Episode:
11: The War Games, Part 2


In the final part of the War Games, the Third Trial approaches. It seems the only way to win is through violence, but can Adam find another path to victory? Spoilers: maybe.


Purple leaves. That was all that Adam had to find. You'd think something like that would stick out like a sore thumb, but when you're traversing a maze with purple grass, it tended to be harder to find. At least now that Ignius was no longer a problem, he could focus more on finding his way out.

On his search for the purple leaves, he'd encountered three more riddle-creatures. One of them was a troll, another a giant spider and the last one was a storm guardian. He'd actually failed to give the right answer to the troll, so he was forced to run away for fifteen minutes before he stomached the courage to kill them.

Nevertheless, Adam finally stood in front of the fabled purple leaves. He was not sure how far into the maze he was by now, but he could see Yggdrasil fairly close to him above the hedges.

So how do I get through?

"You're too dumb to realise how to escape this maze!"

Ignius's words echoed in his head. He definitely didn't want to prove that obnoxious, arrogant bonehead right.

Adam reached his hand out to touch the purple leaves. He edged them closer and closer, a slight twinge of fear preventing him from making physical contact. He breathed in through his nostrils and snapped his hand forward to grab a hold of the leaves.

However, his hands only met air. His eyes widened. His hand was currently half-phasing through the wall, creating a ripple effect among the leaves of the purple hedge.

Of course. It only made sense. Chief Ambassador Wildfyre had installed these as illusions, fake walls to deter King Pacem from believing that he had put in place any secret passageways. No wonder this had gotten past the King and Queen; they were not magical experts like the Ambassadors. If Moon had examined their work, Adam had no doubt that this trickery would have been identified instantly. Once he got out of here, he'd have to tell Pacem what Wildfyre had done; then the Ambassador could be fired, or otherwise removed from the development of the final trial.

The secret tunnel was layered in various shades of purple. While the grass retained its previous shade, the leaves were a dark, rich purple colour with violet variegated edges. Even the air itself seemed inundated with purple light, as though a filter had been placed over his eyes. Ahead of him lay a winding path of hedges. Although the path ahead of him seemed long, it seemed linear, so Adam calmly jogged his way through the maze.

Yggdrasil grew closer and closer, until several of its thick branches hung far above him.

He hoped his plan with Ignius had worked. Sure, it certainly helped him ahead in this particular trial, but that was only one facet, and he hoped he'd convinced Ignius that you could be smart and nice at the same time. Stabbing the guy hadn't been part of his plan, though; he really had no choice. Ignius attacked him – which he was too stupid not to expect – and the blade just shifted into place. By instinct.

Adam had little time to dwell on it. He didn't feel insured that Ignius would remain incapacitated, knowing how persistent he was. Despite his injuries, it seemed entirely possible he would just get back up and keep going anyway. He didn't want to squander his advantage while he had it out of pure arrogance.

When he turned the corner, a smile spread across his face. At the end of the corridor, there was a parting in the hedges, which he could see led to a sizeable clearing. The trunk of the monolith Yggdrasil stood in the centre of the maze, easily ten times his size. Between two buttress roots, he spotted a glowing orange crown resting neatly on the grass.

That must be the way out, he deduced. Admittedly, he was unsure of himself, but there did not seem to be any other indication of what to do.

Adam picked up his pace and ran towards the end of the corridor. He more than likely would have made it, but fate was not done with him yet. Something caught him by ankle and threw him off his feet. The Mewman groaned in pain and glanced down at his legs. A thick, sharp vine had found its way wrapped around his right ankle. He reached down and hastily ripped it off, frowning in confusion.

As he rose back to his feet, he paused. Something wasn't right. He could feel it.

Wind rustled through the leaves around him, forming a whining cacophony of noise. The grass beneath his feet was uneven, uncomfortable, and altogether irregular. Air whistled through his ears and up his back, forcing a shiver up his spine. A strange, pulsing feeling echoed through his bowels. His eyes surveyed his surroundings constantly. He spotted something moving between the gaps in the branches in front of him.

He instinctively jerked aside. A thick, leafy vine shot past his head, inches away from his face. Adam stared at it for a moment, watching as it retracted back to its original position.

Several branches from the surrounding hedges shifted and detached. They began to attach to one another, forming a mass of leaves and branches blocking the doorway gap. Eventually, the woodwork assumed a vaguely humanoid, somewhat feminine, form. Two glowing green eyes appeared on the head, glowing through the twisted twigs.

'Not so fast,' the creature halted. Its voice was unpleasant and hazy, like an angry hive of wasps.

It was a Spriggan, Adam realised. It took him a moment to realise that, because the Spriggans in his multiverse looked a lot more violent and aggressive. They were larger, containing more vicious and spiky branches with leaves tipped with poison. This one seemed far less deadly, although he wouldn't say they were more friendly.

Adam sighed.

'Look, I'm right at the end,' he pointed out. 'Can't you just let me go?'

'No!' The Spriggan insisted, an insulted tone in her voice. 'I've been waiting ages for someone to show up at my door and nobody did! I heard your footsteps through the leaves, so I moved here to catch you. You can't avoid my riddle!'

'Oh boohoo,' Adam ridiculed, disinterested. 'Cry me a river, why don't ya?'

'Don't insult me, child!' She yelled. 'I am Aegis. And you will respect me.'

'Respect is earned, not given,' the Mewman pointed out. He groaned. After the ordeal he just went through, he really was not in the mood for yet another riddle. Aegis had other ideas.

'Listen, mortal,' the Spriggan ordered. 'The riddle is as follows: Tread on the living, they make not a mumble…'

Adam was aware that he probably should be listening to the riddle being relayed to him, but he really didn't want to. He was exhausted and sick of the poetry that had been playing nonstop since this trial began. He felt through his pockets. The flare gun protruded from his back pocket, and a thought occurred to him.

Spriggans hated fire.

Without even thinking, he took out the flare gun and unloaded its entire contents into Aegis's body. The Spriggan screeched in pain, doubling over as the flares exploded within her body. Adam, not entirely sure of what he just did, slipped past the creature. Breathless, he ran towards Yggdrasil and the glowing crown.

