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Chapter Text

The portal opened up in an instant, and a blonde girl came out of it.

Star Butterfly didn't know how to explain why she had come here in the first place. A lot had happened in so little time, and she felt like she still needed time to digest the most recent events. The people around her definitely still had to do so since she had declared that she wanted to step down as a queen of Mewni and let Eclipsa take her place… despite the fact that the alternative was never a viable option. She had told her to keep the wand, after all. Which was a harsh decision to begin with…

Most of her thoughts had gone rampant and wild since she did that, and her quest to find Moon had yet to yield any results. Without any plan to follow or any good leads, her search for a solution had finally led her in this dimension… though why she specifically came here, she wasn't sure of it herself. She wanted to do something here… but there was no way it would give her anything she didn't already know.

Sighing, Star decided to focus on the present and call the man he wanted to talk with for a bit. "Father Time?" she shouted in the distance.

There was no sign of the presence of the master of 'time-time' nearby, which was worrying. Star didn't know much about the Time Dimension, and since her first encounter with him, when she risked freezing the fabric of time itself for all eternity, Father Time had grown accustomed to travel a long distance away from the area where he used to reside, thanks to his new hamster wagon. If no trails had been left from the wheel vehicle she and Marco had set up for him, which was far from being a small machine, that meant that Father Time had not returned here for a while.

He could be anywhere, and this dimension wasn't a small one…

"Father Time! Come on, I just need to have a word with you! No weird requests, I promise!" Star tried again to summon the guy. She expected him to pop out of the mud somewhere, laughing to himself as he loitered around while basking in the wet terrain. Or to see him rushing into the scene, skidding towards her and ramming into her for the second time.

But he did not, and Star had only a feeble breeze blowing on her face as an answer.

"Gah!" she eventually groaned. "I'm losing my time here. No thanks to you, Father Time!"

She turned around and checked the portal. Marco had opened it himself for her, but she'd asked him to wait back in Mewni because she wanted to deal with it herself. Knowing him, he was probably still waiting for her on the other side. Sighing, she made a step towards the portal with the intention of going back to Mewni.

"Is there something here that is of any interest to you, Princess?"

Star froze where she was. Of all people…

She slowly turned around and showed her best, and most importantly honest, frown at the enormous being. In what seemed to be his home dimension, Omnitraxus Prime looked much mightier than his usual, floating-skull form. But Star was unfazed—in fact, the sight of the Magic High Commission member had only the effect of making her mad.

"Not something I'd want to talk with you anyway!" she blurted out, making no attempt at hiding her displeasure. Omnitraxus raised a cloud-made eyebrow, but he didn't rebut to her words.

"Uh… let's ignore the rough start. Now, Princess—"

"I am not a princess… not in the way you mean it! Eclipsa is queen now, therefore Meteora is the princess and rightful heir to the throne! You better pound that into that thick skull of yours Omnitraxus!"

"Right, right," Omnitraxus dismissed her correction quickly. "Well, as a member of the Magic High Commission—"

"That does not help your stance with me in the slightest. In fact, I don't know why I'm standing here listening to you. Bye, seeing you late, ve-eeery late, better yet—never!" she turned around.

"Pri—I mean, Star!" Omnitraxus had finally abandoned his neutral tone for a more serious, affronted one. "Look, we may have had our, uh, divergences, but as master of Space-Time it is still my duty to check on the ones who appear to have a problem with the current flow of the timeline, be that ours or any other. What is it that you wanted to ask Father Time about, Star?"

At first, Star ignored him, but as she got closer to the portal, she felt like the words Omnitraxus had said were having more and more of an effect on her. She remembered how he had helped her when her predicament with a math query had almost demolished the entire sub-universe. Besides, he had to have quite a good knowledge of time-stuff, just as much if not better than Father Time.

Yet, Omnitraxus was still part of the Magic High Commission, the group of people that she had discovered were at the bottom of many of the problems that had affected her family as a whole, and she had yet to see any sign of regret in him. Not trusting him or the others had basically become the one piece of truth she was one-hundred per cent sure of, in the web of lies that she found her family was trapped into.

A thought crossed her mind, making her remember about the main issue that was bothering her. Her mom…

She was still missing. And no one had any clue where she could be… her included.

Star stopped to walk right before she could take a step into the portal itself. She passed a hand over her face, groaning at the thought of what she was about to do.

Omnitraxus simply waited in silence as she slowly turned around to face him again, and the portal closed itself behind her, having depleted its power. Star knew she could technically open portals by herself, even if it was a demanding magic expense, so she wasn't worried… though she couldn't help but feel like it was a message of sorts. 'Well, I guess there's no going back now…'

"Don't you think I trust you now, Omnitraxus!" Star suddenly exclaimed, agitating a hand towards the magical being. "I still think you're a traitor, no less!"

"Yes, the same traitor who basically saved the kingdom from total chaos," he replied nonchalantly.

"Chaos? Why do you—you know, forget about it, I'm wasting my time arguing with you!"

"Agreed, Star."

Omnitraxus sat down in front of Star—despite his size, he didn't seem to weigh as much since the terrain didn't give any sign of breaking once he let his body rest on it. "Let's keep this conversation related to the current business, and then we'll part and go our own ways. You may speak, Star."

Star huffed, but mentally thanked Omni for being at least partially aware of the pointlessness of their argument, even if for the wrong reasons. Boy, at least the master of space-time wasn't Rhombulus. She sat down as well and hid her mouth behind her knees, her eyes fixed on the ground.

She spent a few seconds putting her thoughts in order, since part of her had wanted to go and pay a visit to Father Time also to have a good, casual conversation with someone who she could trust, at least partially. Omni definitely didn't meet the conditions, so she was left to her own thoughts before she could actually question him.

Omnitraxus gave a look to the surroundings, but before he could open his skull mouth to address her, Star finally started talking. "I need to know if there is a way to fix things. Things about… everything."

He was taken aback by the request. "You, uh… you will have to elaborate a bit more on that, Princ—er, Star," he managed to say as a reply, almost wary of what his words could cause as a reaction.

Star frowned and let out a groan. "I just… I… ugh! Omnitraxus, you are the master of space-time, right? You do know stuff about time and whatnot. You're the expert on the matter."

"Yes, I am. The help I can provide depends on whether or not this is space-time related, though."

"I don't know… but maybe you can answer. I want to fix everything that has happened. This, everything that went down since I came back from Earth… even before that, it happened just because of mistakes made by everyone. By me, by you, by everyone else!"

Omni didn't appreciate Star low-key accusing him of having made a mistake, but let her talk as she began to ramble.

"Meteora happened because of mistakes from everyone. What happened to Eclipsa resulted from even more mistakes, misconceptions and stubbornness! And then, when I tried to fix things… I ended up making more mistakes of my own! Maybe I can't fix the past, Omni, but you should have some kind of way to at least fix the present. Right?"

Omni didn't like where this was going. "Oh, no, princess, I don't think that is a good idea if I understand that correctly. Time is not to be messed with; the effects of time are something we constantly have to live with, but we must never do the other way around—affecting time ourselves. That could have dire, very dire consequences."

"But there must be a way to prevent any of this from happening. You, or Father Time, should know something about it. I should be able to fix it, I want to fix it, I want to make things better for everyone! I can stop Toffee and stop him before he can take us aback and destroy the wand, I can make Ms. Heinous understand her past without turning her into a giant monster hell-bent on annihilating me and my family, I can stop Eclipsa and mom from fighting each other over her! And if you won't help me with this, I'll see if anyone else can do the same!"

Omnitraxus was of course worried about the prospect of Star doing something she shouldn't do. Father Time wasn't really someone that agreed with his meticulous methods concerning the conservation of the time continuum, so the same request from Star might end up having very bad results. Glossaryck forbid if Star somehow managed to find the river of time and meet Reynaldo… that could result in a downright disaster.

He had to explain it to her, make her understand her point. "Listen, Star, I do understand your concern. Losing your mother can be a hard time to go through, and—"

"I didn't lose my mother! She's just missing, and I just have to find her!"

Omnitraxus wondered if this was really what Star was thinking… of if she was trying to delay the inevitable conclusion. That Moon was nowhere to be found. And that she was… gone.

Festivia had managed to accept that her parents were gone far faster… what was different this time? He would've liked to question Star directly, but he decided against it.

Instead, he replied, "Yes, she is, but I feel you're going to extreme lengths to find her, Star. Even if you don't trust me, at least hear me out, just this once… do I say the truth when I say you want to go back in time, Star? Is that, put it simply, your request? To fix your mistakes by erasing them from the time continuum?"

Star looked up at Omnitraxus, her eyes wet. She nodded, unable to lie to the Magic High Commission member. She just wasn't in the mood to do so.

"Good. And I'm sure that you should at least know the basics of why that would not be a good idea, right?"

"I know those as well, but how can I be sure you are completely right, Omni? You don't trust me, perhaps; then, let me go with someone you do trust. Marco's a great squire, for starters, even Tom can help me, he's the prince of Underworld not just in names. Heck, you want to get Hekapoo and Rhombulus involved and send them to keep me in check—do it! I don't care, I just want to go! I want to find my mother! I want all of this to end!"

"I'd rather not get Rhombulus involved, but that's not the point. There is inevitability in time, Star, and we can't do much as it progresses and Father Time keeps doing his job. But once it has progressed, what it leaves behind itself is a very delicate trail of events, matter and modifications on said matter. Only people who know what they're doing and have the magic skills needed to do it safely should be let into the past of their own universe… and even then, I'd have second thoughts about letting them through. The smallest of mistakes, the tiniest of modifications, could have unforeseen effects."

"But there must be another way, Omni! Listen, you once told me that there were multiple universes, right? Every one of them with a copy of me? You didn't seem too much preoccupied in telling me about all of this back then."

"That was first because, unless you tried to solve the math problem, your universe would've gone to shambles and devoured by the others, which I'd argue was an even bigger of a problem, and second, because that's different. Time is similar for all universes, but space-time can be rather different. Universes are essentially independent from each other, unlike timelines."

"Wait, so you mean that I could travel to other parallel universes without doing any damage?"

"Well, yes, that is indeed possible. I'd suggest not doing it anyway, though. Some universes could still be inevitably modified by a visit to the point of damaging them beyond a point of no return, while others could be dangerous for the travellers themselves. I prefer to keep access to them limited to a simple spectating presence, even for me who oversees over the entire thing, and I have no intention to try and change that."

Star didn't ask any more questions. She simply sat down in front of the giant humanoid form of Omnitraxus and put both hands on her face. She sniffed once.

"Star…" Omnitraxus took the initiative. "I know this is hard, and we have differing opinions on your last decision about the throne… and that's a euphemism; but this is not the right solution for your current issue. I am being fully honest here… go and keep looking for the Que—er, your mother. Perhaps she is still in Mewni, somewhere hidden from clean sight but still there. Once she is back by your side, we will both be better off. But leave these thoughts concerning time aside."

She didn't reply, though her sniffs stopped. She looked down at the terrain of the Time Dimension, refusing to look up to Omnitraxus. The Magic High Commission member decided that this was enough and slowly rotated his body with the intention of getting back to his job as a space-time controller.

Then, he heard something. Footsteps, fast approaching. And when he whirled around, he was just able to catch the glimpse of blonde hair before something violently dug their way into his tummy.

"Ow! Star!"

Star knew she didn't have much time, so she saved herself from showing disgust upon her entrance into Omnitraxus' guts, nor did she turn back to check if she was being followed.

Looking around, she saw there were no floating rocks moving in the time-plane, so she decided to make her own, opening both of her hands and charging up a spell.

When she was done, a pink cloud was hovering in front of her. "Oh, hi Star!"

"No time, Cloudy!" Star jumped on her flying companion. "Into Omnitraxus' stomach, now!"

Cloudy didn't question his master any further and zapped forward... just in time to avoid an enormous hand emerging out of thin air to try to catch him and Star.

"Princ—Star! Star Butterfly!" Omnitraxus' voice boomed. He was angry, apparently, but his voice also betrayed urgency and worry. Whether he was worried about her or what she was about to do, Star had no clue, but she couldn't care less about what he thought. She had heard enough and had already decided what she needed to do.

What she needed to try to do.

"Star, wait!" Omnitraxus was now fully visible, moving fast in pursuit of Cloudy. "You don't know what you are doing! This is not a true solution!"

Star didn't reply but got a handful of Cloudy's fluffy body in a fist and pulled on it, steering him in another direction, making Omnitraxus stumble as he tried to change direction as well. "Where are you…" she muttered, "I know you must be here… somewhere…"

"Star, please, listen to my words!" Omnitraxus pressed on. "There is nothing helpful to find in alternate universes. You don't know what you're doing—trying to make entrance into one can end up with something far, far different than what you expect! You can't fully control where, or even when you will enter that universe, nor are you fully sure what its inhabitants are going to be like! Star, stop this madness!"

Star didn't even think of giving a reply. She steered Cloudy once again, and finally, she saw them. Mirroring crystals… and there were hundreds of them.

She looked back to Omnitraxus, then thought fast about a way to gain time. "Cloudy, now you'll act like a fly. A very annoying fly!"

"At your orders, m'lady! Bzz-bzz!" Cloudy chirped. Star jumped on the nearest, horizontal-positioned mirror, and Cloudy dashed towards Omnitraxus, starting to buzz around his head.

"What in the?!" Omnitraxus started to flail his hands around his cranium in an attempt to shoo the cloud speel away. "Oh, for crying out loud! I hate bugs! Always buzzing in my skull"

"I'm a fly! I'm a fly! And I'm very annoying! Buzz buzz!" Cloudy sang, much to Omnitraxus' chagrin, as he flew through the earholes of the master of space-time.

"I didn't need to be reminded of how this skull originally came to be in the first place," Omnitraxus groaned. He prepared himself to try and shoo away the annoying cloud, not before giving a glance to Star herself.

"Star, heed my words! This is for your own good. You must stop now!"

Star, once again, did not listen to him. Her full attention was directed to the mirror she was standing on. There was a reflection of herself, who stared back at her… except that the reflection was a cat version of her.

When Star looked up to the various mirrors, she saw more of those reflections as well. She recognized some she had already seen when she had previously paid a visit to Omnitraxus, but a lot of them were new. However, this time, all of the reflections were looking at her, rather than just facing forward just like they did when Omnitraxus showed her the mirrors.

Star knew that this was normal, since they were technically reflections… but it still unnerved her somewhat.

In any case, this wasn't what she was looking for. Putting her hands forward, Star thought about what words she would need, then she went in.

"Mirrors! Doors to new universes… or whatever you like to be called, I don't know. Anyway, please… show me more than just me. Show me someone else, someone I care about… that I want to see. Show me Moon Butterfly!"

The mirrors surprisingly complied before Star could even fire a spell to make her point clearer. Instantly, the Alternate Stars disappeared… and their place, Alternate Moons appeared.

Star was entrapped by the view. It had been weeks since she last saw her mother… far too long, in her opinion. And now, there were dozens of them, looking at her neutrally… and some of them were even smiling heartily.

Perhaps, that was just an impression she felt due to the moment… or maybe it wasn't, and the expressions from the mirrored images were genuine. She didn't care. She didn't care that all of the Moons were identical to how her mother looked, even the one below her—in the crystal that originally showed a cat Star.

"Star, cease this instant!" Omnitraxus called out, but then Cloudy flew directly into his mouth. He started to cough as he tried to choke out the magical puff of vapour.

A tear escaped through one of Star's eyes. She scanned throughout the Alt-Moons, seeing all types of alternate visions of her mother—but all very similar to each other. She looked through them all, trying to find something that showed her she was choosing the right one. But finally, her eyes rested on a specific version on a mirror not too far away from her.

It was identical to how she remembered Moon. Head to toe, same clothes, same hairstyle, and same crown, like the others—but the look in her eyes, the hands intertwined. Moon stood in her reflection image, weakly smiling at Star.

This didn't just look like her mom. The reflection acted like her as well… she was sure of it.

"Mom…"

"Cough!" Cloud flew out of Omnitraxus' mouth with a 'weeee' before disappearing in a puff, having depleted its spell energy. "Princ—Star! You're putting yourself in danger!"

Finally, Star deigned herself to turn around. She saw that Omnitraxus was now flying at full speed, speeding towards her with his hands forward.

Star jumped towards the mirror with her mom and took hold of it with a hand, holding on it in order to not fall off. Omnitraxus forced himself to stop moving once he realized what Star was about to do.

After that, he hovered quietly and slowly, moving in her direction.

"Star…" Omnitraxus' words came out calmer, calculated. "There is nothing for you out there in that parallel universe that will help you find our mother. Those… they're not her. They're just alternate versions of her. And they all look like her, because you asked them to."

"I… I know, Omni…" Star said through gritted teeth. "B-but… but I don't know what to do. I don't know! I—I need advice, and not from a liar like you. I need real advice… I need something to help me in this, I need… anything. And if she can help me herself, even if it's just an alternate Moon…"

She cried out. "SO BE IT!"

Omnitraxus dashed forward, but he was far, too far from her. Star turned to the mirror and looked through it at the Moon who was the most similar to her mother. "I'm sorry, mom… but I need you."

Star touched the mirror with her free hand, and nothing happened. Undeterred, she closed her eyes and a bright light engulfed her. Once the flash was gone, her butterfly wings flapped as she extended the six arms typical of her Butterfly Form out.

"Star Butterfly!" Omnitraxus called out. Right now, he seemed to have abandoned the more sympathetic approach. "You're going to regret this, Star! You are not prepared for this!"

She was hovering right in front of her mom now. Omnitraxus shouted again, but she wasn't listening—she knew he'd reach her in moments, and she didn't have time to waste.

"Mom…" she whispered, a bit to herself, a bit to the reflected image. Moon's smile faltered for a moment when Star extended her six hands towards the mirror, and that made her hesitate.

Then, she frowned and released the portal opening spell, engulfing the mirror and turning it into a dimensional portal. Unlike other portals, this one was particularly small in size, but still big enough to let her in. It was fully white, and its bright light would've almost blinded her if it wasn't for her empowered magic form.

She felt something moving behind her, and she dashed forward before Omnitraxus could catch her. In the blink of an eye, she lost control of her mind and everything became white… and she was gone.

Star groaned. She was… lying down. And wet.

It took her some time to recover her senses, and even then, it was hard to do so considering her state. She was cold, no, she was freezing.

"Uugh…" she groaned again as she managed to sit up. She scanned her surroundings and realized why she was wet: snow. A white cover of snow covered the ground all around her, including the humanoid form that was printed right in front of her—her previous lying position.

'Did I just… pass out?' Star wondered. He tried to remember what she was doing. Omnitraxus… the time dimension. Mom.

The memories came back to her quickly once the thought of Moon crossed her mind. She stood up in alarm, looking around as if the Queen of Mewni (well, ex-queen) could appear any moment, but there was no living being save for the faraway sounds of birds chirping and some ominous-looking trees.

Star's mind was having a hard time trying to make up what had just happened. Was she in the new universe? Why did she pass out? She didn't even remember how the trip through the portal went—normally, such trips wouldn't even be considered as so since travelling through portals did not take any time to happen, but this had to not have been the case. She even was in her Butterfly Form when she crossed the portal!

Perhaps, Omnitraxus was right when he said she wasn't prepared… but she was there now, and alive. 'Take that, Omni! Serves you right!'

Her thoughts ran back to her mother. If she had indeed succeeded in travelling to the alternate universe, that meant that Moon was here, and well… The Moon of this dimension at least, but she didn't pay much attention to that.

She considered her options and decided that a direct approach was her best bet. Not just because it was more on par with her style—she hoped that even Alt-Moon knew basics about alternate universes and would understand her once she explained who she was and what predicament she was in.

Perhaps she would scold her as well—technically she deserved it… but she was willing to pay that price if it meant seeing her mother again. And asking for her advice.

She gave a glance to the trees around her, then it clicked. This was not just some random forest…she recognized the forms of those trees, oh so menacing to the foreigner's eye. This was the Forest of Certain Death… and it meant that not only she was still in Mewni, but she was also relatively close to the capital and Butterfly Castle as well!

Star, neglecting the fact she was basically drenched by now, ran away from the clearing. She had a hunch that she recognized this specific part of the forest, and if that was the case… she was very close!

It took her five minutes of running through the undergrowth before she reached another area devoid of trees. No, not just a clearing, an entire barren hillside. It was late in the night, but the moon was particularly luminescent that night, enough to let Star see in the distance.

At this point, her theories about her position were basically confirmed. She couldn't believe her luck—she was right on the side of the woods facing the castle! She just needed to get up to the top of the hillside to watch the capital in its full nightly glory!

She marched through the snow and, huffing and puffing, she finally managed to reach the top. Star panted but didn't even sit down to rest, eager to watch the castle in the same shape she remembered before Meteora destroyed it in her rampage.

Except…

The castle was still in ruins. No… not even that. Major parts of it were completely gone as well. Entire towers were missing, including the main dome; walls had disappeared and no more protected the inner chambers and hallways from the weather. The castle didn't just look like it had been raided—someone had tried to completely destroy it, and they had succeeded.

And what about the town below the castle?

Razed, demolished. Only a few buildings were still standing, and even then, they were barely recognizable. And the same could be said for the outer walls that used to protect the inhabitants one could only imagine used to live there.

That was the landscape that greeted Star, once she finally looked at what used to be her home.

Chapter Text

Star didn't want to believe what she was seeing at first. She knew that your eyes could deceive you, making you see images that weren't real—she'd seen plenty of movies on Earth that featured mirages and the such… It happened all the time.

Yet… she was not in a horizon-spanning desert, nor did she remember stepping into the dungeon of a particularly cruel magical being who wanted to play tricks with her mind. Heck, if anything she should've been the magical being doing that in the first place!

And she also definitely didn't let her father convince her to share a drink of the oldest variety of the Johannsen seasoned wines.

No… there was no mistake in what was visible from the barren hillside in the Forest of Certain Death. As much as she disliked, as much as it aggravated her, what she was looking at was her home, ruined beyond repair… but still recognizable.

Well… it used to be her home. A version of it, that is… but still her home.

"No, no, no!" Star cried, grabbing her head as she turned her face around, refusing to look any longer at the grim scenery. "This can't be happening. This isn't the future! No!"

It couldn't be the future! Omnitraxus was supposed to handle alternative realities, right? Time was more of a thing Father Time dealt with; she already knew that. She remembered something about a giraffe guy that was mentioned a couple of times in the spell book as well, she vaguely recalled Glossaryck saying something about him and some type of time flow thing he was tasked with… she could not remember his name. Still, not Omnitraxus! This had to be the present, even if she was in an alternate reality!

If that was true though, it meant that the present here was much worse off than her own dimension. Her mother was just missing in her original version of Mewni, she simply had to find out where the Firstborn had sent her—as difficult and infuriating that was. The castle had been damaged by Meteora back home… but here, half of the towers were downright missing, including the main and largest one, and the town around it had basically ceased to exist long before Star came here. If Mewni itself was destroyed, then her mother…

"No, no!" Star refused to let that thought go on any longer. She looked at the ruined city afar, her eyes wet, but frowning in defiance. "You are still out there, Mom. Everyone is out there! You just… you were defeated in a big battle and had to abandon home along with everyone. That must be what happened!"

Star took that explanation and held on to it almost desperately. She passed an arm on her eyes, drying off the few tears she had shed, her mood rapidly improving. "Yes, that has to be what happened here. And maybe I can fix it! I just need to—"

To find her mother.

Star let herself fall down on the snow as it came down to her that she was back to square one. She still didn't know where her mother was. And if she wasn't in the Mewni capital, she could be literally anywhere… just like the situation in her home dimension.

Then, she shook her head. "No, I can't let this get to me. It can't be that hard to find her… here, she didn't go missing because a weird magical unicorn teleported her somewhere. This time, I can find a true lead, and follow it until I find her."

She looked at the ruined town from her position. "I just need to find a clue to start things off… and I already know where to start searching. Nothing to be anxious about!"

Star's mood kept getting better as she left the higher parts of the forest and got closer to Butterfly Castle. The Forest of Certain Death was basically identical to the one from her dimension, and she had no trouble dealing with the dangers that lurked within the forest. Carnivorous plants simply got a haymaker in the snout from her, and the one wolf-like creature who tried to growl at her was sent off running on its tail when Star roared back at it.

It was like being back home, and she thought that it was the biggest reason why she shouldn't think too much about what went wrong here. This was still Mewni, it was still her home… the familiarity she felt in the forest proved that. She didn't need bad thoughts that could influence her decisions right now!

However, when Star reached the outskirts of the town around the castle, her smile disappeared.

The outer walls of Mewni, which looked so mighty in her original dimension, were no more. There were only a few sections still up, far between and almost unrecognizable in the distance and the moon light, barely definable as stumps. The big entrance, which was always guarded by mewman knights, was nowhere to be found, and Star entered the town simply by walking over a large pile of debris, located where the gate should've been.

The wreckage didn't end there. The town itself was a ghost of its former glory, as most of the shacks and buildings that were present in the lower parts of the town had been razed to the ground. Star also saw carbonized remains here and there, the unmistakable sign that fires had also broken out and took the buildings down with them. She kept walking, her eyes scanning her surroundings while she kept hugging herself, as if she wanted to somehow protect herself from the view of the destruction that was everywhere around her. With that image, the few houses that were still up were like ghosts in a cemetery, stalking about with some sort of curse that doomed them to a permanent vigil… they did not help Star feel better at all.

The relative silence was unnerving her as well. The Forest had all the noises and sounds of nature that she was used to, even if that included wild animals calling out and growling at her. This… it was not natural. Far from it.

"Things went… awry here…" she told herself. "I hope Mom is okay…"

The situation did not get any better the deeper Star went, and by the time she was close to the inner walls that protected Butterfly Castle itself, she was confused and upset. She couldn't wrap her mind about what could've possibly caused this level of destruction. It was like whoever… or whatever had caused this, had done it with the specific intent of making the entire place uninhabitable.

It was very different from what Meteora had done in her own dimension… she had sought only to suck the souls of all the inhabitants that crossed her path, and then take the throne for herself while causing large amounts of damage in the mean time. Yes, she had brought ruin to Mewni as well, and right now the castle had been abandoned in her home dimension… but the damage back there was basically a minor annoyance compared to this!

The inner ward walls were in slightly better shape, but the portal was gone in any case and Star didn't have to do anything but keep walking, passing over more metal and stone remains. After that there wasn't much space left to traverse, and she soon found herself within the ruined castle's walls.

If the silence outside was disturbing, the almost complete lack of sounds in the stronghold's hallways made it hard for her to actually concentrate. Nevertheless, after going through the lobby, Star started to travel through the corridors.

She didn't even dare to shout for her mother's name. The sinister atmosphere had the better of her… not to mention that the destruction she had witnessed in the town had progressively convinced her that being careful and quiet was a good option in this case.

The fact that the corridors themselves were in better shape didn't help in keeping her nerves under control. There were numerous holes and fractures in the walls that let her see through and check the ruined town, which appeared even more gloomy when taken as a whole from the upper floors of the castle. Basically every single window she could recognize had had its glass cover shattered, the doors that hadn't been slammed off their hinges and left to root on the floor were rare, the rugs that decorated the corridors at home were either missing, likely stolen, or ragged and torn. The same could be said for all of the more precious ornaments that Star remembered from home. Not to mention the paths that abruptly ended in literal air, showing her the parts of the castle that had completely collapsed to the ground.

At some point during her walk in the castle, she saw a knight armour on the floor in front of her. At first, she believed that it was one of the armours that were present in some parts of the castle, resting on stands as either pieces of elaborated furniture, or ready for nearby castle guards to use.

Then she noticed the phalanx bones sticking out of the arm with a missing glove piece, and she let out a yelp.

Turning away, Star started to walk in a random direction, shooing away all of the thoughts that kept nagging her mind, telling her all the possible scenarios that had led Mewni to this state. "T-this isn't my real home," she told herself. "And no matter how bad it got in this version-of-Mewni-that-definitely-is-not-and-will-never-be-the-one-that-is-my-home, I can fix it… or I can help… or do something!"

She needed her mother, now more than ever. Her best bet for finding her were the main throne room, where Moon spent a lot of her time, and her office and private quarters. There had to be something in any of those places that could give her an idea where to start looking.

Since the scenario that Moon was actually in this castle all along meant that…

…no, she wasn't here. That was… that had to be the case. She was elsewhere in Mewni.

Star shook her head and tried to orient herself. When she looked around, though, she realized that she'd ended up nearby the tapestry room, which as a little girl she'd personally dubbed 'grandma room'.

Visualizing mentally a map of the castle, she concluded that the closest place in the castle from here was the throne room. Star didn't start walking in that direction right away, though. She instead moved into the tapestry room, walked until she was at the very centre, and stood there for a few seconds while looking at the walls of the long room.

She was sure this was the room where the lives of her ancestors were narrated, her memories of the castle from back home left no doubts about it. However, the tapestries that gave the name to the room were gone in this dimension. Which at this point wasn't very surprising… but there was a bit of curiosity in Star, half-scared and half-attracted to the idea of discovering what the queens were like in this dimension. Perhaps, seeking more information about what had happened to this dimension, could give her at least something to work with.

Yet, all she could see were old cloth tatters that were dispersed everywhere. Impossible to tell apart from each other, it was like seeing a pile of dirty clothes in the dungeon of the Knight of the Wash.

Yet… there was an exception. Star walked closer to a particular big tapestry portion and realized that this one was big and conserved well enough to retain a discernible image. The colour was almost completely gone, but the line-art was very much still clear enough to let Star tell who the pictured queen was.

"Brr… of all queens, it had to be Solaria?" she shuddered as she walked up to the tapestry fragment and picked it up. Upon closer inspection, the lighting bolts on Solaria's cheeks told her that her guess had been a right one.

However, there was something different in it. She remembered Solaria's tapestry, the valiant queen taking on a horde of monsters, her eyes closed into a furious attack with her sword wand drawn out.

The tapestry fragment only showed Solaria's face and her upper body, but it was enough to let Star know that the original image had to be far different from the one she remembered. Solaria here was still valiantly facing what Star guessed was a horde of monsters… but Solaria's eyes were open in the pictured scene. She also wasn't in an attacking pose… rather, she wielded a sword similar to the sword wand of the original Solaria, but metallic and very much concrete and unmagical, ready in her right hand.

It took her a while to realize that the wand wasn't the sword here. This Solaria also carried a shield with red decorations going through the entirety of it, the crystal being a lightning bolt fixed at the very centre. Solaria's expression was fierce, yet resolute and calm. That was her wand.

Star let the tapestry fragment fall down, diverting her eyes away from the image. Seeing the picture of a probably much more reasonable version of Solaria should've reassured her… the problem was that it didn't change the state Mewni was in. Between Solaria's reign and now, there had been a total of eight queens. Everything could've happened since then…

"No more distractions…" she told herself as she left the chamber and resumed her search.

Star's mind was clouded as she made her way to the throne room. If the little she'd taken from the tapestry section she'd found was anything to go by, it was clear that things had been different in this dimension for a very long time. It wasn't just a case of when and where her mom lost a battle that had costed Mewni its capital…

The more Star thought about it, the less familiarity she felt as she walked in the corridors of the Butterfly Castle.

She was very close to the throne room when the utter silence was broken. Star froze when she heard rustles in the distance, the clear noise of metal armour falling on the floor with loud clangs. She remained immobile for a few seconds, listening attentively.

…

She wasn't alone here.

Quickly, she ran into the throne room. As most other places in the castle, this one was damaged and dusty, with the most blatant indication of its status being the fact that the eastern side wall was completely gone, showing the nearby cracked tower, or rather, the half of it that still stood. Star ignored the spectacle and kept running until she was at the top of the throne, then quickly went to hide herself behind the backside of the king's chair.

Her choice had not been random, since the one that was supposed to be the queen's was completely missing.

Star sat there, hugging her knees, and stayed in silence. Her clothes had yet to dry up completely, and soon she started to shiver due to the coldness of the night. However, she forced herself to not chatter her teeth in order to keep quiet.

She didn't know how many minutes passed, but after a while, she began hearing their footsteps.

The intruders were a numerous group of people, considering how many sounds their footwear emitted, and were running as well. The footsteps grew louder until the group of strangers entered into the throne room.

"She must be somewhere in this room!" a voice boomed. Rough and low, Star immediately recognized it as the one of a monster.

Her mind started to race. They knew it was her? And why were monsters in the ruins of Mewni? She… she couldn't believe they were responsible for whatever had happened here. She refused to believe that.

"Shut yer' hole," another voice rebutted. "This is the Queen we're talking about. She evaded us for years, I ain't believing she'd reveal her presence this easily. She may be already out of the castle by now."

Wait… queen? Were they talking about her mother?

"Hush," another voice ordered. "We know someone entered this castle. Whether it's her or another intruder, we have our orders."

Gruff and serious, Star's eyes widened as soon as she heard it. Rasticore!

"You two, stay here with me. We'll search the throne room. The rest of you, get out of here and check the nearby rooms and hallways. Take someone with you at all times, if the one we're looking for is really her, she would turn you into mince-meat with ease if she caught any of you alone."

"She just got to try! I have a score to settle with that murderer…"

"Calm your gills and follow the orders I gave you! And what are you waiting for?! Move it!"

The footsteps continued as the monster mob split up. Star tensed up as she listened to the steps of Rasticore and the two monsters that were left in the room. They started to move around, lifting up stones and going around debris piles, checking every possible hiding place.

"Not here…"

"Not here either… for corn's sake, we're wasting our time."

"Keep looking. We aren't leaving until we've checked the entire room, so shut it and do your job!"

She had so many, so many questions… and there was no one that could answer them. Star was shrewd enough to understand that these monsters were up to no good—this was a situation unlike anything she'd seen or experienced in her own dimension. Without scissors she couldn't just call it a day and get out of there, and turning into her Butterfly form would have just caused the monsters to detect her before she had a chance to conjure a portal up.

She relaxed her arms and checked her palms. She'd tried practicing wandless magic hard ever since she gave the wand to Eclipsa, and while she'd gotten better, fighting wasn't really something she thought she was good at yet.

However, she had no choice but to face these monsters. Perhaps, if she was able to dispatch Rasticore and the other two fast enough, she would have the chance to get out through the gash that ran through the outer wall of the throne room, jumping down and turning into her flying form while falling down.

Star got in a breath of air, then carefully leaned over from the king's seatback to check the room.

Her eyes met the slitted pupils of Rasticore. He was already looking at the thrones when she leaned out.

"MEWMAN!" the Septarian bellowed, but Star was already running up to the nearest monster, a unicorn bear similar to the one who'd served in Ludo's army. The monster turned around, drawing out an axe, but Star's kick was faster. The bear ooffed and went tumbling down.

"Disgusting wench! I'm gonna make you regret ever being born!" another monster, a large triton creature with visible gills, leaped at Star while brandishing a spear. Star opened her hand and whispered to herself a spell name. 'Hot Chili Cupcake Blast'.

When she saw little particles coming out of her palm, she knew it had worked.

The triton's eyes became paralyzed with fear when Star opened her hands to him and released a storm of cupcakes immersed in a red mist. As soon as the pastries impacted on him and splattered, the unusual contents started burning him right away. "Ow, ow, ow! My lungs!" the triton cried out as he grabbed his gills and started to shake them to the air, trying to clean off the very spicy stuffing.

Star began running without looking back—if the shouts from nearby were any indication, the rest of the monster group was running back to the throne room already to help their companions. She aimed for the hole, wanting to jump down and fly away in her butterfly form.

But Rasticore was faster, and rushed before her, blocking her way off. "You are not going anywhere under my watch, little girl. Not if you are a magic user."

Star scowled. "Let me go, Rasticore! I don't want to fight you!"

Rasticore raised an eyebrow, but he did not move. "Stand down. We were not sent here to kill you, but I won't hesitate if you dare attack us again!"

Star shook her head. The Rasticore she remembered was less direct than this one in his threats, but it wasn't unlike him to be that stubborn.

"You asked for this, Rasticore, and don't tell me I didn't warn you." Star raised her hands, once again taking her chances with a wandless spell. "Rainbow Shattering Shockwave!"

The spell worked, but Rasticore didn't just wait for it. He took out something from his vest, which revealed itself to be a wooden shield. It was slightly smaller than a knight shield and it looked old and musty.

Star was sure that the spell she'd used would've just annihilated that feeble defence and sent Rasticore flying. The rainbow-coloured shockwave rushed from her hands towards the Septarian, and Rasticore braced himself.

When the wave reached him, though, the magic immediately dispersed.

Star was speechless. The entire shockwave had vanished out of thin air, leaving only tiny butterfly particles with the seven colours of the rainbow. Rasticore lowered the shield, and his grin let her know that he was well aware of what he'd done.

It was dazzling, and puzzling at the same time… but she didn't have time to ponder over it.

Star tried to come up with another idea, but before she could muster anything up, a fist connected with her cheek.

She was sent rolling on the floor. The punch was so strong that she lost her red headband almost immediately and kept going a few meters before coming to a stop.

Scrambling to recover, she tried to stand up again to face her attacker, but a kick came without notice from behind her, hitting her side. She wheezed out as the wind was knocked out of her, and she tried to crawl out of the way, but another kick came, then another. And another.

Star cried out in pain, but the bear monster that was attacking did not stop. He kept kicking her for a few seconds, repeatedly and unstopping.

"That's enough. Stand down," Rasticore growled.

"This mewman wench has kicked me, Rasticore! I'm gonna make sure she learns her manners by giving her a piece of her own medicine back. And you ain't stopping me from—"

"I said that is enough! Stand back or I'll make sure to have your head next in line to be placed on a pike over the walls of the Bastion!"

The kicks finally stopped. Star gasped for air as she clutched on her stomach and side. She had never been beaten this hard… every time she had been beaten, the monsters usually left her space to recover for a seconds before the next round, or simply pinned her down in order to gloat over their victory. They never… kept kicking. And punching. And beating her.

She rolled on her back as she kept gasping, and she found herself surrounded. Most of the monsters around her were lightly armoured or with simple vests, but all of them were armed with very sharp-looking weapons. Star groaned as she kept her hands fixed on her chest, as every breath had become painful. But she still looked at the only member of the group whom she recognized.

"W-why…?" she managed to let out.

"Why? You crossed forbidden territory, mewman girl, that's why," Rasticore explained, leaning down to get closer to her. His grin had disappeared, and he was glaring at her with an irritated gaze.

"No mewman that lives under General Toffee's rule has the right to come back to this castle and the town, no exceptions. You ignored that rule, attacked warriors on guard duty, and used… magic against us! You are in trouble, young girl, and have a lot of explaining to do… be glad that I didn't let my men keep going at you. Mercy is something your kind doesn't deserve, but since you are a magic user, I'll interrogate you later, and I'll need you to be functioning by then. For now, if you care about your life, you will shut your mouth."

"T-Toffee?" Star coughed, as if the word itself was poison.

A foot came down on her chest. Star wheezed out as the triton monster pinned her down with all of his weight, trapping a hand of her below his foot and making her breaths even more hoarse and strenuous. "Did you even listen to him, wench!? Shut your freaking mouth or I'll make you by cutting your vocal cords right here and now!"

Star whimpered, but she didn't speak further.

"We're wasting our time here," Rasticore turned around, losing interest in their recent capture of his warband. "Tie her up, and the biggest of you, take her on your shoulders. If she keeps rebelling, just—"

"C-captain!"

"What?!"

A monster with the face of a lion had kneeled beside Star with some ropes already in his hands. However, those ropes were forgotten as he pointed at Star's face, agitating his paws.

"Rasticore, this wench's got cheek marks. Corn be damned… s-she's a Butterfly!"

"I am not in the mood for quips," Rasticore turned around, very much not amused.

"I am not kidding you, captain. Check it out yourself! She's got pink hearts!"

"Ugh, very well. Pull her up."

The triton monster took Star by the neck with his wet, slimy hand, roughly raising her up. Star was still trying to recover her breath but tried her best to stabilize on her own legs and breath in as much air as her pressed windpipe let her do.

Rasticore leaned down again and took her cheek in his hand, pinching it hard as he observed her skin. His reptile pupils became slits as soon as he saw her pink heart.

"I… I can't believe it. I thought all Butterflies but the Queen were slain years ago," the bear monster uttered. "This brat shouldn't even be alive!"

"I was there when the purges happened. We were all confident that they were all gone…" another monster added.

"It doesn't matter," Rasticore said. "Place a barrier shield on her chest. She must not try to pull anything off."

Star was disoriented. The monsters kept bringing things up that she had no idea about. The Queen… Toffee… a purge? Too much information. And she was still half-stunned by the beating and trying to recover her breath and focus.

One of the nearby monsters slammed his wooden shield on her chest. Upon contact, Star immediately felt her magic powers suddenly fading, as if the material of that shield was made of was sucking it out of her. But there was nothing flowing out of her body! It was like… her magic was still present, but weakened, giving her the impression that it was leaving her.

How those apparently simple shields were able to affect her and her magic this much, she had no clue. So many things happening all at once, so many questions she had… it was giving her a headache.

However… her mind cleared at record speeds when she saw Rasticore drawing out a dagger from behind his vest.

"Toffee has made it clear to me years ago. If I was to ever stumble again on surviving members of the Butterfly family, we have to kill them on the spot. Hold her down."

…

This couldn't be real.

"W-wait, please, wait!" Star managed to choke out. The hold on her neck simply got stronger, disabling any ability for her to communicate. That didn't stop her from starting to flail her hands and legs around, using all of her energy to find a way out, to get out, to save her life, but more of the monsters grabbed her limbs and blocked any attempt of her to break free.

"Trust me, girl. It's going to hurt less if you don't squirm," Rasticore said gravely as he brought the dagger closer to her stomach. Star tried to shout, to scream, but all she could do was emit muffled wheezed. Her eyes filled up with tears as she suddenly realized that she was done for. Rasticore, unmoved by her reaction, brought the dagger to her skin. She felt the pointy end poking her stomach through her dress.

Then, she heard the sudden energy discharge sound of a large spell going off nearby. A monster flew in the air.

"The queen is here!"

"Regroup! Shields up!"

Star was forgotten, all hands letting her go as the monsters rushed towards the attacker. She fell on her bottom, but the pain forced her to lie down. It took her a few seconds to register the fact that yes, she was still alive.

When she looked up, she saw chaos. Spells were being thrown around by a figure in a cloak, taller than most of the monsters, at the centre of the throne room. The majority of the warriors were wielding wooden shields similar to Rasticore's and the spells were either diverted, or completely negated by them just as easily as hers was, but the stranger wasn't just using magic. They brandished a spear with which they kept the monsters at bay with their right hand.

"I'm gonna kill you! Die, die!" the triton monster yelled as he leaped, wielding a shield and with a rusty sword in his free hand. The stranger thrust the spear forward, and Star saw blue blood being drawn.

"AAACK!" the triton fell down, rolling on the floor and clutching on his shoulder as the stranger used another spell without uttering a word, turning around. The jerk was so sudden that the cloak's hood fell off, revealing flowing silver-blue hair.

"Stay close to each other, and move together! Get her!" Rasticore's order came, and all of the monsters bellowed and rushed at the woman at once. However, she simply jumped up and out of the way, extending an arm. Star saw Moon's regal wand, shining blue with her peculiar crystal head in the shape of a heart. The hilt, however, was black, but the shape and crystal colour still left no doubts on what wand it was.

The wand emitted a wall of fiery fire. The monsters raised their shields, but some were either too slow or simply didn't have the luxury of owning one ofthose magic-absorbing tools, and they ended up being singed by the spell. They cried out or yelled in pain, running amok and out of the room.

The stranger fell down among the chaos, as flames kept going up and started burning nearby wooden debris that still were able to fuel the flames, and raised her spear, the sharp point glistening in the light of the fires.

Then, she took the initiative.

The monsters screamed and tried their best to defend themselves, but the woman was relentless and didn't give them a second to rest, thrusting and agitating her spear agilely. Some tried to fight back, but most ran off, a couple even jumping off the hole in the wall of the room. Most were hurt and sent retreating due to their injuries.

In the end, Rasticore was the only one left standing in the room, and he didn't back down. He wielded a broad sword, his dagger dropped minutes earlier, and when the woman ran at him, he simply growled and rushed forward himself. He battled with her on equal terms, blocking her thrusts and neutralizing the few spells she sent at him with the shield that he held on his left forearm. The battle lasted long enough for the nearby magical flames to die down.

Rasticore growled and hissed multiple times during the fight. "You should've died a long time ago, Butterfly!"

The stranger didn't reply, but the spear came down harder from above. Rasticore diverted it with his sword, then decided to go forward with a direct punch, using the arm that carried the shield on the forearm. It connected, sending the stranger back and close to Star.

She was able to get a glimpse of her face.

"M-Mom…" Star said in awe when she saw her mother's face. Younger… much younger. She in fact looked much closer to her younger self in the tapestry at home, than her current look as an adult… but it was her. She had no doubt about it.

Moon glared at the Septarian with a frown, her gaze hard enough to scare off even Star herself despite not being on the receiving end. However, Rasticore wasn't deterred—on the contrary, he grinned at her, amused by her anger. "How does it feel like, to be the Fallen Queen? Heh, despite everything I heard about you, I have to hand it to you, you are much braver than your mother… she was far from being this valiant when we beat her down right before we took her slimy life out of—"

Moon screamed and leaped at Rasticore like a rabid animal, thrusting her spear forward. Rasticore instinctively raised his shield, and the metal of the spear's pointy tip easily went through, gashing his arm. "Augh!"

She wasn't done though, as she let go of the spear and proceeded to punch the Septarian in his snout with her hand, which was covered with a long glove almost reaching all the way over to her shoulder. She then kicked him back, grabbed the spear and extracted it from the shield. As Rasticore cursed and stumbled, she rushed at him again and went for a side attack, the spear coming from the left side of the monster.

Rasticore moved his sword to intercept it the best he could, but Moon had the hand wielding the wand lighting up with magical energy. Rasticore still had his shield up to protect himself, but Moon aimed at the sword rather than him.

The blast went off, and the sword flew away. The spear came to Rasticore's side without anything to stop it, and it went through his scales.

"Crap—uuuugh!" Rasticore croaked. He stepped back, clinging on his side, and fell on his knees.

Moon approached him, spear still in her hand. Rasticore let out a dry laugh as he put pressure on his injury.

"Heh… a Solarian-enhanced weapon. I should've known."

Then, he glared defiantly at her, not a trace of fear in his face.

"Your kin brought only despair to Mewni. I die knowing I tried to rid my home of your filthy blood, mewman."

"You will die, and that's gonna be the end of it, scum," Moon growled. Her voice was raspy and cold, yet still carried her specific accent. She raised her gloved hand, holding on the wand up. "I call the darkness unto me… from deepest depths of Earth and sea."

She didn't look away as she recited her words, raising her wand further and aiming at Rasticore's heart. "From ancient evils unawoken—"

"M-Mom! What a-are you doing?!"

Moon's eyes widened when she looked at Star, who limped over to her. Then, she grew serious again. "Stand back."

"Mom, you cannot… you aren't going to k-kill him, are you?"

"I am not your mom. Get out of my sight," Moon hissed at her. Rasticore's defiant gaze was broken as he looked in complete confusion at Star.

"N-no. No, I won't let you. You're… you're better than this! I thought… Mom, he's not… he's not Toffee… but…" Star talked without focus, half-delirious. She managed to reach Moon and grabbed her arm.

Moon immediately shook her off. "I am not your mother! Get out of here now, or I'll make you leave!"

Star relented. She couldn't believe her ears. "But M-mom, you—"

Moon cried out when she turned back and realized that Rasticore was running. She raised her wand. "Utter Destruction Cannonball!"

The wand was enveloped in a cloud, from which a large black sphere was emitted, travelling fast towards Rasticore. He barely managed to disappear through the door before the ball reached the wall.

The ball didn't explode but went through the old stone as if the walls were made of paper. The damage resulted in a collapse of a part of the castle, and a quake going through the entire stronghold. Star heard the monsters from earlier crying out and shouting at each other in the distance, and she fell down to her knees as she held on to the trembling floor.

Moon didn't care and walked up the large castle section she had demolished in a matter of seconds. Now there was a second hole that ran through the castle itself and the nearby hallways and rooms. Moon looked around, inspecting the hallways.

When Star finally came to terms with the fact that the castle wasn't crumbling down over her, it was just in time to hear Moon letting out a shriek. She turned around, and she felt like all the times her mother had lectured her—only fifty times worse. Give or take.

"Who the hell are you and what the hell do you think you are doing, you complete imbecile?!" Moon shouted as she marched up to Star, furious. "You distracted me and gave him a chance to escape! Do you have any idea of what kind of occasion you've just wasted?!"

"B-but… I couldn't let you d-do it! Rasticore, he's not—" Star protested.

"What in the bloody name of Glossaryck led you to think this was a good idea?!" Moon kept shouting, cutting her off. She let the spear go and thrust a finger into Star's chest so hard that she pushed her back. "This was Rasticore Disastervaine. He killed more mewmans than the amount of people your extended family likely ever had! He probably killed your relatives as well!"

"I… I…" Star stuttered, unable to reply.

Moon shook her head. "You know what, forget about it." She went to pick her spear up. "I don't care who you are or why you're here. Just, don't cross my path again."

"B-but Mom…!"

"Why are you calling me your mom?" Moon eyed her in annoyance. "I've never seen you before in my life, child… and I don't have time to waste with your fever dreams."

Star shook her head. She walked forward a few steps, standing close to Moon. "You may not know me, but you are my mom. It's complicated, but I can explain! My name is Star! S-Star Butterfly!"

Moon's face expression shifted entirely as soon as Star said her name. She saw complete shock in her as she stared back at her, dumbfounded.

The expression changed again just as quickly… and it made Star think that uttering her name had yet been another mistake she'd made.

Chapter Text

There was a list of things that Star regretted doing in her life. Things like underestimating Toffee, letting Ludo go uncontrolled when he had obtained the green magic wand, failing to save her mother from the Dimension of Magic, not being honest with Marco from the start concerning what she felt like.

She had never expected that the next item on that list would be simply telling her full name to Mom.

And yet, here she was, running for her life inside Butterfly Castle, while behind her Moon shouted at her and threw spells in an attempt to incinerate her on the spot.

"You little brat!" Moon yelled, "Come back here, come back here and dare say again her name! I will destroy you! I will tear your tongue off!"

"Mom, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Star tried to reply, turning her head a little to face Moon. Instead, she was greeted by another magic blast, silver in colour, that missed her head by mere centimetres, but did manage to singe a lock of her flapping hair.

Star yelped, then put out the little flame before it could grow and do more manage. She faced forward, not even trying to address Moon again, and sprinted away the fastest she could.

Her mom was definitely not going to listen to reason anytime soon.

As the first encounter between her and Mom in this dimension, it didn't exactly go as well as she hoped… but Star was equally as scared by the wrath of 'Alternate Moon' as she was confused by her reaction.

Why was she so mad?

She had to stop thinking when another magic blast was fired in her direction. Star threw herself to wall, avoiding the pure energy beam before it could hit her dead on. The beam hit a wall, immediately causing it to burst into flames—even if it was pure stone—and releasing bright silver particles flying off in all directions.

"I'm going to kill you, wench!" Moon shouted, lowering her wand. Star looked at her and her eyes widened as Moon moved her spear forward, pointing at her. "I will take pride in seeing you trashing on the ground with a hole in your heart!"

She did not reply. Instead, she resumed her run, darting in the opposite direction and behind a corner. She looked left and right, trying to understand where she was, when she saw a downed door in the distance.

She recognized that entrance… it led to a stairway that went right to the lower floor. Her exit!

Rushing like her life depended on it, which was true all in all, Star reached that entrance and started descending down the spiral stairway. She managed to go down a dozen steps or so when the surfaces all around her were lit up with white. Immediately after that, she heard a magical blast going off and then the rumbling of stone crumbling and falling down.

When she looked behind her, she saw that the stairway was being submerged by collapsing debris. Moon had blown up the entire spiral above her and now everything was going down!

"M-Magical Firedolphin Squad!" not stopping her run, Star opened her arms and tried to launch the spell. It was supposed to evoke an entire squad of firemen cetaceans, ready to block the incoming crumbling stairway long enough for her to get out of there.

Instead, she felt her hands burning, and the painful feeling started to quickly come up her arms and towards her shoulders. Retracting half out of fear, half out of reflex due to the pain, the spell still went off but only one dolphin appeared in a blue water-splash-like explosion of magic. The dolphin saluted her, then rushed towards the collapsing stairway section, holding a surfboard on his head. "For Star Butterfly!"

He was unable to stop the collapse and simply disappeared, submerged by the stone bricks falling down.

Star didn't see this as she kept rushing down the stairs, trying to ignore the fact that she felt like her palms were on fire. Her magic had been somehow… depleted. Trying to launch spells was incredibly tiring and painful now.

Her mind went to the strange wooden shield—Rasticore had called them barrier shields—that the monsters had used. They were able to absorb and disperse her spells, and when one of them was placed on her chest, it did feel like it had weakened her.

Without magic though… she was basically powerless. Moon was at full power right now, and she even had a proper weapon along with the wand!

Star gasped for air but didn't slow down, hoping to Glossaryck she wouldn't trip right then and there.

She did not, and eventually she managed to throw herself out of the stairway before the collapse could reach her.

She fell down and crawled forward, trying to get away from the noises behind her. When she finally looked back, she just saw another pile of debris in place of the fallen door and an entire section of the wall where the stairway used to be.

Standing up again, Star resumed her escape, aiming straight for the lobby and the main entrance. She knew that her best bet was to make it out of there as fast as possible. She needed to… give Moon some time and try again after she had let go her recent desire to dispose of her own daughter in a gory way.

Star wanted to convince herself that this was still an improvement… she knew where Moon was now, in this dimension. She just had to wait for her to calm down!

Eventually, Star came out in the main lobby. She saw the main portal, the wooden doors covered with mush on the ground—but still a reassuring sight. Moon was nowhere to be seen—she was most likely still various floors above her, perhaps convinced she was gone in the collapse she had caused. Being happy that her mom believed she was dead was weird, now that she thought about it.

No distractions! First, she needed to get out!

Star ran through the lobby and aimed for the exit and the castle square beyond. After she was out, she thought she would just need a few seconds to reach the ruined town and three to four minutes of running to get out of there completely. Mom would not find her before—

She managed to cross a distance of only a few metres in the small square before Moon landed in front of her. Magic energy radiated from her, expanding out like waves created by a water droplet, lifting dust and pushing Star back, who covered her eyes.

When she was able to look clearly at her, she understood that Moon's mood had not improved. She glared at her, wand and spear held firmly in her hands still, the moon light itself glistening on the point of her weapon and giving her an even eerier look.

Her eyes were full of hatred, something Star had rarely seen. In fact, she couldn't remember any person being this livid before. Not even Monster Meteora was this mad!

She walked back cautiously. "Now, now… I'm sure we can talk things out. Please, give me a chance to—"

"There won't be a need for talking, after you're dead," Moon snarled, cutting her off. She started walking forward, slowly closing the distance between her and Star.

Star shook her head, somewhat annoyed by her stubbornness despite the continuous threats. "Why won't you even listen to me, I said I was sorry! I didn't want to offend you or say something that would make you mad! I'm… I'm still trying to understand things around here!"

Moon did not falter. She kept walking, forcing Star to back away towards the portal that led back to the lobby. She could see the grip on the spear and the wand getting tighter as Moon came closer.

"You are a liar. There are no such things as strangers on Mewni," Moon uttered.

"That's what I am, though!" Star insisted. "Listen, I'm not just from some random dimension, okay?! I don't know what happened here, what ended up causing… all of this!" she gestured to the castle behind her. "Because I am not from here… sort of."

Moon's eyes narrowed. Her wand lit up with energy.

"Okay, okay, I will be brief, but don't blast me to smithereens before hearing me out! I am from a parallel dimension! Another universe… or timeline. I don't know what of those exactly, but still, I'm from an alternate version of this reality. That's why I don't know anything about what happened around here!"

The wand remained bright for a few seconds, after which it died down.

Moon had stopped, ending her quiet, ominous walk inside the lobby. Star stopped walking backwards as well, waiting for her mom to give her a reply. She kept glaring at Star for a few seconds, her expression apparently not changing.

Something had to have changed though… the fact she had stopped and had yet to try and obliterate her on the spot, was a testament to the fact that Moon was questioning her last actions.

At least, it looked like that at first, before she raised her spear, pointing it at Star.

"You are a liar. You cannot expect me to believe you."

"I… okay, maybe I can't prove that what I'm saying here is true, but you have to believe me. Why would I be lying to you?"

"To save your life." Moon didn't lower her spear. She was still not impressed by her.

"Uuh… point taken, but that is not the full story!" Star replied. Moon's gaze hardened.

Oh, that was not good… she was losing her!

Digging back into her mind for anything that could try to at least show Mom that she wasn't trying to make things up to save her butt, Star suddenly remembered the recent events—before Moon came to her accidental rescue. "You know what Rasticore said, right? You got to have heard what he said, and he said I'm a Butterfly. That's the truth!"

For the first time since she'd first seen her, she saw Moon show a sign of surprise, as she stared at her dumbfounded with her mouth half open. It lasted only a moment, but she had not missed it.

"You… you have cheek marks. And you are a magic user," Moon elaborated. "Those monsters may have mistaken you for one, but It is not enough to make you a Butterfly. All Butterflies are dead… you are an impostor, either playing as one or learning to be one."

"…dead?" Star questioned.

"Dead!" Moon shouted, anger rising in her. However, the spear lowered down. "They are all dead, you ignorant brat! Who are you?! Why don't you know anything of the events that befell on Mewni? Who the hell are you?!"

"I told you! I am from an alternate dimension! And I came here to look for you!" Star fired back. "I asked Omnitraxus for help, but he refused to help me… and I took the help I needed from him regardless—even if he didn't like it. And I showed up here, because I saw you in that mirror shard! I knew it was you, I know this is still you, despite… despite everything! It's you, you are my mom!"

Star didn't realize that she was tearing up while she talked. She sniffed before resuming to talk. "I… I don't know what happened to your Star… I'm sorry, I'm sorry for whatever happened to her… but I am still Star Butterfly! That's my real name!"

Star stopped, believing that she had dared to go too far and that her mother would try to skewer her on the spot.

Moon did not move.

"No…you should be dead. Dead! You are a liar! A liar!"

"I'm not lying to you, Mom!" Star replied. She was not relenting, not now that she had managed to get through her mother. "Everything I've said is true. I'm just from a parallel reality of sorts… but it's still me, Star!"

Moon shook her head. Her brows furrowed, then she looked away from Star. "You are dead. I saw you… I s-saw you were dead!"

Turning hastily to Star, she stomped up to her. She was still holding both the wand and the spear, but Star decided that she needed to not show her fear in order to prove to Moon that she meant what she said. She did not move and held her ground.

"I saw you dead… you w-were not breathing. Your throat… No, you are lying!"

Star hesitated for a moment. Her mom was giving her little bits of information, and by now she knew that whatever experience this version of Mom had to go through concerning her Star, it was not a good one. By now, Moon herself had tears coming down her cheeks as well, but her face was still full of barely contained anger.

"Look at me. I don't have any real reason to lie to you… I might be kind of scared by you, yeah, but you're still the person I was looking for!" Star rebutted. "You know what? I'll even admit… maybe I'm not the most honest person in the world… but I promised myself I'd be better… not after I discovered that my entire legacy was built on a lie. So, look at me! Look at my face!"

Moon turned away once again. "Look at me!" Star pressed, pointing at her face.

When her mom forced herself to face her, Star saw that the anger was mostly gone, leaving behind a downhearted expression.

"I d-don't believe you. I cannot… b-believe you," she croaked. She shook her head multiple times, as if trying to clear her mind from a vision she couldn't free herself from. "You can't be her…"

"Mom, please," Star walked forward, approaching Moon with cautious steps. Her mom didn't give any sign that she wanted to attack or refrain from contact, and Star kept walking until she was just one step away from her.

Moon let the spear and the wand both fall to the ground. The spear made a loud 'thud' whereas the wand simply rebounded with a hollow sound.

"I s-saw you. This is n-not…" Moon stuttered.

"I'm an alternate version of her, Mom… it's… I mean…" Star stopped herself from speaking as she thought over what to say. Technically, she owed Mom an explanation and she had to tell Moon that her existence didn't really mean that 'her Star' was still alive. But having already managed to get close to her without getting stabbed, she didn't know if it was in her best interest to continue with her description of the circumstances.

No... first, she needed to calm her down.

So, she resorted to timidly grab one of Moon's hands with her own. "Mom… well, it isn't the entire story, but yes, I am Star Butterfly. And I… I need your help."

Their eyes finally met. Star saw sorrow in her mother's face, hiding something that she had never, ever seen in the Moon she knew and loved. Something bad, very, very bad… the results of more than just one bad experience, maybe… or maybe, the consequences of a grim past she had no idea of.

It hit her, and for a few moments they simply stared at each other.

Then, suddenly, Moon threw herself at Star. The girl was taken aback and put a leg back to support the added weight and avoid tumbling on the floor, as Moon was not just bigger but also much stronger than her.

Moon cried silently with half-stifled sobs, holding Star hard and gripping on her back with no intention of letting go. Slowly, Star raised her arms and embraced her back.

"I l-lost you, for so many years… sister, I t-thought you were g-gone…!"

"It's okay, Mom…" Star patted Moon's back. The sudden influx of emotions had the better of her as well as she teared up a little, though she kept patting Moon's back and hugging her reassuringly—lest having to deal with the furious version of her mother again.

The most important thing was that she had found Moon and had managed to reconciliate with her. Now, she just needed to understand what the heck was going on and why—

Star froze as she suddenly realized the meaning in one of her mother's words.

"…sister?"

"My general?"

"Yes?"

"The patrolling warband sent to the Mewni Ruins has returned, and they bring important news. Disastervaine has asked for immediate audience."

"Very well… let him in."

Rasticore limped inside the room. He made no attempt to hide the pain he was feeling, hissing and clutching on his side. The monster guard kept staring at the Septarian the entire time. He was very much incredulous—an injured Septarian was a rare sight, indeed… if not believed impossible by him up until then.

Rasticore ignored him, and simply kept dragging himself until he was before the desk behind which a fellow Septarian sat.

"General Toffee…" Rasticore growled. He bowed a little, then let go of the formalities quickly, raising his face to regard him directly. "Forgive me for my intrusion and lack of manners, but the circumstances require it."

"I can see…" Toffee commented neutrally as he gave a glance to his injury. Despite Rasticore's best efforts to hold in, he could even see reptile blood coming out, slowly flowing through his fingers. "Have you sought for treatment?"

"No, my general. I thought it better to come here first," Rasticore said. "Most of my men have also sustained injuries, worse than mine in some cases. They're already being taken care for in the Bastion's medical chambers as we speak—they needed it more than I did in any case."

Toffee nodded. "Yvgeny!"

Buff Frog straightened his back and saluted. The frog man wore a heavy armour set that covered him from neck to toe, and there was a battle axe right behind his back.

