Chapter 5

Under Fire

After spending two days inside a dark prison cell the sun surprised Star. It felt warm on the skin and burning on the eyes. When her vision cleared a bit, she recognized two round moons in the sky, one with a ring of rocks, one without. Star looked around for clues where the portal had brought her and the rest. The trampled grass and dense green bushes looked familiar, but did not helped much. Not too far away stood a group of trees, forming an entrance to a forest. On some of them Star recognized cuts from a sharp object. Scars she had carved long time ago.

The Princess moved over to the bushes. With bare hands she started pushing the green plants away, trying to go deeper. Marco came to check on her.

- Star, where are we?

- One of my hideouts - she stepped over a branch, stopping it from snapping back at her. - I used to come here and practice fighting with a sword. But more importantly… - with both hand she carved a path through a shrub - … from here we can check on the castle and the city.

With only short bushes and thin grass remaining, the view was left unobscured. Once again, the sun blinded Star. She made some shade with a hand, until her eyes adapted to the increased brightness. Down at the plain the scenery looked both familiar and alien.

On the right stood castle Butterfly. Its bright colors were slightly tinted by a surrounding yellow dome. To Star the barrier seemed thicker than before.

On the other side was the village. From the forest all the way to the exit roads, it was flooded with what seemed to be people. People from different colors with flickering green dots around them.

Marco and the others had joined Star. And like her, they were also stunned by the sheer size of Toffee's army. Out of nowhere Buff Frog pulled a pair of binoculars and started scanning the scenery. Star turned at the rest, ready to say something about going down there. But no words left her mouth.

Instead she looked at her friends, one by one. All of them had some of their clothes cut, but no visible injuries. Even she had a cut on the hoodie's right shoulder, left unnoticed until now. The party had barely escaped a battle with monsters. And now Star was about to lead them into another, more dangerous. This was war between Toffee and the Butterfly family, and nobody else. Her friends did what they came for - to save Star Butterfly. And she did not want to endanger them anymore.

- Thank you all for, for getting me out - Star smiled sadly. - But I have to go down there. Alone - she shot a stare at Marco - This is my family's mess. There is no need for all of you to risk your lives as well.

- Are you kidding? - Kelly smiled back. - We're not letting you deal with THAT all by yourself.

- Yeah, girl! We're thrashing that party together! - Pony Head shook her head in agreement.

- And I have some score to settle with Toffee. - Ludo waved a hand in the air.

A smile shined on Star's face. If it wasn't for the creature dead serious look, she would not have taken him seriously. Buff Frog haven't said a thing. He was still busy with the binoculars. Marco was silent as well. Until Star stared at him.

- Do I really need to say it, Star? Of course I'm coming too. Besides, we'll be much safer behind that barrier down there - he tilted his head and rolled eyes at where Buff Frog was watching. - But how are we going to get to the castle?

A light bulb lid inside Star's mind. With a swift swing she pulled a pair of dimensional scissors in the air. A quick look was needed to recognize these were Marco's. The ones that did not work. The realization interrupted Star's enthusiasm.

- Wait. Marco, something is wrong with your dimensional scissors - she passed them to the boy. - Back in the dungeon they did not worked, but Buff Frog's did.

- Let me see them - Kelly made a "give me" gesture and Marco obeyed.

The girl brought the sharp object closer to her face. With one hand she adjusted her classes, while turning the scissors with other.

- They're dead.

- What?! – her answer caught Marco off guard.

Kelly brought the scissors to him and pointed at the pale words scribed on the blade.

- You see these? Scissors hold charges. The more charge they have, the more letters will glow. Yours have none - she tossed the sharp object casually at the boy and continued - Usually they recharge over time. But for some reason all scissors stopped filling their magical energy – she shrugged shoulders.

This was news for Star as well. Even if she did not know so much about the dimensional scissors, she knew what had caused them to stop working.

- It's because of Toffee. He... - a lump got stuck in her throat. She swallowed it painfully. - He... drained the power out of the Magical High Commission. Including Hekapoo.

- What? Are they dead? - another shock for Marco.

Star was both surprised and unsure of the suggestion.

- No! I don't know. I mean nobody knows for sure. Even my mom.

Star could see her friends were struggling with processing what she just said. And what the death of the most powerful magical guardians would mean for the universe. A few moments were not enough to really understand exactly how bad would be their loss.

