Episode:
10: The War Games, Part 1

Adam faces the first trial of the War Games. Ignius's reasons for his vendetta against the Butterfly Kingdom become more apparent.

In all likelihood, Adam was screwed. He knew that was most likely the case, whether he wanted to admit that or not. Prince Ignius had challenged him to the War Games, and he was unable to refuse because of the Mace Family's stupid traditions. Even if he thought he could fare even the slightest of a chance in the Games, Adam knew that Prince Ignius would be far more experienced in playing. Meanwhile, he had absolutely no idea what the War Games would entail, only that they were challenges where he could die. Which wasn't exactly enlightening.

'Maybe there's some loophole we can use?'

Adam looked up. Marco had been the one to suggest it.

They were all gathered in a tent on the grounds of the castle. It was very medieval, with sets of armour and swords hanging on walls. The tent was large and round, rising upwards to a thin point. Wind rustled through the tense fabric, creating a symphony of air and cold. Burning torches hung on the walls, protected by sconces, but Adam felt no warmth from them. A large table in the centre of the room was all the evidence that existed to indicate that this was a preparatory meeting.

As per the Ancient Rites, Adam was permitted a preparation period before the War Games began, in order to plan out and strategise. Obviously, since they currently had little idea of what was ahead, they were merely discussing what it is that they should do.

'Didn't you hear what King Pacem said?' said Star, slightly miffed. 'There isn't any way of backing out. Adam has to compete. And he has to win.'

'What if someone else fought in his place?' suggested Marco.

'You cannot fight by proxy,' Moon explained, folding her arms. 'Whoever is challenged must participate themselves or the trials are invalid.'

'Well…it should be no problem!' Star suddenly declared hopefully. 'With your magic, it'll be a piece of cake!'

'All magic is banned,' Moon told her.

'Dammit,' she cursed, banging her fist against the table. 'So what do we do?'

'I'm not sure there is anything we can do,' the Queen admitted.

'So we're just gonna let Adam fight in this deadly tournament?' Marco clarified disapprovingly.

'If I don't, then Ignius wins by default,' Adam spoke up. 'If that happens, then the Mace Treaty doesn't get signed, and we probably end up knee-deep in war. I don't really have a choice.'

'Adam –' Marco began.

'No, Marco,' he cut off. 'I'm not going to endanger the future of Mewni just to save my own. I'm not gonna be that selfish.' The Mewman sighed. 'Besides, with the threat of the Dark Butterflies, we're gonna need all the help we can get.'

'You could die!' Star shouted at him.

'Yes,' he agreed nonchalantly. 'Yes, I could.'

'Don't you care at all?!' The princess derided aggressively.

'Of course I care,' Adam argued, returning her glare. 'But this isn't exactly the first time my life's been on the line. And it probably won't be the last.'

'And you're alright with that?' the princess pushed, her glower intensifying. 'What if you die, Adam? Then what?'

Moon folded her arms.

'Star, Adam is not going to d–'

Star stood up furiously. 'You don't know that!'

'Star, I'm not going to waste my time worrying about dying,' Adam replied pointedly, standing up to match her gaze.

'You could die!' she repeated. 'And you're completely willing to put us through that? Letting us watch you die?'

'What's the alternative, Star?' he pointed out, folding his arms. 'Jeopardising the future of Mewni? I don't think so.'

'Don't you care about how we would feel about that?!' the princess screamed at him. 'Do you care about anyone but yourself? Didn't you consider how it would feel for me if you died?!'

Before Adam could say anything in response, Star stormed out of the tent to parts unknown. Perhaps that was for the best, but he didn't think he would have given an emotionally intelligent enough response to quell her misplaced fury. Instead, he looked over helplessly at Marco.

'Marco…?' he began, although the squire instantly knew where the question was going.

'I'll talk to her,' he agreed, following her.

Marco stepped out of the tent.

The tents for the War Games were located on a plateau outside the grounds of the Mace Castle. The stony bricks of the castle ramparts stood to his right, stretching along to a corner before twisting perpendicularly in another direction. Another tent, presumably Ignius's war tent, was placed at the opposite side, against the corner of the castle walls.

Patches of grass extended along to the edge, turning from green to beige-orange in colour. Several short oak trees were dotted along the path, similarly, altering in colour. A natural path, formed only from footpath erosion, traced the middle of the plateau to the edge.

Marco spotted the princess trudging towards the very edge of the plateau, where the shrubbery ceased and only a cliff-face of rock remained.

'Star!' He called, but she had fled from sight through the trees.

By the time he found her, she was sitting on the very edge of the cliff, dangling her legs over the colossal drop.

'Star,' he repeated, sitting down next to her. 'Talk to me. Please.'

'Why does no one get it?' She grumbled, angrily kicking the side of the rock face.

'Get…what, Star?'

'Hurting me doesn't achieve anything,' she answered glumly. 'I'm sick of people playing with my emotions…making me suffer…betraying me. What did I do to deserve all this?'

Marco put an arm around her, and Star leant over onto his shoulder for comfort.

'Star, you didn't do anything to suffer like you did,' he consoled. 'But you have to understand, not everybody is going to treat you like Tom.'

'But –'

'Not buts,' he dismissed instantly. 'What Tom did was cruel and wrong, you know that. But not everybody is going to hurt you like that.'

'If Tom could do it, then surely anyone could,' the princess pointed out.

'That's not how it works,' he said. 'Anyone can hurt you and betray you. They could be a random bystander, or a close family member. It doesn't mean they will. And it doesn't mean that anyone will just because a close person did.'

'You don't know that!'

'Actually, I do,' argued Marco. 'Tom hurt you. There's no denying that, but that's all. Nothing else has changed.' He put a hand over hers. 'I haven't changed. I'm still your best friend. And I'd never want to hurt you. Ever.'

Star reached over, placed her hand over his, and tightened her grip. She looked up at him, silently looking to him for support. Marco's warm brown eyes were all she needed right now, and she leaned into his embrace some more. Marco held her closely. Her eyes almost sparkled.

She beamed at him. 'Thank you, Marco.'

'Anytime,' he replied. He looked away regrettably for a moment. 'About Adam –'

'I know, Marco,' she cut off. The princess sighed. 'I know…Adam has to do what he has to do.'

'That isn't what I was going to say,' the squire retorted. 'None of us want Adam to die. I don't think even he does. I just think he's very good at hiding how afraid he is.'

'What if he does die? I don't want to lose anyone else.'

'If he does lose – and that's a very hypothetical "if" – then we'll deal with that together,' he comforted. 'Nobody said you had to be alone. But if we don't let Adam fight, then we'd be letting more people die in war. I think you already know that, Star.'

The princess huffed, unwilling to agree, but didn't say anything.

