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thdorkmagnet · 4 years

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Light of the Sun and Stars Chapter 40: Mewberty

A/N: It’s also Light of the Sun and Stars three year anniversary today, yay!

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: Marco isn’t feeling well and has no idea why he’s feeling extra clingy toward Star or his body is suddenly so itchy and uncomfortable among other sudden changes. He doesn’t want to worry his friends but the longer he waits the worse his condition seems to get. Can Star and the others figure out what’s wrong or will Butterfly Castle suffer from Marco’s unexpected transformation?

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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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Marco wasn't feeling well. This shouldn't really be too surprising since it wasn't like he had never been sick before. He used to get a fever or a cough here and there growing up, causing every Monster in the castle to go into panic mode, rushing around like crazed maniacs trying to find a way to cure him of his illness, bringing him soup and medicine and hot water and basically anything the boy was in need of. Even the normally calm Buff Frog would be on edge during this time, flinching every time the boy coughed or sneezed and refused to leave his son's side for even a moment until Marco was completely one-hundred percent cured. And even after Marco had gotten over his initial aliment the Monsters still insisted he stay in bed an extra day, just to be sure he was okay (which Marco always thought was a bit excessive but figured his dad and the Monsters knew best).

Toffee was the only one who seemed to not be affected by the boy's condition. He usually just watched the boy from afar, his blank stare burning into Marco's skin, the boy easily picking up on his aggression in those moments, knowing that the lizard was angry with him for halting missions with his weak immune system but knew better than to say anything with the other Monsters around. But it was ironically due to Toffee's rule of not being allowed to leave the castle or his room most of the time that Marco was spared from suffering any major illnesses or diseases that most Mewmans have. But it was also due to this horrible rule that Marco had zero idea what it was he was sick with now, his very limited knowledge of Mewman illnesses doing nothing to help him determine what exactly he had.

This was the first time he had been sick since moving to Butterfly Castle, after all. Which meant he was completely lost on what exactly it was making him feel so weird today.

Since the moment he woke up that morning, something had felt off to Marco. His body felt strangely floaty and his arms and legs almost felt numb, like they weren't attached to him or something. And yet at the same time, he was aware of every sensation in his body at once and all of them were almost supercharged. His rumbling stomach felt like it was trying to cause an earthquake, his eyelids still heavy from just waking up felt like they were made of bricks, and his back felt super itchy for some reason.

But most of all, he couldn't stop thinking about Star.

This shouldn't be too unusual, I mean most of his thoughts revolved around her, but today it was to the absolute most extreme it had ever been. From the second he opened his eyes, the first thing that popped in his head was I need to see Star.

Once he climbed out of bed and started to change into his hoodie and jeans he couldn't stop thinking about going to see Star, her smile, her laugh, her eyes, all of it circling in his head so much he couldn't hardly focus and he almost ended up putting his hoodie on backward.

When he went downstairs, he ran into Jackie and Janna in the hallway and nearly groaned in disappointment that Star wasn't amongst them. He didn't hear a word they said to him the rest of the way to the dining room, the only thought in his head being a constant chant of: Star. Star. Star. Need to see her. Need to see Star.

And the moment he did see her, he had been so elated he had practically leapt into her arms, much to her surprise, the girl barely even having time to let out a simple greeting before being tackled to the floor. Jackie, Janna, Moon, River, and Lily had all stared dumbfounded as Marco clung tightly to his bestie, saying over and over again how happy he was to see her. Star, for the most part, didn't show too much concern, though she did flush in embarrassment from their audience, telling the boy she was happy to see him and gently hugged him back. After a few minutes though, Marco hadn't even lessened his grip, content to just lay on the dining room floor all day if need be, but when Star had asked to please be let up, the boy had reacted instantly, standing straight up, almost robotically.

This had also seemed to concern the others, but they said nothing of it, trying to ignore the awkward moment, all sitting down to eat their breakfast like nothing had happened. Star, however, turned to Marco and asked, "What was that about anyway?"

The boy shrugged, replying honestly, "I just missed you is all."

Star giggled, saying teasingly, "Seriously. But we just had date night like... last night. We went to the Dimension of a Thousand Sunsets, remember?"

"Yes, but that was hours ago," Marco said, a cute little pout on his face as he clung to his bestie's arm. "I had to go all night without seeing you."

Star seemed shocked by this for a second, but it quickly melted into a loving smile as she gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "Aw, Marco, you're adorable!" she gushed.

The two had quickly joined the others for breakfast, only Marco barely ate, all his attention focused on Star to the point he couldn't keep his eyes off her. Not to mention every time he did take a bite of his breakfast a wave of nausea overwhelmed him and he soon realized he didn't have the stomach for cereal at the moment, simply setting his spoon down next to his bowl.

Moon seemed to notice this, asking him, "Marco, are you feeling okay? You've hardly touched your breakfast."

"Uh, I'm not in the mood for this today," the hooded teen said with a shrug.

"But it's Captain Blanches Sugar Seeds," Jackie pointed out, looking at him incredulously. "Your favorite."

"Guess I'm just not hungry right now," Marco replied shyly.

Star frowned at that, but said nothing, though Marco saw her casting worried glances his way every so often.

After breakfast, the itching set in.

What had originally started in just his back, soon began to spread to his arms, legs, neck, everything, until an hour and a half later his whole body was annoyingly itchy. Marco squirmed in his seat the whole time Skullnick gave him, Star, and Jackie the knight's report about Monster and Mewman incidents all across Mewni (which always sounded more like she was lecturing them like school children than simply briefing) while the hooded teen fought the urge to scratch every inch of his irritated skin. For the most part, he managed to remain still, though he never heard a word the general said, and he did occasionally use his chair as a back scratch whenever nobody was looking. Or so he thought, a pair of keen blue eyes watching him out of the corner of his eye every time he moved so much as an inch.

And if that hadn't been enough to distract him, there was the fact that his chair was right next to Star's and Marco could almost sense her presence next to him, completely aware of her form mere inches away from him. As the meeting ran on, Marco found himself seeking her touch more and more, his fingers twitching in anticipation for her warm palm in his. Eventually, the desire grew too strong for him and he slowly reached out a hand, gently grabbing Star's from underneath the table and the blond smiled to herself, before giving it a quick squeeze.

But then a weird sensation spread through Marco's hand, a tingling and burning feeling that caused Marco to literally cry out in surprise, startling everyone in the meeting room and making Star instantly let go. Soon, all eyes were on him and the hooded teen felt his cheeks flush in embarrassment, which felt like his cheeks were literally on fire with his heightened senses. "S-Sorry," he managed to stammer out, wanting nothing more than to dive under the table and out of sight.

Star, immediately picking up on her boyfriend's distress, took charge of the situation and turning to the knights said in the most regal tone she had, "Can you guys give us a minute?"

Everyone except Jackie immediately left the room, giving the princess and her boyfriend their privacy, though Skullnick looked none too happy about it, frowning and grumbling under her breath the whole way.

Once the doors were shut, Star turned to her boyfriend with a concerned look and asked, "Are you okay, Marco? You've been acting strange all morning."

The boy nodded shyly, before muttering out, "Yeah, I guess I just feel weird today."

"Are you getting sick?" Jackie asked looking equally worried.

"Maybe," Marco replied, scratching at his arm now that nobody was around to notice it. "But I'm not really sure. I didn't get sick a whole lot with Buff Frog and everybody."

Star watched this for a moment before asking, "Are you feeling itchy?"

Marco nodded, admitting, "Yeah." He scratched his arm a bit more before moving to his neck. "It wasn't that bad before but now it's starting to feel real bad."

"And I'm guessing you being sick is why you didn't feel like eating anything this morning," Jackie observed.

Star pressed a hand to the boy's forehead, which caused him to immediately flush bright red against his will, his whole face tingling from her touch. "Hmmm, feels like you might be running a fever too."

"Sounds to me like the chickenpox?" Jackie suggested and Star nodded in agreement.

"That's what I was thinking," Star said.

Marco looked between the two with wide eyes, asking nervously, "Am I... gonna turn into a chicken?"

The two girls laughed, Jackie shaking her head. "No, Marco, you aren't gonna turn into a chicken," the skater girl reassured him and the boy breathed a sigh of relief.

"But you should probably lay down for a while," Star said and the boy instantly frowned at the idea of leaving Star's side, giving his girlfriend a hurt look.

"But what about your meeting later with Mayor Butch and the other Monster leaders?" Marco pointed out sadly. "Don't you need me there to help. "

"Wellll," Star began, thinking her words over carefully. She knew how much that meeting had meant to him, Marco had been the one to help set it up in the first place. "It would be nice sure but I'm more concerned about you getting better. Your health comes first, Marco."

The boy let out a long sigh, before muttering softly, "Yeah I guess."

Star, seeing her boyfriend's downtrodden face, felt her will break and added hesitantly, "Hey, if you really want, I could cancel the meeting for today-"

"No, you don't need to do that," the hooded teen said, shaking his head, despite wanting so badly to say otherwise. He didn't want Star to leave, could barely stand the idea of her being away from him for more than a few minutes, but some sane, more rational part of his brain was able to remind himself what was at stake. "You should go. Just because I have to stay home doesn't mean you need to."

"Yeah but," Star muttered worriedly, biting her lip. She stared deep into her boyfriend's eyes before asking softly, "Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"I'll be fine," Marco reassured her, giving her what he hoped was a lighthearted grin. "I just need some sleep like you said."

Star nodded slowly, looking on the verge of changing her mind but finally agreed, saying, "Okay, but if you need me for anything, anything at all, just call me and I'll come right back." Marco felt his heart begin to pound with some powerful emotion as his girlfriend's beautiful face lit up with a mind-numbing smile.

"Sounds good to me," Marco said returning the grin with one of his own, while his mind was screaming, Star don't go! He did his best to ignore his inner thoughts as he stood up from his chair, reluctantly saying, "Well I should probably go lay down before I get any worse."

"I'll go with you," Star said, standing herself, and Marco's face lit up knowing he would have Star by his side a little longer, his heart practically leaping for joy, fighting to free itself from his chest. The blond royal turned to Jackie and said, "Tell everyone I'll be back soon, okay?"

"No problem," the skater responded immediately. The two had only taken a step before she added, "Oh do you also want me to call Buff Frog and tell him Marco isn't feeling well?"

"No you better let me do that," Marco replied instantly. "Dad gets crazy overprotective whenever I get sick and the others just kinda lose it, I don't want them to freak out too much."

Star giggled at that, before commenting, "So guess we can be expecting a visit from your family later?"

"If they don't take me home with them where they can watch me morning, day and night," Marco replied with an exhausted sigh.

"Not gonna lie, Buff Frog losing it is hard to imagine," Jackie said with a playful grin. The other two teens giggled in agreement, before heading out the door again, the skater waving the two off.

As Star walked Marco to his room, the young couple spent a few moments in blissful silence, no words needed as they just enjoyed each others presence in the quiet hallway. Marco couldn't stop himself from continually casting glances in his girlfriend's direction, trying to ignore the tingling that seemed to be spreading through his whole nervous system, making him jittery and hyper. He felt alert to Star's every movement, the way she walked, the way her face lit up every time she glanced his way, the way her hair bounced with every step. Everything. It wasn't the first time he had noticed these things about Star, the simple act of her breathing enough to capture his interest and attention, but it felt different now.

Star was his whole world sure, but now she was the world. Nothing else mattered. Just Star. Just being near Star. Just seeing Star. Just smiling at Star. Just touching Star. Just kissing Star. Just holding Star's hand. Just-

"Marco!" Star screamed, finally managing to capture the boy's attention as he reeled back in shock.

"Huh?" he asked numbly, blinking a few times at his girlfriend in confusion.

"I said we're here," Star explained patiently, gesturing over to Marco's door.

The boy turned in that direction, before his cheeks flushed in embarrassment, muttering, "Oh. Guess we are." He began scratching at his cheeks, giving his bestie a sheepish look as he chuckled awkwardly. "I, uh, I didn't notice."

Star just laughed. "I kinda figured," she replied with a wink.

A silence settled over the two again, Star and Marco shifting uncomfortably on their feet, neither teen quite ready to say goodbye yet. The hooded boy bit his lip in the cutest way, Star nervously playing with a strand of hair as they just stared at the floor. But after another minute of the awkward silence, Marco cleared his throat, before saying softly, "Well I guess I should probably..." He pointed over at his door, still fighting the inner voice in his head that was begging Star to stay with him.

"Yeah, I guess you should," Star agreed, her sad face a perfect match to how Marco currently felt.

"So yeah," the boy said awkwardly, stalling the conversation for as long as he could. "Uhhh, I guess I'll let you go back to the meeting and I'll just, y'know, sleep for a while."

Star nodded. "Okay, I'll call a doctor soon, have him take a look at you just so we know for sure what we're dealing with," the blond said. "Don't want it getting any worse."

"Cool, cool," Marco agreed with a nod of his head. He paused for a moment, clapping his hands together as he shot the girl a grin. "Well then..." And in a last desperate attempt to drag things out with Star a little longer, he reached slowly over toward his doorknob, speaking in a deliberately drawn-out manner, making sure to pause on each word for as long as possible, "I'lllll juuussttt gooooo."

Star just smiled at her boyfriend's precious attempts to stall, moving at the speed of a sloth, and she couldn't help but lean over and plant a loving kiss to his cheek, causing the boy to instantly freeze up. Star took advantage of this as she opened the door for him, helping him inside as his limbs suddenly felt like pudding, the blond royal practically dragging Marco into his own room. "Sleep tight, Marco, I'll come check on you later," she whispered, giving him a quick hug that made Marco's whole body heat up and start tingling again, the weird feeling returning tenfold.

"Uh-huh," he somehow managed to get out, a goofy grin on his face as he watched Star blow him one last kiss from the doorway before waving to him and closing the door, the beautiful smile on her face ingrained permanently into Marco's memory.

The moment she was gone the boy collapsed to the ground with a love-sick sigh, the brightest smile imaginable on his face as his mind replayed the moment he had just shared with his beautiful bestie. And for a moment, the fact that he was alone didn't matter, the pull at his heartstrings and the voice at the back of his mind whining about Star being gone didn't bother Marco in the slightest. The only thing the boy could focus on right then was the tingling sensation in his cheek from where Star had kissed him, gently rubbing it as he felt his heart float around in his chest.

But as Marco pulled his hand away he felt something stick to his fingertips. He sat up, staring down at his palm in confusion, only to see a small orange sun just like his cheekmark laying in his hand. "Huh, that's new," the boy muttered softly, absentmindedly scratching at his arm with his free hand.

