What Are We? | Chapter 15: Lights Out

Oh gawd, this was featured? XD Ugh, thank you so much lol

Hey guys, it's Starry. ^-^ Ugh, I finally finished this chapter. After a few days of writers block I finally realized what I wanted to do here. Next few chapters and we will finally be at the climax of this story. Hopefully I can finish this little fanfic before the real season comes out. Lol.

Haven't read all the chapters? You can read them all in my Wiki Entry here: Chapter List

And here's a link to the story on Wattpad: What Are We? Star vs the Forces of Evil

Credit to SaltyLoaf for helping me out with this chapter. She is an awesome writer so check out her story. :3

Credit to :star: Star :star: for making this gif for me! I love it so much lol.

~•~

Star's heavy eyelids slowly opened. Her vision was blurry, but it quickly came into focus. Hardwood floor. Wooden walls. A small wooden table. That is when she ed.

Her cheek was pressed firmly on the cold floor. She slowly regained her composure, propping herself up and sitting up on the ground. Her head was pounding, and she was struggling to process what had happened to her. She didn't really know, and it worried her. She didn't feel the same. She felt… off.

The princess groaned, holding her hand to her head. She had a massive migraine, and she could feel something wet dripping from her nose. She gently slid her hand down and touched her finger to the slippery substance and looked at it. It wasn't blood, it was a dark purple color. "Odd," Star commented to herself.

She turned her hand over onto its backside, examining it. It was pale, much more pale than her usual skin color. The same purple color highlighted the veins on her wrists, which made her heart beat out of her chest. "Oh no... oh nononono..." she whispered to herself.

The sudden burst of adrenaline caused her to frantically shuffle around her dress, feeling around her for her phone. She couldn't feel any sort of device, and she softly sighed to herself, reaching over to grab her wand to use as a makeshift mirror. She focused her vision into the star crystal in the center, gasping at what she saw.

Star's right nostril was leaking a dark, purple fluid, which had the consistency of blood. The rest of her face was pretty much normal, and she squinted to get a more accurate reflection. Her right cheek mark didn't look normal at all, in contrast to her left which was its usual blush pink color. It was the same purplish color. Her pupils contracted, and her mouth was slightly open in shock as her right hand came up to gently touch it. Was she corrupted by Eclipsa? She couldn't be. She had to make sure that she wasn't.

The princess gently stood on her feet, holding her wand in front of her with both hands. She exhaled softly in reassurance before casting a test spell.

"Rainbow Fist Punch!"

A small rainbow fist exploded from the wand crystal. It was normal.

"Narwhal Blast!"

Cute little narwhals emanated from the wand, lodging themselves into the wooden wall across the room. It was also normal.

Okay, one more," Star mumbled before focusing again. She waved her wand before returning to her stance. "Rocket bunny blast!"

A mixture of bunnies and flowers came out of the wand. Normal again. Star gave an exasperated sigh of relief. Everything seemed normal on the surface. Now, all that was left to do was to get herself out of here. Eclipsa could be on the hunt for her mother and Marco now, and there's no way she could allow that to happen.

Star jogged over to the door and jiggled the brass handle. Locked. She twisted it again. It didn't budge. There weren't any windows in the cabin, so she was trapped. Perhaps Eclipsa secured it with magic, she thought. Only one way to find out. Looks like it was time to use magic.

She drew her wand again as it glowed faintly with a blue light. The thought of Eclipsa getting her deceptive paws on Marco worried her. She had to give it all she had. Her mind focused on an old spell of hers, and she knew that it just had to work.

"Glow worm blast!"

Tiny, blue worms latched themselves to the door, blinking rapidly before a large explosion erupted, blowing the door off of its weak, wooden hinges. Bingo. Star smirked to herself before securing Marco's hoodie around her neck and grasping her wand tightly in her hand. "You can't hold this rebel princess, granny."

Star bolted out of the door into the darkness of the forest, her boot splashing into a puddle. Her mind was wandering. Why didn't Eclipsa use magic to keep her secured? Why did she make it so easy to escape? She obviously wanted her there, right? Well, it didn't matter. She had to find her mother and Marco before it was too late. The hazy feeling she felt when Eclipsa had grabbed her was coming back, but she couldn't stop. She had to defeat her, and she felt foolish could giving her the benefit of the doubt.

"I'm coming," Star said to herself.

~•~

Moon rode through the forest on her warnicorn despite the growing burning sensation in the both of her arms and face, Marco cautiously tagging a long. The woods were becoming ever more dense the farther they wandered in, and it was becoming more difficult to through the foliage.

