Chapter 11

"How could you Janna!" Kelly shouted, shock mingling with hurt and a sharp anger. How could she? Have sex with the guy she knew she liked, the guy who was still heartbroken over Star. For that matter, how could he? Kelly had spent years by his side, supporting him, and not only did he reject her, he went off to sleep with Janna without a second thought?

The more she thought about it, the more her rage boiled over. It wasn't fair!

"Well, when a guy and a gal think the other's really hot…" Janna drawled.

"SHUT UP!" She screeched "I don't care about whatever weird obsession you have with Marco-"

"Pot meet kettle." Janna interjected.

"I should have known you'd take advantage of him when he was vulnerable! Why else would Marco go out with you of all people?" It was the only explanation that made sense to her in that moment.

Infuriatingly, Janna hardly seemed perturbed, still showcasing her signature smirk. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Kelly rose to the bait, bitterness and fury mingling into an explosive cocktail "Just that I think he's too good to hook up with-". Kelly never got to finish that thought, because Janna snapped her fingers, and suddenly her mouth refused to work properly. Every time she tried to talk, it was as if her tongue tripped over itself so many times the words couldn't even leave her throat.

"Wooooow." Ponyhead, who had been following the argument like one would follow a tennis match up until this point, intoned "I didn't know you could do magic!"

"Yeah, I know a few tricks." Janna said nonchalantly "Pretty usefully in keeping people from saying things they'll end up regretting." Her expression turned downright dangerous as it shifted back to Kelly. "I'm gonna give your voice back, but maybe you should actually listen a bit as well."

Fuming with anger, Kelly glared in response. The nerve of her to sleep with Marco, silence her with magic, and then act like Kelly was the jerk?

"Okay, first of all, you are the jerk." Janna jabbed "I don't care what issues you have, you don't judge someone for their sex life. Marco and I aren't doing anything wrong!"

"Like I said, you're taking advantage of him!" Kelly accused.

"Like you did?" Janna retorted "Face it, the reason you're angry at me isn't because I tried. It's because I succeeded. And before you start, I didn't emotionally manipulate him. You did."

"What?"

She had never seen Janna this mad before. She was normally so laid back, but her temper had clearly been triggered. "You heaped such a huge guilt trip on him, that he called me almost in tears over it." She hissed, and the words hit Kelly like a physical blow. She hadn't meant…

"How's that any different than when Marco left Star?" Kelly demanded, feeling unfairly persecuted. She knew how upset Star had been after Marco had left, why was she the one being attacked? "What's your problem with me?"

"Marco never blamed Star or Tom for getting his heart broken, but you ended up blamed Marco, and Star and me! Anything other than taking responsibility for your own damn feelings." Janna was practically spitting now. "You wanna know what my problem with you is? You think being a good friend to Marco somehow means he owes you a relationship. Marco doesn't owe you shit- except for his friendship, which you threw away!"

Kelly was prepared to unleash a caustic retort, but for the life of her, she just couldn't. She was stumped. No matter how she looked at it, she couldn't find a way to defend herself or her actions. She blinked away furious tears and turned around "You know what? Fine!" She choked out "You win! He's all yours anyway."

At this, Janna actually laughed "No he isn't."

Kelly whirled back around, as Ponyhead gasped "Whaaat?"

"I lied." Her tone was mischievous, and that damn smirk was back.

Kelly's mind was thrown through a loop. "Why?" She demanded, was this all just to mess with her? Had all of her angst and anger really been over nothing?

"So that Star would finally admit her feelings for Marco. Which worked." Janna's tone was triumphant, but the revelation that Star still liked Marco barely registered with Kelly.

It had nothing to do with her, Kelly realized, nothing at all. She had just gotten caught in the crossfire. Heart sinking further, Kelly fell to her knees. Janna hadn't lied to get at her; she'd done it to force Star to admit her feelings. Star didn't have it out for her; she was just dealing with her own issues. Marco wasn't being a jerk to her; he just didn't feel the same way she did. She wasn't persecuted, maligned, or misjudged; she was just another person dealing with all the shit the world threw at them. And she was doing a horrible job at it.

Unable to even look at Janna, Kelly stared at the floor as tears spilled onto her cheeks and she uttered two words "I'm sorry."

"Marco!" Star repeated, voice brimming with shock. For the moment, thoughts of her very recent revelation of her feelings for him shoved to the back of her mind. "What… how…"

"Talon Raventalon." Marco answered "He called me." As if on cue, the avian mercenary stepped through the portal, looking a tad sheepish. "He says he and a bunch of other mercs were hired to attack an orphanage in Mewni."

"And they're specifically hiring people who look like monsters." Tom added.

Star paled. "Mina…" It didn't even matter, why or how Tom was there too. Yeah, seeing the two of them sent her heart into a tailspin, but it just wasn't important right now.

"It's all a false flag. All the monster attacks." Marco declared fiercely. "It falls into every bad prejudice that Mewmans have about monsters."

"Oh god, and the corn." Star lamented. Of course it was all Mina.

"Corn?" Marco asked.