After a moment or two though, Marco's curiosity made him pull back the sleeve on his hood only to gasp in surprise as even more of the 'sunspots' covered his skin, running all up and down his arm, all identical to his sun cheekmarks save for hue. The boy blinked a few times, before frowning. He had heard of Mewnian acne before but he had never had it himself. "Maybe this is a symptom of chickenpox?" he concluded, pulling his sleeve back up, before pulling himself into bed. "I'll ask Star when she gets back," he muttered tiredly before closing his eyes tight.

Soon Marco was asleep, snoring softly in the safety and comfort of his room, dreaming of Star and her bright smile. For a few minutes, nothing happened, but soon another sunspot appeared on his skin, then another and another and another until his whole body was covered in them. But they didn't stop there, soon they were piling up all over the bed and floor, Marco remaining oblivious to it all in his unconscious state. Soon an orange cocoon had formed around the hooded teen. And from within this large cocoon, Marco's body slowly began to change.

...

Later that afternoon, after Star had already left for her meeting, Jackie and Janna decided to stop by Marco's room to check up on him, carrying get well gifts for their sick friend, a stuffed bunny that said 'Get well soon' on its chest from Jackie and a new book for Marco to read while stuck in bed from Janna. The two had both promised Star to keep an eye on the boy since the doctor would be running late with another more serious case, apparently one of Pony Head's sisters Teta coming down with an emergency case of what he referred to as 'horn-itis' (but according to Pony Head was just another scheme by her sisters to take her throne) and neither had heard a word from Buff Frog or the other Monsters. That left Marco in the care of Jackie and Janna, both of which were confident they could look after the boy and help him with whatever he needed to get better. After all, it was just the chickenpox.

"You think we should have brought him some soup or something?" Jackie suddenly asked her friend.

Janna shrugged. "I don't really see how it would do much good since he didn't really seem to have much of an appetite before," the creepy teen pointed out. "What we should have brought him was that healing potion I was telling you about."

"Uhh, pass," Jackie replied, with a roll of her eyes. "Marco needs medicine, not some weird goop you heard about from who knows where."

"It was Violet for the record and it's not poison if that's what you're worried about."

"It wasn't. I'm just saying we aren't giving Marco any strange liquids, poisonous or otherwise."

Janna let out a dejected sigh, grumbling, "Fine, have it your way."

The two stopped as they reached the door to Marco's room, Jackie raising a hand to knock, turning to Janna to say something. But whatever thought she had died on her lips as her hand hit the door frame, a cascade of tiny suns raining down around them through the cracks in the door. The skater let out a startled gasp, shuffling away from the door as quickly as she could, the two staring at the pile of orange shapes on the ground before sharing a concerned look.

"You don't think," Jackie began but Janna was quick to nod.

"Oh, I think," the beanie-wearing girl replied.

The skater bit her lip before slowly approaching the door again, grabbing firmly onto the doorknob, sucking in a deep breath in anticipation before pulling the door open. She stood behind the door, watching as a mountain of suns filled the hallway, Janna having to take a step back to avoid getting any on her. Once the sunspots seemed to have settled, the skater peeked around the door, looking into Marco's room with wide eyes. At least she would have if there wasn't another massive pile of sunspots blocking the entire entrance.

Jackie gave Janna a startled look, the teen just shrugging in response, silently conveying her own loss at what to do. The skater just held in a breath as she took a risky step closer to Marco's room, saying in a soft tone, "Marco. Are you in there?" Then, in an even greater risk, she slowly and steadily raised a hand and placed it on the sticky pile of sunspots, her body tensing up in fear.

For a few seconds, nothing happened and Jackie slowly began to relax, letting out a breath of relief, that was until she heard a voice say, "Starrrrr..."

And then in a flash, a hand emerged from the pile Jackie just barely managing to pull her own hand away in time to avoid getting grabbed. But the movement had been so quick and sudden that she stumbling back and into Janna, the two collapsing onto the floor in a heap. The two watched wide-eyed as a body slowly began to rise from within the mountain of sunspots, the new form of Marco now hovering in the air above them.

His skin had turned a light orange color, his hoodie now a bright, almost blinding, red, large clumps of red sunspots clearly seen decorating the soft cloth. His jeans were now orange, tinged with yellow at the ends and his shoes were bright red. His hair was flatter than usual, lacking its typical bounce or spikes, instead it all hung loosely over his eyes. It was also now red with streaks of yellow in it. His eyes were devoid of pupils, instead just two glowing white dots that matched the burning glow of his cheekmarks. His mole now stood out much more on his orange-tinted face, looking like the only thing that hadn't been transformed with the rest of him.

But the changes to his appearance didn't stop there, he was now also sporting an extra pair of arms that seemed to have ripped out from the sides of his hoodie, more red suns clinging to the soft skin, gleaming in the light of the hallway. And to top it off, he now had a pair of light red, almost translucent, wings that flapped lazily behind him, the same sun designs that dotted his arms and hoodie seen on them as well.

The two girls stared at their friend for a few seconds before Janna said in a deadpan, "Yep, it's Mewberty."

"Definitely Mewberty," the skater instantly agreed with a quick nod.

The two stood, walking slowly and steadily over to their floating friend, Jackie keeping her hands raised to show him she meant no harm. Marco, meanwhile, was too busy scanning the bright hallway to notice them, his glowing eyes in search of something, his wings fluttering behind him in almost anxiety. "Hey Marco," Jackie greeted softly and the boy's eyes flicked over to her, his head cocking to the side as he observed the two familiar forms. "That's right, it's just me and Janna. You remember us, right?"

The boy's head cocked to the other side. "You remember that we're your friends, don't you?" Jackie asked, smiling at the boy with her typical cool radiance.

The boy leaned a little closer, his face still blank, as he raised a hand and Jackie instinctively flinched but didn't dare take a step away. But she blinked in surprise as Marco began poking her speckled cheek with his finger. "Uh, Marco what are you doing?"

The boy simply smiled, recognition flashing across his features, as he droned out, "Frienndd."

"Yeah, Marco that's right, we're your friends," Jackie said in slight relief. This was going better than expected.

But suddenly, the boy's smile vanished as he droned out the word, "Sttttaaarrr."

"Uh Star's not here right now," Jackie said in a soft tone. "She went to that meeting with the Monsters, remember?"

"Staarrrr," the boy continued, his head flicking from left to right in search of his mate.

"Yeah, I don't think he remembers, Jacks," Janna spoke up.

"Okay Marco, we'll bring you Star, don't worry," Jackie reassured the hooded teen, before turning to Janna, speaking in a low whisper. "Jan, what is going on? How is he going through Mewberty right now?"

"Well when a Mewman reaches a certain age their body begins changing in many ways-" the creepy teen began in her typical sarcastic tone.

"I know why it's happening!" the skater hissed, glaring at her roommate. "I mean how come he didn't go through this sooner, Star's Mewberty was like three years ago."

Janna shrugged. "Star was an exception. Most Mewmans go through Mewberty at fourteen or fifteen," the girl explained.

Jackie let out a sigh, but didn't question it any further, returning her focus to the task at hand, as she said, "Okay well, firsts things first, we need to get Marco somewhere safe before something bad happens."

"Uhhh, yeah I think that's gonna be kinda a problem," Janna said, her eyes widening some.

"What? Why?" Jackie asked in confusion.

"Because he already flew away," the creepy teen deadpanned, Jackie turning on her heels only to see Marco was missing. But a loud shattering of glass a few seconds later alerted them to his new location farther down the hall. "Oh no," Jackie muttered before running after the boy, Janna close on her heels.

When they reached the next hall they quickly spotted Marco, who was zipping around the hallway clearly in search of something, picking up priceless vases from their mantels before tossing them unwanted to the floor, opening doors (sometimes even ripping them off their hinges if they were locked) and scanning the rooms before moving on to the next one. "What is he doing?" Jackie asked after a moment of watching their friend's odd behavior.

"I think he's still looking for Star," Janna said, though she looked slightly unnerved by the boy's actions.

At the mention of Star, Marco turned to face the two, his glowing orbs almost piercing through them as they jumped in surprise. "Starrrr?" the boy questioned, cocking his head to the side again.

"We already told you, Marco," Jackie began, keeping her voice low and quiet. "Star's not here right now, remember?"

"Staaaarrrrrrr," the boy muttered nervously, his wings flapping a bit irregularly than before, clearly growing agitated.

"But we can take you to her," Jackie continued, taking a risky step forward, holding out a hand to the boy. "Just trust us. Please."

Marco eyed the hand cautiously for a few seconds, making no move closer and the two girls held their breath in anticipation. Finally, the boy seemed to overcome his safety instincts and slowly reached out toward his friend's waiting palm and Jackie and Janna silently sighed in relief.

That was until a loud voice yelled out through the hallways, the clear voice of Skullnick barking orders to her knights drawing Marco's attention away from his friend and onto the new sound. Jackie could see a new decision flashing across her friend's neutral face and quickly said, "Marco, no. That's not Star. Don't-"

But her words fell of deaf ears as the boy took off down the hallway at an incredible speed, the burst of wind startling the girls as they were left blinking in shock for a few seconds, the boy vanishing from sight. "Whoa, wasn't expecting that," Janna commented.

"Come on, we gotta catch him!" Jackie exclaimed before chasing after the boy again, hoping he didn't get into too much trouble. If it was anything like Star's Mewberty than the entire castle could be at risk. Star had nearly destroyed the castle in her emotional and magical outburst, and Jackie remembered that as one of the most intense seven hours of her life as they all did their best to wait out her transformation. She had basically gone on a rampage, attacking anything she considered hostile, and the only reason they had calmed her down long enough to give her some medicine to weaken the effect was because they had used Oskar as bait to draw her out.

And even then it had taken several, long hours for her to turn back to normal. And Queen Moon had even said that sometimes Mewmans could go even longer depending on their magical level or emotional state. Meaning who knew how long Marco would be stuck this way. Jackie forced herself to push these thoughts aside for the moment, focusing all her energy and thought process into finding her friend. She could worry about the rest later.

Meanwhile, in another wing of the castle, the fully transformed Marco was still desperately searching for his missing mate, the sound of voices echoing, confusing the Mewman's fuzzy brain, putting him even more on edge. Marco, in his scared primal state, didn't quite understand what was happening to him, all he knew was his desire to find Star. Nothing else mattered. He needed Star. He had to find her. Find Star. Find Star. And with that single-minded goal in mind the boy pressed on, flying further and deeper into the castle, his glowing eyes constantly scanning his surroundings for both threats and for Star.

The boy paused though as he heard voices coming from within one of the rooms and Marco practically lunged for the door in his haste to open it, his brain momentarily convinced he had found his mate. But instead, he saw the forms of Daisy and Violet who sat around the former's tea table, both too engrossed in watching their pet snake devouring a ruby crystal to notice the boy. "Aww Edith's so cute when she eats," Violet commented.

"She'd be even cuter if you let me put that dress on her," Daisy replied.

"No way! Edith is too cool to wear pink," Violet argued.

"Then what about blue?" Daisy suggested hopefully, even holding up a tiny blue dress to show her twin.

Violet gagged. "Uh uh, not gonna happen."

Marco, the whole time this was going on, just floated there stunned before finally recovering enough to ask the question, "Stttaarrr?"

Neither twin even bothered to look up as Violet said with a quick wave, "Oh hey, Big Brother."

"Star's not here," Daisy added, never taking her eyes off of Edith as she pointed behind her. "You should check the meeting room. She's always in there."

Marco looked over in that direction, continuing to mutter, "Staarr." But he turned back to the girls for just a second as he added, "Thaannks."

"Yep, no problem, Big Brother," Violet said, doing a short wave goodbye.

"Good luck!" Daisy added just as the door slammed shut.

After a moment, Daisy looked up at her sister asking, "Did Big Brother seem weird to you?"

Violet shrugged. "Not really."

A few seconds later the door flew open again as a panting Jackie asked, "Have you girls seen Marco?"

"Yeah, he was headed to the meeting room," Daisy explained, pointing in that direction again.

"Okay thanks," Jackie replied with slight relief, but she added quickly, "Oh, and don't leave your room for a little while. It's not safe."

"Okay," Violet said, still distracted by Edith.

The door closed again and the two sisters shared a look. "What was that about?" Daisy asked.

"No idea," Violet replied. "Probably just some dumb grown-up stuff."

There was a pause before Daisy added, "What about a skirt?"

"We aren't playing dress-up with Edith!" Violet shouted.

…

Skullnick paced in front of the line of knights before her, staring each of them down with a hard, dissatisfied glare as she got ready to berate them as she had done many times before. The group was standing in the general's own personal war room as she called it when really it was more of a large office. "I can't believe you imbeciles!" she shouted, causing everyone present except Higgs to flinch. "How hard is it to find one stinking Monster?! You've had all this time to track him down and we are no closer to finding him than we were months ago! We are supposed to be the best of the best, but thanks to your incompetence we're now the laughingstock of Mewni!"

"Um, but ma'am nobody even knows about that-" one of the shaking knights began only to be immediately shot down as Skullnick snapped, "Well I know and I'm saying it's inexcusable!"

The knight whimpered before stuttering, "Y-Yes ma'am! S-So sorry, ma'am!"

"As far as I'm concerned the only one here with half a brain cell is Higgs!" Skullnick gesturing over to the girl who stood just a little bit taller, a smug look on her face as the general addressed her. "At least she has been pulling her weight around here, instead of slacking off!"

"Thank you general," the redhead replied, saluting her superior.

Jak and Dex who had stood silently on the sidelines this whole time, couldn't help but praise the girl's success, Jak shouting in support, "Whoo-hoo you go Higgs!" Both of the lowly guards began clapping and smiling goofily at the girl's success, but this only caused the young knight to flush, completely humiliated by her dad and his friend. But thankfully it didn't last long as one stern glare from Skullnick instantly stopped the two guards' celebration, dropping their hands and standing at attention.

"And you two, how many times do I have to tell you to stay at your post!" Skullnick screamed and the two cringed openly.

"But we just wanted to see-" Jak began, only for the general to point a viscous finger at the door, screaming, "Get going!"

The two jumped to fulfill the orders, running from the room as fast as they could, Higgs face-palming at her dad's stupidity, doing her best to ignore the judging stares from the other knights.

Jak and Dex both breathed a sigh of relief once out of the large office, both visibly shaken by the general's harsh attitude, leaning against the wall for support as their bodies shook with fear. "Man Skullsy gets scarier and scarier every day," Jak commented and Dex silently nodded.

