Moon was trying to reach her bedroom with haste. The dream might have been over, but the emotions from it were still fresh. She needed to see Star herself.

"Star!"

"Mom!"

As Moon predicted, Star was looking out a window at the same thing she had just witnessed. She ran to her and hugged her firmly. River was surprised at the emotional outburst.

"Are you alright, dear?"

"I- Mom. Air-"

She quickly let go of her.

"Sorry. I'm just glad to see you."

"Me too mom. But do you feel alright?"

"A little weak, but otherwise I feel okay."

"You sure about that?"

"I am."

"Because you look pale. Well, more pale than usual."

"You don't need to worry about me, sweety. Now, tell me - what do you intend to do?"

"Do what, mom?"

"Don't play dumb, Star. I know you. I know how you feel about Marco."

Star looked back at Moon, surprised.

"Everyone does."

"Not like me; I'm your mother."

"Not this again…"

"Star, look at me. I know what he means to you. It is true that I was never really happy you falling in love with an outsider, but…" She looked at River, who, him being him, didn't understand her notion. "I was once deeply in love with an outsider too. You cannot imagine the racket it caused. But, I stuck to my conviction and years later I gave birth to a beautiful, albeit headstrong baby girl, that for some reason took great joy keeping me awake almost every night."

Star smiled back at her. She couldn't remembered her mother ever being this emotionally open.

"Go get him."

"Sooooo, you are fine with me going after Eclipsa?"

"No. Far from it. But I also know that if I tried to stop you, I would fail anyway and you'd hate for it. And I don't want that."

Star hugged her mother once more. "Thank you."

"But you have to me promise one thing."

"What's that?"

"Wait with the idea of having family of your own, okay? I don't feel old enough to become a grandma."

"I'll make no promises."

"Star!"

"Just joking. I'll be back soon and in one piece, I promise. Hopefully with Marco as well. Thanks, mom!"

After her last words she ran away out to meet her friends.

With her parents recovering, she thought back to the day when she first arrived on Earth. A lot has happened since then, from the laughs and fun she shared with Marco, to the dangers they fought off together. But even after all of those experiences, it had never occurred to her that she'd be fighting against Marco. Her… friend, now seems to be allied with Eclipsa. It sounds crazy, even to her, but it was the only reason Star could imagine for everything that had happened.

Star looked down the empty hallway. The vacantness she gazed into started to feel more like home, like a familiar place she felt she belonged to. She almost made peace with it.

"No!"

Despite everything, all of those memories were engraved too deep to ignore. He might have hurt her parents and even her, but that wasn't the same boy standing by her side even in the dire times. Star was sure that something must have happened to him and, even if no one else would believe it, she was determined to cling to that truth to the very end. It was this determination that was pushing her onwards toward her room where the gang gathered. Janna was standing in the corner, being her typical aloof self, while Tom and Pony Head were sitting on bed and discussing their experiences inside River's and Moon's heads. Star gathered their attention to suggest the next course of action.

"You must be joking right now." It was a good thing that Tom took the initiative, considering Pony Head's face.

"I am not," responded Star. "I'm telling you that wasn't Marco. Nothing he said made any sense."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because… It doesn't… It just didn't, OK?"

"That's not very convincing."

"Look, guys, I just know he needs our help."

"Alright, girl." Pony Head's voice was calm, which did not correspond with the anger in her eyes. Star knew this is going to get ugly. "I love you, you know that, right? And I'm behind you all the time, like, 100%." She then took a deep, really deep breath and proceeded to release all the cumulated air in her lungs to express the following statement: "AREYOUCRAZYTHATEARTHTURDDITCHEDYOUFORYOURGRANDMAHURTYOURPARENTSANDYOUWANTTOHELPHIMIAMGONNASLAPYOUINTHEFACEUNTILYOUWAKEUP!"

Her voice was a single high-pitched sound that kept bouncing around from the walls. Tom had to cover his ears, while Janna and Star didn't seem to mind.

"Okay, first of all, he did not ditch me, he was kidnapped."

"You don't know that!"

Star's face was now covered by worries. "I am, because… of our talk we had yesterday."

"What talk?" Pony Head suspiciously turned down her eyes. "Girl, I know everything about you, because as your best friend it's my job to protect you even from yourself and I'm sure I didn't see you two talking."

"There are things even you don't about me."

"Oh, right, and pigeons can talk."

"We discussed our future and-"

"Yeah, yeah, you love each other, blah blah blah. What could you- OOOOOOOOOOOOH!" It was like lightning struck her at that moment. "YOU DID NOT TALK ABOUT… THAT?!"

Star looked at Tom, who seemed pretty annoyed with Pony Head's antics. But she was more worried about Janna, who was still silently observing them. That made her far more uneasy than Pony Head's hysteria.

"Yes, we did. Which is why I don't believe his sudden change of heart. It simply makes no sense."

"B-fly, that theory of yours lacks anything concrete."

"It's all I need."

"Yeah, well, it's not enough for me."

"Are you saying you're not going?"

"Whatever is happening in that forest can't be good and I'm too young and pretty to die."

"I see. And you, Tom?"

It was obvious that Star felt sad by Pony Head's refusal to help. But Tom wasn't exactly thrilled about idea either.

"I can't believe I'm about to say this, but I agree with Pony Head. I mean come on, Star. Isn't it possible that your feelings for him is making you wish he didn't do that willingly?"

Point Head was staring at him with open mouth.

"Did you just… agree with me?"

"Shut up."

"Ooooh no no no no. I am so going to use this against you!"

"Hmpf!"

With both of them out of the picture, Star was forced to ask Janna for help. She was unsettled and did not like the idea one bit.

"Uhm, Janna? What about… you?"

Janna, of course, knew this; her smirk was giving her away.

"Count me in."

"Yeah, I expected this an- Wait, what?!"

Now, all three of them were staring with open mouths.

"You… You will?"

"Going into a dangerous forest to save Marco, who put your parents into nightmares? After what I saw in Moon's dream, I want to experience it for real!"