Before he could reach the crown, he tripped and fell. The Mewman flipped over and saw that Aegis, partially alight with flames, had caught him on another of her sharp branches. The razor-sharp leaves sliced through the upper skin of his lower leg. He yelped in pain.

'You're gonna pay for that, kid!' Aegis cried. Adam dodged the first series of branches that the Spriggan fired. He quickly drew his sword and sliced clean through another tendril. Aegis howled in pain as the severed tree tentacle fell to the floor, limp.

Disconcerted, Adam dodged the next few attacks from the Spriggan and continued towards the crown.

'Get back here!'

'Sorry, I've got places to be!' He punctuated his point with a swing of his sword through the twigs circling his torso.

Aegis reached out towards him several times, but Adam's blade proved too effective against them. However, Aegis still managed to catch up to him. She lunged forward and seized him by the throat.

'You just couldn't play along, could ya?'

'Not…my…style…' he wheezed, coughing at his own joke.

Unimpressed, Aegis tightened her grip around his throat. Adam looked down at her torso, where he had shot her with the flares. The red flares were still stuck in there, fizzing with crimson light. Several twigs glowed orange with sparks, which advanced into flames at the edges. He noticed that, at its core, the fire was getting stronger, and slowly the wood was turning to ash.

'That's…not…looking…too good,' he commented, as wood in her chest weakened to frail ash. Aegis barely had time to glance down at her wounds before Adam mustered the strength to kick her directly through the chest. He felt the flames licking his legs, but his adrenaline overwhelmed any pain he might have felt.

He landed on the ground with a thud. Looking up, he saw Aegis collapse onto the ground, unmoving. She had been split in two; her shoulders and head were separate from her legs. Her chest had been reduced to a pile of ashes on the ground nearby. From what he could tell, she was still alive. Her eyes were still glowing, but he didn't expect that would last for much longer.

It's not like he had much choice; plus, Wildfyre had not said once that killing the riddle-creatures was against the rules. In most situations, it would be counter-intuitive considering the number of riddles you got correct contributed to your final point score at the end. It was far quicker this time to skip the riddle, especially considering there wasn't meant to be a riddle at this location – Aegis had abandoned her post, which was probably against the rules.

It didn't matter now. What mattered to Adam in that very moment was getting the hell out of here.

The crown glowed brightly behind him. He avoided becoming transfixed by its glow, which he could deny was impressive. Breathing out in relief, he reached out and grabbed the crown by one of the pointed ends.

As soon as he made physical contact, a bright aura of golden light enveloped him in a warm kind of embrace. His entire vision was soon covered with a blinding light until he could no longer process his surroundings.

The first thing that Adam was able to process was the sound of reluctant applause. Hesitantly, he opened his eyes to find himself standing at the start of the maze where he first began. Crowds of people stood restlessly, directed to applause by King Pacem. A loud banging noise cut through the air. Adam glanced over at Chief Ambassador Wildfyre, who was hitting a gong repeatedly to signify the conclusion of this trial. The other Ambassadors were standing at the sides of the maze, underneath the scaffolding that held the projector screens.

'The Second Trial is complete!' Wildfyre exclaimed, although his voice seemed disappointed. The crowd quietened down at the sound of his voice. 'As you can see, the common pe-' – King Pacem shot him an annoyed look – 'ahem, Adam, has won this trial. He is awarded five points.' He gestured to the scoreboard, which now showed that Adam had a total of eight points. 'Prince Ignius's points have been discussed since he was incapacitated, and it was agreed that his breach of rules by attacking his opponent without just cause should impact his score. He receives two points, although it would have been three if he had not broken the rules.'

In summary, Adam had eight points and Ignius now had seven. Not exactly a comfortable lead, but it was a lead, nonetheless.

'Adam!'

He turned to see Star approaching him, with Marco and the rest of the Butterfly Family in tow. She lunged forward and enveloped him in a tight hug. Adam wheezed as he awkwardly returned it.

'Star…not so tight!'

'Oh, corn…sorry,' she apologised, retracting from him. 'What the heck happened in there?'

'What do you mean?' he asked, confused.

'The screens went static right before Ignius attacked you,' Marco explained. 'And the audio cut out right when that jackalope was telling its riddle.'

'The only thing we saw after that was you running towards Yggdrasil,' Moon added helpfully.

'We missed out on all the action!' River complained.

Adam frowned and glanced over at Wildfyre. By now, the Ambassador had returned to his post with the other Ambassadors for Magic. Initially, he didn't see the Mewman watching, but he briefly shot him a wicked grin. No doubt Wildfyre had something to do with the audience conveniently missing the part with the secret tunnels.

'Where's Ignius?' he inquired, the thought just now occurring to him.

'The med-bay,' Star replied. 'He was teleported out not long after the feed was cut out. He's going to be fine.'

He nodded pensively.

'Why did you try to help him with his riddle anyway?' Marco inquired. 'Seemed like a dumb idea.'

'So he'd spill the beans on how Wildfyre helped him cheat,' he answered candidly.

Moon's back instantly straightened somehow even more.

'What are you talking about?'

'Wildfyre built secret tunnels into the maze for Ignius to find,' he explained. 'That's how I got out – and it's why you didn't see it. Wildfyre didn't want you to see what he did.'

'We should alert Pacem immediately,' decided Moon, folding her arms.

Adam folded his arms. 'Where is he?'

'With Ignius,' answered Marco.

'If we tell him what Wildfyre did, he can throw that slimy ambassador out!' River exclaimed.

'I'm not sure,' Adam disagreed pessimistically. 'Pacem still needs him to build the final trial. Besides, I'm pretty sure this whole thing's been rigged from the start.'

'Nevertheless, we should still tell him,' Moon insisted.

'Hold on, I still don't get why Ignius told you everything,' Star interrupted. 'Why would he do that?'

