Episode:
16: Get Me Out of Here

Adam and Star need to return home. The future of the multiverse depends upon it. But to do it, they need information. And there's only person who has what they want: Dark Star. Help comes from a familiar face, and Star is forced to act like a psychotic maniac.

There was a bright yellowish-orange hue blanketing the air, like fire flickering through panes of glass. The sky was a burnt-orange canvas, a blood-red spot of sun being the only feature. There wasn't a cloud in sight, or if there was, they had been scraped so thin they were invisible.

The landscape was far more populated. A layer of sandy dirt stretched across the ground for miles, dotted with anaemic, dry bushes and cracked, leafless trees. The bushes were a shade of oily green, but heavily desaturated. The leaves were thin, fragile and weak, sounding almost crispy under the weight of any boots that happened to crush them. There were even a few cacti hanging around, rather standoffishly, with their desaturated green skin and ominous moss of grey spikes. Various rocks, large and small, sat embedded into the ground, covered in dust and xerophytic bugs. At least one rock pool was encircled by them, containing a single crab, but they were few and far between.

A smooth gradient of heat encompassed the air, not too hot to be uncomfortable, but certainly enough to warm up the yellow-grey rocks and enlarged cacti. A slight, dry breeze lightly grazed the ground, creating tiny vortexes of sand and dirt.

Next to the Silver Forest, a forest populated with trees made of dull silver wood, was the Sawdust Semidesert. Directly adjacent to the edge of the Forest, there was a collection of rocks in the semidesert, protruding up from the ground.

Seated atop these rocks was Adam, his arm rested on his knee quite comfortably. A few meters opposite him, Star was stood with her back against a tree, tapping her foot impatiently. She was disguised as Estrella again, whilst Adam had his cheek marks hidden.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Star kept her eyes trained on her foot, trying to keep a concordant rhythm that would successfully keep her mind distracted. She let out an impatient sigh and folded her arms.

'Is she gonna come or not?' Adam rolled his eyes.

'She'll be here.'

'I wouldn't be surprised if she were late,' she claimed, rolling her eyes. 'It's not exactly uncommon of her.'

'You don't even know her,' groaned Adam, tutting his tongue brusquely. 'You're not being fair. You're just judging her based on the version that you know. Just be patient. She will come.'

In response to his statement, and Star's incessant foot tapping, there was a rustling through the grey leaves of the Silver Forest. The two of them immediately jerked their heads in the direction of the noise.

As expected, Princess Lilacia Pony Head appeared through the trees, hovering just over a metre above the ground. Her long, flowing mane was a grapefruit colour, matching her shiny red horn. Her fur was a darker shade of blue, a certain contrast of the orange hues of Sawdust Semidesert. She had bright, glowing turquoise eyes, which matched the slightly paler green heart on the side of her neck. Her disposition was the most serious and solemn that Star had ever seen on Princess Pony Head, or rather a Princess Pony Head. She couldn't imagine her own version pulling a face like that, unless it was in parody.

'Sorry I'm late,' she apologised. Her voice was regional and upmarket, slightly more evenly paced than her Positive counterpart.

'No, it's okay, Lilacia,' reassured Adam, 'you're actually just on time. Thank you for meeting with us at such short notice.'

'It's not a problem,' Pony Head responded. 'I still owe you for our dealings on Mzulft.' Inevitably, her eyes crossed over to where Star was standing. They locked eyes and Lilacia immediately frowned. 'Who are you?'

Star pursed her lips.

'I'm his sister.'

Lilacia's eyebrow twitched. Her eyes snapped back to Adam.

'I didn't know you had a sister,' she said, scowling.

'It's…a long story,' he claimed, shrugging. She clenched her jaw.

'I bet it is.'

'Aaaanyway,' Star drawled, feeling slightly awkward. 'We wanted to meet with you because…we need your help.'

Pony Head's expression hardened.

'With what?'

'Smuggling us past the garrison around the Capitol,' Adam elaborated, slipping off the rocks to stand on the ground. 'We can't get in by ourselves, so we were hoping we could hide in one of your imports.'

'Oh, you were hoping, were you?' Her eyes narrowed at him. 'Let's say I do help you. They're still going to check the crates. How are you going to get around that?'

'I'm gonna disguise Estrella over here as Star Butterfly,' he revealed. Pony Head looked at him with a glare for a few moments, before bursting out into laughter.

'Yeah, good luck with that.'

'I'm deadly serious. I can do it.'

Lilacia's cynical demeanour dropped. She returned to a suspicious glare that flickered between him and Star.

'How?'

To exemplify his point, Adam stuck out a hand towards the tree Star was leaning against. A single, glowing green arrow shot out his hand, striking the tree trunk just beside Star's head, narrowly but intentionally missing her. Star didn't flinch, merely rolling her eyes.

'Show off…' she muttered.

