TW: gore, violence and graphic depiction of death. Actually, consider this a trigger warning for the entire fic, there's...there's a lot of it.

Episode:
1: Fatal Beginnings

Death is the only answer for a Butterfly.

He fell through a vortex of bright cyan light, before landing on the ground with a thud. He groaned and began to pick himself up. The ground was brownish purple, the grass darkened by the moonlit night. Looking up, Adam realised he had landed in front of a gravestone.

The night sky was silent and starless. The moon shone with bright yellow intensity across the dark blue canvas. It was a great big blot on the sky that imposed on the land like a dimming torch.

Adam looked around him. He was in a field dotted with numerous gravestones. A growth of moss covered a few of the names on the weathered stone. They looked almost sunken in the ground, slowly to be claimed by Mother Nature. If he looked closely, he could even make out the shapes of dust and grime where raindrops had fallen on the stone and dried.

This must be the place, he presumed.

'Ugh, you better be right about this whole "Bon-Bon" thing,' a voice groaned. Adam's eyes widened. He knew that voice, easily. Still, he could not prevent his body from peeking out to see. He saw a particularly polarising figure, and instantly wished he hadn't looked.

Star Butterfly trudged through the mud in the graveyard with a frustrated furrow on her brow.

Adam sputtered as he felt the air being punched out of him. He could only stare for a few seconds as the magical murderer walked closer to the gravestone he hid behind. She wasn't much older than the last time he saw her, both physically and mentally. Not that this princess would remember him. Not like she was ever going to read the list of the wanted on Mewni.

He managed to regain enough composure, to pull back and hide behind the gravestone once again. Taking a few breaths to calm himself, he began to realise what the contact had in mind. Star was never going to leave her Magic Instruction Book unattended, so realistically he could only steal it in a moment of distraction.

Slowing his heart rate with a few breaths, he peeped around the gravestone again.

'Dude, trust me, this'll work,' a voice assured her to her left. Adam frowned. He recognised that voice too. He looked closer to see who the Butterfly Princess was with.

It was another girl, around the princess's age. Her hair was curt, dark blue and almost hidden. She wore a greenish-yellow beanie, a blue jacket, yellow skirt, dark green t-shirt and brown boots. In her hands she was carrying a cardboard box and a yellow torchlight around her head. She had a surprisingly nonchalant expression on her face, despite being next to one of the most powerful magical users in the multiverse.

'Janna?!' He recognised, covering his mouth to muffle the noise he made. Fortunately, Star didn't seem to hear anything. He breathed a small sigh of relief but continued to watch them with an inquisitive look.

His contact hadn't told him she, herself, would be present when he tried to steal the spellbook! Sure, he knew she was pretending to be friends with the Butterfly Heir but…he hadn't expected her to put herself on the line like this. After all, she could very well die!

Then again, how else was the Butterfly going to get distracted? Someone had to provide him the window of opportunity. Who better than someone who knew her?

He smacked himself on the forehead silently. Adam should have at least suspected this. The young man wanted to chide himself for his stupidity, but now wasn't the time. Especially not when Janna had put her life on the line for him.

Adam leaned in and tried to listen to the conversation.

'I don't wanna be on Earth any longer than I have to,' the arrogant princess complained. Janna raised an eyebrow.

'You've been on Earth before,' she pointed out. 'You were living here, for like, two months!'

'Unwillingly!' Star corrected pointedly. 'I killed someone who annoyed me, and my mom was all like "No Star, no Star, only kill when you have to, not when you want to!"' She did a particularly crude impression of her mother, raising her back flat to look more regal. She folded her arms childishly after she finished.

Janna's expression flickered. She glanced down at the ground for a moment. When she said nothing, Star continued.

'But killing is fun!' she insisted. Adam wasn't sure if she was trying to convince Janna or her perception of her mother. 'And it gets me out of all my problems! Mom sent me here to learn some wisdom or whatever, but the kid I was living with always laughed at me, so…I stopped him laughing.' She smiled. 'Then Mom had to bring me home.'

