If you know what 'octarine' is, you're well-cultured. I applaud your taste in literature.
Episode:
2: Adam Alone
Adam engages in a fight with Star Butterfly, leading to some major realisations.
Even though Star had identified his presence, Adam fortunately still had the element of surprise.
'Ropes of Binding!' He yelled, announcing his presence to the two down below. Reliably, the four ropes shot out of his hand, racing towards Star. They immediately caught her wand, tightening their grip around it.
Adam began to pull, hard. Using the wooden support beams on the rafters as leverage, he pushed against the resistive force on the other end. Meanwhile, Star was able to react fast enough to pull back on the rope. Sure enough, she began to slide across the ground.
'Help me pull, Marco!' She shrieked, though Marco had already grabbed hold of the ropes and began pulling. They had the advantage of gravity to help in the pull; however, Adam had the advantage of something vertical to lean on.
'What the hell is going on?!' The squire shouted back, as he felt the harsh rope burn against his skin.
'Just…pull!'
Star was much stronger than he had expected. Realistically, it shouldn't have surprised him, given that Mewman physiology involved very dense muscle tissue. However, from where he was standing, she didn't look especially physically capable. So it did catch him off-guard when she nearly single-handedly knocked him off his feet. Not that this concerned him too much, since he was still strong himself.
He really wanted to smile to himself at the possibility of killing her, but he had to stay completely focused.
At the other end of the rope, the two friends worked hard to counteract the strong force acting against them. The ropes were coming from the rafters, it seemed. Someone had been following them, and for a fair while, too.
Her instinct had been right! Bang on, in fact. Then again, she was certain there was magic involved in that.
Steadily, the magical princess tried to point her wand upwards towards the rafters. The ropes were tight against the metal, but slowly, but surely, she succeeded.
'Cupcake Blast!' Star yelled.
A bright purple beam shot out of her wand, catapulting many pink crystalline cupcakes towards the figure. She missed the wooden beam, but also hit the attacker. Although they were able to dodge it by running further up the beam, their binding spell broke. The ropes fell limp, falling down the ground and disintegrating into blue sparkles.
Now free, Star was able to point her wand far more accurately this time.
'Dagger Heart Blast!'
A hail of red heart-shaped daggers was propelled at the wooden rafters the figure was running across. Instantly, they smashed through the wood, causing the whole structure to begin to collapse.
Their attacker ran back, directly across to the collapsing beam. It had slid down to form a kind of ramp. It met halfway down to the ground, allowing them easier access towards them. Once the beam ended, they fell and landed on a mid-air purple forcefield pad.
They ran down a series of these pads like steps until they landed on the bottom. As they were about to engage in a fight, the doors behind their aggressor began to shake and rumble.
'Princess! We're coming in!' Someone outside, most likely a knight, boomed. 'The door's jammed!' They continued to attempt to force their way through the door, but it would not budge.
The momentary pause in the battle allowed Star to get an idea of who they were dealing with.
He looked young, probably around their age. He had unkempt, wild black hair, though it remained short. The complexion of his skin gave Star the immediate indication that he was a Mewman.
So many questions were about to flood her mind, but their attacker spoke first.
Adam knew he had to take advantage of the momentary pause.
'Crimson Comet Inferno!' He exclaimed proudly.
Caught off-guard, Star was caught nonplussed when a wall of fireballs came impelling her way. She and Marco were able to dodge them just about, which slightly annoyed Adam. However, at least he'd caught her off-guard.
'Mega Narwhal Blast!' The Butterfly Princess fired back.
Multiple large narwhals with sharp horns came shooting towards Adam. He attempted to dodge them, which he succeeded for the most part. However, they were much faster than he had expected, and one of them managed to head-butt him hard in the chest.
Fortunately, he was able to retaliate before Marco could get any closer to him.
They continued their battle, throwing numerous spells at each other with equal intensity. Neither seemed to be able land a hit with enough force to subdue the other. Adam kept his eye on the squire, who was clearly a close-quarters combatant. Adam was starting to get frustrated. He knew Star was certainly a skilled fighter, but he didn't want to do this whole song-and-dance.