'H-How…?' stammered Lilacia, staring at the glowing arrow. 'How…did that happen?'

'I actually got these powers two years ago,' he admitted. 'I absorbed a fragment of Star's wand. Since then, I've been able to cast magic.'

'I didn't know magic worked like that,' she commented gruffly. He shrugged noncommittally.

'Neither did I.'

'So, Pony Head,' said Star. 'How 'bout it? Will you help us?'

Lilacia gave out an impassioned sigh. She bit her lip fervently.

'Fine, I'll help you.'

'Thank you, Lilacia,' Adam acknowledged. 'Seriously, I really appreciate it. So…when's the next import to the city?'

'Tomorrow evening, 10:30 pm,' she answered reluctantly. 'I can smuggle you into the Cloud Kingdom and get you into one of the crates. But after that, it's up to you to get past the garrison.'

'Sounds like a deal to me,' Star agreed.

'You won't regret this, Lilacia,' Adam added, turning to leave. Pony Head remained floating in spot.

'Adam?'

He immediately halted and turned back around.

'Yeah?'

'After this, we're through.'

Adam's eyes widened in surprise.

'Really? Why?'

'Listen. My family has been plotting against the Butterfly Empire in secret for generations,' Lilacia contextualised, looking him in the eye. 'My dad's been buttering up King River for years. Doing that required a…certain level of trust, within our inner circle. There was a time when I thought you were a part of that, Adam. But then you go missing for nine months, and you come back with a sister. And then I discover you gained magic two years ago without telling me. I don't enjoy surprises like that. I can't risk trusting you.'

'Lilacia, I promise, you can trust m–'

'No, I can't,' she reinforced. 'I'm only helping you as a mark of respect. For what you did for me on Mzulft. After this…I don't owe you anything anymore. You and me, we're done. Capisce?'

Upon seeing how sure of herself she was, Adam looked down at the ground in crestfallen acceptance. After a moment of silent contemplation, he nodded and looked her again in the eye.

'Okay. I respect your decision. Thank you, for helping us. I know you didn't have to, and I know how much of a pain it is.'

Lilacia offered him a tiny, tiny smile. 'I missed you.'

Adam smiled back.

Tomorrow evening, Adam and Star were getting ready for their next meeting with Pony Head, where she would smuggle them into the Cloud Kingdom. They stood by the transmat machine in a square grey room, near a large chunk of machinery containing a desk with a keyboard and three monitors on it.

'Okay, it shouldn't be too hard to alter this Glamour,' said Adam, as he began to cast the spell. 'You're already her doppelganger, so I only have to make a few changes.' Two star-shaped marks appeared on his palms as he made the alterations to the spell. 'With any luck, such a small illusion will be hard to detect.'

'Glamours are confusing,' Star remarked, making a face.

'Maybe you should have paid more attention in magic class,' he retorted, before stepping back. 'Alright, done.'

'How do I look?' she asked, glancing down at her form.

Adam looked her over. Sure enough, she looked exactly like Dark Star, down to the kind of clothes she was wearing. She wore a purple and blue sleeveless dress, with a red belt around her waist, a crimson undershirt and bracelet, and even crimson tights. A small pink fish was embroidered on the rim of her skirt, with a wide black eye that seemed to stare into his soul with impunity. Her dark plum boots were panda-themed, with a zigzag pattern the end. Her favourite headband was now a darker shade of blue, matching the blueish tone of her dress. It was indeed an outfit Adam had seen Dark Star wear before, and it definitely matched her personality. [39]

Her piercing purple eyes and paler skin matched the original, along with the darker, crimson hearts on her cheeks. Even her voice had been altered slightly, sounding a little more upmarket and affluent than usual.

He gritted his teeth.

'Like you're about to incinerate me.'

'I'll take that as a compliment.'

'You don't have to go through with this, you know,' he reminded her again. 'Are you sure you still want to do this?'

'Positive,' she assured him. 'You're not gonna change my mind, Adam.'

He sighed.

'I know,' he admitted, chuckling. He walked over to the computer by the transmat and began typing. 'We'll be making rounds to the Cloud Kingdom in a moment. Lilacia told me our cover story is that you, Dark Star, are gonna be there to oversee the transport. I'll be your manservant. The people at the Cloud Kingdom won't question me, but the guards at the garrison will, so I'll be hiding in a crate during the actual importation.'

'Wait, didn't Pony Head say her family have been plotting against the Dark Butterflies for, like, centuries?' Star recalled, frowning. 'Are you sure it's a good idea to send along someone they hate to their, y'know, belly of the beast?'

'Not really,' dismissed the warlock, turning from the monitor intermittently to look at her. 'King Pony Head keeps his opinion secret, and he'd prefer to keep it that way. Most of the Cloud Kingdom aren't active detractors; they're deeply afraid of the Butterfly Empire. Especially you. That truce between the Empire and the Cloud Kingdom is the only thing keeping them safe. King Pony Head and his subjects wouldn't question you. They wouldn't want to draw suspicion.'