"Come on, we should get going before she starts screaming at us again," Dex said, the two about to head down the hallway when a shadow fell over them and the two looked up startled only to scream in fright at what they saw. Jackie and Janna heard the terrified shrieks from farther down the hall and both shared concerned looks, not having to guess to know the source of those screams. Oh no, the two girls thought as one, quickening their pace.

Marco, meanwhile, just stared down at Jak and Dex curiously, watching as the two scrambled to get back into Skullnick's office, the two pushing each other out of the way as they both fumbled with the doorknob. Finally, the two managed to get the door open, rushing inside before slamming the door shut behind them.

Skullnick and the other knights all stared at them with a mixture of shock and annoyance, Higgs looking like she wanted the ground underneath her to open up and swallow her whole. None of them seemed even slightly concerned at the two men's panic, the troll general barking out, "What is it now?!"

The two stuttered out an explanation, pointing behind them as they tried to convey their frantic message but their words turned into a jumbled and indecipherable mess, which only seemed to humiliate Higgs more and more, the girl's face nearly redder than her hair color at this point. The general also seemed unamused with their pointless ramblings, rolling her eyes and snapping, "Jak! Dex!"

The two froze in place at the raised tone, turning to statues before Skullnick's eyes, completely petrified and afraid to so much as blink, and sensing her opening said, "Could one of you please explain to me why you interrupted my meeting... again!"

"It's a Code Purple ma'am!!" Jak managed to scream and the other knights all gasped in fright. Code Purple. That could only mean one thing. Mewberty.

"What? Who?" was all Skullnick managed to get out before the door to the room was pulled off the hinges, every knight staring in shock and disbelief as the transformed Marco flew into the large office, his eyes gazing around intently. "Marco?" Higgs whispered under her breath.

The boy looked around for a few seconds more before flying out of the room. There was a beat of silence before the knights all reacted, at once Skullnick shouting to her lackeys, "Code Purple! We have a Code Purple! Put the castle on lockdown! And secure the target! We have a fully-mutated Mewberty case here!"

The other knights all jumped into action after that, some running from the office to try and warn the other guards, while others headed after Marco, who seemed oblivious to the panicked atmosphere he was causing, still too busy searching for Star to care about anything else. Jackie and Janna finally caught up to their friend and seeing the knights chasing after him, they both quickly ran to his side, holding up their arms and blocking the knights off from getting any closer to Marco. "Wait, stop. Stay away from him!" Jackie screamed.

"We can't do that," Skullnick proclaimed, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "Marco's in full Mewberty, he needs to be secured."

"But Marco's not going to hurt anyone, he's just confused," Jackie argued desperately, gesturing behind her to where the boy hovered, looking around at the Mewmans that now surrounded him in confusion. "We need to take him to Star." Marco's head snapped over to Jackie at the mention of his mate's name, his wings now fluttering eagerly.

But Skullnick didn't seem convinced, shaking her head and saying firmly, "No way! Orders are orders and I was told that any of the castle staff who suffer from Mewberty must be contained immediately."

"But he recognized me, he's not mindless like Star was," Jackie tried but her words now fell on deaf ears as Skullnick took a determined step closer, the other knights shuffling closer as well.

"Doesn't matter, that's a risk I'm not going to take," the general declared, her eyes digging into Jackie's skin. Her gaze darkened as she added, "Now stand aside so that I can do my job."

Jackie shook her head, saying with determination she didn't feel, "No way!"

"Then we'll have no choice but to place you both in temporary confinement," Skullnick replied snapping her fingers and signaling her men to move in, two knights sauntering purposefully over to the two girls.

Jackie looked desperately around for some help as the knights descended upon her and Janna, her eyes finally falling on Higgs, who had yet to move an inch, and she shouted, "Higgs, come on, tell them to stop! You know as well as I do that Marco wouldn't hurt anyone."

Higgs looked over at Skullnick than back to her friend and shrugged. "Yeah, I know but with Mewberty we can't take any chances."

Jackie let out a frustrated huff before one of the knights grabbed her arm and Jackie instantly struggled, trying to pull her arm free from the tight grip. "Hey, stop it!"

Another knight did the same to Janna, the half-Monster fighting back her instincts and forced herself to to be dragged away from Marco, shouting in her defense, "Knock it off! Let go!"

Marco watched numbly as the two strange men grabbed onto his friends' arms and instantly a powerful emotion overcame him, a burning rage and protective instinct flooding his chest. And as soon as his friends' struggles and desperate cries reached Marco's ears, the boy lashed out, thick webs of sunspots flying from his hands and striking the two men who held his friends against their wills. The two men cried out in surprise as they were yanked backward, away from his friends and flung across the room with one flick of Marco's wrist, the pair rolling to a painful stop a few feet away. They moaned in pain but Marco felt no regrets for the necessary action, his protective nature outweighing any guilt he might harbor at the moment.

The room had gone dead quiet at Marco's sudden action, the boy's instincts picking up on the dread that now lingered in the air but he paid it no mind, his glowing eyes instead moving to examine his friends, checking to be sure they were unharmed. He stared into their shocked and gawking faces for a second before concluding they were okay and turned to go back to his previous search for Star.

But the sudden movement set off one of the jittery and unnerved knights, the man suddenly springing into action by lunging toward the boy with a loud shout. Marco was startled to say the least as one of his legs was roughly grabbed by said knight and Marco's instincts took over again as he shot out more sticky webs, coating his attacker and gluing him to the floor, where he lay unmoving.

After that, it was pure chaos, suddenly all the knights swarmed Marco. The boy, frightened by the angry and loud crowd of strangers, began firing webs at them, desperately fluttering around in a desperate attempt to avoid getting hurt.

"Wait, stop!" Jackie screamed pointlessly to the knights. The skater turned to the general, who stood unflinchingly during all this chaos, and shouted, "Skullnick, please. You have to get them to stop! They're making it worse!"

"No can do! I told you Marco was a danger in this state," Skullnick argued, her mind already made up.

"Only because you guys are scaring him," Janna pointed out but this still didn't seem to sway Skullnick's resolve as she ignored the two taking a step forward and shouting orders to her men. Jackie and Janna let out frustrated groans watching as Marco continued plastering knights to the walls and floor. Suddenly a voice said beside them, "So now what are you gonna do." The two looked over to see Higgs observing the scene with a bored expression.

"Oh nice of you to actually listen to us," Janna commented bitterly.

Higgs shrugged. "Hey I can't ignore a direct order from the general." She smirked mischievously as she added, "But you can. So what's the plan?"

"Okay well, I guess our best bet is to get Marco out of the castle," Jackie replied thoughtfully.

"You really think that's gonna help?" Higgs asked with disbelief.

"Well it's better than him staying here," Jackie said, gesturing to the warzone taking place in front of them, a knight flying over them with a loud scream.

"Good point," Higgs agreed with a quick nod. "So how are you planning on doing that?"

Before Jackie could answer, Janna held up Star's devil-horned headband, saying in a smooth tone, "With this."

"Janna! Where did you get that? No, when did you get that?" Jackie asked in shock and slight concern.

"What? Star didn't need it today so I thought I'd bring it to Marco to cheer him up," Janna said with a shrug.

Higgs rolled her eyes, muttering, "Likely story."

Jackie wanted to comment further but knew she had more important things to worry about at the moment, letting the subject drop for now as she grabbed the headband from her friend's grip, her eyes slowly drifting over to the startled Marco.

Marco was afraid. He didn't like the way these strange people kept trying to grab him, tried to restrict his movement and keep him from Star. He especially didn't like that. He wanted to find Star but he couldn't do that if these strange people didn't stop attacking him. Were they trying to keep her from him? At that, anger pooled in Marco's chest and he held out all four hands, coating a new person in the webby substance. No one was keeping him from his Star.

Suddenly, Marco heard a shrill sound, like a whistle, and he turned to see the light-haired girl (Jackie, his inner voice corrected) holding up a headband. Star's headband. Marco felt a powerful emotion flow through him, all the fight leaving him at once as he stared at the sole reminder of his missing mate. "Hey Marco, look what I got," she said to him in a sing-song voice and Marco flew a little closer to her. He needed that. He needed it to find Star. "Starrrr..." the boy droned, hands reaching out to take the object.

Jackie smiled, glad to know her plan was working. "That's right, dude," she said encouragingly, stepping on her skateboard, checking to make sure the strap on her helmet was adjusted correctly. "You can have it, all you have to do is follow me." After that, she pushed off, skating smoothly down the hall.

Marco groaned in despair as the headband suddenly grew further away from him. He needed that. He chased after his friend without a second thought, his eyes never once leaving the sight of the red hairpiece.

Skullnick spotted the boy leaving, as well as Higgs and Janna chasing after, and quickly shouted, "Stop him! He can't get away!" But looking around she saw all her other knights were incapacitated, groaning in heaps on the floor, most unable to move due to the sticky sunspots that coated them. The general growled under her breath at her men's incompetence before her eyes landed on Jak and Dex who stood awkwardly on the sidelines. "You too!" Both guards jumped at being suddenly addressed. "We're going after Marco! Let's move!" With that Skullnick started stomping down the hallway but Jak and Dex hesitated, sharing concerned glances. But another shout from Skullnick got them moving. "I said 'Let's move!'"

"Y-Yes General S-Skullnick!" the two shouted in reply, running to try and catch up to the troll general's quick pace.

Farther down the hall, Jackie was doing her best to keep ahead of Marco but the boy was much faster than normal, even the speed on Jackie's prized skateboard no match for the boy's swift flying prowess. And his single-minded desire to get a hold of the headband was proving to be difficult to counter. Marco lunged, his hands reaching to snatch the headband out of Jackie's grip but the skater sensed the movement at the last second, holding her arm up at the last second and she shifted her position on the skateboard so that it would maneuver to the other side of the hall.

But this didn't halt Marco's efforts in the slightest, the boy reaching out a hand and shooting sticky webs at the headband, hoping to retrieve it that way. Again, Jackie managed to see the movement out of the corner of her eye and her feet instinctively shifted to the back of the board, the skater bending her knees and pressing down on the tail of the board with her back foot. The result was instant as her board left the ground, jumping over the string of webs, Jackie guiding the motion until the wheels met hard ground once more. After taking a second to recover from the jump Jackie took a risky glance back, only to see Marco was on her tail once more, his glowing pupils fixated on nothing but the headband.

The skater, shifted her attention back to what lay ahead only to nearly scream in surprise as she spotted Moon and River coming towards her, chatting happily, their attention too focused on one another to notice anything else. "Your Majesties, look out!" she screamed to them in warning.

The two royals looked over to her in surprise. "Jackie?" the queen said quizzically.

"Move out of the way, it's an emergency!" the skater replied, fear lodging into her throat.

"Moonpie, I think we might want to do as she says," River said as his eyes landed on Marco, grabbing his bewildered wife's arm and dragging her out of the way, just as Jackie sailed past them.

"What on Mewni-" Moon started to say in annoyance, only to gasp in fright as Marco flew past the pair. "Marco?" the queen muttered in disbelief.

"Sorry, I'll explain later," Jackie shouted back.

Moon was stunned as she watched the two disappear around the corner, turning to her husband with a look of pure disbelief. Suddenly though, Janna and Higgs ran past, the girls huffing and puffing as they struggled to catch up to their friend. "Janna! What is going on here?" the queen asked in a demanding tone.

"Mewberty," was all the two girls said before they too vanished around the corner.

"Hmm, well it would seem young Marco has finally reached the age of Mewberty," River commented.

"After them!" a booming voice cried and the royal couple once more looked down the opposite hall as Skullnick and two guards ran toward them, the guards looking close to collapsing from the swift jog. "Don't let them escape!"

"Yes ma'am!" the two guards replied tiredly.

"General Skullnick just what exactly is going on here?" Moon began but the general simply ran past her monarch, saying, "No time, I'll give you my report later!"

Moon could only gap in shock as the troll ignored her, opening her mouth to argue when Jak and Dex ran by, saying in a panted breath, "Queen Moon, King River."

River and Moon could only watch stunned as the final three in the cat-and-mouse chase through the castle vanished from sight, before sharing a look.

"My, my things certainly are exciting today, Moonpie," River said, a look of joy flashing across his face.

"Yes it would seem so," Moon said softly, before she came to a decision, starting after the group as she told her husband, "Come, River, we should make sure no one gets hurt."

"Oh, what fun!" River replied, happily, easily following after his wife. "A hunt through Butterfly Castle! Just like we used to do when we were teenagers!"

"River, I think you and I remember our teenage years very differently," Moon deadpanned.

"Oh come on, Moonpie," River responded immediately. "I remember when you went through Mewberty. Haha, you gave me a run for my money that day!"

Moon smiled softly at her husband. "I remember yours as well," the queen whispered, her tone almost flirty now. "I had to kiss you just to get you to stop."

River sighed at the memory. "Our first kiss," he muttered, getting teary-eyed at the wonderful memory of their youth.

…

Jackie nearly had Marco out of the castle now, the last obstacle in her way was the staircase, Jackie seeing her hurtle up ahead. But luckily, the skater girl already had the perfect way to get down. She once again, positioned her body for a jump, waiting until just the right second to make her board airborne, quickly turning the board to its side in mid-air, before it landed with a loud screech on the stair railing. Jackie glided smoothly down the stair rail, looking behind her to see Marco had stopped. Even with his pupil-less eyes, the skater could still tell her friend was in awe at the stunt. Jackie smiled, before facing forward, needing to be ready to stick the landing.

Marco shook his head, his fuzzy brain pushing aside all thoughts except Star's headband, before descending after the girl, flying easily over the staircase. Jackie finally reached the bottom of the stairs, maneuvering her body at the last second so that her board was now facing forward, just barely missing getting hit with more of Marco's sticky webs.

The girl saw the doors to the castle were closed tight and cupped a hand over her mouth, shouting to the two guards, "Hey, open up! It's an emergency!"

The two guards lazily caught her eye, one of them saying harshly, "Yeah right, Skullnick ordered the castle on lockdown and we ain't openin' these doors up for nobody!"

"Well if you don't then you'll have to deal with that," Jackie replied, pointing behind her to the fast-approaching Marco, determination fueling his movements his glowing eyes flashing sinisterly.

The two guards shared a nervous look, before throwing open the doors to the castle, Jackie skating past them and Marco zooming by a second later. The moment Jackie was outside she threw the headband at her friend, the boy snatching it up out of mid-air, hugging the object to his chest and purring loudly. Jackie brought her skateboard to a stop, pulling off her helmet as she watched her friend fawning over the object and couldn't help but grin at the boy's cuteness. Even in this state, he was still Marco.

