Hey guys, back with Chapter 2. I hope you enjoy it and feel free to leave reviews! Also, any responses to reviews, author's notes, and acknowledgments will be found below the story from now on.



P.S. Happy 1 Year Anniversary of The Sign of the Moon! I am revamping my REDUX project and I made some revisions to Ch 2. Writing is a process, and you get better the more you do it. Therefore, I think it's important to go back and revisit and revise-not because the old writing was godawful, but because your craft changes. The overall feel of the chapter is the same as the last, but I have significantly cleaned up the battle section. Enjoy!

P.S.S. The REDUX Version of The Sign of the Moon is now also being posted on ao3!

"Star…I love you…"

At that, Tom's three eyes shot open as he bolted awake. His bedsheets and pajamas were drenched in a cold sweat, and his chest heaved as if he had been on a marathon. It's just a nightmare, he reassured himself although the heavy feeling still remained like a ghost. Over the past month, this nightmare was one he had had over and over—about Marco somehow stealing Starship from him. But that was impossible. Still somewhat disturbed, Tom sought relief from this favorite picture of Star and himself resting on his nightstand. It was taken on their first real date after his botched Demoncism, overlooking a Soulfall—the Underworld version of a waterfall but more terrifying. They had finally gotten cornshakes, and both had wide smiles on their faces in spite of the shrieking dead behind them.

Where had the joy and excitement all gone? It was hard to believe the smiling couple in the picture was on the verge of breaking up yet again. Ever since the Soulrise at Lava Lake Beach, their literal whirlwind romance had deteriorated to nothing, and it was partly Star's fault. Her insistence of getting bogged down in pointless royal crap led to the great downfall of their relationship. Why should she care about being a better princess? They were teenagers, for hell's sake! But no, Star just had to attend every meeting, every ball, every formal. Tom didn't even do half as much for his own kingdom, and everything was fine. The result of Star's renewed focus on being the best princess ever was that Tom never saw her anymore. Dates were few and far between, and they were often pushed back due to prior commitments. Where was the spontaneity—that spark that made Tom fall for her twice? It was like Starship had forgotten how to "Star" anymore.

The other problem was Marco. During Song Day several months ago, the entire kingdom learned that the Earth boy was "the prince of her deepest desires," and Tom had all but given up on getting her back. That is until the Silver Bell Ball. His concerns melted away instantly…then the boy came back one day. For some odd reason, Star let him live with her and made Marco her squire—which seemed odd for a princess to do. However, neither bothered Tom much for a while, but he noticed strange things about how his girlfriend acted around her new squire. The way they giggled together, those little glances they shared, how they were always around each other…All such odd, little things.

Between the princess duties and Marco, the issues led up to the great fight, and Star hadn't spoken to Tom in the month since. They did not break up, per se, but their relationship had flat-lined. The night where it happened was still a whirl in Tom's memory….

What could be better than a romantic, candlelit dinner underneath a sky of fireworks? Tom even caught a glimpse of the old Star in the way her eyes twinkled as she watched the display crackle and sizzle in the sky. Why can't every moment be like this? He mused. Relationships were supposed to be fun and exciting like this every day. As they leaned in for a kiss, a red glow lit up the sky—probably just some nearby sparklers—but it caused Star pulled away suddenly. "Starship? Why'd you pull away?" Tom asked, his voice edged hurt. "You've been so distant lately. I wanna have some fun. I miss your kisses."

"It's like I never see you." He started again when Star didn't answer. She was still fixated on the sky behind them, bearing an expression Tom couldn't read. It's like you're not here, he should have added.

"Tom, I'm a princess," she looked at him finally, "I'm busy, I don't get what the big deal is about any of this." What was she hiding? She didn't reply to his complaint about not being around enough. Maybe he should have probed more, but his anger got the best of him.

"Oh, I get it. You're still mad about the Magic High Commission meeting, aren't you?" Tom retorted.

"Of course, I still am!" yelled Star as she stood up in the grass, facing him. She's so pretty when she's angry, Tom couldn't help but smirk. The cold, blue fire in her eyes glinted against the darkening sky.

