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I Summon the All-Seeing Eye	By : all_possible_worlds Category: +S through Z > Star vs. The Forces of Evil Views: 29524 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Star Vs. the Forces of Evil or its characters. I made no money from writing this story.

Chapter List
- 20
- 21
- 22
Chapter 21: Sam, I Am
Note: Please review if you enjoyed. Constructive criticism very welcome! I respond to reviews here: http://www2.adult-fanfiction.org/forum/topic/64957-review-responses-and-open-discussion-for-i-summon-the-all-seeing-eye-star-vs-the-forces-of-evil/

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They had gotten barely an hour of rest after their literally electrifying fuck session. Tom had insisted that they showered and dressed up before the call. Somehow the demon prince had gotten hold of the dark green dress Janna wore to their first date, and had demanded she put it on. On her head, he had placed again the live spider broach. The fledgling witch magically petrified the vermin this time, partly for her own safety, but mostly to show him that she could. Tom himself wore an impeccable white suit, that the girl had come to associate with those occasions in which he sought truly to impress.
Janna had thought about a lot of things as she bathed in the steaming hot waters of Tom's shower. Fortunately, it wasn't lava, although it felt like it might as well be. The demon prince's shower had essentially two settings: hot and boiling. Then again, the human girl was almost used to it by now.
She had thought about their recent encounter of course. About the pain, and the pleasure, and the overwhelming sensation of power as she dug deep into Tom's energies. 'Unlimited powaaah!' she thought with a chuckle, examining the burned tips of her fingers. Was it really true that she got more power out of banging Tom that she got by studying and practicing known spells? Or was it the other way around? That the more proficient she got at her craft otherwise, the more she could draw forth from the demon during their union? After all, they had had sex before she started learning magic, and nothing like this had ever happened back then.
She had thought about Star. About how the mewman princess irritated her so. She couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong with herself, with her own instincts regarding Star. She was, after all, or used to be, her friend. But at the same time, she couldn't control how much it irked her whenever Tom talked about his ex. It always had bothered her somewhat. But it was so much worse now, after that night back in St Olga's, after she had waited alone for Tom to comfort the princess. Janna couldn't for the life of her say what was it that made that night so significant. Was it that Star and Tom had gotten back to being in good terms as friends? It didn't seem like a big enough deal. Yet, somehow, it was. Alone in the woods, she had let her jealousy towards Star blossom into bitter resentment, and now she couldn't shake it off, no matter how much she tried.
Finally, she thought about this mystery person that made Tom so nervous. 'An old friend of the family' is all the boy said about the other demon. But it was obvious from his reactions that the demon prince was terrified of this guy, and it wasn't clear why. The more nervous Tom got, the more eager Janna was to meet this 'Sam'. And now, she was about to. She had asked and begged Tom to let her be present. Finally, she had threatened to barge in either way. At that point, he had relented, admonishing her to try to be silent unless asked to speak, to be on her best behavior.
"Or as close to good behavior as it is possible in your case," had said the boy, with a groan. It was so weird how similar him and Marco were sometimes, not that either would welcome the comparison.
Tom Lucitor, prince of hell, knelt before his own mirror, and motioned Janna to do the same. Puzzled, she acquiesced. Who the literal hell was this guy that Tom felt the need to bow down to?
"Mirror," Tom took a deep breath, "call Sam."
"CALLING..."
A billowing wind, the crackle of distant thunder, and the mirror went dark. The many flames of Tom's room faded out into nothingness all of a sudden. Their only source of light was now the red glow of the cascade of molten magma that served as the demon's decorative fountain. Black spots began appearing on the mirror, until they covered its entire surface. When the glass had darkened in its entirety, a swirling maelstrom of ghostly cerulean light began reflecting upon the opal surface. A cacophony of cries and lamentations filled the air, and underneath that, Janna thought she could hear a chorus of voices chanting in an ancient tongue. As the pale teal currents became clearer and clearer, the human girl was able to see that they were formed by a mass of phantasmal human faces, all grimacing in agony.
The mirror zoomed in deeper into the haunted void, until it came to show a naked young man. Most of his features, and his nude form, were hidden from her sight by the mass of what had to be rivers upon rivers of human souls (Or were they mewman? Something else entirely?). What bits of skin she could see where white. Not white as in Caucasian. White like a marble statue, and beautiful in exactly the same inhuman way. His hair was golden and shone with a brightness that would have put the sun to shame. His eyes glowed with a blue light so intense, it was literally impossible to meet his gaze.
