Star and Marco vs Evil Book 3

X

Nova stood in a small open area in a forest, listening and waiting. She was dressed for battle; she wore leather, laminate, armor, very reminiscent of her zidanium armor in her original timeline. At the ready she held a Stàth, a short sword commonly called The Stinger on this Mewni, just as the Dötñá was in Star's and Marco's reality. Unlike on their Mewni, where Mewmins kept the gladius-like weapon unchanged despite the lack of a shield, on Nova's Mewni they adopted a longer, spatha-like, sword, much as the Romans did when they retired the scutus.

Nova reached out with her barbarian senses and magic, attempting to locate her stalkers. The trees and underbrush provided ample points of concealment, putting her at a disadvantage. When the attack came from behind, it was so quiet and quick she almost didn't detect it in time. She turned, parrying the thrust. Suddenly realizing the second of her stalkers was not in front of her as expected, she ducked and spun, the wooden practice stinger just missing slamming into the top of her left shoulder.

Star and Marco attacked in tandem. Star went high while Marco went low in their signature duo attack. Nova just managed to block both cuts. Slightly off balance, Nova punched Marco in the jaw while thrusting at Star, barely missing as Star twisted out of the way. Star made Nova pay for the miss, landing a haymaker between Nova's eyes.

Nova staggered back, the world spinning. Her assailants gave her no time to recover, both immediately attacking again, Marco attempting to deliver a sweeping cut to her midsection as Star stabbed at her heart. Nova managed to parry the cut, while conjuring a magic shield to block the thrust.

Nova spun, then slammed the raised boss of the shield into Marco's chest. He staggered back, then tripped over a fallen branch, tumbling to the ground. The blow hurt, but not severely, as Nova had not managed to put her full strength behind the attack. Nonetheless, Marco was stunned, breathing hard and trembling as he did during the Hallowe'en rescue.

"Marco!" Star cried out, seeing his state. Nova took advantage of her distraction, conjuring a golden lasso that wrapped around Star's ankles. Nova yanked Star off her feet, who fell to the ground with a painful grunt, dropping her stinger. Nova then pulled the line taut and proceeded to swing Star like a hammer in the hammer throw, taking care to ensure that the ribbon was short enough that Star would not be slammed into a tree trunk.

Star screamed, "No! No!" as she desperately tried to disengage the lasso.

Hearing the panic in Star's voice, Marco yelled, "Elf, stop!" Nova ignored the plea. "Star Butterfly, STOP!"

Hearing herself called by her "true" name, Nova's battle-hyperfocus was broken. Nova immediately tossed Star up, severed the ribbon, then conjured a magical crash pad for Star to land on.

Marco ran to Star, falling to his knees and taking her into his arms. They hugged each other tightly, both breathing hard and trembling.

Nova stood quietly, watching in confusion.

- OoOoO - 1 - OoOoO -

For the rest of the day, Nova gave Star and Marco their space. After nightfall, the trio sat around a small fire, their usual ritual when a private talk was desired.

"So," Nova broached, as she gingerly touched one of her black eyes, "what happened in training today?"

"Happened?" Marco asked, innocently.

"Don't," Nova responded angrily.

Star sighed. "Elf, we ... haven't told you everything."

"Basically, we were almost killed in a fight," Marco began. "Actually, it's safe to say we were killed in a fight, but were lucky that so many skilled magic wielders were around to reverse it."