Hello everyone, back at it again with a new chapter! This is hot off the heels of... Being more 'okay' with the events currently in the canon show. Part of the reason I re-worked my opening chapter is simply because I felt as if being overtly sour over the show's shipping elements wasn't fair, as all romance stories need drama to keep things going. Granted, I'm not too jazzed about this potentially continuing well into the next few episodes, but withholding full-judgement on the Star/Marco love story until we get at least 'Coronation' two weeks from now (I think? Or is it three weeks from now...). By then, HOPEFULLY things make moves forward.

Anyway, the show aside from it's romantic elements really is on fire this season and I'm pretty excited about the episodes airing this coming weekend. In fact, consider this chapter a possible guess or however you want to call it as to what I'm thinking it will be about. Reviews are at the bottom as per usual. Special thanks goes out to my friend BBQ for beta reading and giving me feedback on this chapter.

The Monster Temple… It was a very unique location, to say the least. Various monsters roaming around in attire, matching most of the castle staff that still carried out their jobs from working within Butterfly Castle. Star frowned at seeing staff she's known for years having nervous looks or downright angered expressions when seeing the odd monster passing by. They are people too… Star thought bitterly, though she understood why things were like this. Maybe Eclipsa is rushing things a bit? Star paused her walking, letting out a weak chuckle. And I'M the one thinking that… Taking a deep breath to compose herself, Star continued passing by monster and mewman alike.

Her eyes kept looking at the various portraits Eclipsa preserved from Butterfly Castle's destruction, with one making Star form a genuine smile. Seeing herself, standing stiff as a board, alongside Moon and River Butterfly. Memories of trying to keep a serious face for a good two hours as the royal painters made the portrait… Mom was going to kill me… Star formed a somber smile at the sight, wondering how her mom was doing.

Not wanting to keep the little things from distracting her, Star just kept moving forward, eventually finding Meteora's room. Knocking on the door, it opened revealing Eclipsa and the baby in question. Meteora's cooing as Eclipsa kept booping her noise made Star's heart melt. "Just like the little Buff Babies," Star said sweetly, walking into the room and Eclipsa hugging Star with her free arm. "Hey, grandma, ready for some babysitting!"

"So easily excited," Eclipsa joked, letting Star go and putting Meteora in her baby bed. It was higher than what Marco described to Star babies usually go in… But quickly remembering how large Meteora can grow, Star didn't bother thinking much on this. She saw Eclipsa walk toward a small book, wiping some dust off it with her purple-gloved hand. "Now, you remember how we were able to patch things up with the Spiderbites?"

"Of course, they seemed happy when you showed them Globgor frozen up," Star sat down in a nearby chair, kicking her legs absentmindedly. "Are they mad at us now?" Star asked, some odd worry coming over her. Eclipsa shook her head and sat across from her, clasping her gloved hands together.

"They actually want me to come over for a nice dinner, for I suppose, possible laws and treaties on land expansion." Eclipsa tapped her chin, sighing soon afterward and rubbing her forehead. "Never going to get used to doing queenly things, Star."

"I feel ya," Star replied good-naturedly, recalling how attempts to be a better princess… Blew up in her face, to say it kindly. At least I tried though. Star said to encourage herself to be better. And still trying… She looked at Eclipsa, seeing a mirrored reflection of herself for a hot second. Taking one of her hands, Star gave it a firm squeeze and giving the brightest smile she could muster. "Knock em dead… Er, not literally."

"Is that an Earth saying, dear?" Eclipsa asked chuckling, passing Star the book she's been holding for the last minute. "Regardless, here are the instructions on taking care of my sweet little baby." Eclipsa stood up and gave Meteora a motherly expression. Star just studied the book, eyebrow raised at what her formula was made out off and the line 'avoid staring at her for too long'. Is… Is that why we have two guards floating around the castle? Star thought, wondering if she could still soul-suck people even as a baby. The baby gave Star a playful smile, making her gulp. And I left Marco with her during that party?

Putting aside a deep 'sorry for nearly killing you' letter to Marco, she closed the book and looked at Eclipsa. "You just have a safe trip and don't worry about your little angel here," Star picked Meteora up, her free hand making a peace sign. Eclipsa gave a relieved smile and started walking out of the room. She paused for a moment through, turning around and suddenly forming a worried expression.