Pony Head broke the depressing silence:

- I bet if we kill that ugly monster Toffee, they will come back. After all, he is the reason for this mess.

The others nodded and agreed with the idea. Star remembered the lizard man mentioned his immortality was given to him. And it was probably true, since Moon had to use a powerful spell to stop him. The Princess decided to not tell her friends these disturbing facts. When the time to stop Toffee comes, she would have to figure something out. Her mother might know a way to reactivate the spell.

Kelly interrupted Star's line of thoughts:

- Star, let me see the other scissors.

A moment was needed for the Princess to realize she also had Buff Frog's scissors. From a front pocked of the hoodie she pulled the sharp object and passed it to her friend. Its scratched surface looked nothing like Marco's.

While Kelly was trying to figure out how much juice was left, Star decided to check on Buff Frog. Still using his binoculars, the monster was lying in the grass on his belly. As if he was trying to stay hidden from something. Star crouched next to him and asked:

- How is the situation down there?

- Something is off.

- Off? As "a giant monster army preparing a siege" off?

- As "Star Butterfly is back inside castle" off.

Puzzled, Star simply stared at Buff Frog. The monster's words did not make any sense. He reached the same conclusion and passed the binoculars to the Princess, telling her to point them at the gate.

From up here all you could see were blurry dots grouped in front of an entrance, defined by two towers. Through the binoculars' lens the whole picture became crystal clear, leaving no details hidden.

A dozen knights, armed to the teeth, passed through the castle's gate. They were led by King River and a young blonde girl. She wore the same red hoodie as Star, had the same pink hearts on her cheeks. Her appearance was an exact match of the Princess. Even Starfan13 was not that good.

Only difference was that the girl down there held a purple wand. Star had none.

Without saying a thing, the Princess passed back the binoculars and left. Marco and the rest noticed Star had joined them. She spoke, sounding more troubled than she liked:

- We have to go now. Can we use the scissors?

- It has one charge left. What's wrong, Star? - Kelly blinked confused.

Asking her friends to leave in a haste with no explanation was not fair in Star's book. She would have to give them the short version.

- Back in the dungeon Toffee used some kind of spell to make an illusion of my mom. Right now he's using the same trick to get inside the castle. With an illusion of me.

- In that case, I agree with Star - Marco supported her. - Let's go and foil Toffee's plan.

The others nodded in agreement. That leaves Buff Frog, who had just returned from his spying activity. He spoke for himself:

- I'm going too. I have to protect babies.

Star had forgot all about the tadpoles. As long as the castle was not breached, they were safe. Unfortunately, she just saw an exact copy of her going inside. She classified that as a security compromiser. The Buff babies just became another reason to leave immediately.

- Right. Give me the scissors. - Star said to Kelly. A moment later the Princess swung the sharp object to open a portal. Ludo interrupted her:

- Don't forget about me, Star Butterfly. I want my revenge against Toffee!

The small creature looked exhausted, underfed, and yet very energetic. In his eyes Star read nothing but burning rage. It was both sad and admiring.

The Princess finished splitting the air in half, opening a magical vortex.

- Ok, let's go. After you - she invited Ludo. With proud steps and no second thoughts, he passed through.

Then Star closed the rift.

Everybody's eyes widened. Pony Head spoke first:

- Um… Star. Not that we don't understand or anything, but… what are you doing?

- I've send Ludo somewhere he won't get himself killed - she responded with no regret.

Star could see both doubt and wonder in her friends' expressions.

- Oh come on! You saw him too - she waved hands in the air. - We all are well enough to defend ourselves. Ludo, on the other hand, is not. Toffee will wipe the floor with him.

With a sad smile Buff Frog shook his head, agreeing with Star. The others did not.

- Star, that was our only charge left. How are we going to reach the castle now? - Marco was angry. As she expected.

- Well I know a shortcut - she said cheerfully. - As I said, this is my hideout.

XXX

Around twenty minutes of fast paced walking was enough to reach end of Star's shortcut. It got them a half kilometer away from the castle. Half kilometer of an almost empty plain, with no place to hide. Buff Frog did a quick check for nearby monster before declaring it safe for passing through.

The last distance between the party and the castle was what their kept spare energy for. Star and her friends arrived there half breathless. The gate made of polished stone was semi raised up. Behind stood at least twenty knights in formation. Up close the barrier's tint was barely visible.

