Episode:
12: Of Mice and Mewmen

Adam tries one last time to convince Tom to stop with his insane plan, whilst Star and Marco close in on the Dímios Headquarters. Adam meets his alternate counterpart, and Moon leads him to making the eleventh-hour breakthrough with Multiversal magic.

A cacophony of screeches permeated Star's mind as she finally returned to its proper place in her physical body. Slowly, but surely, her due senses returned to her like a constant stream of comprehension directly into her brain. Phosphenes and bright lights flashed through her eyes.

She felt herself getting up, staggering backwards. Star almost fell over, but someone caught her. The phosphenes finally cleared from her vision and she looked up to see who it was.

'You okay, Star?' asked Marco, a soft, humorous smile on his face. Star felt her cheeks heat up.

'I'm good!' she squeaked, recoiling back in embarrassment. She took several deep breaths.

'Did you find what you needed?' Star blinked.

'Hmm? Oh, right!' she realised, shaking her head to refocus her thoughts. 'Yeah. I got the coordinates to the Dímios Headquarters.'

'You'll never get past the front door!'

Star turned her head slowly to face Badam, who was scowling at the ground. She glared at him bitterly, an icy look solidifying in her eyes. She crouched down next to him and hummed in discontent.

'Do you think…' she whispered, 'if Angel's still alive, that she'll ever forgive you? Hm?'

'You don't know what the hell you're talking about.'

'I know you left her to die. Afraid. In pain. Alone. With nobody else left. Because all you care about is the mission.'

Badam flinched for a moment, before snapping. He jolted upright and tried to attack her, but Star was faster. It took her half a second to take out her wand and blast him with strawberry cupcakes, throwing him back against the wall. She sighed in disappointment.

'I don't know what I expected from you,' she confessed. 'I've always tried to see the best in people, the good inside them…but you don't have any good left in you.'

Badam didn't move, flinch or even react in any discernible way. He remained motionless, sat on the ground with only his metal chains to keep him company. Star might have heard him whispering to himself, but she couldn't be sure she wasn't just hearing things.

Star turned her back on him and left the room, with Marco in tow. She locked the door behind her and went to sit on a nearby cobwebbed bench. The dungeons never were well-maintained.

Marco bit his lip. 'Soooo…what did you see in there?'

Star stared off towards the door to Badam's cell for several minutes, not a single word leaving her mouth. Marco put a hand on her shoulder, and she mustered a small, content smile.

She sighed curtly and stood up. In a scintillating flash of bright yellow light, she transformed into her divine Full Butterfly form. The magical princess held out three of her six arms and created a shimmering, golden portal directly in front of her.

Star turned to Marco.

'Are you coming or not?' A slightly mischievous smile materialised on her face. Marco nodded and stood up.

'Wouldn't miss it for the world,' he said, walking over to her. Together, the two of them stepped through the golden portal into the headquarters of the most elusive organisation in the multiverse.

To Adam, this whole affair had been a flash in the pan that he was constantly trying to delay. It was like trying to keep hold of water in your hands; he was inevitably going to reach the end. To Tom, however, this ritual was extremely drawn out, and he had long since gotten tired of Adam's stalling.

'Tom.'

The demon in question looked up at him. Adam took that to mean he had his attention.

'Are you sure you still want to do this?'

A moment of regret flickered in his eyes for a few seconds, but ultimately, he sighed and recomposed himself. 'Yes.'

Adam looked away woefully for a moment. Star had taught him to try to see the best in people, but Tom seemed to keep hiding his. It was hard to believe there was any good in there, but he had seen for himself that it was. As much as he hated to admit it, this Tom was definitely different from the Tom from the Negative Multiverse. However, Tom's redeemable qualities seldom presented themselves.

What Tom had in arrogance and jealousy, he made up for in…determination? Adam supposed he was determined, at least.

'Okay.' Adam picked up a glass bottle of the potion he had brewed, and it presented it to Tom. 'This potion should help facilitate the ritual.' Unfortunately, Tom shook his head.

'No, no, no,' he disagreed. 'I want you to drink it first, so I know you didn't poison it.'

Adam rolled his eyes, but nevertheless, he unscrewed the cork and drank half of its contents. It tasted smooth, flowery and abuzz with magic. He grimaced at the strong taste, but he survived its consumption. It quickly became apparent to Tom that the potion was completely safe to drink.

Tom swiped the potion from his hands and gulped the rest of the drink down in seconds. He winced at the strange taste.

'Start the ritual,' Tom instructed, standing around the salt sigil. Adam nodded reluctantly.

'I pledge my soul to the throes of magic,' he incanted dispassionately. There was no sense of power in his words. 'To enhance my power now automatic, I prepare myself to become a ghost. Grant me strength: the Seal of Arybailos.'

The Seal of Arybailos flashed over the circle of salt, before appearing on both their brows with a scorching purple glow.