"Where's Marco? The poor boy seemed down yesterday…" Eclipsa asked Star, the princess simply giving a weak frown in response. "Oh dear… Hope you two sorted out whatever was going on."

"Yeah… Me too." Star said aloud, mostly to herself. Eclipsa just walked up to Star, pulling her into a goodbye hug before walking out of the room. Star now alone with a clearly unamused monster baby, she wondered how to take care of it. "You look kinda like a demon… And Janna should know a thing or two about something like this…" Star rocked Meteora, feeling oddly calm despite holding the monster that nearly killed her months back. The baby looked content as could be, it's little face making weak giggles and wide eyes. "Yeah, I got this," Star said proudly.

"I don't got this…" Star said horrified, the room completely destroyed. The walls had scorched marks, Meteora's bed was in stitches and the formula just made the demon child worse, green rays nearly killing Star at least five times now. "Plan B, call…" She yanked out her phone and was going to call Marco, gritting her teeth as the phone shook in her hands.

He just left, I can't call him to help… Biting her lip, she thought of the second best option. "Call Tom." The phone rang at his name, an image of Tom chilling in his room popping up.

"Starship! You doing…" Star's face was beyond frazzled, making Tom pause completely. "...Come over now?"

"Come over now." Star hung up and entered a battle position, ready to fight a baby of all things if it came down to it. Meteora turned her head like a possessed child, letting out a deafening scream. Star cast a shield around her… Or attempted too. Huh? Star paused, trying to use her magic again. But no pink shield formed around her. Guess it's the hard way. Star held out her hands, with Meteora charging into Star. She caught the baby and they entered a rolling match, bounding around the room like a chaotic game of pinball. Coming out of a fire portal soon after, was Tom, looking around trying to find Star. To his shock, he was thrown into the clustered ball of carnage. The trio stopped bouncing around when Tom exploded into a cluster of flames, Meteora flying to the remains of her crib and Star crashing into the wall. Tom groaned in pain, his flames dying down.

"Is… Is it over?" He asked worriedly, his eyes seeing the now sleeping form of Meteora, gnawing at… "She's… She's eating a Princess Trudina doll?" He narrowed his eyes. "And she looks oddly like Marco, that's something."

"Gee, your girlfriend got a beating and you aren't helping her up," Star sarcastically mumbled, with Tom mouthing 'oh' and rushing over. "I'm fine, sorry for snapping." She cracked her back, tired eyes looking at the demon child a few feet across from her. "I left Marco with that. What kind of friend am I?" She fell on her butt, exhaustion taking over. "...I need a time out for a sec, can you survive for five minutes?"

"I mean… I have thousands of souls and what not," Tom rubbed his neck sheepishly, making Star giggle in amusement. Tom sat down next to her, the two studying Meteora's sleeping form. "Holding up okay, aside from, well…" Tom pointed to Meteora, who was now curling up her tail around her body. "Aww, I used to do that as a baby."

"I'm okay, though Marco needs some space," Star said softly, hugging her knees. Tom's third eye twitched hearing this. "Yeah, the severing stone didn't work for him." Tom mouthed 'oh' and rubbed his right arm, face clearly oozing with guilt.

"So I'm guessing it didn't work for you either, huh?" Star didn't answer, her blue eyes locked on Meteora. A loud thud got their attention though, with Janna slowly walking toward the couple after landing gracefully from the ceiling. "...You are following me again."

"I want to learn demon magic and you refuse to teach me handsome," Janna smirked, putting a hand on her hip and Star pouting unamused. "I can flirt with demon boy if you still do that with Diaz." Star simply rubbed her forehead, getting up and focusing on her hands. A faint blue emitted from them, Star sighing in relief. Still got my magic… But why did it fizzle out earlier? The last time magic wasn't working right was…

"Guys, is it normal for babies to crawl on ceilings?" Tom asked, getting Star and Janna's attention. They saw Meteora sleep… Crawling on the ceiling, having cute little snores as she made the periodical hissing sound. "Pops said I yelled demonic chantings as a child, but that's from my many souls." Tom rubbed his chin, trying to figure something out. Janna just took the chair Star sat on earlier, and yanked the baby from the ceiling. Meteora woke up and started crying, but Janna gave it a firm slap on the butt.