'Are you sure?'

Adam flashed her a scowl.

'I know how this world works a lot more than you do,' he reminded arrogantly, pressing down on the enter key in this keyboard. 'Don't forget. I'm the expert, not you.' A bright cyan portal formed in the transmat frame behind Adam.

'Whatever, man,' she scoffed under her breath.

'It's ready to go,' Adam indicated, jerking her head towards the portal. 'Are you ready?'

Star let out a deep breath.

'Ready as I'll ever be.'

At eleven o'clock that evening, thirty minutes after Pony Head led Adam and Star into the Cloud Kingdom, a platoon of floating carriages and transport vehicles from the Cloud Castle arrived at the Butterfly garrison. They carried numerous crates and boxes floating on magic clouds, containing various imports into the Capitol. Given the economic decline of the Empire in recent years, it would not at all be surprising if the Capitol was starting to depend on its imports. A vast array of guards marched up towards the garrison, wearing butterfly-insignia-adorned uniform and cream-coloured armour.

Among those crates and guards was Star, standing over by a crate being carried in a tray attached to a carriage. She kept her hands clasped together behind her back, nervously tapping the back of her hand with her index finger. To any ordinary individual, Star looked merely impatient, thanks to the scowl she kept on her face. Impatience was the best front to project whilst she was nervous, and she figured that this was exactly what Dark Star would feel in this situation.

She looked over to the end of the row. Only one of the Butterfly Empire guards was actually searching through their crates, albeit quite thoroughly. The others were standing straight with their spears, looking uptight and regal. In between two rows of them there was a large, wide cast-iron portcullis, easily four times her height. The metal frame was shiny and new, probably constructed from bronze or Loveberrian steel.

'How long is this going to take?' complained Star, stressing the insufferableness of her newly regal accent.

'I assure you, Princess, this will be over shortly,' the guard inspecting their items told her, as he edged closer to the crate Star was supervising.

'Did I say you could speak?' she replied coldly, hating how cruel and hypocritical she sounded. Immediately the guard was sweating.

'Uh, well, Princess –'

'Ask me for permission,' Star cut off, folding her arms.

'Uh, I-I, um…may I please have permission to speak to your greatness, my Princess?'

Star gave the wickedest smile she could muster.

'Permission granted.'

She knew she might be leaning a little too hard into the disguise, but she needed to maintain her cover as best as she could. Judging from the reactions of the guards in the line-up around the garrison, this behaviour was not uncommon nor infrequent for Dark Star.

'Princess, I am only doing what the Queen has commanded me to do,' the guard insisted shyly, as he finished up on the crate next to her.

'Mother has insisted me to be here to complete this importation to enhance our great empire,' she stated as the guard stepped over to her crate. Star halted him. 'I've already checked that one myself. I am growing tired of these constant checks.'

'Your Highness, there may be something dangerous inside it.'

'Are you questioning my competence?' snapped the princess, glaring at him. 'Think very carefully before you speak. Are you impugning my honour?'

'N-No, your Highness. I, I–'

'I wouldn't want to get on my bad side,' she threatened. 'Because right now? This is my good side.'

'I'm sorry, your Highness, please accept my sincerest apologies!' squeaked the guard, frantically bowing his head. 'I-I'm done now. Y-You are free to pass.'

He nodded to a group of guards standing by the chain next to the portcullis. They didn't question his actions, they merely pulled it down repeatedly and raised the gate. None of rest of the guards said anything either, instead moving aside synchronously to make a path for the transport convoy to move through. Star went first, nudging forward the crate on the floating cloud through the garrison checkpoint.

Once she was out of sight of the guards, she let go of her breath. A bitter taste lingered in her mouth. She hated how she had to treat that poor guy. He was just doing his job.

Unfortunately, the five-mile walk from the garrison to the Capitol was exactly as boring as she expected. A guard checkpoint was found every mile along the distance, to check they hadn't managed to smuggle something between the previous checkpoint and this one. Star was forced to scare the living daylights out of them with the coldest, most threatening glare she could produce. She had to accept it: this was exactly how Dark Star would act, and she had to stay in character.

The Cloud Kingdom guards following her lead still seemed none the wiser to her impersonation. In fact, she could feel the sweat dripping down their faces when they edged within one metre of her presence. Was this what it was like to be Dark Star all the time? Was it not exhausting, to have everybody around you be so deathly afraid of you? Star certainly found it exhausting.

As a self-evident social butterfly, Star found it impossible to hold a conversation with people when they're either: a) terrified of you, or, b) contempt with you. Judging by the looks she got from citizens of the Cloud Kingdom when she waltzed in there earlier, it was a mixture of both. Dark Star had carved out this reputation for herself, and from what she had seen and heard, she was perfectly content with that. In fact, she relished in it.

But…why?

