Star turned back to face Kasula. "You really think that'll work?" she whispered to Marco.

Marco gritted his teeth, "No." He replied honestly, "But we are not going to be able to overpower her. This seems like as good a shot as any."

"I saw it when you hit her with that blast just a second ago. Kasula raised her hand up to the portal and drew some kind of dark energy from it. I reckon that the empty void, the space beyond dimensions is where she gets her power from. It would make sense given that is where she came from. If we can close that portal, we might just be able to sever her connection and suppress her power. " Marco explained.

"But how am I supposed to reach the crystal to close the portal? I'd have still have to get past her." Star protested.

Marco turned around to face the battle that was still raging behind them. "The MHC."

Star looked at Marco, disbelief written across her face. "Marco... the high commission won't be able to stop Kasula, even my mom couldn't do it." As Star said this, her eyes flickered back to the limp body of her mother, still lying on the ground where Kasula had left her.

Marco shook his head, "We don't need to stop her, Star, we just need to slow her down enough for you to get through the portal."

Kasula, who had been watching Star and Marco converse on the ground beneath her, was beginning to get restless; she wasn't going to wait for them to regroup and fight her again, she was going to finish this now. In a dark flash, Kasula moved towards them, arms outstretched, ready to strike.

Star saw this coming and managed to raise a golden barrier just in time. Kasula clawed at the glowing shield, leaving long black scratches on it's surface. With an expulsion of energy, Star created a shock wave that managed to push Kasula back and create more distance between them. Marco opened a portal back to the battlefield and found Hekapoo as quickly as possible. After hastily explaining his plan, Marco returned to Star to find her still barely managing to hold off Kasula's assault.

"Star, the MHC are on their way, hold on!" Marco called out to her. Star was back in her buttlerfly form, but Marco could tell that she was fading fast.

As Star's golden barrier shattered into pieces, she was flung back towards Marco who just about managed to catch her before the two of them were sent tumbling to the ground. Kasula cried out in victory and began to walk towards where the two had fallen.

"Finally." Kasula muttered to herself, her jet black hair had been knocked out of place and her body was covered in scratches. Kasula raised her right hand and summoned a ball of black fire, poised to end it all, when a large fiery red portal opened on the ground behind her and the large form of Omitraxxus Prime rose out of it. Kasula turned to face the hulking figure and Ommitraxxus attempted to crush her beneath his enormous fists. Hekapoo emerged from the same fiery red portal soon after and attempted to engage Kasula in combat as best she could.

Now that Kasula had become somewhat occupied, the plan could really begin.

"Here Star," Marco said, turning to Star and brandishing his dimensional scissors, "you'll need these to get out of Kasula's dimension, you will have to use the crystal to get through the barrier the Ancients created."

Star reached out to take the scissors from Marco but a dark tendril beat her to it. The scissors were wrenched out of his hands and flew threw the air to land in Kasula's open palm. Somehow Kasula had fought off the MHC long enough to snatch the scissors before they could be used. She had a furious look on her face and was once again surrounded by a dark fiery aura.

"I've had enough!" she screeched and she closed her fist. A sharp cracking sound could be heard as the structural integrity of the scissors were compromised. Then her fist closed completely and the scissors shattered into pieces which tumbled to the floor. A smile quickly crossed her face before Omnitraxxus attempted to restrain her again with his massive form.

Star turned to face Marco who was looking on in horror. The scissors were instrumental to his plan, there was no way they would be able to stop Kasula and get back for her dimension now. He faced Star, a helpless look on his face, hoping that she would come up with some solution that he wasn't seeing. Star had a familiar look on her face, it was the look she put on whenever she had done something wrong, whenever she was apologising for something.

"Star?" He asked, under his breath, scared that his fears would be realised.

Star didn't respond but instead looked up towards the portal in the sky and then to Kasula who was still fighting the magical high commission. She bit her bottom lip, coming to a decision, maybe the hardest of her entire life. She strengthened her resolve and turned to face Marco again, fear was still written all across his face. There was only one move left.