'It's okay to be afraid to lose people, Star. It's normal. But you don't have to let fear control you.'

Star exhaled through her nostrils.

'I know,' she confessed. 'It's just that…things have been tough recently. Watching the other Janna die, by me; being kidnapped; nearly dying; watching Adam almost die; and then when Tom broke my heart. It's all been too much…and it's not even over yet! There's going to be a lot more pain on the way. If I get lucky, I won't die. I just want things to be normal again.'

'Me too,' Marco admitted solemnly.

'I wish I could go back,' the princess added. 'To those stormy nights where we'd sit on your couch under a blanket, eating your nachos and watching those stupidly fun Mackie Hand movies.' She smiled. 'Those were the good days.'

'As much as I love those times too, we can't just live in the past,' Marco told her. 'We have to keep moving forward. Even when we don't want to.' He straightened himself on the cliff. 'And hey – if you wanna watch some movies later and stuff…just to forget things for a little while…I'd be happy to.'

Star's face instantly brightened.

'I'd love to, Marco!' She exclaimed happily, tightening her hug around him. Marco almost suffocated, but he survived.

'C'mon,' the squire prompted, beckoning back towards the tent. 'Adam needs us.'

Star breathed out deeply before nodding. She steadily rose to her feet. Marco smiled at her, and she summoned the strength to smile back. The two of them made their way back to Adam's tent.

Adam had cast the Total Silencing Spell around the perimeter of the tent, to avoid the Mace Family eavesdropping in on their conversation. He had finally altered the spell to allow its use for stealth, as Star had recommended. Now, they'd know if the Maces attempted to listen in, to cheat. Moon thought he was only being paranoid, as Pacem was an honourable man, but Adam was not so certain Ignius wouldn't try to cheat.

The Mewman in question was leaning against the central table, arms folded in contemplation. Moon and River were sitting at the back of the room, engaged in a conversation that Star could not hear. Adam looked up and spotted Star as she stepped into the tent.

'Star, I –'

Star interrupted him by leaning forward and hugging him tightly. The warlock was caught off-guard for a moment, but nonetheless, he reciprocated her embrace.

'What was that for?' said Adam almost amusingly, as she retracted from him.

'I'm sorry about earlier,' Star apologised sincerely. 'I was just really scared, and worried. Still am.'

'Hey, I get it,' he said. 'You don't want to lose another person and get hurt again.' Star gave an appreciative nod, and the two hugged again. 'C'mon, we have to figure out what we're gonna do with this first task.'

'Do you know what it's going to be?' Star asked, curious.

'Apparently we're allowed a clue,' he replied. 'King Pacem came in and gave us this riddle: "What must you do before you can walk? If one cannot go over it, or under it, or around it, what must you do instead?"'

'Before you can walk…' Marco mused aloud. After thinking for a few moments, his eyes lit up in realisation. 'Run! Run before you can walk!'

'Okay, so it's some kind of race, then!' deduced Star, smiling proudly.

'What about the other part?' Adam wondered, as he sat down at his chair once again. 'Can't go over it, under it, or around it? What does that even mean? What is "it" anyway?'

'I don't think the "it" part is important,' Marco speculated. 'Not over, not under, not around…what're we missing here?'

'Up!' Star suddenly exclaimed. Adam frowned.

'What?'

'We're missing "up"!' she realised. 'If you can't go over, under or around it, then you can go up it!'

Adam frowned. 'Isn't that the same as going over it?'

'Not if the top is the end,' Marco recognised. The warlock considered it for a moment, before nodding in agreement.

'So it's…a race, involving climbing?' he deduced, scratching his chin in thought. 'A vertical obstacle course or something.'

'Parkour!' Marco realised, before his face dropped. 'Deadly parkour.'

'What the hell's "parkour"?' Adam inquired, frowning in confoundedness. Marco raised an eyebrow.

'You don't know?' said the squire, surprised. 'I knew it was bad, but…wow, the Negative Multiverse must be boring.'

'I'm sure all the people who died during the Monster Purges thought the same thing,' Adam muttered, before raising his voice again. 'Just…tell me what it is.'

'It's a lot of running, jumping and climbing,' Star summarised, before Marco could.

'Actually, it's a training discipline that requires extreme precision and martial arts experience,' Marco corrected pointedly, folding his arms. 'Not just anyone can do it!'

'You're really not filling me with hope about winning, Marco,' Adam deadpanned, glaring at him.

'Well…are you any good at climbing?' the squire enquired awkwardly.

'I'm…okay, I guess,' he supposed. 'I spent most of my life on the run; I didn't have many opportunities for climbing.'

'At least Ignius will be in the same boat,' Star presumed. 'I mean…he's a prince. I doubt he has any skill in parkour.'

'Hopefully,' he shrugged off. 'He could have trained a lot in case he ever got the chance to play in the War Games. I wouldn't put it past the guy to be that competitive.'

'We'll just have to see,' Marco replied, letting out a sigh of defeat. He moved over to sit at the end of the table.

As if to answer him, Adam felt the presence of someone outside the Total Silencing rune. He turned around to spot someone entering the tent. Adam's eyes widened in surprise. It was Caela of all people.

'Um, hello,' Caela greeted awkwardly.

'Hi!' Star returned gleefully. 'Caela, isn't it? The girl from before?'

'Uh-huh,' she confirmed nervously. Caela looked at Adam abashedly, who got up from his seat and walked over next to Star. 'King Pacem told me to come and inform you that the first trial of the War Games will be commencing soon. Your presence has been requested on the Great Fields of Glory.'

The Great Fields of Glory were a significantly large patch of land near the castle owned by the Mace Family. It must've been several hectares in size. Unlike the other land they owned, it was not used for farming or settlements; instead, it was used as a recreational centre. Individuals of the Mace Family, and their royal subjects, frequently congregated there for the celebration of certain holidays or events. The War Games were perhaps the best example of an event.

'We'll be there as soon as possible,' Adam responded. That was initially all that he was going to say, but Star elbowed him the ribs to prompt him to say more. He forced a smile. 'It's, uh, nice seeing you again, Caela.'

Caela's nervousness melted away slightly, and she beamed back at him.

'Nice seeing you too, Adam,' she reciprocated. 'Can't wait to show you around later. You know…once you win the War Games.'

'You think I'll win?' He enquired, slightly surprised.

'I think you have a better chance than the prince,' Caela said. 'He's never played the War Games, and he's never practiced for it. He just thinks he's talented enough to win without training. Besides, I definitely don't want him to win. Y'know…with the whole "starting a war" and all. So my vote's on you.'

'Thanks,' he acknowledged. Though he was sincere, he still made it seem very awkward. 'Um, I'll…see you around, I guess.'

