Okay, guys, this is my first project for Star Vs. and I hope you all enjoy it! Shout out to RK-128 for being my beta reader and a part of the process!

P.S. I'm back revisiting the story to do some editing since I've learned a lot while continuing to write, so consider this "The Sign of the Moon: REDUX." Nothing is going to change story-wise aside for better editing and flow.

Only in the life of Star Butterfly, Princess of Mewni, would walking through the Underworld to a haunted demon temple be considered a part of a normal day. The Underworld, after all, is not the most tourist-friendly place in the dimension of Mewni, aside from its pristine Lava Lake Beach. Between forests of literal fire and rivers of damned souls screeching in horror, nothing screamed: "Family-friendly adventure. Great for the kids!" Then again, that was not the type of adventure that thrilled Star. This was her first real break in ages from the onslaught of princess duties that had now taken over her day-to-day life. She tried to stay interested and engaged in each royal task—she had to be the best princess—but meetings, decrees, and tedious paperwork can never be fun. She missed the simpler days back on Earth, where she had an almost daily chance of showing the forces of evil what a Butterfly princess could really do with a wand. But she had to focus on being a better princess, especially after nearly destroying the kingdom twice: first by revealing royal secrets at Song Day and second by fighting Toffee. "Alliances are the lifeblood of a successful kingdom," she remembered her mother, Queen Moon, telling her, and it was important to keep them strong and lively.

But the most important thing stayed the same: Marco was by her side as always. He was clad in his signature red hoodie and wore his survival fanny pack—which he claimed would be vital on a quest like this. When she asked if he would come along, Marco did not hesitate in his answer, even though it involved hiking for a day through a place that was constantly as hot as the hottest day of the year and nearly getting sucked into rivers of souls twice. When they finally reached the temple, a black building with pointy spires—in the manner of all buildings in the Underworld—they took a breather.

"You'd think this place would have lanterns or something…" Marco grumbled as he pointed his weak phone light into the yawning black mouth of the temple opening ahead of them. Star, on the other hand, was beaming with anticipation. Adventure awaited. Baddies needed to be bashed. This was just like old times!

"Marco, I got this," she boasted. "I've got a magic wand to light things up." As the pair walked into the temple, Star's blind optimism began to dampen. The temple was honestly one of the creepiest places she had been to. Gargoyles glared at them with unmoving ruby eyes, and the chilly, dimly-lit halls were filled with the musty smell of old books and tapestries laced with mildew.

"How c-can a place in the middle of a kingdom of fire be so c-cold," she stammered as the cold air blew from deeper in the temple. She noticed Marco was comfy and cozy in his hoodie.

"Oh, squire~" she called to him in a sing-song voice, batting her eyelashes for effect.

"Oh no…" Marco tried to put up his hands to protest, but before he could evade, Star had taken off the hoodie and had it on over her dress.

"Fine," he grumbled, annoyed while Star hummed in victory, and stuffed her hands in the pockets. "You know Star, this place gives me the creeps. What do you make of it?"

"It's not creepy if you dated someone from the Underworld and…" she stopped herself. Why did she go there? Their relationship was on break—she knew better!

Without an invitation, thoughts of Tom invaded her head. She and the Prince of the Underworld had revived their relationship at the Silver Bell Ball in a literal "whirlwind romance," as the royal tabloids had written. At first, things were great—even better than how they went the first time they dated. But it all fell apart. If Star were honest with herself, the first signs of disaster appeared during the doomed Monster-Mewman Peace Ball. Instead of helping her keep the party running smoothly and tracking down the missing Monster teens, Tom was more concerned with sneaking off. And, yeah, he fought Mina and apologized for his behavior later, but that apology was the first of many. For the next three months or so after that, Tom continued to fail her at royal engagements and formal balls. The final straw occurred when he failed to show up for a meeting with the Magic High Commission, the first one he was to attend as Star's potential choice for her prince. Not to mention, his anger issues continued to get worse. He fought with her anytime she put her princess duties over him. Lately, however, their arguments had centered around how much time she spent with Marco…

… "It's like I never see you," Tom argued on their last date, which had gone well up until this moment.

"Tom, I'm a princess, I'm busy," Star had shot back. "I don't get what the big deal is about any of this!"

He clenched his fists bitterly, "You always find time for him…."