The million-dollar question, really. Why was Dark Star like this? It had to have been how she was raised. But what led her down this slippery slope into becoming one of the cruellest people in the whole multiverse? Star wasn't so sure she really wanted to find out, knowing the kind of world that Dark Star lived in. Still, the evil princess's budding mental problems were difficult to miss.

Rain trickled down from the sky at a slow pace, pitter-pattering against the stone buildings and forming wet puddles on the muddy ground in the Capitol City. Droplets of water tapped against her dress shoulder, making her flinch with the coldness of the liquid. Looking up, she noticed the black and overcast night sky hanging above, blotting out the stars with its darkness.

Everything under the skies seemed dull and lifeless, like all the colours had been drained from it. The buildings in the Capitol eerily mirrored those in the Butterfly Kingdom back home, but dustier and more poorly-maintained. Several homes that existed in the Positive Multiverse had been burned down or abandoned in the Negative, but the general layout of the city around her appeared the same. Rows and rows of guards lined the major roads, standing still and motionless with a spear in one hand and torches, miraculously unaffected by the rain, in the other. Their shiny helmets glinted in the evening glow of the fire, identifying them immediately among the seedy commoners in the undercity of the Capitol.

Numerous posters were stuck to the walls, flapping in the wind. Several of them overlapped one another, documenting various criminals within the Empire. Toffee's poster was still present, strangely, with a lengthy list of crimes under them. The number one offence listed was simply, "Property of the Butterfly Empire". Big gold letters under the "WANTED" sign claimed a reward of two million gold. Two million of unachievable coins. Fortunately, Adam did not have a poster, probably because he didn't have a high enough bounty on his head.

In the near distance, there stood the great Butterfly Castle. It was kind of difficult to miss. It looked the same as it did in the Positive Multiverse, although slightly taller. Various extensions had been placed above it, undoubtedly done only by magic due to its blatant ignorance to the laws of physics.

Star carted her crate through the entrance to the Capitol in the dead of night, where she was met with droves of commoners wandering about at night. All of them noticed her instantly and averted her gaze before they could establish eye contact. Whether she noticed it or not, Star's newly piercing purple eyes seemed to send shivers down spines and tremors through bones. Still, it was making her excessively uncomfortable.

Once Star arrived at a sizeable crowd of people, she used the opportunity to lose herself in it. Eventually, the convoy of Cloud Kingdom guards lost sight of her, so Star snuck into a dark alleyway and carefully dumped the crate on the ground. She grabbed hold of the lid of the crate, lifting it up and throwing it onto the wet pavement.

Star let out a great sigh of relief and staggered back to lean on the brick wall behind her. A figure emerged from inside the crate, stretching his muscles with a satisfying crack.

'That was not comfy,' complained Adam, cracking his knuckles. 'You know, I could barely breathe in there.'

'At least the plan worked,' Star supposed, folding her arms. Adam's eyes narrowed.

'Not just yet.'

Star rolled her eyes.

'You know, this isn't fun for me, either,' she retorted. 'Pretending to be a homicidal maniac is not a fun pastime.'

'I know, but hopefully you won't have to keep it up for much longer,' he reassured. 'We just need to get inside the castle, up to the balcony, and sneak into Dark Star's bedroom from the outside.'

'Shouldn't be a problem,' dismissed Star. 'It shouldn't be too hard getting into the castle. In case you hadn't noticed, they're all terrified of me.'

Adam nodded reluctantly.

'Be careful.' He jerked his head to the end of the dark alley. 'Lead the way to the castle.'

Star nodded back and made her way out the alleyway and towards the big bad Butterfly Castle.

Leading him through the city was like wandering through a freakshow, like a perversion of the Emerald City from the Wizard of Oz. Prying eyes in other dark alleyways watched Adam with concern but kept their eyes fearfully away from Star herself. She noticed the twitch of confusion in the guards deployed on the streets, probably thinking to themselves that Dark Star had acquired another hostage to force to be her friend. Eyes seemed to hide in every corner, prompting Star to keep Adam close to him for concern someone might swipe him and induct him into some insane slave circuit. She had to give the loud excuse that she didn't trust him not to wander off, which seemed to satisfy the unheard and unasked questions lingering in the air around them.

Eventually, the two Mewmans made it to the entrance of the Butterfly Castle. There was a drawbridge leading to the actual castle itself, with two guards standing either side with their proud stances and long spears.

Star waltzed past them without much concern, but the moment Adam approached them, they blocked his path by crossing their spears. He sighed.

'Star?'

She turned around and immediately noticed the issue.

'Let him pass,' she commanded, walking up to him.

'No peasants are permitted inside the castle, Princess,' said the guard. Despite his domineering voice, he still avoided eye contact.

'Did I stutter?' Star baited, manufacturing a glare at them. 'He is my manservant. Let him pass or I will incinerate you where you stand.'

