, using levitato on the book. "Great! C'mon, Marco!" she called out as she exited her room.

"Wait, where are we going?"

"Out! I'm starving."

"But what about my body?"

"We can multitask!"

"We have food here, you know."

"Yeah, but you're a ghost. How are you going to make stuff for us if you can't use your hands?"

"I can just teach you how to-"

"Exactly! We can't! But don't worry. I know a great place that sells burgers. Jackie and I went there before."

Marco sighed, rolling his eyes. "Fine. Let's make it quick."

-------------------------

Star took a bite out of her burger, happily enjoying the meal. "This is so good, Marco. You gotta try it!"

The boy tried to grab at his own burger but failed to make any contact with it. His hands passed through his lunch, making his stomach growl even more. "You know, I didn't think it was possible for ghosts to get hungry…"

"Oh! Here, let me try. Ahem…" She held her wand up and pointed it at the burger. "Mystic Ghost Transform!" a flash of light beamed at the sandwich before transforming the meal into a transparent ghost burger.

Marco reached out, surprised that he could make contact with the burger. He took a bite out of his meal, smiling. "Wow. That is good. Thanks, Star!"

"No problem. Now, let's see…" She looked through the book, reading on transformation spells. Perhaps something there could help turn Marco back into human form. "Okay, let's try this one," she said, pointing at the script.

Marco leaned over her shoulder to see a picture of a figure holding the wand, shooting at another figure with the spell underneath it. "Exo… morphous?"

"It looks like the spell will change you back."

"Are… you sure?" he asked, concerned about the next picture that followed, showing the figure becoming larger. "It doesn't look like the spell is meant for that…"

"Psh, don't worry, I got this. Exo morphous!"

"Wait wait wait!"

Rather than the making contact with him, the spell passed through Marco's body, hitting another customer's burger. The sandwich grew one hundred times its size, crushing the wooden table with its weight. The group of customers cheered as they took a piece from the new burger.

Star looked at her book once more, confused by the lack of information. "Huh… well that didn't work…"

"All the magic in the universe and you're telling me Glossaryck doesn't know a single spell that can turn me back into a human?"

"Well, this could be a test for me. Glossaryck might be pretending he doesn't know so that I can learn for myself!"

"Great. I guess that makes me the guinea pig… again…"

"At least I know how to make food bigger now."

"True…"

-------------------------

The two walked through the park once again, taking a nice leisure walk on the nice spring day. Star continued to read through her floating spellbook while Marco entertained himself with his ghostly abilities by passing his hands through one another.

"This still freaks me out..." he said as he stared at his hands. "You know, I'm surprised no one cares that I'm a ghost walking around everywhere."

"Well they sure are used to having a magical princess around here, so I guess a ghost isn't anything too new."

"Yeah, that's a good point…"

Star stopped at the park bench, taking a seat with her book. "Okay, let's see… I think I finally got it this time…."

Marco crossed his arms (or tried to. They simply passed through each other). "Alright. Lay it on me," he said, knowing full well he probably won't be able to stop Star from casting the spell anyway.

The princess' face lightened up and presented her wand in front of him. "Aestrus Forma!"

A beam of light shot at the boy. This time, it made contact with his ghost form. He felt a tingle around his body before feeling himself being pulled into the wand. "S-Star?"

The wand then shot a beam of light at Star, causing her to drift towards the wand as well. "Wait- what? What's happening!?"

The two drew closer together, sucked into a singularity by the wand. In a bright flash, the two kids, Star and Marco, no longer existed. Instead, a latino girl with brown hair, blue eyes, and pink hearts on her cheeks remained. She wore a black skirt, a red long sleeve shirt, and a sea foam green vest with the cute purple octopus that was on Star's dress. The girl looked around, confused at what was happening before coming to her senses.

"...Aw, man… what just happened? Why does my head hurt…?" she mumbled in a fairly strong and somewhat deep feminine voice. She saw the wand on the ground and picked up the artifact. "This… looks familiar…" The girl examined the wand, gently shaking it when it shot a violent burst of energy. She screamed, dropping the wand and backing away. "What the heck!?"

She looked around to make sure no one was around. Thankfully, the park was rather empty, so no one was hurt.

"Okay… weird…" she muttered, her heart racing from the sudden surprise. She looked around, finding the spellbook on the ground. The girl approached it, taking a look at the foreign object. "Huh..."

The girl flipped through the pages curious of the strange markings on each page with even stranger pictures to compliment it. "What is all this stuff?"

"It's a spellbook, kid."

"Ohmygod atinyblueman!" the girl shouted, backing away from the book. This day keeps getting weirder...