"Uh, right." Star moved her sight back to Pony Head and Tom, who were still incredulously gazing at Janna. "Well guys, looks like my 'best friends' bailed on me, huh? Nice to know you have my back."

The first one to snap back into reality was Tom. "What?"

"Janna, pack your things, we're leaving."

Star made sure to make a theatrical exit so that he would know she is pissed. It worked perfectly.

"Oh no, you are not doing this to me right now!"

She stopped and made a slow and dramatic turn with her head.

"Doing what?"

"This… mind game. You're trying to make me feel bad. Well it won't work!"

"Okay," she shrugged her shoulders. "You have everything?" she asked Janna, who was passing her by.

"Yep."

"Great. Let's go."

They both left the room and went straight for the castle's exit.

"You think it will work?" whispered Janna.

"Wait few seconds."

They made three steps exactly when Tom's rawr has sprung up across the hallway.

"ARRRGGHHH! OK, fine! You want my help? You will have my help! But just to make things clear: I am not doing this for Marco."

"Of course not," agreed Janna. "You're doing this for me." She winked at him in a way that could be described as an unspecified combination of flirting and sarcasm.

Tom's face was a display of pure disgust.

"Pony Head, we're going!" yelled Star.

The flying pony was still frozen by what has happened in front of her a good two minutes ago.

"Whaaaa?"

"Ugh!" nodded Tom who proceeded to grab her by the hair.

"Ow! Not there! NOT THERE!"

As Star looked onward to the forest, with a wavering expression on her face, she caught a glimpse of a small songbird with streaks of blue on its feathers, flying up and up and up, into the dim purple sky of Mewni.

Just beyond the forest was the one Star loved above all else, her prince, the key to everything she longed for. Of course, he was locked away with the deceit of her conniving snake of a grandmother. Typical for her luck.

Star turned back one more time to see Butterfly Castle in all of its beauty and sighs.

"Shall we?"

Weirdly enough, there was nothing inside the forest that wanted to kill them, or do anything at all. Everything was just silently moving left and right with the flowing purple fog between the trees. It made the place look almost dreamy, though the feeling it was creating in them was anything but.

"Guys," started Pony Head, "I know this place is suppose to give you the creeps, but I'm shaking even in my legs."

"You don't have legs, Pony," responded Tom.

"That's my point! I didn't feel this bad even when I heard about the Bounce Lounge closing down. This ain't normal, I tell you."

"Your yammering, on the other hand, is as annoying as ever."

"Oooh, you wanna start this right here and now, demon boy?!"

"On the contrary, I want you to shut your mouth!"

"OH!"

Star, who was surprisingly calm considering the unnerving setting, briskly turned around.

"Will you both cut it out?!"

"(S)He started it!" replied both at the same time.

"Ugh! This forest is soaked in raw dark magic. It's apparently affecting our behaviour. You have to calm down!"

"Oh, you mean like you're doing right now?" teased her Pony Head.

"Pony!"

"No, she's right," agreed Tom. "I felt it even when we were standing outside. It soothes my nerves, though."

"That's a funny way showing it," replied Star.

"I just wanted you to know how I feel every day. It ain't pretty, is it?"

Tom could clearly see rage building up in Star's eyes.

"But I'm done."

"Wise choice, pretty boy," replied Pony.

"How about you, Janna?" asked Star.

Her friend were standing there silently, without saying a word, or showing any emotion.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine," she answered.

To anyone else that would be a sufficient answer. But for Janna it seemed to them as if her response lacked a certain… personal involvement.

"Are you sure? You look a little pale. Well, paler, than usual."

"Uhm."

"Well, if you say so. We have to move quickly. And find the source of the flow."

"QUICKLY?!" snapped Pony Head. "We're in the freaking Forest of Certain Death! If this was the Forest of Certain Fun, I'd be flying around here like crazy, but it isn't and I don't want to die, surely not for your Earth turd!"

"Stop calling him that!" yelled back Star. "Phew, okay, look. Forest, by the looks of it, has its own problems dealing with this huge insurgence of dark magic. The place seems like it is too busy to kill us; we were standing here for over three minutes now and not a single thing has happened to us!"

"That's a good point," Tom agreed. "How do you plan to find the source, though? You don't have a map, do you?"

"No. But how hard can it be? All this magic must be coming from somewhere."

"You mean like a river?" asked Pony Head.

"Yeah. Just like that."

"I dunno. It can't be that easy."

Star wasn't paying attention to her anymore. She was focusing on the thin purple stripes floating in the air.

"I think I have it. Let's go!"

Their road ahead was complicated to say at least. The forest was in constant flux and its changes were almost like subtle changes in someone's dream. It was hard to focus on the right direction and even Tom started to feel agitated.

"How much longer, Star?" asked Pony Head.

"I wish I knew."

"So we are basically walking around blind. That's great. I definitely didn't feel like doing that today. I was really looking forward TO NOT DOING IT AT ALL!"

Even though Tom has not felt this calm in, well, forever, Pony Head's yelling managed to anger him a bit.

"You aren't helping."

"Yeah, well, it's not like you are doing anything constructive with that pretty face of yours."

Pony could shock other people rather easily, but this was the first time that she had found it was her being shocked.

"What?"

"What?"

Tom was impaling her with confused sight, while she was trying really hard not to appear nervous. Not very successfully. She quickly turned her sight back to Star.

"So, uhm, B-fly, any success?"

"Yeah, Star," added Tom. "As much as I like this place, I have no intention of spending an eternity in here."

"Can you be silent for a few seconds? I think I heard something."

"Really? What is it?"

"I'll let you know once I'm able to hear it again. Please give me a sec to listen."

By this point the sound was already gone.

"Whatever made it must have ran away. Waiiiiiiit. What's that?"

While she was listening to the forest, she noticed a small, almost too subtle change in the background color. Whatever it was, it was clear that it did not belong there.

All three of her friends were suddenly looking for this strange thing that caught Star's attention. They had no idea what to look for, nor where. But whenever someone made such a comment in the Forest of Certain Death, it always meant trouble.

"What did you see?" asked Pony with perceptible fear in her voice.

