Knight of the Woods

Have you ever been forced to visit somewhere that's completely new to you? An area you were only aware of in passing and never gave much thought to in the first place? Once you arrived you probably felt a little awkward and out of place, even if you tried to make the best of the situation. The feeling of being an outsider that's just visiting is hard to combat without a solid footing of your own where you stand. Without any knowledge, history or people to connect you to where you are it can be easy to feel lost and scrambling to understand what's around you.

For Star Butterfly that was a repetitive battle she had to face on top of the regular battles she normally participated in. As if it wasn't difficult enough having monsters attack you on a weekly basis to try and steal your magical inheritance for their own selfish gains, Star also had to deal with the stress of homework and the social structure of school on Earth. Beating up monsters that wanted her dead was a sort of small comfort, at the very least they were something she was familiar with from her own world of Mewni. School, fast food and class mates were completely alien to her.

It wasn't all bad though, Earth was actually pretty fun when you learned to roll with the way people did things there. Best of all Star managed to make a friend that also housed her and acted as her guide while she was on the alien world learning to control her magical powers. Had it not been for Marco Diaz she in all likelihood would have ditched Earth long ago to find some place easier to fit in. The teenager in the red hoodie gave her advice, supported her when she needed help and even fought alongside her against her arch-nemesis Ludo and his monster hordes. He was even understanding of her occasional screw ups as she learned to master the wand that granted her magic and spells. Because Marco was such a dear friend to Star she wanted to give a little back. That lead to using her dimensional scissors to travel across worlds and come back home to Mewni.

Not her home home though. She would have liked to visit with her parents but revealing she had those world-hopping scissors to her mother would have caused all sorts of problems. Also knowing Ludo was attacking her on Earth could cause them to pull her from Marco's home and have her hide out on another world instead to practice her magic. Star wasn't about to allow her and her bestie to be separated if she could help it. So it was that the two teenagers appeared on a grassy hill in Mewni after stepping through a rift in time and space. Traveling towards a dense patch of woods not far off from their arrival point. The princess skipped happily towards her destination while Marco followed behind and took in the landscape. "This place kind of reminds me of that Kings of the Rings movie we watched."

"Yeah right, as if Mewni could be that dull." Star replied, having been thoroughly disappointed with what Earthlings considered to be a grand adventure movie. "Those monsters took forever to get anything done. The wizards were even more disappointing. How do you have a wizard that can't even blast someone with a technicolor turkey beam?" Marco rolled his eyes. Star's magic was a little odd compared to what he'd read in fiction before but by this point he'd gotten used to it. Her spells reflected her personality well. "If you can't even use a spell or tool to teleport then why didn't they just ride those condors all the way to the mountain?"

"That gets brought up a lot, actually." Marco said in agreement and peered into the woods as the two began to break through the trees. "So this is the place you wanted to take me?"

"Yep, this is it! What do you think!?" Star asked as she threw her arms up in excitement to display everything before them.

"Well... how do I put this?" Marco wondered as he took in everything around him within the forest. "Do you guys have dumps on Mewni?"

"Uh huh, that's what this is." Star answered and didn't seem the least bit deterred by his question. The woods was in fact quite the dump. There was trash thrown about everywhere that Marco could see. Broken swords and armor, farming tools and furniture were strewn about haphazardly. Amongst the more medieval looking trash there were also more modern items like receipts, styling products and plastic trash bags full of who knew what. Trash was so dense around them that the trees were growing out of layers of garbage to form a canopy of leaves above.

"So wait... on Mewni you guys just dump your trash into the woods? Isn't that irresponsible and harmful to the environment?"

"We didn't dump our trash in the woods, the woods grew out of the dump." Star said and skipped over to a broken toilet someone had abandoned by a tree. Kicking it over violently she revealed a single flower growing underneath. "No one really knows how the plant life got so strong to grow through all this garbage. But somehow it seems to thrive with it." Holding her magic wand into the air, Star shot a blast of force through the canopy and caused a beam of sunlight to shine down on the flower. "There you go little guy, that better?" Star asked admiring the little flower. While the plant life was impressive Marco had to admit this wasn't really astonishing him any.

"Okay so... we came to Mewni for you to show me your garbage? Greeeeat." Marco said sarcastically. "Do you have a toxic waste dump that doubles as a swamp too?"

"Uh huh, but it's totally radioactive so we shouldn't go there." He should have known. "But that place isn't special to me like this one is."

"The dump is special to you?"

"Yep. When I was a little girl I got lost in here while playing. I don't remember why I was running around in these woods but I pretty much would go anywhere I could if you gave me the chance. I was kind of a wild kid." Marco grinned to himself. Some things just stay the same he figured. "I didn't know how I was going to get home. But then while I was wandering in the deep part of the woods, a knight appeared!" Star exclaimed, turning to Marco in excitement. "He saved me and escorted me out of the woods, fighting monsters and dodging dangerous terrain the whole way!"

"Whoa, that is amazing. Was he some right hand man to your father? I bet he got a great reward afterwards."

"That's just it, no one knew who he was or saw him again after he saved me." Star shared as her voice lowered to a more hushed whisper. "After getting me to my mom and dad he just went back into the woods and was gone forever after that."

"Mysterious." Marco said, genuinely curious about this unknown knight.

"I know, right. I can still remember him to this day." Star held her wand close as she day dreamed a little, a goofy smile crossing her face. "He was fully armored, with a red cape and a battle axe in hand. Only one eye peered out of the opening in his helmet and he talked in a deep, masculine voice." As she got lost in thought Star rose the wand to her mouth and nibbled on the end of it. A little habit she fell into sometimes when her mind was any place but in the present. Marco watched on with great amusement.

"Gotta say I never pictured you as the kind of princess that would fall for a knight in shining armor." Star giggled to herself and removed the wand from its gnawing position.

"Give me a break, I was a little girl and he was the hero that saved me. What chance did I have?" She might have been from another world but it seemed teenage girls were pretty similar when it came to hot guys that performed acts of heroism. "That's why I want to try and meet him again!"

"Wait, you're here looking to get together with your long time crush?" Marco asked now feeling a little apprehensive about this quest. Star noted the tone in his voice and was quick to reassure him.

"No way, silly. He was older than me when I was just a kid. I don't want to ask him out on a date, I just want to thank him. No one ever heard of him before and my parents forbid me from coming back here because they were worried about what could happen to me." That did make some sense, a dump wasn't a place for a little princess to be running around. Even if it doubled as a magical forest. "But now that I'm older, wiser, prettier and armed with a magical wand there's nothing for me or my parents to worry about. We'll just head on in and look around for him."

"Sounds simple enough, but where do we even go in this place? This forest looks huge." Marco said, remembering the length of the tree line as they approached up the hill. From where they'd arrived in Mewni he couldn't accurately see where the forest ended, and that was just on the side they came from.

"We just follow the path of thrown away mailers." Star said gleefully and pulled Marco closer to her to show the path she was talking about. Looking upward Marco could see a clear line of discarded, trampled papers leading into the woods. "This was the path that I followed out to get back home when he saved me. If we follow it in reverse, it'll lead us back to him for sure." The princess seemed confident in her plan but Marco didn't share the same energy with her.

"I dunno, this seems pretty unreliable."

"Relax, everything's going to be fine. We might even find some cool stuff along the way. I could totally find you a sword that's lost it's enchantment and re-enchant it. I can chant aaaaalll day." Marco wasn't any more confident about the plan but this did seem really important to Star so he put his apprehensions aside to accompany her. Plus it would be fun to see what Mewni was like, even if it was just from the perspective of its garbage.

"Okay then, I got your back."

"Good, operation find the Knight of the Woods is under way. Let's just take a quick look around to see if we can find any clues to him being here first."

"Um... alright, sure." Marco didn't know what to look for but if something stuck out to him he figured he could let her know. The duo wandered apart a little to look over the trash and as Marco searched he found it was all what one could expect from a dump; garbage. There were a few odd knickknacks here and there but overall it seemed everything was either broken or just covered in something filthy. Some of it was even overgrown with moss and mushrooms that he didn't have the courage to touch right now. As Marco wandered he found himself looking at what seemed like discarded furniture. There was a broken table with a neat tablecloth on it that was a bit stained, a broken crystal ball that might have belonged to a fortune teller, a filthy chair that was overgrown with mushrooms and a picture frame propped up against a tree. "Wait... what's that?" Marco wandered closer to the frame and saw it wasn't empty. It looked like the frame was housing a mirror, but nothing was reflecting off of it. "Well that's odd." Marco checked the back of the frame to be sure it wasn't just a trick on his eyes and saw that it indeed was housing something flat. "How weird."

