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thdorkmagnet · 5 years ago

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Light of the Sun and Stars Chapter 29: Confidence

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: The gang divides and conquers as they attempt to implement Marco’s new plan to help Mewni, but as usual things don’t go entirely as planned. Marco and Janna gather intel around a famous Monster village but end up getting dragged into a much more serious and deadly situation than they expected. While Star and Jackie ask around Butterfly village to find out the true feelings of Star’s new commission, but the royal finds her people to be less than helpful, which puts a stain on her and Jackie’s friendship.

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Index

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

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Deep in the depths of Monster territory was a small rural village known as Hydra's Point. The story behind its name was more famous than the village itself, told in folktales and as bedtime stories for young Monster children. The story went that a hydra had been roaming through the area one day when one of its heads had gotten a massive toothache after eating an infected tree. It had been in massive pain, rolling about on the ground, all nine head's wailing for some kind of relief from the intense aching that could be felt by all of the collective minds. And all its thrashing began to tear apart the ground, sending tremors that could be felt all over Mewni. The Monsters began to fear that their land would be completely ruined if something wasn't done to stop the hydra.

That was when a brave young Monster emerged, risking her young life to climb up onto its belly and narrowly avoiding being crushed. She offered to help the creature, gaining its attention and managing to make the creature stop its ear-bleeding call. The Monster had kindly helped to remove the infected tooth from its mouth and the Hydra had been so grateful to the Monster for her help that it had left its tooth there as a gift for its friend. And to all who saw it from that day forward, it was a reminder that even one so small and insignificant could make a difference. And the land that was cleared out by the hydra's pain-filled fit was used to make a new village right at the spot of the heroic deed, the tooth standing at the pinnacle of the village as a symbol of the act. Years later, it even ended up saving that same Monster and her family from a pack of rats and possums that had teamed up to take over their land, but that was another story.

In short, the legends surrounding the small village were ones of infamy and whether you believed all of it or not, the town had still made a marking for itself in Monster society because of them. But as for Triceros, a large buff rhino Monster, he didn't much care for myths. He was practical minded just trying to get by through his everyday life and live off of the rustic and simple lifestyle he had been given. He made a simple but comfortable living helping to carry large stones to and fro from a nearby mine and into the query to be shaped into building blocks. Unlike most other rhino Monsters he had a horn on the top of his head instead of just the two on the end of his snout. Some would tease him for this but he didn't really mind, there were very few things in life that could rile him up.

“Excuse me?” a small voice said from behind him and he turned to see a small Mewman boy. He was thin and looked to be no older than 15, if that. He had short brown hair, quizzical brown eyes, which were covered by a pair of wire-framed glasses and sun cheek marks which glowed bright with his polite smile. He wore simple, non-flashy clothing, just a red hoodie and slacks and he was currently clenching a clipboard to his chest in what seemed to be excitement. Though Triceros was often weary of Mewmans, like most of his kind, the boy seemed harmless enough so he had no reason to suspect him of any foal intent.

“What is it boy?” he asked friendly enough and the boy's slightly tensed muscles relaxed and his smile widened brighter.

“I'm a representative for the Monster-Mewman Peace Commission and I'm currently conducting a survey to see what problems Monsters are facing and how we might go about fixing them,” he explained, his voice pleasant and almost childlike and Triceros couldn't help but find the kid endearing. Though he had never had any children of his own, he was suddenly reminded how much he had wanted to in his younger days, before the wife and him split up. ��Would you mind if I asked you a few questions?” the boy asked, looking at him expectantly.

The Monster shook his head and set down the boulder he had been carrying which shook the ground and nearly causing the boy to stumble. Triceros sat down on the rock, giving the boy a long look as he replied almost apologetically, “I recken I don't know all that much about these kind of things.” He spoke in a thick country accent.

The Mewman just eyed him with sympathy before saying, “That's alright. Any knowledge you provide will be of help.”

The Monster studied the boy closely, before finally nodding. “Alrightee then. I guess that's fine with me,” he said and the hooded teen smiled at him gratefully.

He cleared his throat before asking, “Have you ever been mistreated by any Mewmans of any kind in the past?”

The Monster shook his head. “No. Mewmans rarely wander out that far to these parts.”

The teen nodded, jotting something down on the paper. “Do you harbor any resentment or hatred toward Mewmans?”

The Monster again shook his head.

“Have you ever seen any other Monster showing any signs of resentment or hatred toward Mewmans, whether they acted on it or not?”

The Monster paused at that. He had definitely seen that, many of the Monsters at the mine complaining about the Mewmans or speaking about how Toffee was gonna wipe them all out. “I would... rather not answer that,” he said hesitantly and the boy looked up from his clipboard.

“That's okay. You don't have to if you don't want to. I promise you guys aren't in any trouble, I just needed to know so that I can figure out just how many of you are still upset over what happened. That way I can figure out what needs to be done to help ease everyone's minds.”

Triceros was surprised by this. While most of what the boy said was being clearly read off of his pre-written questionnaire, this answer seemed real and genuine, lacking any of the fakeness that came from just recited words on a slip of paper.

But the boy didn't push him for his answer, instead moving on to the next question. “Are there anything you would like to see the Mewmans or Monsters change to help make your life easier?”

Triceros didn't answer at first, thinking hard on his answer. “Not that I can think of? Honestly, unlike some, I'm fine with my life. It's simple but not hard or complicated or any of that stuff. Don't need much to get by. I'm happy as I am.”

The Mewman just nodded at that, before agreeing, “Yeah, I can get that. You do seem happy.” His eyes jumped back down to the paper and he cleared his throat. “Okay, one last question for you, sir.”

“Please none of that 'sir' business around me. Makes me feel old. You can just call me Triceros, everyone around here does.”

“Okay, then,” the boy instantly complied. “Triceros, would you be open to any changes that the MMPC make to help make life better for you and your fellow Monsters?”

Trihorn didn't respond to that right away and the boy's eyes widened in fear, clearly afraid he had upset the Monster. “Like I said I like my life the way it is, but if it helps people out than heck, do what you want. Not like this old rhino knows what he's talking about when it comes to these kinds of things.”

The boy nodded, shooting him a very grateful smile, quickly jotting down the last thing on his sheet. “Thank you for your cooperation. On behalf of the MMPC, I would like to assure you that we will do everything in power to help make yours and Monsterkind's life better.”

With that the Monster stood up and said, “Glad I could be of some help.” He hefted the rock on his shoulder and began walking off, but not before he turned back and asked, “Are you that boy everyone's been talking about? The one raised by Monsters?”

Marco looked at him with shock, his cheeks lightly flushing. “Y-Yeah. My names Marco. Marco Diaz.”

“Heard about your parents, they were real heroes around here,” Trihorn said and the boy's gaze softened, dropping down to the floor.

“Thank you, that's... good to hear.”

“Glad to know their kid is following in their footsteps.”

Marco quickly met his eye and saw a small twinkle in the old Rhino's eyes. The hooded teen just smiled and said, “Well my parents believed Monster and Mewmans could live equally and I think the same. I don't want Monsters to live in fear or hate any longer. I want to help them, just like my parents tried to.”

The Monster nodded and quickly turned away to hide the tear in his eye over the boy's heartfelt speech. “Well you're on the right track,” he said, before continuing away down the dirt streets of the town. Marco turned to leave too, but hearing the Monster call out to him again, he froze in shock, almost not sure he had heard Triceros right, the near indistinct, “Yes,” catching him off guard and it took him a second to process this. But after a few seconds he realized it was the answer to his question, the one the Monster had refused to answer just a moment before: Have you ever seen any other Monster showing any signs of resentment or hatred toward Mewmans, whether they acted on it or not?

The boy quickly marked yes on the paper, trying to ignore the almost warning edge to the Monster's tone, as if telling him that not everyone was as pleasant as him. Still that wouldn't deter Marco, he was on a mission and he wasn't going to let anything get in the way of that.

Suddenly, he felt something run up his spine and he let out an instinctual scream, turning on his heels to see Janna standing behind him with a casual smirk. The boy panted for a second, putting a hand over his racing heart before asking, “Do you have to do that?”

Janna shrugged, before saying, “Hey, I'm just making sure you're keeping your guard up.”

Marco let out a sigh, finally feeling his body relaxing. “Can you do that without nearly giving me a heart attack?”

“Where's the fun in that?” Janna said with a wink, burying her hands into her pockets.

The boy just shook his head, knowing that arguing with Janna was pointless. The creepy girl looked around the near empty streets of the Monster town before asking, “So we almost done yet or....”

“No, I still want to ask a few more Monsters before we go,” Marco said, studying the clipboard closely. But he couldn't help but look up at the sight of the massive tooth as they came upon it. He was reminded of the bedtime stories he himself had been told my Buff Frog and it was almost unbelievable to see the real thing in person like this, feeling humbled to be near the thing out of his fairytales.

Janna let a frustrated huff, ruining Marco's moment, as she exclaimed, “Come on, you've got to have hundreds of those by now! How many more do you need?”

“Actually, I've only gotten like six so far,” Marco pointed out. He didn't mention the others he had asked but had rejected his questionnaire, looking concerned about being asked such personal questions. Then again he couldn't complain too much this was only the second town they had come to, Buff Frog kindly giving him a list of every major Monster village and their locations so Marco could pay them a visit. Buff Frog himself had wanted to be there but had been called away on business instead, so it was just Marco and Janna... and probably Lobster Claws who was more than likely hiding in a bush nearby. “We still need a lot more before we're done,” the hooded boy explained and Janna let out a long bored sigh.

“Fine, wake me when it's over,” she mumbled before moving over to the large tooth and laying against it, covering her eyes with her beanie.

“Jan, you offered to come, remember?” Marco reminded her. “Why'd you do that if you weren't going to help?”

“Because I thought it was gonna be weird and cool,” Janna said, never moving from her position. “Not just a bunch of dumb paperwork. If I wanted that I would have stayed back at the castle.”

Marco frowned. “Look, I'm sorry this trip wasn't what you were expecting,” the boy said down to his friend, before admitting, “But this mission is really important to me. It's my chance to show the other members what I'm made of and I could really use your support.”

Janna finally looked up, pushing her beanie out of her eyes, only to be caught by the boy's puppy dog eyes begging to her, realizing her mistake too late. “Okay, fine,” she said before rising to her feet and stretching her arms over her head. “But you owe me one after this.” Marco easily picked up the sincerity in her tone that a stranger wouldn't catch, knowing Janna well enough to hear her hidden intentions behind her cryptic tongue.

“Thanks,” he said, while also silently hoping whatever he now 'owed' her wouldn't get him in too much trouble.

Janna stood next to Marco once more, her hands buried in her jacket pocket as she said, “I still don't get what this whole quiz thing is supposed to do to help, anyways.”

“Well, the biggest problem the Commission is facing is figuring out what the Monsters need. No one really knows for sure,” Marco explained. He then adjusted his glasses, smiling proudly, as he continued, “So I thought, 'Why don't we just ask the Monsters what they need?'” And after Star's aunt Lily had stayed up for nearly a night helping him compile the perfect set of questions and explained to him how best to ask them and instructing him on the most effective way of jotting them down, he felt more than prepared for the task. He was really grateful for the woman's help, thanking her over and over again as she just smiled at him humbly.

“And how is that something only you can do?” Janna asked, raising an eyebrow at the boy, but making sure to keep her voice light enough not to upset him.

“Because the Monsters don't trust Mewmans. If there's anyone their gonna tell their problems to, it's me. I was raised by Monsters, after all, and I'm a Diaz, this is what I was meant for.”

The boy's sudden boost of confidence was surprising to Janna but not unwelcome. Though he still acted like his regular adorkable self, it was good to see Marco believing in himself and not doubting his every move and thought. She wasn't sure what had spurred this on (though she had an idea that a certain blond haired royal was involved) but she hoped it stuck around, wanting to see the boy move past his own insecurities, though she would never say it out loud. On the other hand, though she really didn't have it in her to bring him down in any way with her normal level of teasing she did remind herself to be sure and keep her tone light around him for a while and her joking nature to a minimum.

“What?” Marco suddenly asked, uneasy from Janna staring at him for an uncomfortably long time and the girl shrugged.

“Just thinking,” she said nonchalantly. There was a short pause before she suddenly exclaimed, “Well come on, let's find some more Monsters to interview and get this over with so we can do something fun.”

The two started down the path through the village after that, keeping their eyes peeled for any Monsters to question. After a moment of silence from the two, Marco finally asked, “Hey Jan?”

“Yeah?” the girl said, keeping her eyes peeled for any Monsters, but all of them seemed to be ducking away in their houses, seemingly afraid of the two Mewmans and she mentally growled in frustration. This was going to take forever.

“Did you only offer to come because you were hoping Tom was gonna come too?” Marco asked, voicing his guess out loud and catching the creepy girl off guard. She blushed a bit, hiding it from his view with a turn of her head.

“Maybe a little,” she admitted softly and the hooded teen smiled at her.

“How about I help you two get together, since I 'owe you one',” Marco offered, repeating her words back to her slowly and carefully, the phrase clearly foreign to him. He did elbow her in the arm, though, his eyes bright with anticipation.

But Janna just shook her head. “Nah, I've already got a plan all worked out,” she said, a thoughtful look in her eye and an evil grin on her lips.

“You sure you don't want any help?” Marco asked again, very open to offering his help for the teen, wanting one of his closest friends and his new guy friend to have the same kind of amazing relationship he and Star had.

“Nope, I don't need any,” the girl said, her smirk never leaving her face. “I already got one set of lovebirds together, getting mine will be child's play.”

“Wait, who did already help?” Marco asked confused.

“Oh just these two friends I know. They were totally into each other but the girl was too afraid to tell the guy and the guy was oblivious to his feelings altogether,” the beanie-wearing girl explained, making sure to keep her answer as vague as possible.

“Wow, that's so sad,” Marco said, looking concerned.

“Yeah, but I helped them out, pushed them into each other's arms and helped them come to their senses.”

Marco smiled brightly, glad to hear it had all worked out. “Well I'm glad they realized how much they mean to each other! I mean if it was anything like Star and me, then it's a good thing you helped out when you did. I couldn't imagine my life without Star!”

Janna just smiled to herself, a mischievous look over effectively hiding the truth from the boy. The hidden details of the couples identity still a well-guarded secret, one she would not be releasing anytime soon, instead choosing to lightly taunt the boy with the knowledge he wasn't aware of. “Oh you have no idea, Marco,” she said softly, her smile unable to grow any wider or more mysterious as she chuckled to herself. “You have no idea.”

“Why are you laughing all creepy, Janna?” Marco asked with unease written all over his face.

“No reason,” the girl replied cryptically.

…

There was a soft knock on the door and a second later it opened revealing a Mewman woman with three crying children gathered around her, one at her feet, one in a small baby pouch around her mid-section, and the last in her arms. All three were wailing like there was no tomorrow, creating quite the annoying racket. The woman's tired face brightened upon sight of the sudden visitors as she gasped in surprise, “Oh Princess Star.”

Star and Jackie waved to the woman, the latter holding a clipboard close to her chest. “Hello ma'am,” the blond greeted brightly, doing a quaint little curtsy for the woman.

“Well this is quite the surprise,” the woman said looking honored. “What brings you to my humbled home?” Realizing her manners she quickly stepped out of the way of the doorway, allowing entry into her home. “Oh please, come inside and I will make you a lovely cup of tea-”

“Thank you, but that's not necessary,” Star said politely declining the woman's offer. “We only need a few minutes out of your time if that would be okay?”

“Of course,” the woman gasped, looking even more humbled than before. “Anything for you, You Majesty.”

“Well my associate and I represent members of the Monster-Mewman Peace Commission,” Star began.

“Oh yes, I've heard of that,” the woman said her eyes slightly twinkling. “It's all everyone around here ever talks about.”

“Well we are currently conducting a survey around town to see what the Mewmans thoughts and concerns on Monsters are,” Jackie explained in a business-like manner, just like Star had.

But unfortunately the babies crying had only grown louder as their mother's attention was not on them and they increased their cries in volume and pitch, making the poor woman strain to hear what the two were saying. “What?” the Mewman woman asked, cupping her free hand over here ear.

“We said we are conducting a survey,” Jackie tried again, raising her voice some.

Still the woman couldn't hear her. “What?!” the woman repeated.

Jackie opened her mouth to try again, but Star cut in, screaming at the top of her lungs, “We're conducting a survey!”