"They've been burning corn fields, Marco! If I don't do something fast, there could be a famine!"

At her words, Marco's expression cracked with sympathy and sadness. "I'm sorry." He murmured, and Star wanted to throttle him because he was the last person who should be apologizing. She owed him every apology in the world, but it wasn't the time or the place to give it.

Star turned to Talon, she didn't know him very well, but he had just dropped the biggest breakthrough on Mina they'd had into their laps "Thank you for coming to us about this. If you hadn't…"

"I had to. I coached a little league team at the orphanage they're going to attack. I couldn't just let the little tikes bite it."

"Do you know when the attack is happening?" She asked.

"Like, five minutes." At the panicked looks he received, Talon quickly defended himself "What? They didn't give us a lot of time after they gave us the target!"

"Then we need to move, like now." Star declared.

"Who else is here?" Marco asked, before realizing who else was in the room. "Wait, Jackie?" He gaped, obviously a bit confused as to why Star and Jackie were alone together.

"Don't mind me. I'll just hang with Janna while you guys fight evil." Jackie shrugged, shooting Star a knowing grin. "Go get him."

"Kelly and Ponyhead are upstairs." Star told Marco "I'll get them, go ahead and cut a portal to the orphanage."

"Not yet." Marco dissented "Use the all-seeing-eye. If we give ourselves away, they might not show up at all."

"Right!" Star agreed. Despite the situation, Star couldn't help but feel that it was like they'd fallen into the same rhythm they'd always had- bouncing ideas off of each other and just being a team, like they were supposed to be.

"You know what this means Marco?" Tom nudged his friend.

"What?"

"That we're now the Marcnificent Six." Tom had a teasing grin on his face, and Marco rolled his eyes.

"Right. And we need to take a group photo." Talon added, eliciting groans from both Tom and Marco.

Star ignored the byplay and barged into Janna's room. She was shocked to see Kelly in tears."I-I didn't mean to hurt him. I just really liked him, and-"

"The drama can wait!" Star shouted "Kelly, Ponyhead- Mina's attacking and we need all the help we can get. You in?"

The wait for the attack to happen, even if it was only a few minutes, was excruciating. Star couldn't stop her eyes from drifting away from the seeing-eye spell and back to Marco.

It was hard to resist the urge to tell him everything. To apologize, plead forgiveness, and confess her affection, but she knew it wasn't the right time. Tom was right there. There was no way she could do that right in front of him- she'd already hurt Tom enough.

At the very least he deserved a conversation beforehand- an apology, an official breaking off, and above all he deserved space, time, and not having her feelings for Marco shoved in his face.

Not to mention, she'd be confessing her feelings for Marco right in front of his girlfriend. She'd already done that once, and that was one time too many. Star hadn't missed the byplay between Marco and Janna. How she had winked at him and nudged him teasingly when he followed Star into her room.

It hurt, it hurt a lot knowing that she had foolishly wasted her chance again. She wasn't under any illusions. Marco wasn't going to drop everything and go back to her. She screwed up and she had to live with that, but still, she owed him the truth.

"It's happening!" Marco shouted, drawing Star from her thoughts. Right, time for drama later, she reminded herself. It was dusk in Mewni, and a group of seven mercenaries had just stepped out of a portal onto the street in front of the orphanage. The building was run down but expansive, and built in a style not dissimilar to St. Olgas, while the mercenaries were loaded to bear, encased in armor and equipped with a multitude of weapons apiece.

The entire room, sans Jackie and Janna, charged through one of the several portals as Marco cut them open. Tom, and Pony Head pincered the attack force with Kelly and Talon. Meanwhile, Star and Marco landed behind the orphanage "Mina's forces usually attack from multiple directions, trying to box people in." Marco explained "I figured the others could handle the other force."

Just as Marco had suspected, a portal opened up to their side and the two of them repositioned themselves to face the threat. Star couldn't help but notice that the portal wasn't opened with scissors- it seemed to just open up on its own. Ten heavily armored mercenaries charged out, almost tripping over themselves when they realized they not only had opposition, but who their opponents were.

As one, Star and Marco sprang into action. Star bombarded them with a barrage of spells while Marco took advantage of their distraction and leapt behind them. He took a few of them out with a few well-placed strikes before sprinting towards the portal. One of their opponents- a wolf-like warrior wielding a large battle axe- tried to pursue him, but Star's 'Strawberry Annihilation' sent him crashing into the wall of the adjacent building.

The moment Marco reached to portal, it snapped shut, and Marco let out a huff of disappointment. One of the mercenaries, realizing the futility of fighting again the Queen of Mewni, shouted "Get the dude!".

Star retaliated by rainbow-fist-punching him into the air. Marco, for his part, wasn't the easy prey that their opponents were hoping for. He easily eluded and parried the attacks sent his way, even when outnumbered. With a battle cry, Star launched herself at the nearest one, knocking him out with a flying kick. She used that kick to propel herself further into the air, somersault, and land elegantly at Marco's side.