Adam just wanted to execute her in the most brutally painful way possible.
The room was almost getting blown apart by the ferocious exchanges of spells between them.
'Spectral Aim!' The young teenager shouted at one point, throwing his hand out towards them.
The ground began shaking, with enough strength to knock his two opponents off their feet. Flashes of pale green light flittered across the room, leaving behind thin spectral arrows. Adam slowly raised his hand, causing the arrows to rise into the air. He threw out his hand, and the green arrows all flitted through the air at once.
Many of the arrows collided with the ground, kicking up a gigantic fog of ashy stone. He quickly lost sight of Princess Butterfly and her squire. The Mewman coughed, momentarily having to shield his eyes from the ash with his arm. Adam wanted to slap himself for his stupidity.
Eventually, the ash cleared, and he found Star in the centre of the room, holding her wand. For some strange reason, she remained still and did not cast any spells. Oddly, Marco was nowhere in sight.
'Now, Marco!' The Butterfly yelled, looking directly behind the Mewman.
As he was in the process of turning around, he heard a voice.
'Hi-ya!'
Marco was about to Sokuto [2] kick him in the face. Adam instinctively shot up his hands. A gold portal opened directly in front of him, leading to another portal beside Star. Unfortunately for Marco, he had put too much force into the kick to stop himself, and his leg passed through the portal.
Star was promptly kicked in the face.
'Sorry Star!' The Latino apologised frantically. However, the commotion was a momentary, stupid distraction for him.
A second later, he was blasted square in the chest with a Solarian Blast. Marco was sent flying backwards, smashing against the stone wall with a sickening crunch. He slumped over to the ground, completely unconscious.
'MARCO!' Star cried out in shock, instinctively reaching out a hand to stop him.
As Adam turned to face her, he saw her face morph from shock to rage. She gritted her teeth furiously at him, rising to her feet.
In an instant, she transformed in a puff of smoke. Adam's eyes widened.
The magical princess had inexplicably grown four additional arms! And her clothing had also changed! Now, she was wearing a bright white and yellow dress, much more poofy sleeves. Her hair was a bright, magical colour, done up in otherwise impossibly high frills. Two large, fiery gold wings sprouted from her back, granting her the ability of flight.
Since when could a Butterfly do THIS?! He screamed in his head. Can I do that?!
A hellfire of spells rained down upon him, each more powerful than the last. Adam opened a few portals, redirecting them back at the caster. Star merely absorbed them with a forcefield.
'OMEGA BLAST!' The princess screeched. [3]
A huge blast of energy sped towards him with a ferocious velocity.
He held out his hands, forming a purple forcefield dome around himself. His arms strained as he tried to keep it up against the sheer might of her spells. Cracks began to form at the impact site, spreading out across the translucent dome.
He had to act fast. Adam slowly managed to remove one of his hands and point it behind him.
Mega Solarian Blast! He screamed in his head.
A colossal blue laser, the largest he had ever conjured, expelled from his hands at break-neck speeds. The beam passed directly through the portal, causing a rumble in the ground.
As if by magic, the Omega Blast against his forcefield disappeared.
Taking a moment to catch his breath, he let the forcefield drop. He felt something warm along his nostrils, so the Mewman wiped his nose. Upon looking at his fingers, he discovered dark blood had oozed onto it.
Looking up, he saw that the Butterfly had collapsed to the ground, a singed mark on her back where the beam had hit her. She had reverted back to her base form.
By a miracle, perhaps, the princess was still getting up. Despite still feeling tired, he summoned a bolt of lightning that sent her soaring back to hit the ground and roll until she reached the back stone wall.
Keen to leave no room for her to recover, Adam made his way over to it. Reaching down, he seized her by the throat. A wicked smile spread across his face as he stared into her worried eyes.
'I'm going to enjoy this, Ms Butterfly,' he spat. 'For all the pain and suffering. I'm going to watch the light leave your eyes. Then you can feel just a fraction of my pain.'
He continued to put all his effort into strangling her, occasionally punching her to reduce her resistance. Slowly, but surely, she was going to die.