"Who dares summon the final cold, the endless shadow, the sword aflame inevitable?" boomed the unearthly creature's voice, words that echoed like huge brass bells. He glanced at Janna, and she felt a presence so powerful, a well of magic so deep, even through the mirror, that it made Tom's energies seem like a roadside puddle by comparison. The blue eyes fixed themselves on the Prince Lucitor and then... their blinding light went out. Two normal human eyes replaced them, albeit still of an unusual azure intensity. "Tom? Tom Lucitor?!"
Sam snapped his fingers and the flames in Tom's room returned, the image inside the mirror dissolved in a blink. A rather preppy college dorm room replaced the sea of screaming faces. The boy sitting there on a messy twin bed was dressed in simple brown khaki shorts and a pink polo shirt. His face was still inhumanly beautiful and the tone of marble, but it now wore a very human smile. "Tom! Long time no see, bro! You looking good! Hit the gym recently?"
"Eh, something like that," Tom blushed and ran a hand through the back of his neck.
The blond boy looked at Janna, then back at the purple demon prince, clearly drawing his own conclusions as to Tom's exercise routine. "Ah, I see. Niiice. High five, brah!"
Incredibly, he actually held his palm up, on the other side of the mirror. The boy waited then, stupidly, for the second part of a gesture that definitely didn't work at a distance. Janna felt confused, just as much as she felt disappointed.
"Sam, with all due respect, is this charade necessary?" Tom asked, timidly. A piercing glare of fulminating blue light fixed upon the heir to the Lucitor crown. It went away again as soon as it had come, and the other boy's eyes went back to normal. Or perhaps, the blinding light was normal, and the human-looking orbs an illusion.
"It is all a charade either way, Tom," Sam shrugged. "It is always a charade, and then oblivion. Might as well be pleasant to my favorite Lucitor! Besides, the whole 'sword aflame' bit gets old after the first few eons... Speaking of which, what are you two doing on the floor?! Stand up, come on! We are all friends!"
The boy kept motioning up with his hand until both Tom and the human girl had gotten back on their feet.
He smiled at Janna, "Hey, I am Sam, Tom's old bud, nice to meet you!"
"Janna," she replied, still feeling off balance at the sudden shift in tone from the boy. Damn, that was usually her job. Feeling like she had to at least try to surprise the stranger, she added, "So are you the devil? Because that'd be cool."
Tom glared at her. Sam laughed raucously.
"Oh man! The devil? THE? No way! A devil, sure. Or, well, something like that," he replied, making a dismissive gesture with his hand that was perhaps meant to signal humbleness, but was way too obvious to be sincere. Or perhaps, it was calculatedly insincere. "THE devil, though? Nah, J-Flame, I am not The Morning Star..."
The apprentice witch felt herself relax just a bit. In a way, it was probably good news that they weren't having a chat with Lucifer himself. Even if a part of her had wished that had been the case.
"I mean, I know the guy. A truly inspiring bro. Really doesn't know when to fold them, and takes it all way too seriously, but fuck me if he is not the best motivational speaker I've ever known! He makes you want to follow him into, well," he looked around and shrugged.
Janna once again felt unsteady. Just who the godforsaken here was this guy? He sounded like an idiot half of the time. But it was obvious he was being an idiot on purpose, and laughing at them all the way! And he spoke of the Dark Prince of Hell the way Marco spoke of goddamn Justin Towers!
"But enough small talk," added Sam. He sighed. "Tom, I know you. You never call unless you need something. So what is it this time, bro? What do I need to bail you out on? Let's hear it."
"Sorry, Sam. I'd like to call you more often, of course, but, well, I just know how busy you always are, didn't want to trouble you just to chat..." the demon prince apologized. Even Janna knew that was a lame excuse. The boy in the polo shirt actually rolled his eyes at it. Tom relented, realizing his attempts to butter up the other demon were worse than pointless, "Ugh. Fine, fine. Sam, I humbly request your permission to cross through the city of Dis, and through the hells within your domain..."
"Tom, you are my bro! Your family and I go way back, like way-way back. You don't even need to ask!" Sam replied effusively. "You are free to walk my neighborhood any time you want, man. I wish you would come and visit me, but is not like you have to do that either if you are not up for it, bro. Seriously, no problem!"