"Go to the nearest stockpile and fetch something for Disastervaine," he said. "Septarian grade medicines. Make it quick."

Buff Frog saluted, adding a croak as an acknowledgment, then bolted out of the door to Toffee's office. The Septarian then turned his attention back to Rasticore, steepling his hands together pensively, and for a few seconds he just looked at him without a word.

Eventually, he questioned him.

"Was it her?"

Rasticore showed his teeth, almost letting some saliva coming out of his mouth. He nodded. "Yes, my general. We found her…"

"She found you," Toffee corrected. "You are lucky to be alive. In fact, how are you even alive? You are barely able to stand on your own with a Solarian injury like that on your side."

"There was… a kid."

Toffee raised an eyebrow. "Explain."

"This kid, a girl… our first objective was to capture her. We saw her trespassing the ruins, so at first we simply thought she was just another stupid young mewman trying to scavenge the Mewni Ruins boldly. We eventually managed to catch her, and that's when Moon attacked us. That worm took us by surprise…"

Toffee stood up, his unmoved expression dangerously coming closer to a frown. "Are you telling me that you left the Fallen Queen take you aback, Rasticore, all because you were distracted by a little girl? I don't care about your personal interests, but I start caring when those start messing with the quality of your service."

It took Rasticore a second to realize what Toffee meant. He made a disgusted grimace. "Ick! That was not my will. My general, this girl wasn't just any rogue wench from the Mewman folk. She was a magic user, and she fought us with hard-hitting spells. Our barrier shields were able to fend her off effectively, thankfully, but then one of my monsters saw that she had cheek marks, and we realized who she was."

Toffee didn't give any sign that the news had surprised him, apparently. He returned to his neutral yet serious expression, studying Rasticore the entire time.

"Are you saying she was a Butterfly?"

"Yes, Toffee, and before you ask, I remember about your will concerning the Butterfly problem. I was in the middle of executing her when the Fallen Queen made her move and attacked us."

"So… you were distracted due to finding a Butterfly family member… it's unfortunate, even more so considering that all Butterflies should be dead, and have been for a long time," Toffee deadpanned.

"I swear on my family lineage, that girl was a Butterfly, Toffee! Her magic reeked of that cursed family's spell style, and her pink hearts as cheek marks left no doubt about who she was. No, I am positive she was one of them. I have no clue myself how she survived the purges."

Toffee raised a hand, silencing him. He glared at him with a piercing gaze. "Rasticore… pink hearts? Are you completely sure that's what you saw?"

"I am certain it was pink hearts, my general."

"Was the Butterfly a blonde girl? Did Moon try to protect her?"

Rasticore nodded in confirmation. "It disgusts me to admit it, but I'm alive because of her. She interfered when the Queen had almost had it her way with me, and instead of blasting her away Moon started arguing with her. The distraction lasted long enough to give me a way out, and save my life…"

Toffee scratched his snout, turning his back to Rasticore. He went to the window of his office, where he could take in the view of the Bastion from his personal quarters. "This… may be a problem."

Rasticore did not move, waiting respectfully as Toffee kept looking out of the window. When he finally turned around, Buff Frog had already made it back, holding a small wooden case in his right hand.

"I will send a killing party right away. We'll need at least one hundred and fifty warriors to make this quick and effective and make sure she cannot overwhelm them. Moon must not escape us again… she must not survive."

He looked solemnly at Rasticore. "I would like you to lead the killing party, Rasticore. You were the one to face her and one of the few I can trust with this task. Do you think you are up to it?"

Rasticore sneered, then proceeded to snatch the case off Buff Frog's hands. "I'll just need this to sweep out the magic from this injury, and then the regeneration will do the rest and I'll be ready to go. I won't skip a chance to seize the prey we've all searched for years with my own hands…"

"Good. Fetch the warriors you need from the Bastion's garrison. As for the rest, you know the job, so you know what else you'll need to take with you. However, before you go… there's another matter I want you to keep an eye for."

"Yes, my general?"

"Moon will try to protect the girl… I know she will. Use that to your advantage to kill the Fallen Queen if you like, but I want the Mewman girl alive."

Star sat on the floor inside the main lobby of the castle, the same one in which she and her 'mother' had ended up in.

A black cloak was on her head and shoulders, protecting her from the crispness of the night. Star had gladly accepted it since after surviving that close encounter with Rasticore and the other monsters, and running away from an enraged Moon, she was a bit hit by fatigue. After that, she had tried to use what was left of her magic to conjure a small magical fire, but her… mother… had beat her on time.

At first, after Moon had hugged her, Star had asked her what she meant when she called her 'sister'. But Moon had not replied, simply keeping her in her arms for a few minutes.

And once they finally separated, Moon went back to her serious demeanour, though she was also silent this time. She had offered her the cloak and helped with the bonfire, then walked away without so much of a word, ignoring Star's questions. Star had decided to leave her be, believing that she had to come to terms with the emotions she was going through first.

Of course, that meant that she had to wait patiently. And Star wasn't exactly known to be the most patient person in Mewni.

"Sooo… Mom?"

Moon didn't turn around.

"Are we… okay? You aren't mad anymore, are you? I was just wondering if… you could explain a few things, because, you know… this wasn't exactly what I expected when I came back home. I mean… technically this isn't my home, and my home is also ruined and isn't my home anymore… but this is still, well, different from what I thought I'd find."

From Star's point of view, she could see Moon moving an arm as if she was passing a hand over her face. Then, she finally whirled around and started to move closer to her and the small magic bonfire.

Without the cloak, Star could take in the likeness that the alternate version of her mother had in this dimension. She was tall, maybe just a little bit shorter than Mom, but her physique was very much different… the alternate Moon was far from being the regal, dignified queen that Star knew.

She was less thin and much more strong-built, and her long hair was let loose behind her a bit unkempt, and with no crown on her head. The hair strands that Star remembered from the tapestry's depiction of her mother back in her dimension were still there, but they were cut short and barely went beyond her ears. As she had noticed already, her face was somewhat in-between adult and young Moon from her dimension, but Star still thought that her mom here was younger than that, and thus closer to the latter.

Her clothes consisted of a full albeit slightly worn-out light armour set. It was vaguely similar to the silver armour that Star had seen her mother put on rarely, including during the events of Toffee's upheaval, but she didn't believe it was the same one—as this suit was less elaborated. That thing had also seen far more battles than the one in her dimension, and it almost looked like it had been changed and updated throughout the years. Without the cloak, Star could see all the details of Moon's armour, including the extremely long gloves that covered her arms up to the shoulders—not unlike the ones Mom wore in her dimension since Toffee's defeat.

The spear was placed behind her back, while the wand was holstered on her left side, looking quite like the pistols the gunslingers in that 'western' movie she had watched one time with Marco.

Moon stopped walking right in front of Star and the bonfire. She stayed there, immobile, staring at the girl without opening her mouth.

"Uuh… wanna sit down and talk?"

Moon did not sit down. "You are Star Butterfly. And you are from another dimension. Is that the case?"

"Uh, yes, I already told you that."

Moon's eyebrows pulled close and she looked down. Again, Star saw signs of the same pain Moon had openly shared minutes earlier.

"S-sorry!" she quickly apologized. "I… I can't say I'm your Star. But I'm sorry for what happened to her."

"It doesn't matter," Moon dismissed her worry. When she turned her gaze back to her, her sadness was already gone, replaced by a hard expression, though one Star was more accustomed to. The one her mom donned when she meant business.

"Why are you here?"

"Well, I told you that as well. I'm here for you. I need your help!"

"No, I mean, why you came here?"

"Because I needed to find you."

"And you couldn't ask for me… I mean, your version of me, back in your dimension?"

"No! I couldn't because…" Star trailed off. Her lips quivered, but she tried to force herself to keep her composure. She ought to at least be honest with her Mom, even if an alternate version of her, considering that she wanted her advice in the first place.

She sighed before speaking up again. "You… I mean, my mom, went missing in my dimension. We started searching for her, but we've looked in almost all possible places around Mewni and beyond in the other dimensions, and you… I mean, she still hasn't showed up yet. I… I kind of freaked out and thought that you were the only person that could give me something to work with to find a good lead, or at least a good suggestion in how to keep the search up. But you also were the one that was missing, so I couldn't ask for help from the same person I was looking for…"

"…and then you went to Omnitraxus Prime and asked for his help?"

"Oh, so you know Omni as well?"

Moon hesitated for a moment, then shook her head. "…I did," she enigmatically replied.

"Oh…"

"Please, go on."

"Okay… well, I went to Omnitraxus, and he was complicated as usual, not helping that he was still not regretful for what he did to my family! I realized that I did not need his help, so I went into his tummy—it's not as weird as it sounds—and used one of the dimensional shards in it to open a magic portal to your world."

"You used scissors, then?"

"No… I can open them myself."

Moon seemed bewildered, but she did not press the matter any further. "All right… and you ended up here. Why did you go for the Ruins? They are one of the most dangerous places in all of Mewni."

"I… wasn't aware of that. I thought I could find something that would lead me to you, wherever you were in this dimension… even if the castle was ruined, the forest is pretty much the same as I remember, so I didn't think at first that things would be so… different for everything else."

Moon nodded. She crossed her arms, then finally deigned herself to sit down. Her eyes were not looking at Star anymore—rather they were fixed on the crackling magical flames.

Star lasted ten seconds before she couldn't wait any longer. "Sooo… why did you call me your 'sister'?"

"You shouldn't be here."

"Oh, come on, stop avoiding my questions with your own!" Star protested. "I'm as confused as you are, no, I'm likely even more confused than you are!"

"That was not a question. You should have never come in this dimension," Moon said flatly. She looked at her with a face surprisingly full of worry. "This… couldn't possibly have been the dimension you chose to find me."

"Well… I felt like it was the right one!" Star replied. "Though… I didn't know anything about this."

"You… should not be here… darn it," Moon repeated, her tone growing tenser. For a moment, Star thought that she was going to shout at her again, but that didn't come. Instead, she did not speak again.

"Listen, Mom, I know this is weird and everything, and maybe things went a bit awry around here… but I came here for a reason, I needed to see you again. And even if you tried to kill me on the first encounter, well, I'm happy that I found you. And you know what, I can help you. I can help you fix what went wrong in Mewni here, make things right with everyone, stop Toffee again—I stopped him in my dimension! We can do it, as long as we stick together."

Moon shook her head. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, stay a bit more positive. It'll be fun!"

"Fun?"

That was not a wise choice of words as Star quickly realized. Moon's expression was vividly furious as she glared at her.

"Do you want to know why I called you 'sister'?" she said, her eyes narrowed. "I am not your mom in this dimension. I am your sister. We were born twelve years apart, yet we were still blood of the same blood."

…

Did she hear that right? Her mom was her sister here?!

"W-what? What d-do you m-mean?" she managed to blurt out.

Moon ignored her weak request for more information on that front. Instead, she went straight to the point. "And you know what happened to her, to my Star Butterfly? They murdered her."

Star was unable to come up with a reply to that.

"They murdered her in cold blood, when she was just two years old… and… and…" Moon put both hands on her face, hiding her expression. She sighed twice before removing them and looking at Star again. "That is why I say you shouldn't be here. You are in grave danger."

"But…" Star wanted so much to ask Moon for more, to know why she had been killed in this dimension… that was a very chilling thought, now that she thought about it. Why the version of her in this dimension had been killed… and at such a young age. What had happened to cause that, and what had happened afterwards that led to the downfall of Mewni and, she guessed, the likely ascent of Toffee.

But she did not dare question her for more information about a topic that was clearly upsetting her. Not now at least… that they were basically strangers after all.

She knew her mom. But she didn't know her sister.

Moon stood up. "I… I will tell you more… Star," she said. It looked like it took her considerable effort even to just say her name out loud. "In the future, things will be clearer. But for now, we should get out of here."

Star stood up as well as Moon unholstered the Royal Wand and held it with her left hand. "I… I'm sorry," Star managed to let out. "I didn't know…"

Moon didn't even look at her. "We'll talk later."

With a short magic blast, the bonfire was extinguished, leaving behind only a lightly carbonized area of stone on the floor. Then, she started making a circular pattern.

"Check the pattern, go through space. Find the portals and show their trace," Moon recited as she moved the wand. As soon as the circular pattern was made, a large magical circle appeared in front of her, covering a large surface and almost looking like a blue-ish table without legs.

'That's new…' Star thought as she approached the magic construct. The circle was blue in colour, but it was not completely featureless. Right at the centre of it there was a green dot.

While the spell was new, Star didn't have to know the specifics to realize that the red dots that were flashing all around the green dot on the circle were not good news.

"What does that mean?"

Instead of replying first, Moon swore.

Turning to a rather surprised Star, she then said, "It means that we must get out of here, now!"

Chapter Text

Star didn't even have the time to utter a startled 'what the—?!'. Moon grabbed her wrist before she could do so, pulling her into a frantic run.

At first, Star tried to pull away and free herself, but it quickly dawned on her that Moon's strength was so overwhelmingly superior to hers that rebelling would've been no use, unless she tried to repel her away with a spell. Which was not really a good idea… considering how close Moon had come in actually destroying her earlier with her own magic. And the fact they were likely running from something.

So, Star decided to simply accept the fact she wasn't getting out of this for the time being and run along with her mom… or, rather, sister.

She would need some time to get used to that.

In any case, the fact she was no longer actively trying to pry herself away didn't mean she had to shut up.

"W-what is going on? Mom!?" she cried out. "Why are we running?!"

"First, stop calling me your mom! I thought I was clear earlier when I explained myself!" Moon growled, not turning around to face her and keeping her gaze fixed on the path ahead. "I am not your mother!"

"Sorry, sorry, it's just habit," she apologized, but then her tone grew serious again. "But I still want to know what we're running away from!"

Star and Moon were already out of the castle courtyard, moving through the razed town. As she glanced around, Star saw lights popping out far in the twilight, which she quickly recognized as torches. There were also voices and shouts she could hear in the distance. Of course, these guys had to be pursuing them, but—

"Star, Toffee has sent a death squad to get rid of us! We got no time for explanations!"

…

"W-wha—?"

Moon kept pulling Star through the road, getting farther and farther from the castle. Her grip was so tight right now that it almost hurt her. "We have to get out of here, now! Stay quiet and keep running until I say otherwise!"

"But…"

There was more shouting in the distance, already feeling considerably closer than moments earlier. Star barely caught the words 'something' and 'that way!', and as soon as she heard them Moon's pulled her closer with a jerk, forcing her to keep up with the even faster pace. A yelp escaped Star's lisp at that.

"Keep going!" she said, but this time she was basically whispering. "Don't slow down! And don't speak!"

"M-Moon," Star whined, at loss on her moth… her sister's behaviour. "b-but we can fight them off, right? Together?"

Moon had proved to be an incredible fighter earlier when she dispatched the monster group that had captured her with relative ease, even given the mysterious wooden shields that could defy magic that the warriors were equipped with. Why was this different?

Moon didn't answer her. Instead, she repeated, "Star, I said to stay quiet! Please!"

The entire time, she had not turned around to face her, even if only to fire a scolding glare at her. She was utterly focused on their run, apparently ignorant of her difficulties.

However, Star didn't fail to notice the urgent, almost desperate tone with which Moon had just told her to remain quiet. 'Please', she had even said. This Moon… she guessed that her saying please was a rare occurrence, unlike Mom.

Thus, she did not protest further.

If this Moon was that much worried about facing these monsters, the same Moon who had fought that hard just a bit earlier… then it meant they really were in trouble, and that they needed to take their leave.

The torches around them were getting closer by the time Moon and Star reached the outskirts of the ruined town. Once they were beyond the dried channel that used to be the moat of the outer walls, Moon aimed straight for the Forest of Certain Death, though towards a different area compared to the way Star had come from.

Star thought that they had been running like they were on a marathon this entire time, convinced that there was no way the monster pursuers would've been able to keep up with them.

So, she was quite surprised when she saw two groups of monsters appearing in the darkness, the light from the torches revealing their forms, right in front of them. There were patrolling warbands even beyond the town, guarding the confines of the forest—they somehow beat them on it!

The moon in the sky was unfortunately enough bright to make Star and Moon stick out in the grassy area like priests in the middle of a snowy plain.

"They're here!" a monster yelled, his voice travelling past Star and Moon and towards the pursuers in the town. "HERE!"

"Don't stop! Run!" Moon cried out. Star didn't let her say that twice, sprinting along with her towards the Forest as they took a diversion to avoid the monsters blocking the direct way in. Moon had already led Star towards the side of the town that was the closest to the Forest's edge. They would just need a bit more than a minute to get behind cover in the woods, and the monsters were too far to get them before they could—

Suddenly, the sky became crimson, and everything around Star was lit with bright red light. Thinking for a moment that the Blood Moon had decided to play a prank on her at the worst possible moment, Star looked up, expecting to see the mocking silhouette of that darn celestial body in the sky.

Instead, she saw a bright red flare up in the air above them, far closer than the moon or the planets orbiting around Mewni.

"F-Fireworks?! What in the world is going on here? Why do they have fireworks?!" she exclaimed.

"That's not a firework, what's that even supposed to—no, forget about it, it doesn't matter! Keep going!"

Star found it hard to ignore the shouts from the monsters. She could see them clearly now—a mix of various monster races, including multiple Septarians—running with their melee weapons drawn out and chasing after her.

The words they uttered made Star blanch with fear.

"Don't let the bastard escape! Kill her! Kill the Queen!"

"Don't lose her! I want to watch her decapitated head myself!"

"Don't kill the kid if you can help it!"

…

"O-okay, please tell me you have some, uh, plan after we are inside the forest!" Star turned her attention back to the path ahead. Only half a minute before they reached the forest.

"I'll tell you once we're—" Moon started, but she was abruptly cut off.

There was a hiss beside Star's head. It very much felt like something missed her by mere centimetres, and then she saw something ricocheting off the cortex of a nearby tree, emitting sparkles.

Then, she heard the detonation.

"GET DOWN!" Moon shouted in alarm.

She turned around in an instant, grabbed Star by her shoulders and threw her down along with herself. Star didn't even manage to cry out in surprise, as the impact knocked the air out of her.

"Darn it—they got arquebusiers!"

"A-a-ark-what? W-what are you…!?" Star managed to groan out, her comprehension of the events once again reduced to a minimum.

Moon stood up without replying at first. She grabbed Star and lifted her up abruptly, forcing her to stand on her legs as well. She didn't grab her reddened wrist this time, but instead pushed her forward.

"They are shooting at us! Go, go, don't stop! I'll stay behind you! Move!"

Suddenly, Star felt very much like she was inside one of those action movies Marco sometimes liked to watch. Sadly, she also believed she was inside the parts that she liked the least—the ones where the protagonist couldn't fight back and was forced on their toes while under fire from all directions.

No more salvos were fired at them immediately, and as such they were able to finally reach the Forest's edge without further incidents. Star could barely catch the sentence 'what do you think you are doing you bozo?!' uttered by one of the monster pursuers, before the words because indistinguishable. The familiar setting provided only a limited reassurance from the ongoing chase, as Star kept running as fast as she could. Behind her, she could hear Moon trailing her with heavy steps.

"Are we going, uh, somewhere?" Star said, slightly turning her head to glance at Moon.

"Not right now. Just keep going until we are safe! I'll tell you when to stop!"

Star respected Moon's wish and kept going. Though, she wasn't really paying attention to where she was going. Her mind tried desperately to come up with a solution, a way with which they could make the monsters lose their track.

They couldn't just keep going at infinitum! The monsters were chasing them from all directions, and there were a lot of them—finding a hiding place even in the forest was going to be hard, and she knew most monsters considered the Forest as a second home. They needed a distraction!

Then, it suddenly occurred to her. The Forest of Certain Death, close to the capital… which meant… the Hydra!

Her dad traditionally went hunting in two places, the Bog—where he and his buddy Eddy looked for the mythological Bogbeast—and the Forest, which had no Bogbeast but was full of ancient creatures that had nothing to envy the Bogbeast… if the Bogbeast was even real. She still hadn't understood yet whether that was fully just a play on her or not.

Fact was that those monsters could've been strong enough to defy her and Moon's magic—but a huge, angry forest beast was another matter! She just had to aim for the nearest lair of the one she knew, the one that she and Marco in this universe had never taken down, and thankfully she was aware that the hydra's hiding place was not that far from the Groundlands of Mewni.

She only hoped that the creature was still alive… but the Forest had proved to be the one place that stood the test of whatever events transpired in the dimension better than anything else, being almost completely identical to the one she knew. That had to do the trick!

"I got an idea!" Star cried out as she changed the direction she was running towards. "I know where to go!"

Moon didn't reply, but Star was still hearing her fast steps behind her. She understood why she didn't reply immediately when she heard more blasts going off behind them. Detonations not unlike the ones she heard earlier. She didn't see sparkles of projectiles ricocheting off the cortex of the trees nearby, but it was nonetheless frightening.

"J-Just keep going, Star!" Moon blurted out once she realized Star had addressed her. "It doesn't matter where you're going, just that you keep moving!"

"The Butterflies are here! We almost got them!" there was a loud, guttural shout that came through the trees. It was close… very close!

"Kill the Fallen Queen but seize the child, and don't shoot until you know it's Moon!" Star recognized Rasticore's raspy voice. "Meet up with the warriors who portalled up ahead! We'll surround them!"

…portals?!

It occurred now to her why the monsters were so easily able to keep up the pursuit. They were using dimensional scissors!

Moon swore under her breath, though Star was still easily able to catch the foul words she uttered. Then, she grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to stop moving.

She turned around to face Moon and was welcome with a gravely severe expression.

"Star… are you able to fight?" she questioned her.

"Yes, o-of course! I told you we could've done so! I spent my entire childhood fighting!" Star replied, exhibiting her fiercest smile. She bit her lip, however, when she realized her… sister was not very convinced.

"We cannot fight off all of them. This is simply math, and I know Toffee's methods. There are over a hundred warriors seeking us out, and all of them got anti-Butterfly equipment," she said flatly. "Once we start fighting, they will be all over us in seconds."

Moon passed a hand over her face, growling under her breath. Then, she glared at Star.

"You have to promise me this, Star. We will make a stand, but as soon as you get a chance to leave, you're going to take the chance and run for it."

"But we can take them on, mom… I mean, uh… sis!" Star rebutted. "They ain't ambushing us, we know they're coming, and now I know what to expect from them! I can handle them!"

"Star, this is not a question! That's an order!"

Star frowned. "You know what? I'm just gonna portal our way out of here myself, if you really don't want to let me fight! Umph, and I thought you were—"

A raspy shout cut her off. "I can hear them, they're right here!"

Moon took the spear in her hands and drew out her wand as she braced herself, looking in the direction the voice had come from. Star could already see the torches approaching them through the undergrowth.

They were coming.

But then, all of a sudden, a series of explosions went off around them. It was as if bright bolts appeared all around them, and just a few moments later, Moon and Star were engulfed with a thick layer of smoke.

They immediately began coughing, Moon forcing herself to keep her eyes open and check the surroundings despite the low visibility while Star focused on trying to reduce as much as possible the amount of extraneous particle dust getting in her lungs.

The good news was that apparently, their pursuers were affected as well. She heard more shouting, most of them being curses, as the monsters ended up being disoriented by the smoke screen just as much as them.

"W-What is going on?!" Star managed to cry out. This kept getting closer and closer to one of those action movies, and she hoped this was the part where the protagonist pulled off the unlikely escape.

Moon did not reply to her. Rather, she heard her say, "Who are you?!"

Forcing her eyes to open and fighting the urge to protect her eyeballs from the smoke particles hitting her face, Star tried to see just who Moon was talking to now. Her 'alternate universe sister' still held her spear, which stood upright aimed at a… shadow, barely visible through the smoke.

"Not important!" The shadow said with urgence. "Just follow me and don't make me regret doing this, or else I'll leave you to die right where you left off!"

That voice.

…

"K-Kelly?!"

Whether the shadow or Moon had heard them, they didn't give any sign of doing so. Moon looked between the 'stranger' and something that Star couldn't see behind her. She growled under her breath then grabbed hold of Star, again by her wrist, much to her chagrin.

"Lead the way, then."

They started running at once, and the shadow led them through the smoke-covered areas of the forest. It became soon clear to Star that this 'supposed' stranger knew the Forest just as well as she did… no, better than her.

Moving through the smoke while evading the monster warriors was one thing, but also doing so without ever so making a mistake or stumbling into a stone, a tree trunk, or any other obstacle, when she could barely see ahead of her? That was beyond even her level.

But this was no stranger… this was Kelly! One of her friends! The voice could not be mistaken for anyone else's!

Her thoughts ran fast, distracted already by the present situation. She had so much to tell her! She needed her help to get out of this nightmare! She needed to—

…

Then, she remembered that this wasn't her Kelly.

The realization hit her like a warnicorn ramming into her, but this time, it hit harder than when she accepted that the Moon who was pulling her now was not her mother.

When it came to Mom, she could still convince herself that it was an oddity. She could still reassure herself in the thought that the people she was friends with, the people she loved, were somewhat the same, only a bit affected by the unfortunate events that occurred in this universe. After all, Toffee was evil in her dimension as well, right? And Rasticore… well, he had tried to kill her and Marco, so that was technically no news. So, who's to say that it wasn't the same for everyone else?

But the tone Kelly used, the Kelly that they were following now, was unlike the one of the playful and energetic Woolett she knew. Kelly had spoken with urgency and even animosity, likely aimed at their direction.

She was really in a world of strangers, who looked like the people she knew, but were not really them.

Thus, when they finally left the smoke-covered area and ran through a clearing in the forest, Star found herself less happy than she thought when she recognized the actual aquamarine hair that made Kelly recognizable among her peers.

It also meant that she was much quicker in taking note of the stark contrast in appearance between the long-haired, pull-over wearing Woolett girl from back home and this Kelly.

Rather than wearing her casual clothes, or the suit of armour she knew she had used when fighting Meteora, Kelly donned a ragged set of old, consumed clothes, brown coloured—Mewman ones. That however was not the most striking difference, as Alternate Kelly had lost most of her bushy hair. Rather, it was cut very short and barely went beyond her ears, just enough long to cover her head, and let loose untied and unkempt.

An incredibly large Woolett greatsword was placed on her back, a weapon whose iron cover looked consumed with rust patches all over it, and the only real piece of combat equipment she had on herself.

Further mulling over Kelly's appearance was put aside as she led Star and Moon to a large cave, which Star instantly recognized as the hydra's cave, the very own she wanted to find in the first place.

"Are we going to use the Hydra to distract the monsters?" she asked as they slowed down their run. "That was my idea too!"

Kelly simply ignored her, but Moon glanced at her as they kept moving, entering the cave and moving deeper in. "The creature that lurked in this area of the forest had been slain decades ago, Star."

"Oh… but then…"

Kelly stopped running, prompting the two Butterfly women to do the same. She started touching around the surface of the cave wall that was close by.

Before Star could interrogate Kelly further, she found something, and her arm went literally into the wall. A mechanism was activated, and an entire portion of the cave wall slid outwards, revealing a secret passage.

"Wow…" Star let out with amazement.

"Come now," Kelly commanded as she made her way in. Moon followed her, with Star right behind, and once the three of them were inside, Kelly immediately placed her hand on another secret wall switch. Once it was pushed down, the mechanism hidden in the cave walls croaked again and the stone wall closed on its own, going back to its original position.

They were now in a relatively large room, filled with various pieces of furniture, boxes and other objects that looked old and left to themselves. Most of them were covered with dust, with the exception of the bed and a table at the centre of the room. An entire section was filled with various weaponry pieces, all of them looking old and most of them broken beyond repair. Star could also see leftovers from what looked like an extremely small meal that had been suddenly interrupted on the table at the centre of the room.

"Uh, soo… Kelly?" Star finally started. "I mean—I know, it's weird, you don't know me, but… is that you?"

Kelly turned towards her, and Star already expected the harsh glare before it came. Yet, it still hurt her when Kelly revealed her frowning face.

"How about you stop asking random questions and just shut up?"

"But—" Star tried to insist.

"I said to shut that cursed hole of yours, you freak! I didn't ask you anything!" Kelly unceremoniously cut her off, pointing an accusing hand at Star. "Just shut the hell up!"

Star opened her mouth to reply but found herself unable to say anything at first.

Being told off like that by Kelly… even if it wasn't her Kelly, was quite the experience.

Moon put a hand on her shoulder, catching her attention.

"Let me to talk to her. I… know her kin," she said, as if explaining to her who Kelly was.

But she didn't need Moon to intercede for her. This was Kelly! She knew her!

The original Kelly, that is. But still…

Moon stepped forward, placing herself closer to Kelly. "Why did you bring us here, Woolett girl?"

Kelly's frown only hardened. "Why am I not surprised you are not thanking me first…? Oh, right…"

Her narrowed eyes were icy enough to make Star flinch. "Of all people, you were the one causing the ruckus out there… and I thought today was going to be a bad day. Now, it's even worse."

Moon didn't seem to be affected by the remark. "I'm still waiting for a reply, Woolett."

"Well, I stopped you from leading an entire killing party here, that's what I did!" Kelly shouted. "You were aiming right for my cave, and if I didn't get you morons out of there, you would've ended up driving Toffee's goons right into this place! And I wasn't letting you have a fight in front of my safe house!"

"But… you live here now, Kelly?" Star couldn't help asking, leaning over from behind Moon. "Why? I thought—"

"Why do you keep asking incredibly stupid questions, and how in the name of all that is unholy do you know my name, when I never met you before?!" Kelly suddenly exploded.

Star made a step back in alarm. "I… I know you," she tried to explain. "And yes, it's complicated… but I do, even if you don't."

"She tells the truth," Moon confirmed. However, her neutral gaze had left space for a more hostile one. "And you better pay heed to her words."

"Oh?!" Kelly glared at Moon as if she'd just uttered the worst ever insult conceivable. "And what are you going to do about that if I don't, Fallen Queen? Order me around? Send me on a goose chase for the guy you failed to kill for decades?"

"G-Guys, come on—" Star attempted to ease the rapidly heating argument. "We don't have to fight right now!"

Moon ignored Star's plea. "I don't need a title for that. I can just make you."

"Oh, well then, I'm dying to know what you mean by that!" Kelly sputtered. "Come on, I dare you, Fallen Queen!"

"GUYS!"

Kelly and Moon looked at Star with a mix of surprise and annoyance.

"Seriously, it's already hard for me to understand what is going on, and you are not helping!" she protested. "I don't want you to fight, and I don't want to fight with you Kelly either, but we must at least try to talk before we jump to conclusions!"

Kelly opened her mouth to retort, but Star defiantly kept her eyes fixed on her with a begging face. "Come on, Kelly, I know you can understand me! You know this isn't something you like!"

The Woolett Girl's mouth trembled for a second. Then, she emitted something comparable to a gurgle, before turning around, not speaking further.

…it was a start.

But it had to wait as Moon suddenly looked back, towards the wall that concealed the secret passage to Kelly's hideout.

"…crap," she unceremoniously said.

Kelly also looked in alarm at the wall. "Freaking Blood Moon, they're here!"

She rushed to Star and grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to look at her before she started whispering at a quick pace. "I don't know who you are, or why you know me, but if you want me to listen to you, then you're going to listen to me right now and shut up, but for real this time, unless you want to die!"

Star gulped, then nodded. Satisfied, Kelly went towards the wall, drawing out her greatsword. Moon didn't give any sign of acknowledgement, but her spear was drawn out as well, and the two stood in wait.

It was silence after that, but only for a few seconds, before Star started hearing voices coming from beyond the hidden door.

By now, she understood that one, these people had way better hearing than her. And two, that the monsters chasing after them were much more patient and determined than the ones she used to face regularly in her version of Mewni.

"The trail… seems to end here," a gruff voice proclaimed, before sneezing twice. "I can't pick it up again in this stupid cave… can't tolerate the dust here."

"Wasn't this the place where a hydra used to live?" another voice interjected.

"Yeah, but there are only his skeletal remains here by now… though I can definitely pick up the odour of the wild animals that take frequent abode here. Yuck."

"Keep searching!" a raspy voice ordered, one Star recognized again as Rasticore's. "We cannot let them slip from under our grasp, not when the Fallen Queen was so close."

And after that, she heard just footsteps and unintelligible whispers as the monsters kept searching. Moon and Kelly remained immobile, standing ready in front of the door.

Star remained silent at first, though she had to admit, it was less because of Kelly's wish and more because of the fear gripping her heart and keeping her frozen in place. In the span of a few hours, she had risked her lives multiple times, nearly getting her throat slithered, crushed under debris, impaled by a spear, and finally, shot down by a firearm.

It was as if this version of Mewni was constantly on the lookout to get her killed, and all of it through the people that inhabited it no less.

The thought of being once again in danger, hunted down by Rasticore and his warriors, now looked far less as a fun challenge like it did back home. Now, it actually looked as something to be feared and avoided at all costs—but Kelly's hideout had no secondary exits as far as she could tell.

It was hard to digest for sure. But as much as she was afraid, Star didn't want to just stay put and let things happen without her doing anything about it.

Perhaps she'd made mistakes in underestimating this word. Thinking she could take on the monsters, that Moon would accept her with wide arms right away.

Even so, she didn't want to wait for the misfortune to come to her. She was going to face it, to show both her, supposed, sister and Alternate Kelly that she was more than a stranded, disoriented teenager that needed help and guidance.

Thus, after taking in a breath, Star went to stand between Kelly and Moon, putting herself in battle stance. Both of them merely glanced at her for a moment before focusing on the hidden door again, but Star didn't mind. The task at hand was more important in any case.

And perhaps… now that she was flanked by people who, technically, she knew… she felt a little safer.

The wait continued for another minute. Two minutes. Three.

Star listened to the monsters' footsteps and growls as they kept searching the hydra's cave. There was a lot of space out there, so it was only a given they would take some time, but she could tell there were already dozens of monsters in the cave.

Suddenly, a voice spoke up again, and it made Star almost jump. It was right behind the wall of the secret passage!

"We're mincemeat, I tell you. Toffee will want our heads when he hears we lost the Fallen Queen."

"Maybe she's behind one of these walls?"

Star managed to hold in a hiccup.

"Don't be a fool, this ain't a Mewman castle full of secret hallways leading who knows where. It's just a random wild animal cave. The Queen duped us, she and that wench that followed her. And Toffee—"

"General Toffee is not going to do anything, as long as you two idiots keep doing your job and stop wasting time!"

Rasticore was also very close. Star felt a tremor run up her back, at the thought of the Septarian being just a few steps away, wall notwithstanding. The same Septarian who had almost succeeded in executing her.

"Does anyone in this cave have any new lead?!" he shouted. Numerous voices came back as replies, and considering Rasticore's unsatisfied growl, Star knew that the monsters had indeed failed to find any clue concerning their whereabouts.

"Then, they must be elsewhere. They may have left the cave again…" Rasticore mused. Then, he fired another order. "Out of here, everyone! We'll keep the search up in the forest area around the cave! Move it!"

A series of footsteps, and finally, after a few minutes… silence.

They were gone.

They were really gone!

Star let out a long, loud sigh of relief and let herself fall on the floor. "Gosh… remind me to never mess with Rasticore again in the future."

There was no quip, unimpressed reply or any other acknowledgement from the other two occupants of the room. Looking to her sides, Star saw that Moon was still standing, her glare fixed on somewhere else. Following it, she saw that her mom-but-really-sister was actually looking at Kelly.

The Woolett girl leaned on one of the chamber's walls, the greatsword abandoned beside her as she took a long sigh not unlike Star's. She seemed to be quite distressed.

"Kelly… are you okay?"

Rather than replying, Kelly simply glared at her cold-eyed.

"Oh, come on!" Star exclaimed, though she kept herself from yelling too loudly, just in case the monsters could still hear them. "I'm just trying to do some quick talk here, Kelly! You can't just keep up the grumpy mood forever."

"You are a complete stranger who almost got me killed," Kelly slowly explained. "You are a member of the Butterfly family, as those cheek-marks leave no doubt about, and worst of all, you are in cahoots with the darn Fallen Queen of all people!"

She pointed at hand at her. "So, tell me why I should even listen to whatever hogwash comes out of your traitorous mouth. Tell me!"

Star's eyebrows furrowed at that jab. "I just… w-we were friends once…"

"Friends?" Kelly looked as offended as she was unable to understand her. "With a Butterfly? Just who the hell are you?

"Her name is Star Butterfly," Moon finally interjected. "And I think this conversation has already gone long enough. We will leave you alone Woolett—"

"S-Star?! As in—!?" Kelly gave an incredulous glance to Moon, then looked at Star again, her eyes wide.

It didn't last long though, as she shook her head. "You know what, to hell with it, it doesn't matter whether you've gone insane or not, both of you. You ain't going nowhere until I say so!"

Kelly left her position on the wall and started advancing towards them, but Moon steeped forward in front of Star. Eventually, the two came in front of each other again.

Kelly was clearly shorter, yet still glared with hostility at the Queen, unaffected by their size difference.

"You are the reason why Toffee sent an entire death squad here, led by freaking Disastervaine no less. They will search ten cornfields worth of space around this cave before they actually give up, and you are not leaving this place until they're gone—that is, until I'm sure you two getting killed won't make them suspicious enough to find out about my safe house!"

"I don't think you understand well who you are dealing with here, Woolett," Moon said with a flat tone. "You don't have a choice on the matter."

"Oh, I know very well who you are, 'Queen'. If you think I am going to let you do as you please, though, you are making a mistake big time! I saved your sorry butts by bringing you here… so I got every right to make you leave on my terms. And if you don't want to do so, well, too bad, I will still not let you get out only to risk driving them back here and ruin everything!"

Moon shook her head, and her hand moved towards her back to grab the spear she had previously put away, but she stopped when Star rushed to them, putting herself exactly between the two.

"Are you two for real!? We just got out of that one and you're already fighting again?!" she reprimanded with dismay. "C-Can we try not to jump at each other's throats for a moment? We are all on the same team, right? Toffee's the bad guy here, so just arguing with each other won't help with that. That's just gonna help him!"

Kelly turned at Star, but this time she was far more disoriented by her words than angered.

"You are not making any sense. The only reason Toffee is where he is right now, is her!" Kelly gestured towards Moon. "She is responsible for him ascending to power in the first place! She doomed us all!"

Star found herself unable to reply to that outburst. Her mouth remained agape as she stared at Kelly.

Kelly slowly calmed herself down. "You… you do know that, don't you?"

Star's gaze moved to Moon. She was not looking at her—rather, her face was tilted slightly towards the ground, as if she was distracted.

"Mom… I mean, uh, Moon… did you…?"

Moon's head jerked up, gazing at Star with a hard frown. "No. I did not help Toffee rise to where he is. My entire life was dedicated to eradicating him… and ridding Mewni of him and the scum who follows him."

"Yeah, and that worked out all right," Kelly said, very much showing that she thought the Queen was not telling the truth.

"I… I don't understand!" Star cried, glancing at Kelly again, "Why are you saying she helped him? I-I don't really think she's lying, Kelly. I… I mean, you can see how much she dislikes him, right?"

"That may be true, and yes, she is not lying… but she's not telling the full story, either," Kelly replied.

Then, she gave a sardonic, faked smile at Moon. "…hmm, you know what? I got an idea. Care to explain it all yourself, Moon-ie?"

Moon scowled. Her fists were clenched, and her mouth was half-open, showing her teeth. She was trembling, and for a moment it looked like she was going to rush and pounce on Kelly to beat her down.

But in the end, she did not move. She gripped her chest for a moment and took a few breaths. Then, once she was a bit calmer, she faced Star.

Moon saw how her younger sister from another universe was pensively looking at her, her brows furrowed into a mixture of confusion and, most glaringly, fear.

At that point, Moon realized that perhaps, this girl, this 'Star'… had really put most of her trust in her, despite technically having known each other for just about a couple of hours. Despite her hostile behaviour earlier, despite clearly trying to hurt her, Star already believed in her… enough that Kelly's words had managed to put a dent in her trust, and now she didn't know who to believe anymore.

The sight of Star's uncertain face struck her, harder than any monster weapon that had manged to wound her in the past, harder than any defeat she had to accept and endure since Toffee took her family away.

Her fists were still close and tight enough that she could feel her nails digging into her own skin.

No… she couldn't lose her again.

"Star… I did not help Toffee ascend to power… voluntarily," she started. "That was never my aim… and it never will be."

"It doesn't matter…" Kelly growled under her breath.

"Kelly, can you please… let her talk? Until she'd at least tried to explain herself?" Star gave a half-annoyed look to her. "I just want to understand better… let's start making judgements after that."

Kelly snorted, but she didn't reply. Snatching something that looked somewhat edible from the nearby tale, she let herself fall on the ground and started munching on it, observing both Butterfly sisters.

Star returned her attention back to Moon. "Then… what did happen?"

Moon thought over her memories, considering how to start her narration. "My own coronation, it was not… the most pleasant of days in my life, Star. The monsters had gone on the offensive in Mewni during our mother's reign, and a war looked all but inevitable even when she was still alive."

"Soo… Grandma Comet then tried to go with the peace option back then, right?"

Moon didn't expect Star to precede her. "That's… how things went even in your dimension?"

"Pretty much. Grandma tried to sign a peace treaty with the monsters, with an archduke guy I think, because she wanted to keep the peace up without risking going to war again."

"…how did it go?" Moon couldn't help asking.

"Well… she failed, because Toffee killed her before she could complete the negotiations…" Star's tone became heavier. "My mom… well, the other 'you', ascended to the throne immediately after, when she was 16, but she managed to beat Toffee back and cause his army to disperse. He wasn't gone yet… but it managed to stop the monsters from wanting to go to war again, even to this day."

"I… understand," Moon didn't want Star to recall the entire story of her life. As much interesting as the dream of a world where things were different sounded, it could do nothing to solve the issues of her own reality.

"The events… went somewhat similarly here. Comet, our mother, she wanted to stop another bloodbath, after what Mewni had to go through in the previous century. She immediately sought out a peace treaty with the monsters, and things looked better, because the king of the monsters apparently was open to the peace talks. But… I was 14 when… it happened. When Toffee came… and he murdered her."

Star nodded. This was comparable to what her Moon had to go through, indeed. There had to be a difference here though, considering the state Mewni was in right now.

She let Moon have her moment, as the woman spent a few seconds in silence before resuming her speech.

"…but it didn't end there. Toffee didn't just want to stop the peace treaty and kill Comet. He wanted to annihilate us… the entire Butterfly ruling family, with one coordinated blow. When Comet went to sign the treaty officially, she was followed by a large contingent of troops that left the castle's garrison undermanned. So, while he prepared to ambush Mother right when she was about to write down her signature on the piece of paper that was supposed to put an end to everything… a group of killers was sent to the castle."

Her voice slowed down. "They… managed to go undetected, slitting the throat of any guard they couldn't avoid, and managed to get deep enough in the castle. They were simply too skilled… and no one saw them until it was too… l-late."

Moon approached the table at the centre of the room and put a hand on it, supporting herself. It took her a few other seconds before she could resume talking.

"I was in our bedroom when it happened. One of their crossbow bolts pierced me in the shoulder, and a knife wounded my side, but they failed to kill me. I knocked them out with my magic, even if it was far from being powerful, thanks to the wand Comet had left me with."

By now, Star knew where this was going. Yet, it didn't make it any easier to listen to.

"After the frenzy of the battle, I s-saw… I saw that one of them had went straight for you… before they tried coming for me, and I had… I-I hadn't even noticed."

Moon looked at Star with puffy eyes as she barely managed to stutter out her words. "You were on the ground. T-They… they had gotten your throat, and y-you were in a pool of your own…"

She sniffed, then passed an arm over her face, trying to wipe the tears off.

She didn't even realize that Star had come closer, until she saw something in the corner of her eyes. When she lifted up her head to look, she saw Star standing in front of her.

Unlike Moon, Star had no restraint in showing her emotions. Her eyes were filled with tears and before Moon could register what was going on, she little girl wrapped her arms around her.

Moon didn't refuse the touch. In fact… slowly, she returned the hug.

Earlier, she had been the one to hug Star on her own initiative, controlled by her own emotions.

But this was the first time in years someone actually went to hug her on their own initiative. And yet, it still didn't feel bad.

She could feel her touch… her hair. She was here… Star was here… Star was alive.

It didn't matter that she wasn't 'her' details could piss off for all she cared now.

They stayed like that for a minute, before they heard a 'harrumph' coming from behind them. Separating from each other, they looked at Kelly, who looked far from being moved by their display of sympathy.

"Move along with your story, will ya'?" Kelly said coldly. "You can have your moment after we're finished with this."

Star was quite irritated by her lack of touch. How could she not see how Moon felt? This was real pain!

But a hand over her shoulder gripped on her dress and the cloak she was still wearing, stopping her before she could speak.

"Don't… j-just let me finish, Star…"

Star crossed her hands, but nevertheless decided to pay heed to Moon's words.

"I didn't take it… well," she continued. "The killers… when I was able to stand back up from your body, the guards had already detained them. When they told me that they had also killed dozens of knights and guardsmen, and that they had also taken our father's life, I was… not happy. But once I heard about what had happened to Mother as well…"

She glanced at Star with a meaningful expression. "No one tried to stop me."

It took her a moment, but when she realized what Moon implied, she felt her stomach twisting on itself.

Back in her dimension, she had never outright killed any of the monsters she had fought in her life… even Toffee had technically survived her blast and ended up being finished off only thanks to Ludo's intervention. Indeed, most of the monsters she fought never actually tried to kill her as well—their fights were always about who was able to knock out or incapacitate the enemy first. Indeed, she only ended up risking her life when it came to wild creatures and other magical beasts.

Yet, here was Moon, telling her she herself had killed the assassins in cold blood… even after it was over It almost sounded like the heavy atmosphere filled with war and death that was also present in her original universe, during Solaria's reign, had never left Mewni alone…

And yet, the tapestry fragment of Solaria that she had caught sight of in the castle ruins had showed her that she likely wasn't the same warmonger queen that she was in her original parallel universe. It was confusing… and she didn't take it well.

Instinctively, she made a few steps back from Moon.

"Star…" Moon began, moving a hand in her direction as if to stop her from moving away. "I…"

"No, no, I… I understand…" she explained quickly, agitating a hand to shrug off Moon's worry. "I understand how you felt, I just… give a moment to take it all in. It's a b-bit overwhelming… you know…"

Moon nodded solemnly. Her frown returned, and her hands were still closed into fists. "So… may I continue?"

"Hmm-mmm…"

"After I was coronated, my first goal was to stop Toffee and his army from attacking Mewni. I didn't know how to do it, left on my own as I was, so I sought help from the one person who may have been able to help me out."

"Eclipsa?"

"…this also happened in your dimension, I reckon?"

"Yes… my mom asked Eclipsa how to beat Toffee, and she gave her the spell needed to kill immortal monsters like him. It worked, but my mom… she had made a deal with Eclipsa—once Toffee was gone, she would be set free. She didn't trust her enough, so she only hurt Toffee by taking his finger off with that spell. He survived, but it was enough to send both him and his army on the run."

Again, it was only in details that her alternate version had differed from her in terms of actions, Moon noticed.

"That's how things went here as well, Star... more or less. However, I… I didn't care about Eclipsa. I wanted to destroy Toffee, and I aimed straight for his heart. If Eclipsa was going to be set free… I just… couldn't care less."

She narrowed her eyes, felling the hatred return to her. "The coward didn't face me head on. Somehow, he already knew what I was going to do, and he ducked away at the very last second. The spell caused much destruction to the monster camp, though; that was enough to scare off his army for a time, but in the chaos he escaped... and kept on living."

Star nodded, then glanced for a moment at Kelly. She expected to find her with half-interest, perhaps even faking oozing off disrespectfully. Instead, she noticed that the woolett girl was actually leaning forward, as if she was trying to get closer and listen better to Moon's tale.

As soon as Kelly's eyes locked with Star's, she moved away her gaze, scowling. But it was too late; Star now knew that Kelly wasn't completely indifferent to what Moon was saying, after all.

She then focused again on Moon, still busy with her tale.

"That is why my only goal, after those events, was to hunt Toffee down and finish what I had started. I devoted my life to the chase… I flushed him and his followers out of the holes they took refuge in, I interrogated whoever I caught until they told me where he was and fought dozens of monsters and traitors to get closer and closer to him."

Moon shook her head. "But I failed. Again, and again, and again. He… he is still alive to this day… as you know. And my hunt continues on."

"…okay. Give me a sec," Star said quickly, before turning away from Moon.

In the relative privacy, she gave herself the freedom of screaming internally.

She remembered that her actual mom, back home, had also hunted down the monsters after facing Toffee. But according to what she had told her, during their heart-to-heart inside the secret Sanctuary, it took her less than two years to have the remaining rebel armies dissolve.

Toffee went into hiding after she took his finger and without his guidance the monster rebellion had no chance. Soon after that, Mewni became a relatively peaceful kingdom—save for localized rebellious splinter groups of monsters such as Ludo and his goons, who were less focused on taking down Mewni and more on being annoying.

Very much different from… this Moon's story. Hunting Toffee down for years, fighting off the followers that he somehow still had, and keeping it up even to this day? After so much time, after Mewni itself was no more a kingdom?

She told her she had ascended to the throne at 14. She didn't know her current age but given her current likeness… it meant she could've kept this hunt going for as long as ten years!

No… she really had no idea just how much Moon had to go through in this universe.

It was a miracle she hadn't just broken right here and—

"That may be about right, Fallen Queen, but that was also what caused Mewni to fall!"

Kelly stood up from her sitting position. Livid, she marched up to Moon and Star, glaring at the former. "You ignored your kingdom, all of the people who lived under your rule, you ignored everyone and everything who sought for help! Every dimension on its own, every mewman and mewwoman and kingdom at the mercy of whatever armies Toffee decided to let loose on us. You did this!"

"Kelly…" Star started when she saw that Moon wasn't responding well to the accusations. She was looking at the floor, not facing Kelly, as the Woolett lashed at her. "You don't have to—"

Kelly turned with a jerk towards her. "I didn't ask for your opinion, Butterfly, considering you don't know a thing about was happened here. But considering the family you belong to…"

She spitted. "…you being just as guilty wouldn't surprise me!"

Before Star could even think up of a response to Kelly's unfair accusation, she saw the Woolett suddenly being lifted off the ground, then whirled around.

"No, she isn't!" Moon growled.

She had grabbed her and had easily pulled her up, raising her head to her own eye level. "Don't you dare bring her into this! I made my mistakes, Woolett, but she, she never had anything to do with this! She's got nothing to do with Toffee, or even my decisions! You won't accuse her of anything!"

Kelly simply stared at her in silence for some seconds. For a moment, she seemed to be hesitant on how to reply, as she was greeted by Moon's aggravated expression, mid-way between fury and sadness.

But it lasted only for a moment. Her expression became serious and cold again.

"Your pain will not change who you are, Moon. To me, you will always be the cause of everything… the Butterfly Bane of Mewni. Now… let. Me. Go."

Star thought that Moon would fling Kelly away, but it came down to her simply letting her go with a shove. Kelly staggered back, recovering quickly her equilibrium, but her eyes didn't move away from Moon.

"I remember… we all remember that you abandoned us," she said. "And we will not forget so easily what you've done. It will take more than a random innocent girl to make us change our mind."

Moon shook her head, letting out a sharp, contained hiss that sounded like a stifled yell. She stomped once on the ground, then turned away.

…

It just wasn't going to work between them, was it?

Star decided first to glare at Kelly, trying to give her the most expressive glare she could muster that told her 'that was uncalled for!'.

Kelly merely eyed her for a second, and her frown didn't falter.

'I really need to talk her out of that behaviour…' Star mused. However, her priorities were elsewhere as she looked at Moon.

She had to ask a question, no matter how hard it was going to be.

"…Moon?"

Moon scrubbed her nose off after a sniff, before she looked at Star.

"Is Kelly telling the truth? That you were so much focused on Toffee that you let the kingdom… go?"

Moon's lips quivered. She frowned, shaking her head again, her hands tightening into fists.

"…I did."

Star stared at her dumbfounded.

"I… I can't believe it. You let it all go…? But… but how?"

"I doubt she'll ever tell you," Kelly commented. "No one ever managed to learn about what really happened, but when Toffee took over, she sure did not show up to save any of us. By the time I started hearing about her rare appearances again, Mewni had long since ceased to exist as a kingdom."

Star turned towards her as Kelly, surprisingly, was already looking at her. "I hope that makes you understand at least that I don't dislike Moon just 'because'… Star," she continued. For once, she was talking in a calmer manner than earlier, and actually talking with her and calling her by name.

Another step forward, at least.

"I dislike… I despise her for what she did… and nothing will make me forget about that."

After that, a pregnant silence fell into the room. Star looked between Kelly and Moon, trying to come up with something that could keep the conversation going.

But the truth was that she was at loss of words herself.

Whatever had transpired between Moon and Kelly, even indirectly via the actions of the former, had been so serious that the two would likely be very unwilling to even just communicate with each other. That was clear.

And Star still lacked a lot of the context. For one, Moon had only talked about Mewni… but Kelly was not from Mewni.

And moreover, she still could hardly believe Moon to be one who left the kingdom to its destiny. It was so, so much unlike her Mom to do something like this, and if the two Moons shared their mindset even just a little… it sounded more far-fetched the more she thought about it.

Then again… Star also knew just how much Moon's hatred for Toffee in this dimension went—far worse than any type of scorn her mom felt for the lawyer-looking, manipulative lizard they had to face.

In any case, questioning either of them further wasn't an available option. Kelly had just managed to talk with her without shouting at her, and Star didn't want to press her luck further, whereas Moon still looked aggravated by the recent revelation.

She would just have to wait for a better chance.

However, that didn't mean that Star was going to just stand idle and let Kelly and Moon go their own ways.

"Okay… okay, I understand that things aren't looking good, and there were… mistakes made," Star said, after thinking over her words for a moment.

Both Kelly and Moon looked at her.

"But still, I think that right now… we really should team up against Toffee."

Kelly's expression hardened. "If you think I am going to associate myself with her—"

"No, no, I'm not asking you to like it, Kelly!" Star said quickly. "I understand… that's a bit too far to ask, right now. But listen… Toffee is your enemy. He is also the enemy of Moon. He's also my enemy… at least, I think so, but if he's yours, then he's also mine!"

Kelly's facial lines relaxed a little. "And?"

"Then let's actually join forces and take him down!" Star exclaimed. "We can do it. I got magic, Moon got her wand and spear, and you got your sword. And all three of us can easily hold our own in a fight, especially if we work together. I'm sure you are not one bit rusty with your swordmanship, Kelly!"

"Kind of…" Kelly couldn't help smiling a little at Star's remark, but she soon realized she was distracted and shook off the pride.

"Still, I don't understand why you want to take on Toffee," Kelly said. "Star… the war is over. Toffee has already won, as far as I'm concerned, and it's only a matter of time before he manages to take over the last few independent states."

"Because… because I don't believe it's over, until we actually try. Did you ever try to stand up to him… together? Not just you and Moon, I mean… everyone who doesn't want Toffee to win."

Kelly took a few seconds before replying. "No… I don't believe that happened."

"Then, what are we waiting for?!"

Kelly was in disbelief. "…just, who really are you?"

Star gave Kelly her friendliest smile as she came closer. "It may be hard to understand, Kelly, but my name is really Star Butterfly, and… I come from an alternate universe. A parallel world of sorts, if it's clearer that way. And in my world, you and I are friends!"

"Friend… with a Butterfly…" Kelly repeated her words with doubt.

"It's true! I came here because I was looking for my mom. And it turns out, that my mom isn't really my mom here," she said, glancing at Moon for a moment. "And things are a bit grim… but I still think it can be fixed. That we can try and put an end to Toffee's rule."

Kelly looked conflicted. "No… you are asking me to do something that is impossible. Toffee has control over multiple kingdoms and his armies are numerous and ruthless. He resides in a fortified redoubt for corn's sake! That place is impenetrable!"

"Kelly is right," Moon finally interjected. He had walked up to the two. "I don't know how Toffee was in your world, Star, but he's not to be underestimated here. You saw what kind of power he has under his control… It took him an hour to send a one-hundred-strong killing party after us, all armed with barrier shields and even some arquebuses."

"W-Wait, arquebuses!? You mean those magic fire sticks!?" Kelly cried. "Darn… I thought those were a rumour."

"They are not a rumour. And they are deadly," Moon confirmed. "As Star herself now knows."

"Okay, okay, maybe he has the power, but listen, we don't have to face him head-on. And even if it's only the three of us—"

An idea. It came to her all of a sudden, and suddenly, she was smiling.

"You said Toffee has not conquered every kingdom yet, right, Kelly?"

Seeing Kelly nod felt like drinking up an energy drink from Earth to Star.

"Then we just have to convince everyone to join us in our quest! And once we're all together, we'll be strong enough to defy him!"

"Star, it's not so easy—" Moon started.

"No, nuh-uh!" too excited to stop, Star shook her index in front of Moon's face. Moon was stunned by such an interruption, since she was used to people respecting her out of fear or because she made them do so, and simply remained silent.

"This is exactly what we're going to do, and it'll work! Toffee doesn't know about us or what I can do! In fact—"

Star extended her arms out and suddenly, a light ball enveloped her for an instant. After that, she extended her wings out, flexing her six hands and exhibiting the long pigtails typical of her Butterfly form.

Kelly gawked with her mouth left open in shock. Moon, on the other hand, scratched her eyes, unable to believe what she was seeing.

"We can start right now! And don't worry, Kelly, I can just portal us to Ponyhead right away! No need to move out of your safe house!"

"W-Wait, Ponyhead!?" Moon cried out. "Star, wait—"

Too late. Star extended her hands out and conjured up the portal to Cloud Kingdom.

…

Except that nothing happened.

"Uhh, sorry! Let me try again, I just need to cut the rift open!" she said. She repeatedly tried to summon the dimensional portal, multiple times, laying out her hands over and over again.

But nothing came up.

"Ugh! Why isn't it working! Why—!?"

A hand placed on her shoulder made her stop. She looked at Moon.

"Star… this world… is more complex than you think. You have… we have to think before we act."

"And you better do it… if you don't want to die here," Kelly added.

Star was going to retort, but then she suddenly changed her mind. "Wait… you two are actually in?"

Moon bit her lip, then let out a sigh. "…I guess I am."

"I didn't say I am in yet!" Kelly cried out. "I just…"

Star decided to resort to extreme measures, showing Kelly her most effective pout.

"Ugh, all right. All right! I think… I think that maybe, it's worth a shot," she relented. "But I agree with the Fallen Queen… as much as it surprises me. You must plan ahead before doing anything stupid."

For the very first time since she first came to this alternate version, Star was grinning ear to ear.

"It's good enough for me!"

Chapter Text

The Forest of Certain Death was known to be quite a loud place, when far enough in it. The various creatures and critters that populated the woods were able to create a mix of background noises that went from the low, guttural growls to shrieks far in the distance, contributing to the picturesque atmosphere.

But this was not the forest Star knew. The place was far quieter, enough that it felt unnatural. Only a few animal calls could be heard in the early morning, far and deep into the forest, but otherwise, it looked and sounded like there was nothing in the surroundings except for the rustle of tree branches.

Thus, when a portal rift suddenly appeared out of thin air, emitting a bright yellow light along with the distinct whooshing sound of a tear being opened in the space-time continuum, nothing else happened.

A head with aquamarine hair came through the portal, looking left and right inquisitively.

Kelly didn't take a step out for a full minute before she made a gesture with the arm that was still inside the portal. Only after did she actually go through the portal in full.

A backpack was now placed on her back, though the strap of her greatsword had been adjusted accordingly to still let her draw it out with ease if need be. She also wore an additional jacket, though it was plain in colour and texture, looking as old as her normal set of brown common folk clothes.

Kelly was followed by Moon. The queen stepped out carefully; the spear was still on her back, but she gripped with a tight grasp on the Royal Wand. As soon as she was standing on the ground, she also scanned the clearing they had found themselves in like Kelly had done beforehand. Unlike Kelly, her supplies were limited to a small bag strapped on her shoulder, opposite of the spear. She was also wearing again the cloak that she had given to Star the previous day.

Kelly didn't comment on Moon's lack of trust in her judgement, though she did let out a half-stifled scoff. Then, the third and final traveller came through the portal, which a much less normal-looking appearance.

Star hovered into the clearing, her butterfly wings flapping in the air slow enough to challenge the laws of gravity. As another difference compared to her companions, she didn't even try to glance around herself for potential threats.

"It… it worked!" she exclaimed. "It actually worked this time! Hah, still got it!"

Kelly couldn't help letting out an amused snort at that, which Star promptly caught, causing a large smile to appear on her face in return. Kelly, who might or might not have been amused by Star's excitement, frowned as soon as she noticed Star's reaction, but the latter's smile didn't falter.

"Thanks, Kelly," she said. "You really made this work, though I've yet to understand how…" Arms extended out, Star closed her eyes and a blink later, she had reverted to her normal mewman form with a poof.

"Right, right… but we still better keep moving, if we want to reach the next corridor. May I lead the way?" Moon suggested.

"You know the Forest that well, Fallen Queen?" Kelly questioned her.

"I know it well enough. You were not the only one to take refuge among these woods in the past years, Woolett."

"Tell me something new…" Kelly growled, but she nodded. "Okay, then. Guide us, if you like."

Moon didn't speak further. With a swish, she extracted her spear, but rather than putting herself in combat mode, she grabbed it in order to have the wooden tip touch the ground and began using it as a walking stick of sorts.

Kelly motioned for Star to follow her before she started to walk behind Moon. Star did as she was instructed, and for a moment, it looked like the three were going to keep traveling in silence.

But of course, Star Butterfly was Star Butterfly. No way she could handle silence for that long.

"Sooo, Kelly, about those crystals you mentioned—"

"I don't wanna talk, Butterfly."

"Aw, pleaaase?" Star insisted, walking up to Kelly's side and showing one of her best begging postures, hands clasped together plus what she believed was an irresistible pout. "I really want to know! Besides, I can't handle travelling this long without talking with someone on the way. That might bore me to craziness!"

"Sucks to be you, then. You might lose your mind very soon."

Star's pout turned into a scowl. "Don't patronise me, Kelly! You know, this might turn out to be helpful for both of us! At least think of it as if you're explaining basic survival knowledge to me. That means I don't have to ask you or Moon everytime I need to know where to go."

"Uh… I guess…" Kelly conceded hesitatingly. She let out a croaked sigh.

"Okay, I'll humour you, Butterfly. What do you know about Tramorfidian Crystals?"

Star made a grimace. "Bad things! They used one at St. Olga's school back in my home dimension. It stopped all dimensional scissors from working within the school, preventing any type of escape. Thankfully I destroyed the tower they kept the thing in before that place could turn even more princesses into rule-obsessed zombies!"

Kelly nodded. "St. Olga had one here as well, and I guess they worked the same. However, when Toffee took over, they became more… common. Tramorfidian Crystals were rare, but he managed to seize most of them among dimensions and in Mewni, and he set up what we came to know as the 'Tramorfidian Web'."