"What are you…?"

"I've never seen Marco have to book dates a week in advance just to have them constantly moved around," Tom growled.

"I-I don't know what you're getting at," Star's voice faltered slightly, "Marco is my personal squire, so, of course, he's around me more. That's it. You know you're my best friend."

Star reached for Tom's hand, but he pulled away, his three eyes glazed with an emotion she could not thoroughly read: was it hurt, maybe?

"Star, you have to make a choice." And that was the last thing he said as he walked away, ending their date and practically their relationship….

To this day, Star did not get it—Marco was her squire, why was Tom being so clingy? Plus, there was absolutely nothing going on between them whatsoever. Her feelings for Marco were…in the past. Star, you have to make a choice. The words often haunted her. She had made her choice, and it was Tom. If he had not stormed out of her life, the Prince's Ball—which would have been in two months—would have been a definitive sign that she had made her choice for good. It would have also erased the memories of the infamous Song Day from the minds of the citizens of Mewni.

"Star?" Marco worriedly placed a hand on her shoulder after she had quietly stewed over Tom for a few moments. When she met his eyes, the care in them signaled he knew where her mind had gone. Even though the break was not final, it hurt. Tom had helped her so much after the Silver Bell Ball, and they had so much fun together while they dated. During all that had happened between her and Tom, Marco was such an understanding friend. He was her shoulder to cry on when the separation got tough and made nachos to help her feel better when she felt down. She sought his gaze for comfort. "I'm here for you," he said softly, "Always will be."

"Thanks, buddy," Star smiled as she placed her hand over his. "You know," she changed the conversation, "This place looks a lot like the Monster temple."

"I guess it does," Marco remarked, "Even down to the creepy statues. Hmm…but then again, aren't all temples the same?"

"Not really," Star snorted in response. "Each kingdom's temples have their own vibe. The ones near my castle have butterfly carvings and little Glossarycks everywhere. The ones in the Johansen kingdom have bear totems and bear traps. The Pony Head temples have clouds and…nothing else since the Pony Heads aren't the most devout believers…and so forth."

"I've seen the ones in Kelly's kingdom," Marco answered. "They have bush and wolf motifs."

"How would you—?" Star froze, blinking her eyes in confusion.

"I went to a temple one time on a training mission with Kelly," Marco folded his arms with pride. "Shoulda been there. It was an insane mission where we had to drive out a wolf-troll that kept children captive in the temple." I didn't hear about this one, Star knew Marco had been training with Kelly lately, but she never heard about them going on adventures together. That was their thing. But why would I care? She reminded herself that he had other friends on Mewni, and he needed the training to become a better squire. Although how close Kelly and Marco had become since the Soulrise at Lava Lake Beach was oddly concerning to her…. Star stopped herself. All the drama over Tom must be messing with her head.

"Are you okay, Star? You look annoyed," Marco asked, causing her to shake her head.

"I'm fine, let's keep going," she responded perhaps a bit too quickly. They continued down another set of corridors and Marco's phone light was beginning to dim more and more.

"Great, I only have 25% battery left," he grumbled. "How much further do we have to go?"

"I have no idea, and we've been walking forever!" Star let out an exacerbated sigh. "I don't know anything about this temple, and, of course, Tom wasn't helpful. In fact, why isn't he here? He's the Prince of the Underworld, for corn's sake!"

Marco made an oddly smug face and was poised to say something but didn't. "We don't need him, Star," he replied instead. "We can figure it out. Hey! Maybe there are some clues on that tapestry."

The duo has entered the last of the hallways and above the entrance to the next room was a huge, ratty tapestry. Part of it was torn away, and the rest was covered in faded ancient dye. What could be discerned from the tapestry in the dark gloom of the temple was an image of a giant, six-fingered hand bearing a large crescent moon in the palm. Next to the moon where two celestial bodies: a miniature sun and star. Why did this seem familiar…? Star could not put a finger on it. Underneath the hand was an inscription so faded it looked like it had been painted by a ghost, and half of it was gone with the other part of the tapestry. It didn't matter though, for it was written in the runes of the Demon language—which neither Star nor Marco could read.

"We must be approaching some kind of inner sanctum," Marco studied the fabric. "Did Tom tell you what this temple is for?"