"... and I would like to take some people with me." Tom added, tentatively.
Sam looked pensive for a moment, his smile gone. Then he looked at Janna, and brightened up once again. "Your chick? Sure. For you, I can do that. Only the one, right?"
"Four besides myself," the demon prince clarified. "I need your word that they will get safe passage. All of them."
Sam whistled. Then he frowned. He seemed to mull it over, or at least made a show of pretending to do so. "That doesn't sound much fun on my end, bro. How about two out of four? You bring the four, I let you and two others out alive, my choice! Sounds good?"
It was surreal to get a counter-offer like that from a guy dressed like something out of an Ivy League admissions poster. Janna couldn't avoid being a little bit freaked out, as she realized, from Tom's disturbed expression, that the offer was probably a serious one.
"Sam, no, they all need to get through unharmed," Tom continued, only slightly shaken. "This is sort of important. I wouldn't ask otherwise. Maybe there is another way? Something I can offer? Another favor I can owe you?"
"Bro, you owe me way too many favors as it is," he lifted both his palms up. "You are asking me to let four mortals through Dis, alive. It goes against everything Dis is supposed to be about. Against everything I am supposed to be about. It is like, my thing, bro! Sorry, can't do. No deal."
Sam paused for a moment. He and Tom exchanged glances, three eyes on two. But it was obvious who had the final word, and by a wide margin.
"I can give you one other option," the alabaster devil finally spoke, with a grin. She pointed at Janna. "How about this? The chick's soul upfront, you and three mortals of your choice go through, no other conditions. Sweet, nah?"
Tom balked at that, looking truly horrified, which pleased the human girl more than she let on. But before he could say anything, Janna interjected.
"My soul is not Tom's to give," she noted. "But I guess I could give you a good deal on it, myself. Nothing upfront, though. The five of us go through, and you still need to sweeten the deal for me personally. Then I pay up say, a century from now? No time at all from your perspective, right? What do you say? Worth chatting about?"
"Janna!" Tom yelled at her, his eyes glowing red. "I told you to be quiet! That's not a deal you want to make."
"It is not a deal I would accept," Sam shrugged. "But I like your spunk, J-Flame! Tell you what: Why don't the two of us have a chat, alone, without your boyfriend running interference? I feel like we could reach an interesting understanding. Something way more fun than her soul or a choice of two deaths."
"No way!" Tom shouted. "She has no idea what she is doing!"
"That's what he said!" Sam responded, laughing at his own joke. "But don't worry, bro. I swear I won't seduce your chick. Not carnally, at least! I mean, you know I don't swing that way!"
"Please, Sam, there must be something I can offer you instead!" Tom begged.
Sam looked at Tom, his eyes lingering up and down over the demon prince's body. Eyes suddenly slitted, like those of a snake. He licked his lips. "No, Tom, there isn't. Not even that." His tone carried a coldness now that belied everything about the dumb jock he had been playing up to that point.
"I'll give you that, Sam... gladly," the Prince Lucitor continued. Janna wasn't sure if they were talking about what she thought they were talking, but she let her imagination run wild. "For safe passage for me and just one other!"
"The mewman princess, you mean? Don't you need the boy warrior too, at least, to find your way once on the other side?" Sam retorted.
Wait, he knew about Star? And Marco? Janna was yanked out of her fantasy and into the grips of shock. So the other boy knew exactly what this was all about, from the beginning. He had been playing them the entire time, that much was obvious even before this point. But only now was Janna beginning to realize to what extent he was toying with them. How had he put it? 'It is always a charade'.
"I am afraid that wouldn't work either, anyways. Although I did want you to at least offer, Tom. Nice to know there is a price for that." The blond devil shrugged. "No. I think I like my idea better, I'll negotiate with Miss Ordonia here instead. For what it is worth, I'll give her my fairest deal."
"No! Forget it," Tom bellowed. "I won't allow that! By right of domain, she is in my lands, under my protection, and..."
Sam smirked at that. It was as if he had just heard an old joke. "I am afraid, it is not up to you... 'bro'."
That instant, the entire world around Janna went dark.