The babies all stopped crying for a moment, staring at the girl in shock, before they started right back up again. The mother sighed tiredly. “I'm sorry princess, but I'm gonna have to continue this another time, right now I have some fussy kids who need to take a nap.” She smiled apologetically, but Star gave her an understanding look to let her know it was alright.

“That's fine, we completely understand,” the blond royal said, keeping her voice calm and cheerful. “Sorry for bothering you.”

“Oh no, princess, it's not a bother,” the woman quickly reassured her. “We are all really rooting for you and your friends to make this work. My family and I will be wishing you luck.”

Star smiled at the woman, touched by her words. “Thank you, ma'am.”

And with that the door shut.

Star and Jackie both stood completely silent and still as they listened to the pattering footsteps drifting away from the door, before letting out a collective sigh once they were sure the woman wasn't in hearing range. “So, next house?” Jackie asked, sounding tired and disheartened.

“Next house,” Star confirmed with the same tone as her friend and they both headed back the way they had come and onto the next home on the block in Butterfly Village. The two had been doing this for hours straight already, determined to ask as many of the civilians in town their thoughts on the Monsters and Star's Commission. Star had been inspired by Marco's plan, making so much sense and so much like her sweet little boyfriend that she had been on board his idea at once. And she had then had the brilliant idea to do the same for the Mewmans figuring having as much information as they could would help them know what to do in the long run. She had no idea how things were going on Marco's end, but for them it hadn't been going too well so far. Although everyone was acting friendly and polite to their future ruler, their answers were less than satisfactory, either extremely vague, overly friendly, or just downright untruthful.

And that was those who answered, quite a few people were too busy to answer or asked not to respond which Star had to comply with since she didn't want to force it out of anyone. Or she hadn't. Now she was willing to resort to just such a thing if it meant getting the information she wanted, tired of people robotically saying they had no issues and felt safe now that Star was there. Which Star could tell wasn't right, she could see in their eyes they had concerns but were choosing to keep them to themselves, most likely to not upset the princess. And that annoyed Star to no end. She didn't want to be treated like that, like people had to watch what they said around her in fear it would set her off. She had suffered too much from that in the past.

All she wanted was a straight answer out of one person- one person- someone who wasn't afraid to speak their mind to her. Someone who gave her their honest opinion, good or bad. After all, if wouldn't help any if she had no idea what her people were worrying or suffering from. She wanted to protect them but everyone was too busy protecting her instead to allow that to happen. Which was why at this point she was close to screaming.

“I just don't get it!” Star admittedly exclaimed to her friend as they continued their walk to the next house. “Why is everyone acting like this? Why won't anyone tell me the truth?!”

“Because your the princess,” Jackie replied instantly and Star turned to her with a frown.

“What's that got to do with anything?” the blond royal asked in annoyance.

“Well, um,” Jackie said, before biting her lip. She tapped her chin thoughtfully for a moment, trying to think of the best way to explain this to her, before saying, “Think of it like this. Imagine your a civilian. You've lived your entire life being told about the royal Butterfly family and being trained to revere them. Then suddenly one of them comes up to you and starts asking you there opinion on something they themselves are responsible for. What would you do?”

“I would make sure to stay on their good side,” Star muttered under her breath. “Okay I see your point,” she said a little louder. “Maybe this wasn't a good idea after all.”

“Oh no, it was a good idea,” Jackie argued instantly. “You just need to get people to lighten up around you first before asking them to answer personal and controversial questions like that.”

“Right, okay, that makes sense,” Star said with a smile, nodding her head in determination.

“So maybe try that at this next house?” Jackie suggested as they reached the small yard of the next Mewman's home.

Star sucked in a breath, before marching up to the doorstep, knocking once on the door. The door opened a second later and Star found herself smiling at nothing. She frowned in confusion before hearing a cough below her and looked down to see a small figure looking up at her with confusion. She looked small and young with short red hair and dressed in a purple kitten themed jumpsuit, complete with a cat-faced hood. Her cheeks marks were also purple kitten heads and Star noticed that her skin looked sickly and pale. But possibly the most eye-catching thing about her was the large red and swelling pink eye she had, which sent shudders down her spine at the mere look of it. “Oh hello there, little one,” Star said, smiling sweetly and speaking in a soft tone to the child before her. “Are your parents home?”

The girl's eyes seemed to narrow as she spat, “I'm an adult!”

Star eyes widened, realizing her mistake, and she quickly began to stutter out an apology. “Oh my gosh, I-I'm so, so sorry! I didn't mean to-”

“Whatever princess, not like you'd be the first one to think that,” the woman muttered, before letting out a long, telling sigh. “Just tell me whatcha here for and be on your way.”

“Oh well, we were just trying to...umm,” Star started to say but she was still in too much shock to think clearly, easily losing her train of thought. And the large disgusting eye the woman was sporting was not helping her focus any easier.

But hearing a clearing throat behind her, she turned to see Jackie, giving her an encouraging smile, gesturing to her to go ahead with their previously discussed plan. Star gave her a determined nod, letting her know she had this, before looking back to the small woman who was looking increasingly annoyed and observing thoughtfully, “Wow, you must really like cats. What with the whole outfit and cheek marks and all that.”

“Yeah what about it?” the woman remarked, raising a defensive eyebrow at the blond royal.

“Nothing, I just really like the look,” Star said quickly, never letting her sincere smile drop. “And you pull the whole cat thing off perfectly.” She gave the woman a wink, who's mistrusting smile quickly turned into a startled grin, clearly not expecting the compliment. “Miss ummm...” Star gave her a questioning look, hoping the woman would comply and tell her her name.

“You can just call me Babs,” she said.

Star offered a hand to shake, saying polietly, “Star Butterfly, but you already knew that.”

Babs eyed the hand for a moment before saying eerily, “Trust me, you don't want to do that. I'm pretty sure I'm contagious.”

Star quickly withdrew her hand, holding it close to her chest in a protective manner. “I'll... uhh take your word for it,” she said shakily.

“So then what brings you to our humble home,” Babs said leaning against the doorframe in a way more relaxed manner, before pulling out a tissue and blowing her nose, making Star, and Jackie behind her, cringe.

But Star was confused by the Mewman's statement asking, “We?”

“Yeah, me and all my cats,” she said, before whistling loudly and what seemed to be an avalanche of cats came racing and screeching out of the room, yowling their complaints at being interrupted by whatever they were busy doing.

“Oh wow, you have so many,” Star said quietly, not sure if she should be impressed or disturbed by the sheer number of felines one person could own.

“Yep,” Babs said looking proudly at all her pets, before coughing loudly into her hand. Once she recovered she began to name each one, pointing them out to the princess as she went. “We got Yolanda, Fitzgerald, Gwendoline, Tabby, Sammy, Patty, Samantha...” She leaned closer as she whispered, “Which is a boy by the way but I didn't know that when I named him and the name just kinda stuck.”

“Ahhh,” Star started to say before Babs continued on once again. “Then I also have Warrior, Brogan, Mr. E, and last but not least... Spot.” She held up the white kitty cat, with a single black spot over its right eye.

“They are all very cute,” Star said, oogling over the feline in Babs' arms as she scratched underneath its chin, making it purr.

“And pretty friendly, too,” Jackie said as she pet another of the cats while it purred beneath her fingers.

“Yeah just don't pet old Warrior over there,” Babs said gesturing over to the large fluffy white cat, which had a scar over its left eye and an iron gaze. “He's a biter.”

“Noted,” Star said, before looking back over to the now relaxed Babs, who was leaning against the doorframe, while scratching Spot behind the ears. “Sooo, since we're all getting to know one another now,” the princess began, trying to keep her voice light and devoid of any impartial business-like tones. “I was actually hoping you could help me out with something.”

“Sure so long as I don't have to leave the house,” Babs said, the smile still on her lips. “I think I have pneumonia, pink eye, a big rash on my elbow, trust me the less you know about that the better, oh and also this really uncomfortable crick in my neck.”

Star looked at Babs with disbelief and slight fear, worried this poor Mewman might just drop dead at any second being plagued with so many illnesses. “Do you... need a doctor or something?” Star asked hesitantly, not sure what else to say.

Babs shook her head, looking remarkably nonchalant about the whole thing. “No thanks, nothing some hot tea won't fix. Though if I don't get rid of this crick in my neck, I might just take you up on that offer,” she said, rubbing at her sore neck, before coughing and sneezing a couple of times, making the cat jump out of her arms in disgust. She sniffed, before saying in a now nasually tone, “So princess, what is it you needed?”

Star stared at the Mewmans, mouth agape, but finally managed to get herself together, shaking her head to clear her thoughts and asked, “Oh uh, well I was hoping you could just answer a few questions for me today. It won't take long and it will really help me and the rest of Mewni in the long run.” Ugh, there she went again, going into another long winded speech. She needed to remember not to do that. She had to sound friendly and normal, not like some ruler demanding something out of someone.

But Babs didn't seem to notice, as she just nodded her head thoughtfully and replied in a joking manner, “Well if it's that important than I don't see as how I can say no.”

Star cleared her throat trying to hide the groan at Babs response. She was trying not to pressure her. “Yeah, well anyways, I was wondering if you had heard anything about the Monster-Mewman Peace Commission.”

And just like that Babs friendly demeanor vanished in an instance, her smile disappearing into a cold frown that sent chills down Star's spine. The small woman looked left and right as if making sure that no one had overheard the two or making sure she hadn't been seeing talking with the princess, Star wasn't sure which one. But Babs was quick to speak her mind, saying dismissively, “I just remember I have to put some medicine on my eye now, so I have to be going.”

“W-Wait!” Star exclaimed, determined not to lose when she was so close to getting an honest answer for once. “I promise it will only be a minute and-”

“Sorry, not interested, princess,” Babs cut her off, before whistling and every cat quickly ran back inside, even the one Jackie had been petting which seemed to instantly turn on her, hissing and swiping a paw at the skater, before running into the house before her master. Once the cats were inside, Babs went to slam the door shut, but Star without thinking put her foot in the way, blocking it from closing completely.

“Get off, Your Majesty!” Babs hissed angrily and Star couldn't believe that the once kind voice had turned so sharp and detached from before, not even looking the blond royal in the eye anymore.

Star had no idea what she was doing, but for some reason couldn't get herself to stop, egged on by all her frustrations as she shook her head firmly and demanded, “Not before you tell me why you don't want to answer my questions!”

“Because quite frankly, Your Majesty,” Babs spat and Star tried not to cringe as she was reminded of Babs many infections and sicknesses. “Many of us think that his whole plan of yours is ridiculous and you should just leave well enough alone.”

“What do you mean?” Star pressed, confusion chocking up her voice. “I'm trying to help you.”

“Well maybe not all of us want to be helped,” Babs said before she won the fight, taking advantage of Star's hesitation to knock the royal's foot out of the way, and slammed the door shut in her face. The blond stared at the door for a couple of seconds, still in shock, before frowning and turning dejectedly away from the house and its unwilling occupant. Jackie could see the hatred now in her eyes as she reached her, her hands shaking from the tight fists she had them in. It seemed it was taking everything Star had to hold back her anger, to keep herself in check, cause losing her temper now would only hurt her in the long run. But there was also defeat there, hidden deep underneath at yet another failure to get the information she so desperately wanted. So Jackie, doing her best to cheer her up, gave her a small smile and squeezed her shoulder, saying, “Hey, you did a good job. You were really close that time. I'm sure the next house will have better luck.”

Star let out a long sigh, before saying in a barely suppressed voice (though what emotion Star was suppressing Jackie didn't know), “Actually I was thinking maybe you could take over talking to them for a bit.”

Jackie was surprised by this, but agreed, not wanting to argue with her friend, clearly telling she needed the break to recover. “Oh, okay, no problem, Star.” Star said nothing, her eyes on the floor for a few moments and Jackie added, “Don't listen to her, okay. Not everyone is going to be in agreement with our plan and at least you got someone to speak their mind even if it wasn't exactly helpful.”

“Right,” Star muttered flatly, before pulling out of the girl's grasp and trudging down the path, still struggling to deal with the multitude of emotions she had just experienced. So many blended together in an unwanted and sickly combination: hurt, anger, bitterness, and failure. Above them all was failure. Yes, she had sorta gotten what she wanted but it was bitter-sweet. Babs had been honest with her and shown clear distaste for the commission, but she had also given Star no reason for why she felt the way she did, just another vague answer about despising it. So really it was no different than all the others overly-chipper and dishonest answers about how great it was. It was still unhelpful in the long run and if Star didn't get some real answers soon she felt like she was going to be ripped apart by her own emotions.

Jackie, meanwhile, could barely stand seeing her friend that way, getting a flashback to a few years ago, the sad empty look in the blond's blue eyes sending shivers coursing through her body and she quickly shook the unwanted memory away. Gazing back over to the house she could see a puffy, swelling eye, peeking out at her from the curtains and she glared at her, before following after her friend, hoping she could find a way to cheer her up, but for once, not really having a solution for how.

…

Marco and Janna began asking resident after resident of the small town their set of questions as the afternoon stretched long, finding some who would agree to answer, Marco more than once shamelessly using his name and title as the leader's son to his advantage. Janna mostly hung back and watched the short encounters, looking more and more bored by the moment but she never complained once to him about it, which the boy found very surprising. Still, Marco was glad to have her there, regardless of how she felt, and it made the process a lot easier to know he wasn't alone as Monster after Monster voiced their opinions and thoughts for the greater good.

On the other hand, they would also come across some residents who seemed less than interested to answer even a single question, just glaring at him and giving a simple and plain “No,” before storming away. Marco didn't seem too upset by this, his dejected frown obvious but he for once didn't seem to be dwelling on it too much, Janna just hoped it wasn't inwardly effecting him knowing how fragile the boy could be about others opinions of him.

But Marco was too focused and determined on his task to let a couple of harsh words get him down. He still had a mission, he reminded himself almost constantly. One he couldn't and wouldn't fail. People were counting on him, Star was counting on him, and he would make her- all of them- proud. Marco was looking over the last couple of comments, before he felt his small body collide with a large figure, nearly knocking Marco to the ground, but sending him stumbling back. He looked up to see three Monsters glaring down at him, their forms towering over his own making them look mean and menacing and he felt his heart rate pick up slightly.

“Hey watch where your going, Mewman!” the lion one spat, presumably the one he had rammed into.

“Sorry about that,” Marco said as nicely as he could, trying to keep the quiver out of his voice, something about the Monsters giving him bad vibes. Still, this was as good a time as any to try and get some information out of them and he held up the clipboard and asked with a hopeful smile, “But I'm actually a representative for the Monster-Mewman Peace Commission and I'm currently conducting a survey to see what problems Monsters are facing and how we might go about fixing them,” he explained, reciting the speech by heart at this point. Seeing the clear look of disinterest and almost loathing from the three though, Marco lost track of where he was at and had to look down at the paper to remember what he was supposed to say next. He cleared his throat, nervously before asking, “Would you mind if I asked you all a few questions?”

“And why would we be interested in answering anything you have to say?” the tiger Monster asked, nearly growling at the boy.

“Well, for one thing you would be helping to make the world a better place for Monsters and Mewmans-” the boy began before being quickly cut off by the third Monster.

“Get out of here, kid! We don't need your kind meddling where you don't belong!” the bear Monster rumbled and Marco took a hesitant step back. But he was still determined not to give up just yet, shooting them all an innocent smile. He still had a secret weapon, after all.

“Well actually, although I am a Mewman I was raised by Monsters, Buff Frog to be precise, not to mention I'm a Diaz, so I'm considered an ally to Monster kind.”

The Monsters looked at the boy in shock for a few moments, clearly not sure whether to believe him or not. “You're a Diaz?” the tiger asked, incredulously.

“That's right,” Marco said with a proud smile, puffing out his chest slightly. It felt so good to admit to it, he didn't think he would ever get tired of this feeling that swelled in his chest every time. He finally belonged to something, he was a part of something greater and that gave him both relief and satisfaction in equal measures whenever he shared this with someone else.

The three didn't seem convinced though, unable to believe the scrawny beanpole before them was actually related to someone as important as the Diaz's. The tiger opened his mouth to tell the brat to go away, when a movement behind the teen (who was still gazing at them with inquisitive and innocent eyes, almost begging them to agree) caught their eye. A young teenage girl stood behind the boy, shooting them all an evil and sinister glare, her brown eyes flashing a dark and evil green as her body turned a slightly pale purplish color. She pounded a fist into her hand threateningly and all three collectively felt shivers running up their spines in fear of the girl before them.