The guards seemed reluctant, at first. Star could've sworn she heard one of them say, "another one, eh?" under their breath. Regardless, they relinquished their spears and let him pass. Star hummed impatiently.

As Adam walked past the guards, one of them whispered in his ear, 'Nice knowing you, kid.'

Even knowing that Star was merely acting, it still made him tense at the thought. He caught up with Star and hurried across the drawbridge together, hoping to avoid arousing the suspicion of the guards behind them. They couldn't risk them noticing that Dark Star had entered the castle without ever having left first. Assuming they were smart enough for that.

Once they made it into the Butterfly Castle, Star used her knowledge of the layout of her world's castle to locate the nearest flight of stairs to the battlements outside. Nobody questioned her presence anywhere in the castle, but it was less like she wasn't raising suspicion and more like nobody dared to acknowledge her existence. None of them wanted to.

Their eyes seemed to drift over to Adam, but she continued to shoot a glare their way. Their suspicion soon lifted, overturned by fear.

Soon after, they arrived at the top battlements of the castle. It only took several minutes of running up flights of stairs until their legs ached. Star sincerely hoped this was going to be worth it.

Adam leaned out over the top of the castle walls and looked down over the expanse of the Capitol City. He let out a cold breath through his thinned lips. The city seemed to stretch out for miles, far bigger than the Butterfly Kingdom back home. Bright, yellow lights glowed subtly against the night sky from within the slumming houses and frail settlements across the impoverished mud. A crack of thunder forewarned a flash of lightning across the sky, outlining the rain tumbling from the stormy clouds above.

Star walked over and leant on the wall next to him. She didn't say anything but gave an expectant look from his peripheral vision.

'Two and a half years,' he mused quietly. 'More than that. Two years, nine months since I was last here. Almost doesn't feel real…to be standing in this godforsaken castle again.' He sniffed to quell the tears on the horizon. 'Janna always said she hated this place. Said it represented "an idea", an idea she despised. Maybe she was right.'

'What idea is that?'

'The idea that "a fortress of brutality can stand so tall above the great unwashed below",' he quoted, turning to look at her. 'Look down there. A seedy underbelly of poverty and strife…a whole world that the rich Dark Butterflies can just ignore.'

'It's not so different back home,' confessed Star. 'Poverty is a huge problem that not even Mom knows how to fix. It's horrible. When I get to be queen, I wanna do something about it.'

'Good luck,' he bid gravely. Star let out a preparatory sigh, looking up the rest of the side of the castle.

'C'mon,' she ceded, climbing on top of the wall. She offered him a hand. 'We gonna climb this thing or what?'

Adam gulped and took her hand, climbing onto the stone wall.

'Okay, O-Okay…' he muttered, trying to avoid looking down. 'Did I mention I'm terrified of heights? I think I have. I must have. I've done this before. It was awful. I kept looking down. I –'

'Adam, you're rambling,' she cut off, giggling slightly. 'I've got you. Besides, we're gonna rope climb, aren't we? Can't fall if you have something to hold onto.'

Adam wasn't going to point out the stupidity of that statement, despite really wanting to. He knew Star was only trying to make him feel better. Even if it couldn't be understated that you certainly can fall even with something to hold onto. Regardless of that, it wasn't going to change the fact that he still needed to climb this castle.

'Ropes of Binding.'

Four ropes shot out of Adam's palm merging into one at the base. As if by themselves, they wrapped around a pole on the outside the castle far above. Reluctantly, he let go of Star's hand with a steady nod and wrapped his hands around the rope.

'Woah!' he exclaimed, as his foot almost slipped. He jolted and clung onto the rope.

'Steady!' Star warned, catching him and correcting his balance. 'You're good. Just a tip…don't look down.' Adam scoffed.

'Thanks, Star, I hadn't thought about that.' He took a few deep breaths. 'Okay…I got this.'

'Ropes of Binding!' cast Star, pointing her wand upwards. Four ropes sprouted from a single rope at the base, wrapping around another pole at the pole. 'Come on. You can do this.'

Star's empty platitudes were not chiefly soothing for Adam, but he still appreciated her efforts. Slowly, the two of them ascended up the side of the castle exterior towards Dark Star's bedroom. Adam followed behind Star, given she probably knew where all the windows to the bedroom were. His legs felt like jelly, wobbling against the stone from the force of gravity. Nevertheless, he plodded on, keeping his eyes focussed on Star and precisely nowhere else.

Especially not anywhere in the region of downwards.

Had someone told Adam when he first got his magic that, in almost three years' time, he would be infiltrating the belly of the beast with an alternate doppelganger of his greatest foe, he probably would have laughed at them. It sounded ridiculous in concept alone, but in execution…well, actually, it was still ridiculous. Crazy ideas, Adam had come to accept, sometimes worked by virtue of their zaniness. Not like there were any other options, or, at least, if there were, they hadn't crossed his mind.

