Episode:
21: The Great Monsoon, Part 3
Time catches up with us all, eventually.
The Negative Multiverse, long ago…
Much could be said about death and destruction in the Negative Multiverse. It seems to follow you, wherever you might wander, like a faithful but fiercely independent pet. You would be hard-pressed not to find a denizen of Negative Mewni who hadn't been on the run at least once in their life. Some would be better at it than others, and even the royal household knew how much adversity existed on the plains of their promised land. Especially the royal household.
A vast desert stretched across the terrain for miles. Where there wasn't knee-deep sand, there was craggy, barren rock and cracked, dry bushes. The sky was thick and orange, seldom indulgent with clouds, as though someone had burnt an omelette the size of a planet on it. Yellow grass patches, the size of miniature golf balls, hid under pieces of rock, perhaps the only indication that life was possible in the Scorched Plains of Negative Mewni.
In one section of the Plains, the rocky terrain split open like a laceration in the land. A vast crevice run through for miles, leading several feet deep. A moss of dead bushes and plants on their last leg of life bordered the rocky edges, forming a buffer between life and law.
Two figures were noticeable inside. One of them, the taller of the pair, wore a long brown dustcoat, a frayed grey scarf, thick protective goggles, and big metal boots that were likely older than they themselves were. A beaten, old red hat rested on their head, caked in dust and grime from years gone past.
Tentatively, they reached out for a bundle of small, squishy berries hanging from the edge of an old bush. Letting out a hum of content, the figure dropped the berries into their wide rucksack full of them.
Satisfied, they stood up and cleared his throat.
'Okay, if we limit ourselves to two meals a day, six berries each, we should be able to make it last…two and a half weeks.' They removed their goggles, revealing hazel eyes behind them. 'Food is scarce around here. We're lucky to find anything this far into the Plains. All we got are these mallowberries…and you know how bitter they are.'
The other person in the two-man group stood up and patted themselves down. Their clothes were scruffy, scruffier than their partner's, and evidently older. They lifted up their haphazardly-constructed mask and looked their partner in the eye.
'Maybe we should just turn back, Beru.'
Beru nearly let his jaw drop entirely.
'Adam!' he exclaimed, folding his arms. 'You were the one who said the safest way to get to the Farlands from Garbage Beach was to go through the Scorched Plains! Don't give up on me now!'
'Maybe we should have waited for the storm to pass,' said Adam.
'The Beach was hardly safe enough for that,' Beru pointed out. 'Between the murdercrows, deathmoths and Butterfly Knight patrols we'd need shelter from…we'd just get caught. And killed.'
Adam swallowed the bile in his throat. 'Then maybe that's what's supposed to happen.'
Beru turned pale. He bit down on his dry, cracked lips.
'We can't just give up!' he cried, glaring at him. 'We've come this far!'
'Yeah, and what have we accomplished in the past three years? Aside from chasing smoke, I mean. Hell…that bunker we're looking for, probably doesn't even exist!'
'Your parents left the clues, Adam!' reminded Beru, seating himself on a large rock. 'They wouldn't just send us on a wild grishnak chase! How about trusting them for once? You have to have hope.' When Adam gave no response, Beru gritted his teeth for a moment. 'You know your parents wouldn't want this. They wouldn't want you to die like this. They'd want you to live!'
'My parents are DEAD!' he snapped. Beru sat back and stared at him directly in the eye.
'So are mine.'
Adam looked away, a guilty expression pulling on his brow. An invisible arrow appeared to have speared his heart, for he staggered back and collapsed onto a nearby heap of sand.
'I'm sorry,' he murmured. 'I know I should trust them, but…after running around looking for this "promised land" for three years, at some point we've got to face the possibility that we won't find it.'
Beru glanced down despondently. He thumped over to the dune on his heavy boots and deposited himself on the ground next to him.
'I know.' Adam curved an eyebrow at him in surprise. Beru sighed. 'I know it's a real possibility. But we survived the Second Great Monster Purge. We're one of the only survivors. We have to be meant for more than to die like this.' Beru put a hand on his wrist. 'All those people who were slaughtered. Nobody else knows their names. Without us, who's going to tell them? Certainly not the Butterflies. We're the only ones left to continue their legacy.'