Tom let out a gasp in surprise at the power coursing through his veins. In seconds, he was enveloped in a bright blue fiery aura. Adam could feel the heat against his face. Tom snapped his fingers, and the salt in the ritual circle was set alight, forming a bright sigil of blistering azure flames.

'Tom, you really don't have to do this,' Adam tried, one last time. 'You're not letting Star be happy…just so you can have your happy ending – an ending that won't even last that long.'

Tom paused for a moment. The fiery aura around him subsided. He hesitated, but then his eyes lit up with fire.

'I have to do this,' he concluded. 'I'm already damned if I don't. Might as well see it through to the end.'

'It's still not too late. There's a still a chance Star will forgive you. If you'd just at least try to redeem yourself, then –'

'I already tried!' Tom snapped. 'And you ruined it!'

'Your redemption wasn't complete,' Adam advised him sympathetically. 'You had issues with Star while you were dating her. You got jealous a lot around Marco. You didn't think she spent enough time with you. You felt neglected. But you couldn't tell her yourself.'

Tom glanced down remorsefully. The Mewman could tell he was getting through to him.

'Tom,' he addressed again, although the prince avoided looking him on the eye. 'If you go through with this, you might never come back. Make the right decision while you still have chance.'

'It's too late for me,' the demon prince claimed, looking up at him. He stepped inside the flaming blue circle, and Adam followed him. 'All that is seen to glitter shall be gold, my version of history will unfold…'

Adam maintained constant eye contact with Tom, as the warlock began to speak the words to the spell with him. He tried to ignore the mounting feeling of disorientation caused by the Seal of Arybailos.

'We name thee Star Butterfly the target, and we force Marco Diaz discarnate.'

'Wha-What's done is done now and for-forever,' Tom said shakily. He tried to avoid Adam's searing eyes, but just couldn't manage it. 'We…we have no regrets in our endeavour. The time…is now belied with false compare, to warp all space-time and f– alright! You're right! I can't do this!'

He kicked the burning salt, sending ashy debris about the room. Immediately, the ritual cancelled, and the blue flames went out. Adam smiled and promptly cancelled the Seal of Arybailos, letting out an involuntary gasp as the part of his soul that had been drained was returned to him.

'I'll be honest, I really wasn't sure you'd actually do the right thing.' He scratched his scalp abashedly. 'Listen, um…I admit, I might have…misjudged you. Big time. I'm sorry.'

'It's okay,' he muttered, looking down guiltily at the scuffed ritual circle. 'Besides…you weren't far off. I was definitely tempted to use the spell…but I guess you knew that already.' Adam nodded slightly. 'You were right, by the way. I was being selfish, and I wasn't letting Star be happy. Perhaps I just struggled to accept that…Star and I simply aren't meant to be.'

Adam's heart – or the closest thing he had to one – sung out in sympathy for the guy. His breathing hitched as he noted the guilt that he felt for forcing Tom to this realisation. Even though it was well-needed and not even his fault. Star was rubbing off on him more than he realised.

There was no greater evidence of that than what he forced himself to say next.

'Hey, so, uh…' Tom looked up at him. Was he really about to do this for someone who kidnapped him? Apparently. 'If you cancel the contract you have with the Dímios right now, then I'll go back. And…I won't tell Star that it was you who paid them to kidnap me.'

'You…you'd really do that? For me?'

'Somehow, yes,' he replied bluntly. 'Look: Star's probably on her way right now to rescue me. I can easily pass this whole thing off as some rich douchebag trying to use me for my magic.'

Tom looked down for a moment in contemplation.

Adam knew it had to be tempting offer for him. A way of redeeming himself without Star even knowing how badly he messed up? Must be like Christmas. Adam himself couldn't believe he was even offering this. Even despite Adam convincing him not to go along with the ritual, he still kidnapped him – not to mention he harassed Star for weeks after their break-up and simply couldn't accept no for an answer. All the hallmarks of someone Adam would hate.

Yet, Adam found himself brewing with strange mercy for this guy. He didn't know when he started becoming so…nice. A part of him actually hated it quite a bit.

'Um…' uttered Tom, twiddling his thumbs. 'I'm gonna have to say no.'

Adam's eyebrows raised in surprise.

'If I do this, I'd just be dodging responsibility again,' he explained. 'You disapproved at that the first time, so I'm not gonna make that same mistake again. I have to face the music, y'know?'

'Yeah…that's true.' A warm smile spread across Adam's face. 'Maybe you are a smarter guy than I gave you credit for.'

Tom smiled back. 'Thanks, Adam. I'm sorry I blamed you for…well, everything.'

'Most people do, anyway,' dismissed the warlock. 'Now come on, let's get out of here before –'

'ADAM!' A voice yelled. The door to the cell was kicked open with tremendous might, and Adam knew there was only one person with the might and personality to kick open a door like that.