By now, Adam had to be master in the art of not looking down. That's why he'd already glimpsed down at the gaping abyss below several times already. It was almost like, in the time between each gaze, he expected the distance between the ground and himself to decrease, not increase. Even when they got to the end of the rope and had to recast the spell to ascend even higher, he still refused to look down, but guiltily caught another glimpse.

Just over halfway up, Adam noticed Star had stopped moving. He frowned in concern. She was staring out into the night sky.

'Star?'

'What's that…?' she asked, narrowing her eyes at something in the distance. Adam looked where she was looking and saw a bright light moving across the sky a few miles away.

'Shit,' he cursed. 'Celare!'

Adam threw his arm up and produced a flash of light. It spread across their ropes and enveloped their bodies, turning them invisible in a matter of seconds.

'What did y–' began Star.

'Ssh!' he silenced.

The light in the distance cleared, and its true form became apparent. It was a convoy of Butterfly guards, a whole patrol of them, floating on clouds with a propeller fixed to the back. A slight buzz of blades echoed through the air, as the soldiers flew by the side of the castle, without so much as noticing them. Once they passed by with the pair of intruders undetected, Adam undid the spell, looking upwards in silent prayer.

'What was that?' Star enquired, as she warily began to ascend the side of the castle.

'Cloud convoy,' he replied breathlessly, as he followed after her up the wall. 'They must be distributing the Cloud Kingdom imports.'

'There isn't gonna be another one of those, right?'

When Adam didn't say anything, Star frowned.

'Right?'

'I dunno, Star,' he admitted with a frustrated groan.

'You don't know?!' she parroted. 'We spent weeks planning this out and you never considered this?'

'Keep your voice down!' he commanded with a light whisper. 'And really, you're blaming me? I seem to remember you, right there, next to me!'

'You're the "expert",' she belittled, rolling her eyes. Adam clenched his jaw.

'Move along.'

Star hid the confident smirk on her face as she climbed further up the side of the castle. It was always so easy to tell when she'd won an argument with Adam because he would suddenly feel compelled to change the subject. Sure, it wasn't as satisfying as the rare occasions when Adam actually admitted he was wrong, but sometimes you have to take what you can get.

She knew, after the Polaria incident, that listening to Adam was the only way to survive around here. She couldn't escape the fact that her actions directly resulted in the deaths of dozens of people. The gaping, open mouth of Flora's skull as her skeleton lay decrepit and scorched on the floor was forever etched into her brain. It could not be escaped. Even despite knowing that going against Adam got those people killed, she could not help opposing him when he pulled stunts like these.

I mean, c'mon, not telling me about the murdercrows and lapisnakes was just unhelpful.

It was almost like he revelled in his superior survivalist skills over hers. Like he was lording over her how much better he was at this than she was. He claimed he never told her this stuff because he hoped to keep her out of their way, but realistically, he should have accepted the very real possibility that would it happen anyway.

Whatever, she grumbled silently. Not like Adam's ever gonna change anyway.

'Through here,' Star spoke up, after a long period of silent climbing between them. She stopped at a window in the wall of the castle.

'Perfect,' said Adam, climbing up to the other side of the window. 'Octarinis.'

A single, bright red rune appeared on the side of the window. Adam smirked confidently.

'What do you know? Just a single Locking rune.'

'I really didn't believe you when you said she was lax about her security,' she admitted. 'But you were right.'

'Sometimes all it takes is a little faith,' he replied, reaching out an arm.

'You don't even believe in faith.'

'Summa revelare.'

Immediately, cracks appeared across the glowing rune, until it finally shattered into a million pieces. Satisfied, Adam reached for the window handle and pulled it up, exposing the contents.

'Alright, I'm ready,' announced Star, bending her legs against the wall and propelling herself away from it. 'Here I –'

She was interrupted when she saw that Adam, unfazed, had already jumped inside without even waiting for her. Star had little time to react before she leaped through the window after him, her Ropes of Binding dissolving after him. In her haste, the fastidious princess hadn't fully considered what to do after she let go of her ropes. She fluttered her wings desperately, until she hovered gently in the air above Dark Star's tall bedroom. She drifted over to Adam, who was standing on top of a purple forcefield he had conjured.

'Ugh, you never heard of "ladies first"?'

'Quiet!' he ordered with a harried whisper, pointing down below. Star looked down.

Dark Star was lying in her large four-poster bed, definitely asleep. She made gentle snoring noises that Star admittedly found quite cute. She couldn't help but wonder if she snored like that, too.

'Come on,' he urged, lowering his foot off the forcefield onto another forcefield he created a second below it. He created a series of steps one after the other leading down to the base of the room.

A flat purple forcefield platform appeared in front of Star for her to step on. Slightly abashed, she rested her weight on it and ceased flapping her tiny wings. Another of the same forcefield appeared below it, a series of steps for her to follow just like Adam.