Marco didn't seem to notice this though, as he asked them all hopefully again, “Soo, would you like to answer my questionnaire or-”

“Yes, we would love to!” the lion squeaked out, his voice now as small as that of a mouse. The others nodded vigorously in agreement. Janna gave them a satisfied smirk, as her eyes and skin went back to their normal hue, while Marco squealed in delight at another success, rampantly asking them each of the questions on his list.

Once he had gotten all the information he needed the three large Monsters walked away as quickly as they could, not daring to turn around and face the Impure once more, the hooded teen just smiling and waving to them from his spot next to Janna, thanking them once again for their help. “Well that went better than I thought it would,” Marco exclaimed happily, the bright smile on his face infectious as Janna grinned back at him.

“Yeah way to go, Marco,” Janna said, keeping the small smirk tugging at her lips to herself. There was another reason Janna had agreed to come along besides hoping to see Tom and maybe see a little weirdness along the way. She also knew her friend could be a bit (or a lot) of a push-over and she was determined to keep any of the more aggressive Monsters from hurting him in any way, even if she would never admit to it out loud, which was why she would add a little... persuasion to any of the Monsters who looked close to insulting the well-meaning teen.

“So where to now?” she asked.

“Well I think we're just about done here, so-”

Suddenly there was a loud banging coming from the center of town, stopping the two teen's in their tracks. It sounded like a large bell being hit over and over again, the tiny ringing that carried with it hurting Marco's ears slightly. But as it grew steadily louder, Marco quickly dropped his clipboard and covered his delicate eardrums from the viscous onslaught that was attacking them. “What is that?” Marco practically screamed, so that he could be heard over the annoying sound. It was almost as bad as Oscar's music. Almost.

Janna didn't seem to hear him, her eyes narrowed in concentration and were full of the seriousness that almost never seemed to be there, which frightened Marco slightly. Whenever she had that look, something bad was usually going on. “J-Janna, what's wrong?” the boy asked with a slight shake in his tone.

Janna muttered something under her breath, which Marco was unable to make out with his hands pressed tightly to his ears and the noise still continuing. “What?” Marco asked, still refusing to remove his hands.

Janna turned to him with a small frown of annoyance, all previous signs of intense concentration gone as she repeated herself a little bit louder this time. But Marco was still couldn't hear her properly, only a small jumbling of syllables to him. “What?!” Marco yelled this time, for some reason hoping this would help her to raise her own voice when talking to him.

Now Janna let out a long puff of air before grabbing the boy's hands and forcing them away from his head, which made him cry out in surprise and fear, expecting for his ears to start bleeding without protection for them. He closed his eyes, waiting for the pain, but after a couple of seconds Marco began to pick up an extra sound in the loud ringing, a phrase being repeated over and over again, hidden in the high pitch. Trouble: center of town. Trouble: center of town. Trouble: center of town. Over and over again as if it was some kind of weird code. Marco looked around him in shock, wondering where the sound could be coming from, but it seemed to be coming from the bell itself.

“Trouble?” Marco repeated, frowning in confusion.

“So you can hear it, too, huh?” Janna observed, giving him a small victorious smirk. “I guessed as much, it's probably because of that Trait of yours, languages seem to come pretty easy to you.”

“So that's another language I'm hearing?” Marco asked and Janna shrugged.

“Not exactly,” she replied, sliding her hands into her pockets. “Basically Monsters can pick up higher tones easier than Mewmans can, so that bell going off is so that we can hear messages that Mewmans can't.”

“Ohhh,” the boy said nodding in understanding. “That makes sense.”

The two shared a look before the weight of the bigger problem fully hit them and they both shouted as one, “Wait, 'trouble'!”

That was when a large group of Monsters rushed by them, practically pushing the two out of their way as they ran toward the very place the message had been repeating over and over again: the center of town. Marco and Janna shared another quick look before chasing after them, finding them themselves blocked off by the town's residents, as it seemed every Monster nearby had responded to the call they heard, showcasing just how serious this whole thing was. And even more troubling was the fact that they were gathered around the area where the Hydra's tooth was displayed, everyone muttering worriedly under their breath or amongst each other.

Marco didn't waste any time before he began to push his way to the front of the crowd, curiosity overcoming him as he muttered out quick apologizes to any Monster who complained about being elbowed by the lanky teen's arms. Janna was right on his heels, showing far less concern for the unsuspecting Monsters she was shoving her way past or really whatever waited for them on the other side, only following after Marco out of obligation than real care for why. Marco, on the other hand, was quickly worrying over what could have happened to the tooth, knowing how important it was to the town's lore and how precious it seemed to be to them. He hoped it was nothing too serious, but considering how worked up the Monster's seemed, Marco felt a deep fear filling his chest.

As he finally burst out from the last of the crowd he finally saw what had become of the precious artifact. The tooth, which had once been white and gleaming the citizens of the town clearly taking great care in preserving it by polishing it regularly, was now covered in graffiti. Dark, red paint smeared the surface of the object, images and mean phrases written all over it and Marco gaped openly at the sight of the vandalized artifact, appalled at the tragic scene before him.

Janna however, just scoffed loudly and rolled her eyes in disbelief. “Seriously that's it,” she said dismissively, not an ounce of concern in her tone. “People are getting worked up over a little paint. You'd think it was the end of the world the way everyone was acting.”

“It's not just a little paint,” Marco said in an almost scolding tone. “This thing if their pride and joy and someone destroyed it.”

“Come on, Marco, don't you think your being a little dramatic,” Janna quipped.

“Quiet!” a Monster shouted, interrupting the two. “Mayor Butch is about to speak.”

And as if right on cue, a voice spoke up, gaining everyone's attention at once. “Dear citizens,” began the owner of said voice, a very angry looking Monster standing next to the tooth. He was a large bulldog reminiscent Monster who stared between them all with narrowed and serious eyes, his very form showing a layer of leadership and strength and he spoke in a strong and confident tone. “As you can see, someone has destroyed our most sacred treasure, our precious piece of history, something we will never get back.”

Marco gave Janna a knowing look, saying in an 'I-told-you-so' voice, “See.”

The half-Monster just rolled her eyes in response. “It's still not a big deal. It hasn't even finished drying yet. All they have to do is throw some water on it and it will wash right off.”

“That's not the point Janna,” Marco began, but the bulldog's voice quickly cut in again, not allowing him to continue his thought.

“Whoever has done this has performed a most heinous crime against us,” the Monster continued grimly, pacing back and forth in front of his attentive audience. “And when they are caught they will be shown no mercy. As your mayor I will personally make sure they pay for their sins with an equally as harsh punishment as they have inflicted on us.”

Marco's face grew more and more grave and worried, while Janna seemed unmoved by the speech, looking over at the tooth and blankly pondering, “Geez. Why does everyone keep getting so worked up over this stuff? First the possum statue and now this.”

“But you will be pleased to know that we have discovered who exactly is the culprit of all this,” the bulldog said, pausing for dramatic effect, every Monster leaning forward in anticipation. “... the Mewmans!” the mayor harshly barked out, while the crowd let out a collective gasp, including Marco.

“What?” Marco whispered under his breath, unable to believe he was hearing this right. Why were they being blamed for the horrible crime? Surely he had to be wrong.

But as if the Monster was reading his mind, Butch walked over to the tooth and pointed to the evidence that had convicted them all, splayed out in big, red lettering were the sloppy words: 'The Mewmans were here!' “As you can see they have foolishly admitted to their crime and now they shall be punished for this.”

There was quite a bit of outrage from the crowd, the Monsters all vocalizing their distaste and anger toward the Mewmans who had wronged them, Janna and Marco looking around in concern, the Impure getting the feeling they should leave before this could be blown anymore out of proportion. “Okay, Marco, I think it's time we move on to the next town before something really bad happens,” Janna said, reaching out to grab the boy's arm but alarmingly only finding empty air.

“Wait!” a familiar voice yelled and Janna whipped her head over to see Marco walking over to the very angry looking Monster and the girl face-palmed at her friend's stupidity. “Like that,” she muttered under her breath, quickly shifting into a bat and flying over to the boy so she could protect him easier if things went sour... or more sour than they already were.

“Well look at that, the criminal returns to the scene of the crime,” the bulldog growled, before bellowing to his bodyguards, “Arrest him!”

The Monsters made a move toward him, but Marco quickly helped up his hands in an innocent gesture, pleading to them, “W-Wait! I'm not a criminal! I didn't do this, I swear! I'm only here as a member of the Monster-Mewman Peace Commission!”

“Well, we'll just see what Buff Frog has to say about that,” Butch said sharply and he snapped his fingers the other Monsters continuing forward unheeded.

“But that's my dad!” Marco exclaimed and finally the Monsters stilled, every one of them looking at him incredulously.

“Your... Buff Frog's son?” the bulldog said in genuine surprise, looking Marco up and down, not impressed by what he saw.

The hooded teen just nodded. There was mutterings in the crowd once more, arguing or contemplating the truth of what the Mewman was claiming. Suddenly, though a random voice shouted out, “Yeah, that kid was asking me questions earlier, he said he was a Diaz.” It was Triceros Marco realized and he smiled over at the Monster in thanks.

“He did the same for me,” another shouted.

“And me.”

“Oh yeah, I remember that now.”

“Wait, he's a Diaz!”

The crowd now erupted with small exclamations as Monsters recalled the curious teen who had been hanging around town all day. Mayor Butch, however, didn't seem convinced, turning to the teen with an iron glare. “Well, regardless you are still the only Mewman in the area, so you are a prime suspect, and as the mayor of this town it is my job to take you in for questioning.”

“But I can prove I'm innocent,” the boy said, still keeping his hands in the air.

“How?” the dog Monster inquired skeptically.

“This,” Marco said, handing over his clipboard to the bulldog, who took it in his oversized paws, he looked over the information for a moment, before Marco said, “See. I wrote down the time every time I quizzed someone. So I couldn't have been destroying the tooth if I was busy doing this.” Marco pointed to each time stamp listed, mentally thanking Lily for suggesting he do this to keep a more accurate record. This might have just saved life.

“Hmmm,” the dog said, looking over each passage thoughtfully and Marco sucked in a breath. “Very well, it seems you are cleared, Mr. Diaz.”

The hooded teen let out a relieved sigh, before taking the clipboard back from the Monster. But it seemed Butch was far from appeased, turning back to the crowd with a stony glare once more as he growled deeply, “But as for whatever treacherous Mewman did do this, they must be found and punished!” He even pounded his fist into his paw for emphasis, making Marco jump.

“N-No, wait, please,” Marco began to plead, until a voice said behind him.

“You really think a Mewman did this?” Marco and the Monster both turned to see Janna examining the tooth closely, getting a little of the still wet paint onto her finger and looking at it blankly. “Hate to disappoint but no Mewman would ever be dumb enough to do this.”

“And who are you?!” the bulldog mayor demanded, Marco quickly interjecting, “She's with me.”

“Yeah and just so you know, I didn't do this either,” Janna said nonchalantly. “Defacing important artifacts isn't exactly my style. Or really any Mewman for that matter, unless I guess they were just really petty.”

“Still even if they were, Mewmans don't usually come around here and this is just a really random thing for them to do,” Marco added helpfully.

“Then how do you explain 'that'!” the dog demanded, stabbing a finger toward the incriminating sentence left by the culprit.

“Easy,” Janna said with a shrug. “Someone is trying to frame us Mewmans for a crime we didn't commit.”

“Likely story,” Butch growled.

“But think about it, sir,” Marco pleaded. “If a Mewman really did do this, then why would they confess to doing it? It would only end up getting them in trouble.”

The Monster seemed to be contemplating that, rubbing his chin with his paw as he stared at the words for a few moments. “Yes, I do see your point,” he finally said and Marco and Janna shared a look of victory. “Still, someone destroyed our most treasured possession and it seems they are trying to drag the name of the Mewmans through the mud by doing so. They must be stopped before they no doubt strike again,” the mayor said grimly, folding his arms in front of himself in a strong stance.

“Yeah, well good luck with that-” Janna started to say, but Marco quickly interrupted her, declaring excitedly, “We'll catch him for you!”

Janna shot the boy a glare, saying in disbelief, “We will.”

“Sure,” Marco said with a tiny nod to his friend, before looking back at the Monster before him, giving him a reassuring smile. “Don't worry, sir. We'll find out who is doing this for you.”

“Thank you, my boy,” the Monster said, looking shocked but hiding it easily under his professional demeanor. He put a strong paw on the grinning boy's shoulder, adding, “We all owe you quite the debt of gratitude for your assistance.”

“Anything to help out,” Marco said proudly, while Janna just groaned to herself, knowing there was no point in arguing. Her friend had already made up his mind and now she was just going to be dragged along for the ride, regardless of how she felt. Still, she couldn't help but mutter to herself under her breath, “Ugh, I should have switched with Jackie.”

…

Star and Jackie sat at a table outside of Fang Tang's, deciding to get some lunch and take a much needed break to relax and unwind after the long and stressful day they had been having so far. The blond especially seemed worked up, leaning back in her chair with her arms crossed in front of her chest in a huffy manner, clearly angry about what had happened earlier. Jackie just absentmindedly fiddled with the straw in her iced tea. She had barely taken two sips of the drink, even though she enjoyed it, her mind was too occupied to notice the sweet flavor. And she and Star hadn't even touched their menus, food the last thing on either girl's mind as they tried to figure out what to do to fix the problem they were having. Or rather the two completely different problems they were struggling with individually, Star battling with herself to think of a way to get the Mewmans to open up to her without feeling the need to lie while Jackie was just trying to think of a way to help cheer her friend up.

She had always taken it upon herself to try and help her friend in any way she could, to be a comforting voice for Star when she was at her lowest, to be the common sense when Janna was out of control, to be supportive when Marco was in need of encouraging. She had basically made herself the big sister of the group and the others had willingly gone right along with this. She took this position very seriously, knowing her friends needed someone to depend on and so did her very best to make sure she was there for whatever they needed, big or small.

But it didn't always work out that way. Despite her resolve, she had failed her friend before, had failed to be there at her lowest and most desperate point. When Star had first returned from St. Olga's, Jackie had had no clue what to do or say to help her. Everything she tried only seemed to make Star regress even more and all the skater girl could do was watch as her friend only grew worse and worse as she was strangled by her past and responsibilities. If Marco hadn't shown up and given Jackie hope, than she wasn't sure what she would have done to fix her friend and there were still times she could see Star's dull lifeless eyes staring back at her blankly. They would even haunt her dreams from time to time, a reminder of how useless she had been when Star had needed her most.

Which was why now Jackie refused to fail. She would help her friend. No matter what it took. She wouldn't allow Star eyes to grow lifeless once more, not on her watch.

Just as soon as figured out what to do.

“Ugh, I can't believe them!” Star suddenly exclaimed out of nowhere, her frustration too much for her to keep bottled up anymore.

“Who?” Jackie asked, hopeful she could get to the root of the problem and help her resolve it.

“Everyone!” Star shouted, throwing her hands up in the air. “Nobody wants to give me a straight answer! They all have to either treat me like I'm a kid or act like total jerks and just shove me away! I'm getting nowhere and it's infuriating!” Star slammed a hand down on the table, nearly making the pretty flower pot decor fall over, but Jackie caught it before that happened.

“Oh come on. It's not that bad,” Jackie tried to reassure while gently arranging the flowers back in their proper spot.

Star just let out a loud scoff, seemingly not hiding any of her inner feelings in the safety of the empty sitting area. “Easy for you to say. You got way more people to open up! After you started asking the questions, we got way more information than we did before.” Star now leaned her head against her hands, her elbows propped up on the edge of the table.

“People just find me easier to talk to, I guess,” Jackie said slowly. “I don't appear as threatening as you do... being royalty and all, I mean.”

Star let out a long sigh, her eyes resting on the flowers, both Crimson Lillies. One looked healthy and beautiful, rising above the others and showing off simplistic beauty that was eyecatching to anyone looking that way, while the one next to it was wilted and forgotten, resting in the shadow of its twin. The blond royal felt her heart drop even lower, feeling weak and useless. She was such a hypocrite. She had told Marco that he shouldn't worry what other people thought and just believe in himself and yet here she was doing that same thing herself.