When Adam still said nothing, Beru continued.
'You remember the promise we made, after the Purge?' he prompted, cocking his head to the side. 'Never give up, never give in…'
'…Never let it be in vain,' finished Adam, pulling up his knees to prop his head on them. 'Yeah, keeping that promise hasn't been so easy for me, y'know.'
'Me too,' Beru admitted. A nervous chuckle escaped his lungs. 'Sometimes I think we're just getting ahead of ourselves. We're only kids.'
Adam smiled a little. 'Speak for yourself. You're still only eleven.'
Beru rolled his eyes and punched him playfully in the shoulder. 'Still more mature than you,' he said.
Adam stifled a chuckle as he rose up from the sand dune. Dissatisfied, he patted himself down and shook off the sand clinging to his combat pants. He cleared his throat and indicated ahead.
'C'mon,' he beckoned, 'the last dead-drop showed the bunker's somewhere in the Farlands. We need to keep moving.'
Beru nodded and stood up. He looked around the Scorched Plains, his eyes wandering up the sharp, rocky edges of the vast crevice they stood in. A glance down at his leather-bound steel boots revealed how thinly the leather clung to the metal. Another few weeks, and he'd almost certainly need a new pair of boots. The leather for his boots came from dingocows, which fortunately could be found grazing in the Farlands in some places.
Undeterred, Beru plodded along with Adam at his side. A thick mist of heat hung over them, urging perspiration. The blistering yellow sun reflected the fragments of what were once Mewni's moons, producing an invasive glare onto their eyes. The two travellers made their way along the Scorched Plains, every step bringing them closer to death. Or life.
Whilst Beru gave occasional remarks on the sordid nature of their situation, Adam was silent all the while. He possessed a laser-precise focus trained on the valley ahead.
In truth, Beru had always been concerned by how quickly Adam had adapted to their lifestyle. It had taken him three years to do what Adam did in three days.
Beru hadn't seen all that Adam had seen. Beru never found his parents during the raid on Salem; he was never cursed with the trauma of witnessing their deaths. Admittedly, the burgeoning, burrowing feeling of guilt in the certainty of his parents' loss was sometimes overwhelming, but Adam felt that, too. He knew it was wrong to compare traumas, however, his wavering mind needed some way of justifying why he and Adam were so apparently different.
A crack of thunder snapped him out of his thoughts. Beru's eyes widened. Thunder? In the Scorched Plains?
Freak weather events only seemed to follow, as a massive gust of wind struck through the crevice. A huge plume of sand was kicked up, blasted into a massive vortex of shingle and gravel.
Moments later, a bright white light descended from the heavens to strike the land below. Rocky ash spilled up into the air and mixed with the sandy whirlwinds. A flash of purple light emanated from within the mist.
Adam and Beru stared at each other for a second. They looked around the crevice, desperate for a place to hide. Alas, the rocks weren't that tall, and the path of the crevice was relatively linear. It was just sand dunes, knee-high rocks, and dead shrubs for miles around.
As the dust, gravel and ash began to clear, the pair knew instantly they were dead men walking.
Within the crater stood an eleven-year-old Mewman girl. She had long flowing blonde hair, tied back with a black bow. She was wearing a dark red dress with a white skull emblem and black accents, and a plum-and-black striped pair of cotton leggings. She wore a matching crimson headband, and pristinely-polished black leather boots.
Most dangerously of all, she had distinct crimson heart-shaped cheek marks, accentuated by her deep purple eyes.
Star Butterfly, Dark Star, as she would later become known, patted her dress down and harrumphed.
'Whew, that Storm is quite something.' She unclipped her wand from her belt and scraped off the dirt and dried blood from the wand crystal, grumbling all the while. 'Monster hunting used to be so much fun. Like shooting eggs in a murdercrow nest. Now it's like finding a needle in a corn stack. Boring.'
The manic princess's inane rantings appeared, for a moment, like the only way the two of them could weasel out of this situation. Adam made a subtle movement for the rock, hoping to climb out, as if that would somehow remove them from sight. Beru edged towards a particularly sharp fragment of rock. Alas, it was all in vain.
'Hey! Losers!'