"Marco, look what I found!" Star shouted happily as she ran over to him holding what looked like a tiny oven. "Check it out, I used to have one of these as a little girl. It lets you bake your own tiny, magic cookies. I could make hair color changing sugar cookies if I can find the right mix!"

"Oh, that's neat." Marco agreed but not really as interested in it as Star was apparently. That mirror had his attention wrapped up.

"Yeah, if I can find a working bulb that's small enough in something else around here I might be able to use it." Star began searching around again and as soon as her attention was away from him Marco's eyes went back to the mirror that didn't reflect anything. It was so weird, the thing it was showing wasn't even a reflection of what was behind himself or behind the mirror. It was like he was looking through a window to some place else entirely. Like another part of the woods.

"I wonder if..." Marco put his hand out and touched the glass, but his hand went further and sunk inside like he was reaching into a pool of water. "Whoa... cool." As fascinating as it was Marco was all too aware of the dangerous nature of magic. He figured he should pull his hand out before something took it off.

"Oh hey, found something!" Star said as she bent over to inspect another small, discarded toy. Unfortunately she didn't judge her distance well and as she bent forward collided her backside against Marco's, sending the boy tumbling forward. He didn't have a moment to shout as Marco fell into the mirror and disappeared through the strange glass. Without even noticing what she caused the princess held up the toy she'd reached for and opened it up to find it empty of components. "Aww, should have known I wouldn't get that lucky. Oh well, should we start walking, Marco?" Looking over her shoulder she found her friend was missing.

"Marco? Maaaaaarco? Now where did he run off to?" Star grumbled as she looked around for her Earth friend. She knew he could take care of himself but didn't want him getting separated from her as the woods could be dangerous. The princess took just a few steps before hearing a "thump" behind her and seeing Marco standing exactly where she'd looked a second ago. "Oh, there you are. How'd you get around me so faaaaaast what the heck!?"

"Uh... hey Star, miss me?" Marco asked with a shy smile as he waved, but the Mewni princess was more concerned with his appearance than how he'd managed to hide from her for a few moments.

"Marco what happened to you!? You look like you've been in a dozen fights in a row!" Somehow in the time between her turning her back and seeing Marco again the boy had become a complete wreck. His hoodie was gone, leaving him in just a t-shirt with the words Digi-Creature written across it that was stained with dirt and grime. His pants were covered in various colored stains and even one of his shoes was missing. It was as if he'd been mugged and rolled down a hill afterwards.

"More like a half-dozen actually..."

"What was that?"

"Nothing. I kinda fell over and got a little dirty. I'm okay though." Despite his reassurance Star didn't agree, especially with him missing articles of clothing he'd had on just a moment ago.

"Marco maybe we should go back home. You don't look so good." Marco could only smile warmly through looking like he'd been run over by a paint truck.

"I appreciate it Star, I really do. But I'm feeling great and we're already here. Besides I want you to show me this place. It meant a lot to you, right?" She was still cautious about continuing with her friend being so beat up, but he was insistent that they finish what they started. So the duo continued into the woods, Marco putting on an old boot he found in one of the piles of garbage nearby. He looked more like a lost hobo at this point over her cleanly friend but Marco seemed more determined to see the woods now than ever.

**********

As they went through the woods Star was looking Marco over more and more. The occasional glances weren't lost on the boy and after enough time of being scrutinized he had to say something about it. "Uh, something wrong? Like, more than what you've already pointed out already?"

"Are you some kind of doppelganger?" Star asked flatly?

"What!? No, why would you ask something like that?"

"Because you're covered in filth, you're wearing a boot you found in the garbage, and you're missing your hoodie. The Marco Diaz I know takes twenty minutes in the morning to make sure his hair looks exactly the same as it did the day before." They were all solid points but he had a counter.

"The Marco Diaz you know would also stick by his bestie all the way through to the end of her quest." Star couldn't help but smile through her worry. Okay so maybe it really was him and not some kind of changeling that had replaced him when she wasn't looking. If it was a changeling at least it was as sweet as her Marco. "Looks like the trail ends here." Marco said as they stopped on the edge of a swamp. "I guess we could hop over on those rocks there."

"Yeah, we could we could. Or..." Star held up her wand as it glowed with magical energy. "Inky Black Brick Bridge!" With a flash of light a bridge made of sludge rose out of the swamp and solidified before them into solid stone, forming a safe way across the murky swamp. "There we go, one safe bridge from one side to the other. Figured it was more your style. Besides someone should have put one here years ago."

"I do appreciate it more than rock hopping. This swamp doesn't exactly look safe." Star noticed an oddity to Marco's voice, a kind of cockiness that he usually kept in reserve unless he was trying to impress that girl he liked back on Earth. At the very least he rarely used it when dealing with magical things he'd never encountered before.

"You got that right, there's these little black worms with sharp teeth in the water called nibbling night crawlers. Plus the swamp usually has at least one old crunching turtle that claims it as its territory. Actually there it is now!" Star said pointing excitedly over the railing of the bridge. They looked on as the animal lifted its head out of the water from where it was chewing on some dark plant. It didn't exactly look menacing but that had to do with the accessory it was wearing. "Hey uh... does that look like a shoe on its head?"

"Kinda, do they normally wear shoes on their heads?" Marco asked with a grin of amusement at the creature.

"Not last I checked." Something else was weird about the turtle though, beyond that it was wearing footwear and not in the correct location. "Y'know, there's something kinda familiar about that shoe now that I look at it."

"Well it is a turtle with a shoe on its head." Marco replied.

"Yeah but doesn't that kind of look like your missing shoe?" She couldn't make out the color or the details due to water damage, size was hard to determine with a hole ripped through the front of the shoe the turtle was currently using to see through, but the shape looked vaguely familiar. "It even looks like the foot you're missing too."

"That'd be weird, but a lot of shoes look alike." Marco didn't seem too bothered by the fact a turtle might have stolen his footwear and continued along the bridge, Star following behind with a bothered expression. That little sighting was too weird for her, and weird and wild things was what she did. Regardless the teenagers traveled over the bridge and into the woods where the piles of trash began to rise to the more closely match the size of the tree trunks. The path was becoming more narrow as it went deeper and the duo were keeping an eye out for anything that might be sneaking upon them. "This sure is a lot of junk."

"Yeah, we'd been using this place as a dump way before everything else grew in around it. There's likely to be something horrible waiting for us in the depths of the wastes!" Star added some extra flair to the end of her sentence as she loomed over Marco. "But we can handle it!"

"I have total confidence in you." Marco said without even a hint of sarcasm.

"You do?"

"Well yeah, this is your home right? Who else would know this place better than you?" Something caught Marco's eye off to the side and he walked off the paper trail to a pile of garbage not far away. "Hey Star, I think I found another one of those tiny oven things you were looking for. Maybe it has that bulb you wanted?" Turning around to see her response Marco found Star looking straight up instead of at him. Arching his neck as well he found the reason why; there were several large, fiery red wolves standing on the trash heap above him. They looked large and strong, their fur spiking upward like flames and the light of fire behind their teeth as they growled.

"Marco... don't... move." Star said quietly as she tried to come up with a plan to subdue the monsters before her. Soon however though the pack leader inhaled a large gust of air and grew slightly larger. "Forget it, move Marco! Move!" Marco made a diving leap as flames engulfed the bottom of the landfill the wolves stood upon. While his dodge had saved him in the moment they weren't out of trouble yet as the wolves dismounted from their perch and began to surround the teenagers. Rising to his feet Marco took a fighting stance and Star got her wand at the ready, trying to decide the best kind of spell to handle them. "Icy blast? Snowstorm Smasher? No no... um... um!" While she was figuring a way to best wreck havoc on the wolves they all began to inhaled for another fire breathing round.

"Star, clamp their mouths shut!"

"Malevolent Muzzles!" Star shouted and raised her wand, all of the wolves finding mean looking clamps with sharp teeth wrapping around the end of their snouts tightly. Their mouths held shut the creatures seemed to continue to grow with expanding flame until the inevitable release occurred. In the form of black clouds that shot out of their back sides. "Ewwwww." Star held her nose as a horrible smell filled the air. The spell having fulfilled its purpose, the clamps disappeared from around the wolves snouts as they laid unconscious on the ground. "Nice call, Marco."

"No worries, you did the save after all. Oh, and check it out." Marco opened the tiny oven he'd managed to save and removed the small bulb from inside, handing it to the princess. "One tiny magic light bulb for your oven back at the entrance." Putting the bulb in her hand Marco confidently strode deeper into the forest. While she was happy to have it because she actually did want to play with that little oven again when she got home, this was just another layer on the weird for her.