"I'm not sure. It almost looked like… a light."

Pony looked at Tom to confirm her confusion.

"Uh, not to dampen your zeal, girl, but did you look around recently? Light is everywhere around us. What's weird about seeing one?"

"Because," Star pointed to direction where the small yellow light reappeared, "it doesn't belong there."

And indeed, there was a tiny, barely visible yellow dot. However, unlike everything in this forest, this one was completely still.

"Ooooh. What do you think it is?"

"I have no idea."

"Maybe it's the source of this weirdness," suggested Tom.

"Could be," agreed Star. "I mean, we're practically blind here."

"We should find out what it is."

Everyone almost jumped when they heard that voice. It was Janna, who decided to break the silence.

"Oh look, it's our sleeping beauty," noted Pony Head sarcastically. "Did you have a nice nap?" The sarcasm in her voice was so sharp it could cut through a tree.

"Yep."

"You're now back in the real world?"

"Yep."

"100%?"

"Yep."

"You're a damn chatterbox, aren't you?"

"Yep."

If it wasn't for this forest affecting their senses, they could all appreciate the rarity of this situation; Pony Head being beaten at her own game.

"Well, as usual as Janna sounds," began Star, "she is right. That is as good place as any to look for the source."

"Is anyone here worried what other things we may have find there?" asked Pony.

"Are you afraid?" replied Star.

"Me? Nah! I'm just, you know, trying to come up with backup plan in case we run into monster that will try to eat our brains or whatever."

"Since when do you think about a plan B? Or any plans for that matter?"

"Oh, look who's talking!"

"...Well, we should make haste. I'd like to leave this place sooner rather than later."

After roaming the forest for several minutes without getting any closer to the elusive light in the distance, it was getting clear that "later" would be the more accurate estimate. Their confusion was growing with each passing minute, as their march didn't have the desired effect. They checked the ground beneath their feet several times to assure themselves that they were in fact moving. Despite the obvious evidence, their goal was not getting any closer.

"This is ridiculouuuuuuuuus!" One of Pony Head's many specialties was to express her frustration as a combination of yelling and singing. "I'm sorry B-fly, but I have to inform you that I have had enough of this and I'm getting out of this horrible place."

"Stop being so melodramatic," said Janna.

"I'm sorry, but you have no say in this matter."

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Because you're creepy! And if I didn't know you better I'd say your were born here!"

"Meh. It's a cool place, but a few decorations here and there would definitely improve it."

"Point made. Bye!"

"Pony Head…" whispered Star.

She was pointing to something in front of them. Even Tom and Janna have fixed their sight on it. But Pony was too busy making dramatic exit.

"No, B-fly, this way- *thud* OUCH! Who on Mewni places a door in the middle of… Wait a second…"

She was now giving this newly spawned object her full and undivided attention, which for her was quite an accomplishment.

"How did it get here?" Her voice was now silent and high pitched, like that of a child. "I was going away and this wasn't here and it just popped and I'll fllfflsmfl."

Star closed her mouth and held it shut so she could hear herself think.

"You all saw it, right?"

Both Janna and Tom nodded in agreement.

"I just blinked my eyes and it just… Just…"

"Poof!" Tom finished the thought.

But Janna wasn't shocked; she was surprised.

"That was awesome! I need to learn this trick. This could earn me easy money at kids' magic shows!"

No one paid attention to her comment. After the initial surprise, they all began to examine this mysterious building. Star noticed that it was a regular, fully-featured house. Absolutely nothing weird about that. She also noticed the light coming from a nearby window.

"Look, in the window. It's the same light we were following. This has gotta be it!"

"That much is obvious," agreed Tom, "but what is it?"

"A house."

"Apparently. But what is it doing here? I mean, I saw a lots of crazy stuff back home, but it all made sense. This thing, however - doesn't belong here."

"We should go in," suggested Star.

This disrupted Pony Head from her trance of amazement and horror.

"Whaaaat?! Are you crazy?!"

"Do you have a better idea? Look around, Pony! We are in the middle of nowhere. For real this time. We could be roaming this place for hours, days even and still wouldn't be able to find anything at all! This house over here is the only lead we have!"

"You mean the only lead you have."

"Not this again…"

"I'm sorry, B-fly, but none of us wanted to come here. Well, except maybe for 'miss spooky witch' over he- Wait, where is she?"

Shortly after that the sound of someone opening a door reached her ears.

"Oh look, it's open!"

"JANNA!"

"You know, on Earth it's considered rude not to enter after you open doors," she smiled.

"Oh I will erase that smirk from your face, you little…!"

Star stopped Pony Head just in time to prevent her from jumping on Janna.

"Pony, for crying out loud, cool it down!"

"I don't want to hurt her! I just want to do a minor correction surgery on her face!"

"Tom, little help here?!"

"I'm sorry, Star, but she is right. She is-"

Pony turned her head towards him and he saw two eyes burning up from all the anger like two hell holes. The prince of the underworld felt a strange sensation in his chest, if only for a second. That tiny time window was enough for any good opportunist to take advantage of the situation. Janna was, among many things, an exemplary opportunist. She stepped in before Tom could say or do anything.

"Guys! I think I saw someone moving at the back of the hall!"

It wasn't the message itself that made them all to move their heads in unison. It was the drama in Janna's voice. Her worried, almost scared face finished the job.

"Really?" asked Star. "Who did you see?"

"I dunno. It was just silhouette."

Star let go of Pony Head and came closer to the doors to peek inside the house. She wasn't exactly sure what she was expecting to see inside, but deep down she hoped that somehow iit would be Marco, just standing there, waiting for her. Alas, the hallway was devoid of all life. Despite this, the house itself felt warm and welcoming, as if it was waiting there for any traveling lost souls.

She naturally stepped in.

"Star, what are you doing?!" silently yelled Pony Head.

"It's… it is…" A part of her was fighting the urge to go deeper into the house. But eventually that part was silenced by the warmth emanating from every object inside. "It's fine." Her voice now sounded mellow and content.

