Chapter 21: Returning Home
In a mysterious white limbo, Marco Diaz was seen standing around in confusion, currently not understanding what situation he was in.
"What's happening?" Marco looked down before, placing his hand over his stomach. "Did I...die or something?"
"Marco..." Came a voice very familiar to him.
"Marcy? Is that you?" Marco asked.
"Marco...!" Marcy called again, Marco looking around in confusion.
"Where are you?" Marco looked all around, trying to find out where his girlfriend's voice was coming from.
"Marco!" Marcy called, her voice sounding much more worried.
"Marcy! I'm coming!" Marco shouted, running to seemingly nothing. As he ran he could hear his girlfriend's voice getting louder.
"MARCO!"
"I'll be there Marcy! I'll come and find you!" Marco ran until he heard the familiar sinister laugh of Newtopia's evil king. "Andrias!?"
The newt appeared before the worried boy, "Trying to save her, young Marco?"
"Out of my way you creep, I'm not gonna let you do anything bad to Marcy!" Marco called.
"Much too late for that," Andrias said, gesturing to an injured Marcy, the girl tied up and dangling above a pit of lava. "Marcy did her job, but she no longer has any use to me."
"I'll save you!" Marco said.
"But what of her…" Came the voice of Belos, gesturing to a tied up Star, the girl in a similar predicament. "Or have you truly forgotten about this one?"
"Belos…don't you dare!" Marco shouted.
"Marco, over here," Andrias taunted, both evil rulers trying to get to the boy.
"Marco!" Marcy called.
"Marco!" Star called.
"Marcy! Star! No!" Marco ran to his girlfriend just as Andrias used his sword to cut the rope, Belos doing something similar with his magic.
"Marco..." Marcy said, falling toward the lava, Marco turning to see Star falling as well.
"Bye Marco…"
"Marcy! Star! NO!"" Marco shouted, the boy now sitting up on his bed, anxiously looking around the room, still breathing heavily as if he just jumped into the lava. It didn't take him long to recognize where he was. "Am I...home?"
"Marco?" Came a voice from right next to him. Laying by his side was his girlfriend Marcy, the girl rubbing her eyelids.
"Marcy? Is that really you?" Marco asked, hoping this wasn't another bad dream.
Once she was sure her eyesight wasn't wrong, Marcy immediately perked up, tears of joy filling her eyes!" Marco!" She then pulled him into a hug, crawling over him and maintaining contact as Marco began to slowly but surely return the affection. "You're finally awake!"
"Yeah, I am," Marco said, Marcy then pulling back a second to bring him into a very passionate kiss.
"I'm so glad you're alright," Marcy said, kissing him again. "I was so worried."
"Yeah, I'm fine," Marco said, receiving another kiss. "But wait, how did I get here?"
"Scissors," Marcy said, giving yet another kiss. "Your scissors."
"My scissors?" Marco asked. "You mean when-"
Marcy cut him off with another kiss, the girl really getting into it as Marco felt her tongue invading his mouth. He could definitely tell that Marcy was relieved to see him awake, though he still had many questions he needed to ask.
While he enjoyed the affection, he reluctantly had to break it off to be able to get the answers he needed, "Marcy, you know I enjoy being with you, and I enjoy your affection."
"Good, now that we established that," Marcy went for another kiss but Marco held her back.
"This needs to wait, I need to be filled in on a lot of things," Marco said. "Afterward we can resume kissing."
"Marco, I plan to do more than just kissing you later," Marcy said.
"R...right, of course," a now embarrassed Marco replied. The boy cleared his throat, hoping to find his point. "Anyway, King Andrias. He betrayed us, right?"
Marcy solemnly nodded her head, "Yeah, he turned against us, and he was siding with Emperor Belos this whole time as well."
"Yeah, I remember there was a big fight, Sprig nearly got killed, but you saved him," Marco said.
"Just in time too," Marcy said.
"And Anne...she had that weird transformation," Marco said, recalling the girl's form. "Her hair turned blue, and she could fly. She beat the tar out of Andrias and I think she was gonna go after Belos next."
"I'm still confused about that form," Marcy said. "Anne hasn't really talked about it in days."
"Days?" Marco asked, Marcy then feeling a blush on her face.
"Oh right...probably should have began with this," Marcy began. "You have been in a weeklong coma."
"A week!?" Marco shouted. "I was sleeping for a week!?"
"You suffered a very bad injury," Marcy said. "Andrias stabbed you with his laser sword...because you were trying to save me."
"Save you?" Marco had an immediate memory of that event. He pushed Marcy out of the way before the sword came into contact. "Oh right..."
One Week Prior.
Emerging through a portal was the group of Anne, Marcy, Luz, Amity, King and The Planter Family, while also holding onto the recently injured Marco.
The portal was immediately closed by a near panicking Amity, wanting to be sure that she and her group had not been followed.
"That was too close," Amity said, wiping some sweat off her head.
Meanwhile a teary-eyed Marcy was desperately clutching onto her boyfriend, "Marco...! I'm so sorry!"
"Mar-Mar, it'll be fine," Anne reassured. "He's still breathing, so he can be saved."
"His house is right there, let's get him inside so we can treat his wound," Luz suggested.
"Abomination!" Amity summoned her purple monster, then gestured to Marco. "Pick him up, but do so gently, he's injured."
The monster lifted Marco into his arms, Marcy being right by its side, "Careful, his injury is in his stomach."
"I can't believe that actually happened," King said. "King Andrias seemed really nice too."
"He was very nice when we first met him," Hop Pop said. "Never took him for an evil guy."
"Belos isn't too different," Amity said. "He acts nice in The Boiling Isles but everyone who knows him knows he's a megalomaniac, just like Andrias turned out to be."
"Gotta be careful who to trust," Anne said, the girl still feeling the sting of Sasha's betrayal.
Moments later, the gang knocked on the Diaz Family door, it being opened by Rafael Diaz, "Buenos dias, how can I?" It did not take the head of the house to notice his son's condition, "Ay dios mio! What happened!"
"We'll explain everything, right now your son needs medical treatment!" Anne said.
"Of course, set him down in the living room por favor!" Rafael pleaded.
"On it," Amity said. "You heard the man, Abomination."
"Do it gently, please!" Marcy said, staying by Marco's side. "Try not to exaggerate the injury."
"Marco will be fine, Marcy," Amity said. "Please, I know it's difficult, but you need to control your emotions.
"Right...control," Marcy said. "I can do that."
The beast placed Marco down, Amity summoning it back right afterwards, "I'll check on the wound now." She carefully took off his hoodie and pulled his shirt up, showing a terrible injury on Marco's stomach.
"Oh God..." Marcy held her mouth closed, just the sight of the scar and some blood nearly made her throw-up.
"Damn that Andrias..." Amity said, the young witch feeling enraged, but still gently placing her hand over the injury. "Hot...I can't sugarcoat it; this is not a pretty wound."
"My poor boy!" Rafael said, standing nearby with everyone else. "Who did this to him?"
"An evil King," Amity said. "Marco got this saving the life of the girl beside me. Your son was a big hero today, but at a high cost."