'He didn't understand why I was helping him,' he elaborated. 'He was so confident that he'd won, and he wanted to make me think it was hopeless by telling me how the trial had been rigged. I think he was just trying to get one over me to make himself feel better. Ignius is impulsive; I was just using that against him. Once he realised that he'd told me exactly what I wanted to know, he tried to kill me.'

'And then you stabbed him,' Star stated, folding her arms disapprovingly.

'Yes,' he answered flatly. 'It's not like I had any other choice!'

'We always have a choice,' she replied.

'Don't lecture me, Star,' he shot down. 'I made sure it wasn't fatal. If I didn't put him out, he'd just be causing more problems. Besides…I was trying to teach him a lesson.'

'We heard what Surta told you,' Moon informed him. 'I think you've proved your point. I just hope that Prince Ignius sees that as well.'

'I think I'm getting through to him,' said Adam, although his tone seemed uncertain. 'Either way, if I can win the next trial, then I guess it won't matter for now.'

'It's looking pretty close between you and the prince,' River noted, nodding at the scoreboard at the other end of the field.

'I know,' he concurred. 'My only play now is to wait until the next trial.'

'As soon as we tell Pacem about Wildfyre,' Star reminded him. He nodded, although he seemed disinterested at the idea.

'Tomorrow is another day,' he commented, scratching his nose. 'And I need to sit down.'


Before long, another day broke over the Mace Kingdom. A bright orange glow washed over the landscape, providing sustenance to the many blooming plants along the crops. Moisture in the grass resulted in a beautiful sheen, like the bright light of a camera flash. The sun itself burned in the sky, like an infinite inferno providing all its warmth to a house on fire. Mewni's moons hung reliably above, like chalk-white blots carved in the pink sky itself. Once upon a time, Adam would have been in disbelief to see them.

Nowadays, seeing those moons had become a standard occurrence to the Negative Mewman. Citizens of Negative Mewni seldom would get to see such sights. Especially since half the planet was scorched, and the other half was plagued constantly by the Great Solarian Storm. Even in the few spots free from the Storm, the flora and fauna were violent and extremely aggressive. Safety was not a commodity in the world Adam lived in, it was a currency.

The Mewman in question was peacefully watching the landscape while leaning on the balcony in the Mace Castle. It had been only a day since the previous trial. He spent several hours resting in bed, whilst receiving treatment courtesy of Moon. It turned out he was even more exhausted than he thought he was. And still one more trial to go.

Moon had told King Pacem about what Wildfyre had done. Initially, he didn't want to believe her, but he had already been suspicious of Wildfyre's motives. Once the King spoke to Adam about the situation, the truth of the matter became clear. Unfortunately, what Adam had predicted came to pass: Pacem was forced to allow Wildfyre to continue construction of the next trial, for his proficiency in Creation magic was unparalleled among Ambassadors. Moon volunteered her help, but the general public soon caught wind of that and quickly expressed their displeasure over the idea. As a result, Pacem had to stick to Mace traditions of only allowing the Ambassadors to oversee the trial construction.

Despite that, Pacem still said that things would be fine. He assured them that he would be keeping a close eye on Chief Ambassador Wildfyre for the entire duration of the construction work. Pacem also told them that he had spoken to Ignius about the incident, and suitably scorned him. To his surprise, Ignius actually owned up to being aware of Wildfyre's plans and his role as an accomplice in the act. He also detailed how Wildfyre planned to rig the next one, which proved instrumental in preventing the ambassador from manipulating events any further.

Adam too was surprised that Ignius had been so cooperative. He wasn't sure whether it was because the prince had had some kind of change of heart, or whether it was because he thought everyone had seen what happened anyway. He might have been unaware that the audio and video cut out due to Wildfyre's machinations. Although he wanted to give himself the credit of making Ignius change his mind, he avoided getting his hopes up. Realistically, it was gonna take a bit more to convince Ignius that his dogma on the Butterflies was outdated and inaccurate.

Only one trial left to go. It really wasn't a question of if he would win, it was a question of when. Losing wasn't an acceptable possibility, given how much was at stake here. He hadn't forgotten that Mewni was currently hanging on the verge of a geopolitical war, and it was mainly his fault. The signing of the Mace Treaty was paramount.

To that end, only one question remained: what the hell were they gonna throw at him next?

'I knew I'd find you up here,' a voice greeted from behind him.

'Oh, hey Marco,' he responded welcomingly. 'Did you need something?'

'Maybe,' he admitted. 'Not what I came here for, though.'

Adam nodded promptly, as the squire walked over to the balcony to lean upon it. Marco smiled at him.

'How are you doing?'

The Mewman frowned.

'How do you mean?'

'You just went through hell,' Marco pointed out. 'It's okay to admit you're not okay.'

'I'm a little tired, I guess,' the warlock supposed. When his friend looked at him worriedly, he held a hand up to halt him. 'Marco, I'm fine.'

'All I'm saying is, it's been a long couple of days. I just want to make sure you're okay.'

'Thanks Marco. I appreciate it.' Adam sighed. 'So, what else did you come here for?'

'Oh! Uh…' Marco stammered, awkwardly scratching his scalp. 'Well…I was hoping you could give me some advice.'

'I'm all ears.'

'So…um…Star and I have been kinda…close recently…' he stuttered nervously. 'And I'm not sure…if should tell her that…'

'You don't know if you should tell her that you have feelings for her?' Adam finished for him. Marco blinked.

'Yeah, how'd you know?'

'We can all see you have feelings for her, Marco,' he deadpanned. 'The only person who can't, miraculously, is Star herself.'

'Is it really that obvious?' he complained, slapping himself in the forehead. Adam replied with a curt "mmhmm".

'Just tell her how you feel, man,' the warlock encouraged, sighing impatiently. 'She clearly feels the same way about you.'

'I can't,' he argued. 'She just broke up with Tom. What if I'm just her rebound?'

'Then let her get over it,' replied Adam nonchalantly. 'I dunno. I'm not a relationships expert. Woulda thought you'd know that about me by now.'

Marco frowned. 'So…you think I should just go for it?'

