The strong, biting winds of the Neverzone howled in agony, echoing the despair of those whose lives were consumed in its dismal, unforgiving environment. It was unclear whether the wind carried dust and gravel or the ashes of those long fallen.

The prolonged, mournful howling played like a eulogy for what few denizens dwelled within this meager shanty town. Assuming there were any. The clumsily cobbled together shacks shook beneath the strength of the inclement weather. Loose shutters and doors clapped open and closed to an erratic beat.

Thick gravel quaked and crunched beneath heavy boots, the sound barely cutting through the din of the whooshing wind. A vaguely humanoid figure walked down this seemingly empty village. A dirty, ragged cloak lazily flapped as it shrouded their entire form. Their face was obscured beneath the shadows cast by its hood.

"Gotta be 'round here somewhere... No mistakin' that scent." The figure said to himself. His voice sounded as though he swallowed all the dust the wind was kicking up. It was deep and growly, accentuating the man's age and the extent of his hardship.

The ground erupted all around him. Dust shot towards the sky while decrepit, undead marauders followed suit.

The doors and shutters swung open as even more zombified bandits poured out of every scrap metal shelter in the area, brandishing all manner of blunt and bladed weaponry while armored in pieces of metal, leather, and cloth.

One in particular jumped behind the man with an axe over his head in the hopes to split his target down the middle.

However, with a single raised fist, the undead flew miles away from the cloaked man, swatted like a bothersome fly.

Everyone in the vicinity stopped dead in their tracks for a moment, watching as that one unfortunate undead disappear into the horizon. Then they all turned towards the shrouded man, their widened gazes affixed to his exposed arm. Tattoos snaked up to the wrist and while a mystical gauntlet wrapped around the forewarm.

After the few seconds of inactivity, the armed zombies remembered they were in the midst of battle and continued rushing towards their mutual target.

Foolishly, each and every one accelerated their doom. Whenever one reached within punching distance, they immediately either flew across the sky or popped into piles of body parts. Either way, they ended up as charred corpses

Despite how well the cloaked man held his own, more and more undead bandits emerged from the ground just as much as he was dispatching. The circle of enemies surrounding him began to close in rather quickly.

He shot into the air, leaving behind his cloak. Shining beneath the grey cloudy sky, holding the handle of a long sword strapped to his back was a young, muscular man. His skin was a dark shade of purple, his salmon-colored hair spiked up wards and his horns reached lightly above them.

His enemies soon followed him up to the sky, ready for some aerial combat. All three of the man's eyes

narrowed in focus looking at those who shared the airspace with him. Though a vast majority stayed on the ground, there was neverless enough foes in the air to obscure his view of the horizons beyond.

Despite being grossly outnumbered, there lied not a hint of doubt nor fear in those eyes of his.

Instead, a smile slashed acrossed his face.

The moment his blade left its sheathe, it spun like a top in the air, flying laps around its wielder and cutting everything and anything in its path. A storm of blood, bone, and flesh ensued.

The blade returned to the man's hand after making its round trip, painted in the blood and guts of its victims. The flat side of the blade slid across his forearm, instantly cleaning it.

Then the tip of the blade pointed downwards. The tattoos on the man's left arm glowed a vibrant, sinister orange. In seconds, the same happened with his weapon.

The man fell back to the ground like a meteor, his glowing blade plunging deep into the gravel.

And then, an explosion of nuclear proportions. Fire and smoke shot out everywhere upon impact. Everyone and everything followed, spreading body parts, metal, and wood all over the battlefield. Until the only thing left standing and untouched was the swordsman kneeling, his gaze kept to the ground.

He returned to his feet, his trio of eyes surveying the destruction he wrought. The smouldering remains of his victims and the makeshift shelters nearly buried the gravel.

"Hmph." He scoffed. To the innocent bystander it would be one of the most devastating displays of destruction they ever bore witness to. To Tom, it was Tuesday.

He twirled his blade once before returning it to the sheathe on his back. Dismembered corpses squished beneath his boots as he resumed his search.

The ground began to quake heavily. Every scrap of flesh, wood, and metal hopped in place. Tom stopped but remained calm.

Then they all started moving, sliding towards an wide open spot of empty wasteland. They converged, heaps and heaps piling on top of each other into a messy mountain.

The piles started multiplying and forming away from one another once the first tower was erected. It soon became clear that a body was forming. Limbs, body, and finally a head.

Soon, the demon stood face to face with a colossus of a size comparable to a castle in Mewni. Its actual body formed from the remains of the newly dead undead and a full set of armor was made from the metal and wood of what used to be houses.

