Star and Marco vs Evil Book 3

XII

Doctor Trudy North sat with her eyes wide and mouth slightly agape.

Star had just finished relating Nova's attack on the Monster village, including a detailed narrative of what she did to the Monster children.

Trudy took a deep breath, centered herself, then did her best to return to her dispassionate, therapist, self. She took a few notes, then said, "Let's return to that, after you finish your story."

Star and Marco spent the next half hour summarizing the final year and a half of their adventure, which ended when they were returned to the moment they left their own timeline. Once the tale was complete, they sat looking at Trudy expectantly. Trudy took a few minutes to write notes, shifted in her seat, then looked at the teens.

Trudy opened with, "You two certainly live 'interesting' lives."

"Ya think?" Star responded, with a smirk and a wink to show she was being playful, rather than sarcastic.

Trudy smiled, demonstrating that she got the joke. "Before we discuss its impact on you two, may we talk about Nova?"

Star and Marco glanced at each other, then nodded.

"If she's truly like you, Star, I think you're right that she's going to struggle badly with the memories of what she did. She may never again be whatever passes for normal on Mewni, even with therapy. Are you going to visit her, perhaps in your older-sibling roles, to see to it she receives help?"

Marco took a deep breath before answering, "No. We've already interacted too much with too many universes, and we're trying to stop that without ending our AU adventures altogether. The only reason we did what we did in Nova's reality is because we thought we'd never go home again; it had become our universe."

"Okay, I think I understand."

"As it is, I think any impact we had was minimal. While we might have made Nova a better fighter, I think things would have still played out mostly the same even without us. So visiting again to see to it she gets therapy, if she doesn't get it on her own, would then be substantive interference. Right now, the impact has been on us and our universe, rather than hers."

"This seems like a good point to ask what that impact is; or, more specifically, what its impact has been on you two."

Now it was Star that first took a deep breath. "At the very least, it's made our nightmares worse, much worse. We've told you before about how being together used to chase the nightmares away but after our ass-kicking we started having them again. Now, things are worse; even when together they're really bad, and when we're apart they're horrific."

Marco interjected, "Both of us keep reliving the attack on the village, hearing the screams, seeing the blood and bodies." A tear streaked down Star's face. "Trudy, we felt so helpless. We saved those kids on Hallowe'en, but we could do nothing for these kids ..." Marco shouted, angrily, "... nothing!" Star took Marco's hand. "Sorry, doc. I felt just as horrible, just as helpless, as when I watched Star blow herself up."

Trudy regarded the teens for a couple moments, then said, "Witnessing atrocities, whether as civilians or soldiers, can have serious, long lasting, negative impacts on people's lives. I recommend you attend group therapy with others having similar experiences. I believe one of the groups has a couple attendees who were soldiers and were forced to commit atrocities, before emigrating to the States. In addition to helping you come to grips with what you saw, I think that will help your perspectives as leaders when you navigate politics, lead armies, and send soldiers into battle."

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"You look ... amazing! Wait, isn't that your Blood Moon Ball dress?"