A/N: Let me be clear about something before this chapter begins. I wrote this chapter way before the Coronavirus pandemic, I've just been putting this off because I was busy.

So let me tell you right now, in this chapter, Marco uses a plague. It wasn't inspired by the pandemic, it's just a coincidence. I honestly felt like I should have rewritten this chapter, but I asked my friend and talked me out of it. He pointed out the fact that Marco in this fic, has done much worse than unleashing a plague. Eating people. Drowning children in mud via their parent's reanimated corpses. And so on. So by comparison, unleashing a plague isn't that bad.

Why am I saying this? I don't want to get another PM from someone complaining about this story. The criticism I'm fine with, even if it's harsh and has insults in it, but whining about why and how terrible it is of Marco being evil is where I draw the line.

Was the warning in the summary not clear? It's this reason why I want to write an evil Marco, not some version where he is tricked or possessed - or worse when the story says he is evil, but doesn't he doesn't do anything evil! I hate that, and since no one did, I guess I am.

So anyways, enjoy the chapter.

Star Butterfly didn't want to fall asleep.

What she saw earlier when she used the All-Seeing Eye was enough to give anyone nightmares, but for Star - who had lived with Marco back on Earth - was more worried than panicked. She wanted to go outside of the sanctuary and find her friend who escaped from his cell. She wanted to know what caused all of the blood she saw in the homes of her people. To do something other than wait!

Yet she knows Marco is out there in the world, and probably isn't too happy that she took his prized coffin. Suddenly, the idea of hiding in the magical sanctuary didn't look like a bad option.

Being exhausted physically after a strenuous journey to the magical sanctuary - as her mother was almost devoured by a carnivorous plant while being strict on using the wand - and after having an emotional moment with her mom as the terror from the magical sanctuary violently shaking came to an end, Star couldn't stop her overworked mind from slowing down while her eyelids become heavy.

As much as she didn't want to admit it, the faint crying from the coffin she took from Marco is disturbingly soothing.

The dreams would be the same, it was always about Marco - specifically the moments in her life when she found out something she wished she didn't.

A month ago

She had to hurry.

Star's silenced steps crept along a secret path throughout the castle. She had arrived in front of a metal door, yet it did little to calm the unease she felt in her body. One of the most dangerous beings in the multiverse resides behind that door, and it's her best friend - the lack of guards and security is sustaining the anxiety that disturbs her soul.

Star stood in front of the door for what seemed like an eternity. The mixture of emotions she is feeling is the very reason why she delayed her visit, and instead procrastinated by indulging in distracting activities with friends. She felt the sadness of how far her friend had fallen, and Star knew she was partly to blame.

Who is she kidding; a lot of what Marco is today is because of what she did in the past.

Yet no matter who Star tells, no one believes her; disregarding her impact on Marco's life, or thinking that her warnings about her friend are a mere exaggeration.

Either they believe Marco isn't a serious threat, despite his horrifying reputation that was later discovered after a thorough investigation throughout the dimensions. Maybe Marco simply killed anyone who was guarding his cell.

Star didn't like any of those scenarios. Although the latter seemed to be proven true, as the trail of dripped blood coming away from the door provided evidence of his bloodlust.

She used her wand to cast a subtle unlocking spell on the door, but found it odd that it was already unlocked; nonetheless, it allowed her to freely enter the dark, stone chamber. The light from her family's heirloom was enough to illuminate the disturbing contents within.

Star's blue eyes went wide when she saw the windowless interior was coated in dried blood. Marco stood at the very end of the room, his standard dark pants and red hood with a white undershirt was clean from the crimson filth painting his cell. The cuffs around his wrists that were connected by a good length of chain was the only restraint that was intact. The rest that was supposed to shackle his legs, waist, and neck, are shattered and broken; scattered on the floor, and coated in dried blood.

Which is why there was nothing stopping him from walking up to her with a contented smile full of warmth; it reminded her of a time where that natural grin was a symbol of sadistic triumph, and later transitioned into one filled with protective, unconditional love directed at her.

"What happened here?" She nearly yelled, trying and failing to keep her voice down to a minimal volume to avoid being caught by her mother again. "Marco, what did you do?"

"That's the first thing you say to me in weeks?" He asked with genuine surprise. "A little cliche, don't you think? Then again, indulging in distractions - like going with your friends to the Bounce Lounge and eating Goblin Dogs - tends to make one forget the harshness of reality."