"Web? …as in a network?" Star said, trying to think up of the few mentions of networks she'd heard both at school on Earth, and from Marco when he tried to explain to her for the first time that the internet on Earth was more than just a collection of pages to visit on her phone.

Kelly nodded. "Yep, that's a good word for it. Imagine it as multiple Tramorfidian crystals dotting most of Mewni, at least the part that Toffee rules over. They are placed in fortified towers, or hid away in secret caverns, disguised houses, and the like, and all of them are guarded by warriors. Each crystal covers over an area, just like the one at St. Olga, but Toffee knew about the fact that the crystals, when close enough, tended to connect to each other. If this connection was established correctly, it created paths that extended the no-portal zones to spaces much beyond the original range of the crystals."

She tried to draw something in front of her with a hand. "So, multiple crystals form a multitude of paths that connect to each other, and the final result is a web of Tramorfidian-covered segments, rather than just a few circle areas. Attempting to dimensional travel within this web is almost impossible, as you might just find yourself in an area not covered by the web, yet still can't open the portal because the web also prevents you from 'crossing' through it via portalling. It is very effective… and a pain in the butt to deal with. I sold away my scissors a long time ago because of this—in this part of Mewni, those things are near useless."

"You sold your scissors?!" that meant without a doubt that Kelly didn't lie, considering how valuable scissors were in her own dimension.

Kelly simply nodded at her remark. "I had to make do with what I had. The tools needed to keep my sword in check were more important."

"But… but what about your original dimension? You can't go back to it without scissors, right?"

There was a shift in Kelly's expression. She had been serious the entire time, but now… it was as if Star had stabbed her right in the chest, without notice. Her eyes became vacuous and her mouth gaped.

It lasted only for a moment, as Kelly quickly recomposed herself. "That's… not a problem," she said slowly, her tone measured. "That's all I will say about it, Butterfly."

"Oh…" Star let out. For a moment, it sounded like the conversation was going to end right there, but Star didn't want to end it like this, nor did she was to press Kelly further concerning her past… for now. So, she turned the subject back to the Tramorfidian Crystals.

"Okay then… I think I understand how the web works, but yesterday Toffee sent those warriors to try and catch me and Moon after I encountered another small group of them. It happened so much quickly!" she glanced towards her 'big sister' (still trying to get used to that), and she saw that Moon had yet to turn around to glance back at her or Kelly, not even once. Perhaps she was listening as well, perhaps not.

"Moon saw them with a spell that detected portals as well, and there were a lot of them. They also travelled a bit farther to try and get us in a dead-end, all via portals as well, I guess. How does that make sense with this web-thingy?"

Kelly nodded. "The thing with the Tramorfidian Web is, if you were to know exactly how it is structured, you would know that the areas that are not covered by the crystals are basically paths within the web itself. So, assuming you know its state or have a map at hand, you can effectively still travel via portals, just within those limits, and do so in a very fast way."

"So, Rasticore knew about those?" Star mulled.

"Every single Septarian warlord that serves under Toffee knows about them, and a lot of the other monster races' champions that answer to him do as well," Kelly corrected her. "Not just that… the forces of the Dominion also frequently change the setup of the web, preventing any one of us from learning the web's intricacies and getting used to them. Toffee has made it so the web is reconfigured weekly, and no one ever hears about it from outside his army. From that point of view, he's got the knife from the handle."

That sounded quite effective, and something Toffee would definitely do. "Then… we just have to keep trying at random to find the empty spaces in the web?"

"Kind of. There are areas of Mewni that Toffee can't control as well, and the Forest of Certain Death is one of them. It used to be a safe place for monsters, but now that they are spread all over Mewni, that is no more the case, and only a handful of crystal were placed to cover the woods. With fewer crystals that change less frequently because they are far apart from each other, the corridors in the web are larger, longer, and easier to find. And after years here, I've learned how to predict where they are, though it's been a while since I had to do so."

Kelly looked ahead. "For example, it shouldn't take us longer than a few minutes before we find the next corridor that will let us portal forward again. If all goes well, we'll get to Cloud Kingdom before midday."

"Well, that's great!"

"Right… great…" Kelly muttered under her breath.

Star didn't miss her doubtful tone. "Uh… Kelly? Something's wrong with that?"

"Well…" Kelly looked unsure how to tackle the subject. Star wasn't sure how to take it, since both Moon and Kelly hadn't commented that much on her choice to go visit Pony Head first.

"Star, I…" she started. "Okay, listen, I want to trust your judgement, but trust has to be earned bit by bit, and when your first order of business is to go to Cloud Kingdom of all places, well… that is not helping me trust you."

"Pff! Listen, I know Pony Head can be a handful, but—"

"Star." Kelly glared at her hard enough to silence her quick response before she could finish. "You come from another dimension, no, another world, if I understand correctly. Your Pony Head and our Pony Head are going to be different, if that's really the case."

"Yes, but…" Star found herself unable to reply at first. That made sense… if anything, the stark differences between Alternate Moon and Alternate Kelly, compared to her mother and her woolett friend, were proof of Kelly's argument. Yet…

"I know that, but… there are similarities I can catch on, still. You are not completely different…" Star said, trying to find the best words to explain what he meant. "I mean, yes, you are but… deep down, I can still see that you're good guys, despite whatever happened to you. I can tell that Moon is not evil, even if she made mistakes. I can tell you're still the Woolett friend I used to know, and you just… changed because of the circumstances. No, it's not just that I can tell, I am sure of it!"

She furrowed her brows in determination. "And I know that Pony Head is going to be the same. She wasn't just a friend for me, she was, she is my bestie in Mewni. I know she'll understand me once I explain what is going on."

"I… I would like to believe you. I never met the Pony Head heiress myself, but… Star, Cloud Kingdom right now is a client state of Toffee's Dominion."

…

"Wait, what?"

"They surrendered almost immediately when Toffee first began his uprising against the Butterfly Kingdom, before any other reign of Mewni in fact. I've heard… stories, but whatever happened within the Pony Head palace… it didn't sound good, from what I know. I can't be sure, but…"

Kelly groaned. "Just… be careful, Star. I don't trust the Pony Heads, but I'm willing to give you a chance, if you believe so strongly in it. Yet, we all should stay cautious when approaching the royal family there."

Star bit her lip, but then forced herself to smile at Kelly with confidence. She even went to pat Kelly on the shoulder, though she flinched as soon as Star's fingers brushed on her jacket. Apparently, she was a bit less open to physical touch compared to Moon.

Retreating her hand, Star continued smiling, albeit a bit more awkwardly. "Uh, thanks, Kelly… I promise, this is going to work. Pony Head will help us!"

Kelly didn't speak further, simply acknowledging her with a nod before focusing her attention back to the path ahead, and in particular Moon, who kept leading the way through the undergrowth of the Forest of Certain Death.

Star decided to go back to her previous position, such that she was trailing Kelly and the three of them were moving in a single line. Sometimes, Moon held her spear up and then struck what turned out to be carnivorous plants and other small threats hiding in wait, without even caring to warn her two companions. Kelly didn't mind, while Star skipped a beat the first two times she heard the wail of a dangerous plant being pierced through without notice.

It was a short trek, anyway, as it didn't take long for Moon to come to a halt. She took the wand in her hand and drew a circle. "Check the pattern, go through space. Find the portals and show their trace."

Once again, the magical circle appeared, with its bright green dot at its centre. However, unlike last time, there were no red, blinking dots filling the space around it.

"We are alone… for now," Moon noted out-loud. "This should be the part where the next corridor starts. Star, try opening a portal pair here."

Star nodded, raised her arms up and concentrated. After a limited expense of energy, she was back in her Butterfly form. Kelly and Moon watched expectantly as she extended her six arms forward and tried summoning a new dimensional rift.

Two portals appeared, one right in front of her, and another a few meters away.

"It works!" Star whooped with satisfaction.

"We'll have to do this a few times, so hold on your wings," Kelly replied, making the girl deflate her excitement right away. "These corridors are longer than usual, but there are still a few of them to go through and if we end up discovering that Toffee reset the placement of some of the crystals compared from what she or I remember, we'll likely have to stick to walking."

"Ugh, talk about dampening someone's spirits!" Star rebutted.

"I'm just stating the obvious here," Kelly fired back.

"We should still be able to make it in a few hours," Moon said, interjecting in their conversation. She glanced around herself, her eyes scanning around the place once again.

The Forest may have been a safe haven for those that were wanted in the Dominion. But still… way, way too many hiding places for potential ambushers for her liking.

It had been an obsession of her for a long time.

"The faster we are, the better. Let's go."

Kelly's predictions proved accurate enough. The morning passed without major hiccups, as they travelled in a mixture of portalling provided by Star and long walks through paths left by animals. No monster warrior came after them, and the few animals and beasts stayed out of their way.

Eventually, the three came out of the Forest of Certain Death at its northern border. The sky was bright, giving Mewni finally the light that Star had yet to see, though when she looked over the landscape, she could still see that… something was different, about it.

From what Star remembered, Northern Mewni was a hilly region in her world, dotted by villages and farmhouses. But the hills in front of her were simply covered by unruly vegetation, either small woods or large swaths of grassy, wild terrain. The cultivated areas were gone, and as for the villages… all she could recognize was one settlement, one that even from the distance, had clearly been abandoned a long time ago.

That, or razed down…

Star shook her head, trying to not let the thought get to her. Looking up in the sky, she saw what the most prominent feature of this part of Northern Mewni was.

Even from afar, Cloud Kingdom remained a sight to behold, an entire city floating kilometres away in the air, supported only by the large white clouds below it.

"Okay… what's the plan now?" Kelly asked, going straight to the point.

"We can't just fly over there," Moon said, pointing at the floating city. "There are pony head patrols all around the edge, and if they see us, they are sure to attack on sight first, and then ask for reinforcements second. Toffee will not waste time once news that we're here reaches his ears."

This was the first difference. Star had frequently visited Pony Head at home, and never did she see any patrols going around the floating city, not even once. She didn't even know that Cloud Kingdom had armed forces. Heck, she literally visited her at home and just 'rang the bell'!

…no, she did not need to get distracted. Focus.

"We could portal our way in there?" she suggested.

"Perhaps, but I remember that the Pony Heads set a Tramorfidian Crystal within Cloud Kingdom as well. The entire city is under its range," Moon explained. "We might be able to portal up there from where we are, but just at the border. Once we get in, we'd still have to walk the rest of the way to the royal palace."

Star put a hand on her chin. "I never even thought King Pony Head would set guards up. He's kind of a lazy ruler in my world."

"Things may be different here, Star," Moon reminded her. "And if your plan has to work, then we have to get to Pony Head directly."

There wasn't much of a choice, was it?

"Well… I hope you two are good at sneaking in," Star huffed, "because that's what we're going to do."

Later, Star realized that the two had been literally in hiding for years and sneaking around was what they did to survive.

It was her who wasn't really good at sneaking in. So, once they were inside the city, she had ended up being saved from detection multiple times by either Kelly's whispered callouts, or Moon's hands flinging her back, followed by a stern gaze.

The two also shot her down, in a rare agreement, when she said she was going to knock a couple of guards out.

But where was the fun in that? One of Marco's friends often talked about a videogame where a guy with a bandana went around knocking people out while remaining unseen. That was the entire point of sneaking, such that she could take enemies aback!

Then again, they weren't here for having fun, and Star knew that. The Pony Head patrols they met, after all, were all heavily armoured pony heads that actually looked somewhat threatening. Unlike Pony Head's bizarre choice of equipment when she joined the fight against Meteora, these guys had armour that fit their bodies. Kelly and Moon simply wanted to avoid the fight as long as possible.

The patrols however were still much rarer within the city than at the border, and while the buildings were few, the clouds meant that it was very easy to just let yourself dive into the puffy cover of the surface and wait out for a patrol to pass. So, despite her difficulties, she and her companions eventually made it to the abode of the Pony Head royal family.

After that, it was just a matter of climbing over the metal fence, opening up a window—at least leaving windows unlocked was still a habit here—and walk down the hallways, aiming for the main foyer.

Moon reached out and pulled the cloak up her head. "I don't believe it is wise to reveal myself yet," she said. "I'll hide behind the cloak until you can explain yourself, Star."

"Right… she would probably try to kill you on the spot if she saw you. I wouldn't blame her," Kelly grunted.

"Guuys…"

"Right, right," Kelly muttered. "I will try to as, um, 'diplomatic' as I can be, but I never even met a member of the royal family up until today. You'll have to do most of the talking here, Star."

"You can count on me!" she tweeted back, confidence raising in her. "Pony Head and I have known each other since we were very young. I'm sure I can understand her even in we are in an alternate world! Just you wait!"

Kelly nodded. The conversation was left to die there, so they didn't speak much for the rest of the walk. It took them a couple of minutes, but eventually, Star managed to orientate herself based on her memories and led them to the correct path.

A few staircases and a door later, they were in the main foyer. But…

The entire chamber structure looked completely different from Star's memories. Gone was the lunch table, gone were the stairs leading up to the upper platform. Rather, this was no foyer, this was a throne room!

A huge, looming throne was placed right at the end of the chamber, below the walkway platform above that was still in there. It was appropriately shaped for a Pony Head, and large enough to fit the size of King Pony Head himself. But the King wasn't there.

It was Lilacia Pony Head herself, instead, that was sitting on the throne… or rather, lying on it.

Star, Moon and Kelly's appearance didn't go unnoticed. Star had hoped to find her friend, the sisters or even the king, and no one else, but she instead found herself quickly surrounded by a group of pony head royal guards. Some of the horns of the guards all brightened up with energy as they snorted at the intruders with hostility, while Kelly and Moon drew out respectively their greatsword and spear. Moon made sure not to reveal the fact she had the wand yet, since that was a clue towards her identity, but they were both ready to fight, nonetheless.

"W-w-whaaat?!" Pony Head bellowed when she realized there was some commotion going on in the room. "Wait, wait, wait, guys! GUYS! You ain't doing anything until I say so, that's the rule!"

"But Princess, these interlopers—" a guard tried to explain.

"Nah-huh! If we got anyone who is willing enough to make it all the way over here to meet me, without getting captured outside, then I sure won't walk away from a chance to let them bask in my greatness! They must be great fans of me, and you don't get to mistreat my fans!" Pony Head shouted, floating all the way over to the group. "So, stand down, or whatever, but still, leave 'em alone!"

The guards respected her order and dispersed, returning to their post at the sides of the chamber. Kelly and Moon took a few seconds to loosen up and actually put the weapons on their backs, but Star on the other hand…

She was beaming.

"Pony Head! It's really you!"

"Uh, yes, of course it's me, duh!" Pony Head raised an eyebrow.

"No, I mean… it's you! You aren't different!"

Pony Head didn't stop frowning. "You are quite a simple-minded fan, I'll tell you that."

Then, she suddenly grinned. "But who cares? I'm surrounded by idiots anyway here. I can enjoy the shake up, so—cheers, girl! Want an autograph?"

Star was almost bouncing on her feet in happiness. Finally, finally a person she recognized without a doubt!

"Pony, Pony, yes, I'm a great fan, well… technically. But things go beyond that as well!" Star started to explain. "You see, I come from another, well, world. An alternate version of Mewni. And in that place, we are friends!"

Pony Head didn't look very convinced. "Girl, that is so much cute and flattering, but I don't think I'll take your self-insert fantasy as proof of a friendship I don't remember. Though that does help with my self-esteem. Booyah, my fans love me that much!"

Star shook her head. "No, no, I'm serious! Look, I've come here to ask for your help, because things are not… going well here in Mewni, as you might know. So, I want to put a stop to it and fix it, and since I was friends with the alternate version of you, well, I think I can explain to you why this can be a good idea!"

"Wow, wow, wow. You're telling me you want to… take up arms against the lizard man himself!?" Pony Head spluttered. "That's not crazy, that's worse!"

Star nodded with conviction, her smile not leaving her face. "It might sound hard to believe, I know, but all it takes for you is to join forces with those who are on the same side as us. Don't you want to put an end to his rule, Pony Head? You can get him off your shoulders and finally be yourself! And the Pony Head I knew surely would've wanted that!"

Pony Head surprisingly looked pensive, almost calculative as she hummed to herself. "That does sound nice…"

The guards nearby were whispering to each other with alarm, on the other hand.

"That's madness…!"

"That girl will be our downfall if we let her bewitch the princess."

"I don't wanna be left to rot in a monster dungeon for the rest of my life!"

Pony Head eventually let out a snort. "Still, that sounds a bit harder than I'd like, blondie. How about you tell me who the allies you're talking about are?"

"Well, we're actually still working on it, and you're the first one we came to visit. But! We have a plan! I have a plan!" she explained. She opened her head and started counting her fingers. "If we get you to join us, then that means that we'll have an entire kingdom on our side. Then we could go ask for help from other kingdoms as well!"

She proceeded to point at Kelly, who tensed up when Pony Head's glare fixed on her. "I got Kelly here as my guide in Mewni, basically, and I'm sure she can tell me everything I need to know about the other kingdoms. If we all stick together, we would make for a force strong enough to fight Toffee. And let's be clear, you even have me!"

Raising her left hand in the air, she snapped a finger and a magical explosion occurred, creating a spectacle of fireworks-like particles that went all around the room. Some of the Pony Head guards nearby let out screams of fright.

"I got magic, Pony! And I need no wand to make it happen!"

Pony Head now looked very impressed by Star's offer. "Ya' know… I can recognize that Butterfly tenacity in you, at the very least. Would explain the cheek marks… huh, I'm starting to like you, girl!"

"Heh, I make that effect on people," Star chuckled to herself. "So, whaddo'you say? Do you want to join forces against the forces of evil by my side, old friend?"

Pony Head hummed again, then snorted. "I think I wanna know your companions before I jump to conclusions."

Her attention shifted away from Star. "You, Woolett. That's what you are, right? I didn't really pay attention during the private lessons I got years ago on other dimensions. So boring…"

Kelly was frowning, and her expression didn't ease up at all when Pony Head addressed her. "Yes, that is right, Pony Head. Name's Kelly."

"Well, Kelly, why are you following this weird Butterfly, then? She convinced you as well?"

"Kind of… Well, I thought that it was worth a shot, I guess… I'm sick of surviving day after day," she briefly explained. "Toffee needs to be brought down, and if there is even a small chance at it… I have to take it."

"Hmm, that makes sense. I actually respect you, girl. After Toffee slaughtered every single member of your species and turned the Woolett dimension into a wasteland, I thought you had all gone extinct. But here I am, seeing one of you, still alive! That would make for a good guest in the Pony Head Show, I'll keep your name in mind!"

Silence fell into the room.

Star had difficulty in registering the weight of what Pony Head had said at first. She glanced at Kelly and saw that her lips were quivering, and her eyes scrunched up, almost completely shut.

"K-Kelly, wait—"

Kelly let out a sniff, then promptly whirled around, hiding her face form both Star and Pony Head. Star tried to go after her. "Kelly, I didn't, I mean, she didn't mean to—"

"Wow, talk about opening up a fresh wound. Woops-ah!" Pony Head simply commented, then turned her attention away from Star and Kelly as if they never existed before. "What about you, though, woman in a cloak? You are a mysterious one, are you?"

"Pony Head, wait—"

"Uh, uh!" Pony Head cut her off. "Star, you are my bestie, right?"

"Yes, but…" Star decided not to bring up Marco in this by specifying she meant Mewni-bestie. Besides, she always thought she had more than one bestie. "Hear me, this is not—"

"Then let your best friend have a little chat with your new acquaintances, will ya'? It's the least you could do, considering how much you're asking me to do here!"

Pony Head turned back to Moon, who had yet to reveal herself. "So? What's the story with you? I like the looks, but you really need to explain yourself before I decide to fight alongside you, ya' know?"

Moon didn't reply. For a few seconds, there was no action, but before Pony Head could put more pressure on her, Moon raised her hand.

"Mom, wait—!" Star said out of reflex, mis-calling Moon again, but it was no use. Moon grabbed the cloak's brim and brought it down, revealing her face and her silver-blue hair to everyone.

More murmurs came from the guards dotting the room, but this time, some of them were openly letting out exclamations of loud surprise as well.

"The Fallen Queen?! Here?!"

"Moon Butterfly? I thought she was dead…!"

"We are as good as horsedung. Dung, I tell you! Toffee will have our heads, and there will be nothing left after that!"

"Silence!" Pony Head called out in the room, and the guards respected her wish once again. Then, she looked back at Moon.

"Sooo, that's one way to put a plot twist in this, I'd say," she commented. "The Fallen Queen herself has come here to ask for my help in her quest to right her wrongs! She is here for redemption and finally take her long-sought revenge! Wow, that actually sounds nice enough now that I say it out loud."

Moon did not reply. She simply kept glaring at Pony Head.

"Gosh, you rebels are all weird ones. You ought to take more inspiration from Star. Star!" Pony Head shouted. "I think I'm convinced!"

"Y-You are?" Star stuttered out. Now that Moon had openly revealed her identity, and Pony Head was still in, it felt like things were going to be all right. Yet, she couldn't help glancing at Kelly, who was quietly letting out sniffs beside her. She wanted to put a hand on her shoulder, to reassure her, to tell her that she was sorry and that she was there for her if she needed her.

Pony Head left her no space to do so.

"Yeah, of course! You, the Woolett survivor and the Fallen Queen make up a pretty good team, I'd say! And that's big coming from me… you know that, right?"

"Y-Yeah, I guess so…" Star agreed with some hesitation.

"I mean it!" Pony Head approached Moon again, and this time she was close enough that even the stoic woman had to take a couple of steps back towards Star and Kelly to keep her distance. "The Fallen Queen is not one to be messed with after all! And you got a Woolett warrior, the last of her kind, to support you. To top it all, another Butterfly who is a girl from another world leads them!"

She hovered up in the air and let out an excited neigh. "That's exactly what I need right now!"

Star decided that, for the sake of the plan, she needed to keep smiling. She'd have to tell Pony Head to put more forethought in what she said later. "That's nice, Pony—"

"And by that," Pony Head grinned, "I mean that you three are what I need right now!"

Wooosh-slack!

A moment later, they were inside a cage of wooden bars. Pony Head's horn flashed, and a spear, a sword, and a wand flew out of it, right before Pony Head herself. It happened too fast for any reaction to happen.

"And that's how you do it!"

…

It didn't last long before Moon started shouting.

"You horse-headed b—!" she bellowed, rushing to the cage's edge and grabbing the wooden bars, trying to pry her way out with sheer force.

Star and Kelly however didn't say anything at first. Kelly, still upset from earlier, had fell on her back in surprise and stared with confusion at the cage, while Star simply gaped, unable to understand what had just happened.

"Come here! Come here if you think you can—!" Moon kept shouting.

But her shouting turned into a sharp yelp of pain as she released her hands from the handle, touching her face's skin. She had gone so vehemently at the cage, that she had inadvertently pressed her own forehead on a wooden bar.

"B-Barrier wood!" she uttered.

"That's right! And with it, even magic wandless girl there can't do anything. You totally fell for my trap! And I don't even blame you. I am a pretty good actor, am I not?"

Then, she turned towards the nearest guard. "Hey, you! Go warn the guy Toffee left here in Cloud Kingdom to watch over us, or whatever he likes to think he does. I got presents for the lizard man!"

The Pony Head guard stood at attention, at least as far as a floating head could do so, but still spoke up. "My Princess, forgive my manners, but Toffee's policy is to murder all Butterflies on the spot."

"What do you think I am, a butcher?" Pony Head snorted in annoyance. "I am the heir to the Pony Head throne, and in all movies, giving the wanted guy alive to those who search for him, always makes more money for them. And in my case, I don't want money, I want the lizard to give me more power, and more of it. So, less talking and more moving! Go, go, get out of here!"

The guard nervously nodded, then rushed out of the chamber. Pony Head turned her attention back to the cage and the three captured women that were in it.

"I wasn't even sure this trap of mine would work on you, but you know… you never know until you try it yourself!"

"P-Pony…" it was Star's turn to get close to the cage. Unlike Moon, she didn't try to touch the wooden bars, fearful of the way that material looked able to siphon out magic so easily from Moon. She also remembered how a simple small shield of what she guessed was the same lumber had managed to do to her, the night before. That thing was not to be underestimated.

"You b-betrayed us!" she managed to yell at her.

"Yeah, right, what's your point?"

"But… but you said we were friends! Y-You were so…" Star whined.

"Look girl, I can understand your feelings, not pretending you should be happy or some drivel like that, but I got my own problems to think about, you get me?" Pony Head explained matter-of-factly.

"It was already hard enough to lock Dad down in the cloud dungeons. I just had to take Toffee's offer when it came to me! I couldn't lose everything I had worked for just because I had some kind of alliance set up with the mewman kingdom, a kingdom that this woman here," she nodded towards Moon, "had left to rot anyway. She's the Butterfly Bane of Mewni, maybe, but not the bane of Cloud Kingdom, not if I could do something about it!"

Star wasn't sure whether to be horrified that Pony Head had just admitted that she took over the throne from King Pony Head or dismayed by the way it sounded so natural for her to speak about it, including how teaming up with Toffee sounded an obvious decision to her.

"B-but we can fight Toffee back, Pony!" Star insisted. "Toffee is evil! You can't just think it's right to live under his rule!"

Pony Head shook her head. "Star, Star, Star. Don't be ridiculous. Maybe he's a bit evil, but he's also invincible, I know that alright. Did you know he even helped me out after he took over? How do you think I removed my sisters from the picture? This isn't the first ride for this anti-magic cage thing, and the lizard even let me keep it for future use. Which was a great foresight, considering what I just managed to catch with it! See what I mean here?"

She scoffed. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. I'd rather play on the same side of the obvious winner, than the inevitable losers. No hard feelings, of course, but as long as he keeps leaving me and Cloud Kingdom alone, well… I got no doubts about what to do."

The same pony head guard that had left the room moments before, had already made it back to the chamber. "The Dominion has been informed, Princess. The local representative has left to meet Toffee and he told me that a war party would surely join us very soon to help us deal with this matter. However, he also asked me to relay this—he urges you to keep the Butterfly girl with heart cheek marks alive but kill Moon Butterfly and the Woolett survivor, here and now."

Pony Head shook her head. "No can't do! I'm not ruining part of the catch just because a random buffoon is asking me to. Until the lizard himself asks me, in person, to do so, we ain't killing them! More so for the Fallen Queen, I mean, she's the most valuable part of the catch! I'm not ruining her!"

"Go to hell."

Pony Head glanced at Moon. "Uh, uh, yeah, keep letting out your fury or something. That's gonna help you alright."

"Pony Head, please!" Star pleaded. "This isn't like you! You got to understand this is not the right way! S-Stop this!"

"Star, you got to understand you just got duped, right? That ain't happening, girl. I'm not going back on this!"

Pony Head then let out another neigh or realization. "You know, I'm feeling good right now, so here's some advice. Save your breath, because you're gonna need it when Toffee will bring you in for questioning. See? I'm basically a good guy!"

She couldn't believe Pony would do this.

No, Pony Head would never do this! There had to be a good explanation for her behaviour! Maybe she could still try to make her reconsider!

Moon had resumed to shout at Pony Head through the bars of the cage they were trapped in, but by now Star had stopped caring about her alternate sister's generous usage of swear words and impressive insults.

Her voice had become basically background noise for Star. So, when someone else called her name, it immediately caught her attention.

"Star…"

That was Kelly's voice. Star looked at her and saw that Kelly, now facing her and having stood back up, had removed her glasses. Had it been any other moment, Star would've probably noticed that the pair of glasses Kelly was wearing looked slightly different from the ones she used back in her original universe—with a very bulky-looking frame and thicker than usual glass for the lenses.

But her attention remained rather on her face. Her eyes were puffy and teary, but her countenance was solemn and firm.

Kelly rubbed her eyes with a hand, drying off the leftover tears, then put her glasses back.

"That is not who you think she is. That is not your friend. Forget about her."

"B-But she—"

"She tricked you… she tricked us all," Kelly cut her off. "That's it. You couldn't know this was the truth behind her, Star. Mulling over it won't help us."

Star shook her head. Kelly was probably trying to calm her down, but indeed, her words were having quite the opposite effect.

She couldn't believe Pony Head had gone out of her way to not just betray them, but also pull an entire act on them, even making sure Moon was close to her and Kelly before releasing the cage of barrier wood over them.

Pony Head was a bad actor in her original dimension, yet here she was, having just swayed her into thinking she was her friend, making her look like a fool.

And now… and now—!

"T-This is my fault!"

"Star—"

"No, I have to fix this! I have to get us out of here myself!"

Star extended her arms out, and in a flash of light, she was back into her Butterfly form.

"What in the—?!" Pony Head cried out. "What kind of weird magic-girl transformation horsedung is that?!"

"Star, what are you doing?! The barrier wood is going to—!" Moon protested.

"Star!" Kelly called her name. "Wait!"

Star paid no mind to all of them. She marched over to the cage's edge, ignoring the burning sensation of magic flowing out of her as her large wings rubbed over the wooden bars above her with their tips, and grabbed hold with all six of her free hands of two of the bars before her.

It happened immediately. The feeling of something being violently sucked away from her, at a speed far greater than what had happened when one of Rasticore's companions had struck her with a shield of the same material. The feeling felt way more painful this time, as if literal energy was leaving her being.

But Star didn't care. The amount of damage she had done by trusting Pony Head was too much large for her to ignore, and Toffee's forces were coming to bring her to him and kill Moon and Kelly. There was no time for hesitation.

She cried out as she tightened her grasp and used all of her strength to push the bars away. Moon had failed to do so, but Star didn't just have six arms here—her Butterfly form naturally enhanced her strength.

The barrier wood, usually sturdy enough to withstand a few hits of heavy weapon strikes, cracked under her fingers, and a couple of seconds later, the bars broke apart, throwing wooden splinters everywhere, and Star's hands crushed a total of four additional bars as her fists passed through them as well.

However, that had taken a toll on her. She stumbled forward a couple of steps out of the broken cage, then fell forward, two of her pairs of arms disappearing as her Butterfly wings dissolved into dust.

She felt drained. She tried to stand up, but all she could do was wheeze out with strain that led her nowhere. Perhaps, her Butterfly Form made her even more vulnerable to the barrier wood, and the larger the contraption of the accursed material was, the larger the effect. She couldn't be sure, nor did she care that much right now.

It felt worse than when she had used a large magic blast from her heart to rebound off Meteora. She didn't just feel weak. She felt sleepy.

Yet, her eyes remained open. She saw Moon and Kelly dart out of the cage, literally jumping over her. Pony Head was screaming something, but Kelly silenced her with a hook in the snout, strong enough that it sent her flying back into the throne. Then, she picked her greatsword up and charged at the Pony Head guards that were already rushing at them.

Moon had her spear and wand in her hands as well but took a moment to look at Star.

"We'll take it from here," she simply said, then leaped at the nearest Pony Head guard. The wand brightened up and, a blast later, the floating unicorn head was sent flying into a wall, crashing right through the surface and ending up in a nearby room.

Both sides threw everything they had at the enemy, but it soon turned out that Pony Head Royal Guard, and possibly every pony head that embraced arms, were not experienced fighters. They were outmatched by Kelly, who kept kicking and swinging her sword around, clanging it on the ponies' heads and knocking them out in one strike, and Moon, who summoned shockwave spells to keep the large numbers of enemies at bay and poked those who came too close with her spear.

Most of the attention in fact was focused on Moon. A pony head guard's horn brightened up, without a doubt wanting to charge up a counter-spell, but Moon narrowed her eyes and started running after him. The guard grinned under his visor, as he knew the Fallen Queen would take too long, but then Moon threw her spear forward.

The guard yelped and tried to get out of the way, but the spear still ended up hitting them square above their head, right into the horn. A moment later, there was a unicorn horn flying in the air, its light depleted, and a screaming pony head warrior flying out of the room while shedding rainbow-coloured tears.

Moon raised her wand forward when three additional guards came to block her path, and she shouted a spell name. "Character swap!"

The pony heads felt a sudden force yanking them away, and they were thrown right behind Moon, who was pushed by a similar force into their previous position. She rotated while hovering, picking up her fallen spear in the process, and made sure to land on her own legs. Turning around, she thrust the spear forward, forcing yet another guard that had tried to attack from behind to back off, then put the wand forward. A moment later, the guard was flying off in the distance as well.

She ran back towards the centre of the room. She had knocked out most of the guards on her side of the room, but she saw that Kelly was still busy—her lack of magic proving to be a substantial handicap. Star, on the other hand, almost looked like she was snoozing off.

As soon as she saw her, Moon went to her, grabbed her and forced her back to her feet with a jerk.

"M-Moon…" Star whined in weak protest. "I… I was j-just…"

"Stay awake!" Moon's voice reprimanded her. She didn't want to sound angry, but she had to keep her aware. "We are not yet out of this, and we need your help to leave this place. So, don't pass out again!"

"B-But…" Star lamented. Her eyes opened up a little wider, and she taken aback when she saw Kelly cutting off a Pony Head's horn off some meters away from her with her greatsword, sending the guard into a mad frenzy.

"K-Kelly!" she let out.

"Star, look at me."

Star looked back at Moon with wide, fearful eyes. "T-This is a nightmare, isn't it? T-This… this isn't really happening."

Moon shook her head. "This isn't a dream, Star. But we still need you. I need you. Please… stay here with me."

Star's mouth trembled and it looked like she was going to start crying on the spot, but eventually, she nodded.

"Woolett!" Moon called out. "We are going out!"

"On it!" Kelly threw a punch at the guard she was fighting with. The metal clanged but the guard bore the hit, grinning under the helmet, and tried to stab her with his horn, but that was only a distraction as a kick came from under the guard, striking the base of the floating head, a consistent weak point of all pony heads. The guard let out a squeal of pain and ran off shouting something about 'mommy' and 'boo-boos'.

Before she could come to Moon and Star, though, an explosion occurred, throwing her off balance and slowing her down. Rainbow coloured flames erupted nearby, forcing Kelly to shield her face.

"You three plan-ruining turds ain't going anywhere!" Pony Head's voice sounded incredibly ominous. She was hovering up in the air, her horn emanating a light bright enough to force the three women to narrow their eyes at it, and her glare was tell-tale on her feelings if her words weren't enough.

"You either stay here or die trying to get out! And you, Woolett-turd, you are the first one who's going to get what's coming for her! You don't get to punch a Pony Head in the face and—"

A magical blast exploded in her face, sending Pony Head in an uncontrolled flight again.

Moon lowered her wand.

"Out of here, now!"

The gate to the Pony Head Royal Palace disappeared in a magical explosion, bright white particles going in all direction as the metal crumpled on itself and a gate wing was catapulted dozens of meters high in the air.

Kelly was the first one to run out of the smoke. She had long since put back the sword in the scabbard on her back.

"Pony Heads coming from the left!" she shouted, before rushing to the right.

She was followed by Moon right after. When Star had proved to be too weak to keep up the pace, she had unceremoniously lifted her off the ground, holding her in her arms the entire way. Star didn't quite remember when the last time her mom had carried her around like that was—the fact this wasn't technically her mom wasn't important. Moon was clearly having some difficulty with holding her while running at the same time, yet she didn't protest once.

The plan was to reach the edge of Cloud Kingdom, then get a portal out to leave the accursed place. It looked like a fine enough plan, but the Pony Heads, while not great fighters, were incredibly fast pursuers.

And they could fly.

They kept encountering more patrolling guards that forced them to change directions. Kelly lost her patience very quickly at this. "Aah! I'm sick of this! Let's fight our way out!"

Before she could grab the hilt of her greatsword, Moon stopped her with a shout. "No, we won't, Woolett!"

"First, I have a name," Kelly shouted back, "and second, if we keep trying to avoid a fight, we'll end up wasting more and more time!"

"Star is no condition to fight, and you very well know it!" Moon retorted.

"I-I can handle myself!" Star protested, but her tone was so weak it only ended up making Kelly grit her teeth, realizing that Moon had a point.

"We can't just abandon her to fight when there are Pony Heads behind every corner," Moon continued. "Follow me!"

She took a path that led into a street wider than usual. Kelly groaned, but nonetheless she followed her lead.

"I'm not saying we should leave her!" Kelly tried again, "We just have to—"

A detonation rang in the distance, followed by something hissing beside Kelly's hear, something that was just a few centimetres away from striking her.

"What the HELL WAS THAT!?" Kelly squealed.

"N-No! Not again!" Star cried out.

"An arquebus…!" Moon said under her breath.

She narrowed her eyes as she focused on the end of the road far ahead, and she was horrified to realize that there were monsters blocking their path ahead. A small but still very well-equipped warband, a lot of them with crossbows and a few with their peculiar guns. All aimed at them.

"Get down!" Moon cried out. "Down!"

They threw themselves at the ground—or rather, the cloudy surface—and waited as darts and a few bullets flew over them. Star let out a yelp as Moon pulled her down, but she ignored it and kept the pressure on her to force her to stay down.

Whirling her head to check her back, Moon saw that the Pony Heads were still hot on their tracks. And not just that—Lilacia Pony Head herself was leading them, her presence recognizable thanks to the extremely bright magic she was emitting from her horn. That, and the shouting of course.

"We're done for," Kelly couldn't help letting out. "I'm gonna die here and it's all your fault, Moon!"

"B-But we still can—" Star started.

"This is not a freaking game, Star! This is them wanting us dead and—"

"No," Moon silenced the two.

Kelly opened her mouth to rant back at her, but Moon kept speaking.

"We are not giving up," she uttered, glaring at Kelly. "I am not giving up until I am still breathing."

Her gaze moved over to Star, who was still a little bit dizzy but still aware enough to look back at her.

Until then, Star had acted like the stranger she was, a hyperactive girl that was apparently impossible to get down no matter the odds—incomparable to anyone Moon had met in her life.

But now, she was fearful, confused and stunned, and Moon saw that she no more knew what to do.

Like a young kid.

…

No.

She was not going to let them get Star.

Not again!

"Kelly," Moon spoke without hesitation. "When I tell you, we have to get down through the cloud below us."

Kelly didn't hide her disagreement. "Hiding won't do, Moon! They will know we're hiding below here!"

"We are not hiding," Moon corrected her. "We are going to keep going down, through the cloud and beyond."

Kelly stared at her with incredulous eyes.

"H-Have you lost your mind?!"

"No. Star might have lost most of her magic, but I have mine," Moon said matter-of-factly, patting her holstered wand. "I will fly us to safety."

Kelly didn't want to rely on magical transportation that didn't use portals, but she realized her options were limited. No more escape routes left beside what Moon had suggested.

"Crud, okay, okay! But if we die, I'm gonna rise again from the Underworld to destroy your soul, Moon!" Kelly muttered.

"Get ready," Moon said, ignoring her remark. Still lying on the ground, she motioned for Star to crawl closer, who manage to at least get close enough for Moon to put an arm around her waist. She then glanced at both the Pony Heads first, and Toffee's forces later.

Less than a minute, and they would be on them. The monsters had stopped to waste their ammo on them, leaving the space above free from suppression fire.

It was what they needed.

"Now, Kelly!"

They both stood up, and before the monsters or Pony Heads could understand what was going on, both Moon and Kelly suddenly disappeared through the cloudy floor.

It lasted only a handful of seconds, a period of time during which Moon was functionally blind, the water vapour of the cloud limiting her sight greatly. But it was brief enough, and soon they were out of it.

Star was still tightly in her grasp, while Kelly was a few meters away, checking Cloud Kingdom above them as it kept getting farther and farther away from them. They were all in free-fall, getting faster and faster with each passing second.

"So, Fallen Queen, think it's time to get that magic of you flowing, before we reach land and die in the process?!" Kelly cried out.

Moon nodded. She adjusted with her right arm her grasp on Star, who had her eyes fixed on the ground still far below them, yet coming closer and closer.

They had plenty of time before reaching land, but Moon saw no harm in flying them out of view faster, and she reached out for the wand.

But then…

Another detonation. A hissing noise.

A scream.

"S-Star!"

A black hole was on Star's left shoulder, but it quickly went red as the blood started spreading over her dress. The girl was crying and whimpering and trying to reach out and pry herself off Moon, as if she was the cause of her pain, but Moon didn't let go, despite her shock.

"Crap, crap, crap! They're over us, Moon!"

A swarm of Pony Heads had appeared through the clouds, but they weren't alone. Incredibly enough, a few monsters were actually riding some of the largest Pony Heads warriors, and a lot of them had arquebuses and other ranged weapons at hand.

They were moving far, far faster than they were. Soon, Moon could hear their shouting from the distance, and understand their words.

"Don't let them escape!"

"You hit the girl, you idiot! We must take her alive, just kill the darn Butterfly queen and the Woolett!"

"Kill the Fallen Queen!"

'Kill the Fallen Queen.'

She had heard those words many times in her time, and yet, it never hurt her more than it did now.

Because in their quest to hurt her, they had actually hurt Star.

Again.

…

Moon wanted their blood. She wanted to shoot up high towards them, wand and spear ready, and impale and skewer and skin alive and destroy every single one of them.

But Star was still in her arm, crying like a little girl, in pain because she had failed once again to protect her.

Her features hardened. There was only one way out of this, but she needed to ignore her emotions and remain calm to pull it off.

She reached out to caress Star's cheek.

"Star, look at me. Star!"

Star tried weakly to look away, but Moon's caress turned into a grasp, not strong enough to hurt, but firm enough to stop her from turning her head away. Eventually, her eyes finally met Moon's.

"I need you Star. We're out of the city, but the monsters are getting too close, too fast. We need a portal back to the Forest of Certain Death."

"B-But it h-hurts…" she whimpered. "I-I can't do i-it… I want t-to sleep and—"

"Star, we have to do it, and you are the only one who can get us out of this mess. You just need to open a single portal. One… just one."

"I d-don't…" Star whimpered again, and it looked like the pain had become even worse. "I j-just made a mess, Moon. I would just m-make it worse and—"

"No! You… you might have made a mistake, but mistakes exist so that we can fix them," Moon quickly replied, finding some irony in the words she was saying. She didn't let that stop her, though.

"And now, you can fix this. You can do it, with just one single portal."

She was wearing a serious, demanding frown, and her focus was so strong that Kelly's curses and the detonations of the primitive guns in the distance were not enough to take Star's attention away from her.

"Just one."

Star shut her eyes and let out another whine, but then… she nodded.

With a huge display of self-control, Moon let her go from her grasp, holding on only by taking a hand of her. The blood droplets were coming out of the wound the bullet had created by now, leaving her stained dress and flying up in the sky as they fell slower through the air friction compared to them.

Star stretched her free arm out and focused. Slowly, but surely, her dress and hair started to change, but no additional arms came out of her body, and the small wings that grew out were nothing comparable to her standard Butterfly form wings.

It was only a partial transformation, but hopefully it was going to be enough.

"What the hell are you two doing!?" Kelly, who was jerking left and right in an attempt to be a harder target, shouted at them.

"Kelly, here!" Moon shouted back. "Take my hand! Star will get us out of here!"

"Her?! But—wait," she recognized Star's new look as similar to her Butterfly form and connected the dots together. Nodding without further comment, she straightened herself out, put her arms beside her body and aimed for them, guiding her fall towards the two Butterfly sisters.

As soon as she locked fingers with Kelly, Moon let out a final shout. "Star, now!"

Star opened her eyes, and they were bright with magical energy. She aimed her only free hand under her and her two companions, and with every ounce of energy left in her body, she summoned a portal.

A yellow energy circle appeared, and a moment later—

They were flying through a forest.

Moon let go of Kelly, much to her dismay, and drew out the wand. She quickly said a short incantation, and the high speed they were moving at was slowed down to a gentle hover in the spans of a few seconds. Behind them, the portal fizzled out before closing on its own.

Kelly, not really able to handle the momentum well, started spinning on herself as the magic kept her in a steady hover. Unable to comprehend what was going on, she simply let it happen, hoping that Moon knew what she was doing, while Moon herself floated upright, Star back firmly in her grasp, and a hand clinging on the royal wand, which was pulsing with light.

The hover lasted only a few seconds and let them go once they were a meter or so above the ground. Kelly had to take a few seconds to get her bearings back, almost retching once due to the nausea.

Moon had other things to think about. As soon as her feet touched the ground, she kneeled down, putting the wand back in the holster. Carefully, she let Star lie down on the grass, making sure not to put further pressure on the wound.

"Star…?" Moon let out. Her voice had completely lost the firmness of earlier, a change striking enough that it even got Kelly's attention, despite her nausea.

Star didn't reply to Moon. Her eyes were shut in a frown, and the area that had changed colour on her dress around the shoulder was still becoming bigger and bigger.

"S-Star, talk to me." Moon repeated with a crack. "Star! STAR!"

She grabbed her and started shaking her left and right. "Star, don't you dare!"

"Moon…?" Kelly spoke hesitatingly, taking a few careful steps closer once she believed she could rein in her bowels. "That's not gonna help her, you're just going to—"

"Stay the hell back, woolett!"

Usually, Kelly considered Moon's serious behaviour to be a pitiful act, one that didn't intimidate her in the slightest.

This was different, and she didn't move further.

Moon's attention turned back to Star, and the lack of a reply made her almost choke.

"D-Don't you dare leave me, Star! Answer me! Star!"

She lifted her off the ground and hugged her. The blood went all over her light armour, but she didn't care.

"I-I can't lose you again! I c-can't! Star…!" she cried out.

"M-Mom…?"

When Moon jerked back, she saw Star's half-lidded eyes looking up at her.

Barely awake or even aware, but with a goofy smile on her face.

"Hehe, mom… I had the craziest of dreams… you were saying you were my s-sister, and we were falling from the s-sky, and I g-got shot… heh, s-silly me…"

Wounded, hurt, but alive.

Moon decided that she had had enough and buried her face into Star's right shoulder, sobbing quietly. Star, dizzy and confused, simply patted her back with her right hand, since she felt something painful in her left shoulder that made it annoying to use her left one. It wasn't clear enough to her what it was yet, but for now, her attention was solely on who she believed was her mother.

"I-It's all right, mom… I f-found you. A-And now… it's going to be okay."

Chapter Text

She felt like her shoulder was going to explode.

"Don't move," Kelly gruffly instructed. "Scream if you have to... we should be safe here. But don't move. It'll just make things worse."

Star gnawed at her lips, a voice inside her head shouting at her that she couldn't do it, that she could call things off now that she still could.

Instead of accepting the voice's advice, she nodded her head.

"I'll be quick. We're almost done." Kelly's expert hands reached out again to the wound, and as soon as she began pulling the string again, a painful shock ran through her entire body. It felt like she had a sword going right through, then coming out and then going back in. Again and again.

Her vision was blurry. She knew her eyes were filled with tears by now, and she couldn't help letting out some stifled whimpers. However, unlike earlier, she was able to refrain from shuddering, biting the bullet. She kept her word.

"And... done. Okay, that should do it," Kelly finally announced, and it was music to Star's ears. She let out a gasp and started taking in quick breaths. Her heart was going fast enough that it was almost painful, and her left shoulder still hurt like she'd been just blasted by a fire spell... but at least she no longer felt like an amputation was preferable to this.

"...feeling better?"

Star lifted her gaze up and looked at Moon. While Kelly was busy working on the wound to her left, Moon had stuck by her right side the entire time, supporting her and holding her hand. Moon didn't flinch once, not even when Star's fingers dug into her own hand during the procedure, and had kept her usual stoic face the entire time.

Only now though did she show signs of worry on her face, as she looked expectantly at her, waiting for a reply.

At that, Star put out a small, unconvincing smile. "Y-Yeah... I'm o-okay... well, uh... better."

"You'll still have to stay put for a while with that arm," Kelly explained as she took a piece of fabric and started cleaning the skin around the patched wound—as far as a dry cloth could clean. "The lead ball got pretty deep in there, so you gotta be careful not to open it up again. I did what I could with what I saved away in my bag—but those stitches won't hold on. Keep it cool for a while, got it?"

Star nodded, but she didn't look at her. She only did so when Kelly prompted her, patting on her forearm.

"You, uh... you'll be fine. Just... heads up, okay?"

"...I'll try," Star replied, her eyes glancing at the wounded shoulder. Kelly had done a pretty good job at her work, but still, it didn't look particularly great either. She got a glance of the stitches that went through her skin before Kelly started rolling around some torn clothing around it.

"That should give you some time in case it bleeds again," Kelly explained. Then, she picked something from behind her, and handed it over to Star.

"Here. It's my only spare, but I think you'll need more than I do for now."

She took the large, folded tunic. It was old and ragged, but it was going to do the job... better than going around in her tank top, at least.

Her previous dress had already deemed unusable after all, considering how drenched in blood it was. Her blood.

"T-Thanks Kelly," Star said as she proceeded to put on the new attire, trying to distract herself from her own thoughts. She shivered a little as she did so—she was so focused on the painful shocks sent by the wound that she hadn't even put that much attention on the fact she was nearly without cover from the cool air in the Forest of Certain Death.

Kelly grunted. "Don't mention it..." she started, but then hesitated. It was as if she'd just had an idea that stopped her dead in her tracks.

Fumbling in her pocket, Kelly found what she wanted pretty soon, and proceeded to give it to Star.

"Here, take a look at this." She was holding it in between her fingers. An object that caught Star's attention as soon as she realized what it was.

She reached out and with her index and thumb picked the projectile that had caused her so much pain. Raising it up until it was right in front of her face, she observed the object, rotating it to check the rest of its surface.

...how ironic that a simple, little ball of lead like this had managed to hurt her so much.

"Thought you might want to carry it around. As a prize or whatever..."

"You got some strange customs, Woolett," Moon commented drily, unimpressed by Kelly's gift.

"Hey, she can drop it for all I care. Her choice," Kelly rebutted. However, Moon's observation seemed to have some effect, as she picked up from the nearby backpack and fiddled with it, until she produced a small corn cob.

"Here, have this. Eating should help you distract yourself for a small time," she said. Star smiled, taking it after putting the bullet down (she didn't quite drop it—for some reason, she didn't want to separate herself from the thing yet).

Kelly didn't speak further after that, as she looked away towards the treelines ahead.

The three of them were sitting on a large, slanted rock, immersed in the dim light typical when inside the Forest of Certain Death. There was no clearing that let them watch the sky this time, though that was the entire point as they hadn't make it far from the forest's edge yet. With Star's wounds, they were forced to move without the aid of portals for the time being.

Kelly let out a small groan. "I still can't believe those weapons... the guns, are actually a thing," she mumbled under her breath. "They were supposed to be a legend of sorts. Something that doesn't work in Mewni. The darn lizard... he didn't start stealing stuff from Earth, did he?"

Star's interest perked up at the mention of the dimension. Earth... Earth was a thing here as well?

Before she could question Kelly further about the version of Earth in this universe, Moon replied to her first. "That's because those things do not work like firearms from Earth, if that's what you wonder about. I could do something about it otherwise... conjure up a spell to turn off the mechanism, make the powder disappear in one go," Moon explained. "That wouldn't work with the arquebuses you saw, because they also work on magic."

She looked away from Kelly as she turned her head to stare at her wide-eyed. "Yes... I mean actual magic, like mine's ans Star's."

"M-Magic?" Kelly got up from the rock as she kept glaring at Moon with doubt. "W-Wait a second, that doesn't make any sense. Toffee hates magic, that's why he set up the web to stop dimensional travel, why he's using that anti-magic wood type in the first place over metal. He freaking took over Pixtopia just to mine it and grow trees on the minerals to make more barrier wood!"

Moon finally returned Kelly's gaze. "Toffee may dislike magic, Woolett, but he'll use it as long as it proves useful to him, and that's what he's been doing with the weapons. His arquebuses use liquid, physical magic as propellant. That's what shoots the projectiles out."

It was Star's turn to look at Moon with shock this time. Her shoulder suddenly pulsed, reigniting the pain back, but Star simply gritted her teeth, concentrating on the discussion. "B-But then, how can he create that magic? How can he even... keep it for later use? That's not how magic works!"

She expected Moon to tell her that Toffee had taken over a magic user, had corrupted the Dimension of Magic here as well like he did in her own original universe, or did something even more sinister.

Instead, Moon's brows came together, and she looked away once again, evading the gazes of Star and Kelly both.

"...he has the Book of Spells," she admitted. "He learned from there how to hold in liquid magic for later use, how to trigger it at will, and how to fabricate everything needed to make it work. He also got control over the Magic Sanctuary, and that's his main source of distilled magic."

Kelly stopped gaping at Moon. Her features hardened with each passing second.

"Of course... I should've known it's your freaking fault," she croaked. "Of course!"

Stomping away, Kelly kept grumbling barely contained insults directed at Moon. Moon herself didn't react to Kelly's hostility however, this time.

She kept sitting on the stone surface, her gaze fixed on the ground and hands on her knees.

That left Star, who was still sitting beside Moon, in an awkward silence. By now she had an idea of what Kelly meant when she said it was Moon's fault... the Book of Spells was something that always belonged to the Queens of Mewni, so it was a given that Moon used to have it and that Toffee had stolen it, likely around the same time Mewni fell. So, Kelly simply considered Moon's loss of the Book as yet another mistake coming from her.

Star herself wondered about how Toffee had stolen the book and how he'd managed to make use of it. From the little she'd managed to learn from her mom back home, Ludo had quite some trouble handling the Book of Spells himself. Maybe it was different in this version of the world? Not to mention the questions it raised about the whereabouts of Glossaryck.

Maybe it didn't matter right now how it happened. The entire reason why Star embarked on this quest, pulling along alternate versions of her mother and her friend, was to try and put a stop to Toffee in this universe—and fix what went wrong in the first place. She knew little, but she was still confident that things could be righted with enough work.

The problem was, one, if she herself was able to overcome the hurdles thrown her way, as the painful sensation that still burned on her left shoulder reminded her.

Two, if she was going to keep making things worse. As Pony Head's face, embedded in her mind and completely identical to the Pony Head she knew save for the betrayal part, reminded her.

Moon stood up from beside Star. She briefly glanced to Kelly before looking away towards another section of the forest. Then, she started looking around herself, scanning the area for threats.

Star guessed that she was keeping herself busy with that. Though... it wasn't like they didn't need it.

The Pony Heads and the Dominion had effectively lost them the moment they went through the portal summoned by Star while they were falling from Cloud Kingdom, saving them from becoming Swiss Cheese—as people from Earth put it. Afterwards, Moon and Kelly, in a rare moment of agreement, had decided that they couldn't risk staying that close to the edge of the forest and Cloud Kingdom. Thus, they had run for a whole ten minutes, Star being carried by Moon herself, before they stopped to tend to Star's injury. It hadn't been fun to say the least for her, but Star had been out of it for most of the time, and when she finally recovered she still tried to fight through it.

She never got hurt that badly, but that didn't mean she was stranger to injuries. She spent most of her youth growing up among knights and warriors, for crying out loud! She could take a hole in the shoulder.

Even if it was a lead bullet shot by a rifle powered by her own magic, and it hurt like a hundred bee stings.

Eventually, Moon's gaze fell on Star again. "We should keep moving. We won't be in the clear until we're deep in the forest."

Her neutral observation was very welcome for Star, as it distracted her from her thoughts. But someone else wasn't of the same idea.

"Right… and you think we can just walk all the way?" Kelly growled, waking back towards Moon while glaring at her. "Let me refresh your memory, Butterfly: Star can't open portals right now. And she isn't in good conditions to travel by foot either. Unless you want carry her around the entire time—and no matter how strong you are, you won't last long. That... or forcing her to walk. I wouldn't be surprised."

Moon didn't like that. Star saw her fists tightening, and this time she didn't look away.

"You're treading a thin line, Woolett…" she said slowly.

"Do I look like I care?" Kelly spat back. "Tsh! I'll tell you what I think instead. We should stay here and let Star recover for a while. When she's better, actually better, we can try moving back towards the south, but until then we should be safe if we remain here and keep it low. Toffee won't try to search up the entire forest, it's just too big for his lackeys to cover. We got time, Fallen Queen."

Moon's facial expression was the epitome of doubt and disagreement. However, after a few seconds of their staring contest, Moon simply shook her head, facing away from Kelly.

And towards Star.

"Star? What about you? How would you proceed?"

Star found herself unprepared to answer that question. She looked down, trying to feign deep thought as she tried to wrap her mind about what to do next. It was a difficult task, what with the throbbing wound on her shoulder making it difficult to focus, and both of her companions watching her as they waited for her reply.

However, the little she could understand from the situation, was that Kelly had more of a point. She didn't know if she could try walking so soon after Kelly had roughly patched her injury, and transforming into her Butterfly form was out of the question. She had never asked Glossaryck about what would happen if she turned while a wound was on her, and she sure didn't want to find out the potentially painful way.

"I… I think Kelly's idea is not that bad. We could stay here, and r-rest for a while… then, later, we could go find more people again."

Moon arched an eyebrow. At first, Star thought she wasn't happy with her favouring Kelly's option, but her guess was soon proved wrong.

"People?"

"...y-yeah?" Star timidly confirmed. "Uh, well... not just any people. We need friends... to fight Toffee. That was why we're still together, right?"

Kelly walked forward. She was staring a Star as if she'd grown two heads right there and now.

"Have you lost your freaking mind?!"

Moon didn't attempt to chastise Kelly for her rude remark. Instead, she sighed. "Star… after what happened in Cloud Kingdom…" she stopped talking, hesitating before continuing. "I... I just want to know... are you sure you want to keep going?"

'Are you sure, after what you did almost got us all killed?'

That went unsaid. Maybe Star couldn't be sure that Moon and Kelly actually thought that, but it didn't matter.

She felt like they said it regardless.

"I-I know things didn't quite work out back there—" she began.

"Didn't work out!?" Kelly cut her off, almost gobsmacked. "We got betrayed and captured! We barely managed to get out of there just because of your weird butterfly powers, and we still got chased. And you call all of that 'things didn't work out'? You got shot, for corn's sake!"

"I m-made a mistake, okay!? I know!" Star fired back, moderately affronted by Kelly's tone. "I know I probably should've known better! You don't have to remind me of that!"

Kelly frowned. "No, this is not just about knowing better, Star," she replied. Her voice had lowered down, almost sounding like she wasn't lashing out at Star any more and rather, she was correcting her.

"This is about being aware of where you are. Star... of what is going on in Mewni. In 'this' Mewni."

Kelly kept looking at Star as she mustered more words. "I... I want to trust you, okay? I r-really do. I... I l-like you. Okay, I said that, I like you! I can tell you mean well, and... and I'll be darned if you didn't make me feel something I could call hope since... since forever."

Star would've felt very much flattered at her words, but Kelly wasn't smiling. "But you know what happened back with the Pony Heads... that cursed Pony Head heiress was never your friend, Star. Pony Head might be your best friend, your 'bestie', back home, but this wasn't her. It's a different Pony Head, and as such you... we shouldn't have assumed she was a friend."

"B-But... but we could be careful for the next few ones!" Star tried to argue back.

Kelly made no attempt to hide how little convincing she found that remark. "Maybe, but how can we tell that we're making the right choice, when the next one comes up? Toffee got us all isolated from each other in Mewni and its neighbouring dimensions. We know what we heard, not what they're actually like. Tell me, tell me I'm wrong if that's the case!"

Star did not reply, but Kelly showed no satisfaction at that. Instead, her frown deepened.

"I.. I just... how can you keep going, in all of this? What does make you feel like it's going to be different next time, when we go knock on the door of people that were your allies in your version of Mewni? They are all strangers to you... I was a stranger to you as well! You just can't know for sure!"

She really wanted to say something back, to argue with Kelly. There had to be many reasons why trying was still worth it!

Yet, nothing came out of her mouth. It didn't matter how hard she pushed herself to try and come up with something.

Kelly didn't just have a point—Star felt she had figuratively destroyed her entire reasoning. This entire quest with the goal to find supporters for the cause against the Dominion was entirely based on her own feelings, feelings that her friends in the old world could still help her in the new one. It was the main reason why she thought it was worth it in the first place. She assumed they would help her. She assumed Pony Head would immediately be besties with her on sight.

An assumption that almost costed them their own lives.

Her brows came together as she hid her face behind her hands. "I-I just wanted... t-to help... I-I didn't want this...!" she weakly let out.

Kelly didn't press the argument further, though Star was too busy sulking in her own shame to actually notice.

She only stopped when she felt a hand touching her right shoulder—the one that wasn't injured. Lifting her face up, her wet eyes found Moon's.

"Star..." Moon began. "The Woolett... she has a point," she recognized, "I can't say she hasn't. Yet, you should take that as a lesson, not as as a reason to give up."

"B-but why? If Pony Head is that... evil in this world, then..."

She was unable to finish the sentence. It was getting progressively harder not to cry about what technically felt like a betrayal. Thinking about everyone else also potentially being an enemy was a bit too much right now.

"Then it means she's, uh... evil," Moon replied. "And that's it, for now."

Moon gave a glance to Kelly. The Woolett was looking at them from the corner of her eyes, otherwise pretending to look elsewhere.

"You can't know if every friend of yours is potentially a friend here, but you can't be sure of the opposite, either. See... for one, it doesn't apply to, uh... Kelly," Moon said. The last bit came out forced, but it was weird enough to hear her actually speak Kelly's name out-loud in a relatively calm moment, rather than persisting in calling her 'the Woolett', that even Kelly herself fully turned around to look at her with interest.

"She still chose to stick by your side," Moon continued, "despite everything... that happened to her in the past. Despite the fact it meant staying alongside... me, and leaving the safety of her hideout in the forest. Whereas, Pony Head didn't just betray your trust. She also betrayed her own family earlier than that, and sold Cloud Kingdom away to the Dominion in exchange for power, long before you came to Mewni... this Mewni."

Moon took in a breath, then she let out a small, almost sarcastic chuckle. "Heh... maybe... maybe you aren't in the wrong, but this world is."

She then grew serious again. "Regardless, I think that all we have to do from now on is to be warier of who we decide to go ask for an audience with. As long as we think before acting... I'll still stick by you."

Star sniffed. Noticing that she was still perturbed, Moon unholstered her wand and whispered a short incantation. With a small 'zap' a handkerchief appeared in her free hand, then she offered it to Star.

Star took it without further input and blew her nose, slowly calming down as she processed Moon's words.

"I didn't know you even knew spells that weren't about survival or combat... Moon," Kelly mumbled.

"I studied magic as a whole for a long time," Moon explained, not turning away from Star to actually face Kelly as she talked. "I always knew more than that."

Kelly shrugged, then decided to approach them both, focusing her gaze on Star. She clasped her hands together before talking. "I... uh, s-sorry about what I said, Star. I didn't realize it'd hit you that hard. I... I should've kept myself in check."

"It's o-okay," Star replied after she was done clearing her nose up. "You had your reasons, and... I shouldn't be angry at you for just stating your thoughts."

Afterwards, she stood up, wincing as the wound throbbed on her shoulder. As soon as she felt it was manageable, though, she took both women by surprise as she rushed to Kelly, embracing her in a hug with her healthy ram.

"I-I should be the one who's sorry!" she said with energy. "I'm... so sorry about what happened to your dimension. I... I didn't know... I never knew...!"