Star looked sidelong at Marco, and they shared a knowing grin. The two of them danced around each other as they exchanged blows and spellfire with their enemies. Star kept an eye on Marco, making sure he didn't get overwhelmed, but almost payed for it when a mercenary lunged a spear at her in her blind spot. Marco, however, did spot it and lunged deftly to deflect it to the side.

Marco furiously began to throttle the warrior who almost hurt her, and the panicking man shouted "Okay, okay, I surrender!"

Marco paused, but didn't let up his grip, while Star kept her wand leveled at the remaining raiders. "Anyone wanna follow his lead?"

With a few shared looks, they quickly dropped their weapons and raised their arms. "Good choice." Star approved.

Marco still hadn't released the mercenary and was now regarding him with a glare "Tell us everything you know. Now." He demanded, shaking him. The action dislodged a small satchel, which fell the ground and spilled a slew of golden coins onto the ground.

Star was calling his name, but Marco could barely hear her. A chill had gripped his chest, and his eyes were locked on the golden coin that had fallen out of the merc's satchel, more specifically the rune engraved on it.

There was only one place in the universe that used that language- a place that Marco had spent ample time in. "Where. Did. You. Get. That. Coin." He growled.

The man was practically shaking as Marco's grip tightened. "That's how we were paid! By a main at a pub! I swear I don't know nothing else!" Marco threw him to the ground, and picked up the coin. It couldn't be. It couldn't, his heart insisted. But it made too much sense.

There was reason why Mina always seemed to be one step ahead of them, how her forces always seemed to retreat in the nick of time. There was a reason they seemed to have more funds than they should have. They had thought that maybe some of the nobility were supporting her, but no. It went much higher.

It wasn't that Hekapoo couldn't track the portals that Mina used, it was that she wouldn't.

At this his heart cried out. Hekapoo was his friend! Even if she was prejudiced against monsters, shewouldn't betray him!

Like she betrayed Meteora, dooming a baby to live a life of persecution? Like when she trapped you in her dimension of sixteen years?

Fuck.

He felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Star, looking up at him with shining eyes. "Marco, are you okay?"

The love and tenderness in her eyes tore his heart to shreds, but he beat the surge of emotion back- this wasn't the time. Looking back, he found that his friends had gathered – including Tom, who was watching the two of them sadly, and Kelly, who couldn't even meet his eyes. "Follow me." Marco said.

He cut open a portal to dimension X-103. Very few people knew about the dimension, and even fewer had access to it- which made the fact that their enemies had gotten access to treasure from Hekapoo's dimension all the more damning.

The transition to his older body had gotten much less dramatic over the years. He'd grown quite a bit- so the difference now mostly came down to bulk and scars. Seamlessly, he stepped through the portal, into Hekapoo's forge, and broke his scissors apart, igniting them into flaming daggers.

"Marco-" Hekapoo greeted, but wasn't able to get out another word before Marco struck. He swung at the half forged blade she was currently crafting, ruining it and scattering it to the ground.

"What the hell!" Hekapoo shouted. Marco struck again, forcing her to dodge backwards. He sheathed one of his blades and grabbed her in a chokehold, forcing her against the wall.

Fury surged within him as he beheld one of his closest friends. Traitor. "WHY DID YOU DO IT?" He shouted, levelling his other dagger at her.

"Marco! I don't know what you're talking about!" Hekapoo choked.

"Don't bullshit me!" He raged. He sheathed his dagger and pulled out the coin "Recognize this?" He could see the recognition in her eyes. Good, he could still read her "I found this on mercenaries hired by Mina to slaughter an orphanage."

Hekapoo shook her head minutely "I didn't do this! I swear!"

"Do you really expect me to believe someone was able to sneak into your dimension without your knowledge?" Marco hissed "I know how it works; no one can get in or out of here without you knowing."

"Marco, please!" Hekapoo pleaded "I didn't! I'd never!" He looked her in the eyes and what he saw shook him. "You're like, one of the only friends I have. I wouldn't do that to you!" Her heartfelt words and earnest eyes shattered his resolve.

Oh god, how could he seriously have thought Hekapoo would betray him?

Marco snapped backward, reeling as Hekapoo gasped for breath. "I- I don't understand." He muttered "If it wasn't you…" He looked back at his friends, who all seemed shocked and confused by the course of events, and he didn't blame them. "Then who?"

"So wait, did someone actually just set Hekapoo up?" Tom asked.

"Who could even do that?" Star puzzled.

And suddenly, his mind flashed to a detail from the book he'd gotten from that coven, and it all made sense. The dread chill had settled in his chest again. Because Hekapoo hadn't betrayed them… but someone had.

"Hekapoo, are you able to track-"

Marco would never get to finish that thought, because as he said those words a portal opened under his feet. Before he could even react, he was falling through.

"Marco!" Star cried, lunging for him with terror in her eyes- too late.

He reached out, even though he knew it was a lost cause. Their hands slipped past each other as Marco fell, and he could only take one last look at her face before the portal closed.

A/N: I'll admit, I actually did have Hekapoo betraying them in like the first outline I had, but after writing their first scene together I realized I couldn't do it. So something I little different's gonna happen. As always thank you to everyone who's commented so far!