This is it. This for Beru. For Janna. For everyone.
It was almost surreal. He had imagined the many different, more fanciful ways of killing her. Admittedly, they were largely fantastical, but enjoyable, nonetheless. Now, here he was, at the final moment, and he was simply strangling her. That being said, he was definitely going to mount her head on a pike.
And after this, maybe I can take Moon. And then finally this world will be free of –
His thought was interrupted when he felt a sharp, debilitating pain in the back of his neck. His grip on Star was lost immediately, as he staggered back and fell to the ground.
Star too collapsed to the ground, coughing and sputtering. Eventually, she looked up to see who it was. Marco rushed to help her, past Adam.
'OhmygoshMarcoareyouokay?!' She cried out worriedly, instantly encasing him in a tight hug.
'Am I okay? Are you okay?!' Marco replied with concern. 'You took some nasty blows there…'
It was at this point, specifically, that an undefeatable darkness began to cloud up Adam's vision. He fought to keep his eyes open, but they would not obey him. Quickly, he felt himself lose consciousness.
'Whew…! Nice hit there!'
'Thanks; I've been practicing.'
Finally, everything was black.
By the time Adam came to, he could just about make out the stone-tiled floor before him. His vision was blurry, unfocused, but slowly adapting. The floor was dirty, a sparse layer of leaves spread out across the surface. It didn't look like it had been polished in years, simply left to fester on its own.
A cold, wistful breeze blew through the air, eliciting a few shivers from him.
It was rarely that cold on Mewni, for the clouds did not bring in the biting air. After all, half of the planet had been scorched by Comet Butterfly decades ago. Cold regions were sparse, even the ice caps had long since melted away.
As for the other half, that was overseen by the Great Solarian Storm. It blotted out most of the sun; turned plants wicked; struck down trees and mutated the fauna. There were only a few sole areas where it was safe to grow food. The Butterfly Castle was shielded from the Storm – to the extent that it was not even visible from within the confines of the kingdom. Meanwhile, the area he lived in existed in one of the many small safe zones not greatly affected by the Solarian Storm. That was the reason why his parents built the bunker there, after all.
Everything in the dark room was cold. It shouldn't be cold. Why was it cold?
Adam coughed and tried to regain focus. His wrists were jammed together by strong metal cuffs. It was connected to a long chain attached to the wall behind him. His feet were free to move, not that he felt any particular strength in them. His legs may as well have been cuffed, because he couldn't move them anyway.
A blinding white light shone upon him, reflecting off the stone and boring into his eyes. Instantly, his brain was kicked into high gear, and suddenly, he was aware of his surroundings.
Adam looked up to see a wooden door opening opposite him. He was in a jail cell, bricked and old. The only light source in the room was the creaky door in front of him. A dark silhouette covered some of the light, and slowly his eyes began to focus on the person who was entering the room.
Star Butterfly looked down at him as she stepped into the room. A serious, yet puzzled, expression befell her face.
How did she know I'd woken up? He wondered.
Adam wished he'd succeeded in killing her. He'd messed up through such an amateur mistake. Stupidly, the Mewman had enjoyed watching her die too much, letting his guard down. Subsequently, the squire kid had managed to strike him down in an instant.
Stupid, stupid, stupid!
'Sooo…' Star began, interrupting his self-berating session. An awkward expression adorned her dark face. 'I have questions. First off, who the heck are you?'
Instead of answering the question, the teenager merely glared at her. He had nothing to say to her. The fact that she had no idea who he was gave him an even worse impression of her from the off start.
'Ooookay,' she addressed after a while, her eyes awkwardly wandering about the room. 'How did you do all that magic? Where did you learn it?'
Once again, her question was met with defiant silence and a stone-cold stare. After a few seconds of this, the girl simply sighed.
'Look, you're gonna stay here whether you answer my questions or not,' the magical princess told him pointedly. Adam still refused to reply to her. 'Ugh, you could at least tell me why you want to kill me!'
This demand actually did elicit a proper reply from the imprisoned Mewman. Unfortunately for Star, it was not the kind of answer the princess was hoping for. Rather than actual words, he did something else.