'Well, yes,' he said, shrugging his shoulders. 'I don't get the point in waiting around. You two clearly like each other, and it's getting boring watching you both play this charade pretending you don't.'

'I didn't think you were such a proponent for love, Adam,' teased Marco.

'Just because I'm not into relationships doesn't mean I hate them,' he argued matter-of-factly.

'Really? Because you sure made it sound like you hated them before.'

Adam rolled his eyes. He certainly reacted violently the last time relationships were brought up, but that was because he felt Star was pressuring him into it. At least Star had learned from her mistakes, and so had he. All that remained now was to continue.

'I guess you don't know me so well,' he lamented quietly. The Mewman sighed and leaned back off the balcony, gesturing towards the stairs behind them. 'We should probably get going soon.'

'Do you really think you can change Ignius's mind about you?' Marco enquired, curious.

'Not sure,' he confessed. 'But I think it's possible. I managed to make him own up about Wildfyre's cheating. So that's…something.'

'Are you sure it's worth it?' he asked, prompting his friend to frown. 'I mean…every attempt just seems to give him the upper hand. You know, you could just win this thing and go home.'

'I mean, that could work,' he considered. 'But only in the short term. Ignius is the heir to the throne. When he becomes king, you know they'll have to re-sign the treaty, right?'

'Oh, right,' Marco quickly realised. 'If you don't change what Ignius thinks, then he won't re-sign the treaty when it's his turn.'

'And inevitably dooming all of Mewni to civil war,' he finished for him, promptly nodding. Marco nodded dejectedly, pursing his lips.

'Fair enough.' Seeing his reaction, Adam smiled and put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

'Come on. It won't be long before we get the info on the final trial.'

Marco smiled and the two of them made their way towards the stairs.


Later that day, when the sun flew high and hardly a cloud was in sight, the third trial was about to commence. The sky that day was a vague shade of forest green, with streaks of mossy emerald across its bright canvas. An aroma of freshly cut grass and lawn detergent permeated the air, intruding every nostril and placating them. Only one of the moons was visible in the sky, whilst the other was hidden by the green envy of the sky. Of that visible moon itself, it was steeped in a pale green hue that was almost sickly to behold.

Both families, Mace and Butterfly, were in attendance in the Field of the Cosmos between the Butterfly and Mace Castles. The Field of the Cosmos was a large space of dark green grass and bordered with olive edges. Many hedges were cut into the shape of various decorative sculptures and horticultural doorways and slants. Whether these were built from hand, or by magic, Adam had no idea. On either side of the main event, there were benches cut into hedges, where the audience was seated.

Today, the crowds of people were more distinct. One side – the left – was where the typical Mewman commoners and War Games savants stood, cheering for their prince as anybody expected. On the other side, most of the servants and workers at the castle congregated to bear witness to the final trial, once Adam had convinced Pacem to allow them the day off. Most of their attention seemed focussed on Adam. Only the briefest, coldest of glances were ever sent Ignius's way.

The main event was hard to miss. It was a large flat area in the centre, constructed from stone and cement. The surface was rough and vaguely bowl-like, tapered upwards at the end. By eye, it seemed around one hundred feet in diameter, give or take. More than enough space for the trial they were about to undergo.

Adam stood nervously a few meters away from the arena, desperately trying to calm his nerves.

'Remember what I taught you,' River advised, prompting a flat nod from the Mewman.

'Believe me, it's all I've been thinking about,' he replied, twitching his nose.

Marco nodded. 'Remain calm, and stay focussed.'

'Where there's life, there's hope, right?' Marco added, smiling. 'You're the kind of person who never gives up, but…I think sometimes you need reminding.'

'You're gonna be okay,' said Star, a bright smile on her face. 'Just wipe the floor with this guy and we can all go home.'

Adam grumbled. 'If only…'

If only things were so simple. They weren't.

He'd already set out a goal for himself, and he could just feel his hands closing around it. It was within his grasp. Ignius had already shown signs of changing, of showing reason, so Adam felt more confident in his ability to get him to see the errors of his thinking. "Thinking" was just a fancy word for changing your mind. If Ignius didn't change his mind, it was highly likely he would die stupid. Whether that would be by Adam's hand, or in the war that would inevitably ensue. Either way, it was imperative that he at least tried.

River's training in preparation for this task was detailed and certainly appreciated. After all, the King undoubtedly had expertise in that area, and it would be foolish not to consult him. Especially since Glossaryck was nowhere in sight. He was probably eating pudding – or fighting over it with Blue Glossaryck.

They had received the clue for this trial earlier that morning. It hadn't taken them long to figure out what they had to do, mainly because it was already something that Moon expected. The Final Trial of the War Games was typically always the same thing; only the first two trials were variable. The rest of the day until the trial in the late afternoon was spent preparing Adam in every possible way for this task.

Whilst they had been training, King Pacem was micromanaging every last detail of this trial to prevent any cheating like last time. The construction was kept orderly, and no decisions could be made without the King being present. Although he could not afford to fire Chief Ambassador Wildfyre, he sure as hell could keep an eagle's eye on him at all times. Wildfyre was forbidden to communicate with Ignius under any circumstances unless it was urgent. All instances that were considered urgent were to be reported to Pacem immediately. Wildfyre was also banned from actively contributing to the trial in most ways; he could put forward ideas for the trial and he could help out with some of the construction. However, he could not do any of this unsupervised. The Ambassador complained about being under constant surveillance, as though he was but a crying toddler, but Pacem silenced him with the truth of his dirty tactics in rigging the War Games.

Queen Lucetia also kept an eye on her son for any other avenues he might explore that would result in an unfair victory. Although his honesty was appreciated, his actions had not been forgotten. Adam didn't think they should be, considering Prince Ignius stooped so low as to conspire with an Ambassador for Magic to cheat his way to an unceremonious victory.

Ignius knew he wasn't trusted and that his own parents were watching constantly. Remarkably, though, the prince didn't complain once. He kept his head down and only did as he was asked. The prince told them everything about what Wildfyre had planned and didn't help Wildfyre when the Ambassador tried to weasel himself out of accountability. Still, Ignius didn't speak to Adam at all after the Second Trial, but that didn't surprise him. Adam wasn't expecting an apology from him, even if the prince felt guilty for what he had done.