Higgs and Janna showed up a few seconds later, breathing heavily as they too just studied their lovestruck friend, still purring like a cat as he rubbed his cheek against the headband. "Okay, well that is one of the weirdest things I've ever seen," Higgs commented.

Janna just scoffed, nonchalantly telling the young knight, "If you think that's strange you haven't been around us for nearly long enough."

Higgs decided it best to ignore that, instead turning to Jackie and asking, "So we got him outside, now what?" The group made sure to keep a close eye on Marco out of the corner of her eye even as they talked.

"Now we call Star," Jackie said, pulling out her phone. "She'll know what to do from here."

"There he is!" Skullnick's booming voice interrupted the moment, as she, Jak, and Dex came charging out of the castle, now carrying thick lengths of rope. Marco, recognizing the voice even in his primal state, started to panic, fluttering in nervous circles, his eyes looking around for an escape and his hands clenching the headband just a little tighter against his chest.

The three girls noticed this and Jackie shouted to the general, "Skullnick, stop! You're scaring him!"

But the general ignored the girls, instead throwing the rope she had fashioned into a lasso at the unsuspecting boy. The length of rope caught on one of his hands and the boy instinctively began fighting against it, making terrified groans and unintelligible pleas as he fought to free his appendage. "Got you now!" Skullnick roared in victory, giving a sharp tug, which pulled the boy closer to her and Marco dropped the headband in his fright. But with his hands both free, he held them out shooting sunspots as the general's body but the troll expertly jumped out of the way, before giving another tug on the rope. "Jak! Dex! Restrain the rest of his arms!" Skullnick cried to her two comrades.

"Yes General Skullnick!" they shouted, before lassoing the boy's other hands, only one now left free. Marco at this point was in a state of pure panic, fighting against the ropes with every fiber of his being, flying back in forth in hopes of dislodging them while the general pulled him in, inch by inch.

"Dad, what are you doing?!" Higgs screamed at Dex.

"Oh hey, honey!" Dex said, shooting his daughter with one of his goofy smiles. "Don't worry, we've got everything under control!"

"That's not what I mean!" Higgs retorted in a vicious shout.

"Please, General Skullnick, you need to let Marco go!" Jackie screamed, watching as her friend panicked more and more. Who knew what he would do if Skullnick pushed him much further and Jackie would really rather not find out.

The general firmly shook her head saying, "No way! I've got this!"

"Higgs do something," Janna said to the young knight who shot her an annoyed glare.

"Like what? Attack the general and my dad?" Higgs snapped.

"Uh or try and talk some sense into them," Janna shot back.

"General, please, I think we should call Star," Jackie tried.

But Skullnick stayed as stubborn as ever, letting out an over-the-top sigh before saying sharply, "For the last time, we don't need Star! I've got everything under control!"

"What is going on out here?!" Moon exclaimed the second she and River stepped outside, taking in the scene before them.

"Queen Moon," Jak and Dex said as one, their attention snapping away from their target and onto the monarch and their hands for just a second slipping on the ropes.

"No, you idiots!" Skullnick shouted to them in frustration. "Don't-"

But it was too late, the minor slip-up was all Marco needed as he pulled his arms free of the heavy ropes, shooting two streams of webs at the unsuspecting guards, coating them and pinning them to the ground in half a second. The boy then grabbed onto the end of the remaining rope with all three hands and pulled on it with all his might, his wings straining as he lifted Skullnick off the ground. Everyone watched in disbelief as the puny and delicate form of Marco flung the tough, muscled form of Skullnick over his head like a ragdoll. The troll general could only screamed as her weightless body soared through the air, before crashing hard to the ground.

Jackie, Janna, Higgs, Moon, and River gaped openly at the sight of the general slowly rising to her hands and knees, groaning in pain. But the skater's attention returned to Marco as she saw his gaze shift off into the distant woods, his wings fluttering as he seemed ready to take off. Jackie, ran toward him in a panic, shouting, "Marco wai-" But the boy was gone in a burst of speed, the sudden rush of air, knocking Jackie back and kicking dirt up into her eyes and the skater had no choice but to stand there and shield her face with her hands.

Finally, once the wind had died down enough, she could only stare helplessly at Marco, who was now no more than a red dot in the distance. Defeat filled Jackie's chest as she just stared longingly toward her friend, helpless to reach him in his time of need, her entire being shaking with worry for her confused, frightened friend. She was so lost in despair she didn't even notice that the general was now standing next to her, also looking off in the direction Marco had vanished. After a few seconds, Skullnick finally let out a deep sigh, before admitting bitterly, "Okay fine. Call Star."

…

Star smiled as she sat amongst the group of Monster leaders, listening to them freely voicing their opinions on the problems they had been facing. The meeting was going really well and Star felt they had made some significant progress into building a trusting relationship with their Monster allies. At first, it had been awkward and uncomfortable, none of the Monsters willing to say a word in the presence of the future ruler of Mewni but, luckily, Butch had been the one to get the ball rolling, freely discussing the positive change he had seen in the attitude for Hydra's Point since Star and her friend had helped. This had been enough to get the Monsters to slowly open up to her, the blond royal making sure to give them all positive and encouraging smiles whenever they did so, until the whole group was chatting happily. The plan was going perfectly, Star easily winning the Monsters to her side even without the aide of Marco.

At the thought of Marco, Star bit her lip, her fingers itching to pull her phone out of her purse. She really wanted to call and check up on him but she also didn't want to risk waking him from some much-needed sleep. Maybe she should call Jackie instead? Or text the doctor again to see if he was ready to see Marco yet. Or maybe she was just being too overprotective, Marco was fine, it was just the chickenpox. Star tried to relax but her mind felt like it was running a million miles an hour, her heart hammering away in her chest. What was going on?

Then with stark realization, Star's eyes widened as it finally hit her, her heart wasn't what was racing. It was Marco's. She was feeling Marco's heartbeat in her chest and it would seem he was panicking over something. Then Star felt a creeping, unfamiliar fear and longing jump up her spine and Star could resist it no longer, she stood up and quickly excused herself, moving away from the group as she pulled out her phone, ready to call and check up on boyfriend. But before Star could do so, her phone rang, the word "Jackie" appearing on the screen and Star swallowed thickly as she put the phone up to her ear. "Hey, Jacks, what's up?" Star asked, trying to keep her voice calm despite the anxiety she could still feel bubbling up in her chest.

"Star, we have a problem!" Jackie exclaimed, Star nearly flinching at the change in her friends' normally calm, laid back tone. She sounded stressed. If Star was nervous before, she was downright terrified now. What on Mewni could cause the levelheaded Jackie to freak out?

"Why? What's going on? Is Marco okay?" Star asked, worriedly, now holding the mirror phone in a death grip.

"We were wrong, Star," Jackie replied, her voice nearly quivering. "It's not the chickenpox. It's Mewberty."

Star froze up at the word, staring unblinkingly ahead as her mind fought to process that. "What?!" Star exclaimed, not caring as every single Monster was now looking in her direction with befuddled frowns. "Mewberty! A-Are you sure?" the girl asked, a tight knot forming in her stomach. That couldn't be good. No wonder Marco was so scared, he probably had no idea what was happening to him and Star instantly began beating herself up for leaving Marco alone.

"Yeah, pretty sure," Jackie said and Star could tell she was cringing. "And there's another thing."

"What is it?" Star asked, her own voice now shaking with worry and guilt. What more could possibly be wrong?

"I did my best but he got scared and flew off," Jackie replied hesitantly. She paused before adding, "We have no idea where he is."

Star felt her heart come to a crashing halt and she muttered into the phone in a remarkably calm voice, "I'm coming back."

…

Star ran all the way through town, not stopping for anyone or anything, ignoring the friendly smiles and waves of the townsfolk, her thoughts only on Marco. And thanks to the stupid anti-portal generators she had plenty of time to do so. How had she not thought of this sooner? Of course, Marco would be going through Mewberty, he was fourteen after all, the proper age for such things. Sure hers had been a few years early but Marco's was happening right on time. They should have been prepared for something like this happening. Got him some pills to help dull the effect or even just talk to him about it, knowing Marco he probably didn't even know what Mewberty was.

It hasn't even occurred to Star when Marco had said he was sick, hadn't even crossed her mind that his overly clingy nature that morning was a result of Mewberty. Marco was just always so innocent and naïve that it was hard to imagine him going through such a thing. But he was still a teenager and it seemed his body was changing to try and deal with his magical and emotional growth just like everyone else's. She should have stayed with him, canceled the meeting and stayed by her friend's side maybe then Marco wouldn't be missing.

After what felt like a lifetime Star finally reached Butterfly Castle, the gates for once opened wide, probably in anticipation for her. The moment she entered the courtyard though, the blond royal froze in her tracks, doing a double-take. There were tiny sunspots scattered everywhere, littering the ground and even places where clumps of them stuck to the ground. But what really caught her off guard was the large crater in the ground, a massive crack no doubt caused by someone and she felt boiling anger in fear that it had been her poor, fragile Marco who had taken the impact. And if that hadn't been enough than her keen eyes didn't miss the ropes laying in the middle of the courtyard either, and her fury doubled. It was clear what had happened, they had been trying to tie up her boyfriend!

No one had noticed her presence just yet, Jackie pacing while Higgs and Janna just sat on the ground, staring off into space, lost in their own thoughts. Jak and Dex stood at attention around them, sad and sorry look on their faces, and Star noticed the clumps of the sunspots stuck to random parts of their body. Her mom and dad stood worriedly off to the side, Skullnick standing rigidly next to them, showing zero emotion, though her tightly clenched fists told a different story.

Jackie suddenly noticed Star and shouted her name, running over to greet her, Janna, Higgs, Jak, and Dex right behind her, with even Star's parents and Skullnick trailing behind. The moment Jackie was in range, she threw her arms around Star in a relieved hug, saying, "Thank goodness you're back!"

Despite the intense situation and worry she was feeling, Star returned the hug wholeheartedly, giving the skater a reassuring squeeze, needing this comfort just as much as her friend did. "I'm here, everything's going to be okay now," she told her friend, Star's voice confident and strong, despite feeling the opposite and she silently thanked her years of royalty training.

"I'm so sorry, I tried to keep him here but-"

"It's fine Jackie, I know you did your best," Star said in reassurance. "We'll get him back."

As the two pulled out of the hug, Star, not wanting to waste so much as a second, asked, "Okay but first things first, tell me what happened? Why'd Marco run off?"

"Well for starters, Skullnick and the other knights attacked him and kept trying to capture him," Jackie explained quickly, uncharacteristic bitterness in her tone.

Star gasped, before turning to glare in the general's direction, the other girls doing the same. "I thought so! You attacked Marco!" she hissed, staring daggers into Skullnick's soul.

Jak and Dex both hung their heads in shame, looking embarrassingly at the ground, but Skullnick showed no signs of regret, instead stating stubbornly, "It's my job to keep the castle safe! I was just following orders!"

"Who told you it was okay to attack Marco?!" Star shouted, her body practically shaking with mirth.

"Actually Star, I'm afraid Skullnick isn't to blame, your father and I are the ones at fault here," Moon admitted.

"Your mother's right, we were the ones who gave the general permission to act in such a way I'm sad to say," River muttered, a guilty frown on his face as he slowly stroked his beard.

Star stared at her mom and dad in shock, saying with disbelief and surprise, "Mom! Dad! How could you?"

"It wasn't our intention for things to go this far," Moon explained, giving her daughter an apologetic gaze. "But after your Mewberty transformation, we realized we needed more appropriate safety measures to protect the castle. With so many of your orphan friends staying in the castle at the time we had to make sure what happened with you didn't happen again."

Star was blushing bright red at this point, fighting the urge to hide her face in shame of her actions all those years ago. She had done a number on the castle and the staff with her wildly out-of-control magic and as much as Star hated to admit it, she understood their reasoning. But that didn't mean she had to like it. "Well was trying to tie Marco up still necessary?" Star questioned, gesturing over to the pile of discarded rope laying off to the side.

"I agree, Star, that was a bit excessive if you ask me," River spoke up.

"Yes, I'm afraid maybe the general got a bit carried away with our orders," Moon agreed, shooting Skullnick a sideways glare. “Which we will be discussing at length later.”

Skullnick realizing she was being accused quickly jumped on the defensive, exclaiming, "Your Majesty I had too! Marco was dangerous in that state! He attacked me and my men!"

"Only because you scared him!" Jackie shouted. "I told you he wasn't dangerous but you didn't listen to me."

"Hey I don't need some kid telling me how to do my job," Skullnick barked back.

"Well if you had listened to us in the first place Marco wouldn't be missing right now!"

"Or maybe if Higgs had actually done something to help instead of just standing there," Janna muttered, burying her hands into her pockets and the young redhead whipped her head around to glare at the creepy teen.

"Hey, I didn't see you jumping in to stop them!" Higgs argued loudly. "This is just as much your fault as it is anyone else's!" The girl crossed her arms before adding bitterly, "But given your track record that isn't surprising."

"Well I'm not the highly trained knight here," Janna pointed out, her voice calm but her tone full of repressed anger. "What's your excuse?"

"We're so sorry Princess Star!" Jak suddenly shouted, tears streaming down his and his partner's face. "It's all our fault!"

"If we hadn't gotten distracted Marco wouldn't have left!" Dex sobbed, burying his head into his hands to cry.

Star just stared numbly as everyone around her continued to loudly argue or apologize, their voices blending together until they were an incoherent mess. The blond covered her ears as the noise grew unbearable, making it impossible for Star to even think, and the rapid heartbeat drumming against her chest made her more and more flustered. Until finally, Star could take no more and she shouted at the top of her lungs, "Enough!"

Everyone froze, staring at the blond in disbelief. "I don't care what happened or who's responsible for what! All I care about is finding Marco and I can't do that if you're all too busy fighting! And unless you have a way to track Marco than I don't want to hear it!" Star screamed, staring long and hard at each person before her, making sure they would stay quiet. The blond royal took in a deep breath, before saying a bit more calmly, "So, now then, can we please just focus on what's important, we can deal with all the rest latee."

Everyone nodded slowly, Star's parents staring proudly at their daughter for taking charge like that, and the blond smiled confidently. "Good. So then, any ideas?"

"Actually I think I already know a way," Janna spoke up, a smug smile on her face, her hands buried in her pockets.

"Well then let's hear it," Star said, nodding her head in acknowledgment.

That seemed to be all the creepy teen needed as she suddenly out a small black device, saying, "I just so happen to have a way to track our dear Marco down, ready to go."

