Episode:

8: Who Am I? Part 1

Something's wrong with Star, and Adam's determined to find out what.

One month later, Adam could confidently say he had recovered from the injuries he had sustained from Arybailos. It was painful at times; even walking had been enough to send waves of pain through his body. Of course, this meant he had to take a break from practicing his magic and training with Star and Eclipsa. At least he could continue his research on intermultiversal travel, since that didn't require much of any physical exertion.

Right now, though, he was doing something else. Marco had invited him to watch a movie marathon of something called "Mackie Hand". Apparently, this was his favourite series of movies about some famous martial artist.

Admittedly, he'd been sceptical of the concept. Janna told him that Mackie Hand movies were over-exaggerated and unrealistic, neutralising any enjoyment that be had. Marco had been offended when he mentioned Janna's opinion, dismissing her as a belligerent hater. Adam wasn't interested in getting into a heated debate about it, so he chose to brush it off and just join him in the marathon.

To his surprise, the teenager actually found himself enjoying the movie marathon. It wasn't hyper-realistic, as Janna had claimed, but this didn't sap the fun out of it. It had impressive, enjoyable action sequences, with a suitable dose of humour. Humour that he actually liked – not Star's definition, which was far removed from his preferred taste in comedy.

Plus, he had to admit he had gained a particular fascination in earthly technology.

Moving pictures? Genius!

Adam had never really appreciated that before, but it was truly something he wouldn't have even conceived before. It was such a simple idea, yet inarguably innovative.

He hadn't seen much of this kind of technology on Mewni, that's for sure. Apparently, according to Star, video did exist on Mewni, but only in the most exceptionally well-funded of places. She said that St Olga's Reform School for Wayward Princesses had advanced televisual technology used to "correct" the behaviour of aberrant princesses.

The current movie they were watching was Town-Time Mercenary [17].They had already seen Hand to Hand to Hand, as well as its two sequels. They weren't even halfway through the marathon yet, not that Adam had grown bored. Town-Time Mercenary was pretty good so far; it was certainly keeping him entertained. Marco's excitement over it never seemed to waver, even though the Mewman had already discerned that he had watched the movie numerous times over.

Excitement was easy to maintain when one intended to introduce something to someone. Marco had been waiting to show him his love of Mackie Hand, obviously pleased to know he reciprocated his enjoyment of it. It was like experiencing it all over again for Marco, as though he was seeing it through Adam's eyes. The Mewman opted not to interrupt his fun.

The two of them had grown to become good friends by now. They certainly didn't get off to a great start, mainly thanks to Adam's failed assassination attempt. That was a few months ago now, though. Marco had inevitably forgiven him for that and moved past his initial dislike of him.

Adam didn't like to extend trust to many people. Rather irrationally, he'd tried to find almost any reason not to trust Marco. Eventually, he gave up and just decided to stop being so paranoid. Besides, it had already occurred to him that he never knew the Marco from his own universe.

All that he really knew was that he was dead. Killed by Dark Star some years ago. Although, he had noticed that his universe was two years ahead of this one.

Regardless of that discrepancy, it meant that the only impression he had of Marco was…Marco. No predisposition or pre-existing knowledge was affecting his judgement, like the case with Eclipsa. Even with Eclipsa, though, he still knew who she was and vaguely could relate her to the counterpart from her universe. Only the spells she made were the memory of Dark Eclipsa, for Adam had never seen or read the Dark Butterfly Family history.

That lack of predisposition made him more willing to be friends with Marco. That, and Janna had convinced him to be friendly to him as well.

And so, here they were, watching a Mackie Hand movie marathon.

'Yeah! Beat the tar out of them, Mackie Hand!' exclaimed Marco, excitedly chomping on some nachos. Adam held in a snigger at his eagerness.

'You're really into this, aren't ya?'

'Hey, everybody knows that Town-Time Mercenary is one of Mackie Hand's best movies!' The enthused teenager described elatedly. 'And you've got to see the sequel, Town-Time Takedown! Y'know, most sequels aren't as good as the last, but it's actually better than the first one!'

Adam chuckled at his enthusiasm.

'Night's still young, Marco.'

The squire blinked at him. Adam frowned, awkwardly glancing away from him.

'What?' the Mewman inquired nervously.

'N-Nothing,' he assured. 'Just haven't heard you laugh very often.'

'I'm not a plank of wood, Marco!' Adam laughed off. 'I do have a sense of humour.'

'You sure don't when you're with Star,' Marco pointed out nonchalantly. Adam looked down discontentedly.

'Yeah, well…I'm trying, Marco.'

'Star told me that, too.'

Adam shuffled on the couch and scratched the back of his scalp. Letting out a huge sigh, he opted not to answer the annoying remark. As he sat back on the sofa, Marco realised the conversation was over and chose to continue watching the movie.