Star leaned in and kissed Marco. The kiss was warm and loving, filled with affection and passion, but it was also fleeting and filled with sorrow, Star was saying goodbye. Tears began to form in Star's eyes as she broke the kiss.

"I love you, Marco Diaz." Star said with finality. Not giving him any time to respond, Star flew up and away, towards the dark swirling portal which hung in the sky. Star ignored the screaming protests from Kasula and didn't look back, trusting that Omnitraxxus and Hekapoo would be able to contain her.

Marco stood alone, watching Star fly to the portal and eventually disappear through it. Tears were flowing freely down his cheeks, he knew what this meant and he knew that it was the only move they had left to make but that didn't mean that he had to like it.

"Star!" He cried after her weakly, desperately willing her to come back to him but knowing that she never would, this was something that she had to do.

Star continued flying upwards until she passed through the large portal that Kasula had created with her machine. On the other side the courtyard looked exactly the same as the last time she had seen it, a shudder ran through her body has she relived the pain. The machine was sitting exactly where she had expected it to be but it was surrounded by those golden clad soldiers. They had not reacted to her presence however and they showed no intention of stopping her when she moved closer.

Star thought nothing of it and moved towards the machine; she would need to remove the crystal in order to close the portal. Star flew over the heads of the soldiers, who still made no move to stop her, and landed directly in front of the receptacle that housed the mysterious crystal. She reached out her hand and closed her fist around the dark shard. Star tried to pull it from its case, but it refused to budge. She pulled harder and harder trying to get it to move but to no avail, Kasula must have put some sort of protective seal on it after the last time that I removed it from the machine, Star thought.

To counteract the seal Star would have to use magic and so cast a spell that she thought would be strong to break it. Star tried pulling again and was relieved to find that this time the crystal broke free of the machine when sufficient force was applied to it. The crystal rested in her hand and she could feel a slight drain on her magic. Star watched in wonder as the crystal's colour flushed and turned back to the translucent white that it had been before Kasula corrupted it with her dark influence. The large machine made a whirring sound and Star heard what sounded like gears grinding against each other in a very unhealthy way. The pillar of energy that was keeping the portal open flickered out of existence and the portal above her started to close.

Star looked up at the collapsing gateway and back to Mewni above her. It was too far away now for Star to reach before it closed completely. There was no way she would be able to leave now and Star had made her peace with that. It eased her mind to know that sacrificing herself like this would save so many lives not just in Mewni but across the entire universe. Star closed her eyes, it was too hard to watch her life disappear like that, she knew what she was leaving behind.

"Goodbye Marco." She whispered.

"NOOOO!" A female voiced screamed above her, "I WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO TAKE THIS FROM ME!"

Star opened her eyes and looked up to see Kasula hovering in mid air cloaked in some kind of dark energy, holding the portal open with her hands. Her eyes were bloodshot and she was borderline frothing at the mouth.

"I WILL NOT LET YOU RUIN EVERYTHING I HAVE WORKED SO HARD FOR!"

Star was horrified, worried that her sacrifice would be in vain, until an idea came to her mind. Around Star, the golden soldiers had suddenly sprung to life and rushed to try and restrain Star but she was too fast for them. In a flash of brilliant yellow light, she leapt off of the ground and flew directly upwards, leaving a shining trail behind her. Star could see it, the way out, she could suddenly see how to get her happy ending.

A dark tendril from Kasula rushed past and just about managed to graze the side of her face, which snapped Star back into focus, there would be time to rejoice later. Kasula was attempting to stop Star's ascent via the use of multiple tendrils trying to swat Star right out of the air. Star wasn't going to be stopped now, not when victory was so close, she ducked and dived and dodged out of the way of the assailing tendrils.

Not a single one was able to make contact with Star and this just made Kasula even more desperate. The force of the portal collapsing around her was taking a lot of her focus and that meant she couldn't use her full power to stop Star, she could see her plan unravelling before her eyes and there was nothing that she could do to stop it.