But she couldn't help it, she didn't want to be inferior in others eyes. She was supposed to be strong and decisive, not incapable of a simple task that any other ruler would have no trouble getting done. And yet she did struggle and she couldn't help but wonder if it had to do with her reputation as the broken princess from St. O's. No matter how many times she tried to put that behind herself, it just kept coming back, that part of her life refused to die.

“Star?” Jackie's voice cut in, pulling her out of her dreary thoughts, her eyes full of worry and concern. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I'm fine,” Star said, staring off into space, making sure not to look in her friend's direction, knowing Jackie would see through her in a second.

“Because... it's okay, if your not okay,” Jackie said softly, reaching out to put a hand on Star's.

But the girl pulled her hand away, just as the skater's touched hers, saying defensively, “I said I'm fine. Can we just... get some food and go?” Star's voice was soft and low and it shook with whatever emotion she was suppressing and Jackie just nodded and said, “Okay Star, whatever you say.”

Star tried to ignore the hurt in her friend's tone as she spoke as well as the twist in her gut knowing she was to blame for it.

The two girls went silent for a couple of moments, neither sure what to do or say, until a smiling and cheerful Kelly appeared saying, “Oh hey girls! You'll never guess what happened to me, Roy said it's finally time for me to start working in the kitchen!” Hey eyes shimmered with joy as she whispered wistfully under her breath, “Head chef, here I come.”

She turned back to the other two, asking, “So what's new with you?”

Star and Jackie's eyes met before they looked away, Star shrinking some in her seat, muttering under her breath. Kelly noticing the unspoken tension between the two and chuckled awkwardly before clearing her throat, whispering up to her boyfriend, “Tad?”

Tad woke up and looked down at his girlfriend, asking, “What's up babe?”

Kelly gestured over to the two girls, who were still doing everything in their power to avoid eye contact. Tad seeing this is well, muttered, “Yeesh.”

“Finish taking their order, I'm going to pull out the big guns,” Kelly said, pulling Tad off her head and setting him down in the table. She handed him the notebook and pencil, before running off, Tad waving to her before looking between the two startled teens who were giving him strange looks.

“So ladies, what'll you have?” he asked with a wide and bright smile.

Star shrugged. “I guess I'll have-” she started only to be interrupted by a loud yelling across the street

“I want that Monster's head on a stick!” the familiar rumble coming from none other than General Skullnick as she marched by, followed by a small battalion of knights. Star and Jackie turned to stare at her as she went, continuing to ramble on about whatever Monster seemed to have upset her. “It's bad enough that we made peace with them but now they think they can just march in here whenever they want to and make trouble!” Skullnick continued to scream.

Star and Jackie both cringed, before looking over and seeing a group of Mewmans watching the display as well, muttering amongst themselves and Star felt her heart drop. What was the general doing? If she kept talking like that she could compromise everything her and the Commission were working toward.

“This is the third time this week I've had to deal with another of these situations! Can't these Monsters just learn to keep to their own side! Don't they have any boundaries?!” As Skullnick continued to rant Star and Jackie finally shared a look and seeing each others concern, rose from their seats and followed after the loud-mouthed general.

At that very moment, Kelly emerged from the restaurant, carrying a tray of two cupcakes, the faces of Star and Jackie intricately crafted onto the surface of each of them. “Here we are, for two close friend who need a little reminding that-” Kelly paused, seeing the table now empty and she looked around her in shock. “What happened? What did I miss?”

She turned back to the table, now noticing that Tad was hiding under one of the tablecloths, shaking violently. Kelly frowned and set the tray down, putting a hand on her boyfriend's head and asked in worry, “Tad, what's wrong?”

“Is she gone?” Tad asked, still trembling with fear.

“Is who gone?”

Tad's eyes widened to the size of saucers as he muttered, “A Monster.”

…

Janna let out a loud huff as she followed a determined Marco through town, who was looking through his paperwork over and over again as if it held some vastly important clue to solve this impossible case. The concentrated frown on his face showed that he was taking this whole thing way too seriously. So someone had splashed some paint on a statue, what was the big deal? But now she had to take an interest in it, because Marco had put himself and her right in the middle of it. “So why are we doing this again?” Janna questioned and Marco turned to her with an incredulous look, as if the answer was obvious. Which to her, it wasn't.

“Because they need our help,” the boy said, plain and simple.

“No they don't,” Janna corrected. “They are Monsters, they could probably catch whoever is doing this no problem if they wanted to. So remind me again why you decided we should catch this guy instead?”

“Because whoever is doing this is trying to make trouble between the Monsters and Mewmans so it's our job to try and resolve the issue,” Marco explained to his friend, never wavering once in his resolve.

“No, it's your job,” Janna reminded him. “I'm just stuck along for the ride.”

“Well I still appreciate you being here even if you don't want to be,” Marco said so sweetly that Janna felt her heart melt and a deep guilt for ever questioning her friend's motives.

To hide this, she quickly cleared her throat and said in her typical cryptic tone, “You don't have to butter me up just to get me to stay, y'know.”

“I know,” Marco said with another of his signatures smiles and Janna finally broke, letting out a sigh and draping her arm across her friend, looking down at his clipboard. “Okay so what's the plan?” she asked.

“Well I was thinking that if someone is trying to sabotage the Mewmans than messing with that tooth probably wasn't the only thing they did,” he explained, excited that his friend was willingly helping him out. He was sure he was going to have to do this alone, but it comforted him to know it wasn't going to all fall to him. “So I thought that we could switch to asking everyone in town if they have noticed anything else going wrong because of the 'Mewmans'.” Marco did air quotes here, before continuing. “Or if they noticed anyone trying to blame the Mewmans for stuff.”

The hooded teen stopped, looking down at his clipboard longingly. “The only problem is I don't know how I'm gonna get everyone to do it when a lot of them keep asking not to take the questionnaire. Not to mention it would probably take the rest of the day to talk to everyone in town.”

Janna instantly leaned over and ripped the clipboard out of Marco's hands, saying smugly, “Leave that to me.” Marco gave the girl a questioning look as he watched her walk over to the nearest Monster, clearing her throat to draw his attention.

The Monster turned and Janna thrust the paper into his hand saying calmly, “Hello sir, please pass this around to everyone you know before midnight or you'll die.” The Monster ran away screaming, Marco just watching in a stunned silence as Janna shouted after him, “And make sure you bring it back when you're done!” Once the Monster was out of sight she made her way back over to him, clapped her hands together with a satisfied smirk. “And now all we have to do is wait,” the girl said, sliding her hand into her pocket.

Marco was still gaping at her open-mouthed, before asking, “Janna why did you do that?”

Janna just shrugged pulling out her phone and immediately messing with it, barely aware of Marco's existence now. “Hey, it's effective.”

“And wrong,” Marco added, still looking troubled by what just happened. “That poor Monster is probably scared to death.”

“Hopefully not, cause he's gonna have to bring it back to us afterwards,” Janna said and Marco just glared at her.

“Please tell me your joking,” he asked hopefully but Janna just gave him a long look and Marco sighed. “Never mind, I know better.”

“Stop worrying so much, will you. It'll be fine,” Janna said but Marco was close to panicking now.

“But what if he loses it or doesn't bring it back,” Marco said, beginning to hyperventilate in fear. “What if something happens while he's gone and we can't stop it because we're too busy waiting for him to get back! What if the village burns down!”

Now Janna looked up from her phone, raising an eyebrow at the paranoid teen's rant as he grew closer and closer to passing out on her. She raised the phone to the boy's face watching as his eyes landed on the screen, his panic ending as quickly as it had begun. The hooded teen's eyes widened immensely as he stared entranced at what he saw. “Ooohh kitties,” he muttered wistfully, grabbing the phone and beginning to surf through the hundreds of cute cat pictures Janna had on her phone for just such occasions. The creepy girl just watched her friend with a satisfied smirk, laying down in the grass and taking a much needed nap while he was preoccupied with the cuteness overload she had subjected him to, hearing nothing but an occasional 'Ohh' or 'aww' from the boy, even a few giggles here and there and she was easily able to drift off to sleep.

…

Star and Jackie followed the troll general into the town square where a large group of onlookers were already watching the scene with vested interest. An elephant-looking Monster stood in the middle of a group of at least four knights, all pointing their weapons toward her. Behind her a broken cart lay on its side, food and other merchandise scattered across the ground. Star felt instant pity seeing the poor Monster's frightened face but she decided to wait a minute and see how Skullnick reacted before she intervened. Maybe this way she would finally see just how her people felt and treated their new allies without having to put on an act to please her. She knew it was probably wrong not stop this now but the more information she got the better.

The general's gaze narrowed as she approached the trembling Monster, staring up at her with guilty, fearful eyes, her claws in handcuffs. “Are you the Monster who entered this city without permission?” the general growled.

The elephant Monster nodded quickly, before squeaking out, “Y-Yes but only because my cart got away from me and rolled into town and then a Mewman stole it from me-”

“There are no excuses!” Skullnick screamed, making the poor Monster cower in fear. “Monsters are only allowed into the city with proper permission and authority. Without it you are an intruder and a danger to the Butterfly Kingdom!”

“I-I'm sorry,” the Monster begged, trembling all over. “P-P-Please don't hurt m-me.”

“Don't try and play innocent,” Skullnick screamed, jabbing a finger toward the Monster making her flinch. “I know a troublemaker when I see one! I spent years fighting your kind and if there is one thing I learned it's that all Monsters are nothing but liars and fakes!”

“N-No, you got it all wrong,” the Monster pleaded, but the general took no interest in her agonizing begs for freedom. She had already made up her mind it seemed, no words able to sway her opinion of the Monster. She was evil in her eyes, plain and simple. “You will be escorted out of this city and forbidden from ever coming back.” The look of despair and defeat in the Monster's eyes was too much for Star to handle, unable to watch a second longer as she stormed over.

“General Skullnick!” Star shouted, drawing everyone's attention onto her, relief flooding the Monster's face. “Princess Star,” she gasped out in relief.

“What is going on here?!” the princess demanded, hands on her hips, not backing down an inch even with the general's shocked but still intimidating stare on her.

“With all due respect, Star, but this doesn't concern you,” Skullnick responded sharply.

“It is my job to keep the peace between Monsters and Mewmans and so any type of problem with them is my concern, general,” Star declared, crossing her arms across her chest.

Skullnick growled something under her breath at that, but maintained her respectful facade as she growled, “Well, my men and I can still handle this threat just fine without you as we have been doing for years.”

“Threat?” Star scoffed, before gesturing over to the still trembling Monster. “You call this a threat? She's an innocent civilian.”

“Looks can be deceiving, princess,” Skullnick quickly countered. She wasn't backing down from her stance. “And I don't need you to tell me how to do my job. I'm fully capable of protecting Mewni.”

“From what, fruit cart sellers?” Star shot back. If that's how she wanted to play then fine. Star wasn't backing down either.

“The law requires that anyone entering Mewni without permission-”

“If this is what the law is doing to innocent Monsters than I have no need for it,” Star declared, turning her back on the general and walking over to the Monster, giving the knights a hard stare until they raised their spears up and away from the relieved fruit cart seller. Star smiled warmly at her, before raising her wand and, after a burst of magic, undid the handcuffs around the Monsters wrists. “Your free to go,” Star said softly.

The Monster smiled gratefully at her, bowing low before saying, “Thank you, princess. I owe you greatly.” The elephant woman wasted no time before running away, leaving Star now painfully aware of the hundreds of judging eyes on her back, one in particular extra strong, making her feel like she was being burned alive. But she kept her head held high as she turned to face her people, matching Skullnick's glare with one of her own.

“You had no right to do that, Star” Skullnick stated crossing her arms. “I had that situation handled.”

“Not from where I was standing,” Star argued, a loud 'ooohh' echoing around the crowd.

“Now see here, young lady,” the troll general started to scold, wagging a finger in the air toward the teenage royal. “Just because you are a princess doesn't give you the right to speak to me like that. My job is and always has been protecting people from harm and I have never once been questioned before on my methods.”

“Yes because before we were at war,” Star pointed out. “But we aren't now! Things are different. I'm trying to start a new era, which I can't do if you and the other Mewmans keep treating Monsters like their common criminals.”

“You know I don't mind you doing all this commission business,” the general started, her tone beginning as a low growl in the back of her throat but slowly growing into a full shout as she continued. “But I will continue to do whatever is necessary to protect you and the other Mewmans. And that means not letting my guard down around any Monster, just because you have this delusional notion that they are all good now!”

“I'm not being delusional!” Star shouted, instantly on the defense. “I know that there are some bad Monsters still out there but that doesn't mean that they are all bad and we shouldn't judge all of them on a few bad actions.”

“How about the very Monsters you have allowed into the castle on multiple occasions?” Skullnick pointed out. “Would you consider their actions good?!” There were several mumblings in the crowd at that.

“Of course not,” Star argued. “They did bad stuff in the past, sure, but they are trying to make up for it. I'm just giving them a second chance.”

“Only cause her boyfriend's dad is their leader,” an unknown voice from the crowd whispered and Star felt her cheeks flush in embarrassment and anger. How dare they assume that. Of course Marco played a part in her decision but she didn't choose to forgive the Monsters because of their relationship with Marco, she did it because her boyfriend had taught her to look for the good in people, even her enemies. Thanks to him she now knew that the world wasn't so simple and couldn't be divided up into simply good vs evil, it was much more confusing and complicated than that. Both Mewmans and Monsters were capable of both and sometimes the line between right and wrong could be blurred.

After taking a couple seconds to let the residual anger run its course she declared in the strongest tone she could, fighting back the venom she felt trying to creep into her words, “Which is why I'm going to see to it that the law is abolished so that Monsters can be free to come and go as they please.”

“What?!” Skullnick screamed in outrage, many other Mewmans nervously muttering under their breath at that. “You can't do that! That law is made to keep us safe-”

“Well if it's getting in the way of progress than it needs to go, I'm just going to have to come up with a new law that works with the Monsters, instead of harming them,” Star said simply. She took a moment to look around at the crowd, deciding to try one last time to get them to open up and speak the truth. “And if anyone has any doubts or reservations about it, then I would be happy to hear them and will work to create a solution that is best for everyone.”

“That is enough, Star!” the general gruffly shouted, drawing Star's attention back onto her. “You act like you're a grown up but really your just being naïve if you think fixing Mewni is that simple.” Star felt a dark emotion clench her at those words, but the troll general wasn't done just yet. “And, another thing, you can't just go around changing our laws like that! You don't have the authority anymore, remember? That now falls on your parents, who you can be sure will be hearing about this later.” Skullnick's gaze narrowed into a scolding frown as she added, “You want to know what we all think? We think that this plan of yours is nothing more than wishful thinking. Fixing Mewni is a task that not even the greatest rulers in Mewni have been able to solve and, despite what you might think, you are still just a child, one with much to learn about the world and continues to make the same mistakes over and over again.”

Star felt her cheeks grow hot in embarrassment and anger. A child? That's all they saw her as, after everything she had done, after all the sacrifices she had made they just believed she was nothing more than a naïve child with no idea what she was doing. She felt her heart ache as she realized that no matter what she did she could never make them see her as a strong ruler, only a small, frail child... inferior to everyone else. She hated that feeling, she had spent years trying to overcome it, had given up years of her life pushing to be seen as more than a broken shell incapable of doing anything right. And she couldn't stop the feeling that it was her fault she was this way, a memory she had long since blocked, trapping in the deep, dark corners of her mind began to resurface, taking her over as she began to relive it as if she were there once more.

“You know you are a failure, don't you?”

She squirmed, her arms hurt from the metal restraints they kept on her wrists when she was in the chair, her cheek hurt from the slap she had just received... she didn't know how much more of this she could take.

“Your parents sent you here because you failed to be a princess,” the voice continued. Oh how she hated that voice, wanted to be free from it, from the dark threads that latched onto her mind and killed every ounce of happiness she clung to, replacing it only with emptiness and sorrow. “They don't think you are capable of being a proper ruler and how can they when you run around and misbehave like a child.” She spat the word as if it were an insult. No there would be no mistaking this creature, this monster, before her for a 'she'. She wasn't Mewman. No Mewman would hurt her in this way.

“But not to worry, they made the right choice giving you to me. Because I will break every last bit of insolence and rebellion left in you until you are perfect, until you a true princess.”

The sob nearly escaped her throat at the hurt the words caused her. She was already broken, why couldn't she just leave her alone. “Now then I believe it would be best if you were separated from the other students, perhaps some time in solitary confinement would do you some good.”

