A/N: So! I have my first guest review, which means now I've just set the precedent that these will be popping up at the beginning of the chapters.

FanGirl: Thanks, glad you like her! Not to get on a soapbox, but Chloe got done dirty in Miraculous. I was expecting Sailor Moon, instead we got French RWBY: Lotta potential, if used with care and attention. Lila should have been the new Chloe, and shown how much worse she could be, Queen Bee should have learned to 'bee' better. Don't be surprised if you see a Chloe Redemption Arc in this story eventually.

Good News, Bad News

You blink, groggy and sore. You look around... it's looks like you're back in your room. And sitting next to the bed... is a snoozing three-eyed demon. Ah, that explains the brimstone smell.

You smirk. "Hey, dude. You're drooling." The noise stirs the creature. He rubs his face to rouse himself before he looks over at you. Most people would be nervous with a soul-sucking demon in their room; they'd be right, but at least Tom Lucitor would say, "Sorry, man, I know it sucks," before laughing at the bad joke. He had legendary anger issues, but when your dates ghost you because they're 'scared they'll be damned,' you'd be self-conscious too.

"Hey... hey! You woke up! Thank brimstone!" Tom almost looked like he was holding back from hugging you. And Tom's not the hugging type...

"Ok, you're acting weird. What – ow!" you wince as you fail to get up. Tom quickly comes to the bedside to firmly push you back.

"Easy, easy. You, um, might want to lie down for a while." Tom tries to retain eye contact... except his third one wouldn't stop looking around frantically.

"Tom... how long have I been out?" You squint at him, which causes him to sweat.

"Well, I, er, I mean, it wasn't very long. I mean, once, my uncle slept for three days – except, you know, he was dead..."

"How long was I out!" you very realistically freak out over losing three days!

"Hey, calm down~ No need to go all super-magic..." He jokes, while still looking a little worried.

You growl, before doing your best to let go. "At least, tell me Lila got captured?"

Tom looks at you confused. "Lila... Oh! You must mean Volpina!"

"Is that what the bitch calls herself!?" Suddenly, you frown. "Wait... how do I know you're real?"

"What?" Tom laughs as he sits back down in the chair he woke up from. "Dude, it's me. Who could fake all this?"

You nod reasonably, clench your teeth, and reach over and punch Tom's nose hard! You're already falling back in agony, but Tom... well to say he was hot under the collar would downplay the fiery landscape behind him.

"Dude! What the home are you doing!? I oughta bust your-!" he then slipped into demonic tongues so ancient, not even Lila – Volpina – whoever could fake it! When Tom eventually calmed down, he sat down in the (slightly) charred chair. "You... are very lucky I'm happy you're alive more than I want to kill you."

"Heh." You chuckle, then wince. It hurts to laugh. "When I'm better, I'll treat you to a corn shake." Your morose mood comes back. "Getting nearly kidnapped, torn away to what I can only assume would be a life of slavery... damn that bitch! I swear I'll kill her next time I see her."

Tom looks at you worried. "Hey, I was joking. You sound serious. It's cool you can do magic now... but don't go crazy with it, right?" Tom scratches his chest, looking down awkwardly. "Back home, I read about a lot of people who crossed that line once and they never got better." All three eyes look unyieldingly at you. "You're better than that. Tell me you didn't mean that."

You huff heavily, before finally just... drop it all. Your anger and frustration giving way to fear and exhaustion. "No man, I didn't..." You curse under your breath as you lie back, ignoring the tears stinging your eyes. "It's just... I really don't like being lied to. Doesn't mean I won't pummel her into the ground if given less than half a reason but... Yeah, there are lines of what to do just because you're angry."

Tom seemed to relax at that. "Good... that's... yeah, okay." You both sit in silence for a bit.

"...I still want to kick her in the face."

"I'll record it and upload it to MewTube."

You both trade looks, before laughing like hyenas. And for a while, recent events, and what was to come, just melted away as two best friends laughed until they almost peed themselves.

Once the laughing fit dies, replaced by a breath-catching session, silence fills the room. When you stop panting, you turn your head to Tom. "So... what happened while I was out?"

"Well," Tom scratched his cheek, "this all happened after I got here, but Lila, that's what you call her, she's long gone! But considering what she did to those buildings, no one will miss her. Seriously, how hot were those flames, am I right?"