The plot has just started to get going when they were interrupted. The door to the left swung open with a loud bang against the wall.

'Where is she?!' A posh yet slangy voice demanded.

The two of them spun their heads to meet the owner of the voice with dissatisfaction. It was a floating head – and not just any floating head, but a unicorn's head. She had pale blue fur, a dark turquoise horn and a bubble-gum-coloured mane. A single pink star – looking like a tattoo – decorated the side of her neck. Glowing stars emitted from the base of her neck, emphasising her ability of flight.

Lilacia Pony Head stormed her way into Marco's bedroom with decisiveness. Marco jumped up off the couch. Adam reached for the remote and paused the movie, before reluctantly rose off the ground not long after him.

'What do you mean?' asked the Latino, frowning.

'Where's Star?' Pony Head repeated angrily.

'Isn't she with you?' Marco questioned. Adam nodded to the comments.

'Yeah, I thought she was heading to the Cloud Kingdom to hang out with you,' the Mewman added.

'Well, she didn't!' complained the floating magical unicorn, zooming in close to his face. Her starry eyes – literally – glared closely at his eyes. 'So where is she?' Pony Head zipped about the room, inspecting every detail. 'Star?' Not under the couch. 'Star?' Not under Marco's bed. 'Star? You there?' Not under Adam's either. 'St–'

'Lilacia,' Adam cut off in irritation, instantly silencing the floating head. 'She isn't here. I don't know where she is.'

'Yeah, Adam's right, Pony Head,' Marco agreed, shrugging his shoulders.

'Maybe you lost her?' the Mewman criticised, much to her chagrin.

'What? You think I'd lose my bestie in my own house?' She shouted at him, gritting her teeth furiously.

'Oh really?' The warlock replied sceptically, folding his arms. 'You know, this is why I prefer my Lilacia. No-nonsense, forward-thinking, insightful, and none of…this!' [18]

'Well, other-me sounds booooring!'

'At least she wouldn't have gotten her best friend lost!'

'I didn't –!'

'But,' the squire interjected loudly, elbowing him to shut him up. He glanced at Pony Head to tell her to silence herself also. 'We'll help you look for her!'

Pony Head sighed – despite apparently not needing to breathe without lungs – and drew away from the two of them.

'I just wanna know where she is,' she moaned, her voice drawling in complaint.

'We'll find her,' agreed Adam, nodding at her.

The two of them followed Pony Head out the door. As they stepped out into the hallway, their resident floating magical princess head stopped to address them.

'Shouldn't we like…split up…or something?'

'We should check the castle first,' Adam decided, swallowing a gulp of air. He looked at both ends of the hallway. 'Alright, Pony Head, you go that way, and we'll go the other.'

Pony Head agreed and the group split up. Adam and Marco turned and walked away in the opposite direction to her, walking briskly to search for Star. Adam kept his eye on everything in the corridors they searched, hoping to find any kind of indication of where the teenage warrior princess had gone.

'If we can't find her in the castle, we'll have to check other places,' the warlock decided pessimistically. 'Namely, the Cloud Kingdom.'

'Relax, Adam,' his friend dismissed. 'We'll find her.'

'She could have been kidnapped,' he pointed out, scowling at him.

'Dude, Star probably just got distracted,' the squire disputed, shrugging his shoulders. 'You know how easily distracted she gets.'

Adam jerked his head at him in acknowledgement of that statement. Honestly, Star was likely to be distracted by the colour of flowers in a random bouquet than be kidnapped. The Royal Flower Show a month ago was proof of that. Still, Adam hadn't complained at the time since the whole point of the Flower Show was to show off the flowers and promote the economy.

However, in this case, it wasn't particularly helpful of Star to become distracted. Not only had she practically bailed on Pony Head, but she'd also caused Lilacia to interrupt their movie marathon. Adam certainly wasn't pleased about that.

The Mewman prayed that Star would turn up soon. Preferably alive, hopefully not dead.

Actually, it seemed like his prayers were instantly answered. Perhaps some divine entity was watching over him, deciding to reply to him. Adam was almost convinced to check that Arybailos hadn't been listening. Adam almost wanted to pinch himself as a figure turned the corner and breezed past them.

He and Marco instantly spun around to address the person who apparently ignored them.

'Star!' Marco yelled after her. Indeed, it could not be contested that it was the absentee magical princess. The girl either didn't hear or chose to ignore them, continuing at a brisk pace. 'Star! Hey!' Adam frowned in confusion. Star refused to respond again, so Marco bolted after her.

'Wait, Marco!' Adam cautioned, shouting in his wake. Star's ears seemed to perk up at the name.

The squire ran in front of her and stopped her in tracks. He held his hands out as Adam stood beside him.