"JANNA!" Star shouted in fear and anger, but to her surprise, Meteora just fell back asleep. "Oh, uh… Good job, I guess." She passed Star the chair and pushed her down into it. Then, she grabbed Tom and with Meteora in her arm, passed the baby to Star. "...What are you doing?"

"Tell her a story," Janna said bluntly, elbowing Tom. "And if she can't figure out something, you better tell us a story next bub." Tom just mumbled in annoyance, making Star giggle at their antics. Looking at Meteora, her eyes slowly opening, Star smiled as her mind was thinking of a great story.

"Okay everyone, it's time Mama Star had her storytime," Janna rolled her eyes at the comment, while Tom simply looked at Star in wonderment. Meteora just held on to Star's arm, her wide eyes curious if anything else. "Once upon a time…"

Princess Quasar 'Stella' Caterpillar was rolling away from a claw strike from a nearby monster. Next to her was her valiant knight, Sir Sol The Brave, using his bronze sword to block the incoming attack. The princess tied her long brown hair into a ponytail, her colorful pink wand itching for some action. It was supposed to be easy… She thought bitterly, blasting a weak blast of pink magic at the monster, sending it colliding into a wall. Break the curse to unite the two kingdoms they said…

"Can you guys just stop fighting!" Quasar shouted, making the battlefield pause in an instant. Even Sol couldn't move until Quasar tapped his shoulder. "Uh… Time magic is still new I guess." She nervously giggled but Sol just gave a loving smile, kissing her cheek and walking by her side once more. Firmly holding her right hand, Sol guided Quasar away from the frozen battlefield and into the magical woods.

She looked around her, amazed that of all the kingdoms her home offered, the Bell Kingdom was the most beautiful. Her home of the Caterpillar Kingdom was more green-like with little white flowers everywhere. And Sol's Terra Kingdom was mainly basic land and very little color. But the Bell Kingdom was a sight to behold, colors literally a canvas across the rainbow of flowers and leaves surrounding the two. Sol just smiled at this, though his grip on Quasar was tight. She just gave a firm squeeze back, understanding his unsaid worry.

The two eventually passed by some large sunflowers, them actually having faces. "Halt!" Quasar just smirked, putting a hand on her waist and having a somewhat amused expression. "Who comes to the Bell Tower Temple?"

"We do," Sol started, taking out a decree, sighed from both the Terra and Captapilar kingdoms. " We are trying to right the Holy Bell, uniting our homes." He took out his blade, a dangerous glint in his brown eyes shining. "You weeds have a problem with that?"

"Yes, we do." Said the left sunflower, it's beady eyes staring down Sol. "Ringing the bell tower resets this land's history, changing everything." Sol simply folded his arms, knowing this information already. "...He's insane brother."

"Well if they want to wreck the timeline, who are we to stop them?" The other sunflower counter, moving it's large head aside so they could pass. "Just know you have to give up something to trigger the bell's full effects."

"Yeah yeah…" Quasar mumbled, waving her hand as if she didn't care. The sunflowers just shook their heads and the duo continued their quest, seeing the temple only a few feet away. "Think we gotta fight a monster?"

"Nothing we've haven't done already," Sol smiled, taking Quasar's hand and brushing his thumb over it. Quasar blushed at the gesture, gently shewing him off and walking ahead. She was excited to get this quest over with for more than just uniting their kingdoms… Maybe we can finally pop the question? She pondered to herself but quickly shook the thought off. The mental image of the two of them in matching outfits for their big day… "You are daydreaming again."

"Huh?" Quasar noticed some droll was coming down her lip, quickly wiping it off with her white-gloved hands. "No, I wasn't." She refused, with Sol simply mouthing 'sure'. The duo kept their banter going, even after heading into the temple. Sol stopped laughing from a joke about Quasar's pouring sugar on Earth Mounds and frowned at what he saw. She paused her comments as well, expression downcast.

A statue of two lovers, holding one another, was broken in the temple's center. Sol walked toward the mural, his armored hands brushing the dust off it's scripture. "In order to use holy power, you must give up your source of power…" He kept his hand firmly on the mural, brown eyes narrowed in annoyance. "Not letting nonsense keep me from you anymore, Quasar."