"She burned the town!?" You struggle not to shoot up in bed. "But I thought those flames were fake!"

"Yeah, not so much burned as melted." He pulls out his mirror to show you pictures; sure enough, the stone and wood of the buildings were just liquid-like and droopy. Melted was definitely the word. "Plus, why do you think you're wrapped up like a Stump Day present? You got third-degree burns, man!"

You frown, thinking back to that moment; you felt the heat, but you didn't think it was burning you! Speaking back to that day... "Hey, Tom? I saw her sprout... tails, I think? Isn't that some rare monster?"

Tom snorts. "Try extinct! Kitsunes are stories monsters tell to remember not to mess with Mewni. 'Be a good monster, or you'll die like the mighty Kitsune~'"

You roll your eyes at your best friend's antics. "I'm serious, Tom! She was doing magic I've never seen before! She was literally in my head!"

Tom stopped playing around and frowned. "Well, I hear they were shapeshifters... maybe a few escaped, and you had the bad luck to cross her."

You think back to ancient Mewman history. "I don't think it's bad luck... but what about the townsfolk? Are they alright?"

"Psh!" Tom moves his hand like he's swatting away your worry. "They're all fine. Although, word on the street is your little courtyard shuffle did scare them! They probably think you'll eat them or something..."

Well, the peasantry was always so overreactive; not much of a loss there. "And Heartstopper? What about him?" you ask eagerly.

Tom blinks. "Ha-wha? He's fine. Last I checked anyway. Why?"

You grind your teeth, but ultimately try to calm down. "I... invited Lila there alone. That's where she put the illusion on me. She could have done something to Heartstopper and I'd never forgiven myself if she had."

Tom looks at you sadly. "Well... he's fine. Checked on him myself. Gave him a few carrots, but he didn't crunch them the same. Guess he's worried about you." As the demon notes your smile, his grin turns wicked. "So, can I make fun of the fact you invited a girl someplace alone~? Going for a little roll in the hay~?"

You feel your face flush red, specifically at one part of the 'illusion.'

Could... could we stay like this for a bit longer~?

You shout the first thing that comes to mind. "I JUST WANTED TO SHOW OFF MY IMPRESSIVE STALLION, I SWEAR!"

You and Tom sit in shock silence... before he gives up holding back his laughter, and rolls on the floor, busting his guts! "Hahahaha... I can't - hahahahahaha – can't – hahahaha – bre-heheheheathe!"

"N-n-n-n-n-n-no! NOT like that!" You try to go over and strangle your moral support, but you're still in too much pain! "I told the story to be cool! Stop laughing, damnit!"

As Tom's giggles gave up a minute later, still on the floor, he asked, "Please tell me your 'stallion' wasn't only pointing toward 'crazy monster sorceress?'"

"W-well..." Your mind goes back to the Orchard... and the smell of crisp apples and honey... "There was also Chloe..." And somehow, your face feels warmer. Can a guy die from blushing? Feels like you're dying.

"Oh-ho?" Laying on the floor, the demon looks at the ceiling, smiling in amusement. "And how was Lady Bourgeois? She as cute as I hear?"

You frown thinking back to that walk. "There's... more than that... she is stuck-up, but... she's really nice underneath all of her shields." You look over at Tom... giving you a funny look. What? What did you say!?

"Ah, forget it," Tom sighs, looking away, with that not-smile on his face. "I can't make fun of you when you're like that!" Like what? What's that mean!? Tom gets, dusts off his torn-up jeans, and walks over to your bedside table. You try to crane your neck to see, but the bandages make it a bit tough.

Tom comes back into view, with a bowl full of...

"Is that... chocolate pudding? With corn in it?"

Tom scratches a horn. "Yeah, Glossaryck said when you wake up, give you some pudding. Your dad added the corn."

You chuckle. "Classic Dad. But why pudding?"

Tom shrugged. "He said it'll help the healing process along. He also said it would knock you out, and I'm not gonna argue with a guy who lives in a book. So... wanna try this now, or is there anything else you wanna know?"

You try to scratch your cheek, wince, then go limp again. "How did Mom and Dad handle me going missing?"

