AN: Due to how long Chapter 7 has eventually turned out to be, I decided to split it in two and do a double-chapter update, as there was a moment where an interruption could be added naturally (a bit of a mean one to be fair, but it kinda works soo—). Thus, you can jump into Chapter 8 right afterwards (though beware, despite the split that one still turned out to be quite a long piece).

A couple of additional warnings. First, there are some references to torture (characters reference it vaguely via dialogue) in Chapter 8. Torture will also come up as implied/referenced in future chapters as well.

Second, explicit language (swearing) is a bit more common in this chapter and Chapter 8 compared to previous chapters; do note that some heavier language can and will become more common in some of the future chapters as well, though don't expect things like f-bombs every paragraph for the heck of it and the such; the story, even with these warnings, is still rated T. AO3: As a result, I've also removed the 'Mild Language' tag and added the 'Swearing' tag in its place.

Chapter 7

One Step at a Time

"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 then, 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're 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 pleasebe 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 king, 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 Wollett 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 differenlty 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 Butt—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 sumrised."

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 forgot 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 visiting more places and 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 was here. 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?"