Baby steps, he supposed.

A silhouette crossed his eyes. He blinked and realised that Ignius had walked by, ignoring him. Instead, the prince simply walked over to his family on the opposite end of the outside of the area, all the while making muted glances at Chief Ambassador Wildfyre. Wildfyre seemed to notice the dirty looks that Ignius was trying to hide from him, and his disposition expressed that of bereavement and a hint of exasperation. Ignius scowled back and jerked his head over at his parents, as though providing them as justification for his actions.

Adam got the impression he had just witnessed a conversation he shouldn't have. He realised that the trial was going to start soon.

Okay, Adam, stay calm, he told himself. Remember what River told you. Remember what Glossaryck taught you.

'Ladies, gentlemen and assorted individuals of the Mace Kingdom!' King Pacem greeted, this time instead of Wildfyre. 'The third and final trial of the War Games is due to commence in a few short moments. The concept itself is quite simple: a classical sword duel within this arena. Both opponents will be provided with a standard short-sword and pieces of armour. The goal is simple: defeat your enemy. However, the catch is that this battle is to the death.'

Adam visibly slumped. How was he supposed to change Ignius's mind if he had to kill him?

Surely, Pacem wasn't going to allow his own son to die. It was his son for crying out loud. Not to mention he was the heir to the Mace Kingdom. Adam was just a lowly commoner. There was hardly a chance that anyone from the Mace Kingdom would want some stranger to win.

Okay. Don't panic. You'll figure some way around this. You always do.

'As you can see from our leaderboard,' Pacem continued, 'our two competitors are neck and neck. It is entirely possible that either of the two may succeed. The two will fight until the other is unable to battle. The last one standing will receive five points. Once those points are awarded, they are required to execute their opponent. Failure to do so results in a draw, and the match must restart.'

That was hardly an improvement. Sure, he didn't technically have to kill him during the fight, but he would inevitably have to end Ignius's life if he was to save his own. There was no chance Pacem would allow this…and yet, here he was, announcing it without even batting an eye.

'This isn't good,' Adam whispered to Moon. 'How is killing Ignius going to help? Surely the King doesn't want to lose his only son?'

'No, I don't think he would,' Moon admitted. 'I don't know what kind of game King Pacem is playing, but it seems you have no other choice than to play it.'

'Unless he just wants Ignius to kill me.'

'He's been on your side this whole time,' Marco said quietly. 'It doesn't make sense for him to turn on you now.'

'Would you actually…y'know?' enquired Star warily.

'Kill him?' he finished. Star nodded nervously. 'No. Killing him wouldn't help anything. Pacem needs his heir, and I said I wanted to change his mind. If I wanted to kill him, I would have done it by now.'

Star looked at him with wide eyes. Adam frowned.

'What?'

'Nothing,' she said, but Adam immediately knew she was lying. 'It's just…you're so…logical about it.'

'I don't understand what you mean.'

'You made it sound like killing Ignius was as simple as breathing,' she admitted, unsure of herself. 'You didn't seem too bothered with the concept of killing him. The only reason you won't is because it isn't strategic.'

'As opposed to…what?'

'Because it isn't moral,' she responded matter-of-factly.

'Not moral for you, maybe,' dismissed Adam. 'I already threatened to kill him, anyway, so –'

'Wait, you did what?!' Star cut off, causing numerous people to turn their heads her way in perplexity. She shook her head and calmed down. 'You actually threatened to kill him? Why?'

'Because if I didn't, he would have betrayed me again, duh,' he answered nonchalantly. 'Not of all of us view the world as black and white as you do, Star. I kill if I have to. I have killed.'

Star opened her mouth to argue, but promptly shut it again. Adam's eyes narrowed on her, and she looked away.

'Anyway…' Marco interjected. 'I think the trial is gonna start soon.'

As if to answer him, King Pacem raised his voice in their direction.

'If the two competitors could enter the arena…?' he requested. Adam nodded and walked towards the border of the arena.

'Good luck!' encouraged Star, although her voice was shaky.

'May the moons guide you,' Queen Moon added.

'Just don't die!' Marco advised, laughing nervously.

Adam climbed over the fence and into the large stone arena. Once he stepped inside, the crowd to his right cheered loudly, while the cheers on his left were far more muted. He spotted Ignius climbing into the circle opposite him. His eyes glanced up at Adam, but the Mewman couldn't read the expression on his face. His eyes seemed focussed, yet oddly distracted. Once Ignius entered the fray, the cheers to Adam's left raised whilst the ones on the left fell.

Curious. Not exactly surprising, though. Ignius wasn't known to be the kindest to the employees round the castle.

'Now, the two competitors will be fitted with their armour!' the King continued. 'The armour that has seen a thousand battles but is as polished as a diamond!'

Patiently, Adam waited as a team of manservants attached the light armour around his chest, legs, and forearms. He supposed they would be suitable enough for this fight, especially since Ignius would be getting a similar kind of treatment. He winced a little when a piece was fitted around his groin, but he tried to ignore how uncomfortable it was. Next, metal gauntlets were slid up his forearms and tied into place, before he was handed his black gloves. He flexed his fingers out to test them. They were a little tighter than he expected, but they served their purpose well. He offered an earnest thank you when they were done.

'The two competitors will now receive their weapon,' announced Pacem. 'A blade worthy of the greatest of knights!'

Adam looked to his right just in time to see a Mace Knight walking over to him, a sword and scabbard in hand. The knight held it on his palms like fragile glass and passed it over to him. Whilst Ignius received the same thing, Adam carefully took the weapon and unsheathed it from its scabbard. It was a sword of medium length, decent balance and weight distribution, and perfectly sharpened edges. Its bright shine glistened in the morning sun.

Adam let out a breath to compose himself. Ignius still seemed disconnected from reality, silent and hardly paying attention to the people around him. The expression on his face was unreadable, but Adam thought it lay somewhere between determination and disillusionment.