"You didn't bother to show up! And that was supposed to be your first meeting as my choice for a prince! How am I supposed to be a better princess if you aren't doing your part?"

"Oh, so it's all about you now. What about me, Star? You put all of this effort into being a princess and none into me." Tom grumbled angrily. Why couldn't she just let this stuff go? So, what if the Prince's Ball was soon—he wasn't going to be king for years.

"I'm busy, Tom!" Star crossed her arms with a huff.

"You know what? I don't truly believe that" he lifted his chin in a challenge. "You always have time for him…."

"What are you…" her voice faltered a bit as her eyes shifted away. Another red firecracker lit up the sky. Why is everyone so fixated on red fireworks today?

"I've never seen Marco have to book dates a week in advance, just to have them constantly moved around."

Star's voice raised again, "I don't know what you're getting at. Marco's my personal squire, so of course, he's around more. That's it! You know that you're my best friend."

She was playing that card again. The card she always played whenever Tom questioned how close she was to Marco. He had seen things between them: those longer-than-normal gazes, the deeper-than-they-should-be hugs. Sometimes, he couldn't tell who her boyfriend was—himself or Marco. She had to decide, and Tom was going to make her.

"Star, you have to make a choice," he said as he got up and walked away….

…The smell of burning sheets drew Tom out of his rambling thoughts. He'd better watch out, or he will have to buy another set of sheets again this week. Luckily, he remembered the helpful breathing exercises Brian, his former life coach, taught him to prevent a blowup. In and out. In and out sloooowly. Let it go, Tom urged himself. The "breakup" was all in the past, and today was a new day. He was going to make things right again, and Star had plenty of time to miss him by now.

I'm going to take her out for cornshakes, he decided as he approached his mirror. As he was about to call Star, he noticed 57 new messages on his Marco Monitoring App. Huh, that was new. The app was linked to a curse Tom had secretly cast on Marco after the Blood Moon Ball, which monitored every time he talked about Star. Since the boy could never shut up about her, Tom changed it to alert him only if he said her name romantically. The app had been glitching lately, picking up on the seemingly normal conversations.

"Mirror, play messages," Tom ordered as he went to his bathroom to freshen up. He just wanted to get them off his mirror. None of the messages revealed anything major—they were either Marco mentioning Star's name or talking to her about something trivial. Nothing to worry about, but man they sure do talk a lot, Tom remarked as he began to brush his teeth. He was going all out today for Star, and maybe their relationship could—

"Star…I love you."

Toothpaste and water sprayed everywhere as Tom gagged. This isn't happening. This isn't happening, he began to panic. "Play that message again!" he commanded. Maybe he just misheard something or missed a keyword in there.

"Star…I love you," Marco murmured tenderly through the mirror.

There had to be another explanation, just had to be. Ah, Marco was just having an intense dream about her. That could be the answer, although it wasn't any better the more Tom thought about it. Sure, it was gross, but at least Star and Marco were not a thing.

"Master Tom," a demon servant suddenly appeared.

"Um, knock next time," Tom grumbled, "What?"

"Uh," the servant hesitated, "We have some footage from the Marco Monitoring curse you should see."

Tom walked to the mirror as the demon revealed the footage, and conveniently shuffled out of arm's length of him.

"May I have this dance?" Marco bowed as Star reached for his hand. As he led her into a graceful waltz, the Blood Moon shed its light upon them in approval. No. No. The passion in their eyes, the way they moved as one, the intimacy of the moment… No. No. No…. Not this again….

All of his plans fell apart that night…

Where did she go? I only left her for five seconds? Literally five seconds too; just long enough to tell the organist to play something else besides funeral music. The moment had to be perfect, so the music had to set the right mood for the great dance tonight. Tom was almost certain that the Blood Moon would save his failed relationship by declaring he and Star were soulmates. He had had this night planned ever since he heard about the Blood Moon Ball shortly after his breakup.

He had spent months organizing this whole Blood Moon Ball for Star, meaning he had to cut a lot from the sacred ceremony. He canceled the blood sacrifices, toned down the sacred atmosphere, and got rid of the drunken debauchery. In hindsight, he should have left out the unicorn's blood too, but it paid off otherwise. Nothing too bad had happened, aside for Star insisting on "doing her own thing." The stage was set for the perfect night of love.