Kelly remained frozen in the position Star found her in, not returning the hug but not rebelling against it either. She looked quite surprised, if not downright shocked.

But then, a single, lone tear came down her cheek. Slowly, she raised her arms around Star's back—still making sure not to put pressure on her injured arm—and then, she squeezed. She was hesitant, unsure, even angry, but...

...she hadn't hugged anyone for years, basically growing up alone for most of her time.

...it felt... good.

And she probably would've let herself forget about things for a while, staying in the embrace as the two comforted each other. If it wasn't for Moon, who had took the chance to make yet another scan of the surroundings. Kelly saw her do so as she hugged Star, the tall figure of the Fallen Queen impossible to ignore.

The problem wasn't though that Moon reminded her of the evils of Mewni. Although she did, a little, it wasn't the reason why Star and Kelly's moment was to be stopped.

Rather, it was because she had yet to put the wand back in her holster. In fact, she had even drawn her spear and her eyes were fixed in a specific direction.

Kelly wasn't sure what she was doing herself. She was still partially confused by her emotions, things she hadn't let herself feel for years, and she couldn't think things through well yet. But then, she heard what Moon heard. The noise.

The rustling of leaves nearby.

Kelly abruptly removed herself from the hug, then tried to mimic with her mouth some words to a surprised Star while she reached out to grab her greatsword.

Star took a moment to recompose herself as she registered the fact that trouble was approaching yet again. At first, she put herself in battle stance, but as soon as she flexed her left arm, a painful shock ran through her shoulder, reminding her of the current state of her shoulder.

'Behind me,' Moon mouthed out, gesturing to Star to move. She followed her instructions, and Kelly moved accordingly. In the end, Star was flanked by Kelly and Moon, who had their guard up while facing opposite directions.

Thus they waited for half a minute for something to happen. By now, there was no further noise, but both Moon and Kelly refused to let their guard down.

As it turned out though, both women were pretty impatient. One more than the other.

"We know you're out there!" Kelly cried out. "Show yourself!"

The reply came in the form of an eagle's call.

It came from above, and sure enough, when the three looked up, they saw that a giant eagle was resting on a robust tree branch several metres high from the ground. How it had managed to get there without being detected, or when, was up to anyone's guess.

But then, there were more leaves cracking, along with stepping noises. They were coming closer, and Star's companions both braced, Moon pointing the spear forward and Kelly gripping harder on the handle of her greatsword, ready to swing. Both of them also moved to put themselves between Star and the approaching threat.

The nature of the threat was a mystery to them both.

On the other hand, unlike them, Star had already figured it out.

She recognized the eagle's feather colour scheme, along with its size. It wasn't just any bald eagle.

And when from the shadows emerged a giant spider, complete with a series of red eyes studying the three of them, Star knew that her guess was right.

She wasn't therefore surprised to see a kappa monster riding over the spider itself.

"Ludo!" Star said in amazement.

"Ludo!?" Kelly cried out.

"Who?" Moon said with moderate perplexity.

Ludo didn't even try to give a look to the two Butterflies at first. All of his attention was directed at Kelly, and he didn't look thrilled either.

"Kelly the Woolett. We meet again," he said, his raspy voice being exactly the same as Star remembered. "Why are you here?"

Kelly narrowed her eyes. "I could ask you the same thing."

Ludo scowled. "W-Wha?! You're the one trespassing, not me!" he protested, his voice getting higher in pitch as he got angrier. Just like the Ludo she remembered! He looked for all intents and purposes identical to how Star saw him when he held the Corrupted Wand in her dimension. The only difference was that he wore a ragged coat in place of the chip bag for clothes, and that he wore a black cloth eyepatch—otherwise, he looked identical to her Ludo.

"May I remind you that we had an agreement!?" he kept ranting. "I said: 'this is my half of the forest'. And you said you were okay with it!"

"Oh, give me a break, it wasn't even a half!" Kelly had lowered her sword, but her tone remained harsh. "You wanted almost the entire thing for yourself, I was barely able to have you accept the little patch in the south you gave me!"

"Patch? I gave you a fair part of the pie, Kelly! Don't misquote our agreement!" Ludo retorted. Then, he patted Giant Spider's head. "As for my part, I had plans, and as you can see, I no more have to attend to myself only. My girls here also need sustenance, and I need things for payment to get work done for me as well. Those darn rats don't work for free... I would know! Those leeches know how to make a deal favourable for them!"

Ludo seemed to realized he'd been ranting, because he suddenly shook his head, putting both hands on his face and pushing down. Wait, was that eye goop that he just collected and threw off?

Star didn't know she could feel so relieved from being disgusted. This was identical to her Ludo!

"Still," he resumed, "that doesn't change the fact that you agreed. So, for the second time... why are you here, in my territory!?"

Giant Spider hissed as to press Ludo's point. Above them, Bald Eagle also let out another cry.

Kelly didn't look particularly threatened by the creatures' calls. She even looked bored, letting out an exasperated sigh.

"We weren't snooping around to steal stuff if that's what you're worried about, Ludo," she quickly explained. "Me... and my, uh..." she glanced at Moon and Star. While Moon looked quite confused, Star simply smiled at Kelly, motioning for her to keep going with her thumbs up. "My... friends here, we're just passing by. We had some business in the north, but now we're on our way back."

Ludo growled. "I thought that we agreed on no exceptions..."

"Well, this is a pretty large one!" Kelly replied. "We got to get as far away as possible from the forest edge, as fast as possible." She glanced at Star for a moment before continuing. "With no scissors, we're stuck with walking, unless you suggest trying our bad luck and move through the Dominion itself to move around the forest."

"...you could've tried," Ludo said, matter-of-factly. He even tilted his head, as if he'd just stated the obvious.

Kelly let out a groan.

"This is why I didn't even consider living with you, Ludo..." she grumbled.

"You could've at least given me a chance! We could've made a good team, but no! You had to work on your own! And then—" Ludo started again, but he was silenced as Kelly raised a hand.

"Save it. I've already heard that discussion enough times, and in the end, it doesn't matter. We're already on our own way, so if you would just let us go—"

This time, it was Kelly's turn to get interrupted. "Wait one second now," Ludo interjected. "You've already been wasting me and the girls' time by coming here, Kelly. You might as well explain yourself better, rather than just some 'business'. What's even business? Toffee turned Quest Buy into a wasteland dimension ages ago, so it sure ain't that."

"Ludo, I don't have to to tell you anything," Kelly immediately replied, hands on her hips.

"You kinda have... you started having to tell me the moment you said you are friends with a Butterfly," Ludo pointed a hand towards Star and Moon. "Thought I'd miss those cheek marks of yours? Always underestimating good old Ludo. I think not!"

Feeling like it was her moment to intervene, Star walked forward to stay in between Kelly and Moon. "H-Hey, wait a second, Ludo! There's a misunderstanding here! I-I'm not a Butterfly from this world!"

"...you are? Then why are you acting like you know me?" Ludo eyed Star inquisitively. Then, without waiting for an answer, he mumbled something towards Giant Spider, low enough that Star didn't quite catch what he said.

Giant Spider chittered something back.

Huh... perhaps Ludo had to resort to 'alternatives' in this dimension, since there was no Corrupted Wand whispering things into his ears.

"Spider says you look a little funny... but still a Butterfly," Ludo solemnly relayed. "And I'm not dealing with Butterflies, period."

He glared at Kelly. "Or their friends for that matter."

"Listen, Ludo, she means it," Kelly said. "It might sound weird, I know that, heck, I felt it was weird myself at first, but this is Star Butterfly... a Star, that came from another version of Mewni." Kelly put a hand on her chest. "I swear this is the truth. And—" she suddenly pointed a finger at Ludo, "—you just immediately take for granted I made friends with some Butterflies just for the heck of it?!"

Ludo shrugged. "I learned to assume the worst when in doubt. Still... if that's the case... why are you here?" he inquired, looking at Star. "Away from home... from another world, as you say?"

He narrowed his eyes. "Right in my territory, I'd add."

"Well, I was, uh, I was looking for help," Star began, deciding to make it short. "I thought I could ask an old friend of mine for help, a friend who lived somewhere close by your, uh, territory... but I made a mistake. Now, we're going back... and all we want is to leave that behind us..."

Ludo looked almost touched by her words. He relaxed, taking in a breath and shutting his eyes as he reminisced about memories Star had no idea about.

"We all do that mistake, sometime in our lives... to trust people you shouldn't," he muttered sadly. However, as soon as he opened his eyes back up, he glared at Star again.

"Still, I'd rather not have Butterflies loitering around my territory. It's already hard enough to avoid the darn lizard's patrols without you leading them here—and I know he's looking for you if you're alive. You better all get out of my sight."

"Not letting you tell me twice!" Kelly fired back. Then, she regarded Star and Moon.

"Let's not waste more time with this buffoon. We've got some walking to do—"

"Wait," Star said. Her eyes were still fixed on Ludo. "Ludo, you're an enemy of Toffee as well!"

"Enemy!? That traitor betrayed me, stole my castle and then levelled it down! Happened years ago, but I still carry that bad memory here in my heart. Along with my oath that I will get back at him for what he did!" Ludo proclaimed. Star's simple question had managed to provoke him even beyond what she hoped.

Timidly, Star then made her proposition. "Uh, well... we're kinda looking for people who dislike Toffee and want to stop him, sooo... what about joining us?"

Ludo was more puzzled than aghast at her offer, so he remained silent with his beak open in befuddlement for a moment.

Which gave enough time for Kelly to intervene. "You got to be kidding me...!"

"No, no, I'm serious, Kelly!" Star said. "I... I think that at this point, we should ask for all the help we can get! And Ludo... he was an enemy of Toffee in my own dimension as well. Well.. we technically were enemies too, but now... well I don't know what we are now, I kind of sent him down a wormhole into who knows where. He asked for it, though."

"You sent me where—?!" Ludo exclaimed in horror. "And I asked for it!?"

Kelly ignored him. "Star, this... okay, maybe he got some survival skills—"

"I survived on my own for months!"

"And maybe he knows how to handle a fight with some wild animal—"

"I'd like to see you battle a giant spider with nothing but your hands, at my size! I had to earn the respect of my girls with my bare hands!"

"But... ugh, this is Toffee! We need people with actual armies, powers... actual stuff that could help us! Why... why him?!"

Star looked at Ludo.

"...I think that if my friends can't be trusted in this world... then, maybe I can try to trust my enemies. Or at least, those with which I shared a common goal at some point. And Ludo is one of them."

"Hey, hold on there, Butterfly, I'm not joining any rebellion without some guarantee I'm not going into a suicide mission!" Ludo said. "Especially more so when all I see now is my annoying woolett neighbour, her Butterfly friend and... and..."

Ludo's eyes finally fell on Moon. "Her... second Butterfly friend?"

During the entire conversation, he'd been so focused on Star and Kelly that he had failed to take notice of Moon. She had also remained silent the entire time, preventing him from paying her any attention beyond noticing she had cheek marks, but now that Ludo looked at her, he looked far more interested in her than he was in Star, or even Kelly.

"You... you're a Butterfly as well, but... I think I know you," he started slowly. He kept glaring at Moon, who—as usual—looked right back at him with a frown. "You... you remind me of... things..."

Then, something clicked in him.

And he immediately started screaming.

"AAH! Get her away! GET HER AWAY!" he literally scrambled off Giant Spider's back and started crawling away on the ground on his own. "KEEP HER AWAY FROM ME!"

Giant Spider chittered at Ludo, but didn't move. She looked confused, as far confused as a Spider could look at least. Star herself was also pretty at loss on what was going on with Ludo.

Moon, on the other hand, simply kept her gaze on Ludo, remaining deadly silent. Meanwhile Kelly moved her gaze back and forth between Moon and Ludo.

Then, as soon as the thing that she was about to remember hit her and she put two and two together, she gasped.

"...shit," she couldn't help letting out.

"What do you mean you don't understand?!" Ludo shouted in alarm, "Spider, I don't care that she doesn't appear threatening right now and she isn't raising her weapons, she is dangerous! I'm telling you SHE IS! Attack her, chase her off, do something, you nincompoop!"

"N-no, wait, wait! Hold on, Ludo!" Star protested, putting herself in between Ludo and Moon. "Moon isn't your enemy!"

"You dare bring her here, and say she isn't my enemy, or evil for that matter?!"Ludo shouted. His uncovered eye had rapidly become bloodshot, with a mixture of fear and anger. "You know who's the one person I hate more than Toffee in Mewni? HER!"

"B-but... but she didn't..."

"Star, wait—" Kelly tried to stop her, but it was too late.

"She didn't what? What can you possibly know about what she did or didn't, if you really come from another world as you say!?"

Ludo stood up, then lurched towards Star. "You want to know what really happened? What she did?!"

Before she could say anything, he bluntly removed his eyepatch, almost tearing it off his own head.

Star barely managed to hold in a yelp.

She had assumed up until then that Ludo wore that eyepatch simply because of the looks. In her own dimension, it was not something too far fetched for her own Ludo to do, at least as far as she thought.

But here, the eyepatch wasn't there just for the aesthetics. Ludo pointed at the crude, empty eye socket that was previously hidden as he kept shouting. "This, THIS is what the freaking Fallen Queen did to me! The same one you call a 'friend'!"

Ludo, anger taking over fear, kept walking towards Star, who staggered back and almost lost her equilibrium since she was still holding on her wounded arm with her free hand. Ludo only stopped because of both Moon and Kelly blocking the way. He steered away from Moon, but kept shouting regardless.

"She took my eye, all because I was asking her to help me take my castle back. I even warned her to be wary of that darn lizard, and all I got back was a missing eyeball. So... you don't get to tell me she didn't do anything, you hear me!? You all think I'm not that smart, but I'm not forgiving her!"

Rant ended, Ludo suddenly realized he hadn't been breathing, and fell into a coughing fit. While he was distracted, Star eyes remained glued on him and the empty, almost terrifying empty eye socket.

It lasted for a few seconds, then her gaze moved to Moon.

"Y-You didn't really...?" she babbled.

Moon took in a breath, then her eyes looked away from Star, with no further words.

It told Star everything she needed.

"Oh, no. No, no-no-no. I... I refuse to believe that. I don't believe you hurt him just because—"

"I had to hurt many people, Star!" Moon suddenly exploded. She walked towards Star, ignoring both Ludo's terrified shriek and Kelly, who simply looked at her and Star as if she was an unwilling witness. "It was necessary if I wanted to take Toffee down!"

"I... I don't want to think about that, but this is different! He said he asked you for help! He said he wanted to warn you about Toffee! He wasn't an enemy!"

"He was in the way!"

...in the way?

"I-In the...! I c-can't even...! He annoyed you? That is your reason for hurting him?!"

Moon frowned. "You don't know what I was going through. What I was trying to do back there. You can't judge me."

Star couldn't believe her ears.

It was hard enough to accept the fact that Moon had killed actual people in her quest to get revenge. But she could at least try to swindle herself into thinking that they were evil, that they hurt Moon and her family or wanted to, and that maybe there was no other choice when she did. But this...?

Gratuitous torture towards someone who had the mere fault of 'being in the way'?

With so sign of remorse whatsoever?

No.

No, this was too much.

She turned around, gripping on her head with her free hand. It felt like her wound on her shoulder had resumed pulsing with pain, making it impossible to think straight, almost making her dizzy. The gravity of what Moon had just said didn't help. She wanted to scream at Moon, to speak her mind aloud and tell her just how wrong she sounded, how mean... but couldn't speak.

She didn't know what to say. She didn't know if she should've said anything. She just didn't know.

"Star, hey, Star!" that was Kelly's voice. She was shaking her right shoulder—the good one, gripping on it, trying to get her back into the world of the living.

It worked, to an extent. Star's eyes regained focus and she briefly glanced at Kelly.

But then, she turned her head to look at Ludo, who was still busy trying to regain both his breath and his self-control after getting frightened by Moon's outburst. Spider and Eagle had finally taken the initiative, with the former putting herself in between Ludo and Moon, and the latter flanking Moon from behind after coming down from the tree. Moon had yet to move, though she had raised both of her weapons up, and her wand was bright with charged magic ready to be released at will.

Star however had only eyes for Ludo.

"L-Ludo, listen to me, I... I'm sorry for what happened to you! I never meant to disrespect you, I j-just... I'm sorry, I really am!"

Ludo moved his head up with a jerk, staring at Star with his lone eye wide. He looked incredulous, but also hesitating. As if he didn't know how he was supposed to take her apology.

Then, he looked at Moon again. After that, he had no doubt left.

"I-It doesn't matter what you feel," he said resolutely. "I don't want anything to do with her, or those close to her. Get... out... of my forest."

"I j-just wanted to—" Star tried again.

"OUT!"

He pointed towards the undergrowth, his finger shivering.

Star would've tried to insist and explain herself, to tell him she never would've wanted this to happen, but she felt a hand on her shoulder. Kelly's.

"Let's get out of here, Star," she told her. Kelly had already picked up her backpack during the commotion, as if she expected Ludo's final verdict on the matter.

"We should just go. There's nothing left for us to do here."

She also glanced at Moon with a neutral expression. "You too... Fallen Queen."

Moon glowered at Kelly in return for a second, then she lowered her weapons. After that, the three of them started walking away, though Moon didn't tear her gaze away from the two giant animals until she, Kelly and Star were at a safe distance.

Star on the other hand kept looking back at Ludo. The eyepatch had gone missing, but he didn't seem to mind as he climbed over Spider and, with his good eye, continued to observe the three of them go.

She wasn't even aware she could feel so sorry for Ludo. In her version of Mewni, the poor kappa had gone through a lot, but Star had rarely felt pity for him. Ludo rarely backed down and was stubborn enough to keep fighting, regardless of his target being her wand or the dominion of Mewni, regardless of the tool being his personal army or the Corrupted Wand. He was her enemy for almost the entire time, and when he was at his lowest, he was still able to pick his choice and be the one to finish Toffee off. It was him who asked her to be banished once again, not her. She never felt pity for him... she either found him annoying at first, genuinely threatening then, and finally... she even grew to respect him, to an extent at least.

But never, ever did she think he deserved to be hurt while they were enemies... hurt like this.

As soon as Ludo went out of sight, Star moved her eyes to Moon. It turned out that Moon was also looking at her, and their gazes crossed for a moment, with Star immediately diverting her eyes away, hoping that somehow Moon hadn't noticed.

She didn't know how she was supposed to react to this...

"Let's try... not to think about him, for now," Kelly offered as he saw Star staring at Moon with a conflicted expression.

Star nodded energetically.

Right now, she would take it. It just... disturbed her too much, to think about it further.

"Okay then... we could rather think about where to go now." Kelly frowned at her own remark. "We should walk for a while, far enough that that idiot doesn't try to follow us. Then, we'll stop to let Star rest while we think up of where to go... afterwards."

Kelly looked at Star. "It should be a place that makes sense to all of us, this time. For one, I'm not visiting another kingdom that surrendered to Toffee, Star."

"N-No, we won't..." Star agreed. "Uh... do you know what kingdoms are still fighting back, then?"

"Few people," Kelly said gravely. "The Dominion stretches from the Spiderbite Forest all the way to Central Mewni. I heard little about the rest of Mewni after I took residence in the Forest of Certain Death, but... maybe, there's at least one option still on the table."

"Well, and they are...?"

"The Johansen."

It was Moon who replied. Star at this point couldn't just continue to keep ignoring her, but Moon talked with her face facing forward. Her forehead was corrugated enough that it still made it clear that talking about the barbarian noble family was considerably hard for her.

"They... are our best choice right now. They refused to join Toffee and have been fighting his forces off for years. He never managed to make them yield. Getting their help against shouldn't be too hard, as long as we play our cards right."

Star nodded. Though she was still somewhat recovering from the revelation about Ludo's fate, she did have to admit that Moon made a good point. Though, her reasons were likely different.

In the alternate world, Mom (Sis?) was proving to be more and more different than her expectations suggested, but perhaps Dad was going to be much more familiar to her.

She really wanted to meet someone she could rely on, right now.

Chapter Text

"We're here... I think?"

She almost didn't believe Kelly when she said it. But as Star marched up to her side and took in the landscape, she couldn't help having the same exact thought as her Woolett friend.

The final confirmation came from Moon, who soon joined the other two girls.

"Yes, we are. This is the Southern edge of the forest. And that..." she pointed towards the hills ahead, "...is the Johansen Kingdom."

Far in the distance, Star could see the forms of some lonely cottages and small villages. There were no larger towns or cities in sight, but the fact there was no sign of destruction and decay meant that this place was far closer to its counterpart in her original world. And it was pretty clear to her this was the same Johansen Kingdom she herself remembered as well.

They had made it, after all.

It had taken a whole two weeks of travel to get there from the Northern edge of the Forest of Certain Death. It took some effort to pull through, though, and in fact, Star thought that they were lucky to have gotten here this fast. The odds were never in their favour, after all.

She thought at first that they'd have to spend months slowly making their way through the forest. Her bullet-made wound kept opening up, no matter how hard she tried to be careful while travelling. Kelly and Moon were forced to halt to help her fix the wound multiple times, and Star at first avoided turning into her Butterfly form for fear of what doing that with a wound on her body would result in.

However, after a couple of hard, slow-as-snail days of travel, Star simply lost her patience and ignored her companions' advice concerning caution.

She tried to turn.

And it somehow worked!

It also was extremely painful, to the point that she almost passed out. The wound on her shoulder unfortunately copied itself over to the magical articulations of her additional butterfly limbs, multiplying the pain two-fold.

Yet, she still was in her advanced magical form, and she lasted long enough to open a portal that made them save days of travel. With some effort and biting the bullet, Star was able to do it a few more times as well, and in the end, by working around the corridors of the Tramorfidian Web in the forest and managing her fleeting energy, they were able to get back to Kelly's hideout near the ruined Mewman capital where Moon and Star first met her.

Considering how hard it had been to travel up until then, the three women had all agreed to rest for a while there. Kelly had accumulated a serious amount of provisions across food, clothing, and medical equipment to last her for months, so they had no need to move out right away.

Whether Toffee was hunting them down or not was left to interpretation, though Moon was of the opinion that the lizard was simply biding his time, waiting for them to come up again. With portals on his side, there was really no reason for him to seek them out—he'd just show up with a killing party as soon as the news reached him, just like in the Ponyhead Kingdom.

As for them, though, they could breathe.

Star was able to recover from her wound without resetting her progress everyday now that the burden of travelling was no more an issue. When they resumed their travel towards the South, she was able to turn into her Butterfly form to open portals with much more ease.

With Star's improved health and full access to her portals, the second half of their trek turned out to be a calm affair. The Dominion hadn't tried to chase them yet, but Kelly noted that the South side of the forest was relatively safer considering the distance from the Dominion's heart and the proximity to an enemy state. All in all, their travel didn't face any further hiccups.

That didn't stop Star from thinking about their enemy, though.

She hadn't thought much about Toffee, really. In a way, the fact that he was evil in this dimension was almost a reminder of the fact that not everything was that different, but then again, it did sound like this lizard preferred forced coercion and violence to deceit and manipulation as methods to achieve his goals. She remembered the news as relayed by the Pony Head messenger in Cloud Kingdom clearly, and they left no doubt about his approach.

He wanted both Moon and Kelly dead, no questions asked.

And he wanted her alive.

...she really didn't want to think about why that was the case.

No, there was no reason to reflect on Toffee right now. All she needed to keep in mind was that he was the enemy and that they needed to beat him to free Mewni from his grasp.

She should rather focus on the upcoming trials ahead, concerning their next visit to a potential ally.

"Okay then, we reached the Johansen. Now what? I never tried to get closer to this area myself... I heard one too many stories about how territorial they are, more so with the war with the Dominion now being a thing."

She gave a glance to Moon. "You're the expert here, Moon. So, what about it?"

"There is some truth to what you heard," Moon replied. She looked... upset, as she glared at the hills, and she didn't comment further on Kelly's words.

"I... I think they'll understand!" Star chimed up. "The Johansen were a bit weird in my dimension... well, they were a bunch of competitive, loud people for sure. But they were never outright bad guys! If you needed help, they'd at least consider it and would never turn their back on you without letting you explain yourself."

Moon shook her head. "That's how things worked here as well, Star, but that was before Toffee... now, things might not be so simple," she drawled. Again, Moon remained cryptic about what she meant by that, but before Star could question her, she spoke up again.

"Star, listen... about River..."

Star had mentioned a few times during their trip to the Johansen Kingdom that her father was River. Moon... hadn't taken it well, since she was almost shocked to hear that. However, she had never tried to explain to Star what was wrong with River in this universe.

"You're finally going to tell me what is wrong with him? Or... what went wrong between you two?" Star tried to guess, offering an hopeful smile. She was almost dying to know what was the deal with Moon and River here.

At this point, a conflict between the alternate version of her father and mother sounded far more acceptable than... everything else.

"No," Moon cut it short, no trace of a smile on her own face. "But... ugh. I guess you'll still get to know sooner or later."

She made sure to look Star in the eyes as she talked. "For now, just keep in mind that the less me and him interact, the better, at least until he understands who you and Kelly are. However, you should also try to avoid telling him that in your universe, he's your father, and that I am your... mother."

"Uhh... okay, but why?"

Moon didn't reply. She simply kept glaring.

"...okay, okay, I'll try, sis! I just thought that maybe it could help to let him know that."

"It won't. Don't do it at least until he understands our motives concerning Toffee. It'll better this way."

There was a snort, followed by a barely stifled chuckle. Moon and Star turned to look at Kelly, who was apparently trying to cover her face.

"Kkh... I'll be darned, I-I can't believe the Fallen Queen is concerned about her old flame like that...!"

Well, Star kind of expected that had been a thing by now. However, gossiping wasn't apparently a passion of Moon, who clearly didn't like Kelly's comment.

"You dare say that again, Woolett, and you'll get to understand how many ways to feel p—"

"Girls, girls! Come on!" Star cried out, cutting off Moon before she and Kelly could escalate into another argument. "We've almost reached our goal and you two were fine all the way up to here, let's just not ruin it now that we're so close!"

Moon opened her mouth as if to protest, but then she grunted something that could pass for a noise of acknowledgement and spoke no further. Kelly nodded in agreement as well, though she kept chuckling under breath.

"O-Okay... hehe..." she tried to say in between the chuckles. "M-Moving on... seriously, what are we supposed to do know?"

Moon gave another look towards the hilly landscape before replying.

"Raise your hands up in the air. Both of you."

...

"What?" Kelly and Star said at the same time.

"Just do it. It'll make things easier." As if to prove her point, Moon did exactly the same thing she asked them to do—raising her arms in the air, hands above her head.

Kelly and Star shared a doubtful glance. "Moon," Kelly started, "I don't know if you're trying to make a joke here or not, but how is that—"

"Hold still!"

It happened fast enough that both Star and Kelly gasped with surprise. One moment, they were standing alone on the tall grass just beyond the forest's edge. The next moment...

They were surrounded.

Star remained immobile where she was, completely at loss on what she needed to do. The warriors around her were women and men with barbarian-like features in both clothing and mannerism—it didn't take a genius to understand that these were mewmen of the Johansen kingdom. But the way that the dozen or so people all had their weapons drawn out and all pointed at the three of them, with no hesitation at all visible in their eyes, left her stunned.

She had played with some of these people in her dimension, when she was young and had visited a couple of times her Johansen relatives. They were a fun and playful lot... they could get competitive to an unhealthy amount as well, yeah, game of flags and all—but she never, ever saw them this... this much aggravated.

"I said hold still!" one of the warriors, a burly man in his fifties, shouted again, agitating a rusty sword towards them.

At first, Star thought that the guy was referring to Moon—considering everyone in this world seemed to hate her no questions asked—but the sword wasn't pointed at Moon. In fact, when Star glanced at her, she was surprised to see that Moon had made no attempt to draw out her spear and wand. Both of her hands were still up in the air, and while her expression was one very unimpressed by the warriors' display, she definitely wasn't being hostile.

The warrior was really irate because of Kelly, who had instead the greatsword held tightly in her hands. She jerked her head left and right, trying to assess how many foes were around her.

"You can tell your mother to hold still!" Kelly rudely snapped back. "I'm not standing down until your ugly mugs lower your weapons as well!"

"You don't get to make requests! You cross into Johansen territory, you obey its rules—or leave us be! No exceptions!"

One of the warriors spoke up, regarding the one who'd been addressing the three women up until then. "Captain, uh, sorry for barging in, that's not just any intruder. That's a Woolett girl."

"I don't give a flying corn about who or what she—wait, a-a what?!" the Captain suddenly changed demeanour, the gruff, commanding tone gone in a matter of seconds.

"Holy mother of Glossaryck, that's the F-Fallen Queen!?" another warrior shouted.

The Captain was clearly having a bad time registering all the amount of information that was given to him in such little time.

However, while a Woolett's appearance was quite the event, the realization concerning Moon's identity instantly caused much more vocal reactions from some of the combatants.

"Her? Here!?"

"What the hell is she doing around these parts!?"

"No, no, she's going to spread death and destruction to this place, I tell you!"

"We must stop her! We must drive her back into the hole she came from!"

Okay... Star had heard enough.

"Can you guys please be silent for a moment!?" she cried out.

It almost felt too easy with how everyone ceased talking over each other at her request.

Well, she did have some Johansen blood in her body, right?

"Thank you, kind sirs... and ladies. Now, first off, where's the usual Johansen cordiality with strangers? You might be territorial with each other, but you never shut your door to visitors!"

The warriors exchanged a look with each other. The Captain at this point seemed to have accepted the fact that he couldn't wrap his mind well about the trio of quirky women who had just happened to appear in the area, and decided to focus his attention on Star.

"...I don't know where you're from, girl, but that has not been a thing for a long, long time. And now that there's a war at stake?" he shook his head.

"It doesn't matter if you're refugees or one of the lizard's servants, you get treated all the same—so I suggest you rein in your... Woolett friend."

Then, he glanced at Moon. He immediately looked away as Moon's icy gaze glared back at him. "T-The Fallen Queen is, uh... well, she's fine as far as what she's doing now. Just... make your friend stand down."

Star nodded in agreement, then turned towards Kelly, who had yet to lower her greatsword. "Come on Kelly, let's hear them out first."

"I'm not dropping my weapon!"

"You don't have to do that!" she raised a hand before the Captain could correct her. "Just... stop acting like you're ready for beheading and lower your blade for a while, okay? These mewmen are not our enemies, they're not your enemy."

She glanced towards the warriors. She had never met these people or their counterparts from her universe for that matter, but somehow... they felt very familiar to her.

Even with their hostility and war-provoked doubt, they still felt like the inhabitants of the Johansen Kingdom that she learned to know in her youth.

"They're our friends!" she continued, looking back at Kelly. "We just have to talk a bit with them to clear things out. But we can't do that if you keep agitating that sword of yours, sooo... we really need you to stop acting like you're out for their blood."

Kelly grumbled something that sounded exceptionally vulgar under her breath. However, Star didn't flinch—she had already learned to just accept the fact that Kelly was quite the potty mouth in this universe. She simply kept looking at her expectantly, hands clasped together.

In the end, Kelly lowered her sword, just as she was asked to.

As soon as she did, some of the warriors also put their weapons back on their backs or on the straps they were wearing—not all of them, but even those that kept their weapons at hand didn't aim them at them further.

The Captain soon left the circle of warriors, approaching the three travellers on his own.

"Okay, okay, let's cut the formalities. First things first... what in the name of Glossaryck are you three doing here!?"

Star, Kelly and Moon found themselves looking at each other. Right... they needed to handle this part carefully.

"You get the word first. They are for sure more willing to hear you two first than me," Moon noted.

"Okay then... Star, you may as well start. You were the one who started everything in the first place," Kelly said.

Star nodded, took in a breath, and decided to be direct about it. Johansen people usually disliked elaborate, overly-complicated speeches, so she guessed this was the best way to go at it.

At the very least, she had had Moon explain to her a little how the Johansen Kingdom was structured here, so she knew what to say.

"We're here to meet Warchief River up in the capital, to seek help and offer our own in the battle against the Dominion and Toffee."

The warriors started whispering to each other at Star's affirmation.

"You don't get to speak to the Warchief that easily, young one," the Captain replied. "And even if that were the case, I take there's more to you here than just that joining our armies or something—or else you'd have already sought to join the militias on the front-line in the West."

He gulped. "More so, when I see that you and your Woolett companion are accompanied by no other but... t-the Fallen Queen herself."

Star tried to keep her nerves in check. The line separating them from being flung back into the forest was exceptionally thin, according to Moon's words, and she reminded herself that to these mewmen she was all but a stranger.

"We're serious about helping out! Moon here, she... she's here because she decided to lend a hand against Toffee. And the same goes for Kelly here. Right, Kelly?"

Moon let out a grunt of acknowledgement, while Kelly grumbled out a somewhat unconvincing, "yeah, right, I'm here to help as well..."

"We know that the Johansen Kingdom is still fighting back," Star continued, "and we know that you can take all the help you can get. Well, we are that help! And if we join our forces, we'll stand a better chance against Toffee for sure! It's why we want to meet the warchief, or even the king himself, captain! I want to tell him about seeking even more allies across Mewni! The more, the merrier!"

The Captain stared dubiously at Star, eyeing her up and down. He looked even less convinced than earlier, which wasn't good news. However, he didn't outright explode in anger or start shouting at her either.

Considering he was from the Johansen kingdom, Star thought that was already a good result.

In the end, the Captain sighed. "Sweet corn, if this is a mistake..."

He regarded Star. "I don't know what it is into you kid... maybe it's the fact you sound just like a girl from here. Or maybe it's because of those... cheek marks. A Butterfly other than the Fallen Queen, who is somehow still alive. One who, cheek marks aside, looks just like me' own daughter..."

He groaned. "Fine! I'll give you your bloody audience with the Warchief, 'Star'. The Woolett girl is welcome as well to come as well... River has been picking up various interdimensional refugees from all over the neighbouring dimensions of Mewni and she is no different. If she's with you, she can come with you."

That was so much perfect as an outcome!

Of course, there had to be a catch.

He glared at Moon. "She, on the other hand, is not coming in a million years."

"Uuh, hey, hey, wait. Moon is with me as well! She's been accompanying me the entire time!"

"The Fallen Queen is not to cross anywhere close the Johansen Kingdom, let alone into it! It's already pushing it that we aren't throwing her back into the Forest this instant. That's final."

"B-But—"

"Star."

Moon was frowning, her eyes fixed on the Captain with what looked like resigned contempt.

"You and Kelly can go on your own. I don't think my presence will better your chances with River, anyway."

Star had no hesitation with her reply.

"Nuh-uh! I thought you knew me by now, I'm not leaving you!"

"You'll be fine," she replied calmly. "Toffee can't get anywhere close to you in this kingdom, and these people will not hurt you."

"No, that's not what I meant! I'm not leaving you because I don't feel safe. I'm not leaving you because we should stick together! Because we're friends—family!"

She turned towards the Captain. "And that's also true for you! Moon, I know that she has quite a lot of skeletons hidden in the closet, but she's not your enemy, not any more. She wants to take down Toffee just as you do, and she was willing to help me when I needed her and when it came to finding more people that could help us all. I swear to you, on my family's name," she pointed at Moon, "she is not going to cause any kind of problem to you or your people!"

The Captain narrowed his eyes. "I find it hard to believe ya' kid. The word of a Butterfly, even... that name has been tainted for a long time, and mentioning it won't help you with us."

"But I told you that Moon is doing things differently now!"

"He isn't talking just about me, Star."

Star was puzzled by Moon's correction. Wait, but she thought everyone disliked Moon only? She even knew that Toffee sought to remove the entire Butterfly expanded family from the picture... and Comet had sought peace at first here as well. What did she mean?

The Captain made a nod of approval. "That's right. So, again... why should I trust a Butterfly girl?"

The warriors around nodded in approval, some even showing teeth and frowning in return. The hostility was back in full force now that Star's identity had been picked and turned against her.

Her identity...?

Star harrumphed. "Well, if you can't listen to a Butterfly, maybe you can listen to a Johansen!"

The Captain once again was left speechless.

"W-Wha—?!"

"You heard me right, my dad's part of the Johansen family. Don't believe me?" She marched forward, ignoring Kelly and especially Moon's reaction, and stared down at the Captain. "Why do you think I reminded you of your daughter? That's because I'm partly from around here as well. So you might not understand who exactly I am, but you sure do understand when a request of help comes from one of your peers, right?"

"...uuh, kind of?"

Star nodded. "Right, so all I'm asking is to have the chance for a small meeting with the current Warchief. It's very important to me, and it's important that both Kelly and Moon accompany me. I'm not asking you to betray your kingdom, Captain, it's just a few words with River Butter—I mean, Johansen! That's not so big of a request, now is it?"

The Captain stammered something that was intelligible as Star kept looking at him defiantly.

"...me' wife gonna stab me if she hears what I'm about to do," he grumbled. "...ugh, all right, the Fallen Queen may come with ya'."

"W-What?!" a warrior cried out.

"Captain, that's against literally any written and unwritten rule! If the Warchief will not put our heads on a stake, the King will!"

"My wife is more likely to do that than any of those people," the Captain said sarcastically, "and in any case, that's my decision. The Warchief will know how to deal with the Fallen Queen, if she is up to anything suspicious, but otherwise, I'm willing to give the two young girls a chance."

He glared at Moon. "Still, I'd suggest you keep your likeness hidden away until you're before the Warchief. There are many people who might not be willing to listen to your relative here and might just go for your throat first before asking questions."

Moon surprisingly nodded. She patted the cloak that she was still wearing. "That, I surmised."

The Captain pinched his nose. "Very well then. The rest of you, keep the patrol up, give me a minute and then I'll join back up with you. As for you three ladies, well..."

He produced something out of his pocket, and Star suddenly found a air of familiarity that she had been lacking for a long time.

Dimensional scissors.

"...let's get this over with."

She had almost forgotten how easy it was to travel by portals, when she didn't need to mull over the weirdness of the Tramorfidian Web to plan ahead and just go whenever she wanted. One moment, they were hours, maybe even more days of travels away from the capital of the Johansen Kingdom.

The other, they were literally inside its stronghold.

They came out one by one: the first one to come was the mewman Captain, who was then followed by Kelly and Star. Moon came after everyone else, her hair and face now hidden under the cloak and its hoodie.

The Captain wasted no time. "We can't go further via scissors due to one of them' no-portal crystals. Safety concerns and all that. Wait here," he grunted before quickly walking away from them.

He called out for a nearby guardsman with which he exchanged a few words. Said guard sent more than one sour glance in the three women's direction, but in the end he nodded and followed the Captain back to them.

"I'll accompany you to go meet the Warchief. Follow me," the guard informed. The Captain on the other hand didn't add anything.

He didn't even try to regard the three travellers. Before Star could even call him to say her thanks, the man had already disappeared through the portal, which flicked into nothingness seconds later. She didn't have the time to let out a huff of disdain as the guard pestered them. "Come on, you three! We don't have time for loitering around these parts!"

Star shrugged to herself, trying to remember that this was a state at war and as such she couldn't expect friendliness from everyone, and so began to follow the Johansen guard. Kelly did the same, walking beside her, while Moon stayed behind to avoid getting attention on herself.

"Well... it went faster than I thought, that's for sure," Kelly commented.

"Try not to underestimate these people," Moon warned. "The Johansen have fought the Dominion for years by now, and have become extremely wary of strangers as a result. It may not be easy to get them to listen."

"We'll try!" Star replied. "We can make them consider it... at least, I hope so. Da—I mean, the Warchief, maybe he'll be the one to listen."

Moon didn't reply immediately. It took her a few seconds before Star heard her reply.

"He might," she agreed. "But whether he'll act on it... I don't know."

Star wanted to reassure her that River would be at least kind enough to listen, especially in a situation like this, but then she recalled her main mistake, in this world.

Applying what she knew of people from her universe to this one was not something she could afford to do again. And she could only imagine how much the bleak fate that had befell this Mewni had ended up influencing the counterpart of her father here.

Moon, Kelly, Ludo, Pony Head, Rasticore. Every one was different, most for the worse.

She couldn't go making wrong assumptions again.

Before she could decide how to tackle the subject further and give a reassuring reply to Moon and Kelly both, the Guard stopped by a large door-portal.

"Before we go in, your weapons," he extended a hand out. "You might have been accompanied here by a border captain, but as outsiders you don't get freedom of weapon carrying yet."

"Well, I got nothing!" Star smiled.

Moon simply extracted the spear from her back and handed it over. The guard took it, then eyed the woman with doubt. "You are not hiding anything else behind that large cloak of yours, huh?"

"No, no she's fine! That thing is her main weapon anyway. Besides, you think River will mind some small knife or anything like that?" Star said.

The guard looked even more suspicious, and glared at Moon. "Hand over the cloak. I haven't even seen your face yet."

Before Moon or Star could do anything, Kelly walked right in front of them. "Listen here, I haven't travelled for days just to get stopped right in front of my final goal here and now," she barked. "So you are going to let us and my two associates here without further protest, or so help me I'm gonna behead you here on the spot. And you know a Woolett never backs down from a combat promise, right?"

The guard gulped under Kelly's hostile gaze. "A W-Woolett—?!"

"Right. So can you just let us through?"

He gritted his teeth, seething under the pretence of control. "...your sword should still not—"

Kelly frowned harder, glaring at the guard who looked no more confident in his abilities to handle the young Woolett on his own. He growled an insult just low enough that they couldn't catch it, then turned around to open the portal.

"Wow... I didn't know you knew your way that well with people."

"It's not hard," Kelly said without mirth. "And I'm sure you could do it yourself as well, Star. It's called 'threatening'."

Well... that kinda was true, she had to admit.

She didn't have the time to further speak with her as the guard opened the two shutters and led them into the Johansen war room.

The stronghold was apparently smaller than she anticipated—she didn't remember visiting the small city that lied around this building the few times she'd visited the Johansen Kingdom in her youth, and when she did, she was too young to actually memorise things.

That didn't mean, of course, that the Johansen Stronghold was no less impressive than other castles and fortifications around Mewni. And while they had skipped the outside, thus missing on a view of the place from outside, Star was reminded of the Johansen prowess when she, Moon and Kelly made their entrance into the war room.

That, and their loudness.

The room was filled with a cacophony of voices. Johansen men and women were lined up along multiple stories and benches placed on them, in a bleacher-like fashion, along the central part of the room, and they were all heatedly discussing with each other, their argument often being more akin to shouting matches. The two sides were arguing with each other, but there were people also gesticulating at their peers on the same bleacher side as well.

It was in fact hard for Star to get anything out of the chaos in terms of the themes. The few words she managed to caught on were however enough to let her know that this was indeed a war room discussion of the Johansen Kingdom. Toffee, the Dominion, the battles going on at the kingdom confines and the front-line, they all were being mentioned.

At the far end of the room, the wooden bleacher-like structure stopped, leaving space for a more common-looking series of tables. More people were lined up in sitting positions on it, people who Star guessed were higher in the power hierarchy.

Star immediately caught sight of one person in particular, sitting right at the centre of it all, alone at his own table, eyes scanning the room.

River Johansen.

She had seen some pictures of her dad from when he and her mother had just gotten married, so she somewhat what to expect from a younger version of him. And indeed, this was River Johansen in the flesh, at a age comparable to Moon's current age, thought that didn't mean that some key differences weren't coming up.

For one, the crown, staff and royal garments proper of a Butterfly King were gone. In their place, River donned an uniform with fur-covered shoulder pads, leather gloves, light armour and heavy boots. His beard was left unkempt and disordered, and was cut considerably shorter than what River usually liked in Star's own universe. Beard aside, his facial features were enough to let her understand that this was indeed a younger version of him, just like Moon.

However, the most striking difference when it came to River compared to Star's memories was his countenance. The jovial, somewhat easily excited King that Star knew and loved was nowhere to be seen.

In his place was a man who had the eyes of a person way older than he looked. He kept looking around the room, barely registering the fact that the doors had opened to let strangers in along with a guard, and he was as concentrated as Star rarely saw him in her Mewni. In fact... she almost felt like River was... passive. As if he paid attention without any expectation.

He looked resigned.

The guard kept walking further into the room, and Star, Kelly and Moon followed him mechanically. Only when he was at the edge of the central area in-between the bleachers, he finally spoke up.

"Warchief River!" he shouted into the noise.

Silence immediately befell into the room as if the guard's voice had somehow reached everyone's ears amongst the commotion. Everyone had their eyes fixed on him at first, but soon the attention shifted towards the three women who were behind him.

Star couldn't help feeling a bit nervous at all the attention.

"I'm here bringing visitors. They request an audience with you concerning the war," the guard explained.

River stood up from his chair, frowning. "The war? But these are refugees, I thought those were to be led to the Eastern—"

He cut himself off as his eyes suddenly widened, staring right at Star's face. He quickly moved around the table and crossed the distance until he was close enough to tell apart her facial features. His surprise didn't decrease as he did.

"Corn...! Those cheek marks. Young girl, a-are you a Butterfly?!"

So here she was, being questioned about being a Butterfly... by the same person who carried that same name.

Not the same person, technically, but it didn't make things any less weird to her.

"Well, yeah..." she said, her cheeks a bit flushed. "I am a Butterfly, though it's a bit more complex than that, dad—I mean, Warchief. Da-Warchief, that's what I meant!"

River didn't seem to be bothered by her slip-up and subsequent unconvincing save. He mumbled something under his breath, while giving an off-side glance to Kelly and Moon both.

His eyes rested on Moon a few seconds longer than Kelly, though, which worried Star at first, yet he didn't make further comment on them.

"...I see you people have quite a story to tell, and if you managed to make it here, it must be something worth giving a listen to."

He dismissed the guard, then motioned for them to follow him. As they walked, the room seemed to forget about them, most of the crowd on the bleachers going back to their shouting matches.

They were soon up to the table, where River went back to his previously occupied chair. Star realized that said table wasn't just for hand-resting; it was covered with papers, mostly maps filled with notes and pins. She guessed very soon that these were coloured after the factions of the war: the Johansen Kingdom in yellow, and the Dominion plus its subject states in green.

However, on the largest map that covered all of Mewni, Star noticed that there was a third colour, purple, and she didn't understand why that was the case.

River spoke up again before she could think it over further, gaining the attention of all three women.

"Very well then. A Butterfly family member. A Woolett survivor. And a mysterious cloaked woman. Can't say my interest is not a bit piqued, but regardless... what is your business around these parts?"

"Well..." Star took the initiative, but found herself hesitating on how to start things off. "I... I mean, w-we kinda got there to talk with you first of all. We want to offer our help, and ask for help ourselves. Both, I mean both!"

River raised an eyebrow.

"S-Sorry," Star made a off-hand gesture. "I'm kinda a bit overwhelmed. I meeaaaan... we want to help in your fight against Toffee. And find more people that might join is what we wanted to do in the first place."

"If you're looking for people who hate the lizard, you're certainly in the right place," River acknowledged, though he didn't look very impressed. "And enemies of the Dominion will always be welcome as far as I'm concerned. But... how exactly do you plan to help, in the current war? And I mean, in practice."

"Practice? Well, uuh... uhm..."

Welp... she never thought about the how up until then . She only thought about rallying people under the common goal, but as of the how... that was a matter she hadn't really thought about yet. She was a bit of a reactive teenager, after all.

"She already told you what she plans to do, Warchief," Kelly intervened in Star's aid before the latter could think of a proper reply on her own . She sounded far calmer than her for sure, given the situation. "Asking for help is the plan, not just the current need. She... we, we want to keep searching and to find more people that would like to join the fight to take down the lizard. Star... believes this is the best way to aid in the war, and with her being knowing of most of Mewni and with her lineage as a battery, she might just pack enough influence to make other kingdoms and potential allies consider her words."

Then, she looked away, frowning as she fixed her eyes on the ground. "At least... for those who are willing to listen in the first place."

River didn't miss that. "Mmh. I take you already embarked in at least a previous attempt... and that didn't do so well?"

"...yes," Kelly confessed. "Cloud Kingdom."

River let out a small grunt of contempt at that name. "I'm not surprised. Still... I can see why you'd expect me to listen to you."

It was now Kelly's turn to be mildly taken aback. She reached out to fix her glasses as she said, "You do?"

"Well, for starters, you... what's your name, now that we're at it?"

"You can just call me Kelly."

He nodded, then as he resumed talking River's voice all of a sudden changed, becoming far softer."Well, Kelly... you're a Woolett, dear. I may know what happened to your people, but as for how it feels like... I can only imagine, probably not even that. As little as it might be worth for you, I'm deeply sorry for what happened to Woolandia. We Johansen would've helped, if we weren't busy fighting for our own survival at the time."

Kelly lowered her head, hiding her face from view. "...thanks," she meekly let out.

"And it also means," River added, "that if the motives that drive the Butterfly girl also convinced you, then it means that her conviction must be a pretty darn strong one."

Kelly let out a small sniff, then nodded to him.

"However, with this said, don't think this is enough to just be accepting of your help as it is," he said sternly. He glared at Star. "Your family has been the source of many... troubles in the past century, young Butterfly, whether you come from the main lineage or not."

So, the Butterflies really didn't have much of a good reputation within this alternate version of Mewni, regardless of Moon's personal past. She probably should've asked Moon for more information on that front.

Oh well, it was time to drop the bombshell.

"Well, you see... I'm not actually a 'Butterfly' per se!" she announced. "I mean, yeah, I am one. But I actually not a Butterfly from the Butterflies you know! And that is, because I come from a different universe than yours."

She expected him to widen his eyes in incredulity, but instead, he kept glaring with a slight twinge of annoyance. "Are you toying with me, girl?"

"N-No, I'm not, this is really the truth!" Star said, babbling some of the words. "I even knew you from the universe I came from! You see, you were... eh... uuh..."

Crud... she'd driven herself into a dead-end. Moon had asked her not to reveal the fact River was her dad yet, but she didn't really want to outright lie.

"Her name is Star Butterfly, Warchief River," Kelly interjected with a wise change of subject. "And no, I'm not making this up either."

River's glare was replaced by a befuddled expression. "...Star? That Star?"

"An alternate version of her, but yes."

"...huh. The cheek marks do match, and so does her hair colour," River thought out-loud, studying Star. "And... it does explain a few doubts of mine."

"W-Wait, what doubts?" Star asked with worry, but River didn't answer her. He simply threw another glance in Moon's direction, which Star didn't like.

He had yet to address her, which could be either good or bad news. However, if he already recognized her, it was good news that he hadn't just tried to have them all detained on the spot, right?

Pony Head also didn't capture them until the last moment, though...

Her thoughts went unforgotten as River resumed speaking, his attention once again on Star. "I have one question for you then, Star Butterfly. Why are you in this universe in the first place? I will not pretend what is going on in Mewni right now is far from good, so... why did you choose to go here, of all places?"

That... was not a question she expected. The way River spoke though gave Star the impression that he was less distrustful and more... worried. He was sincerely confused about why she'd come here.

She thought there was no reason not to tell him the truth. It was the first thing she'd told Moon as well, and she'd had the chance to briefly fill Kelly in about it as well during her travels.

If she wanted to make a friend out of River as well, she needed to treat him the same.

"Well... I, uh... I didn't pick your universe knowing what was going on," Star confessed. She picked a lock of her hair as she talked, feeling somewhat embarrassed in telling River about what was essentially her biggest slip-up yet.

"My mom went missing, at home. I... I didn't take it well, and I kinda made a mistake while trying to look for her, because I was... a bit desperate," she said, skipping on some of the words. "I thought I'd find her here, so that's why I am here now. I had no idea about Toffee taking over or anything else."

"Well, if that's the case, why are you still here, Star? Why are you... trying to help? You could try to seek for a way back home. I trust that's not a trivial issue, is it?"

Star felt her determination come right back up. "Maybe," she agreed, "but leaving you guys like... like this? Toffee was a bad guy in my dimension as well, even if I didn't understand him that well—he didn't mind causing pain and he tried... to leave me for dead as well. Your Toffee seems even worse, and I can't let him keep doing as he pleases, even if this is another universe!"

River hummed, then put a hand over his forehead, immersed in deep thought.

"I... I suppose that makes sense," he said, standing back up from the chair. "Follow me to the centre of the room, will you? I'll have to get you acquainted with the rest of the Johansen chiefs and commanders, sooner or later—might as well do it now."

"W-Wait, that's it? You're agreeing?" it almost felt too easy. It took a visible effort for Star not to start cheering on the spot.

River shrugged. He gestured for them to follow him as he talked. "I have reason to think you're not double-crossers working for the lizard. And... well, I kinda learned how to tell whether someone is lying in the last few years, Star. You definitely weren't doing so."

"Well, that's already better than the last couple of attempts," Kelly said drily. "But you understand that Star here wants to get more people to help as well, right? Beyond your little kingdom."

"I'm not the king, and the kingdom is not mine," River corrected with a half-annoyed glance. "The actual King is busy keeping the Southern front-line at bay. I'm the one in charge when it comes to the Dominion in the West, instead."

He stopped as he turned around to face the three women. The crowd that sat (or stood while agitating their hands at each other) was still busy in their loud arguments.

"And when it comes to the Dominion, I learned one thing," he said, his voice growing more solemn. "As much as it pains me to say it... we can't win, not on our own. Toffee's forces are overwhelming and he grows stronger each day, thanks to the way he upped his grasp on magic and technology stole from the remains of the old Butterfly Kingdom."

He eyed Star. "Even if I can't help being dubious about a young teenager wanting to help in seeking alliances around Mewni... it might just be the only way to become strong enough to bring down that cold-blooded bastard."

"You can say that again," Kelly agreed.

River didn't reply. Instead, he lifted a hand to his mouth and let out a shout. It got the attention of most of the crowd, who silenced themselves as they focused on him, and the rest of the room soon followed their example.

Once he was sure everyone was looking, and listening, River turned around to look at them. "However... You still have something that I don't quite understand, something that still makes me... wary of you and your quest. Of your presence in this very kingdom in the first place."

"Okay, then... what is it?" Star wondered.

"Why are you in cahoots with Moon the Fallen Queen?"

Chapter Text

Star's eyes widened. "W-What—?"

Murmurs ran across the room. Even Kelly looked sincerely shocked by the apparently casual way River had just dropped the question on them. He had asked the question flatly, as if a mere request for clarification.

His demeanour, however, didn't really mirror his tone. He was glaring at them as if judging a pair of traitors, frowning.

"There's no need to keep up the act, for both of you," he said drily as Star failed to produce a proper reply.

He then regarded the cloaked woman. "Something that goes for you as well. Moon."

Suddenly, it clicked.

"M-Moon Butterfly? That's Moon Butterfly?!"

"N-No, that can't be it. We would never have let her anywhere close to here! How did she even manage to make it here?"

"I can't believe it... the Fallen Queen?! I-I just don't understand! How? Why!?"

The voices from the men and women over the bleachers were mostly exclamations of shock, surprise and disbelief. Yet, River didn't look deterred. He made a pair of steps to his left, moving away from Kelly and Star and putting himself right in front of Moon.

"There won't be any deception here, not under my watch, Moon. Reveal yourself."

Moon had not tried to hide her face further. Rather, she stared back at River, and as she watched them, Star knew that their staring contest was far from a jovial matter.

There was definitely bad blood between the two, even if Moon hadn't told her anything about the details. And it definitely went far beyond the two being exes.

She could see it by how River ever so slightly flinched upon his eyes meeting Moon's. By how he clenched his fists and furrowed his brows.

Star feared that either of the two could do something reckless, which wasn't exactly ideal considering they were surrounded by rows of armed mewmen. As customary for the Johansen Kingdom: all warriors almost always carried their weapon along with them at the ready.

She really didn't want to cause a diplomatic incident, not when River had sounded somewhat... welcoming.

He did earlier at least.

Her fears proved unfounded as Moon slowly raised her gloved hands and grabbed the rim of her cloak. She first took off the hoodie, revealing her silver hair and purple, diamond-shaped cheek marks, then she proceeded to remove the cloak entirely, revealing the rest of her hair, the holster where the Royal Wand was still placed, and the rest of her body and clothing.

The room was dead silent for a second. Then, the dams were broken, letting a flood of words come through.

It was a chaotic conjunction of shouts coming from all direction that was borderline deafening. The content of such shouts ranged from exclamation of dismay to more refusals to accept the truth. However, the most common theme by far was the amount of curses and vulgar slurs directed at Moon's person. The Johansen were not know for hiding their thoughts of contempt when they had any, and this definitely was the case here.

Moon simply glanced around the room with a hard glare, but otherwise refused to feed the mewmen around her any kind of reply. Some of them recoiled as soon as she laid eyes on them, but others were not so easily intimidated and stood their ground while continuing to verbally insult her.

"You dare show yourself here again, Moon!?"

"Tsh, I hoped you were dead, but of course we lucked out!"

"Your blood is a curse to this land! You hear me?! You're the bane of this entire world!"

"Get lost and go pick other people to back-stab and then leave to die! We don't need your so-called help, bitch!"

"Silence!"

The room didn't immediately go silent this time, but River simply raised a hand and shouted again, more vehemently. "I said silence!"

The mewmen warriors finally noticed River, and most of the shouting died down. "Compatriots, rest your tongues for the time being. I'll handle Moon from this point on," he continued.

"With what authority, River Johansen?! You of all people are biased beyond fixing on the matter of the Fallen Queen," a large, wide man shot back. He patted the mace that he was conveniently holding. "I say there is only one way to solve this, and that's with payback!"

"Right... I'd like to see you face one of the strongest Butterfly Queens on your own. While she has the Royal Wand and you have a pathetic stick of a weapon to bring to the table."

The man looked considerably less confident in his words as he relented with no further attempt to challenge River's decision.

"...still, I can see why you are so doubtful," he recognized. "But know this... I know the Fallen Queen enough to understand her far better than any of you do, that's for certain. Which means that I can tell her motives and possibly her ill plans within these walls. You do not."

He then turned around to focus his gaze on Moon again. "And don't mistake my 'bias' for a positive one. The 'Queen' has a lot to answer to, to us and to me. In fact, my main worry right now is less about why she showed up here."

He gestured towards Star and Kelly. Both girls were floored by the events unfolding, neither of them knowing what to say or whether speaking up was a good choice in the first place.

Their attention however went back to the actual conversation when River mentioned them. "These two girls here are Kelly, a Woolett survivor, and... a Butterfly survivor from another... lineage," he said, clearly measuring his words when it came to Star. "They want to help us with the war, which is fair. But Moon came with them. So... how did she convince the last living members of their respective kind and family, to let her join them? That's what I'm most concerned with."

The room went silent after that.

Star wondered why River had evaded mentioning her name or origins out-loud. Perhaps he feared how the crowd would take it, or whether it'd sound too far-fetched when presented in such a brief way. In either case, the crowd's fury had at least been quelled for some time.

However, Moon apparently didn't like River's words. Taking the initiative, she walked closer to River, and once she came to a stop she stared down at him. Her scowl left no doubt about her feelings, and she towered over him due to her superior height.

"You won't make assumptions concerning my business with Star and Kelly until you have a reason to do so, River," she said through her teeth. "And you better pay heed to that."

There were further murmurs as Moon called Star's name, but River didn't pay attention to them. He simply bore Moon's gaze.

"What you call assumptions, I call worries, Moon. You are no stranger to deceit and trickery when it comes to get what you want... if not worse. It was always 'worth the goal', right? Your words, Moon... not mine."

Moon clenched her jaw, and a shudder shook her hand lightly, the fingers close to the wand's handle.

She was exceptionally angry—in fact, it reminded Star of how Moon had reacted during their first encounter, when she thought Star was an impostor playing with her emotions.

Fortunately, Moon didn't proceed to decapitate River on the spot with a blast of fiery magic.

She didn't reply either. While her glare remained steadfast, the lack of a deny was likely enough for River.

He took in a breath. "At least you still value honesty," he mumbled. "Still, I don't quite understand what part do you play in this. I can understand the Butterfly girl and Kelly joining forces together, but what's your role in it?"

Once again, Moon refused to give a proper reply immediately, preferring to keep herself limited to a cold glare.

"I'll say it again, Moon," River repeated. "You don't get the benefit of silence, not within these walls. What is your business with these two girls here?"

Star made a step towards them. She thought she needed to intervene to avoid things from further escalating. However, a hand grabbed her shoulder, pulling her back.

She turned around and found Kelly shaking her head. "You don't want to get involved in this, Star. Hold it."

"No!" Star replied. "The entire reason why those two are arguing right now is me. I'm the reason why Moon came here in the first place, I asked her to come when she offered letting us go alone. No, I have to get my da—uh, River, to understand what's going and that Moon is not an enemy."

Kelly opened her mouth to retort, but then hesitated. "I... I don't know much about them beyond random stories, but Moon and River were close.. very close early on, and River supported her when Toffee murdered her family. Despite that, they parted ways years before the Uprising, and... I don't know, it just didn't go well between them, and I feel it's not just because they broke up. Which is why you should steer away from it."

Star glanced at Moon and River for a moment.

"...I can't let them stay like this, Kelly. I have to try."

Kelly sighed. "I won't stop you, but... be wary."

River was about to speak again when he heard Star's voice, speaking loud enough that the entire room could hear her.

"Hey, da—River, Warchief River. I'm sorry for barging in, but I wanted to vouch for Moon. She's here because I asked her to come with me, so you should question me, not her!"

River turned to regard her, and she tried to ignore how unwelcoming his face had become all of a sudden.

"I-I know it sounds weird, but I'm not trying to trick you, honest! Moon didn't convince me and Kelly to follow her. She's agreed to my idea of seeking out people that could help us in with the fight against Toffee. That's why she's been following me ever since, because I asked her to!"

River kept studying Star in silence. The way he observed her in silence and long pauses as he remained in deep thought made for a methodical image of River that was quite the contrast when compared to the chaotic version that was her actual father. It was something that definitely kept Star uneasy, if she wasn't already disturbed by River's newfound hostility.

Maybe River did notice that. "Well, let's say her reasons are the same as yours. Then, why are you fighting Toffee? You came to help, but why do you want to help in the first place?"

The question was very generic, and Star wondered why. She thought he had asked her about her reasons for her arrival in this Mewni already.

However, River let out a small harrumph, then then tilted his head a little towards the crowd on one of the sides of the chamber. And she understood that this question was a way to speak out the question that was really in the minds of the Johansen mewmen around them.

"Well, okay then... I, I want to fight Toffee because I know that he's had a role in making Mewni get to where it is now. And I wanna make this world better!" she said, her speech flowing better as she gained momentum and confidence. "I saw what he did to you all, to the places around Mewni that I... missed since, the, uh... a long time ago, and I just couldn't leave everyone like this, not as long as I could do something about it. And... and I know Toffee can be beaten, he's not as invincible as he might appear to be. We just need to work together to do it!"

She decided not to think too much about how defeating 'lawyer, manipulating Toffee' was probably not the best proof for her, compared to the 'commander, war-mongering Toffee' she now had to face.

Then again, Toffee used to be a monster general in her own dimension as well. He simply stuck to the role longer and got in a new position of power in this universe; there was still some resemblance between the two.