"We need to do something!" Marcy said. "Should we call a doctor?"
"Getting an Doctor might help, but it would also be hard to explain what happened," Amity said. "I imagine Newt Kings and Laser Swords aren't common on Earth."
"Uh...we still have the scissors, maybe we can find a doctor from another dimension," Marcy said. "Like a Mewman Doctor!"
"Willow might be able to help, I think she knows some medicinal plants," Luz said.
"Sure, I'll look into what I can," Amity said, grabbing the scissors. "You can stay here with Marco."
"Amity, if you're going to Mewni, I can go with you," Anne said.
"Same here," Luz insisted.
"What about King? And The Plantars?" Amity asked.
"Oh right," Anne turned to Rafael. "Sir, would it be alright if this family stayed here for a bit?"
Rafael turned to the frog family, along with the demon, a bit confused by their appearance. "Frogs? And a dog?"
"I'm not a dog!" King shouted.
"King, be nice," Hop Pop scolded, then focused on Rafael. "I'm sorry if this is short notice sir, we won't be a bother, we just need a place to cool down after some excitement."
"Well, you did help bring me my son, and I do not like turning away those in need," Marco said. "You may stay here."
"Thank you sir, we promise it won't be long," Hop Pop said.
"Take all the time you need," Rafael said. "It looks like you have kids of your own."
"Grandkids technically, they're well behaved, usually," Hop Pop said.
"What do you mean 'usually'?" Polly asked. "I'm totally behaved."
"Uh-huh, sure you are," Sprig said.
"Hey! You want me to kick your butt with my brand new legs?" Polly asked. "I can literally kick your butt now!"
"Sprig, Polly, now's not the time," Amity scolded. "King, you can help keep them under control, right?"
"I'll do my best, but I'm not exactly the big brother here," King said.
"No, but you are my true love," Polly said, hugging the demon. "I haven't forgotten that you tried to save me before."
"Just...doing what I can," a flustered King said.
"Oh great, my sister's in love with my best friend, this is so awkward," Sprig said.
"Aw, that's adorable," Rafael said. "Young amor."
"Anne, Luz, let's get going," Amity said, the witch girl opening the portal.
"Sure thing," Anne said, then turned to Rafael. "We'll bring back help."
"Su hijo estará bien Señor Diaz," Luz insisted.
"Muchas gracias jovencita," Rafael said. "I appreciate how much you girls care for my son."
"Please keep an eye on Marcy," Luz said, gesturing to the girl. "She's taking this really hard."
"I will," Rafael reassured.
"Let's hurry," Amity said, leading the girls through the portal.
"We'll get ourselves settled," Hop Pop said. "Come on kids."
As the Plantars left, Rafael knelt beside Marcy, taking note of how sad she was. Understandable, Marco did get hurt, and he could tell this girls is taking it the hardest.
"It will be alright, my son's a strong boy after all, just like his papa," Rafael said.
"I know he is, but...I just feel so responsible for all this," Marcy said.
"Responsible? How?" Rafael asked.
"Marco got hurt trying to protect me, all because I believed in a King that turned out to be a fraud," Marcy said, wiping some tears away. "That King called me his friend, he told me that he would help me realize my dreams. But he just tricked me, and everyone. When he turned his sword against me, Marco pushed me out the way and took the blow himself."
"I'm sorry that happened to you, it's terrible when you think someone is your friend, and that someone does something so despicable," Rafael said.
"But sir, don't you get it!? A despaired Marcy asked. "If it wasn't for me, if I wasn't the clutzy careless girl I've always been, Marco would be safe and-"
"Marcy, listen," Rafael said, getting Marcy to stop. "You must not blame yourself. I don't know the full story but I know my son would not do what he did if he didn't consider you a person worth saving. He clearly cares about you and I could tell you yourself care enough that it bothers you so."
"Your son means a lot to me, sir," Marcy said, the girl blushing a bit. "He's actually my boyfriend."
"Oh my, you are dating my son?" Rafael asked. "Muy bien! It makes me so happy that my son has a worried girlfriend watching over him. How long have you been dating?"
"I lost track of time honestly, it probably hasn't been long but it feels that way to me," Marcy said. "I've just enjoyed every moment with him. I consider myself lucky that I got such a cute boyfriend, and a caring one too."
"You and I must talk some more, I'd love to know more about you," Rafael said.
"There isn't much to know, I'm just a nerdy girl who likes video games and reading fantasy books," Marcy said. "I'm also clumsy at points."
"Don't sell yourself so short, plus talking is great, it helps you feel better about things," Rafael said.
"I don't think I deserve to feel better, I still feel like Marco's injury is my fault," Marcy said.
"Tell me this, do you think Marco would want you to be so hard on yourself?" Rafael asked.
"Well, no he wouldn't," Marcy said.
"Do you know why?" Rafael asked.
Marcy tapped her chin for a second, "Because he cares about me?"
"Exactly," Rafael said. "You feel terrible, and it's understandable. If this were my wife, I'd feel the same way. You see, men are wired a certain way. If we see a woman in trouble, we want to help, because it's a man's duty to look after a woman. This isn't to say the woman cannot take care of herself if she needs to, but a good man would not let her worry too much about that. "
"Well if it's a man's job to protect the woman, then I guess it's the woman's job to care for the man," Marcy said. "Thank you sir."
"Call me 'Rafael'," Mr. Diaz said.
Not too long later, the door opened again, it was Angie with a bag of groceries, "Dear, would you mind getting these? I need to get to work on a new formula for Mari-" She looked ahead and spotted not only her husband alongside Marcy, she also spotted her injured son.
Angie's face turned pale as she dropped the groceries, rushing to Marco's side. "My baby! What happened to my dear baby boy!?"
"He got hurt, mi amor," Rafael said. "I know it's bad, but you will be happy to know our son faced evil like a true hombre, and protected those-"
"I don't give a crap about any of that! I want my son's wounds treated!" Angie shouted, startling her husband.
"Do not worry, it's being taken care of," Rafael said. "You remember those nice girls our son brought over the other day? They're off finding a good doctor that will treat Marco's injuries."
"Alright, that's a start," Angie said. "Next, I want you to point me to the monster responsible for hurting my little boy!"
"Don't you worry about King Andrias," Marcy said. "I will personally make sure he goes down, and so will my friends."
"Speaking of friends, just out of curiosity, where is Star?" Rafael asked. "Is she alright?"
"She should be fine, she's looking for her mother," Marcy said. "She recently went missing, so while she did that, me, Marco and some friends went on another mission. One that obviously didn't go so well."
"Well, I'm sorry to hear about Star's mother," Angie said. "I hope she's alright."
"We all do, honestly Star doesn't even know what happened to Marco, and I know she's gonna be devastated," Marcy said. "But, we're gonna make things right."
"Trust Marcy, she wants to do the right thing by our son," Rafael said. "After all, she is our son's newest girlfriend."
"Girlfriend? You?" Angie asked, Marcy bashfully nodding. "Aw, how sweet."