'Yo, Star!' He repeated. 'Everything okay?'

She rubbed her forehead and blinked, as though trying to soothe an instant headache.

'Sorry, Marco,' she apologised. 'Just got…distracted.'

'See?' Marco commented, triumphantly glancing at Adam with a proud look on his face. 'I told you. Nothing to worry about.'

'What?' Star asked hastily, almost sounding aggressive. She looked between the two of them confoundedly. 'What do you mean?'

'We've been looking for you,' Adam told her, nonplussed. 'Me, Marco and Pony Head.'

Star looked confused for a second, like she didn't recognise the name for a second. The Mewman studied her features carefully, trying to find an answer. She did not provide him with anything clear.

'Oh, yeah,' the princess remembered, smiling. Her eyes flitted about the room, averting their gazes. 'I was just getting some food for us to eat.'

Star was notoriously known for being a terrible liar. Anybody who met her could tell instantly when she was lying. Adam was expecting that whatever excuse she would come up with would be a lie, beyond a shadow of a doubt. However, the Mewman was proven wrong when Star said her excuse with complete and total honesty. Or at least, with undetectable deception.

'Well, uh, we'll see you tomorrow,' Marco bid them happily, receiving a bright smile from Star. He looked at Adam, who was still staring at the princess. The Mewman inadvertently noticed that the squire was waiting for him to speak.

'Oh!' He said by instinct. 'Uh, yeah, see you later, Star.'

The magical princess nodded and walked away. She maintained a quick, brisk pace away from them. Adam narrowed his eyes at her retreating image, glaring at her. He was interrupted when his squire friend elbowed him.

'C'mon,' he prompted him. 'Let's get back to the marathon. Still got plenty of movies to go through.'

Adam wavered for a moment, as Star's figure slowly disappeared out of sight. Once she was now longer visible, he let out a breath and relented.

'Alright, let's go,' he agreed, nodding in compliance.

The next day, Adam was eating breakfast with Marco and the Butterflies. On his plate were "pancakes" from Earth, recipe helpfully provided by their resident, red-hooded squire. He'd never had pancakes before, so it was an exciting experience for him. Cakes that were made in pans. Earth had so many genius inventions. The syrup and butter were excellent supplements as well, so he could really understand how people were able to consume so many stacks of these cakes.

The corn shakes the cooks had served up were also tasty. He'd never actually had a corn shake before; they were considered an expensive delicacy in his universe. Admittedly, he tried making one once, but he didn't have the recipe, so it ended up like a sloppy mess.

It had occurred to him well enough that he was lucky to be provided these meals. He'd spent most of his life growing or hunting for food that he was used to it being difficult to attain. Having a meal served to him was not simply a commodity; it was still a shock – a previously inconceivable impossibility. The set of events he had gone through had brought him from the depths of the Negative Mewni wilderness to the very Butterfly Castle of the Positive Multiverse itself.

To come all this way and yet to stick to the same goal as before. Revenge. Even Eclipsa wasn't a fan of revenge, despite empathising with his motivations.

'I hope you have practised your decorum, Star,' Moon spoke up inexplicably, catching Adam out of his thoughts.

'What?' Star uttered, confused.

'Oh don't tell me you've forgotten, Star,' the Queen instantly disapproved, narrowing her eyes on her. 'The signing ceremony of the Mace Treaty will be held at the Mace Castle in a couple of days.'

Adam spotted a minuscule second of disgust from Star. He couldn't be too certain, but he was pretty sure it was in response to the word "treaty". She also didn't seem to recognise the name "Mace", referring to the Mace Family.

However, this was merely a flicker. Within less than a second later, her countenance had reverted to her typical "listening" face.

'Uh, I didn't forget,' she claimed, though her nervous inflection gave her away. Moon sighed at her forgetfulness.

'To be fair…I can't blame Star for forgetting,' Marco jumped in, before Star herself could speak. 'We've had a lot of distractions.' He glanced at Adam, who acquiesced to his claim with a reluctant shrug.

Moon didn't look very convinced, but she reluctantly hummed in agreement.

'Well, try to keep it in mind. It's very important that this ceremony goes well. One slip-up could mean war.'

Star's eyes drifted off into space at the mention of the word "war". Adam frowned but didn't say anything. This led to a brief pause before the princess nodded and the conversation shifted.

'So, Star, how was your date with Tom?' Adam asked her with veiled confusion.

At the mere mention of his name, Star instantly brightened. A genuine smile stretched across her face.

'Oh! It was great!' The princess replied ebulliently. 'We hung out at his castle, and I got to try some of the food. I never knew there were so many different ways to prepare Hellfire fruit! It was tasty. After that we toured some of the Underworld – you know, I never realised a lot of the people there could make such funny noises!'