----
It was like something out of an old movie: the dim lit bar, the stench of tobacco, the faceless patrons swinging around in the tiny dance floor. Janna sat on a small circular table for two, and on the other side, Sam grinned at her, dressed in a pinstripe suit and wearing a matching trilby hat. In the background, out of literally nowhere, floated the tunes of Elvis Presley's "Devil in Disguise". That, Janna thought, was a bit on the nose.
'Ok, Janna Ordonia, you are having a deal with the devil type situation; you basically prepared your entire life for this moment, you got this,' she reminded herself. Sam made a gesture with his hand and two sets of glasses appeared in front of them, already filled.
"Old Fashioned?" he asked. "Seems appropriate. But of course, I can change it..." He looked around. "All of it."
"Sorry, I am not drinking," replied Janna. That was a lesson from her first date with Tom she would not soon forget.
"As you wish," shrugged the devil. "But tell me Janna, I am curious. How is ol' Tommy Boy in the sack?"
Wait. What?! Janna had to hold herself from doing a double take again. It wasn't just the question itself, it was the tone with which Sam had asked. He wasn't mocking her, at least not blatantly. He wasn't just making strangely personal small talk either. He seemed genuinely curious, conspiratorial even; a twinkle of excitement in his eyes. That's not how she expected this conversation to go at all. Was it perhaps a negotiating tactic? To keep her off balance?
"What is it to you?" she retorted. Then, unable to contain her own curiosity, "Do you actually like Tom? Men, in general?"
'Right, Janna, real smooth, ask the devil if he is gay, why don't you? There is a brilliant negotiating tactic!' she reproached herself.
"Why yes, of course. I am what you might call..." he looked at his drink, took a sip and shrugged again, "... old fashioned. Your kind only came around a bit after my time, my dearest daughter of Eve."
Her kind? Daughter of Eve? Did he mean women? Like, in general? That had to be some bullshit! Janna frowned. "So, that whole biblical stuff is for real, or are you doing it for show?"
"Both," Sam smiled, clearly enjoying her confusion. He gestured all around them, "It is all a show, after all. Props and actors in a comedy play with only one possible punchline. But I do try to go for things that would be familiar to you, and it is the truth that my kind predates that particular distinction."
Interesting as the implications of that admission might be, that wasn't getting her anywhere. "Ok, so you like Tom, and you are annoyed at him for not calling you more often, and that's why you want my soul or to kill two of his friends?"
When you put it like that, it was monumentally petty.
"Ah, miss Ordonia, I knew you were perceptive," Sam retorted, seemingly delighted. "That's some of it. I do like making Tommy squirm, and he did snub my latest party invitation. But I do also really loathe to let people through Dis unscratched. It is terrible for my image, you see?"
His image? What image? This guy changed faces and tone like Brittney changed clothes! Then it hit Janna. There was a third motive, one that was obvious after you had seen all this performance, all the tricks and charades. 'It is always a charade, and then oblivion'. Sam talked murder and soul bartering in the same breath as sex, drinks and even polite pleasantries, and that was the one part that wasn't an act. He genuinely didn't care. Didn't rank one of those as more sacred or more foul than the others. At least, Janna hoped that was true.
"I don't know if that's a lie, about your image, but that's not the real reason either," Janna insisted. "You don't care about my soul, or about Tom sleeping with you, or about the lives of my friends, and I don't think you care about your reputation. You are doing all of this just to amuse yourself! Because you are bored!"
Of course, from Janna's perspective, her soul or her life were expensive prices to pay. So if she negotiated from her point of view only, she would have to pay an astronomically high cost to offer Sam something equivalent. But if her interlocutor was valuing them for entertainment, then all she had to do is to offer something more entertaining, rather than something more valuable!
If she expected hers to be a piercing read, however, she was sorely disappointed. Sam merely laughed and clapped his hands twice.
"Bingo! Now you are getting somewhere! Yes, I have more souls than I know what to do with and, after you have killed a few trillion mortals, there is very little variety in that business as well. And I'd bet you the apples of paradise themselves that teasing Tom gives me more pleasure in the end than having him be mine ever would," he chuckled. "What can I say, I am just trying to get a little bit of fun back into an unbearably tedious and near-interminable existence, just like you say. Some humor back into the dull play. 'Life's a laugh and death's a joke' as you kids say."
Smiling at that confession, Janna sat silently, thinking carefully of what she could offer that might amuse the ancient demon. Her interlocutor seemed not the least bit impatient as she pondered her options.