Tom remained standing tall and unyielding in the face of a greatly larger enemy. As the saying goes. Prodigious size does not dissuade the sharpened blade.

The giant didn't hesitate to throw a punch towards its puny foe. It was fast for its size, nearly instantaneous, yet the smaller of the two managed to evade with a backwards jump no problem.

Another gigantic punch was thrown, just as fast as the last one. However rather than jump backwards again, Tom stood there.

Another smile shined from his five o clock shadow.

At the very last second, Tom raised his arm once more. It stood straight in front of him, with his wrist bent back.

The creature's fist stopped dead on the Prince's arm. Like a toothpick stopping a baseball.

It growled and roared in fury, before throwing another punch at its prey.

Unfortunately, that was stopped too. What soon followed was a flashing flurry of fists that were all surprisingly precise despite how huge and lumbering the creature was.

Regardless, Tom managed to deflect every single punch without even budging a single inch.

The giant having it up to here, it raised its right arm high above his head before it dropped fast like a giant hammer.

Tom's palm shot upwards, a burst of red light gleaming forth at the moment of collision. The giant's arm completely fell apart to the point of nothingness. It staggered backwards, taken aback by the sudden amputation.

Enraged, the monster immediately followed up with another punch from its remaining arm.

Little did it know that Tom was charging one of his own while it was dazed and reeling.

It felt as if time stopped for a split second when their fists connected. The next split second, the giant's fist flew out of its socket, spinning as it joined the clouds above.

Then its fist smashed onto his head, bringing the abomination to its knees.

Tom leapt upon his head, his sword released from its protective home.

There was a slash in the air, and his blade instantly returned to its resting place.

He leapt off the head and back to the ground, and he proceeded to walk past his enemy.

With each step, it fell completely apart. Piece after piece hit the ground in deafening thud until the entire being became dust that scattered to the winds.

Then a series of small, sarcastic claps from a short distance ahead. There stood a man around a similar age. Short brown hair, pale skin. Magenta on one eye and a piercing green in the other.

And a monstrous right arm.

"Tommy baby." The man spoke snidely, with a shit eating grin on his face. Tom felt his ears poisoned by his voice. "How's it been, fam?"

"Anon..."

Tom immediately brandished his blade. All three eyes focused intensely on the figure before him.

"What? No chit-chat or smarmy insult?" Anon shrugged, his smirk remained unabated. "Just gettin' right to the point this time, huh?"

Surges of red energy began converging on the Demon Prince's heart. Veins of deep, bright scarlet began spreading throughout his body as quick as wildfire, until it reached every end. Hs entire form became a burning red silhouette, before exploding in a mass of hellfire and demonic energy.

As if it wasn't possible, the man's smile grew even wider, marveling at this unseen form standing before him. There was an immense pressure in the air, a tremble of the ground, and a reddening of the sky above. As if Tom's very presence bent the laws of nature to his whim, without him having to so much as lift a finger.

Anon beamed with pride."I'm a damn good personal trainer, aren't I?"

...

"Marco?" Star called out in shock.

The "hood" retracted into the armor, revealing the familiar face of its wearer.

"Star!" He exclaimed as he brought the girl off the ground and into his arms. "I'm so glad you're still o-"

And then his sentence was cut off by a pair of lips assaulting his own. Marco briefly melted into the moment before having to regretfully part.

"Me too." Star rubbed her partner's cheek as she spoke.

"But uh." Marco rubbed the back of his head, his face flushed. "As much as I'd like to keep going, we're kinda in the middle of a fight here."

"Oh, right! Almost forgot."

"As soon as I get back upright, you and your mysterious savior are history! Do you hear me!?" Heinous shouted out over her loudspeaker.

"Anyways." He rolled his eyes. "Heinous isn't gonna stay down forever. Gotta take the chance while we got it."She

She nodded in agreement. "Got any ideas, Marco?"

He nodded back. Then simply raised his arm. An ethereal purple tentacle spiraled up his forearm to the wrist. Star's blue eyes became plates when she recognized it immediately.

"Ohmygosh, Marco. Is that..."

"Relax, he's not gonna hurt me." Marco assured. "Actually, he kinda saved my life earlier."

"Did he now?" Star glared at the tendril. She relaxed but was still a bit skeptical.

Anicetus managed to get a couple of its legs planted on the ground, lifting its body slightly higher.

"Better start praying to whatever you believe in now. Make your peace before your well-deserved end!"

Marco and Star turned behind them, drawn by the sound of a portal ripping into the air.