Somewhere deep inside, Tom felt uneasy though—as if he was going to lose in the end—and he didn't know why. He couldn't though—the plan was foolproof. He had Star at the right moment, and there was no one else who could compete for her affection.

Maybe he should have read the chapter from that old tome about the power of the Blood Moon. Tom had the read the introduction, and the section about the rituals involved in order to figure out how to make them "Star-friendly". Beyond that, he skipped the rest of the book, which contained chapters on the significance of the Blood Moon and what it did. All he needed to know was that the moon had the power to make people soulmates. And that's what I and Starship are going to be.

Even the moment of the dance was perfectly choreographed in Tom's mind. With the right music in the background, he would lead his beloved in a simple but romantic waltz as the Blood Moon chose to bind them forever and ever. Look Star, he even planned what he would tell Star at that moment, Even the moon says we destined to be together. While Tom daydreamed about his victory, the priest droned on about how two lucky souls would be bound together for eternity and blah blah. The demon prince didn't need to hear that crap again. Afterward, of course, the stupid organist just had to play the wrong music…

After giving the organist a piece of his mind, Tom had to race to find Star in time. Oh come on, he snarled. Where the hell did you run off to? It didn't help that the attendees were bunched together dancing in hopes the Blood Moon would choose them. In their dreams, Tom rolled his eyes. This was his moon!

Suddenly, the light in the Temple went red, and the demons gasped. Tom was too late; the moon had chosen another couple to be soulmates. The prince sighed, feeling his heart drop in his chest. All was not lost though, he concluded optimistically, he and Star could still share a beautiful dance. She loved a good dance—that might get something going.

However, when he turned towards the center of the dancefloor, Tom felt his heart stop cold. No! This can't be happening! He had to be seeing things. This couldn't be real! But it was. There, under the light of the soul-binding Blood Moon, Star was dancing with another. Not only had Tom missed the dance, but the moon had confirmed his worst fear—Star's heart belonged to someone else forever. I'm going to kill him, the demon bristled as he ran towards the center.

Get away from her! He shoved the masked stranger violently to the ground. There was enough moonlight left if he could just grab Star… Then, the portal closed—the moon's choice had been made. NO! Tom inwardly wailed, He took her away from me! And he knew exactly who the guy was too. Marco! The guy who was in Star's life now and had chopped off Tom's hand earlier that day. He had a feeling that there was more going on between Star and Marco than she had led on. I'm going to make him pay! His mind growled as he summoned fire from every crack in the ground….

I will make him pay!

Of course, it would be Marco who would steal Star's heart again. He got to see her whenever he wanted, they went on adventures Tom never took part in, and Star invited Marco to her family's Stump Day party. And I'm supposed to be her boyfriend, Tom slumped on his bed defeated. Did she ever love me? His eyes wandered to the picture on the nightstand. There was no way she could have faked such a grand smile, or joy during the Soulrise. Why did it change? When did it change? Tom closed his eyes and recalled the happiness of their earlier dates for clues. His eyes flew open when it hit him. He knew what caused the change: Marco came back. That was it! How could he be so blind? She made him her personal squire, for corn's sake, that should have been a huge red flag!

Tom knew what he must do, it was rather simple. He had to find a way to get Marco out of Star's life permanently. Then they could go back to their old, happy days.

I'm gonna get you, Marco Diaz!

Meanwhile, in the Butterfly castle, Marco Diaz was awoken to the sunlight streaming through his window. What a beautiful day, he yawned and stretched. He felt so warm inside, and it was from more than the sun or the laser puppies sleeping in a heap on his bed. Yesterday had been a packed day, starting with the exhausting hike through the Underworld and ending with a creepy demon temple. It was supposed to be a haunted creepy temple, but it turned out to be an empty creepy temple, making the adventure kinda pointless.