"Fine," she spoke. "I have an idea. How about you invite all five of us to that party you were talking about? I'll get Tom to go, for your teasing pleasure. And how often you have living mortals there? It should amuse you more than killing two more people would, I'd think, and your reputation should not be in the line if we are there for your entertainment. The one condition is that we get to cross to where we are going afterwards, and to return the same way, and no harm shall come to any of us."
"But what if you guys abuse that last clause to spoil my party? Or, with all due disrespect, Janna, to rob me blind?" Sam objected. He was completely calm. At the same time, he hadn't needed an instant to think his objections. He had spoken the moment she had finished her offer. Either he was an unbelievably fast thinker, he could read her mind, or else this was the direction in which the conversation was always supposed to go. Any of those was a possibility with this guy, really. "If I offer you my blanket protection, I would be inviting into my home people who I am powerless to defend against."
Janna was sure that much was a lie. Not harming them and being unable to stop them were two different things. Another charade then? Either way, it was a cue for her to sweeten the deal, or to address the concern, genuine or not, and see where that led her.
"Then promise no harm shall come to any of us, as long as we don't try to harm you, rob you or ruin your party," Janna amended. A conditional protection, rather than a blanket one. If the demon had meant it only as a bartering prod, then he would need to prod again.
"Now, that's an idea," the suited boy smirked at Janna in enthusiastic agreement, and she knew then that the conversation was still following his plan, not hers. "All five of you shall come to my party, this coming weekend. You will stay the night before and the night after, three in total, and I shall treat you all like my honored guests. No harm shall befall you while you are in my domain, so long as you adhere to all rules of hospitality towards myself and mine. Afterwards you will be allowed safe passage back through my lands, should you truly need it. Deal?"
He extended his hand.
Janna left him waiting as she pondered the implications. It was not like it was her idea, although it felt like it. It was not like she was in control, although Sam had gotten out of his way to make her believe so. But in the end, it was probably the fairest deal she was ever going to get from him. Despite the feeling that she ought not to, Janna shook the devil's hand.
----
"Don't 'bro' me!" Tom yelled. "I said you are bargaining with me or not at all, Sam!"
The boy in the mirror, wearing the pink polo shirt and khaki shorts, just looked back amused. Janna looked down at her hands, and at the stack of four black envelopes she was now holding. Tom looked at her with terrified surprise.
"Janna! What did you just do?! When?" Tom glared back at Sam accusingly. "You stopped time! Messed with reality in my domain!"
"Ah, what's a little liberty like that between bros, Tom?" the other boy chuckled. "Besides, I gave her my fairest deal, man, just like I said I would."
"Your fairest? Your fairest?! The plague is your fairest!!" the Prince Lucitor unleashed, fire flowing all around them. Sam let him be, seeming rather unimpressed.
"Actually, Tom," Janna interrupted. "I think we are all invited to the Frat Party from Hell, and if we go and behave, then we all get to cross through."
"If?" Tom glared at Janna, eyes glowing red. "You made a deal with Sam that has the word 'if' in it?!"
"Ahem," the blond boy in the mirror coughed. "I don't want to interrupt the marital dispute, people. But I have stuff to get back too. People to deceive, worlds to destroy. You know, the usual. See you all there this weekend. I promise it'll be a blast! By the way, Janna, you are wrong; it won't be just a rager, actually, but a masquerade ball! The details are on the invites. No worries, the costumes are on me. Just, keep in mind that not wearing them, or not playing along, would be real uncool."
'This too, is my sacred rule of hospitality, and you shall not dare violate it' he might as well have said. Janna frowned. Tom was right. She was an idiot. She had just agreed to a game for which she did not know the rules.
There was an explosion of blue flames on the other end, some of which flew out into Tom's room through the mirror, and then the call dropped. Tom walked towards his couch and sank in it, deflated.
"Well, I suppose that could have possibly gone even worse."
----
The five teens had chosen to meet at Marco's place. Jackie had skated there from her own place. Star and Marco had taken Tom's carriage back from Mewni. The demon prince himself had instead used the gargoyle-powered lift, and brought Janna along. It was the best possible logistics without a working pair of dimensional scissors, assuming they were all in. Hell, they probably where all in now, no matter what, because of the stupid deal Janna had made, Marco thought.
"Ok, let me see if I understand this," spoke the boy, exasperated. "We can cross through the lands of this Sam person, but only if we spend three days at his place, and go to his weird costume party. And if any of us is not on their best behavior..."