Huh. Neat, she thought, as she took the steps down to the bedroom floor.

When the two finally reached the bottom, Star allowed herself a good, curious look at Dark Star's bedroom. It was quite similar to her own, especially in size. The layout and dimensions were identical. Dozens of magic collectibles littered the room, dumped in piles against the dark red bricked walls. A large pile of Goblin Dog wrappers had accumulated in the corner, which ushered a smile from Star. Several articles of medieval weaponry and elaborate torture devices were hung on the walls, framed in portraits and displayed in shiny cases. Star knew she loved the thrill of battle too, but not even she owned this many weapons.

The ground was neatly ironed and flattened, free of dirt, dust and grime. Its tiles were a blue and purple chequered pattern reflecting the glint of the warm, bright torches on the wall. A light breeze blew through the air, like magical air conditioning. How come she didn't have quality air conditioning like this?

However, as her eyes drifted about the room, her envy of Dark Star rapidly faded. At the far-right end of the wall, there was a large board with the simple title, "TROPHIES", emblazoned over it. Several bits and pieces were nailed to the wall without concern. Marco's red belt was among the pantheon, which made her sick to her stomach, and just next to it was Chauncey's collar. That made her shudder. How that collar ended up there, or why it was considered a "trophy", she didn't want to know. One of Lobster Claws' claws was also attached to the wall, although the other one was nowhere in sight. Big Chicken's head, stylised as a taxidermy sculpture, was mounted onto the wall. Even Ludo's skull helmet was tied to it, strung up by thin black cotton threads.

In front of the board, at the bottom, there was a glass display case sat on a plinth. Inside the case, there was a hand. Well, the skeletal remains of a hand. It had three slender fingers, but top phalange of the middle one was missing. Star recognised it immediately. Toffee's hand.

'Her wand is over there,' Adam whispered, pointing over to Dark Star's bedside cabinet. Sure enough, Dark Star's wand, absent of the burning aura around its wings, was sitting on the cabinet, plugged in to charge. 'Stay close to it, in case she wakes up.'

Star nodded and crept towards the left side of the bed. Adam went round to the other side, carefully tiptoeing to avoid anything with loud noises. Unfortunately, she was much less attentive, and her foot landed on something that made a little squeak. She seethed and looked down at what she was standing.

It was a forest green shaded carpet. It was ironed neatly and surprisingly soft. By all accounts, it was a normal carpet. Except it felt slightly strange to stand on, it was lumpy in areas and, dare she say it…

…Fleshy.

Star didn't want to inspect it, but her curiosity was rapidly overcoming her. She bent down to get a better look at it, peeling back the ends of the material and looking closely.

Two empty, sunken eye sockets and a gaping mouth stared back at her. Tad's long-dead corpse had been preserved surprisingly well, hardly even having rotted. The skeleton had been removed, leaving a limp husk of skin, muscle and dry lips.

Star gasped, stumbled back, and very nearly cried out in fright. Just as she was about to yelp, Adam appeared beside her and covered her mouth with his hand.

'Keep it down.'

Star pried his hand off her mouth.

'But…Tad…!' she uttered in fright.

'I know,' he murmured. 'But you can't afford to get distracted now. I need you to be ready. Are you ready?'

Star closed her eyes and took several deep breaths. She banished the image of Tad's mutilated, decorated corpse to the recesses of her mind. She could have nightmares about it later.

'Yeah,' she finally whispered back. Her voice was still very shaky. 'Yeah, I'm ready.'

Adam nodded at her and stepped back. He closed his eyes and took in a slow, deep breath.

'I pledge my soul to the throes of magic, 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 on the ground for a moment, before appearing brightly on his brow. After a few seconds, the same seal appeared on Star's brow as well, empowering her with its great strength within moments.

Adam noticed that the bright lights of the spell made Dark Star stir ever so slightly. He gave a frantic jerk towards her at Star, and she understood the sign. They leapt on either side of her and pointed their wand/hand at the sleeping princess.

''Dreamless,'' they both cast simultaneously. Their eyes pulsed bright blue-white, and a wave of black energy reverberated across the air, hitting Dark Star where she slept.

The evil princess gasped. She involuntarily shifted upwards off the bed. Her eyes flung open, turning black and empty. Dark Star fell limp onto the ground, definitively and forcefully unconscious.

The Seal of Arybailos drained from the air, and Adam sucked in a harsh breath as he felt a portion of his soul being restored to him.

The young warlock stared down at her sleeping form. She was totally helpless. The second most powerful sorcerer in the multiverse, someone capable of obliterating whole cities without much effort, and she was lying there trapped under his spell. Him! Adam, a total nobody – who she considered to be nothing more than a weasel – had managed to inflict weakness upon Star Butterfly herself. He could kill her right now without much effort. All it would take would be the snap of his fingers. And who would be able to stop him? Who could stand up against him, when he was standing in such immediate vicinity of an entirely helpless Star Butterfly?