Well, pointless was the wrong word. What happened in the temple between him and Star was…unexpected, to say the least. Marco will never know what came over him in the inner sanctum to give him the confidence to ask Star to dance, but it just felt right even if it technically wasn't. After all, it was the same room where they dance during the Blood Moon Ball. Their moment yesterday was something almost otherworldly. It was so perfect—as if the only thing that ever mattered in the whole universe was how beautiful Star appeared bathed in the light of the Blood Moon. Not the mission, or the creepy temple, or anything. It should have felt wrong: Tom was his bro, and this was breaking so many bro-ship rules.

When Star sat them down to talk, Marco was afraid that she would be angry about the dance, and she should have been. Instead, she said the very thing he had only ever been able to dream of for so long. The words that soothed the heartache plaguing him since Lava Lake Beach when he realized he had been so dense for a long time. Star Butterfly loved him. Marco felt his cheeks glow from blushing. This was the happiest moment he ever experienced since coming to Mewni. He felt like he could fly and shout about his newfound love to all the dimensions.

One of the laser puppies woke up and licked his face. "Isn't this wonderful, Sajak?" Marco cradled the yellow ball of fur in his arms, "Star loves me."

The puppy whined in agreement—or, rather, to alert Marco that it was time to be let out. Right, I probably should take the puppies out. As the boy changed, he remembered that his relationship was not completely settled yet. Star had to break things off with Tom—the real test.

Despite the demon's efforts at changing, he had been relapsing into his angry, old ways lately. The most recent outburst was during Star's birthday party when Tom tried to pin the event's shortcoming on Marco and not the fact that he actually forgot his own girlfriend's birthday. A good friend would have supported the squire on his quest. Best bros didn't act like that. Maybe I shouldn't be so hard on him, Marco reflected as he rounded up the laser puppies. Maybe putting all of this relationship drama behind them would make their friendship grown again. He missed his buddy, after all.

As Marco led the puppies out the door, he heard an additional whine from the bed. I've accounted for all of them, he mused as he gave another count. As he turned to the bed, he saw Glossaryck stare at him. "Globgor~" he whimpered.

As much as Marco didn't like Glossaryck, it was sad to see him reduced to this state. He had asked Star how this happened, but she didn't know. Maybe all of his memories had been destroyed with the Book of Spells.

"Fine, Glossaryck," Marco beckoned the once wise teacher, "You can come too."

"Globgor!" Glossaryck leaped off of the bed and began to wrestle with the puppies. Marco groaned, he had just gotten them to settle down. "Okay, guys, break it up. Let's go outside."

Marco took the puppies to the castle's rose garden for today's outing. He would have normally taken them on a walk around the castle grounds or out into the town, but the puppies and Glossaryck were too much to manage without Star. She was at an important meeting with the Magic High Commission for the next few hours, and, maybe when she got out, Marco would take her out somewhere special. Maybe not too special though. Not yet.

Even after her planned breakup with Tom, Marco didn't know how to start the next phase of their relationship. He had failed his previous one with Jackie, who he pined over since grade school. In the end, Marco realized that he only loved the idea of her, and it hurt her in the end. What if it was the same with Star?

Marco shook his head. This was different because being with Star felt right. They balanced, supported, and brought out the best in each other in ways that nobody else could. It's like our souls are bonded—

"Hey!" Marco yelled. "Barco Diaz, don't you dare pee on that bush!"

The puppy lowered his leg and shuffled away. Phew, that was Eclipsa's favorite bush in the garden, and he didn't want the puppies to ruin it. Marco glanced up at the tower on the south end of the garden. He didn't know why, but the dark queen gave him a weird feeling….

"Grr!"

Marco noticed the puppies were growling in the direction of the wall. "What's gotten into you puppies today?" He scolded as he rounded them up. "Quiet, Marco Jr., you'll wake Eclipsa!"

"GLOBGOR!" Glossaryck howled in fright, running in circles. The puppies followed him, barking.

"Not you too Glossaryck!" Marco groaned. If only Star were here. He was about the chase them down when he heard a rustle in the bush in front of him. Was someone there? Marco was about to call for the castle knights when he felt a board slap him across the face, and darkness wash over him.