Adam laughed. His laugh was cruel and cynical, overflowing with biting cynicism. The girl frowned in bewilderment.
'Why are you laughing?' She asked helplessly.
'"Why do I want to kill you"?' He paraphrased with heartless laughter. However, immediately after he finished the rhetorical question, his laughter dropped back to a glare. 'Why wouldn't I want to kill you? You're a murderer! You pillage and plunder with no regard for the lives you destroy! It's about time somebody put a stop to your family's reign!'
Star was visibly taken aback by his violent outburst.
'I-I'm not a…murderer!' She exclaimed in shock. 'I…I've never killed anyone! I mean –'
'Oh, don't tell me,' Adam cut in. 'It was all "collateral damage"!'
Stunned, the princess muttered a few filler words before she managed to say something coherent.
'Well, uh, yeah. It was.'
'Don't you dare,' he ordered with a deep, low voice. 'Your whole family is built on blood! You killed my best friend! When's the last time you had to watch someone die right before your eyes? When's the last time you have ever felt helpless?! You haven't. Because everything's some sick game to you and we're all your chess pieces!' Adam summoned the strength to rise, shooting to his feet and charging towards her. However, the chain on his magically binding cuffs stopped him dead in his tracks. 'Don't you dare look me in the eye and tell me it doesn't matter!'
Star staggered back; her jaw hung open in a perpetual state of emotional distress.
'Rest assured princess, when I get out of here – and I will get out of here – I will find you. I will rip you limb from limb and when you scream, I'll split your skull!'
A blast of cupcakes hit him square in the chest, sending him flying back to the stone wall of the prison cell. Star's wordless spell had been so powerful it almost knocked him out.
'I haven't done anything to you!' She cried out in fright, before inevitably sighing again. 'Look, for any pain I've caused you, I'm sorry.'
Adam looked up at her confusion. Did she…just say she was sorry? No, no…this must be some sort of trick. How could she kill all those people with such callousness…and then apologise for it? It doesn't make any sense!
'You're sorry?' He repeated cynically. 'Yeah? Well, tell that to J–'
'Hey Star!' A voice yelled from somewhere in the hall outside the cell. 'I heard about the attack!'
Adam recognised that voice, too. He knew he'd heard it before, but his mind had gone blank. Who was this person? Why did he recognise them?
Star turned to address the person as they arrived in front of the door. They were in plain view, and suddenly the teenager knew why he recognised the voice. The princess opened her mouth to speak, but the prisoner spoke first.
'Janna?!' He shrieked, almost making her jump. A huge smile spread out across his face, as though all the light in the world had been bestowed upon him. The Butterfly beside her wasn't sure she'd ever seen such a bright smile. 'Oh my god!' Small baubles of tears began to form in the corners of his eyes. 'H-how…? How are you…alive?!'
'Hold on, you know each other?!' Star exclaimed in complete shock. Janna's eyes widened, furrowing her brow in confusion.
'Um, no…?' She replied, frowning almost humorously. 'I've never seen this guy before in my life.'
'Wait, then how do you know her name?! The Butterfly Princess demanded confoundedly. 'What is going on?!'
'C'mon, Janna, it's me, Adam! We're friends!' He insisted with a perplexed look on his face.
His supposed friend met him only with a blank, mystified expression.
'We worked together for months to take down – oh.' He looked towards Star, and promptly lowered his voice. 'Did I…travel back in time? Is…is that possible?' Nervously, he turned his attention back to the duo. 'Um, I don't suppose you went to a graveyard at any point…to see Bon-Bon the Birthday Clown?'
'Yeah, that was ages ago,' Janna recalled, with immediate confusion.
'How do you know about that?' Star demanded of him, her questioning look hardening into a glower.
'No, no, that…that doesn't make sense…' he stammered, grimacing as though he had a headache. 'If I didn't travel back in time…then how are you…? You're…you're dead. I…I don't understand.'
'I can explain it,' the Filipino said. 'I'm not de–'
'No, Janna: wait,' the princess interrupted. 'What do you mean she's dead?'
