Down To Earth || Svtfoe AU

LOTB Part Three

The sisters tumbled out of the portal, landing ungracefully of the scorched ground below. The stranger glared at them condescendingly, the circle still swirling behind him. "If you can't handle one little rip in space-time, you're not going to survive out here."

Jackie helped Star up, meeting the outsider's look with an equally nasty stare. "I think I did a pretty decent job after following a stranger after blindly following a stranger to who-knows-where!"

The stranger's scowl deepened. "I'm sorry, I should've left you to be killed by the Lizard's mercenaries!"

Star angrily stood up and pushed them apart. "Would both of you be quiet for long enough for me to get some answers!"

He opened his mouth to argue, but was cut off by a green haired soldier running up to him, her glasses reflecting the red sky. "Commander, we've received intel saying Earth has been infiltrated by enemy forces. We need to extract the princess now!" She glanced over at Star, noticing her for the first time. "Oh."

The commander clenched his hands into fists, irritated with the situation. "Does anyone else have something obvious to point out, because now's the ti-"

He was interrupted by another figure falling through the rip in the air, their red hoodie covering their face.  His mahogany eyes were wide with fear as he scrambled away from it, kicking up a plume of dust.  The hood fell back, revealing a familiar Hispanic face. 

Star's mouth dropped. "Marco?! What are you doing here?!" 

He only pointed to the bright void, and to her horror Star saw a scaly arm reach out, trying to grab something it couldn't see. The stranger sprinted and hacked at the gateway with his scissors, desperately trying to close it, but the arm grabbed the weapon and pulled, making him struggle for them in an intense tug-of-war. Suddenly, the scissors snapped, instantly closing the portal before clattering to the ground in two seperate pieces.  

He stared at the shards of metal in shock, not fully able to comprehend what had happened.  The ruby stone that once connected the halves had been shattered, destroying any hope of repair.  He angrily shoved the remains in his pocket and turned to the group. "Hope you like your kingdom, Princess, because your one exit just broke."

Jackie grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and shouted, not caring about the crowd of ragtag soldiers that was quickly gathering. "You don't just get to say that after forcing Star and I to leave our home to follow you! You at least owe us an explanation!"

The commander shoved her off of him, scarlet eyes glowing. "I didn't force you to do anything. You chose to follow your precious sister, remember?!"

"I don't recall Star getting a say in this!"

"That's different! She's a Butterfly!"

Star marched up to the stranger, getting in the way of their dispute. "And what does that mean, exactly? You had better start talking."

The pink haired teen slowly clenched his fists, his shoulders sagging. He waved vaguely with his hand. "This is Mewni, or what's left of it after the war. I'm Commander Thomas Lucitor, and this is the last of the Rebellion." The group of soldiers murmured awkwardly. "And you..." his voice trailed off as he met her eyes. "You're Princess Star, the last of the Butterflies."

A ripple of gasps and excitement tore through the patchwork army as Tom pulled Star towards a crooked tent, quickly followed by Jackie and Marco. He held his head in his hands as soon as the flaps closed, his horns sticking out between his fingers. "Today is not going like I thought it would."

Marco nervously cleared his throat. "It's been fun and all on this destroyed planet, but just show me the nearest portal out of here and I'll be on my way. I kind of came through by accident in the first place."

Tom tossed the silver pieces of his scissors on the worn table. "It's not that simple anymore. With these broken, we have no means of transportation between dimensions. These scissors were made by a member of the Magic High Commision, and, well, there is no Magic High Commission after Dark Day. You're all stuck here on Mewni."'

Jackie cracked her knuckles. "Excuse me?!"

Tom laughed humorlessly. "Believe me, I'm not happy about it either. I don't need two helpless humans in the way of my rebellion. But I do need you." He nodded towards Star.

"You keep on saying that, but I don't know why you need a human with weird birthmarks in your super-important war."

He facepalmed, his third eye getting covered up. "So many things are wrong just in that one sentence. First of: you're not human. You're Mewman. Big difference. Take a second to let that sink in."

"Aren't they technically the same thing?"

"Only in appearance. They're pretty similar, except for the royal family." Tom looked at her expectantly.

Marco poked his fingers together. "So you're saying Star is a princess? That's what you meant with the whole royalty thing?"

Star shook her head slowly. "I'm really sorry, but I'm not the princess you're looking for. Me and Jackie were adopted-"

"My point exactly. You were put in the Earth foster care system to ensure you'd be safe from the warfare on Mewni. And your birthmarks prove it.  Each female member of the Butterfly family has markings on their cheek to show their ability to wield magic. That includes you and your mother."

Star's head jerked up. "My M-Mom?!"

Tom nodded. "Queen Moon. She was the face of Mewni, and one of the more powerful magic wielders ever known. Not everyone liked her, but she had no clear enemies. All the kingdoms were allied behind hers. Including mine." He paused. "But on Dark Day, everything fell apart. As she went to her bedroom that evening, Moon was murdered by one of her own. One by one, the other kingdoms fell like dominoes. My own parents were martyred for letting refugees stay in the Underworld." 

His hands shook with raw pain as he continued. "Moon's kingdom put the Lizard in charge, starting the Reign of Monsters. He pawned off my kingdom to a scrawny bird as a trophy and has been ruling Mewni with an iron hand ever since. Anyone who dares oppose him is silenced. You try to escape, you die. I was lucky enough to be brought to this camp by a loyal subject of the Underworld, but as for the other monarchs, their entire bloodline's been wiped out. As far as the monsters are concerned, you and I don't exist."

Star stayed silent, letting his sorrow and regret wash over her. Tom's tragic tale was true, but she didn't understand one part. "Why are you telling me this?"

Tom got up and dragged a chest over to the trio, unlocking it with an iron key. Star reached inside and pulled out two items: a large, blue heart-shaped crystal on a golden stem, and an ancient leather bound book with two purple gems on the cover. Without warning, the crystal shone a brilliant white, heating and shifting form. Blinking away the spots in her eyes, Star stared at the newly formed wand in her hands. The golden star reflected her surprised face in its new violet dome, the princess' hearts still aglow. 

"Because you're the last magic wielder known to Mewni. Without you, the rebellion will die."

***

EPISODE END

Word Count: 3, 341