Janna froze, staring at the Butterfly Princess who happened to be in front of her.

'You…uh…' she stammered.

'What?' Star asked with an exasperated tone. 'C'mon, you said we could only raise Bon-Bon at the right time.'

'M-Mr and Mrs Diaz said it was a car crash…' the girl recounted shakily. The princess laughed at that comment as though it were but a humorous anecdote.

'Well, of course they did,' she replied, a comedic tone peppering her voice. As she said that, her voice suddenly dropped to a deadly serious tone. 'They value their lives.'

Janna coughed abruptly, trying to maintain her composure.

'C-Cool.'

Star smiled brightly and grabbed her hand.

'Yeah, it's cool!' She exclaimed. 'You know, Janna, you really get me!'

'Um, thanks,' she responded awkwardly, allowing the magical princess to drag her towards Bon-Bon's gravestone.

As Janna was dragged by Star, her eyes made contact with Adam. Her eyes widened, as though she'd forgotten he was even there. The Mewman gave her a sympathetic nod. The girl nodded back, but this time with more conviction.

He breathed out steadily. All he had to do now was watch and wait for the right moment.

Adam watched as Star found the grave for Bon-Bon the Birthday Clown. She seemed strangely enamoured with the figure. Maybe she found some kind of fascination in dark spirits. This notion didn't really surprise him, to be honest.

Star lazily produced her wand and put together the shrine for the Birthday Clown. Adam didn't even know why she bothered using the wand at all; she didn't really need it. Perhaps it was a display of power. Or maybe she just liked using it.

Janna attempted to create the summoning circle for Bon-Bon, but her hand would not stop shaking. She drew the white pentagram, but she lost her balance on the ground and the marker slipped. Adam's heart skipped a beat for a moment.

C'mon Janna, you can pull through, he thought.

'Well,' the girl said shakily. 'This…should, um, do it.'

Star turned to look in her direction. She leant down to inspect the summoning circle on the ground. The princess frowned.

'It's okay…' she supposed, a hint of discontent in her voice. 'It's not very impressive, but it'll do.'

'Er…hopefully,' she stuttered. 'How is the, the shrine coming along?'

'It's…perrrr-feect!' The Butterfly exclaimed energetically, leaning an arm against her creation. It was bright, and vibrant, full of different decorations, like flowers and bottles and even some tinsel. Several candles had been lit across it, their luminosity magically magnified. Adam's eyes narrowed. Star seemed to like these things, he supposed, but also enjoyed destroying them.

I guess some things are so cute you just have to punch 'em, the Mewman considered with disgust.

'It looks…nice,' the Earth girl said jaggedly. Star scowled at her.

'Janna,' she said to her gravely. 'Are you…lying to me?'

'What, no, no, definitely not!' She assured her worriedly, throwing up her hands defensively. 'It's just…hard to put into words how awesome it is!'

There was a momentary pause, before Star gave her a bright smile.

'Aww, thanks, Janna Banana!' She acknowledged, wrapping the girl in a tight hug. Petrified still, the young girl didn't return the hug. Fortunately, though, Star didn't seem to notice.

'Yeah…anytime, Star,' she said with a nervous laugh, as she set down a large cake in the centre of the pentagram.

'So,' Star announced, picking up something that was out of Adam's sight. She groaned with fatigue, before thumping something on the ground.

It was big and old, its leathery cover turning greenish brown over time. Several loose bits of paper stuck out from the edges of the pages, as though they were haphazardly added footnotes. An upright figure-eight symbol, like a flattened-out number eight, was embedded in the centre. It was pierced through the centre with what looked like a red arrow with a head shaped like a hand. In either loop, there were two jewels, both half pale green, half orange.

The Magic Instruction Book. That was it!

Hopefully, Star would be away from the spellbook long enough for him to draw it towards him. He watched as the Butterfly Princess flicked through the pages.

'Necromancy…necromancy…where's Glossaryck when you need him?' She mused, scanning the pages she flicked through. 'Ah! Here it is. Necromancy Summoning Spell! Hm…looks like we just insert the name into the spell when we speak the incantation.'