Star didn't show her disturbance when he said that - it always freaked her out when he said things he couldn't possibly know - and she refused to acknowledge what he said, but could not bring herself to deny it either. With the trouble at home, her kingdom, with politics and news of Monster uprisings, having some free time with old friends seemed like a good idea. Yet she knew that was dangerous thinking: it's how Marco used to tempt her, and she used to do the same to him.

Marco continued to talk. "You know, if you wanted to eat good food and have pleasurable hallucinations, you could have just asked me."

"Don't change the subject, Marco!" Star said sternly, she couldn't afford to be lax. "What happened here?"

"The squires of your knights got too confident when they snuck in here to try and beat me up - some petty attempt of retribution for…" Marco said with a dismissive motion of his hand. "Something. I don't remember the reason - I was having too much fun beating them up!"

"Something?!" She fumed, angered by his lack of guilt. "You crippling Higgs isn't just something, Marco!"

"Oh Star," He shook his head with amusement, never losing his grin. "Crippling is a big understatement to describe her condition - blind, and paralyzed from the neck down, would be accurate." He then rolled his eyes when he saw the expression on her face. "Oh don't look at me that way; she started it when she verbally provoked me."

"Don't act as if you're the victim, Marco," Star scolded. "You could care less about what people say; you were looking for an excuse!"

"That, and I was really, really bored!" He acknowledged, his eyes had a softer look. "You know me so well..."

"Which is why I came here," Star said. "I knew something would be wrong when the squires returned, but they wouldn't say where they got their injuries, and I suspected you had something to do with it!"

"Of course they wouldn't say where they got their injuries; they'd get into some serious trouble! The higher-ups would probably think I corrupted them with my evilness~!" He said in a mocking tone, although it wasn't completely untrue. There was some form of corruption. "To be fair, what I did to them was in self-defense," Marco confessed with a casual dismissive flick of his hand. "They came in here with the stolen swords they were supposed to polish, and tried to stab me when I was sitting here in my cell."

"They shouldn't have been able to find this place - it's for the worst criminals deemed by the Magical High Commission," Star argued. "And they shouldn't have been able to open the cell either! Only certain people have the key!"

"One of them being the head chef of your kitchens," Marco revealed, much to her shock. "She received it from the maid after she stole it from your dad's discarded pants on her way to drop off the dirty clothes to the wash. The chef unlocked the door for me to serve me my food - making sure there was enough light pouring in for me to see her spitting in it - and she didn't lock the door on her way out, which made it easy for the armed squires to walk in-"

"There are knights positioned near the route to your cell!" Star protested, unable to grasp her good-natured people would do something so horrible. "They're ordered to stop any suspicious behavior: a group of squires with stolen weapons planning to kill you would have been prevented!"

"Which is how they were able to reach this place; your knights let them. Anyways, the squires walked in, closed the door behind them, said some cheesy monologue about friendship and loyalty, and they tried to strike me with the swords. I moved a little, they cut a few of the chains instead of my flesh, I grabbed the sword from the ugly one before I used it to stab the fat one in the genitals, then I used the chain to-"

"I already know their medical status," Star interrupted, trying to hold back a grimace as memories of their condition when she went into the castle's medical wing threaten to make her vomit. They looked like they were mauled by a feral beast, which is not entirely a lie. "Injured I can understand, but why are they sick?"

"Star, you're missing the important details," Marco said with minor annoyance. "The chef is spitting in my food, and is one out of many accomplices to an assassination attempt!"

"Marco!" Star scolded him. "Focus!"

"I didn't kill them," He noted. "Remember, that's a huge step for me Star!"

"There's blood covering the ceiling!" Star reminded, gesturing to the crimson that stains the walls and ceiling. "Do you know what will happen now if people find out? Everything we've worked for your rehabilitation will be for nothing!"

With how inquisitive her mother and the Magical High Commission are with Marco's investigation, they'll use this incident as an opportunity to rightfully condemn him. They'll take her best friend away, and there is nothing she could ever do about it.

Marco didn't look convinced. "Progress can't be wasted if it never existed."

"You did make progress!" Star said, frustration clear in her pleading tone. "You healed the sick and poor, you repaired their homes, you-!

"Only did that for my scheme of sadistic enjoyment." He reminded her. "Hell, the only reason I even bothered doing so was because you told me to."

"Well, you had your fun," Star scolded. "But now you have to take this seriously!"