"Seriously, how?" Star exclaimed, grabbing the device out of her friend's hand. Her heart leapt for joy as she saw a red dot with the name 'Marco' dispalyed above it, feeling infinitly better knowing where her friend was at.

"Easy, I just put a tracking device on him, no big," the creepy teen admitted with a shrug.

"Wait, you bugged Marco?" Jackie said in a scolding tone.

"Uh yeah, I have one on all of you for just such an occasion," Janna replied like it was no big deal.

"What?!" Jackie screamed.

"We'll deal with that later, right now let's get Marco back," Star said, already heading in the direction the device was telling her, only to be cut off by Higgs.

"Wait, you're actually going to go with Janna on this?" Higgs said skeptically, jabbing a thumb in the creepy teen's direction. "She just admitted to bugging you! How do you even know you can trust her?"

"Because she's my friend and because nobody else has any better ideas," Star replied calmly. "But if you don't think it's safe than your welcome to stay behind," the blond added, before pushing past the girl, her eyes now on the screen and her Marco's location.

"Ugh, okay fine!" Higgs shouted in annoyance. "But I'm keeping my eye on you." She stabbed the creepy teen once in the chest, who simply smiled smugly in reply. "Fine by me."

"I'll come with you, in case you need back-up," Skullnick started to stay, only for Star to turn to her with a glare.

"I think you've helped enough," Star bitterly snapped.

The general didn't know what to say to that, though the look of anger in her eyes was clear. Seeing this, Moon told the troll, "I agree with Star, General Skullnick. I think it would be best if you stayed behind. Otherwise, you might end up frightening Marco again."

Skullnick looked like she wanted to argue with that, before sighing in defeat, crossing her arms and saying, "Fine but if you need help, don't hesitate to call."

"I think we'll be fine," Jackie responded, sharing a look with Star, who nodded.

The blond turned her attention onto her parents as she asked, "Hey can you guys do me a favor and call Buff Frog? Let him know what's happening. Something tells me Marco forgot to do that."

"Well he was a little distracted," Janna said jokingly.

"Of course, Star," Moon said, giving her daughter a loving smile. "Be careful, Mewberty is unpredictable."

"I will, mom," Star replied with a nod. "But I doubt Marco's going to try and hurt me."

"I do too, but you can never be too careful," Moon agreed.

"If need be just stare into his eyes to break his spirit," River suggested.

Star gave her dad a quizzical look before saying hesitantly, "Uh right. I'll... keep that in mind, dad."

"Good, that's my girl," River said, a proud smile on his face.

The group started off for the woods when something latched onto to Star's ankle and she turned to see Jak and Dex clinging to her leg, sad looks on their faces, their eyes pouring tears, as they stared up at her. "Please takes us with you!" Dex begged brokenly.

"We just want to make it up to Marco for acting like total jerks!" Jak added, sobbing loudly.

"Ugh, dad would you please get off the floor?" Higgs muttered in embarrassment, burying her face in her hands.

Star gave the two guards sympathetic looks, seeing that their hearts were genuine, before saying, "You know what, sure. You can come."

"Yes!" the two shouted, while Higgs screamed, "No!"

"Oh thank you, princess! Thank you!" Jak said hugging the blond royal tightly. "We promise we won't be in the way!"

"Hear that sweetie, it's our first mission together!" Dex proclaimed, hugging his daughter, who immediately struggled to get free.

"Yeah, I heard dad," the redhead replied. "Now please stop embarrassing me!"

Star and the others hid their smiles at the father-daughter moment before the blond loudly cleared her throat to gain everyone's attention. She waited until all eyes fell on her (Dex never once loosening his grip on Higgs as he turned in the princess's direction) before she smiled confidently, saying in a firm, determined tone, "Come on, guys! Let's go bring back Marco!"

…

Star led the group as they trudged through the thick vegetation of the Forest of Certain Death, the blond never taking her eyes off the tracker pad in her hands. She stared at the object intensely, watching the small dot for any changes in position even to the slightest degree, her knuckles white as she held the device in an iron grip. She was terrified for her boyfriend, though the second heartbeat had soothed some, not beating nearly as hard and fast, the fact that she could still feel it meant that he had to be in some form of distress, which caused her own heart to race in response. She had to find him and quick, for his safety and her own sanity. She wasn't sure how much longer she could wait. Luckily, it didn't look like she'd have to, the dot nearing more and more with every step.

Star sucked in a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves, before turning to the others and saying, "Okay guys, we're getting close. Marco should be just up ahead."

"Ugh, thank goodness," Higgs replied with a roll of her eyes. "I'm not sure how much more of this I can take."

"We haven't been walking that long Higgs," Jackie pointed out, giving the redhead a confused look.

"I'm not talking about the walking," the young knight mumbled. "I'm talking about that!" The redhead pointed a finger in the direction of her father, who was smiling ear to ear and humming a tune, Jak doing the same beside him.

"Isn't this so exciting Higgs?!" Dex exclaimed, hugging his daughter from behind. "I mean the two of us on a mission with Princess Star! How cool is that?!"

"This is no time for goofing off, dad!" Higgs said, pulling out of her dad's grip. "Marco is in danger, remember?"

"Oh of course I do," Dex said immediately, still as gleeful as ever, not even his daughter's sharp tone or gaze enough to lessen his spirits. "And once everyone hears how Jak and I helped rescue the princess's boyfriend, they'll be so impressed!"

"We might even get a parade in our honor," Jak spoke up, staring dreamily off into the distance.

"Yeah, the king and queen might even knight you," Janna added nonchalantly.

The two guards gasped, but Higgs just shot the creepy teen a glare. "Don't encourage them," she hissed, but Janna just smiled smugly and shrugged. "What?" she asked innocently, causing the redhead's glare to only increase in intensity.

"You really think that could happen?" Jak asked the creepy teen, hopefully.

"You never know," Janna replied calmly. "Heck, Star's a princess, she could make you knights just like that." The girl snapped her fingers for emphasis.

"Do you hear that Higgs?!" Dex shouted excitedly over to his daughter. "We could be knights! Just like you and your mom!"

"Yeah, I heard," the young knight grumbled bitterly.

"Uh Janna I don't think that's something Star can do," Jackie pointed out to her friend.

"She's a princess, Jacks, she can do whatever she wants," Janna replied, patting her friend on the shoulder.

"That doesn't mean she's going to," Jackie deadpanned.

"Guys!" Star suddenly called from up ahead, everyone immediately returning their focus to their leader, who was giving them a look that was a mix between shock and concern, her hand parting a large bush that blocked the rest off from whatever sight had caught her eye. "You're gonna wanna see this," she muttered breathlessly.

The group quickly ran over to join the princess, peeling back the shrubbery so they too could see whatever it was that had caught the princess so off-guard. Everyone gasped in disbelief, no one prepared for the breathtaking sight that lay before them. A large orange structure stood in the middle of the forest, its bright colors making a stark contrast to the dark greens and shadows of the rest of the woods. The thing almost resembling a house of some sort, but it was in the shape of a deformed, lopsided heart. It had to be at least two stories tall and just looking at it almost hurt, Star and the others having to shield their eyes to avoid going blind. The blond royal could see the whole thing was made of thousands of tiny sun shapes, crudely and almost haphazardly stuck together, a gust of wind causing the sunspots to scatter all around the clearing. Spots of red dotted the mostly orange structure and Star's heart pounded at the perfect match to her boyfriend's cheekmarks. "Marco," she breathed, her eyes shining in wonder.

"Whoooaaa" Janna muttered, for once in her life rendered completely speechless.

"Did Marco do all that?" Jackie asked, looking equally as flabbergasted as her roommate.

"I think he did," Star replied, though she sounded like she didn't believe what she was seeing.

The three girls entered through the bushes, Jak, Dex, and Higgs doing the same a second later, all of them staring up at the structure completely dumbstruck. "So is Marco in there?" Jak suddenly asked.

Dex and Higgs face-palmed. "Yes, Jak, I think that's a pretty safe bet," Higgs stated, while sarcastically rolling her eyes.

"What is this, anyways?" Jackie asked, still staring up at the structure in disbelief.

"It's a nest," Janna explained, finally recovering enough from her shock to hide her own bewilderment behind a calm facade. "Mewmans in Mewberty will sometimes make them when they feel threatened."

"Aw, poor Marco," Star whispered to herself, her face now drooping with sadness.

"But why is it so big?" Jackie questioned.

Janna shrugged. "The body produces sticky spots in reaction to emotional states. The more out of control your emotions are, the more spots are made."

"Wow, Marco must be a really emotional kid then," Dex commented.

"You have no idea," Higgs responded with a shake of her head.

"We gotta find him and fast," Star said, out of nowhere, her voice tight with worry. "Before he gets any worse." With that Star headed for the entrance inside, the others following after her, though much more hesitantly.

Inside Marco's nest, it was almost pitch black, the sunspots completely blocking out the sun's rays, leaving everything within covered in inky shadows. Jak and Dex seemed unnerved by this, clinging to each other and casting longing glances back at the entrance but Star was undeterred, merely holding up her wand and using it to light the area around her. "Marco!" Star called out, as she gazed around for any sign of her boyfriend. "Marco are you in here?!"

Silence was the only reply Star received and after an uncomfortable few seconds, Jak quickly said, "Whelp, he's not here! Let's try somewhere else!"

The inexperienced guard turned to leave, only to be cut off by Higgs, who said in a scolding tone, "No way! You two promised to help Star find Marco and I'm not letting you get out of it that easily!"

"But what if he's not here," Jak suggested, his voice shaking in obvious fear. "Maybe this is another Mewman's emotional nest."

"Well, the tracker pad says he's in here," Star pointed out and the guard gulped, his face turning paler by the second.

"Oh right, forgot about that," the guard muttered quietly under his breath as the rest of the group continued deeper into the cave, only Jak's partner staying behind.

"Relax, Jak, it's just Marco," Dex reassured him, before following after the others, Jak reluctantly doing the same, thinking about the future parade that would be thrown in his honor as a distraction from his current predicament.

As the group continued deeper into the large structure, the random sounds of rustling could be heard all around them, completely unnerving the party, all except Star who stared forward with unwavering courage. Jackie clung close to her royal friend, practically stepping on her heels, while the other two girls did their best to hide their own fears, almost shoulder to shoulder, all previous antagonisms forgotten as they pressed on through the dark nest. Jak and Dex, however, were very obviously terrified, shaking in their boots and jumping at every noise they heard, looking ready to dart outside at any second. But to their credit, the guards stayed with the group of girls, forcing themselves to follow along deeper inside.

Star tried to reach him with their bond, honing in on his feelings, reaching through their sacred connection in an attempt to pinpoint his location in the darkness around her. It was a long shot, she knew, but she had to try. But it seemed it was a dead end, she couldn't feel him at all, the boy had hidden himself deep in his self-made nest.

There was another loud shuffling, before a pile of sunspots fell in the path in front of them, causing Jackie to scream in surprise, gripping Star's shoulders tightly for support and comfort. Star didn't even register the jump scare though, cause her ears had just picked up on a very small and subtle voice in the tunnel up ahead. One she would recognize anywhere, even in the weird tone her Marco was clearly speaking in.

"Starrrr."

"I hear him!" Star shouted in joy, her eyes lighting up with relief and warmth. She turned back to the group, telling them all quickly, "He's up ahead, come on!" The blond didn't wait for the others as she ran forward through the dark, hurrying over to her friend in need. She heard the others call out to her but ultimately ignored them, her only thoughts on Marco. As she drew closer, she could feel a warmth in her chest, his heartbeat heating up, as if guiding her right to him. She could see a light up ahead and in a matter of seconds, she was in the very heart of Marco's giant nest. Star had to shield her eyes from the sudden sunlight peering in through a large opening at the top of the structure, the blond blinking as her eyes struggled to adjust. The whole area was glowing due to the rays of light bouncing off their shimmery surface, warm colors of red and orange made the place feel safe and secure and Star was awestruck by it's unexpected beauty.

However, something else caught Star's eye, one that made her heart pound in delight and surprise and her cheeks flush as red as the room around her. All around the center of the nest were crudely-shaped hearts just like the shape of the nest itself, all of them made with bright red suns and molded by hand. And the longer Star looked at them, the more she realized that they were supposed to be her cheekmarks, and she pressed a hand to her warm cheek, completely speechless but flattered none the less.

As Star's shimmering blue gaze panned across the room, looking at each of the pretty hand-crafted hearts, her eyes froze on the form of Marco, his bright red hoodie blending in perfectly with the rest of the room, camouflaging him well. His back was to her, his hands fiddling with something (probably making another heart shape) and had clearly yet to notice her there, but Star didn't care. She was just thrilled to have found her bestie and she called out to him, "Marco!"

The boy flinched, his wings fluttering in alarm as he quickly turned around to see the intruder to his sanctuary. Star was taken aback by Marco's Mewberty form for a few seconds but immediately bypassed that at the sheer joy of seeing her Marco again and she took a step closer to him. "Marco, it's really you! I'm so glad I found you! I was so worried!"

Marco stared blankly down at his beautiful mate for a few seconds, before a smile slowly formed on his face and he muttered in a delighted tone, "Starrrr!"

Star squeaked as Marco crashed into her form, pulling her into an extra tight hug, all four of his limbs wrapping around her and bringing him closer to her, his translucent wings fluttering happily behind him. The blond royal laughed and hugged her Marco back, saying sweetly, "Its good to see you too, Marco!" The boy's grip on her remained as tight as ever as he held her against him to an almost painful degree as if he was afraid if he let her go she would disappear on him forever and Star felt a lump form in her throat for worrying him so much.

Star was about to voice this apology when Marco let out an unexpected hiss, moving the two of them a little farther back. The blond was confused by this action until she heard the voice of Jak call, "Oh hey, Star. You found him!" Star turned her head as best she could still being held in Marco's protective grip, spotting the others standing in the doorway, grinning in relief.

The group took a step closer and the reaction from Marco was instant, his two extra limbs leaving Star's sides and raised so they were aimed and level with the intruders of his nest. Jackie and the others took a fearful step back seeing their friend ready to attack them but Star did her best to diffuse the situation before it got out of hand, letting out a gentle shhh and saying in the softest tone she could, "Marco, it's okay, they aren't going to hurt you."

The boy wasn't convinced, his pupil-less eyes steadying on Jak and Dex, watching them closely for any sudden movements, his fuzzy brain remembering the discomfort and fear at having his limbs restricted by the two and the loud, angry one. He didn't want them anywhere near him and especially Star. "Baadd," he hissed in a low tone so that only Star could hear.

