Chapter Text
It couldn’t be real, right? Magic was gone so there shouldn’t be a portal to…anywhere! But in the sky, just as Tom said, a swirling purple and blue portal. Star didn’t know where it went, but she knew she had to get there. A not-so-small part of Star hoped it led her to Marco and that, somehow, this portal would lead her to Earth and him.
As for Marco, he knew down to his very bones, that Star did this. She was the only one who could have. Magic or no magic, she found a way for them to be together. They had been through so much together after all. When he heard Janna’s heart monitor going off and the paramedics gathering around, he took his chance and ran. Ran towards the portal, where his heart still lay. He ran towards Star Butterfly.
Punching out man-eating flowers, speeding through corn fields, and passing both friends and foes alike, star ran for the portal. Her eyes never left the portal opened in the distance. Was this a last gift from Glossarick? This couldn’t be a trick of the light, right? It was a portal, right? What if it opened somewhere she didn’t want it to, like the Neverzone, or some other weird dimension?
As they ran towards the portal, thousands of thoughts running through their heads the closer they got, the portal’s swirling began to quicken its pace. Marco’s borrowed skateboard caught a rock, sending him flying toward the portal, inches from grazing its edges while Star skidded to a halt just before it. She reached out as Marco did unbeknownst to either of them. But before either could make contact, the portal shrank away, as if adverse to either’s touch, and, instead, imploded on itself with a blinding light, sending both teens skidding back as they shielded their eyes.
Marco uncovered his eyes, to look at the now-vanishing portal before flopping back against the ground, heartbroken. Tears fell as he felt his heart shatter, not knowing when or if he would ever see her again. Star slowly uncovered her eyes and started blinking the spots from them before looking around. There was an odd curve to the grass as it led into…pavement. She looked up and around as a flight of dragoncycles flew above her and earth buildings all around. Eyes widened as she took it all in but soft sounds drew her sight down to one particular crumpled heap of human in a red hoodie. Fighting tears she now heard him crying, she smiled as he looked up, eyes going as wide as hers were a second ago as the dragoncycles flew by.
It was her. It was him. She was out of breath, panting as if she had run halfway across Mewni. He was scuffed up and dirty like he had fallen and rolled around on the ground. He sat on the pavement, she stood on grass. With barely two steps, they could touch. It shouldn’t be possible, but it was. They should be dimensions away, but they were there. Two teens from two entirely different walks of life, entirely different rules with vastly different rules, but here they both stood. A unicorn trotted right between them, cars drove by, helicopters flew in the sky, merfolk swam in the rivers and monsters roamed the area, but neither of them cared. At that moment, nothing else mattered aside from the person right in front of them.
Star finally caught her breath as she watched Marco stand and she smiled. Marco smiled back as they both started walking toward each other. Thoughts of what to say raced through Marco’s head while Star simply wondered how he got hurt and if he was okay.
“Hey,” was what Marco ended up saying, brain finally giving up on thinking of the perfect thing to say to her.
“Hi,” Star responded simply, relief flooding her heart at finally being with him. Seconds stretched on as the reality of seeing each other fully sank in. He came to the portal for her, just as she came to it for him. Both hoped the other would be waiting there, neither thought this would happen. They would never have to be apart again.
“Star! There was an explosion and someone said they saw you running, so I got worried and– oh, my.” Moon Butterfly hadn’t noticed the portal at first, but she did hear the explosion and came running. Eclipsa and Globgor took Meteora somewhere safe while River appeared from somewhere within the bog and joined her, not asking any questions. Moon saw Star right away and was relieved until she saw what, exactly her daughter was doing.
Neither Star nor Marco even registered what the former Queen of Mewni said, too lost in the touch of each other. Arms around each other, fresh tears streaming from their eyes, and lips to lips, their love was renewed tenfold knowing in their heart of hearts they would never be separated again.
“Star, what are you… Star!” Moon called and seemed about to approach the couple until River touched his wife’s arm.
“Moon, darling, just give them a moment.” He seemed calmer about this than she did as she looked at him until her eyes returned to them and she more fully understood. Her little girl wasn’t as little as she used to be. She’d found what Moon had always wanted for her; love. Slowly, carefully, Moon walked up to her daughter and eventual son-in-law and counted a few more heartbeats before she cleared her throat.