That made Pony Head even more uneasy, but it also put a bug into her head. When she looked around her, she shaw only a weird looking, constantly shifting forest in a really nasty shade of purple. It was extremely unwelcoming. The house in front of her, on the other hand, was anything but. A glaring contrast to its surroundings. A light that was meant to attract.

"Well, maybe… I mean, it doesn't look any better outside." The inner fight in her voice was palpable, but also diminishing.

Tom felt fine in the Forest, but even he couldn't help but to wonder what might be in the house. The truth was he was kinda hungry and could eat something.

"Do you think we could eat inside?"

Janna was, well… Janna. She never revealed to anyone what she was feeling unless she wanted to. And she really didn't want to.

"Hey, how about instead of talking about going inside we actually go inside?"

At this point, anything involving the house sounded like a great idea.

When they all entered it, doors didn't sinisterly slammed with a spooky sound and with cloud of dust for effect. Instead they neatly closed without even locking themselves. What for? They were all where they wanted to be and leaving didn't even cross their mind.

The interior was well lit, so every detail of its equipment and decor was clearly visible. They were observing everything with great interest: from the tapestries of ancient sceneries, to the elegant lamps evenly placed, to the perfectly placed exquisite furniture. It was like an extreme form of feng shui. Everything had its place, function, and form.

The entry hallway was quite long and not very wide. On its left side there were stairs leading to second floor. While the lamps downstairs glowed with yellow light, the ones up above glimmered in red. The practical function of this seemingly trivial change was unknown, but aesthetically it created an almost mesmerizing effect.

"I should-"

"-go there."

Pony Head smoothly finished Tom's initial thought. They didn't even have to look at each other. Something was telling them that up there they would find something they wanted. Though what that was remained a mystery to them. They went up with a spark in their eyes.

Janna didn't understand the attraction of the red light upstairs. Something else caught her attention: a single candle slowly burning on a wardrobe at the end of the hall. Its blue light was calling to Janna, drawing her towards it. There was something familiar about it. When she reached it, a gentle draft from the left moved the blue fire. A door opened leading to a room filled with magical items from top to bottom. It was like as if Christmas had come early this year.

"No way… It can't be."

She went in with a spark in her eyes.

Star wasn't bothered by her friends leaving her alone. She felt safe there. Nothing could possibly happen to her.

"Are you going to keep just standing there?"

Star's attention was now fully focused on a voice coming from behind the wall on the right. She didn't see any doors, nor an entrance of any kind. It was a mystery where it might have came from. But the voice itself… That voice…

"Look, I know we haven't seen each other in a while, but I'm pretty sure you didn't come here just to observe the house."

Wind moved the heavy red curtains hanging on the right wall. That had to be the entrance she initially didn't see.

"Well, come inside. We have a lot to talk about."

"M-" Her breathing became heavy once she realized why that voice sounded so familiar. "Marco?"

With a weird mix of fear and excitement, she came to the curtains and placed her hands on them. She felt a warm draft coming from behind. But also a pleasant scent.

"Well, don't start being shy now. Come on in."

She took a deep breath and moved the curtains aside.

The second floor was the epitome of luxury. Luxury carpets on the ground, luxury candles on the walls, luxury chandeliers on the ceiling, luxury textiles hanging around the edges and corners. Even the air smelled of luxury. But all of that was there just to invoke the atmosphere. A very specific atmosphere for a very concrete purpose. One that neither of them were expecting nor experienced with.

"What do you think this place is?" asked Pony Head.

"I have no idea. But I like it. Which is weird because I hate tacky stuff and this place is literally filled with it. I should be angry, but I feel… happy? How that is even possible I do not know. Everything here is so…" Ever since they set foot inside the house, this was the first time he laid his eyes on Pony Head. "...beautiful."

Pony head returned him his sight.

"Yeah, it is."

The sparks in their eyes were blazing with excitement. Until Tom broke the sight to tell Pony what has he found.

"Look!"

"What?"

"The doors over there - they are open."

"Wanna check out what's inside?"

"Well, we've worn this place out. We might as well explore the next one."

With no objections from her side, Tom went straight for the opened room and looked inside.

"What do you see?" asked Pony.

"Uhm… a bedroom?"

"A wha-" She quickly flew to him to see it for herself. "Damn, you're right. It is a bedroom."

"Why are you so surprised?"

"Did you see the other doors?"

"What about them?"

"Why would they need so many bedrooms?"

"What makes you think they are bedrooms?"

"What else they could be?"

"I dunno, storage rooms?"

"Really? Storage rooms on a floor filled with doors and with this huge bedroom?"

"I… I mean… Nah, you're right. That's dumb."

The bedroom was packed full of dark pink color coming from seemingly out of nowhere. They both noticed that when they focused in on it.

"Should we go in?" asked Tom.

"Whaaaaat, is the prince of the Underworld afraid of some cozy pink room?"

"Pft! Don't be ridiculous! I'm not afraid of anything, and certainly not of pink. Look, your hair is pink and I can easily just touch it and… and…"

"What are you doing?"

"Your hair. I didn't notice this back in the castle, but it's so... soft."

"Uhm, t-thanks?"

The word "thanks" wasn't the one she intended to say. It just flipped out of her as if she was actually enjoying how he was gently caressing it. No one has ever done this before. Not like this. She was trying hard to shake him off, but the truth was she didn't want him to stop. Not really. But eventually she managed to shake him off.

"That's *sigh* better."

"I'm… sorry. I got carried away. I don't even know why."

"Don't care." She tried to sarcastically cut him off, but her voice failed her. She sounded more like a scared little girl trying to face her deepest fears.

"Right. So, should we-"

Pony Head didn't wait for his question and she headed into the room like a bullet.

"Hurry up, slowpoke!"

Tom entered the room too, if a bit worried what he might find there. He didn't like that at all - he wasn't supposed to be worried. About anything. Ever. Yet when he was standing in this cozy room with that annoying flying head, he felt troubled.