The painful throbbing of his head woke Marco up, and he gently rolled on his back, feeling leaf litter crunch underneath him. What happened? He cradled his head, trying hard to reconstruct what caused his headache. All he could remember was trying to stop the laser puppies and Glossaryck from destroying the Rose Garden—the rest was a blur. Wait, where are the puppies? Marco noticed the dead silence in the air as his senses fully returned. On top of that, where was the Rose Garden? The flowers, puppies, and castle walls were gone, replaced by tall, dark trees and thick foliage. Oh great, the Forest of Certain Death…Then it hit him—what was he doing out here miles away from home? Who was watching Glossaryck? Marco rose to his feet and winced from pain radiating in his side, "Ow…Marco Jr. must have gotten me."

"Actually you're wrong," an evil laugh suddenly interrupted the silence. Marco looked up and saw Tom hovering behind him. "It was me!"

The prince was clad in interesting battle armor, made of obsidian chainmail and wine-colored plates. Gold trim completed the look, bordering a neatly embroidered Lucitor family crest adorned with fine jewels on the breastplate. That's so cool, Marco couldn't help but admire the craftsmanship. He had to get Tom to make him armor like that. The boy was about to ask how much the outfit cost when deep instinct warn him the prince was not here on friendly business.

"You have ten seconds," the demon warned. "Get your head start while you still can, Diaz."

What? "Tom? What's going on?" Marco asked nervously.

"Tick-tock, Diaz, get moving," Tom's voice carried a hint of a growl. He hadn't looked this angry since the Blood Moon Ball.

Suddenly, Marco felt his blood run cold. He was unsure of how he knew, but a dark theory emerged. Tom knew about what happened in the temple last night—probably through another Naysaya-type curse. Oh no…Marco was dead meat.

"Look, Tom," he backed away slowly, "Lemme explain…" A ball of flames grazed his side. "Hey! What are you—?"

"Six seconds…five…four…" Tom continued to count, pulling back a smoking hand. No amount of reasoning would work on the murderous demon now, Marco had to run. Adrenaline kicked in, and, suddenly, the boy could no longer feel any pain. Instead, his legs carried him in a mad dash deeper into the forest. Everything passed by in a green blur, but Marco knew that Tom could catch him in less than a second if he didn't put major distance in between them.

"HERE I COME, MARCO DIAZ!" He heard Tom bellow behind him.

Yep, I'm dead, Marco realized he was no match for the Demon Prince of the Underworld. Tom had serious magical powers that could set an entire dimension on fire. All Marco had was his dimensional scissors and his wits. Part of him considered fleeing to another dimension, but he knew Tom would hunt his hide down no matter where he went. The best way to survive was to stay and fight. Or hide—the boy decided to roll into a hollow spot underneath some tree roots to catch his breath and strategize. Maybe I can ambush him, he gripped the scissors close to his chest. An anatomy book in the castle library described how demons had a weak spot at the base of their horns. It was time to pray that the book wasn't outdated.

"I know where you're hiding Marco," Tom jeered from not too far away. "Come on, don't you want to fight me? I wanna hit the target I missed on Stump Day!"

Marco huddled in his hole, shaking in terror. Okay, this was worse than Blood Moon Ball. Despite being terrified and determined to survive, he was also torn. Tom was his best friend… he couldn't just fight him like this. Yet the prince had let Star get to him this badly…fighting was the only way, or Marco had to face certain death. I'm sorry, Tom, he tightened his grip on the makeshift weapon.

A flash of fire incinerated the tree covering Marco, bringing him face to face with the literal Prince of Hell. Tom had transformed into something out of one's darkest nightmares: an aura of flames surrounded him, and his eyes had shifted from white to blood red. I'm outta here! Seeing the what he was up against, made Marco turn heel and flee for his life.

"Ugh, stop playing hard to get," he heard Tom huff in frustration. Pillars of fire blocked Marco's escape and he knew it was time to face his nightmare. Pivoting on his heels, the boy dropped into a fighting stance and prepared himself to put his plan to action.

"I'm ready, Tom!" the Earth boy challenged bravely. But the forest was quiet, eerily so. Not even the animals nearby made a sound. Maybe Tom had let up on him.

"Marco~" a familiar voice sang to him. The sound made Marco ease out of his stance and heart race in joy. It was Star here to rescue him!