Fear. Fear tugged at her heart and she whimpered, shaking her head. “N-No, please,” she begged, though she knew it was useless. No one ever listened to her here.

“Take her,” the voice said to a pair of robot soldiers and she began to kick and scream as they unlatched her restraints and dragged her away. She tugged and begged and cried, but no matter what she did she couldn't escape from the guards, she couldn't escape from her fate. And just before she left the room completely, she heard the voice one last time the false soothing in her tone making something precious inside her break. “You did this to yourself, my dear Star. You have no one to blame but yourself.”

Star shuddered as the memory left her mind or rather returned to the dark corners it dwelled in waiting for the right moment to haunt her once more. She was left with a heart full of sorrow, fighting back the tears that pricked at her eyes. Why did she see that? She was over it, wasn't she? Marco had showed her that Ms. Heinous was wrong, that she was strong in his eyes and so could be strong for real. And yet, she didn't feel that way now as she stood in front of a crowd of Mewmans, all judging her and seeing her weakness, she felt nothing but vulnerability and fear.

Jackie saw this, watched as her friend's eyes grew ever so duller than the normal vibrant blue they normally were, and she felt sick as she recognized it as one she knew all too well. No, she couldn't let Star revert back, she had to do something, she had to nip this in the bud before she lost her friend all over again. Which was why, before she even knew what she was doing, she found her legs carrying her forward, moving on their own over to where Star was. She didn't know what she was going to do or say, but she knew without a doubt that she had to stand up for her friend.

But as she neared the emotionally troubled princess, a new feeling began to surface within her, bubbling in the very pit of her stomach and quickly growing outwards at a rapid pace. Anger. Burning white hot anger toward the person who had hurt Star and she felt a need to lash out toward Skullnick, if not for her sake than for Star's.

And so as she reached Star's side and put a comforting hand on her shoulder she turned to the general and shouted at the top of her lungs, “How dare you say that about Star!” Star and everyone else flinched at the normally chill skater's raised tone. The blond royal had never seen this side of her friend before and it honestly frightened her more than a little to see Jackie so upset and filled with rage. “You can't just stand there and judge her when you have no idea what she has been through and given up for Mewni! Nobody does! She has sacrificed so much for everyone, including you!”

Nobody said a word, not even Skullnick, the look the girl was giving everyone discouraging anyone from interrupting her during her moment. Instead their mouths just hung open as they listened to the girl's speech in stunned silence. “She is the most selfless person I know and you have no right to treat her like some ignorant child who needs to be punished. Because she did nothing wrong. She saved Mewni, she didn't destroy it like you seem to think she did.”

The girl seemed to be calming down some now, her aggressive tone lowering back to a more normal level as she looked to her fellow Mewmans gathered around her, addressing them now instead. “Look, I'm sorry if this isn't the Mewni you want. I'm sorry if things are uncertain and uncomfortable right now, but you shouldn't be taking it out on Star. Without her, Mewni would still be at war and Toffee would still be out there, waiting to destroy us all.” That caused some nervous murmuring from the crowd and Jackie continued, her voice now firm but persuasive, her hopes raising as she realized she was getting through to the Mewmans. “Your problems are not her fault. All Star wants is to make life better for you but she can't do that if you keep treating her like she's on some pedestal.”

Jackie finally stopped, feeling a hand grab hers. The skater turned to see the bright, grateful grin of her friend, the small tears in her eyes making her blue irises sparkle like diamonds. Star gave the girl's hand a little squeeze before saying, “Thanks Jacks. I can take it from here.”

Jackie moved out of the way, letting Star take center stage, the royal only pausing to wipe her eyes free of tears before taking a step forward, holding her head high. “My fellow Mewmans, what my friend said is correct, I know some things are still shaky and unstable but that's why I'm here. If you'll just tell me what you need than I promise I will do everything in my power to help you. What do you say?”

There was a couple of seconds of silence from the crowd and Star feared that she was about to be booed or something, but instead she heard someone from the crowd clapping, followed by another and then another, until soon everyone was clapping and cheering for their princess, Star smiling joyfully at them all, relieved that she had finally gotten through to them. Her eyes hovered on Skullnick for a moment, who just stood unmoving in the presence of her cheering knights and excited Mewmans. Star opened her mouth to shout some sort of response, but Skullnick merely gave the tiniest of nods toward her in recognition it seemed and before the blond could fully process this, the general had turned and stormed away, the rest of her knights at her heels.

Star's smile brightened to new levels and her heart soared as she realized she had just gained the respect of the iron-blooded Skullnick, something the royal never thought she would receive in a million years. And she owed it all to Jackie. Speaking of the skater, she quickly pulled out the clipboard she had been carrying, clearing her throat before saying warmly, “Okay then everyone, please line up and I will be happy to record down any concerns or problems you may have regarding the Monsters.”

She and Star shared a quick smile, before Star added, “And I will be happy to answer any questions that are bothering you.”

The Mewmans were quick to jump on board the offer, as two lines quickly began to form and Star and Jackie became lost in their task as they divided up the work equally between them. The rest of the afternoon passed by in a blur as the two joyfully talked with the finally open-minded Mewmans surrounding them, Star satisfied to finally be on equal footing with her fellow Mewmans, the shame and weak feeling gone and forgotten now, at last she had created a new image for herself, one that she hoped lasted long into the future.

Jackie meanwhile was just thankful to see her friend smiling brightly again, relieved that her close friend had not been broken by a couple of ill words. She was glad to finally be able to help mend the princess's scars, instead of having to depend on Marco to heal Star as was usually the case. She didn't mind this, after all she had been the one to first realize just how important to Star Marco was and she had known that the hooded teen would be the best thing for her to overcome her scars, but it still felt nice to finally be able to do the same now herself. And that alone was the greatest accomplishment of the day for Jackie. Knowing that in some small way, she had helped Star heal just like Marco always did.

…

Janna turned to look at Tom, who sat next to her, a bright red reflecting off their faces as his three eyes met her two. For a moment they just stared at each other longingly, while their eyes dazzled in the glow around them. Finally, Janna moved in for her target, taking the boy by surprise, as she gave him a long, passionate kiss on the lips, his arms wrapping around her waist and drawing her in closer making her melt into him. She was so entranced by his presence that she barely noticed the world around them burning, fire surrounding them on all sides, keeping the two warm as they continued to make-out. When their lips did finally part, Janna let out a long sigh, tracing a hand on his cheeks as she said softly, “Well that was fun.” A mischievous smirk lit up her face as she asked, “What should we burn down next?”

“Anything you want, my love,” Tom said dramatically, giving her a loving, puppy dog grin. “I will follow you to the Underworld and beyond!”

Janna rubbed her hands together in anticipation. “This is really shaping up to be a great first date.”

Janna mumbled something in her sleep as she rolled over on the grass, before letting out a breathy sigh mumbling, “Tom, stoppp, tha' tickles.” She gave a small giggle over whatever was happening in her sleep, before falling deeper into the realm of her dreams.

Marco, meanwhile, was still playing on Janna's phone, swiping through pic after pic of the cute cats, his eyes never blinking or leaving the screen, still sparkling with joy. He was completely enchanted with each adorably fluffy face and catchphrase that popped on screen, not even aware of the world turning at this point. He laughed at the cute phrase written in bold, bright font about a small kitty hanging from a tree branch, repeating it to himself as he let the joke sink in, “'Hang in there', that's priceless!” He wiped the tears from his eye, lowering the phone slightly as he did. “Oh phone cats, you never stop being funny,” he sighed.

But with his attention finally off of the phone for a second he was able to spot out of the corner the same three Monsters he had bumped into earlier. Only now, they were acting creepy and off-putting standing in the shadows with their bodies turned away from the city streets, as if trying to hide something from view. They were muttering quietly under their breath about something, though they were obviously too far away to be heard, but the look in their eyes as they spoke made a shiver run down his spine. They also seemed on edge, their dark eyes darting around every few seconds to make sure they hadn't been noticed. This struck Marco as odd, perplexed why three Monsters would feel the need to hide what they were doing in their own town. Something felt off to Marco and his guts told him that this had to be tied to their caper somehow and the teen decided it was best to wake Janna and fill her in on what was going on.

He gave Janna's arm a shake whispering as loudly as he could without alerting the three Monsters to his presence, “Janna. Janna! Janna, wake up.”

Janna groaned but didn't wake and Marco frowned, before shaking her harder saying, “Janna, there is something I need you to see. Come on, wake up.”

Her face scrunched up and Marco felt his hopes rise she was actually about to get up, when she instead bat his hand away, making Marco cry out in pain due to her increased strength which she had no control over in her sleep. “Go away,” she mumbled. “Sleeping.”

The hooded teen rubbed at his aching wrist, looking down at his friend thoughtfully, trying to think of some way to wake her without getting himself hurt. Finally an idea came to him and he did a fake gasp saying excitedly, “Oh my gosh, is that a undead skeleton walking around?!”

Janna's eyes snapped open and she shot up like a rocket, nearly banging her head into Marco's. She looked around eagerly for the creepy thing she had been promised, squealing, “What, where?!” But seeing there was nothing there she turned back to the hooded teen with a glare.

Marco gave her a sheepish smile, before saying, “Sorry, I didn't know how else to wake you.”

Janna stared at him a minute longer, before mumbling, “I knew I should have put you under hypnosis.”

“What?” Marco squeaked in worry, his brown eyes widening immensely.

“Oh nothing,” Janna said with a cryptic grin. After that, she began fiddling with her beanie, readjusting it on her head, and trying her best to wipe off the grass stains on her skirt, saying, “But while I'm impressed with your lie, you did interrupt a pretty amazing dream, so I hope this is good.”

“Well, I think it is,” Marco admitted, unsure of just how important and significant this really was in the long run, but he figured he already had her attention so he might as well tell her what he had discovered. “I noticed some of the Monsters acting really suspiciously.”

“How so?” Janna asked frowning.

“Welllll,” Marco said not sure how to explain it, his eyes scanning around for them. He found them pretty quickly now on the move and trying to creep out of town without being seen. “Look,” he said, pointing them out to his friend, who watched the three Monsters with a questioning gaze that quickly switched to a knowing frown, saying, “I see what you mean. I've seen that look before and those three are definitely up to something.”

“Yeah, I thought the same thing,” Marco said, nodding, his eyebrows pinched together in seriousness. “Why would a couple of Monsters feel the need to sneak around in their own town-?”

“-Unless they are up to no good,” Janna finished for him and the two shared a look.

“You think this has something to do with the tooth getting destroyed?” Marco asked.

“I'd bet my life on it,” Janna said, now stretching her limbs, before she stood. “So what's the plan, chief? You are the Monster representative after all.”

Marco looked over to the three, getting further and further away, but still within sight as they moved at an agonizingly slow pace, trying to blend in with their fellow Monsters. “I think we should follow them,” Marco said. “See where they're going. Who knows? Maybe they'll lead us back to whoever is behind all this.”

Janna nodded her head, a small smile, beginning to part on her lips as she said, “Just what I was thinking. Gotta say Marco, I'm proud. You're starting to get the instincts of a master thief. Looks like I'm finally starting to rub off on you.”

Marco beamed at the praise, his cheeks flushing as he said in slight embarrassment, “Uh, thanks, but we should probably hurry up and catch up to them before we lose them.”

Janna gestured in the desired direction, saying, “Well then, lead the way, oh wise one.”

Marco nodded, before walking off in the direction the three Monsters had gone, taking a few steps before stopping, turning back to Janna and asking worriedly, “You wouldn't really hypnotize me, would you?”

Janna stuffed her hands in her pockets with a classic, cryptic smirk. “Now come on, Marco? You already know the answer.”

“Yessss,” he said skeptically.

Janna shook her head. “No,” Marco breathed a sigh of relief, turning back to follow the Monsters, before stopping short again as Janna finished, “I already did that a long time ago.”

…

Marco, with Janna right on his heels, tailed the Monsters as they made their way out of town. With the creepy girl's direction he was able to maintain a safe distance away so he didn't have to worry about getting caught but was also close enough that he could keep up with them easily. But as the crowd began to thin more and more, and the dirt roads turned into dense forest, the two half-Mewmans had to take cover behind trees and bushes to keep from being seen by the Monsters. It was becoming more and more difficult to keep up with the Monsters as they got deeper and deeper into the woods, the three large, strong creatures now able to walk at a fast pace toward their destination without any watching eyes, or so they thought.

“Where do you think they're headed?” Marco whispered to Janna as they hid behind a tree, waiting for them to get a far enough distance away before moving to the next one.

“Don't know,” Janna said, peeking around the tree to see if it was safe and spotting something ahead. “But I get the feeling we're about to find out.”

There was a small clearing ahead, the empty remains of a small, abandoned mine acting as the housing place for whoever was staying there. From the light source inside the cave Marco and Janna were able to make out the piles of leaves gathered together to act as beds and a fire pit that had been dug out to cook meals, it was very rough and didn't look all that inviting to either of the half-Mewmans yet there was still a group of at least ten Monsters staying there. They all looked up from whatever they were doing as the three Monsters marched into the camp, standing up and exiting the cave to greet them. Marco gasped from where he and Janna hid in a tree, recognizing a couple of the faces he saw... including a very angry looking warthog Monster with a metal fork where his hand should be. “Janna, I think I just figured out who's behind this,” Marco whispered worriedly.

Then as if on cue Meatfork turned and shouted, “Hey boss, the spies are here!” and, just as Marco had deduced, none other than Ludo emerged from the depths of the cave riding on the bat Monster as he was lowered to the ground in front of the three newcomers.

“Ludo,” Marco whispered under his breath.

“Wait, you mean that bird guy that your dad banished after he tried to steal Buff Frog's position?” Janna asked. Marco and Star had filled both her and Jackie in on what had happened after the fact, but the girl was still skeptical that this tiny bird man in front of her was anything but a threat. She had seen laser puppies that were more frightening than him. She quickly gestured down to the kappa Monster, asking incredulously, “That Ludo?”

Marco just nodded grimly. “Yep, that's him,” he confirmed, before looking back over at the midget Monster. The last time he had seen Ludo, he was being dragged away, accusing Marco of ruining his life and declaring revenge on his dad. He had kinda been hoping he wouldn't have to see this Monster ever again and yet here he was hiding in a tree and watching as the pipsqueak plotted out his scheme. Which made Marco wonder, what was his plan anyway? What could he possibly gain from incriminating the Mewmans?

“Aww, its you three again,” Ludo said. “Mangy Mane, Tiger Strips and Bear Claw.”

“You got our payment,” the lion Monster asked, getting right down to business.

“That depends, did you do what I asked and made sure all signs point to the Mewmans wrecking that stupid tooth?”

The three nodded. “We did but Mayor Butch didn't buy it,” the Bear Claw explained.

“What?” Ludo exclaimed, clearly livid with anger. “Why not?”

“A couple of Mewmans were in town and they were able to convince him that they didn't do it,” the Mangy Mane explained.

Ludo growled. “Ugh, stupid Mewmans, they always have to ruin everything!” the Monster continued now in a full on fit, stamping his foot childishly on the ground. “They can't ever just mind their own business and have to stick their noses where they don't belong! Well fine, then we'll just have to take it one step further. We'll just have to steal the tooth.”

Marco gasped, fear filling his features as he declared, “We have to stop him!”

Janna wasn't so quick to respond, giving him a skeptical looking and asking, “But do we?”

“Yes,” the hooded teen said firmly, before beginning to climb down the tree.

“Uh, what are you doing?” Janna asked.

“I'm gonna try and talk him out of this,” Marco explained naively, his focus still on making his way safely down.

“Yeah but didn't that not really work out very well last time,” the creepy girl pointed out. Marco stopped his descent, before looking back up at his friend, asking, “Well what do you think we should do?”

The boy instantly regretted this decision as an alarmingly evil grin widened on her face that sent chills down his spine. “We'll have to use one of them as an example to get the message across,” she said, her eyes flashing with danger.

“No way, we aren't killing anybody!” Marco exclaimed, instantly shooting her down, already guessing where this was going and having no part in any of it.

“They don't have to die,” Janna said with a scoff, looking offended. But the creepy smile returned as she said, “We'll just maim one of them a little.”

“No, Janna!” Marco hissed, giving her a scolding glare, leaning more forward on his branch so he could stare directly into her eyes. He sighed before saying softly, “I'm gonna go back into town and tell the mayor what's going on. You stay here and watch them till I get back.”