"So... you just spotted the exact thing I was looking for in a pile of garbage?"

"Yeah, you wanted it right?"

"Well, yeah but you weren't even paying attention when I was showing it to you before." She might have been a bit hyper-active but Star wasn't completely oblivious.

"Star, nothing gets past these babies here." Marco said as he pointed to his own eyes. Smiling with confidence Marco walked forward and promptly tripped on a discarded umbrella in the middle of the trail. Picking himself up quickly he smiled at Star with an embarrassed expression. "Guess someone left that there." Stepping over it Marco began to move quickly to get away from the humiliating moment. The princess was snickering over the little show he put on and decided to kick the umbrella off the trail herself to make sure he didn't have another incident. As she did though she noticed something nearby in the dirt that was out of place.

Leaning down Star looked it over to see what was probably once a drawing someone had carved into the soil. It was mostly worn away now from time but she could see the hints of the lines that had been cut in. Tracing it with her finger to dig the lines in deeper it started to come to a familiar shape. "This... kind of looks like an opossum" Opossums weren't anything that lived on Mewni, it was both too normal and too weird to belong in her world (seriously, marsupials are just strange). She wouldn't even know what one was if it wasn't the mascot of her school back on Earth. So why would it be here?

"Star, you coming?" Marco called back and Star took to her feet to follow along. She'd expected to find some interesting things in these woods but the mystery was going deeper than she anticipated.

**********

Traveling deeper along the paper trail the woods began to converge together tighter. The tree branches above them making for a dark, thick canopy that let in just enough light to see before them but not much else. They had slowed their pace since entering this point, Star already aware of what dangers would be inside a dark wood like this. She hadn't yet mentioned the drawing of the opossum to Marco, figuring she could bring it up on the way back home after they were through the dangerous parts. Coming upon one of the denser parts of the canopy that was lower than the others she stopped them both and pointed upward.

Hanging from the trees, upside down and asleep were several dozen monsters. They were pitch black in color save for their faces that had a long streak of yellow where a sharp beak attached to their heads. It was obvious getting into a skirmish with them could end in being skewered several times over pretty quickly so moving without a sound was necessary. Motioning with her hand to move forward Marco followed behind her as quietly as possible. They were half way in without making a single sound when Marco grabbed Star by the shoulders and held her firmly in place. The princess didn't know what to make of this action until Marco moved before her and knelt down to the ground. Moving some dirt aside he pinched something with his fingers and pulled upward, revealing a sheet of half destroyed bubble wrap on the ground. Before you ask, yes, Mewni has bubble wrap too. Something that addictive to play with wasn't limited to a single world.

She had no idea how he had spotted the plastic sheet from behind her but it didn't matter, he'd just saved them a lot of trouble. "Nice one, Marco!" Star said gratefully before she realized what she had done, the smile dropping from her face like a rock. Marco's face fell into his hands as he shook his head, several red eyes snapping open all at once above them.

"Oh Star..." Was all Marco got out before a horrible cawing noise rang out and the monsters began to dive at the two teenagers. Star reacted fast with the first thing she could think to do.

"Bubble Wrap Shield!" Star cried out as a giant magical sheet of bubble wrapped appeared around the two and pulled tight, pressing them together. As the monsters struck downward there were small popping noises, most of the crow faced bats falling to the ground and bouncing off from the impact on the bouncy material. They watched through the clear plastic as each attack ended with a hilarious "pop" and tumble of the monsters.

"So uh... we have a plan to get out of this?" Marco asked, not being able to move much with the tight wrapping around both of them. Star grinned happily as she held her wand up a little higher to show him her idea.

"Pop." The magical plastic wrapping suddenly exploded around them, knocking back all the creatures and causing most to flee from the loud noises that resulted from her attack. Marco stumbled out, now free of their protection and rubbing his ears as he tried to get his hearing back from the resounding explosion. Once he felt like his senses had returned Marco took a deep breath and looked to Star, who was happily stomping on that sheet of bubble wrap he'd found earlier to finish it off. Spotting that he'd caught her in the childish act she slid the sheet of plastic along the ground to him shyly and Marco smiled and broke the last few bubbles that remained.

A little frazzled but not worse for wear the two teenagers left the dark part of the forest and began to venture into an area that was deep in the woods but with better sunlight to find their way. Star was actually hopping with each step as they approached and Marco watched her excitement build the whole way through. "Star, are you okay?"

"We're getting close!" The princess said with barely contained joy.

"How do you know?"

"I can feel it! It's like it's all coming back to me. I remember this is where he saved me from... something! I dunno what but it was all heroic and dramatic and we're going to see him soon and I'm so excited!" Star was dancing with joy but her friend didn't seem to share the same excitement. "Don't be a Frowny Franky, Marco. He won't care that you're a mess. He lives out here after all."

"It's not that, just... maybe you shouldn't get your hopes up too high. What if what we find isn't exactly how you remember?" He was looking out for her of course but she'd already prepared for this.

"It'll be fine. Even if he's all old and wrinkly and stuff it won't matter. I just wanted to thank him for all he did for me back then." Marco didn't look too convinced over Star's reasoning and seemed sad about it. "What's got you down in the dumps?"

"I just don't want you to be disappointed is all. This means so much to you." Star couldn't hold back the caring smile towards her best friend. Marco had a way of getting her to make that smile more than anyone.

"Even if we don't find anything at all at least we had an adventure together, right? You even got to see more of Mewni."

"Yeah, your dump." Marco said with a laugh.

"You took me to that Goodwill place."

"That's different, that place is like a dump... that you pay for things instead of just taking them. Okay so maybe it's kinda similar but there's charity and tax write-offs in there some where at least." While they debated the differences between their worlds there was a sound in the brush nearby. Having been ready for this after all their past encounters Star and Marco braced themselves for another monster attack and kept an eye out. "Great, now what?"

"It's sneaking around..." Star said and narrowed her eyes. "Don't like no sneaky sneaks sneaking 'round me. Stop sneakin'!" Star shouted and blasted a nearby collection of bushes, smashing them and anything behind them into oblivion. Walking off the trail Marco and Star found a minotaur like creature laid out flat on its back before it had even had time to attack them. Though there were a few difference from what you'd expect to see of a fictional Earth minotaur.

"What is this thing anyway?"

"It's a Minoelk." Star answered. All the parts that would have normally been like a bull were all elk-ish instead. Similar to that giraffe monster Ludo was always bringing along for his attacks on Star back home. "Aww, looks like he got some hanger wire stuck in his antlers." The monster's antlers were crisscrossed with some kind of metal wiring that had also picked up a lot of trash over time, including broking pieces of what appeared to be tree branches. "Maybe he's just upset because of all that junk, let's help!" Lifting her wand Star zapped the monster's head, removing all the trash that had been accumulated over he knew how long. The flash of light waking the beast, it took to its hooves and stood, feeling above its head for any of the previous trash that had been there. "There you are Mr. Monster, good as new!"

Indeed he was, his horns completely clean of debris now. Finding this to be the case the monster grinned evilly and lowered itself into a charging stance. Both Star and Marco took a step back seeing it still intended to attack them despite her help. "Um... please don't eat us?" Star asked but the monster didn't comply as it charged their direction. Seeing kindness wasn't going to work her she rose her wand to prepare another spell but Marco surprised her by leaping forward and taking one of his many different martial arts stances. Catching the antlers in his hands Marco used the momentum of the beast to flip it over both his and Star's head and send it flying into a nearby tree. Falling through the branches the monster descended towards the ground until he reached the base of the tree and his antlers hooked into a limb. "Wow Marco, that was pretty impressive. How did you know that would work?"

"Just hand a hunch." Marco brushed some dirt off his already filthy t-shirt in a cocky manner. Even if he was doing pretty impressive today she might have to hold back her praise before it started going to his head. Walking towards the monster where it hung helplessly Marco raised a leg to kick it unconscious and the beast instinctively protected its stomach with its large, meaty hands. So Star stepped up and took initiative herself, banging it on the head with her wand and knocking the monster out. Had to make sure it didn't follow them after all.

"So... not much father?" Marco asked.

Yep, we're almost there we're almost there!" Star giggled happily and skipped away from their last battle. She couldn't wait, soon she'd meet her childhood hero. It might have been true that he wouldn't be like she remembered as Marco said, but that didn't matter. She had to let him know that however things were now he'd helped her in the past and she'd treasured it ever since.