All she had to do was assemble enough support, by choosing the right people and not making the same mistakes again. And then, Toffee would go down for the second time!

"Butterfly girl," one of the Johansen barbarians stood up from his chair, a woman whose axe on her back was wider than her entire body. "I'm... I'm amazed by your desire and amazed by your courage, but... all of that, despite what happened to your family? Despite the fact that... that Moon Butterfly turned your back on you as well?"

It was a wrong assumption due to the limited information she had on Star. Yet, Star didn't have the chance to clarify herself as another Johansen warrior stood up, face red and with a far less meek intervention.

"Of course she isn't, you idiot!" he shouted. He was less amazed and more furious. "She's still a Butterfly, ya' know! That wench shares the blood of demons like the Tyrant and the Fallen Queen!"

He glared at Star with barely-contained hatred. "Your kin brought only despair to this kingdom, and we got no reason to think that you'll be any different! You're part of the Butterfly Bane!"

"Bullshit!" the woman replied, turning around to face the man. "If you think that's a good logic, then you should just go right over to the Dominion. I hear that purging people based on their family name only is a common occurrence 'round those parts."

"How you dare comparing me to those creatures!?"

Another shouting match looked ready to explode any moment now, but a sound came to cut off the two arguing Johansen. The characteristic noise of a magic discharge, accompanied by a bright white light that lighted up the room enough to be visible despite the sun coming through the large windows.

Moon held the wand up in the air, the object brimming with magic energy. The men and women were silenced, some frightened, others disgusted, but all unilaterally fearful of what was elapsing.

Even River couldn't help taking a step back.

There was no question on the fact that, behind their lack of trust or deep contempt, every Johansen mewman in that room feared Moon.

This was a new element to Moon's reputation, one Star hadn't quite gotten yet. She understood that Moon turned her back to the kingdom, that she went solo, that she did bad things to those who tried stopping her in her quest to hunt down Toffee.

By why were these people scared? It used to be their queen, and she hadn't heard anything about Kelly concerning Moon's behaviour towards her subject, beyond indifference that is. Regardless, they were all on the same side, and Toffee was the common enemy.

Why were they fearful?

"I will not tolerate you comparing Star to Crescenta," Moon said, her eyes passing over the man who had accused Star seconds earlier. "She is from a different lineage than mine. In fact... she comes from a completely different universe. Not another dimension... a parallel universe."

"Moon—" River started, as he didn't expect her to drop the reveal on Star's identity on her own, but Moon simply laid her glare on him, and the wand seemed to pulse as she looked. River grunted, but didn't speak further.

It was almost scary how much authority oozed from her at this point. Most of these people hated her, and yet they all sat in silence, and River let her continue despite his disagreement.

This was definitely close to the Moon Star remembered, a well-respected Queen who people paid heed to.

Though her Mom was never respected out of fear.

...wait. Why mentioning Crescenta?

"And this... goes for me as well. You might not understand why I'm here, or trust my intentions, but she has hers and those are the simple, concrete truth. She played no role in the events that happened since I took the crown."

"Concrete truth?! You might just be spewing lies both!" a warrior more courageous than his peers cried out. His peers around him nodded in agreement, though they didn't vocally add their two-cents out of fear.

Moon answered immediately. "Lying? Are you telling me I'd lie about Star Butterfly, about my own sister? Because this girl is her."

That silenced the warrior for good. Star herself was bewildered.

Moon had never, ever brought up Star's counterpart in this universe and her premature death ever again since their first meeting and Moon's confession. Kelly didn't have much else to tell her beyond what she knew from Moon herself either, which meant that Star hadn't really gotten to know much more about her. Star had still decided that she didn't want to pester her for this one topic.

As for now, though, whether Moon was hurt by her own memories or not, she didn't give any sign of it. Her face remained stone-cold.

"This is Star Butterfly, an alternate version of my late sister," Moon continued. "She mastered magic beyond even my own, and defeated Toffee in her dimension. It would be foolish of you not to listen to what she has to say and not accept her help, regardless of my presence. Was I clear enough?"

There were no further questions, and after some seconds of silence, Moon lowered the wand, which dimmed out, and put it back in her holster.

River managed to recover from his own stupor, then quickly took the rein of the discussion back. "Very well, then, Moon. You've at least convinced us of Star's good intentions. That leaves us to question you about yours."

"N-No, wait, I already said that she just wants what I want!" Star repeated. "Moon doesn't mean you any harm!"

River gave Star a look that worried her. He looked worried, but also... sad? Almost... rueful.

"I'm not just concerned about what are her plans with us Johansen, Star," he replied. "I'm concerned about what she plans to do with you as well, Star."

...

"W-What?!"

"Tell me, Star, how did Moon take it when you first met her in this universe? Did she welcome you with open arms when you told her your name?"

Oh, no.

"Uh, it didn't really go—that's not really important, it was just a misunderstanding!"

River kept going. "How about Kelly? I don't know if you met her before or after Moon, but was she happy to see the Queen the first time? What did she have to say about her?"

Star glanced at Kelly, who simply looked away. They both knew what the truth was on that front as well.

"Let's be sincere here, Star. Did any of the people who met you in this world have any kind words to share about Moon?"

Kelly disliked Moon since the very beginning, and despite their later agreements, Star knew that the Woolett still carried a painful grudge towards Moon, for what happened to her world and her family.

Pony Head was hardly trustworthy, but she confirmed the fact that Moon had left the entire kingdom to rot, forcing other realms to look after themselves and leaving them vulnerable.

Ludo could barely tolerate Moon's presence. His missing eye was a clear-as-day example of what kind of things Moon had done in the past.

Even Rasticore seemed to carry some deep-harboured hatred for Moon in particular.

No one of them trusted her. Not one of them considered her a good person. Not one of them would've thought, by themselves, to let her join like Star did.

And yet... Star couldn't bring herself to admit that to River, to admit that Moon was... was evil.

No, that was not it!

"No," she finally answered. "And I know why. Warchief... you all!" she looked around the chamber. "Moon has made a lot of mistakes, and I won't ask you to forget about them. But ever since we got to know each other properly, she has stuck with me. She even saved my life, more than one time! I mean, I would've been killed just some time after landing in this universe if it wasn't for her! So, no, I won't let you try to convince me that she's a bad person. People made mistakes, but they can also repent for them, and Moon is no longer your enemy!"

The grumbles and whispers coming from the Johansen were tell-tale about the fact that the crowd wasn't having any of that. River, however, didn't look as annoyed by the defence Star put up for Moon.

"Star," he began, tone lower than usual. His features had softened a little. "I... I'm not trying to force you to change ideas. I just want you to be aware, to be... mindful of who Moon is. You... you're still a teenager, basically a kid, and this... this war with Toffee, it's something I would never have any child go through. And all of it, all of it, came to be because of her actions."

He might have tried to keep pushing for his argument, but Star took the change in his tone as a sign that she was getting through to him. Which gave her strength and, maybe, made her a bit bolder.

Before River could say anything else, he found his hands being grabbed by Star, who looked with puppy-dog eyes up to him. "I'm just asking you to give her a chance, is all! You... you don't have to like her, or get married with her and have a child together or anything like that!"

River raised a very confused eyebrow. Star blanched upon realizing that she had slipped again.

"N-No, no, I didn't mean to—uh, just forget about it, it's an idiom from my universe," Star exhibited herself in the awkwardest of grins, then recomposed herself. "Just... just let her try to be helpful. That's everything I'm asking."

River didn't investigate further concerning Star's weirdly specific reference to marriage, though he still looked irked if not weirded out by the observation. He nonetheless pushed her hand away.

"You gave her a chance, Star," he said. "But there is a difference between you... and us. I don't believe you have the full picture in mind. You wouldn't be so determined in defending her... otherwise."

He turned to Moon. She'd been silent the entire time, simply watching as River and Star talked.

"Moon, have you told her about how the kingdom of Mewni fell?"

Star's eyes perked up, and once again she decided to intervene. "Well, of course she did!"

"I'm not speaking with you," River briefly gave Star a stern glare that very much reminded her of her own father, the few times he tried to reprimand her. If anything, it worked in making her shut up. "Let the Fallen Queen speak this time, Star."

"Star..." Moon added, much to Star's surprise. "Thank you. But this is not something for you to fix. Let me and River speak."

She grudgingly kept her silence, even if she really, really wanted to stop this from happening.

It didn't take a genius here to understand that River planned to have Moon say something problematic. And Star wasn't sure she could take yet another reveal concerning Moon's past.

"She doesn't know the details, but she knows what happened overall. Is that what concerns you?" Moon said flatly.

"For starters, she deserves to know how exactly things elapsed, specifically about the day when the Uprising began," River elaborated. "Your mistakes have costed us all dearly, Fallen Queen. You costed the Woolett girl her entire nation. You costed the Johansen hundreds of lives. No... Star deserves to know what risks she is going through. She deserves the full picture."

Moon glanced at Star, who couldn't help returning her gaze with an interest fuelled by a mixture of curiosity and fear.

More information sounded scary enough, but deep down, she still wanted to know.

So many things went hidden in the relationship between herself and her Moon, her mother, that she had eventually started to think that maybe part of the reason why they had been so much at odds with each other in the last few months was because of a lack of communication and trust.

Something that could be avoided, here and now... and all she had to do, was to listen to her older sister's speech.

Huh... she was starting to get used to the whole sister situation.

Moon shut her eyes and took in a breath. She then started speaking with a grave tone, recounting the events.

"I had finally found Toffee. He had taken refuge in the house of the Avarius monster family, a pathetic stone castle that he took over some time before I discovered about his whereabouts. I decided to attack the castle on my own, as my magic had grown strong enough to defy all monsters that crossed my path, and I didn't trust the Mewman military when it came to him. All I had to do was to find him and finish what I had started."

It didn't take Star long to realize that this was the same occasion where the unfortunate encounter between Moon and Ludo had resulted in the latter's loss of an eye.

"Toffee was there, and I almost had... had him," she recounted, her voice growing with emotion. "He was there, but..."

She gritted her teeth. "The lizard had everything planned. He used barrier wood for the first time there, to disable my magic, then he had me detained. He told me how by then his forces had already started attacking kingdoms all over Mewni as well as Butterfly Castle, while pillaging whatever they found on their path and razing to the ground the settlements that resisted. It was all part of his plan... remove me from the picture, and then take over."

Moon glanced briefly around the chamber, but the Johansen were silent as they all listened to her words.

"He wanted to execute me right there, but he underestimated the power of my magic. The usage of the barrier wood from him and his servants was blunt and careless at the time due to inexperience with it, and when it turned out that he was no longer safe, the coward got away and unleashed more of his disgusting ilk, Septarian assassins, to finish the work."

She narrowed her eyes. "They wounded me, but I still slaughtered them. Those left alive, were crushed under the debris when I levelled the entire place to the ground."

Star was unable to contain her horrified gasp. In contrast, Moon didn't skip a beat in her speech. "He was gone by the time I managed to get out of there. And... and I was wounded too much to give chase."

Star barely managed to keep following. It was as if Moon's words had triggered something in her, a fear that she thought to have left behind weeks ago.

'You had no idea what I was trying to do there.' She remembered what Moon had said to her. 'You can't judge me.'

Just how many lives did she take in her quest to kill Toffee?

"So I swore to myself that I'd keep to hunt him down for the rest of my days," Moon continued. "Even if I failed, I knew that until I continued to breathe, I wouldn't stop trying."

"...so, you admit leaving your Kingdom behind, despite the fact that it needed you, that we all needed you and your help?" River finally intervened. "You preferred to keep your little hunt on your own instead of actually stopping him from taking over?"

There was nothing resembling regret in Moon's eyes as she regarded River.

"Mewni was no more ," she said simply. "There was no kingdom left by then to help. Focusing on Toffee was the only option."

Once again, the chamber exploded with more insults and shouting, not unlike earlier. However, this time, Moon, River and even Star ignored them all.

Star in particular took the initiative. Walking up to Moon, she spoke loud enough that she was sure she would hear her over the commotion.

"M-Moon..." she started. "How c-could you? Seriously, you just left... everyone behind? Just like that?"

Moon answered without any hint of conflict in her voice. "I already said why. There was no Butterfly Kingdom left, Star. Toffee had already either destroyed or took over most of Mewni by the time I recovered from my wounds, and—"

"I don't mean that!" Star cried out. "That I know! I mean the people! Didn't you have any family behind? Any friends?! Actually anyone who you cared about? You left everyone at the mercy of Toffee, and didn't even try to help them, you just kept trying to get Toffee alone!"

Moon changed her posture a little, facing away from River to look at her. "Toffee took my family, Star. He took you. I had no family left, and the wider Butterfly family had always distanced itself from the throne. As for those that I thought were my friends..."

She glanced at River. "They turned their back on me when I faced the hardest of decisions. Looking back, going solo should've always been the best choice."

Star shook her head. "Moon, this isn't just about what you wanted... you just left everyone, when they needed you. You could've helped at least slow down the first uprising, before Toffee became so strong. I-I just don't understand, you put people through things—"

"It was Toffee who took over and brought anguish to the kingdom," Moon suddenly said, cutting her off. "He is responsible for that, not me!"

"But you had a choice! You could've tried to help, to get people to find safety in this kingdom or anywhere where Toffee had yet to take control! There are so many things you could've done, but you didn't...! Why did you leave them? Was it so important to kill Toffee to you?"

Moon didn't reply after that. She simply kept glaring at Star, refusing to acknowledge her last observation.

"They weren't worth her time."

The two women turned around to look at River Johansen. He scratched his beard, looking with sadness at the two. "That's what she told me the one time I managed to find her, long after the Uprising happened and the establishment of the Dominion."

...

'They weren't worth her time.'

Star replayed the sentence in her mind. Once. Twice.

"N-No, that can't possibly be what she said."

"Star..." River continued. "I... I know you are honest, at least to the extent of what you told me today. But Moon... she's not what you think she is. And you deserve to know the full truth, to know what kind of person you're associating with. Who she is, and how far she is willing to go."

He turned around before Star could protest further. He let out another shout, which managed to partially get the attention of most of the crowd sitting on the bleacher structures on the left and the right.

"There is one last inquiry I need to subject Moon Butterfly to," River noted.

Star realized that Moon looked somewhat on edge, for the first time since she entered the room. She hadn't tried to stop River from talking and accusing her, and now she looked nervous and unsure—much different from her mostly deadpan behaviour up until now.

Regardless of whether River also noticed it or not, he wasn't deterred.

However, Star was surprised to hear River calling her name, still looking at Moon as he spoke.

"Star, you haven't seen Moon without her shoulder-reaching gloves yet, I suppose?"

"Uhh... no? She took them off to, urr, clean up, I guess, but it happened rarely since we were travelling all the time. Besides, you know, uh, privacy... w-why are you asking that?"

River nodded, then turned towards Moon. "Very well then."

Star followed his gaze, and she realized that if Moon was nervous before, now she barely looked like herself. Her eyes were wide open in shock, and her face was shaking. If she didn't know any better, it almost looked like she was begging River to stop.

He didn't.

"Take off your gloves, Moon."

There were confused whispers coming from the Johansen around them. Kelly also scratched her head, dumbfounded about River's request.

"River..." Moon shook her head again. "You can't just—"

"I can," he interrupted. "I am Warchief in charge this side of the Kingdom, Moon, and the moment you stepped into this place you accepted my authority. You either do this, or we kick you out and make sure you never get close to the two girls ever again."

"H-Hey, hey!" Star stepped in-between the two, forcing them to look at her. "I... I already know about this! It's Eclipsa's Dark Magic, right?" she glanced at Moon's gloves. "My mom also wore gloves similar to hers, to cover the infection of dark magic from her hands and forearms. It wasn't something she liked and she even hid it from me until very recently!"

She gazed expectantly at River. "So, I already know about that, and I know it's not a good thing to see, but it's not that bad, really. There's no need to make a big deal about it!"

"Star," River said. "Make space."

"But I said—"

"I said to make space!" he commanded.

He had soured up all of a sudden, and his lack of explanation left Star confused. Why was it always so hard with Eclipsa's dark magic? The one thing she hoped that wasn't the same here compared to her own dimension... it just didn't make sense to her. She even stated it out-loud, everyone heard her, why still going with it?

Unless...

What if it wasn't dark magic?

River spoke up again. "Your gloves, Moon. Take them off and reveal what's under them. If you really have nothing to hide, nothing to be afraid of revealing... then, do it."

Star followed his gaze and looked at Moon.

She was flustered, mouth left half-open with a mix of anger and... fright.

And the strangest thing was that she looked frightened by Star herself, as she looked at her.

"Star," she said with urgency, "You need to understand, what you're going to—"

"Moon!" River said. He patted his side, and Star noted that he had a mace, a menacing-looking morning star, resting beside his belt, the lower part of the handle right under his hand. "Don't try to waste time. Take off your gloves, now!"

There were footsteps, and soon the three of them were surrounded by a small group Johansen warriors, weapons drawn out. Most of the crowd had remained on the upper benches, but some were standing with weapons drawn out even at a distance.

They were close enough that now Star could hear the whisper of one warrior.

"I heard a rumour once, but I thought it was all made-up... but it can't be. Not even from her...!"

There was something heavy inside Star's stomach, something that made her heart beat faster, that put her nerves at full alert.

She didn't understand what was going on, but she didn't like it at all.

Moon didn't try to speak further after River's interruption, but she didn't act on the order as well.

"Moon... just get it over with," he said, voice a bit lower than earlier. "You know there is no justification for what she is about to see. However, if you value honesty with her, if you want her to trust you, then you will still show her."

Moon clenched her fists. There was a moment where Star thought that Moon was going to do something stupid, pushed by whatever had caught her throat and had turned her into the worried, hesitant woman Star was now watching.

However, in the end, Moon reached out with her left hand towards the top of the shoulder-length glove on her right arm.

She stopped once she took hold of the brim, hand trembling. Moon looked so unsure, so different from the stoic, determined warrior woman with a conflicting past that she had acted like up until then.

It tugged at Star's heartstrings. And she decided that she couldn't let Moon do this alone.

"Moon... sis," she said. "I... I just want to know the truth about you. I know you made mistakes, big ones... that, I know. I know what River said about you. What Kelly, Ludo, and even Pony Head told me about you. And you know what? I think you still can make amends, if only you put your mind into it. I still believe you can try to be better, for the people of Mewni, for me and everyone else! But... I want to trust you, and I don't know if I can't do that if you aren't fully honest with me. These things... they're heavy, and if there is another thing you're hiding, then... then I need to know."

She pointed at her arm. "I don't know what's behind that glove. And... and I'm worried about it, yes, but I'm more worried that you're hiding it for me. Just... be honest, sis. No more secrets."

They had known each other for barely a few weeks, but it didn't take anything away from the heaviness of Star's words. She really, really believed in Moon. They had been together in this mess since the very beginning, and she wasn't willing to give up on her.

There was a single tear that came out of Moon's eye. Her frowning, tense face gave no further sign of emotion, but Star took that it meant her words had had an effect.

Taking a firmer hold on the brim of the long glove, Moon slowly lowered it down.

Only a few centimetres down her arm, Star immediately saw the darkened skin that corresponded to dark magic infection. She already expected this; she had guessed it, she had told them about it earlier, and Moon herself had mentioned using the Darkest Spell to defeat Toffee when she was younger, just like her Mom.

Yet, there had to be more about it.

And the true reveal happened when Moon reached her elbow.

The room suddenly fell into a complete silence—the only noise came from outside the room itself, but it was as if the entire place had become deaf to the rest of the world. Every eye was on Moon Butterfly, as she continued removing the rest of the long glove.

Thus revealing bright blood red.

Star could only gape. The dark skin, around the elbow, left space for skin that was completely covered by a vivid crimson cover of colour, which pulsated at regular intervals, emitting a reddish light with a dark hue at each loop.

It was unlike anything she'd ever seen.

It was not Solarian magic... from the little she remembered from the book of spells, Solaria's magic was characterized by both red and white colours. And she didn't remember it affecting the user like Eclipsa's dark magic, or... or this.

And it didn't even look like just the skin was coloured. It was as if Moon's arm was covered from the fingers up to the elbow with live blood. The skin itself seemed to throb, and the dim light that emanated at each pulse contributed to its eerie look.

It could've just been a very worrying image, but Star's feelings went far beyond that.

As soon as her eyes saw red, she immediately jolted, as if she'd just been struck by another lead bullet. She felt goose bumps around her arms, and a wave of nausea hitting her.

She had no idea what it was, but it didn't matter. Somehow, some way... she knew.

She knew that this was not okay. She knew that this was not natural.

She felt it. She felt that this was something horrific. Something foul.

Something evil.

The rest of the room might not have been composed of magic users, but that didn't mean that Moon's reveal didn't make an impression on them as well. What they lacked in magic perception, they made up with foreknowledge about what the redness was about. For a few seconds, the silence continued to remain unperturbed.

Then, a first comment finally came, uttered by Kelly of all people. Her voice came hoarse, incredulous.

"Holy shit."

Comments from the Johansen crowd soon followed, but there was no shouting. Rather, their words were lowered to fearful whispers, and the loudest where those who were actually horrified. The warriors who had come to aid River before, stepped back and away from Moon and her red-covered arm.

"I-I knew she was bad, b-but this...!?"

"Corn, I thought those stories would've remained only as memories. I thought Queen Rhina had forbidden everything. H-How... how!?"

"...she shouldn't be here. She's dangerous... no, she could kill us all here and now! Do you see that?!"

Even River looked perturbed, even if he clearly knew in advance what was behind Moon's gloves. He stared at her crimson hand, almost mesmerized by the ominous colour.

In the end, though, he was the first one to regain his composure among the people in the chamber.

He glanced at Star and, after noting she was most likely awestruck and tuning out everything, he placed a hand on her shoulder to get her attention.

Star turned with a jerk, eyes moving as if she thought he was a dangerous beast ready to tackle her. She couldn't help immediately stepping away, slapping his hand away.

Upon realizing what she'd done to whom, Star lifted a hand to her mouth, but River didn't look offended at all.

"Your reaction is more than justified," he simply stated, before glancing back at Moon. She was also staring at Star, and she looked all but happy about her first reaction to her hand.

River sighed, then spoke before either Moon or Star could say anything else, loud enough that everyone in the chamber could listen. The whispers ceased as soon as he did.

"That reddish corruption on Moon's forearm, Star, is Anger Magic. A flair of Butterfly magic that was forbidden a long while ago—or so we all thought. The main tool of control that was exercised by Crescenta the Ruthless, a tool with the only goal of bringing pain and torment to those unfortunate enough to be on the receiving end of it."

He glared at Moon with disgust. "And even so, it was a tool that the Fallen Queen considered apt in her thirst for revenge. To her, the end justifies the means, after all... no matter the cost."

...

Star felt herself shudder as she processed River's words, and her first reaction was one of denial.

"N-No," she replied. "That doesn't mean anything. You might be making things up, people used to think Eclipsa's dark magic was evil as well in my world, b-but...!"

She was unable to come up with a proper follow-up for her comparison. River simply kept going.

"No, Star. Dark Magic was used often in our world by the Queens that came after Crescenta. We all know what it is and understand the toll it takes on those who choose to use it. It might be pricey for its user, but we know it is not inherently evil."

A shudder ran through his body, one that Star noticed as he kept speaking. "Anger magic instead... that does not have the benefit of the doubt. Anger spells are used to either kill, or inflict pain, or both, Star!"

Star shook her head. "How c-can you even be sure about it?"

"You dare question the truth about that poison, wench?!" a warrior rudely interjected. "We went through decades of hell because of it, when the Tyrant ruled over Mewni. My great uncle used to tell me stories... stories that are the stuff of nightmares. It might have been almost a century, but Mewni doesn't forget, no matter how unwilling you are to believe us!"

She turned around, refusing to face the warrior, River or everyone else for that matter. She reached out with her heads, grabbing the sides of her head.

"N-No, that would mean... no!" she cried, more to herself than to the Johansen. "You got it wrong! Maybe Moon was forced, maybe she had no other choice at some point and that's why she ended up with it, but she would never—!"

Her words died in her throat as it became exceedingly difficult to produce vocals.

"Star," River's voice came from behind. "We aren't trying to deceive you. You are seeing the truth right there, on her arm . That... that horror you're seeing, was the cause of death of thousands of people. And you must realize that Moon chose to use them!"

Star didn't reply, isolating herself in her little world. She didn't want to listen to him or the other warriors any more.

But even then... she could feel it.

She could feel the stench coming from Moon. It was unlike anything she'd ever experienced, and most importantly, it was impossible to ignore.

"Star."

That wasn't River's voice, and not Kelly's either. Driven away from her attempt at ignoring the events, Star looked up at Moon.

She was looking at her with a strangely calm face, much different than before she revealed the infection.

"What River and the Johansen man said is true. There are no second meanings to their statements, and there is no comparison to be made with dark magic."

She glanced down, observing her own, red-covered hand. She opened the palm as if studying the features.

The red hue still throbbed over her skin, as if the flesh itself alive. For Star it was difficult to even glance at the thing without feeling sick.

"This is anger magic corruption, and it's there because I used it. And I used it to bring pain."

...

She could only look at Moon with disbelief.

"W-What?" she whimpered out.

"I needed a way to become stronger, Star. I had to face Toffee's legions of Septarians first, and monsters with anti-magic weapons later—I had to find a way to fight back. I needed a way to take information from his loyalists, regardless of their opinion about it. I needed a way to bend to my will all those who were a problem in my quest... and whether they were monster or mewman, whether they worked for Toffee directly or not, didn't matter to me. I had to force them, and anger magic provided me with a way to do that."

There was something different in the way Moon spoke.

She didn't sound like she was defending herself at all, nor did her words carry much emotion, something that would let Star understand that Moon felt conflicted about what she was saying.

In fact, Moon's facial expression was changing as well. There was no worry or fear, and her calmer demeanour was leaving space for a colder, darker expression. Directed at her.

Star knew this wasn't normal. She knew that it likely had something to do with the foul magic that covered Moon's skin.

And even then, Star didn't want to let her go. So, she didn't make a step back away from her like River, Kelly and the Johansen did, who all now looked tense and hesitant to intervene in the Queen's speech.

"...but I thought you... I k-knew you hurt people, but... but this?" Star tried to say. "T-This isn't you. This... this is evil, can't you feel it?!"

"I can," Moon kept her glacial gaze on Star, unmoved. "And I don't care. I was sick of failing because of my weakness, of the weakness of those I thought were my allies. I had enough. And if all it took to make me get a good chance at killing that bastard was using Crescenta's spells, then so be it."

"B-But this isn't just about using some bad spell, Moon!" Star said. "There's a difference between doing bad things for something you believed in, and... and this! You hurt people, you kill people... and now I k-know you actively sought how to become better at that!? You can't just do this to everyone who crosses you. You'd just end up on the same level as Toffee, i-if not worse!"

Moon didn't reply immediately. Perhaps the fact that Star had fast become teary, and the desperate tone of her voice, had managed to strike a chord with her.

But then, the red light from her revealed hand seemed to throb with a stronger hue of red. Star could've swore she saw magic particles coming out of it.

Moon's glare hardened as a result.

"I don't expect you to understand, or agree for that matter," she simply said.

"A-Agree? Agree!?"

Star couldn't hold it any more as she exploded, taking one step after the other to get closer to Moon. Someone nearby told her to keep her distance, but Star was too much in distress to care about anyone but Moon.

"Moon, you k-killed people, you took lives! And y-you sound like you don't have a bit of regret about it, nothing! And that thing on your arm, it's wrong, I don't know how I can feel it, but that magic is something that you should never have used in the first place! I-It's bad!"

"I already told you that I don't care. All I wanted was to have Toffee on his knees before me, so that I could cut him apart like he deserves to die. The methods to achieve that are irrelevant."

"H-How can you even say all of this!" she shook her head. "It can't be worth it, not like this, Moon. Toffee is evil, and we must fight him, and we'll beat him, b-but not like this. A-And you thought this was better than asking for help!? You thought hurting more people was better than this? A-And you e-even said you ended up hurting people who didn't even have to do with Toffee and his Dominion in the first place?"

"There was no one I could trust!" Moon said, her voice raising in tone. "No one! Going alone was always the best option, and they didn't approve what I was trying to do!"

"T-They didn't, of course they didn't! Moon, they didn't want to do evil things like you!" Star was basically shouting at this point. By now she was standing right in front of Moon, and despite the height difference, she was not deterred. Her horror at Moon's words was too strong for her not to react accordingly. Her huffed breathing only slightly hampered her speech, and her determination was strong enough to make her rein in her stomach when it came to the vicinity of the anger magic corruption.

"I-It just isn't about Toffee any more. This isn't worth it... it could never be, and yet, you... you are saying these things. Moon, w-we should even be talking about this! Can't you understand that hurting people is wrong?!"

Star didn't know if it was something she'd said in her last sentence, or if it was something Moon had been hiding up until then.

She only knew that one moment, she was talking, and the other, she was hovering above the ground, her legs kicking away into the air as she didn't even have the time to yelp.

Moon had seized her by the brim of her tunic and lifted her up, bringing her closer to her face.

Star heard the characteristic noise of blades being drawn out of sheaths. Some Johansen cursed.

And yet, Moon's focus remained on Star only.

"Do you think I liked what I had to do, Star? Do you think I enjoyed killing for the hell of it?" she spat out.

Star was unable to produce an answer. She wanted to reach out to try and push her arm away, but Moon had seized her with her uncovered hand, and she was unable to force herself to touch the red-covered skin. The infection was close enough that she could see the red pulsing and cycling through dark and lighter hues, and the foulness was simply too much. She felt her stomach twisting on itself, and she gagged.

It was unbearable. Desperate to get away, Star croaked a desperate whimper out.

She felt like she was going to lose her mind simply due to the proximity of the anger magic. And Moon had that thing on her body the entire time since they met, and for Glossaryck only knows how long before that.

Moon didn't react to Star's attempts to set herself free. "I didn't. But I had to make a choice—I either let Toffee win and go unpunished, or I decided to do whatever it took to have him pay for what he did to the people I cared about. I chose the latter."

She brought Star even closer, forcing her to look at her face. Her glare was unwavering, but Star found something else behind her eyes.

There was something alight behind her pupils. Something red.

"And I'd do it all over again!"

"Moon!" River's bellowed echoed around the room. "That's enough! Let the girl go!"

The redness vanished from her eyes, and in the span of an instant, Moon's entire behaviour turned upside-down.

She let Star go, who collapsed to the ground while coughing. Then, she moved back and away from her, scrunching up her face and raising a hand to her forehead.

Her headache didn't prevent her from watching Star though, who sat pathetically on the ground while sniffing. She was still coughing, but even so, she was looking back at her, and their eyes met.

Moon remembered that look. It was similar to the look Star had when she was chasing her in the Mewni ruins, back when she thought she was a bold if not very stupid random girl, the look of fear.

However, there was more to it in this case. Star's fear had hints of something else.

Betrayal.

While Moon was busy sorting her internal emotions in silence, Star was much more vocal about it. She didn't even notice that she was crying up until then, not until a sob suddenly escaped her lips.

Realizing that she was on the ground, she stumbled back to her feet, somehow managing to get back into a stable positions on her legs. Then, she looked again at Moon, trying to come up with something to say.

But what could she say? Moon had been very clear. She had heard what she had to say. She had seen her eyes.

Then, she realized that everyone around them had their weapons pointed at Moon. Axes, maces and swords—there was even a pike—were all ready to strike at the Fallen Queen, who kept ignoring all of them. Star was surprised to see that Kelly was among the Johansen as well, her greatsword drawn out even if her face betrayed her actual uncertainty.

River had his mace held in his hand as well, but he quickly put it back when he noticed Star standing up. He went to her immediately after.

"Are you okay, girl?"

"I-I'm f-fine," Star whimpered. She hoped River would understand she meant physically.

River nodded, then he turned to regard Moon. Upon noticing that her eyes were fixed on Star, he put himself between the two of them. While he couldn't really hide Star due to his limited height, it still managed to make Moon snap back out of it.

"Well, Moon, I believe you've talked long enough for today. You made your point. So, I'd suggest you take things calmly from now on... for your own good."

The threat wasn't really veiled, but Moon either didn't care or didn't notice.

She leaned to her side, as if trying to get another look at Star behind River. However, she suddenly noticed that there was a blade blocking the way.

"Stand back!" a warrior shouted. Everyone else tensed up, tightening the grasp on their weapons' hilts, as Moon glanced around herself.

They considered her a threat, but what really struck her was the reason why they were acting like this.

The fact that she had lost control and had lashed out at Star. That she had seized her up and threatened her as if she was the nth rebellious mewman who refused to do as she pleased, a new pathetic obstacle to be crushed.

Star. Star Butterfly. Her sister. Her little, charming young sister, that was murdered but now was alive and she didn't care she wasn't really the same person. She was alive. She was back.

And she had almost fucking hurt her.

And if it wasn't for freaking River—

Moon halted that thought, hanging her head while avoiding River's gaze.

She had screwed up. So, so, so much.

The nails dug into the palm of her hand, but she felt no pain. The curse of Anger Magic had long since made her numb to it from her elbows up to her fingers. And yet, Moon still did it in a pathetic attempt to unload her emotions.

It didn't work.

She felt the familiar feeling rising up inside her, threatening to take over again. The desire for blood. The fury.

Now though, she had no way to direct her anger at any one around her. Even if she tried, even if she let the anger magic influence her again, she knew that this was on her, and her alone.

No... she couldn't let it happen again. Not now.

Her sister.

Her sister was more important.

But River didn't give any sign that he'd let her get any closer to Star. And she was still surrounded. And Star...

Star was still crying, even if it was muffled and soft by now.

She... she couldn't—

She couldn't remain here, not around her in this state.

She had to leave.

Quickly, Moon leaned down to pick back up the long glove that she had let go of moments earlier, when she'd taken the initiative against Star. Then, she stood upright, towering over almost everyone in the room, but didn't spare anyone even a single glance.

Soon, she finished putting the glove back on to hide away the anger magic infection, and she located the portals from which they originally came from. However, even with her mind made up, she couldn't help sending a glance towards Star's direction.

There was no change in her state. Star still looked distraught, shocked, intimidated.

Disappointed.

Moon looked away, and raised a hand towards the door. "L-Let me pass," she managed to say, the first words she was able to pronounce since regaining control.

"How about you let us kick you into the dungeon and drop the key?!" a Johansen chief started.

"Let her go."

"L-Let her go?! River, did you just not see what she just—"

"I said to let her go!" River shouted again. "Trust me when I tell you that's the best option right now. Stand aside!"

Perhaps the chief was able to understand that River knew more about this than him and that he better paid heed to his words, or he simply knew to respect his authority as Warchief. In either case, he grumbled an insult then moved aside, along with the two warriors that were beside him.

With now a way out from the formation around her, Moon immediately walked out of it. She didn't slow down once she was safely at a distance from the various weapons the Johansen were holding as well.

Her steps were heavy and fast, and she made no attempt to glance back one last time.

Within twenty seconds, she had reached the doors and pushed the hinges open, crossing the portal and disappearing behind the corner.

There was a collective sigh let out by most of the people among the crowd as Moon left, but a fearful Johansen warrior among the youngest ones wasn't relieved yet.

"W-Wait, guys, shouldn't someone go after her?"

"I'd like to see you chase that freakin' witch. She's going to let you do that alright."

"But it's the Fallen Queen! A-And you all saw what she's carrying behind those gloves! We can't just let—"

"We won't," River interjected. He gave a glance to the room, scanning over the dozens of Johansen that were standing and sitting nearby. "Moon is not our ally, but she won't be our enemy either, as long as we don't make her one."

He kept studying the crowd before speaking again. "You two," he said, pointing at two of the warriors who were standing close. "Go keep an eye on the Fallen Queen, and try to stay discrete. Don't try to stop her if she acts suspicious to you, simply go report to me if she does anything out of the ordinary. If you leave her alone, I doubt she will, so again, keep your distance. Understood?"

The warriors saluted in acknowledgement, then rushed towards the door to catch up with the Queen.

"As for the rest of us, I believe we've had enough... so I say we leave things be for now, brothers and sisters. We'll resume our war room discussions in three hours."

There was no opposition to River's instructions and, while the Johansen kept mumbling and whispering to each other, the council of chiefs and warriors started making their way out of the war room without further protests or comments.

With them dealt with, River shifted his attention to the last remaining Butterfly in the room.

Star had stopped crying, but she still sniffed and looked very much upset. In fact, she was hugging a hesitant Kelly, who had tried to come in an attempt to comfort her. Kelly hadn't really done much, but as soon as Star noticed her, she simply dived into her for a hug, which Kelly bore without conviction—but without rejecting it either.

Perhaps Kelly didn't know how to ease Star's woes due to her lack of experience on such a matter. He doubted she knew anything about Moon's usage of anger magic in advance, after all—Moon had kept it hidden from almost every one, even if he knew she'd used it for years, even before the Uprising.

Differently from Kelly, River knew unfortunately how Star was feeling. He'd felt the same, when he first discovered what Moon had done.

"Star," he started. Star whirled her head a little, glancing with the corner of her eye at him with half-attention.

Kelly on the other hand glared at him without hiding her distaste.

"I kinda understand why you did all of this, but what the hell man!" she exclaimed. "There are a bajillion of other ways you could've gone with, and you picked the worst one!"

River frowned. "Maybe it was the worst one," he conceded, "but it had to be done."

He looked at Star. "I'm sorry, Star, I truly am. I'm sorry you had to learn it here and now, but I couldn't let you continue without knowing about the true nature of the Fallen Queen."

He glanced at Kelly. "That goes for you too, Kelly the Woolett, even if you likely didn't trust that much her in the first place. You both needed to know about what she did, and about her choice to bring back horrors from the past.

"I know too well why trusting her is a mistake... for I put my trust in Moon, years ago, and to this day I pay the price for that mistake... the entirety of the Johansen kingdom pays that price, for our lack of foresight concerning her. And that's why you had to know now."

Star separated herself from Kelly as River talked. "I thought it unwise to postpone any further this. It might have been painful, but you deserved to know before anything else could—"

He failed to continue as he was interrupted by two pair of arms clinging around his chest.

Star wasn't crying, but she still kept sniffing every now and then as she tightened her grasp around a disconcerted River Butterfly.

"I... I j-just... n-never thought she'd be... like that, dad..."

River was completely at loss, but eventually he simply resolved to return hesitantly the girl's hug, patting her back.

"It's going to be, uh, all right," he said. "...but, uh, I'm not your dad, Star."

"There's a reason why she called you that," Kelly corrected. "But I have a small hunch you ain't gonna like it when you learn the full story."

"I think I'll live, but... let's take things slowly," he replied. He tried to his best to softly push Star away, and Star eventually did let him go, though not without fighting back a little.

"You two are of course my guests, for as long as we need to define how we'll proceed with that plan of yours, Star. Regardless of... her presence, I still am interested in learning more about how you plan to go ahead with your desire to search for support around Mewni."

He looked up towards the ceiling as he left his mind wander for a moment. "As much as it pains me to say so, against the Dominion and the New Butterfly Kingdom, the Johansen can't win alone. We'll need all the help we can get."

Kelly nodded.

"...B-Butterfly Kingdom?" Star repeated, passing a hand over her face. "W-Wait, I don't understand. I thought the kingdom was... gone? What do you mean?"

"...no, Star, I'm not talking about the old kingdom of Mewni. The New Butterfly Kingdom is something else," River explained, not without arching an eyebrow. "It is Meteora Butterfly's personal reign and our other main foe in the war. You know that... right?"

Star's wide, almost shocked eyes told him otherwise.

"M-Meteora? S-She's—she's here as well!?"

River looked at her for a moment, then gestured towards the portals.

"Come, walk with me while we get you both settled. We have a lot to talk about."

Chapter Text

Star could easily see how the Johansen from this universe lived up to the name of her dad's family.

Despite the relatively scarce amount of provisions available during what was essentially war time, the dinner hall inside the Johansen Stronghold was still filled with a chaotic mixture of raucous shouting and warm laughter. Men and women, people from all parts of the local society, were gathered together, in that single moment forgetting about the problems that awaited for them outside.

It created a reassuring atmosphere that felt both lively and familiar to Star. The war with the Dominion sounded far away and unimportant, almost a product of imagination even if just for the few minutes of peace that the Johansen took to eat together.

And yet, Star couldn't bring herself to actually join in on the fun. Not even trying to interact with the other guests in the feast seemed to work in getting her mind off the problems that she knew she still had to face.

She looked back at her plate, which was still half-filled. Idly, she prodded at the food with her fork, in an attempt to make her appetite rise up again.

It didn't work.

She had barely touched the first course, and the plate that came after it wasn't any better either. Star knew she could scarf down considerable amounts of food when she was in the mood, and the Johansen kitchen quality in this world had nothing to envy to the one she remembered.

In fact, considering how lately her eating habits had consisted in an unvaried and extremely limited diet due to her and her companions' status as wanted fugitives, it all made her lack of hunger all the more surprising.

If her reluctance to eat didn't strike people as odd, then her silence was surely going to do so. More so when compared to the talkative mewmen that were seated on the various tables filling the room, all around Star.

She wasn't surprised when somebody finally decided to interrogate her.

"Are you feeling alright, Star?"

Star timidly looked up from her plate to face River. He sat opposite of her, a large and almost fully consumed chicken leg held in one of his hands, but he had stopped munching to talk as he looked at her with concern.

"...kinda," Star meekly replied. "I-I'm sorry, I'm just not that hungry."

"...I can understand you have a lot on your mind," River noted. He took another bite out of the chicken leg, cleaning it up in one go, then left the bone on the table. In true Johansen fashion, he didn't wait to finish to chew down the food and continued talking despite his full mouth. "Still, at this table we're shere to talk, not just to feast. If you have anything to shay, we're here to listen."

Star already knew this. They were surrounded by mewmen from all directions but River had arranged things in such a way that there was some space between her own table and the rest of the chamber, which added a level of privacy Star didn't expect at all in a Johansen dining hall. She wasn't sure if such a thing was needed at first, but now that she found herself pensive and lost in her thoughts, she was thankful to River for his foresight.

She didn't mind a partially drunk mewman from the Johansen kingdom asking her to join in on the fun, in normal circumstances. But this wasn't the case, unfortunately.

River didn't press Star further, proceeding to drink a glass of the local Johansen-born wine. Left alone with her thoughts, her eyes wandered, and they fell on a specific part of the room that was uncharacteristically empty. There were no seats in that space save for a single, small piece of furniture of rotten wood that could barely be classified as a proper 'table', with a stool for a chair.

At that excuse for a dining seat, sat and ate a woman with silver hair and purple, diamond-shaped cheek marks.

A person who wasn't eating right now and was looking back at her.

Star averted Moon's gaze as soon as their eyes met—even in the distance, it was too much embarrassing to keep eye contact.

The dinner feast had also been the first time Star saw Moon ever since the argument between them that ended with the Fallen Queen leaving the Johansen war room in a hurry, earlier that day. Her entrance in the hall an hour and a half earlier hadn't gone unnoticed, of course, since the entire chamber fell into silence as soon as she made her appearance, but it took just a few words from River to avoid another confrontation happening between her and the mewmen in the chamber.

The arrangement that isolated Moon from all the other mewmen was deemed acceptable on the long run. No one bothered her, and Moon made no attempt to leave her seat, simply accepting the courses as the Johansen mewmen tasked with serving the dishes came by.

Yet, despite the fact that there were no further issues with her presence, Star couldn't help glancing her way every few minutes or so.

Even now she felt the urge, when she knew that Moon was looking at her from the distance.

Wanting to distract herself from the thought, Star regarded River. "I..." she spoke, measuring her words. "I-It's true that I have a lot to think about right now. You told me a lot of stuff today, and... it's hard to wrap my mind about everything..."

"Hmm-mmh," River acknowledged. "I can see that. I have to be honest, young girl. You not knowing anything at all about Meteora in our world was not something I expected."

"Yeah... me too."

Yes, Meteora Butterfly was a problem in this universe, too. She had already went through the entire process of discovering her real ancestry and becoming a rampaging two-story tall monster, according to River's tale.

The difference here was that she was able to create a kingdom for herself in the south-west of Mewni, which Meteora had dubbed as 'Butterfly Kingdom'. The people in Mewni, according to River, actually called her territories 'New Butterfly Kingdom' instead, often shortening it to a cold acronym: 'NBK'. This was common specially among the Johansen, who refused to view Meteora's rule as a continuation of the old royal line. Though that was not due to their loyalty to the old kingdom, for at this point obvious reasons.

It was one thing they could all agree on: their dislike of the old Butterfly lineage was certainly comparable to their hostility towards Meteora's claims on their lands.

However, unlike Toffee and his subjects, or the Johansen and everyone else who opposed him, Meteora had no allies. To fuel her armies, she apparently sought to subject everyone to her rule, and to that end she constantly attacked the Dominion to fight for dominance, and executed raids in the Johansen territory as well.

Superficially, this Meteora didn't sound too much different from the Meteora she herself had fought. River in particular was surprised to hear that she was defeated in her world, too.

And yet...

"I-I didn't expect her to be here at all. Moon and Kelly, they never mentioned it to me."

There was a small grunt of acknowledgement from Star's side. "My fault, I guess... I just assumed you already knew about her. Meteora was not a concern for us until we were in the North, anyway," Kelly said.

She was the only other person close to Star other than River. She'd been eating along with them, sitting beside Star, and just like her she'd been mostly silent, though for different reasons.

Unlike Star, Kelly had no qualms in filling her stomach. Her appetite rivalled the most hungry of the Johansen in the chamber. With her last plate empty now, though, she was now free to join on the conversation.

"And the Fallen Queen, we all know she is no stranger to withholding information..." River said with a hint of spite.

Star decided to ignore that and focused on the subject.

"I... I imagined Toffee would've... dealt with her, by now? I mean... they've been both fighting each other for years, you told me that. How did that even happen?"

"Well, for starters, no one knew about the true identity of 'Ms. Heinous' until the very last moment, Star," River explained. "In fact, we have reason to think that it was thanks to Toffee that Meteora ascended to power. When he attacked the neighbouring dimensions and either took over or laid waste to them, he also besieged the school of St. Olga. He won the fight, and Meteora went on the run... and, eventually, she came to learn about her past."

He sighed. "We don't know how or why, but she made sure to let her true history be known in all of Mewni, when she attacked the south and created the NBK. She now seeks to restore the old kingdom with her own, personal vision. One... that none of us wants to see happen."

"...it's that bad?"

River grimaced. "I don't think you have to hear the details for now, Star. You'll know, soon enough."

More and more good news...

Abandoning the fork, Star leaned on the backrest of the chair with a sigh. "...ugh."

River didn't go on further, as there was not a need to do so. He'd already explained to Star in detail how things had elapsed afterwards. Meteora taking over the Musty Mountains, annihilating the Pigeon Kingdom, then bringing the fight to Toffee's forces with a newly built army that was a force to be reckoned with.

So, two big bad guys to face, both of which had taken over most of Mewni and had entire armies at their disposal. Toffee having access to technology able to counter her magic, and Meteora...

Meteora didn't need some magic-absorbing wooden shields to counter Star's magic.

...it was a lot.

"Star."

"...uh?" Star's eyes snapped at River. "Uh, sorry... I was daydreaming."

"You know, my offer still stands."

Star bit her lip. Yes, she recalled the offer. The offer of become free of all these thoughts and worries, of the pressure of contributing to a desperate war.

By leaving everyone on their own.

"N-No," she quickly denied. "No, River, I still want to help out, and I will! I-I just need a few more hours to take in everything, but I still want to help fight both Toffee and Meteora."

"Don't think she's gonna change her mind any time soon, Warchief. I can vouch for that," Kelly intervened.

Star turned to smile gratefully at her, but on the other hand River wasn't impressed with her intervention. "I'm serious. This battle, the... everything that is going on in this world, is not hers to bear on her shoulders."

Kelly defiantly glared at River, a fork in between her fingers pointing at him. "What makes her different than me, then? I'm not from Mewni, either."

"You have fought the Dominion for months, if I recall correctly," River replied. His tone grew solemn as he added, "And you have your own reasons to keep up that fight. Reasons that I'm not here to put into discussion."

Kelly's lips quivered for a moment, then she lowered her gaze. "I guess you're right..."

"You, Star, on the other hand," he continued, regarding her. "All you wanted was to find your missing mother, and now here you are, getting involved into a three-way war, learning about horrors you should have never had to know about, and fighting battles that shouldn't concern you."

He pushed his plate away and leaned forward. "I want you to think thoroughly about my offer, Star. I'm not trying to get you out of the way... I-I can imagine you'd be of help, but... we can make do without getting you in danger."

"B-But this was my plan to begin with!" Star protested. "You need me to make things work!"

"We can manage," River countered. "Kelly here could be of great help due to her status as a Woolett. And, just for your sake..." He grimaced at this point while he continued talking. "I could strike some sort of agreement with Moon as well. Get her to help our cause and do her own part. However, you, Star... you don't have to do this. This isn't your fight."

Oh, she wasn't having any of this.

"Dad!" she started. "This was my fight ever since—"

River grimaced again, but this time his eyes went wide as well. Star realized way too late that she had slipped.

"S-Sorry, I'm sorry!" she quickly apologized. "I swear I d-didn't mean to, uh, offend you. It won't happen again...!"

"N-No, no..." he raised a dismissive hand, which contrasted with his distress. "Y-You should not concern yourself with my emotions. It's just... quite the reminder, the thought that me and her..."

River let out a groan. "Corn, that alternate universe you came from must be wild."

"Things can get pretty wild back home, yeah... weird and wild..." Star agreed.

She had to remind herself that this wasn't her dad. Unlike Moon, River was way more sensible to her accidental slip-ups concerning who she called what, and it all stemmed by the obvious 'alternate' relationship her existence meant.

His reaction to when he first heard about Star's parents, told by Kelly herself when he questioned them about it, was proof of that. He was shocked at first, then he spewed out some Johansen obscenities, as if he felt slandered by the mere thought. It took Kelly and Star quite a few apologies and requests to calm down before River recomposed himself, realizing that parallel universes had infinite possibilities and he shouldn't let those affect him that badly.

So Star knew that River was aware of that and didn't hate her for it, but still, seeing him so... disgusted, if not downright angered by the mere idea of being close to Moon again, was easily able to unsettle her.

At the very least, she was grateful that he'd made a point not to use her ancestry as a reason to dislike her.

"Uh, as I was saying... this is not my fight, maybe... but it became because I chose to make it so, River," she resumed. "Heck, I feel like this world decided to involve me from the moment Rasticore tried to kill me—and then Moon saved my life! And no, even if I'm not related to any of you, even if I'm not from here, I can't, no matter what, leave you guys alone to fight the bad guys like this... not if I can do something about it!"

River looked on in silence for a couple of seconds before sighing. "I'm not sure if this is folly or wisdom, Star, but perhaps I can't tell. I... I've known you for just a single day. But... but I can't say your help wouldn't be appreciated. That, you can be sure about."

He looked upset by his own words as he leaned back. "I'll still leave the offer there, if you ever decide to change idea, but until then... for what it's worth... thank you."

Star's mood instantly gained a boost from that. She smiled again, from ear to ear.

"Though..." the Warchief mused, "you should not forget about your current overall situation, Star. I've wondered about asking you about this, and I didn't want to pressure you so early, but... I feel that is important to you, too."

He looked at her attentively. "Star, do you know how to make it back home? To your universe?"

...

Her smile disappeared.

Oh corn.

"I-I never actually... thought about that," she sheepishly confessed, picking a lock of hair to play with. "I mean, of course I'd like to go back home, but between Toffee chasing after us and with all the stuff about finding friends and allies, and meeting Moon and Kelly... it kinda slipped off my mind..."

"Well, now that you're in a safe place, it might be wise to think about it now that we can," River offered.

"Perhaps she doesn't need to, though?" Kelly said. "I mean, Toffee and Meteora together control most of Mewni. I guess this is more about some magical stuff, and last I heard, the Sanctuary and the Ruins are all under Toffee's control."

"...wait, the Sanctuary?" Star perked up. "As in, the Magic Sanctuary, the one looking like it was made in honour of Glossaryck? South of the Castle?"

"Yup," Kelly confirmed. "Last I heard, it was under Dominion control... but I never heard much about what was going on in the south in the first place."

"That is indeed the case, Kelly," River nodded. "Though... I never visited the place myself, not even before the Uprising. I don't know if it's related to Glossaryck as you say, Star, but it's indeed that one place. We Johansen never focused our efforts on retaking it... because, sincerely, we don't know what's the deal with it. The Dominion holds it to this day, but the New Butterfly Kingdom wants that place, and it wants it enough to attack it relentlessly, from what little we know from the area."

"And you don't know why?" Star asked.

River nodded. "I'd tell you if I did. All we can guess is that something important is there, enough that Meteora keeps trying to take it back, and Toffee keeps defending it adamantly."

Star thought about the Sanctuary for a moment. It was a refuge for the Queens of Mewni, from what her mother had told her, but it was also a place saturated with magic, enough that it was able to revive the Magic High Commission and, later, bring Glossaryck back.

She frowned slightly at the thought of Glossaryck. She still hadn't digested yet the fact that the little blue man had basically pulled an act for months on her and everyone else for some odd reason. Though, now, after weeks spent far away from home, it sounded so distant...

Regardless, Glossaryck wasn't here to bother her...

Unless...?

"What about Glossaryck, or the Magic High Commission?" Star asked. "I... it never occurred to me, but they are pretty important in my universe. Maybe they could help me get back home, or even help us fighting back Toffee and Meteora? Moon..." she trailed off. "She mentioned Omnitraxus once, but never told me anything else about them."

"The Commission is dead," River curtly replied, taking her aback. "Toffee did away with them in the very first hours of the Monster Uprising. As far as I know, they are all gone, and the Bureaucracy of Magic was destroyed as well."

"...oh."

"At least, that goes for the minor commissioners. Hekapoo, Omnitraxus, Rhombulus, Lekmet and Reynaldo are all gone, sure, but..." River's eyes wandered up to the ceiling. "I don't know, I doubt Toffee would've been able to defeat Glossaryck as well, but then again... a lot of things changed back then. A lot of beliefs were shattered, and the entire world was turned upside down. I shouldn't assume that he's still alive, either."

He looked at Star. "Their destiny shouldn't be a concern for you in any case. We all learned to live without their guidance years ago... Unfortunately, that also means that you cannot count on them to get you back to your universe, when the moment will come for you to go back."

Star hummed, then thought over the new information she'd been offered. The Commission was gone...

Was it bad that she didn't feel as bad about them as she did for other people that she knew died in this universe?

She shook the thought away. No, she was getting distracted. She had no reason to believe that the Commissioners were stubborn fools in this universe as well, and even if that were the case, she was too late to do anything about them. The Commissioners were enemies of Toffee in her universe, too, and since he was still alive and kicking in this one, she had no reason to think they were on the wrong side. In any case... they were gone.

She needed to focus on those who were alive... or could be alive.

Like Glossaryck.

Perhaps there was a connection between Glossaryck and Meteora, and that was the reason why she was so interested in the Sanctuary? In her universe, Glossaryck had taken an immediate liking in little Meteora after Star and Eclipsa defeated her monster form and she was sort-of reborn as a baby. He didn't try to do anything when Meteora was still rampaging as well... then again, he was also still in his 'Globgor!' state.

Star wasn't sure what she should think about him when it came to this universe, but perhaps River was right, and so was Kelly. She couldn't rely on Glossaryck appearing out of nowhere to portal her back to her actual home safely, let alone save her butt.

They were getting side-tracked, anyway.

"Okay... let's go back to me finding a way back. I think Kelly's got a point, River," Star said. "It kinda is a issue I need to deal with, finding a way to travel back to my universe, but until Toffee and Meteora are around, it would be incredibly hard for me to search around Mewni for a way to do that."

"We could try," River countered. "You were looking for your mother, right?"

Star frowned. "I... I was," she admitted. "But my, uh... my father and my best friend, Marco, they were helping me looking for her, too. I'm sure that they're going to try to keep up the search without me as well."

Or they were all dead-worried about her being missing, too, and were now searching for her.

Gosh, how many days had it been since her arrival by now?

...too many things to think about. Focus, Star!

"I-I just mean that once the two of them are no more a problem, it'll be easier for me to think about it and look around for a solution," she concluded.

River studied her for a moment before deciding to give her a small nod. "Very well. I trust your judgement about that..."

He was not convinced, but Star wasn't going to test her chances. She'd take his approval like it was and move on.

"So," Kelly leaned over the table from her position to get a better look at River, resting her forearms on the surface. "Talking about Meteora, Warchief, does she give you more trouble than the Dominion, or...?"

"Her attacks in the southern territories are a pain, but she's less of a burden compared to Toffee," River explained. "King Johansen is handling the NBK in the southern front while I handle Toffee here closer to the North, and after the last few years, I can tell for sure that she never actually tried to push into our territory, unlike the Lizard. Her forces mostly raid our positions... I believe, to test our defences on the long run."

He frowned. "You should both know the truth... I'll cut to the point. Without Meteora, the Johansen Kingdom wouldn't even be still standing to this day, and I wouldn't be here talking with you."

Kelly recoiled. "...what do you mean?"

"Meteora has two main targets from the little we know, and the first of them is the Dominion. To her we are nothing more than a small obstacle to be cared about at a later point, or at least that's what it felt like during these years of battles. That didn't just mean that the NBK never tried to outright invade us—it also meant that the Dominion had to divert more of its forces to fight back against Meteora and her armies. In shorts, Toffee cannot invade us without letting Meteora break through his own defences."

He let the two girls digest his worlds for a moment before adding, "There's also another point about the New Butterfly Kingdom that make it less ideal for Meteora to attack us... she lacks a way to stop long-range dimensional travel via portals. Toffee seized almost all Tramorfidian crystals, so she can't set up her own Tramorfidian Web. So... in the event she attacks us, we can use dimensional scissors to travel around NBK-controlled territory and counter attack easily."

That made Star perk up. "Wait, we can just portal around the parts of Mewni Meteora controls?"

River shrugged. "Yes, theoretically... within the limits established by the scissors, at least."

"...limits?" Star didn't follow what he meant with that.

"Hekapoo is gone, Star," River reminded her. "And from the moment she was gone, travel via dimensional scissors has been finicky. We try not to overuse it for that reason."

Oh.

It made sense... Moon and Kelly both lacked scissors, and they always resorted to Star's Butterfly Form when they needed to create portals.

Though... the idea of dimensional scissors not being as effective was quite hard to wrap her mind around. They almost depended on those things, in her universe.

"Not to mention that we should pick people who know where to go in the first place. And we should actually have a place to go to..."

He trailed off.

"Wait... we don't?" Star arched an eyebrow. "I mean... if there are any people that live under Meteora's rule, then we could go to them and ask for help. We could try!"

River took in a breath.. "No, Star," he replied. "Every single being living under Meteora right now, for all we're concerned, is a slave to her will."

"A s-slave?" Star didn't understand well what River meant. "Wait, can't we just go for those who are more likely to join our side?"

"Meteora didn't take over like Toffee did, Star. She doesn't excise power via the threat of soldiers and weapons, and diplomatic agreements. She uses magic to force people into obedience, regardless of their will."

...

The image of hundreds of mewmen, monsters and other creatures hovering in the sky, eyes black as the void, suddenly came up in her head. She shuddered at the thought.

"I... I think I understand... sort of," she resolved. Perhaps Meteora could just make people follow her will simply by the threat of stealing their souls, or those of the people they cared about. It sounded strong enough as a motif to make even the most unwilling to follow her bidding.

"Okay then, no allies there..." Kelly concluded. "And, I gotta be frank with you, trying our luck inside the Dominion a second time kinda sounds like a bad idea."

River nodded. "From what you told me, Kelly, the only states left to visit for potential allies are the Spiderbite Kingdom and the Waterfolk Kingdom, but I have no reason to think they didn't bend the knee to the same extent of the Pony Heads."

Star shifted her weight on the seat, one of her hands closing into a fist. "I... I wouldn't risk a repeat of that, either."

"There are the Pie Folk but... ugh, while I know they hardly like Toffee, they could sell us to him just as easily as they might accept to aid us," River muttered, his eyes narrowing at the thought.

Well, that was a bit more like her dad, at least.

"Okay... which leaves us with, uh... Underworld?" Kelly said.

...

Underworld!

"Tom!" Star couldn't help shouting the name. Some of the mewmen sitting nearby turned to give her curious, puzzled looks. In the distance, even Moon looked up, concerned by Star's shrill voice suddenly rising up over the crowd.

"Yes... Tom..." River confirmed, looking with mild annoyance at Star due to her behaviour. "Tom Lucitor, Young King of the Underword."

"I'm such an idiot, how could I not think about Tom?! Of course he'd be here as well, and he's literally my boyfriend!" Star rambled. "He's a force of nature when he fights and so are the rest of the demons of Underworld, if we could—"

She stopped herself, eyes shifting to River. "Wait, you said 'King'?"

River nodded, his face becoming grim. "The second main target of the NBK is the Lucitor Kingdom, Star. Toffee has barely touched Underworld, so when she rose to power Meteora took the plunge and targeted them first. The Lucitors held their ground and still do to this day, controlling their capital city and the areas immediately surrounding it, but..."

He looked down. "Prince Tom's parents died in the fighting. Dave died while fighting the NBK armies, and later Meteora fought and defeated Wrathmelior personally, from the little we know."

Star was aghast.

"T-Tom's parents died?!" she choked out.

She wanted to say 'but' and perhaps challenge River's words, as it sounded like he'd only heard about it.

Yet, Star knew that death was a common occurrence in Mewni here. Kelly's entire kind was extinct, Pony Head removed her sisters out of the picture, and Moon lost her entire family.

It was only a matter of discovering whether the people she hadn't met yet were still alive or not.

"I didn't know..." Kelly said with a low tone. "I never heard much from the south, but I thought... I didn't think Meteora would be this strong."

"She is not to be underestimated, we learned that the hard way with what happened to the Lucitors. They already used to be our allies, but after what happened to Wrathmelior, they retreated into isolation in their city, refusing any contact with us ever since."

"Isolation? Wait, was it..." Star hesitated. "Tom decided to do this?"

River nodded. "We tried to work things out on the long run, letting the boy mourn for a few months before we tried to send messengers again. But those who weren't kidnapped by Meteora's raiders were all rejected. King Tom still doesn't want anything to do with us, as far as we know."

King Tom Lucitor. It felt so weird to hear that title associated with the name of her boyfriend, and it was probably the most normal thing among everything else she was hearing right now.

Star could hardly imagine how he would react to the loss of his parents. In her world, he always appeared quite laid out and his parents gave him a lot of freedom, but the Lucitors did appear to be somewhat close to each other. Wrathmelior in particular cared a lot about Tom in her world, Star could understand that even if she couldn't understand a word of the demon language she used. And Tom surely appreciated that, even if he never admitted it.