At that question, Tom looked nervous. "Iiiii wasn't there for everything, but the word around the castle is the Queen's calling in... serious help tracking down Lila. Your dad... when you were brought back, he immediately took a hunting party out. Brought back every single one of that sneaky little trickster's men. Some... more beaten than others."

"Yeah, that's expected. Alright, let me have that... magical... pudding... corn cure thing." As Tom stirred the mixture, another thought came to mind. "And nothing else interesting happened while I was out?"

Tom paused and thought about that. "Well, Geoffrey looked awful. When he realized what happened, sounds like he blamed himself. I mean, not even your mom blamed him, but he was really broken up about it. I've only been here since this morning, so no idea how he handled it..."

"Tom, before you feed me..." you can't even bring yourself to say it again, "that... make sure Geoffrey knows that I don't blame him at all. Please. I only blame Glossaryck for not just teleporting me out of that! Even if I finally got my magic out of it."

Tom smiled. "And I, for one, can't wait to see you do it! Hearing about sounded wicked!"

You smirk back, and nod as best you can. "Thanks, man." You look at the spoon he put in front of you. "Well, see you on the other side." You open up and Tom up ends the brown glop onto your tongue. You chew the corny bits, then swallow. "Okay, so how fast does... it... wo..."

You feel... light-headed. Like you're floating. A wind pushes you along like you're a leaf on the breeze. The colors around you swirl and coalesce to form...

A dusty old crawlspace. Where a dusty old Djinn is knitting.

"Hey, Glossaryck." You mutter like he can even hear you-

"Shh, Shooting Star. I can't hear what they're saying down there." Oh sorry – you can hear me!

"This is the Astral Realm. Only a fool lets his guard down," the old mage points out.

Astral Realm, you wonder.

"Yes, a place of spiritual solitude... and silence." He points down to a crack. Through it, you see the War Room... Mom and Dad and someone you don't recognize down there... A woman with a flame hanging over her head, a bored or uninterested expression on her face.

"River." Mom nods to Dad, who has a bandage and bruising on his hands.

"After... persuading that... woman's entourage," It was clear who he meant and he didn't mean woman, "the guards – and perhaps, myself, a couple of times, have pieced together the true: there is no 'Rossi Trading Company.' It seems 'Lila Rossi' herself never existed."

Mom nodded. "I suspected as much. After..." For a second, Mom hesitated, looking down with shame. But the moment passed, and back was the Queen. "Once Glossaryck returned with Sirius, I used a truth spell on the messenger who told us about the Company.

"When he continued to say it was real, I tried a disillusionment charm. He practically cried with relief. He'd been conscious the whole time, but could not tell of the plot. I don't whether or not it was sloppy or vindictive to pull such a trick..." Her hand clenched the Wand tightly.

You look over to Glossaryck. "She's skilled, but a child. She's probably not used to controlling others from so far away for so long." The magic teacher frowned as he dropped a stitch. "Her workaround must have trapped the man's consciousness closer to the surface than intended. Truly sloppy."

The pale white woman hummed, the flame on her head pulsing like a heartbeat. "So... it really was her." She snapped out a hand-

Whoosh!

And out of an actual fire, a poster was formed. The girl on it had Lila's hair and skin complexion, but she was wearing a fox-themed mask over her eyes. The caption: Wanted – Dead or Alive, Volpina the Illusionist.

Dad actually snatched the paper in his jaws and ripped it apart with his teeth like a pit bull. When he was done, Mom patted his shoulder. "Feel better?"

"No," Dad said, his face still flushed. "I'd rather have the real thing! To think, someone could come in here and-!" His voice failed him, as he stomped over to his chair to sit and calm down.

Never seen Dad so angry before... But you can't help but think, why? Why did Li- Volpina go through all this? What was the point, the end goal?

"That remands to be seen," Glossaryck remarked. "Do remember though, scars of fear and loss rarely excuse poor behavior. You nod, knowing the old creature is right; The why didn't matter! We all just need to be better, smarter, and more prepared.

"Which is why I asked for your help," Mom addressed the patient guest at the table. "Heckapoo, if anyone could help us figure out what we're missing..."