Glossaryck's head appeared from under the pages, staring at the new girl. He squinted at her, examining her face. "What? You've never seen an all powerful magical being before? Star's been living on Earth for a year now, I'm pretty sure everyone has seen something by now."

The girl tilted her head, unsure whether to approach Glossaryck. "Um… Star…?"

"Yeah, you know. Star Butterfly. Princess of Mewni. She makes a magical mess in almost every episode she's in."

"What do you mean episode-"

"She's got a wand that can do just about anything with the right imagination. You've never heard of her before?"

"...N...No?"

"Huh… that's weird… cuz you kind of have her… her magical force. You know?"

"Magical- what are you- WHY DON'T YOU MAKE SENSE!?"

"Star's got this magical… aura… and when you're as powerful as me, you can sense other people's magic. And it feels like you have Star's inner magic potential."

"WHAT THE HECK DOES THAT EVEN…" The girl rubbed her head, becoming more frustrated by the minute. "You are just all sorts of help, aren't you?" she muttered. "Okay… so… let's start at the beginning. Do you know who I am?"

"Uuummmm…" Glossaryck examined her once again, then looked at the book. "Hmmm…. No."

"Oh, great. That's… just great. Wonderful. So… what the heck are you? Are you even real? ...Am I on drugs?"

"Uh, no, kid. I'm Gllllllllossaryck!" he announced as he waved his hand in the air, leaving floating letters above his name. "An all powerful, magical entity that lives inside that book and serves whomever wields the magic wand."

The girl stared, completely in disbelief. "...Magic… wand- you're telling me magic is real?"

"Did I stutter?"

She crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow at the little man. "Well gee, well aren't you sassy?"

"Only on Saturdays."

The girl let out a sigh. "Do you know how I got here, at least?"

"Mmmmmmm, no. But I can find out." He flipped through the pages, looking for a possible spell that the princess could have messed with. "Ah hah… Yup… okay, kid. I think I know what happened. Here, take a look."

The book began to levitate in front of the girl, showing her a strange looking page. Trying to ignore her initial excitement and fear for the supernatural abilities, the girl read through the book. "Um… Aestrus Forma?"

"Yeah, it looks like Star used a fusion spell on herself by accident. And by the looks of it, she did it with Marco."

"Uhh…"

"Oh, right. Star is a magical princess from another dimension. The same dimension where I'm from, actually. She was the previous wand user."

"..."

"And Marco is her boyfriend or something."

"..."

"Okay, so maybe not her boyfriend... not yet anyway. Star's shy like that. She just doesn't want to admit it."

"This makes no sense at all…" the girl groaned as she sat on the grass. "So… I'm not even a real person?"

Glossaryck floated over towards the girl, sitting on top of her head. "I mean, you're a real person now."

"So you're telling me I was just born today?"

"...That's one way of looking at it. Happy birthday, kid."

The girl whined, falling onto the grass. "I need therapy…"

"Don't worry. You'll understand what's going on soon. I'm sure Star and Marco's memories will come back to you at some point."

"Star and Marco…" Flashes of memories appeared in her head. She could see the faces of the two idiots laughing and fighting together. "I… think I remember them."

"Ah, see? Already coming back."

More flashes appeared in her mind of the two spending time together. More laughter. More smiling. Playing. Hugging. "Huh… cute." Memories began to form in her mind, revealing more about the two best friends. They were… fighting… fighting together. A green bird monster was attacking with rats. Star won. She turned Marco into a ghost… "Heh… wow… that's stupid."

"That's you you're talking about," Glossaryck chimed in.

"...Shush you..." The girl began to think again. A ghost… more spells… the book. Star used the book. Accidentally fused themselves… and now she was here. "...Okay… I think I remember everything…"

"Now that we have that settled, how about we figure out what to call you, kid?"

The girl thought to herself for a bit. If she's going to be around, she should probably think of a good name to go by. Maybe a mixture of Star and Marco. It's only appropriate, right? She thought of the perfect name. "I think I'll call myself… Marar."

"Marar?"

"Yeah, Marar's good. Just combine the two names and you get Marar."

"You…" Glossaryck blinked, unsure if she was joking. "...Okay… Marar it is…"

The girl nodded, beaming a large smile. She scanned the book once more before picking up the wand. "So… how long 'till I turn back into those lovebirds?"

"Mmmm probably a few days."

"Cool. Guess it's my time to shine! C'mon, Glossy Rick. Let's check this place out." She picked up the book and wand and began walking towards the city.

The blue man rolled his eyes. "It's not Glossy Rick. It's Glossaryck."

Marar giggled. "Whatever you say, Rick."

------------------------- Say hello to Marar everyone! Man, if only there was another name you could make out of Star and Marco... I guess the world will never know... :D