Janna moved over to have a look, momentarily inquisitive.

'Capable of raising the most powerful of spirits,' she read, following the line across the page with her finger. 'Warning: may cause spectral unrest. This is so cool!'

'Absolutely!' Star concurred. 'I've always wondered what my victims would say if I brought them back. Maybe if this works, we can try it on that karate boy.'

Janna's breath hitched at the mention of him. She exhaled wearily, before swallowing the air in her mouth in a gulp. Her neck locked into place and her arms jerked under the pressure against the ground. Fortunately, Star didn't seem to notice Janna's reaction.

'Uh, yeah, maybe,' she finally uttered after a few seconds. Star picked up her wand and held it towards the girl.

'C'mon, you have to hold the wand with me,' she told her with an annoyed frown. Reluctantly, Janna held part of the wand's handle below Star's hand. 'Now say it with me…'

Both of them looked back to the spellbook.

'We call into the depths of the unknown,

We plead you return to thy mortal throne

Bon-Bon, we summon thee as a ghost

Thy spirit returns to us innermost!'

The candles in the shrine blew out, along with the candles around the circle. The white pentagram Janna had drawn began to glow, and the gravity around them seemed to loosen. The candles began to float into the air. Even Star's long hair began to float up, just behind her head.

And then, nothing.

The candles dropped to the ground, and the pentagram stopped glowing. Gravity returned to this part of the dimension, enforcing its laws once again.

Star frowned exasperatedly. 'What happened?!'

'Uh, I don't know,' Janna confessed, her eyes flickering towards Adam.

'You better not have just wasted my time!' The princess yelled furiously.

'I-I didn't!' she defended herself. 'Um, maybe we did bring him back, but he's stuck in his coffin! You need to get him out!'

Star eyed her closely for a few moments, before nodding.

'You might be right,' she ultimately agreed, getting up and walking towards the ground by Bon-Bon's grave. She cracked her knuckles. 'Step back, little people like you probably wouldn't survive this if you're too close.'

Janna gulped and stepped away.

'Narwhal Blast!' She yelled, unleashing a ray of narwhals. 'Narwhal Blast! Narwhal Blast!'

Seeing the opportunity with the commotion, Janna spun around and faced Adam. She mouthed the word 'NOW!' at him.

'Levitato!' He whispered, pointing his hand at the book. Adam was glad he had taken the time to learn the pretty common spell.

The Magic Instruction Book was then encased in blue glowing magic, and it steadily rose into the air. Gesturing towards his chest, he caused the book to fly into his hands in a matter of seconds. It was heavier than the young man expected, but he managed.

Adam could not even take a moment to congratulate himself on his success. He hastily pulled out the dimensional scissors, and was about to open a portal away, when he realised something.

Janna. He couldn't just leave her behind.

Not wanting to put her in any more danger, he peeked back around the gravestone. The girl saw him and stared back at him with a worried expression. Obviously, she'd expected him to be gone by now. Adam beckoned her to come to him, and she nodded.

Cautious not to alert Star, she practically tiptoed towards the gravestone. She was about halfway there, when–

'–Janna?' A voice commanded from behind her. She turned to see Star staring back at her. 'What are you doing?'

'Uh…' she stuttered. 'Well, your spells are so strong I felt I needed to take a few more steps back. Don't wanna be…y'know, fried 'n' stuff.'

'That's probably a good…' Star began, her voice trailing off as she glanced around the area. Instantly, she knew what was wrong. 'Where's the Book of Spells?'

'Uh…'

'Janna. Where is it?'

'It was right there, wasn't it?' She said gingerly, gesturing to the ground where the book had been.

'I know where it was; I wanna know where it is right now!'

'It's, um…'

'Janna!' Boomed Star, causing the grass to shiver. The heart-shaped marks on her cheeks glowed with burning red ferocity. 'Where. Is. The. Book!?'

'I don't–!'