Star Butterfly was now on the scene, with her best friend Marco in tow. Adam didn't know what he expected. She reverted back to her base form immediately upon arrival.

Of course, it took Star about half a nanosecond to notice the presence of Tom in the room.

'TOM? It was YOU?!' She screeched. 'You kidnapped Adam!'

'Yes,' he confessed. 'And…I'm really sorry.'

Star narrowed her eyes, unconvinced. She noticed the scuffed ritual on the floor almost immediately and reinforced her glare at him.

'What the hell were you doing?!' The princess demanded.

'I was forcing Adam to help me perform a ritual,' he answered honestly. 'A ritual that would make you forget we broke up…and erase Marco from existence.'

Star's jaw dropped. It took her a few seconds to actually process what Tom had just told her. Marco was a bit quicker in that aspect.

'Wow, dude,' he uttered, folding his arms disapprovingly. 'I thought we were on good terms.'

'We are! It's just –'

'SHUT UP!' Star cut him off, balling her fists at her sides. 'Are you kidding me?! How can you be that selfish!? You have one of my friends kidnapped and put in harm's way…just so you can get back together with me?! What gives you the right to control my life? You selfish arrogant JERK!'

'I know, I'm sorry,' Tom apologised sincerely. 'What I did was beyond wrong. I had no right to control your life and I was only thinking about myself. I'm really, really sorry.'

'You think I care if you're sorry?!' Star snapped. 'You kidnap my friend; try to erase my best friend from existence; and force me to get back together with you; and you think you can just come in here, whining about how you're "really, really, sorry" and I'll just automatically forgive you!? You need a serious reality check, Tom!'

'I know…but I want you to know that I really am sorry, and –'

'I told you to shut it!' bellowed Star. 'Why should I even believe you when you say you're sorry? For all I know, you'll just try something like this again!'

'Star –' Adam began.

'Not now, Adam!'

Adam glared at her.

'No.' His forceful tone silenced her instantly. 'For once, I'm gonna talk, and you are gonna listen. Capisce?' Star nodded quietly. 'Good. Now, I'm not gonna say what Tom did was okay, because it definitely wasn't. But you weren't here with him. Tom chose to back out of the ritual of his accord. He realised what he was doing was wrong before you even got here. What he did was evil, sure, but Tom isn't evil.'

'I don't understand,' she said, after a short moment of silence. 'Why are you, of all people, defending him?'

'I'm not defending his actions,' Adam reiterated. 'What he did was wrong in literally every sense of the word. However, I misjudged him. I honestly didn't think he'd actually change his mind and do the right thing. But he did. If nothing else, that proves he's redeemable.'

'You're kinda hard to believe here, Adam,' hollered Marco, shrugging his shoulders. Star nodded.

'Marco's right. Adam, you hate Tom more than anyone, and now you're saying he's not that bad? Really?'

'It's because I hated him that you should believe me,' he argued. 'I was the same with you: if Tom managed to convince me that he's not that bad, then it must have been pretty significant.' He sighed. 'You don't have to forgive him right away. All I'm asking you is to give him another chance, when you're ready. I'm sure Tom wouldn't mind giving you space…he'll probably need it, too.'

Star folded her arms, as she considered his proposition. She glanced at Marco for support, who put a hand on her shoulder. They seemed to be communicating telepathically, or so Adam thought, because Star somehow knew what Marco was saying to her without either of them even saying anything.

'Ugh…fine,' she groaned. 'Tom, I…I'll need some time, but…I'll work on it. I promise.'

'Thank you, Star,' said Tom. 'Thank you so much. I…I promise I'll work on myself and the next time you see me, I'll be a better person. For real, this time.' He turned to Adam. 'Thank you, too, Adam. Thank you for showing me that I can still redeem myself. And for giving me the chance to do it.'

Adam folded his arms and deepened his frown.

'Don't screw it up,' he warned. A small smile perked at the end of his lips. Tom nodded in agreement.

'I'll cancel that contract with the Dímios right away,' he vowed, leaving the room presumably to talk to the Dímios about their payment.

Star transformed into her Full Butterfly form and opened a portal back to the Butterfly Castle. 'Let's go.'

The three of them walked through the portal and returned to the castle, specifically in Star's bedroom. Star returned to her base form and let out a big sigh of relief. Adam was caught by surprise when Star enveloped him in a massive hug. He slid his arms around her and hugged her back.

'It's good to have you back,' Star mumbled through the hug. Adam let go and smiled down at her.

'Good to be back.'

'Hey, um…' she began, unsure where to start. 'I wanted to say I was sorry. For bringing you to that party where it was really crowded. I didn't think about whether you would be comfortable with that. I'm sorry.'

He waved a had dismissively. 'It's okay, Star,' he forgave. 'I really should have said something. I just didn't want to make a scene.'

Marco put a hand on his shoulder. 'Make sure you let us know next time.' The squire beamed at him. 'We want you to be comfortable too.'