'Now that both of our competitors are ready,' King Pacem declared. 'The duel will begin at the sounding of the horn!' He gestured towards a comically large horn a few meters away from him.

A nervous twitch rippled through Adam's muscles. He dug his fingers into his leather gloves, a wisp of air escaping his lungs. At least he already had some experience in sword fighting, on top of the training River had given him earlier that day. It wasn't already a foregone conclusion that he would lose this battle and die in the process. He couldn't accept failure, especially not when he was on the cusp of success.

He just had to convince the good prince of his good nature. Just one final push, and he might be able to change his mind about Butterflies.

'Let the games begin!' Pacem cried, much to the rapturous applause of the audience. A vociferous horn cut through the air.

Adam barely had the time to think before the bright sheen of metal flashed in his face. Instinctively, he threw his sword up to block. His sword met resistance immediately. The clash of metal rang through his ears. The Mewman blinked in surprise as he saw Ignius already in front of him, his blade locked with his.

'That was –' he began.

Ignius immediately jolted and swung his sword around. Adam managed to parry it at the last second. The prince said nothing, only returning slash after slash, blow after blow, upon his unwary opponent. His lightning-fast speed almost instantly overwhelmed him, but Adam willed himself to keep up.

'You're very determined, aren't you?' said the Mewman. Ignius said nothing, only continuing his flurry of strikes on his enemy. Adam felt himself being pushed back towards the edge of the arena. He kept trying to counter Ignius, to break his resolve, but his defence was practically impenetrable.

Adam whipped his blade around the back of Ignius's head, but the prince was quicker than him. He leaped out of the way and thrusted his blade directly at his abdomen. The Mewman narrowly dodged the attack, but not before Ignius attacked him again with daring speed.

He frowned. Ignius was completely silent, refusing to say a word, but his face spoke volumes regardless. He was glaring, a permanent scowl moulded into his face. However, it didn't look like Ignius was glaring at him. He was glaring at something else; something on his mind ever since the second task that had affected his mind.

There was no other possibility: it had to be about their conversation in the maze.

He didn't want to toot his own horn too much, but Adam certainly felt like Ignius was having second thoughts about his vitriol towards Butterflies. He'd seen Adam's kindness and mistook that for some kind of weakness, but then he saw that Adam had been capable of taking him down anyway. He'd seen with his own eyes that he wasn't weak.

'Come on, say something!' he complained, sidestepping a sloppy punch from the young prince. 'Seriously, why are you playing the strong, silent type?'

'Because it doesn't make sense!' Ignius finally snapped, letting out a small gasp at his own remark. 'You don't make sense. None of this does.'

'How do you mean?'

'This whole time, I thought you were just a peasant who was stupidly nice,' Ignius prefaced. Adam swallowed the air in his throat. 'But that last trial…you clearly know what you're doing. So, this whole time you could have beaten me, yet you kept giving me chances to be better. Why? Why would you even try?'

'Because I've been like you before,' he confessed. 'Prejudiced for no good reason, and extremely stubborn. And if I can change, I thought maybe you could too.'

'Even after I tried to kill you twice already?'

'Well…as it happens, I tried to kill someone, and now I'm friends with them,' he pointed out humorously. 'Things can change.'

'You're braver than I thought, then,' Ignius admitted. 'I've betrayed you multiple times now. Doesn't it frustrate you?'

'Of course it does!' Adam jested. 'But if my friends weren't patient with me, we never would've got anywhere.'

'Well…I guess I could appreciate that…' Ignius fumbled. 'But what do you even want?'

'For one, this whole "War Games" business to be over,' he answered. 'And also for you to give up your vitriol on the Butterfly family. We're not all evil; you know that already.'

'Well, I don't know what you want me to do about that.'

'Can we just end this ridiculous trial already and let the treaty be signed?'

The Mace prince hesitated for a moment, before tightening the grip on his sword.

'I'm sorry Adam but…it's either you or me.'

Before Adam could say anything, Ignius attacked him, bringing the full force of his blade crashing down upon him. The Mewman was a little slow to react, but he managed to block the strike at the last second. Ignius was relentless, endlessly landing blow after blow against him, while Adam could barely get a word in edgeways.

'Ignius, listen to me!' he cried, as he continually tried to dodge his attacks. 'You don't have to do this!'

'You heard the rules!' Ignius reminded him. 'I have to kill you! Or you'll kill me…'

'We'll figure something out, I promise!' Adam insisted, fending off another attack. 'The rules said we fight until we're unable to battle, right? That doesn't mean we have to kill each other!'

'Weren't you listening? The rules said we have to execute the loser!'

'No…it says you have to execute your opponent,' he pointed out.

Ignius paused for a moment and dropped his sword by his side.

'What are you saying?'

'I think you know what I mean.'

The prince paused for a moment, playing with the handle of his sword in contemplation. He breathed out pensively and looked up at him again.

'Yeah. Yeah, I think I get it,' he confirmed. 'But which one of us should…?'

'I'll do it,' Adam suggested. 'Maybe then you can re-decide the terms?'

'No, no, that doesn't make sense,' Ignius disagreed. 'If you lose then the Treaty won't be signed. We can't just change the terms of victory right at the finish line. It has to be me.'

'Are you sure about this?'

'Well, dad's not gonna let me die, is he?' the prince responded, somewhat jokingly.

'I hope not.'

'Gentlemen,' a voice interrupted. The two turned to see that King Pacem was addressing them. 'I do not wish to bother you, but your current performances in this trial have been...underwhelming, to say the least.'

Ignius nodded at Adam, who nodded back. Without saying a word, the prince dumped his sword on the ground before Pacem. The King looked up at him in confusion, hardly even mustering a word. Ignius, on the other hand, had something perfectly clear to enunciate.

'I forfeit.'

The crowd immediately exploded. Vociferous screaming and derogatory cries racked through the crowds. Several bits of fruit and vegetables were pelted towards the two of them in disappointment. Adam wondered where the hell the crowd had gotten a hold of all this food, unless they brought it with them for some reason. He shivered and shut his eyes, trying to block out the vociferous yelling from the bystanders in the crowd.