"I know," Star said sympathetically. "They scared you earlier but they're sorry about that." She turned to Jak and Dex and said in a hinting tone, "Aren't you, guys?"

The two nodded quickly, trying to hide their anxious faces as Dex told the boy, "Yeah, we're really sorry, Marco. We didn't mean to scare you."

"We shouldn't have listened to Skullnick," Jak blurted out.

"We won't ever do it again, promise," Dex finished, flashing the boy what he hoped was a non-threatening smile.

"See, Marco, they're our friends," Star said as she turned back to the boy, keeping her voice light and cheerful. "They aren't going to hurt you. Everything's okay, you can relax now."

Marco's arms slowly lowered to his sides, no longer on the defensive and ready to attack anything that moves, and Star took that as a positive sign to continue. "See. There's nothing to worry about. You're safe now." The boy said nothing, but as his glowing orbs turned to face her, no words were needed, his eyes speaking to Star in a way only she could understand, reading her Marco's expression easily.

She gestured for the others to come closer, saying softly, "Okay guys, it's safe, you can come over."

The group seemed apprehensive at first, but it was Jackie who broke the uncomfortable tension, walking slowly over to the two, keeping an eye on Marco for any changes in his demeanor as she did so. Once she was finally beside her two friends, she smiled at Marco, saying in a gentle tone, "Hey dude, you doing okay?"

Marco cocked his head to the side, before reaching up with one of his free arms and poking her cheek. "Friend," he replied vaguely.

Jackie just rubbed her cheek and said calmly, "Yep, that's right, we're friends." Inwardly though, she was more confused why Mewberty Marco kept poking her. Seriously what was that about?

Marco turned his attention next to Janna, saying in a more friendly tone, "Friend."

"Yep, that's right bud," Janna replied, burying her hands in her pockets. "Glad to see you didn't get eaten by anything."

Marco looked over to Higgs, Jak, and Dex, who were all watching him wearily, the young redhead's body tensed and ready for anything. There were a few seconds of silence that was nearly unbearable to the group, Jak and Dex sweating profusely out of fear of what Marco might do to them, but when Marco did finally speak it was in the same pleasant tone as earlier. "Friends."

The group let out a simultaneous breath of relief, Dex saying, "Uh-huh, that's right, Marco. We won't ever scare you like that again, promise."

Marco nodded slowly and Star, seeing all that was finally settled, seized the opportunity to continue with her earlier conversation, turning to the others and telling them, "Can you give us a minute?"

The group nodded, before moving to the other side of the room to give the two lovebirds their space, making sure to keep their backs to them. Once they were (relatively) alone, Star pushed Marco out of their hug, and instead intertwined her hands with his, looking up into his eyes since he was still hovering a few inches off the ground. "Marco I just wanted to say that I'm really, really sorry."

Marco cocked his head to the side but allowed his mate to continue her apology. "I shouldn't have left you. If I hadn't then you wouldn't have gotten so scared or acted the way you did. And I know what you're thinking, 'Well you had no way of knowing.' But that doesn't matter. You didn't want me to go, did you? You spent all that time looking for me and I didn't even realize how badly you wanted me to stay. You were just being the same selfless boy you always are, giving up the things you want for others. And I should have known that. So I'm sorry."

Once the blond was finally done, the two stared at each other for a few seconds, Star's eyes shining with guilt and remorse, Marco's just devoid of emotion. "Can you ever forgive me?" Star asked softly, feeling her heart clench at the brokenness in her own tone.

Marco's reaction to that was almost instant, as he suddenly began cuddling into her neck out of nowhere and the blond giggled at the unexpected action, all previous self-loathing and shame vanishing in a heartbeat, her world consumed by Marco's sweet display of affection. "Okay, okay I get it, you forgive me," Star said in a near laugh, running a hand through Marco's soft hair. She nearly cooed as the boy suddenly started to purr in response to her touch and her heart felt like it was floating around in her chest. How could Marco get any more adorable? "Starrrr," he purred, still nuzzling her neck, proving her previous thought wrong.

So cute, she thought, her cheeks flushing some as her world finally righted itself, Marco, her sweet, adorable bestie was back safe in her arms.

The others were doing their best not to interrupt the sweet moment, struggling to keep their attention on literally anything else as they heard the quiet murmuring of Star behind them. Jak focused his attention on one of the heart piles Marco had made, examining it closely before slowly reaching out to touch it. "It's gonna fall over if you do that," Dex told his friend.

Jak hesitated for a moment, before touching it anyways. It collapsed instantly, the guard jerking back with a surprised squeak. "I told you that would happen," Dex told his partner, who gave a sheepish look in reply.

The three girls, just stood in awkward silence for a moment, Jackie standing between the two feuding girls, both of whom were purposefully avoiding eye contact. Finally, the skater had had enough of the uncomfortable tension and said via whisper, "Okay enough. This has gone on long enough. You two need to make up."

"Uhh, actually we really don't," Higgs commented.

"Yeah, Jacks, this is a classic rivalry thing," Janna explained to her friend. "The two enemies destined to hate each other, those don't typically resolve easily."

Jackie let out an annoyed sigh, running her hands down her face, before regaining her composure saying in her cool, radiant tone, "Okay look, whatever you are, you're both my friends and I'm not putting up with this for the rest of my life. So you're just gonna have to make up, whether you want to or not." She fixed the two with scolding glares and the two shifted uncomfortably under the look.

Still, the two stayed stubbornly silent for a few seconds before Janna finally spoke, staring up at the ceiling as she muttered, "So I didn't really mean what I said. It wasn't your fault that Marco flew off. I've just been... going through some stuff lately."

"And maybe I judged you a bit harshly," Higgs said, keeping her eyes on the ground instead of the beanie-wearing teen. "You may be a troublemaker but at the very least you do seem to care about your friends." The two finally made eye contact, the young knight finishing by saying, "And that counts for something."

The two, for the very first time, shared a smile, a small, almost professional grin but a smile none the less and Jackie took that as a victory. However as soon as it came, it was gone again, Higgs' grin replaced with a scowl as she added bitterly, "But I still don't trust you."

"That's fair," Janna said, shrugging.

"Aww look at my daughter making new friends!" Dex suddenly exclaimed, running over and pulling his daughter into a hug.

"Ahhh! Dad, let go! You're embarrassing me!" Higgs shouted, her face turning redder than her hair color as her father continued showering her with unwanted affection.

Star and Marco, meanwhile, finally pulled away from each other smiling as they stared lovingly into each others eyes, their hands intertwined as they let a relative peace settle over them. Finally, Star broke the silence of the moment, saying to her boyfriend in a soft whisper, "Okay, Marco. So I think it's best if we head back to the castle. I know you probably want to stay here but I promise nothing is going to hurt yo-" Star was cut off as Marco suddenly wrapped his extra limbs around her slender frame, holding her against his chest and she flushed with surprise. "Marco, what are you doing?"

Instead of answering, the boy lifted Star off the ground and the blond gasped in fright, putting her arms around Marco's neck and the boy's other arms securely circled Star. Once the two were airborne the boy met her eye and Star instantly understood what Marco was about to do.

"Oh Marco, that's okay we can walk," Star started to tell him, but it was too late, the boy had already taken off in a burst of wind and speed, exiting through the hole in the ceiling. The others turned and stared up at the skylight for a few seconds before Dex said, "Huh, wasn't expecting them to do that."

"They must really be in a hurry to get out of here," Jak pointed out.

"Can't say I blame them," Higgs responded, flashing the nauseating bright area around her a dirty look.

"Or maybe they just wanted some alone time," Janna said in a hinting tone, arching her eyebrows playfully.

"No," was all Jackie said to her creepy friend, giving her a scolding look for good measure.

Suddenly, a thought hit Jak and he gasped in shock, asking in a panicked tone, "Wait, so how are we getting out of here?!"

"I guess we'll just have to go back the way we came," Jackie replied with a shrug.

Jak let out a strangled groan but kept his comment to himself.

…

Star gasped as cold air rushed around her, her hair blowing freely in the breeze and the swirl of wind in her ears making it difficult to hear anything. Her stomach was doing flips at the feeling of weightlessness and she had to breathe slowly to try and calm down her shocked system. Star risked a look over her shoulder to see how high up they were and immediately regretted this decision, the long drop below causing her to let out a chocked scream, the treetops of the Forest of Certain Death looking even more menacing than usual. Her grip on the back of Marco's neck tightened, fearful of losing her grip. Star wasn't typically afraid of heights but she also usually had the luxury of both feet planted on the ground not dangling thousands of feet in the air, with only four thin arms keeping her from plummeting to her certain death and this has pushed her completely out of her comfort zone. She pressed her head into Marco's chest, trying to calm herself down, focusing on the rapid pulse of Marco's heartbeat pounding against her temple.

Marco noticed his mate's discomfort, casting her a worried glance as she shook in his arms and the boy tried to think up some way to ease her mind. Thinking fast, he slowed their speed and flipped them over, so that Star was no longer the one dangling in mid-air, effectively shielding her from the danger of terminal velocity should something happen, but he made sure to keep his grip tight all the same. Marco felt Star's own grip relax some after that, the death grip she had previously had on his neck loosened, her body no longer trembling in fear and she even looked up from the safety of his chest to meet his eye. Marco gave his mate what he hoped was a reassuring smile and his heart hammered away in his chest as the girl returned the smile, her face lighting up in the most beautiful way that only Star's could. Her eyes were so startlingly blue it was almost painful and the way her golden hair danced in the breeze was simply breathtaking. How one person could be so beautiful was a mystery to Marco but he was beyond happy that such a person existed and that she was currently being held in his arms.

Now that her initial fear began to wear off thanks to Marco's efforts, Star began to grow more confident, openly scanning the skyline. She didn't think she had ever been this high up before even the few times she had ridden Cloudy and the view was breathtaking. She could see almost all of Mewni from this height, the pink hills and lush green countryside blending together into perfect harmony, the wildlife mere shifting dots on the world below. She could see the huge pink cloud that was the Kingdom of the Pony Heads off to her side, as well as the shape of the massive castle that rested atop it. She could see the massive lakes and rivers that the river folk of Mewni dwelled in, she even thought she could see the curve of mountains way off in the distance. And the longer Star looked the more entranced by her beautiful home she became. She had never realized just how gorgeous Mewni truly was.

She looked up at Marco who was watching her closely, not even looking where he was flying, keeping his speed slow and steady, his wings beating at a rapid pace to keep them airborne. Star smiled at her transformed boyfriend, telling him softly, "Hey, I'm okay now, you can carry me like before."

Marco made no movement to do so, clearly torn on keeping Star calm and doing as she said, but the blond gave him an encouraging smile. "I know you won't let me go," she said and this seemed to be all Marco needed to hear, flipping them around again so that Star was once more beneath him, though he shifted her in his four arms so that she was no longer facing him, holding her firmly but gently against his chest, allowing her to freely survey the countryside.

The blond giggled as Marco picked up speed again, now enjoying the wind as it tickled her face, smiling ear to ear as she observed her beautiful Mewni. Marco seemed to tense at first, worried he was scaring her but soon he too was smiling as his girlfriend's cheerful laughter reached his ears. This encouraged him to try and make her laugh more, doing loop-de-loops in the air, causing her to laugh and scream in delight. Under her encouragement, the two began dipping and diving toward the treetops, Star trying to reach out and touch one of the branches before they pulled up again. They flew past a flock of eagles that all looked completely dumbstruck by the two air-born Mewmans. Soon the sky was alive with Star's laughter and Marco felt his heart warm at the wondrous sound.

Finally, the two were both thrown off guard as the sun peaked out from behind a cloud, the two gasping as the most colorful and stunning sunset the two had ever laid eyes on filled the sky, colors Star and Marco had only ever dreamed of invaded their senses and the two stared misty-eyed at the wonderful sight.

But the moment came to an unfortunate end as they had, at last, reached Butterfly Castle the hooded teen guiding him and his blond passenger into a safe landing on the soft grass just inside the courtyard. Star took a few deep breaths as her feet finally touched ground once more, her legs wobbly and her heart pounding but the look of delight couldn't be erased from her face. She turned and smiled at Marco who was hovering over her, his glowing orbs clearly examining her closely. "Thanks for that, Marco," Star said in a loving tone, holding out a hand for him to take, which he eagerly did. "That was... magical." The girl giggled and Marco smiled, pressing his forehead to hers.

"Hey, they're back!" a voice suddenly screamed, interrupting the moment for the two teens, who looked over to see Skullnick, along with several knights and guards rushing toward them. Marco reacted immediately, grabbing Star's wrist and pulling his blond mate closer, wrapping his arms protectively around her. The group all stopped, watching the boy wearily as he kept a suspicious gaze leveled at them all, keeping Star close to letting everyone know she was under his protection. But when no one seemed to get the message, Marco raised a threatening hand up in warning and the others all took a reluctant step back.

The knights slowly reached for their swords and crossbows, but Star quickly shouted, "Wait, everyone stay calm! You're all freaking him out! Just give Marco some space!"

No party made any move to back down, Marco and the knights now in a tense stand-off, all of them waiting for one to make a move. Star was quick to quell this though, as she put a comforting hand on Marco's arm, saying in the lighthearted tone, "Marco, it's okay. They aren't going to hurt you." The boy blinked once, his face otherwise remaining blank, but he allowed Star to lower his arm back to his side.

Star then turned to the knights, who's hands still hovered over their weapons, itching to pull them out in defense and the blond shot a pleading look at Skullnick. The troll general stood there rigidly for a moment before letting out a defeated sigh. "You heard the princess! Stand down, all of you!" Skullnick barked and the knights were quick to obey their order, their postures relaxing though their faces still filled with uncertainty. And after a few seconds, Marco seemed to do the same.

"All right, everyone move along! The princess has this under control! No one goes near Marco without the princess's say by order of King and Queen Butterfly!" Skullnick continued, virtually ignoring the two teens as she glared down her men, forcing them to reluctantly disperse.

Star mentally breathed in relief, while grinning smugly over at the general. It would seem Skullnick had had a complete turn-around from earlier, no doubt her parents had reprimanded her for her previous actions and had given her new orders on how to handle such situations. Skullnick must have noticed Star staring at her because she turned in her direction, staring at the blond royal blankly.