Star shook her head, "I don't think he knows anything about this place besides that a creepy voice is scaring the priests."

"What creepy voice? We haven't heard anything in here."

As if on cue, a thin, quiet voice began to call from the room ahead of them. You've come… Star and Marco reached for each other's hand. They had to go in there with whatever horrible creature waited for them. No matter what faced them, they at least had each other's backs. Marco's free hand was poised and ready for attack, and Star's wand was raised. Should she Narwhal Blast this creepy ghost into the next dimension or call on her trusty Warnicorn Stampede?

"Okay, Marco, we go in on the count of three," She whispered hoarsely. "1…2…3! MEGA NARWHAL BLAST!"

The door exploded in a gust of magic and blubbery narwhals as Star and Marco charged in with a pink cloud of smoke. "Get outta here, you creepy ghost!" Marco roared as he leapt in the air.

"Marco?" Star could not see or hear a thing. Next time, she should have cast a spell with less fog.

"Whoa…Star, you gotta see this!" She heard Marco exclaim. As the haze settled, it revealed a giant room with high ceilings illuminated by torches and chandeliers. The marble floor in the center of the expanse had a star with an eye in the middle of it, surrounded by ancient zodiac symbols. Directly above it was six-point sun—or star—with a hand in the middle bearing a thin ruby crescent moon in the palm.

Oh… "This is the place of the Blood Moon Ball!" Star and Marco exclaimed in unison, and they looked at each other.

"Okay, stop that." They held their hands over their mouths—they were doing it again. Hmm, how can I throw him off…?

"Antidisestablishmentarianism!" They both yelled. Nope.

"The square root of 144 is 12!" Nope.

"Mom is a poop head!" Nope.

"She isn't even your mom, Marco," Star laughed.

Marco smiled and snickered, "You didn't even pay attention in math class long enough to know the square root of 144. You know, why do we do that?"

She shrugged, "I don't know. All I know is that it happened after the Blood Moon Ball."

"That was an interesting night," Marco sighed. "I still can't believe my disguise worked so well." Star smirked as she remembered Marco's outfit: his black suit with the golden shoulder tassels and trim, red hat, and, of course, his Día de los Muertos skull mask. He sure looked rather dashing.

"Yeah…but I wish you had trusted me to go on my own. I can make choices for myself," Star said with her voice edged in frustration. The dance was the first time she had seen Tom since their first break up, and she wanted to see if he had changed. They had split…on really bad terms, to say the least, but everyone deserved a second chance. Even though Tom's true colors showed through when he tried to barbeque Marco after the dance, Star couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if Marco had just trusted her.

"You're right," Marco sighed heavily, casting his gaze to the floor. "I did ruin your night, and you were right to give Tom another chance. I should trust your decisions about these things..." The note of sadness in his voice caught Star off guard. He got like that sometimes, especially when talking about her relationship with Tom. She couldn't figure out why though, he was okay with her hanging out with him until the Soulrise…. Maybe it was about what happened on Stump Day. Marco and Tom had once been close bros until they fought at her fifteenth birthday party. Sure, they made up at the end, but their friendship remained strained. Marco didn't talk to Tom anymore, and Tom seemed to hate the very mention of Marco's name.

"You have to make a choice."

"But you know what, Marco," Star placed her hand on his shoulder, "I can't say you ruined my night. The dance was fun."

Marco's mouth curled upward in a soft grin as he wistfully said, "Yeah, it was. Those dance classes my mom signed me up for didn't go to waste."

"At least you liked dance classes," Star replied, "I hated them because Mom forced me to take them. 'Dances are important to the life of a princess,' she told me."

Marco met her eyes with his, then let them quickly dart away. He began to scratch the back of his head and…was he blushing? "No, no I shouldn't…" he began to mumble.

"Shouldn't what?" Star wondered.

"Close your eyes," Marco told her. I'm supposed to be the one giving orders, but Star closed her eyes anyway.

"Marco?"

"Okay, Star. You can open them." When she opened her eyes, she found that Marco had taken the hoodie off of her and the fanny pack off his waist, laying them in a heap on the ground. Most importantly, he was bowed in front of her with his right arm extended in an invitation. His eyes locked directly into hers, "Princess Star Butterfly, may I have this dance?"