Heckapoo, her feet kicked up on the table, looked at Mom... and laughed. It was quiet, but it was still a laugh. No one, not one person as long as you've been alive ever laughed at Mom... "Oh, Moon... you crack me up. Calling me all the way out here... that was more than pushing our deal. But asking me to help you? That is borderline neglectful of the Oath!"

Oath? What Oath? Glossaryck paused in his knitting. "It's not important. Doesn't involve you." He starts up again.

Mom, getting heated, raised her voice – another first. "Heckapoo, my son-!"

"...Is not my concern. Ya wanna know what is?" She got up and began to pace the table. "Unregistered dimensional travel. I sensed the magic of illegally obtained scissors being used for a quick jump across space-time. Right around here." She smiled, fangs protruding from the top of her lip. "Now, I know who and why."

"So, you won't help us!?" Mom nearly screamed. "This girl is clearly unbalanced and-!" The moment Heckapoo turned, you could feel the electricity in the air. Mom's Wand glowed as Heckapoo's fire burned brightly.

After about a minute of a staredown, Mom... actually put the Wand down. Heckapoo smirked. "Don't ever forget, Moon. Your place on the Magic High Commission is tenuous, at best. You want in on our good graces..." As scissors appeared in her hands, she cut a hole in the air. She turns back toward Mom. "Smother that abomination in its sleep." As Dad rose to retort, Heckapoo swerved on the spot and jumped into the portal.

Abomination? Do they mean me? "The Magic High Commission has a 'natural order' idea of how magic works. They have a list of things they think should not exist. You may be on it..." Glossaryck caught a dropped stitch as he spoke. Well, forget them! If they can't help, we don't need 'em!

As Mom's shoulders shook, it was Dad's turn to comfort her. "River."

"I know, Moon Pie," Dad crooned.

"He can do magic!" Mom quietly cheered.

"I know, Moon Pie," Dad smiled proudly.

"...He's in danger," Mom whispered.

"I know, Moon Pie," River sighed deflated.

Suddenly, a wind grabs you, blowing you away from the scene.

As the wind drags you toward your next vision, the colors become darker and mute. As you begin to float down, you find yourself over a country road. The only thing for miles is a bench.

Suddenly, lights are traveling toward you. As they get closer, you see a horseless, metal carriage pulls up and stops at the bench. Out of the side door, a girl in an orange cardigan, with a black skirt and top comes out. But you know that face anywhere...

Volpina! Why on Mewni would I be here!? Just being near her makes my skin burn where her fire touched it! As you look on, Volpina smiles at a man inside the carriage. "Thank you so much. You can go now."

"As you command," With that, the men drove his strange machine off, leaving the sorceress to sit down on the bench. As she seems to relax, she opens up a pendant. As she looks inside a small tune begins to play. She smiles at the locket's contents, humming along.

All this sweet little girl routine is funny. It almost seems innocent...

"Hello, Volpina." The girl's smile vanishes swiftly as she closed the locket. Behind her, a dark figure stands with its back to her. He, or it, clicks its tongue. "You're not on Mewni anymore... and I can't see you. Where are you?"

Volpina gulped. "I-I'm just... laying low. You hired me for a high-profile job. I was... caught. I can't go back to Mewni... maybe in a thousand years..."

"You don't get to decide that." The figure kept his hands in his pockets. "Did you forget the kind of reward I'm giving you? A prize you wanted... for a very long time."

The sneaky wench held her locket close to her chest but made no mood. "I'll find another way. This planet had monsters and legends burning through for eons. I'll find my clues here." She smiles victoriously, just like in that illusion. "Without your... help."

This was really unhelpful. What's with all the pronouns!? What was Volpina looking for, where is she now, and who is this guy, her boss? Looks like the only thing she said that was true...

The man's head tilted. "Hm? What is..." With an unnatural speed, the shadowed figure turns... to look directly at you. "Oh. Interesting..."

Nope nope nope! Time to leave! As you turn to move on, you find the man is in front of you, yellow eyes peering from beneath a hood. "Foolish young mage, do you know nothing? Moving and thinking like the Astral Realm is so logical... did Moon teach you nothing?" The being raised his hands, and shadows reached up to grab you, dragging you down into an endless void.