Caela smiled again and curtsied formally, before leaving. Adam remained entirely neutral as he turned around to tell Moon they would be leaving soon. However, he never got the chance, because Star tackled him with a sideways arm hug.

'Ooooooo!' She squealed, making a high-pitched excited squeak.

'Why are you making that noise?' Adam demanded, glaring questioningly at her.

'Because!' Star exclaimed. 'That was so cute!'

'What was?'

'You and Caela!' The princess answered obviously, prompting the warlock to roll his eyes.

'What about us?'

'You were so awkward around each other!' She said excitedly. 'And you talked about going on that date later! It was so cute and adorable!'

'Ugh,' he scoffed. 'Shut up. Why do you care so much anyway? Haven't you got better things to do than playing matchmaker?'

'NOPE!' The princess responded ebulliently, hardly fazed by his bitter remarks.

'Star, I thought I made it clear earlier that I'm not interested in her,' Adam pointed out, rubbing his temples exasperatedly. 'I'm not interested in anyone.'

'I thought so, too, but after that display,' she continued. 'You have to like her. Just admit it!'

I'm starting to hope I actually WILL die in the War Games, the Mewman thought.

'Honestly, I don't understand why you care so much about this stupid shit,' he confessed bluntly, catching Star off-guard. 'I'm not going on a date with Caela, I'm just gonna hang out with her. Get to know her.'

'She doesn't know that, though,' Star pointed out.

'Then I'll make that clear when we meet.'

'You…really don't want to date her?' The princess backtracked. 'You never even considered it?'

'Why does it always have to be about relationships?' he scorned, letting out a huge sigh. 'You keep trying to match me up with her. Have you even stopped to ask me what I want?' Star opened her mouth to speak, but Adam was quicker to the punch. 'I just don't…feel attracted to Caela. This "attraction" you keep talking about – I've never felt that towards anyone. I'm not even sure what it's meant to be like.'

'I…just want you to be happy,' Star confessed solemnly.

'Maybe,' he considered fairly. 'But Star – you want me to be happy in a way that would make you happy. Not in a way that would make me happy.'

Star sighed in defeat.

'I just thought that…' her voice trailed off.

'That's the thing, Star,' Adam dismissed, although his voice was warm and caring. Almost gentle. 'You didn't think.' He looked past her towards Moon. 'Moon? We're going!'

Moon nodded as Adam turned and left the tent. Star and Marco pursued him first, rather worriedly, but the Mewman was unreceptive to their attempts to talk to him. Moon and River soon followed, just before Adam opened up a shimmering golden portal next to a tree.

'Come on,' Adam urged emotionlessly. The five of them stepped through the portal one by one. It quickly closed behind them.

What they found was an extravagant scene.

There was a large crowd bordering every edge of the Great Fields of Glory. It seemed as though not just every resident from the castle, but every resident from the entirety of the Mace Kingdom, were gathered for this monumental occasion. How the word had gotten around so quickly, Adam would never understand. The Mace Family had already arrived. A large Warnicorn and carriage standing behind them was evidence of their speedy arrival.

True to what they had suspected, this trial was definitely about climbing. Adam could tell, because there was a tall rock tower jutting out of a pit in the ground in the centre of the field.

It was strange, like someone had created it on the spot from the ground itself. Strange markings dotted the structure, along with leverages for climbing and segmented rock sections. Worryingly, though, the pit that the rock reached out from was laden with Mewman-sized spikes across it.

The Mewman gulped. This thing was very…high up. He was beginning to see just why the War Games were considered so deadly.

'The offender has arrived!' Prince Ignius announced, earning applause and glorious yells from the crowd.

'Uh…hi,' he greeted awkwardly, suddenly aware of how many people were watching him.

'Must we have an audience?' Moon complained.

'The War Games are a public event,' King Pacem explained. 'Any citizen is permitted to attend.'

'How did you build all this?' Marco wondered, staring at the rock in awe. 'And so quickly?'

'Magic,' Ignius declared proudly.

'Magic?' Adam practically sputtered. 'But…I read about the Mace Family. You don't practice magic, you only study it.'

'It was indeed that way for many centuries,' Queen Lucetia confirmed. 'However, around seventy years ago, our first Mewman with natural magic was born. It was a wondrous occasion.'

'How did that happen?' Adam questioned, frowning. 'I thought only the Butterfly bloodline had natural magic.'

'So did we, for many years,' Moon said. 'However, the origin of magic is shrouded in much mystery. It is possible that my bloodline was not the only one bestowed with magic in ancient times, just that the Butterflies were the only ones to remain constant across history.'

'As it turns out, our kingdom houses some descendants of ancient families of magic,' Lucetia told him.

'We've been delving into the mystical arts ever since,' Pacem explained. 'Few individuals are capable of casting magic. As such, they occupy a special position within our court: the Ambassadors for Magic.'

'And they're the ones who made this?' Adam presumed, gesturing towards the giant rock structure before them.

'You're exceptionally slow, aren't you?' Ignius derided. Adam glared at him but didn't say anything. 'Who else did you think made this at such short notice? The magic faeries?'

'Ignius!' Pacem scolded. 'Do not be rude. It is dishonourable.'

'I am merely taunting my opponent,' the prince dismissed.

'I do not think so,' Lucetia disagreed, shaking her head in disappointment. 'You have brought great shame upon our family today, Ignius.'

'Your restraint has brought us shame,' he spat. 'Now, it is time!' He nodded to an Ambassador for Magic, who appeared from the carriage in the background. 'Chief Ambassador Wildfyre, if you will?'

The ambassador nodded in agreement. They threw out a hand and out shot a blast of magical smoke. It hit the ground, briefly smothering it, before fading away to reveal a large wooden leaderboard. Adam and Ignius's names were placed on the table etched into the woodwork, which indicated that they both had zero points.

'Ladies, gentlemen and variations thereupon!' Wildfyre exclaimed, projecting his voice with magic so everyone could hear him. 'We are gathered here today for our most resplendent event: the War Games!' The crowd's cries of excitement magnified. 'Today, our esteemed Prince Ignius' – there were rounds of applause – 'faces off against a disrespectful commoner' – everyone booed at Adam – 'who would consider himself royalty, despite his falsehood of purpose! And now he faces death for his crimes.'

Star and her friends exchanged disgusted looks.

'The first trial is laid out before your very eyes,' Chief Ambassador Wildfyre announced, gesturing towards the huge rock structure in the centre of the field. 'Both competitors have the same goal: reach the very top of the structure, before their opponent can do the same. Beware, however: the rock is deceptive.'

He gestured at the various sections of the structure.