In that moment, fortunately or not, Star's compact rang. It was a screeching noise, like a cat dragged across a blackboard and deep-fried in oil. It definitely disturbed Janna, but Star seemed to…dance to the tune. She did, at least, until she realised, she needed to answer the call.

'Star.'

'Mom?!' She exclaimed. 'What do you want? I'm in the middle of something here!'

'And what exactly are you up to, young lady?'

'Hanging out with this human, Janna!'

'Does that involve hopping to other dimensions, by any chance?'

'What? No!'

'Star, tell the truth!' Moon demanded. 'SOMEONE has stolen the royal dimensional scissors! We've been bending over backwards over the last hour to find out who took it!'

'Moooom, I didn't take the scissors!'

'Maybe not you, but from what we can tell, this was from a human! Did you happen to aid this "Janna" in taking it?'

'Janna? Nah, she's not that…' Star initially refuted, before looking up at Janna.

She'd been shivering, but it wasn't cold. Her breaths were curt and quick, but the air wasn't that thin in here. She had seemed largely out of focus, today, too. Janna clearly didn't think she had noticed.

'Mom…I'm gonna have to call you back,' she responded coldly, closing the lid and ending the call, despite Moon's protests.

'Now, Star, whatever you're thinking –' Janna began.

'You took the scissors, didn't you?!' She accused. 'And now you're trying to take my BOOK OF SPELLS! HOW DARE YOU!'

'Woah, woah, woah, I'd never do that! How could you say that?'

'You've been nervous all night. You could barely focus! I bet you just lured me out here so you could take my spellbook and run!'

'Nervous?!' Janna spat. 'Maybe that has something to do with you murdering the guy I liked!'

'Murder?' Star questioned, almost taken aback by the accusation. 'He was collateral damage! He got in the way…and I don't like when people get in my way.'

Janna backed away from her, moving to her left. Adam realised she was moving away from the gravestone to keep Star from finding him.

'So, what? Am I in your way now?'

'You most certainly are.'

'You're a murderer, Star!' She scorned, spitting at her. 'All you want to do is watch the world burn! And you don't care how many innocent lives you destroy as you do it!'

'No, I don't,' she agreed coldly. 'I'll give you one warning: give me my book back, and the scissors, or else.'

'He'll come for you,' Janna replied, ignoring the warning. 'And when he does, you'll learn what it's like to be afraid.'

'Who?' Star demanded.

'The man with the magic.'

There was pregnant silence between them for a few seconds. Then, the Butterfly burst out laughing.

'I don't think so.'

Before Adam could fully determine what was going on, a huge beam of yellow light erupted from the princess's wand. It engulfed Janna. An ear-piercing scream echoed through the graveyard, nearly deafening Adam. That was the last that he saw of Janna, as she was bathed in yellow light, until it died down.

All that was left behind was a charred corpse. Its feet were fused into the ground, where the mud had melted and caught the bone. Thin trails of fresh smoke rose from the skull and ribcage. No flesh or clothing had survived the blast. The jaw still hung open in shock.

Adam barely had time to process this. His fight-or-flight instinct kicked in, and he opened a portal out from under him. He fell through it and closed it up before Star could suspect anything.

Sighing, the Butterfly Princess took out her compact and redialled her mom. As the ringing tone began to play, she absentmindedly flicked the side of Janna's cranium.

When her mom finally picked up, she began to explain herself.

'Soooo…good news and bad news,' the girl admitted between her teeth.

'What's the good news?'

'I found the culprit. Janna took the scissors, but it's not on her, so she must have hidden it.'

'That sounds like bad news, Star.'

'No, the bad news is that she took the spellbook too, but I don't know where she put it.'

'Did you try interrogating her?'

'I did, but…' her voice trailed off, as she moved the camera on the compact to show her mother Janna's skeleton. 'She didn't really feel like talking.'

'Ugh, Star! That girl is…WAS…our only lead! That was PROFOUNDLY reckless of you!'

'Yeah, but…she annoyed me!'

'Get back here this instant young lady!'