Tom must have been close to them in this universe, too. He had to go through everything—losing them, fighting a war against a cruel hybrid monster—all on his own?

Star found her vision becoming blurry at the thought. She quickly passed an arm over her face, clearing off the few tears there.

"M-Maybe he doesn't want to listen to you, but he'll listen to me," she said resolutely.

Kelly tilted her head. "Star... I don't mean any offence, but aren't you making the same mistake we—?"

"No!" Star interrupted, speaking with vigour. "This isn't just about finding an ally. Tom was... is my boyfriend, in my world, and I know him. I know him well, and I care about him, and I can't... I just can't bear the thought of leaving him alone like this, even if it's not my Tom!"

"Are you sure he will?" River questioned her. "We tried various ways to approach King Lucitor, and he never replied to us—all we got as proof that he was still there was our messengers getting sent back. What do you have other than some words of good will?"

"Well, first of all, I'm technically a Butterfly," Star replied. "A-And... and maybe that will get him to at least give us a chance?"

"That would probably work against us," Kelly muttered.

Star sent a short glare at her. "Not helping..."

River on the other hand didn't look as doubtful. "It might work, actually. The Lucitors were isolationists for most of their time, and the only time when they suffered because of the Butterfly Kingdom was during Crescenta's rule... which hardly counts, because no one was spared during that time."

The name of Crescenta getting mentioned made Star wince again, but River kept on speaking without missing a beat. "The war against Toffee and Meteora was the first time the Lucitors actually got out of Underworld with their own armies in more than a century, and they did so even before Meteora came into the picture. They were supporting us out of their own good-will... Wrathmelior's, at least."

He looked at Star. "King Tom might consider giving an audience to you in lieu of her late mother's legacy. Perhaps not to the Fallen Queen, but you Star might just do the trick."

He then glanced at Kelly. "You could help us as well, girl. Forgive me for what might sound like a callous observation, but your own story might be able to create some sympathy in the King's heart. You and King Tom had that one thing in common, at the very least."

Kelly looked away, frowning slightly. "I guess that could work, too..."

"So, that's our best bet then!" Star chirped up, talking quickly to divert the subject away from Kelly's past. "I think we can make it work, and if Tom accepts to hear us out, then we can explain him what we want and try to convince him to join you Johansen. It sounds nice to me!"

River nodded. "It does sound... acceptable."

Kelly simply shrugged instead. "Fine by me too. I gotta say it, Star, at this point I'm kinda just following you around... but what the hell."

She offered a small smile. "You kinda... gave me something to work towards, and I'm gonna stick with that as long as you're here."

Star returned her expression with a smile of her own. "Thank you, Kelly. I really, really appreciate that you're still here to help me out... after all that happened to you."

"Don't mention it—and no hugs!" Kelly raised a palm in a 'halt' gesture as soon as she saw Star was about to push her chair out. "I'm still getting used to those, and we don't need it right now."

Star couldn't help chuckling. That was quite weird, but she appreciated the moment that reminded her of her old friendships. It was taking a while, but it was worth it.

Looking back at River, Star expected him to be in a slightly better mood as well. He did appreciate the new plan, at least.

Instead, she found him slumped on the chair, frowning and with a pensive look.

He had been serious up until then, sure, but this was different enough that it worried her.

"Da—I mean, River?" Star asked. "What's wrong?"

"Tell me, Star..." River's voice came out forced, as if it was extremely difficult for him to articulate the words. "How do you find the strength to keep going?"

"...I-I don't understand...?"

River let out a dry chuckle. "Sometimes, I wonder if what we've been doing here has any meaning, if what I'm doing will bring to any kind of result. We fight two large states that are close to become empires at this point and want to take our freedom no matter what, states that outsize us by a large margin and have not crushed us yet only because they are too busy fighting each other. We've been losing people every single day to Meteora's commanders and Toffee's warriors. And even before then, we... we went though decades of wars and grief."

He sighed. "I learned a little on the history of the Butterfly Kingdom while I was in service at Butterfly Castle as the Johansen representative. Moon told me some, and the books did the rest. Mewni was in a state of war multiple times throughout history. it was always one battle after the other with the monsters who wanted us dead, and when we were not fighting them..."

River frowned. "Then, we fought each other."

"The Mewman Civil War..." Kelly murmured.

He nodded. "And even beyond that."

Star's knowledge of the past of Mewni in this world was pretty limited, so she didn't have much context for what River had said. Her only clues were few.

There was the tapestry of Solaria she'd found in the Mewni Ruins weeks earlier and its clear difference compared to the counterpart from her world, showing a queen looking to defend her people rather than attacking the monster headstrong.

Then, there was everything that surrounded the name of Crescenta... a queen who was often called 'the Tyrant', and was behind the horrid spells known as 'anger magic'. What she didn't know about her yet couldn't be any good, either.

Yet, she knew that it was all only a fraction of the actual past of Mewni. Thus, Star was unable to say anything back, at first.

Her hope was to fix what went wrong and bring Mewni back to a life without being subject to cruel rulers. But what if those issues went beyond the Dominion and the New Butterfly Kingdom? What if the evil she wanted to fight... went deeper than it looked?

"You don't need to know the details, Star. That past is our past, not yours," River resumed. "I just can't avoid to think about it, when I see your determination... and how I'd die to have just a tiny bit of that, to fight the desire to just... drop the mace, and give up."

"I..." Star started, unsure how to proceed. "I... I just want to help out."

"But how can you feel your help will matter?" River challenged her. He narrowed his eyes as he talked. "How can you feel that we'll manage to take down our enemies once and for all, and that we aren't just continuing a cycle of fighting and more fighting?"

...she didn't know.

Honestly, she didn't. If there was a thing Star understood by now, was that she didn't know these people that well, as much as she disliked to think that way.

She didn't know their past, she didn't know what most of them went through until she was told or showed so. She didn't know how to deal with the issues here that well, considering how her attempts to do so had netted less than perfect results.

...

Yet, it didn't matter.

As Star found her resolve going back to her, she bore River's gaze. "Maybe I can't justify my actions that well... Maybe it doesn't make sense to you, and maybe we're just delaying the inevitable. But this... this is better than doing nothing. We can't just let things happen!"

River simply kept staring at her.

"I-I mean it," Star continued. "Even if things look grim, you gotta still try, try and try again, and that's why I want to try myself, to do my part here. Because you don't deserve to live like this, no matter what happened in the past... you deserve better, and I want you to help you get out of this mess."

"Even if it means risking to see more people get hurt?" River countered.

"People will get hurt, regardless of you giving up or not!" Star replied. "Maybe it was Moon who failed to stop Toffee ascending to power, but it was him who decided to take over and kill whoever stopped him. It was him who killed Moon's parents and her sister, it was him who decided to attack Kelly's dimension! In fact, he even made Meteora become who she is right now. None of that wasn't your fault, and you don't deserve to suffer for the actions of that overgrown lizard."

She kept ranting before River could interject again. "And no, I don't believe this is some kind of horrible loop you guys are stuck in forever, either. We can do this... we can beat back the forces of evil, and put an end to this mess once and for all—as long as we don't give up and keep fighting!"

A new thought suddenly popped up in her mind. She glanced towards the corner, far away, where Moon was posted. This time she wasn't looking back, so Star took a couple of seconds to gaze at her, thinking over her final words.

"I... I know you can all do this. B-Because none of you should be slaves of your own past."

Star ended it there and waited for either River or even Kelly to say something back in return.

In the end it was River who spoke up first. He'd been silent for a few seconds, but then he took in a breath and scratched his head.

"F-Forgive me, Star..." River said with discomfort. His eyes run to the glass of wine nearby. "I might have let the wine come to my head. I don't have the stomach I used to when I was younger and partying was more common, before the war started."

"No. It was not the wine who talked, River."

Star and River both looked at Kelly. "You and, I guess, everyone who thinks this way here in town, you weren't the only ones who had those thoughts. When I lost... everything, and everyone, giving up was the first thing that came to my head."

Her eyes glanced at Star. "And by that... I mean the definitive kind of 'giving up'."

It took her a moment to connect the dots, and when she did Star was unable to stop herself from gasping.

"I don't know how I lived through it," Kelly clenched a fist on the table, without waiting for either Star or River to make a comment. "Perhaps it was just instinctual survival, or looking forward to a dream of vengeance I couldn't let go of."

She let out a small scoff. "Heh... it might be the one thing I have in common with the Fallen Queen."

No one laughed, and Kelly continued speaking without mirth. "These reasons were there, but even so, those thoughts never really left me. They kept tempting me, every day and every night, because it would've been so easy to just... stop everything. To stop thinking about my family, about the fact that I was alone and Toffee would win and find me eventually and finish w-what he started... just by ending it all."

She sniffed. "That was, until I met Star. And suddenly, I was chasing after this crazy dream with a girl I never knew, a girl I should've hated because of her cheek marks and her family name. But I was there, I was there with her in the Ponyhead Kingdom, I was there to defend her when others accused her, a-and fuck me if I wouldn't do it again."

To say Star felt her heart warm up at that would be an understatement—despite the swearing.

Kelly had still her fists closed and pushing down on the table, she was shuddering and looked close to breaking down. Then, she felt a hand wrapping around her fist.

She looked up to Star.

"And I'm glad you were here with me, despite everything," Star continued. "And that I was able to help you... like that. And I'll still do so, if you need it."

Kelly shook her head and raised her free hand to brush off a tear. Even in her affected state, she was smiling, albeit weakly.

"...maybe you're right."

The two girls turned to look at River, who didn't look particularly hit by the display of closeness. "Maybe it is worth it to at least try. But I learned to look forward to practical solutions, not dreams, and... it is still hard for me to follow your thoughts."

He scratched his beard. "I imagine that there's no harm in trying, though, no matter my doubts. I... I'll try to think about what you told me again, Star Butterfly. Thank you."

Star grinned. "I'm happy you feel that way."

However, her grin was short-lived as she glanced beyond River.

Moon was walking away.

Star stood up on instinct, and Moon stopped as soon as she did—evidently she was checking her from the corner of her eye. Their eyes met soon after.

Star timidly raised a hand and waved at her.

Moon simply looked back for a moment. From the distance, it was hard to make out her expression and Star wasn't able to understand how she took her gesture.

It wasn't enough to make her stop though, as she turned back in the direction she was going and resumed walking. Seconds later, she disappeared behind the large doors leading out of the dining chamber.

...

"I have to go," Star announced, pushing the chair out.

"She might not want to talk with you, yet," River noted. "And maybe you should not have to talk with her at all."

"No," Star spoke firmly. "We can't keep this up. She deserves to learn about what we decided to do regarding Tom, and I... I need to fix what happened today."

River wanted to argue further, but Star was already moving and she pretended she didn't hear his words when he tried to call her back.

As she traversed though the room, passing by the curious looks of Johansen men and women, she aimed straight for the portal, determined to find Moon.

They needed to have a talk.

Star found Moon on a balcony in the upper levels of the Johansen stronghold.

It was late, so the night had already fallen on Mewni. Moon was looking over the city that, not unlike the Groundlands around Butterfly Castle, encircled the Johansen Stronghold. Lit up by torches and other lights dotting the roads and windows, it provided a somewhat pretty view.

The Johansen city was very different from the usual mewman settlements found in Mewni, with the houses looking more like cottages and with plenty of empty space within the outer walls. The 'city' name was probably more due to the size, since the place still covered quite a large area.

Up in the sky, the moon of Mewni shined brightly, no longer outsized by the planets orbiting around the world which were shrouded in darkness, thus contributing to the overall look of the view.

It was probably the first time Star felt like she was finally looking at a peaceful landscape, ever since arriving here. The memories of what she'd seen in the Dominion felt so distant right now...

Yet, she knew she couldn't forget about them... or why she was on that specific balcony in the first place.

She stood on the rim of the portal that led into the balcony, looking at her alternate-universe older sister's back. Moon wasn't wearing her cloak any more, and her hair flew freely, hiding most of her body from Star's view. She lacked the spear, though the wand was still placed in the holster attached to her belt.

She didn't give any sign she'd noticed Star had appeared. As the seconds passed with just silence, Star concluded that she would have to start the conversation herself.

"Uhh... hi, sis."

Moon did not turn around, or speak up to reply. If she'd heard her, she was ignoring her.

Star tentatively took a few steps closer to Moon. "I... I just wanted to talk a little bit... i-is that okay with you?"

No reply... again.

Okay, this was getting annoying.

"Hey, I'm trying my best here, you know! I'd like it if you at least stopped acting like I'm not right here—!"

"What could you possibly have to say to add to what we already told each other, Star?" Moon suddenly interjected, turning her head slightly to glance at her.

Star halted her walk as Moon continued talking. "Have you come to chide me further? To tell me how much you feel let down by my actions?"

Moon returned her attention to the town. "I don't need you to tell me, Star. I already know that."

Well, that could've gone better...

'What did I even expect?' Star couldn't help thinking as she looked with a frown at Moon. 'Of course she doesn't wanna talk, she's still upset after what happened earlier...'

Yet, Star couldn't bring herself to go back the way she came. She clasped her hands together and thought for a moment over the entire situation she had found herself in, and the things she'd discovered about Moon over the course of the weeks spent in Mewni... Alternate Mewni, that is.

"Moon..." she began. "I... I'm not here to tick you off for the sake of it, or tell you I hate you because of what you did. The things you did... they're hard for me to, uh... to digest, that's true. It's unlike everything I ever got to experience in my own universe, you know? I-It confuses me. And it... it scares me a little, too..."

"Then why are you here?" Moon didn't turn around, but at least she was speaking again. Star took that as a small win.

"Because you're still the person who decided to help me out in the beginning, when I was alone and lost. You saved my life, you followed me when I decided to search for friends in a world full of people you thought to be traitors, and you... you are still here. In this place filled with people who hate you..."

Moon didn't try to interrupt Star, so the girl went on, walking closer. "It's... hard for me to accept that you did those... things, but I know there's some actual good in you, even if you did things that.. that are e-evil. And... and I just want you to think about it, because when you said—"

Star had reached the balcony's edge. She wanted to rest her arms on the handrail and look over the town, but she'd stopped herself abruptly as her eyes widened at the sight.

A crimson-coloured light lit up the rail where Moon was. Her left arm was covered by her usual long glove, but the other was completely free of accessories, the glove lying abandoned on the rail on the right.

She stared at the red-coloured corruption that covered Moon's right upper limb up to the elbow. It throbbed at a lower frequency compared to when Moon first revealed it earlier, but it still looked ominous and sick and not right.

"I said I'd do it all over again," Moon concluded her thought. She was looking at the anger magic infection as well, turning her arm around as if to check whether there were any changes. Unlike Star, she looked completely unperturbed by the sight, as if she was looking at a scar she'd learned to know and was just a natural part of her by now.

Moon's voice had broken her trance, and she immediately looked away, even if the uneasiness never left her. "Y-Yes... that," she said with a whisper.

She tried her best to ignore the impulse to retch and focused on the words she wanted to say. "W-When you said that, sis, it... it kinda frightened me, you know? I... I have to hear it from you, now that you're not, uh... mad as much as you were earlier. Did you really mean it?"

"I know what I said. And... and I'd say it again."

"...what?" Star glanced at Moon with disbelief. She expected some kind of apology or explanation, not a doubling down!

Moon closed her corrupted hand into a tight fist. "I don't want to lie to you. So no... I'd say it again. When I was out there, with my family gone, I... I had to make a decision. Toffee didn't just disappear—I knew he was working on something beyond just finishing what he'd started and kill me. I knew that he planned something big on the long run... I might have been pushed by revenge, but it was also a fight against time to defeat him before he could execute whatever he had in mind."

Moon finally turned to look at Star, and the girl was able to look at her face-to-face. Moon's eyes lacked the dark red hue that Star recalled, when she had lost control earlier that day. So, despite the ominous glow coming from the anger-magic-corrupted limb, she knew that Moon right now was herself.

"After the Uprising, after Toffee took over and the Dominion was born... I realized that my hatred had blinded me. It was what let him deceive me, what made me fail, and what me made me turn to spells I should have never even thought of using. If I were ever to go back, it would be my lack of foresight that I'd change."

Moon frowned as she briefly glanced at her hand. "It was my foolishness that made me resort to anger magic. And I realized that this was taking a toll on me way too late... just like I stopped using it too late, too. I... I hurt people, Star. Monsters... and even mewmen. But... but this... this anger magic, was not just something made to hurt about people. It goes beyond that, and... and..."

Moon had some difficulty continuing her speech. "I... I-I still remember the faces of the monsters I fought. Of those I... I tortured, to make them spit out where Toffee was, what he planned to do... using anger spells. They might've been monsters, enemies who were working for the enemy, but..."

She left the sentence unfinished. Star noted that her corrupted hand was trembling. Instinctively, she reached out to pat her shoulder or do something to help her remain calm, but then she immediately retracted her hand as the redness from the corruption throbbed again, as if reacting to her movement.

This time Star couldn't hold a retch in, and coughed, trying not to throw up.

"...h-how do you even live with... with that on you?" she couldn't help questioning her. "I... I can barely look at it without feeling sick..."

"I learned to ignore it. It's either that... or losing track of who you are," Moon explained. She moved her covered hand to grab her exposed one, gripping hard as if to try and make the shuddering stop. "My gloves aren't just there to hide the fact I used anger magic, Star. Anger magic reacts to people's emotions, not just mine, and by hiding them from sight with my gloves, I stop it from being able to feed on the feelings of fear it brings on people. It helps keeping it weakened... and prevents it from strengthening the grip on my own mind."

She scoffed. "But I know that gloves won't hide what I did it with the anger magic. No, I won't pretend what I did was right when it comes to this. So, if I were to go back, I'd do most of it over again. I'd hunt Toffee down again, and I'd try everything to put a stop to his plans, and his life. I... I can't forget about what he did to my... my late family. And I don't think I ever will, not until he'll be gone."

She looked at her with downcast eyes. "But I'd never let my emotions bring me low enough to embrace Crescenta's evil again. It's the one thing I'd never do again."

As Moon looked away, Star didn't know at first how she should've felt about what she'd told her.

Yes, it was... nice that at the very least, Moon regretted the actions that led to the foul magic infection that was visible on her arms. But Moon didn't regret everything else, and that was not easy to accept.

She'd do things all over again when it came to getting her way with Toffee. Leaving friends behind on their own, basically abandoning the kingdom, hurting people even if not by using anger magic—all in the name of revenge.

It was hard to wrap her mind around it, but then again, Star's feelings about Moon had been put to the test multiple times by then. Kelly's story and its relation with the fall of Mewni Moon had had a role in. Ludo's missing eye. And finally, the revelations pushed by River.

Even if she also wanted to ultimately stop Toffee from destroying the kingdom and hurting more people just as she'd said right now, Star couldn't think that it justified her actions—not entirely.

And even so...

"Moon," Star started. The Fallen Queen faced her, her gloved hand still gripping on the wrist of the naked, infected one.

"I... I just want to say that I'm sorry."

That got Moon to arch an eyebrow.

"Sorry...? Sorry for what?"

"I'm sorry for everything that happened to you..." she elaborated. "I'm talking about your family... about what happened to your parents, and... and to Star. Your Star."

Star swallowed down a lump of saliva and cleared her throat. "I-I also am sorry about everything else that happened afterwards. It... it can't have been easy to live with the burden of those that you loved being... gone, trying to do what you thought was the right thing."

It was hard not to let her eyes wander to the throbbing skin on Moon's uncovered arm, but Star tried her best to keep focusing on her own speech and Moon herself.

"I... I don't like what you did to try and take down Toffee, before he took over. I... I don't think you're right to think that you were justified, even given what you felt, b-but..."

Star shut her eyes. "I think I understand it. A-And I w-won't judge you for it..."

Star decided to look away for a moment as she kept speaking. "I w-wasn't there when everything happened, and I know just a little of what was going on back then... so I can't judge you for what you decided to do. Beyond that... I still think that you have in yourself the power to make better decisions, to be a better person than you used to be."

She let the words sink in for a moment. She wasn't even sure that what she said made much sense, but she kinda talked like she liked to do when she needed to say things that were important—out of her chest, and without thinking too much.

Perhaps it wasn't exactly the clearest way to explain her feelings. Yet, Star thought that Moon deserved to know her honest thoughts.

It took half a minute before Star's older sister finally spoke up.

"Do you?" Moon questioned. "Do you actually think I won't screw everything up again?"

Star offered a small smile. "Yes! I do."

Moon shook her head. "You... y-you are so much..."

Her sentence remain unfinished as Moon let out an unexpected sob. She hung her head down on the balcony. She closed both of her hands into fists, the corrupted one's shudder having turned into a visible tremble.

Star's natural reaction was to come closer to Moon. She wanted to pat her, even hug her, but then the redness of the anger magic let out another light impulse. Her stomach twisted, and Star brought a hand to her mouth in an attempt to contain another retch.

It took her a few seconds to gain control back, but when she did, she stubbornly fought against the sick feeling and reached out to touch Moon's arm—the one still covered by a glove.

"I... I know you can do better, Moon. Y-You just have to try..."

A new idea popped up in her head. "And, ya'know, maybe you already did... Did you do something actually 'bad' after the, uh... the Uprising?"

Moon sniffed. "...depends on what you feel is 'bad', b-but... I didn't hurt anyone beyond those who tried to kill me. T-Toffee's servants and others of his followers, sent to finish what he'd started."

"And you told me you didn't use that... anger magic again, right?"

"I-It's been years, yes... I stopped before the Uprising itself began," Moon confirmed.

"So you're already doing better!"

"Star, I almost hurt you!" Moon cried out. She stood back from the handrail, staring at Star with disbelief. "I a-almost hurt you today, and that was the real me—"

"That was a past 'you', not your current you!" Star fired back. "I know that the Moon I learned to know in this universe is my big sister who wanted to help no matter what, and one who made mistakes that she didn't want to repeat. You went through a lot and maybe you have difficulty in managing your emotions, okay, but..."

Star didn't stammer this time. "You're also working to become better."

Moon had tears coming down her eyes already, but Star's final declaration managed to make her sob again. She shook her head, as if unable to believe what she was hearing.

"I-I don't deserve this—"

"Then work until you feel like you do," Star replied. Her eyes were getting teary, too, though she paid it no mind.

Moon took another moment to think, crying with low sobs and sniffs.

Eventually, all Star received as a reply was a nod.

Good enough.

However, there was a small problem to what she wanted to do. "T-This would be the moment where I'd like to hug you, but, uh..."

Moon glanced at her arm. Understanding what was going on, she went to grab the glove she'd left on the handrail and quickly wore it back up, pulling the long sleeve up her arm and covering the anger magic infection first, and even the remnants of the dark magic corruption later.

Star immediately felt relief as soon as the red colour went out of sight. Moon was not kidding when she said that direct sight was key.

Yet, the knowledge that it was there still lingered in Star's mind. It took her some self-convincing that the thing wasn't going to affect her anymore before she finally took the initiative.

Star wrapped her arms around Moon first, and after a few moments of hesitance, Moon reciprocated. The younger girl couldn't help flinching though when she felt Moon's hands on her back.

But there was nothing. It was as if the anger magic was fully gone. She knew it wasn't... but she decided not to think about that, just for the few seconds the hug lasted.

If it really reacted to her emotions, then she wasn't going to give it the satisfaction of ruining the moment.

Once they separated from each other, Moon drew out a handkerchief from one of the internal pockets of the battle dress she was still wearing to clean her own face (now that Star thought about it, how long had she even been wearing that dress and armour? Did she even wash it—no, she was spacing out).

She waited for a few moments before deciding that they could move on to the next thing she had come her for.

"I... I wanted to talk to you to bring you up to speed with everything, too, Moon."

"...there are news?" Moon said, struggling to get the words out at first since she was still recovering.

"Yeah... I talked with Kelly and River about my plan, about finding more people that could help us and gathering them together. I know you and River dislike each other, but—"

"I disliked Kelly, too, but I didn't stop her from joining us. If River wants to help you, I have no reason to stop him from helping you, either..." Moon said, beating her on her own question.

Then, she added half-heartedly, "...and I know River. Even if we don't see eye-to-eye like we used to... I know that he is not the enemy."

Well, at the very least that was not a problem. "Okay, thank you. I, uh, I talked with them, and yeah, River wants to help, too. We listed a few of the parties we could turn to now, and we resolved that the next best option is the Lucitor Kingdom."

"That is, Tom Lucitor, the young King?"

"Yeah. Fun fact, me and him are actually girlfriend and boyfriend in my world, you know? He's a great person, even if he can be a bit out-of-the-zone sometimes—but he's trying to get better, and that's why I like him!"

Star then realized she was day-dreaming. "O-Oh, sorry! It kinda gets me going when it comes to my friends from home, let alone my boyfriend. Now, talking about the 'Tom' from this world, the one you know..."

She frowned as she recalled what River had told her. "I... I know that he went through some hard stuff here. His parents, how he willingly isolated himself and the demons from the rest of the kingdom, and the fact that Meteora is trying to take over Underworld... oh, and I also know everything about Meteora and the New Butterfly Kingdom now, Moon."

Moon nodded. She went back to leaning over the handrail, hiding her face from view. "Meteora... I never mentioned her to you, didn't I?"

"Yes... now that I think about it, why didn't you do that?" Star asked inquisitively.

"I always thought that Toffee was the biggest problem, even if I know that the Hybrid Queen wants me dead, too. I... I guess that it was still my contempt for him that made me ignore the New Butterfly Kingdom... and until we were in the north, it didn't concern us much, either."

She sighed. "Now that we're in the south, though... I understand we have to consider her, too. So... you believe that we should go ask for an audience with King Tom?"

"Yeah, the thing is that I think Tom will listen to us if I introduce myself as a Butterfly. We can just tell him the truth about me as well... he might listen if we tell him that I defeated Toffee and Meteora in my dimension, too."

Moon didn't comment immediately, simply staring at her. It took Star a moment to realize why she was surprised. "Uh, right, I never told you I fought Meteora, but she was a problem in my universe too, up until very recently. It's okay now back there, Eclipsa turned her into a baby."

That didn't seem to improve Moon's confusion. In the end, the many questions she might have wanted to ask were put way as she simply commented, "There appears to be a lot that happened in your universe that I don't understand well, Star..."

"I could tell you the same," Star tried smiling at her small joke, but Moon didn't reciprocate her expression. "...but yeah, a lot has happened back in my world, too. But enough about that... we need to think about your Mewni. What do you think about Tom and going to him next?"

Moon replied immediately.

"It sounds fine enough to me."

Star would've wanted to go on, thanking Moon for her trust and sharing her optimism concerning Tom.

Moon wasn't done yet, though.

"However, when you go to meet King Tom, you should go without me, Star."

"...what?" Star didn't think she heard that correctly. "W-Wait, did you—?"

Moon turned to look at her. Her face left no doubt about the fact she meant what she said. "Every time you met someone up until now, my presence only led to more and more problems. I never knew the young Lucitor prince that well, but there's no reason to think that he doesn't blame me for the Uprising, or even the passing of his parents. He might even not be as willing to just talk with us as River and decide to kill us all the moment he lays eyes on me and realizes who I am."

"Well, maybe you're underestimating Tom! River told me that the Lucitors weren't involved at first and it was Tom's parents who decided to help the other kingdoms fight back after the Uprising and after Meteora rose to power with her own kingdom. For all we know, he might not dislike you more than he dislikes even River himself... so we could still try!"

Moon didn't back down. "It doesn't matter. It's a layer of risk that you can do without... Star, now that you have River's support, you have entire Johansen Kingdom backing you up. You don't need me any longer."

"Y-You can't be serious—we've been in this together since the very beginning! Moon, you were also the Queen of these people at some point, too, you should be part of this!"

"I am no longer the Queen of Mewni," Moon replied, unmoved by her words. "And I never will be again."

"B-But..." Star was unable to find a way to reply. She had pictured as a worst-case scenario that Moon would at most reject her plan or choice for the next destination, but now she was accepting it and leaving her at the same time?

"Star, listen... I trust you," Moon continued. "I trust that you can keep going with your plan and... and that you may even succeed at it. You have a surprisingly sturdy Woolett warrior by your side, and a nation of mewmen ready to die for the freedom of their own people that'll help you. And you have that... confidence of yours, something that today is rare in Mewni. No, I believe you can stick to the path without me easily."

"W-Well, even if that's the case and I don't 'need-need' your help, well I still want it! I d-don't want to lose you!"

Moon's serious expression faltered for a moment at that. But it was a fleeting moment, and she replied quickly.

"You won't," she continued. "I... I'll stay here in the Johansen Kingdom when you leave for Underworld. I... I'll even see what I can do to help here, if you want, but I won't disappear. We'll see each other again."

There was something weird in the way Moon said those words. Star wasn't convinced, so she took the initiative and took her hands in her own.

"Promise me. Promise that you won't be doing something stupid, okay? You... you might not be my mom, but you're still Moon, and... and even if we didn't know each other for that long, I still care about you. As my sister."

"I won't," Moon replied quickly. Too quickly.

She didn't like that, but Moon's face was an indecipherable mask in that moment. She could hardly read her, but she still wanted something more reassuring than this.

"I said to promise me, Moon! Say you promise!" she repeated.

...

"I... I promise I won't do anything stupid, Star."

...

...she decided that she wanted to believe that.

One last time.

"...Okay."

Moon nodded, then proceeded to return to her vigil in the night, facing away from Star. "I think that we have talked enough. Go finish your dinner, or have a rest, Star. Knowing River, he might decide to ask you to leave tomorrow already, and you need all the energy you can have to face King Tom."

...

"Moon?"

She replied without turning her head. "Yes, Star?"

"I was serious... when I told you to promise. I... I care about you, so please... stay safe."

Star parted from her without further words.

And as she walked, she couldn't help but wonder if Moon was really going to respect their promise... or not.

Chapter Text

"Huh..."

Kelly could not help looking with wonder around her as she walked. It was difficult to rein in her marvel at the sight of the huge stony palaces, encircled with smaller caverns and decorated with complex finials at the edges of their entraces. The architecture ranged from gothic to downright (and aptly) demonic-looking, worthy of a representation of a kingdom lying in the dark depths of the world—which technically they were in anyway—and it completed the awe-inspiring look of the capital of Underworld.

At the very least, it felt like that for Kelly, who never put foot in the realm of the Lucitors in her life before that day.

"I-I never visited this place in the past... it's just... wow..." she let out, her eyes refusing to divert from the sight even as she was walking along with the group.

"I can understand that, Kelly," River nodded, a small smile on his face. He walked beside her, giving a more reserved but still respectful look at the city around them. "The capital of Underworld may very well be the only city in Mewni that stuck to its regal roots and maintained its dignity after the Monster Uprising and the rise of Meteora, remaining mostly unaffected by the turmoil. We could call it a relic from the past."

"Y-Yeah. I... I never travelled much, before the wars happened. And even then... this might as well be the first time I get to see a place like this one that's not... ruined. And there are so many people here...!"

River's smile fell a little. "Unfortunately, Underworld got a lot of new visitors in the last few years. I can't say most of the crowds you see here are here willingly... you may even find a few non-demon refugees among the populace. In fact... it's been a long time since our last envoy expedition came back from this place, and I feel like things may have gotten even worse since then."

"...oh," Kelly's enthusiasm took a hit. Even here, the Dominion and the New Butterfly Kingdom's influence still managed to reach—she didn't need to forget that.

"Well... I guess that it's still better for them to stay here, where it's safe."

"Indeed, and I can't blame them for choosing Underworld. Demon-kind are different beyond just appearances, Kelly, and tactics that give us mewmen a run for our money in a siege don't really work with them."

"I'll take your word for it," Kelly said. They had passed by a squad of demon warriors some minutes ago, and it was immediately clear that there were no monsters or mewmen among them, unlike the civilians. The warriors were few but looked extremely battle-hardened, and she'd heard about certain demons being able to summon creatures to fight alongside them too.

Then again, that was not enough to defeat Meteora.

So, Kelly remained silent. Beyond commenting on the place, there wasn't much to talk about, and even River looked like he wanted to offer some small-talk more than actually discuss the state of the city.

That, and trying to break the silence since Star did not appear to be willing to do so.

Earlier, she, River and Kelly had reached the gates of the Underworld capital via dimensional scissors, accompanied by a group of five elite Johansen warriors as an escort. Star had found out they were not very talkative as she tried to speak with them, although she did manage to extract their names out of them: two women named Alex and Hilda, and three men—Johannes, Arthur and Lake.

She found their silence to be somewhat rude, bust mostly strange given they were part of the Johansen kingdom, but River had explained that these were part of an elite corp within the army often chosen as bodyguards for high-ranking chiefs in the army, as River was. They did manage to quip once or twice, but they were definitely people who'd seen enough to remain vigilant the entire time.

Being mindful was indeed required, as they met their first roadblock shortly after the dimensional portal: the demon guards above on the walkways of the gates looked ready to pelt them with arrows and fireballs at first, and after their request for an audience with King Lucitor, they didn't appear to be any more convinced to let them in.

It took Star's intervention, showing her cheek marks and proclaiming herself as a Butterfly—reusing the 'partial' lie of presenting herself as unconnected to Moon or even Meteora—to get the guards to at least consider their request. Fortunately, this seemed to work for the King himself, because after some long minutes, the huge gates were opened for them.

Right now, the group of six was moving over a walkway within the inner city that led directly to the main palace, where the Lucitor family resided. In front of them, a horned demon that dwarfed them all in size led the way. "The King has accepted your request to talk. Follow me," he had simply said to them upon first greeting them.

That was a good start, at least...

"You know," Kelly chimed up once again. "My only hope here is that this Lucitor guy doesn't turn out to be some double-crosser like that floating Ponyhead turd." She frowned at the memory, and even Star did behind them.

"King Lucitor is many things, Kelly, but he is no friend of Toffee, let alone Meteora. If there's one thing we can take for granted, it's that we have two enemies in common."

River then turned his head a little, to glance at Star. Instinctively, she smiled, but River immediately saw through her facade, either thanks to his experience, or because she wasn't exactly the best mewman at hiding emotions in the group.

"Everything's all right, Star?"

"...yeah, I'm good," Star said. "I'm just thinking about, well... things."

River offered her a nod of agreement. "We all are, but try to not let it get to you. I doubt that King Lucitor will listen to me for that long, so you and Kelly will have to do your part as well."

He opened his mouth as to continue his speech, but then hesitated and said nothing for several seconds. Star didn't reply either, leaving a brief awkward silence between them.

"You... you'll be fine," River said. "Just keep your head in check, kid. You can do that, right?"

It was still very weird to hear her dad talk to her this way, no matter how much she tried to get used to it.

"Yup... I'll try. Thank you."

He nodded and returned his attention to the path, leaving Star with her own thoughts. He didn't like doing that.

He wanted to reassure her, but what could he say? Regardless of her story, she was still a teenage young girl—a kid, like he himself had stated. He still wasn't convinced that seeing her involved in the affairs of Mewni was a good idea.

Yet, there was not much else he could do beyond reassuring her with nice but ultimately empty words. For now, he could only hope for the best.

The Lucitor throne room easily held the comparison with the mighty look of the capital itself. With highly detailed columns engraved with mineral sulphur, floors covered with red plaques and glorious stained glass windows, it demonstrated the wealth and power of the Lucitors in Underworld, even with the current events unfolding across Mewni proper.

Star was not expecting this upon stepping into the chamber. She didn't remember the throne room being this grandiose in her world. It was still a big and impressive city, mind you, and the Lucitors were still royals that appreciated luxury every now and then, but... not to this level. Perhaps, though, the history of the Lucitor kingdom itself was quite different in this version of Mewni, too.

In the grand scheme of things, those were trivial details. Star came to realize that as she, River and Kelly walked further into the chamber. Their demon guide was still leading them, but the five Johansen warriors part of their escort were left behind the entrance's tall doors. River had agreed to that as well as leaving their weapons behind even if one of the bodyguards, Arthur, had loudly proclaimed his doubts on the matter. Even Kelly did not appreciate the idea one bit, but River insisted. 'The King will appreciate this sign of trust,' he had said. Eventually, both Johansen and woolett ended up agreeing, with Kelly in particular needing some further convincing to separate herself from her greatsword.

She wondered if that was going to be enough as looked around. There were numerous demon guards lining the room up to the throne at the very end, some armed with appropriately demonic-looking weapons while others looked like they didn't need weapons at all. Her attention, though, was soon taken by the throne itself.

On one of two royal chairs, she found neither Dave Lucitor nor Wrathmelior sitting.

She knew that, and expected it, but still... it still hit her when she saw a familiar face sitting on his own in the King's chair.

Tom wore a regal outfit that was somewhat reminiscent of the battle armour he donned when fighting Meteora in her own world. However, the armoured parts in his current attire were limited to chest and stomach pieces, shoulder pads and boots. The rest of his clothes gave him a more sinister look, including blood red pants and a black cape on his back. His crown was also fairly different from the one carried by Dave in her own world, with precious gems and other shiny ornaments covering it, and designed to fit right in-between his horns. Beyond the regal look, Star couldn't help immediately noticing that Tom's hair was cut very short as well.

Once they were close enough, Tom stood up and fixed his sight on them, showing a stern expression. His demeanour oozed with a formality that Star found very unlike him—Tom appreciated noble life but he always tended to do it for the fun and enjoyment he could take from it, not for any particular reverence towards the obligations of being part of a royal family.

Well... her Tom, that is.

This Tom, on the other hand, acted like it had all the patience in the world... at first. He waited in silence for them to come closer and did not greet them at all.

A feeling of uncomfortable unfamiliarity came around her, and one that, ironically enough, had by now become itself very familiar to her. It was getting harder for her to remember that this was another word and that she... belonged somewhere else.

These meetings were a harsh reminder of that, for sure.

Star was in the centre, right in-between River and Kelly. She could tell that Tom had some interest in the two girls, as his eyes locked with hers for just a moment, and then she gave a look at Kelly as well. Whether Tom was curious or cautious, he did not show, since he eventually returned his attention to River.

They came to a stop as soon as River did, while the horned demon proceeded to introduce them. "My liege, the guests from the Johansen Kingdom, as you wished," the demon said. "Warchief River Johansen, acting on behalf of King Johansen. Kelly, of the old Woolett dimension. And Star... Butterfly."

Tom simply nodded, ignoring the demon's hesitance on speaking Star's full name. He made a waving gesture and the creature rushed out of the way, leaving them with only each other to talk with.

Here goes nothing...

"Warchief River," he finally spoke. The tone, for now, remained neutral, despite his frown. This version of Tom had experience in diplomatic affairs for sure.

"King Lucitor. Sire," River replied, bowing his head in a sign of respect. Star decided to follow his example, doing the same.

However, Kelly did not, merely tilting her head while looking at him.

Star tried to mouth something to make her do something, but when she noticed her the woolett simply arched an eyebrow. Star eventually just resigned herself to not do anything. Kelly tended to reject authority, that was clear by now.

Luckily, Tom either ignored her or hid his reaction at her lack of tact. He remained silent, keeping his eyes trained on River only.

Already Star found herself wishing she could intervene, but she had promised to both River and herself not to start talking until River at least finished the introductions. Meeting Ponyhead and Ludo both ended up with a mess, and she hardly found the first encounter with River a success on all fronts.

She wasn't going to let her emotions pull her into another disaster.

It wasn't going to be easy... but she wanted, she needed to let Tom address her first. It was her best bet, to first see what her boyf—what 'Alternate Tom' actually thought of her

"My apologies for coming in unannounced; I understand that this is less than ideal given the circumstances and... our past attempts at communication. However, the matter we need to discuss is an urgent one."

"I can understand that." Star saw how Tom shifted his eyes to look at her for a moment, before continuing. "You may want to explain yourself, though, warchief, as I currently do not see how the presence of you three here is going to change anything about the state of the war. The enemies still beat at our gates, marauding throughout the rest of Underworld and forcing all inhabitants to seek shelter here. So, tell me, River..."

He took a moment. "As exceptional as their cases may be... how do a lone Woolett survivor and a lost Butterfly family member change any of that?"

"They... don't," River said with honesty. "Not on their own. However, these two young ladies are not here just for show, King Lucitor. They are the original minds behind the creation of a new alliance to stand together against both the Dominion and the New Butterfly Kingdom. Kelly and Star have started travelling Mewni in an attempt to reach out to new allies, and when they came to my war cabinet, I heard them out and, eventually... understood their motives. Personally, I believe the idea sound enough to be worth considering. King Johansen was receptive as well, and as you may know he is busy on the frontlines fighting the New Butterfly Kingdom, our common enemy. An alliance... a new 'league', may be the only way we can break the stalemate and start the road towards a Mewni free of Toffee and Meteora's tiranny."

"An alliance?" Tom's neutral facade gave space to an annoyed frown. "That... is all? A new alliance? One not unlike the old one, the one that my parents joined?"

River took a second too long to reply, as Tom resumed before he could answer properly. "Do you remember where that led us, River? What that alliance did to Underworld?" he hissed.

"...I do. My apologies, I did not intend to offend you, your majesty, but—"

"You come here, presenting to me two victims of the Uprising and believing I will change my mind and ignore everything that happened just because of them? They are not the only ones who suffered thanks to the wars, warchief. This city is filled with victims of the crimes carried out by Meteora and Toffee... and I will not consider putting them or this kingdom in jeopardy to follow your ludicrous dreams."

River shook his head. "King Tom, we're not here demanding of your aid out of nowhere. There have been some... concrete developments, thanks to the work of these two young women, and—"

"What 'developments'? Do not patronize me, River. Give me a proper reason why the hell I should care about this," Tom said coldly. Whatever appearance of formality was gone, replaced by contempt.

Star noted the demon guards around them even raising their weapons, as if responding to their King's emotion. They didn't move, but in the span of a few seconds, the atmosphere had changed all of a sudden, and if before it was left in the air, now she knew they were not welcome here. She even heard some shouting from behind them, beyond the portal to the throne chambers—apparently, the Johansen warriors had heard some of the commotion and were protesting behind the entrance. She could specifically hear Arthur spewing swears.

Hopefully they wouldn't make too much of a ruckus, although... she could understand their feelings.

River took a breath, scratching his beard. He definitely looked more unnerved, but he didn't entirely lose his cool at Tom's reaction, at least. He seemed pensive, before opening his mouth again.

"You should care because there may be a light at the end of a tunnel, for all of us, and personally I will not let a chance for this nightmare to end go to waste," he said. The tone had changed, and it almost felt like River was talking down on Tom now.

He may have been a warchief and battle-hardened, but he was still a Johansen.

And her dad, technically.

Maybe she did need to intervene.

But she did not, because Tom's hard expression deflated all of a sudden. He inhaled, regaining control of his breathing.

He was still scowling when he finally spoke up again. "You think I haven't considered the odds, River? I know how this war's going to end, if things don't change. I see that every time I hear a new report, every time I realize that Meteora's slave legions are building up while less and less demons come back to the capital after every encounter."

River nodded. "So why not help each other?"

"Because this is not the way to do it. Not when Meteora and that lizard keep all of our kingdoms at bay, separate from each other. How can you expect me to listen to your drivel and release even just a fraction of the little force we have left? When Meteora is waiting out there for the right chance to strike at us?"

Tom seemed to hesitate for a moment. His lips quivered for a moment before he resumed, glaring hard at River. "You're asking me to repeat the same mistake of my parents. And I will not do that, no matter what these girls have to say to me. My parents... my parents died because they trusted you people. No... no, I won't have more people die for the same reason."

He waved a hand off and turned around. "There's no reason for this conversation to continue. Leave and stop wasting my time."

River pinched his nose. He looked lost in thought, as if considering how to regain the King's attention, and Star at this point knew that the original plan of just waiting for Tom to address her just wasn't going to happen.

Her dad had talked enough. If dad, even if an alternate version of him, could not do it, then she needed to take the cue and try on her own to get Tom to reason.

Of course, she was not the only one of the same idea.

"Could you please tell me the hell is wrong with you?"

Star turned with a jerk, eyes wide. "K-Kelly?!"

"Kid, wait!" River said with alarm.

She ignored them both and marched away and towards Tom, who by now had already turned back to regard her.

"W-What... did you say?"

He sounded genuinely surprised. Huh.

"I said, what the hell is wrong with you," Kelly repeated, without skipping a beat. "Do you think that just because you're king now you get to tell people they're not worth your oh-so-precious-royal time? Do you like that?"

Tom opened his mouth, but nothing came out of it.

...perhaps this version of Tom was not used to people standing up to him.

River and Star gave each other a look of shared worry, but also mutual confusion. Kelly suddenly challenging a Lucitor ruler was madness... but maybe it could work?

They didn't know yet, although the line of demon guards who suddenly rushed into position did worry them a lot. Some of the bigger demons rushed in-between Kelly and Tom, making a literal barrier of claws and blades in between them. They all faced Kelly, ready to strike.

Yet, Kelly was far from being intimidated. "Ah, so even have the whole 'hiding behind your lackeys' thing going on for you. Apparently you are both dense and cowardly."

That seemed to strike a nerve, as there was a flaming eruption behind the guards. The demons, some of them looking surprisingly concerned, moved out of the way as Tom walked to Kelly. "How dare you—!?"

"Do you have any idea what I, what she—" Kelly interrupted him, gesturing towards Star, "—went through to get here? To have the chance to talk with you? Do you even imagine how it feels to show you don't even care about what we have to say, you who seem so busy sitting on your throne?"

There were flames around Tom, and they were increasing in size by the second. No longer taken aback, Tom scoffed. "All right then, woolett. Whatwould be so important to be worth my time, then?" he growled.

Kelly went on, unperturbed. "Well, maybe the fact that this entire idea is not just a random alliance among rulers who want to keep ruling, but it's actually a girl from another freaking universe who has all the reasons to not care, and yet she decided to put herself in danger to make this work and stop Toffee and Meteora!"

"...universe?"

"...are you normally this slow, or—"

"Kelly!" Star had finally made her move, putting a hand on her shoulder energetically. "I-I think he got the message. Maybe I better handle it from here?"

Kelly threw a glare at her, but evaded her eyes. "...suit yourself."

Star probably needed to talk with her about her aversion towards royalty, given that she was royalty technically (family problems notwithstanding), but for now, her attention was all on Tom.

"Listen, your... err, your majesty," she started, deciding to keep at least the title honorifics in her speech. "Forgive my friend... but what she said about us is true. We are not here to waste your time... we're here to make a change, something worth pursuing. And that doesn't necessarily mean you putting your people in danger, or involving them in a military alliance... urr, not right away, that is."

"...explain," Tom said.

"What we want to do is to create a new alliance, yeah, but not an active one from day one. My da—arr, uh, River may share more if you want to learn the details proper, but we basically agreed that the best course of action is to make it through Mewni and have as many people join us as possible. You can continue to focus on defending your kingdom and your people from Meteora, and only when we have finished gathering as many allies as possible who want to put an end to both the Dominion and the New Butterfly Kingdom we can think about preparing a joint counterstrike. One single attack, enough to stop one of our enemies. Cut one out, then focus on the other."

"Divide and conquer..." Tom murmured.

"Yeah, something like that. It's going to be a surprise strike that neither of them would see coming, not when they think that all of Mewni is split up as it is. Thing is, we still need your help, because right now I don't know if I can do it myself. I... I am a Butterfly, as you know, but not many people may be willing to listen to us, or respect the Butterflies enough to pay attention. But if they knew you were backing us up, then maybe we can pull this through even with the most distrustful, or even the kingdoms who were forced to bend the knee to Toffee."

"Those? I have my doubts they would switch sides. I know what Toffee does to the people who double-cross him, even all the way here," Tom replied. "And Meteora has fully taken over the Kingdoms that used to exist in her territory. There are not that many kingdoms or dimensions left free out there."

"There are still people out there that hate this and could be helping out. We just need a stronger basis for this work, and a proper formal alliance between you and King Johansen is the simplest way to do it. No one would come to know except you and us, and you would have to actually do a thing until the very last moment."

"And if nothing else, King Johansen would be very willing to lend you a hand. We don't ask you for more than ending your self-imposed isolation... but only to help you fight our common enemy at the end, where your help will be key to freeing Mewni of our enemies," River added.

"Yeah, that's right!" Star exhibited her most convincing smile. "I want to make this work because I trust River, just as much as I trust Kelly, and I want to help. But we can't do this on our own, I've come to realize that with time... I need your help, King Lucitor."

Tom stayed silent. He stared at her with a pensive gaze, one that Star was very unused to given the mannerism that was typical of her actual boyfriend.

He didn't look mad. That was an improvement... but he did not look convinced either.

And that became clear when he sighed. "You really are from another universe. Trusting the people of Mewni... say, of this Mewni?"

Tom scoffed drily. "My parents had their full trust, and they lost their lives thanks to that trust. People trusted the Butterflies, and that led to many sorrows, eventually leading to the fall of an entire Kingdom. No... the truth, Star Butterfly, is that I have no reason to put faith in any member of non demon-kind out there."

Star took a moment to register his words, but before she could reply to express her repulsion at the idea, Tom resumed. "Do not misinterpret my words. I... I may have some leftover anger to deal with, but I made a promise to myself: to not trust anyone from Mewni until I was one-hundred percent sure that I was not pulling my people until yet another black hole of death, that could devour them and what remains of this kingdom for good. You, Star... you may have been told what happened in this world, but you have not lived through it like people here did, like I did... and while that justifies your world-view, it doesn't make it any more solid in my eyes. I know what mewmans and monsters are capable of, and I will not involve the Lucitor Kingdom again in their affairs."

"No, you don't understand, this is more than—"

"That's final," Tom cut her off. "This is the second time I reject your request. There won't be a third one. Now, leave."

He turned around, but he could not make another step before Kelly spoke up.

"...that's it? All of your words and doubts, and you just are stubborn enough to ignore it all?"

"Kelly, no, that's enough—!" Star said.

Kelly ignored her, and when Star tried to grab her shoulder, she actually pushed her away, sending Star stumbling back. "I've always hated your lousy kind, but you, you take the cake for being the worst douche—"

Then, it happened.

One moment, Kelly was right in front of Tom. The next one, she was no longer there.

Star followed the beam of flames with her eyes. She saw Kelly flying, Tom stopping metres above the floor.

He hovered above them, holding Kelly by her neck and seemingly unaffected by her weight, flames coming out from below him and running around his body as well. His pupil-less bright white eyes glared at Kelly while he gritted his teeth. Kelly herself tried to pry his fingers away from her windpipe. He didn't budge.

"What the—King Lucitor, what are you... let the girl go!"

"T-Tom, what are you doing!?"

Tom kept glaring at Kelly, acting as if he could not hear Star or River. Kelly wheezed, her breathing severely impaired.

"Tell me, Woolett. What makes you so confident that you believe yourself worthy of judging me? Perhaps the fact that your home went in flames? Or maybe that you lost your parents as well? Is that it?"

It was as if Tom had turned into someone else.

In her world, everybody knew about Tom easily getting angry, before he tried to seriously work on the problem at least.

But this... this was different. Way, way too different.

"You don't know anything, either. You don't know what happened here. You don't know what Meteora is capable of. You don't know about actual war. And yet you stand before me, calling me names, so sure of your own superiority?"

Then, the flames erupted into a sphere of fiery fire. Star and River were forced to take a step back, the heat being suddenly too strong. Star could no longer see them, her eyes partially blinded.

But she could hear Tom's shouting.

"You don't even matter here... I can understand that alright. I could annihilate you on the spot, here and now, and nothing would change. So, tell me why I shouldn't do that, Kelly the Woolett. Tell me that your disappearance would matter. Does it? Does it!?"

Star was about to conjure an ice-summoning spell to stop him from hurting her. Royal formality be darned, she was not letting this happen.

Yet, even while encircled by flames, Kelly somehow manage to put enough strength to pry away one of Tom's arms. With the pressure on her neck partly relieved, she opened her mouth to croak out a reply.

"I m-may not m-matter now, but I know what I am and w-what I want to be..."

She stopped herself to cough, but she was not finished. "Now, I-I realize that I'd rather do that than staying put and... l-letting everything go to hell. Like you."

For a few seconds that felt like minutes, Star believed that Tom was in fact going to burn Kelly right there and now. She raised her arms, but did nothing, wondering about what the king was about to do.

That was, until the King of Underworld flung Kelly away.

She let out a shout as she hit the floor, skidding on the stone for a few meters.

"Kelly!" Star immediately rushed towards her, with River following right behind. No one of the guards moved to stop them.

"Kelly! Are you all right!?" Star cried, dropping on her knees to the downed woolett as soon as she was above her.

"I-I'm fine," Kelly grunted. For someone who had just been engulfed by a sphere of flames, she did look alright apart from sweaty skin and a singed patch of cloth. However, she also had a couple of gashes on her arms, due to her unceremonious landing. Tom had thrown her strong enough that she wasn't able to land properly.

Most importantly, though, Star took notice of her neck. There, where the King had held her, were the marks left by his fingers. Which... looked like actual burns.

"Y-Your neck, he hurt you...!" Star let out, aghast at the sight. Despite the flames not touching her, it appeared that Tom's fury had made his own skin act like burning metal.

She didn't even know that Tom, or most demons for that matter, were capable of something like this.

"I'll live," Kelly said, standing up. However, her scowl told a different story, as she groaned and Star saw her reaching out to her neck, stopping mid-way as if realizing that was not going to be a good idea. Most importantly, though, her haughty demeanour was gone. "I... I think I'm done with this place."

"I can agree on that," River noted. He made a nod to Star, and they both turned back to look at Tom.

He was still hovering in the air, although the fire sphere had retreated back into just the flames under his boots. Tom was looking at them with a hard glare.

It occurred to Star that he didn't look like he actually regretted what he'd just done to Kelly.

And that ended up being too much.

"You! You don't feel even a little hint of remorse, do you?!" Star screamed, to the surprise of even River beside her. "You said you went through a lot—you should know what she went through, no, what she had to suffer through. She lost her family, her entire home dimension and world, her kind, to Toffee!"

River made no attempt to stop her as she kept ranting. "You know what? In my own universe, the other you may have some issues, but I know for a fact that he would never willingly hurt people... while also putting them down because of faults that are not theirs."

Tom finally manage to produce a reply. "I was not going to tolerate that behaviour! You don't have the right to—"

"You don't have any right to torture people!" Star interjected. "But you, threatening to kill her because you said s-she deserved it... you... you're no better than Moon!"

...

Star put her hands on her mouth. She was angry one moment, and now she felt tears welling-up in her eyes.

Crap.

While she was busy realizing why Tom's behaviour affected her this much, River took the initiative. "I reckon this may be the end of this conversation. The message is clear... anything you want to share, your majesty, before we take our leave?"

Despite the formal wording, River's sarcastic tone was proof that, even if he was more skilled at hiding his emotions or feelings compared to Star or Kelly, his heart was just beside them. He put a hand on Star's shoulders and gently pulled her away, guiding her to walk beside Kelly and to turn away from Tom.

Tom himself had been taken aback by Star's words. Rather than hostility or annoyance, he now looked conflicted and didn't reply for a few seconds.

Even the demon guards lined up around them could be seen exchanging quick glances with each other. The events here were not a common sight, although Star deep down could imagine what their minds were wondering about.

Comparing their king with the Fallen Queen was likely something unheard of in Underwordl.

In the end, Tom finally spoke up. "...I may understand... your perils, but that doesn't change what happened years ago, and what that means to me and Underworld. I will not join you. Leave."

River nodded. "So be it," he curtly acknowledged, before turning on his own. Star and Kelly followed him in silence, moving towards the entrance to join back with Arthur and the others. Even their gruff company felt like a warm alternative to what they'd been given by the current King.

And even then, she barely could think about that, as memories of the last few weeks kept going back to her, with a figure with silver hair and a black cloak being at the centre of it all.

The wastes of Underworld were quite a peculiar sight, far from welcoming, and yet... somewhat relieving to see, after their visit to the Lucitor royal quarters.

Said visit had not gone unnoticed. Kelly was not surprised to see that, upon leaving the inner castle, they were greeted by their newer escort—an entire party of horned demons, undead and other Lucitor demon warriors.

And they were not the only ones laying their eyes on them. The little Johansen envoy was now under the eyes of most of the Underworld capital populace, both locals and refugees, lining the streets and watching them as they walked back to the gates. Evidently, whispers had run fast and beyond the throne room walls.

The entire walk was quite unnerving, but in all honesty, Kelly hadn't lied when she said she was done with Underworld. Her encounter with Tom Lucitor had somehow pulled at her strings more than expected, and beyond that she'd gotten more than enough concrete proof of the fact they weren't welcome.

The burns hurt like hell, that was for sure. She had to say thanks to Hilda, one of those Johansen warriors, who'd offered to give her a quick look. Star had argued that with her magic she could've helped better, but Kelly had declined.

She still didn't trust magic at all that much, and even if she liked Star, she had a hunch she never had to use magic for healing like Moon did.

But it still hurt, despite Hilda's gauzes, and it kept doing so as they passed the gates and left the outer walls behind them.

Kelly could feel eyes looking at her back even when they were well into the wasteland that surrounded the Underworld capital, with volcano bricks and paved stone replaced by irregular brimstone gravel and reddish sand, with larger rocks and eroded stone formations ahead. They had to walk around five to seven minutes before they passed one of these, which cut off their sight of the city.

At that point, Kelly would've been very happy to just leave, but unfortunately, River had already told them that they needed to walk a bit further, just like the did the other way around. Most Lucitor demons didn't need dimensional scissors since their demon powers acted as a slower but nonetheless valid alternative, and before Tom became King, they had already resorted to use a couple of captured tramorfidian crystals. They needed to travel farther from the city before they could travel back to the main Johansen stronghold and River's headquarters.

Thus, Kelly could do nothing but mull in her own thoughts while they walked. That... or start a conversation. Neither were inviting options.

River was leading the group, flanked by Arthur and Alex. Behind him were Kelly and Star, with Hilda and Lake beside them respectively, while the back was covered by Johannes. The warriors, especially Hilda and Lake, had become more lax and had shared some words of sympathy, but they were nonetheless more focused on watching their surroundings.

The person whose behaviour stood out to Kelly was Star. She was silent for the entire way back, and her apparent apathy was broken only but her sniffing or blowing her nose.

Kelly knew why Star was feeling this way, that she was upset not just because of the nth rejection in their increasingly hopeless quest. She'd known her for a while by now, enough to understand that, despite her own arched eyebrow at the though, Star cared about everyone, and that 'everyone' included the Fallen Queen.

Her absence and previous encounter still lingered in her mind, given her last words to the Lucitor king.

And, for some reason, despite the fact that it was none of her business... that annoyed Kelly.

...wow, she was starting to miss when her biggest problem was contending territory with Ludo.

"Let's stop here," came River's voice from the front of the group. "Saw anything suspicious?"

"None that I could recognize," Johannes replied from the back. "I don't like this part of the wasteland, way too many rock walls hiding the view."

"One of the demons in front of the throne room warned us about NBK ambushes," Alex added. She them grunted. "I don't see any sign of them being around, but I gotta agree with Johan. I ain't staying here, if I were you."

"Then keep an eye out. I'll open a portal in a minute or two, we're well out of Underworld and the crystal's reach." With that said, River pointed at some positions, iand the warriors went to make a circle around him and the two girls. Then, he turned his attention to them.

"How are you doing, you two?" he asked.

Kelly couldn't help letting out a scoff. "I believe that's clear enough," she muttered, pointing a thumb at Star... who didn't appear to be listening, lost in her thoughts.

River frowned, though he also nodded in understanding. "Star?"

She finally managed to realize that someone was talking to her, looking up to glare at River. "W-What?"

"Look, I realize things have not gone... for the best, but I would rather you stay vigilant until we're back in the stronghold. Underworld is not a safe place, outside the capital."

"...uh, okay," Star said, although her words lacked enthusiasm. "I'll watch out."

"...you're not fooling anyone, you know that, right?" Kelly blurted out.

River sent a glare her way, but at this point Kelly had grown a habit of ignoring people being disapproving of her actions. What she could not ignore was Star turning at her with a jerk, and then suddenly shouting, "What, do you want me to smile all the way and just tell you all everything's fine and dandy!?"

"No," Kelly replied after recovering from the brief surprise at her brisk reaction. "But I would expect you to be honest with us."

Star opened her mouth to rebut, but then stopped herself. Whatever was about to come out was replaced by a groan, then she covered her face with her hands.

"I just... I'm starting to get sick of this constant... everything. Things didn't work out with Pony, or Ludo... and now even Tom... he wouldn't even look at me."

"Did that stop you before?"

"This is different!" Star rebutted. "It feels like everything is out to get us, now that... that I just realized that I can't get my mind off... off things!"

Kelly thought about it for a moment, then decided to stick to being straightforward. "I would like to see where you're coming from, if it wasn't for the fact that this all because you still haven't got over Moon."

"What do you—I did not...!" Star's eyes grew wide, unable to comprehend that Kelly just didn't like to beat around the bush. "I-It's not just that..."

Kelly let out an exasperated sigh. "Look, I realize that this world may have a bigger jerk to person ratio than what you're used to, but if you want my advice: letting this affect you this much is neither healthy nor helpful."

"...you don't understand, not... not everything," Star replied. Her voice grew lower as she slowly switched from anger to dejection. "...o-okay, it's about her, but I just..."

Star spoke through her teeth. "I just wanted this once, to prove to myself that I could get through people, get the good out of them, despite the evil that happened here in the past. And I thought I actually managed to do so with her! That I was helping her get better, leave her past behind... I-I asked her, but she chose to follow me, on her own! I thought things were going to work eventually, even if Pony or Ludo didn't, but then after everything that River said, after she showed that... that thing on her hands... it was as if everything I believed in fell apart. I t-thought I could do it with Tom, because I know him well back home, too, but he wasn't just different... he...."

Star's racing eyes looked at something slightly below Kelly's face. "He... he hurt you!"

That acted as a reminder that the burn was still hurting. In fact, it was getting worse. Hilda had done her best, but Kelly definitely needed to see a proper doctor.

She fought down the urge to raise her hand to touch it, and focused on Star. "...he did do that, but that is not your fault. If the Lucitor king doesn't give a shit about people outside of his walls, I say so be it. That doesn't matter—"

"It matters to me!" Star said, raising her voice. "I c-can't just ignore that!"

"Well, maybe you should stop caring this much about people who don't deserve it!"

That seemed to strike a nerve, as Star's eyes went wide with shock. For a moment, Kelly thought she saw something lighting up her sclera. Yet, she hold her ground, glaring back at the Butterfly girl without diverting her gaze away.

After a few seconds it was Star who broke the stand-off, turning away.

Another few seconds later, and she heard her sob.

...crap.

"That... was not the best way to comfort her."

"What do you now about that, wise guy?" Kelly fired back.

"Actually a lot, kid," River replied, arching an eyebrow. "You think I didn't see people despairing because everything went more and more wrong for them, after years of war?"

Kelly found herself unable to retort to that. River didn't either, simply giving her a judging look that Kelly very much hated.

Mostly because this was the first time she thought the one judging her was in the right.

...she really needed to fix this, didn't she?