'The demons?' King River surmised. 'They do seem to talk nonsense, don't they?'

'It's not nonsense, it's their language, River,' Moon corrected, in a half judgmental, half humorous tone.

Indeed, it was a logical assumption to believe that Star was referring to the demons in the Underworld. Adam's first thought was of this, too. After all, the only other thing she could mean by "people" is the forsaken souls in the Underworld.

In that case, the "funny noises" would be…their screams.

Adam shook away the pessimistic thought. Star was more than likely talking about the demons – after all, she didn't correct River when he voiced that assumption. Perhaps it was his unresolved confusion over her behaviour the previous day. He wasn't sure why, but his instincts were screaming at him that something was wrong. Perhaps, this was because of his connection to Star's wand. Like the connection coerced Star to believe his claims about being from elsewhere, this time it was telling him the opposite: that something was wrong.

Whatever it was that Star was going through, he doubted she was going to tell him directly. Instead, he needed something of a more inadvertent approach to discerning what was wrong.

Sometime after breakfast, Adam went looking for Star. She wasn't in her room like usual. Marco had said that the princess had claimed to be heading to the library for some research. This part he wasn't sure he could believe. Star would never go to the library to do research, not if she could help it. It was so strange of her, yet Adam seemed to be the only one questioning it.

Eventually, he found his way to the Butterfly Family library. He spotted that the doors were open a tiny crack. Intrigued, Adam peered through the small gap into the room.

True to Marco's claims, the princess was indeed in the library. She was sitting at a table, constantly tapping her foot on the floor in anticipation. Below her, there was a book, which she was flicking through the pages desperately, as though looking for something or someone. Adam looked down to see what book it actually was. His eyes widened. It wasn't just any book.

It was the Magic Instruction Book! His Magic Instruction Book!

In all fairness, he had previously granted her the permission to read it. In his presence, mainly. Given all the hellish trouble he went through to acquire it, it was purely justified that he didn't want anything happening to it without his knowledge. Star hadn't asked to borrow it; she'd just taken it – probably under the impression that she could have it whenever she wanted.

'What are you doing?' He demanded hardly, catching her attention as he walked into the room. To her credit, Star didn't even flinch, merely turning to look at him. Adam folded his arms.

'Oh, just some…light reading,' the princess claimed, glancing between him and the Book of Spells. She paused for a second, trying to come up with the right way to phrase what she wanted to say. 'How much of this book have you read?'

'All of it,' the Mewman answered curtly. 'Twice, actually.'

Star's eyes widened in surprise for a second, but it was almost instantaneously replaced with a calmer, more stoic look. Adam wasn't convinced that she wasn't trying to hide her astonishment.

'So all these spells…you learnt them?' The magical princess prompted, with an imperceptible look on her face. Adam blinked. Leaning himself against the table, he tried to think about what she meant by that.

'Oh, right,' he exclaimed, as he realised what she might have meant. 'I don't use all the spells in that book. Only the ones I thought were necessary. I know there's probably a lot of spells in there that are…really evil, to say the least.' He held up his hands defensively. 'I promise I won't use 'em.'

That and some of the more superficial spells that he had arrogantly deemed insignificant. He wasn't going to tell her that, though.

Star's eyes darted about the room. Adam figured she wasn't convinced by his assurances. Either that or there was something she wasn't telling. Recent events made him consider the latter, but the former was far more logical.

'So…wanna spar?' He suggested, after a moment of silence between them. A smile bent at the edges of Star's lips.

'Sounds great,' she salivated.

The two made their way to the usual location of practice. Although Star was right next to him, Adam still got the impression he was leading her there. It was strange; she appeared to be eyeing his every movement, as if trying to deduce what he would do next. He opted not to tell her, for he didn't want her to think he was being paranoid. After all, he was going to use this sparring session to gauge exactly what was up with her.

Star positioned herself on the opposite side of the field. Taking out her wand, she held it directly in front of her. It was as shiny and angelic as ever.

Right before Adam could call out the beginning of the fight, he was blasted by a cascade of cyan narwhals.

They hit him with full force, knocking the air directly out of him. The warlock was instantly sent flying backwards, smashing into a Corinthian column behind him. He groaned and rubbed his head. He looked up and saw Star leaping down upon him. Adam has just enough time to move out of the way before she came smashing down on the ground.

Summoning a bubble forcefield around him, Adam managed to absorb another attack from the princess. She threw her wand down on the forcefield, allowing him a good look at the spell she was using.

A bright sword of light protruded from her wand. The Light Sword Spell, he recognised. Star had never used that spell before, at least, not on him. Instead, the princess hit the barrier with furious force, sending shockwaves rumbling across the circumference of the forcefield.

Adam's eyes widened as the forcefield began to crack. This was the same forcefield that once absorbed an Omega Blast. Now it could barely protect against a light sword.