"Truthfully, I would have enjoyed destroying the vessel itself, but the spirit will do..." The man raised one a four-fingered hand – no, three-fingered claw. "Good-bye... Star Butterfly."

This guy – no, this thing... this darkness is... terrifying. Being stuck in Lila's fantasy would have been more pleasant! This thing... it just wants you dead. Not enslaved, or humiliated... just gone. And that scares you the most...

You fight, pulling against the tendrils with everything you have! It's not enough. You call on a strong symbol like before. It's not enough. You try to dip down, but you can't concentrate – you're too freakin' scared! You're about to die! No Mom, no Dad, no one will even know what happened! You're stuck, and nothing you can do will-

Companionship

The sound – that sound... the last voice. You know who it is. As your head is just above the dark nothingness, you bellow: "STAR!"

The darkness is blown away, gone like a birthday candle. Even the clawed figure just blows away. Instead, you are lying in a field of grass, a warm summer wind tickles your nose. As you turn your head to look around, you see... a puppy with big eyes staring back at you.

"Um, hi?" The dog barks then licks your face, then fires lasers over your head! As you plaster yourself to the ground, watch the dog run off to play with other laser puppies near a tree. Under that tree, Star is writing in a book. She looks up at you.

"Hi. You're late, I think," Star says.

You get up, dusting yourself off. "Sorry, just had to meet some spooky shadowy guy that wants to erase me from existence for some reason. But, no biggie. How are you, Sis?"

She smiled faintly. "I feel... good. I've... just been redecorating." She motioned to the field. "This is all where I can go, so I tried to make it look... nice." She scratched her chin. "But... could it use something else?"

"You could always add more trees," you offer. "Some flowers, too. Meadows have flowers."

"Flowers..." Star unconsciously petted a puppy while thinking. Suddenly, flowers of various species and sizes sprung up everywhere! You were literally up to your waist in pansies! Star looks over at you, faintly smiling. "Is that too much?"

"Just a bit..." you mumble as you plug your nose from all that pollen.

"Sorry," Star giggled, as the tulips receded to small patches dotting the landscape. "Trying to decorate... with only your memories. It's not easy."

You scratch the back of your neck (Wait, she made bugs in here?). "Guess I'll have to make more for the both of us." After a moment you add, "You could also make a castle or a Bounce Lounge!"

"Bounce Lounge?" Star cocked her head to the side, the puppy mimicking her.

"Yeah, see they-!" you get cut off as you hear a ringing in the air.

Star looks up saddened. "Oh. Our time's up. You're waking up," the girl walked over to your lifting form, as the puppies nipped at your air-bound heels. "It was a miracle you could even dig this deeply into your own soul to find me without training." She looked away with tearful eyes. "I... I don't think we'll be seeing each other for a while..."

"Wait, what?" You try to swim back, but your float ever higher. "Hold on! Just come with me!"

Now she was really crying, even as she smiled. "Oh, brother... I wish it were that simple. I'm sure... I know I'll see you again. Just..." Whatever she was going to say was blown away... as were you, to the waking world.

You wake with a start, causing Geoffrey to stand back. "Ah, Sirius. Welcome back to the waking world... oh my, why are you crying?"

Sure enough, you raise your hand (with no pain shooting up your shoulder), and find tear tracks on your cheeks.

"Just... bad dreams..." you mutter more to yourself than out loud.

Geoffrey studies you for a bit but finally nods. "Well, I'm glad you're feeling better. Please come with me. The Queen and King wish to speak with you, Sirius."

You get up tentatively and, finding you're in no pain, throw on the Royal Bathrobe, and follow Geoff out of your room. It takes a while, but you soon find yourself at the doors to the conference room. "Here you are, Sirius. I'll... be taking my leave now."

"What? No way!" you call over, stopping the servant's departure. "You're just as much family as Mom and Dad. Get in here!"

Geoffrey pauses, but his face gets a little less tight. "Very well. I suppose you will need someone to shorten the big words for you." You hardly have time to tell if he's joking, before he opens the door to Mom and Dad, a lot more put together than how you saw them while asleep. Floating next to them is Glossaryck, knitting away at the same thing you saw him at before.

"Hey, Mom. Hey, Dad. How are..." The words are hardly out of your mouth when Dad shoots across the room, glomping onto you. He was saying something, but it was hard to tell what he was saying.