Overcome with relief, he ran to her, "Oh, Star you'd never believe what happened." The second he was about to embrace her, Star evaded. Star? He stared at her, puzzled, wanting to seek the safety and comfort of her arms, and pretend this nightmare wasn't happening.

"You know, I've been thinking things over," she began. "And I talked things over with Tom. I'm going to stay with him."

"What?!" Marco sputtered in utter disbelief. "You told me you loved me…"

"Why would I say that?" Star smirked darkly, "You're not a prince. In fact, you're not even a real squire. Maybe I'll send you back to the subbasement with Sir Lavabo."

No! Marco sank to his knees. The forest span around him, this was just like at Lava Lake Beach all over again. Wait a second…he got up again. "Your portals aren't red, Star," his voice steadied, and he gritted his teeth. "They're gold when you open them in your Butterfly form!" The illusion vanished, and Marco was all alone again.

"Tom! Face me!" Marco roared. How dare he play mind games with him! With that the demon stepped into the clearing, his angry expression unchanged.

"What did I do to you to deserve this?" Marco cried to him. "That was a cheap shot." Reaching up, he grabbed a vine and slapped Tom's face with it. The demon recoiled with a hiss but continued to stalk forward.

"Better than what you did," Tom sneered coldly. "You stole my girlfriend from me behind my back. Big mistake!"

The demon rushed at Marco to grab him, but the boy used the makeshift whip to catch the branch above him and swing into the air. He managed to kick Tom square in the face as he leapt over him. However, the prince managed to tackle Marco to the ground and hold him by the throat. His body convulsed due to the lack of oxygen and he screamed, half out of fear and half out of rage. "You…won't…beat…me!"

With the last of his strength, Marco managed to turn his head and sink his teeth into Tom's arm. Screaming in pain, the demon launched the boy into a nearby shallow lake, and he skidded along the lake floor. Luckily, the adrenaline rush masked the pain resulting from crashing into the water. "I'm still here, Tom!" Marco bragged with confidence. "I've fought in Hekapoo's dimension for sixteen years and trained with Kelly and Star. And, most importantly, I'm a red belt!"

Tom swooped down to meet him, but Marco took his scissors and aimed it at the base of his right horn. Satisfaction crawled on the boy's face when the attack connected, digging deep into the demon's flesh. Victory did not last long, for Tom used his magic to knock Marco over and hold him underwater to drown him. Thinking fast, he played dead to throw Tom off—having an opossum as a mascot paid off sometimes.

When Tom let go, Marco shakily rose to his feet, noting that he felt noticeably weaker. His body was taking too much punishment, and he had no idea how much longer he could last. "How are you not dead yet?" Tom marveled.

"W-Why Tom?" Marco looked him dead in the eyes, "We were friends. What happened to the Mackie Hand movies or to Love Sentence? Were all of those moments really for nothing?"

For a second, Marco could swear that he saw Tom soften a bit. See, he remembers! Yet when he held out a hand, but his old friend refused to take it. The light had gone out in his eyes, "You took Starship away from me," Tom's voice was a mix of pure, unadulterated wrath and sorrow, "Once you're gone, I will make Star mine forever—like I should have done at the Blood Moon Ball—" He flew into the air, charging up a fire blast. "—I…I'm not sorry."

Marco's body slumped into the water. He had used up everything his body could give him, and, with his strength was failing, there was no way he could move in time. This is it, he thought gravely. There was no way a human could survive this…but he had to. Marco refused to let Star mourn over his dead closed his eyes summoning everything he had within the depth of his soul. "STAAAAAAAAR!"

I'm dead, I've died…Wait a second. He wasn't dead. How was he not dead? The smoke dissipated, and Marco was miraculously alive and full of energy. In fact, he was so full of energy that he was hovering above the water.

"How is this possible?!" Tom screeched as he landed in the water. "Your cheeks…"

The water revealed Marco had two red crescent moons emblazoned on his cheeks, glowing like the Blood Moon. With magic, the playing ground was now level. "So, you want to kill me, right?" Marco chuckled darkly as he entered his combat stance again. He felt the raw power flow in his veins, making him shiver. "Let's make it even with some Karate magic."