"It's because I'm dating your son that I want to do my part to help," Marcy said. "He got injured saving my life, I owe some so much for that."
"Well I'm glad he's got such a sweet girlfriend," Angie said. "I have to say, I am a bit surprised. I was certain he would be dating Star."
"...Right..." Marcy said, not having forgotten about the Blood Moon Curse.
"Angie dear, that probably is not the best thing to say right now," Rafael said.
"Right, sorry, it was out of line of me," Angie said.
"It's fine, a lot of the guards felt the same way," Marcy said. "I don't blame them, Star's really pretty, really kind and she's a Princess."
"Every woman is a princess in their lover's eyes," Rafael said, placing his arm around his wife. "Or a queen."
"Aw, you're too sweet dear," Angie said, kissing her husband on the cheek.
Moments later, a cry could be heard from the other room, "Looks like our little baby is awake, I will go get her."
"Baby?" Marcy asked as Rafael left, then suddenly recalled something. "Baby! That's right! Last time I was here, you were pregnant Mrs. Diaz."
"Call me 'Angie'," Mrs. Diaz said. "And yes, I gave birth a few days ago."
"That's so sweet!" Marcy said. "Wait, but your husband said 'her', I thought you were having a son? You were gonna name him Marco Jr."
"That was the plan, but it turns out we made a slight error," Angie said. "I didn't have a boy, I had a little girl."
"So...Marco has a little sister now?" Marcy asked.
"He sure does, her name is Mariposa," Angie said.
"Mariposa?" Marcy said, the girl smiling to herself. "That's such a cute name. Mariposa Diaz. It's so unique too."
"It is," Rafael said, coming down the stairs, holding the infant in his arms. "Would you like to hold her?"
"Can I?" Marcy asked.
"Of course, take a seat, we will give her to you," Rafael said.
Marcy took a seat on the nearby chair, holding her arms out as Rafael placed the baby in her arms. Gently she held the child, looking into her eyes. She could see the resemblance to Marco, both in hair color and the mole on her face.
"She's beautiful," Marcy said, looking down at the child, the baby smiling up at the teen girl. "Hello Mariposa, I'm Marcy. You're hopefully going to see me around a lot."
"She already likes you," Rafael said.
"Well, she'll like me more if I can make sure her brother recovers just fine," Marcy said. "I'll see to it that Marco gets to see his sister grow up."
"We know you will," Rafael said, turning to his son. "Our son is a strong man after all."
Back in the present.
"After your injury, Amity managed to keep Andrias away while we took you through your portal," Marcy said. "We went to your parents' house and...well they didn't handle your injury so well. Your father calmed his worries and calmed mine, but your mother was not happy. Fortunately we found a doctor in Mewni to treat your injuries, and we knew you'd recover, but it would take a while."
"Not surprised my parents freaked out," Marco said. "So, I take it not everyone made it through that portal."
"Yeah, only Luz, Amity, King, Anne and The Plantars came," Marcy said. "Everyone else stayed behind, aside from Sasha. She actually showed a few times the past several days but...things were a little heated."
"Well she did betray us," Marco said. "But she helped us in the end."
"It still didn't fix the problem," Marcy said. "But, they're better off explaining it."
"Well where are they?" Marco asked.
"Right there," Marcy said, gesturing to the floor. He could spot Anne, Luz and Amity sleeping close together, each with their own pillows and blankets. From across he could see Sprig, Polly and King sleeping near each other as well.
"Wait, they were here this whole time?" Marco asked. "How are they still asleep?"
"Good question," Marcy said, then placed her fingers in her mouth to let out a loud whistle. "Wake up!"
Anne grumbled as she pulled herself up, "Geez Marcy, what's the..." Anne's eyes widened when she saw the now awake boy. "Marco!"
"Huh?" Luz woke up as well, "Marco?"
Amity also opened her eyes, immediately spotting the boy, "Marco's awake!?"
"Uh yeah, I am," Marco said. "I'm finally-"
"Marco!" Amity was the first to leap in for a hug. "You're alright!"
A happy but nervous Marco let out a chuckle, "Y-yeah, I'm-"
"Marco!" Anne jumped next, wrapping Marco in a hug as well.
"Good to see you too, Anne," Marco said, then felt a third with Luz jumping on the pile.
"We were so worried!" Luz said. "You were asleep for a long time!"
"Yeah, a week, I heard," Marco said, feeling the weight of three girls. "Hey, I know you were worried but, this might be excessive."
"Whoa, yeah we should get off," Luz said, pulling Anne and Amity away. "He could still be hurt."
"I'm fine, I don't feel any pain," Marco said.
"Oh really? Wow, tough boy," Anne said.
"Marco!" Polly ran over to hug the boy as well. "Oh man, you really had me worried."
"I'm fine Polly, but thanks," Marco said. "Enjoying your new legs?"
"You bet! No more hopping for me," Polly said.
"Polly, you're a frog, you're going to be doing a lot of hopping," Anne said.
"Yeah, good point," Polly said. "Still, I have options now."
"Gonna miss the little hops you did, they were kind of cute," Marco said. "But you're cute regardless, so it's all good."
"Geez Marco, you're gonna make me blush," Polly said, hiding her face. "You don't wanna make King jealous, do you?"
"I'm cool with Marco calling you cute, because he's not wrong," King said.
"Dude, don't flirt with my sister in front of me," Sprig said.
"Oh can it Sprig, King can flirt with me all he wants," Polly said. "So get used to it."
"I'll try to dial it down though," King said.
"I sure hope so," Sprig said, then focused on the other boy in the room. "Hey Marco, good to see you awake."
"Glad to be awake, seems like a lot has happened," Marco said.
"Not really, we just stayed in your house all week," Sprig said. "The only major things that happened were your parents freaking out and Sasha coming back yesterday to tell us that Amphibia is in terrible danger."
"Andrias is trying to unify the world under his grip so he can fully invade other realms," Anne said.
"What about Belos?" Marco asked.
"From what we heard, he returned to The Boiling Isles to explain his absence, and he got the citizens right back under his thumb," Anne said. "Eda's keeping us updated."
"Geez, Belos must have a gift when it comes to manipulation," Marco said. "Then again Andrias has a similar gift. I guess if you're gonna rule with authority, you gotta know how to manipulate others."
"He won't continue his reign for long, we're gonna bring him down," Anne said.
"By the way, what exactly happened after my injury?" Marco asked. "Marcy already told me about taking me home and getting a doctor, did anything else happen? Did Sasha come back?"
"Yeah, a few things happened," Anne said.
Six days ago.
After getting the doctor and treating his injuries, Marco was brought to his room where he was placed in bed by his friends. Not wanting to be away from him, Marcy slept by his side, with her other friends sleeping in the same room just to keep the two company.
The following day however, Anne set out to do one thing that she knew needed to be done, see her parents.
Courtesy of Rafael, Anne was driven over to her house, joined by Luz, who wanted to play emotional support, along with King and The Planters, who were interested in seeing Anne's parents.
"You're almost there, just make a left turn here," Anne said.
"Sure thing," Rafael said.
"I really appreciate you driving me here, I know it's not a quick trip," Anne said.
