This is a crossover that I thought of after watching the Star Vs. The Forces of Evil episode Blood Moon Ball. I couldn't get over how much Marco's Day of the Dead mask reminded me of the movie Book of Life and thus this fanfiction was born. This is my first fanfiction EVER and I have a lot of plans for this fic! I do not own Star or Marco (they are property of Disney as I'm sure you know) and I definitely did not create the world of Book of Life or it's characters (that all belongs to Jorge Gutierrez).

La Muerte looked out into the starry night sky and took a shallow, yet calming breath of the chilly air as she held an object gingerly to her chest. Her eyes took in the sleepy houses, cars, and suburban peace nestled in the Echo Creek, California that was so incredibly different from the small village and now town of San Angel, Mexico where the Queen of the Land of the Remembered made her home below its centuries old cobble streets and winding roads. Nearly three centuries had passed since the wager she had made with her then estranged husband Xibalba, King of the Land of the Forgotten, had resulted in Manolo Sanchez's death and subsequent resurrection, Manolo's marriage to Maria Posada, and La Muerte's reconciliation with her husband. It seemed as if the story of Manolo Sanchez had ended happily and as far as he knew it had.

However, his revival faced many obstacles and almost wouldn't have transpired if La Muerte hadn't found a loophole hidden deep within her agreement with not just Xibalba, but with Manolo. Manolo hadn't known, but by being chosen as a champion and favored victor of the beautiful Goddess of Death, he had become bound to her in a way that was similar to a parent and child. This bond would originally have broken once the wager was over, but because Manolo had died and needed to return quickly to the Land of the Living, La Muerte did the only thing possible in order to guarantee his return to life. She bound Manolo Sanchez and all of his subsequent children, grandchildren, and so on to her for all eternity, therefore making them her heirs.

While being bound to an immortal goddess might not seem like a terrible burden, it carried many repercussions of which La Muerte wished she could have spared the poor family and the person it would one day affect. One day, once La Muerte either perished or chose to relinquish her hold to the throne of her kingdom, a living Sanchez child would have to take the throne and rule the Land of the Remembered without any choice. If they refused, the Land of the Remembered would cease to exist and only chaos would exist in the afterlife, a far cry from the peace and happiness weary souls deserved. And because that child would be a Sanchez and would have a heart of gold, they wouldn't refuse and would become an immortal god or goddess, leaving behind any hopes, dreams, or loved ones in the Land of the Living to become a bridge between the living and the dead.

That's why, as the village of San Angel, both living and dead, celebrated the wedding no one expected but were jubilant had transpired, La Muerte could only smile sadly, for she knew the price that had been paid in order for the scene before her to exist. A young man or woman whose existence was still far off in the future, had essentially been sacrificed and bound to an immortal life they would not want just so their very existence, and of those before them, could even have come to be. It was a heavy cross to bear and La Muerte knew that if Manolo had know this damning fate would befall one of his descendents, he never would have tried to come back to the Land of the Living, which was exactly why she hadn't told him and didn't tell him until he had joined his family in the Land of the Remembered. He was angry, which was understandable, and greatly hurt that La Muerte hadn't told him the cost of his revival but eventually understood why he had to live and save the town and its people. Otherwise, everything would have been lost in San Angel and an invincible mad man would have gone on a rampage throughout Mexico.

Now, nearly three hundred years after the Sanchez wedding in San Angel and decades of watching over generations of Sanchez family members, La Muerte was dying. She had often been challenged for her throne by many low ranking gods from every dimension since the beginning of her reign thousands of years ago and had always managed to succeed in driving them off, with it very rarely having to conclude with a physical confrontation. However, the most recent challenger had come to her realm seeking her throne and was willing to do anything to achieve his goal. For nearly three days she fought him, taking many forms and using many tactics trying to hold him off, but to no avail. At the last moment of the battle, the man, no creature, held his sword to the throat of the half dead Queen and she knew she would either die at his hand or have to turn to drastic measures. She chose the second option and using the last bit of her godly power, banished the monster to a dimension far from her own. She recovered physically from her ordeal, but the underlying damage was irreversible. She had drained her goddess core, the part of her soul that kept her immortal and healed any mortal wounds, and now only had a few years left to live, much to the agony of her husband and subjects.

However, inevitable death did not frighten La Muerte and she knew that wherever she ended up, she would be at peace and without pain. She was a Queen and would greet death just as graceful and fearlessly as she had ruled her kingdom. Fear, however, was what was driving her to the roof of the Sanchez child destined to take her place. She feared that he would hate her for gambling his life, for taking away his future, his family. She also feared the monster that had no name would return and hurt the young boy who would become King of the Land of the Remembered, and would die due to her inability to take the creatures life and carelessness on her part. Tired of being hesitant and curiosity driving out all sense of dread, La Muerte transformed into Marigold petals and drifted into the room of one Marco Ubaldo Sanchez Diaz, the future King of her beloved realm.

He was fast asleep with a small line of drool forming on the pillow below his mouth, causing the dying Queen to smile lightly. He had light brown, messy hair with a beauty mark on the right side of his face. He appeared to be only about 14 years of age and was lanky and in the awkward transition between childhood and adulthood. While he appeared to take after his father in appearance, the heart he possessed was very much a Sanchez one, one that he had inherited from his mother and a long line of ancestors. She gently moved a bit of his hair away from his face with her pale white hand and felt feelings of regret, joy, and sorrow overtake her as she bent on her knees.

As tears rolled down her beautiful, sugar skull face from the bright yellowish-red coals that were her eyes, as she spoke softly to the slumbering child. "Oh mijo, lo siento. Marco, I hope one day you can forgive me for the life you will one day have. I regret taking away your dreams, your future, your family," she paused as she took in a shuttering breath and swallowed. "I can see bits and pieces of the future that will come to be and see nothing but you becoming an amazing ruler, beloved by all. However there will be obstacles and sometimes you may doubt yourself, but you need not fear. Your are brave and courageous and will always persevere despite the odds." She then chuckled lightly and said softly, "I also know that you will soon meet an energetic princess who will one day become your best friend and maybe, something more if you chose to let your feelings for her grow." She stood up and slowly walked towards the open window, placed an object on the nightstand beside Marco's bedside, and finally felt ready to return home before she paused and looked back. She smiled sadly and said, "We will never met again Marco Diaz. But as long as I am still alive, I will continue to watch over you and your family, mijo. Adios, futuro rey." With that last statement, La Muerte launched herself out the window in a flurry of Marigolds, back towards Mexico and her beloved realm.

Whenever Marco awoke that morning he was greatly confused to find flower petals all about his room and a Los Dios de Los Muertes mask left on his nightstand. He simply shrugged and began to prepare for another day of school, not realizing that that day at Echo Creek Academy he would met a princess by the name of Star Butterfly or that in 2 years time, his world would be turned upside down and nothing, not even all the dimension jumping adventures Marco would go on with Star could prepare him for the world that he was going to be thrown forcefully and unwilling into. Instead Marco took the sugar skull mask carefully in his hands, examined it, and walked downstairs with his backpack and the mask in tow, where both his parents claimed to have never seen the mask before and the Diaz family forgot about its strange appearance as they talked about the day to come.