Till Death Do Us Part

Escape the Dungeon

"Gaah!"  Star held onto a bedpost, gripping on so tightly that her knuckles turned white.  "Gaah!  That hurts!"  Moon wound the corset strings around her fingers.  "We're almost done.  Take a deep breath."  Star hesitated.  "Come on!"  Sighing, she inhaled deeply.  Placing her foot against her daughter's back, Moon yanked the strings with all her might, ignoring cries of pain as the corset squeezed Star's torso into a perfect hourglass figure.  Quickly tying the strings, Moon set the garment in place and patted Star's shoulder.  "There now.  That wasn't so bad, was it?"

Star tried to catch her breath as she ran her hands over the torture device she was being forced to wear.  "Wasn't so bad?!  Mom, I can hardly breathe in this!", she whined like an upset child.  "Beauty is pain, Star.", Moon said as one of the maids handed her a crinoline.  "You must suffer to look your best.  Now, arms up."  Star groaned, but obeyed.  Moon slipped the garment over her and adjusted it do that it lay on her hips just so.

Star caught a glimpse of herself in one of the many mirrors in her room. Her long blond hair had been unknotted and styled into large, loose curls, pinned up with diamonds and pearls, with a few stray curls framing her face perfectly. Sitting on her vanity was her wedding veil, a golden tiara adorned with tiny pink jewels, connected to tulle, as light and fine as mist, that extended to five whole feet.

Star looked back at her mother, who was now carrying the wedding dress. It was handcrafted by the seamstresses, made of the very finest Mewnian silk that shimmered under the daylight. It had a full skirt that floated around the wearer's legs like a cloud. The sleeves were puffs that showed off the shoulders, trimmed with pink bows.  "Arms up."  With a sigh as heavy as her heart, Star obeyed.
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The safety pin snapped, earning a low, frustrated groan from Janna.  "I don't get it!  These usually work like a charm!"  "Well, I guess monsters make their locks differently.", Oskar said.  Marco was starting to seriously panic.  "There's gotta be some way to break these things!"  "Look, we're doing the best we can, Marco!", Jackie told him.  "But we still have to find a way that works!"

"We don't have time for that!", Marco cried.  "The wedding is today!  If we don't break out of here soon, it'll be too late!"  Janna scowled.  "Fine!  Do you have an idea on how to bust out?"  In response to that, Macro frowned and cast his eyes downwards.  "Uh..."  "Thought so.", Janna remarked rather sharply.  "You need to stand back and let the professionals handle this."  At "professionals", she pointed a thumb to her chest.

Marco folded his arms over his chest and sat back against the cold stone wall, grumbling to himself as he watched Janna and Jackie fiddle with the locks on their shackles.  Every moment that passed put him in a worse mood than he already was.  Each second was just one second closer to losing Star forever.  The very thought made Marco even more upset.

Snap!  He flinched at the sound of yet another pin breaking.  Janna sighed heavily.  "That's it.  That was my last safety pin!"  Marco sat up.  "Don't you have anything else to pick the lock with?"  Janna shook her head.  Marco looked around at the rest of their friends.  "Does anyone else have any alternatives?"  All he got were a bunch of shaking heads.

"I guess we're stuck here than.", Alfonzo said with a shrug of the shoulders.  Marco's eyes widened as the awful truth sunk in.  "Yeah...until after the wedding."  He fell flat on his back as the rest of them stared, feeling guilt and despair.  "I'm so, sorry, Marco.", Janna said, looking very sad.  "I did everything I could."  "But it wasn't enough.", Marco muttered.  No one said a word.  They knew better than to snap at him at a moment of this.

Marco sighed.  "This is all my fault."  Janna looked up.  "It is?"  "I've been ditching her so much lately.  If I had spent more time with her, maybe none of this would've happened."  "Pretty sure you ignoring Star didn't make Coffee force her into marriage.", Janna said.  "Or lock us up in here.  Or plan murder."  "Still, I didn't appreciate her while she was still around.", Marco moped.  "And now I'm about to lose her forever."