"Think nothing of it, you girls really helped my son when he needed it most, taking you to see your parents is the least I can do," Rafael said. "Plus, given how long you were away, I imagine they must be very worried about you."
"It's been like five and a half months, the wait's been terrible," Anne said.
"I know how you feel, I still miss my mom," Luz said.
"Have you called her yet?" Anne asked.
"I want to, but I don't know how to explain any of this," Luz said.
"You should do it soon, Luz," Rafael insisted. "Your mother may be very worried, she needs to know you're safe."
"You're right, I should do it," Luz said.
"There it is," Anne said, gesturing to a blue house with a basketball hoop over the garage. "It's my house..."
As Rafael parked, Anne continued to gawk at the location, memories immediately rushing back to her, along with feelings of joy.
"Anne?" Hop Pop said. "You okay there?"
"Wow...this is really happening," Anne said. "I'm actually home. I'm gonna see my parents."
"Quick question," Sprig said. "Since it might be too early to call them 'Mom and Dad', should I call them Mr. and Mrs. Boonchuy? Or are they cool like Marco's dad and fine with first names? Also what are their first names?"
"Sprig, dial it back will ya?" Polly said.
"It's fine, he's just excited," Anne said, opening the door. "Come on."
Everyone exited the car, Luz turning back to Rafael, "Thanks again for the ride."
"Of course, do you plan on coming back?" Rafael asked.
"I might, not sure about Anne," Luz said. "We'll let you know for sure."
"No problem, you have my number," Rafael said. "Anne, I wish you mucha suerte."
As Rafael left, Anne was seen scratching her head in confusion, "Wonder what that meant?"
"He's wishing you a lot of luck," Luz said. "He's a really nice guy, I can see where Marco gets it from."
"Totally," Anne said, focusing on her house. "Well, first thing's first. Hop Pop, Polly, Sprig, King, you should all hide."
"What for?" King asked.
"I want to ease my parents into this slowly," Anne said. "They might not be ready to see talking frogs and demons."
"What about me?" Luz asked. "What should I do?"
"Well, since you're a human girl like me, you're easier to introduce them too, and you can even help explain," Anne said. "Come with me to the door, I'll get their attention. When the time is right, I will signal everyone out of their hiding place."
"Sweet, what's the signal?" Sprig asked.
"When you hear a caw-caw!" Anne mimicking a bird call. "That's when you come out."
"You got it Anne," Sprig said, everyone hiding in the nearby garbage pales.
"Oh, and I don't plan to tell them about going back to stop Andrias," Anne said. "Or that Andrias betrayed us, or that Marcy did, or Sasha, or about Belos, or Marco nearly dying, or Marcy being in Marco's house, or fighting Meteora. Also, not a word about my blue powers!"
"Wait, Blue Powers?" Sprig asked.
"It was a thing," Polly said.
"A cool thing," King said.
"Man...so much going on," Anne said. "I don't even know how to explain the witches, maybe we should have brought Amity."
"Amity wanted to stay with Marco, and keep Marcy company," Luz said. "She can come by later, focus on Amphibia first before you get into Mewni and The Boiling Isles."
"Right..." Anne took a deep breath. "Well, here we go."
Inside the house, Anne's mother, known to her relatives as Oum, is seen mixing some batter, the woman looking sad and depressed in doing so, having a lot on her mind.
She then heard some excessive knocks on the door, raising her curiosity. "I'm coming!"
Standing in front of the door was Anne, the girl shyly waving at her mother. "Hi mom, I'm home."
Standing in disbelief, Oum took a second to register this moment, "Anne...is it really you?"
"Yeah, it's me," Anne said. Oum dropped her bowl and pulled Anne in for a hug, happy to see her daughter again after so long.
"What was that noise?" came the voice of, Mr. Boonchuy, known to relatives as Bee, the man sticking his head out to see what happened.
"Dad!" Anne called.
"Anne?" Bee's eyes welled up. "You're back!" Wasting no time, he rushed over to hug his daughter, Anne being welcomed back by both of her parents. "I'm so glad you're safe!"
Anne heard some meowing, the girl ecstatic to see her other family member, "Domino! Come here my precious baby!" Anne picked up her pet, hugging it close.
"This is so adorable," Luz said, the girl standing to the side to let Anne have her moment.
"Where have you been? Are you okay? Are you hurt? Have you eaten?" Oum asked, then plucked some leaves off Anne's head. "Your hair's a mess."
"It's a really, really long story," Anne said.
"We'd love to hear it," Bee said, then noticed Luz nearby. "Oh, can we help you young lady?"
"Hi, I'm a friend of your daughter's," Luz said.
"Friend? When did this happen?" Bee asked.
"Like Anne said, a really long story," Luz said. "Anne, now would be a good time to-" Suddenly she heard a bird cawing nearby, then some garbage cans rustling. "Wait! No! That wasn't Anne!"
Unfortunately it was too late, Hop Pop had emerged from the recycling bin, "And we're The Plantars, the frog family Anne told you all about."
"Hop Pop! That wasn't the signal!" Polly said.
"Well it sure sounded like the signal," Hop Pop said.
Suddenly Sprig made his presence before Mr. and Mrs. Boonchuy, "Hi Anne's parents, I'm Sprig Plantar, Anne's best friend and a walking, talking frog!" Sprig then used his tongue to latch onto and eat a nearby fly.
Bee immediately fainted while Oum stood around in shock, leaving Anne very annoyed.
"Not how you expected things to go, huh Anne?" Luz nervously asked.
"Anne...what is happening?" Oum asked.
"I'll...explain inside," Anne said.
Sometime later, Anne, with a bunch of drawings and charts, managed to explain pretty much everything.
"Alright, where was I?" Anne asked.
"The third temple," Sprig said.
"Right, so some time after I met Luz, we went to the third temple to charge up the music box and make a portal back to Earth," Anne said.
"Yup, right back to Earth, to see you two, Mr. and Mrs. Boonchuy," Luz said, the girl holding Anne's cat in her arms. "Anne's two very beloved parents."
"Yes Luz, I think they get the point," Anne said. "But, the Plantars got sucked into the portal too, along with Luz and King. So they're stuck here for now. So now, you're all caught up."
"...Hold up, are you telling me there's a whole world of talking frogs called Amphibian-Land?" Bee asked.
"Actually it's Amphibia," Sprig corrected.
"You make food out of maggots? Is it good?" Oum asked.
"This is a lot to take in, probably would have been better to be eased into it," Bee said.
Anne glared at Hop Pop, knowing full well his screw up caused this, the old frog nervously laughing.
"So where do these frogs plan on staying?" Oum asked.
"With Marco," Anne said.
"Marco? Who's Marco?" Mr. Boonchuy asked, Anne's face turning pale.
"Uh...well, he's..."
"A friend of mine," Luz said. "He lives around Santa Monica."
"Oh, that's a half hour away," Oum said. "Is that where you live young girl?"
"Uh...I..." Luz wasn't sure what would help the story. Acting fast she just confirmed it, "Yeah, I'm actually his...roommate."