'SILENCE!' Pacem bellowed. Instantly, the crowd fell quiet. As if to emphasise his demand, a stray tomato struck Adam's chest plate. He grimaced and wiped the rotten tomato from his armour in disgust. 'Ignius, explain yourself.'

'I said, I forfeit.'

'You can't do that!' Chief Ambassador Wildfyre jumped in, appearing beside King Pacem. 'The rules stated you have to knock the other person out! Take your chance now, Prince, and you can win this sordid affair!'

'Actually, the rules said we had to fight until the other is unable to,' Ignius reminded them. 'It never said I couldn't forfeit.'

'By forfeiting, Ignius is unable to battle,' Adam said. 'Therefore, I win.'

'Your Highness, you cannot possibly allow this!' Wildfyre pleaded exasperatedly. Pacem hummed in thought.

'It's a clever loophole,' he confessed. 'However, you seem to be forgetting something: I also told you that you'd have to execute the loser.'

'Actually, you told us to execute our opponent,' Ignius corrected.

'Since Ignius has forfeited, he is no longer my opponent,' Adam elaborated. 'Therefore, as I have no opponent to execute, that part of the rules is null and void.'

'That's cheating!' accused Wildfyre.

'Rather hypocritical, coming from you, Wildfyre,' Pacem shut down. 'Besides, you're not telling me you want Adam to kill our only heir to the throne?'

'Well, I mean…no,' he admitted abashedly. 'B-But we can't just let this peasant win like this!'

'He's not breaking any rules,' Pacem said. 'Besides, it's hardly a battle when the opponent doesn't exist anymore.'

'B-But–!'

'Chief Ambassador Wildfyre,' Pacem cut off coldly. 'You are already treading on thin ice. Do not make this worse for yourself.'

The Ambassador for Magic was instantly silenced by Pacem's icy tone. His head dipped down and avoided eye contact. Adam briefly heard a squeak from him, something along the lines of "yes, my King". He smiled victoriously at Wildfyre's well-deserved defeat.

'Well, it seems like the War Games has reached its conclusion,' said Pacem, gesturing towards the scoreboard. 'As Ignius forfeits, he does not receive any points and thus has a total of seven points. Adam is awarded five points, resulting in a total of thirteen points. As such, I hereby declare Adam is the winner!'

A portion of the audience cheered for Adam, whilst the other remained silent. Adam looked out to the crowd and spotted Marco, Star, and her parents with varying degrees of celebration. Unsurprisingly, Star was cheering the loudest, jumping up and down ecstatically and hugging Marco tightly. Marco seemed just as happy as she was, only a little more contained. Moon and River were smiling proudly at him, their arms around one another.

'The terms of victory are now in effect,' Pacem announced. 'The Mace Treaty will go ahead as planned, and Adam will be granted full access to our extensive magical library, as well as our Ambassadors for Magic.'

Adam turned to Prince Ignius.

'Well, Ignius, um…thanks,' he said awkwardly, scratching his scalp.

'No, I should be thanking you,' the prince disagreed. 'You were right. I was being arrogant. And stupid.'

'It happens to us all,' Adam shrugged off with a smile. Ignius smiled back and reached out a hand. The Mewman returned the gesture and shook his hand approvingly.

'Adam!' Star cheered, appearing at the side of the arena with the rest of her family. 'You did it! I really wasn't expecting you to do it. Just…wow.'

Adam sniggered. 'It was nothing, Star.'

'No way, man!' Marco disagreed. 'You got the Prince of the Mace Kingdom to change his mind about you. That's pretty impressive, dude.'

'I agree,' concurred Moon. 'You have accomplished much in your short time with us, Adam.' Adam opened his mouth to object, but she stopped him. 'Your achievements have gone unrecognised for long enough. Which is why, effective immediately, I'm appointing you as the Royal Magic Ambassador of the Butterfly Kingdom. May your wisdom guide us!'

'Moon, I…I don't know what to say,' Adam stammered, his eyes as wide as saucers. 'Thank you! But…do you really trust me with that kind of power? I mean…I'm only seventeen.'

'I became the Queen of the Butterfly Kingdom at only fifteen; I understand how you feel,' she sympathised. 'You seem more responsible than I was at your age, so I believe you are more than trustworthy.'

'Wow, I…just…thank you, Moon.'

Moon smiled at him brightly.

'Now then,' King Pacem said, appearing beside Adam. 'I believe there is a treaty to be signed?'


Sure enough, the Mace Treaty was signed by King Pacem later that day. Just about everybody was restless in the matter, so the actual signing ceremony was fairly immediate. Once the signatures were finally written, there was a wave of celebration throughout the castle.

A party soon followed, albeit hastily put together. It was fortunate that the kitchens had cooked extra food that day in anticipation of such a party. Party decorations adorned the hall of the castle, placed with the help of Star's magic. The hall was filled with people of all classes, from noblemen to servants. Adam had insisted upon everyone being invited, which was a difficult thing to convince Lucetia and Pacem to allow. However, Star and Adam promised to clean up afterwards, which ultimately won them over.

Adam considered attending the party. He assumed it was expected of him. Not just because he had won the War Games, but also because his friends would be there also. However, when the overwhelming multitude of people arrived, Adam wanted to avoid the anxiety immediately. Thus, he slipped away at the earliest opportunity.

Instead of partying with his friends, Adam opted to watch the landscape from the castle ramparts upstairs.

It was already in the evening, marked by the sun setting on the horizon. Its bright orange light was slowly, but surely, fading away, surrendering into the comfort of the night. The two moons of Mewni glowed softly white, like a spotlight against the night sky. Misty clouds swept across the dark canvas above, like tinsel wrapped around a Christmas tree. The landscape reflected the moonlight, shimmering with a ghostly aura far below. Even the nearby lake, Lake Majoris, was phosphorescent. A thin layer of ice stretched across its surface, providing a subtle glint to its beauty. The Laceti would no doubt revel in the beauty of their home, and Adam could not blame them. Even the imperfections seemed to perfect it, for the small cracks in the ice only bolstered the phosphorescent effect.