Star gave the general a slight nod of appreciation for her help but nothing else but the general didn't return the gesture, continuing to just stare unflinchingly at the two teens. Marco seemed to be growing uncomfortable from the look, shifting next to Star, but the blond made sure to hold the general's gaze. Finally, the general said in a grunt, "Well it seems for once I was in the wrong here. Just do me a favor and try and not let your boyfriend destroy the whole castle." Star was so shocked to hear Skullnick admit to being wrong that she almost didn't register the last comment, not that she had a chance to comment on it as Skullnick suddenly turned on her heels and marching away, her stance as strong and determined as ever.

Star frowned as she watched the general storm away, unsure how to feel about the apology, on one hand, it was unheard of for Skullnick to admit to making any form of mistake but on the other hand, it had felt very halfhearted and Star couldn't help but wonder if her parents had put the troll up to it. But finally, Star decided she would take what she was given, that was the closest she would probably ever come to having the general admit defeat and that small victory was enough for Star, besides she had more important matters at hand.

As if on cue, the doors of the castle were brutally slammed open and Star flinched in surprise, Marco clutching the girl's arm fearfully. Star watching in disbelief as the entrance to her home was almost destroyed, the doors practically ripped off their hinges and the wall behind them cracking from the sheer force of the violent and careless action. A second later, the flustered forms of both River and Buff Frog emerged from the castle, the later looking like he was having some sort of breakdown, his yellow eyes darting from left to right as he panted heavily, sweat dripping from his face. "Where is my baby?!" the frog Monster practically screamed.

"Hmmm, I don't see them anywhere," River said in his big, bombastic voice, gazing around the courtyard in search of something. "Perhaps they aren't back yet." He turned to a very nervous looking guard and shouted, "I thought you said they had returned!"

"Um, um, th-that's what I was told Y-Your Majesty," the guard said, doing a nervous salute.

Moon appeared behind her husband, saying in an almost exhausted tone, "River, Buff Frog, please. You're both making a scene."

"Hey guys! Over here!" Star shouted over to her parents, causing Marco to jump at the sudden loud noise.

All three adults turned to see the two teens, Buff Frog's body visibly sagging in relief, while the Butterfly couple just smiled at their daughter. The frog quickly ran over to the pair of teens at record speed, before throwing his beefy arms around his son, pulling him in close as he muttered, "Oh my baby! I so glad you safe!" Marco's arms flailed for a moment in an attempt to escape his father's crushing hug, clearly unsure about what was going on and he gazed over at his mate for assistance. But the frog father didn't seem to notice this, continuing to voice his thoughts out loud to his young son, "Thank corn you okay, Marco! When Butterflies tell me what happened I so worried. I feared you'd never come back." Slowly the boy stopped struggling as he recognized his adopted dad's voice, instead pulling into the hug.

The Butterflies watched father and son reunite for a moment, trying to hold back their smiles as Moon said to the Monster, "There now, see Buff Frog. I told you there was nothing to worry about. Star had everything under control."

Buff Frog gave said teen a grateful smile, while still holding his son close to his chest, "I cannot thank you enough for saving my son, Star!"

"Of course, I'd never let anything bad happen to Marco," Star replied pleasantly.

As Buff Frog continued showering his son with affection, Moon looked around the courtyard quizzically before leaning closer to her daughter's ear and whispering, "Star, where are the others that came with you?"

Star gasped, face-palming as she shouted, "Oh right, I totally forgot! Marco sorta flew off with me and we ended up leaving them back at the nest."

"Nest?" Moon asked quizzically.

"It's a long story," Star explained quickly while pulling out her wand from her cloud purse. She held the wand out and loudly chanted, "Summoning Cloudy Charm!" A second later a smiling pink cloud appeared in front of her, greeting her in a sing-song voice, "Hey there, Star!"

"Hey Cloudy," the girl greeted back with a smile of her own. "Think you could do me a favor and go pick up my friends? I accidentally left them back in the Forest of Certain Death." The blond gestured behind her so Cloudy knew the general direction to go.

"Sure thing, Star!" the cloud replied before floating off to go fetch his master's friends.

"Very clever spell, my darling," Moon complimented her daughter, watching the cloud flying off into the darkening sky.

"Thanks, mom," the girl said, proudly resting her hands on her hips.

"Only I have one question for you," Moon said hesitantly.

"What's that?" Star asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

"How does he know where they are?"

Star paused at that question, before replying with a halfhearted shrug, "Uhh, he's magic. I'm sure he can figure it out."

A sudden gasp from Buff Frog brought Star and Moon's attention back over to father and son, the frog now holding the boy at arm's length, taking in his son's new form, muttering in concern and fear, "Look at you, my son! I have heard of Mewberty before, but never seen up close!" He tutted to himself for a few seconds before adding, "Hopefully you not in any pain. Does anything hurt, Marco? Do you need me get you medicine or something?"

Star tried to hold back her laughter, as she watched Buff Frog doting over his son, worriedly examining him from head to toe, while the boy hovered there in confusion. Marco wasn't kidding before, Buff Frog really did get overprotective of Marco when he was sick and seeing the normally calm and confident Monster turn into this flustered mess was so jarring to Star she couldn't help but chuckle, clapping a hand over her mouth to muffle the sound.

"Now there's no need to worry yourself, Buff Frog," River cut in, giving the Monster dad a knowing look, understanding Buff Frog's situation quite well himself. "Marco is perfectly fine. Right, my dear?"

"Yes, it's a perfectly normal thing for boys Marco's age to go through," Moon said. "And I can assure you he is in no form of pain, whatsoever."

"Oh thank corn," Buff Frog said, letting out another relieved breath.

"But y'know, right now he almost looks like he could pass for a Monster, don't you think?" Star pointed out, smiling brightly at her boyfriend.

"Da, but I happy with old son," Buff Frog agreed, a smile slowly spreading across his features. He paused for a moment, giving his son a thoughtful expression, before turning to the three royals with a quizzical frown, asking, "How much longer till he turns back?"

The three Butterflies all exchanged glances at that, Star biting her lip as she struggled to answer that question herself. "Honestly, I'm not sure," the blond replied. "He was alone in his room for a while so I have no idea how long he's been like this. It could still be hours before he changes back."

The frog Monster nodded, staring down at the ground in intense thought, before saying almost sadly, "Then it would be best if he stayed here, till he gets better. As much as want to take him home, you know more about how help him, Star." Buff Frog finally released his grip on his son and the boy instantly flew to Star's side, grabbing on tightly to her arm and nuzzling her neck while purring loudly. Buff Frog's eyes widened in shock for a second, before he said almost jokingly, "Besides, it seems he prefer to be with you."

Star flushed in embarrassment from the comment, while her heart swelled at her boyfriend's show of affection, and she gave the frog an apologetic grin, "Yeah, that's probably a good idea. Especially since me not being here is what made him freak out in the first place." She ran a hand lovingly through Marco's hair, before returning her focus to the frog, adding pleasantly, "But you're welcome to stay, Buff Frog! I'm sure Marco will be much happier having you here too."

"Oh, wasn't planning on leaving anytime soon," Buff Frog replied cheerfully, though he did cross his arms in front of his chest in determination. "After all, Marco may be older but he is still my baby."

"Oh yes, I know how that is," River said, nodding in understanding. "Star is still my baby girl no matter how old she gets."

"Aww dad," Star cooed, shooting her dad a grin, though her cheeks turned the slightest tinge of pink.

"Now then, the big question is where Marco is going to stay?" Moon spoke up, her voice full of regal authority. A habit she didn't seem to be able to break no matter what the situation. "I don't think the castle staff would be too happy having him inside, shedding everywhere."

The group all looked down to see small orange sunspots drifting off of Marco's body and landing on the ground below his feet. "Yeah, your right mom," Star agreed, tapping a finger to her chin in thought.

The blond royal frowned as she brainstormed on where to keep her boyfriend until his Mewberty experience was over with. It would have to be outside somewhere, preferably away from people, where it could just be Marco and his friends and family, no chances of any intruders frightening him and setting him off. But it would also have to be within the castle boundary, Star didn't want to risk moving him anywhere where he might be tempted to fly off again. What Star really needed was a place within the castle grounds that people rarely ever visited. And that's when it struck her, Star smiling ear to ear, as an idea popped into her head. She turned to her parents and Buff Frog, telling them in a proud, confident tone, "I think I know just the place."

…

The castle garden was peaceful and calm as Star and the others entered into it, stars beginning to blink into existence above them as another night on Mewni began. A gentle breeze danced through the flowers and vegetation, making them sway in the wind, creating an even more beautiful scene. And thousands of fireflies circled the air around them, creating a simply breathtaking sight for everyone present to witness.

Marco was clinging to his girlfriend's arm tightly as she led him into the tranquil garden, confusion shimmering in his glowing orbs, but the moment he saw where Star had taken him his wings fluttered in excitement, a smile slowly appearing on his face. He started to let go of Star to go explore the area but quickly looked over at her, waiting for permission to leave her side, like a child would to their parent. Star nodded and smiled, telling the boy softly, "Go on, Marco. It's okay, I'll be right here if you need me."

The boy nodded once before zipping over to the nearest firefly, staring at it unblinkingly for a few seconds, completely mesmerized by the tiny light. He slowly reached out towards it with his four hands before quickly clapping them together around the unknowing bug. He paused before gazing into his hands, a smile slowly stretching across his face before it vanished as he saw nothing in his palms. But a blinking light right in front of his face caused him to rear back in surprise, almost sent tumbling through the air as his wings struggled to balance himself again. Once he had, he looked around for another light, before trying to snatch that one up instead, only to once more come up empty-handed.

From there the boy began chasing lightning bugs all around the garden, his four hands constantly outstretched as he tried to grab at them, while his entire being seemed to be radiating pure joy and happiness at the fun game he had discovered. Buff Frog, Star, and her parents all couldn't help but laugh at the cute sight, watching the boy zooming around playfully. "What a brilliant idea, Star," Moon complimented her daughter proudly.

"Thanks," Star replied with a grin.

Her dad putting a loving hand on her shoulder before adding, "That's my daughter for you, as clever as her old man!"

"River you once thought it was a good idea to eat a map while on one of your camping trips," Moon pointed out.

"In nature, everything is food!" River exclaimed dramatically.

"You were lost for four days," the blue-haired woman sighed, massaging her temple with her fingertips.

"Out in the woods, anything goes," River continued, his voice intense, and Moon just rolled her eyes.

Star and Buff Frog slowly shuffled away from the pair, leaving them alone to their devices and instead going over to join Marco, who was now crouched low to the ground, staring down one of the fireflies intensely, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration. His hands slowly cupped around the bug, not taking his eyes off it for even a second, before closing his fists around it. He held his hand up to his face, slowly opening his palm in concentration before his head lowered in defeat, making a low groaning noise.

Star and Buff Frog shared a smile, before the girl sat down on her knees beside her boyfriend, telling him softly, "Here, Marco, let me help." As Buff Frog sat down on Marco's other side, while Star slowly reached out a finger toward the lightning bug, pausing just inches short of it before waiting. A few seconds passed, Marco watching with such childlike curiosity that Star's heart almost melted right there, before the tiny bug landed on her fingertip, lighting up a few times calmly.

Marco gasped, leaning in closer to the girl, who had to hold him back by placing a hand on his chest. She giggled before saying sweetly, "Calm down, Marco. Your gonna scare it away."

Marco instantly relaxed, though his eyes never left the firefly, sitting down in the grass next to her. He scooted as close to her and the firefly as he possibly could and the girl smiled before grabbing his hand. She brought it slowly over to her own, before touching the tips together softly and the two watched as the lightning bug slowly crawled over to Marco's own finger, before flashing once.

The boy's mouth made a cute 'O' shape as he held the bug up to his face, watching it blink in pure delight and both Star and Buff Frog couldn't help but both inwardly coo at the hooded teen. Star leaned over and placed her head on his shoulder, while Buff Frog hugged his son's right side, though the boy noticed neither, his attention still completely on the firefly.

However, when a loud voice called from above, it immediately drew everyone's attention. "Hey there Star! We're hooommee!" came the cheerful call and everyone looked up to see Cloudy descending toward them, carrying a group of passengers in its fluff.

"Thanks, Cloudy!" Star called out to her spell, raising her head off the boy's shoulder but not moving from her spot at her boyfriend's side. "Hey guys, glad to see you back!"

Her smile vanished though as she took in the sight of her friends, who were all covered in leaves and twigs, their hair and clothes now badly disheveled (their clothes even torn in a few places) and they stared down at the girl with either annoyed or impassive looks. "What happened?" the blond asked quizzically.

"Well it seems your spell decided it would be a good idea to fly through every single tree on the way back," Janna explained, while angrily untangling twigs from her messy hair.

"Yeah thanks for the ride, Star, but I think next time we'll just walk," Jackie commented as she slid off the cloud and back onto solid ground once more.

Star chuckled awkwardly while scratching at her blushing cheeks as she muttered out, "Sorry."

"Well, I had a great time!" Cloudy suddenly said, doing spins in the air. "I loved getting to fly through all those bushes, it was so much fun!"

It wouldn't have been so bad if dad and Jak didn't insist on singing road trip songs the whole way back," Higgs muttered.

Jak and Dex quickly put their arms around the redhead's shoulders, Dex said excitedly, "Oh come on Higgs, you used to love those!"

"Well, I don't now!" Higgs snapped angrily, pulling out of the two guard's grip.

"Oh good your all back safe," Moon suddenly spoke up behind them, and the three all turned on their heels, Jak and Dex gaping openly at the two royals standing in front of them.

"Your Majesties!" the two exclaimed before dropping into low bows.

"Thank you so much for your help in assisting my daughter," Moon said, her voice kind but regal as she addressed her two subjects.

"The pleasure was all ours, Your Highness!" Dex said, the two looking up so they could smile to their queen.

"And for your great effort," Moon continued and the two guards held in their squeals of delight. Here it came, the queen was about to knight them. "You have my gratitude," the royal finished and the two's faces fell.

"What that's it?" Jak blurted out, only to be violently elbowed by his partner.

"I beg your pardon," Moon said, an eyebrow slowly rising.

"What Jak means to say is that your gratitude is all we needed to hear," Dex replied, giving the queen a nervous smile, Higgs face-palming and shaking her head in disbelief.

"Now if you'll excuse us, we should be going," Dex continued as he pushed his partner away, still smiling at the queen, who stared at the two quizzically. The moment they were out of earshot, Dex whispered, "We'll be knighted next time for sure."

"Well that was utterly embarrassing," Higgs commented. She rolled her eyes before saying in exasperation. "Now can we please go home."

The two guards shared a look before Dex said, "Sure thing, sweetie." Then, the two began loudly singing one of their corny road trip songs, bellowing it out at the top of their lungs, Cloudy soon joining in. Marco happily bopped his head along to the song, not sure what the catchy noise was but loving every second of it.