"Roommate?" Bee asked. "Little young to be a roommate."
"It's not just me, another girl I know is there," Luz said. "He's a nice boy and his parents are nice too."
"Yeah, they're all going to be staying there," Anne said. "Actually, I was hoping on staying there for a bit myself, if that's alright with you."
Oum chuckled a bit, then looked confused, "Oh wait, you're serious?"
"Mom! Why do you always do that!?" Anne said. "Dad, you're fine with this, aren't you?"
"Not exactly," Bee said.
"Dad!" Anne whined.
"Anne, this is all crazy, if this little frog wasn't kicking me, I wouldn't believe she was here," Bee said.
"New legs," Polly said, still kicking Bee. "You know how it is."
"Uh, bad idea Polly," King said, pulling the frog girl away.
"Anne, your adventure is over, just stay here, with us," Oum said.
"I will mom, I want to but, I really need to check in with Marco," Anne said. "At least just for today, I want to help the Plantars get settled in."
"Fine, but I want to meet this Marco boy," Oum said.
"Sure, I'll introduce you to him sometime," Anne said, seemingly relieved and just waiting on her mother's okay. However Mrs. Boonchuy had a glare of disapproval, Anne taking a few seconds to put the pieces together. "Ooooh, you mean now. See that might be a problem, Marco's not really seeing any visitors."
"Oh, he's not, is he?" Oum suspiciously asked. "Any reason why?"
"Um...well..." Anne had to think of a reason and fast before things got complicated.
"He's sick!" Luz interjected. "Yeah, really bad flu, super contagious."
"Contagious, and you girls want to go back to his house?" Oum asked.
"Out of the question, we can't let you near a sick boy," Bee said.
"But I have to check on him, make sure he's alright!" Anne said. "Please mom, this is a really bad disease, I want to make sure he'll pull through."
"Well..." Oum still had her doubts, but she could tell this meant a lot to her daughter. It did fill her with some pride that her daughter was so concerned for someone else. "Alright, you can go see your friend. But you are not spending the night, you can only see him during the day."
"Guess I'll take it," Anne said. "But I'm not in any rush to go back right now, honestly I kind of miss my room."
"It's just how you left it," Oum said.
"Wow really? Figured you'd clean up while I was gone," Anne said.
"It didn't feel right, I knew that when you got back, you'd want to see things how you left it," Oum said.
"I had to talk her into not changing anything myself," Bee said.
"Sweet, let's check your room out, Anne," Sprig said.
Luz and The Plantars followed Anne to her room, leaving her parents in the living room for the time being.
"It's good to have our daughter back," Bee said. "Still, how did all this happen?"
"I do not know, so strange," Oum said.
"The fact that it happened to that other girl, is this normal nowadays?" Bee asked.
"I don't know, and I'm not sure I want to think about it too much," Oum said. "Mạn thảh̄ı̂ c̄hạn pwd h̄ạw."
"Same here," Bee said.
Inside her room, Anne immediately checked her closet, totally blown away by her old clothes, "It's been so long."
"Anne, your room looks so nice!" Luz said, checking the table. "So much manga!"
"Check them out, you might find something you like," Anne said.
"You don't have to tell me twice," Luz said.
"Wow Anne, your bed is bouncy," Sprig said, hopping on it.
"That looks like fun," Polly said, joining on the bouncing.
"Uh, should you two be doing that?" King asked.
"It's fine dude, let them have fun," Anne said. "Actually, you should join in. You're a guest in my home after all, have fun."
"Well, if you say so," King then jumped on the bed with Sprig and Polly.
"Whelp, I need to use the old can," Hop Pop said.
"Bathroom's down the hall," Anne said. "Can't miss it."
"Thanks," Hop Pop said, making his exit.
"Time to flip!" Sprig said, flipping too hard and falling off the bed. "I'm okay."
Anne chuckled to herself, "Glad you're all settling in well. Have your fun, we'll wait until Mr. Diaz comes back later for a ride back to Marco's."
"That will take some time," Luz said. "But, you know Anne, you really don't need to come back today. I mean, you haven't seen your parents in months, don't you want to spend a bit more time with them?"
"Of course I do, but I can't just do nothing while Marco's hurt," Anne said.
"Marcy's with him, and so is Amity," Luz said. "I'll be there too, and I think he'll be understanding as to why you're not there."
"Yeah, I know..." Anne said. "I'm just really worried, I want to see him get better with my own eyes."
"That I understand," Luz said. "Actually, thinking about it, we do have those dimensional scissors, they should let us travel just about anywhere. Heading down to Santa Monica should be easy."
"Actually, that's a good point," Anne said. "But we don't have our scissors right now. Marcy has them."
"We can borrow them for you," Luz said. "There's always a plan, Anne. We just gotta use our heads."
"Oh no, thinking, a teenager's worst ability!" Anne joked, then sharing a laugh with Luz.
"You're too funny," Luz said. "Thinking about it, I should probably get into contact with my mom."
"You can call her," Anne said. "Though explaining that you're on the other side of the country is gonna be a hassle."
"I know, but it's important," Luz said, grabbing her phone. "Wish me luck."
In her house in Connecticut, Camila Noceda was seen preparing some lunch when her phone rang. "Hello, you got the Noceda residence."
A teary-eyed Luz began to speak, "Mama...it's me. Luz."
"Huh?" Camila asked. "Luz? Is that you?"
"Si mama, it's me," Luz said.
"Luz, if you need something, come out of your room and get it, you don't need to call me to bring anything over to you," Camilla said.
"Huh? No, mom, it's me, Luz! Your daughter!" Luz said.
"I know you are my daughter Luz, I pushed you out of my body fourteen years ago," Camilla said. "Seriously, come down and get what you need to get. No more wasting time, good-bye."
"No, mom!" Luz tried speaking more but the phone went silent. "Mom!?"
"What's wrong?" Anne asked.
"My mom...she was acting so strange," Luz said. "It's like she thinks I never left, that I'm still at home."
"Uh...that's weird," Anne said.
"This is terrible, something's wrong at my house!" Luz said. "Maybe my mom got captured and replaced by an evil clone, or what if there's an evil clone of me living there!"
"What would a clone of you be doing there?" Anne asked.
"I don't know, maybe Belos is behind it! He's probably going to use my mom to get to me!" Luz said. "I gotta get home, call Mr. Diaz and bring him back, I'm going to get Marcy's scissors."
"Whoa, dial it back Luz," Anne said. "I know you're worried, and rightfully so. But, if you're not careful, you're going to walk into a trap."
"...Yeah, you're right," Luz said. "I have to chill out. I won't get anywhere if I panic."
"There's gotta be a way to check up on your mom without being there," Anne said. "Maybe Star can help, she used some portal to search for her mom across the multiverse, she can use it to check on your mom."
"Right...Star," Luz realized another problem. "Oh no, we never got into contact with Star! She doesn't know what happened to Marco!"
"Oh...crap, you're right," Anne said. "There's way too much to worry about."
"Everything's happening at once, how do we deal with it?" Luz asked. "I'm kind of nervous Anne, this adventure's starting to get to me a little."