Jackie's head popped out, surprising them both.

"Yo, get in here!" She shouted, gesturing to them urgently. The couple wasted no time jumping into the vortex.

They suddenly ended up in some laboratory joined by Jackie, Undyne, and some hunched over, portly dinosaur monster in a labcoat.

"Jackie! Bitchy fish lady!" Star turned to each of them. "What's going on?"

"Figured ya might need a little help taking that thing down. And who better to do that than the genius who made it?" Jackie said. Undyne shuffled up to the scientist, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and causing her to blush.

"I-I-I'm really sorry!" She sputtered in desperation and remorse. "I didn't mean to m-make a nigh indestructible war machine for the bad guys. I just th-th-thought-"

"Shh shh shh..." Undyne rubbed the scientist's cheeks. "Chill Alphys, it's okay... you didn't know. None of us did."

"I guess... "Alphys calmed down. "I guess I'll never be capable of doing as h-ho-horrible as Toffee and Eclipsa did."

"So uh," Marco spoke up, hoping to move things along. "Any good tips on how to take that thing down?"

"Any weak spots or whatever that we can take advantage of?" Star added. "I mean, my magic can't even make a dent on that thing."

"Every part of Anicetus is heavily reinforced except for the legs and the weapons." Alphys answered. "Cutting the legs would only inhibit its mobility. The guns and the chainsaw blades are extremely durable but not indestructible. But the arsenal is vast and it would take a lot of firepower to destroy them."

"Any way we could shut all of that down?" Star asked.

The scientist woefully shook her head. "Not unless you can get inside. But once someone's in there, it's sealed tight. Unless... no, that's dumb."

"What?" Star and Marco asked in unison, their bodies leaning forward in intrigue.

"I was about to say. Maybe you can somehow get Heinous to cut herself with her High-frequency chainsaws."

"Marco, that's it!" Star exclaimed. "Solaria's High-frequency spell!"

"Nope." Alphys shook her head as she rebutted. "If it has to be cast, it can't cut it. Her chainsaw blades are legitimately High-frequency. They're capable of cutting anything and everything. Even itself"

"Hmm." Marco rubbed his chin ponderously. "You don't happen to have another Anicetus lying around, do you?"

"I'm afraid not. That one is the only one I've built thus far and it hasn't even left the experimental stage yet."

"Isn't there anything you got that could help us level the playing field?" Star asked.

The scientist shook her head again. "Everything I just explained is your best bet in besting that war machine. And from what Undyne and Jackie told me, you two are pretty powerful in your own right."

The attention of all three were yanked by a resounding thud in front of them. Solaria's Greatsword lied on the ground, cracks formed on the smooth floor.

"Thought you might need that back." Undyne said. "There was another sword I wanted to give to you, boy. But it went missing while the riots are happening."

"Oh, I got it right here." Marco lifted his sword.

"Oh no, I meant another one."

"Another one?"

"Yup." Undyne nodded. "It was really weird but really cool. It was in this high tech sheathe. I couldn't get the sword out for some reason but I knew it was a katana. Was thinkin' of bringing it to Alph to study it."

"Wait..." Marco pondered for a moment. He thought hard about why such a thing felt so familiar to him. Distant, yet strange feelings slowly creep up on him and his chest grew a little heavy.

Then his head shot up suddenly. "That's Yang's sword!"

"Dunno who that is." The fish knight shrugged. "Confiscated it from that one bald dude after arresting him for grave robbing. Patches, I think's his name."

"That guy!?" Marco recognized the name and description from someone he briefly brushed shoulders with in Ludo's lair. He punched his palm in anger. "Man, he better not let me see his ugly mug again..."

"One target at a time, babe." Star rubbed his shoulder to chill him out.

"Anyways." Marco breathed deeply. "We should probably get out there and take care of Heinous. She could be getting up any minute now."

"Right behind ya." Star lugged the massive hunk of metal over her shoulder with ease.

Jackie cut another portal for the two. "After you."

With their weapons brandished, the two conjured their respective Berserker armors and jumped right in, returning to the fight.

"Ah, there you are!" Heinous looked down on them, beaming with superiority. "The flies to be crushed beneath my foot!"

Anicetus did just that, its foot lifted and immediately dropped down on the two.

Star held her Greatsword above herself, stopping the giant metal foot instantly in its tracks. Heinous tried to apply more pressure, but Star not only held her in place, but began to push back as well.

"Arrrgh!" Star loudly grunted, using as much force as her strength provided to toss Anicetus's leg into the air, leaving the underside of its knee exposed.