The pair of them froze. A stream of ice flowed through their veins, as they stumbled to turn around. Their wavered steps did not impress the princess, nor did their inability to make eye contact. They looked in her general direction, because apparently her dress was more interesting than her eyes.
'What are some random Mewmans doing all the way out here?' she asked, frowning bizarrely at them. 'You're pretty far from civilisation.'
Beru and Adam exchanged uncertain looks. Adam looked like a whole hive of wasps wanted to erupt from his mouth, whilst Beru looked like he wished he had a stapler to stitch his mouth shut.
'We're…we're travelling,' uttered Adam. 'Trying to keep out of the way of the Storm.' Star cleared her throat expectantly. 'Uh, your…your grace.'
She raised an eyebrow.
'Where do you live?'
Beru cleared his throat begrudgingly. 'We're homeless,' he said. Dark Star took one look at them and burst into laughter.
'Really? Wow,' she remarked, between fits of hilarity. 'Some people on this planet will do anything to survive. Not sure whether to be impressed or…' Her eyes wandered to the large bag that Beru was carrying. 'Hey, whatcha got there?'
Beru bit his lip, but he gave no reply. From his peripherals, he could see Adam staring at him in alarm. When silence continued for five more seconds – five seconds exactly, as though she had counted them out – Star stepped towards him.
'What's with the silent treatment?' she demanded, staring directly into his formerly averted pupils. 'Tell me what's in the bag. Now.'
Again, Star was graced with tense silence from the pair of them. Her eyes seemed to intensify with its purple hue, looking like a bull when it saw red. Or saw anything move in general.
Beside her, Adam attempted to reach for a small rock, but her eyes snapped to him for a second and forced him to abandon the opportunity.
Star's hand snapped out faster than lightning. She grabbed hold of the bag and pulled it toward her.
'Mine now!'
Beru pulled back as hard as he could. 'It's ours!'
'Then tell me what's in it!'
'It's nothing, just –!' Adam began, but it was already too late. Star's insurmountably herculean strength swiftly overcame Beru, sending him flying off his feet. Adam clamped his jaw shut, trying not to cry out for him, lest he aggravate the princess before them.
Star bent down to inspect the bag and groaned in dismay. The bag lay discarded onto the floor, mallowberries pouring out onto the rock and ash onto the ground.
'Just some mallowberries,' she grumbled. 'I hate mallowberries. Why were you even bothering to hide this from me?'
Beru groaned in pain. Slowly, he pushed himself up off the ground. He looked ahead and spotted something red on the ground. The beaten, battered remains of his hat. His eyes widened in shock, and he looked over at Adam.
He was hyperventilating and doing a terrible job at hiding it. Beads of sweat ran down his temple. The walls around him seemed to close in, as a strange buzzing feeling echoed in his head.
'G-Give them back!' cried Adam, coughing on air.
'Nope. Mine now,' she harped impishly. Beru took a few deep breaths and calmed himself. He allowed his nervousness to melt away and let cold fury replace it.
'We picked them, not you!' he exclaimed, catching the princess off-guard. 'You think that just because you have magic, you're special?!'
Star blinked, nonplussed. 'By definition that makes me special.'
'The hat,' Adam whispered pointedly. 'Put on the hat!'
Beru heard him quite clearly, but he didn't oblige. Instead, he wiped the blood from his bruised lip and glared undiluted at Star. The princess nearly staggered back in surprise, a deep frown creasing her brow.
'You don't need magic to be special. But you certainly need it to be a psychotic tyrant!'
Star cocked her head to the side. She nearly laughed off the offense she had taken, initially chocking up their behaviour to the fatalistic lifestyle they must be leading. That was until she got a better look at Beru's hat-less head.
'Are those horns?' she gawked, straining to get a better look. Her eyes fell to the discarded red hat on the floor. 'Oh, right. Clever.' Her intrigue instantly fell, and an ingrained grimace replaced it. 'So, you're a Monster.'
'Yes,' declared Beru, proudly. 'My race…we survived. We always survive, Star Butterfly.'
The two glared at each other, with Adam praying he could reach for a weapon without Star noticing. Alas, her eyes were still very much on him, too.
They continued to glower in silence for a moment longer when Star abruptly laughed.