"Oh, I have been serious. I've been serious when the Magical High Commission gave me a pathetic trial without a chance to defend myself when your mother publicly announced that I am an incarnation of evil to your citizens; especially when those squires came in, thinking they can find some sort of justice."

"And they're getting worse by the minute - they caught some sort of illness, and nothing is working and it's starting to spread outside the castle! If you heal them, if you save help Mewni, you could work out some sort of deal-!"

"Then what?" He interrupted with harsh disdain. "Be chained down, forever treated like something less than a person as everyone spits in my food, trying to beat me up, all the while you're goofing off until someone is in danger and it is out of your control to fix? I'd rather die!"

Star ignored the verbal jab. "You are going to die! They're considering executing you instead of crystal imprisonment!"

"I'm hoping they will!" Marco said with a smile. "I have something special planned when I die: a final joke so deadly it will bring a cataclysm!"

"How could you think that way? If people would hear you, then everyone would think you're a lost cause!"

"Why should I care if they do? I'll be dead; you can't punish a corpse! That's what makes it fun!"

"That is what makes it cruel!" Star protested, her voice then became soft and sad as she saw Marco showed no shred of remorse. "...You would rather do all of that, then help others?"

"Yep!" Marco said without hesitation, and even though Star has a deep understanding of his mentality, he still manages to surprise her every now and then, and it hurts even more. "But also remember what we agreed to when we discussed my stay here on Mewni: I said that I would cure your people, I never anything about making them immune."

"Will you drop the cryptic act already!" Star snapped. "I should have known that even when you mess up, you still try to be clever!"

"I could say the same thing about you," Marco countered, a note of hostility in his voice that made her tense. "The only reason your mother even began investigating me was because you aroused her suspicion, and only made it worse when you tried to hinder her investigation; her title Moon the Undaunted isn't just for show." His grin returned. "Oh, and to clarify; I am clever."

"Clever as you think you are."

"Still more clever than most people, I can only count on one hand people can match me in wits, and she is standing in front of me." He pointed at her. "Unlike most, I learned from my mistakes - like watching what I say when behind a closed door. Yet I am one of the few who can apply it. Just like how, for example, I was aware of your mother standing outside your door that night when we had our talk."

"That doesn't make any sense: if you're so clever, then why didn't you stop talking if you notice my mom outside my door listening in on our conversation? All of this could have been avoided if you watched what you said…!" Her fierce retort died out when she had a moment of clarity.

Then there was silence. Star felt her skin crawl with goosebumps, a frightening chill creeping up her arms and gathered to tighten her chest; her breathing became strained as her heart felt like it would explode.

She couldn't go through all of this again, and despite the familiar and minor euphoria she feels, the last time she endured this was too horrible.

"You knew she was outside my door…" Star's voice was a frightened whisper. "You knew she was listening to our conversation that night..."

"That's right," Marco gave her a slow nod of acknowledgment before letting out a nostalgic sigh. He looked at her with eyes filled with yearning, and his voice sounded soft like a parent encouraging a child. "You would always put the clues together, just like before."

"You could have stopped our conversation, but you didn't… you made sure my mom heard everything...you wanted this to happen!"

The small grin on his face grew bigger.

"You planned all of this, didn't you…" Star's accusation sounded like a statement, much to her horror. Past experiences are a cruel source of wisdom; subtle hints became mind-blowing revelations that resulted in death, tragedy, and entertainment for her friend. "From the very beginning…!"

Her worst fears were confirmed when Marco's grin turned into a face-splitting smile. The same smile that showed sadistic triumph that foreshadowed an unpredictable outcome with a high mortality rate. "From the very beginning?" Marco repeated mockingly with a snicker, taking a step forward. "Oh Star, my plans are elaborate, but they are not that complicated-"

"Stay back!" Star pointed her wand at her friend. "You're not leaving your cell!"

"I was just going to give you a hug to comfort you," Marco held up his hands in mock surrender, even taking a step back to the end of his bloodied cell. Star saw, for a moment, a look of pain on Marco's face when she didn't lower her wand, but it was quickly buried under his dark humor. "But don't worry about me leaving. In fact, I plan to stay right here, in this cell, and let the chaos unfold."

"You're not trying to escape?" Star didn't know if she wanted an answer, it usually turns out to be something much worse; fear causing her to unconsciously take a step back while still aiming the wand at her friend. "...Then what are you planning, Marco?"