Swallowing down her pride, she spoke up again. "Look, Star... I... I'm sorry. All I want to say is that even if I can't... well, understand why you feel this way, you should not forget those who're still there with you. I... I literally left my old life behind just to follow you, and I'm not letting you make that go to waste."

Star turned her head, looking at Kelly in the corner of her eyes. She passed an arm over her face to clean it up.

"I... I'm sorry too... I, I think I need a little break, that's all..." she cooed with a low voice.

"I can agree to that," River said. He showed them a pair of dimensional scissors. With some animal pelt adorning the handles and blades that looked more like knives than scissors, this was clearly a scissor pair designed specifically for Johansen hands. "We'll have time to discuss what happened with King Tom soon enough, but until then, we should first get back. Ready?"

Star and Kelly both nodded, so he didn't waste any further time and proceeded to tear open the portal, bringing the scissor down into the air.

Except that no portal appeared.

It was as if he had swung a pair of normal scissors into nothing.

Kelly observed as he repeated the motion again, then a third time. Nothing happened.

"The scissor's not working?" Arthur questioned, the first one of the warriors to notice the failing scissors.

River didn't reply. Instead he glared at Star with urgency. "You said you can open portals when you told me about your travels, right?"

Star, still somewhat distracted by her inner turmoil, took a second to reply. "I-I can, yeah...?"

"Then do it now," River instructed, right as he pulled the weapon from the sheath on his back—a large battle axe that he'd chosen over the mace she'd seen him carrying the previous day. "And do it quickly. Arthur and the rest of you lot, stand guard, keep the circle. Kelly, you can fight?"

Kelly hummed a 'yes', although she kept for herself her thoughts about what was worrying River so much. Whatever it was, it couldn't be good, and she wasn't going to let a couple of burns stop her from helping out.

She pulled her greatsword and went to stand beside Hilda and Johannes, while Alex spoke up. "Do you think they're coming? I can't see them... or feel their presence."

"That's the problem with the New Butterfly Kingdom," River cut it short. "Star, come on!"

"R-Right. "Star spread out her arms and shut her eyes. She was silent, taking long breaths for a few seconds, but then some light sparkles suddenly shot out of her back and her clothing attire changed.

"O-Oh!" Hilda let out, unable to not steal a glance at the transformation. For Kelly it was easier to do so, since she'd already seen Star's butterfly form.

"Eyes on the battlefield!" River repeated. Then, he observed Star as she extended her arms out, evidently trying to summon a portal.

Nothing happened.

Kelly glanced back just to see River's brows furrowing even further. "It's not working?" he said.

"I... I can, let me try again," Star replied. She extended her arms out and narrowed her eyes in concentration. And yet, no portal appeared.

Before she could try a third time, River stopped her, hand on her shoulder. "How do you feel?"

"I... I don't understand," Star complained. "I... I know my magic is there, but I-I can't access it? It's not like the tramorfidian crystal o-or like something it's absorbing my magic, but... I feel... I feel a tingle on my hands, and—"

Star's reply ended up unfinished. One of the Johansen warriors let out a shout. Kelly looked back just in time to see Arthur drop.

There was a spear right through his neck.

More javelins fell around them. Kelly skidded around, eyes up to watch the trajectory of the incoming projectiles, while the Johansen did the same.

Star screamed, flying up in shock, but her butterfly form unexplainably vanished before she could fly up a few metres and she fell back to the ground. Kelly could not see where she ended up, because the enemy had already come out of their hiding places and were rushing at them, stealing her attention. The first line of foes was on them in seconds.

Hilda and Johannes ran ahead, shouting a war cry. Kelly followed them, preparing her greatsword. It didn't take her long to find one of the attacking figures, who focused on her immediately and swung his weapon.

Kelly blocked the attack of the rusty sword, then she responded by kicking the foe away, then swinging back with her greatsword. The mewman parried and kept his ground, withstanding the woolett's strength for now.

The mewman was wearing a poor armour set, consisting essentially of some simple mail, but with a heavy helmet that looked out of place. Kelly, taking note of that, decided to pull her sword away, and as expected, the mewman immediately charged, this time trying a thrust into her chest.

The mewman did not lack strength, but he certainly wasn't skilled: for Kelly it was easy to divert the thrust away, using the enemy's momentum against him. Then, she took the hilt and struck the guy's head.

The hit was hard enough that the helmet, which Kelly had correctly guessed was not actually attached to the mail, went flying. A hit that hard should've knocked out any normal mewman, or at least left him stunned and easy for her to knock down.

But instead, the mewman simply stumbled a couple of steps back, then recovered his footing as if nothing happened.

And then, Kelly saw his face. The mewman had a skinny, almost skeletal-like facial complexion. It almost looked like he had barely eaten for weeks. But the real striking feature were his eyes.

It was as if there were two black voids in place of them.

Kelly didn't have the time to dwell on that as a punch hit her cheek. She careened backwards, somehow still holding on her greatsword, and raised up, expecting a follow-up strike. Which indeed came as the previous, now helmetless, mewman swung at her again. The metal clanged and Kelly gritted her teeth, trying her best to push the enemy back.

The hollow-looking eyes of the mewman were trained on her, even if they lacked any semblance of visible sclera or iris. The sight was unnerving, but Kelly was still in battle mode and didn't fail to notice the mewman's companion, the one responsible for her newest face bruise, moving to flank her.

The second foe was a monster, some kind of heavyweight brawler with cyan skin and a vaguely seal-like face and body, but with actual hands instead of flippers, ready to punch. But, just like the mewman, the eyes of this monster were pitch black, too.

The brawler seal monster closed in and pulled a fist, his goal clear as day, so Kelly decided to take the initiative before the monster could strike while she was still busy in her strength contest with the mewman. Rather than trying to overpower the swordsman, she suddenly let her sword go and ducked.

The mewman's weapon flew forward, unable to control his own strength fast enough and giving Kelly ample time to sweep her leg, taking out both legs of the already stumbling enemy. The mewman dropped down while Kelly moved to fetch her greatsword, but the monster beat her on time.

Being weaponless didn't stop her from blocking the flying punch and answering with her own, striking the monster's snout first, then following with a kick in the stomach. The monster took the hit, but it slowed him down enough to give Kelly ample time to pick her greatsword up again and hold it up, restoring her guard.

The brawler seal kept his distance, but otherwise bid his time. Kelly could clearly see the bruise the punch left on his snout. She thought that had to hurt a lot, but the monster acted like he'd never been punched in the first place.

The momentary pause gave her a moment to reflect on the fact that the odd NBK warriors were not news to her. River had warned her and Star about the fact that the bulk of Meteora's army was not made out of soldiers, but slaves.

Soul slaves, that is.

Despite River's description and warnings, seeing them in person was a completely different manner. They didn't completely act like the undead, as they didn't attack blindly and they couldn't entirely shrug off her own strikes, but when it came to withstanding pain, they were darn near being one.

That, and the complete silence. Even now Kelly only heard the shouting of the Johansen warriors. A glance showed her that they were outnumbered. The soul slaves beat them three to one, and they kept trying to surround River and the others.

Not leaving them one moment of pause.

And then, something struck the back of her right leg. Kelly felt it cutting through her skin, and could not rein in a scream as the painful sensation shot through her body.

She turned around, moving her weight to her good leg, to face the attacker but then she was struck from behind, a punch hitting her nape. She was fast enough that she didn't take the brunt, but it still hurt, and it hit her burned skin around her neck.

That was too much. Kelly fell, hitting the dry ground with a thud, but stubbornly didn't let go of her greatsword despite her burns flaring up and her leg injury making it hard to even think straight.

The weapon proved to be her savior, as the same rusty sword from earlier came down to slash her chest. She put her weapon on herself, blocking the hit.

The mewman bowed down, pushing his sword on her, but Kelly kicked with her left and right now only good leg, hitting the groin. Again the soul slave's face gave no sign of reaction, but made a step back anyway, as if they were not entirely in full control of their own body.

Yet, he was replaced by a third creature, the culprit behind Kelly's newest injury. She recognized it as a bearicorn, one of the most common monster races in Mewni, but one very different from what she remembered from her childhood. Dishevelled, the bearicorn's own horn was actually broken in half, but the hollow eyes looked unknowing of the body's own state. The bearicorn had its claws out, and Kelly saw fresh blood on one of the monster's sharp nails.

And the brawler seal monster was right beside him.

Kelly let out a strained gasp. She couldn't fight them both at the same time, and they kept pushing. The bearicorn raised a clawed hand, ready to strike.

Pushed by a mixture of adrenaline and fear, Kelly tried to raise her sword even if she was still forced on the ground. But the strike never came; from her point of view, a golden bolt came out of nowhere, striking the bearicorn.

'Star?' she thought, but instead of magic particles, she saw blonde hair and a furious man swinging his axe at the seal brawler and the mewman who'd gotten back into the fray. The bearicorn had been knocked down by a shoulder push.

Kelly's immediate decision was to get up and help. Letting the sword go momentarily, she pushed herself off the ground, but her attempt at doing so was stopped dead when she tried to stand and another pain burst came through her leg injury. Tears filled her eyes, and she let out a partly-stifled cry.

Eyeing the heel, she saw that her boot had gotten slimy with blood. The bearicorn had not cut too deep, otherwise she doubted she could've been able to even move the leg, but... it still hurt way too much for her to tolerate.

She looked up and saw river easily keeping the seal and the mewman at bay. It looked like a stale-mate at first, that is until the mewman's rusty sword went into pieces and River's axe cut through him.

The vision of the mewman collapsing with a huge wound running across his chest managed to bring some old memories she did not need to remember.

She shook her head, forcing herself to look at the surroundings. No more soul slaves were around her or River, and River wasted no time moving on to the brawler seal.

Except that the seal turned around to run away. Surprisingly enough...

Then, River ignored her. Instead, he went to the downed bearicorn. Kelly looked, almost mesmerized, as he raised his axe and brought it down on the creature's neck. He did not hesitate.

"W-What..." she let out.

Only now did River move to check on her. "Are you all right?" he asked.

Kelly didn't know if he'd ignored her or just didn't hear her comment. Instead, she shook her head. "I'm... I got a bad injury on my leg. I don't know if I can run, or even stand properly."

"You will have to try, Kelly," River said gravely. "You must either defend yourself, or stay out of sight... Star's cannot help, and the slaves are not letting up."

"I guessed that, but..." Kelly gruffly replied, half-offended by the implication. Although she only needed a look to see that River had every right to be that cold with her.

There were about six bodies littering the ground afar; some mewmen and monsters. Kelly recognized even a waterfolk among them. Soul slaves who'd been downed... for good.

She didn't know if she'd moved while fighting, or it was the brawl who'd been pushed away, but by now the bulk of the fight was far from her and River.

She could see, beyond a small bump in the ground, Hilda, Alex and Johannes fighting hard against a dozen or so soul slaves. Lake was nearby, standing guard beside Star, who was on her knees. From the distance, Kelly couldn't tell what was going on, or why Star was not moving.

River had to realize that the sight was getting to her, since he spoke again shortly after. "I may know how you're feeling right now. I understand, Kelly, but we can't afford emotions to stop us. I learned it the hard way, when I spent a couple of months fighting the NBK on the eastern front. Soul slaves don't fight like normal people... the only way to stop them is to cut the connection between Meteora's heinous spell and... whatever is left of the person. It's... either their lives, or ours."

Kelly remained silent, so River continued without wasting more time. "All I ask is that you don't let the NBK and their husks realize you're a good target. You can do that?"

Husks? The word annoyed her for some reason. Kelly maybe wasn't a genius, but she was smart enough to know these were not empty puppets, they were people enslaved against their will by Meteora and forced into their armies. The fact that they either had weak, decayed weapons or no weapons at all was tell-tale on that front.

Fighting for her life against Dominion forces who were oppressing Mewni to this day felt way, way different. And yet, these soul slaves would've ended her if it wasn't for River. She never had a choice on the matter, just as he said.

"...I guess..." she said, giving a quick look around herself. Some metres away, she located a small rock surrounded by dried up, skeletal-looking bushes. That was a good hiding place to start with.

"Good. Stay safe," River said before turning to run away. Kelly didn't look at him, her eyes wandering towards the fighters... and beyond them.

It was then that she realized the reinforcing slaves were coming from a distinct group. Above a small hill she could see multiple lines of soul slaves... and beside them, she saw a group of people that were definitely not soul slaves.

She recognized them from the bright purple vests and mantels they carried. They were mostly mewmen, except for a monster that she couldn't quite recognize from afar, but was definitely taller than the mewmans. One of the mewmen was a bannerman carrying a pole with an elaborated symbol: the NBK's insignia, made out of a black background and the purple silhouette of a crown, with a white starred circle around it. At the centre of the figure, as the most important shape, was a gray clover.

Beyond the banner, though, she saw that another mewman was carrying a very different pole. It was impossible to know what it was from the distance, but Kelly recalled something River had told her in his quick explanation of of the tactics Meteora employed.

Then, she looked at her leg. It still hurt, a lot, and she knew that if she were to run or fight again, it'd hurt again to the point of bringing her to tears. If not worse.

But Kelly knew something. She'd hidden away for far too long, and she was not going to resume doing so now.

"River!"

She was just in time, as River turned while he was already several metres away from her.

"I... I made my decision. I won't stay idle and let you guys take the brunt of it while I can still move... I have a plan."

Star was unable to move.

Her thoughts were very fuzzy. Whatever was denying her attempt at using magic had grown stronger very quickly, forcing her out of her butterfly form. As a result, she was left stunned, with sounds around her padded and her sight blurred.

However, what shook her was that she could still understand what was going on around her. Mewmen and monsters fighting each other. Metal clashing. Figures going down, with flashes of red.

She knew she needed to move, to stand up and do something to stop it from happening. This was the entire reason why she'd decided to help out! And yet, Star had remained on her knees for several, painstakingly long seconds.

"Star Butterfly!"

The shout didn't do much to get her back from her shock, but the strong arm shaking her left and right did. Star looked on to the person, expecting to see the familiar yet far face of her father.

Instead he saw one of the Johansen warriors. "You need to look out! The NBK is trying to get you!" Hilda shouted on her face. One of her arms was left dangling, with a huge bloody gash running over it, but she immediately proceeded to pick up a small mace she'd dropped before shaking Star awake.

"G-Get me?!" the girl repeated.

Hilda ignored her, turning around and blocking a swing from a mewman soul slave.

Star yelped and crawled back, but then she saw that another pair of soul slaves was coming for her. Another two Johansen came to her rescue, Johannes and River himself, brandishing axes and forcing the enemy to retreat.

Her eyes rapidly looked left and right, expecting more attackers. What she immediately was the carnage surrounding her, with multiple bodies littering the ground, some maimed severely. Star lost her breath, unable to fully comprehend the amount of death she was facing.

River had warned her about soul slaves and Meteora's cruel 'tactics', but she had internally set the memory aside to focus on Tom. Now, though, she could no longer ignore the truth—that she was getting involved in an actual war, and people would die even after her decision to help putting an end to it.

And yet, the soul slaves kept pushing, and eventually, one managed to get through. River, Johannes, Lake, Alex and Hilda were all fighting multiple enemies, and a short mewman hollow-eyed donning some simple leather straps was able to find an opening to run towards her, holding a knife.

She knew that the mewman, or whatever that creature who looked like a person who lived at some point, was going to kill her.

Yet, she could not bring herself to try and hurt them, despite their eerie, soulless faces, River's warnings, or the death already happening around her.

She had already seen the effects of Meteora's poisoned magic. There had to be a way to get them back to normal, with enough time... and she just couldn't deny them that chance, no matter how small.

Even if this time, rather than floating, eerie bodies, the black-eyed figures were people fighting to the death.

Star shooed the thought away, then opened her arms out. Concentrating, she tried to muster up what little magic she had available. The itchy feeling was still here, much, much stronger than earlier, but even so, she didn't feel like her magic was... seeping out, which was the effect of the barrier wood-made equipment used by Dominion soldiers. Her magic was there and she could get it if she went... deep enough.

And soon, she felt the magic coming back at her, flowing through her arms. Frowning, Star, her eyes lit up again, aimed for the approaching soul slave. "Narwhal blast!"

Instead of narwhals rushing ahead, green energy exploded out of her palms.

Star let out a cry of both surprise and shock, the spell strong enough to push her back. She felt like her hands were burning, and yet, that didn't stop her from remembering old memories. Green magic, a green wand with a skeletal hand, and the form of a reptilian face made out of muddy liquid magic staring at her with satisfaction.

No, she couldn't get distracted! Star looked forward and saw that her spell did manage to throw out the soul slave with a knife, who had been blasted away and into the air. The green blast was enough to throw into disarray some other slaves behind them, too. The Johansen nearby found themselves relieved and regrouped around her, although they didn't look particularly thankful for her intervention.

"The hell was that, Butterfly?!" Lake shouted.

"I-I'm not s-sure..." Star weakly replied, staring at her hands in a mixture of wonder and fear of her own doing.

"Leave the questions for later. Around me!" River commanded.

They put themselves around Star, shielding her as the soul slaves went back into position. However, the possessed mewmen and monsters no longer tried to attack them.

Afar, Star saw a group of NBK soldiers approaching. She immediately realized that those were not soul slaves, as their eyes were not blacked out.

"Don't say a word until my signal," River said. "Let the captain have his moment to shine if he wishes. We'll act accordingly."

The others hummed in agreement, but not Star. The tingle was getting much, much stronger, forcing her attention away from the soldiers. Her hands were sore due to the corrupted magic she used, but now it was painful to just move her fingers.

"Star?" River looked at her from the corner of his eye.

"...I-I don't feel well," she confessed. "R-River, something is happening to my magic a-and it's.... it's getting worse...!"

River turned back to face the enemies, but continued to speak. "See the bannermen? Look at the one carrying a tall pole that looks like it has engraving and decorations on it."

Star did her best to do as she was told. "I... I see, it kinda looks like a-a... totem?"

"That's because it is one. A Corruption Totem," River explained. "I only mentioned them briefly to you... I only heard them showing up in the NBK skirmishes with the Dominion before today. They act as a blocker of most kinds of magic on a short range, not just portals. I heard they were used mainly to deter Toffee from using too much magic-powered weaponry but... it never occurred to me they would affect you."

He hummed. "We need to destroy that thing. It's infused with Meteora's corrupted magic, but if we damage it, the enchantment will disperse immediately, and you should regain your strength. Enough to get us back into portals and the Johansen kingdom."

"...o-okay." She found herself unable to say anything else. She knew the cause of her peril now, but it didn't make her feel any better.

With Meteora's servants being closer, Star could now see the actual composition of the NBK leaders. Various mewmen with actual full-size armour covering their bodies, reminding her of Mewman Knights from back home. A few hodded mewmen, including the bannerman and the totem carrier. And then, towering above them all, a large monster that looked almost exactly like a lycanthrope from one of those horror movies she once watched on Earth.

The wolf monster proved to be the actual captain, as he was the first one to speak up once they were within hearing range. His voice was loud, rough and arrogant.

"You may already realise that you slime would be dead if I didn't tell my slave to hold back. You better pray it stays that way."

He matched River's gaze as he talked. "I know you, Warchief River Johansen. I can tell that you being here means this was no ordinary attempt at getting the Lucitors to back you up. Let's, therefore, jump straight to the point, and don't try lying to me."

He then lied his eyes on Star, who felt her hair shooting up. "Why the fuck is a Butterfly family member here with you?"

River narrowed his eyes, looking left and right as if judging the situation.

Star couldn't help wondering if he was actually considering whether to satisfy the curiosity of the NBK captain. With the bloodied axe, sweaty face and ragged breath, and none of the excitement her actual father usually was known for when in battle, River was almost completely unrecognizable, and her imagination ran uncontrolled. Not unlike Tom earlier. Or Moon...

A ghastly reminder that this was not her father, and that these people had no actual link or obligation to her

But then, River proved yet more of a source of surprises, as he spit on the ground.

"Wouldn't your dear Queen like to know, bootlicker?" he said. "All she's getting from me and my men are our heads... if you can't get them, that is."

The wolf definitely didn't expect this level of defiance. He actually started to babble as he tried to come up with a reply. "W-W-What—how dare you—h-how you—?! Y-You little dwarves are fools, my slaves can easily overwhelm you and beat you until no bone left unbroken in your little skinny bodies with just a snap of my fingers!"

"You have yet to fight on the Johansen frontline, don't you? Mewmen and monsters across the kingdom are not all the same, especially those that are fighting because they want to save their loved ones. You may want to get used to it, if you wish to continue your career as a lackey to your so-called New Butterfly Kingdom."

The wolf took a few seconds to reply. Rather than surprise, now, Star saw him barring his teeth.

"You're going to regret this well before I'm done with you..." he growled.

"Maybe. Or maybe you didn't realize I was just biding my time."

"For wh—?!"

"HYAAA!"

Star saw a flash of aquamarine. Kelly went through the captain entourage like a bowling ball, slashing her greatsword from behind them.

The New Butterfly Kingdom knights moved to intercept her, but Kelly's greatsword was large and imposing enough that they backed down. The one knight who stood his ground, moving up a sword to meet hers, realized that the woolett outmatched him when Kelly aimed the blade for his leg. The mewman shrieked and fell down, clutching at the injury, while Kelly moved on before his peers could stop her, making a beeline for the totem bearer.

The hooded mewmen were less courageous than the knights, as they immediately dispersed, some yelling for help. The totem bearer even left his totem fall down, but Kelly didn't divert direction to give chase.

Instead, she rushed at the engraved pole and swung down the sword on the thing. Wooden splinters flew everywhere as Kelly pulled her sword up, then swung down again. Then again.

At the third strike, Star suddenly felt as if a large boulder on her back had vanished. The painful tingle disappeared from her limbs, and she felt magic flowing all the way back into her heart.

Her reaction was immediate, as she saw Kelly crying out. A monster soul slave had approached her from behind, punching into her back and forcing her to back away, but then, the wolf NBK captain caught her by the throat from behind.

Her letting the greatsword go was enough for Star to realize that she was already beyond the point of bearable pain.

She was in the air, her butterfly wings extending out and flapping loudly. She then dashed ahead, moving above the hollow-eyed gazes of the soul slaves who could not reach her and the glares of the NBK knights.

"You little wench will pay for—huh?!" the wolf looked away just to see Star's bright yellow magic coming for him. He was struck right on the head, which made him howl in pain. Kelly was let go, and Star was fast enough to catch her in mid-air.

"I got you!" she said before leaving away. Javelins thrown by the soul slaves flew in her direction, but none hit, although the soul slaves had resumed to move towards River and the others. The knights on the other hand stuck around the knocked down captain.

She decided to take the initiative as she used whatever free limbs she had available to conjure another spell. "Ground dog Spawn!"

Immediately, animals started to shot up from the underworld wasteland, except that they were human-sized dogs instead of ground-dogs, and they were statues made of out of the earth and stone dust on the ground rather than actual creatures. Even so, some ended up hitting the soul slaves, throwing them off, and one even struck the NBK bannerman. The banner came down, hiding the insignia from sight.

"That should hold them off and give us—"

"U-Ugh! W-Watch my leg, S-Star—!"

"S-Sorry, what are you—!" Star saw blood already leaving marks on her arms where she was holding Kelly's legs. "You're bleeding!"

"That was from earlier, mostly," Kelly grunted. "I'll live, let's get back to the others... I-I really had enough for today."

Star fought through her worry and did as she was told, racing back to the Johansen. As expected, they had held their ground as the slaves were busy trying to recover from Star's spell. Except for two.

Star was met by a gruesome sight as she saw Lake and Alex carrying Arthur on their shoulders, bringing him to the others.

She didn't even have the time to consider whether he was still alive, that River cut a blue portal open with his dimensional scissors. "You first, Star! Go, now!"

She didn't let him tell her twice and darted to the portal, still carrying Kelly on her arms. The only distraction came from a howling voice from behind her.

"Take them out! I said take them out!" the NBK captain shouted. Not satisfied by the result, he switched to calling them out. "Y-You! Mark my words, you will not get away with this! Meteora will know of this, and your fraud lineage will end, we will make sure of it! We will annihilate you all!"

That was the last she heard of him before going through the portal.

Star found herself in the square found right in front of the stronghold entrance. Behind her, she saw Hilda coming out of the portal, then Alex and Lake carrying the body. River and Johannes came last, with River manually turning around and using the scissor to shut the portal.

For a few seconds they were silent, only their irregular breathing breaking the silence. Then, their arrival had an effect, as multiple mewmen ran to them.

"Warchief!" one of them called. "What happened?"

"Save those for later," River glossed over the question, focusing his attention on Star. "Can you carry Kelly to our doctors? We have a small infirmary in the stronghold."

"U-Uh, yeah," Star replied. "I don't know where—"

"Hilda will guide you," he gestured to the said woman, who was already beside Star. "She needs a fix-up as well but can still walk."

He then turned towards the others. Star would've liked to question him further, ask about the wounded mewman who, still carried by Alex and Lake, was not moving, ask about what they were supposed to do later, and just... digest everything.

But Hilda put a hand on her shoulder, getting her attention. "Let's go, Butterfly. Your friend needs your help more than River does."

With the events occurring one after the other, she hadn't realized that Kelly was still bleeding from her leg injury, and that her neck was now looking grimy as well, after her encounter with the NBK captain.

Kelly hadn't said a word, a hard frown on her face with eyes shut. She looked... incredibly vulnerable.

No, Hilda was right. She needed to get her to help first. "Okay, lead the w—"

"Warchief, warchief!"

A young mewman, possibly a few months younger than Star herself, rushed beyond her and Hilda, forcing them to stop.

Hilda resumed to walk, but Star looked back to see where the runner was going. He kept shouting for River's attention: "Warchief! I have an urgent message for you and the Butterfly girl!"

"...me?" Star wondered as River turned with annoyance at the intruder. "Then say it, boy," he simply requested.

"Me and a few others were tasked to carry the information to you as soon as we knew you were back from your expedition to Underworld," he explained. "Thankfully I was around the square when you arrived... you have to know this."

He then turned to look at Star, as if aware of the gravity of the news.

"I'm here to report that the Fallen Queen is missing."

Chapter Text

Star's heart skipped a beat when she saw the Johansen doctors step into the room.

There were three: a woman with a somewhat out-of-place attire that looked like cross between an apron and a white coat, worn out and with dry brownish stains, and two tall burly men holding a stretcher. It took her a moment to realize that a girl with turquoise hair was lying on it.

"Kelly!" She jumped out of the chair, ready to run at them, but the woman made her halt in her tracks with a hand gesture.

"Hold it right there, Butterfly," she said. Star could immediately tell by her tone that she likely disliked her, although she clearly also made an effort to remain neutral on the surface. "The girl's here got a nasty wound and I'd rather not see it go back to the messy state it was in before we treated it. Don't touch her leg, and don't pull off anything reckless around her, Butterfly. Is that clear?"

"...o-okay?" Star puffed her cheeks, wondering for a moment why the woman would assume she'd try to make things worse for Kelly. Of course she'd be careful!

But of course, she also knew why the doctor said so. No matter how long she'd spent here, or her actual origins, she was still considered part of a hated royal family. Leaving alone the fact that there was an ongoing war taking place and tensions were still generally high. Star was still getting used to it, given that she'd spent her first weeks in the new world as a fugitive with little interaction with the actual populace.

It didn't take her long to become aware of the consideration the Butterflies had in 'this' Mewni.

Thus, she didn't retort, simply watching as the two male nurses moved Kelly over to the bed beside which Star had been waiting, being surprisingly gentle despite their gruff faces.

More than an hour ago she had brought Kelly to the infirmary quarters of the Johansen stronghold. They had spent just a couple of minutes waiting in the main room, as Kelly was quickly brought away for treatment due to the seriousness of the wound on her right leg.

Afterwards, Star was led to one of the smaller chambers deeper in the infirmary, where she was told to wait for Kelly's arrival if she wished to do so. Here, she fought her own impatience as well as the reluctance of the nurses that she interrogated for information, because she couldn't bring herself to leave until she was sure that Kelly was all right.

Indeed, even if she could see right now that Kelly was apparently all right, Star still hoped that no actual bad news were coming along with her arrival.

The doctor, now ignoring Star, went to the bedside. "That goes for you, too. Don't even think of getting anywhere out of the infirmary, let alone back in combat. You already pushed your leg too far."

"Yeah, yeah, mum... seriously, don't lecture me. I know my body and what it can and can't do," Kelly replied. Unlike Star, she had no qualms in replying to the doctor's warning with sarcasm, although she ended up yawning right after.

The woman simply scoffed. "You ain't the first rebellious warrior going through my office... woolett or mewman makes little difference to me. So I'd rather you keep that in mind anyway."

Kelly grunted something that could pass by an "m'kay". The doctor deemed it enough and turned to leave, followed by the nurses, without so much as a wave. Star didn't mind that, as her attention was solely on her friend.

"Hey," she said, walking to the bedside herself. "How are you doing?"

"Never been better."

Star put her hands on her hips, giving her a stern look. "Kelly, I'm serious!"

The girl simply shook her head. "Right, right.. well, my neck is doing alright... turns out that the NBK stole some sort of demon tech in Underworld, and they've been using it in the war, so the doctors here were already equipped to deal with burns from demon fire. I don't remember the specifics, but that's pretty much it... although I wouldn't call it lucky."

She pointed a thumb at the gauze applied on the skin below her head. "Anyway, doc's told me it should be healed to a good level in a day, two days tops. It still stings, though."

"That's great to hear!" Star said, optimistic as ever. Inevitably, though, her eyes fell on the actual main problem. "Well... what about... your leg?"

Kelly frowned, but gave out another yawn before replying. She stared along with Star at the cast put around her lower right limb. It covered everything from her foot up to the knee, and it didn't look like there was much in the way of mobility for her with that thing on.

"You can judge yourself, but if you want more details... long story short, my heel chord was very close to splitting in two, and, uh... I lost quite a lot of blood. The latter is why I feel so... tired, right now. Either that or whatever that woman gave me before they treated my leg."

Kelly looked away, her expression hardening. "...I don't think I can leave to tag along very soon, Star, as much as I hate it. Doc's said that a month is needed for a full recovery at a minimum—there's no way in hell I'm sitting here for that long, but... I don't think I can heal up that much sooner."

"...but you're going to get back up to shape, eventually, right? You just need some time at rest. Even if it takes you months."

Kelly eyed Star. "Uuh... I guess so, but—"

"Well then, that's all I care about," Star said with a smile.

If Kelly was confused, now she looked downright befuddled.

"W-What do you mean?" Kelly asked her. "After today we should, like, get back to work as soon as possible, keep looking for new people who could join us. Wasn't that your whole idea?"

"I can wait for a little while," Star replied, for once finding it relatively easy to find the right words to say. "And hey, I can just continue for a short while with just dad—urr, River, too... well, if River, or King Johansen want to keep going after today, that is... but in any case, that doesn't mean I want to force you out of this bed until we're sure you're healthy again."

Kelly stared at her for several seconds before eventually resorting to a somewhat stifled groan.

"You are so much stubborn... uugh," she muttered.

Star didn't understand the reason behind her reaction. In the end, curiosity got the better of her. "...uh, what do you mean by that?"

That simple question somehow prompted Kelly to raise her voice at her. "What do I mean?! W-What, why—!" Kelly let out another peeved groan.

"...I, I just don't understand what is your deal, Butterfly. Why are you even considering to waste your time waiting for me, it's just—absurd!"

Star furrowed her brows. "I'm not wasting my t—"

"You are!" she cut her off. "I thought I could help you get this done, properly for once, but look what good I did, how well I could keep my mouth shut around the demon king, how long I lasted during that ambush. And you tell me you care about me more than literally trying to stop a years-long war, the one I may have just ruined when things were finally going well enough? The one that I spent months actively avoiding? The one who destroyed my family!?"

Star found herself unable to muster a quick reply, so Kelly was free to continue on with her rant. "N-No, no, I may understand you caring about people in general, because of what happened to them, but I can't understand you acting like you're also ignoring the damage. You sticking around me after the mess I ended up doing is just... ugh!"

Kelly collapsed back into the pillow. "...that freaking demon king was right," she finally let out.

She continued to mumble swear words under her breath. Star could immediately tell that she was fighting back tears as well.

It didn't take for Star to join her as she felt ready to cry as well. Yet, in her case, she had far different thoughts running in her mind compared to Kelly. And she had every intention to make them known.

"I d-don't know why you suddenly feel like this," she started, "but you're wrong if you think you're responsible for even half of what happened."

"...how?" Kelly drawled, glaring at her.

"Kelly, the entire situation was just... horrible. Like, Tom for instance... even if it was terrible to hear what he had to go through, he still didn't have to treat you the way he did. He had no right to... tell you what he said. To... to hurt you!"

Star looked away for a moment as she pulled back some recent memories. "My Tom... he also had anger issues, but he learned to recognize the extent of that issue over time. I don't think the King Tom we met had the same support from the people around him... and that's why he said the things he said, and... I'm sorry that was the case, but it still was his decision to act like that!"

"...it was me who s-started it, though..." Kelly countered.

"But it was him who tried to choke you out, and you were calling him out... even if, well, maybe I wouldn't have done it the same way," Star conceded. "In any case, you said it yourself back there: you said you are different than him. If that's the case, you don't have to take his words for granted, either."

Kelly didn't look convinced, but she apparently was unable to find a proper counter-argument.

"And by the way, why do you even feel guilty about the fight?" Star continued, "You literally saved our butts!"

"That doesn't change the fact that I got myself crippled in a couple of minutes! Fighting is what's what I'm supposed to be good at."

"Because you couldn't fight off zombified mind-slaves who didn't go down? Kelly, those things managed to... to kill one of the warriors that were with us, and River told us they were among the best of the best!"

"Maybe that warrior would've been alive by now if I didn't fuck it up!"

Now it was Star's turn to remain without words for a few moments, completely taken aback by the reply. Kelly herself looked like she realized she'd said something quite strong as well, given that she quickly looked away.

Star didn't remain silent for long.

"Y-You could've died both, too..."

Kelly turned to look at her in confusion. "Kelly, we... we can't know for sure how things would've gone if you, or any of us, acted differently. For all I know, we could've all died! Do you really want to continue to blame yourself over the past this way?"

She scoffed. "I... I never wanted people to die, either, and it... it was easy to pretend people weren't dying at first, to just focus on the common goal, up until it happened right in front of my eyes and I could do nothing to stop it, about what Meteora did to those people and then... then Arthur. I-It was awful, I... I hated it so much, b-but I... I don't want to let it stop me from keeping on, Kelly. I think this... this universe, no, the people in this universe deserve better. And I think... I think you deserve better, too."

Mouth slightly left open, Kelly stared at Star with eyes wide open. This time, the woolett eyes were clearly watering up.

Eventually, she lowered her head. "Y-You don't understand... Star, I... I know you're right, b-but... I can't shake it off, the feeling that I messed up things this bad... that I couldn't—"

"You ain't the first one feeling like that."

That was a third voice that neither girl expected to hear. Star and Kelly both turned to the right: a few metres away there was a woman lying down on another bed. Other than her bandaged-up arm she looked quite okay, and her severe eyes were fixed on the two young women.

She was the other occupant of the room, one of the warriors who were part of the group that escorted them to Underworld. Hilda.

"If my opinion is of any worth to you," she resumed to speak without waiting for further input, "Then remember that you did what you could, whether physically or mentally, in a situation that no one truly wants to find themselves in." She then hummed to herself. "More so, if I think about your age."

Hilda's gaze left the girls as she stared forward. "Arthur knew he could die. He was not the first warrior I saw falling, and while that doesn't help me feel any better... I also remember how he felt like about the war, about what most of us feel about this hell we're in. We kept going despite it, and we kept going even as we saw our friends fall around us."

When facing them again, Hilda's had a solemn look on her face. "If you really want to make up, woolett, then get some real rest until you're fixed up, and only then step back into the fray and make sure that Arthur didn't die for nothing."

She sighed. "Because I sure as hell don't want you to drop the sword, you who are the girl who saved my life, as well as my comrades'—including the warchief's."

Hilda ended her monologue without much fanfare, and there a few moments of silence as both Star and Kelly found themselves unable to say something in return.

Star in particular was not expecting her to interject. Hilda had been in the room with her for about a quarter of an hour before Kelly was brought back, and despite Star's attempts at talking, she'd remained reserved and unwilling to converse with her, not unlike they acted during the expedition. Star had decided not to insist, as she didn't know how much Hilda's silence was due to the innate hostility of the people of Mewni towards Butterfly family members here, or her just not feeling like it after the events in Underworld.

The former was a valid hypothesis, considering the fact that Hilda had clearly ignored her as she spoke...

Perhaps, though, Kelly's breakdown had struck a chord with her that Star could not reach. After all... Kelly had more in common with the warrior woman than Star ever did.

"...I... I don't think that makes me feel any better..." Kelly confessed. Star jerked her head at her, appalled.

But then, Kelly continued, "...but I g-guess I can think about it, Hilda..."

"You better. We could use more people like you, as much as I don't like to see kids like you around a battlefield... but things don't always go as well as we want them to," Hilda replied.

With that, she simply turned her back to them on the bed, acting like she'd never barged into the conversation to drop a philosophy bomb on them.

Star considered for a second whether to try and press her for explanations, but quickly decided against it. For all she knew, Hilda had her own thoughts to dwell over, and it was clear that she was attached to the same person that made Kelly feel guilty. She made a mental note for thanking her later if the chance came, then redirected her attention to Kelly.

Kelly was looking away, but her sniffs left no doubts about her feelings.

"...you still feel guilty, don't you?"

"...I-I can't just go and forget it," Kelly said. "You know that."

"...yeah, you could say that," Star said. Her reply was really half a confession in a way.

As it was her idea that led to the expedition to Underworld to happen in the first place. Something that, no matter how much she wanted to try and remove from her mind, Star could not forget about, either.

It was if Kelly read her mind, because she let out a flat laugh. "...I guess that's two of us."

Star simply nodded. Perhaps there was a truth to the idiom she'd heard on Earth... a trouble shared is a trouble halved.

"...well, I-I'm glad the message got to you," Star said. She offered a smile in an effort to lighten the mood, if only for a moment. "And, by the way, it's not like you can do anything to stop me from staying here with you, sooo...."

Kelly gave her an odd look.

"...I d-don't think you should, but... I, ah... I'm happy you are here."

Star couldn't help letting out a small 'aww'.

She really had to pull up all of her self-control to stop her from jumping over the bed to hug Kelly. She was still pretty banged up, after all.

But she made sure to take hold of one of her hands with both of hers, squeezing tight.

...gosh, she missed this. It felt like it'd been a year ever since she first arrived in this universe, but now she could almost feel like she was together with a friend on good terms, just like she was when she hung out with Marco, the Kelly from her world, and everyone else.

Then, out of nowhere, Kelly chuckled.

"What's so funny?" Star asked her, somewhat puzzled by her reaction.

"It just occurred to me, you know another thing that I messed up, today?"

"...uh-huh?"

"My sword."

Star blinked.

"I lost it when fighting in the ambush. I just told you all of that about being guilty and me screwing up, but here I am, unable to forget about the dang greatsword. Ha... haha..."

Star could only watch as Kelly continued to laugh for a few seconds, although her mirth felt empty. At one point, she wondered if Kelly had lost her marbles.

But then, she found herself chuckling along. She didn't understand the woolett's sense of humour that well, but... she could see the irony, at least.

Maybe she could get her a new weapon at some point. Hilda, or one of her peers, probably would've been willing to help out in this regard. But in the meantime, Star was just happy to spend a few minutes with her, without thinking about the gravity of their situation.

Because she knew that there was another big subject she'd refused to reflect on up until now. One that, sooner or later, she'd have to face whether she liked it or not.

The subject of her sister's fate.

Meteora Butterfly, rightful heir to the old throne of Mewni, rested her chin on a hand, deep in thought.

She sat on a large boulder that had been carved to look like an imposing chair, with decorations spread across the nearby wall that contributed to imposing, royal atmosphere that Meteora wanted. She was aware that such things were temporary, honestly just for show. Her actual prize, the throne of Mewni, was still deep in the clutches of the Lizard's rule, and a whole lot of other obstacles stood between her and total domination.

Thus, she sometimes found herself pondering over the situation, like a strategist mulling over the wargame board. It may have been odd for her subjects and enemies, but it really wasn't.

Meteora knew that in theory, many years ago, she could've just tried to march to Mewni and claim the throne, during the chaos of the rise of the Dominion. With the usurper on the run and the lizard not yet in full control, she would've found little resistance back then.

But Meteora was also Ms. Heinous, at some point in the past. And Heinous had learned to carry her work at St. Olga despite the events occurring in Mewni, and it was thanks to her work that the school survived through multiple wars, including the chaos of the Mewman Civil War. Heinous had learned what strings to pull and what factors to push to get people to do what she wanted even in trying times. Then, even after dropping the facade that was forced on her and growing to hate her time as Heinous, Meteora had realized that such an experience could not let go to waste. Not when she would've been alone against a progressively stronger and stronger monster army.

So, she marched elsewhere, setting up her own personal 'empire' and bringing down the Pigeon Kingdom as well as anyone else who dared defy he rule in the south, which gained her the foothold she needed to face the Dominion and, later, the resistance of the Johansen and the Lucitors.

Yet, since then, Meteora found herself often inactive. Creating soul slave legions required a lot of magic energy, and even the corruption totems she had come up with to carry her magic where she couldn't be were not enough. In the end, she she learned to govern her kingdom even from the makeshift throne room in the Mushy Mountains caverns. And mulling over the current affairs was all she could really do, during the hours spent resting to recover her magic.

Even if the lack of new conquests greatly angered her, Meteora forced herself to tread carefully: she could not afford any mistakes. Thus, progress was slow... but with time, eventually, she knew she'd get her way. Even as alone as she was.

Although she was not entirely alone.

She looked up as a figure went through the entrance to the cavern throne room. Few people in the NBK had the permission, or even just the confidence, to go to Meteora in person. Not many people left her audience without their soul being kindly 'burrowed' out of them, after all.

The visitor showed to have no fear of her. He walked upright, wearing a full suit of armour—a rarity in the NBK army reserved to the most important of her subjects—and standing relatively tall to most mewmen and monsters. The large knight's helmet concealed his identity, although Meteora knew full well who this knight was.

"Ah... you're here," she greeted curtly, once the knight came to a stop.

He kneeled, bowing his head in respect for a few seconds, before rising again. "My queen," he spoke, "Forgive me for the unannounced visit, but I have important news to share."

She raised an eyebrow. "Beyond your usual report?"

"Indeed," the knight replied. "Would you like me to go through the status at the frontlines first?"

In other times, Meteora would've shouted at him to spill the beans here and now, but here instead, she simply nodded, accepting his offer. "Be quick about it."

The knight nodded. "Now, for the war with the Dominion and the Johansen, I'm sorry to report that there were no substantial changes since our last update. There have been a few skirmishes in the east with King Johansen's troops, while in the north we are still in the back-and-forth stalemate with Toffee's forces. Overall, no progress was made... or lost."

"Back-and-forth? I thought we planned an offensive on the Dominion's inner plains, towards the Waterfolk coast."

"We did, but the local General decided against it. Our informants tell us that Toffee has a substantial garrison covering those areas as well. We suspect that Toffee does not trust his Waterfolk vassals very much, but regardless if we were to strike now there we risk a heavy counter-attack and, possibly, a disastrous retreat. While strong, the soul slave legions garrisoning our borders are not unlimited."

Meteora narrowed her eyes. Oh, how she wanted to go 'fetch' the general and make sure the slime could never displease her again.

Yet, she'd learned to get used to the continuous lack of progress, with time... even if the cunning lizard and the rebellious mewmans of the east continue to evade her efforts of conquest. The general really only acted as instructed by the Queen herself.

'One step at a time,' she thought to herself, like a mantra.

"Clear enough," she said through her teeth before switching the subject. "What about the Lucitors? Are we any closer to capturing Underworld in full?"

"I'm afraid not, although we continue to carry out successful raids. Underworld can't resist their isolation forever, that's for sure, and our forces are speeding up that process day after day. However..."

The knight lifted his hands to grab his helmet, and took it off.

Meteora's interest was renewed as she looked at the familiar bright yellow mechanical eye-patch staring back at her.

"This is where the important news come in, my queen," Gemini said.

He was very much unlike the hunchback servant of Ms. Heinous that he used to be when he worked for her back in St. Olga. After learning of her true heritage, Meteora had considered destroying him, as a way to disown her own past. In the end, she concluded that she did not need to let a loyal ally go to waste.

So Gemini stuck around, and when her rise to power turned into a full-scale war, she decided to give him an upgrade, making use of the little she'd learned of robotics when she was still Heinous. With a little bit of magic to even out the quirks, of course.

He used to be the most loyal of the servants of the Headmistress of St. Olga, and now he was the right-hand man of the queen of the New Butterfly Kingdom.

"...continue, Gemini."

"Earlier today I was in the process of surveying our forces in Underworld when the local general came to report to me personally. About four to five hours ago, one of our lower rank captains carried out a raid against what looked like a Johansen envoy."

"Hmm... that's something I haven't seen happening in a long time. Is King Johansen having enough trouble that he ordered to resume the attempts at contacting Tom Lucitor?"

"It may be more complicated than that," Gemini replied. "The raid was unable to take out the envoy before they escaped, unfortunately, so our information is limited. However, from the captain we learned that it was made out of extremely experienced Johansen warriors, possibly elites. And one of them... was Warchief River Johansen in the flesh."

Rarely did Meteora feel like she was taken aback. And yet, here she was.

"...the warchief? Hold it, I thought that he was busy in the Dominion-Johansen frontline. What was he doing in Underworld? I don't recall him having any direct connection to the boy king."

"That, we cannot know, but his presence is likely connected with those who were part of the envoy. According to the captain, beyond the Johansen, there were also two girls in the group. One was a woolett... which, albeit strange, is of no concern to us. The other..."

Gemini paused. Usually very direct and professional, he now looked hesitant about elaborating on the last piece of news.

"Gemini..." she pressed.

The knight coughed. "Apologies, my queen. This other girl... she had cheek marks."

It was as if he'd dropped a literal bomb in the cavern. Meteora stood up; with her size and corresponding weight, the walls around them quaked. There could even be voices heard far in the cavern network.

"...are you insinuating that there is another member of the usurping lineage alive?"

"I... I cannot give you full assurance regarding the how, my queen... but if the report is to be believed, then that girl is a Butterfly. She was clearly affected by the corruption totem's presence, for one, but... the captain's word describe her as 'turning into a horrid mewmanoid beast with butterfly wings and six arms, raining down hell on all of us'."

Gemini paused for a moment. "I... I haven't had the chance to meet the captain, but I know the general who reported this to me. There... there may be some exaggeration to it, but frankly... that description may not be that far from the actual thing."

"...and this girl is alive."

"...yes, she is. She and the rest of the envoy left via portals, once they were able to break down the corruption totem our raiders carried."

Meteora took a few steps to the side as she tried to digest Gemini's words.

The news posed a great problem, a far greater one than she anticipated. While the lizard and the rebel kingdoms were her enemies, they were no more than obstacles towards complete dominance over Mewni.

The existence of people like Moon Butterfly, however, was not just a threat to her claim to the throne, but also a source of great anger. In her eyes, Moon Butterfly and the usurpers who preceded her were part of a traitorous lineage built upon a lie that needed to be removed from the picture. Even if the Magic High Commission was long gone, Meteora considered all Butterflies other than herself active traitors anyway.

There was only one true bloodline, and it was hers. Any other was to be eradicated.

The treatment of Butterflies was the one thing she could agree with Toffee on, apparently. Although she found it infuriating how, according to the little she knew, he had failed multiple times to capture and end Moon.

And now there was another one.

Meteora barred her teeth with her eyes shut, trying to reign in her fury.

Then, something occurred to her.

She turned towards Gemini as an idea slowly took form in her mind. "Weeks ago I heard through our informants about movements in the Dominion, unrelated to the on-going war. I thought nothing of it, but now..."

"Do you believe that Toffee may be hunting down the fake Butterfly girl already?"

"Possibly, although I don't like not knowing for sure," Meteora said. "However, there's still a chance that the appearance of this new usurper and Toffee's actions are connected... and if that is the case, then we should seize that chance. This stalemate has lasted for far too long... and I'm done waiting."

Meteora continued to speak as the plan took shape. "To begin, you now have a new task, Sir Gemini. Visit the generals on the frontlines in the north and freeze up any planned attempt at an offensive. Until further notice, they are to entrench and hold position without touching the Dominion. Then, you are to pay a visit to the subjects of the old Pigeon kingdom. Gather an army from the soul slave garrisons there and have them stand at the ready for a full-blown invasion."

"...and then, we wait?"

"Yes, although that means we won't know the 'where' until the very last moment." Meteora cupped her chin for a moment. "I'll make sure our informant web takes care of that. If anything drastic is to occur inside the Dominion, we will hear of it... and when that happens, then we'll be there to put an end to this senseless rebellion once and for all."

"An acute plan, my queen. I'll see to it that your will is carried out," Gemini said. Unlike most knights who served her, his reverence was true and honest and not born out of fear or hunger for power. He'd do his part, she knew it.

"May I be granted one last question, before I leave?"

Although he sometimes was slightly too much insistent.

Meteora scoffed. "Share your doubts, Gemini. Your future mistakes will also be my mistakes, and I'd rather avoid that... for both of our sakes."

Gemini did not show to feel threatened by her comment. "What are we supposed to do concerning the fate of the youngest usurper? Based on the little we know, she may be an odd case, and may not be linked to Moon. Should we inquire further?"

Meteora took a whole two seconds to take a decision. "No. As soon as we have the Dominion's attention elsewhere and we can move on with our attack, she'll cease to be useful to us and is to be given the very same treatment as Moon. I want both of them dead."

Gemini nodded, putting back his helmet. "As you wish, my queen."

As the knight turned to walk away, Meteora took a minute to mull over the news and her quickly devised plan. She now had much more work to do, and preparations had to be made for the near future... but she definitely preferred this compared to losing hours in her private thought experiments. Toffee always was one step ahead in the past, infuriatingly, but with the new factor provided by the usurper girl, she could see that change.

And once the Dominion was gone, things would end quickly. She would gain access to the monster army, who could decide to switch allegiance... or do so whether they wanted or not, as soul slaves. And the New Butterfly Kingdom would be free to focus its power in one final strike to crush down on the Johansen and Lucitor rebels.

Yes, now she could see how the rebirth of the true Kingdom of Mewni was closer than it ever was. The kingdom ruled by the one true Butterfly lineage would be fully restored and everything would be made right again.

And it would all start once she was back with her family.

River didn't take too long to make his way to the stronghold's infirmary.

Once he was done with his duties, he'd made sure to reserve some time for the kids. For one, because he believed it was fair to bring them up to speed with what he learned.

In all honesty, the real reason was that he was worried. He was worried about the woolet's health, of course; he was confident on the skills of the doctors here—he had unfortunately many chances to take note of that—but deep down he knew he couldn't be sure Kelly was out of danger until he saw her with his own eyes.

As for Star... she may have not been injured, but River didn't know how well she'd cope with what transpired earlier that day.

Soon, River found himself walking down the main corridor of the infirmary. He passed through various rooms and gave a greeting to a passing doctor, until he reached the room where the girls were supposed to be in.

When he stepped inside, he couldn't help letting out a sight of relief.

'There they are.'

Star sat on a chair right beside Kelly's bed. The two girls were chatting with each other, but otherwise. River gave a half-glance to the empty medical bed found to the other side of the small room. He'd been told that the only one of the bodyguards who had come with them in Underworld had been treated in parallel with the woolet girl. Perhaps Hilda was already discharged, or undergoing further checks somewhere else in the infirmary.

His derailing thoughts were interrupted as the girls suddenly realized that they had a new visitor.

"Da—uh, River!" Star said. "Uh, you made it!"

At this point River had learned to ignore her slip-ups concerning their confusing parental relationship. "Hello, Star. Kelly. How are you doing?"

He walked closer until he was right beside the bed, looking expectantly at the lying woolett girl.

Kelly snorted."Great," she said flatly, making a vague, small gesture towards the cast.

"She's doing okay, River," Star said. "Just a little grouchy because of the cast. Doctor's said that she isn't risking anything serious, but will need to rest for a while.. a bit of a long while."

"I was afraid that was going to be the case," River said. "I'm sorry for that, Kelly... although, I hope you plan to follow the doctor's recommendation. Properly."

Kelly simply glared back at River. "Are you Johansen all so distrustful of people when it comes to their own well-being?"

"On a case-by-case basis, and given we're in a war... yes."

"...I already had this conversation. You can rest easy knowing I'm not pulling anything... not like I can try..."

"Good enough. Keep at it, and you'll be back on your feet before you know it," River said in an attempt at encouraging. Judging by Kelly's groan, it didn't work very well.

He was honest, at least, which was what mattered to him.

He then turned to Star. "What about you?"

Star gulped. Evidently she didn't expect to be addressed directly. "I... I'm okay? I didn't get hurt..."

"I know, Star." River tapped his own chest. "I mean how you're feeling here. You know what I'm talking about."

"Uh, well... I... I'm keeping up," Star's small smile quickly disappeared.

River considered to a moment how to address her blatant lie, then decided against it. Before dealing with this, he needed to share the few news he had.

"I'm... glad to hear you two are doing alright, then. However, the problem at hand still exists, and I'd rather address it now than later."

"If you say so..." Kelly muttered.

"...okay," Star said half-heartedly. "B-But, before we talk about, err... about her, could I ask about... Arthur?"

"...go on."

"I... I just... does he have family?"

"He does, and they've already been informed. That's the strength of dimensional scissors," River explained. "There's not going to be a proper funeral, if that's what interests you. We unfortunately don't have time for everyone, not until the war ends, but..."

He breathed. "I'm glad that we were able to get his body back to them. And I have you both to thank for it... that, and getting us out of that ambush. If it wasn't for the two of you, I don't know if I would even be here standing in front of you."

River noticed that Kelly was no longer looking at him. She looked quite uncomfortable with the subject, something that he didn't know the reason of.

"Y-Yeah... we just did our best. And... and I'm sorry, anyway, about Arthur. Me and Kelly both."

"We all are... for what it is worth, my view is that we should make sure the loss of him, and many others before him, do not go to waste," he said.

Star nodded, while Kelly didn't say anything in return. There were a few seconds of silence between the three of them as he waited for them to reply.

Eventually, Star spoke up. "Uuh... okay, thank you. I guess we should, uh... we should talk about Moon..."

"Right." He took a few seconds to fetch an abandoned stool from nearby to sit on before continuing to talk.

"I'll go straight to the point. The young boy who brought us the news once we were back here told the truth: Moon Butterfly is missing. While we were away, some of the mewmen here came to the realization that she had not showed up anywhere for a couple of hours. Considering her... history, they sent a guardsman to check on her, only to discover that her room was empty."

"...do we know where she may have gone?" Star asked.

River shook his head, which he could tell wasn't what Star hoped for. "She hid her tracks very well, which is nothing less of what I expected if I remember anything about her. She left no message or clue regarding her intentions, either... other than one thing: a pair of missing dimensional scissors from the stronghold's stockpile."

He frowned. "If she 'burrowed' those scissors to leave, I'm afraid that for all intents and purposes it's as if she vanished out of thin air, Star. She could very anywhere within the kingdom or the NBK territory, or even the Dominion if she knew where to go. She may have even left Mewni for another dimension... although I don't see a reason why she'd choose to do so."

Star clearly needed a few moments to digest River's words. "...are you sure she didn't leave anything behind... even just something tiny?"

"Not a thing. Her room was cleaned from top to bottom by the time the garrison found out she was gone."

"B-But... there has to be something she left behind. She wouldn't just leave, she promised me she wouldn't pull anything like—I made her promise!"

"Star..." River started.

"No, I... I will look into it myself, I'm sure she came up with something where we play a role as well, we just need to—"

"Kid, slow down. Think about Moon, about her behaviour in the last couple of days. I didn't talk with her yesterday like you did, but... are you confident on her keeping her word, after everything?"

"K-Keep her...? Hey, Moon would not betray us like that!"

"That's not what I—" River didn't finish the sentence, preferring another reply. "...I apologise. I did not mean to insult her, but that... Moon's modus operandi does not work like this, Star. If she didn't leave us anything in sight, it's because she did not want us involved in whatever she wanted to do right now."

"If... If I learned anything about that woman in the weeks I spent tagging along with her and Star," Kelly said, "it's that she does not change ideas often. I... I have to agree with River."

Star's glare went back and forth between River and Kelly, but eventually she relented. "I... I don't understand why she'd choose to leave... I would respect her decision, but I just... I hoped she'd moved on from secrets. I would've liked to hear where she went, at least..."

"...maybe she did not want you to know that in the first place," River said. His gaze grew distant for a moment. "Perhaps, though... she did that because she thought she'd keep you safe that way. I... I think I can understand by now why she was so protective of you."

It was immensely difficult for him to justify Moon's actions with altruism, but he remembered how affected she was by Star's presence, and most importantly, he remembered a long time ago, when Moon was a teenager and Star a little toddler, and how the events that occurred right then had affected the Fallen Queen.

He had also spent several hours by now with Star Butterfly, this Star Butterfly. And, considering Star and Moon had been together for several days, he could make a few conclusions.

Yes, maybe Moon did change a little bit... but not enough to stop resorting to her own methods. That was the simplest explanation.

And while Star may have agreed to an extent, the kid had her own way to address the problem.

"Maybe you're right," she stood up and stepped away from River and Kelly. "Maybe she wants to keep me safe. But I want her to be safe, too. Whether she likes it or not."

Before River could say anything, Star extended her arms out. Purple-ish energy started to seep out of her hands as she joined her palms together. Then, she started to recite a spell.

"I summon the All-Seeing Eye, to tear a hole in the sky. Reveal to me that which is hidden. Unveil to me what is forbidden."

River gaped as a large dark purple shape erupted out of thin air in front of Star. He could easily recognize this as a dark spell, as he had the chance to study for a while the history of Butterfly magic when he was younger during his service at the Butterfly court. However... he did not remember any spell from Eclipsa matching this one.

That without touching on the fact that Star was using such a spell, with relative ease too.

Yet, what River didn't expect at all was the yellow sclera eye with a slit pupil appeared within the shape. The All-Seeing Eye only stared back at Star for a moment, before batting the eyelid.

In place of the eye was now a full view into a scene occurring far, far away from the stronghold.

A scene that left them all without words.

Moon held the monster from behind by the neck, keeping her grasp tight and firm. The monster, a humanoid lynx of some sort, initially tried to shout and reach out towards her head, but Moon didn't budge and his claws barely touched her. The sword he was carrying remained in the sheath, out of reach, and when he tried to call out, all that came out from his mouth was a stifled, low croak.

Moon held him until the arms fell limp. After that, she let him go, and the body dropped to the ground.

She gave him a glance. The monster was knocked out, but still breathing. In other times she wouldn't have bothered with this: she'd have taken him out immediately and permanently without hesitation, with her spear. The thought of knocking out her enemies would not have even crossed her mind.

Things were different now, after she met her.

Moon shook her head. She didn't need this distraction right now.

Leaning a little, she reached to her back and grabbed the staff of her spear, finally pulling it away from the strap on her back. Then, she checked the wand, still in its holster. The dimensional scissors she'd 'burrowed' had been left hidden away in the woods nearby; she knew that it was unlikely they could find their way back to the Johansen that way, but she didn't need to bring them with herself either.

This was likely a one-way only trip.

Taking a breath, Moon looked away from the downed monster, focusing on the large doors behind the guard's post.

She recognized them clearly, even if it had been years since the last time she'd been here. This time, there was no need for communicating with the gharial crocodile that acted as the gatekeeper: the Dominion had made sure of it, pulling the Magic Sanctuary up permanently and turning the surroundings into a small fort raised above the water level of the swamp.

She'd avoided detection up until now, sneaking in to get inside the fort and reach the Sanctuary's portal. It was a good result, but now she knew that there there'd be no further point in hiding. The guard she'd just taken out probably wasn't waking up anytime soon, but his absence wasn't going to go unnoticed for long. And the sanctuary was sure filled with Dominion warriors: her stealthy approach had to end.

She didn't mind.

Lifting her wand, Moon charged up an explosion spell and a few seconds later, the door was blasted off its hinges, the large wooden planks thrown off and dropping to the floor with a loud boom, wood splinters flying everywhere. She ignored the noise she made and stepped inside.

There was already shouting across the entire Dominion camp, as monsters flew out of tents and wooden warehouses outside. The few who were inside the Sanctuary rushed towards Moon instead. Almost all of them drew a variety of weapons, mostly blades with the odd crossbow. Most of them had barrier wood shields, and Moon took note of a couple of them carrying arquebuses.

Quite a lot of them were Septarians, a rare sight in Mewni, inside or outside the Dominion.

She was outnumbered, more so considering the warriors now flowing into the Sanctuary from outside, and yet she didn't hesitate to move further into the chamber. The Dominion soldiers, perhaps as much shocked as they were ready to fight, didn't immediately rush at her.

Soon, was in the centre of the room, about mid-way between the entrance and the large magic well towers—the source of liquid magic that Toffee used for his magic-powered weaponry.

She was also completely surrounded.

And yet, her attention was not on them.

Her eyes moved beyond the lines of warriors and focused on a platform, right in front of the high wells.

Said platform was a construct made out of a mix of wood and metal, artificially added by the monsters. Right there, within a cage reinforced with multiple layers of barrier wood, was Sir Glossaryck of Terms.

He hovered in apparent sleep, eyes shut, legs crossed and sleeves merged. But Moon knew better than that.

"Glossaryck," she called out. Some monsters immediately spat back insults at her, but she continued to ignore them. She didn't even flinch when some lighting popped up behind the lines of soldiers, the unmistakable signs of portals being opened. The news was spreading, and she knew her presence her would reach Toffee's ears soon.

Yet, she simply kept glaring at the cage.

And after a couple of seconds, Glossaryck opened his eyes to look back.

Some monsters were clearly taken by surprise by this. "H-How? He was deep a-asleep for years!" one of the loudest ones shouted, giving voice to a common thought among them.

Neither Moon nor Glossaryck responded, bearing each other's gaze instead.

"Huh. I guessed you'd come, eventually," Glossaryck spoke gravely. "Albeit this... is not when and how I imagined it. Tell me, what is your intent, Moon? Perhaps looking for a way to atone?"

"You do not get to judge me," Moon replied without hesitation. "But you will play a role in this, whether you want it or not."

Glossaryck nodded in agreement. "Sure I will, Moon the Fallen Queen. Sure I will."

He shut his eyes again, and Moon knew that he wouldn't talk, or help for that matter, any further. Not until this was over.

Glossaryck was always an enigmatic being that avoided direct confrontation or involvement with her affairs when she was on the throne. Regardless of his cryptic remarks, she remembered that he was not there to help her when she needed him, and she didn't expect him to act any different now.