'I will, next time,' he promised, nodding. 'You know…I never expected a graveyard to be peaceful. I don't know why I thought going there would calm me down. I guess being kidnapped by an assassin of the Dímios was just rubbing salt in the wound.'

Star and Marco exchanged sudden glances of realisation. Their eyes widened while Adam merely frowned in confusion.

'What?'

'Man, you are never gonna believe who did it,' Marco remarked, sparing a mischievous smile at Star, who was impassive.

Adam raised an eyebrow. 'What do you mean?' Star shrugged and gestured to the bedroom door.

'Maybe it'd be better if we just show you.' Adam nodded reluctantly, and Star immediately grabbed him by the arm and began dragging him away.

Adam was hardly able to resist Star's pull as she dragged him down to the castle dungeons. She didn't seem excited to show him, not in the way Marco was excited, more persistent to reveal to him the grisly truth. He tried several times to release himself from Star's iron grip, but he should have known better than to try.

'Star–!' She simply ignored him. 'Star! St–'

'We're here!' she announced, cutting him off. She released him from her grasp as they arrived at the door to a prison cell. Adam stood there, staring at her for a moment. 'Well…come on.'

She walked over to the door and opened it, stepping inside and holding it open for him. Adam couldn't yet see the prisoner inside; there wasn't enough light to see them clearly.

'You got a visitor, jerk face!' Star yelled. Adam blinked in shock at her casual animosity. Did she really hate this individual so much just for kidnapping him?

To give him a better view of who she was talking to, Star cast a spell to produce a sphere of cyan light. The room was illuminated instantly, and Adam came face to face with the prisoner.

A prisoner who looked almost exactly like himself. Save for the slightly younger looks and the different hairstyle. And that black INGSOC-inspired uniform. The prisoner looked up at him; for a brief moment, his eyes twitched with surprise, before returning to normal.

'Woah,' he remarked, stepping towards him. He crouched down at the prisoner's level and inspected him curiously. 'That is…freaky.'

'It's weird for me too!' retorted Badam. He probably would have folded his arms if it weren't for the chains. 'Can you please stop staring? It's making me uncomfortable.'

'Oh.' He drew back slightly. 'Sorry.'

He stood up and took a few steps back to lean against a wall. The warlock hummed aloud in contemplation.

'So how did you become an assassin for the Dímios?' he asked curiously. Badam looked away, glaring into the middle distance.

'His parents gave him up earlier than yours did,' explained Star, folding his arms. 'So the Dímios found him instead of Monsters.'

'You were raised as an assassin?' Hie eyes widened in shock. Again, Star answered for him.

'It's all he knows.'

'I asked him, Star.'

Adam crouched down again to meet Badam's eye-line. This time, though, he actually looked up at him. There was something uncomfortably uncanny about watching yourself glare at you so coldly.

'I got lucky,' he said, his mouth twisting into a humourless, crooked smirk. 'I feel bad for you. To have to be raised by Monsters…while I was shown the light, a true faith to rely upon!'

He sounds like a cultist… thought Adam.

'I think you'll find that Adam is the lucky one, kid,' Star argued, folding her arms angrily. 'He was raised by actually good people. All you did was spend time trying to please a man who will never ever love you!'

'Mr White loves me!' Badam yelled, jumping up and charging at her. The chains halted him dead in his tracks. 'I'm like a son to him!'

'You're just his tool,' she insulted, waving a hand at him dismissively. 'A good little soldier who will do whatever he asks without question. Look around you, kid! You don't notice that everyone around you ends up dead? You had your chance to make things right, and instead you let an innocent girl die!'

'Star?' called Adam, frowning. 'How do you know so much? I seriously doubt he told you himself.'

'I…I, uh, I used the Psionic Wandering Spell,' she confessed. Adam's eyebrows raised, nonplussed. 'I saw his memories.'

'What did you see?'

Star looked away. Her voice fell quiet and faint.

'Too much.'

Adam put a hand on her shoulder comfortingly.

'They will find you,' Badam warned them, as he fell back onto the floor. 'Both of you.'

'The Dímios?' scoffed Star. 'I already told the Queen about the location of your headquarters on the way here. As we speak, your little HQ is being raided, your organisation dismantled.'

Badam laughed dryly.

'We will survive,' he claimed, smirking. 'The Dímios always persists. We always adapt. Because the Dímios d–'

'"Does not negotiate",' Star finished for him mockingly, rolling her eyes. 'Yeah, yeah. Heard it all before.'

'Your arrogance will be your undoing,' warned Badam, glowering at him.

'Whatever,' she dismissed. She turned to Adam. 'What should we do with him?'

'Well, I don't think he's a danger to us,' he answered, folding his arms.

'He's an assassin!'

'An assassin without a contract,' Adam pointed out. 'That makes him a man without a country. I think we can let him go, Star.'