She should say no—after all, she and Tom were still together. Then again, they also sorta weren't together either. Come on Star, where's your daring side? Plus, what was the harm in a casual dance between friends?

"I would be delighted, Squire Marco Diaz," she replied with a mock curtsy. She took his hand as he led her to the middle of the room. There, he placed his hand on the small of her back—such audacity—and Star placed hers on his shoulder. She had to secretly admit those training sessions with Kelly were paying off. As soon as they started to dance, the ruby light of the Blood Moon shone through the ceiling. Marco was clearly enjoying himself. His brown eyes blazed with a confidence Star had never seen before as he led her in their waltz across the floor. Usually, she was the leader, the one to give orders, but it was refreshing to see him take the lead. His newfound boldness emanated in every twirl and every dip.

How long have we been dancing? A part of Star began to wonder, but it didn't matter. Seconds, minutes, weeks, days, months even—the passage of time—or not—seemed meaningless. All that could ever matter was the two of them on the dancefloor in the light of the Blood Moon. There was something almost hypnotic about this: the play of the red light of the moon on the black shadows in the room, Marco's humming of the waltz, and his confidence…. The very way they moved felt like they were gliding effortlessly. They were perfectly in sync too, as if the one intuitively knew exactly how the other was going to respond a full step ahead. They ebbed and flowed, expanded and came together—in some way you could say that they were one. One in thought and movement, bonded forever by some mysterious force.

I shouldn't be enjoying this, Star began to feel guilty. She hadn't formally broken up with Tom only to steal a rather intimate dance with another. Worse, she felt bad that she didn't feel bad about it. She was completely enraptured, and the feeling made her giddy. This is just like the Blood Moon Ball, Star was in awe—the same awe that she had only ever felt at that moment….

… "Good Evening, ladies and gentlemen," a demon priest tapped on a microphone as he cleared his voice. What's going to happen now? Star was full of anticipation. She had been invited to the Blood Moon Ball by her ex-boyfriend, Tom, only mere hours ago. Part of her wondered if she should have listened to Marco—the demon really hadn't changed much. While the "date" was going…alright-ish, Star could tell that Tom's fuse was running short. He was constantly getting upset at her for doing her own thing. He even tried to get her to bathe in unicorn blood—how rude, for corn's sake. To make things worse, the other demons were beginning to blame her for making the party kinda boring, which it was, except for Henry the punch bowl skeleton. Yet the other part of her wanted to feel things out between them. Everyone deserved a second chance, after all. Deeper still, was another feeling that she was supposed to be here. She would have normally declined to ever be in the same dimension as Tom, but…something felt right about being here. Maybe the weird demon food was getting to her.

"It is my pleasure that I request you now to turn your heads skyward," the demon priest continued as the hand in the ceiling descended slightly, causing the thin crescent in its palm to glisten. "When the light of the Blood Moon drobbles down and selects two lucky souls, binding them together for eternity, in its hypnotic, ruby, brodlum."

Of course, Star was only half listening because the moon was so shiny and pretty. The organ music started to play as the red light of the moon crept ever closer. It's like it's calling to me…

"Aargh! That's the wrong piece of music," Tom's growl pulled Star out of her thoughts. "This is going to drive me crazy. Alright, don't go anywhere—I'll be right back."

He was having a "Tom moment" again. Why couldn't he just let things happen? It didn't matter what creepy sounding organ music was playing, but Tom had to script every single moment of everything. I'm going to just go with the flow, Star returned her attention to the moon. It was like it was telling her to go deeper towards the center of the dancefloor. "Okay," she couldn't tell who she was answering: the moon's suggestion or Tom's command.

She followed the moon through the throngs of swaying demons. Some had even managed to find partners to dance with as the organ droned on.

"Star!"

Okay, maybe the moon was really calling her; she kept hearing someone whisper her name. Then, she felt a hand grab hers from behind, pulling her. As she faced the stranger, the ballroom went red and everyone gasped. The music changed to a lighter and statelier piece as the stranger pulled Star into a dance in the center of the ballroom. Normally, Star Butterfly would have given this fellow a taste of her own magic for such treatment, but she felt inclined to let him live long enough to finish. Why was she so okay with this? In fact, she was more than okay with this. As they spun around in a room full of watchful demons, she got her first real glimpse of him. He wore a skull mask—like those Día de los Muertos masks in the Diazes' house—so only two brown eyes could be seen. His suit made him look rather handsome, and, boy, he could dance. She would know too from all of those Silver Bell Balls. This was so intimate as if the only two people left in existence were her and the mysterious dance partner. I could do this forever….