All eyes turned to Jackie, who was staring at Marco with an expression that was impossible to read.  She looked at her friends.  "Guys?  Can I talk to Marco in private?"  "How?  There's not many places we can go!", Alfonzo said.  Janna touched Jackie's hand.  "I got this."  She directed everyone to a corner.  "Do exactly what I do."  Facing the way, she plugged her ears, squeezed her eyes shut and sang her favorite song under her breath.  The others followed her example.

Jackie scooted next to Marco.  "Marco..."  "Jackie, I'm really sorry.", he cut in, his guilt taking over.  "I didn't mean to fall for Star.  It just...happened.  And I feel so bad because, I'm supposed to be dating you, and here I am, falling in love with another girl.  My best friend, no less.  It feels like I'm betraying you or something."

Jackie shook her head.  "You're not betraying me.  You're following your heart.  That's what all those sappy Disney movies tell you to do."  Marco looked up.  "So, you're not mad at me?"  "How could I be mad?", she said.  "You can't control who you fall for.  Though if we could, it'd probably make life a whole lot easier.  But its not.  Real life is complicated.  And that's what makes it so much much more rewarding when we get our just rewards."

"I do still like you, Jackie.", Marco told her.  "Just...not the way I thought I did.  I think I was in love with the idea of you.  But the real you is more like a sister to me."  Jackie made sure he was making direct eye contact with her.  "I really like you, too, Marco.  That's why I want you to be happy.  And if Star makes you happy...than I'm happy for you."

Marco smiled at her for a moment, then the smile faded.  "It doesn't matter anyway.", he said.  "Its too late.  I screwed up with Star, and now everything's ruined, for both of us."  Jackie sighed.  "I know.  Its not like a way out of here is just gonna fall right outta the sky.", she said, pointing a finger upwards.

KA-BOOM!!!

All heads turned towards at the huge pile of rubble now sitting smack in the center of the room.  A dozen eyes looked up at the giant gaping hole now formed in the ceiling above their heads.  Jackie stared at her pointing finger.  "I must use this power for good!"

Two familiar faces appeared from opposite sides of the hole.  "Tom!  Pony Head!"  "What up, Earth Turd!", Pony Head barked as she and Tom floated to the lower level.  He held up a finger, willing his flames to form a key.  "Looks like you guys could use a hand."  "How did you find us?", Marco asked as Tom and Pony Head began to unlock their shackles.

"Well, we were at the wedding, and we didn't see you there, so we figured something had to be up.  We knew you'd never miss something like this, since you and Star are best friends—"  "On Earf.", Pony Head cut in, a picklock still in her mouth.  "I'm thill her besf friend overall."  Tom rolled all three eyes.  "Anyway...we tried calling you, but we kept getting your voicemail."

"So we went to your house, but of course, you weren't there.  We asked your parents where you were, and they said you just disappeared after your graduation party.  That's when we knew something bad must've happened.  So I used a spell to track you down, and found you locked up here."  Tom and Pony Head finished freeing their human friends.  "Now, mind telling us how you got here in the first place?"

"It was Coffee!", Ferguson shouted.  Tom looked surprised.  "Star's fiancé?"  "He's evil!", Janna exclaimed.  "He kidnapped us and threatened to kill us unless Star agreed to marry him!"  Pony Head gaped.  "He did what?!"  "It gets worse!", Oskar cried, panic clear in his eyes.  "He's planning to kill her after the wedding and launch an unexpected attack on Mewni while they're grieving for her!"

"Well, now that we're free of those chains,", Jackie said, rising to her feet as she rubbed her sore wrists.  "We have to get to the palace and stop the wedding!"  "But the wedding starts in only ten minutes!", Tom said.  "And the royal palace is miles away!  We'll never make it in time!"  "Yes, we will!", Marco said, rolling up his sleeves.  "We have to!"  He reached into his hoodie pocket and pulled out his karate headband.

He extended one hand.  "For Star Butterfly?"  The rest of them all put their hands in.  "For Star!", they yelled, throwing their hands up.  Marco tied his headband around his head, his eyes narrowed dangerously.  "Let's do this."