**********

Not far from their last battle the paper trail came to an end in a clearing in the woods. Aside from the normal piles of trash and collection of brush there wasn't much that was special about the location. Searching around Star tried to find any sign of her old hero having been here recently but it was looking bleak. Star's enthusiasm was high regardless as she moved bags and cans of long forgotten trash aside, searching for any clue she could find. Marco however didn't seem to have the same energy at all in the search, just watching her unearth everything before her. "Star, maybe he moved out of the woods?"

"He's the knight of the woods, that's like his whole title? If he didn't stay in the woods he'd just be a plain, boring old knight."

"But I thought you gave him that title after you got out of the woods?" She thought that over for a second, remembering that no one had heard of this man before Star had met him and later told her parents about him.

"Then it's royal decree, all the more reason for him to be here."

"Fine, if you're sure then." Marco still didn't put in as much effort as Star but it was becoming clear her energy was dropping as time went on. Each corner she searched for the missing clue she needed to find the secret of her old hero was turning up nothing. Once the clearing was removed of nearly all it's trash it left just one blonde girl with her arms crossed and trying to hold back her disappointment. Marco had previously been giving her space but seeing her give up finally approached and put a hand on her shoulder. She sighed and looked at the dirt.

"Guess you can say you told me so."

"I never wanted to." Marco replied. "I'm sorry Star."

"It's okay." Star lied. "It probably wouldn't have been as amazing as I remembered it anyway." Marco gave her a small hug and Star returned it, welcoming the comfort.

"Wanna go home and make cookies with your garbage toy oven?"

"Yeah, I would. You want to get home to take a shower?"

"More than anything right now." Star smiled through the disappointment and got ready to depart with her friend. As they walked back towards the path Star kicked another bag of trash aside that was near the entrance of the clearing, unearthing another pile beneath the bag. Though after she saw what was hidden there she grabbed her friend by the arm to hold him still.

"Marco, look!" Star pointed down at a collection of garbage that was assembled in a very unusual manner. Getting down on her hands and knees Star crawled over to the pile of scrap to look it over more closely. A crushed metal trash can with openings in the bottom and sides leaned upside down against a tree trunk, metal paint buckets beneath it spread out like legs and two oven mitts on either side of the trash can's side. On top of the can was a bucket with cloth hanging out of it on one side, laid back against the can like a cape. The bucket itself had a crack in it just big enough for someone to see through. All together the pieces assembled made the loose form of a person, or possibly an armor a person could wear made out of garbage.

"What? It's just a bunch of junk right?" Marco asked not seeming to see what Star did.

"Something about this... I feel like I remember it." Star said to herself as she put her hand on the trash can, feeling the metal. It looked like it had been there for a very long time, abandoned by whoever had put it in this shape. Marco picked up a near by rake who's handle had been cut in half, the rake fingers however all still together despite the years being discarded. Afterwards he started looking around the ground more, possibly searching for whatever had made that clean cut in the garden tool. The princess was too engrossed in her memories to be concerned though. "I think I met this person."

"Star... listen..." Marco started, seemingly worried over her getting attached to a pile of junk when a sound of something coming through the trees was heard. Star and Marco both took attention as it grew louder and a figure could be seen approaching through the trees. It was large and imposing and when the sun hit it through the forest canopy the figure seemed metallic. They had their weapons at the ready when the individual finally stepped into the clearing, fully armored aside from his head. It was a knight.

"I knew it!" Star said suddenly, walking in front of Marco. "I knew it! I knew it I knew it I knew it!" She was jumping up and down now in excitement seeing the person she'd been seeking all this time. The knight did indeed live up to his title as his armor looked worn from years of being in the woods while still retaining its composure. The man wearing it looked old, as if the years had not been kind to him. His face was dirty, his balding head and facial hair grey with age. But the sight of the young princess before him brought an energetic smile. "I've been looking for you for so long, you have no idea."

"Princess Butterfly?" The knight asked eagerly. "It's been so many years..."

"I know, right? But I never forgot about you or what you did. I just wanted to say that-"

"Die!"

"What?" Star asked in complete surprise as the knight drew an old sword and lunged at the young girl, Star not even raising her wand in defense she was so taken aback by the turn of events. Marco however was faster as he moved before Star and managed to catch the sword blade between the fingers of the rake. Twisting the handle he locked the sword in place so it couldn't be moved any further without his permission. With a trick of the wrist Marco pulled with all his body weight and disarmed the knight before he had time to respond, sending the sword flying out of his hand. Moving in for the attack Marco slapped the knight across the face several times with the rake fingers until the balding man fell over and hit the ground beneath him. When he came to his sense again Marco was over him with the sword in hand, pointed down at his opponent and keeping him pinned. Seeing he lost the man began cursing.

"No, not again! Not again! How can this happen to me twice!? I was so close! Beaten by a child with a piece of garbage!?"

"This piece of garbage was more than enough to take out trash like you." Marco replied putting out his best action movie line he could come up with in the moment. However Star didn't seem to care much for his win pose, instead absorbing everything that had just happened. As Marco held the old knight down Star approached and stood alongside her friend, looking down at her old hero with crushing disappointment.

"How did I remember it so wrong?" Star asked herself seeing the evil knight before her, cursing at his loss. "This isn't what I pictured at all. I thought you were the knight that saved me when I was lost in the woods?"

"Saved you?" The knight scoffed at her from the ground. "I'm the one that kidnapped you and brought you here! I was going to ransom you for so much gold. Oh I would have lived like a king with that money... but then he got in my way!" The old knight said with anger pointing at the one with the sword currently holding him down.

"Marco? He hasn't even been to Mewni before, he's never met you!"

"Not him, him!" The two teenagers looked over their shoulders to see the knight was pointing at the pile of garbage Star had been leaning above earlier. "That garbage heap of a knight defeated me in combat and ruined my plans all those years ago. I've been scouring these woods ever since, looking to take my revenge on him after your father banished me."

"So... wait a second, that messed up armor over there..."

"Is the Knight of the Woods. Or at least he was, I hope he died out here in that pile of junk he called armor." Pushing Marco's newly acquired sword aside the knight got to his feet and loomed over the two teenagers. "But now that the princess is here again I can just resume my plan, selling her and that even more precious wand to the highest bidder, and no one can possibly stop-"

"High Honey Cannon." His speech was cut short as Star raised her wand and blasted the knight against a nearby tree with a magic spell, adhering the knight to it with the sticky sweet honey like substance that he couldn't' break free from. With his mouth covered by the same honey blast his words were restricted along with his movement. Star wasn't in the mood to hear anymore though, ignoring him to return to the pile of junk that she remembered faintly from her childhood. Marco abandoned the weapons on the ground to join her, Star picking up the bucket off the pile of "armor" and looking at the fabric attached to the back of it. "It was red before." Star said sounding surprisingly happy. "It's kinda brown and orange now, but it was red when I met him."

"Star... are you going to be okay?" Marco asked with concern but the princess was smiling brightly.

"I'm better than okay, cause I finally know the truth." She said cheerfully. "Maybe I remembered it all wrong, but at least now I know that it happened. That there was someone out there when I was in danger that came to save me. Someone who was brave and strong and got me home safe and sound. I can remember he told me to be brave and strong too, so I've wanted to be like he asked ever since." Star hugged the old bucket against her chest, getting her dress dirty but not really worrying about the grime, just basking in the comfort of the memories. "I'm happy we came out here." Marco smiled, after everything that had happened it made him happy to see her in good spirits.

"What about him?" Marco asked motioning to the knight that had just tried to attack them.

"Oh that honey should loosen up after a good rain storm. Besides there's bears out here, I'm sure they'll lick him clean." Star reached into her purse and pulled out her dimensional scissors, cutting a hole in time and space to make a portal for the two of them. "Want to pick up my filthy toy oven and then head home?"

"Gladly, I'm going to need such a long bubble bath after all of this." Marco agreed.

"That sounds great. So do Nachos. Oooh and another monster movie?" Star asked and Marco nodded, agreeing with her ideas. "Yay! Oh and then maybe you can tell me what the heck happened to you that you ended up like this?" Star asked referring back to Marco's less than stellar appearance. Marco kicked off the old boot he'd found in the trash now that they were headed home, tossing it behind him.

"Nothing special really, you probably wouldn't think it was that amazing anyway."

**********
**********

Rolling forward Marco collided with the ground on his seat and shook his head to get the cobwebs out. After falling through the mirror from the entrance of the woods there was a second where he felt himself floating through space, not unlike to the sensation he got when Star used her dimensional scissors. This had felt different though, as if he'd been held for a moment in the vacuum before being deposited to his destination. Getting to his feet Marco looked around the area where he landed to find things were indeed very different from where he'd been. "I knew there was something weird about that mirror."