Desperate, he pointed a free hand at her.

Pressure Compression! He cried in his head, causing the air around Star to compress into bubbles.

Star didn't seem to notice his spell. By the time she did spot the air bubbles, it was too late, as they all simultaneously exploded. The magic princess was propelled backwards, hitting the ground several feet away. Adam lowered his forcefield and watched her get up, trying to hide the surprised look on her face.

Had she forgotten he'd made that spell?

Her wand emitted a high-pitched beep, the crystal glowing in the centre. Adam wasn't keen to give her that opportunity, though.

'Natural Overload!' The Mewman cried.

Beneath Star's feet, the ground began to split apart. The grass splintered open, exposing the brown dirt underneath. Out of the ground spurted several thick green vines, rising into the air like disembodied tentacles. They latched onto her limbs, wrapping around them and seizing her in place. At Adam's behest, one of the green vines snatched her wand from her.

Star struggled against their strength. Adam knew it was almost pointless to try; the more she pulled on the vines, the more they would pull back.

Or so the Mewman had thought.

Evidently angered by the attempt, Star pulled as hard as she could. There was a blast of light, and she transformed into her golden Full Butterfly form. The vines could no longer last, snapping apart. Her wand clattered to the ground.

A blast of crystal daggers was sent his way without any incantation being yelled. Adam instantly opened a portal in front of him. The daggers shot through and came out of another portal directly adjacent to Star. Most of them were able to hit her before his opponent, nonplussed, dissipated the spell and sped next to him.

He formed a small forcefield to block her attack, but the punch she threw shattered right through it. Three fists slammed into his abdomen, throwing him backwards.

'Crimson Comet!' Adam cast, throwing a powerful fireball at him. Unfortunately, Star was prepared, not even using her wand. A powerful Solarian Blast smashed through the ball of fire, hitting him square on the chest. He was thrown off his feet, bumping and rolling across the ground.

He could feel a burning, electric sensation in his chest where the blast had hit him. Looking down, Adam saw his navy-blue tunic had been ripped open. The skin underneath was reddened, beginning to blister. His eyes widened.

Whenever Star used Solarian Blast on him, it was never so powerful that it could cause him literal burns. She always toned the strength down so as not to seriously harm him – and vice versa for his attacks. He wasn't hitting her with his full strength, so why was she? In fact, part of the reason he had made spells that immobilised his opponent was because he knew he could test them on Star.

'Calysto Beam!'

A bright cyan ray of light continuously shot out of his palms. The laser hit Star immediately, throwing her backwards. She reverted to her typical form. The warlock slowly stood up, doubling his efforts to keep Star at bay with the Dependent Battle Magic Spell. [19]

Although he knew it was a good spell, Adam did not take the time to congratulate himself for making it. Despite mostly taking time to recover, he did take the short moment to create a laser-type spell capable of disorientating opponents with high mana (or equipment enchanted with high mana), by absorbing some of the target's magic. It could temporarily weaken the enemy's magic for a few seconds – a spell obviously inspired by Calysto.

As he kept the spell on her, he noticed the princess was now blocking it with a forcefield. Odd; he hadn't seen her use Instinctive Magic all too often.

Nonetheless, he focussed more on the current battle. Star was obviously eventually going to break through this attack. Adam was merely delaying the inevitable. He looked about his surroundings, searching for any options.

Adam threw down a portal at his feet, falling through and landing out behind Star. The beam ceased. He was so close to her that a spell was unnecessary and clumsy. Instead, the Mewman hurled a kick straight to her face.

Which Star promptly blocked and put into a lock around his arm. Having forgotten her immense strength, the Mewman was taken aback when he was flipped over and slammed onto the ground. Star was way stronger than usual, both physically and magically. He was unable to move again before he was immobilised by a pink aura of magic. Steadily, Adam began to float up above the ground, unable to resist the flow of Instinctive Magic.

What proceeded next was not something Adam could prevent. Whether Star got carried away, or just didn't care, he wasn't sure. Regardless, he was hit with an endless array of spells, sending him crashing into several walls.

He heard the sickening crack of his ribs as he collided with the third Corinthian column in the courtyard. The Mewman stared up at her, her figure towering over him. Star leant down and seized him by his tunic collar, gearing her three right hands into a fist. They began to emit cyan sparks of lightning.

'Brutum Fu–'

'Star!' A voice yelled, interrupting her. She turned to see Queen Moon staring at her in horror. Looking back between the Queen and Adam, her face immediately switched to that of equal shock and horror. The princess immediately dropped her defeated opponent.

'I'm sorry!' She yelled frantically. 'Uh…I got carried away!'