'Ughhhh,' she groaned. 'Coming.' She hung up. Staring out onto the empty graveyard, she sighed. 'One of these days, Mom, I'll be more powerful than you. Let's see who's calling the shots then.'

With a harsh thud, Adam landed on the stony floor of his bunker home. He almost landed face-first, but fortunately a forcefield formed in front of him to block it. The portal above him soon closed, and everything went silent.

Adam pulled himself over and onto his back, leaning against the wall behind him. Heaving, he threw the Magic Instruction Book off his chest.

He tried not to hyperventilate. A wave of nausea hit his stomach, preventing him from getting up. Adam smacked his dry lips, coating them with saliva. The sounds of Janna's screams still rang in his ears so strongly he had to clasp his hands to them to bear it.

Adam felt like he was going to die. Any moment now, Star Butterfly would burst into his room and incinerate him like Janna. His stomach churned uncomfortably, making him want to vomit. However, no vomit came.

Adam coughed. He felt like the air had been punched out of him in an instant. Nevertheless, he tried to calm himself. The young man began to breathe slow, deep breaths, trying not to cough as he did so.

Happy thoughts, Adam, think happy thoughts…

He began to imagine his life before the Purge. When he lived with his adoptive parents, who loved him very much. The little town of Salem was fairly unassuming, but it was homely. The bright warm fireplace was wonderful to sit by, and sometimes he did so for hours on end. Adam recalled how Mom used to read him bedtime stories, stories of the great leader Toffee and his rag-tag group of rebels who defeated the evil Queens of the Butterfly Kingdom. He remembered the tale of the Last Hero, Crankulus, who fought gods and demons. His dad used to try to scare him with silly myths about the Bogeyman, though it never managed to frighten him.

Thoughts on his best friend, Beru, crossed his mind. He tried not to think too far, considering what happened to him.

Beru and Adam used to travel through the cornfields whenever they had no chores to complete. Adam would always be the one chasing after them, as he would play the Butterfly and Beru would play the innocent Monster.

Adam laughed when he remembered one of the times, he caught Beru when they played this game. His friend claimed, persistently, that it didn't count, for some unorthodox reason. Rather staunchly, he had disagreed with him. Truthfully, the Mewman argued that the rules were pretty concrete, though Beru said they never established any rules.

In fact, Adam repeated this sentiment to him when he grabbed his horns to catch him. Beru didn't appreciate that too much, since Adam had no horns of the sort.

Slowly, he felt his heart rate go back down. He began to feel calm again, though the image of Janna's skeleton was seared into his brain. He took a few more deep breaths, and finally managed to calm himself.

His contact – his friend – was gone, but at least he had the spellbook. Adam's eyes wandered to the old tome. He was almost scared to touch it.

No. Janna died for me to get this book. I'm not going to let that sacrifice be in vain.

He moved over to the book, sitting on his knees in front of it. Gingerly, the Mewman opened the Book of the Spells, the pages spilling out in front of him. Searching for the contents page, Adam flicked to the start.

Nothing. No contents page. What kind of book, of this size, wouldn't have a contents page?

'It's in the middle,' a voice told him in his ear.

'AH!' Adam yelled, recoiling back from the book instantly. He looked around to find the source of the voice. Eventually, his eyes came back to the Magic Instruction Book. 'You…you can talk?'

'Of course I can talk!' The voice responded rather matter-of-factly. Before Adam could reply, something popped into his view in front of him.

Flying around in front of him was a small, red-skinned man wearing a cream toga with an alarmingly short skirt. Disturbingly large amounts of his legs were exposed to the elements, hairy and long. His head was semi-rectangular shaped, rounded at the top. A light green crystal was embedded into his forehead, which reflected the glint from the sunlight perfectly.

'Who are you?' Adam inquired inquisitively.

'I am Glossaryck,' Glossaryck introduced himself. 'I'm the guide of the Magic Instruction Book. And you must be my liege.'

'Glossaryck…she mentioned someone called Glossaryck,' he recalled, blinking at the memory.

'Your name?' The small man asked him.