Without leaving any room for argument, he cast a spell to release him from the chains with a wave of his hand. Set free from his imprisonment, Badam stood up and patted himself down.

'If you think this means I owe you, then you're sorely mistaken.'

'I'd expect nothing less from myself.'

Before Badam, or Star, could say anything, Adam inexplicably opened a portal and dragged the assassin through it. Shocked, Star chased after them through the golden portal.

The portal led to some countryside in the middle of nowhere. Truth be told, Star wasn't certain she was even on Mewni anymore. It could have been any dimension, and maybe that was the point. The three of them were standing on the top of a hill somewhere, the smell of freshly cut grass circulating through the air.

Adam threw Badam onto the ground. Badam looked up at his doppelganger, a confused and hurt look on his face.

'Take some advice from yourself here: try and make something of your life, outside of the "true vision". Before it's too late.'

With that, he walked back towards the portal. Star remained there, rooted to the spot, staring at Badam, who himself was staring in Adam's wake in astonishment. She was frozen in place for a few minutes, before Adam grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her back through the portal. She let out a gasp of surprise as she was brought back to reality.

As the portal closed behind them and the two were left in an empty cell, Star stared at Adam pensively.

'Do you think he'll take your advice?' she asked him broodingly. Adam let out a long, drawn-out sigh.

'I don't know,' he admitted. 'If he knows what's good for him, he will. I'd like to think he does, but…he might look like me, but he's not me. Not really.' He turned around to look her in the eyes. 'What about you? Are you okay?'

'Me? Pfft. Of course I'm okay. Why would you even ask?'

'Star.'

She glanced down sadly.

'This whole ordeal's just got me thinking a lot,' she confessed. 'One tiny difference, one small change to your history, and you and him ended up completely different people, with completely different lives. One decision changed everything.'

'I guess it does put things in perspective, huh?' remarked Adam. 'But you can't let it distract you. It's not like every decision you make is going to change your life forever. Deciding what you're having for breakfast tomorrow probably isn't gonna do much.'

Star mustered a small snigger at his little joke. However, her smile fell moments later.

'The things I saw in his mind…he has some serious skeletons in his closet,' she told him. 'It's just…it reminds me of when I first found out about Dark Star. An evil-me is doing evil things; an evil-you is doing evil things. More than that, even. They're what we would've become if you just changed a few things. It just goes to show…there's darkness in all of us.'

'Well, I don't think anyone's entirely good,' Adam commented, rubbing his chin in thought. 'But you know you're nothing like Dark Star, and I know I'm nothing like him.'

'Badam.'

'Hm?'

'That's what we call him.'

'Really?'

'Yeah! It's a portmanteau of Adam and –'

'I get it,' he dismissed, waving a hand facetiously. 'But you see what I'm saying. As long as I'm here, we're gonna be facing doppelgangers and alternate history a lot. You gotta keep your head in the game, okay?'

She breathed in deeply before looking up at him confidently.

'Okay,' Star agreed. Adam rewarded her with a gentle hug. She smiled appreciatively at him. 'So…wanna hang out?'

The warlock beamed at her. 'I thought you'd never ask.'

Harmonious laughter reverberated throughout the bedroom. It was a symphony of joy, which was unsurprising for a group of teenagers who had been faced with little other than unsurmountable boredom.

'So let me get this straight,' said Adam, laughing. He was leaning in a chair with his feet rested on Star's writing desk. 'Ludo has a massive family consisting of Brudo, Yudo, Dudo, Zudo, Crudo, Chudo, Udo, Sudo, Menudo, Fudo, Mudo…and Dennis?'

'No, you're not being punked,' Marco joked. He was sitting on the floor with his back rested against one of the posters of Star's bed.

'Did Lady Avarius just give up on that last one?' Adam asked, shaking his head humorously.

Star shrugged from her comfortable beanbag. 'Maybe all the other -udo's were taken.'

'Not really,' said Janna. She was resting with her head on Adam's lap and her feet on a nearby chair. 'Shudo, Rudo, Strudo, Judo, Escudo, Canudo, Pseudo –'

'Are you finished?' Marco cut off.

'Well, if my genius isn't going to be appreciated…' she joked, flashing her eyebrows threateningly at him.

'By the way, how long are you planning on using my lap as a headrest?' asked Adam, although he didn't sound altogether bothered by it.

'As long as I want. So probably forever.'

Adam shrugged his shoulders abashedly. He supposed that, since he didn't mind anyway, that it was fine. He shifted in his seat to make both Janna and him more comfortable. Star rolled her eyes.

'You two are inseparable,' she remarked, smirking. 'Like two peas in a pod.'

Janna blushed ever so slightly, but she mostly just frowned at her. Adam cleared his throat.

'Two peas in a platonic pod,' she rectified. Adam nodded in agreement. She giggled. 'Sorry, can't keep my thoughts to myself sometimes!'