"Star…" the stranger crooned her name tenderly. He sounded a bit like Marco… The sense of affection in his voice, the music, and the effect of the light of the moon made her swoon.

"How did you know my name?" Star breathed. She had to know more about the boy who swept her off her feet.

"It's me, Marco," the stranger lifted his mask in a reveal.

Marco…

"Star, you have to make a choice." How had she been so stupid? There never was a choice—the answer had been painfully in her face the entire time, from when she first came to Earth to this dance today. Who else had she tried to hard to conceal her feelings for? Who else had she confessed to out of anguish over never seeing him again? Who else had she tried to get over so hastily to make the pain of loneliness and rejection go away?

Her choice had always been him. Marco was the world to her: her best friend, her adventure buddy, her crush, her squire, her lifeline…. Sure, she liked Tom, but Marco was always her priority. They shared secrets and moments Tom could never hope to, and they knew each other better than almost anyone else. It was like she and Marco were the same soul; they had a bond no one could dare break.

Twice had she run from it, and now, here she was back at the only conclusion that could work. She couldn't run any longer. I choose Marco. The weight of that revelation sorta scared her. There were so many feelings, so many things left unsaid that she had to face. They never even talked about her confession back on Earth, but part of becoming a better princess involves bettering the self. I'm afraid…Did Marco even like her? He was single, but he spent so much time with Kelly nowadays. Plus, Star dating someone surely did not help. What if he rejected her?

Then she remembered a line from that Earth play, Hamlet—which sadly wasn't about a singing ham— "To thine own self, be true." For her own sake, she needed a definite answer before deciding where to go next. Also, Marco deserved to know.

"Star?" Marco began to worry, and Star realized that they had stopped dancing. "You've been quiet for a while?"

Here goes nothing. "Marco, can we talk for a bit?"

"Oh… Sure thing." He bit his lip, looking away from Star.

Oh boy… but this must be done right here. Star took his hand, and the two sat down somewhere in the room, the red light still shining down. "Um… I know I kind of crossed a line, dancing with you. I'm…"

He's too sweet sometimes. "Marco, this isn't about that. And I had a lot of fun dancing just now. I…" She smiled to reassure him so he wouldn't beat himself up over his forwardness. In fact, she had much more fun being with him than on the last several dates with Tom. Star took a deep breath to steady her racing heart, tightening her hold on Marco's hands. No turning back now. "Okay. Remember that confession I made to you on Earth?"

Marco tensed up, Star feeling his nerves on edge, "I remember. I hurt you and was a cruddy friend. It's okay, I get you moved on and are happy with Tom. I know you guys are fighting now, but I'm sure it will pass." He flashed a smile, but she saw through it.

"Tell me what you know about this," Star pointed to the glowing crescent on the ceiling.

Marco studied it for a second, "Well, Star, rubies are a precious gemstone—" She stared at him blankly, causing him to stop. How could he be so dense at a time like this?

"No, no, no," Star shook her head. "The Blood Moon, silly."

"Oh…," he chuckled to himself. "My bad. Uh…I don't know much about it myself besides what that captain picture in your room told me before I crashed the Blood Moon Ball…."

Was he blushing? "What did the painting call it, Marco?"

Star watched him take in a deep breath, "The Moon of Lovers."

"I knew this wasn't a coincidence," she steadied herself to drop one of the biggest truth bombs to date. "You see, Marco, since you've come back, I've been seeing the Blood Moon a lot on dates with Tom. I swear if I even just look at him, it's like the moon was screaming at me 'You are with the wrong dude, girly' or something. I tried to ignore it. I'd close windows or ask for Tom to meet me during the day. All because I was running away from what was so painfully obvious…."

"Star?" Marco's eyes soften with concern as her voice cracked and tears began to well.

"Marco," she took his other hand, forcing him to look into her eyes. "I should have been honest. Since you came back to Mewni..." Marco's brown orbs shined bright as if a confident fire somewhat got lit. "…I tried very hard to move on, but nothing worked. Every date with Tom ending with the Blood Moon was just the universe reminding me that my feelings were still there…."