He made a point of glaring at Janna, who was making a point of her own of ignoring him in return. Instead, she appeared to busy herself playing with the four black envelopes in her hands.
"... if any of us makes a faux pas, and we don't exactly know for sure what is or isn't a faux pas, then he is free to kill us," the human boy continued. Tom nodded in grim agreement. "That is, assuming he even respects the deal in the first place!"
"He will, Marco," Tom assured him. "Sam is many things, but I have never known him to break a promise. That sort of thing is a big no-no in the underworld, actually. Misleading and lying is all fair game, but vow-breaking is, well, almost unthinkable under these circumstances. The question is whether it is even possible for us to keep our end of the bargain."
"I don't see why it wouldn't be," Jackie argued. "Don't break things, don't steal, wear the costumes, play along. Sounds easy enough to me!"
Marco knew Jackie well enough to realize that she liked the idea of dressing up in costume again. He knew better than anyone else that she had very much enjoyed doing so in St O's. So, for her, the opportunity of disguising herself again was a boon rather than an obstacle. He tried to meet her eyes for a conspiratorial glance, but she was not looking his way.
The skateboarder girl had not said anything of the sort, but he could tell she was not entirely thrilled with him after their last conversation. It was not like they were fighting or anything. But obviously Jackie hadn't loved that he tried to break up with her, even for ostensibly selfless reasons. Marco realized he owed the girl an apology.
"Yeah, yeah, that's true," spoke Star absentmindedly, scratching her left arm. She was lying on the floor, staring at the ceiling without looking at any of them. It didn't sound like she was agreeing with Jackie, but rather responding to someone else, someone only she could see. She sat up all of a sudden. "No, Jackie, you are wrong. It will be hard to do. He would not have offered that deal if it was going to be easy to comply for us. It is a game for him, after all, and you don't make a game without a challenge."
"Well, Star," spoke Janna crossly. "He is bored, nothing wrong with that! It is a better deal than any of the ones he was willing to offer Tom!"
"Right, right, bored," Star rolled her eyes. "Excellent excuse. Will remind it the next time I feel like killing two out of five of your friends because I want to be amused, Janna."
It was obviously sarcasm, but something in the tone Star said that still gave Marco the chills. Janna glared at the princess and the mewman glared back.
"Anyways," Tom interrupted, pushing himself forward to sit in between the two girls, blocking their line of sight to one another. "That theory about Sam being bored? I don't buy it. Not that anything Star said about this being a game, and thus a challenge, is wrong. But Sam doesn't do things on a whim, there is always a reason. I bet his boredom is just another charade."
"Does it matter, Tom?" Janna spat. "I got us the only deal that does not involve any guaranteed deaths. You think you could have done better?"
Janna and Tom bickered some more, but Marco wasn't listening. He kept his eyes on Star, who was looking towards his window and nodding. Suddenly, she turned around to glare at him. It was weird how glaring was something Star did routinely now, it seemed like her sight had two modes: spaced out or burning intensity. "Marco, assuming we do this. Then what? What are we looking for on the other side?"
"I told you, Star," he answered nervously. "We are looking for Hekapoo. She is out best lead to find whomever... whomever killed your mom."
"Marco, Hekapoo is dead," Star observed. It was not a question. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see that everyone was looking at him now.
"I... I don't think so, Star," Marco tried to argue. "Or, if she is, not all of her is dead. She told me to look for her, in the dream!"
Janna coughed. But everyone else seemed to be taking the boy at his word. Star shifted her eyes back to the window, before looking towards Marco again.
"Are you sure about that?" she asked. Marco nodded.
"Well," Jackie interrupted finally. "I think we should first vote on whether or not we are doing this."
Marco nodded, and so did Tom and Star. Janna crossed her arms.
"Pretty sure you all know which is my vote," said Janna.
"I vote yes too," spoke Jackie.
"Yes," followed Marco.
"Fine," grumbled Tom.
They all looked at Star, expectantly.
----
Star pondered the situation for a moment. It was as good as any lead she currently had, given how much Glossaryck was not being forthcoming about the creature that killed her mom. She looked up at the ceiling, at the floating little man. A translucent ghost, blue and green, the color of seaweed. He stared blankly at her, with infuriating indifference.
