I am truly sorry it took me so long to update this, I was going through something … it was nothing that happened in my life, it was more of an existential crisis but I'm … kinda through it now … I've actually had this chapter for some time but haven't been able to post it because of this. I'm sorry and hopefully I should be able to get back to a normal updating schedule now. Now how about we get to those reviews?

costa perez jose Ramiro: Well thank you, and I might have taken too much time.

Star's Keyblade4114: Please don't be done, you've already come so far, at least stay to see what it is. Also, now I want to see Star in the new Kingdome Hearts game.

Starco4Life: Thanks, it means a lot to me.

Disclaimer: Star vs. the Forces of Evil characters belong to Daron Nefcy.

Beta read by Sabrina06

(Marcus's POV)

(Meanwhile)

My head was pounding, as I lay against a hardwood floor, unable to piece together where I was, or what was currently going on. "Ugh, what happened?" I asked as I sat up. "And where-" I stopped short immediately upon opening my eyes, seeing the familiar surroundings. From the torn brown couch, to the divots in the floor and ceiling, the water damaged walls, and the small television that played nonstop static and white noise 24/7. "I'm back at the orphanage?" I asked as I looked around in shock. I quickly sprang to my feet as I began looking around in a panic. "This can't be happening … this isn't happening! This is some sick nightmare; my parents took me away from this place!"

"Oh relax!" Came a voice out of nowhere. I quickly looked around for the source of the voice until I noticed that there was now a boy sitting on the old couch with a long sleeve orange shirt and jeans. He had short hair, was nearly bald, and he was wearing sunglasses of all things. "It's only a construct from your memory. It's not real."

I let out a sigh of relief and slid to a sitting position. "That's good to hear … wait a second, where did you come from?"

"I'm here to test you." He replied. "You can call me Jack."

I paused, not sure how to proceed. "Um … okay … so … how does this test work?"

He looked at me with an annoyed stare. "You truly are an idiot, aren't you?" He stated leaving me confused. "You ever wonder what happens when you try putting something into a place where it doesn't fit?"

"It doesn't go in?" I replied.

"Sometimes, but when you try forcing it, things tend to not go well." He began. "Your soul, doesn't come from this reality, as a result, getting in here was rather … troublesome."

"Wha-" I shook my head. "What do you mean; my soul isn't from this reality?"

"I mean you were born in another reality and came here!" He replied.

"You mean from another dimension?"

He shook his head. "No, you're something … different."

"Different how?"

"I don't know!" He exclaimed as he threw his hands into the air. "And quite frankly, I don't care, you've caused us trouble and you'll be dead soon enough, so there's no need for you to worry about it."

"Wait, what?" I shouted. "Dead? What do you mean?"

"I've seen your file kid." He began as he crossed his arms. "And it looks bad, very bad, hence the warning for you on the cave door!"

"That was for me?" I paused. "Of course it was."

He nodded. "And now, you must face the trials, and you will die when you fail."

I sat quietly for a moment while I stopped to think about what he was saying. "Well … I … I don't-"

"You don't want to do this?" He asked. "Well that's too damn bad. You accepted the task when you entered the cave, now it's time for you to compleat it."

I let out a sigh and nodded. "If that's the case, let's just get this over with."

He sighed then jumped to his feet. "Then by all means; let's get this over with." He snapped his fingers and all of a sudden we were in my room back in Echo Creek. "Now let's start here." He pointed to my desk where I saw myself sitting. The memory in question was somewhat familiar to me but from a very long time ago. "When you were younger, you were a very studious person, trying to get your fireworks to work." He snapped his fingers again and I found that we were now in my kitchen a few years later. At the point we had found ourselves in, I was having a conversation with my foster parents and it did not take me long to remember what it was about. "You tried talking to your parents about your fireworks, but they were skeptical about letting you actually play with fire. Sure, eventually they said yes, but that wasn't enough for you, was it?"

He snapped his fingers and we were teleported to the school. "No, you began starting fires anywhere you thought you could get away with it."

"I know this." I replied annoyed. "I had a problem, everyone does, only mine was caused by a parasite which is gone now."

"But where did it take you?" He asked. "And who are you without it?" He snapped his fingered and suddenly, we were in a forest near Echo Creek that I remember visiting a few times back when I was starting random fires. I saw my past self, sitting down next to a tree rocking back and forth, as I stared at a lighter that had run out of fuel. It wasn't the proudest moment of my life, in fact, I was quickly reminded that this moment was actually one of my greatest shames as Tom walked up and looked down at me for the first time.

"Well what do we have here?" Tom asked causing my past self to look up. "A little lost lamb who needs some guidance?"

I recoiled in fear of the demon. "Who are you?" I asked.

"Just a friend." He lied. "And I want to make you an offer." He held out his hand, which caught fire, and I noticed my eyes go wide. "This power in exchange for something from you."

"What do you want?" I asked without hesitation. "My soul? My loyalty? My life?"

"Easy." Tom replied. "I only want you to help me with a task." He shoved his hands into his pockets and smiled. "You see, I want to get back together with my ex, her name is Star, but she doesn't want to get back together with me."

"You want dating advice?" I asked a little confused. "I'm … not the best when it comes to things like that."

"No no no." Tom began. "You see, I plan to steal the body of whoever it is that she's dating and impersonate him, thus, I'm able to be with her while she thinks that I'm really her boyfriend."

"Uh … won't she notice the difference?" I asked. "And how do I fit into all this?"

"You let me worry about the first thing, and as for where you fit in? Well, she doesn't … have … a boyfriend yet." He shrugged. "But, that's what you're going to help me with. You spy on her, tell me who's most likely to end up going out with her, help me get them together, and assist me in taking his body. You do that, and I will free you from your emptiness."

I looked down in shame of what my past self was thinking; it had been some time but I remembered that I had barely even considered the person Tom would be taking, or the girl he wanted to be with; all I thought about was how long it would take before I got what I wanted. "So." Tom asked as he extended his hand, which caught fire. "Do we have a deal?"

It barely took me a moment to consider his offer before I shook his hand, which began all of my current regrets.

"Wow, you didn't stop for a second, did you?" Jack asked. "You got close to Star and Marco just so you could betray them."

"It's not like that." I replied. "I … I didn't want any of that."

"Yes you did." Jack replied. "You didn't care about what happened to them, you never did, you were a monster who just wanted-"

"That's quite enough of that!" Boomed a voice that sounded somehow familiar.

Both Jack and I looked around for the source of the voice until a green fog appeared and began to move around us as though it were alive. It eventually concentrated itself into one location and took the form of a humanoid, before becoming solid; revealing a person with bowl cut blond hair, a black hoodie, and a bandolier with large glowing green orbs on it. "Hello Marcus, it's been a while."

"Michi." I replied almost awestruck. "It has indeed."

And that is the end of the chapter, now if you'll excuse me, I need to do some more work.

I'm Axis27 and I hope you enjoyed this chapter.