'Hm? Oh. Adam.'

'Mm…you have any pudding?' The magical guide asked him inexplicably. Adam frowned.

'What?'

'Pudding. Do…you…have…any?' He replied sanctimoniously.

'Sorry, what's "pudding"?'

'Oh, you haven't been around Earth, have you?' Glossaryck realised with sadness. 'Pudding is an amazing creation of chocolaty-goodness.'

'Are you here to help me with my spells?' Adam asked him, his patience running thin.

'Of course I am,' he confirmed, raising his eyebrow curiously. 'Isn't that why you stole the book?'

'You, uh, know about that?'

'Yeah, but don't worry about it,' Glossaryck waved off dismissively. 'Now, first things first: I require your consent to harm you. For training purposes.'

'Um, sure. I give my consent.'

'Good,' he beamed. 'Now I will be able to help you.'

'Why?' Adam questioned, just now considering this. 'I'm not your rightful owner. Aren't you upset that I stole you?'

'Listen, kid,' the small man addressed, lowering to sit on the book. 'I've served the Butterfly Family for millennia. And yet, they're all the same. They conquer and pillage. I'm sick of it. It's honestly exhausting.'

'I know,' Adam stated matter-of-factly. 'They're all warmongers and murderers. What does that have to do with me?'

'When you picked up the book, I could tell you weren't like them,' he answered. 'You're different.'

Glossaryck flew up to his hand, opening it to reveal the palm inside. One of his eyes comically enlarged as he inspected the star shaped burn mark.

'How interesting…' he mused. 'Well, that explains how you can cast spells.'

'Yeah,' Adam agreed abashedly, staring at Glossaryck's large eye rather than the burn mark. 'I found a piece of the Butterfly Princess's wand.'

'And like the idiotic Mewman you are, you decided you'd touch it,' the magical creature derided, though there was no hint of derision in his voice. 'You're fortunate this turned out in your favour. The shard of the wand you touched altered your physiology.'

'What do you mean?' The young man asked immediately, before thinking about it. 'You mean…the wand's…a part of me?'

'Very astute,' he commended, half-sarcastic half-genuine. 'You're not simply casting magic, you are magic. Half-magic, half-Mewman. And very, very, stupid.'

'Well it turned out alright, didn't it?'

'Nope. You're half-magic. If someone were to speak the Whispering Spell to you, you'd almost certainly die. Not to mention the severe strain it puts on your body.'

'Hold on, the Whispering Spell?' He asked him, feeling dumb for not knowing. Glossaryck groaned in frustration.

'Is this what it's like to teach beginners?' He wondered aloud. 'The Whispering Spell is a Dark spell that destroys the caster's wand. Break the bond, tear the magic; cleave the stone; stop the magic. In essence, it destroys magic.'

Adam gulped.

'And by extension, me.'

'Yes. Fortunately, this Mewman-magic metamorphosis is rare. (Mainly because few were dumb enough to try.) I doubt anyone knows that the Spell would work. Besides myself, of course.'

'So…what spells can I learn?' The Mewman asked tentatively.

'Well,' Glossaryck began. 'There's Alteration magic, Battle magic, Creation magic, Dark magic, Illusion magic, Restoration magic, Transmutation magic…'

Adam folded his arms. 'Battle magic first.'

'Wise choice,' he deadpanned. 'Of course, you could just create a spell…'

'I've tried,' said the teenager, rolling his eyes. 'I've been trying to summon these ropes as a spell. I called it "Ropes of Binding". Nothing happens when I do it.'

'Really? You must have a small imagination.'

'I can imagine the ropes perfectly; they just don't happen.'

'Hmm…' Glossaryck thought, rubbing his chin in contemplation. 'I suppose, considering you're not naturally gifted with magic, it would be difficult for you.'

'So what do I do?'

'Well, the only way to become skilled enough is to practice your magic,' he answered. 'First, you'll have to develop your magical proficiency with these known spells.'