'It moves, and changes. It will attempt your demise into the spikes down below. To succeed, one must be versatile against the stubbornness of the earth.' Adam got the gist of it by now. 'Whoever reaches the top first to press the buzzer first will be deemed the winner. They will then receive five points. Their opponent will then have thirty seconds to reach the top. If they succeed, they will receive three points. If they are unable to reach the top, but survive the ordeal, they will receive one point. If they do not survive, no points will be awarded, and the War Games will cease as quickly as they began.'

He took another breath before continuing.

'Magic is prohibited. Not even to save your life. Death is the only answer.' Star really didn't like the sound of that. 'Neither competitor may directly attack the other until they reach the top, although they are permitted to otherwise interfere with their opponent's attempts to reach the top. After all, the War Games are not known for their peace.'

Wildfyre pointed at a metal object sitting on the ground on one end of the pitch, and then another, identical one across the other side of the rock.

'The competitors will begin on opposite sides, equidistant from the climbing pole. One climbing hook has been placed on each side to indicate this position. The competitors are permitted to use this hook to ascend the pole. Upon the sound of the horn, the first trial of the War Games shall commence. Allow the spirits of our forefathers guide you to victory.'

Ignius seemed to smirk at that, as he casually moved to the opposite end to the starting position. Perhaps he knew that Adam didn't have any forefathers to guide him. None that he knew of, anyway. He probably assumed that, considering he was just a lowly commoner in his eyes. In begrudging fairness, before he acquired his magic that was all he was.

'On your marks!' exclaimed Wildfyre, prompting Adam to move into position. He briefly glanced over at his friends.

Star flashed him a wary smile, which he guessed was a mixture of encouragement, and guilt for her behaviour earlier. Marco seemed more confident of his success, although he still quivered in fear. Moon's expression was unreadable. How she managed to remain static and stoic for sustained periods baffled him. It was obvious she cared about his survival, so he supposed she was just keeping all her concern inside. How royal of her. On the other hand, River was far more ecstatic. The possibility of Adam's death hadn't occurred to him, or perhaps the concept of death itself. Rather, King River was cheering and celebrating so effectively that he was nearly indistinguishable from the crowd around them. He had been excitable this whole time. Adam found it difficult to share his sentiment.

Adam breathed in slowly and bent down to pick up the climbing hook. He waited silently for the horn to blare. He scanned the surface of the rock pole, hoping to find some way to climb up. Given it was intended to be climbed, there were numerous alcoves and sections for him to hold onto.

There wasn't much time to think about it, anyway.

The low, tribal sound of a horn smashed through the air and rumbled through his ears.

'It begins!' Wildfyre yelled excitedly.

Adam didn't need the alert, for he was already running towards the pillar of stone. He leapt from the edge of the plateau of ground. Swinging the climbing hook with all his might, he managed to catch a rougher side of the rock. The hook slipped, causing him to skid down the side of the rock a little, but he didn't fall.

'Adam!' Star cried out on impulse. 'Y-you can do this!'

'Not helping, Star!' He yelled back, as he slowly began to ascend up the side of the pole.

'Sorry!' He heard the princess reply.

Adam wasn't paying attention to her. He was focussed on the trial. The Mewman managed to find footing on an alcove below him, supporting himself onto the pillar. Taking a deep breath, he reached for a protruding piece of stone above him, allowing him to climb higher. Exhaling hotly, he swung his climbing hook deep into a crevice in the rock, and then heaved himself up onto the next ledge.

He certainly wasn't an expert in this "parkour", but he'd picked up a few things here and there over the past seventeen years of his life. All that time trying to survive in the Negative Multiverse necessitated the ability to adapt to his surroundings. Half of Negative Mewni had been scorched by Comet Butterfly many years ago, during some kind of ritual-gone-wrong. That part of the planet was a mountainous, craggy savannah of dust and grime. He'd ventured there countless times, and the landscape was not unlike the rock pillar he was climbing now. Not that he had to climb the rocks very often, but sometimes Adam was so bored by his loneliness that he found something recreational for him to do.

The next section of rock Adam reached for was far more unforgiving. He reached for it with his hand, but he failed to notice that this section of rock was cut out from the rest. There was a low rumble, and a band of rock suddenly began to slide across.

Adam nearly slipped, but he managed to hold onto the moving section with his hands. He looked around the circumference of the pole worriedly. True to what Chief Ambassador Wildfyre had said, the rock was unreliable.

Nonetheless, Adam knew he had to continue. The Mewman moved up the pillar to avoid the moving section. He almost slipped. He caught the silhouette of Ignius around the corner, as he lifted his foot up to above the moving rock. It looked as though the prince was further up the column than him, which certainly wasn't encouraging.

Adam had to speed up his ascent. However, if he did that, he could be putting himself in more danger.

Unfortunately, the Mewman had little time to think about this thoroughly. The more he hesitated, the greater the advantage Ignius would have. Determined, Adam steadily rose up the pole, several times almost slipping and losing grip completely. He reached for a large alcove and managed to briefly rest against it.

He could feel his heart pounding in his chest. Adam took several heated breaths to quell his exhaustion. He had lost view of Ignius, but he hoped that the prince was struggling too.

Numerous sections of rock above him were shifting around, in all directions. Barely any room was left to pause, or to strategise. Taking in a deep breath, Adam leapt up to the next ledge and began quickly ascending the rock pole once again. No magic was a major debuff, but he'd spent most of his life without it, so he wasn't exactly reliant on it.

He nearly fell when a section of rock he had swung at suddenly moved out of the way. Steadily, Adam manoeuvred himself to face his side and climbed on top of cuboidal ledge of rock sticking out from the rest. He looked up and examined the path above him.

A large degree of the rock face above him was devoid of ledges or crevices for him to use. For the most part, it was smooth and angular, but there seldom were many alcoves dotting the regions above him. There was little leeway for his climbing hook. Given how each segment of the rock was cut out from the pillar, Adam gathered that several sections had slid around, blocking his path directly upwards. He'd have to go around, then.

Adam avoided looking down. He knew that the further up he went, the greater the desire to look down would be.

Admittedly, Adam had known from the moment he saw the great rock structure that he would have to climb very high up. It had been easier to quell his fear before, because he could easily open a portal and escape. He couldn't do that now – unless there was no other option – because he'd be disqualified for using magic.

Letting out a breath he didn't realise he was holding, the Mewman looked over at his right. There were a series of ledges, alcoves, and rock imperfections that he could certainly make use of. Adam straightened his back and turned to face the rock side, before steadily placing his foot upon the next available ledge to his right.

At a medium pace, he strafed around the side of the rock and steadily moved up diagonally. The craggy rock surface dug into his skin. He shivered for a second as he felt a spike of pain through his palms. A particularly sharp piece of rock had scraped his palm, right through the sensitive flesh of his star-shaped scar. He shrugged it off.