He was in a completely different location but still inside a forest. With any luck he was at least within the same forest that he'd started in and hadn't been sent to another world entirely. Unlike where he'd been this area was deep in the woods and there was only the smallest amount of light, giving him a dim view of what was around him. The floor of the woods and trees still had discarded trash laying about so Marco figured he must still be on Mewni at least. Or maybe lots of worlds had trash forests? Environmentalists back on Earth would have thrown a complete fit over this had they seen it. "Star? Star are you there?" Marco called out into the woods but he didn't hear anything in reply. "Star, say something if you can hear me please!" Still nothing, letting out a sigh Marco searched around a little bit more to figure out his location.

The spot he was in was like a small clearing in the woods but the tree branches still made enough of a canopy to dim the area. Around him was lots of trash, as was to be expected, but behind him was an item of most interest; the mirror he'd fallen into. Or maybe a companion piece? It was the most likely candidate for how he'd traveled through the woods so quickly. Beneath his feet Marco noticed the pile of papers and following it along he saw a trail leading farther into the woods. "The path of discarded mailers." Well that settled it, he was definitely in the same woods that he'd started in. Walking towards the mirror Marco touched his finger against it and found that it sunk in slightly, just like the first one he'd found. "Least this is going to be easier than usual." Marco prepped himself to transport through the mirror again, looking to get back to Star as fast as possible so he didn't end up stranded in a magic landfill for the rest of his life.

It was then that the sound of leaves rustling started to become louder. Something was coming out of the woods. Marco though of leaping through the mirror quickly but if whatever it was saw him do it it might follow him back to Star and he didn't want to lead trouble right back to his friend. Scoping out an area that he could conceal himself Marco jump behind a patch of bushes and discarded paper towel tubes. He hunched down and tensed his muscles, waiting for whatever it was to appear. He didn't have a magic wand like Star but against a single monster Marco felt confident he could defend himself. Soon after the figure approached through the leaves and made itself known.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" It was a girl. A little blonde girl in a pretty blue dress that looked scratched and stained from walking through the woods. She couldn't have been older than six or seven years old as she stumbled into the clearing and looked around nervously. "I heard someone say my name. Hello? I'm lost." As she looked around Marco felt an odd sense of familiarity seeing her. As if he'd met her somewhere before. While he tried to piece the puzzle together the little girl seemed to give up on finding help and sat on the ground dejected, it was then that Marco noticed the small tiara on her head.

"Wait... no way." Little blonde princess, wandering these woods as a small girl, said she heard her name just a second ago. "It's Star." So what did that mean? Did Marco somehow travel through time? Was that what the mirror did? Turning away from the tiny version of his friend Marco tried to wrap his head around the situation. "Okay okay... so there's a little Star lost in the woods. No big deal, I've seen time travel movies. I just don't interfere with anything and let it all play out around me. Once that knight she told me about in her story finds her I hop back into the mirror and forget all about this." Seemed like a pretty rock solid plan. He couldn't mess with the past if he didn't talk with anyone and left as soon as possible. He just had to wait for Star to start heading down that path where she found her childhood hero. Marco was simply going to hide out until that time came, that was until he heard the sobbing.

Peering through the bushes again Marco saw the little princess crying as she sat on the floor of the forest. "I want my mommy..." When she said those words through the tears Marco felt like his heart was going to break. He couldn't turn his back on a little girl while she was scared and alone, especially Star. But he couldn't let her see him either. Thinking things over Marco got an idea and pulled one of the cardboard tubes off the bush that housed the discarded trash. Clearing his throat Marco got low to the ground and tried to act as mysterious as possible.

"Princess Butterfly!" Marco called out to her though the tube, deepening his voice to try and make it sound as different from himself as possible. "Rise to your feet!" The little princess jumped in surprise and didn't look any happier to have a disembodied voice calling out to her from the woods.

"Who's yelling at me?" Star said between sniffles and Marco tried not to break down and run out and hug the adorable little princess. Keeping it together he continued with his act.

"I am the spirit of the woods! And I am here to guide you home."

"The... the garbage dump has a guardian spirit?" Okay maybe this plan was stupider than he first thought, but at least he was working with a child so it should make it easier.

"Ye-yes. Yes! And it has a guardian knight that can take you to safety. You only need follow the path before you." The little princess looked around herself to try and figure out where that path was. When it was obvious she couldn't tell Marco intervened again. "The one with all the thrown away mailers on the ground."

"Oh. Okay! Thank you Mister Guardian Spirit. I'm gonna go home now, okay?" Star waved up at the sky and bound down the path into the woods and hopefully to the arms of the hero from her story. Seeing her cheer up instantly like that brought a smile to Marco's face. She'd been so cute as a little girl. Putting the cardboard tube back exactly where he found it, Marco got ready to jump back into the mirror and head home.

"Well that was easy, and I even got to see what tiny Star looks like. Didn't have to tamper with the past at all." Standing in front of his portal back home Marco hesitated and looked over his shoulder. The path into the woods was dark and creepy, not a place Marco would ever have gone himself given the option. And he'd just sent a little girl there all by herself on the blind hope that someone else would take care of her. "What am I worried about? She said herself that she'd get help in there." But what if his arrival changed things? What if he sent her on her way too early? Maybe she was in danger right now and it was all his fault and he sent a little girl to her doom because-

"I'll just tag along for a little bit... just to be sure she's okay." Marco started down the path into the woods as well, looking to catch up so he could keep an eye on her without being seen. Time to put those ninja moves he'd practiced to the test.

**********

Some time later Marco was diving between trees, trash and anything else he could use for cover as the little princess skipped gleefully down the path of trampled paper. She never noticed him following along behind her but with how oblivious she was to danger it didn't surprise him. Seemed the spirit of the dump filled her with total confidence she'd be safe on this trip, despite how unlikely that story had been. While he was happy Star never encountered any danger it was stressful to see she never encountered her shining knight either. Where was this irresponsible jerk anyway? A princess was lost in the woods, shouldn't the entire royal guard be mobilized to find her? Marco was starting to feel he'd made the right choice in tagging along just to be safe.

He'd been wondering how long he should go before heading back when there was a sudden scream ahead of him. Peering out from behind the tree Marco saw what he'd have to describe as an Minoelk; a beast that was half man and half elk. It's upper body was that of a human's with an elk head and it's lower body was covered in fur with cloven feet. Marco could see in the monster's antlers there were several wire hangers crisscrossed and dangling, probably from rooting around in the garbage. The beast was standing in the middle of the path before the princess and breathing heavily while stomping it's hooves. "N-nice Mr. Monster. Please don't eat me." The little princess tried to reason with the creature but it didn't seem to care as it tensed its muscles to charge.

Marco had to do something, anything at all! Looking around for something he could fashion into a weapon Marco found an old metal bucket. It was about the only thing that seemed even slightly useful in this moment of panic so Marco pulled his hoodie up over his head and pushed the bucket on over that. As the monster charged down on the princess Marco leaped out of the woods and charged back, slamming himself head first into the skull of the beast that had been trying to trample on Star. There was a loud metallic ringing in his ears as Marco fell backwards onto the trampled paper trail and the beast staggered back, unsuspecting something would be willing to fight on his terms.

Groaning as he rose onto his feet, Marco felt the bucket over his head and found it had crunched around his skull pretty snugly, similar to a helmet. There was now a crack down the side of the metal exterior that gave him sight for at least one eye. His head was spinning but unfortunately he didn't have time to rest as the beast was getting ready to charge him again, angrier this time around. He knew there wasn't any way he could survive another meeting of the minds like they'd done earlier but he still had one option available. Lowering his stance Marco waited for the creature to bore down upon him. Timing his move just right Marco slipped his hands into the mesh of wire and antlers and fell backwards, using his legs to kick the beast upwards and send it hurtling through the air into a nearby tree. The wired antlers hooked onto a strong tree branch and left the beast dangling while it tried to free itself. Not wasting a free moment like this Marco sprung into the air and sent a powerful kick across the beasts face, leaving it hanging from the tree unconscious.

Landing on the other side of the monster, Marco fell to his knees and took in some very deep breaths. "I can't believe that worked!" His voice echoed inside the bucket that was around his head but he didn't care, just happy to be alive. Fighting monsters wasn't anything new for Marco since he'd started hanging out with Star, but he usually had her magic to back him up. Taking one on fist to fist was a rarity for him. As he caught his breath Marco looked over his shoulder on the side where his right eye could see and found Star looking at him expectantly. Marco swallowed a lump in his throat, he'd just violated his rule about not getting involved with the past. How to fix this situation? "Uh... hello there Princess Butterfly." Deepening his voice again Marco tried to hide his identity.