“Yeah, that's not gonna work,” Janna said and Marco gave her a quizzical gaze.

“Why not?” the boy in red asked his friend, tilting his head to the side.

“Cause your about to fall,” Janna said nonchalantly, before pointing down to the large crack in the branch Marco was leaning precariously on.

“Oh not again,” Marco groaned before it gave a loud resounding snap and sent him plummeting once more to the ground. His second time falling down a tree was just as bad as the first, the pain as his body colliding with the sharp branches, the breath leaving his body as he smacked into every piece of wood possible on his way down, it was like he was reliving it all over again.

Only this time, before he hit the forest floor, he was instead caught by Janna, who had turned into a bat and had speedily zoomed down the tree to save him in time, shifting back into her Mewman form as he landed bridal style in her arms. He groaned, mumbling out a drunken thanks. Janna looked around at the group of surprised and glaring Monsters growling at them, their cover officially blown, and said, “Yeah, you might want to hold off on that thanks for a bit.”

Marco sat up enough to see the same and muttered, “Oh. Oops.”

Ludo especially seemed startled to see the two Mewmans, shouting, “Intruders! How did they find my brilliant hiding spot?”

“These morons must have led them here!” Meatfork growled, giving the three spies a sharp glare.

“What?!” Tiger Strips snapped, the look in his eyes full of so much venom it was a wonder Meatfork didn't drop dead right there.

“What, no, no, you got us all wrong,” Janna said calmly, thinking fast. She let go of Marco, dropping him onto the ground as she held her hands up as if in surrender. “We were just passing through the neighborhood, but since your busy we'll just be going.” She picked Marco up by his shirt sleeve, pushing him behind her as she began to walk backward. But two Monsters stepped into the way, blocking off their path of escape.

“You can't fool us, Mewman,” Mangy Mane said darkly. He turned to Ludo and explained, “These are the two we told you about, boss.”

Ludo rubbed his chin, staring long and hard at the teen in red. After a moment he finally asked, “Do I know you from somewhere?”

“Ummmm, no,” Marco said weakly, cringing as his voice cracked against his will.

“That's Buff Frog's kid, Ludo,” Meatfork said, looking exasperated by this bosses stupidity.

“I knew that!” the small Monster squeakily screamed at his second in command. He turned back over to Marco, who now stood next to Janna, trying to keep on a brave face in the dire situation they had ended up in. Ludo walked over to the teen, snapping his fingers to summon one of his servants. He stepped onto the back of the small bat Monster, which lifted him up so he was eye level with Marco. “So Marco Diaz, have you finally come to surrender your father's throne to me?”

“Uh, no,” Marco said, shaking his head with a frown. “And what are you even doing here, anyway? My dad banished you.”

Ludo scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Like I'm gonna listen to that buffoon.” He shrugged, before nonchalantly adding, “Besides what he doesn't know won't hurt him.”

“Well he's gonna know once I tell him that you've been trying to frame the Mewmans,” Marco snapped.

“I don't know what you're talking about,” Ludo denied immediately, the bat setting him down once again as he crossed his arms smugly.

“Look, we already know you messed with the hydra's tooth, just admit it already,” Janna said, seeing through the pathetic act in a second, even looking slightly disappointed in the Monster for his lack of creativity in this regard.

“You have no proof of that,” Ludo shot back, pointing a clawed finger in her direction.

“Well then why are your claws covered in paint?” Janna retorted with a triumphant grin. Ludo's eye darted down to the dried red smeared all over his claws, literally caught red-handed. His claws clenched into fists as he snapped, “That's none of your business!”

“What's this all about, Ludo?” Marco asked, being driven nearly mad with the questions that were pestering his curious mind. Things still didn't add up, he still had no idea why the Monster would go through with all this. “I mean, what do you possibly gain from this crazy plan anyways?”

“It's not crazy, it's genius!” Ludo proclaimed. He then began to explain his brilliant plan to the two Mewmans, obviously enjoying arrogantly praising himself, his already big head incapable of getting any larger at this point. “See once the Monsters turn against the Mewmans again they will realize just how ridiculous and unfit to rule Buff Frog really is and that I, Ludo Avirius, am the only one who can properly lead them!”

Marco's mouth was dropped open by this point, completely flabbergasted with Ludo's mindset, asking in disbelief, “So your just gonna go and start another war with the Mewmans just so you can be in power?!” The hooded teen couldn't believe anyone would sacrifice so many lives for such selfish reasons, only one Monster in Marco's mind capable of being so cruel and soulless.

“Yeah, that's pretty much it,” Ludo said with a holier-than-thou smile spread across his beak.

“And you're all okay with this,” Marco questioned, turning to Ludo's minions for conformation that they were really willing to betray their fellow Monsters to fulfill their leader's selfish desire. Surely they saw just how crooked and twisted this whole plan was. But there was no shame or guilt in any of the Monster's eyes, giving him only hard glares back and the boy felt his insides twist.

“Ludo is the true leader of the Monsters, not that worthless Buff Frog,” Meatfork proclaimed and the small Monsters grin widened even more if that was possible.

“Well what are you gonna do when Buff Frog finds out about this?” Marco asked with a defiant look.

Ludo's face twisted into an evil stare as he declared, “He's not going to find out. Get them!”

The Monsters rushed forward at their leader's order, growling as they moved to dispose of the two pests. Marco jumped out of the way as the first Monster reached them, Janna shifting instantly into her Monster form and punching her opponent into unconsciousness.

More came as the two Mewmans valiantly defended themselves against their attackers, Marco able to hold his own as he dodged swing after swing and even trying to land an occasional kick to his enemy, with no real success, but that left Janna able to focus on her own fighting without having to worry over her friend's safety. The Impure kicked one of the Monsters legs out from underneath him before sidestepping out of the way of a swiping claw from none other than Tiger Strips. He growled and swiped again, aiming right for her head. But she managed to grab his arm out of mid-air, halting his swiping claw from making contact with her skin. She then easily flipped him over her shoulder and threw him right into a tree. But she had no time to rest as the next Monster attacked.

Marco, meanwhile, was busy dealing with both Mangy Mane and Bear Claw, doing his best to avoid their attacks while also trying to come up with some sort of plan to beat them. But all he could do so far was just dodge them, ducking underneath a swiping paw or moving out of the way of the hate-filled punch, only his few short lessons in self defense and his own agility allowing him to survive this long. He ducked underneath Mangy Manes swiping paw as he tried to grab hold of the elusive boy and Marco, thinking fast, slammed his small body into the large Monster. But by some miracle it was actually enough to trip the Monster up as he crashed into his buddy behind him, sending all three tumbling to the ground.

Marco immediately hopped off of them, panting with exertion. He was running out of steam and just one look at Janna told him she was doing the same. He needed a plan if they hoped to win, his eyes looking around for something that could be of use to them, but coming up blank once again and he groaned in annoyance. Why was this so hard?

Meatfork suddenly appeared, catching the boy by surprise in his distracted state and he let out a little cry of surprise as he dodged the swinging fist. “It's no use, brat!” the Monster growled as Marco took a defensive stance, keeping a safe distance away from his opponent, waiting for his next attack. “You and your friend aren't leaving here alive! And no one is going to come in and save you this time!”

Marco gasped, an idea finally forming in his mind, his sun cheek marks spinning a few times. This only seemed to infuriate Meatfork even more as he angrily spat, “Whatever desperate plan you're thinking up isn't going to work!”

He then tried to lung at Marco again, who stepped out of the way just in time, letting him fall to the ground in front of him. He quickly looked over at his friend, who was currently pinned down by four Monsters at least twice her own size. “Janna!” Marco called out to her.

“Kinda busy right now,” she grunted between clenched teeth.

Marco paused before asking, “Do you want some help?”

“No thanks,” the beanie-wearing girl said, before shifting into a bat, letting them all fall onto one another before shifting back now standing triumphantly on her opponents fallen forms. “I got it,” she added with one of her smug grins.

“Oh, okay then,” Marco said with a smile. “I'm gonna go get the mayor and the other Monsters. Try and hold out till I get back.”

“Sure I'll be just fine here,” Janna said, punching a Monster who tried to sneak up to her from behind right in the face, not even bothering to turn around and face him.

Marco gave a quick nod, before staring to run back toward the village. Ludo, who had just been watching the whole fight from the sidelines, saw the boy escaping and turned to his subordinate, shouting, “The kid is escaping, one of you idiots stop him!”

Mangy Mane, Bear Claw, and Tiger Strips managed to rise to their feet, chasing after the hooded teen, the lion Monster explaining to Ludo, “Don't worry boss, we know a shortcut!”

Janna overheard this and yelled after them, “Hey, leave him alone!” The girl, feeling a need to protect her friend, forgot all about Ludo and the other Monsters she was fighting, shifting into a bat and dodging around them as she quickly flew after Marco as well.

Marco panted as he raced forward with all his might, focusing on just reaching the village and as it began to come into view he grinned knowing he had succeeded. But then he was tackled to the ground by a large form, knocking the air out of his lungs and feeling the rough dirt dig into his fragile skin. “I got him!” a voice yelled, while the teen tried his best to pry his way out from under whoever it was leaning heavily on his legs. He kicked and squirmed as much as he could, while his brain spun trying to remember something from Higgs lessons that would help him get away.

Mangy Mane and Tiger Strips watched in delight as the boy struggled in vain to escape, the tiger Monster saying, “Let's take him back to Ludo and collect our reward.” But just then Janna appeared, switching from bat to Mewman in a second, landing on the lion Monster and slamming him into the ground with her weight. She dodged a swing from Tiger Strips before incapacitating him as well.

Bear Claw hearing the sound of his friends, loosened his grip in surprise, giving Marco just the opportunity he needed. He ripped his legs free and hopped to his feet, running away once more. “Oh no you don't!” the bear Monster growled, grabbing the teen by his ankle, causing the boy to tumble to the ground.

The teen cried out in surprise and rolled over so he could face the Monster before him, who refused to release his ankle. “Why, why are you doing this?!” Marco begged to know. “I don't understand, I mean, you have to see how wrong all this is?”

“We don't really care, boy,” Bear Claw spat at the boy, only tightening his grip even more. “We want revenge on the Mewmans, nothing else makes any difference.”

“But why, what did they do to you that was so bad?” Marco asked in confusion, still hoping to learn something from all this. Maybe there was some way to sway their minds if he knew what had caused them to be corrupted in the first place.

“They existed!” the Monster sneered and the boy felt his body freeze up, suddenly reliving his nightmare all over again. His mind tumbled with unwanted memories, cold lifeless eyes staring at him making his heart leap into his throat and a numbing pain as he remembered those words being directed at the two people he would always miss but never meet. And then blind rage filled him, everything else drowning out in the distance as he felt a need to lash out against the creature who had hurt him in such a way.

“Shut up!” Marco screamed, kicking the Monster directly in the face with his good foot, making Bear Claw cry out in pain and cover his bruised nose with his claws. The hooded teen didn't even realize what he had done until it was already over, the anger draining from his body and leaving him dazed and confused. He watched as the Monster howled in pain and felt guilt stir in his stomach. But he didn't have time to waste as he rose to his feet and headed toward town once more, only to find him surrounded by Ludo and his Monsters who were all panting wildly. “So... you thought... you could escape... me,” Ludo said triumphantly, between gasps for breath, piggybacking on Meatfork, making Marco question why he was so out of breath too. But more importantly to the hooded teen, he also stood between Marco and his way into town. The boy in red frowned in defeat, before something caught his eye behind Ludo and he smiled.

“I won't let you get away with this, Ludo!” Marco yelled, stabbing a finger in the Monster's direction. “The Monsters will know that your the one that wrecked the Hydra's Tooth.”

Ludo scoffed, before saying sarcastically, “Like those idiots will ever figure out anything.”

The other Monsters then noticed what Marco was already seeing, the form of Mayor Butch and his several guards, frowning at the midget Monster before him. “Um, boss-” one of them started but Ludo wasn't listening, falling right into Marco's trap and quickly falling into another one of his triumphant, egotistic rants. “Especially that worthless mayor. That idiot probably forgets where he buries his bones half the time.” Ludo laughed to himself at his own joke, while all the other Monsters just face-palmed.

Marco and Janna were now side by side, sharing victorious grins as they watched the small Monster incriminate himself more and more with zero prodding from either of them as more and more Monsters appeared, curious what was going on just outside their village. “And as for the rest of those backwards dummies, they'll believe anything they hear. Tricking them will be as easy as stealing candy from a baby.”

There was a outcry of outrage behind Ludo, finally alerting Meatfork to their presence as he turned his head to see the glaring crowd and the infuriated mayor looking on the verge of losing his calm. “Um, boss, I think we are in a bit of trouble,” the warthog Monster stated but Ludo quickly scolded him for the interruption.

“Not now, Meatfork, can't you see I'm soaking in my victory,” the tiny Monster leader snapped.

“Yeah but boss, I think you should look and see what's going on behind us,” his subordinate said nervously. Ludo let out a long sigh, before turning for a split second to the group of Monsters then looking immediately back to the two Mewmans he had 'captured'.

“Okay, fine I did it,” Ludo said in clear annoyance. “Now where was I?” he asked himself, trying to remember his place in his speech. He opened his mouth to speak only to suddenly register what he had just seen, his tiny heart beating out of control as he turned once more to the angry, glaring mayor. “Oh mayor Butch, what a pleasant surprise,” Ludo nervously said, trying to put on an innocent grin. “I-Is that a new suit you're wearing?”

“Ludo,” Butch rumbled under his breath, his tone cutting into the small Monster like a knife. “I believe I was informed by Buff Frog not two weeks ago that you were banished from Monster society.” To the bulldog's credit he kept an almost business-like tone despite his clear distaste and fury toward the Monster in front of him.

“Oh, yes well, that was just a little misunderstanding, you see-” Ludo began trying to explain himself, but he was cut off by Butch raising a hand in the air.

“I don't want to hear any of your excuses and I think it would be best if you were taken into custody until Buff Frog can deal with you. That is if I remember to call him, since I do forget where I bury my bones half the time!” the Monster spat the last bit of information, his body shaking with rage.

“Oh so you heard that,” Ludo said worriedly, a guilty frown on his face.

“Yes, I did,” Butch said, regaining some of his composure once more, as he adjusted his tie. “So any last words before I have my Monsters place you under arrest?” the Monster asked, his flaming eyes digging into Ludo's skin, trying to burn him alive.

“Um, well, I suppose I just have this to say,” Ludo began quietly, pausing a moment to let the moment sink in. He opened his beak, before screeching at the top of his lungs, “Retreat!”

And just like that him and the other Monsters made a break for it, running away as fast as they could into the woods several more Monsters giving chase after them. All of them managed to disappear from sight into the bushes, all except the three spies who were either unconscious or, in Bear Claws case, too distracted by the pain in his face to notice anything else going on. Marco just watched silently as Ludo and his minions escaped into the woods, wondering if this was really the last he would ever see of the small Monster.

Butch came to stand next to the boy, watching into the woods as well. After a moment, he turned to eye the Mewman up and down, before saying, “I suppose I owe you for your helping in finding the real criminal and the traitors amongst us.” The mayor glared at the three Monsters being arrested and dragged away to their holding cell. He couldn't believe he had let a couple of his own citizens betray him from right under his nose. He was supposed to be better than that.

Marco shook his head, giving him a small smile. “No need. All I wanted was to prove the Mewmans innocence so that maybe you could grow to trust us in time.”

Butch nodded thoughtfully, before offering his paw to shake. “Well you have more than proved yourself in my mind.” Marco took the paw, shaking it delicately, his heart swelling with pride at the praise from such a highly valued member of Monster society. “Buff Frog has raised himself quite the young man.”

Marco blushed wildly now, but his smile only grew more, as he shyly muttered, “Thanks.”

“No thank you,” the Monsters said kindly. Then out of nowhere he gestured to one his fellow Monsters, some kind of bird looking one, who walked over and handed him Marco's clipboard. Up to this point Marco had forgotten all about it and he watched wide-eyed as Butch looked through it once more, saying thoughtfully, “Now then from what I can tell you are conducting some kind of questionnaire to see what underlying issues the Monsters are dealing with and how the Mewmans might solve them.”

Marco just nodded dumbly, not knowing what really to say. The Monster pulled a pen out from his suit pocket, writing something down on the paper, explaining, “Well then how about I add my own experiences onto here. As the mayor of a small Monster village in the middle of nowhere I can tell you I have seen my fair share of problems.”