'Ugh…I know what that's like,' muttered Marco, glancing away. Star's eyes widened when he realised who he meant. She turned to Adam.

'Oh! That reminds me! Did I tell you about the time Marco grew a second head?' she asked him. He frowned at her in bewilderment.

'Um…no?'

'Naysaya, it was called. It was a demon Tom cursed him with that made him blurt out all his deepest, darkest secrets whenever he tried to "woo his true love",' Janna explained to him, smiling at the memory. 'Dude couldn't go five seconds without telling it everyone he peed on his dog when he was 12!'

'I did not!' Marco yelled. 'We didn't even have a dog when I was 12!'

'Not after you peed on him!'

'Jan, stop bullying him,' Adam told her, trying to hide his smile.

'Aw, but it's so much fun!'

'No, Adam's right, leave him alone!' Star cried, but she stumbled at the final hurdle when she burst into laughter. 'You know, I almost miss that little Naysaya, ha-ha! Couldn't keep a single secret with him around!'

Marco opened his mouth to protest once again, but there was a knock on the door that interrupted them. Star was the one to answer.

'Come in!' she yelled. The door opened and the knocker entered the room. Star frowned. 'Mom? Do you need something?'

'Yes,' the Queen answered. 'Or, more accurately, someone.'

She looked about the room until her eyes landed on Adam. Janna followed her eye-line and looked up at him curiously. Moon remained staring at him for a solid few seconds before finally caught on.

'Me?' he realised, tapping chest with his fingers to emphasise his point. 'What do you want from me?'

She gave a reluctantly candid response. 'Your help.'

Now that certainly piqued his interest. Adam glanced down at Janna, and back up at the Queen. Janna understood the tacit message, and subsequently removed herself from his lap. Adam stood up from Star's desk and walked over to the doorway she was standing in.

'Alright, I'll help you,' he agreed, folding his arms. 'What do you need help with?'

'Follow me,' Moon instructed, walking out the room. Adam spared a glance at Star, who shrugged her shoulders.

Moon brought him down to the Butterfly crypt, hidden within the secret catacombs below the castle.

'Never thought I'd be back here again,' Adam remarked absentmindedly. Whether Moon didn't hear him or simply chose to ignore him, he wasn't entirely sure.

In the weeks since the showdown against Dark Star, it seemed that Moon had renovated the place and installed a flight of stairs leading directly down to the catacombs, just outside the crypt itself. Instantly, Adam knew there was something Moon hadn't been telling him. Why build an express staircase to some old crypt? He strongly suspected he was about to find out.

'This place still gives me the creeps,' he muttered. It felt like any moment Dark Star was going to pop out a portal to declare this kingdom and its associated settlements her divine right of property.

'I am sorry if this place is causing you discomfort,' said Moon. 'But I think you have every right to know about this.'

'About what?' he asked. The Queen did not reply to him, and this time he knew it definitely wasn't because she hadn't heard him. Moon certainly enjoyed keeping him in suspense.

Moon led him down to the very bottom of the steps. Adam wagered that these stairs were even longer than the ones leading down the Wash, and that was saying something. When they finally reached the bottom, Moon saw it fit to begin explaining things.

'The intermultiversal portal the evil Star reopened just over a month ago had some unforeseen side effects,' Moon elaborated, as they walked side-by-side down the tunnels towards the crypt. 'When you closed the portal, we believed it would be seamless. It was not.'

To emphasise her point, she ushered her into the crypt. Adam walked inside, wondering what she was talking about. His questions were immediately answered the moment he saw the crypt.

'Woah.'

At the back of the crypt, a spiderweb network of shimmering cracks ran out from where the portal had once been. They were not cracks in anything solid, they were cracks in the air, spreading across the room from the floor to the ceiling. It was like nothing he had ever seen before. The splinters diffracted the light around it, producing a recrudescent, incandescent glow.

It was like the air itself had been turned into a window and fractured in every direction.

He hesitantly approached the scintillating fissures. 'What is it?'

'A gap in the fabric of reality,' the Queen informed him. 'When that portal first opened down here, it fractured the world around it. The very skin of reality splintered. Omnitraxus believes that it leads to the Negative Multiverse, but he doesn't know how to close it. Or even if it's possible to close it. That's why we need your help.'

Adam reached out a hand to inspect it. The second his fingers made contact, the network of fractures reacted, intensifying with bright white light and a high-pitched whine. Moon's eyes widened in surprise. The warlock recoiled away in shock, and the glowing light died down.

'That's never happened before,' Queen Moon exclaimed in astonishment. 'I guess…since you originally opened it, it has some kind of connection to you.'

'How long has it been since you found it?'

'It appeared a few hours after your incident with the other Star.' Adam turned and glared at her.

'Why am I only just now hearing about this?!' he demanded, folding his arms.