Marco still held up his hands in mock surrender, and it did nothing to ease her fears as his smile unsettled her. "I simply took the opportunity to accelerate the inevitable, because an outcome on my terms increases the odds of success." He elaborated, yet it only raised more questions than answers. Marco easily saw the confusion on her frightened face and continued, "Eventually, my true nature would be discovered by your parents - most likely your mother since your kingdom is a matriarchy, and she is the one who puts in the most effort of keeping it safe - and I would be locked up and treated as the freak I am."

"This seems premature," Star said. "How could you possibly know that my mother would have discovered anything about you?"

It was once again Marco saw another example of Star's naivety. While they have left Earth behind, and never visited certain dimensions ever again, it didn't completely erase the evidence of what he did there.

"I may have locked most of my espionage skills away in the coffin, but I can still eavesdrop," He countered. "Your mother wasn't exactly keeping it a secret when trying to find out more about me, about my past, about the awful things that I've done... and considering you've only increased her suspicion of me with your horrible attempts to divert her attention away from her investigation; it only motivated her to try harder."

"How long have you been planning this?" Star demanded, the light from her family's heirloom glowing brighter as her voice rose in volume. "Did you even want to be rehabilitated?"

"I was honestly conflicted," Marco said honestly with a shrug. "I thought this whole thing was naive, a waste of time, and would end horribly… but you were so excited to help, and put in so much effort! I couldn't bring myself to destroy all of that… until I got bored and lashed out at Higgs when she said… well, I honestly can't remember what she said, but it was a good enough excuse!"

"Then why are you bringing others into this?" Star felt a lot of painful emotions at that moment, her breathing starting to quicken. Her thoughts went back to the brutally injured squires becoming sicker by the second. "Why are other people getting hurt? This is between you and us; there is no reason for you to drag others into this!"

"Or it could be because of the squires who tried to kill me, who were assisted by the chef who is spitting in my eggs! Seriously, do you become deaf while my voice becomes mute when I say that?"

"Marco, what did you do? I know you have something planned, you always do! People get hurt, and you laugh it off as if it's a joke!"

"Of course I have something planned," He acknowledged with a nod. "But I'm simply fulfilling a promise we made to each other… and getting a good laugh out of it while I'm at it."

"What promise?"

"THAT promise," Marco emphasized. "The one you made to me when we were at the lowest point in our lives, the same promise you broke by leaving me here to rot in the dungeons."

Whatever resolve Star had, it started to falter. An emotional reminder of her regrets, and her most enjoyable moments in life. "I didn't leave you..."

"Then why did you take so long to visit?" Marco accused. "You have the wand, and you have a pair of dimensional scissors, and when you finally visit, it's only because I hurt someone, and the first thing you do is to make me do the very things that make me miserable? This is why I started this plan when the squires came in to try and take my life. Honestly, I was expecting you to be the one to slit my throat in my sleep; it's been a while since you've made an effort to kill me."

Marco couldn't believe the uncomfortable look on Star's face. "Oh come on, murder - of all things - gets you squeamish now?!"

"It's…"

"It's not like you're a stranger to it! What about that time we went to the ice cream dimension and ate all the babies? We discovered flavors that were indescribably delicious!" He reminded her with joy, although his smile dimmed when he saw that she didn't express the same happiness. He brought up another example. "What about the time you secretly took me here to Mewni to go on an adventure, and instead we terrorized the local populace? You were so cunning that they didn't even know you were there! I would have done the same too if I wasn't having too much fun!" Although, he could admit that he should have worn a better disguise than a paper bag over his head.

"That was a different time: I was sick and thought I was going to die, and spent the time I had left the wrong way!" Star's face then showed remorse. "...and I stupidly dragged you into it, just like I always do."

"As if that's supposed to change what we promised? Because even after I cured you, no matter what, when one of us got into serious trouble, we dropped everything - and I mean everything - to save each other! I've been stuck in here, being thrown jeers and insults when I am let outside, being fed tainted food and had attempts on my life. And what do you do? You leave to goof off." He can still smell the aroma of sweets from her breath, and the fragrance of entertainment coming from her sweat.

"Marco, you are romanticizing what we did; we were awful to each other! It was more like our egos wouldn't allow no one but ourselves to hurt each other, trying to outdo each other, and people got hurt!