Pressing his hands together, Marco summoned a blue fireball and hurled it at Tom. The demon flew backward, landing on the nearest bank with a thud, but, before he could recover, the squire connected a blue kick to the winded demon's torso and sent him flying again. I can get used to this…

Tom gritted his teeth, punching the ground. "Oh, so now you're going to pull the magic card. I was this close to having you gone." He charged towards Marco with jets of fire escaping from his heels, but Marco dug his feet in and caught his fists effortlessly. They were at a standstill with magic and flames dancing around them.

"I don't even know what's going on anymore Tom," Marco hollered at the struggling demon, "Why can't you let me alone, and we settle this like friends. I didn't mean to steal Star from you, but I felt lead to take a chance with her—"

"—Because you're a jerk!" Tom hissed, stomping his feet into the ground, summoning various skeletons and small bats. Even as they hit, Marco never let go, and he kicked them out of the way like they were nothing. Then, Tom continued, "Ever since I met you… Star loved you. She always has, and I never was good enough! The moment you came back, I should have…" Just like that, the magic caused them to fly apart. They stood glaring at each other.

"You welcomed me to Mewni with open arms," Marco charged into Tom, landing a solid punch to his face, "Why did this have to change? Why do I even have these curses on me?"

Tom said nothing, his eyes clouded with an unreadable expression—perhaps a mix of remorse swirling with his wrath, but that faded quickly. Marco kept hoping to see something that reminded him of his old friend. But there was nothing—no warmth, friendship, or even empathy. Just raw hatred.

"You know," Marco started again, "For a long time, I thought you were just a misunderstood guy with anger issues. One who honestly wanted to change, but no. I don't see the Tom I became good friends with—all I see is a literal evil demon."

Flames erupted around Tom, and he hurled them at Marco. They burned a large ring around both boys, leaving nothing but heaps of ash in its wake. Tom then jumped into the air and blasted a torrent of fire directly at his rival, but he evaded. Leaping into the air, the boy landed an aerial kick to the demon's face, sending him into tall rocks below. The crash nearly broke his horn and blood rained down his skull while he groaned.

"You think this 'trick' you pulled will work?" Miraculously, Tom still had the strength to stand. "I will get Star back. I always do!"

Marco narrowed his eyes, "You think I'm fighting for my life right now, just because I love Star?" He let out a laugh, one that confused Tom. "I'm fighting to knock some sense into you! Regardless if we hate each other now, you need to stop."

"And Star's magically going to fix everything, right? Just like she handed you a—" Tom's taunt was cut short but Marco pinning him against a tree by the throat.

"You think everything is all peachy keen between Star and me?" Marco interrupted harshly. "I rejected her after hearing her confession on Earth." He let Tom go, but went on, "It sucked. I let her run into your arms because I was a stupid idiot. But...you were happy together, my two closest friends. So, even after realizing my feelings after Lava Lake, I kept quiet, trying to be a good friend to both of you. However, after that party, you showed your true colors. That you didn't even care if I was your friend anymore. All you wanted, was Star and nothing else."

Tom spat blood on the ground, charging his fists with intense flames, and uttering demonic chants. Marco readied himself for another attack but felt something grab his feet. Before he could roll or jump away, darkness overtook him. What the heck are—? Sharp spikes pierced his flesh and bones, leaving him shrieking in pain. The demon studied the coffin he had created, forcing all his magic to hold it together. He then dragged it into the ravaged ground.

"No!" Marco screamed, using his right foot to kick the coffin open.

He fell to the ground, landing poorly and cracking his ankle. Hissing in pain, he watched Tom stand over him, stunned, "H-How did you…?"

The effort had sapped the rest of Marco's strength away, and he slumped to the ground—even the magic ebbed away. He resigned himself to fate when he saw Tom stalk towards him…but something knocked the demon back several feet.

What was that? Suddenly, an awesome, golden light bathed the charred, dead forest. Marco rolled on his back and saw Star in her golden Butterfly form. So beautiful, he weakly crawled towards her but flopped over from the pain and exhaustion. Before his head even hit the ground, he felt her six arms support him.

I'm sorry…Star," Marco muttered softly. He knew she was missing her meeting, and the laser puppies and Glossaryck were probably destroying the Rose Garden.