'You killed her!' The Mewman spat. 'I watched you!'
'Dude, what is your problem?' Janna responded comically. 'I don't even know why you thought we would believe you!'
'I don't think he's lying,' Star determined with uncertainty in her inflection.
'What? Look at me. I'm alive. Clearly, he's lying!'
Ignoring the girl's comments, the Butterfly Princess stepped towards Adam.
'I don't know why but…I feel like…you're telling the truth.'
Adam searched her eyes curiously, systematically trying to find out what her game was. Or what the hell was going on. Why would she pretend not to know about killing Janna? And how was Janna alive? None of this made sense!
'If he believes what he's saying then he's a nutjob!' Janna disparaged, gesturing animatedly at him.
'I…I…' he stammered, his eyes glancing about the room. When he found a solution, his eyes refocused on Star. '…I can show you.'
'What?' She exclaimed. 'How?'
'You can enter my mind, and I can show you what happened,' he disclosed standoffishly. 'The Psionic Wandering Spell.'
'The what?'
'The Psionic Wandering Spell!'
'I've never heard of that spell.'
'Really? It was in the – oh, never mind,' he said. 'Look, I know the spell –'
'How?'
'I'll explain later!' Adam barked in impatience. 'Just repeat it after me, and we can do it that way.'
'And how do I know you're not gonna make me cast a spell to set you free?'
'And how do I know that you're gonna just gonna cast a spell to kill me?' The Mewman argued. Had he been able to fold his arms, he would've. 'I'm taking just as much a risk as you.'
The princess considered this for a few seconds. This guy was…suspect, to say the least. After all, he had just threatened to kill her pretty graphically several minutes ago. And now he was claiming she was this evil, cruel murderer who killed Janna? The whole situation seemed ridiculous.
And yet, she felt compelled to do what he asked. She wasn't sure why, but it was the same reason she believed him about his claims. The same reason she detected he was following her and Marco. It was something to do with her magic. An instinct not from her gut, but from her brain.
'Okayyy…Adam, right?' She remembered awkwardly, receiving a reluctant nod from the Mewman. The girl exhaled to prepare herself. 'I'll do it.'
'What?!' Janna spoke first. 'Star, are you –?'
'Janna, I'm gonna need you to stand by in case he tries anything. I need someone I trust.'
'Alright,' Adam addressed flatly. 'I don't want to have to do this either, but there's no other way to show you the things you've done. Then you'll understand.'
Star rolled her eyes but didn't say anything.
'So how do I do this "Psionic Wandering" thing?'
'Hold your wand level with me,' he instructed. She complied, kneeling down to the ground to meet his eye-line. Taking out her wand, the princess held it directly horizontally to him. 'Okay, repeat after me: Wand of magic, turn the cog.'
'Wand of magic, turn the cog.'
'Find the way and clear this fog.'
'Find the way and clear this fog.'
'Make our minds open and free.'
'Make our minds open and free.'
'Show me now, what I must see.'
'Show me now, what I must see!'
Star's wand was enveloped in a bright white aura. Steadily, it expanded until it blinded both of them.
Wind bashed against her face with cold intensity. It scraped past her eyelids and ruffled through her long, blonde hair. The sheer strength of it was enough to wake Star up.
'Wha–?' The girl muttered in daze, slowly opening her eyes. That's when the realisation hit her harder than the wind did.
Star was falling through the purple air.
'Aaaaaaaah!' She yelled, trying desperately to break her fall. Initially, Star flapped her arms like a mad woman, as though she expected to become a bird with majestic wings.
Oh wait! The princess recalled. I DO have wings!
Attempting to use her wings, she found she was unable to. Feeling around at her back, the magical princess discovered her wings were not there. How had they inexplicably disappeared? How did that work?
Mewberty form? She considered, switching tactics.
Normally, she could transform into her full Mewberty form at will. Not today, apparently. Had it not been for the disastrous situation, she'd have made some sort of joke about performance issues. Nope, Star was still falling.
Final option. Her wand. Reaching into her bag, she fished for her wand. Predictably so, it wasn't there. Star searched every pocket she could find for it, but it wasn't there. This was a very strange set of circumstances.
'AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!' Star screamed, even louder this time. No way out of this one, certainly.
Harsh air continued to smack her in the face, preventing her from even so much as telling when she would hit the ground. The Butterfly Princess's cries continued, until, finally, she did hit the hard ground with a loud thud. She groaned, rubbing her head painfully. Blinking, she realised she wasn't dead.
'Ughh, that hurt,' she complained to nobody in particular. Memories came flooding back to her. The Psionic Wandering Spell! Of course! She wasn't in the real world, so that was why she was left relatively unharmed from that fall. That explained why everything was so…off.
Air permeated all her surroundings, and yet something about it felt distinctly not real. The ground felt strange. It was perfectly normal, in practicality, but something wasn't right about it. In fact, everything about the world around her seemed…distant. Much like a memory.
Star looked around. She was in a graveyard, a big one at that. The grass was purple and drab, matching the dark blue night sky. Not a single star was visible above her; the clouds were just too thick. Rows and rows of gravestones spread out as far as the eye could see. Further out, a white fog enveloped the area, preventing her from seeing any further.
'Wait a minute; this is the Echo Creek Graveyard!' She recalled, practically shouting her realisation. 'But I don't remember there being this many gravestones.'
She turned around.
'Adam?' Star called, staring at a teenage boy hiding behind a gravestone. The Mewman didn't respond, instead he remained cowering rooted to his spot. Tentatively, the princess stepped towards him, trying in another way possible. 'Er, AAAAdam?' She called again, reaching over and snapping her fingers in front of him. The warlock did not respond. 'Heeelllooo?'
'Over here,' a voice responded behind, making her jump. Star turned to see Adam standing a few metres away, folding his arms exasperatedly.
'Oh, uh…there are two of you,' she noted, laughing nervously.
'How astute of you,' the warlock derided cynically, scowling at her. 'This is a memory. That's me, from the memory.'
Star coughed. 'Right, yeah…that makes sense. Heh.'
'Come on,' he said humourlessly, beckoning her to follow. Reluctantly, Star followed him past the gravestone Adam was hiding behind, into a white fog.
'What's with this white fog?' Star questioned curiously.
'I can only remember so much at once,' he answered disinterestedly. 'And this bit…well I didn't exactly want to relive it.'
'Because this is the memory where…Janna…?'
'Yes.'
Slowly it began to clear, and Star was able to see what was going on. The gravestone of Bon-Bon was just as tall as she remembered, quite striking to her. There was a white rune in the ground, designed much like Star recalled Janna had drawn when they'd been there.
That's when she saw herself. Her, Star Butterfly, standing in the graveyard, working on a shrine to Bon-Bon. By "working", she meant she cast a spell that immediately put the shrine together by itself.
'Wait, that's not how it happened,' she pointed out. Adam stared at her, raising an eyebrow. 'I put together the shrine by myself! No wand!'
'That's not how I remember it. And I have a very good memory.'
'Well, obviously not,' the princess challenged. She spotted Janna beside her other self, drawing the pentagram. Looking closely, she realised something was up. 'Um, is Janna okay? She's uh…she's shaking. And she doesn't look…focussed.'
Adam merely refolded his arms pointedly.
'Just…watch,' he ordered. Star reluctantly agreed and watched the events play out.
Something very weird was going on. She noticed how Janna was very awkward around Star, as though she was…scared of her. Scratch that, she was terrified! Janna had never been afraid of her. Ever! Why would she? She was…Star Butterfly! She liked ponies, puppies and everything cute!
Then she saw how the other Star encased Janna in a hug, using the same nickname. Star beamed ecstatically.
'See! I'm not that bad!' She told him, turning to look at him. However, the Mewman's expression had not shifted even slightly from pure, cold hatred.
Next, past Star heaved out the Book of Spells and began flicking through them. She distinctly remembered not doing that. What was she even searching for? She couldn't see from here, but the princess overheard something about necromancy.