'I intended to notify you straight away,' she told him. 'But…given what you went through, I believed you deserved a break from the stress. I didn't want to immediately present you with more problems.'

'Don't ever decide for me what I need to know,' Adam warned her, his voice suddenly turning dark. He sighed and let go of the vitriol. 'Besides, it's not like the weeks since Dark Star tried to kill us have been stress-free.'

'I'm sorry,' she apologised. Adam waved a hand dismissively, disinterested by the apology. 'Regardless, I'm showing you it now. It was always my intention to tell you.'

'I guess I can appreciate your honesty,' he acquiesced reluctantly. 'So…you need my help to seal it?'

'You seem to understand interdimensional magic better than anyone,' Moon replied. 'All our previous attempts to repair the damage have failed. You're our only hope.'

'I'm hardly an expert on it,' he pointed out. 'I still haven't even figured out how to open these portals myself. What makes you think there's anything that I can do?'

'You've been studying and practicing this magic for months,' she pointed out. 'And you're the only one who has ever managed to open a portal between multiverses by themselves. You're the only one who has made any progress on this. If there is anyone who can help, it is you.' She frowned inquisitively. 'How close have you come to opening an intermultiversal portal?'

'Very close,' said Adam, sighing in frustration. 'But I've hit a wall. Much like any portal, I have to create the dimensional bridge with my own mana. To do it across multiverses…I just haven't found a power source strong enough to sustain it.'

'That is where this fracture can aid you,' the Queen told him. Adam frowned at her. 'According to Omnitraxus, this fracture has a direct connection to the Negative Multiverse. It is the shadow of the portal that once stood here. You already have a dimensional bridge available to you. What does that mean, Adam?'

'It means…' he uttered, staring at the fracture in contemplation. His jaw dropped when the gears in his mind snapped into place. 'The dimensional bridge didn't collapse when the portal closed. It's still active. But why? Unless…unless it already existed. Ha! That's it! That's the connection!'

It was Moon's turn to be confused.

'What are you referring to?'

'The connection. Between the Negative and Positive Multiverse,' Adam elaborated, a thousand-kilowatt smile on his face. 'All this time I thought I made the dimensional bridge connecting our multiverses, but they've always been there. I don't know how it is that they've always been there, but that's why I was sent here! It's why I wasn't sent to the void. Which means…I don't need to create a dimensional bridge; I only have to open the gateways. This is brilliant! This is a golden opportunity for study – with this, I can create intermultiversal portals whenever I want!'

'Once you succeed, what do you intend to do?' Moon asked him. Adam blinked as the question washed over him. He hummed in thought.

'At first, I wanted nothing more than to go home,' he conceded thoughtfully. 'Now…I'm not so sure. I like it here, more than I ever did back home. Dark Star is a threat to that. I think, the only way to stop this invasion is to learn how to control these portals. Before the Dark Butterflies can.'

'But?'

'But eventually, I have to go back,' he concluded. 'I have a goal. Revenge. I just need to master my magic before I can try.'

'Revenge won't make things better, Adam,' Moon warned him sadly. 'It won't make you feel better.'

'I don't care.'

Moon blinked.

'They took everything from me!' He clenched his fists. 'So I'm gonna take everything from them. So that they know what it feels like to lose everyone you care about.'

Moon drew back slightly. She had never seen quite so much anger and hate locked up inside someone so young. After her mother was killed, Moon had been filled with a similar desire for revenge. Yet, she still believed the burning in his eyes outclassed any measure of violence she had felt.

'Such vitriol,' Moon noted quietly, staring at him in astonishment. 'Has…Star seen this side of you?'

'She got a front row seat,' confessed Adam remorsefully. 'I used her as my punching bag. It was awful, really.' He turned around to look her in the eye. 'But make no mistake: just because I've learned from my mistakes with Star, does not mean I am any less committed to my mission. I'm going to get my revenge, and nothing is going to get in my way.'

It didn't matter how persistent Moon was, even she knew that she wasn't going to be able to change his mind. Star had mentioned numerous times that he was boundlessly stubborn, especially on something he had made his mind up on years ago. She could see it in his eyes. He wasn't going to budge.

'In any case…you have the total use of my facilities – the Magic High Commission, our Mewman Knights, anything. Just ask.'

Adam nodded genuinely. 'Thank you, Moon.'

'My pleasure,' she said happily. 'Another thing: since you won the War Games, you were granted access to the Mace Family's magic library. Would be very useful.'

'I've read some of their books, yeah,' Adam replied. 'They've been really helpful. Really insightful.'

'That is not the only thing,' claimed Moon, catching his attention. He frowned promptly. 'Pacem didn't make himself clear enough. The terms of the Games specified also that you gain full access to their Ambassadors for Magic. The King promised you that they would be available for use under your command at any time.'

'Really? My command?' He raised his eyebrows. 'That's…brilliant. That means I can have at least half a dozen people helping me out with this. People who can offer a unique perspective to magic. Wow. Are you sure you trust me with that kind of power?'