'You did more than that!' Moon chastised, kneeling by his side. Star blinked and dropped down next to Adam as well. The Mewman groaned in pain as the Queen gently lifted his head up off the ground. 'Steady, Adam. I'll heal you.'

Her hand began to glow with a bright green aura. She shone it on his chest, and immediately the Mewman felt a relaxing wave wash over him. He breathed out a sigh of relief as he felt his health and energy steadily being restored. Slowly, but surely, his wounds began to close up and heal, leaving only the bruises behind.

'You know, you've got to teach me that Restoration Magic sometime,' the Mewman wheezed out, with a small spark of charisma. 'It would…' – he coughed – '…certainly help.'

'Another time, Adam,' Moon replied, admittedly pleased at his eagerness to learn. She looked back up at Star. 'You need to learn self-control, Star!'

'I'm sorry!' She apologised again, a hint of defensiveness in her voice.

'It's fine,' Adam lied. 'You've had a lot on your plate recently. I get it.'

'I respect your tolerance, Adam,' the Queen commended. 'But it's not fine for me. Star: you've got double chores today. I suggest you get going.'

When Moon turned away from her, Star rolled her eyes. Adam spotted this but pretended not to notice.

'Okay, Mom,' the princess agreed, walking away. The Mewman watched her go with a concerned glare.

'A short nap will restore you to full health,' the Queen informed him, helping him to his feet. The teenager nodded warily, hardly even listening.

'Yeah. Thanks, Queen Moon.'

'Please, at this point, just call me Moon.'

Adam glanced away awkwardly for a moment, contemplating the proposition.

'Thanks…Moon.'

The Queen smiled brightly at him. Admittedly, the lack of title didn't feel as uncomfortable as he expected. It was definitely going to take some getting used to. Right now, it didn't quite feel right. Perhaps too informal.

Adam sighed heavily as the Queen bid him goodbye. For now, it was a bit of recuperation. After that, he was going to find out what the hell was up with Star.

Afternoon transitioned to evening when Adam was admitted from the medical bay. He was beginning to think he spent more time in a hospital bed than in his actual bed. Admittedly, he'd actually managed to get a good nap. The beds were well-maintained, cleaned regularly and always had a soft texture to it. The pillows felt less like the hard rocks he was used to, and more like fluffy clouds.

He had even considered staying longer, but the court physician came in and ordered him to leave. To her credit, the medical bay had been full at the time. He was simply taking up unnecessary space, so Adam understood and promptly left.

Besides, the teenager had work to do.

Something was up with Star. He was going to find out what it was, regardless of what anyone thought. That was why, as he traversed the halls of the Butterfly Castle, Adam kept an eye out for the Butterfly Princess. There was no telling whether or not he might run into her.

After several minutes of no Star, he started to slouch somewhat. Slowly, his eyes drifted to the series of tall windows in the wall to his right. Two of Mewni's moons shone through the windows, projecting yellowish-white beams of light into the otherwise dark blue corridor. The bright umbra was not too blinding, though the penumbras of the two moons crossed over and intensified their glow.

It was beautiful, of course.

For once, he took a moment to admire it. Usually he'd ignore it, move on, and do what he needed to do. However, perhaps out of some gratitude for still being alive, he chose to step out onto a nearby balcony and stare up at the night sky.

A relaxed breath escaped his lips. The air was stark and white against the dark navy atmosphere. He looked down at the kingdom below, and the subsequent network of civilisation spanning far out.

The Kingdom of the Butterflies was, undoubtedly, the largest kingdom in the multiverse. It gave him many echoes of the Negative Multiverse Butterfly Kingdom, yet his time here had led him to make arbitrary separations between the two. Maybe Adam was just finally getting used to life in a castle that was supposed to represent everything he hated.

How had he gotten to this point?

The memory of life in the Negative Multiverse was still fresh in his mind. He remembered the times he had spent hunting for food, growing his vegetables, and avoiding suspicion from Mewman Knight scouting parties. Along with all that time spent sneaking into the various kingdoms for information – or to scavenge for supplies.

Adam closed his eyes and sucked in the cold, nightly air.

The world seemed at peace. About as at peace as it could have been, given the circumstances.

'Hey Adam! Come on!' Beru goaded. The two of them were running across a field in the outskirts of the village of Salem. Adam, currently eight years old, chased after him until they both reached the top of the steep hill. The young Mewman stopped to catch his breath beside his Monster friend.

'I'm not as…fast as you…Beru,' the young kid whined, still panting for breath.

'Yeah, I am pretty quick,' the boy then replied, placing his hands confidently on his hips. Adam sniggered and merely walked past him. Beru blinked and spun around, following behind him.

Once the kid caught up to his friend, the two of them walked side by side. As good friends, and even better brothers.

'What did your mom say about the sleepover?' enquired Beru, nervously twiddling his thumbs.