'I don't understand…this is totally not how it happened!' Star argued infuriatedly. 'We didn't use a spell! We just built a shrine 'n' stuff! Bon-Bon was supposed to appear by himself; we just wanted to see him.'
Adam frowned.
'You're…really not lying, are you?' He realised.
'No!'
As she was about to engage in an argument with the boy, the ground began to rumble. Adam's expression at her dropped and he turned to stare at the side. Flashes of lightning struck Bon-Bon's gravestone, and the dark clouds above began to spiral, centring around it.
Star and Janna began speaking an incantation the real Star did not recognise. They hadn't tried to summon Bon-Bon back from the dead! There wasn't even a necromancy spell in the Book! Everything here should be telling her that this whole thing wasn't real – that this Adam dude had made it up.
For some reason, she just knew it wasn't made up. It was another one of those "magical instincts" that she couldn't seem to explain.
All the candles that surrounded the shrine blew out, including the ones on the cake. Star half-expected to see Ludo rising out from behind the gravestone. Alas, nothing actually happened. No Bon-Bon; no nothing.
Or so Star thought.
What happened next really surprised her.
The other Star got mad…and pretty mad too. It was…strangely arrogant of her, as though the whole experience had been nothing more than a roadblock to her. Janna backed away from the intimidating princess, utterly frightened, as Star looked like she was getting ready to attack the poor girl!
Fortunately, Janna managed to convince the princess of something, and her anger lessened. She went over to the ground near the gravestone and began blasting spells incessantly at it.
There was a flash of light in her peripherals, but she was too focussed on the image of herself.
The way she had gotten upset – it was disturbing. She acted as though Janna was beneath her; a waste of time to her. Star knew she would never behave that way, especially not towards a friend. So…why did Adam remember it this way? Why was this whole memory completely alternate to how it happened to her?
Everything was so…weird. She felt like she didn't belong here. That Star couldn't be her, but it couldn't be anybody else. And this graveyard felt all wrong; things were different. Details that Adam couldn't possibly have manufactured.
If this whole scenario was, in fact, fake, then how? How would this guy know about things with Bon-Bon? Why would he choose this event specifically to change? And for what purpose? If Janna was right, and Adam was a complete nutjob, why had this brain imagined this whole fake situation? And how would that even be possible, when he would have no possible way of knowing that she and Janna had even had this adventure?
There were too many questions, and none of them could be answered if this whole thing weren't real.
Her thoughts were interrupted by loud shouting.
'Where. Is. The. Book!?'
Other Star was angry. Really angry. Her heart-shaped cheek marks were burning an imposing red. Star didn't know it was possible for her to even get this mad. Frankly, this version of her put Tom to shame. The way she stepped towards Janna, with such a…murderous…look in her eyes – the girl simply couldn't comprehend it.
She covered her ears as a cacophonous screeching noise spread through the air. Meanwhile, Adam remained completely still, the look on his face only getting angrier and angrier. Other Star pulled out her compact, dropping her ferocious stance against her own friend.
Star hadn't even noticed that the Book of Spells was missing. Just like before, although Ludo had been the one to steal it. Ludo was nowhere in sight, not that this was the peak of her concerns.
When the noises (which she invariably realised was the past girl's ringtone) ceased, Star relaxed.
'Whew,' she said, relieved. 'At least Janna's okay.'
The colour instantly drained from Star's face. The reason why Adam had even brought her here in the first place. Janna…he said Janna had died. No, no, no…this really can't be…was it…? He wasn't actually showing her…
Other Star was more than just angry. She was…psychotic! She terrified Janna! The real Star didn't want to believe…that she'd actually…
There was a gigantic blast of yellow light. Star's jaw dropped, and she staggered forward. Her eyes searched for Janna, until she spotted two silhouettes in the smoke.
'JANNA!' Star shrieked, sprinting through the smoke towards the silhouette of her friend.
When the smoke faded away, she froze.
Janna was…a skeleton. Her bones were burnt and charred. Not a single recognisable detail remained. No…it wasn't possible. Janna couldn't be…dead.
For a few seconds, Star just stared.