"That was so cool!" Star said cheerfully as she jumped up and down. "That monster was all 'Rarrgh' and you were all 'swoosh' and then you did a 'klung' and then he went through the air and it was just the best!" The little princess stared up at Marco with large eyes of wonder and Marco had to look away from how happy she was.

"Y-yes... well, that was only the beginning Princess Butterfly! For you see you must still travel through the woods, and I'm afraid I won't be able to join you." Her smile fell instantly from pure joy to sadness and Marco tried not to let her look of disappointment break him down. "But fear not, for I've looked into your heart and I've seen your bravery. Do not let the unknown frighten you princess, you are much stronger than you know. I believe in you."

"Well... okay. Thank you for saving me." She said glumly but accepted his word.

"It was my pleasure and duty, Princess Butterfly. Now continue on your quest, your parents await you at the end of the woods."

"Yay, I can't wait to see mommy and daddy!" Star said as her joy returned at the idea of being reunited with her family. Waving to her guardian from the shadows the little princess made her way down the path again. Marco waved good bye to her as well until she was out of sight, then the panic set in again.

"Where the heck was that knight that was supposed to save her!? She almost got crushed to death by this ugly thing." The beast was groaning as it came back around but Marco gave it a swift kick in the stomach to push it farther up on the branch it was stuck on. "Stay there, I don't need you giving me any more trouble." The added shot to the torso was enough to convince the monster it really didn't want to get beat up anymore. That settled Marco continued on his journey just a step behind the tiny princess, though his vision was a little more difficult with the bucket stuck on his head.

**********

As they went further into the woods the canopy above the path began to grow thicker, adding an additional layer of darkness that frightened the little princess as she continued and made Marco that much more nervous as he kept tabs on her. Even after his interference twice now he was attempting to influence events as little as possible. With any luck he wouldn't be needed for much longer if they were able to locate someone to get her home safely. Trailing Star without being noticed was hard enough but with the bucket that he just couldn't get off his head and the additional darkness from the tree branches it was getting hard to keep sight of her.

Marco unzipped his hoodie and took his arms out of the sleeves, wondering if the bucket might come off his head more easily if the fabric wasn't still attached to him. As he tried to pull up Marco's head leaned back and he noticed something in the trees he hadn't seen before. "What in the... are those bats?" Something of that nature anyway. They were awfully large for bats and from what Marco could tell they had horrible yellow beaks on the ends of their faces. Like some kind of monstrous combination of a bat and a crow put into one. Dozens of them hung from the thick canopy and Marco figured they must have made their home here due to the darkness. Still they weren't moving, hopefully they were nocturnal creatures. So long as nothing startled them they most likely wouldn't be a problem.

So of course the tiny Star Butterfly managed to step right on top of the only sheet of bubble wrap in the forest for who knows how much distance. Three sharp popping noises sung through the trees and Marco felt his heart stop as he looked straight up to see... nothing. All the weird Crowbats were still asleep. He let out a sigh of relief that the monsters were such heavy sleepers.

Then Star began to stomp on the bubble wrap repeatedly, laughing happily as she did. Because honestly what kid was going to be able to resist that?

Marco watched in horror as several red beady eyes opened together above them and the monsters began to rustle their bodies and make terrible, high pitched caws. Star was also paying attention to the presence of the creatures that had been slumbering moments ago and just like a child she did the one thing that would have caused a bigger problem; she screamed. That was the last straw as the creatures took flight from their upside down perches and began to circle downward towards fresh prey.

There was so little time that Marco didn't even think as his body went into action. Kicking over a metal garbage can and emptying it of the contents, Marco leaped forward and covered the princess up under the container to keep her safe. Unfortunately this did very little to protect himself as the large demonic bird creatures dive bombed him and knocked him around on the ground. They attacked the trash can as well but seemed unable to pierce its exterior. Not wanting to risk Star's protection getting compromised, Marco grabbed the lid of the trash can he'd used to give Star her cover and began to smack the birds aside that attacked him. As they were knocked to the ground one by one the monsters began to retreat and fly off farther into the forest. Marco gasped for air as his arms hung heavily at his side, still holding his makeshift shield that was covered in dents. Walking over to the trash can Marco lifted it up to find a scared but safe Princess Butterfly hiding underneath with her eyes closed.

"Oh thank goodness you're safe." Marco said in relief. Star uncovered her eyes to look back at her protector. "It's okay, I chased them off." Despite his reassurance Star didn't look any more relieved. Instead pointing behind him.

"Mr. Knight, look out!" Marco turned to see the Crowbat's all flying in a group, aiming for the two humans that had wandered into their lair. With not much left to do for preparation Marco hoisted the trash can over his own body and used the damage previously done by their beaks to knock out holes for his arms and his head. Slipping the crude armor on over his body he hoisted the trash can lid up once more.

"Stay behind me Star!" The little girl gripped tightly onto his leg and buried her face against the fabric. For just a moment Marco noted how odd it was to see Star be scared of anything, even as a small child. She was always overflowing with confidence and courage to the point he just figured she'd been that way all her life. Perhaps getting lost in a monster filled forest could shake the foundation of anyone.

His thought process was broken when the beasts began to fly into him. Despite the repeated attacks Marco stood his ground firmly and managed to repeal every shot, knocking the bat-like birds to the ground as quickly as they plowed into him. When it was over the monsters were all along the floor of the forest, hopping around and trying to take to their wings again after the head on collision with metal and man. Deciding to take advantage of the situation Marco picked up a discarded tree branch and banged it hard against the trash can lid, shouting wildly at the beasts. The sudden noise was enough to make the creatures all fly away to safety, those that were unable trotting on their legs to anywhere but there. When it seemed to actually be over Marco dropped the stick and metal lid to the ground, taking a moment to catch his breath. That one had been a close call.

"Mr. Knight, you did it again." Star said happily from underneath Marco, looking up at him with eyes that were practically glowing in the dark. "You're really good at beating up monsters." Marco couldn't help but smile to himself under the bucket on his head.

"Well, I had a good teacher." Leaning down Marco put a hand on her shoulder. "In fact I think one day you could be even better at fighting monsters than me." Star gasped with such genuine excitement that Marco laughed lightly.

"You really think so!?"

"I know so. When you're older of course." Rising to his feet Marco checked around the area to be sure no straggling creatures were still on the prowl. When the coast was clear it was time to temporarily part with the princess yet again. "Be strong Sta... I mean, Princess Butterfly. Keep following the path and you'll find your way home."

"Don't worry Mr. Knight, I'll do exactly as you say. Bye bye!" Waving to him Star made her way down the paper trail again, leaving Marco behind to try and figure out how to get out of his current get up.

"This thing is... I think it's stuck too." Marco tried to wiggle his way out of his "armor", but it was to no avail. Sighing he decided to just leave it and keep in pursuit of his friend. Sure he was looking more ridiculous as time went on but it was alright. Not like she'd remember him after this anyway.

**********

The forest was beginning to thin out as they proceeded, allowing much needed sunlight on the path for Star to walk along with more confidence and Marco to follow with less worry. It was getting difficult to keep hidden with his new additions but somehow he managed to keep from getting caught aside from a few close calls. He wasn't able to get the trash can or bucket off his body but he'd fished his hoodie out of the neck hole to make it a little more bearable to wear. Sadly it was still stuck to the hood under his head, giving him a temporary red cape for the time being. While this was all a bit annoying the worst part was Star was becoming more distracted as she walked. Her shining knight coming to her aid in dangerous situations was affording her a more carefree spirit. Which she took advantage off to root through small piles of junk in search of interesting trinkets. Thus far she'd collected two gaudy looking bracelets, what appeared to be a tennis racket and a filthy pink bow that she stuck into her hair without a thought. Marco wanted to come out of hiding just to get all that junk off of her and keep her on her way but stayed back. For all he knew she needed to keep those for some reason or another.

At the moment he was leaning against a tree and keeping out of sight while Star rooted through another pile of stuff. It looked like she found one of those magic tiny ovens like he'd seen her playing with before he'd gotten sucked through that mirror into a time warp. He couldn't blame her, walking alone through the woods wasn't just stressful but also kind of tedious. While she was messing around through the junk for a moment Marco took hold of an old umbrella he found and started drawing in the dirt with it to pass the time. A few minutes later between checks on Star to make sure she hadn't left her spot was a small drawing of their school mascot, the opossum, in the dirt.