Adam shivered. There was a light breeze wafting through the air, and now it had reached him. It slipped through his clothes and snaked around his legs and chest. It played with his hair and paled his skin. Yet, he found the slightest bit of discomfort oddly comforting. The wind whistled and chortled through his ears, like a soft lullaby to reward him for his troubles.

His prize for the War Games was addressed quickly. Their magical archives were completely at his disposal now. No doubt they would be extremely helpful in his troubles towards the Negative Multiverse. Not far now, his revenge was in his grasp. He just had to make it past the last few hurdles.

'Hey.'

Adam turned to see a woman in servant slacks approaching him with a smile on her face. He frowned for a moment.

'Caela, right?' he recalled. She smiled and nodded.

'I'm glad you remember me.'

'I tried,' he replied with a snigger. Caela chuckled back.

'So, you won the War Games,' she said. 'I knew you would.'

'Thanks,' he appreciated. 'It was nice knowing that not everybody here is out to get me.'

'The King seemed to like you,' she noticed. 'And you even managed to get Prince Ignius to change his mind.'

'It wasn't easy,' responded Adam candidly. 'I mean…you must've seen it.'

'Yeah, he tried to kill you a lot!' recalled Caela, laughing. 'It's impressive, though. I don't think anyone thought Ignius would change his mind about Butterflies.'

Adam shrugged. 'Yeah, I guess.'

'Why are you being so modest about this?' the servant asked him, raising an eyebrow curiously.

'I dunno,' he admitted with a sigh. 'I guess…receiving compliments makes me feel uncomfortable.'

'Oh, sorry, I didn't realise that!' Caela apologised quickly.

'It's alright.'

There was a long, poignant pause between them. Adam turned back to stare at the night-time countryside. It truly stretched for miles. Caela awkwardly stood there next to him, fiddling with her fingers. Her eyes darted between him and her hands, whilst she failed to keep still. Eventually, she opted to lean on the stone wall beside him. Adam seemed mostly unconcerned, aside from the constant tapping of his foot. She could just about make out the sound of his breathing under the whistling of wind through the air.

Abruptly, the two turned to look at one another.

''Adam/Caela–!''

They stared at each other for a second before they both laughed.

'You go first,' Caela told him, smiling.

'Thanks.' He straightened his clothes awkwardly. 'I've been…trying to avoid saying this, but…' He cleared his throat. 'Well, I know I agreed to walk around the castle with you, and I still want to, but the thing is…I don't…well, I'm not…'

'You're not interested in me,' Caela finished for him. 'Not romantically.'

Adam tried to correct her, perhaps to word it better, but sighed when he found he could not.

'Yeah,' he confessed guiltily. 'I'm sorry, Caela. I should've told you sooner.'

'It's okay,' she reassured him. 'You've been very busy the past few days, I don't blame you for not having the time. Besides, I'll get over it.'

'I'd still like to get to know you,' Adam told her reassuringly. 'I still wanna be friends, after all.'

'Me too,' Caela concurred. 'So, are you heading home tomorrow?'

'Yeah, probably first thing in the morning,' he guessed, shrugging his shoulders.

'So, I guess we have time for that tour I promised, right?'

Adam sniggered. 'Yeah, I guess we do.' He gestured beside her. 'Lead the way.'

Caela smiled and took him by the hand.


Thank you all for reading!

What did you all think of this chapter? I hope it wasn't too boring how Adam found victory. He proved to Ignius that his views were skewed, and they both decided to work together. They're not exactly friends, but they reached a mutual agreement. They both agreed Chief Ambassador Wildfyre was the real enemy. Ignius didn't actually like cheating; Wildfyre just manipulated him into going with it using his pride as the primary factor. That's why he fessed up about it afterwards, and I think that helped in showing he isn't totally unreasonable and there's a good side to him. Adam finally used that flare gun he was given. I knew he had to use it eventually, since I mentioned it, but I wasn't sure until the end. That's why I came up with the Spriggan encounter. You know, since sparks and wood don't always mix that well.

The conversation between Adam and Marco felt obligatory. They have not many chances to just talk like he and Star, and I think it was a nice moment. Plus, we're edging more towards Starco. Starco won't happen for another 20 chapters though, so sorry if that's what you're here for lol. It's just not my focus, but it's something I feel needs to be mentioned. Plus, I like Starco. I just don't want this fic to be relationship-centric. Also, now is not the right time for Marco to share his feelings. Star's going through some shit, so piling that on top of her could easily overwhelm here. Adam actually gives pretty mediocre advice about it, and that was intentional. He doesn't have any fucking experience when it comes to this kinda thing, so he doesn't really know what to say. He thinks he should tell Star, because he knows Star feels the same way, and doesn't realise initially how that would be a bad idea. Adam's also pretty distracted with the whole War Games fiasco so he hasn't put much thought to this, either.

Small detail, but I'm glad it was River who taught and practiced with Adam over his swordsmanship. I don't give River a lot of things to do. To be honest, I'm not sure what to do with him most of the time, so I'm glad he had a valuable role here.

As for the final bit, well I couldn't ignore it could I? Adam kept mentioning how he was just going to be friends with Caela, and he would tell her that when they met later on. I think it was a sensible way to round off this B-plot. I also think it's healthy to show that men and women can just be friends and it'll work out fine, they don't have to date. Caela probably won't show up again, though. There's not much point to, in my opinion. Her character and arc were meant to address Adam's views on relationships. Namely, that he doesn't have them. He's too focussed on revenge that he's essentially asexual. Bringing her back would require a reason, and right now I can't think of anything to do with her. I intend to have the Mace Kingdom become important in the six-episode finale, but that's wayyyy down the line.

Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed reading! Thanks for the support everyone! I will see you in the next chapter, titled "Habitual Ritual", which is also the start of the next episode, which I dubbed "Of Mice and Mewmen". See you then!