Then she fell to the ground. A stream of tears began to flow down her cheeks. Soon she was deep rooted in sobs, the tear-water creating a small puddle around her. She cried out in sheer anguish, unable to process the horrific set of events that had just occurred.
A hand made contact with her arm and began to pull her up. Star looked up to see Adam reluctantly helping her to her feet. She stared at him for a few moments, before seizing his shirt and shoving him back.
'Why…why did you show this to me?!' Star screamed at him, the hearts on her cheeks turning grey.
'Why?' Adam scoffed, unleashing full volume on her. 'YOU DID THIS! I don't know how or why you don't remember…BUT THIS WAS YOU! YOU THINK I WANTED THIS?!'
Only just now, she noticed the tears that had formed in Adam's eyes. Nobody could fake grief like that, and Star could feel his anguish. It then dawned upon her. Adam was Janna's friend…in this instance, anyway. They were friends…and Adam had watched her die. Twice.
How could anyone bear going through that? Let alone watching?
Star sighed in defeat.
'I'm so sorry,' she said, completely surprising Adam. 'I…I…I don't know what to say. I…I didn't do this. I'd never do this. You have to believe me!'
For the first time since they had spoken, Adam's countenance softened. He collapsed to the ground beside her, in front of Janna's burnt skeleton.
'I believe you,' he admitted. 'I don't want to…but I do. I don't know what is going on but…Star, look at me.'
The princess was shocked to hear him actually call her by her name. And he said it so sympathetically. Despite the fact he'd tried to kill her just an hour ago.
Eventually she looked at him.
'I…I know a killer when I see one,' he stated with a guilty look. 'And you're definitely not a killer.'
'Then how do we explain…this?!' She yelled, gesturing furiously towards the now empty graveyard. Adam rose to his feet, waiting for Star to take the cue. It took a while, but eventually she stood as well.
The Mewman breathed out pensively, glancing around the fake reality that surrounded him.
'I don't know,' he confessed. 'But I do know…it's time to go.'
The misty fog from the distance began to expand, racing towards them. In no time at all, the white mist engulfed them. Star's vision turned completely white, blinding her from this tragic reality.
[2] This is a side-thrusting kick in karate, in which you strike with the edge of your foot.
[3] This is one of Star's most powerful spells.
Sorry, but I think I just traumatised Star. Oops.
I hope people enjoyed the fight scene. I think Adam losing because he relished his victory for too long was very in character for him, given how much it is shown that he hates the evil Star Butterfly. Plus, you know, not much point in Marco being there if he isn't going to have some meaningful contribution to the battle. This isn't to be said that Adam is a match for Star, though - Star was taken by surprise by this fight and she didn't know Adam could use magic. Therefore, her lack of understanding of her opponent, while forgivable, is a fundamental disadvantage. I see this as the same reason why Ludo-Toffee was able to defeat the MHC so easily at the end of S2.
The thing with Adam is that he's very weak with magic, even after 2 years of training he is only passable. But his main strength is his mind. He's smart. He can apply his magic in more intelligent ways, so that can give him an edge.
Later chapters will explore a few key differences between natural magic users (i.e. the Butterflies) and naturally ungifted individuals such as Adam. One of those things includes the creation of spells, which actually comes with a minor advantage. This detail will become super important later on.
Star not having wings or Mewberty Form (I refer to it as Full Butterfly form) in the dream state might seem like a plot contrivance so that she couldn't break out of the memory on her own, but I have an explanation for it. Star's form in Adam's mind is purely based off his perception of her. He doesn't know that she has natural wings, and at the time of the memory, he didn't know she had a Full Butterfly form either, nor does he know how she accesses it. Not to mention he probably wouldn't trust her to wield any kind of magic while in his mind.
Another plot contrivance might be the consistency of these "magical instincts" Star has. These will be explained later; they do have a purpose in the story's lore. They're not simply there so Star has a reason not to immediately write Adam off as a liar whack-job like Janna. These only occur between her and Adam, and I will go into an explanation about it later. I do have one already, but I'm saving it for the story itself. I'm just saying it now so that it doesn't come off as Mary Sue-ness.
Anyways, stay tuned! As always, thanks for reading!