Marco peeked first to see Moon glaring at him. Eyes wide. He put his hands on Star’s shoulders and gently pushed her back. “Queen Moon, um, this was just a, uh, well you see I was just so happy to see her and, um, well…” he stammered out.
Star, now broken out of the trance Marco’s lips had cast on her, turned to her mother. “Mom, what are you doing here?!”
“I would like to know the same. What happened here?”
“Well, uh, I was just so happy to see Marco that I, um, kinda just went for it? SAorry you had to see that and all, but I’m a teenager now and–”
“Not this dear,” Moon said gently before continuing. “I meant this!” Arms spread wide to encompass the area around them.
“Uh, I really don’t know. When I left you, I went to check on Ponyhead, and we talked for a bit before Tom came in and told me he was looking for me. Then, he took me outside and I saw this portal, and I…Mom, I knew. Well, I hoped but I think somehow, deep down, I knew it was Marco.” Star took a step toward her mom, but only one, and she reached back for Marco’s hand which he gladly took. “I don’t know how it happened, or why, but it did.”
‘The world’s gift and greatest magic of all; true love.” River stepped up and placed his hand into Moon’s, causing her to look down at their joined hands before her gaze reached his eyes. River’s eyes softened a moment before looking back at his daughter. “Star, the type of magic you and your mother use may be gone for good, but not all of it is gone. The magic of love has always been alive, and it will always be as long as there are those who can feel it.”
“Love,” Star blushed as she looked back at Marco who was hiding his face slightly with his hoodie. She could still see his pinkened cheeks though and it made her smile. “Yeah, I guess it has to be.” Star turned to face Marco, taking both of his hands in hers, making him look up at her again as she smiled. “That must have been what it was. Before the realm of magic was destroyed, we hugged. Maybe that was a final gift from magic, like a last spell.”
“A silent spell whispered with your hearts. Oh, it’s just so romantic,” Moon said, curling her hand toward her chest as she leaned closer to her husband. Star’s parents watched as Marco freed one hand from their daughter’s to hold her face and used his thumb to wipe away the last of her tears. He seemed about to say something, but the sound of helicopters overhead deafened his voice.
“Everyone, remain calm. You there, nobody move, we have you surrounded,” someone spoke into a megaphone as one of the helicopters moved right open head, spotlight on the four of them. Marco shifted his stance just a bit so as to shield Star from the wind and the quickly approaching tanks rolling down the street right for them. Both River and Moon were too stunned to do more than shield their eyes and cower down and away from the helicopter above them.
Star started to reach for where she kept her wand but Marco grabbed her hand.
“Star, don’t! They won’t like you reaching for anything, even if it’s not there to reach for. Just, let me do the talking.” Star’s eyes went wide again, but she nodded.
Men in camo and semi-automatic weapons began surrounding the four of them methodically. Orders from all around them were shouted.
“Hands up! On the ground! No one move!”
“Alright, just put your hands up and we can figure all this out together,” Marco added. Marco was the first to put his hands up and step in front of Star before taking a few steps toward what appeared to be the highest-ranking officer. He was the one ordering the others around with a hat on and a lot of badges on his dark green jacket.
“My name is Marco Diaz. Behind me is the Butterfly family. We are unarmed,” Marco said as he stopped when told to. He didn’t dare look behind him but he hoped that the others had followed his lead. There were no less than seven rifles pointed at Marco and to say he was nervous was an understatement.
The one giving directions to the others took two steps toward the young boy and glared at him.
“My name is Corporal Bates and we got a large electromagnetic reading from this location that sent a lot of our sensitive machinery going haywire. So they sent me and my team to figure out why.”
“Ugh, hey!” Star shouted, causing Marco to turn to see one of the soldiers grabbing her and wrenching her arm behind her back.
“Hey, that’s my girlfriend!” Marco started to turn and go to her but he was quickly pinned to the ground. The Butterfly’s weren’t used to being ordered around or manhandled and now he couldn’t help them. Marco could only watch as Star and her parents were brought to their knees and handcuffed. Realizing his mistake, he tried to say something to Star who looked panicked before a sharp pain to the back of his head made the edges of his vision darken.
“Don’t worry kid, you’ll see her soon enough.” Bates said just as Marco’s vision went black.