Then Marco swiftly leapt the greatest of heights, reaching said underside. Black dragon-like wings stretched from his body, keeping him afloat.

"You can fly, too!?" Heinous shouted at Marco.

"No, I just jump good." Marco replied smugly.

"But you have wings!"

"Shut up!"

Marco began concentrating. Placing all of his focus into his blade and his target. He extinguished every superficial thought in his mind and drowned out all the unnecessary stimulus from every one of his senses. Every part of him poured into the graceful gliding of his sword.

And then, the joints of the machine gradually fragmented into chunks which broke off into even smaller pieces as the blade glided here and there. The metal felt like butter, easily severing to the sword's will with every stroke.

With one last slash, the leg cleanly popped of its joint and shook the ground after it landed.

Anicetus staggered once more, but was no where near out of commission. Every type of gun it had sprung forth and immediately aimed for Marco.

With swift and deft maneuvering, he managed to fly past and dodge every shot and every swing that came his way. When they got too close, he managed to hit back and slash them away.

"You think this is all, Princess Turdina!?" Heinous yelled. "Think again!"

As if it were possible, even more guns emerged from hatches that Marco didn't even know were hatches from Anicetus's massive frame. All manner of anti-air armaments popped out and spared not a second opening fire on their target.

"Summon Scissors." Marco spoke beneath his breath. In rapid succession, orange ethereal scissor blades as long as his sword appeared around their summoner and shot forth. They deflected every missile, every bullet, and every laser beam that came his way.

Meanwhile, Star flew up to Anicetus's other front leg, reaching the joint. With as much concentration as Marco had, she commenced cutting apart the clamps that tied the limb together. The slices were much bigger and the pieces were much thinner, but despite the bulkier size of Solaria's Greatsword, it ran its frantic course through the air just as quickly.

With one final slash, another one of the walking fortress's legs was cut clean off, landing right atop one section of the Gulag.

"Aaahhh!" Heinous screamed as her war machine lost another limb and struggled to regain its balance.

Enraged, the old crone set her sights back on Star. She directed half of her guns on her and opened fire. Like her partner, the blonde Mewman dodged and deflected as she flew gracefully about like a free bird. While her two main arms held her sword, the other four shot as many spells as she held in memory to shoot down the heavier ordnances.

"Agh!" Marco cried out. Heinous somehow managed to catch up to Marco and her pincers grabbed him by both of his limbs. She clamped down hard to restrain him and crush his bones. Then he was brought to the sky, flaunted like a trophy.

"Marco!" Star cried out, witnessing her best friend captured in Anicetus's cold, metal cluches.

"Star Butterfly!" Heinous called out. "I've captured your so called 'lover'. Surrender now and I'll release him with only minor severe injuries."

Star floated before the lifeless killing machine before her, her massive blade held stoically in front. Her gaze shifted worriedly between both Marco and his captor.

"Clock is ticking 'princess'!" Heinous's shrill voice blasted through the machine's speakers. Star's heart dropped when she saw that the pincers were starting to pull Marco apart.

"Stop! Stoooop!" Star shrieked at the top of her lungs. She didn't hesitate dropping her sword and slowly grounding herself, landing on her knees. Her head hung and her eyes shut with resignation. Her armor retreated into her body.

"Now if you know what's good for you, hold still." Heinous warned coldly. Anicetus raised both of its saws high into the air.

Star couldn't count how many times she's been in this kind of situation. Always having to sacrifice herself in some capacity to save the one she loved. But even so, she's always been ready to do so without a moment's hesitation or a second thought. And this time would be no different. That's what Marco meant to her.

"Don't give up." A voice echoed within her mind. It definitely wasn't her voice. No, it a voice that comforted and assured her with every syllable.

"M-Marco?" Star's heart skipped a beat and her eyes burst open hearing him in her head.

"Look up." He requested, to which she obliged. He saw the skyscraper-sized saws standing straight in the sky. The arms that had the pincers were just directly behind them, just short of touching.

"Just a little push is all it takes." Marco vaguely said. Though, Star understood him loud and clear. She nodded, then smiled.

"Prepare. To die!" Heinous shouted to the heavens as her chainsaws fell to the earth, taking with them her murderous intent.

Star's armor returned instantly and so did her four other arms. Each set of three caught each chainsaw, and held them strongly in place, sparks erupting from their contact. She groaned hard as her feet broke earth and sunk gradually into the ground below.

"You dare resi-"

"AAAGH!" Star roared as she pushed Anicetus's chainsaws away, with enough force to send the blades flying towards its other set of arms and slicing them clean off.