'You saved Star's life. It is about time I placed some trust in you Adam.'

'Um…thank you, Moon. Seriously, it means a lot,' the Mewman offered sincerely. He glanced over at the space-time fracture again. 'I'm gonna need Eclipsa's help on this one. Definitely.'

Moon swallowed down her instinct to protest. She reluctantly gave a nod of approval.

'If you believe that is the right decision,' the monarch concluded. 'It is not my right to control you, even if you are the Royal Magic Ambassador.'

Adam hummed in agreement, but he didn't say anything. Moon stared at him for a moment, before she realised that the conversation was now over. She gave him a small nod of respect and left the crypt. The clacking of her shoes against the stone echoed through the air, becoming more and more distant as she ascended up the stairs.

Meanwhile, Adam was still standing rooted in his spot, eyes locked with the glimmering splinter. It pulsed and echoed in response to his stare, which almost made him feel like the crack was alive. He knew it wasn't, but something about it seemed to mess with his mind.

Perhaps, if this fracture was so inclined, it was also present on the other side of the portal in the Negative Multiverse. If it were, a lonely thought crossed his solitary mind.

Where are you right now, Dark Star?

Whew, that was a fun write. It's been a little while since the last update, and to be honest, I totally forgot to update the story on ffnet.

Tom is now redeemed, yay! The only issue with that is that now I don't know what to do with his character so...I'll see if I can start putting him in scenes. No promises, though. Of course, it's going to take some time before Star forgives him, but eventually she will. The next major arc after the next episode, however, will put a hamper on this.

I hope my faithful readers enjoyed the dialogue and character interactions in this chapter, considering this chapter is very dialogue-heavy. Tom already had second thoughts about the spell, and he already knew what he was doing was wrong, so that's why it just took constant pushes from Adam to finally convince him not to do it. Still, Adam himself couldn't tell for sure if he would stop, but he probably had a backup plan if he didn't. The good news is that Adam admitted he misjudged him and admitted he really isn't all that bad.

Adam meeting Badam was a long time coming in this episode, in my opinion. One tiny difference, the time of their abandonment, led to the two doppelgangers leading radically different lives. Adam chose to let Badam go for the reasons he gave, but some others, too. He very much saw himself in Badam; how could he not? He's literally a younger version of him. He saw that Badam was just a kid, manipulated by everyone around him Adam figured that leaving him to his own devices, stranded in another dimension, might free him from his indoctrination since he would finally be in an environment where he can think for himself.

Also, Badam being an assassin doesn't bother him nearly as much as it did Star. He's no fan of them, but he's perfectly fine with the fact that they exist. I think that's pretty in character for him, given his background.

Writing the scene between Adam, Star, Marco and Janna was fun. I like including small slice-of-life moments, even if slice-of-life is not the kind of thing I usually write. I also figured that, after that kind of ordeal, the characters more than earned a bit of relaxation for their troubles. There was also a bit of platonic Jannadam (yes, that's what I'm calling it) because I decided to keep them friends, at least for the time being. Adam isn't able to make romantic commitments whilst he's so focussed on revenge. Any romantic feelings he might feel at any point would simply be pushed to the wayside because he's unconsciously deemed it unimportant.

And finally, of course, the last scene. This is pretty much the set up for the rest of the story. The space-time fracture left behind by the skirmish in the crypt back in Chapters 19-20 of Volume I is the catalyst for the rest of the story taking place, and many episodes will include Adam's many attempts to close the fracture. If you recall in a previous chapter, Adam mentioned that the reason he was stuck was because creating the Multiversal bridge required to connect the Positive and Negative Multiverses required far too much energy/mana.

However, this might have led to a question among readers: how did Adam make it to the Positive Multiverse in the first place, if making these bridges should be energetically and magically impossible?

That's because he didn't. These bridges have always existed - since the dawn of the multiverses - and there has always been a connection between the Negative and Positive Multiverse. This is the answer to the underlying mystery of why Adam was sent specifically to Positive Mewni and nowhere else. Why these Multiversal bridges exist will be revealed later down the line. Adam's only roadblock now is not understanding how space-time fractures work, which is why he now has the Ambassadors and all of Moon's resources to study it. Once he carries out experiments and studies to know how it responds to different stimuli, he might yet understand what to do with it.

TL;DR Adam just needs to study the fracture and understand its internal matrices, and then he should be able to devise magic that will allow him to travel between multiverses (the thing he's been trying to do this whole time).

Anyway, that's enough rambling. Thanks for reading and leaving your support! I really appreciate it! I hope to see you in the next chapter - "Dream Team", a.k.a. the beginning of the episode, "The Morpheus Trap"!

(Also, I'm trying to cut down on chapters per episode to avoid too much verbosity and introduce some brevity, so this episode will be two chapters long.)