Starnapped: A SVTFOE Story

Starnapped: Chapter 7 - The Arrival

This time Marco walked along side his queen, slicing apart any vines or sticks that stood in his way. He was determined to find Star again, whether if it was to save her or to die trying. Thoughts flew by in his brain, himself taking note to dismiss those involving negativity. If he was going to take this rescue mission seriously, he needed to stay focused on the task at hand, not what could happen eventually. Moon's veins lit the way through the night, the moon still having not recovered from Eclipsa's "lunar eclipse". Everything was more extreme on Mewnie.

Moon's own mind was clouded with her own woes, the pain caused by her arms only becoming more extreme. Every once in awhile she would stop to cast a spell on herself to ease the suffering, but the relief was only temporary. The closer she got to Eclipsa, the closer she got to her daughter, the more pain she suffered. But Moon must learn to endure. She had been through worse before. Her emotional pains were more severe than her physical ones could ever be, which is what kept her marching through the night. They couldn't be too far off now.

The two seemed to work surprisingly well together, beating down monsters and wildlife like a true team. Just like Star and Marco used to back on Earth. Just the thought of those times brought a smile to his face, followed by a tear. There was no chance of any of that happening again if he couldn't make it to Star in time. Now curious, Marco pulled out his phone to glance at the time. 4:49 am. Oh god, dawn was in less than an hour!

Shoving his phone back into his pocket, Marco suddenly stopped, causing Moon to bump into his back. He turned around slowly, fear plastered across his face. "Queen, it's nearly dawn! We have to hurry!" Forgetting all about the veins spread across her arm, Marco grabbed the queen's hand, causing her to scream in agony. Marco was now once again flooded with emotions, but this time it was mainly guilt.

"Queen... Moon. I'm so sorry, I just lost control cause I'm afraid I'm gonna lose Star and I love Star cause she's my best friend and my roommate and I don't want to lose he..." Marco's babbling was silenced by the queen putting a single finger to his lips in an attempt to shush him.

"Marco dear, it's ok. I'm worried too. But don't worry, my arms are glowing even brighter than they were before, which means we must be close. We are going to make it to her in time Marco, just trust me." Marco nodded his head in agreement, causing Moon to retract her finger back to her side. "In that case, let's keep going. We don't have much time."

The pursuit had now turned from a walk to a jog, ducking under wildlife and running past monsters instead of their normal routine. Moon's arms were now completely glowly a dark shade of purple, now not just limited to the veins. It couldn't be long now. The exhaustion coming over the two was simply pushed away, denied a place in their already crowded minds. And finally, after ducking under countless tree roots and dodging various mewni mantraps, the duo found what they were looking for.

Tucked beneath a willow tree, almost hidden from sight, sat a small shack. The shack appeared to be made out of mainly wood, most likely oak. The windows scattered around the walls of the structure did not reveal much, but the voices heard were undeniable. "Okay, dearest, talk over. Back to your cage." The sentence was followed by a brief scream, undeniably Star's, and then silence. Terribly, awful silence.

The two turned to each other, their expressions unreadable. Fear, sadness, anguish, disgust, signs of all emotions seemed to riddle their faces in some capacity at that moment, their brains not being able to comprehend what was about to happen. Taking a deep breath, Marco stepped towards the door and began to turn the knob. This ends now.

Tears leaked from the dark queen's eyes like water coming from a faucet. Star knew she shouldn't be feeling what she was, but she couldn't help it. Star certainly had empathy. She wasn't heartless. "Granny, don't cry. Maybe your husband is still alive? Out there somewhere, waiting for you. I know if I had someone like that, they would wait for me for as long as possible. I mean, I don't have someone like that, but you get my point. The closest I have to somebody like that is..." Star was stopped by a sudden rush of emotion, memories flooding back as if her last dam of strength had finally broken. "...Marco."

Star suddenly began to let loose her own woes, her face beginning to stain itself with tears. She missed the people she had left behind. All of them must be so worried about her. Sometimes she wished she didn't have such caring friends. Her life was nothing compared to theirs combined together. She would rather never see Marco again then to see him in danger. Especially if it was when he was trying to bring her back.

Star was brought out of her thoughts by a sudden burst of warmth. Opening her eyes, she saw that she was in her ancestor's embrace, the two sharing their sorrows through their connection. They each had their own worries, their own problems. Maybe they weren't so different after all. Star returned the embrace, burying her face into the woman's shoulder. It felt nice to feel something other than pain.

Only a few more moments passed before Star pulled herself away, her mind being brought back to reality. "You know Eclipsa, maybe you aren't so bad." she said with a smile, the tear marks disappearing under the light of her hearts.

"And you don't seem to be like the other Butterflys, Star. You actually took the time to get to know me, and I appreciate that. Thank you." Eclipsa muttered, happy for the first time in 300 years.

"Understanding won't change anything though, and you should know that better than anyone. You have done some terrible things, whether they were by your own accord or not, and no amount of understanding can change that." Star stated, regaining her confidence from before the battle.

"Oh trust me deary, I know. But now it's time to cut to the chase. Join me." the violet tinted woman spoke, putting out her hand as if reaching for a handshake that didn't exist. "We could rule Mewni together! We are both misunderstood, abused, thrown aside. The time has come to rebel!"

"Are you joking? I have friends granny! Unlike you, I haven't been frozen in crystal for 300 years. I have made relationships here, relationships I don't want to lose because I joined forces with a lunatic!"

The Queen retracted her hand in shock, seeming to genuinely be hurt by that statement. Eclipsa thought she had succeeded in her recruitment process, but it seemed like she was wrong. She finally realised there was only one way to control a butterfly. Cut off her wings. Eclipsa closed her eyes with a smile, realising what she must do. She rose both of her arms into the air, causing Star to rise up with them. In her mind's eye, she could see that the blonde's face was petrified with fear, but Eclipsa no longer cared about her feelings. She just needed to get the job done.

Opening up her eyes, Eclipsa revealed the black sockets that had replaced them. A moment passed where the woman just stood there, muttering a phrase to herself over and over. Like a weak chant. "Ok dearest, talk over. Back to your cage." Suddenly, the woman snapped her fingers together in unison, and then the real magic began.

Star screamed as she saw streams of pink come from her own body into the sockets of her captor, each stream making her feel weaker and weaker. She only became more terrified as she looked down at the hearts on her cheeks, the color slowly draining out into a pale grey. Her magic was fading. And there was nothing she could do about it. But then, as quickly as it had started, the spell was over, the remaining magic now sucked out. A smile came to the Dark Queen's face as she casted a simple spell to trap the now dry husk of a princess. The deed was done. Now the only thing left was to wait.

Just as she had predicted, moments later the knob on her shack begin to twist, signifying her visitors' arrival. The time that she had been waiting for had finally come. This ends now.