Marco was liberated as the pincers that once held him captive joined the other severed limbs. He wasted no time flying to Star's side.

"Aww, how sweet. You both fight as a couple." Heinous snidely spoke. She raised both of her saws in the air and dropped them towards her targets a second after. "Now DIE as a couple!"

Though they could have easily dodged them, the couple opted to instead stand their ground. Their hearts and souls were in sync, their intentions clear to each of them without a single word shared between.

Both of them caught their respective chainsaws, much to Heinous's shock even though it wasn't the first time.

A massive ghostly tentacle wrapped itself around Marco's saw. While purplish black energy surrounded Star's.

And then, in a beyond godly feat that would drop everyone's jaws, the tens of thousand ton machine, that was as tall as a castle and as wide as an entire kingdom, got judo flipped right onto its head from one side of the Gulag to the other.

While the colossal metal beast was stunned, Marco lifted his chainsaw with his Monster Bringer, bringing it further away from him and forcing its blade to face Anicetus's other arm.

Then it dropped, instantly severing Star's respective chainsaw from its arm. She then threw it so hard and so high into the air that it flipped a few times before the safe end landed on her arms.

She stumbled a bit as she struggled to keep a firm grip on the gigantic chainsaw before Marco came up from behind. His arms wrapped around her, his hands grabbed hers. Blackish purple energy shrouded their shared weapon as purple translucent tendrils spiraled around it.

Heinous shouted as her last remaining chainsaw arm took one downward swing. Her determination surpassed Anicetus's heavy damages, using everything she had left to defy her foes.

Star and Marco took the deepest breaths they could, their feet deeply rooted to the ground. They concentrated to the best of their abilities Every part of them, body, mind, and soul, were still and as solid as a pair of statues.

They swung their chainsaw with shocking ease, colliding with their enemy's. The remaining arm was pushed back before it flew forward for another slash, which also got denied purchase.

They kept at it for a few minutes. No matter how many different angles Heinous's swings came from, she was always clashing towering steel with towering steel.

Eventually they kept their blades grinding against one another in a push-of-war. Huge sparks fell like a rainstorm in their screeching collision.

Unfortunately for Heinous, the strength of Star and Marco's love proved greater than the largest of titans and the most advanced of war machines. With one push, her blade flew back and the couple immediately followed up with a slash that severed the other arm.

And then another that cut across Anicetus's frame. And another, and another, then another. It didn't matter how large or heavy their chainsaw was. As long as they were together, the chainsaw was essentially just another weapon to use with ease. There was no recovery, no windup. Every slash flowed smoothly onto one another, making pieces of Anicetus pile up.

Star and Marco let their giant weapon fly and twirl in the air like a baton. The two rocketed after it, meeting it halfway as it fell back down.

Time slowed to a crawl when a familiar menu popped up in both of their visions. In seconds, both made the choice their souls synced with right as the back end of their gigantic chainsaw flew in front of them. Of course, they felt a strange sense of nostalgia as they saw the name of that move that got them both out of a similar jam. Who could forget it, anyways.

Dragon Kick

Simultaneously, Star and Marco lifted both legs immediately and sent a powerful boot into their weapon.

The cataclysmic collision between what remained of Anicetus and its former weapon left behind a quake that caused the entire multiverse to shudder and groan. The severed chainsaw blade shattered into countless metal slabs as an explosion ensued from the war machine that took it back.

The couple went up to the blazing mountain of scrap metal they had just created.

"We..." Star began. Exhaustion forced a deep exhale out of her. "...we did it."

"Yeah." Marco said, somewhat melancholic. "She's gone..."

As if fate immediately decided to prove Marco wrong, the mountain of metal that would be Heinous' grave groaned and shook. Embers rose and burning metal rolled down like a landslide.

Star and Marco leveled both their weapons towards the moving scrap heap. One slab of Anicetus fell to the ground in a fiery mass. Flames shout forth, coating the ground.

Heavy footsteps rung out in the air. A hulking figure walked among the flames, untouched and unfazed.

Star and Marco shared a gasp. They tightened their grips on their weapons and took one step back. They felt as though all of Mewni turned upside down.

"H-Heinous!?" Marco confusedly called out, unsure whether he should believe what he was seeing.

The colossal purple beast beamed a wide, predatory smile at the two teens before it. It stretched between the clovers on each cheek.

"Actually," The ogre spoke in a deep distorted voice. She adjusted her gray curly hair that was reminiscent of the old hag she supposed to be. "It's Meteora."