Glossaryck turned to face the Book of Spells, hovering towards it. He motioned his finger, as though turning an invisible page. The pages of the book began to turn, flicking through at a quick pace. Eventually, he stopped on a page.

'Ah, Moon the Malevolent's Chapter,' he announced, before moving out of the way so Adam could read the page. 'The Light Sword Spell. Generates an aura of destructive light around your wand, or in this case, your hand.'

Adam inspected the page.

'This looks pretty difficult,' the would-be spell-caster complained.

'Are you gonna give up before you've even tried?' Glossaryck challenged.

'What? No!'

'Well, then,' he replied, before snapping his fingers. In less time than Adam could perceive, the scenery around him had changed. Inexplicably, he had been teleported to the field above his bunker. He looked back at Glossaryck, who smiled deviously. 'Cast the spell.'

'Er…' Adam mumbled, looking back at the book. 'Light of power, draw to me…um…Fill my…do I say hand or wand?'

'Just go with what you feel is right.'

'Okay…' he accepted nervously. 'Light of power, draw to me. Fill my wand with majesty…Flames that burn with mortal cold…a light sword form of blue, white…gold?'

Adam expected at least a spark, but nothing happened. He looked back at his magical guide hopelessly.

'No, no, no, you're just saying the words!' Glossaryck criticised. 'You need to believe in them. Call upon the magic within you! Bring forth all your strength!'

Breathing in and out deeply, he tried to do as his guide instructed.

Janna. Beru. Mom. Dad.

'Light of power, draw to me,' he recited, as his eyes began to glow, and the star symbols appeared on his hands. 'Fill my wand with majesty. Flames that burn with mortal cold. A light sword form of blue-white gold!'

Ground shook beneath his feet as a long, glowing blue-white sword erupted from his hand. It formed a handle for him to hold, which he clasped with a smile on his face. The sword of light was completely weightless, feeling as though it was fused to his hand. He could feel the burning strength of the blade in his hands, and he had been the one to form this power!

'Well done!' Glossaryck congratulated sincerely, before returning to a stoic expression. 'Now hit me.'

Adam blinked.

'Sorry, what?'

'Hit me.'

The young Mewman couldn't hold back a snigger as this tiny man asked him to hit him with a sword that was bigger than he was. The blade would pulverise him.

'Ha. Alright.'

Without much warning, Adam sped towards Glossaryck, who remained floating in the air. He swung the light sword with all the strength he could conjure, bringing the blade crashing down on the small red man.

However, Glossaryck easily conjured a forcefield and blocked the strike. Then, he zipped to the side and sent a large fist of transparent green energy catapulting towards the young wizard at full speed. His energy fist hit harder than his Solarian Blast, propelling him several meters away.

Adam grimaced and held back a groan of pain. Steadily, he got back up.

'Rule Number One: never underestimate your opponent,' the magical guide stated. 'Rule Number Two: never attack first, unless you know what you're dealing with. Rule Number Three: don't presume you know what you're dealing with when you're fighting somebody you just met.'

'C'mon, I broke three rules already?' The novice whined, looking down at his light sword.

'Yes. Now, again: hit me.'

Adam's eyes narrowed. 'You hit me.'

Glossaryck smiled. 'Now you're getting it.'

The guide disappeared from his sight and instantly appeared to his right. Adam ducked and slashed his bright sword at him. Glossaryck blocked the strike with a green forcefield from his head crystal. Frowning, Adam lifted the sword again and hit down on the forcefield again. It started to crack the shield, so he tried again.

However, as he threw down the blade again, the red man dropped the shield, teleported behind him, and hit him in the back with a blast of bright blue energy. Adam refused to let it get the better of him, unleashing a flurry of sword strikes against his opponent. Unfazed, Glossaryck summoned a blade of light as well, crimson in colour. Their swords clashed with an ear-piercing shrill.

Their blades locked in a clash of light. Sparks of magic fizzed off from where their swords made contact.

'You're better at swordsmanship than I expected,' Glossaryck admitted patiently.

'I had…to learn how to…defend myself…somehow!' Adam responded, the stress on his muscles putting a strain on his voice. 'Crimson Comet!'