Higgs pressed her hands over her ears tightly before letting out an annoyed shout, storming away from the two, who followed after her, still singing.

Once that was all over, Star pulled out her wand and said decisively, "Okay Cloudy I think it's time for you to go home."

"Aww, but I was just starting to have fun-" the spell began, only to vanish as Star undid her magic, before tucking the wand away inside her purse again.

"So I see Marco's still not back to normal," Janna commented, casting the boy a glance as she tucked her hands into her pockets.

"Yep, but until he turns back, me and Buff Frog figured it'd be best to keep him in here and away from everyone else," Star explained, the boy purring as the blond brushed his bangs out of his eyes.

"Sounds good to me," Janna said before her and Jackie sat down in the grass.

"Mind if we join you?" Jackie asked with one of her cool grins.

Star looked over to Marco, who showed no signs of discomfort or fear and shrugged, telling her friends pleasantly, "Sure, why not?"

An hour passed as the group all sat in the grass, talking and laughing as they waited for their friend to turn back. Buff Frog, stayed pretty much silent through it all, never moving more than a few inches away from his son, staying close in case Marco needed him for any reason at all. The hooded teen for the most part stayed by Star, occasionally holding her hand or snuggling into her side, where the girl would either hug him back or plant a loving kiss on his cheek. At one point he curled up into her lap, where Star gently played with his hair as he purred with affection. There were a few times that the boy grew bored of laying around and would fly around the garden trying to play with the fireflies or sniffing the large selection of flowers the expansive garden had. But he would soon tire himself out and return to Star's side, seeking her attention which she was happy to give.

After a while though, the group grew too tired after the long day and one by one drifted off to sleep. Jackie and Janna lay side by side on the ticklish grass, breathing gently in the comfort of their dreams. Buff Frog's body was slumped forward as he slumbered peacefully, his exhaustion for once more powerful than his protective nature. And finally, Marco rested happily on top of Star, who lay on her back running her hands up and down his back in a soothing manner, being careful to avoid his wings. Only Star remained awake, though she too was slowly starting to drift in and out of consciousness, yawning quietly every few seconds.

But still, somehow the girl managed to stay awake, despite her body and mind's attempts to thwart this, because she had Marco and that was all that mattered. She kept casting the boy long, tender looks as she stared at his sleeping face, his body still in stuck in its Mewberty state. Even though a part of her missed Marco's old look she couldn't help but admire his new form, he looked as cute as ever, with his bangs so long they lay in his face, which blew around with every breath Marco took. His glowing cheek marks actually blinked in time to his even breathing. Just like a firefly, Star thought with a smile. And Marco's wings continued to flutter every so often in reaction to whatever he was dreaming about, though not enough to lift him off the ground.

Star sighed dreamily as she stared into Marco's adorable face, her cheek marks turning white as she examined every inch of his features, admiring her boyfriend with every ounce of her being. She gently leaned over and planted a kiss to his forehead, the boy smiled before shifting a bit in his sleep which made Star's pupils dance, her heart beating at a mile per hour at this point. "Oh Marco," Star cooed, as she touched the end of her nose to his, unable to help herself as she wrapped her arms around him in a warm, affectionate hug. Then, without even thinking, she breathed out in a voice just barely above a whisper, "I love you so much."

The blond froze, her cheeks turning bright red as she realized what she had just said. It had just slipped out, she hadn't meant to say something like that to her snoozing boyfriend. The girl quickly looked around to make sure no one had heard her and breathed a sigh of relief when she found everyone still asleep and oblivious to her unintentional confession. After a moment, she willed her cheeks back to a normal hue and lay back, hoping after some sleep she could forget she had just said that.

But the moment she closed her eyes, a bright flashing light invaded her senses, as well as a loud shuffling sound. Her eyes flew open as she looked up to see Marco's whole body now glowing and the girl let out a startled squeak. But a smile widened on her face as she recognized the final stage of Mewberty and turned to her friends shouting, "Guys, wake up!"

Jackie and Janna groaned, the two sitting up and rubbing their eyes. "What? What's happening?" Jackie asked groggily.

Buff Frog, however, was instantly awake and alert, showing no signs of having been asleep mere seconds earlier, as he jumped up and rushed over to his son, saying in panic, "Oh no is he okay? Is normal for him to glow like that? Should we do something?"

Star just shook her head, telling the frog father simply, "Nope, Marco's just fine. He's about to turn back."

"Oh," was all Buff Frog said in reply, his nervous eyes never leaving his son.

The boy slowly lifted off the ground his wings guiding him gently up as they flapped for the last few times of their existence. Sunspots began appearing all over his body, his face, chest, arms, legs, everywhere, quickly spreading and surrounding the boy in a make-shift cocoon. Soon the boy was completely out of sight, only a large orange shape hovering in the air over their heads remained. For a few seconds, nothing happened, the group staring up at Marco's cocoon intensely. Then, all of sudden, there was a bright flash of light from within the object, the outline of Marco's form appearing within, not that the group could tell having to block their eyes from the blinding light.

Once the glow ceased the others all looked up at the cocoon with bated breath waiting for what happened next. Slowly sunspots began peeling off the cocoon, fluttering to the ground below, but as the seconds ticked by more and more followed until it was practically raining small orange suns, the garden soon coated in them. Then, Marco form suddenly dropped from the sky, and Star lunged forward to catch him. He landed safely in Star's arms, although the momentum caused her to fall to the ground and the breath was temporarily knocked out of her lungs. The girl recovered quickly though, shifting her grip on Marco so that Marco was laying in her lap. "Marco?" the girl whispered, trying to keep the anxiety out of her tone.

The boy groaned, turning his head to the side before his eyes slowly peeked open. He blinked a few times, clearly trying to get his barrings, before letting out a tired yawn, stretching his arms over his head as he sat up some. "Aw man, Star you wouldn't believe the dream I just had, it was crazy," the boy began in his typical cheeriness, though his eyes still drooped some with exhaustion. "I was flying and I think I was looking for something and there were these little blinking lights-" Marco paused mid-explanation as suddenly become aware where he was, looking up at the faces of Buff Frog, Jackie, and Janna, before turning to Star with a quizzical look. "Um, Star, what are we doing out here?"

The others all exchanged looks, clearly trying to think of the best way to explain it to Marco, before finally Star said, "It's a long story."

"Let's just say your dream wasn't actually a dream," Janna added cryptically.

"Wait you mean that really happened?" Marco exclaimed jumping up, the shock on his face clear as day. "I really was flying!"

"Yep, you just went through something called 'Mewberty'," Jackie explained.

"Mewberty?" Marco repeated, cocking his head to the side, confusion pinching his brows.

"That's right, it's a normal thing teenage Mewmans go through to adjust to their magic," Star explained.

"Oh, okay," the boy said, nodding his head some in understanding, his eyes shining with curiosity. "So does that mean I don't have the chickenpox?"

The group all shook their heads.

"So then everything in my dream really happened?!" Marco exclaimed in total disbelief.

"Da, everything," Buff Frog said wisely.

"Even the part where you all turned into giant marshmallows?" Marco asked, giving them all a confused frown.

The group paused, looking between one another before Jackie corrected, "Okay, so not everything in your dream really happened."

The boy sat down cross-legged, resting his head in his hands as he asked, "So did Skullnick and the other knights really attack me?"

"Yes, as sad as it is they did," Jackie muttered angrily.

"They what?!" Buff Frog exclaimed.

"Apparently my mom and dad gave them orders to detain anyone going through Mewberty but Skullnick took it a bit too far," Star explained.

"And did I... throw her like in my dream," Marco asked, a guilty look in his eye.

Jackie and Janna both nodded, the latter saying, "Yeah but you didn't really have much of a choice." She paused before adding, "Plus, it looked pretty cool."

The boy looked sadly at the ground before turning to Star and asking in a nervous stutter, "And did we... I mean, in my dream there was like this beautiful sunset and I was wondering if-"

"Mm-hmm, that part was real," Star replied, scooting closer to the boy and putting a hand on his back.

Marco smiled, clearly reminiscing the fuzzy memory, before he said bashfully, "That was my favorite part."

"Mine too," Star agreed, leaning over and kissing his forehead.

Suddenly though a thought occurred to Marco and he gasped, looking around fearfully at each of his friends and dad and asked, "Oh no, the meeting! What happened?!"

"I left early to come find you," Star explained and the boy's face fell.

"I'm sorry for causing so much trouble for everyone," the boy muttered, the guilt evident on his face, tears forming at the corners of his eyes.

The group all shared a concerned look, before Star said softly, "Marco, you didn't do anything wrong."

"But the meeting," Marco sniffed, giving his girlfriend a sad, apologetic look that melted the girl's heart.

"That wasn't your fault and the other Monsters completely understood," Star said, cupping his head in her hands, staring deep into his chocolate brown orbs, giving him a warm, loving smile. "Besides, your more important to me than some meeting."

The boy didn't seem convinced though, his eyes still full of regret as he muttered, "But I-I hurt Skullnick and the other knights and-and-"

"Marco," Star interrupted, giving him a compassionate grin, hoping to silently convey her message. "It's okay," she whispered.

"Look, dude, you weren't thinking straight. That's all," Jackie spoke up in a soft, comforting tone and the boy looked over at her hopefully.

"Really?"

"Yeah and I mean, it was really more of Skullnick's fault for antagonizing you, she brought it on herself," Janna added, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"I still worried all of you," the boy muttered sadly, looking down at the ground.

The group shared a look before Janna blurted, "Well duh, of course, you did."

"Huh?" Marco asked in confusion.

Jackie sat down next to the boy and told him much more gently, "What Janna means to say is that we're your friends and we care about you. So when something is upsetting or scaring you of course we're going to worry a little."

"We know you don't mean anything by it," Buff Frog added, putting a comforting hand on his son's shoulders. "We just happy you safe."

"The important thing is you're okay," Star finished, giving him a kind smile. "So you don't have to feel bad, we never mind looking out for you."

Marco returned the smile with one of his own, before leaping forward into his girlfriend's arms, hugging her tightly and the girl quickly squeezed him back. The others soon joined all in the group hug, all comforting and supporting their friend, who was sniffing again as tears ran down his cheeks.

After a moment the group pulled apart, Marco swiping at his eyes with his hoodie sleeve before he gave each of his friends and family a grateful smile. "Thanks, guys. You're the best!" He paused, rubbing the back of his neck as he added a bit bashfully, "But I still can't believe how my Mewberty made me act."

"Eh, still wasn't as bad as Star's," Janna commented, jabbing a finger in said girl's direction.

Star gave her creepy friend an annoyed glare, snapping, "Okay I really wish you'd all stop bringing that up now."

"Was yours really that bad, Star?" Marco asked, his eyes shining with intrigue.

"She almost destroyed the entire castle," Janna explained quickly before Star could answer, and the blond royal growled under her breath.

"I was 11 and going through some stuff, okay! Give me a break!" Star shouted, throwing her hands up into the air in exasperation. The girl let out a deep sigh, burying her head in her hands, saying with a muffled cry, "I'm never going to live that down, am I?"

"Not as long as I'm around," Janna replied with a mischievous grin, elbowing her friend in the ribs and Star promptly looked up from her hands to glare in the creepy teen's direction.

"So what was your Mewberty like Janna?" Marco asked, hoping to change the subject off his clearly uncomfortable girlfriend.

The beanie-wearing girl shrugged, before casually explaining, "Actually I haven't had one yet."

"Oh," the boy said simply. He paused before asking, "Well when do you think it'll happen?"

"Hopefully not anytime soon," Jackie commented, a tired look on her face. "I'm not sure I can handle another Mewberty, especially Janna's. Something tells me it's gonna get way weird."

Janna shrugged, before commenting, "Relax, Jacks, I'm sure mine won't be for a long whi-" The girl suddenly stopped mid-sentence, her eyes going blank and her mouth hanging open dumbly. The others all froze in place, Marco watching with nervous curiosity, while the others grew tense as their friend continued staring off into space. Finally, the girl's head slowly lowered so her eyes were hidden behind her bangs as she said in a low, creepy tone, "Toooommmm."

"Oh no," Star muttered worriedly, slowly reaching for her purse and subsequently her wand, while Buff Frog pushed Marco behind him for protection.

But a second later, Janna lifted her head, a smug smile on her lips, back to her normal creepy self once more as she said with a teasing wink, "Nah, I'm just kidding."

"JANNA!" everyone shouted angrily and the girl just laughed at her successful prank.

While the girl celebrated her victory and received a scolding lecture from Jackie, Marco turned to Star asking one last pestering question that had been on his mind since waking up, "So, um, Star I was wondering, just before my dream ended- or I guess I changed back- I thought I heard you say something to me?"

Star's face instantly flushing bright red, embarrassment and fear causing her brain to go haywire. Her heart began hammering away in her chest as her boyfriend's quizzical, chocolate brown orbs rested on her hot face and she quickly averted her eyes, trying desperately to think up some kind of answer. Any and all words froze on her tongue though and she coughed to clear her tight throat, before playing with a loose strand of blond hair. But she could feel Marco growing concerned by her lack of response and she blurted out the first possible thing she could think of. "Oh, uhhh, n-no, I can't think of anything I would have said to you," she stammered, still not meeting Marco's eye as her cheeks turned a dark shade of crimson. "It must have been part of your dream."

Marco nodded, a thoughtful look on his face for a second before he smiled with his typical cheeriness and exclaimed, "Yeah, I guess that's all it was!" He chuckled to himself, rubbing at the back of his neck in that cute way he always did and Star grinned at her boyfriend, a wave of relief washing through her, glad her secret was still safe. She did like Marco a lot, but she wasn't sure if she was ready for such big words like that just yet and decided it would be best to keep her earlier confession to herself... at least for now.

But unbeknownst to Star, someone else had been listening in and knew exactly how the princess felt about her hoodie-wearing friend.

It had been a total accident on Buff Frog's part, using an old trick he had learned spying for Toffee to appear asleep when he secretly wasn't, relaxing down his muscles and body while simultaneously keeping his mind awake and alert for any potential threats. And with his sensitive hearing, well, it hadn't been difficult to pick up on Star's hushed tone.

Not that Buff Frog would ever say anything to Star or Marco about it. No, he knew better than to meddle in Marco's love life, it was best to let their relationship happen naturally. For now, it would just be his little secret. And as the amphibian watched the pair closely, picking up on every loving look and heartfelt smile that passed between the two, he couldn't help but grin knowing to himself. Give it time, he thought to himself. They'll get there someday.

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

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