Marco's gaze softened, touched by the Monster's kindness to aid him in such a way. “Thank you,” he whispered, fighting back the rising tears. “Thank you, that... means so much to me!” Marco exclaimed his smile unable to grow any wider at this point.

“Yes well, it's the least I can do,” Butch said, handing the clipboard back to its owner and then patting the boy on the shoulder.

Marco looked the paper over, nearly squealing in joy as he saw a clear list of issues the Monsters were dealing with such as lack of food, clothing, supplies, that kind of thing and the hooded teen had to wipe his eyes on his sleeve to be able to see the page again clearly, blinded by the rising tears. But a thought occurred to him and he turned back to the Monster mayor as he walked confidently back towards town, asking, “Um, but Mayor Butch, I still have a question?”

Butch turned back to face the boy, asking, “What is it, young man?”

“How did you know we were out here?” Marco questioned, still confused. “We were out of earshot of town and even if you had heard us, there's no way you could have made it over to here so fast.”

The bulldog smiled before saying cryptically, “Let's just say, someone was looking out for you. They noticed you two leaving and convinced us to check up on you.”

“Who?” Marco asked, his eyebrows knitting together in confusion.

Butch didn't say, telling the boy, “He wished to remain anonymous,” but his eyes jumped over to Triceros, who was busy checking Janna over for injuries, while the girl insisted she was just fine and tried to push his fussing paws away. Marco smiled over at the Monster, who finally met his eye, and he gave a little nod in his direction as thanks. The Monster smiled before doing the same, turning back to Janna and firmly telling her he needed to make sure she wasn't hurt. The creepy girl sighed, before allowing the Monster to check. Marco just laughed at her nearly pouting face, but was caught off guard as Butch spoke again, quickly whipping his head around to face him. “You seem to have quite the knack for making others care about you and swaying them to your side,” Butch observed.

Marco didn't know how to respond to that, just shrugging and saying softly, “Yeah, I guess.”

“You should consider that a great asset. Take my advice and use it,” Butch said, before turning and walking away again, leaving Marco to think and contemplate to himself the Monster's words. After a moment, though, a large smile spread across his face and he found his head holding itself a little higher that day.

…

Fang Tangs was busy and noisy as the day began to wrap itself up, the dinner rush taking priority for the staff of workers as they rushed to get their food out. Star and Jackie sat outside, watching the sun begin to lower itself into the sky, waiting for Janna and Marco to get back. They had all agreed to meet up there at the end of the day but so far the two were running a bit late. Not that the two girls minded, they knew their friends were busy, and besides they were both too exhausted to care about anything at this point. They sat in silence, Star laying her head against the table unmoving, as she let her aching body rest, jokingly thinking to herself that she just might never move again and just lay there forever.

Jackie was sitting up, somehow still having the energy to do so (to Star's amazement and slight resentment), her back facing the table and her elbows propped up on its side. She watched the sun sinking lower and had a new understanding why the young couple did this almost every evening, it was quite relaxing. The girl let out a content sigh, before twisting her aching wrist around a couple of times, her whole hand sore from the probably thousands of people she had interviewed after the last several hours. But it was worth it, the skater looking over at the now filled clipboard with satisfaction. The information on that sheet would go a long way in helping fix the unrest and crooked history of Mewni.

Suddenly out of nowhere she heard Star say, “Hey, Jacks.” Jackie turned to her friend, who looked up at her with sincere and slightly guilty eyes. “I just wanted to say thank you so much for sticking up for me back there. I... really didn't deserve it after the way I acted before-”

“Hey it's no problem Star,” the skater said with a radiant grin, stopping her before her friend could go into an overly long apology. “None taken. I'm just glad I could help you out, finally.”

“Wait, finally?” Star said, raising an eyebrow and finally lifting her head off the table. “What do you mean?”

Jackie hesitated, not quite sure how to answer, taking a moment to contemplate her response, before admitting, “Well I mean, after the whole... incident at St. O's, I didn't really do anything to help you. I mean, I tried but... I didn't know what to do. You were always the one I looked to for guidance and so when you needed some from me I... panicked, I guess.” The girl lowered her head, so she didn't have to look her friend in the eyes. “I just felt so lost and confused and I had no clue what I was supposed to do to make you feel better.” The girl's eyes clenched shut to hide her frustrated tears from view. “In the end, Marco's the one who helped you. And, don't get me wrong, I'm grateful that he did, but... I feel like I failed you.”

Star stared at her friend for a long time, her gaze unreadable as her friend just sniffed and wiped the tears from her eyes. Just as the skater looked up to meet her eye, her radiant eyes glassy from the unshed tears, the blond threw her arms around her in a tight hug. Jackie froze up in shock for a second, before returning the embrace, pulling her friend close as she hugged her right back. “So that's what this was all about,” Star said softly, her voice surprisingly strong and even soothing. Jackie had expected the princess to be a mess, especially when talking about 'that' place. Then to Jackie's greater surprise the girl started laughing, actually laughing, and Jackie pulled away so she could check and make sure that the royal hadn't just gone crazy.

“What's so funny?” Jackie asked, her voice a mixture of confusion and shock.

“It's just.. not too long ago you were comforting me over the same type of thing,” Star explained, still chuckling to herself. “You literally couldn't be any further from the truth, Jacks.” The girl said, finally gaining control of herself and quieting down her giggles. “You didn't fail me, it was the exact opposite actually. You and Janna and the other orphans, you're what held me together during that time. Without you, I don't know who I would be.”

Star's eyes met Jackie's then, filling the skater up with a bubbly warmth that had the girl grinning ear to ear. A tear slipped down her eye and she quickly wiped it away, saying in a soft tone, “Well, I think all of us feel the same way about you, Star.”

The blond smiled, giving her friend another quick hug, squeezing her in a comforting way. But as she pulled away, her blue gaze turned playful as he said in a knowing tone, “And y'know, I think I have you to thank somewhat for the stuff with Marco, too.”

Jackie froze up, giving her a guilty look, before she quickly hid it behind a blank grin. “I'm not sure I know what you mean,” the girl said with no hesitation in her tone, keeping up the innocent facade for as long as she could.

Star raised an eyebrow. “Come on, Jacks, I'm not an idiot, I know you and Jan set us up,” the girl pried, leaning closer to her friend.

Jackie quickly gave up, dropping the act as she cringed openly. “What gave us away?” she asked.

Star leaned her head against her arm as she said in a teasing tone, “Well for one thing, Marco told me that you gave him my old headband. And you were the one who dressed him up for the Orphan's Ball, convinced I would pick him over Oscar.”

“Well it was pretty obvious,” Jackie defended.

“Uh huh,” Star smirked, raising an eyebrow. “Or how about you having him ask me about the kiss, rather than just tell him yourself?”

“That was Janna,” Jackie countered.

“But you were the one who decorated the Blood Moon Ball, weren't you?” Star asked, the look in her eyes telling the light-haired girl that she knew she had just won.

Jackie sighed in defeat, admitting, “You got me.”

“Course I did,” Star said with a smile of victory. She paused to take a sip of her drink, before asking, “So how much did you win?”

Jackie flinched once more, opening her mouth to ask how Star had known that too, but decided against it, shaking her head and replying honestly, “Forty bucks.”

Star nodded in approval, saying, “That's pretty good.” She gave the girl a friendly elbow, before adding, “You earned it.” She winked in her direction and Jackie just jabbed her in the side with her own elbow in return.

“Yeah well, it was for a good cause.” The two shared a laugh, enjoying the nice moment as it stretched on for a while, neither carrying how crazy they probably looked to the other patrons, as they just chuckled heartily amongst each other feeling the rip in their friendship mend and grow even stronger.

But then Star felt a familiar stirring inside her chest and knew her bestie was there before he even said a word. “Hey Star! Hey Jackie!” came the hooded teen's familiar call and the two girls swirled around to shoot both him and Janna bright smiles. Marco was panting by the time he reached the table, while Janna just walked at her normal pace, in no rush to get there it seemed.

“Hey Marco, so how did it go?” Jackie asked and the boy's face lit up instantly.

“It went amazing!” he shouted, sitting down next to his girlfriend, who wrapped an arm around his waist and leaned her head against his shoulder. “I mean, there were a few hiccups,” Marco said, cringing as he remembered Ludo. “But nothing we couldn't handle.” The boy puffed out his chest valiantly and Star and Jackie couldn't hold in their giggles.

“Sounds like you had a good day,” Star said softly, her breath ghosting on Marco's skin, making him shudder and blush. He just nodded dumbly before thrusting the clipboard into their faces as he said, “I did and look, I got almost the whole thing filled!”

“That's great, dude,” Jackie praised instantly, taking the clipboard and looking through it for a moment.

“I knew you could do it,” Star said, her blue gaze holding on his brown.

“Yeah... I did too, actually,” Marco admitted, his eyes shimmering with memories of the day's events, feeling the warm sense of pride fill him all over again.

“You have no idea how great it is to hear you say that, Marco,” Star said, before cupping his face in her hand and kissing his cheek affectionately. She had gone the whole day without her Marco and now she was craving some time with him, feeling a need to shower him with as much devotion as she could to make up for the time spent apart.

Marco took a few seconds to will the blush in his cheeks down, before asking, “So what about you two, how'd it go for you?”

Star and Jackie shared a look. “Pretty good, actually,” Star said and Jackie nodded.

“We got our thing filled out too,” the skater added.

“That's great!” Marco exclaimed, jumping out of his seat, unable to hold still as he bounced up and down on the balls of his feet. “Now we can finally start fixing Mewni!”

“Whoa, slow your roll there, Diaz,” Janna said, finally reaching them and pulling him back into his seat, while she sat on the table itself. “You worked hard enough, give yourself some time off for crying out loud.” Though her voice was sarcastic, her smile was genuine and Marco just nodded and obeyed.

“Yeah, your right, Jan,” Marco said, leaning back and letting out a sigh. “We all deserve a break.”

Jackie turned to Janna asking, semi-playfully, “So did you behave yourself, Jan?”

“Yes mom,” Janna said sarcastically, making a big show of rolling her eyes. “You don't have to ground me, I didn't make any fires or start any wars with anyone.”

“Well that's good to know,” Star said teasingly... mostly.

“Oh there you two are,” Kelly's voice suddenly rang out and they all turned to see the hairy teen walk over to them, holding the tray of cupcakes from before. “After you ran off I wasn't sure if you were coming back.”

“Hey, Kells,” Marco said with a friendly grin. But noticing the cupcakes, his mouth began to water and his stomach growled loudly, reminding him how long he had gone without eating now. “What are those?”

“Oh just some snacks I made,” Kelly said, before looking over at Star and Jackie worriedly. “So you two... okay?”

“Yeah, we're fine now, Kelly, thanks for the concern,” Star reassured her and the young waitress sighed in relief. “Well since you two are here, I can now officially serve you my last order before I become a chef.”

“Oh good for you, Kelly,” Jackie said, giving her friend a happy smile.

“I know right,” the girl said cheerfully, her eyes practically shining. She moved the plate toward the skater and princess, saying, “Well I did make these for you, so that makes you two my final custom-”

Her voice cut off though, as she noticed one of the cupcakes missing and turned to look at Marco who was greedily chomping down the treat, half of Star's fondant face already gone. His eyes widened though, as he looked between his friends, before realizing he had done something wrong. “Oh sorry, was this not for me?” he asked, his mouth still full. Star giggled at her boyfriend's cuteness.

“Well on the bright side, these are really good,” Janna said, somehow now in possession of the other cupcake, snatching it off the tray without being noticed and stuffing it down her throat like there was no tomorrow.

Kelly groaned in annoyance, her eyebrow twitching slightly. “Sorry Kells,” Jackie started to apologize for her friend but was interrupted by the green-haired teen.

“No, no it's fine,” Kelly said with a loud sigh, tucking the empty tray under her arm. “I'll just go make two more.”

“Maybe put me and Marco's faces on these one,” Janna called after her, before going back to finishing her cupcake.

Star gave Marco a strange look before asking, “So you do realize my face was on that right?”

Marco froze, mid-bite, pulling the food away from his mouth so he could examine it closely. “Wait, really?! Oh my gosh, I'm sorry Star, I-I didn't know!” he exclaimed in panic.

Star just smiled before kissing his cheek again to silence him and he gave her a confused look. “Same old Marco,” she sighed, glad to know some things would never change. She cuddled him close to her, as the young couple and their two closest friends looked back out to the horizon, watching as the sun set in the fading daylight, somehow glowing brighter than any of them had ever noticed before.

#star vs #Star vs AU #My Writing #Light of the Sun and Stars #Starco

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queenburd · 5 years ago

Text

and in the end; chapter 3

Probably the longest chapter, it was also the most unpleasant to write.

chapter 3: all those people in those old photographs i've seen are dead

callbacks and references: Space Dork in Trouble, Mrs. Johnson as reference to The King's Speech, also every single named agent is a Good Omens reference, SCP-457.

[TRANSMISSION RECONNECTED. RELAYING...]

[PLAYBACK]

Early fall was his favorite time of the year, and they'd adopted a little tradition around then to go on walks around the block. From time to time, they would grab a coffee, but often they would simply stroll to the park and sit quietly.

He was pulling a cigarette from his pack when she asked a question he didn't catch. Kass looked up, cigarette halfway to his mouth, but May was not looking at him. She was looking at the clouds, painted with sunset, all purples and blues.

“What was that?” Kass said, flicking his lighter.

“I said, when are you coming home?”

Kass awoke with a start.

He stared at the wall the cot was pressed against. The cell was dark, save for cheap flickering bulb above him and the small patch of light that crept through the door's eye level slot. There wasn't much to see in any case.

When Dib had been in containment, he'd been in a room similar to this, with only a stack of old magazines to help him pass the time. In D-Class, Kass was not even given the benefit of reading material, which he wouldn't have been able to read without his glasses. Instead, he passed the time sleeping.

It was that, or running his own fingers over the small grooves in the walls where some other inmate had clawed desperately for freedom.

He was not a fool. He might have been haunted with dreams of a rescue, but Kass wasn't enough an idiot to entertain the idea they would become reality. This wasn't a children's movie; wishes on stars did not magically come true, and D-Class personnel did not escape the Foundation, and nobody on Tesla Drive was stupid enough to try to break out a man who had purposely gotten himself caught.

Well. Maybe that wasn't true. But he certainly hoped it was.

Kass pressed his hand flat against the wall.

How long had he been here? He had lost track of the days—he slept when he could manage it, and at least once he'd been pushed out of his cell twice in the span of what he could only assume was 24 hours. Five days, maybe? Maybe ten? By all accounts, Kass had lasted pretty long, but more and more it was by the skin of his teeth and sheer luck.

The close calls were getting closer, and he was getting tired.

You're not out of it yet, asshole, she said. He grimaced, and pulled his hand back from the wall to hunch again, ignoring the stupid, horrible, familiar voice that had, through this whole period, been trying to keep him hopeful. It was dangerous, and worse, it wasn't real. Even when she wasn't here, she was, trying to keep him alive.

He wished whatever part of his consciousness that was doing it to cope would just give up the ghost.

It wasn't necessarily that Kass wanted to die—quite the opposite. It was that hope was the main ingredient in stupidity. He wouldn't delude himself, he was tired, and with all the bad blood he had gathered in this site, agents on all sides were running him ragged, trying to finish him off. Hope was an indulgence he couldn't afford.

A shadow passed over the small patch of light that illuminated his wall, and the door chirped softly. Kass did not sit up, even as the door opened and light spilled onto the floor, his back, and the wall he faced.

“Up and at it, Kass.”

It was only a matter of time. He expected, in fact, that this would be the last time that door would open for him—it would be the last time he left it alive.

There was something nearly scenic about the hillside; at least from this side of it, where trees climbed up its slope and cut the rounded top into something jagged, unorganized, and completely natural. It was picturesque, the sort of hillside you would see on the front of a brochure for hiking along nature's beauty.

It was also completely silent.

The silence stretched out from the hillside in a wide diameter, like a suffocating blanket. The birdsong had ended when May had reached the part of the road that was gated off. The hush that fell behind her was the last warning her subjects could give her.

She alighted off the road, just before the gate, and shifted in the cover of the bushes quietly. “I'm at the perimeter,” she spoke softly into the earpiece that curled from her left ear down into her shirt. “Last check-in before breach.”