The room itself didn't make him feel any better. It was, without exaggeration, the most perfect place he had ever seen. Everything in it was placed with meaning and with a specific function. The fire, the candles, the aroma, even the light that was mysteriously and smoothly moving along the walls - they were all creating an atmosphere that had a one, single purpose. And that purpose was slowly beginning to make itself apparent to each of them the longer they were standing there and breathing in the atmosphere.

They looked at each other without a single hint of troubling thoughts in their eyes.

"We need to get out!" yelled Pony Head who swiftly flew for the doors. But when she wanted to go past them, she stopped. She looked into the welcoming red light in the hallway. It was nice and warm, but lacked something. Lacked someone. So she went back a little and gently closed them. The lighting in the room dimmed down almost immediately. When she turned around and saw Tom standing there motionless, she knew exactly what was about to happen. She didn't like it, but she also didn't want to fight it.

And neither did Tom.

Janna wasn't known for having emotional outbursts. Most of the times her reactions were subtle, because her words hurt the most. But now she had every reason to gaze with open eyes and mouth into the most beautiful place she had the privilege of witnessing.

It was a magical shop. Those two words that popped up first in her mind after laying her sight on all the stuff displayed, hanging, levitating and flying around other stuff that could be seen only from a specific angle. But while it was magical, it wasn't tacky, nor joyful. Head, arms, other body parts, as well as cubes of various shapes, staffs, stars, bones and whatnot. For most people, such scenery would cause discomfort and urge to turn around and never look back.

Janna, however, was not like most people. This was like a candy shop for her. Every single enchanted or magical object that she had ever heard about was in here in perfect, working condition. This was strange enough on its own because, according to her knowledge, a good half of them shouldn't even exist anymore. The second half must have been hidden behind the first half - the room was messy without a trace of order.

"What is this place?" she asked silently. The room, while full of movement, was still and devoid of life, so she didn't expect any response.

"You don't know?"

"Uhm… Who, or what said that?"

From the far right corner, behind the pile of deformed toys, a glass ball rolled right through it. It kept rolling in her direction, until it stopped just few centimeters in front of her. Janna wasn't afraid one bit; she was intrigued. And it intensified when that glass ball suddenly opened an eye.

"You really don't recognize this place?"

"Nnnnno. Should I?"

The ball blinked from the sides. It was creepy as hell, but Janna still didn't show any emotion.

"Hmm. Yeah. It was quite a while ago."

"What are you talking about?"

The eyeball slowly and smoothly raised up to the level of her own eyes.

"I was forming your opinions."

"Is this supposed to help?"

"Opinions about everything." Its last word came from all directions, like a perfect surround sound experience.

"I still don't-"

Her train of thought was interrupted by the sound of something hitting the ground. Even though the whole room was a mess, the thing she was supposed to find was clearly visible; it stood out from the rest. Literally. The fact that it fell down and landed on its feet was reason enough for Janna to investigate it.

"What's this? Wait… No…"

As she slowly approached the object and its contours became more discernable, Janna started to recognize the thing from her past.

"It can't be…"

But it was. A deformed doll, burned, sewed, with body parts replaced by various items. When she picked it up it even made the same rattling sound. This couldn't be a coincidence.

"How…?"

"You still don't know where you are?"

Janna looked at room again, but this time through the eyes of a little 7 year old girl. What before looked like a messy collection of various stuff, now looked like a familiar place where all of her dreams came true.

"No - way."

"Welcome home, Janna."

"But how? That shed burned down years ago."

"Hell if I know. But does it matter?"

Janna was soaking in all the nostalgia around her.

"No," she replied softly.

"Aww, mighty Janna has soft spot after all."

"Don't you dare say a word to the others!"

"To who exactly?"

"My friends, duh."

"Oh, you mean like Star?"

"And what could she possibly do with this information?"

"I dunno. Probably something… girly."

"I think we both know who do you don't want to learn about this."

"I have no idea what are you talking about."

"Is that so?"

Its voice changed pitch in a way that made even her nervous. And not just anything could make her nervous. This feeling started to build up after a pile of stuff near dropped down and revealed a closet. A pure black closet that somehow managed to reflect barely any light. Of course, such objects normally wouldn't even phase Janna, but she had slowly started to conclude that perhaps this situation wasn't the kind unusual she prefered.

"LET ME OUT!"

The yelling voice coming out of the closet impaled her with shock.

"Marco?!"

She quickly opened the closet and Marco fell out out like bag of corn.

"Ouch!"

She helped him stand up.

"How the heck did you get there?"

"I have no idea. I was in the castle and went to your room to see you, but when I opened the doors, I ended up in a pitch black place."

"Wait, you were in the castle?"

"Yeah. Why do you sound so surprised?"

"But… That's not possible."

"Janna, you are freaking me out. And not in the usual sense of the word when it comes to you."

"Dude! Some crazy evil chick kidnapped you and we went to find you."

"What are you talking about? I was there the whole time!"

"No, you were not!"

"Is this one of your mind games? I told you before that I don't like them."

"This… doesn't make any sense."

"Are you feeling alright, dear?"

"What?!"

Janna started to slowly back away from him.

"What's the matter?" asked the eyeball. "Isn't this what you always wanted?"

"W-what?"

"Don't pretend as if it is not true. Deep down you always wanted to say something really sweet to Marco, but you were scared to death that it would ruin your look."

"No! That's not true!"

"No? Then why did you write all of those things in your notebook?"

"Those weren't…"

"Still in denial. Why are you doing this to yourself? I'm giving him to you on a silver platter. Just take him. You know you want to."

Marco raised his hand towards Janna.

"You coming?"

"I-"

Star's eyes landed on a grandiose dining room. Every single thing in it was ridiculously overdone, from the carpet beneath her feet, to the curtains on windows, to chairs behind the table and even table itself, to the chandelier hanging overhead. In contrast, Marco's regular red hoodie looked almost funny. The fireplace with neatly calm fire behind his back wasn't helping to improve his attire. But that wasn't what was puzzling Star.

"Marco?" she asked carefully. "Is that really you?"

Marco looked confused. "Who else am I supposed to be?"

"I don't know anymore."

"Please, sit down."