'Bro, she said no again!' cried Adam. 'My mom said it's "too dangerous" to go out at night. Y'know, with the curfew and all. Something about "keeping her eye on me" …I dunno, I stopped listening after she said no.'

'Well…we don't need her approval!' his friend pointed out petulantly, throwing up his hands emphatically. 'Just sneak out!'

As they reached the end of the hill, Adam collapsed down onto the ground moments after his Monster friend said that. Frowning, Beru plopped down on the grass beside him. The two of them looked out on the houses of Salem, hiding in plain sight in the Farlands of Mewni.

The Butterfly Empire had never suspected that they were hiding monsters, even with Adam and Beru's lack of concern for the rules. Neither of them had considered that at the time, but it was a pretty ingenious strategy, since the Butterflies' expansive reach meant they were stretched thin, so inevitably had blind spots.

Blind spots that allowed Adam to sit and muse on Beru's words.

'What's up, Adam?' Beru asked him sympathetically.

'The last time I "snuck out" …it wasn't by choice,' the boy told him sadly. 'I never knew my real parents…don't think I ever will. They left me on the streets, and I don't know why. I'm just scared that…if I ignore my new parents, what if I lose them again? What if they leave me behind again?'

'That is never gonna happen!' He reassured him, putting a hand on his shoulder. 'Your mom and dad took you in because they're good people. They raised you, bro. You're never gonna be left behind ever again!'

Adam shifted on the hill.

'It's just…scary, Beru.'

'I know,' he comforted, putting an arm around him. 'But you're not alone. I'm here for you.'

The Mewman looked up at his Monster friend, looking uncertain for a moment. However, his countenance slowly turned to a bright smile.

'Yeah, you're right.'

The scene turned black, but voices remained in his mind.

'You can't stop her, Adam! Don't try!'

'I have to!'

'You should listen to your Monster friend, boy.'

'Adam, don't–AAAAH!'

What followed was a series of untranscribable screams of agony and pain. They echoed and magnified until they drowned out everything else, occupying every corner of his mind.

Adam audibly gasped as he abruptly opened his eyes. He found himself exactly where he was before, not having moved so much as an inch. The Mewman wasn't certain how long he'd been standing there. That memory had overtaken him almost entirely, but it reminded him of how careless and reckless he had been before.

Right now, he couldn't afford to be careless again. He had to investigate Star's situation, covertly, with as much calculated precision as possible. Even the slightest error could cause dire consequences – the worst of which he could currently conceive being Queen Moon booting him out of the castle.

He probably wouldn't end up kicked out unless he messed things up really bad.

It was currently in Moon's best interest to keep him close by; she still wanted to study his magic – evident by the frequent check-ups with the Magic High Commission. Additionally, she'd started to be more caring towards him, perhaps because of their prolonged time around one another. He wasn't overly convinced – his instinct was to be sceptical – but it at least meant his differences in opinion wouldn't be met with immediate castigation and vilification.

He was brought out of his thoughts when he heard the muffled noises of distant but looming speech. Adam turned and crept towards the door, peering ever so slightly around the corner.

As luck would have it, it was Star. Not just Star, though. Janna was standing next to her, the two of them conversing.

Star was beaming at her, an almost sickly smile adorning her face. Janna shifted under the princess's gaze, forcing an ebullient outlook.

Adam could see it clearly. Janna's legs were trembling ever so slightly, their posture correcting if they had bent too far to be unnoticeable. Despite that, the strength in her knees still steadily waned, though Star hadn't noticed. A small bead of sweat ran down the side of her temple. Janna wiped it away, pretending to be playing with her hair instead.

'We haven't hung out in forever, Janna!' The magical princess exclaimed, in her signature happy-whining tone. 'We should totally have a girl's night out next week!'

'S-Sounds fun, Star,' the Filipino wheezed out, trying and failing to straighten her back.

It was obvious. She looked like her waist was being crushed, and her lungs compressed, but she was doing her very best not to show it. Somehow, her efforts were enough to fool Star, as though the Mewman princess was used to it.

'Great!' Star squealed, wrapping her arms tightly around Janna. Her victim had no opportunity to reciprocate, though she probably wouldn't if she had, given the increasingly pale disposition she had. 'Where should we go?'

Janna breathed in deeply and swallowed down some air. She connected her hands around her back, fidgeting her fingers constantly, out of Star's view.

'A…a haunted house?' The teen finally came up with.

'That sounds awesome!' Star cried, hugging Janna once again. 'See ya then!'

As soon as the magical princess left, out of sight, Janna let out a huge breath of air she hadn't realised she'd been holding. Her whole body visibly relaxed, as though the invisible vice around her waist had been removed. The pressure on her body had surceased, as though an intense torchlight on her face had now been switched off.