Himself, he supposed. Despite how much he really, really wanted to, he couldn't end her life just yet. He still needed her. Reluctantly, Adam pulled out Hekapoo's dimensional scissors and opened a portal directly to the Dímios Headquarters. He was pleased he could create a portal from her bedroom, considering he couldn't make one go into her bedroom.

Adam reached forward and grabbed Dark Star's Dreamless form and threw her over his shoulder. Star followed after him as they ran through the portal.

The two of them arrived in the dungeons of the Dímios Headquarters in a matter of seconds. Dark Star, still unconscious, was thrown onto the ground of a dingy prison cell. The portal closed behind them.

'Get the cuffs, now!' Adam ordered Star. She scrambled to produce them from her cluttered handbag. 'Come on! That spell won't hold her for long!'

'I've got it!' she insisted, wrapping the cuffs around Dark Star's wrists and chaining her to the wall. She staggered back, gulping for air. 'There. You happy?'

'C'mon, it won't be long before she wakes up,' he warned, beckoning to the cell door. 'We need to be ready.'

[39] This is a slightly recoloured version of Star's S3 "narwhal" outfit.

Thank you very much for reading Chapter 39 of "Star vs the Forces of the Negative Multiverse"! For all of you who have been keeping up with this story, I want to say thanks. I'm glad you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it!

...That's not to say I enjoy writing really grim and gruesome scenes. It scratches an itch, perhaps, but not in a bad way!

Bet you weren't expecting Negative Lilacia to show up! Well, I've mentioned her invariably across the two years I've been posting/writing this, and I figured it was time to introduce her. Only makes sense to bring in the Negative version in the Negative Multiverse arc, right? Plus, narrative-wise, it makes sense - Adam and Star aren't gonna manage to break into the castle on their own. They would need the help of someone who is in the know about the Empire. Someone hiding in plain sight. Negative Pony Head is the only person Adam has had contact with who could help.

Adam has managed to smuggle himself into the Capitol before because the security was more lackadaisical. The Capitol has always had an immigration problem. Adam only managed to break into the castle in Chapter 2 because a) he was a stranger, so he had virtually no notoriety, b) had the information Negative Janna provided him from inside the castle itself, and c) broke in during a time when the kingdom security was less. The Red Queen (Dark Moon) naturally would beef up security after the royal dimensional scissors were stolen (and never recovered).

The garrison is just one example of the increased security. However, the Empire doesn't have checks for illusions or any magic that could be used against them, because up until recently, they believed to be the only people on the planet with the ability to cast magic - and they probably didn't have time to invent and distribute tech to identify magic for the rogue sorcerers they only became aware of two weeks ago.

I hope that clears up any confusion. I'm hyper-aware, perhaps overly concerned, with possible plot holes or inconsistencies my readers may be having. I always seem to try to pre-empt them, but regardless, I'm always open if people are confused and need explanations. It all makes sense to me, but...I'm not everyone, and as the writer, I'm in the unique position of knowing what the writer was thinking at the time.

I like to show images, particularly of Dark Star's various outfits. Not all of them have been colour-swaps of Positive Star's outfits, but a few of them are. The two characters are said to have similar tastes, after all. I just think it's worth showing the image I am actually describing, rather than just describing it.

If you're wondering why they didn't just use the dimensional scissors to get in, the restriction field is preventing them from getting inside with portals; they could only get out when they were already inside - and they couldn't open portals to places within the city whilst inside the city, either. I hope that makes sense, but I recognise the dimensional scissors do seem to make plot holes.

As for the plan...Adam and Star planned it for weeks. How they missed the Cloud Kingdom blimps is down to bad luck, really - they didn't expect it to be a problem because they'd never be that close. Bet you also weren't expecting the Dreamless Sleep spell to make a reappearance! I always wanted that to be the way they beat her, because they're not gonna defeat her one-on-one, so they'd only capture her by temporarily subduing her. The Dreamless Spell hasn't made an appearance since Chapter 4, where Adam used it on that guard. I don't have a reason why it hasn't shown up since, really, but I guess I never had a reason to use it. Adam's problems couldn't be solved by using it, and it usually wouldn't work on his enemies if they have strong enough wills.

It took Adam and Star's combined strength under the effects of the Seal of Arybailos just to successfully place Dark Star under the Dreamless Sleep spell. That's how strong she is, and that's why the spell would basically never work on her unless her guard was down. And don't expect it to last long, she'll break out of it! That was their plan though.

They only needed to subdue her whilst her guard was down, so they could then open a portal with Hekapoo's dimensional scissors to the Dímios HQ. Now, how the hell are they going to extract this information from her? Guess you'll have to wait to find out!

As always, thanks for the support. I will see you all in the next chapter, "Can You Forgive Her?" Dark Star's backstory will be revealed! (Some of it, anyway.)