"So… Where are you going with this?" Marco's eyebrows knit together, puzzled.

Star took her hands away from him, playing with strands of her hair. "I… I've been running from you. I… I am still in love with you." Marco's heart skipped a beat, looking shocked more than anything. Oh no, this is just like that party on Earth. Even if rejection was to come, she had to keep up her confession. "I don't know if you like me anymore, and there's Kelly now so…" Before she could finish her thought, Marco pulled her in for a crushing hug. Wow… He's never hugged me this tightly before.

"I don't just like you," Marco said softly, his voice confident and proud. "Star…I love you. Have for a while. But I took a while to realize my feelings. I saw you and Tom kissing in Lava Lake, and, I fully got the picture." He let out a bitter laugh, making Star's heart feel a familiar ache. He went through what I did when he dated Jackie. That feeling is horrible. Now she was putting the dots together: Marco's disgust at watching Tom fawn over her, the fight on her birthday, the hollow loneliness in his eyes whenever they had a good time on adventures. Wow, maybe Star was the dense one here.

"I'm sorry I hurt you." Star began as they broke their hug.

"I deserve it though. You felt forced to move on because I couldn't make up my stupid mind." He clenched his fists, disappointment evident on his face. "I'm sorry."

Star just put a warm hand on his shoulder, flashing a bright smile. "Well, now we both know. We love each other, dummy." Star's heart fluttered. The world felt brighter, warm color surrounding Marco and herself. This feels amazing. Is this what actually being love feels like? She couldn't help but ponder, looking at Marco's face. He was on the verge of crying. "Those happy tears? Or sad ones? Cause I don't want to see sad ones, mister."

He hugged Star again, letting everything pour out of him. "I don't want to lose you again." His voice was hoarse and tired. Star just carefully hugged him, feeling the tension across his back. This isn't about just us… "When you left Earth, it was like part of me was killed. So, when I finally found you again, and Toffee took you away… I felt utterly broken." He sniffled, holding back tears. "When you came back, and we had our 'longer goodbye', my world lost all its color. I wanted that back. I wanted your light back. And—" Marco let go, looking right into her somber blue eyes.

This is going to be about how I acted… Star couldn't finish her thought, with Marco rambling about how he messed up his return to Mewni. She couldn't even pay attention to this, feeling annoyance come over. "MARCO!" He stopped talking, worry shone in his brown eyes. "Stop. Just… I get it. You messed up. I messed up." Silence took the air for a minute before they both entered a laughing fit.

"So, we really are mess-up twins!" They shouted in unison, continuing their laughing fit. Any tension in the room vanished at this point, the two lovers sighing in content. But there is one thing left to do… And this will be hard.

"So… What happens now?" Marco asked hopefully, but his expression remained serious. "I don't want Tom to get upset with us or anything. I mean…" He shivered, Star thinking he's recalling their Stump Day brawl.

"I have to talk to him first. Officially break things off." She took Marco's hand, giving it a firm squeeze. I made my choice. I'm not changing my mind. He seemingly read her mind, squeezing his hand in response and giving a warm smile toward her. "I guess we solved the problem or somethin' here?" Star giggled.

"We really needed to talk. Glad we did that finally," Marco said.

"You're telling me! My heart hurts. Poor little guy…" She patted her chest, earning a giggle from Marco."

"Hearts aren't living…" Marco froze, giving Star a serious look. "Unless Mewman hearts are really alive. Like, living people and stuff? Did I do more damage then…?" Star just punched his arm, laughing loudly.

He's priceless sometimes. "Silly, Mewman hearts are like human ones. Stop overreacting. My Safe Kid." I wish I could kiss him, but that shouldn't happen while she was still sorta with Tom. Instead, they shared another deep hug before leaving the temple. As she started to walk off, the world much brighter than before. Marco followed, Star not seeing his bright smile and joyful posture.

"You know, we never did find what was haunting that temple," Marco said matter-of-factly after a moment of silence.

"Don't worry about it," she replied, "We found each other, so that must count for something." The pair laughed as they entered the forest of fire in the direction of home.

Meanwhile, a pair of watchful eyes gleamed from the shadow of the temple. All was going according to plan. The second phase of the Blood Moon had begun….