"Hey, it'll be alright, I'm here with you, okay?" Anne gently stroked Luz's face. "Whatever happens, I will be right there next to you."
Luz took a moment to calm herself, the gentle look in Anne's eyes helping to soothe her worries, "Gracias Anne, siempre me das esperanza."
"...I really need to learn some Spanish," Anne said, then found herself in a hug from Luz.
"I can teach you one day," Luz said, maintaining her hug, unwillingly to let go.
Anne slowly and surely returned Luz's hug, happy to keep the girl at ease.
"Xāh̄ār!" Oum called.
"Oh, mom made some food for us," Anne said.
"Speaking of learning languages, maybe I can try learning a bit of Thai," Luz said.
"I'll fill you in on what I know," Anne said.
"How good is your Thai?" Luz asked.
"I'm not fluent in it like you are in Spanish, but I can pretty much understand it," Anne said. "It's weird actually, if I'm told something it Thai, I can figure it out, mostly through context. But if you ask me to speak it, I get tongue-tied."
"Learning through context helped me learn Spanish," Luz said.
"But you're already good at it," Anne said.
"Well I am a bit older than you," Luz said.
"By one year," Anne said.
"That's plenty of time to learn," Luz said. "Come on, I am kind of hungry."
"Yeah, it would be nice to eat some Earth food after so long," Anne said.
"You had burritos the other day," Luz reminded.
"Homemade Earth food," Anne clarified.
"Hey, wait up!" Polly said, following the girls with King and Sprig right behind her.
Back in the present, Anne was simplifying the events. "I went back home to see my parents, Luz came with me, for moral support."
"I tried calling my mom, it didn't turn out too well," Luz said. "Something strange was going on."
"Since going home, I've been back and forth here and my parents' house using the scissors. They don't know I'm here, actually I should be going soon. If they wake up and see that I'm not in bed, they're gonna flip out."
"Don't worry, I had Gus make an illusion," Luz said.
Back at the Boonchuy residence, Oum called her daughter, "Anne! Breakfast time! Mā kin!"
"Five more minutes!" Anne's voice called.
"Ugh, that girl could sleep for days," Oum said to herself.
Upstairs, Gus was laying against Anne's bed, using his illusion magic to make it seem like she was sleeping. "Hurry up Anne!"
In Marco's house, the boy looked surprised by what he heard, "Gus? So you met up with him?"
"Eventually, Star wasn't too happy when she found out you got hurt," Amity said.
Six Days ago, while Luz and Anne were at the Boonchuy residence, Star, who had gotten Moon settled into the castle, and being tended to by King River, was in the Diaz home, checking on the sleeping Marco.
"Marco...I should have been there to keep you safe," Star said.
"He'll recover just fine, if he's tended to properly," Amity said. "We're keeping a close eye on him."
"Just when I thought my mom's amnesia was the worst of our problems," Star said. "Belos showed his face again, and now that King Andrias guy is evil? Why can't anything be easy for once?"
"Not to make things worse, but remember that Belos has Meteora," Amity said. "He's planning to raise her as his own to overtake Mewni."
"I'm not letting that happen," Star said. "Andrias and Belos will regret the day they messed with us."
A second later, Marcy came through the door, holding some items. "I got a wet rag to give to Marco."
"Lay it on his head," Amity instructed, Marcy doing as told.
"Hey Star, how's your mom doing?" Marcy asked.
"She's fine, thanks," Star said. "Have you been home or..."
"I can't go home," Marcy said.
"Huh? What do you mean you can't?" Star asked.
"She can go home, she just doesn't want to," Amity clarified.
"Huh? Why wouldn't you want to go home?" Star asked.
"It's...complicated," Marcy said. "I'm just not comfortable with the idea right now."
"Marcy, you really should see your parents," Amity said. "They're probably worried sick."
"If my parents cared about me, they wouldn't force me to move away from my friends," Marcy insisted.
"I highly doubt they did that to ruin your life," Amity said.
"My dad got a new job without even telling me! Not once did they think about my feelings!" Marcy shouted, the girl feeling tears in her eyes. "Don't they care that I'll miss my friends?"
"They probably do, and I bet it wasn't easy for them to make that choice," Amity said. "But it just sounds like your dad got a new job, it was probably a good job too. He probably has your best interest in mind."
"You should be on my side, I mean don't you hate your parents too?" Marcy asked.
"I don't...I mean..." Amity took a moment to register her thoughts. "I admit, I have issues with my mom, but my mom is trying to turn me into her. It doesn't sound like either parent is trying to turn you into anything."
"Amity, I know you want to help, but it might be too soon to tell what the issue here is," Star said.
"I just don't want Marcy to throw away a good relationship with her parents," Amity said. "I mean, have you seen Marco's parents? They're so nice. I wish my mom was more like Marco's. And his dad, he's such a fun guy, he's so full of positivity. My dad's great and I love him very much but like I said before, he's just too emotionally distant at times. He doesn't mean to be but it doesn't make in any less easier. I just don't want Marcy to feel how I do."
"Amity, as long as I'm with my friends, then I'm happy, that's all I care about," Marcy said.
"Even after what Sasha did?" Amity asked.
"Sasha...she made a mistake, but she fixed it!" Marcy said.
"Barely," Amity commented.
"Wait, what happened with Sasha?" Star asked.
"She betrayed us, and get this, she got the Magic High Commission on her side," Amity said.
"She did what!?" Star asked.
"Yeah, you heard me right. Rhomnulus, Omnitrax and Hekapoo decided they didn't want to follow your rule, they wanted to follow Sasha and Grime," Amity said. "Honestly, I'd be amazed if Sasha dared to show her face again after all that."
"Ahem..." Came a familiar and not too pleasant voice. Amity, Marcy and Star turned around to see Sasha. "Hey everyone."
"...You gotta be fucking kidding me," Amity stated. "You actually showed your face here!?"
"Sasha...when did you even get here?" Marcy asked. "How did you get here?"
"Scissors," Sasha said, showing a pair. "Still have mine."
"How did you know where Marco lived?" Star asked.
"Hekapoo told me, she opened the portal and I just stepped through," Sasha explained. "I came through the front door though, so his parents know I'm here."
"Well, that's good, I think," Star said.
"Also, how are things with you Star? Did you find your mother?" Sasha asked.
"Yeah, but that's a whole other issue," Star said.
"Well, I just came by to check on Marco," Sasha said. "I've been pretty worried about him and-"
"Save the crap, Sasha," Amity said, standing up and glaring at the girl. "You really expect me to believe you care? After the stunt you pulled in Newtopia?"
"I know you're mad, but hey, I made things right, didn't I?" Sasha asked.
"How exactly did you 'make things right'?" Amity asked, using air quotes to exemplify her sarcasm.
"I helped you fight Andrias and Belos, isn't that a good thing?" Sasha asked.
"You only fought them because you were left with no choice," Amity said. "If you didn't deem Andrias a bigger threat, you never would have had a change of heart! You only sided with us out of convenience."
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cause trouble," Sasha said.