Star knew none of her friends could see him, and knew that she shouldn't tell them about it. They wouldn't understand. They would think she was crazy. Janna might have believed her, if she wasn't so angry at her all the time now. Marco would balk, taking it as another sign of her slowly going evil, or mad, and frankly Star didn't have the patience to deal with that conversation a third time. Jackie? Well, things with Jackie were super awkward now a days, and what did the girl even know of ghosts?
Maybe she ought to tell Tom? She wouldn't have considered it even a week before. But the last few days Tom had been on a surprisingly excellent behavior, and he knew more about ghosts and dead people than anyone else she knew. Besides, he was the only one who didn't get so damn freaked out with her now. He was the only one who didn't think she was going dark. Or, at least, the only one who didn't care.
She became aware of the expectant stares of all her friends. They had all come together to help her, and now they were just waiting for her to approve their plan. It was a nice thoughtful plan too, except that...
She glanced again at the windowsill. Hekapoo's ghostly form smiled at her apologetically, sitting there with a leg crossed over the other. "You won't find me all the way there, you know? I am afraid this is all that's left of me, kid."
Star shook her head. She didn't know who to believe. There was something off about Glossaryck and Hekapoo. Something off since they started showing up around her. Something other than their obvious ghostlyness. The little magic man first came to her right after her chat with Eclipsa, while the sorceress showed up right after Marco first told her he had dreamed of her. Every time that it looked like there was a path to avenge her mother, another phantom appeared to tell Star how that could not possibly work, how her friends were all wrong, how she was wrong. She was beginning to distrust the ghosts.
"Yeah, Marco," she voted. "I am in."
It was still her best lead, by default, even if it was completely wrong. Besides, maybe she could ask this Sam about her mom's killer. Force him to tell her what he knew, if need be.
Hekapoo shrugged and shook her head.
----
"Oookay," Jackie said, after Star finally deigned to give her two cents. "Then the second step is to look at the invitations. Right?"
"Already done," Tom said, holding up his own envelope, the only one addressed to one of them in particular, the one he got weeks ago, around the time of Star's Song Day. "There is not much here. Time: this Saturday night, which means we need to be there Friday night as per Janna's already famous deal. Fortunately, we can take the carriage for most of that journey, so a day will suffice. Place: Sam's palace inside the City of Dis. Costume mandatory at all times. Oh, and this..."
He passed them a black card with silver lettering. It had only two words in it: 'The Scoundrel'.
Jackie got it immediately, "That's the role you are going to play, right? Your masquerade costume?"
Tom nodded.
"How about the other four? How do we distribute those," asked Marco.
"I guess we just pick the closed envelope at random," shrugged Jackie. Seemed like the only fair way. "Then we keep whatever we got, unless someone wants to trade."
"Sounds good to me," Janna agreed, taking an envelope from the pile and passing the rest to Marco. She broke the seal. The cry of a tormented soul filled the air as she did, but the troublemaker girl paid it no mind. She grinned as she picked up her card and showed it to everyone: 'The Witch'
Marco took his envelope and passed the other two to Star first, walking all the way to were she was sitting, rather than handing them to the human girl directly to his side. Jackie noticed that, and it bothered her more than it probably should have. Another hellish cry and Marco was holding a card saying 'The Champion'.
Star took an envelope absentmindedly, put a finger through the wax, and the seal melted on its own. Jackie swore she could see a flash of green where Star finger had made contact with the flaming-sword sigil.
"'The Countess'?" the mewman spoke with only mild disappointment. She looked up at the ceiling again, silent for a second. She shrugged, "yeah, that's right, seems like a step down, but whatever."
Finally, Star noticed she still had the final closed envelope in her hands. She lifted a finger and the envelope floated all the way to where Jackie was sitting. The skateboarder girl took the envelope in her hands. She tried ripping apart the top, but the material wouldn't tear. An instant later she found that breaking the wax seal was indeed much easier. Another damned soul cried as he did.
She took the small black card from the inside, looked at the silvery letters and her expression fell. It read, in big bold script: 'The Slave'. She showed the others the card with some hesitation.
The Slave? They had all gotten some awesome role to play, and that was what she got? Jackie felt disappointed. Hell, she felt downright insulted! Janna had gotten 'witch', Star had gotten a nobility title, and Marco had gotten something related to physical combat. There was no way those were coincidences. Which meant the envelopes somehow predicted, or influenced, who chose which one. Which meant in turn that the damn card was either mocking her, or worse, judging her, disparaging her worth. It might as well have read 'The Second Fiddle', 'The Spare'.