He always hated it when she deflected his accusations. "You didn't seem to care at the time, last I checked you said what we were doing was merely cathartic, and you said, I quote, 'If we're terrible people, at least we're terrible together'." Marco reminded, and knew he hit home when he saw her visibly flinch. "May I also remind you that I was the one on the receiving end the majority of the time: you're the reason why I don't sleep anymore!"

Star winced at that reminder, looking away in shame, but with a faint blush on her cheeks. A large part of her regrets what she did, and she never forgets the repulsive feeling in her gut… but she would be lying if she said that she didn't enjoy every second of it.

Marco became disappointed. "You're feeling guilty now, of all times? You used to be proud of that. You would say it was one of the many things we have in common; sadistic creativity." He let out a sad sigh as his arms slacked to his sides and said in a quiet voice, "What happened to you? What happened to my blonde psychopath?"

"She changed because she realized what she was doing was wrong," Star emphasized. "It's why she stopped doing those things to you in your sleep!" Star tried to change the conversation, to get it back on track, but even after all this time Marco somehow takes charge.

"Then why did it take you so long to stop sadistically-molesting me in my sleep? I had to ward off my room for weeks after I discovered what you did to me in my bed." Although because of her causing him paranoia, Marco was able to discover that [Gamer's Body] prevents him from needing to rest, eat, and any biological necessities; the amount of time he utilized instead of sleeping and eating was beneficial beyond description.

"I wouldn't call it molestation…"

"No, I'd call it torture porn." Marco countered, feeling the phantom pains of the reminder. "Especially since you would come into my room - naked - and then do things that would kill a lesser man." Marco always wondered why his [Physical Resistance] skill leveled up so much that it evolved in his sleep, along with [Poison Resistance] and many other protective skills as his CON stat grew.

"...Why are you bringing this up, Marco?"

"It has to do with your earlier question: why am I doing all of this? If your mother and the Magical High Commission had discovered the awful things I did, then they'll become horrified of the atrocities we did together… and some of the really fucked up things you've done yourself."

The color drained from Star's face, her eyes widening in terror. Guilt bubbling up to the surface of her mind as she starts to tremble. The faintest hints of tears start to form in her eyes. Her relationship with her mother is shaky enough as it is: if she were to find out what her daughter has done...

"Don't worry, you were very thorough in covering your tracks, and what you didn't conceal, I did." Marco's hands on her shoulders caused a mixed reaction of relief and terror. Relief, because it was always a welcoming touch that would always calm her fears. Terror, because she didn't see him approach her and wasn't aware that she lowered her wand. "They will be too focused on me, and how biased and hateful they are towards me, no one - especially your mother - will know what you've done. As far as they know, you are simply the rebellious princess who had the noble and foolish goal of trying to rehabilitate someone evil… well, they're half right on that."

"You're doing all of this to protect me?"

He nodded. "Just like we promised to do," The smile on his face was gentle and kind, he spoke in a tone akin to comforting a frightened puppy while he used his thumb to brush off a tear Star didn't know she had shed.

Star closed her eyes, took in a deep breath, and removed Marco's hands before exhaling and taking a step back. She can't fall for his charms, not anymore. "I believe you when you say you did this for me," She opened her eyes to give her friend a glare. "But why are the squires getting sick? Why drag them into this if this is between you and me?"

"Why are you hyperactive and imaginative? It's simply in your nature." His smile became the familiar cruel grin that she knew. "Doing good doesn't make me feel good, it makes me miserable and tired, and I feel owed for some of my own personal entertainment. As for the squires getting sick..." Marco reached into his inventory and pulled out a diseased ridden sphere of blackness and blotches of green. "I just rubbed a little bit of this on them."

(Pandemic Slime [Mythical])

A rare breed of gluttonous slime that only eats dead organic matter. These slimes have evolved to digest most biological contaminants without being affected by developing a god-like immunity to weaponize against other predators. This slime has been fed an excessive amount of biohazardous material, combining and mutating the various harmful ailments into extremely detrimental results.

Star was disturbed by the sight of the creature and felt anger aimed at Marco. "You said you got rid of your dangerous stuff from your inventory! That was part of the deal you agreed to when you came here!"

"No, I said I would leave behind my weapons: I never said anything about utility items." Or armor, masks, and trinkets. "When I cured your sick citizens, I didn't make the disease go away, I just transferred it to this amazing little guy!"

Star took a step back as the Pandemic Slime rippled from Marco's praise; various things so disgusting and painful bubbled within its contagious form, splitting apart and violently colliding against one another until something horribly infectious was born. The process repeated a dozen times over within mere heartbeats.