But maybe he could be of help to Star. Maybe taking him away from Toffee's clutches was the key to this and finally striking back at the lizard. Maybe this entire thing even had a strategic value to it, considering Toffee kept him here at the Sanctuary rather than at his headquarters at the Bastion, which should have been the obvious choice. Not that she planned to leave this place in the hands of the Dominion, due to its importance as the main source of magic for Toffee's magic weapons.

Or, maybe... she could no longer tolerate everything that had happened to her, and she needed to put an end to this.

Thus, Moon removed the hooded cloak from her body, as it had no use by now. With her armour now in full display, she spread her arms out: spear on her right hand, royal wand on her left one.

The monsters readied themselves, but one septarian dared to walk towards her farther than anyone else. A crocodilian one with a large head, shorter than his peers and yet not any less courageous. He raised the Septarian sickle towards Moon, his teeth barred.

"Many of us have been looking forward to this, Fallen Queen. Toffee will be pleased to see your head on a pike, and Mewni as a whole will finally appreciate the end of of your sick lineage... tsch. I only wonder if, perhaps, you've gone low enough to come and accept your fate peacefully, after your recent failures?"

"I'm not here to negotiate with you, or even listen to any of your bullshit," she said, glaring at the Septarian with contempt. Then, she slowly turned around, making sure her voice reached the entire squadron of monsters encircling her, and that everyone had a moment to look at her in the face.

"Every one of you, heed my words carefully: you have two options here. You can stand aside, let me take Glossaryck away and leave before I seal the Sanctuary and restore it back into the depths of the swamp. Or you can choose to remain loyal to your Dominion... and die here."

The septarian guffawed, his laughing sounding like raucous, not unlike the growl of a crocodile. Some of the monsters nearby chuckled along with him.

"I'm afraid you underestimate the Dominion," he said, "but I didn't expect any better from the dictator who was responsible for so much death and suffering for all monsterkind. Puah! If you wish to die by combat, then so be it, Fallen Q—"

The Septarian didn't have time to finish. Moon zapped forward, at a speed that threw the monster forces into a series of disordered yelling. Her spear moved quickly, and the lizard-crocodile found his windpipe pierced through. Then Moon retracted her polearm and kicked him down, sending him into a tumble.

She knew that as a Septarian the warrior would remain alive, but she also knew that he was effectively removed from combat anyway thanks to the Solarian enchantment she'd applied on her polearm. The spell would last for a while and ensure all warriors she struck remained down.

However, she knew didn't have the time to finish him off, either. The monsters were coming.

Thus she moved on, rushing further into the scrambling line of Dominion soldiers and elites, wand bright with magic ready to be unleashed on them all.

She had only one shot at this.

Star, River and Kelly stared in silence as the image from the spell showed them Moon diving into the fray.

River and Kelly were both awestruck, but whatever the thoughts behind their reaction, they were most likely different from Star's.

Her shock was caused by a combination of contrasting emotions, all centred about the fact that Moon had chosen to do this on her own. She didn't tell anyone.

She didn't tell her.

'She made me a promise.'

And now she was there. No, there was no way that Moon was going to survive the onslaught. There were dozens of monster warriors, and Star recognized their equipment. By now she knew how effective they could be at fighting back Butterfly magic. And Moon, while powerful, was still dependent on the wand.

'She lied to me.'

The entire situation was... impossible to understand. What exactly did she expect to achieve with this... this madness? Star remembered mentions of the magic sanctuary in the past from her, but Moon had barely said anything about Glossaryck. But that couldn't be it... it wasn't worth just charging into there on her own! It was not worth it!

'She... she left me.'

Star looked away. With her attention elsewhere, the energy needed to keep the All-Seeing Eye spell active was cut off. The eye blinked, the yellow sclera replacing the image, and then the entire apparition vanished in a cloud of dark purple fumes.

That shook both River and Kelly out of their stupor.

"S-Shit..." Kelly managed to let out.

River didn't speak out-loud, instead muttering something under his breath that was possibly even more vulgar than Kelly's comment.

Star didn't pay them any attention. Already did she feel like she was on the verge of breaking down, now that the full weight of the situation was on them.

It was just... impossible to come to terms with what Moon had decided to do. Moon in the end didn't trust them. Despite what they went through together, she didn't trust her.

And now she was about to lose her.

Again.

Memories that had become distant resurfaced, memories of Moon... but the other one. Moon the Undaunted, the Queen of Mewni, her mom... who had disappeared without leaving a trace. Of when she lost her in the Realm of Magic because she couldn't handle the situation, because she wasn't prepared, because she had screwed up.

...no.

No, she was going to lose Moon again.

Star sniffed. The crying over her plight would come later. Now, her mind had already fixated on the next thing, her way to ignore the mix of anger and betrayal.

As she usually did, she'd take action.

She didn't warn the others about her ideas. Instead, she suddenly moved away from the bed, aiming for the door with heavy steps.

She didn't go very far before a hand was placed on her shoulder.

"Hold it, Star!" River said.

Her immediate reaction was to smack his hand away.

"Don't touch me!" she shouted. He clearly wasn't expecting her reaction, yet stood his ground. "Don't dare try and stop me!"

"I... I won't," River said, "but you need to talk to us.Star, this is... I know the gravity of what we saw, but—"

"Every second I spend here is a second she is risking her life out there." Star spoke while fighting to keep down her hiccups. "N-No, no, I'm not letting that happen, not until I know I can do something about it."

She turned around, spreading her arms out, intending to switch to her Butterfly Form. "I'm not going to let her get hurt and—"

"S-Star!"

That almost desperate call was enough to make her stop. Star slowly turned around: River had his back turned as well, and he was looking at Kelly.

Star had never seen Kelly look so much... vulnerable. Her eyes were fixed on Star and as soon as their gazes connected, she moved towards the edge, both legs—including the one in a cast—dangling down.

Star rushed to her before she could try and touch the floor with her limbs. "W-What are you doing?! I thought we agreed on—"

"If you... I-If you want to get yourself killed, then I-I may as well come as well."

Kelly's candidness once again took her aback. Although she did not actually try to get off the bed, she continued to glare at Star. "Or is it not what you want to do?"

"T-This is—I just can't stay here and do nothing, Kelly. I need to go help her and—"

"Help her getting killed?" Kelly cut her off. Star found herself out of words.

"Moon made her choice, Star, and there's nothing forcing you to follow her! Why the hell did you even talk about taking things slowly earlier, then? You'd actually rather give it all up for a suicide mission to save that woman?!"

"I don't care!" Star shouted back. Kelly's accusations were sore, but Sta r's determination was stronger . " I don't care if you hate her, or River hates her, or everyone hates her. I'm not going to let her die— I'm not that kind of person, no matter what she did, because I know she can be better, I know she's worth it, and I'm not letting this nightmare happen again!"

Kelly didn't reply immediately, a brow furrowed in momentary confusion, which left Star alone with a raspy breath and her thoughts.

Which meant she'd realized she'd shouted in the face of a crippled girl on a makeshift-hospital bed.

"...I, I'm sorry I didn't mean to—" she began, but Kelly shook her head.

"Stop that. Just... stop, Star."

Kelly hid her face behind her hands, groaning as Star considered whether to respect her wish or not.

Eventually she let her hands fall. "I... I'm not blind, I know she means a lot to you. I-I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking straight, but, Star... y-you... you mean something to me as well."

Her lips were trembling. "I d-don't want to lose you, t-too."

A dagger to the heart. Suddenly, her behaviour made sense, and Star felt like a fool for not realizing what this was about.

And yet...

She took Kelly's hands in her own. "Kelly, I... I care about you too. You're my friend, and not as a replacement for the Kelly from my universe. I mean you... and I promise I don't plan on dying out there while I'm away. I'll get Moon back from... whatever she's trying to pull off, and bring her back here: go in and go out. That's it."

"Tsh... you know it won't be that easy. She won't change ideas just because you asked nicely..."

"Doesn't mean I won't try, and if she keeps being stubborn... I'll find another way."

Star was aware that her explanation wasn't very satisfying. Yet, it was all she could offer.

Perhaps that was something Kelly was aware of as well. She moved over the bed, pulling her legs back up, and lying over the mattress. "I guess you will."

Then, she glanced at Star one last time. "J-Just... come back."

"I will."

It didn't matter that she couldn't be sure she'd be able to keep that promise.

That may have been true, but she'd darn well try to hold her word.

Star, unwilling to let the moment go on much further, turned away and moved towards the door that led out of the infirmary, merely giving River a passing glance and nod—without waiting for him to acknowledge her. Once she was out in the corridor, she immediately switched to her Butterfly form in a flash, without wasting more time.

Then, she heard the door open again, behind her.

"Star."

"...I'm not changing ideas." Refusing to face the warchief, Star extended her six arms out and opened a portal to the Sanctuary.

Or rather tried to, as nothing happened.

"Getting in the Sanctuary is no trivial matter, Star. It's not just well-fortified, the Dominion set up a small disruption web with Tramorfidian Crystals specifically around it. One such crystal is right inside the fort."

With her way out blocked, she had no option but to turn around to listen to River. "However, there's another option. The Sanctuary is located in a swamp surrounded by large forest swaths. The Dominion was never able solidify their position in the woods due to the frequent NBK raids, so you can get very close without detection even if you portal a few kilometres away."

"...what are you doing?" Star eventually asked, almost ignoring the actual topic. That was not how she expected him to address her, not when he clearly did not want her to go moments before.

"Helping you," River said simply. "But... most importantly, respecting your choice."

Star titled her head. "But you...? I... I don't follow."

"If it were for me, Star, I would've preferred if both you and Kelly were not involved in this mess to begin with, and you know that. However, leaving alone the fact that making a Butterfly who can use wand-less magic at whim mad is probably not a good idea—"

"...hey," Star scowled. "I would not do anything to you!"

"I know," River resumed. "The actual reason is that I've learned how to tell when someone sets their eyes on a goal to the point that nothing else is more important."

His expression grew pensive. "I saw that in Moon, in the past. And I see it in you now... huh. You may not be related, but perhaps there is some common thread among Butterflies across parallel universes as well, despite your differences. Regardless... your choice is your choice, and unlike how Moon... acted in the past, you're doing this to help people instead. I respect that, and I'd rather help you come out unscathed than make things harder."

...it was quite strange to hear the guy who looked like and had the same voice as her dad say that he wasn't going to insist further and would let her embark into a dangerous mission.

Then again, as usual, he wasn't her dad, was it?

"...okay, I guess that makes sense..." Star conceded.

"Going back to the topic," River continued, "set a portal away from the Sanctuary, then fly under the tree lines with your Butterfly form. I would suggest approaching more slowly and carefully otherwise, but I'm sure that Moon will divert most of the attention away. Once you're at the gates of the fort, though..."

He shook his head. "Not even the most daring of the Johansen scouts managed to get so much of a glimpse of the Sanctuary since Toffee took over. So, that's where what I can tell you ends."

"...it'll be enough," Star said. She extended her arms again and, this time, a bright-yellow rift did open up right in front of her. River was right.

She was about to fly in when she froze, one last time. "River..." she started, facing the warchief, "I... thank you. For everything. I... I know you think I'm out of my mind, that just like Kelly you think this is not something that should matter to me, but... this goes beyond the war with Toffee and Meteora, at least to me. I-I have so many regrets, even before I got here, and... and I'm done making more and letting people get hurt. I promise things will get better... and they'll get better for everyone."

"...I hope you're right, young Butterfly. Good luck."

Star lingered her gaze on him for a couple of seconds, then turned and flapped her wings. A second later, and she was gone, with the portal shutting shortly after.

River found himself alone in the corridor. He considered for a moment whether to go back to the infirmary room to check on Kelly and console her, but discarded the idea quickly.

The woolett girl would have to work on her own messy thoughts on her own, for now. At the very least, she was safe... while Star was not.

River pinched his nose. Here he was, planning up an impossible feat like old times, before he was picked by the king as warchief and the war made him old and prudent.

Star really had that effect on people, huh?

He abandoned the thought and started walking. No time for day-dreaming. First, the hardest problem: find volunteers willing to join him.

After all, it was not going to be easy to find a person in Mewni willing to go save two Butterflies.

Chapter Text

The lone guard clawed at her, trying to reach out without success. He couldn't move closer: his chest was punctured.

Moon pulled the spear out, and didn't wait for the Dominion warrior to crumble. Instead, she whirled around, moving quickly to avoid a strike of a rusty sword that targeted the side of her armour. Her spear moved again, striking the leg of the culprit, a surprisingly short-sized Septarian.

Moon stepped back and raised the wand, then summoned an explosive spell. White light burst out of the trinket, blinding some of the nearby monsters that were trying to flank her. The young Septarian warrior was thrown into the air, several metres away from her.

And yet more monsters took their place, keeping the pressure up.

Thus, she aimed her wand to the ground and mentally recited another blast spell. This one was not destructive though, and rather had the effect of sending her into flight, away from the attacking monsters.

This 'shockwave jump' tactic was one she already had to resort to multiple times over the past few minutes of combat. And it wasn't without risks.

Moon saw bolts barely missing her as some of the crossbowmen shot at her. There was no lead pellet, at least, as Moon had gone and taken out the arquebusiers already in the early stages of the fight—there were only two of them inside the sanctuary. She knew they were the most dangerous foes: handling a crossbow was not as easy as the magic guns, apparently.

When Moon finally landed, she was welcomed by the swings of a horned monster axeman and a sword-wielding slime monster. Moon jerked backwards, narrowly avoiding both attacks, then she stepped into the way of the warrior with a sword. He hadn't yet braced for her action and suddenly he found Moon's elbow hitting his stomach, then the wand planted on his face. Moon recited a spell, then dived away before the axe-wielder could come to the rescue of his comrade.

The slime monster dropped the sword and started screaming, grabbing his head as magic energy burned at his face. The axeman turned away and swung his weapon at Moon, forcing her to stay on the defensive and put some space between them. He was more skilled than most of the warriors she'd faced up until now.

"You ain't staying up for much longer, Butterfly scum," the monster growled before raising the axe again, ready to leap at her for another round. Moon didn't reply to him or brace for him, although she did speak up.

"Character swap," she said as the wand brimmed with renewed energy.

The monster let out a shout as an unidentified force pushed him, making him lose equilibrium as well as his grip on the heavy axe. Moon let the same force move her to his position—but not before she held her spear up, driving the metal point into the monster's back as they both moved through the air.

The monster howled in pain as Moon's spear drew both blood and red-white particles—the Solarian enchantment making its job. He dropped to the ground as soon as the swapping spell was complete.

He was alive but, like most of the monsters she'd defeated up until now, he wouldn't be able to fight for a while.

And yet, Moon couldn't even glance at him as yet another group of Dominion warriors came to her, equipped with swords and, for two of them, barrier wood shields.

However, they didn't outright rush her. Moon considered how to dispatch them, her attention momentarily taken by the anti-magic shield they carried. It was just one moment, and she thought no one was stalking behind her-she'd heard them otherwies.

It was a mistake.

Something struck her back and Moon cried out. An explosion of pain ran across her entire body starting from her right scapula, with a force strong enough to push her forward.

Moon immediately let herself fall, using her own weight to remove whatever thing had hit her, then rolled on the floor before the sword-wielders could hit her. "G-Ghhh!" she hissed.

"She's wounded! That's our chance—kill her now!" she heard one of her enemies shout.

She scrambled back up, forcing herself to ignore the pain on the back of her shoulder as she put her spear forward. One of the swordsmen had tried to ran at her, but despite his weapon he stopped dead in his track when he realized Moon was still very much standing.

Then, Moon looked to the left. Whatever had hit her wasn't a crossbow bolt or a sneaky melee attack.

The mystery was solved as soon as she saw the five monsters advancing towards her in an ordered line carrying long pole-arms, more than double the length of her spear.

Pikes.

"...shit," she let out. Moon wasn't familiar with the tactics of the Dominion on the actual front with the NBK. She'd heard about the monster army trying new tactics to hold the line against Meteora's soul slaves, but she hadn't fully realized that this meant Toffee was turning his independent monster bands into disciplined ranks of proper soldiers.

The advantage of her spear's long reach suddenly felt not as much useful.

The Dominion warriors had realized this as well, as the swordsmen retreated, letting the pike-armed soldiers advance further. With her shoulder still injured, Moon could only resort to her magic as her only option. She needed to buy herself time as well, as she wouldn't get far with the same wound.

Thus, she made her decision, raising her wand up above her head.

"Lonely shock!"

The pikemen stopped and braced as more monsters with barrier shields came around her. The wand pulsed with white light, as usual, but then the colour of the energy switched to a warmer yellow. Tendrils shot out of the wand, but the monsters were quite confused to see them go through the ground around Moon.

"...it's running under us!" one of the monsters tried to warn the others, but it came too late. The floor of the Sanctuary started to tremble, as if a strong earthquake had hit the place, but the walls and building remained immobile. The magical quake could not be deferred by barrier shields, and the monsters were thrown into chaos, losing equilibrium or the grip on their weapons. The pikemen were the first to break, unable to hold their formation.

Moon quickly ran away from them, completely unaffected by the quake spell, until she was closer to the wells and Glossaryck's cage. He didn't regard her and she ignored him, falling on her knees as she recovered her breath and let her spear go. Thankfully, the crossbowmen could hardly aim as well.

She had got her minute, now...

She carefully tried touching the back of her shoulder, and gritted her teeth immediately after. The pike's steel tip had managed to puncture the back of her armour, and it went quite deep. She could 'hold' her spear, but the grip was vastly weaker than before. She could consider her combat skill severely reduced.

She'd managed to take down many monsters, but there were still tens of them standing in the Sanctuary, ready to continue the fight. Not counting the ones that were posted outside that she expected to be waiting for her in case she tried to escape.

Not that it was ever an option.

Moon brought the wand over the wound with a hand. She kept it hovering there while her lips mouthed a healing spell. Her time was limited, and she couldn't really do much without seeing what she was actually doing, so she went for a generic incantation.

The quake spell had lasted for less than half a minute, and afterwards the monsters took little time to reorganize. After regrouping, they moved towards Moon, making up a line that blocked her view of the exit to the sanctuary.

Moon simply glared at them without speaking or acting. The longer she could keep her healing spell working, the most work she'd get out of it.

One of them came forward in front of the others. This time though it was no Septarian, surprisingly enough: it was a large salamander with a wide head who looked older than most of the other warriors.

"You probably aren't used to that kind of fighting, uh? We do things differently near the frontlines, Moon the Fallen Queen."

She didn't reply.

"...you know you cannot beat every one here. You're already tired, and I know enough about magic to know that your little healing spell comes with a cost, too. Maybe you could keep it up for a minute or two, maybe even far longer than that, but then? We've sent messengers to General Toffee; they may take a while, but more of the Dominion will come here eventually. We will crush you, one way or another."

The salamander's tone was different from the crocodilian Septarian that had addressed Moon earlier. The Septarian's voice was filled with contempt, but this monster sounded less driven by the common hatred for the Butterfly royal family.

"So, why not giving up, Fallen Queen? You're smart enough to realize you've caused so much pain and suffering, already... don't you think that's enough?"

The mere idea of a Dominion militant discussing ethics with her was already absurd in her mind, but in practice, Moon only needed to remember one single memory from her past, back when she was fourteen.

"I think you can go to hell."

The salamander monster frowned. "...so that's how you lot are really wired. You'd rather choose to bring more death to those around you, even when facing an inevitable defeat?"

He finally unsheathed the weapon that was strapped on his back—a longsword.

"Well, I've lived for long enough, and I'd rather see it end here if that's what it takes to break the cycle. You're dying here, Moon Butterfly."

One of the Septarians in the battle line suddenly gave an order.

"Charge!"

And thus the monsters started running, closing in. With the exception of the longsword salamander, the ones in the front all wore small barrier shields, ready to match her magic.

Moon stood up, readying up her wand after cutting off the healing spell. Then, she tentatively tried to grab her spear and lift it up.

Her shoulder still hurt a lot, but she didn't lose the grip as soon as the weapon was off the ground. Good enough.

Yet, Moon didn't have the time to brace herself. A huge magic blast suddenly went through the ceiling of the Sanctuary, annihilating the roof as if it were a sheet of fabric. Someone came in, yellow beams of magic thrown out of her hands at the monsters below.

"Leave her alone!"

Moon could only gape as Star dived, sending more magic blasts at the Dominion foot soldiers, forcing them to halt their charge and either retreat or raise their barrier shields. One metre away from the floor, she flapped her wings, stopping her fall and hovering for a moment, before she dashed away towards the nearest warriors.

The Dominion soldiers found themselves engaging a flurry of close-distance magic spells... and actual punches. Star fought much more aggressively than Moon would've thought, which made for a stark difference considering that her spells were still carrying her creative style. One moment, a maceman monster was repelled via a 'cupcake blast'. The other, she leaped on a soldier with a barrier shield and used her butterfly-hands to rip it out of their arm, before proceeding to triple-punch their stomach before they could even react with a counter-strike.

When one of the crossbow-carrying monsters tried to shoot at her, Star bolted for him and the other two, blasting both them and their weapons into unconsciousness and dust, respectively. Then, she moved on to the next enemy.

The monsters were not fast enough to use the shields to counter her, and in the momentary confusion Star had the advantage.

Soon, the warriors changed tactics and stopped trying to engage Star. They shouted at each other to retreat into a new line, and as soon as Star realized they were backing off, she suddenly lost interest in the fight.

Instead, she turned and flew towards Moon. "Moon! Are you all right?"

"...what are you doing here?" she hissed back, not bothering to tell her about the wound on her shoulder. "You shouldn't be here."

Wrong choice.

"What are you doing here?!" Star screamed at her. "What the heck is wrong with you!?"

For a moment, Moon forgot they were deep within enemy territory. She stared at Star, suddenly feeling like a deer caught in a headlight.

Star continued to shout. "I could've handled everything. I could've handled you wanting to leave me, to just give up and do your thing, m-maybe I could've even accepted this—no, I wouldn't, but—why, why in the world would you try to pull this on us—on me? Why didn't you tell me? Why?!"

Moon's silence enraged Star even further. "Answer me! Moon!"

Only one more second, then Star simply scoffed. "You know what, we can talk about this later, after we leave this place and—"

Oh, no she didn't.

"I'm not going anywhere."

Star's eyes twitched at her dry reply. "Wha—?"

"I'm not leaving until I'm finished here, Star. You know we don't have time to talk about it. You should've never come here in the first place—you have to leave."

"...that's it? You expect me to leave you to die here? You can forget about it, Moon, I'm not going to—"

"That was my choice!" Moon cut her off. Her initial shock had already whittled away in favour for the determination that had driven her to the Magic Sanctuary in the first place. "This is my battle, Star, and you have your own. Those are... two separate paths, and I won't risk your life over my own struggles."

Star glared at Moon for a couple of seconds, then turned her back to her, facing the restored formation of the Dominion. "Well, good luck with that, because I'm sticking with you until the end of time from now on!"

Moon's patience would've run out already by now. Yet, instead of resorting to shouting as well, she found herself frozen.

Her words...

'I'm sticking with you until the end of time.'

The statement was ludicrous at best and naive at worst. Or that is what it should've felt like to Moon, who thought she learned very early that she couldn't depend on anyone but herself. Everyone else was either an enemy, or a temporary associate. Working on her own was her thing.

And yet here she was, the ghost of her dead sister, challenging her world-view again and again. Even when her main goal was to keep her away from her own mistakes and their consequences.

Or that was she thought her goal was.

"Star—" Moon started, but she let the sentence incomplete as she looked at the monster warriors. They had managed to fall back into a new line, but they were not advancing.

That meant bad news. Moon and Star were Butterflies, in practice public enemy of the Dominion. Yes, some of them were busy taking care of the monsters she had downed earlier, or that Star had knocked out, but that wasn't nearly enough as an explanation.

If they were not pressing the attack, then it could only mean one thing.

Moon's prediction proved on point when multiple dimensional portals opened up across the Sanctuary.

Either the Dominion's expertise in the use of corridors within the Tramorfidian crystal web was as effective as ever, or she had made a grave mistake and underestimated how fast Toffee had set up the connection between the Sanctuary and the Bastion. Either way, the end result was the same.

More monsters poured out of the portals. Unlike the Sanctuary guards, these were different. They came equipped with barrier shields—all of them—and some of them had barrier shields shaped like pavises and nearly as big. Moon recognized two heavily-armoured monsters that dooned barrier wood patches across their body.

Quite a few of them were armed with magic arquebuses.

And coming out first, leading them, was Rasticore Disastervaine.

"Fallen Queen," Rasticore growled as soon as his gaze reached Moon. "We finally meet again, luckily enough... there are some unfinished matters we should address, after all."

"R-Rasticore?" Star couldn't help exclaiming, interjecting before Moon could reply.

"And you," the Septarian frowned, glaring at Star. "You are way more lucky than you realize. Someone wanted to meet both of you in person."

Rasticore moved away. Most of the portals had shut as the killing party had come through in full force, except for one.

And Moon's heart skipped a beat when, from the last one, came out Toffee of Septarsis.

Including the time in her home universe, it'd been several months since the last time Star had encountered Toffee. Yet, she remembered him well.

She could never truly forget the Septarian who was behind much of the misery of her family.

As such, she could tell immediately that the monster who crossed the portal wasn't truly that Toffee. For one, his suit and tie were nowhere to be seen: instead he was donning a monster general's uniform, not unlike the one Star recalled from her mother's tapestry, back home, but more elaborate—replacing the skintight dark-purple-ish top for a heavier long-sleeved black shirt with grim decals.

This was a Toffee involved in war and battle much more than the cunning and calculative Septarian she was used to.

Even so, when he spoke up, Star heard the exact same cool voice of her old enemy.

"Greetings," he said. He looked at both Moon and Star with his typical neutral, dismissive expression: he didn't look impressed nor worried by Moon's presence, or Star's Butterfly form.

"Star," he continued, startling her by using her name. Toffee didn't miss that. "Hmm... so the Ponyhead told the truth."

"P-Pony? What did you—?"

"Let us waste no more time than required here, Star," Toffee cut her off. His eyes were only on her, as if Moon wasn't even there in the first place.

"My guess is that your grasp of the current state of affairs in Mewni is strongly limited, considering what you've probably been told by... certain people, throughout your stay in our universe. So, while your encounters with the warriors that serve the Dominion may have been... stressful, I would like to share a proposal with you."

"...proposal?" Star repeated.

Toffee nodded. "I would like to—"

"Shut up."

Moon stepped in front of Star, cutting her view of Toffee. "Don't say one other word. You are not talking with her, or touching her, or—"

"Moon?"

She whirled around. Moon's furrowed brows and trembling grip on her wand and spear were tell-tale on her feelings. It was a miracle she didn't just bolt towards Toffee outright.

"...Moon, please, wait a second."

"I'm not going to—"

"He's not going to pull something," Star added. "I am familiar with Toffee's machinations from my world. He may be different here, but I'm not going to let him trick me."

Moon did not look convinced, but the pause gave Star a second to realize that her shoulder was... stained with blood. "W-Wait, you're wounded? I-I didn't realize, why didn't you—!?"

"Hush, hush!" Moon said. She glanced at her shoulder, then groaned. "...you don't know him, Star. Not really."

"I know enough," Star replied. "Please, just... try and take care of your wound. If he wants to talk, it'll give you more time at least... and after that, we can try to leave this place."

Moon glared at her with visible conflict. She didn't seem to like her reference to 'leaving', again, but she didn't speak any further. Rather, she retreated back to her side and kneeled, moving the wand to conjure a healing spell once again.

Toffee had been waiting with apparent patience for the two of them to sort things out. When Star finally turned her attention back to him, he spoke up again.

"I'm impressed. Didn't know the Fallen Queen could be contained so easily."

Before Star could rebut, Moon spit on the ground towards him.

"...worth of what you've become." That was the extent of Toffee's attention towards Moon, as he kept his attention on Star. "Now, Star... my proposal is a simple one. I offer you the chance to survive this encounter; in exchange, you'll work with me."

"...that's it?" Star said, tilting her head. "Coming from someone who I know wants all Butterflies dead?"

"...you pay attention," Toffee mused. "In any case, it's more complex than that, of course. Yes, my... policy is what it is, but you may already be aware of the extent of the damage that the Butterfly royal family has caused to Mewni... and beyond. I don't know yet what your goals are, Star, but I know for a fact, by now, that you do not belong to that same lineage... not in this universe, at least."

Star didn't deny or confirm his words.

"It may be hard, for me as the High General of the Monster Dominion, to... tolerate the fact that you have associated yourself with someone as vile as a Butterfly," he continued. "But I can shut an eye on the matter. You may be helpful to us thanks to your knowledge of magic and dimensional travel, and with your assistance we may even be able to put an end to the war and stop Meteora from restoring a new Butterfly tyranny."

He extended his right arm out to the right, palm open, as he looked at the warriors behind him for a moment. "That's all I strive for, to stop the bloodshed. I'm sure you can understand."

There were many thoughts running through her mind. Toffee was skilled with words, for sure, but Star wasn't the kind of girl to change ideas thanks to suave wording. Yes, she was naturally pushed to trust her friends, which meant that she was vulnerable with Ponyhead, or even Tom. That didn't apply here.

However, one detail caught her eye. As Toffee gestured to the other monsters, she noticed that his finger was not missing.

Her instincts told her not to trust Toffee, sure, but now she knew for a fact that this was a different situation compared to her world. The fact that he was still there meant that he didn't have a grip on the realm of magic like he did when possessing Ludo. He may have come up with guns using magic and ways to counter it with his barrier wood armour, but he didn't infect the actual Realm of Magic.

And he couldn't blackmail her like she did with her mom and Marco, either.

All of that, without taking into account the fact that she knew what he did to her name-sake in this universe.

"So, that is my proposal, Star Butterfly. Abandon your foolish quest and join the Dominion, help us—"

"Stop."

Toffee arched an eyebrow.

"...stop talking," Star continued. "I don't know what you're trying to do here, but it won't work. I know... I know about the suffering that this world has gone through, maybe not all of it—but enough to understand that this has to come to a stop."

Star spread her six arms around herself. "All of this has to come to a stop, yes! And I know that it won't stop until your 'Dominion' continues to rule across Mewni. Because I know what you did, when you took over, and what you did afterwards... what you did to not just Moon, but all the people who live in Mewni. You... you killed people, you destroyed entire dimensions, you enslaved other kingdoms to your rule against their will, and these happened before and after you took over."

She shook her head. "No, there is nothing, nothing that is going to be worth so much... so much death and destruction, and I'm not going to follow one of those responsible! You... you are no different than Meteora. And, even if you're different, I remember your other self well enough to tell when you're trying to deceive me. So... just... stop. It won't work."

Toffee looked at Star neutrally. "Quite a lot of determination... and idealism, in so few words."

He breathed. "I hoped you'd be more interesting than this, yet I've learned we can't always have everything, can we? Very well, I'll take your words for it, Star Butterfly."

He raised a hand, and all the Dominion warriors around her raised their weapons. Star and Moon both braced themselves as a wall of guns and blades were pointed or aimed their way.

"You are an enemy of the Dominion, and as far as I'm concerned, of Mewni as a whole, and you should die here. However, even if you're not willing to work with me, I will give you one last chance to surrender. You, Star, will have the chance to live out to see another day. We'll work out how you can—"

"You did not change," Moon suddenly spoke up, breaking her short-lived silence to intervene for the second time. "You still continue to try to suck the blood out of your prey, up to the last drop. Always able to set up everyone to fit your scheme, only to remove them as soon as they're no longer of any use to you."

Moon lightly shook her head. "She won't work with you. And I'll make sure you won't be able to try this ever again."

Toffee didn't reply immediately. His narrowed eyes were now fixed on Moon, with a glare that was unfamiliar to Star.

A dangerous one.

However, that also meant that now Star one last chance to talk with her.

"...Moon, listen, we can still leave," she whispered. "I can cast a blinding spell to stun them, then I can fly you through the roof and out of here. We can still make it! But I need you to let me do it, or—"

"I've waited for this for years," Moon talked back, but didn't turn to face her. "I've put so much... so much time of my life into this, to find him... and here he is. He came. He's just... there."

Star noticed how the spear she held was still trembling.

"...no, I can't let him go, Star."

"You can't just—!"

"Kill the Fallen Queen and subdue the Butterfly girl."

Toffee pointed at them, and suddenly, thirty or so monsters bolted towards them.

Moon counter-charged, spear away and wand already brimming with magical energy, but Star hesitated for a moment.

Which quickly turned out to be a mistake, as she heard detonations. She felt projectiles dash by her lower limbs, and Star was suddenly caught by a strong, almost heart-stopping fear. She didn't forget about the pain she went through in Cloud Kingdom.

The bullets missed her, but Star nonetheless flew up in the air. Just quick enough to avoid being slashed by multiple blades. The monster warriors below shouted to each other she was forced to fly away from Moon, who engaged the monsters on her own terms. Star rolled and zig-zagged in the air to avoid the lead bullets flying her way.

Knowing she couldn't afford staying in flight for long, Star charged up a spell in her hands and released the blast on the monsters below them.

They raised barrier shields and her spell exploded with yellow energy dispersing among the soldiers, countering her magic. But amid the light and cloud, Star dived through, taking them by surprise.

The arquebus detonations stopped as Star remained at the ground level, fighting the monsters head-on. With six arms and magic empowering her, it turned out that she could hold her own even without weapons, but the monsters' shields made things complicated. Star needed to avoid being struck by their swords and axes, while also avoiding prolonged contact with their magic-denying shields. She couldn't just blast them away, but she could still punch and kick, and she could still use her magic more carefully.

It wasn't her style, but it was either that or getting stabbed.

Star's fight quickly turned into defence as more monsters moved in to fight her. "Narwhal blast!" she shouted, creating a trio of large narwhal whales and directing them at the soldiers. One lynx monster raised the barrier shield and the magical creature vanished into blue particles upon contact, but the other two feline monsters beside him—perhaps due to inexperience or sheer shock at such an unusual spell thrown at them—jumped out of the way instead. Star used the space and punched the first monster in the head before he could try to retaliate.

The lynx hissed in pain, then went down, unable to bear the strength of three punches into one.

She then created another light spell and threw it in the air, creating a lightning flash strong enough to force both the felines and the other three monsters that came to help to raise their arms or shields to cover their eyes. That was helpful, as some were attacking from behind, forcing Star to leap out of the way. They were trying to strike her limbs: they clearly wanted to down her without wounding her too badly.

Star wasn't sure whether to be happy or worried, but she wasn't letting the chance go to waste.

With the monsters disoriented for a second, she had one moment to focus on her real goal.

'I need to get to her!'

Moon was barely visible, but Star could see the white spells that were typical of her sister. She couldn't fly up to reach her due to the numerous arquebus marksmen lurking in the room, but as long as she remained on the ground, their crude weapons couldn't shoot at them without friendly fire.

For now, that is. Star realized with alarm that some of the Dominion soldiers were climbing over the central magic well. They were going up slowly due to their heavy equipment, but she didn't have long before she'd start being shot at from above.

"Moon!" Star called out, desperately trying to catch her attention. She flew backwards, avoiding a slash to her legs, then charged a spell to fling at the two-headed horned monster away. He raised the small shield he was equipped with to protect his upper body, but Star simply aimed at his leg instead. He was flying immediately after.

"Moon!" Star shouted, once again. Two monsters approached, a triton maceman and a sickle-wielding Septarain. Star took the initiative and moved into the amphibian's way before he could react, reciting a spell under her breath. The triton screamed as he suddenly was pulled up by pink clouds attached to his back via bright yellow strings. He was unable to use his shield to counter the magic.

Star pushed her arms forward and created another blast spell, but the Septarian was quicker: she rushed at her with the barrier shield up front, dispersing her spell. Then she brought the sickle down on her arms.

"You disgusting bug-born wench!" the Septarian cried out, with a tone that was quite unlike Rasticore's or Toffee's. "I won't let you Butterflies continue to massacre our people again! Never!"

The accusation in her words stung, although it was clear that there was more to it—but Star couldn't think it over. The sickle moved again, and Star evaded the attack. Then, at the third attempt, her arms moved faster and she took hold of the arm holding the weapon.

Septarians were a strong kind, but Star's Butterfly Form was on another league. Before she could try to bring the shield down on her, Star rolled around and pulled the entire warrior with her, with the monster ending up flying into a wall with such a force that they crashed through it, ending up outside.

"MOON!" Star shouted for the third time at the top of her lungs.

And then—

"S-Star?!"

Her reply. Star didn't know how Moon was doing, if she was in danger or not.

But her voice was different, almost shocked, filled with urgency.

She needed to get to her. She needed to go.

"I-I'm coming! I'm coming—!"

Something hit her. It wasn't a lead pellet from an arquebus gunshot, thankfully, but Star felt like her back split in two anyway.

She screamed as the force of the strike sent her forward and then to the ground, scraping her chest and chin on the floor. It was as if her senses were nullified by the pain she was feeling for a moment, but she moved her six arms up anyway and tired to push herself up. It all happened within a few seconds.

And she was still too slow.

"Seize her!"

Before she could even realize what was going on, Star saw a metal gauntlet hitting her face. She coughed, disoriented, as multiple hands grabbed her Butterfly form hands, her legs, her shoulders.

Then a barrier shield slammed into her stomach, and she lost her breath. Immediately Star tried to produce a spell to repulse all of those monsters away, but the magic fizzled out before it could even reach her fingers. The barrier wood nullified her spells while slowly weakening her magic, just like it did during her first encounter with Rasticore.

And dread got a hold of her as she realized she was at their mercy once again.

There was someone shouting, along with the noise of explosive magic spells. "Star! Star!" she heard Moon call her name again and again while more Dominion warriors cried in pain nearby.

"M-Moon! Moon, help—" Star called back, but then a large bulky hand was put on her mouth, silencing her.

Not long after, she felt her Butterfly form wings and additional arms vanish. The monsters adjusted accordingly, but Star tried nonetheless to push them away and break free. She kept desperately fighting for a way out of what felt more and more like a nightmare, despite the pain on her back caused by whatever blunt weapon had struck her.

Until she felt a blade pressed on her throat.

"Don't move, girl."

The voice made Star's eyes turn even wider, her fright mixed in with surprise.

She knew that voice.

'Buff Frog?!'

She tried to look sideways, and indeed, that was him. He wore heavy armour instead of the vest, complete with a helmet—but his visor was up. It was really him.

Holding a dagger to her throat.

Buff Frog looked back. He didn't look as hateful or disgusted by her as most of the monsters nearby, which in any other situation would've made Star immediately overjoyed. Yet, his glare was stern and unmoved, and his pressure on her throat with the dagger was very real.

"Don't move if you want to keep your windpipe's integrity, Star Butterfly," he elaborated.

She did as she was told.

And not long after, she realized what was going on while she was distracted by Buff Frog's appearance. The Dominion soldiers were re-organizing around her, making up yet another line. Most of the monsters around her and Buff Frog now were Septarians—Star recognized Rasticore among them. He wasn't looking at her, though.

"Star!"

Moon was immobile, several metres away from them. Star was horrified to see the state she was in: there was a huge gash on the front of her armour, with some some mucky blood staining the plates around the tear and the dress below. She still held on to her wand and spear, the latter of which now with fresh monster blood covering the metal tip, but her arms were covered by multiple tears and cuts. One of her gloves was broken enough that the anger magic infection below was now visible. There was a long cut running across her face as well.

Yet, she stood almost as if she wasn't wounded at all. Her focus was all on Star.

"Let her go!" she cried. "Let her go now!"

"I'm afraid that is not happening, Moon."

Toffee had seemingly disappeared throughout the fight, but he now was standing in front of the monsters, relatively close to Star, Buff Frog and Rasticore.

Moon made a step forward but Toffee spoke again. "In fact, take one step closer, and she dies."

Star felt the pressure on her throat increase. Her mind was hardly able to register the events as they were happening very, very fast, but soon she felt her eyes getting wet.

She had taken apart in many battles in the old world, and in the new one she'd understood very quick how easy it was to see your life threatened. Yet, she still couldn't say she was prepared for this.

And so, Star couldn't help pitifully tearing up while Toffee and Moon continued to talk.

"...there, that wasn't very difficult, wasn't it?"

"Fuck you."

Toffee didn't seem to be affected. He nonchalantly turned and made a nod, and Buff Frog finally removed his hand from Star's mouth. She breathed fresh air with relief, although she couldn't help hiccuping as well.

"Now that I have your actual attention, Butterflies, you may be more inclined to listen to me," Toffee said. "There is something else I want from you, and I expect you to comply."

Star looked in delirious confusion at him for a moment, before realization struck her. What could Toffee want now?

She recalled a visit to a castle, the lair of her enemies. Her first encounter with Toffee. Marco's life in danger.

"...y-you, you want t-to destroy the wand...?" she whined. Toffee didn't seem to expect that, as he looked at her quizzically.

"...M-Moon...!" Star, encouraged by his reaction, tried to raise her voice, although it was hard with the cold blade still very close to her throat. "Moon, please, don't let him h-have his way. T-This already happened, in my world, but you c-can...!"

"Do you still think I am like your Toffee?"

She found herself unable to reply.

"You pathetic little girl, willing to apply your own views to the people around you, rather than trying to understand them. Perhaps you are not that different from the Butterflies of this world."

He snapped his fingers, and one moment later, Star found a rope forced into her mouth. She tried crying out and shaking it off, but the warriors held her firm, and with Buff Frog's blade, she couldn't really do much.

"You really should not fight," Buff Frog reiterated. "It's for your own good, Butterfly girl."

Star wanted to shout at him so, so much, and yet the rope made it impossible for her to express her thoughts.

"I don't want to destroy the wand." Toffee looked away from her, directing his attention back to Moon. "I want it handed over."

...he wanted the wand? As in... the actual wand? Just like... Ludo, in her world?

Star would've found the idea ironic in other circumstances. Right now, it just felt like fate making fun of her.

"...what?" even Moon herself looked stumped. "W-Why would you even—"

"That's none of your business, and nothing that'll help you shortly. You either surrender the wand to me, now, Moon... or Star dies. And this time, you'll get to see it happen."

Moon didn't reply. Rather, she glared, her eyes fixed on Toffee with hatred. Fear gripped at Star's mind, making her wonder if Moon was going to do something very reckless. She had said that her ultimate goal was to defeat Toffee, after all. It was clear that to her killing Toffee came before everything else.

With the rope tied around her mouth, the threat of her throat being slit at any moment, and the rest of her body being subdued, she could do anything but wait for Moon to take her decision.

The Fallen Queen remained silent for several seconds, the sanctuary falling into an incredibly unbroken silence.

"...Star is waiting," Toffee pressed. "...and so am I. If you believe that my threat is an empty one, allow me to prove you otherwise." Toffee drew out his own septarian sickle and turned to Star.

Star whimpered in fear, but Toffee didn't even have to take a step towards her. "Don't you dare touch her!"

He stopped, and for the first time, Star saw his face morph into a small, satisfied smile. He hid his emotions again as he turned.

"I won't kill her, Moon. All you have to do to make it so is surrendering the wand. Drop it and kick it towards me, now."

Moon swore under her breath. From the distance, Star could see her raising the wand, taking one more look at it. She could only wonder what was going through her mind.

Then, she dropped the object.

The precious item fell with a light 'thud'. Many monsters mumbled to each other at the sight, to the instrument that had been one of the main tools behind Moon's actions in past years and had thus become infamously known to them all.

Then Moon kicked it towards Toffee. He wasted no time and picked it up as soon as it slid up to his legs.

By now, Star thought about what Toffee's actual plan was. She half-expected the wand to change shape into some sort of demonic wand worthy of the High General and de-facto absolute leader of the Dominion.

But, indeed, the opposite happened, and the wand didn't change shape while in his hands. Toffee didn't look surprised by this, and Moon didn't react, either.

"This will be the key behind putting an end to many of the problems of the Dominion. Thank you for your cooperation."

"Let. Star. Go."

"Well, about that..." Toffee tilted his head and... made a face, for a split-second. "I have a... surprise, Fallen Queen. Yvgeny, do it."

For an instant, Star thought she was going to die, but the blade was pulled away from her throat instead. She didn't have time to exhale, though, as Buff Frog suddenly hurled her on his shoulder and started running.

She immediately started flailing her hands to try and break free, but the rope on her mouth had been bound around her head. She was unable to produce anything but a stifled whimper, and as it soon turned out, Buff Frog was strong enough to keep her firmly on his shoulder no matter how much she beat at his chest and back with her fists and feet. Her magic was still depleted.

And yet she tried, again, and again, because Moon was still there.

"Star! STAR!"

Moon cried out. Star could see the monster moving beyond Buff Frog, towards Moon herself. She was still fighting, clearly, but now she was without magic.

Star could watch her, as Buff Frog moved in the opposite direction. Her spear moved fast, trying to force the monsters away and make space to get to her. But there were too many, and Buff Frog was faster.

From the distance, she could even get a glimpse of her face. Her desperate eyes were desperately trying to get one more glimpse of Star.

"Star, no! No!" Moon screamed.

Star pathetically tried to call back to her, but the rope stifled her whine. She could do nothing but keep watching.

Until Moon vanished from her sight. The scene was replace by a portal, the one she and Buff Frog had just went through.

Star's energy was suddenly renewed as she wheezed out a stifled scream, kicking and beating at her captor hysterically. In the end, she managed to dip down deep enough to tuck at the few leftover magic drops left in her body, and a wandless spell reached her hand, multiplying the strength of her fist ten-fold. She brought it down on Buff Frog's back.

That was enough as he immediately let her go, groaning loudly in pain. Star found herself rolling on the wet grass of the deep night. She didn't have the time to register where she was as another monster—a warthog-species—suddenly went over her, pinning her down with his own weight.

"You little Butterfly wench!"

"No, stop! Master Toffee warned us to—"

She never heard the end of Buff Frog's sentence. The warthog's punch connected with her head, and she blacked out.

The portal through which Star had disappeared shut a moment right after.

Moon fell on her knees as she stared at the empty space a few metres away from her. The spear made some noise as it fell beside her, already forgotten.

"Y-You..." she said weakly. "Y-Y-You..."

"I said I would not kill her. I never agreed to not taking her with me," Toffee explained, having gestured to his warriors to stand down. "Star will indeed live... as long as she continues to be of any use to me."

He then conceded himself a short, low snort. "Yet, you won't have to worry about that. You won't live long enough to see if that ever stops being the case. Rasticore?"

"Yes, my general?"

"I'll return to the Bastion with the rest of the killing party and the Butterfly girl. Pick 10 of our Bastion elites still standing and stay here. Your task is to take command of the fort and make sure the NBK doesn't pull any surprises with the Magic Sanctuary while we are in the process of restoring the garrison. However, your main task is to execute her. I want no further surprises, she dies here and now, and you burn the body afterwards. Is that clear?"

"It will be done," Rasticore gave a small bow with his head, then started barking orders. Soon, a few additional portals were opened as the Dominion soldiers started flowing through to return to the Bastion, some carrying the wounded and the dead as well. Things went by very fast, but Moon barely paid attention to them.

Toffee didn't even side-glance Moon as, minutes later, he moved towards one of the portals himself. Her mortal enemy. The person who had murdered her mother and set her father and her little sister, to die.

The lizard who had taken Star away from her again.

Again.

She saw him disappear, and then the portal shut behind him. He was gone.

She failed again.

Moon could barely hear the remaining monsters gathering around her. Their faces remained mostly a blur, and no one dared to touch or hold her down yet.

Rasticore was now shouting. There was some sort of conflict. Some monsters wanted to do away with her in more... creative ways, to punish her. Rasticore and his peers from the Bastion, more loyal to Toffee's will, thought otherwise.

She didn't care. She only cared about killing Toffee. Or she thought she did.

In the corner of her eye, she saw Rasticore picking up her spear. There was a noise of a wood shaft being split apart, multiple times.

She'd failed, utterly, completely. Toffee was still alive.

Yet, the truth was that she'd started caring about Star's safety more than her personal quest for revenge. Enough that both desires had led to her senseless attack to the sanctuary. Star wasn't supposed to follow her, and she still didn't know how she able to trace her all the way to this place, but it didn't matter.

She shouldn't have put her in danger. She should've put more attention in making her leave. She probably should've just paid heed to her wish and left with her, if that was what it took to save her.

But no, she did not. She refused to comply, and she refused to follow her advice more so after Toffee made his appearance. She let her hatred drive her decisions, not unlike she did in the past.

And now she was in his clutches. And she knew very well what he could do to her.

Her.

Her little sister.

The little sister who was going to die again, because she screwed up.

She screwed up.

She screwed up.

The warriors were too busy arguing with each other, so convinced that Moon was now broken and no longer a threat. But Rasticore knew better.

He kept an eye on the queen even after she grew into a pathetic, crying mess of a woman. The strong, prideful renegade Queen of Mewni may have been defeated, but Rasticore didn't plan on underestimating her.

Thus, he was the first one to notice that her arms were starting to glow. They were still covered partially by the gloves, but he could notice immediately that behind the biggest tear something bright was pulsating.

Something bright enough to go through the rest of the glove, actually.

Something bright red.

Rasticore unsheathed the Septarian sickle. "Out of the way, now!" he shouted at the monsters, who confusedly backed away. "We need to kill her now, before—"

Moon looked at Rasticore. Her eyes had lost their pupils, full of blinding light.

Then, there was a shockwave. Every single monster still left in the Sanctuary was thrown into the air, some grunting in pain. Their barrier shield had no effect.

Rasticore let out a swear as he tried to govern his landing. As soon he was again on the floor and standing, he hastily braced himself for Moon to attack. But she didn't, not yet.

Instead, Moon was hovering in the air. By now, magic was flowing all around her, some white and some dark-purple—for now. Rasticore heard some rifles going off, as a couple of the arquebusiers from the Bastion that were left tried to shoot at Moon. The bullets never reached her, being rebounded off the magical energy as if they were tennis balls. One monster screamed as a repelled lead ball struck his chest.

"Reload and keep shooting!" Rasticore shouted. "One of you, open a portal and leave, now! Go warn Toffee, he needs to know about this before—!"

Moon screamed, and then her wings spread out.

Rasticore felt overwhelmed as he stared in complete disbelief at Moon's Butterfly Form slowly taking shape. He was aware of the young Butterfly wench's ability by now, but he was alive long before Moon herself was even born. The Fallen Queen had never taken such a form before.

However, her merely morphing into the winged creature wasn't what made him gape. The real truth was that Moon's wings were blood red.

As her arms spread into six separate limbs, Rasticore realized that her long gloves were gone. Completely burned up by the sheer energy of the magic flowing through her. Everybody's present could not see the proof of Moon's past crimes; pulsating, throbbing, and emanating evil magic that even people without magic powers like Rasticore could still feel as a nauseating reminder of the past.

Moon's eyes opened up again. She had bright yellow ommatidia eyes now.

Her mouth was open, and she screamed again.

Rasticore barely had the time to raise his barrier shield before the red beam exploded out of Moon's hands. He managed to block it, but—

The magic went around. He didn't understand how, but the magic completely avoided his shield. Then, it tore through his flesh and neck.

He couldn't even cry out.

"You good?" River glanced back to check on his three companions.

They all nodded without a word and River deemed their silent reply more than enough. They were close to the sanctuary by now, and they had yet to encounter any patrolling Dominion scout. As predicted, Moon and Star had driven most of the attention away.

He was anyway thankful for not being alone. Two of the other Johansen warriors were a pair of older, stout men with maces who had been away from the frontline for a while and accepted to join River because of their trust in him as a warchief and, mostly, to 'have an excuse to get some action'. They were an odd pair, but he couldn't really complain.

Alex, however, was another matter. She was the only one of the original escort in Underworld that was there with them.

River hadn't even considered about the option, as the elite bodyguards didn't hide their low consideration of the Butterfly sisters. Yet, Alex had sought out River on her own accord, offering him her help. She explained that she'd went to visit Hilda, who had told her about some sort of discussion she had with Kelly the Woolett. Hilda didn't like Moon or Star, but Star herself, while still a controversial figure among Johansen due to her family name, was a different matter. She had apparently grown to somewhat respect—at least, more than most Johansen did.

Alex had some time to reflect on this and, by the time she heard about River's impossible quest, she decided to join. "If not for saving a Butterfly, then to save the Butterfly who matters."

A rather cold view, and one Star wouldn't have liked, but River welcomed her help anyway. Their group was a small one, and the two old warriors, while still valiant, were no longer in their prime for sure.

Regardless, their advance towards the sanctuary had gone smoothly... until they heard a large explosion, followed by bright light illuminating the night. The light was strong enough to go through the canopy of the forest, lighting up the faces of the Johansen.

River glanced at Alex and their two companions, then started running without further notice. The others followed along.

The light had a crimson hue to it.

River and the others needed a couple of minutes to reach the edge of the forest. Once they were out, they rushed towards the swamp: the Sanctuary and the fort around it were right ahead at the centre of the lake, connected to the shores by long, wide wooden bridges running above the swamp. River took just a few seconds to check if any Dominion defenders were around, but the place was eerily empty. He picked one bridge and continued to run along.

No one came to stop them. A red-hued shot towards the sky, lighting up the night. It came right out of the sanctuary's upper openings and this time River could hear the typical noise of a strong magic discharge as well.

There was also the raucous scream of a monster.

They kept moving, free to move inside the fort due to a somehow left open portal. He saw destruction even outside the Sanctuary, with some of the tents and inner buildings on fire. The flames looked unnatural, but by now he could guess what to expect.

River even saw the first soldier from the garrison: a short weaponless kappa, crying and hiding away behind a collapsed tent. A very rare sight among the Dominion ranks.

He didn't seem to register the Johansen's presence, and River decided to ignore him for now and keep moving.

He couldn't help wondering what he was getting himself into. Yet, he couldn't stop.

Not until he knew what was going on.

As they reached the sanctuary's entrance, the Johansen were met with more and more proof of the carnage that had occured. A few monster bodies lay around, all of them motionless. River slowed down to a cautious walk, but the group kept moving.

And River almost lost his breath when he saw the sight inside.

The monsters outside were dead, but the ones inside looked ravaged. He had spent years fighting in a war and it was not unheard of to see grimy sights, especially when it came to the NBK's zombie-like armies. But this was on another level. Each corpse had been... destroyed, or torn apart, in ways that went beyond what was needed in an actual fight.

Even as a battle-hardened veteran, he couldn't help his shock at the bloody display.

And yet, that couldn't prepare him to when he saw her.

He stared in a mix of awe and worry at Moon's Butterfly Form. She was always kinda terrifying, although he never let it show—but here, though, his mouth was left agape. He could hardly believe that thing used to be Moon—although her facial features were still the same.

She was holding a Septarian's body, or rather, what remained of it. Four of her hands gripped around the monster's neck and ribs, with such strength that River could see her drawing blood.

Or was that the anger magic oozing out of her limbs?

Then, Moon turned, her ommatidia locking down on them.

"...okay, we're dead," one of the old warriors let out.

Without looking away from them, Moon tossed the body away and casted a blast that hit it while still in flight. The corpse burned with magical flames, rapidly consuming the Septarian and overcoming any self-regeneration power. The monster never let out a cry.

She then dived down, her blood-red wings in full display, until she was right in front of them.

"...you are paying beers for all of us in heaven, warchief."

"Hush, you two!" Alex said lowly. "Warchief. Warchief?"

He prodded at River, who had been staring at Moon's face the entire time. "River!"

He glanced at her, but didn't speak. Alex looked downright terrified, but she nonetheless continued to talk.

"Y-You won't like it, but you either speak to her, or we're all as good as the poor bastards around here. You're the only one who can get through to her."

River took in a breath—he didn't remember how long he'd been holding to it for. He knew she was right, although that didn't make his task any easier.

"...M-Moon?"

The Fallen Queen's glare focused on him and him only. He swallowed.

"Moon, I... I don't know what happened here... b-but you need to calm down. T-This is too much, even for you. This... this is something else. I don't know if Star or—"

Moon screamed, and then moved. She was unfathomably fast, and River found himself being pulled into the air, two sets of fingers around his neck while other hands held his arms.

"S-Shit!"

"I ain't dying doing nothing!"

"Hold it! Let him talk with her!"

As Alex argued with the old warriors, River tried to find the strength in him to produce some speech again, but it wasn't easy. Moon held him several metres above the ground, her pupil-less eyes just a few centimetres away from his. Her face was contorted into a hard frown, but those eyes made him wonder anyway if any trace of humanity was left in her.

Most sickening though were her blood red arms and fingers touching him. River could almost feel the anger magic's throbbing through Moon's skin against his own, as if trying to find a way in, ready go through and infect him as soon as it did. As a non-magic-user he wasn't as sensible as Star was, but it was more than awful even for him.

River swallowed again, refusing to let his stomach govern him. Eventually he managed to open his mouth, despite the pressure on his throat.

"M-Moon, I... I'm sorry. I-I don't know what happened. I... t-truly don't know, but... Star would not h-have wanted this. You s-still know this, don't you?"

She didn't obliterate him yet, so he continued to talk. "Moon, I... I can't trust you, maybe, but I trust Star by now, and if she saw something in you... then maybe I can, too. And that something is not this. This... this is worse than you going around on your own, or leaving the kingdom. You... you are not this, and Star wouldn't have come here if she didn't think so."

Moon's bug eyes remained fixed at him for an excruciatingly long six seconds. He could only wait, left wondering about his own fate.

But then, Moon sobbed.

River looked at her as tears welled up in her ommatidia eyes. She cried, she cried in a way he had truly seen her do only after the demise of her family, many years earlier, when she was fourteen.

And then she let go. River couldn't help letting out a 'whoa' as he fell, and tried his best to land in a way that didn't result in a broken limb.

He managed to avoid that, but one of the muscles of his legs started aching right after the landing as he rolled on the floor. Alex and the others were ready to assist him, helping him up and then pulling him away from Moon. As they moved, River looked apprehensively as Moon, still crying, slowly hovered down.

Eventually, her wings retracted, and a similar reset-to-normal transformation happened to her arms and her hairstyle. In the end, she was back to herself. Her eyes, open for a moment, lost focus, and she dropped. Out cold.

River, Alex and the old pair let out a collective sigh of relief.

"...I think I'm going to throw up," one of the old warriors muttered.

"Try to keep it in until we're out of danger," River said. His leg ached, but he could still walk, so he wasted no time and approached Moon.

Even when passed out, Moon's face was fixed into a frown. He wondered for a moment if she was dead, but he only needed to look a bit closer to see she was still breathing.

...he didn't know how to feel about her actions. He lacked some of the context, as he didn't know what had happened to her... or Star. The fact that Star was nowhere to be seen, though, was a pretty strong clue towards the cause behind Moon's transformation.

He looked at the rest of the sanctuary again, and the aftermath of Moon's rampage. He'd grown to hate her over time, not unlike many of his fellow mewmen in the Johansen kingdom. The sight of so much death almost acted like a confirmation of those thoughts—they may have been Dominion soldiers, enemies, but this was... something else.

Yet, as he looked back at her, he remembered about his talks with Star, and how Moon herself was... different, compared to the image of the Fallen Queen. The violence here couldn't be justified, but...

He still couldn't help feeling sorry for her.

Then a voice made his thoughts come to a screeching halt.

"Is that freaking Glossaryck?" Alex choked out.

River turned to her, in disbelief. "...Glossaryck?"

Alex simply pointed towards the central magic well. River followed her gesture and found himself, yet again, dumbfounded. Floating within a barrier wood cage placed over a structure nearby the well was indeed Sir Glossaryck of Terms.

Long believed to have gone missing by everyone in the Johansen Kingdom.

River had many questions, but his experience made him relinquish those thoughts quickly. He knew they didn't have much time here, so he took the initiative.

"Stay here and keep an eye on Moon," he instructed, "and watch out for Dominion... survivors. I'll go have a talk with Glossaryck."

The old warriors arched eyebrows, but Alex sent a glare towards their way to silence any protest. "Be quick, warchief."

He moved to go meet the hovering blue creature while thinking over what to say. River recalled conversing with Glossaryck years earlier, back when the Kingdom of Mewni still existed. Based on that experience, he didn't have much hopes in getting anything concrete out of him. If he was here, he probably had been here for a long time, possibly because he both refused to work with or oppose Toffee.

He should probably ask him before jumping to conclusions, though. Glossaryck's eyes were already open by the time River reached his cage.

"You're... here," River began. "Can't say I expected this, Glossaryck."

"Not many people knew about my whereabouts, that is true. Moon was one of the few outside the Dominion."

"...you still like your mind games, huh?" River muttered. "I'll leave the questions that Moon can answer herself to her. Now, I would like to know what the hell you are doing here."

He gestured to the room around them. "And why you apparently didn't raise a finger to stop this."

Glossaryck continued to look at him with a half-bored face. "I thought I was clear, last time I told you."

"That 'last time' was several years ago," River pinched his nose. "Do you seriously think I should just accept you just... watching while Moon became that thing?"

"For what it is worth, I didn't intervene when Toffee kidnapped Star, either."

River's eyes widened. "W-What?"

Glossaryck shrugged. "Sometimes Toffee's plans elude even my own understanding.Sometimes. In any case, you should know by know that I don't dabble with your affairs, be they politics or diplomacy."

He momentarily forgot to prod him further about Star's whereabouts. "Politics?! Did you see what happened here? What the two Butterflies did here? You think people dying around you is mere bickering?"

"No, but it was not in my place to intervene," Glossaryck replied. His voice grew solemn. "The truth is that the problem with the Butterflies goes beyond Moon and Star's present-day actions. They're just the last in a line that caused much... damage to the world of Mewni and beyond, and the rise of Toffee and Meteora is just the tip of the iceberg."

He lightly shook his head. "Long before Moon's enthronement, I've learned to understand that reining the Butterfly family in is quite impossible. I'm just the one who looks over them, but ultimately, their faults are their own. Are they not?"

Glossaryck may have been insufferably unwilling to lend a hand, but River knew that, as long as you understood his often confusing wording, you could tell he essentially never lied.

"...yes, they are," he agreed.

"So, in the end, their plight is theirs to solve."

"...and you're not leaving that cage on your own to help us out, either, I guess."

"If you can't free me..." Glossaryck deadpanned.

River probably could've bludgeoned the thing until he could break him out, but that would take time that they didn't have. Besides, he doubted Glossaryck couldn't get out on his own if he actually wanted.

"Very well, I'll let you do... whatever you plan to do by staying here."

Glossaryck nodded. "Then, I guess this is a farewell, River Johansen. See you around."

River turned. He really didn't want to give him more attention, but his thoughts ran fast.

"...y'know, you may think you understand them better than we do, but you're missing something."

Glossaryck remained impassive, yet raised a curious eyebrow.

"True, only the Butterflies can fix their own mess. But I've spent enough time with them lately to realize something: it doesn't mean that they have to be alone in facing their demons."

Glossaryck didn't speak further, simply watching as River finally departed. He saw him approaching his companions and then picking up Moon, gently lifting her up from the floor. The group then quickly moved out of the Sanctuary, leaving him alone.

"...perhaps you're right, Warchief. Yet, ultimately..." Glossaryck commented to himself, as he gave one final look at the grimy scene inside the Sanctuary.

"It will still only be up to them."