Using his spare hand, he directed the spell at Glossaryck's chest. A great big ball of flames erupted from his palm. It collided with Glossaryck instantly, exploding with ferocity. The magical guide was sent flying back.

'Two spells at once,' he noted. 'Impressive.'

The two engaged in a ferocious sword battle once again. Adam's skills at swordsmanship managed to remain on par with his opponent. Albeit it was much harder to even land a hit on him, considering he was far smaller than he was. Nonetheless, at least Glossaryck wasn't able to land a hit on him.

The small red creature suddenly pulled back from the swordfight. He teleported a fair distance away.

Adam raised an eyebrow, as Glossaryck threw his hand at the ground. A white ball of light hit the ground and there was an instantaneous flash of light. The bright white light engulfed his vision, stunning him long enough for the magical creature to appear behind him and prod him in the back.

'Aaand you're dead,' Glossaryck said flatly, kicking him to the ground. 'Rule Number Four: Be ready for anything. Especially where there is magic involved.'

Adam grimaced, trying to look up. Ultimately, he let his head fall back down to the ground, defeated.

'Ugh, how did I do?'

'Well, quite well,' Glossaryck replied. 'You failed on almost every account, but…well.'

'Gee, thanks,' he replied sardonically, rubbing his forehead with his hand. Steadily, he rose to a seating position on the grass. He looked down at his glowing hand of light. 'Now the's time to cease your glow; let your magic wand be sword no more.'

Slowly, the sword of light faded away into nothingness. Glossaryck nodded imperceptibly, as Adam looked back up at him.

'Are we going to have a training routine, then?' The teenager inquired.

'Absolutely,' the magical entity told him, snapping his fingers. A sheet of paper appeared on Adam's lap. 'You'll find the full timetable right there.'

After studying the table for a minute, he frowned.

'Glossaryck, there must be a mistake on this. It says I'll be training nonstop for hours every day!'

'Almost every day,' he corrected. 'You'll still have free time to relax and do…whatever it is you Mewman commoners do to pass the time.'

The young Mewman stared at him, jaw agape in shock.

'And…h-how long will I be doing this whole thing?'

'Hmm…' Glossaryck thought aloud, rubbing his chin. 'Well, we need to get to you to the point where you can at least survive against a Butterfly. I'd say…about two years.'

Adam collapsed onto the ground again with a loud thud. The next two years are going to be SO tough.

So, I decided to post this chapter early because I wanted to give a more full-rounded experience, by showing the first episode in its entirety sooner for my readers to enjoy, in case they were not overly enticed by the first chapter. I plan to have a schedule of a chapter a week, though, but I might post the final chapter of the first episode in a few days' time, since it's the shortest one I've written for this story so far.

In case you wanted images of what certain characters look like, here's some pinterest links:

(precede the slash with "pin . it" with no spaces)

Adam: /7FbgqWr

Dark Star Butterfly: /7LjRiwP

Dark Star's wand: /3f7fAbo

Red Glossaryck: /6UEL1z9

I hope the people who read this enjoyed it. Having Janna as Adam's contact in the Butterfly Castle made sense to me since she always seems to get around unnoticed. RIP Negative Janna, her death was...graphic. I'm going to hell for writing that, aren't I? This is why I kept the identity of his Butterfly contact more ambiguous because I was going to kill her off so that the mystery isn't drawn out for too long.

Plus, we get Dark Star showing up in this chapter. Gotta show some of the more interesting sides to this alternate multiverse. If she seems quite one-dimensional, don't worry, I am going to delve more into her character later on. I don't want her to be evil for the sake of being evil.

Of course, Glossaryck shows up, and he's red. Story-wise it makes sense to me for Adam to need a trainer. There is going to be a two-year time jump, because I think showing every bit of his training would be a little boring and I want to progress to the point where can cast a few spells here and there, but he's still very weak. Training sessions will be shown in the next chapter over the course of those two years, but I think writing a handful of scenes only should still get the point across.

Thanks for reading!