Marco chuckled. "Oh don't look so scared, it's not airborne; it can only be spread through physical contact and fluids... but considering medicine knowledge here is more magic-based than actual physiological practice, it's going to be a very long time before they figure that out."

"Then why aren't you affected?"

"My body works differently," He reminded her as he easily returned his Pandemic Slime back into his inventory. "A disease is merely a debuff; a negative status effect that my high CON pretty much negates. I can't say the same for your people though… not even you, your family, or the rest of the kingdoms here on Mewni. The squires may orchestrate this assassination attempt for avenging Higgs, but your knights and castle staff contributed to this of their own free will - not under anyone's authority but their own loyalty - it's a wonderful motivator!" He exclaimed with glee.

"No one is that loyal," Star said, and Marco wanted to scoff and remind her that a living example is standing in front of her. "I admit they serve my family with vigor, but they're not fanatics! You targeted a knight's squire: it's personal, and it is not something they're going to casually forget."

"I know they won't - it's why I chose to infect the squires instead of the kitchen staff!" It would have been so easy to smear the infectious slime on his dinner tray when the castle staff came to get it. "Knights have a personal bond with their squires, and they have stations all across Mewni! They're concerned about them - which guarantees that they will be close to them, becoming infected too, along with those who treated them - and after they're done making sure they'll be fine, they will later go back to their posts across the land."

"And spread the disease across the world..." The dawning horror that Star felt earlier returned a hundred times more.

"All the while I sit here, in the most isolated cell in Butterfly Castle!" He laughed, clapping as Star had come to the right conclusion; it always entertained him. "As I said earlier, I plan to stay in my cell. And if the Magical High Commission crystallizes me, I'll be safer by being far away from here! If I'm dead? It'll be hilarious as something much worse will kill them all! Either way, I get what I want!"

"B-But you can't-!" Star choked out, her mind overwhelmed by what she discovered. Star then imagined someone sick infected the kingdom's water supply, or fell into the ocean where the aquatic citizens of the Waterfolk Kingdom live. Would the disease spread that deep in the water? Would it infect animals and plants, like birds and corn? It was these uncommon moments that Star would curse her imagination. "You can't do this, everyone on Mewni could die!"

"I know - isn't it great?!" He shouted with fanatical joy. "Imagine the amount of XP and dice I'll get from this! Don't worry, I'll share like I always do. But I do feel obligated to take a bigger cut - how does a 70-30 split sound?" He offered with genuine kindness as if the lives of people and their suffering was nothing more than a passing thought. "And no Star, I'm getting the 70 - I don't want another misunderstanding like last time."

"I don't want any more dice!" Star shouted. "And you're not going to any either because your plan won't work if I cure them myself!"

"If you could do that, you and your family wouldn't need me!" He countered with a giggle as if this lethal plan was merely a pleasurable conversation. "They would have - should have - done the smart thing and invested in your training so they wouldn't need me to escort me from my cell from time to time to heal the sick and fix what is broken! Yet you don't seize the opportunity to learn healing magic yourself, because you still believe that I can change, despite me saying how miserable it makes me!"

"That's the reason why I'm trying to change that! People always get hurt, but you are taking it too far now!"

"That's what makes it fun! It's why I'm even telling you all of this: there is nothing more entertaining than watching someone commit a sadistic choice! I want to see what you care about. Do you choose me - the only true friend who had never lied to you, who embraced the dark and repulsive side of you that everyone would reject, saved your life on multiple occasions while helping you overcome your own shortcomings? Or your family and your kingdom - who raised you with unconditional love and security, making you feel important as they need you while defending and avenging you becomes like a second nature for them?"

"Why would I pick you, over the innocent lives that are about to die from a horrible disease?!" Star shouted. "And why would I even need to make a decision in deciding which? I hardly see the 'sadistic choice' in all of this - my mom will do something, she always finds a way to protect the kingdom! She doesn't need you!"

"Oh yes she will; that will be the best part! It comes later! The diseases from the Pandemic Slime mutates too fast, and has a long incubation period! Even if your mother manages to make progress, it will only be a temporary victory! Oh, the look on her face - I wish I could see it! - but there is another option, one that you have to make: you can convince your mother and the Magical High Commission to pardon me in exchange to rid the world of this potential epidemic, and then you will have to look directly in your mother's eyes, and lie to her about how you don't know anything I just told you."