"What happened to you?" Her eyes were wide with shock as she held him.

He must have been a sight to behold with his body was covered in blood, bruises, and burns. His hoodie—luckily, not his favorite one—was torn to shreds and his white shirt underneath was stained with smoke. On top of that, the cheekmarks were still there. My beautiful, shining Star, Marco sighed. He could almost die happy here being held by her. "Tom…tried to kill me." He murmured weakly. "He…knew."

He groaned again as Star set him down gently, her face hard to read, "I'll be right back, Marco." Weakly, he watched her expression transform from soft concern to cold fury as she faced Tom.

"S-Starship…?" Tom faltered as he tried to scurry away quickly, his face almost white as Star moved towards him. He tried to make a break for it, but Star used her magic to hold him down. Marco had never seen Tom look so scared in his life, then he realized the prince had never seen Star in her warrior goddess form. Marco smirked—he really did have a leg up on the fella.

Star hovered over Tom, the stars in her eyes glistening with pure wrath, like when she faced Toffee when she first donned on her golden form. All six of her hands clutched into fists, as her cheekmarks turned red, "What did you do to my Marco?"

Her voice had morphed from sweet Star to the one she used on Toffee. It sounded like the voice of a thousand hurricanes, full of ire and without mercy. The possessiveness of it struck the squire too. He was her Marco.

"Answer me, Thomas!" she demanded.

Tom found his voice, trying to mask his fear, "B-But Marco tried to fight me!" Star let out a bitter laugh, and silently casting the All-Seeing Eye Spell. She showed a projection of Tom casting a spell on Marco ages ago back in Echo Creek. The demon gulped, looking away from Star again. "Okay, fine. I cursed him, and I found about the dance."

"You gave me a choice, Tom," Star spoke in her own voice. "And here it is: I love Marco choice has always been him. I'm sorry that I haven't been the best girlfriend." Tom stared blankly, his face crestfallen. After that moment, Star resumed, this time switching to her scary voice, "Now that said, you dared to kill Marco?!"

"You… You always cared about him more than me." Tom spat at her. "I never mattered to you. You just used me."

Full of hatred, he narrowed his eyes, trying to charge flames. That's not a good idea, Tom, Marco inwardly commented. Star lifted her wand and blasted the ground right next to Tom were her golden ray. Everything on that patch melted away to black sludge, and the once angry ex let out a cry.

"How dare you!" Star rebuffed him, "We are over, Tom! This time for good."

"But Starship—"

"Silence!" Star's voice literally shook the forest, even Marco was slightly scared of his new girlfriend. "See that pile of goop over there," she pointed with her wand, "If you ever as much as hurt a hair on Marco's head again, that's all that will be left of you. If I can kill Toffee in cold blood, I can do the same to you! Got it?" Tom just nodded without saying a word.

Star floated back over to her new boyfriend and scooped him up within her arms bridal style, "Let's go home, Marco." She gave him a kiss on the cheek as she flew away. Marco passed out, and he couldn't tell if it was from the kiss or the blood loss.

Guest- Thanks! I like to think of this story as how I would take 3B. We'll see how the show will compare in probably a few months (if even).

Sn3aker- I'm glad you think it keeps the feeling of the show (that's my goal), and that you like it overall. As for Marco's phone, maybe he has a Mewnian upgrade that allows him such long battery life (and coverage across all of Mewni). As for the voice at the end, that's classified until now. This chapter hopefully answered how Tom is going to react…

allen Vth- Thanks for the review! The voice is a mysterious force…for now. This chapter is the answer to how Tom is going to take things, so I hope you like it. Kelly is definitely going to show up, and have a meaningful role :)

Kaiser Spartan- Thank you! We will see what the show does when it returns, and I really, really hope we get another Starco dance in canon (like seriously). Luckily, there's plenty more to happen in this story.

Starshine89- Thanks and I glad that story feels like the show for you. Plenty more to come.

Oracle6044- Yes, this is my first fanfiction and thank you for the glowing review.

robertkellet- Man, you're too kind! I'm grateful for your help in everything!

As always, thanks to RK-128 for help with editing, and for contributing this epic fight scene that was very fun to write.