“Okay,” came the belated reply, coated in a thick layer of static. Despite it, she could still detect the guarded tone in Dib's voice. “Run through an inventory check with me.”

“You think I lost the stuff halfway here, bud?” May shot sarcastically, already clearing her pockets and setting the contents in the dirt in front of her.

“Please, just indulge me.”

“Joking, love. Sorry.”

“Okay, let's consider our options.”

They were sitting around a table, looking at a very short list in Dib's scribbled handwriting. It read, in cramped letters:

Breach Locate Target Extract Target Exit Undetected

“We don't have the benefit of having someone inside this time, to feed us intel beforehand,” Simon said thoughtfully. “That means it's gonna be harder both for getting in and knowing where we're going.”

“Not to mention,” Dib added, trying to hide the anxiety in his tone, “the security probably got beefed up after our last, uh, extraction. We probably can't use the vent we used last time.”

He flipped through his files on his laptop, and turned it to face the party. “I still have the schematics, at least. It's just a matter of not knowing what's been added.”

The pair of them looked at May. Her hand was pressed up to her mouth, her brow furrowed in consideration. “So we need to find a way to even figure out where he's being held before we can break him out. That means accessing their files.”

“Which we'd have to do on-site, because hacking that place is a surefire way to make sure we get tracked down,” Dib noted.

“Which means we need to first get to an office,” she continued. “Not just any office, though, right? Is there a personnel file system?”

Dib glanced back into the schematics, biting the inside of his cheek. “There's an archive room, and the main offices will probably have file systems. Odds are, though,” he said, grimacing, “they'd need a key card. So that's out.”

“Not necessarily.”

He looked up. May was still looking at the note, deep in thought.

“What if there was a way to get the information and get to him without any issue?”

“Key card.”

She tapped the face of it with her index finger. “Check.”

“Cuffs.”

“Check.”

“Pistol.”

She grimaced, feeling at her waist. Kass's gun was heavy at her hip, an unpleasant reminder. “Got it.”

“Gum?”

“Yep.”

“Pen.”

“Yes. Can I get moving now?”

The irritation in her tone wasn't intentional—she was anxious to get on with this, really. Still, something sunk inside her when the response she received was a beat of silence, followed by his voice, with no infliction.

“Not yet. Clock synchronized?”

She grimaced. She'd really upset him, before. “Yeah. Mab got her own times lined up?”

“Affirmative. Hey.”

May paused from where she was slipping her items back into her coat pockets. “Yeah?”

“Are you sure you're okay doing this by yourself? You really don't want someone outside in case things go sideways?”

She sighed, sitting back in the dirt, picking at the grass. “Yeah, I'm sure. I don't want you guys risking your necks when you're already wanted. I have the benefit of being unknown.”

“I know. But the second you're in, we're gonna lose contact. We're not gonna know how things went until you either show up, or you don't.”

May inhaled deeply again. “I'm coming home, Dib. I promise. No matter what happens, I'm going to get out.”

“...Okay. Want to review inventory use again?”

“No. I don't think so. I think I've put this off long enough,” she said, getting to her feet. “I'll see you soon.”

“Be careful,” he said, before the line went dead.

May turned back to the gate, mulling quietly. She pulled the coat tighter against her.

When this was over, she was going to apologize to him. For now, she put it out of her mind. She had work to do.

“Level two clearance is enough,” she explained, scribbling onto a sheet of paper before turning it to them. “It's research level. It's enough to access the basic files, and it's discreet. Most technicians and researchers would have them, it's not uncommon. What if I was a technician? I could access the files freely, without suspicion.”

Dib looked at the paper before him, trying to register its contents. It was a plan, certainly. But an insane one. “But we don't have a key card.”

May smiled. It wasn't a pleasant smile. She jutted her thumb at the woman in the corner.

“That's where she comes in.”

It was, at least, simple enough for a sparrow to slip into the shadows of the underground garage. Of course, no other animal would dare to do it, but something as small as a bird could at the very least avoid detection from, say, guards set at a vehicular exit checkpoint.

It was here that feather-fall turned into the click of boots on cement as May strode across the poorly lit garage to the thick metal door. Tersely, she swiped the key card. Moment of truth.

There was a small chime, and the elevator door opened.

Thank you, Bonnibel.

“You still have the data from Kass's old laptop, right?”

“Yeah,” Dib said cautiously, glancing from May to Bonnibel. “I made back-ups.”

May gave a small hum, leaning back in her chair. “That's years of pass codes, card encryptions, and employee emails with names and classified files.”

There was a moment, and then Dib lit up entirely. “Oh! And I still have the proxcloner from when we got ZiM!”

Bonnibel put a finger to her chin in thought. “I'm pretty sure I could make you a convincing enough Identification card, with all that, yeah. You sure you just want it to be level 2?”

“Doesn't matter,” came the short reply, as May grabbed the sheet again to outline a strategy. “Just needs to look convincing. Here's what I'm thinking.”

Heart in her ears, she stepped into the lion's den. The elevator began to descend. There might have been music playing softly, though it was hard to focus on the noise.

Even here, still above the facility itself, she could sense it. It crept upwards and outwards, like an oil spill. The deeply cemented fear, and unyielding closed-mindedness, was an assault to her empathic abilities that made her want to rub her temples to try ease the pressure.

She resisted the urge, instead squaring her shoulders and popping a piece of gum into her mouth as the elevator door slid open with a soft hiss.

The room she stepped into reminded her of a doctor's office lounge, if that doctor had decided the comfort of his patients was completely unnecessary, as well as good lighting. Beside the elevator, there was what seemed to be a receptionist's office behind a small window. Through the window, a woman was staring at May like she had placed a fish on her head.

May cleared her throat, and slid her badge through the small window. “Research specialist Helena Johnson, from Site 19. I was sent to transfer some D Class personnel to our site.”

The woman (whose badge read Clerical Associate Jasmine Young) examined the badge and the so-called specialist, and then examined her dossier with a growing expression of concern. “I'm sorry, Miss Johnson, there's no notice here about your check-in. I,” she said, looking rather nervous, “I'm afraid I can't let you in.”

May inhaled deeply, and then let out a faux sigh of exasperation. “Oh, Jesus Christ. You have gotta be kidding me,” she continued, watching the woman's face twist into anxiety. Yes, this one was a new one, from the looks of it. May had worked positions like hers, she knew the stress that haunted the beginning of every job. “First they ignore my emails, then they send me on a fuckin', what's it called,” she snapped her fingers at the receptionist, as though struggling for assistance, “when they've got me running back and forth.”

“Wild goose chase?” Jasmine offered with an uncertain smile.

“Maybe, god, what the heck was the phrase. All I know is Adams tells me to email Peters, Peters tells me to email Hertz, Hertz tells me to email Adams, and I'm losing my mind.” She feigned strangling a person, making a low noise of irritation. “Gaaah. Sorry, don't mean to take it out on you, I've just been getting the runaround for months now, and now I'm finally here and I'm supposed to just, what, go back?”

She hated being manipulative, she was never very good at it, but May watched Jasmine make a tiny grimace and hand her back her badge. “I—I'll call someone in. I, I'm sure they can sort it out with you while you're here.”

“Really? You'd do that?”

The woman looked utterly relieved to be diffusing the situation, and nodded. “Of course. It'd be a waste for you to come out for nothing. Have a seat.”

“Thank you Jasmine, holy crap, you're a lifesaver,” May said, with the brightest smile she could manage around her piece of gum. The smile she received was confirmation the ploy had worked, and she took a seat, examining the walls of the room with barely contained agitation.

The room, with its three doors and one elevator, was almost normal in every regard. Trash receptacle, posters, even a plastic potted plant tucked into one of the corners. Had it not been for the dim lighting and cement walls, it could have passed for any waiting room in the world.

She decided silently that she hated it.

It was very easy to hate the Foundation at a distance, and make plans against some general antagonistic force. It was another thing altogether to face individuals, convince each one nothing was amiss, and risk them all their jobs. It made her pulse race. Still, as the door across from the elevator opened and an agent stepped through, May shook his hand with a firmness that revealed none of her terror.

“Agent Dowling,” he introduced himself as. “Young tells me there's some confusion about paperwork not going through?”

“Yes,” May spoke carefully, returning her hands back into her pockets carefully. “I was sent from Site-19 to select and transfer some D-Class personnel to our site. We've run short, you see, because the testing we're doing has specific requirements of personnel that can be... of assistance.”

“Hm,” he said, gesturing her through the door, further into the site. “You're sure your site can't pick them up out of state penitentiaries?”

“Not really my call to make, sir,” she said with the air that she certainly agreed with him but her commentary on the matter had been ignored by her superiors. “They were very particular, so I just did my best to make it happen. If there's any issues getting this done, I'm sure we can handle them while I'm on site, right?”

“Of course, Johnson,” the agent said, leading her through the maze of halls. “It's just some D-Class personnel, not like you're moving active anomalous entities. I'll walk you to the archive room for your review, and get the paperwork ready while you're making your selection. Mind if we make a pit stop first?”

He had stopped by an open door, which upon inspection led to what seemed like a break room. Two agents were leaning against the counter by the coffee machine, while a third sat at the table cluttered with miscellaneous files and tools, staring absentmindedly at the cork board that lined the wall while he chewed slowly on a sad slice of pizza.

“I just want to grab something on the way, if you don't mind,” Dowling continued, moving towards a cabinet to rifle through its contents. “Do you want anything?”

May did not answer immediately. She was too preoccupied leaning over the table, inspecting the cork board. “What's this?” she asked instead.

What it was, was a whiteboard which had been divided into a grid by way of black marker lines. In the boxes were SCP numbers, day counts, and agent names. There were also, she noted with mounting concern, dollar amounts listed with the agent names.

Dowling did not look up, but one of the agents by the coffee pot was kind enough to chime in. “Betting board,” she said very concisely, pouring the fresh black sludge into her mug. “We've got an ex-agent D-Class and we're running a betting pool on how long he lasts and what takes him out.” When May turned to face her, the agent was grinning unpleasantly.

“I take it he wasn't very popular,” May said, in a guarded manner. She tried very hard to control her breathing. Her hand pressed flat to the table, as though to support her full weight.

“Honestly? It's a miracle he was never wiped out by friendly fire when he was in the field. You want in on the bets?”

“No, thank you,” she said, stepping away from the cork board to the counter. “I'm just passing through for the day. Even if I was right, I doubt any of you would take the time to make sure I got my winnings.”

She blew a small bubble, and the pop it gave was almost painful in her ears. Agent Dowling turned back to her, waving a granola bar at her pleasantly. “My weakness,” he joked, pocketing the chocolate and honey bar and turning back to the door. “Come on, the archive room isn't too far.”

She followed him back out stiffly, hands in her pockets. The manner with which she chewed the piece of gum in her mouth was almost violent, and if she was not careful, her tight grip on the mapping device she'd pocketed from the break room table might just crack.

Had there been any thought of empathy, any consideration for such thinking, it had been burned out into ashes and blown away at the sight of the betting board. Hell, there was a part of her (and it was not a part May was particularly proud of) that would be happy to run back into any of those agents in the break room on the way out, if only to tear their hearts out of their chests. She could always claim it was out of necessity.

But that wasn't the point. That didn't matter. With every ounce of self control she owned, she reigned in her fury and redirected it back to her current task. Proactiveness was vindictive. Success was revenge enough.

“Here,” Dowling finally said, opening the door for her politely. “Our systems have all the personnel on hand, so if there are specific parameters, you shouldn't have too much problem narrowing it down. Need a hand with the system?”

“No,” May said in a manner she hoped wasn't curt, “I think the system is similar enough to ones on my own site. I'm a fast learner, in any case.”

“Sure thing. Printer's in the corner, and I'll head back to my office and sort out paperwork for transfers. When you're done, just print out the files of the personnel you want, and any agent can point you in my direction.”

“Thank you, Agent Dowling.”

She grit her jaw, and offered her hand. The agent shook it pleasantly, and left her to her work.

The computer was slow, infuriatingly so, and more than once May found herself gritting her teeth so tight she thought they might crack. Her hands shook as she searched through files as fast as the dated machine would let her.

The files had no names. Some of them had redacted information, others had large letters superimposed over the paperwork, that read in haunting terms, TERMINATED, DECOMMISSIONED, words that knotted up her stomach and made her joints ache with stiff fear.

Descriptions were all she had to go by, at this point. With no names, she was forced to use descriptions and cross compare. Height, eye color, hair color—those only got her so far, in reality. Every second she didn't find his file, Kass might have been pushed out into another containment room. What if he was already dead? Why was this taking so long?

Her eyes were beginning to burn. She rubbed them, and found her fingers wet, her nails chewed to nubs. Oh, this was pathetic. She had to hold herself together. She had to focus.

Her heart raced without her permission as she scanned file after file, looking for information that would confirm or rule out the subject. This one had no prominent features, that one had scars listed but no mention of history with Foundation. Where, where was it.

There.

D-120180

HGHT: 5'11”

EYE CLR: Brown

HAIR CLR: Magenta

AGE: Approx 40

PROMINENT FEATURES: Scar on forehead

PERTINENT INFORMATION:

D-120180, previously identified as Field Agent [_________], has a history of attacking personnel when given opportunity. D-120180 has previous encounters with Site 17 SCP specimens, and is believed to be connected to SCP-7772 and SCP-7772B. D-120180 is tenacious and considered capable, and should only be used to test Euclid and higher classed SCP objects.

FURTHER INFORMATION:

See information on SCP-457, contained in Site-23 after containment in [____].

May blinked.

This was Kass, certainly. The information listed described his connection to both the site and to Dib, and there was no superimposed stamp of termination. By all accounts, she should feel relieved. All the information needed to find him was here, under the listed information. SCP experiments he'd taken part in, his containment chamber. There was no doubt.

There was a secondary file connected to this. She opened it.

SCP-457 Alleged Encounters Before Containment

SCP-457 is alleged to have been focused in [___], CALIFORNIA before its containment in [____]. Current believed encounters include [____], CALIFORNIA in 1970, [____], CALIFORNIA in 1986 (See: D-120180), [____], CALIFORNIA in 1991, [____], CALIFORNIA in 2003, [____], CALIFORNIA in 2005, [____], [_____] in 2006.

She stared for a long, long moment, feeling more questions forming. California, 1986. Why was Kass connected to that? He would have been too young to be an agent, he would have been—

He would have been maybe seven years old.

May shook her head sharply. It didn't matter in this moment. It didn't help her. She could worry about it later.

She grabbed a blank sheet of paper from the printer, scribbling onto it with the pen she'd brought with her, and then folded it and shoved it in her pocket. After a beat, she pulled the piece of gum from her mouth, stuck it under the desk she had been working at, and pulled out a fresh piece to pop it into her cheek.

Kass's gun weighed heavy on her hip, a cool reminder of where she was. She'd get it to him soon enough.

Dowling would not come looking for her, he had said as much. He was expecting her to find him when she was done, which meant she had time before anyone would become suspicious. Quickly, May exited the archive room and began to weave through the maze of halls.

The anxiety in her stomach built with every turn of the corner. It became a matter of trying to not get lost while she tore pieces of the gum she was chewing and pressed them into the seams of the wall, before backtracking and beginning again. There were moments where an agent would pass her by and May's heart would stutter in her throat, but they would walk past her without so much as a glance.

So long as she acted like she belonged, nobody was the wiser.

A many legged beast, each leg so busy with what it's doing it has no time to worry about the million other legs like it.

The D-Class containment cells were two levels down. She pulled out the mapping device, noting the positions of paroling officers. There were surprisingly fewer guards than she expected; it would make the extraction easier. She avoided them with an ease that felt almost suspicious.

It was so strange, she thought, briskly walking past cell doors and scanning the numbers. She had never been a very good liar. She had expected to set off someone's radar by now, at least arouse suspicion. Yet there had been nothing.

If this worked, then she would go home and tell Dib that she never had anything to worry about. Like she had always known.

The cell door was to her right. She inhaled deeply, trying to compose herself. For a moment, May allowed herself the indulgence of a tiny prayer to any deity that would listen.

Please, please let him still be here. Please let him not have been taken to another monster. Please let him be here for me.

She pulled out her key card, holding her breath, and placed it in front of the scanner beside the door. It chimed pleasantly, and the door slid open with a single smooth noise.

May released the breath she was holding, and spoke.

“Up and at it, Kass.”

[TRANSMISSION INTERRUPTED—RECONNECTING...]

#may writes #may loves teslaverse #And In the End

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