Adam tightened his grip on his climbing hook. He smashed it against the side of the rock and swung himself across to the fourth ledge down. Perhaps it hadn't been the smartest idea to try that, considering he very almost fell again. If it weren't for his climbing hook, he doubted he'd have managed to last this long.

The Mewman was left hanging on the ledge, but he leaned back and pressed his feet against the rocky surface. What he had found was a decent enough tactic to continue strafing along the side of the rock. Every time he reached further than his arm could hold the hook, he merely latched onto the next one.

Unfortunately, this tactic didn't last as long as he hoped. As he prepared to move along to the next ledge, he bumped into something to his right.

'Out of my way!'

Adam turned and saw Ignius directly next to him, hanging from the next ledge. The prince kicked his climbing hook, which Adam presumed didn't count as attacking his opponent directly.

'No, I don't think I will,' he retorted adamantly, reorienting his hook against the ledge. If both his arms were available, he would be folding his arms disapprovingly.

'I don't need to waste my time on you,' the prince sighed.

'Whatever,' Adam dismissed. 'What's the point in all this? Starting a death game over some guy you don't like?'

'It's not all about you, you know!' Ignius derided angrily. 'I'm doing this to stop that stupid treaty from being re-signed!'

'You realise that "stupid treaty" is an important political alliance between two powerful families to prevent all-out war, right?' He pointed out matter-of-factly. 'Both your dad and your granddad knew that, and you don't? Why?'

'You're a Butterfly,' Ignius huffed. 'What would you know, anyway?'

'What's that supposed to mean?' Adam demanded, hardening his frown into a glower.

'I know all about your history,' snarled the prince angrily. 'Ever since you were gifted with magic, your family has done nothing but whine and destroy! You never deserved the power you were granted, and you think it makes you above everyone else. I'm sick of it. Once I win these War Games, we can finally go to war with you brats and put you in your place!'

Wow. Eerily, Adam felt almost like he was staring into a mirror.

Then again, Adam pridefully felt justified in his hatred – given how the Butterflies in his world literally were tyrannical brats with too much power. Meanwhile, Ignius despised the Butterflies of today based on the actions of their predecessors.

He didn't even know Star. He was just using some pre-conceived prejudice of her kind to dictate his every action –

Actually, that sounded a lot more like Adam than he wanted to admit.

'Things change, Ignius,' he stated bluntly. 'People change. People aren't born evil. Just because their predecessors did…questionable…things, doesn't mean that every single person in their line should be judged based on them!'

'Sinners raise sinners!' pointed out Ignius. 'Who else would raise their children? What makes you think the apple would fall far from the tree?!'

'People don't just learn from their parents,' he argued, shifting to lean against the side of the rock. 'Children are like sponges when it comes to learning morals and ideals. They take in everything around them. It's possible to have other mentors…otherwise how could Star have different views towards monsters than her parents?' He gestured towards Ignius. 'Or how could you hate Butterflies, when your parents are best friends with them?'

The prince growled but didn't say anything. Adam wanted to growl himself because of how much more like him Prince Ignius was beginning to look. Then again, if he growled, he'd just be exacerbating that.

Neither Prince Ignius nor Adam had a chance to say anything more, because a low rumble of stone signified movement once again. The section of rock onto which Adam was hanging suddenly and violently slid away. Ignius's section slid in the opposite direction, moving him out of sight.

The Mewman supposed he should count his lucky stars, though, because the rock also began moving upwards. A large gap was left behind where he had previously been. Grateful, Adam swung his climbing hook and moved over to the next, static section of the rocky pole. In awe, he watched as the large cuboid of rock, to which he had been hanging onto just moments prior, flipped around and slid back down to slot into place. The same ledges he had been climbing before were now upside-down, leaving behind the smooth and crevice-less surface (that he avoided before) in its place. Now, he could use the same points of leverage to climb further up.

Breathing deeply to prepare himself, Adam began moving up the pole as fast as he could. In all likelihood, ascending this rock-face would have been a lot harder had it not been the same side, only upside-down. Fortunately, Ignius didn't seem much better at this than he was.

Looks like…um, er, wait, what was her name? He thought, scrambling for the answer. Celia? No…Caela! That's it. Looks like Caela was right about Ignius not having trained for the War Games.

Not that the two being on a level playing field was going to make this easier, by any stretch of the imagination.

He was starting to get quite high up now. Just over halfway up, and still a long way to go. Adam resisted the urge to look down. He really didn't want to be reminded just how high up he was. Unfortunately, his eyes wandered down out of boredom to meet the looming pit beneath it.

Dammit! He scorned himself. He avoided hyperventilating by closing his eyes and focussing on his breaths. Okay…okay…stay calm, Adam. You're going to get through this.

In all honesty, Adam didn't know if he really was going to get through this. It would seem greatly unsatisfying to die here, when he had so much left to do, but fate fell into the habit of being cruel at times.

By that, he was referring to how his foot then slipped.

'Ah!' He cried, as he grabbed onto his climbing hook with both hands. The hook was dug into the stone relatively firmly. He tried to swing forward to rest his feet on the stone, as he had done before, but his trembling knees made this a lot harder. A raspy breath escaped his lungs and rumbled through his body.

Unfortunately, Adam noticed how his climbing hook began to slip through the cracks in the rock. Slowly, he was sliding downwards, as the hook continually split open the crevice even more. The Mewman's eyes flickered upwards and spotted a spike of rock sticking out from the rest. That seemed like his best option.

Adam pushed his weight down on the hook. He knew it would accelerate its descent through the cracks, but it was the only way to generate enough momentum to jump high enough. He used this momentum to propel himself several feet up into the air, allowing him to wrap his hook around the spike and hang from it.

'I'm impressed he has made it this far,' King Pacem praised sincerely.

'Then it appears you underestimated him,' Queen Moon said, a sliver of judgement in her voice.

'Yeah!' added Star, confidently.

'I doubt it,' the king disagreed. 'Growing up, he has never shown any interest in anything other than royal activities.'

'Oh…' Star uttered. 'You were talking…about Ignius?'

'Was that not clear?' Pacem inquired, earning a shrug from Star and a shake of her head from Moon. 'You thought I meant your friend…what was his name, again?'

'Adam!' The princess exclaimed angrily. 'And you'd better remember it!'

'Calm down, Star,' Moon ordered, receiving a glare from her.

'Well, Adam seems to be doing quite well,' King Pacem admitted, pointing to the individual in question, who was climbing up a spike on the side of the rock face. 'Far better than someone whom you claim is just an asylum-seeker.'

'Adam comes from a harsh background,' Moon replied, hardly fazed by the veiled accusation of suspicion. 'The world he comes from warranted him to adapt. Improvising was a necessary skill to survive.'