Star was unsure what to do, or think, so she listened and sat down.

"There. Isn't that much better?"

She didn't respond. Her mind was in full overdrive trying to process all of this.

"I must say you look great today."

Star remained silent and motionless like a statue, observing her surroundings without comprehension. The dining room was quite beautiful in its own weird way. The irony of this was that Marco somehow felt off despite this dreamy setting.

"If you would kindly look down at the table, you'll notice a handful of nachos I prepared for you."

Her head slowly turned down. He was right - nachos on a plate were waiting for her right under her nose. They looked exactly as tasty as she remembered them from back on Earth. Nonetheless, she couldn't smell anything. It was as if they weren't even there.

Her reluctance to dig in created a troublesome expression on Marco's face. "What's wrong? Are they not to your liking?"

Despite all of this, there was still one question that was burning deep inside of her, and she wanted an answer to it.

"Why?" she almost whispered it.

"Why what?"

"You did that… thing to my parents."

"I'm so sorry, Star. I didn't meant to hurt you."

"And when you tried to run away you said something about having a daughter. I-" Star never really faced the fallout of the incident and talking about it know, in front of Marco, made her fully realize just how much it had hurt her.

Marco froze for a second, as if unsure how to respond to this information.

"You know I wouldn't hurt you."

"No? Then why did you do it?" Her voice was starting to fail and the tears in her eyes were not far from from leaking out.

"I don't know."

"You don- You don't know?!"

"What else do you want me to say?"

"I want an explanation! I want to know why. I need to know what is going on! Marco, we were planning our future together! I have even…"

"What?"

"It does not matter anymore." Star's face was now being covered by one tear after another.

"Oh Star, don't be like that. You know I'll alway be your best friend."

That answer made Star to stop sobbing almost instantly.

"You'll be my what now?"

"Your best friend. Always." He tried his best to say it with the most comforting tone he could create.

Star wiped her tears into her sleeves.

"Really?"

"Of course."

The reality of this situation was slowly crawling back into her mind.

"And what else?"

"And we will keep going on magical adventures, just like we always do."

"Uhm. That sounds great." Her voice was gaining back its confidence. "And perhaps when we are done with that, we could plan our wedding?"

It took him a while to respond. "We could visit those magical falls you once told me about."

"You know, I was talking to my mom if it would be okay if we had…" While she was talking to him, she was carefully reaching for her wand. "...a baby."

This time he didn't say anything. Instead, the surroundings went dead quite.

"You shouldn't ask me that."

Star jumped away from the table and brought out her wand, pointing it directly at his body. "HA! I knew you aren't Marco!"

"We could have been friends."

"I have friends, mister! Or whatever you are. Drop the charade and show me who you really are!"

Marco calmly stood up wearing a stoic, emotionless face. "But now I'll be your warden."

There they were, standing face to face in a room that was designed for a thing that should never happen between them. How they ended up in this situation was not a pressing matter at this time. The only thing mattered was that they were there. Completely alone, without a living soul anywhere near them. And while it was scary, it was also sort of desireable.

Like moths reaching for a little flame in the night, they were casually shortening the gap between them. With each taken step, the internal voice kept screaming more and more. But it was always silenced by the need for these feelings of closeness. They were something they both lacked for so long, and always kept lying to themselves that they didn't need. They each saw themselves as strong and independent, because people expected them to be so.

But here, in this place, there was no one present to judge them. No one to be their voice of reason to tell them that what are they were planning to do was wrong on levels that shouldn't be even possible. No one and nothing to stop them. Just he and she in probably the most romantic place ever created. And when they finally stopped just a breath away, they looked into each other's eyes…

...and saw nothing. Just an empty holes staring back at them, without a single trace of feelings they were so sure to find them there. That made them unsure how to proceed. Or if they even should proceed.

The first one to break the heavy silence was Pony Head. "You want to do this?" She didn't sound very thrilling about the idea of this situation taking its intended course.

"And you?" replied Tom carefully.

"I asked first."

Slowly, but surely their rational senses were awakening from deep slumber. Even though still groggy, they were hitting the emergency brakes as much as they were able.

Pony slightly moved away from him, while closely watching his reaction. There was none.

"Is that a no?" he asked.

"I dunno."

Tom made one step back to see her reaction. He wasn't sure, but it looked like she was frowning.

"So we're cool?"

"I know that I hate you."

"Oh good grief! For a moment there I thought I was going to… uhm… well, you know… to ma-"

"If you will finish that thought I will hurt you."

Tom had nothing else to add and Pony didn't feel like talking at all, so an awkward silence encompassed them. And it was getting heavier by the second. If there was one thing she hated the most, it was awkward silences.

"Yeah, I don't like it here anymore. Let's scram."

"Good idea."

They didn't even manage to reach the doors when the lights went pooff and eternal darkness surrounded their senses.

"Where do you think you are going?"

The room was there for them to enjoy in private, but since they didn't want that anymore, the room's purpose changed along with their change of hearts.

A pair of sinister dark orange eyes were impaling them from the other side. Their intensity was so great that even Tom had trouble keeping eye contact.

"You came here to have fun. Well, I still want that fun. On your account."

Where there are eyes there should also be a mouth. Following this logic, one did indeed open just below the eyes. But it was not a mouth as much as it was a grinder. A loud, hungry grinder that started to move towards them.

They were trapped inside of a grindhouse.

Janna's nerves were slowly, but surely kicking into overdrive. Not only did someone, or rather something, know about her deeply personal secrets, but it was giving her a chance to make one of those secrets a reality. But what kind of reality would that be?

"Janna, why do you hesitate? You can't hide from your own desires. Just let them free."

There he was: completely at her mercy, with no sign of suspicion. And since this is Janna, she did exactly what anyone who knows her would have expected her to do; she shoved him back into the closet and slammed the doors.

The eyeball got restless with this sudden demonstration of unplesentary.

"What are you doing?"

"Oh, right. I forgot." Janna quickly looked around, until she spotted a cute little doll. She picked it up and looked closely into its eyes. "Perfect!"