'Must be my birthday!' she cried, practically jumping on the spot. 'You had me going for a moment there. Almost couldn't tell you were a Monster with that hat! I could tell there was a stink about you, but I assumed that's just what commoners are like.' Her jovial rictus-like grin dropped at a moment's notice. 'Anyway, time to die.'
'Not happening!'
A short-stacked, black-haired bullet shot in front of her. Adam stood in front of Beru, arms outstretched defiantly.
'I'm not going to let him die!'
'What are you gonna do about it, little man?' she mocked. 'Now…you're Mewman, I can tell. Why bother wasting your time with this vermin?'
It was Beru who answered first, pleading, 'Adam, don't get yourself killed just for me! You can't stop her!'
'Someone has to try!'
'I think you should listen to your Monster friend, boy,' warned Star, her voice deep and etched with killing intent.
'Don't kill him, please!' begged Beru, holding up his hands in surrender.
Star didn't seem to listen to his plea much, but she shoved Adam aside instead of killing him. Nevertheless, Adam felt his back strike a pointed spire of rock and howled in pain. Around him, everything seemed to fade slightly.
Bright phosphenes overwhelmed his vision. It was like a thousand tiny needles poking his limbs all at once. The glare of the sun instantly became unbearable, burning into his irises like an explosion of light. He rolled over, wishing his prayers of revitalised movement would come true. It did not. He leaned over and shifted onto his knees.
His eyes flitted upwards. Star was holding Beru by the throat. Her vicious grin was back again, stretched across her youthful, delicate features like forcefully drawn curtains.
Adam's instincts kicked in. Move. Move. MOVE!
His limbs failed him. His headache intensified. The agony of his injury throbbed away, his adrenaline doing nothing to mitigate it. His eyes went in and out of focus for a moment, until he finally saw something. Beru's face.
No-no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no…
Beru shook his head. His salted tears had mixed with his mucus on his sallow features.
'Adam don't–BLURGHH! UGHKK!'
A pale fist burst through his chest. Blood splattered instantly onto Adam's face. White noise clanged in his ears. Warm red liquid ran down his face slowly, gaining mass and accelerating. A red filter descended over his eyes as his body forced him to remain rooted to the spot.
As quickly as the hand had gone through, it left. Beru fell to the ground, in slow motion, Adam later recalled. His spleen spilled out of the hole in his chest, a major portion of his friend now discarded like it was nothing. It burst upon contact with a sharp rock, sending dark blood everywhere. It collected in a small incline on the ground, like a demonic puddle from the Underworld.
A wave of blood rose up in Beru's throat. It was a cascade of crimson, pouring out his eyes, nose, and mouth. It filled up his lungs in moments, drowning his sorrows and steadily suffocating him. His own blood betrayed him in that moment, but it was not the thing Adam would desire revenge from.
That would be the dismayed princess wiping his best friend's blood off her dress.
'You ruined my dress!'
Beru had nothing to say on the matter. He fell onto his back, surrounded entirely by his own blood. His clothes were somehow filthier now, stained permanently with dark patches of his own identity.
Star seemed to make a hum, or something similar, but Adam wasn't listening. He wasn't paying attention when Star transformed into something with a flash of light. He wasn't paying attention when she disappeared with a crack of thunder. He was only paying attention to him.
'BERU!'
Failing to hold back tears, Adam shuffled over to him in an instant, uncaring for the stain of blood marring his hands. There was so much blood, enough to fill an entire lake. There might have been less than he could later recall, or perhaps there was more. The fact the blood on his hands washed off later on was also forgotten. He seemed to remember that the dark liquid clung to his hands for years on end. His constant sobbing might have yielded less water than he remembered, but he lost count of how many tears there had been.
'Beru…I…please…you can't…we…we have to…do something!' Adam stammered, shaking him awake. 'I…I won't let you die! It's…no…IT'S NOT FAIR! WHY DID YOU HAVE TO BE THE ONE?! WHY COULDN'T IT HAVE BEEN HER?!' He banged Beru's chest more and more as the tears became unstoppable.
'Adam…'
'IT'S NEVER THEM! NO, WE PAY THE PRICE! WHY DO I HAVE TO LOSE EVERYONE?!'