'He is a Mewman, correct?' Lucetia interjected. Moon nodded. 'I do not recall Mewni being so harsh, Moon.'

'Then you don't know Mewni as well as you think you do,' Star said rudely, folding her arms.

'Not everywhere on Mewni is sunshine and roses! Some places are deadly…and cruel. I've seen it.'

'What Star means,' Moon cut off, glancing at her daughter disapprovingly. 'Is that there are many regions of Mewni that are out of sight to most. Us being royal families, we do not see much beyond our own kingdoms. The Dímios are a perfect example of the dark side of Mewni.'

'The Dímios are a multi-dimensional assassin's guild,' Pacem pointed out, bemused. 'What correlation do they have with Mewni?'

'Many stake their origin as from Mewni,' Moon informed him. 'Legend has it that their base of operations exists beneath our feet, miles underground.' She glanced down at the grass. 'Not that we have ever managed to find it.'

Pacem exhaled pensively.

'If only Ignius could see the foolishness of his actions,' he wished, shaking his head. 'He is a good kid…but sometimes he allows his arrogance to control him.'

Unimpressed, Star merely folded her arms at the statement. A "good kid" wouldn't challenge a stranger to a series of deadly trials that few could ever survive. Simply the name "War Games" was enough to give off the impression of the kind of danger it presented.

Meanwhile, Adam groaned in exhaustion as he reached out for the next ledge point. He was very close to the top now, only a few metres to go now. Cold ropes of wind whipped at his legs and torso. Pain pulsed through his fingers with every bit of rock he gripped. Climbing was not easy, but at least he was ahead of Prince Ignius.

Unfortunately, and unbeknownst to Adam, the War Games were not exactly known for their kindness. Whether it could be considered fair aside, the trials had the tendency to throw sudden curveballs from out of seemingly nowhere.

A strange, woozy feeling cascaded across his body in waves. As he clung onto a protruding spike, Adam registered the inversion of gravity beginning from his feet. Inspecting every inch of the stone that he could see, the Mewman could only determine the sound of creaking accompanied by the absentminded whistling of the wind in his ears.

Abruptly, the rock pillar let out a low rumble and the half of the structure split from the rest and rotated 90 degrees. Adam let out an involuntary squeak, as he clung on to a spike of the rock. Half of the pole now rested perpendicular to the other half, with his legs dangling above the pit down below.

And now Adam was hanging helplessly from a spike of rock.

Don't look down…DON'T look down! Dammit, I looked down!

Adam closed his eyes and breathed in deeply.

Okay, Adam. Stay calm. It's not like you're any higher than you were before! You just happen to be…dangling over a one-hundred-foot drop into a pit of spikes. Heh…yeah, no big deal!

No matter how many times he repeated that to himself, Adam couldn't seem to fully accept it. However, once he reminded himself how important it was to win this trial, he was able to refocus.

A part of him wanted to merely stay there and wait until the pole rotated back into position. However, he couldn't count on it returning to normal. The other sections of rock that moved before did not move back, and there was the danger of Ignius catching up in that time. One measly fear of heights wasn't something he could allow to impede him.

Opening his eyes, Adam immediately analysed the terrain he needed to climb across.

The inversion of gravity would no doubt make it harder to move along, but not impossible. He had just reached the end of the section of rock that had spun upside-down, so now he was into different territory. Nonetheless, there were many alcoves, ledges and spikes he could use to strafe across the final part of the pole. Actually, it would be a lot easier to manoeuvre his way through when he didn't have to worry about climbing up, only moving across. In all reality, it was a better idea to climb over the top of the pole. Or walk across it, if possible. Unfortunately, neither option seemed plausible right now. There was nothing to use to climb across for the vast expanse of the top side, and it was too round and smooth to walk across. Especially not, given how terrifying that would be for him to walk across that unsupported. However, it would still be foolish to simply dangle from the side of the rock where gravity could act on him without impairment.

All in all, it seemed there was only one way for him to do this. To Adam, the most effective method of navigating across the pole was to climb halfway upwards and then shuffle across as fast as possible.

Slowly, he used the climbing hook to climb upwards slightly, to support his feet on the stone. The Mewman then began moving right, across the length of the rock pillar. He let out a hoarse breath.

Not long to go now. His fingers ached and pulsed with pain. The dirt shoved up his fingernails didn't do wonders for his comfort, either. And his palms were now redder than Marco's trademark sweater. A brief glance down at his own sea-green tunic and pitch-black jacket revealed how tattered and dirty it really was. Although he couldn't see his hair, he'd hazard a guess that it was filled with so much ash that you might mistake him for an elderly.

Adam spotted the end of the pole. It was only a couple of meters away. Ignius was nowhere in sight, so he almost wanted to convince himself he had this in the bag.

First and foremost, though, Adam was a realist. Through and through. He never bothered with the whole "glass half-empty" or "glass half-full" business. To him, a glass was half-full if you filled it halfway up. It was half-empty if you filled it to the top and promptly drank half of it. That's how he saw the world – as it was. As such, this viewpoint led him to realistically believe that being overly hopeful was pointless. Something like that merely lulled you into letting your guard down because you thought that, since you got this far, nothing could stop you now.

This was not how the world worked. Fate could be cruel just as much as it could be kind. From his life growing up in the Negative Multiverse, Adam had learned not to expect anyone or anything to support him or act in his favour. His choices were half-chance. So is everybody else's.

As such, this philosophy had led Adam to believe that, at any moment, something could happen to spite his progress. He had to keep his guard up at all times.

Right now, he was glad he did. This is because, when Adam reached for the last ledge, he felt the creaking of the rock again. Eyes widening, the Mewman shot back and clung onto a rocky spike with his climbing hook. Adam's breathing quickened.

The pillar of rock let out a loud rumble, before half of the pole violently swung back into place. Adam kept in a yell of fright, but a grunt of shock escaped his lungs. Fortunately, his lock around the spike of rock prevented him from falling.

He inhaled slowly and kept going. To say he was unfazed would be an absolute lie. On the contrary, he almost vomited from gravity inverting for a second time. However, Adam shook off his nausea and struck the rock with his reliable climbing hook.

Just a little more to go. You can do this.

Unfortunately, Adam's axiom that fate could screw him over at literally any moment rang true once again. As Adam reached up onto the top of the pole, a loud shriek of agony pierced the air. Adam knew he could simply get up, press the buzzer, and win, but something within him compelled him to do otherwise. He ran across the top of the pole, ignoring the shiny plinth in the centre, and stared down at the source of the scream.

Prince Ignius was hanging on the side of the rock face with one hand. His other hand seemed somewhat mangled, possibly broken. Adam wasn't sure how that happened, but he guessed it was related to how Ignius also lost his climbing hook. The moving platform was probably the main cause.