"You won that courting match with Dameon though," Quasar asked in confusion, but Sol just said nothing as he stood up. He gestured Quasar to follow him, the Princess sighing to herself. I made my choice finally… So why is he upset now? The vibe of the temple didn't help her already jittery nerves, cold air endlessly hovering around the atmosphere and various elements of the temple just in disarray.

Finding a flight of stairs, Quasar and Sol climbed them, the later standing protectively in front of the former. Firmly held in his right hand, Sol's eyes kept a firm gaze on the many statues, remembering many moments where they 'suddenly' came alive on past adventures in other temples they've been too. To his surprise and relief, however, they made it through with no sudden attacks. "...That was nice, normally something horrible happens when we get closer to the temple's center."

Quasar pointed behind Sol, a large statue coming alive and holding up a very heavy stone blade. "Sol?"

"Yeah, princess?"

"I love you but can you please not say the obvious?!" She cast a bubble shield around the two of them, but the stone blade's impact made the ground beneath them crumble. Sol and Quasar held one another as they fell for seemingly minutes until landing in a hidden room of the temple. Sol helped Quasar up, offering a loving smile in thanks. The two looked around them, eyes surprised at how much darkness was in the room.

Legends told the two lovers about the 'darkness' something Humans, Monsters and Royal Blooded. It took the form of either physical manifestations, like Quasar's greatest foe Carmel (a name Sol still finds bizarre even after punching a whole through the dragon-monsters chest). But it could also linger within one's heart, coming out through dangerous magic if used poorly. ...This isn't good. She remembered this darkness being particularly troublesome a few months ago before Sol officially became a knight of her kingdom. Telling she was unnerved, to say the least, Sol took her hand and gave an encouraging smile. Jabbing his blade into the ground, he shouted 'Terra Blight!' and green crystals shot out of the walls, illuminating the room. "Glad grandpa Eclipse has been teaching me magic lately…" Sol yanked the blade from the ground and walked ahead, Quasar in hand.

The two slowly passed the nearby drawbridge, seeing a rusted bell on a podium. "We found it!" Quasar shouted in glee, dashing toward the object with excitement. Sol dashed by her side, catching up with her and letting his brown eyes study the bell. The moment they both touched it, a voice echoed in their skulls, making them both fall on the ground.

In order to use this holy magic, you must purge the dark bond that unites you.

"Wait, what?" Sol and Quasar shouted in unison. Confusion was clearly present in their minds, not remembering anything recently with the darkness.

The Red Sun, uniting you both…

"The Blood Sun…" Sol said softly, his hand clenching his chest. "N-No… Dameon told us it did nothing." Quasar just rubbed her arm, unsure what to even say.

"Spirits of the Bell," Quasar said aloud, her hand firmly on the bell. "What must we do for your holy light?" Sol's mouth was wide open, shocked his best friend was so willing to go along with this. "Come on pal, we have to save our kingdoms." She winked at Sol, making him sigh as he was blushing for a hot second. Putting his hand on the bell, he nodded, agreeing with Quasar's claim earlier.

Break the Red Sun's Bond, and the holy power is yours…

"Princess Quasar 'Stella' Caterpillar…" She took Sol's free hand.

"And Sir Sol The Brave." He squeezed Quasar's hand tight.

"Agree to sever the bonds that tie us!" The shouted in unison, with a powerful white light illuminating them both. It was as if their world exploded in a burst of color and reds. Quasar and Sol simply hugged one another, letting their spirits get intertwined with one another. As the light came, it went just as fast, leaving behind a statue of two young teenagers hugging one another.

"...And the kingdoms were restored once more, the spirits of the lovers protecting the realm forever more." Star finished, her eyes watery and a loving smile firmly place on her face. Meteora was giggling in glee, her form completely content in Star's lap. Janna just looked at her lap, seeing the popcorn container she seemingly got out of nowhere completely empty. Tom just wiped his eyes, using a spare napkin to blow his nose.

"Damn girl, that's… That was a good story," Janna started, leaning forward. "Those two kingdom's being apart sounds like something Shakespeare would write."

"I felt so bad when the two lovers turned to stone," Tom commented with an emotionally drained voice. "They were so happy together…"

"Come to think of it, those two sounded a lot like people we know, right Tom?" Janna suggested, having a sneaky glare sent toward Star's way. Tom just shrugged his shoulders, not even getting what Janna was talking about. He looked back at Star hoping she could explain the joke going over his head, but paused seeing her face.