Hearing a small grumble he put a hand over the metal where his stomach would have been and sighed. "Guess I didn't get much to eat before being pulled into this." The growling continued however and Marco realized it wasn't him that was making the noise. Looking around the tree there was a pack of about four red wolf like things approaching Star from behind. The beasts didn't get past the princess either as she slowly turned around to see the mongrels approaching her.

"Um... nice puppies?" She asked carefully, to which the wolf responded by opening it's mouth and barking out flames at the princess. Star shrieked and threw the toy oven she'd been holding, smacking the wolf right in the face while she climbed up the junk pile she'd previously been rooting through. The other wolves were pursuing after her and Star was tossing anything she could find their way to keep the flame spouting beasts from getting too close.

"Are you kidding me? Literal hell hounds!?" They were trying to surround her and Marco was searching around himself for a weapon. He knew he couldn't fight them fist to fist like the past two beasts he'd encountered without getting cooked like a can of beans. Tossing the likely flammable umbrella aside Marco started sifting through some discarded kitchen supplies and began to put together something to try and help.

Star was now at the top of the junk pile and had thrown every loose object her little arms could handle. Various magical and non-magical pieces of junk flew down at the wolves but did little to keep them from climbing up. As they got closer Star was running out of options, holding up a broken tennis racket like item to defend herself. The pack leader of the bunch was moving up the loose debris quickly in her direction when a voice called out below. "Here doggie doggie! C'mon doggie!" The beasts turned around to see Marco covered in even more shiny material. His arms wrapped up in aluminum foil and his hands covered by thick oven mitts. Picking up a rotten apple Marco tossed it and pegged the hell hound right in the face. The animal growled and Marco kept throwing various pieces of junk until the pack of animals stopped attacking Star and surrounded him instead.

It was warm even at this distance, the animals giving off heat as they surrounded him. Made all the worse by the layers of metal that covered his body while he sweat. The biggest of the wolves got closest to Marco and he figured it must have been the pack leader. Seemed even mutts on Mewni acted pretty closely to the ones on earth, despite their weird powers. He knew it was going to attack and Marco only had the loosest idea of a plan but he hoped it worked. As expected the creature inhaled to spew fire as it did the first time it attacked Star. Seeing an opening Marco leaped forward and clasped his hands around the muzzle of the dog, holding it tightly. The animals eyes got wide as fire filled it's mouth but had no place to release. There was a tense moment as the torso of the hell hound expanded and grew until... a dark cloud of smoke farted out the back of the beast and it fainted.

Letting it go after taking it down in the most ridiculous method possible Marco turned to face the other wolves. As expected they attacked but Marco was quick, his heat shielded hands and arms providing him with enough protection that hitting the dogs didn't hurt him as much. A few smacks across the nose after failed attempts to pounce the heat resistant knight caused the animals to lower their tails and retreat into the woods. The biggest wolf was still down for the count but Marco felt no need to follow through and pound on it further, let the ugly beast sleep it off. With the fight over Marco put his hand out to Star who carefully climbed down the pile of trash and onto the ground with his help. "Princess Butterfly, you shouldn't have dawdled while walking on the trail."

"I'm sorry..." Star said feeling guilty and looking down at the ground. "I didn't mean to, I just thought I'd be okay because you're always there for me." She did have a point, Marco had come to her aid each and every time. Unlike the heroic knight from her story that was supposed to be doing this. Seriously how hard could it be for a trained warrior to be out here saving a little girl? Marco was a teenager covered in junk and he was managing somehow. "Are you mad?"

"I'm not mad Star... I mean Princess. How about this time I just stay with you until we get to your parents?"

"You mean it!?" Star asked excitedly and Marco nodded, the little girl jumping and applauding his decision. Marco had been trying to avoid this course of action as much as possible but after everything that had happened he didn't see how that was an option any longer. She was just going to keep getting into trouble, better to have him right there instead of off to the side where he might not make it in time. Putting his gloved hand out Star took hold of it with her little fingers and the two continued through the forest together along the paper trail.

As they walked Star rambled to Marco about herself. How she was a princess and that she liked unicorns and teddy bears and cookies and that one day she was going to get her mom's super cool magic wand and she couldn't wait for that to happen. Marco let her talk, partly due to it was really cute seeing his best friend so small and innocent and partly due to it kept the questions off of him. Anything she asked about himself Marco would give a vague answer in return and have her tell him more about herself. She was always overjoyed to comply with the request. It continued this way rather peacefully until the duo reached a swamp in the middle of the forest.

"Well that's going to be a problem." Marco said as he tried to look for an easy way around the water. The swamp seemed pretty large and there were a number of odd colors in the water, probably from all the dumping the residents had done. On the opposite side he could see where the paper trail continued going towards a more openly lit part of the woods. It had to be the exit he was looking for. "If only we could use magic or something to get across."

"If I had my mommy's wand I could just zap a bridge for us." Star said as she pulled a stick up off the ground and held it out by the edge of the swamp. "Inky Black Brick Bridge! Bzzt bzzt!" The little princess declared as she pretended to wield a magical wand much in the same way she would seriously wield one in the future, much to Marco's amusement. Both were surprised however when a nasty looking eel hopped out of the water and bit the end of Star's imaginary wand with sharp little teeth. The princess shouted in shock and dumped the stick into the swamp water where more of the little black monsters nibbled at it before realizing it was just wood and abandoned the would be meal.

"It's never just one problem, is it?" Marco asked annoyed and tried to think of a solution to yet another obstruction. Searching around the area he found several small buckets of paint nearby that he deduced must have been dumped here and lead to the weird colors of the swamp water. Stroking his chin while he tried to determine how they could help, Marco noted a little ways off there were several large stones in the water big enough to support him. That's when it clicked. "I have an idea. St- I mean Princess Butterfly, I'm going to need you to ride on my shoulders and be totally still, okay?"

"Okay!" Star said with complete confidence in her rescuer. Marco gave a thumbs up to her and began to shove his legs into the paint cans, kicking out their bottoms and stacking them around his legs. With a bit of nearby twine and the help of Star's nimble fingers they managed to tie the cans together and make some odd looking greaves for leg protection. With his latest addition to his armor Marco was starting to look like a robot from a fifties sci-fi movie. Funny enough Star didn't seem at all disappointed with his appearance, the little princess full of smiles the entire time they were together. Once Marco was sure the leg protection would hold together he lifted Star up to rest on his shoulders and started towards the rocks.

Some of the rocks upon closer inspection weren't stone at all but instead discarded appliances of some sort or another. All the better thought Marco, giving him a flatter surface to land on was preferred over a smooth and rounded stone. Carefully judging just how much strength would be needed with all his added weight, Marco reeled back and charged to make his first jump. He hit the rock beneath him with a solid but hard landing, making a loud racket with his metal leg protectors. The moment the sound rang out the little monsters in the water responded and leaped at Marco's legs, hitting the metal cans teeth first and sliding off back into the dark and oily looking multicolored water below. Marco let out a relieved breath seeing his protection worked and Star was still safely on his back. "I was sweating a little on that one."

"I knew you could do it." Star said with brimming faith in his abilities. It gave Marco a little extra energy hearing those words, helping him make each carefully guided jump and landing onto each object before him. A careful judgement had to be made with each leap but careful and organized were two of Marco's main strengths. Not everyone could take so much discarded chaos and form it into a functioning suit of armor after all. He was about half way across when he landed on an especially smooth and oddly shaped rock that moved under his weight. "Um, Mr. Knight. I don't think that's a rock."

"What do you mean? Is it some kind of dishwasher or something?" It wasn't the shape of any appliance but something was clearly wrong as Marco noticed when he landed on this rock the little black eels weren't attempting to bite at his legs this time.

"No, I think that's a crunching turtle!" Marco looked down to where Star was pointing as an ugly, dark green head lifted out of the water and turned to look back at its passengers. It was a turtle alright but its neck was unusually long and when it spotted Marco the animal pulled its lips back to reveal two rows of long, flat teeth. The animal soon lived up to its name as it snapped at Marco in an attempt to crush him in its jaws.

"Hey, stop that! Knock it off, I just want to cross! Quit it!" Marco was dancing around the monsters snaps but only able to dodge a few. Thankfully the metal around his legs took the brunt of the damage as the animal closed its jaws around the paint cans, causing them to bend slightly to the pressure. Star was holding on tightly for dear life at his bucket helmet but Marco knew at this rate one or both of them was going to go over into the water. Getting frustrated with he endless attacks Marco took action. "Calm it down!" Reeling back his leg Marco snapped a kick directly into the turtle's face, dazing the animal for a moment. "You want what's on my legs that badly, here!" Frantically removing his shoe from his foot Marco shoved it onto the turtles head and kicked it again in the resulting confusion. Its neck gave out and it fell unconscious back into the water, Marco huffing angrily above it. "Does everything in this forest want to kill us!?"