"Janna, that is-" The flying entity wanted to object to Janna's now obvious plan, knowing very well what that doll was used for. But she wouldn't listen.

She opened the closet, just enough to cram the doll inside.

"Janna, let me out!" screamed Marco.

But the crazy girl wasn't interested in letting him out.

"Here!" she gave him the doll. Marco automatically grasped it in his hands without even questioning what it was. "Hold her up."

Not five seconds after she closed it again, Marco started to scream from pure fear.

"Hehe, that thing actually works. I always wanted to show him that."

When the eyeball spoke again, it wasn't angry, or scared. Its voice is was dead cold, stripped of all emotions.

"Your diary…"

"My diary had only random thoughts that crossed my mind. I never wanted to date him. Besides, I spent more time with him than he did with Jackie. And he didn't even know it."

"You lied."

"No, you read my diary wrong. And by the way, how did you get ahold of it?"

"I don't like lying people. In fact…" It raised almost to the top of the room, while firmly closing the doors behind. "...I HATE THEM!"

Star's plan was to stand her ground if for no other reason else then to contain all of the anger that was seeping out of her, even though she now knew that whoever this was wasn't Marco. His face and his voice were enough for her, though. His doppelganger's fury overshadowed her anger by far, so when she moved the entire table to the side, she did take a step back.

"You. Ungrateful. Little."

The princess didn't want to risk her own skin, considering that his rage was steadily growing to horrifying proportions, so she brought out her wand and directed it against him.

"I don't know what you are and I don't care. Where is Marco?!"

The strange being wasn't very happy seeing this object anywhere near him.

"That thing! You're one of them!"

"The one kicking your butt? You bet I am. Now tell me where Marco is!"

"My mom had one. And she left me alone in here!"

Star's wand began to violently glow.

"I'm not going to ask you again! Tell me where he is!"

"I won't allow you to hurt me!"

"Wrong answer! NARWHAL BLAST!"

Janna was realizing that perhaps this flying thing really did not like being lied to. She came to this conclusion after observing an army of things raising up for the purpose of what seemed like chopping her body into pieces.

"NO ONE WILL LIE TO ME!"

"I didn't lie to you! You're just too stupid to read diaries!"

"SILENCE! I SHALL ENJOY YOUR SUFFERING!"

"Sheesh! Isn't that a bit overdramatic?"

Be them dolls or totally artificial objects like scissors, everything was marching towards her with the desire to turn her into a salad. A really bloody salad.

That is until something decided to crash the party. Literally.

A body in a red hoodie together with a bunch of cute, but otherwise dangerous narwhals came busting in through the wall as if it were made of paper and landed on the army of bloodthirsty objects. But perhaps the most dangerous thing entered through the rubble after it.

"Star?!"

"Oh, hey Janna."

It was only after the whole situation calmed down a little she noticed that the flying eyeball was gone, as well as the black closet. The new item in the room was a body that was remarkably reminiscent of Marco.

"Ouch!"

It even sounded like Marco.

"Is that… Marco?"

"No," quickly and sharply replied Star.

"But… He looks… And before he was…"

Janna, of all people, was actually confused by something. And not only that, she allowed others to see it.

Star grabbed her by collar. "Listen, that isn't Marco!" After she let her go, she started to stare at the mess his body landed into. "I'm not sure what that thing is," she continued, "but I'm getting answers."

Star looked at Janna for only a second, but even that was enough of time for Marco to disappear from the scene. He had to have been really sneaky too, since both girls heard nothing. Nothing except…

"You heard that?" whispered Janna.

"Yeah," answered Star with an muffled whisper.

"It sounds like he's moving inside the walls."

"It seems so."

"But how?"

Star looked at her with surprise. "Are you asking me? You are suppose to be expert on this weird stuff."

"Not this much weird."

"Wait! Shhh!" Star put a finger on her lips to make her stop talking.

"?!"

By pointing to her ears and then to the walls she suggested to listen. Both were trying to identify the source of the moving sound. Except now all sounds stopped. They looked in front of them, on the left, on the right and with some hesitation even behind them. Even though it seemed illogical, bellow them as well. With mimical gestures that could understand only girls in dire need, Janna asked Star if she thinks he left, to which Star replied possibly yes.

That possibility, however, shrunk to zero when they heard a silent scratching directly above their heads. They turned their heads up and what they found forever changed their opinion on red hoodies.

The grinding face have just shredded the whole bed into tiny pieces without even slowing down. Tom tried to blast it, but his fireballs vanished inside the mouth. Since destroying it by conventional means didn't work, Tom presented to Pony Head his plan B.

"Maybe if we had-"

"If you'll touch me, I'll kill you before that thing gets here."

The demon boy looked at the approaching certain death and compared it with a feisty flying Pony Head.

"I'll take my chances."

"WHAT?!"

He didn't get his chance to carry out his plan to save both of them, because just when he reached out for her, a massive blast threw them away. After the dust had settled, they looked up and saw a hardly identifiable moving object with countless tentantacles trying to snatch something.

"What the heck is that?!" yelled Pony Head.

"Pony Head?"

"Star?"

Only now they noticed a hole in the floor through which that thing came. Her friend's voice was coming from down below.

"Come down!"

"Are you crazy, girl?! There is a… slimy tentacle thing squirming around!"

"I stunned him with my magic! He won't hurt you!"

"No way!"

"Are you scared?"

"Of course not! I just don't want to die!"

Out of nowhere, a pair of hands tightly grabbed her.

"Hey!"

"You'll thank me later," said Tom and with pony in his possession he jumped to the hole.

Pony landed harshly on the ground, while Tom remained hanging by his foot from the roof.

"What's happening, Tom?" asked Star.

"This thing… It latched one of its tentacles around my ankle!"

"Shake it off!"

"What do you think I'm trying to do?! Argh! That does it!"

He raised himself back up into the room.

"Tom!"

No answer came back. Instead, flashes of light were illuminating the walls of a now destroyed room. Once they have stopped, the smell of a burning fish descended, along with angry Tom. All three girls were gazing at him with open mouths.