"Woah, you okay?" Tom asked worriedly, rushing over to Star and putting hands on her shoulders. She blinked, feeling tears glide down her cheeks. To everyone's surprise, her heart marks were glowing a faint red the entire time she was telling the story, only just now dying down.

Star wiped her face, getting up and using a magic spell to fix up Meteora's crib. Putting the baby into it and tucking her in, Star wiped her face and walked toward the door. "Uh… I think I got things from here guys." Janna and Tom looked at one another, before the former left mouthing 'peace out'. Tom just stood still, wondering what was rattling through his girlfriend's mind.

"Starship… It didn't work for you either." Tom said softly, with Star simply nodding. The demon rubbed his neck, guilt painted across his face. "I… I'm sorry I told you guys about the severing stone. I didn't know it would do this."

"It's fine," Star started, giving a weak smile. "Glad you enjoyed story time…" Conjured up a beanbag chair and sat across from Meteora. "But I need some time alone. Call you soon, okay boo?" Tom nodded, giving Star a weak smile himself as he walked through a fire portal back to the underworld.

Completely alone with the sleeping form of Meteora before her, Star just hummed a song Moon used to sing to her often as a baby, letting her tears slowly glide down her cheeks.

Yeah, the story Star just told really hit home, huh? Next chapter we follow our boi Marco and how he's holding up on Earth, so that's going to be fun. Anywho, review-response time!

AC20 - It was an intentional choice when I renamed the chapter once I heard about the remaining episode names.

FictionLover12 - I was livid (and still somewhat annoyed) at 'Curse' but it was a solid episode that finally brought to the surface questions/plot threads we've all wanted answers too. And now we can have Star and Marco develop their bond without anything 'forcing feelings' (even if I don't believe the blood moon did anything, it was just Marco trying to cope with Star being with another boy after having a heated interaction in her in 'Booth Buddies' and Star making an excuse to get out of breaking up with Tom just yet).

Guest - Ironic you mention that one-shot, as BBQ co-wrote that story with me. This story is us yet again teaming up, though I'm mainly writing everything vs him having heavy co-writing credits in the story you mentioned (the entire Star and Marco conversation was the two of us venting our feelings about 'Lava Lake' to a degree, one of the most engaging writing experiments I remember doing early in the fandom).

blackpackager - ...Yes, them continuing with this 'love drama' so late into the series is beyond annoying, but I'm hopeful it's for a valid (?) reason. We will see how soon they dive into this again soon enough, but fans leaning on Starco becoming canon very soon (as early as 'Cornball) or later on (Beach Day) are both right to assume so at varying degrees. We will just wait and see, as we did in Season 3... Regarding your points about the Spanish Star Vs fic you mentioned, I never read it (can understand some Spanish thanks to my job but still very inexperienced with the language). A lot of stories take elements from one another, it's just how they differ with exaction and plot points, so will be sure to put my 'spin' on things here :).

TheSnowflake18 - Good review and yeah, Beach Day is likely when we are going to see it become official canon.

allen Vth - Thank you! Eclipsa really was a surprise in 'Curse' and Marco should (same with Star) have her feelings in canon too. If not, it really makes me frustrated with Curse even more.

PauloPT90 - I wouldn't call it 'shitty anime writing' (even though I said similar comments myself after Curse aired). It's just they are playing with our emotions, like usual, and a lot of us are getting sick of this 'hot-cold' thing Daron is doing with her writing. Unlike Season 3 where the romance drama was a dark cloud over everything that masked really good element the season offered, Season 4 is a somewhat windy day with rainstorms happening every now and then (the big shipping episodes like 'Lake House', 'Kelly's World' and 'Curse'). Hopefully, they handle shipping in a less frustrating way as the show eventually crosses the finishing line next month. And for the fic you are mentioning, I removed it cause it was objectively crappy writing. It was filled with poor characterization, amateurish writing, and an unneeded crossover.

Sennin 6 - Thank you!

Resurrection99 - Thank you! And yes, Starco is and still is a ship I highly support, just having my expectations a lot more in check (and thought I had them in check before Curse aired honestly) as the season continues.