One man wearing slightly more detailed armored approached the new arrivals. He stopped a few steps away from the barrier and focused on Star.

- Who, the bloody corn, are you?

The Princess had to take a deep breath to answer.

- It's me. Star Butterfly. Daughter of Queen Moon and King River. Princess of Mewnie.

- And I'm the Duchess of Telesia! The Princess just returned with the King. There ain't two princesses.

Of course there are not. Star figured out the quickest way to explain.

- You know that giant monster army down there?

- What about it?

- Their leader, Toffee, used magic to make a fake copy of me. And the copy is inside right now, while you are stopping me from dealing with it!

Marco, Kelly and Pony Head stood behind Star, making wide nods.

- Other princess had a wand. If you're the real one, where's yours? - the man raised an eye brown.

"How the hell am I going to explain that"?

- Funny story. Toffee used the same magic to make me give him the wand.

- You gave the wand to Toffee? - Marco questioned.

- Not now, Marco! - Star squeezed through clenched teeth.

A dreadful scream echoed through the air, interrupting the dispute. Star turned around and focused where her brain hinted the scream came from.

Far behind the knight stood a tower, twice as tall as the ones around the gate. Another scream came from its top and a man in robes flew through a spade-shaped window.

With terror Star recognized this was the tower with the barrier's main crystal. She tried to warn the knight and not look panicked while doing it.

- Look, it doesn't matter if you believe me or not. Go inside and protect...

Suddenly Star could see the man in front of her much clearer, as if she had put a pair of glasses. The knight's and Star's eyes widened as both reached the same conclusion.

The protective barrier around castle Butterfly was no more.

- Lower the gate! - the knight roared. He turned at Star. - You and your friends. Come with me. We have to deal with that fake copy of yours.

But they never reached the tower.

As soon as Star made her first steps somebody yelled "Incoming". Survival instinct overcame curiosity and she dashed at the gate with all the energy left. She crossed the halfway opened entrance, ignored the panicked part of her brain, and turned to see if Marco and the rest were behind her.

Then, a burning shadow, big as a house, collided with the stone gate.

XXX

When Star regained consciousness, the world had become gray, silent and narrow. She stared back at where the gate used to be. Scorched rubble and unsettled dust had replaced it. The courtyard was covered in burning debris. A man screamed without a voice, while Buff Frog and Marco tried to remove a boulder from his right leg. Another man was stuck under a wooden debris, but nobody was helping him. He wasn't moving either.

On the far right a house engulfed in flames raised above the wall. It stood in the air for a second. Then a mysterious force slammed it through the wall, leaving a dust curtain. The impact snapped Star right out of her shock and the word was clear once again.

She tried to get up, but a painful sensation in the left shoulder stopped her. The sleeve was barely attached for the hoodie as if it was pulled off extensively. She tore it off, then pulled up the shirt's sky blue sleeve. The shoulder was half covered with a purple spot. No bleeding. The hoodie's other sleeve was almost gone. She removed it as well.

Back on her legs, Star stared at what was left from the gate. She remembered being much closer to it. The impact had thrown her away and while being out cold, somebody had dragged her here.

Between the yelling men and painful screams, an unstoppable roaring could also be heard.

The same knight from before the attack stepped in front of her. He yelled to be sure Star could hear him:

- I've send a message to the Royal Guard. They will be here soon. And you're leaving with them.

The roar was getting stronger. Closer.

- What happened?

- The barrier is down and the gate has been breached. The enemy will be here every moment…

As if fate answered his prediction, the roar's source revealed itself. Groups of dozen monsters climbed through the rubble with battle cries and flooded the courtyard. All of them wore dark plated armors and emerald burning blades. The troops abandoned their current tasks to fight for their lives.

Seconds later the courtyard's disaster had turned into a chaotic battlefield. There was no order on both sides, just attackers and defenders. Two, and somewhere three monsters were fighting a single mewnian soldier at the same time. King River's men were well trained and disciplined and stood their ground. Toffee's warriors were trying to win fights with brute force and outnumbering. For now, the monsters were suffering the majority of the defeats. But where one fell, another took his place. And even more were coming through the breach.

- Form a defensive line! Push them back to the breach! - the knight commanded. He had prepared a silver sword and a round shield.

One of the monsters had managed to break through the chaos and charged at Star. With one swing the attacker's life was ended by the knight. She wondered if killing enough of the monster could demoralize them into surrendering.