The queen groaned as she tried her hardest to summon her magical blade, the burning becoming more and more intense, but it was no use. She dropped to her knees, sweat beading on her forehead from exhaustion. It was like a virus, using her body as a host to nurse its growth.

Marco gasped, rushing over to her to help her up. "Your highness! Are you alright?" The concern in his face was apparent. The queen was panting, her head hanging low.

"I don't know, Marco dear... I think it would be best if we rested here for a bit."

"But what about Star, Moon? Eclipsa could have her by now!" Marco frowned. He knew that Moon was hanging by a thread, but the thought of Star being injured or possibly killed worried him even more.

"Im worried about her too, but my daughter is a very strong woman. I'm sure she will be fine if we rest here for a couple of hours," the queen replied, getting onto her feet. She walked over to the warnicorn and pulled out a blanket from the saddle bags, setting it on the ground and sitting on it. "We'll continue searching after I rest. My magic is running low, I don't know how much longer I could take... and if Star was in Eclipsa's possession, I am not sure if I could hold her off."

Marco sighed as he pulled out another blanket and laid it out on the ground before sitting on it cross-legged. He propped his head up with his hand. "I guess you're right, maybe I'm just overprotective of your daughter. Who knows? Maybe she defeated her by now."

"Perhaps, but I'm doubtful. Eclipsa wields some of the most powerful magic in the universe," Moon's attention was deterred to her wrists. She pulled out some gauze and began to wrap them up.

"I just hope that Star is okay..." Marco laid on his side on his blanket, watching Moon as she carefully bandaged her arms. His eyelids felt heavy all of sudden as if he didn't sleep at all, which was weird because he was apprehensive about Star, and if she was okay. He nodded off, not able to fight the strong urge to sleep. The last thing he saw was Moon stuffing the gauze back into her satchel.

~•~

It was dark. His eyes were open, but it was useless, because everywhere he turned, it was like his eyes were still closed.

"Hello?..." Marco said, his voice echoing. No response.

He took a step forward. Then another. The slight tapping of the soles of his shoes was oddly satisfying, and he continued his steady pace forward towards nowhere. Where was he, he thought to himself. This situation seemed oddly familiar.

All of a sudden, he saw a faint light. Two hearts: one glowing a blazing white, the other a dim purple. The light illuminated his face slightly, causing a small smile to appear on his face as he continued forward.

A face emerged from the darkness, which Marco recognized right away. Two ocean blue eyes, a small button nose, those adorable little cheek marks, and most importantly, that wide smile.

"Star," Marco said cautiously, "Is that really you?..." The smile on his face was growing bit by bit.

"Yes, it's me!" The figure replied, a shadow casted upon her face as she used her wand as a light.

"Star!"

"Marco!"

The two teens threw their arms around each other, sharing a long, intimate hug as if they haven't seen each other for years. Marco smiled, gently nuzzling her hair with his nose. He had missed her so much, and it was overwhelming to the point of tears. Star giggled as she wrapped her arms around his waist, practically crushing him with her strength. "I can't believe that worked," said the princess, "I think I've practically mastered the art of dipping down."

Marco grabbed her shoulders, gently wiping a tear that was leaking out of his eye. "Have you ever! I thought I would never see you again..."

Star's euphoria was fading as the smile left her face. She looked him in the eyes, her voice trailing off as she replied. "Yeah, same here..."

As the boy continue to stare at her, he noticed something off. He blinked to make sure that he wasn't hallucinating. Nope, still there. "Um, Star? What's up with your face?" He gestured towards his cheek.

"My... face?" Her hand cupped her corrupted cheek emblem, then she exhaled lightly. "Oh, yeah..."

"What is it," Marco asked again with growing concern. "It doesn't look good..."

"Eclipsa," Star said solemnly, "She got a hold of me... and let's just say it didn't go well..."

Marco mentally slapped himself for not being aware. Of course it was Eclipsa, the vile purplish color was an indication of her, just as it was on Moon's wrists. His eyes widened as he thought of the consequences of coming into with her. He prayed that Star wasn't wasting away as well. "...Oh geez, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I think so," Star replied, "my magic is working just fine. I dipped down to see you, so I must be okay." She stopped for a minute, eying her former best friend. She gave him a stern look as she continued. "Marco?... Uh... Eclipsa is coming for you and mom. I... tried to hold her off, but I wasn't strong enough... I guess she was right, my magic is pathetic..."

"What?..." Marco was confused, "What do you mean she's coming for us? Where are you? We have to find you first!"

"She... she wants... I'm coming, I will not let her get your hands on you guy-"

The ground began to shake, and lightning started to flash in the sky as the dream began to illuminate with a dark shade of striking violet.