When Star was around ten metres from the threshold of the portal, one of the tendrils managed to just about make contact with the flying princess and left a horrible black gash up her right side. The pain was immense and Star could feel her consciousness ebbing away, but she refused to give in now. Star clenched her fists and sped up, climbing the last few metres until she was practically level with Kasula. With as much strength and magical force as she could manage, Star extended her right fist towards Kasula's face.

The blow was powerful, not more powerful than some of the blasts Marco had already seen today, but it was still one punch he would rather not be on the receiving end of. It was strong enough to silence Kasula's wailing and force her back from the portal, causing her to lose her grip and allowed the portal to continue collapsing in on itself. Marco almost jumped for joy when he saw the golden shining princess fall out of the ever shrinking hole in the sky after Kasula. Somehow, she had made it out of that dimension and back to Mewni.

Star smiled as she felt her fist come into contact with Kasula's face, she had been dying to do that ever since she threw Marco across the courtyard. Star closed her eyes as the last shreds of consciousness succumbed to the pain in her right side. The last thing she saw was the landscape of Mewni far beneath her as flakes of golden light fell away from her person signifying that her Butterfly form was ending. Star smiled when she heard the familiar sound of a portal closing behind her, they had won.

Marco's elation quickly turned into horror as he watched Star's butterfly form dissipate and saw her go into free fall, he wouldn't be able to catch her at this distance because she would be moving too fast. Marco had to think on his feet, his scissors had been shattered so he couldn't open a portal and snatch her out of mid air. He looked to Hekapoo for help but she and Omnitraxxus had been rendered unconscious. There was no one else around to help, and Marco would be damned if he was just going to let Star hit the ground, he moved to intercept and prayed for some kind of miracle. Once he was in position, he closed his eyes and waited for the impact.

But the collision never came. Instead, all he could feel was a slight periodic breeze on his face. Marco opened his eyes to see Moon slowly descending through the air, struggling to hold Star in her arms. Moon's butterfly form was fading fast, Kasula had clearly done a lot of damage to her and it was a wonder that she had been able to catch Star at all. Moon continued her descent until she collapsed onto the ground in front of Marco , laying Star down next to her.

Marco rushed to Star's side and checked for a pulse. It was faint, but he could feel the pulse that proved Star was somehow still alive. Marco cradled her head in his arms and began to cry, the sudden overload of emotions was too much for him to handle. Star's eyelids fluttered open to reveal her two beautiful blue eyes shining up at him.

"Marco?" She called out softly.

"You... you did it Star," he responded looking over to where Kasula had landed just a few metres from them, "you won."

With the aid of Marco, Star managed to get to her feet and they hobbled over to the motionless form of Kasula. She was lying in a small crater that her body had created upon impact with the ground, her eyes were closed and she didn't appear to be moving.

"Do you think she's dead?" Star whispered to Marco.

"I don't know." He said honestly.

Marco used the end of his foot to gently nudge Kasula's elbow. Her eyes suddenly shot open and she started coughing up some sort of black ichor. Star and Marco quickly took a few cautionary steps backwards surprised that she was still alive. Kasula didn't have the strength left to sit up, so instead settled for just turning her head to face Star and Marco, her eyes full of hatred.

"You think you've won?" Kasula spat at them. "You can't kill me, I'm not a mortal like you."

Kasula raised her right hand and pointed towards Star just as it ignited with black flames; Marco instinctively moved in front to shield the very injured Star from harm but to his surprise, the flames crept back along Kasula's arm disintegrating her body as it went, causing her to scream out in pain.

When the last of her had been burned away by the flames, Star and Marco took a deep breath, glad that it was finally over.

"Mom!" Star exclaimed, remembering the state that she must be in and quickly running over to her.

Marco went to check that both Hekapoo and Omnitraxxus had survived their fight with Kasula; they were alive albeit unconscious but Marco knew they could have come away much worse. Marco looked back towards the castle to see that the hordes of golden soldiers had all collapsed to the floor, unable to continue fighting without the dark power of Kasula to guide them. It was going to take a while for the kingdom to recover from the damage that had been done here today but Marco was sure that they would be able to pull through.