"You're going to cure the plague you've unleashed? But you are just fixing the problems you caused in the first place!"

"It won't look that way to everyone else if you don't tell them about the plague's origins~." He said in a sing-a-long tune.

"I'm not going to lie to my mother while people are dying!"

"If you don't tell her, your people will be cured, and I earn some favor to be redeemed in the eyes of society. I get my freedom, your rehabilitation attempts can continue, yet except this time you'll learn from this and make some much-needed adjustments so this can never repeat. It'll probably work so well, I actually might change!"

Marco's eyes had a darker nature to them, one she had seen many times before. "But if you do tell her, then it will be a good reason for her and the Magical High Commission to crystalize me! Guaranteeing that the plague will never be cured, and will kill everyone! There is even the possibility of executing me - because I would rather die than be forced to cure the plague - and unleashing something cataclysmic: everyone on Mewni dies slowly and screaming for the pain to end! It'll be hilarious!"

"...that's not going to happen," Star whispered as she pointed her wand at her friend once more, glowing with ferocity equivalent to an erupting volcano. Aiming her wand at his head, taking a step back. "None of that is going to happen - I'm not going to play your games, and I will make sure everyone survives, and you will stay in your cell! I will make sure there is no way for you to get out!"

"Well~ that's the problem," He took a step towards her as she once again walked away in equal measure. Something Marco kept track of. "You have been taking a lot of steps back, enough to be near the heavy metal door of my cell." Marco then spread his arms wide, straightening the bloodied chain connecting the cuffs on his wrists. "And I have a weapon."

He wrapped the chain around Star's wrist before violently jerking it. Her wrist was snapped clean, and she screamed; her wand clattering onto the bloodstained floor. Her knees gave away, the only thing holding her up was Marco's metal vice on her broken wrist.

With her upper body at an acceptable level, and with one of her arms raised and restricted, it made it easy for his foot to swiftly connected to her face just as he simultaneously unwrapped the chain, kicking her in an angle, that as a result, her head collided with his cell's door before falling onto her back.

The echoing of the collision was like a church bell with a dull ring, with a morbid origin of its sound. All of it happening within mere seconds; efficiently done by a man recalling upon past experience of brutality so abundant that it was practically muscle memory.

The blood from Star's broken nose added to the crimson mess in the room.

Marco grabbed Star's family heirloom and placed it into his inventory. He walked past the dazed princess, whimpering and bleeding on the ground, before stopping as he barely had his foot out the door.

He walked back, an impulsive idea in his mind as he stood over her as she laid on her back in pure agony. She managed to focus her blurry, watery vision in time to see Marco raise his foot...

"Agh-!"

...and then drove his foot straight down into her stomach.

All the air Star rasped was easily exhaled, feeling a warm and painful sensation in her stomach that made her head injury worse; something ruptured and caused internal bleeding.

"Don't worry," Marco bent down, gently stroked her head, and whispered in her ear as she struggled to breathe. "I don't plan on leaving; I'm just going outside on my terms, and I will not be doing my usual involuntary acts of healing and repairing homes… I'm going to take a bite out of someone before I come back. Children flesh is so soft."

The Princess, who's struggled to breathe turned into pained whimpers - a sound Marco grew to love - as she shook her head, silently begging him to stop.

Marco gave her a warm smile. "Oh Star..."

A panicked voice called out to her.

"Star!" The urgent person shook her. "Star, wake up! Now!"

Star's eyes shot open as she heard a loud boom, and the ground under her shook. "M-Mom?"

"We need to go, now!" Moon helped her daughter to her feet, the walls and ceiling of the building cracking, letting the rain and swamp water in - the fractures expanding as if they were being evaporated as hellish blue light poured in. "The sanctuary is-!"

The ancient structure crumbled with a deafening explosion of blue light so fierce that they had to shield their eyes from its illumination. When the light's hue wasn't so blinding, Star saw that her mother had her in an embrace to shield her from the unknown. Swamp water flooded up to their knees from below, and the rain poured onto their heads from above. The inactive Magical High Commission still in their pods, and the coffin, were buoyant.

"Are you alright?" Moon inspected her daughter with worry.

"I-I'm fine," Star said. "But what was that light?"

Their eyes went wide when they saw the ancient masonry in unequal chunks being carried away by some invisible force, slowly becoming smaller and smaller as if the light that stole them was acidic. The remnants were being traveled away, like a stream of sand in a blue sky in the night, guided by large concentric rings of dark metal into the top of a grand spherical device in the sky.