"He's saying he's so glad you're okay and don't scare him like that again," Mom translated. She placed a comforting hand on your head and smiled faintly. "I'm glad you're alright as well, my Glorious Star."

"Thank Glossaryck," you motion with your unpinned arm to the floating entity. "I mean, he taught me to use magic! In less than a day!"

"Oh, did I?" the djinn put away his project to float over. "If you know magic, please show me. Here." He pulls out an apple from nowhere. "Levitate this apple from my hands. It's a simple spell, after all."

"Sure thing!" You grin... before yelling at the little blue troll! "After you teach me how to do that! You know darn well that's not what you taught me!"

A chorus of "Calm down, Sirius," carried across the room, as the djinn chuckled. "Exactly. What I taught you was to find your magical spark. Now that you have it, I can really teach you!" There was a mad gleam in his eyes that sent a shiver through the room.

"...Yes. Well. To the matter of why we called you..." Mom moved on from the moment, and also moved to the conference table, dragging Dad off of you. On the table, there were two parchments, rolled and stamped with the Royal Seal.

"The Royal Seal..." Geoffrey gasped before sitting down, his legs clearly giving out.

You frown. The Royal Seal meant documents for royal eyes only. This meant business. "Does this have to do with that weird lady that you two were talking to?"

For the second time in your life, Mom's mask dropped; this time, she openly gaped at you, as did Dad. "How... you were... what?" You quickly explain your astral adventure - mostly. Maybe bring up Shadowy Figure, Lila in another dimension, and Star in your head at a more convenient time...

When you'd finished, Mom and Dad were sitting down like Geoffrey. "Well... astral projection..."

"Just a side effect of the pudding," Glossaryck plainly stated. "Shouldn't happen again... until he learns that spell, anyway." He went back to knitting, ignoring the looks shot at him.

Mom, the first to recover from her shock, addressed your explanation. "That woman was Heckapoo, member of the Magic High Commission, and guardian over all interdimensional travel. We..." She hesitated, before remembering you pretty much saw it all. "Lila, Volpina, had traveled across the rift, that much I could sense. But, as to where... only she could tell us..."

Dad humpfed. "And tell us she did not! Would have been better to not have called her at all!"

"And what about that 'abomination' thing she was talking about?" You feel a stone in your stomach worrying that you knew the answer to that question...

Dad opened his mouth to speak, but Mom cuts him off. "There was a... being the Commission disagreed should live. They told me to do it, and I refused. Not much more to say on the matter."

You frown as something pricks in the back of your mind. You push it aside. "And that's it? This Commission wanted you to kill some monster, and you let it go? That's what happened?"

Mom raised only an eyebrow; her voice clipped with her 'that'll be all' tone. "Yes, Sirius. That is what happened." You and Mom stare each other down for what feels like an hour. Eventually, you look away, and down to the papers.

"So, what are these, anyway?" You pick one up, but Mom's voice stops you.

"As you said earlier, you've begun to come into your magic. Now that you have..." She trades looks with Dad, who clears his throat to speak.

"As per tradition, once the heir to the throne of Mewni et cetera and onwards (You snicker, while Mom shoots a baleful look at Dad.), you get to have the Royal Magic Wand, son!"

Now it's your turn to sit down. "W-wait. For real?" They both nod as happy tears jump to your eyes. "This isn't a dream? No pranks? Do I get a cool hat?"

Mom laughed lightly. "No, you're not dreaming, and this is not a 'prank.' Where did you hear that part about a hat?" Mom's question was answered by a whistling mage who refused to look her in the eye.

"Okay, this is... I mean, this is the best thing – hands down, ever! But," you say, trying to calm yourself down, "What does this have to do with these parchments?"

Mom and Dad shared a look again. This time, Dad spoke. "Well, Sirius, as I'm sure you know, those who hold the wand attract... powerful enemies."

You make an exaggerated face. "We have enemies!? Le gasp! Le swoon! What cruel fate! What painful irony! How very-!"

"Yes, very funny, Sirius. But please stop. Your father needs to breathe at some point." Sure enough, Dad had fallen back in his chair, laughing his ass off. Nearby, Geoffrey was doing his civil best not to join, if his reddening ears and shaking shoulders were of any indication.