Marco wandered down the halls of Butterfly Castle, taking note of the damage that had been done by Kasula and her forces. In the few short weeks since the battle, repairs had been coming along quickly. Something about being pushed to the edge of extinction really brought the people of Mewni together and everyone seemed to be helping each other.

Against the advice of the Magic High Commission, Star had dispatched workers to many of the dimensions known to have been invaded by Kasula to aid with their repairs. Star wanted to set the foundations for peace with other dimensions during her reign and thought that this would be a good way to go about it.

Marco turned a corner and continued traversing the many corridors, the bouquet he was carrying filled the castle with a floral aroma. He was heading towards the bedroom that belonged to Queen Moon and King River. Moon would still be there recovering from her fight with Kasula; Star wasn't as versed in healing magic as Moon was and so the help that she could offer was limited. Nevertheless her condition was stable and it would only be a matter of time before she regained consciousness.

Once he reached the room, Marco knocked on the door, but there was no response from anyone inside. Marco slowly opened the door and peered around the edge. Moon was still laying in bed unconscious and River was sat in an armchair next to the her, quietly snoring. Marco had also expected to find Star somewhere in here, she had understandably been spending a lot of time with her incapacitated mother, but she was nowhere to be seen. Marco quietly crept into the room and placed the bouquet of flowers he had brought into the empty vase that was next to her bed.

Now that he was in the room, Marco noticed that the door to the balcony was open and there was a slight draught coming in from outside. Marco figured that it must be Star out there and so went outside to join her.

Star was wearing one of her signature dresses and her long blonde hair was slowly waving in the wind. Against the dark orange of the Mewnian sunset, Marco thought that he had never seen her more beautiful than right now. Marco walked up to her left side and put his right arm around her waist. Star let out a content sigh and allowed herself to lean against Marco. They stood like that for a time before Star spoke up.

"Marco, do you remember before all of this started?" She asked.

"Yeah we were in the gardens arguing about something." He responded.

"Do you remember what we were arguing about?"

"Uhh, not really."

"I was trying to ask you something important, but things kept getting in the way and I lashed out at you."

"Star, after everything we've been through, you don't have to apologise for that."

Star shook her head and moved away from Marco a little.

"No that's not what I mean," she said as she took his hands in hers, "I still haven't asked you about it."

"Oh?" Marco said, his voice made up of equal parts worry and curiosity.

"It's about our future, or rather, my future. As you know, my mom is not going to be here forever," she paused to glance over at her sleeping mother, "and sooner or later I'm going to have to fill the position that she will leave behind. It's not going to happen immediately, but the first steps have already been taken. Certain things are expected of a Queen and certain things will be expected from you if you want to stay with me."

Star paused and made sure to make direct eye contact with Marco before continuing.

"So I guess I'm asking if you... will you... " Star took a breath to steady herself, "Marco Diaz, will you marry me?"

Marco's face slowly twisted into an enormous grin as he realised what was happening. He placed his forehead against Star's and whispered to her.

"Of course I will, Star."

Hearing these words caused Star's face to explode into elation and she closed the small distance that remained between them and caught Marco in a deep and passionate kiss. After the newly engaged couple had finished, they stood on the balcony, watching the sun set and thought about the future that awaited them.

A/N: That's it! It's finished, finally. I know I was nearly 3 weeks late with getting the final chapter out, but I was just so indecisive about which direction to go. Special shout out to u/GinsuFe on reddit who helped me out with one particular decision that I second guessed towards the end of writing this chapter. Also want to say thank you again to every one who has bothered to keep up with this story. When I started writing this I never thought that I would be able to finish it but here we are! And I am so glad that I did start it, writing this story has been so much fun for me and I feel immense satisfaction now that it is actually finished. I have ideas for a small epilogue, but there will be no guarantee on when/if I write it. Any feedback on the story as a whole is always welcome, people interacting with me about something I created is a large reason that I actually managed to finish this story!