"BULL...SHIT!" Amity shouted. "From day one you've been nothing but selfish, only looking out for yourself! And honestly, I was willing to give you the benefit of the doubt, because Anne and Marcy did care about you, and I actually found myself relating to you. I too was once not very nice, ask anyone who knew me and they'd probably say I acted like a bitch to them at least once. Luz, Willow and Gus could verify."
"Honestly I would say that Willow and Gus probably forgot about all the bad things," Star said. "They think nothing but positives about you."
"That's good, shows I earned my second chance!" Amity shouted. "Because I am grateful to have friends like them! Then I met Anne and Marcy, and I admit, I have issues for different reasons, but I can at least tell they're inherently not bad kids. Maybe a bit obnoxious, maybe a tiny bit selfish, but I know they wouldn't intentionally hurt anyone. You, Sasha, hurt Anne. A lot. She was heartbroken by what you did!"
"I never wanted to hurt her," Sasha said.
"Didn't stop you from doing so, like did you honestly think she'd be cool with that coup d'état you pulled?" Amity asked.
"I would have given Anne everything, I would have given Marcy everything," Sasha said. "I love my friends, even if it doesn't look that way, I care about them more than anyone! I'll take them over my own parents, because they're at least there for me when I need them!"
"Sasha, you really feel that way?" Marcy asked.
"Don't fall for it Marcy, she's just trying to get back on your good side," Amity said. "Sasha, I know for a fact that the moment it suits you, that should the day come we defeat Andrias and Belos, that you would betray us all over again. Honestly, you should just go, take your girlfriend Hekapoo and her dumbass brothers and kindly piss off."
"...Fine, I'll go," Sasha said. "But I'm coming back, I am not giving up on Anne or Marcy. Quite frankly, I kind of like Luz too, at least she made for good conversation."
"Oh no, you stay the hell away from Luz," Amity warned. "I'm not letting you hurt her either. Honestly, I'd rather you not be anywhere near my friends, and that for damn sure includes Marco."
"You know, if I hadn't did what I did, we never would have discovered Andrias was evil," Sasha said.
"If you hadn't did what you did, we would have found out regardless, and at least had a more unified plan," Amity said.
Sasha relented, using her scissors to return to Amphibia.
"Amity...I know you're worried, and I appreciate that," Marcy said. "But, you really should have let me talk there."
"Yeah, I probably should have, and I'm sorry for speaking on your behalf," Amity said. "I just hate what she did to you."
"You mentioned earlier that you had issues with me, but you don't seem to hate me," Marcy said.
"I'm still bitter about the Neverzone, and honestly, hearing that you intentionally got your friends stranded in Amphibia does paint a poor picture for me," Amity said. "But, I just can't be too mad at you. In the end, you're just a girl who really loves adventure, and I know when it comes down to it, you love your friends and you show it. But I could be bias since you're Marco's girlfriend."
"How would that make you bias?" Marcy asked.
"Because I like Marco, he's a nice boy," Amity said, glancing down at her friend. "He's fun to be around and if he picked you to be his girlfriend, then it means you're not too bad."
"Marco does have good taste in girls, usually," Star said.
"...Star, did Tom update you on the Blood Moon Curse?" Marcy asked.
"Well, I did see him, and I think he had something to tell me, but my mind was elsewhere, between what happened with my mom, plus what happened now with Marco," Star said.
"I see..." Marcy said, standing up. "I guess I should leave you two some alone time."
"Huh?" Star asked as Marcy left the room. "Alone time?"
"Marcy's been pretty hard on herself since Marco got hurt, likely because he got injured saving her life," Amity said.
"She shouldn't blame herself, Marco's the self-sacrificing type," Star said. "But I get the feeling that's not all that's bothering her."
"You should probably clear the air with her," Amity said. "Make sure she knows that you don't hate her for any of this."
"I'll do just that," Star said, making her exit.
Amity knelt back beside Marco, gently stroking his hair, "You really got everyone all worried about you. Brave but kind of reckless. But, I suppose that bravery is guided by you love and compassion for others." Amity gently stroked his face, "Wake up soon Marco, you have friends waiting, your have family waiting, including yout little sister."
Leaning in, Amity placed a gentle kiss on Marco's cheek, making herself comfortable beside him as she waited for her friend to wake up.
Outside Star met up with the girl she needed to speak with, "Hey, Marcy. Wait up."
"Hm?" Marcy turned to greet Star. "What is it?"
"Marcy, I can tell you're taking this really hard, and I get it," Star said. "Everything that happened, Sasha betraying you, Andrias betraying you, Marco getting injured, it's a lot to deal with.
"You forgot the fact that I betrayed my friends too," Marcy said. "You heard what Amity said, I lied to them about everything."
"I mean...yeah, you did," Star said. "But it happens, sometimes we lie, sometimes we stretch the truth, it's only human. Or Mewman. Or witch, frog, anything remotely mortal or human like."
"Are you going somewhere with this?" Marcy asked.
"Point is, you did something bad, but that doesn't make you bad," Star said. "I can tell that more than anything, you want to make things right."
"Even so, how am I expected to do that?" Marcy asked. "My actions caused more grief."
"Hey, because of what you did, we made so many friends," Star said. "Anne found the Plantar Family, then she found Luz, then you got to meet Marco and Amity, then I got to meet all of you, it all worked out in the end."
"I thought that made it okay, but I still felt crummy," Marcy said. "Anne didn't even want to be anywhere near me."
"Does she still not want to be near you?" Star asked.
"I mean...okay she might have backed off," Marcy said. "But Anne's seemingly forgiven before and changed her stance, like with Hop Pop. Suppose once everything settles in, that she hates me too! I'm surprised Sasha even wanted to see me."
"Sasha is in no position to judge," Star said. "Marcy, let me put it in perspective. Even I've done terrible and selfish things. I once not only lied to my subjects, I got my parents to lie for me. I've kept secrets, I've done things I wasn't supposed to do, I mean, I rag on the Magic High Commission for lying but I did lie to them first once. When my Book of Spells was stolen by Ludo, I kept it so secret that I might have gotten some citizens to lose faith in my parents!"
"Star, I know you're just trying to make me feel better," Marcy said.
"I'm trying to make you realize that you made a mistake, and it's alright!" Star insisted. "If you learn from the mistake and try to better yourself, then that's what matters. Marco saved you because he loves you, he makes it very obvious that he cares about you and I don't think he wants you beating yourself up like this. After being on an island of liars and scammers, I think I've gotten a better sense at who's spouting nonsense and who isn't. I can tell you want to be better than you are, and I think you're getting there."
"I...really do want to make things right, with Anne and Sasha, with Luz and Amity, and with you and Marco," Marcy said.
"Hey you haven't done anything to upset me so you're good on my end," Star said.
"Even though I'm dating Marco?" Marcy asked.
"Pfft, that's fine, there's no rule that says you can't," Star said.
"But...don't you like him?" Marcy asked.
"Marcy, I have a boyfriend," Star said. "Remember Tom?"
"But even Tom said you might like Marco," Marcy said.