"So, really, what are these?" you relent to ask significant questions. "Intel on these dangerous foes? Maybe who are allies are to ask for protection?"

Mom fiddled, actually toyed, with the Wand as her face became worried. "Nothing as such. If our plan works, you should be in no danger at all. To better focus on your magical studies."

"Plan?" you wonder, tapping the table nervously. "What exactly is this plan? 'Cause you guys are dancing around it like a merchant." Low blow, considering recent events, but it paints a picture to cut to the chase.

"Well, basically," Your father picked up the reins of the conversation, "we picked two of the least magically inclined areas, in a dimension where magic is a tad less... plentiful."

"Plus, there are enough people in these places, that you should be able to blend in," Mom gives you a micro glare. "Provided you don't use your magic."

You gulp at this news; they were sending you away. You just got magic... and are now losing a family because of it. "S-so, do I get to pick at least? And what about Heartstopper?"

Mom nodded. "This is a place you will be living in... until we can discern it is safe to come back. It's only fair you pick where that will be. As for Heartstopper, well..."

"I can come up with something," Glossaryck casually said as he seemed to be finishing his project. "A boy and his Warnicorn should never be parted so easily. Moon, you'd better explain what was picked before he gets all mopey."

Mom agreed, raised the Wand, each seal melting away instantly. "The first place we found was in a city called San Francisco. A population so large, you'll blend in easily. A nice elderly man and his niece have agreed to take you. There will be a lot of fragile objects, so please be careful living there!

Mom motioned to the other scroll. "This other city is moderately sized, but still has enough to disguise you. A nice family has agreed to be your guardians while you live there. They even have a son about your age.

"And of course," Mom wrapped up, "as added protection, Glossaryck chose these specific places for their low magic activity."

"Indeed," Glossaryck grinned. "I can positively say that these areas are not currently under any magical duress."

Mom paused. "I do find it weird he keeps phrasing it like that." You look over as the djinn winks at you. "So, which sounds the most interesting to you?"

Line break

As you walk back to your room with your personal valet, Geoffrey never turns to look at you, but still says, "Well... that was... quite the surprise."

"Well..." You mutter, "if nothing else this will be interesting..."

"Indeed," Geoffrey responded, as the two of you lapse into silence. As you come up to the door, a thought occurs to you.

"Geoffrey?"

"Hm?"

"Will I... do you think I'll still be able to hang out with Tom? Or Kelly? Or even Pony Head?" you sniffle a bit at the thought of leaving your friends... but look up when Geoffrey patted your shoulder.

"I think, my Prince, you will find that friendships will last far beyond dimensional barriers. Now, please get some rest! There's a big day ahead of you!" Geoffrey opened the door and was about to close it...

"It wasn't your fault!" you blurt out. The door stops closing, Geoffrey pointedly not looking at you. "I mean, I blame Glossaryck for not just teleporting me out of there, but whatever, he helped unlock my Magic, so even that's forgiven. If anyone is to blame, it's the one behind this... Because there is no way she managed to infiltrate the castle without aid from some source."

You clench your fist at the memory, but you remember your talk with Tom, take a deep breath and relax. "I'm sorry you had to worry about me, Geoffrey. I meant what I said early. You're family, and never forget that... or how thankful I am for all you've done for me, for all these years."

Your personal valet, butler, and tutor, who still won't meet your eyes, says nothing for a moment before he nods. "It... has been a privilege to be a part of your upbringing, Sirius." It was only after the door closed that you heard sniffles rapidly leaving the vicinity.

You sigh as today – well, three days ago and today's events. You made new friends and one enemy. You have a sorta-sister, but you can't really see her until you get better at magic. You have magic, but now you're moving away because it's unsafe to be on Mewni now...

As you look out of the window, a view of your home that you never really appreciated until just now, you sigh. "Well, this is gonna get a little weird... it's gonna get a little wild..." You close your eyes, take a deep breath, and focus. When you open your eyes, a flicker of light appears in your hand. It's brief, gone in an instant. But it's enough to bring a smile to your face. "...but maybe I'll end up having a good time, after all."

A/N: Come on, it was totally unavoidable... Anyway, what'd ya think! Do share!