Star held her head, the purple fluid leaking out of her nostrils as her head began to pound. Her right heart glowed as she squeezed her eyes shut. "Ahh, make it stop-"

Marco held her up as she nearly doubled over, looking at her in concern. "What's going on?!"

"I don't know!"

All of a sudden, bits and pieces of the ground started to fall, cracking before dropping down deep into the abyss of Star's corrupted mind, never to be witnessed again. A strong wind began to blow, causing Star's hair and dress to whip violently in its wrath.

"We have to get out of here," Star said, making a run for it in the opposite direction, pulling Marco's hand with her. The ground was fissuring directly under their feet, creating a wide crack in the ground. Cackling could be heard, a familiar occurrence, and it grew louder and louder, echoing in Star's personal echo chamber.

Marco pushed himself, looking back behind him. A dark, feminine figure emerged from the darkness, a creepy smile appearing on her face. He ran faster and faster. "Star, how do we get out of here?!"

"I don't know, I'm trying," she said frantically, her eyes squeezed tightly shut as she ran. She had to dip down, she needed to give it everything she had, that was the only way it would work. Her cheeks were burning, boiling hot. Her head was pounding, the negative thoughts growing more and more overwhelming. The pain in her right cheek was immense, and her nose was leaking like a broken faucet. Her magic was not fine. It was corrupted.

"Dip down... dip down... please, don't let me die in my own mind..."

She was Star Butterfly, the girl who cheated death. The girl who lost her spell book, her magical instructor, broke her wand, and still managed to rise from the ashes, despite everything that was thrown her way. She could do this. She just had to concentrate, and summon all of the pure magic she had left in her system.

Thump. She looked back, gasping at what she had saw.

A crack had formed under Marco's feet, and he was hanging off of the ledge, his feet dangling in the abyss. The only thing keeping him from falling was his hands.

Star gasped and ran over to him, hysteric from tears. She leaned down beside him as she reached her hand out to him. She didn't care if she died in here, the only thing that mattered was that the one that she loved the most was safe. "Grab my hand"

The dark womanly figure walked closer and closer. The ground was quaking more violently as the small island that the teens were on was becoming more narrow. Larger chunks of land were breaking off and falling to their demise.

"It is over, Star Butterfly. I came to take back what is mine."

She brought up a hand, and a black ball of purple magic started to form within her palm. Star shielded Marco with her body, mentally preparing herself for death.

All of a sudden, a flash of light appeared, and the darkness was replaced by a bright white light that filled up the entire void.

~•~

It had been two or three days since he had went to apologize to Star. He felt guilty. Guilty that he couldn't do more to impress her. Guilty that he couldn't redeem himself to Marco. All he wanted to do was make things right, but he couldn't even do that.

Tom Lucitor grabbed a pillow and screamed into it, forming a charred spot on it where his mouth was in with it. His guilt was consuming him, ever since the Silver Bell Ball. If he hadn't had gotten angry, none of this wouldn't have ever happened. Maybe Star would have began to have feelings for him again. He didn't know.

His eyes wandered over to his phone. Perhaps he could try calling her to explain that his intentions. He genuinely didn't mean to upset Marco, and all he really wanted to do was make amends.

He reached over and snatched the device up in his hand before unlocking it and dialing up Star's number. He couldn't crack under the pressure, he had to keep his composure. If he couldn't win her back, the least that he wanted to do was at least be good friends with her.

The phone rang. Again. Again. Three times. Four. No answer. Finally, someone picked up the phone.

"Hello there, darling. Star could not be here to take your call. Please leave a message at the tone," the mysterious voice said.

Tom had lost his composure, and roared into the phone. "What ARE YOU? And what have you done with Star?!"

"My name is of no importance, Star's ex, but let's just say that they refer to me as Eclipsa."

"Where is she," he snarled, "how do know that?!"

"Again, that is of no importance. Let's just say that your ex will be the ex princess of Mewni," she said with a giggle.

The line went dead.

Tom was frantic. Who was this Eclipsa figure and what had she done with Star? The thought of this psycho lady doing something to her enraged him. He had to go back to the castle to see what was happening.

He tucked his phone into his pocket and ran out the door to his chariot.

~•~

A gloved hand loosened her grip on the circular, pink phone, allowing it to drop to her side with a thump.

She looked at the sleeping travelers from behind a tree, a smirk appearing on her lips as she wanted the red hoodie-wearing boy writhe in his sleep. She had gotten them exactly where she had wanted them.

"It is time to talk business, I suppose," she said, taking a step forward.

~•~

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