"It's just the curse, Marco and I are just friends," Star said. "If you're making Marco happy, then that's all that matters to me. I want Marco to be happy, and I want him to be happy with you."
"I hope he's happy with me," Marcy said. "And, I really hope that this curse really is the reason you two believe you like each other. Because otherwise, I feel like I'm screwing with true love if not."
"Marcy, if you love Marco, then that's all that matters," Star said. "I'm not gonna get jealous, all I ask is that you be the best girlfriend you can be to him."
"I will, I promise," Marcy said. "I'm gonna go talk to Mr. Diaz, I think he brought back some stuff from his trip to Hollywood Hills."
"Yeah, sure," Star said, letting the girl make her leave. Star took a breath, feeling a bit crummy at the moment. Despite what she said, she didn't feel too great about Marco and Marcy being together, but she didn't want to blame either of them.
"You okay there, Star?" Amity asked, sticking her head out the door.
"I will be, in time," Star said.
"Star, is there a reason Tom thought you had a crush on Marco?" Amity asked.
"I did hang around him a lot," Star said. "Tom might have gotten jealous of that."
"Anything else?" Amity asked. "In hindsight, how did you feel about him?"
"Deep question, I get the feeling there's something you know, or might have heard about," Star said.
"I want Marcy to be happy, and Marco too," Amity said. "But, your feelings need to be taken into account. If this curse is lifted, we need to be sure that doing so will be the end of it. Now, I need to know how you feel. Otherwise this pain will lead to more pain, and I don't want to see my friends in more pain than they need to be."
"Honestly, I might have liked him before the curse, but it's so long ago, I can't really tell," Star said. "Maybe I was jealous because he got with Jackie Lynn-Thomas, maybe I was jealous because I saw how romantic Marco is and maybe Tom wasn't that romantic with me at the time. Even if I had a crush on Marco, it's not like a crush automatically leads to love and romance."
"No, but it's a start," Amity said. "It might be time for more honesty regarding personal feelings. Marco needs to know for sure if you really have strong feelings for him, curse or not."
"Well until we break the curse, we won't know," Star said. "Even if we do break the curse, what's the point? I don't want to get between Marco and Marcy. I'm not that type of girl."
"So you never got between Marco and this Jackie Lynn-Thomas girl?" Amity asked.
"No...at least, I don't think I did," Star said, feeling very confused. "Look, I just want Marco to be happy. He doesn't need to be with me to be happy."
"He still deserves to know, because he has a choice to make," Amity said. "I don't want Marco to split with Marcy, but it's worse if their love falls apart. Even taking the Neverzone into account, you and Marco have known each other longer each other longer than he or Marcy have. You two hung out together more. Marco needs to understand his feelings."
"I don't want to be the reason Marcy feels more hurt," Star said.
"Marcy may be hurt, but I know she cares enough to want Marco to be happy too," Amity said.
"What if she hates me?" Star asked. "I don't want to be the villain of this story."
"I gotta say, you're much more caring than I gave you credit for, and that makes me happy," Amity said. "That's why I think you deserve this just as much. Take it from me, I wasn't sure about my feelings, the most I expressed was a kiss on Luz's cheek. Unfortunately Anne came around shortly afterwards and swept Luz off her feet, doesn't help that I acted so jealous about it, Luz probably noticed."
"Oh right, you have feelings for Luz," Star said. "But, didn't you two try dating?"
"Well we're not doing a great job of that," Amity said. "Plus, I might have driven Luz away with my jealousy."
"Maybe it's not too late, I mean, Anne might not even like Luz back," Star said.
"I will have to confront the two about it, but if Luz loves Anne and prefers her, well I am willing to accept it," Amity said. "I just want Luz to be happy, even if it's not with me."
"Just like I feel about Marco," Star said. "Heh, imagine if we rebounded to each other."
"You're way out of my league," Amity said.
"Huh? No, you're not, I think you're really pretty," Star insisted.
Amity blushed from the compliment, "Thanks, but still. Not ready for a rebound. I just want to be sure about my own feelings."
"I wish you luck on that," Star said.
"I'm gonna go see how Marcy is, I want to make sure she's doing well," Amity said. "I also want to check up on Marco's sister."
"Right, he had a sister instead of a brother," Star said.
"Luz loved her name, apparently Mariposa means Butterfly in Spanish," Amity said. "It means that Marco's family really likes you Star. You should be proud."
"I am," Star said. "Thanks Amity."
The witch made her leave as Star peeked into the room, glancing at the sleeping Marco.
"...Maybe I should have been more honest sooner," Star said, closing the door again.
Back in the present, the story was shortened once again.
"Marcy and I kept watch over you," Amity said. "Star came by too of course, after finding Moon, who had no memories of herself."
"Then that's when Sasha came by the first time," Marcy said. "And obviously, not off to a good start."
"I shouldn't be surprised that so many things happened this past week," Marco said. "By the way, where's Star?"
"She's here, guess she hasn't woken up here," Marcy crawled over to the foot of the bed, where Star was resting on the other side. "Star, get up, Marco's finally awake!"
"Wait, she was really there this whole time?" Marco asked.
"Didn't you hear her snoring?" Amity asked. "Or was it just me?"
Star yawned, standing up and spotting her friend, "Marco!"
"Hey Star, I'm-" Marco was immediately glomped by Star, the Princess hugging him tightly.
"Thank goodness, I was so worried," Star said, pulling back a little to gaze at Marco. She was momentarily lost in thought but regained her composure. "Oh, how long were you awake? Did everyone catch you up to speed?"
Marco was going to answer, but felt his stomach rumble, "Eh...I might need some breakfast."
"Right, I should head home," Anne said. "Meet up in the afternoon later. Also Marco, my parents might want to meet you."
"Really?" Marco asked.
"My dad just wants to make sure you're a good kid, and preferably not a pervert," Anne said.
"...Wow," Marco said.
"Dads are overprotective," Anne said, grabbing the scissors. "Catch you all later."
"Let's hurry, you have someone you need to meet," Star said.
"I do? Who?" Marco asked.
Moments later, Star was seen holding a child, "Meet Mariposa, your new little sister."
"Mariposa..." Marco held his arms out and took the girl. Feelings of joy circulated through his body. "It's a great name."
"Yeah, it's sweet," Star said. "Come on, let's go see your parents."
While things seemed calm for now, threats still lingered. In his floating castle, Andrias was overseeing his total conquest of Amphibia.
"Not much longer," Andrias said. "Once I'm done here, I'll go for Earth next
"What of Anne Boonchuy?" Belos asked, getting Andrias's attention. "Is she still a threat to your plan?"
"Of course, so is Luz Noceda and the rest of their annoying friends," Andrias said. "Do not worry, I have plans for those bothersome little so-called warriors. Some of them might be worth more to me alive anyway, which will be the key to destroying Mewni."
"I will set my sights on Mewni so you don't have to worry about it for the time being," Belos said. "For now, make sure you tend to those pests."
"That I will," Andrias said, placing his hand over the Calamity Box. "You brats are done."
More to the story must be unfolded for Marco, but future troubles still lay ahead.