'Janna?'

The girl in question blinked and turned to see Adam approaching her with a concerned look on his face. She frowned.

'Adam?' The Filipino said in confusion. 'Where did you come from? Is everything alright?'

'I was about to ask you the same thing,' the Mewman professed, referring to the latter question. 'I saw the conversation you had with Star. Are you okay?'

'Me? Whaat?' Janna scoffed obtusely, with a disingenuous look on her face. 'It's…Star! Everything's fine!'

Adam folded his arms resolutely.

'You looked like you were being slowly crushed by a vice,' he deadpanned, scowling at her. 'I'm only gonna ask you once again: are you okay?'

Seeing no possible way of avoiding this, the teenager ultimately let out a huge sigh of beleaguerment.

'I don't…really know,' Janna confessed, prompting Adam to jerk his head in lack of understanding. 'Something about her was just…terrifying. I don't know what exactly. I just felt…really intimidated. If I said the word "no" once, I was scared I would get a face full o' narwhals.'

'Huh...'

'But I know Star wouldn't do that!' The Filipino quickly added defensively. 'I don't know what it was, dude. Maybe it's just in my head.'

'It's not in your head,' Adam reassured her, putting his hands on her shoulders confidently. 'I don't know what it is, but something isn't right about Star. And I'm going to find out what.'

'On your own?' Janna queried sceptically, frowning. The Mewman almost sniggered at the idea. How arrogant it would be for him to think he needed to do this all on his own.

'No.' He looked on at the corridor in Star's wake, where he had last seen her. 'I got a few ideas.' Abruptly, Adam yawned tiredly.

'You should go to bed first,' she suggested, folding her arms. 'You can wait until morning, right?'

'Can't,' he refuted. 'I have to get to the bottom of this.'

'You remember the last time you went into work overdrive?' Janna pointed out, narrowing her eyes. 'You collapsed. I thought you'd learned your lesson!'

Adam sighed.

'Janna–'

'–Get.'

'I have to–'

'–Some.'

'Find out –'

'–Sleep!'

Her loud voice halted him before he could finish his sentence. Adam blinked and frowned at her. Her countenance was one of hard, unflinching determination. Initially unimpressed, he rolled his eyes.

'Later, okay?'

'I'm not asking!' Janna yelled at him. In that sudden second, Adam realised that she wasn't fooling around. She wasn't being like a haughty child, screaming pettily to the ignorance of their parents. Instead, she was being his friend. Her defiance wasn't something he should be ignoring. He shouldn't roll his eyes like a kid who's heard their parents demand something for the umpteenth time.

Adam sighed and backed down.

'Fine,' he reluctantly agreed, putting a sincere hand on her arm. 'I'll go to bed.'

'Thank you,' Janna acknowledged brightly.

As Adam turned to make his way to his bedroom, he considered this delay. Realistically, it was only a minor setback, like a roadblock with a slightly longer alternative route. Besides, he still had two people in mind to talk to, and the late evening meant at least one of them would be currently indisposed. Whether it was now or tomorrow, Adam was going to find out what was going on. Not even Janna could dissuade him of that objective.

[17] This is an analogue to the Jackie Chan movie City Hunter.

[18] I haven't mentioned it previously, but Adam met the Positive Multiverse version of Pony Head off-screen. Of course, if you remember all the way back in Chapter 3, "Let Me Adam", it was mentioned that the Lilacia in his universe served as his informant in the Cloud Kingdom.

[19] Dependent Magic is a tertiary classification branch of magic. It is defined as magic that requires the user to constantly maintain its effects. For example, the Essence of Solaria (Solarian Blast).

Hi y'all! Thanks for reading the latest chapter! I hope you liked it!

I was so excited to write this episode for a while so I'm so hyped to finally post it to ffnet. I planned this out wayyyy before I wrote it, so everything has a clear direction and idea. I think it's better that way, although I do often have spontaneous ideas that I add in to pay off later.

So, Star's acting strange. I wonder what's up with her; is she really that stressed about things, or is there something on her mind, or did something happen? Well, I'm not wondering because I already know the answer, but I hope you all are! You might be able to figure it out pretty quickly. I don't plan on drawing out the mystery for too long; the characters will figure out most of it soon. The actual full reveal comes at the end, as well as the full explanation. Stay tuned for that!

I decided to put in a little flashback to Adam's childhood, too. I haven't said much more about that other than the passing remark, and there was only one short flashback showing Moon helping destroy his home village. Nothing much else than that, so I put in a scene with him and his childhood best friend Beru. Hope it wasn't boring, but I thought it would be a good idea to put something in between Adam on the balcony and Star talking with Janna. Of which something is DEFINITELY going on there.

Had to cut this one off a little; it was getting long enough already. I hope you liked it!