Adam could merely ignore Ignius's situation and win the trial immediately. The thought had crossed his mind more than once. It would be so easy…and something that the Mewman found he was unable to do.

The Mewman vaulted over the pole and skidded down with his climbing hook. He warily slipped down the length of the hook, allowing him to descend a few inches further.

'Take my hand!' He yelled, reaching his hand out to Ignius. The prince frowned, but out of confusion, not exasperation. When Ignius didn't say anything, Adam raised his voice again. 'Take my hand! If you don't, you'll die! Let me help you!'

'Why?' Ignius yelled back, unsure what else to say. Adam frowned.

'What do you –?'

'Why do you want to help me?!' The prince cut off. 'We're enemies! This is a trial of death! And yet you'd risk forfeiting your victory to save your opponent? Are you stupid?'

Just like that, Adam had just about had it with Prince Ignius.

'No, are you stupid?!' The Mewman snapped. Ignius was almost taken aback by his sudden ferocity. 'You're about to die and someone offers you a way out – and you don't take it?! Would you rather die than accept help?!'

'It's shameful for a prince to accept help from a lowly peasant!' He insulted. 'My pride –'

'To hell with pride!' interrupted Adam. 'You won't care about your pride when you're dead!' He sighed. 'What do you think your parents would think about their son allowing himself to be helped by a "lowly peasant"? You think they'd judge you?'

'No, they wouldn't,' Ignius confessed momentarily. 'But what does it matter, anyway? This is the War Games. Death is the only answer.'

'Then do it,' he challenged.

Ignius blinked.

'What?'

'Do it,' Adam commanded. 'You don't stand a chance of winning while injured. You know that. So do it. Let go. Let go and die, if you're so keen.'

'You think I won't?' Ignius retorted pettily. 'Are you calling me a coward?! You think I'm too scared to –'

'Stop wasting time,' he scolded. 'You have two chances. Either you take my hand, and survive, or you let go and die. Your choice.'

Ignius looked down warily at the pit down below. Adam caught his eye for a moment, and he saw the tiniest tinge of fear. He seemed to waver for a moment, which Adam assumed was him slowly considering the idea. The realist inside him informed him that he shouldn't expect anything good to come from helping Ignius, but something within him – something kinder – cried out that he simply could not let him die for his arrogance. Slowly, Ignius's fingers began slipping.

The prince let out a tiny, quiet sigh before looking back up at Adam. Reluctantly, he nodded. Ignius reached out and grabbed onto his hand.

Relieved that Ignius at least saw the slightest bit of reason, Adam began pulling the prince up the side of the pole. As he did so, the Mewman used his legs to climb back up to the top and use the ground as leverage to pull him up from.

Ignius let out a moan of pain as his ribs struck against the rock. Looking closer, Adam spotted some blood leaking from a rip in his sportswear. He was more injured than he thought. The Mewman wasn't worried, though. He could be healed later.

Adam let out another groan of exhaustion as he gave one final heave, pulling Prince Ignius onto the rocking pole. The Mewman stood up and let out a sigh of relief. Ignius slowly rose to his feet and seethed in pain. His eyes flickered upwards at Adam, whose back was turned to him.

'You know, a thank you would be –' Adam began.

He didn't get to finish his sentence, because he felt a strong force slamming into his back. Inexplicably, Adam was knocked off his feet and into the air. He managed to turn to see that Ignius had mustered enough strength to shove him off the edge with his forearm.

'Idiot,' muttered Ignius under his breath.

'Adam!' Star cried in fright.

'No!' Marco supplemented.

The Mewman was left helplessly plunging into the pit down below. The wind whipped through his hair and lashed at his face, almost like punishment for his actions. Not that Adam had time to mull over what he had done. He was kinda in the middle of something – falling to his death.

Or, more accurately, figuring out a way to avoid falling to his death. Desperately, he swung his climbing hook and embedded it deep into the side of the rock. Adam managed to catch himself, although his hook slipped through the cracks and caused him to skid to an uneasy stop.

A loud siren blared through his ears.

'Prince Ignius has completed the trial!' Chief Ambassador Wildfyre announced loudly. 'Start the clock. Thirty seconds remaining!'

'Come on, Adam!' Marco hollered through the noise. 'Don't give up now!'

Adam was surprised he could even hear the squire's words through the noise of the crowd and the distance between them. Nonetheless, he let out a tense series of breaths and rushed his way back up to the top.

'Twenty seconds!' Wildfyre yelled out.

Shit! Adam cursed, as he persevered back to the top. It's been ten seconds already? C'mon!

He used a crevice of rock as leverage to propel himself upwards into the air a few feet. That allowed him to skip a significant distance, although it was more dangerous.

'Ten seconds!'

Was that even enough time to press the buzzer? Adam wasn't sure, but he also didn't have much time to think about it. He was intensely focussed on reaching the top within ten seconds.

Almost there. Just two more steps.

'Five!'

Adam reached the top of the pole.

'Four…'

The Mewman used his hook to throw himself towards the buzzer. He managed to dodge Ignius's attempts to stop him in doing so.

'Three…'

He kicked the prince away.

'Two…'

His hands reached around the buzzer.

'One…'

Adam slammed down on the button. A siren blared instantly, repeating the noise from before.

'Time's up!' announced Chief Ambassador Wildfyre. 'Prince Ignius reached the top first and is awarded five points. The commoner reached the top in the time limit, so they are awarded three points. The first trial of the War Games is complete!'

Adam sighed and collapsed back against the buzzer. He didn't even have time to think about how he was going to get down, or how Ignius had blatantly betrayed him after he'd just saved his life.

Right now, Adam just wanted to take a breath.

By the time Adam got down from the pole, the crowd of people had dispersed, scattered in their return home. The Great Fields of Glory grew ever quieter, ever more still. The candour faded and soon the life was largely drained from the once-busy area.

Several Ambassadors for Magic appeared on the scene alongside Wildfyre to disassemble the rock pole piece by piece and return to the ground that it came from. Adam was mesmerised by the sight. Each of them was patiently using their magic to manipulate the rock. Whatever spells they were casting, Adam could tell they were powerful. It seemed to require a strong stance and abrupt moves, rather than the fluid way he tended to direct his magic. He supposed that he could learn something from these guys.

While Adam was admiring the Ambassadors' unique magical abilities, his friends were decidedly up in arms.

'What the hell, dude?!' Marco yelled angrily.

'You asshole!' Star bellowed at Ignius, stomping over to him. Moon gasped at her explicit language. Star shoved the prince onto the ground. Pacem and Lucetia made no move to stop her.

'Star! I don't think –' Moon began.

Star paid her mother no mind. 'He saves your life, and you try to kill him?! What the hell?!'