Hovering in front of the device was a skeletal beast in a yellow cloak covered in odd trinkets, wearing a grinning mask of crooked teeth with its head engulfed in a dark flame. Star saw this creature when she used the All-Seeing Eye spell, and it failed to invoke what she is feeling when she is seeing the monster in person.

Towering.

Imposing.

Nightmare-made material.

It flew towards them at a steady pace. "About time that wall came down!" The unsettling voice it had was soothing and deep, yet silently promised pain for the slightest provocation. "And you…!" It turned its attention towards them, specifically the princess as she had the urge to move while being paralyzed with fear. "Did you honestly think I wouldn't be able to find you, Star? Do I have to break your wrists, kick your head, and stomp on your stomach again to stop you from taking what's mine?!"

Star immediately knew who this creature was and whispered so quietly that no one but her could hear, "Marco…?"

"Star," Moon grabbed her hand as the levitating monster approached them, motherly instinct overriding terror as she is determined to protect her child. "You need to run. When it approaches, you run for the shore - I'll keep it distracted."

"Or," The monster called, clearly able to hear them despite the downpour, coming closer to the water. "I could just ignore you, and go after her instead."

"You are not going to hurt my daughter!" The Queen stood in front of the Princess. "I will die before that happens!"

"I was going to do that anyway, although the order of the events will differ depending on what happens, Moon." The threat was said in a bored tone that it sent a chill up her spine that was unmatched by the rain. The fact that the monster called her by her name didn't help either.

"Mom, stop," Star urgently grabbed her mother's arm before she would continue; Moon didn't keep her scorn for Marco a secret, and he would only be angered even more. "Too many people have been hurt, just let me talk to him. I can reason with him, just like I did before."

"Reason?" Moon looked at her confusingly. How would her daughter know a frightening entity, and have the confidence to converse with a beast? Star marched past her before she could question her further, wand in hand, the water sloshing around as she advanced. "Wait, Star-!"

"Let's just talk!" She called out to her friend and tried to hide her discomfort with his form; living in the same house with him for months trained her well. "Please."

"We are far beyond diplomacy after that stunt you pulled!" The fire engulfing his skull flared a color so dark, yet it was so bright. The rain evaporates before reaching the flame, and Star could feel the heat radiating hatefully. "I'm not going to fall for your fake promises anymore Star! I'm done!"

"Just let me explain..." Star pleaded, but her words died out as she realized how she practically feels the hatred emitting from his body, and how he is fighting the urge to murder her on the spot; only his sadistic desire to kill her slowly is why she is able to talk. It all felt so suffocating. "M-Marco, please!"

"Marco?" Moon repeated in disbelief, she marched in front of her daughter despite her protests and then demanded, "How did you escape? The knights should have stopped you!"

"They tried to stop me, and in turn, I chopped off their heads." He replied bluntly, no dramatic flair, no sadistic laughter of what he did, just pure professional malice; retelling slaughter was now an obstacle - despite being minor and insignificant - to stall him from murdering his friend. That is what scared Star the most. "But the first two guarding my cell?" He pointed his skeletal hands at them, dark fire coiling and flaring. "I did this!"

Marco's [Incinerate] skill unleashed a wave of cruel flames at Star and Moon.

A/N: I've been playing video games - one of them is Iratus, Lord of the Dead. It's like Darkest Dungeon, which I am a huge fan of, but you play the role of the monsters; dealing physical AND stress damage against heroes who want to slay your dark master, causing them to either go insane or become inspired. It gave me ideas. Also, I went back to rewatch season one of SVTFOE. Man, it was nostalgic, and I later found out browsing on the internet some lore that would have made the show darker if it ever went on air.

Another thing as I was planning the rest of the story, I realized something huge! A major plot hole bigger than the Grand Canyon, and I had to rework a lot of things.

And I had a bit of difficulty making this chapter. I wanted to portray just how toxic Star and Marco's relationship was before, and when I wrote the first draft, I wasn't satisfied. Also, the scene wasn't complete, it's in fact much longer, but I had to cut it short because it just got out of hand, too long, and my god was it hard to keep track of the dialogue!

So I cut it, scrapped the rest, and will sprinkle hints of how that confrontation came to an end. Don't expect much, because we know how it ends: Star convinces Marco to let her use magic on him.

The next chapter is the final of the prologue.

Let me know what I can improve on in the reviews.