'ADAM!' rasped Beru, with the last vestiges of his willpower. Adam fell silent for a moment. 'It's too late for me. Just…always remember. Never give up…never give in…never let it…be in vain.'
'I…I won't! I promise! Just please don't die! You can't die!'
Beru gave him one last smile. Adam could watch as the light left his eyes, as the glint in his pupils faded away forever. He shook him again and again and again, and nothing happened. Beru didn't miraculously return to life. He stayed dead. As he always would be.
Adam held his body and devolved into meaningless sobs. His very mind shattered and dissolved, focussed on bawling whatever liquid still resisted in his tear ducts.
Star Butterfly's horrendous sneer flashed in his mind. The Red Queen's senseless incineration of his parents followed. King River's mindless bloodshed against his friends permeated long enough to alter Adam's mindset.
Raspy, throated sobs were gradually replaced by calm, collected breaths. His defeated grimace turned into a single-track glare at where Star had last been standing. Adam clenched his bloody fists.
'I'm gonna kill them all.'
You are reaching your ninth symphony.
F̶̡͇̞͔͇̙̦͖̩̪̠̜͐͐̾̍̀į̷̩̼͈̓l̶͙͚̞͎͓̤͇̣̫̞̦̮̬̫̱̉́͗ͅt̢̢̟̘̠̬̳͇̜̗͙͉̲̘̂͛́́͋́͆̈́͜ͅḩ̷̧͖̭̠̘͉̄̓̊̇̃͂͌́͂̽̏͐͆͒̊͂̔̀̌̊̀̚͘͝͠͝y̴̶̡̢̛̛̜̞̻̭̪͍͖̯̦̪̼͓̣̜͓̺̥̺̤̹͚͎̪͚̯̰͖͓̜̟̫̖͓̮͖͌̆͒̀̂͋͑̓͌̀̓͆̽̎͆̓̈́͐̕͜ͅͅc̶̡̞̘̹̼̝̫̺̠̯̯̭̱̺̳͉̪͆̉̾̈́͜ớ̵̡̡̢̡͚̦̲͔̤̝̘̭̝͕̹̟̹̞͙̳̭̿̋͊̂͂̂͋̾̿̓̋̔͒̾͘͠ͅm̵̨̢̛̰̮̫̞͇̙̱̥̦̠͇͖̰̉͊̉̒̈͒̅́ͅͅm̵̢͔̠̥̦̙̅͛̂̓̅̑͋̾̉͋̉̆̀̀͊̊͊̊̊̚͝͠o̴̢̗̲̘͔̟͌̋̂̌̿͑͗̇͂̊͑͛͑̏̔̋̎̿̓͆̃̚͝ņ̶̝͕̗̩͓̮̦͓̙̖͚̜̭͓͕̹̲̮̖̲̒̆͋̏̏̇̏̎̿̈́̀̃̓̓̂̐͠e͚͉͎̥̥̒̈́̅̑͠r
Words that must never ever be spoken.
B̵̦̳͈͙͔̰̳̣̰̘̮͔̞̗͈̠͐̄̋̈́̏̉̎̑́͛͋̂̈́r̶̹̙̘̱͚̠͉̣̜̻͙̰͖̮͉̰̜̤̥̿̂̇ę̷̧̲͓̮̲̺̼̟̺̘̼̯͎͈̪̭̔̇̀̈͂̀ą̷͈̞̰̱̞̤̥̣͙̟̱̞̲̟̺̹̑́̇̉̔͜k̴̵̨̧̡̧̡̨͚̜̼͚̬̫̹̱̺̪͖͈͙̜͔̫̺̠͎̳̼͊̓̍̄̄̓̚ͅͅͅţ̥͓̝h̶̨̛̙̜̦͍̾́̋̉̈́̑͂̑́̓̐̌̕̚͝ͅě̶̴̢̛͉̳͈̜͎͎̺̠̭̤͇͕̩͈͖̺̯̎̓́̾͆̓̂͌̋̈́̉̈̽͑̂̿̎͒̽͊̽͘͘̚͝͠͝͠b̶̯̓͂̋̂͗ò̧̧̪͉̰̈̍̀̓̔̏͑̿̈̾̐͗́̈́̋͘͜ņ̷̝̳̆͊d̴̰̯̲̘̅̓͐̀͠s
̶̦͈̾̈́̋̒͋͌̚Angels cry, Butterflies die.