"Eh, Jackie," Marco finally spoke. "We can switch if you want..."
Ok, he got brownie points for that one at least! But no, she had set the rules, and it was clear Marco didn't want her card either. Also, if she was right, then the role had somehow chosen her. Irritating as that idea was, it was probably better to play along. "Nah, dude, it's ok. You be the champion this time around. It's only fair."
They talked some more about the next part, and agreed to meet at Tom's next morning to start their journey, aiming to arrive at the gates of Dis by that same night; Friday night. All through their planning, Jackie paid little attention, her mind set on the card, and its implications.
----
It felt strange, to be back in her room; her Earth room. Star had only been living back in Mewni for little over a week, preparing her mom's wake at first, then setting everything up to delegate the functions of government back to King River, and finally, studying Eclipsa's notes, preparing for the battle ahead. It felt like so much longer than a week.
Now she was ready to leave Mewni for a long while, and Earth too, to fulfill the promise she had made in front of her people, the pact she had made with Eclipsa. She scratched her left hand. Then, realizing she was alone, she closed her eyes and dipped down, undoing the silly glamour that concealed the black tendrils of the killing spell, that disguised her burned veins. It was such a relief to be rid of the illusion, to stop spending her magic and her focus on the color of her arms, to get rid of the itching sensation of having the corruption simmer beneath her skin, unseen. She hid that only for Marco's benefit, really, and the boy was not with her tonight.
Instead, he had offered to walk Jackie home. It was a gentleman move, and it made perfect sense, considering how crestfallen the other girl had seemed after she read her card. It was clear too, that there was some friction between the two human teens as well, some air that needed clearing. Same as between Marco and herself. Because, let's face it, there was yet another explanation for Marco offering to take Jackie to her place instead of staying in his own home: that he was avoiding Star.
She had sensed that the boy was uncomfortable around her ever since her mom died, and particularly of late, for understandable but still frustrating reasons. In fact, Star and Marco hadn't so much as kissed since St Olga's. Jackie and Marco hadn't had sex in that time either, the princess knew, although they had certainly been closer to it than she and Marco had. She could sense every time they started making out, just as well as when they stopped themselves short. She was trying to stop herself from feeling the link, but it was in vain. It was like trying to ignore the itching of her arms. She could pretend not to feel it, but she could not actually ignore the sensation.
Telling them that she knew of their troubles would only make it harder for them to feel comfortable again, however, and so Star didn't mention it. And Jackie didn't mention it to Star that she was still mad at her, because she thought that the princess had enough things to worry about. Which was, she noted, rather the truth. The problem was that, like the itching, the fact that none of them talked about why things were awkward all around didn't exactly meant they weren't awkward.
Besides, there was a lot of stuff going through Star's head these days: the burning rage, the suffocating emptiness, the nightmares, the ghosts, the ambivalent sensations of revulsion and pleasure she felt when casting the spells in Eclipsa's little book of dark magic. All of those things made it even harder for her to open up to her friends like before.
Yet, despite her own withdrawal, and the ways in which she had hurt them already, they had not abandoned her. If anything, they were even more determined to help her than ever. Marco hated the idea of her revenge mission, and yet had gone out of his way to find her a lead, however flimsy it might be. Tom had moved all his contacts, and he seemed to have Star's back unconditionally, in a way he never did back when they were dating. Janna seemed to hate Star now a days, and yet she was the one who had brokered a deal with this Sam person. They all, and Jackie too, were risking their lives in pursuit of Star's self-imposed quest.
"Yes, Star," spoke a familiar voice behind her, loving and compassionate, yet stern as well. "They are all willing to follow you, but that means you need to be wise in where you lead them; in how you lead. The same goes for the people of Mewni, you know? There are so many people who look up to you now. Is it worth putting them all in harm's way because of this?"
Star's eyes welled up with tears as she turned around, to see the one ghost that had not turned up before. The one who completed the pattern that had begun with Glossaryck and continued with Hekapoo. The one she wanted to see more than anything in all the worlds. And, sure enough, there she was, regally attired, translucently green, and so very very sad, "M... Mom?"
"Hi, sweetie."
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I Summon the All-Seeing Eye