'I never asked him to help me,' retorted Ignius, getting back up and dusting himself off.

'You still accepted his help!' she cried. 'And then you turned around and stabbed him in the back!'

'Because he's my enemy!' Ignius snapped. 'It was his stupid idea to help me, and I used that to my advantage. That's what the War Games are about! Winning at all costs!'

'No,' King Pacem spoke up, his voice exuding firmness. 'Have you forgotten already, my son? The War Games is about honour. By your own admission, they are bound by tradition.'

'Indeed,' Queen Lucetia concurred. 'Your opponent had nothing to gain by helping you, but they chose to save you. It was honourable. You, on the other hand, stain our reputation and sully our relations with the Butterflies in this petty feud of yours!'

'Quite disrespectful, child,' added River. 'If not for Adam's intervention, you would very much be dead.'

'I am acting in our nation's best interests!' Ignius argued. 'Not that I'd expect you to understand, while you waste your time colluding with known tyrants and despots!' Ignius hummed discontentedly. 'As it stands, I won the first trial, and I am going to win the second. And the third. If you think it is dishonourable to be focussed, then I have nothing more to discuss with you.'

The prince then stormed off.

'Why, you –!' Star began, about to stomp after him. Marco held out a hand in front of her to stop her from doing something she might regret. She sighed and looked at Adam, whose eyes were still transfixed on the Ambassadors as they completed their work. 'Adam? Haven't you got anything to say about this?'

Adam turned around. His eyes flickered through all the individuals present, not lingering on any of them for more than a second. His expression was unreadable for a moment, but it soon fell to something more casual.

'It's fine, Star,' he replied, shrugging noncommittally.

The princess couldn't believe what she was hearing.

'What do you mean it's "fine"?!' She cried in shock. 'He tried to kill you! Even after you helped him! Doesn't that bother you? At all?'

'Well I can't say I'm surprised,' he confessed. 'I'll get over it. I wasn't obligated to help him, I chose to.'

'But –'

'Star, just leave it,' Adam urged. 'There's really not much point. You can rarely change someone's opinion by shouting your differences at them.'

Star looked like she was about to argue further, but Marco held her back again, with his hand. The two exchanged looks that implied some tacit conversation between the two. The princess relented. She folded her arms and scowled, but otherwise said nothing. Marco gave him a nod.

'Well…I suggest we all return to our tents,' King Pacem spoke up, after a long silence. 'The clue for the second trial of the War Games will be dispensed shortly thereafter.'

He turned to leave, but not before Queen Lucetia gave a respectful bow to Queen Moon. The Butterfly Queen returned the gesture, although she found it difficult to smile, given the situation. Once the two rulers of the Mace Kingdom were out of earshot, Moon turned to Star.

'Star, you must learn to control your emotions!' She scolded.

'But he tried to kill him, mom!' protested Star.

'I know, Star,' she assured. 'Believe me; I'm just as furious with the prince as you are.'

The princess harrumphed, disillusioned, and said, 'you sure don't sound like it.'

In truth, Adam felt rather out of place watching this argument. He considered intervening, but he was too mentally exhausted from his recent ordeal to manage it. He felt exactly like how someone would when their friend is being told off by their parents.

'Because I know how to control my emotions,' Moon repeated, earning an eyeroll from her daughter. 'Rather than let them control me. As the heir to the throne, it is imperative that you learn it.'

Star raised an antagonistic eyebrow. 'Then why haven't you tried to teach it to me yet?' she asked.

'It is a skill that cannot be taught,' Moon stated bluntly. Star wanted very badly to initiate a series of very heated insults towards her mother, but she just couldn't.

The princess sighed. She didn't want to admit it, but she knew that her mom was right. Even despite her chat with Marco, she was still emotionally unstable right now. She needed to reign in her emotions before they tore apart every which way.

'I'm…I'm trying, Mom,' she admitted with a quiet voice. Moon reached forward and pulled her beloved daughter tightly into her arms.

'I know, dear,' she soothed, rubbing her back comfortingly. 'I know.' They remained together for a couple minutes, before they began to separate. 'We should return to the war tent as soon as possible. Once we receive the clue, we can go about deciding how we train.'

'When actually will the next event be?' Adam wondered. 'The first trial happened just an hour after Ignius challenged me…it isn't gonna be the same, right? Because I'm kinda…tired.'

'I understand,' Moon acknowledged fairly. 'To answer your question: no. The first trial is considered an initial assessment – a test of strengths between the competitors, and chance for them to identify their weakness. As such, ending up exhausted is natural. I'd expect at least a day until the next trial, for planning and recuperation.'

Adam let out a huge sigh of relief. Admittedly, just a day wasn't that long, but beggars can't be choosers. From Star pushing against his boundaries, to Ignius challenged him to a death game, to facing his very real fears of heights, today had been beyond mentally taxing for him.

And the War Games had only just begun.

Thanks for reading the latest chapter of 'Star vs the Forces of the Negative Multiverse'!

So what did y'all think of this chapter? I really hope it wasn't boring; I wanted the action to be front and centre considering the previous one was mostly character development. Still, there're a few character moments here and there, like the tensions between Ignius and everyone else, and the bit between Star and Moon at the end. If you're thinking it's a bit out of character for Adam to go out of his way to help Ignius like that, don't worry, that was intentional. The reason behind that will be explained in the following chapter. I think once Adam explains it, it will make sense. The reason has been hinted at already so that it doesn't appear to come out of nowhere, but nevertheless, it will be explained.

There's a quick mention of an interdimensional assassin's guild, the Dímios. Hint, hint, that's gonna be the plot of the next episode.

The other bit of world-building in this chapter was with regards to the Ambassadors for Magic. In the original cartoon, it's not made clear if magic is something only the Butterflies and the MHC can do, or if there are other people on Mewni who can do it. Yeah, there is that bit with Quasar Caterpillar, but that was intended largely as a joke anyway. This chapter establishes that magic is rare across Mewni, but it originated in ancient times and that magic bloodline spread throughout history. The Butterflies were just the lucky family that didn't die out. Some decades ago, people in the Mace Kingdom developed the ability to cast magic, which led to the institutionalisation of magic. Magic is, however, not homogenous on Mewni nor the whole multiverse; there are dimensions where basically everyone can do it (e.g. Pixtopia) and dimensions where magic basically doesn't exist (like Earth). The Ambassadors will be relevant to the story even after this episode, as I have some plans for them in the following few episodes. It gives Adam the opportunity to learn magic from people besides Glossaryck, the MHC or the Butterflies.

Anyways, I've rambled on enough! I'll see you next time for the next chapter, which is the beginning of the next episode, 'The War Games, Part 2'! As always, thank you fpr the support I appreciate every single bit of it! Stay tuned!