Toffee's army was slowly getting pushed back. Using the breach as a choke point would reduce the monster's advantage significantly. Star was ready to believe that the plan was going to work.

Another burning building peeked for a moment before impacting with the left wall, not too far from the gate's remains. Through the mix of dust and smoke more armored creatures came to join their fellow monsters. The troops tried to establish a second defensive line. Dark horde of frenzied creatures crashed into the left flank with force of a Warnicorn Stampede.

Star watched speechlessly as first line of soldiers were losing their lives.

- Fall back! Fall back! - the knight ordered desperately.

Obeying their commander, the mewnian troops started their defensive retreat. They focused on spread formation, blocking any incoming attacks, and swiftly stepping back. Rarely blows would be traded with the monsters. By Star's estimate they were outnumbered four to one, and rising.

- Star, we have to go - Marco pulled her by the shoulder.

She turned her head. Buff Frog, Pony Head, Kelly, Marco they all were here, taking quick breaths. None of them were spared from bruises and minor cuts, but nothing more. The Princess was so consumed by the fate of her knights that she had forgotten about her friends.

- Where the hell have you been?

- We've helped with getting the injured men behind the wall - Marco pointed behind him. There was another wall and a gate, much smaller than the breached one. Behind it stood the tower with the barrier crystal. And the entrance to the castle.

- What about the knights? We've got to help them.

- Trust me, Princess, me and my men can deal with this - the knight said to Star. - But we can't protect you here.

King River's troops were getting closer. So did Toffee's warriors. Two of them tried to attack the Princess. One was stopped by a mewnian soldier, the other got stabbed by the knight.

As princess of Mewnie Star knew that the crown's subjects had to trust her as much as she had to trust them. Before leaving for the inner walls, she heard the knight mumbling something about the still missing Royal Guard. Then she ran back at the other gate, ignoring the pain in her shoulder. Marco and the rest followed her.

At the entrance Star let the others get inside first. She watched as her men were desperately trying to retreat. From the two breaches monsters in dark armors were still getting inside, just as much as the first wave. How big was Toffee's army exactly?

Without a warning the sky darkened. For Star's surprise a dense wave of arrows flew from the wall's heights. They passed right above the troops' heads, striking down monsters from the two breaches. Some of the arrows stopped inside their skulls, killing the creatures instantly. Most got deflected from the armor, but knocking down their targets.

Another rain of arrows. Same effect. The invasion wasn't stopping, but it was getting slowed down.

As a response to the range attacks, another burning house appeared above the outer wall, flying in a straight trajectory. Paralyzed, Star watched as the ignited building was heading right for the inner gate.

Suddenly it stopped midair. A light blue aura had surrounded the house. Then it started moving back where it came from. As quickly as it appeared the aura vanished, dropping the house exactly where the left wall was breached. The hole was temporary sealed.

High above the battlefield a butterfly shot itself through the sky, disappearing behind the horizon that was the outer wall. Star knew who that was. So did the troops.

- You pathetic lads! The Queen came to fight your battle. Are you gonna let that happen? - the commanding knight yelled at his men. They responded with an inspiring shout. - Then in the name of the Queen, get your asses behind the walls!

The men took perfect defensive stance and continued their retreat. Every attack against them was parried, every attempt to break the formation failed. They were invigorated.

Under the covering fire of archers, the troops finally reached the gate. The injured ones got inside first, while the rest held the line. When the last man passed through, the stone gate was dropped down, sealing the entrance. Several unlucky monsters got trapped inside, and dealt with accordingly.

Up until now Star was holding her breath without realizing it. Letting it out brought her some relieve. Protected by the walls, King River's troops did the same. The archers had stopped shooting at the invaders. There was no need.

For some reason Toffee's monsters were not prepared to deal with range attacks and defensive walls. Their only siege weapon was being taken care of by Queen Moon. Her daughter had a problem of her own to take of too.

As requested by Star, the commanding knight handpicked four of his men and instructed them. Then ordered to have Star and her friends armed with swords. "Use it only as a last resort" was his instructions. To Star's surprise, nobody was bothered by Buff Frog and giving him a weapon.

With a little rest, Star, her friends, and the four knights headed to the tower with the barrier crystal. The Princess had tasked them with finding and dealing with her double.

The search was over before it started, as Star's doppelganger came out from the tower' main entrance, shocked just as much as his enemies.