"What?!" He pointed to the hole. "Fish." Then he revealed his burning fist. "Fire." And finally he took a deep breath. "Toasted. Can we go now? Fishes aren't one of my favorite foods."

"Uhm…" Star tried to muster up some manner of comprehensible response. "Sure. Yes, we should definitely go."

"What was that thing anyway?"

Pony Head jumped between them.

"Who cares?! Let's get out of here!"

Without further adieu, the whole gang started to run away through the hallway they came in through. They were almost out, when Star suddenly stopped.

"Wait!"

"What is it?" asked Janna.

"I think I saw something."

"We don't have time for this, B-Fly!"

Star went back little. On a wardrobe just next to the stairs, there was a framed picture. Star took it into her hands and closely inspected it.

"Unbelievable."

She took the family picture out and turned it around. They all noticed how she started to shake a little after that.

"What's the matter, Star?" asked Tom.

"There is a text here. It say 'Eclipsa and Jack'".

"Wait. Do you mean to tell me that… That thing is…"

Star opened her mouth to answer, but a massive tremor interrupted her.

"Okay guys," stated Janna, "the museum is closing. We need to get out. Pronto!"

Just in case her voice wasn't urgent enough, pieces of the house were starting to fall down on their heads. Nothing could possibly possess them to remain there any longer, so, as quickly as they could, they left the house, just before it crumbled down. What raised up from its ruins was not Marco, or a nightmarish thing with slimy tentacles.

Star recognized the figure standing tall above them with menacing look in its face.

"Jack?!"

"You wanted to abandon me! Everyone does!"

Everyone was scared, even Tom to a degree. But not Star. Her patience was reaching its limit.

"Where is Marco, Jack?"

Her question didn't seem to bother him at all. His fury was consuming all his thoughts.

"I'll make you my friends!"

Star was capable of scary things if she really wanted to get something. Or in this case someone. Moon knew that, River knew that as well, and right now her friends were also about to learn it.

A thick, bright purple stream swished right next to Jack's head. She was aiming her wand just few centimeters on the right. After she got his attention, she aimed her wand directly at his head.

"WHERE IS MARCO?!"

Her voice speared right through the thick fog of the forest. Nobody had the courage to speak up, or even to make a single move. Suddenly the source of the fear was not a gigantic, monstrous creature, but a small, young princess fiercely trying to find what was stolen from her.

"You better give me an answer, or I'll drill this through your head!"

It was apparent that Jack felt conflicted about this new and unexpected outcome. After all, he had the advantage here: he was huge, menacing and on home ground. She, however, did not seem to care one bit. No one ever tried to stand against him. And he never heard voice so much demanding an answer.

"3!"

Jack started to look at trio of friends looking for clues what to do now. The only thing he found were three pairs of petrified eyes.

"2!"

His own eyes were starting to show the exact same emotion. It was obvious that this crazy girl meant business.

"1!"

"OK! I'll tell you! No shooting, please!"

He stepped outside of what used to be a house and shrank down to his regular size. That made him about head shorter than Star. This situation would certainly have been funny for Pony Head if it wasn't for the crippling fear still hanging in the air.

"Well? I'm listening!"

Even though Jack wasn't a threat anymore and it seemed obvious that he didn't intend to run away, Star's dedication to learn the truth didn't allow her to ease up on him.

"W-Well, he… I-"

"Spill it out!"

"I don't know where he is! Please, don't hurt me!"

"How can you not know? You looked like him!"

"I only looked into your heart to search for your desires."

"You played with us?!"

"I just wanted you to stay with me, so I wouldn't be alone anymore. Eclipsa left me here for over 300 hundreds of years and after she returned, she left me again. I really do not like being alone."

His answers felt sincere, which finally made Star to ease up a little.

"Is Eclipsa," she started as calmly as she could, "your mother?"

"No. But she took care of me."

"Listen. She took my… friend away from me. Could you show us where she went?"

"Do you want to hurt her?"

Star hesitated for a second. "No. I just want my friend back."

"Okay then, I'll show. It is there." Jack pointed with his finger a glowing object not far from their current position.

They all looked that way and they were all surprised by what they saw.

"Huh?" wondered Pony. "How did it get there?"

"It was always there. I just quickly built the house to keep you from discovering it."

"To keep us with you," repeated Star.

"Yes," replied boy with sad face.

It was only now when she finally lost all the anger that was burning inside her for several hours.

"Hey." She kneeled down. "I understand that you wanted to have someone to talk to."

"Really?"

"Of course. I'm an only child. I never had any siblings to play with. But I had great friends that took their place."

"Oh."

"Look, right now I have to go away from here."

"For your friend."

"Correct. But I promise you that once I'll find him, we will all return here and we can become new friends."

"Say what?!" shrieked out Pony Head.

Star gave her a piercing glare.

"Oh yeah, sure, friends, big ones too, lots of fun, yeah, yeah."

"See? Even Pony is happy to become your friend. She will even allow you ride on her."

"Really?" His eyes were glowing from happiness.

Pony was wise enough to not comment again.

"Sure! She would love that."

"Well… I guess I can wait for you."

"Good boy." Star stood up and turned to her friends. "Guys, it's time."

"Time for what?" wondered Pony. "To die?"

"You have no faith at all. Things will work out in the end, just come."

The Well was indeed close. It took them only a minute to reach it. All the dark purple fog was originating from within it. Upon closer inspection it almost looked like a soup. A sticky, cold, blueberry soup.

"Do we really need to go in?" asked Pony Head.

Star was in no mood to reply, so instead she just jumped in and disappeared inside it.

"It smells funny in here," noted Tom. "I wonder what's on the other side." After his observation he followed Star.

Janna was looking at Pony Head for a while, not saying a single word.

"What?!"

"I'm just trying to remember your face in case I won't see you again."

"Why would y-" But she didn't have the chance to finish her sentence, because right after that Janna went in.

Pony Head remained alone in a place where normal people don't want to stay alone.

"I swear, her eagerness will kill me one day."

Even though she was reluctant, she had no choice, but to follow them through.

Chapter 16 was written by Terepin.