He was down a shoe but it was a small price to pay for getting across safely. Thankfully none of the little black monsters landed on his foot which only had a sock to defend it now, Marco moving with enough care to dodge their attacks and make it to the other side. When they landed on shore he carefully put Star onto the ground again. "That got pretty scary back there, huh?" Star nodded to Marco's question and he gave her a pat on the head. "No worries though, we're almost there."

Turns out he was more accurate than he expected. Walking hand in hand Marco began to recognize some of the tree outline as they approached the edge of the woods. Better yet Marco was able to spot in the distance a man in armor who was searching around the woods, that must have been him! The knight from her story (bout time his lazy butt showed up). They hadn't been spotted yet so Marco took a moment to kneel down next to the little princess and say good bye. "Well Princess Butterfly, it looks like this is where we part ways."

"What!? No, I want you to come with me! You said you'd get me home." Her hands latched onto Marco's in a desperate attempt to keep him from being able to leave her. "I'll be scared without you." She gave him the biggest, saddest eyes he'd ever seen and Marco nearly broke to her request. However he couldn't let anyone else see him for fear of problems in the future.

"Don't worry little princess, you're more brave than you know. Over there I see a knight looking to take you back to your parents. Go to him and he'll get you home safely. I have to stay here in the woods, where I belong." Star pouted a little and let go of his hand slowly, looking down at the ground. "Don't be sad, you get home and be safe so you can have lots more adventures in the future. Can you do that for me?"

"Okay..." Star said and moved forward, giving him a hug. Marco hugged the little princess in return as she walked down the paper trail towards the edge of the woods. As she went Marco let out a sigh of relief, finally this whole mess was over. Hopefully when he got back to his Star that too much time won't have passed between when he fell into that mirror and when he pops out the other side. Actually he hoped jumping into the mirror will take him home and not just further back in time!

"This could be a bigger problem then I thought." Maybe it wouldn't send him back in time at all but into the far, post-apocalyptic future of Mewni. "That might not be so bad though. I could get some kind of equivalent of a magical muscle car. Call myself Mad Marco." That sounded pretty awesome actually. While he pondered his possible future, Marco's concentration was suddenly broken when he heard a scream from the edge of the woods.

"No! Let me go you big jerk! Stop it! Help!"

"That's Star!" Charging down the trail Marco crashed through the trash and brush to find where he'd sent his friend. When he arrived Star was being held under the arm of the knight he'd sent her to for safety, struggling to get free and crying. The knight himself looked up in shock, his body covered in impressive steel armor with his head exposed to reveal dark, balding hair and the kind of thin mustache only a villain would wear. "Hey you, what are you doing with Star?"

"Well isn't this a surprise." The knight said in amusement. "A man made of trash has come to save the princess in her time of need? Is that all she's worth?" It was true Marco looked rather silly in his get up but it didn't deter him in his purpose.

"Aren't you a knight for the kingdom? Why are you harassing the princess?" The man in armor looked annoyed over having been seen in this situation and then laughed wickedly with a shrug.

"I supposed I've been caught red handed. You see it was I that originally kidnapped the princess and brought her to this filthy forest in the first place."

"Wha-what? Why would you..." This surprised Marco, Star hadn't mentioned anything like this happening to her when she was a child. She didn't even describe it in her story when she brought him to these woods.

"Isn't it obvious, for the money! Working as a knight won't pay off all my loans and debts. It's not going to get me rich or help me retire. I'm tired of protecting a spoiled little brat that doesn't appreciate when someone gives their life to serve their family. So I'll ransom her off and depart with my well earned gold. Simple, isn't it?" What a complete jerk! Marco felt anger rise up in him that this man would dare to put her though all of this trauma just to get some money for her ransom. Star was still just a little girl. "Well, it was simple until a witness showed up. I'll have to do something about that." The knight dropped Star to the ground carelessly and drew his sword from his side. She wasn't having any of it though as she leaped up from the ground and started kicking his legs.

"You leave him alone you big meanie!" Star shouted during her attack but it proved all but useless. The larger man in armor kicked Star aside and sent her falling to the ground on her backside. Seeing her shoved like that infuriated Marco further as he reached out and armed himself with the closest weapon he could find; a rake. The knight saw him get into a battle stance and laughed out loud.

"Is that your weapon of choice, Sir Garbageheap?"

"What of it? It's enough for me to take out trash like you." Nice tough guy line! He'd have to remember that one for later. While he was complimenting himself on action movie quips the knight he was facing decided to take action itself and came down at Marco with his blade. He tried to block it with the rake but found his weapon was reduced to half its length as the blade slice the handle through the middle. Left with a small handle and the clawed portion Marco began to clumsily fend off the sword swipes coming his way but he was losing ground with each attack.

"You don't seem to be doing too well, Sir Garbageheap." The knight mocked him further and swung his blade hard, knocking Marco off balance in his clumsy armor. Laid out on his back he found the sword pointing his direction. "And that's the end of the duel. Any last words?"

"You're bald." Marco said in frustration, the knight not enjoying that being pointed out to him. Pulling his arm back he got ready to stab Marco through his armor until a very familiar toy oven flew through the air and collided with the side of his head. The hit was solid as it knocked him off balance and Marco looked over to see an angry Princess Butterfly armed with a tea kettle and a ladle, ready to toss those next.

"I said leave him alone!" Star shouted furiously and tossed the ladle next, hitting him right in the face. Marco took advantage of the situation and swung his rake, catching the sword blade between the rake fingers and twisting the handle to lock it up. With a trick of the wrist Marco pulled with all his body weight and disarmed the evil knight before he had time to respond, sending the sword flying out of his hand. Moving in for the attack Marco slapped the evil knight across the face several times with the rake fingers until the balding man fell over and hit a pile of trash that broke his fall. When he came to his sense again Marco was over him with the sword in hand, pointed down at his opponent and keeping him pinned. Seeing he'd lost the knight immediately surrendered.

"I give up! I give up! Please oh please I'm sorry, I surrender. You win, I didn't want the money that bad anyway. She's all yours just please oh please don't kill me!" Marco wondered what to do in this situation. Sure he wasn't going to up and murder some guy but he couldn't leave Star alone with this kidnapper. As he debated his options one was presented for him as a woman's voice rung out over the grassy hills, calling out Star's name.

"Mommy?" Star asked enthusiastically. "Mommy!" Hearing her mother's voice the little princess ran out of the woods towards the sound, over joyed at seeing her parents again. "Mooooommmyyyyy!" She shouted all the way out through the woods and beyond where Marco could see. With that solved there was only one more problem to deal with.

"You'll confess to the queen what you did." Marco ordered and pointed the blade at the evil knight's face. "You'll go down there and you'll tell them everything and you'll beg for mercy. Because if you don't, I'll come back for you. Understood?" The knight held his arms up in surrender and nodded in agreement, not speaking a word. "Good. Now get out of my woods." With the blade pulled away from his nose the knight rose to his feet and scrambled towards the edge of the forest. Marco thought about following along but revealing himself to more people would just cause a problem and force him to answer questions he wasn't ready to deal with. Waiting for his enemy to be out of sight Marco turned around and headed back into the woods towards the mirror.

After the rough adventure getting out of the woods he found walking back in was much easier. The tricks he'd learned to get by the various monsters helped him dodge any more altercations, while some of the beasts avoided him outright. The crazy man covered in metal garbage far too much trouble to bother with. By the time he'd made it back to the mirror at the end of the paper trail the sun was setting and there was very little light left. Marco carefully disassembled his armor now that he had the time to work on it, setting it aside with each piece taken off. The hardest had been the bucket on his head, which whatever had been in there was now glued to the top of his hoodie. Thank goodness that hadn't been his hair. With that off though and the oven mitts and tinfoil removed from his arms he was able to slip the trash can off completely now. Discarding the borrowed sword and the rake that had served as his weapons on the ground he was finally free of his knightly attire.

Honestly he looked awful. One shoe missing, his hoodie gone leaving him in a free Digi-Creature t-shirt he'd gotten at a convention last year and his pants covered in various paint colors from the cans he'd worn. His hair was a complete mess and he was mostly covered in filth from his armor. Still he was alive and Star was safe, it had all been worth it. He just hoped when he stepped through the mirror again he'd get home to his Star Butterfly. Testing the glass to be sure he could jump in safely, Marco took the leap back home.

Notes:

Cover art by Darkjazmin11 at https://www.pixiv.net/en/users/17979308

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