T̵̨̨̻̺̤̩̗̭̭̜͓͚͈̮͕̂̀́̓̒͊̀̀è̴̳͎̭̱̬̪̥̄͗̃̆̍̀͜͜͝͝â̷̢̦̓̊ͅr̴̛̝̤̖͇̗̣̱͖͈̼̠͓͔̘̦͉̱͍̗͕͎̭̼̊̈́̓̅̏̌̊̊͛̋́̃̇͗̓̃̃͒͗̓̑͘͝͝͝͝ͅt̶̢̢̜͕̹̝͉͒͒́̿̎͆̔̓͊͐h̶̛̙̄̊̓̍̕̚ȩ̴̷̱͓͕͓͚̦͈̖̹̝̮̺̩̥̯̜̙̩̠̍͐́̿̇̿̓̃̈́̾̚͜͝ͅͅf̷̡̛͈̰̯̤̬̭͙̩̣͍̫͌͛̋͋͌͌̈́̆͑͑̿̔͑́̾̒̄͜͝ͅǎ̶̰͕̥͗̋̔̅̋̿̒̋̔͠b̶̢̛͎͚̼̦̦̗͎̫̪͔̦̱̜̗̱̰̙̱̫̓͛̑̃̊͐̑̇͊̌͌̾̏͘̚͝͝r̶̨̥̪̘̩͖̱͖͇̟̰̜̼̦̼̰̻̔̽́̈́̿̄͛͛̽̽̔̚͠͠͝i̷̧̡͕̙̩͇̝͖͈̳̜͌͆̋̏̈̀̃̇̽̉͛̆c
̶̡̛͙̲͇̥͓͕̔̋́͆̓̆͗́̔̃͌͆͆͘͘'Patient has been clinically dead for 83 minutes.'
C̷̡̢̢̢̲̲̦̺͇͕͉̣͍͖̭̗̘͕͇̩̞̲͉̬̟̖͙̪̘͜͠l̶̨̟̯̻͚͎̺̖̥͙̺̮̥̝̞͖̪̙̲̖͑͌͂̋͐̑̈̄͗̈́̋͐̔͛̈̔́͂̋͋̓̽͒́̽͘͘̚̕ȩ͓̬̀́͐̎̈́̽̔͊̌̑͛͒̃̋͠͠a̴̧̙͍̯̠̙͍͎͔̻͇̖̩̪̱̦̤͖̫̣͇̦̫̱̣̾̎̉̂̃̇͐͛̔̓v̶̡̼͒ë̴̵̡̢̛̛̬̰̹̯̦̳̦̰̯̹͙̟͙͎̘̖̺̙͔̱̹̙̟͚̰͚͉͍̹̭́̄̄̈́̐̆̏͋̓́͊̋̌̓̽̽͋̽̀̎́̓̔̔̑̈̀̇̍̔̓̏̔͛̆̚͜͝͠ͅͅt̴̛̠̪̼̪͉͕̀̊̎̐̅̽̂̀̓̄̓̋̊̀̓̉̃͘h̴̰̍̽͂̚͠ë̷̵̢̨̢̢̨̢͎̜̬͙͓͍̗̮͈̤̘̻͉̙͎̟̺̪͈̪̦̻̻̫̘̯̩̭̫̤̤̹̖̲̹͓̗̗͔̪̤͚̫͎͎̣̩͗̿̉̂̐̋s̵̭̮̖̳̙̜͌͘ͅţ̨̧͓͓̟̺͍͎͇̜̭͕̪͉̦̞̬̩͇͚͚̝͈̝̤̮̲̂̑͐̂̽̉͂͋̍͐͊̿̂̽̓́͂̄͗͂͝͝ͅǫ̶̛̟͔̥̟̭̘͕̜̙̤͎̭͖͚̲͖̖̫͂̎̔̿̀̅̎̊̒́̔̓̈̓̏̇̚̕͘͜͜͝͝͝͠n̶͈̿͆̀̊͛̊̍̌̓̄͆͂̈̾̕̕es
̴̳̘̯̠̯̥̞̗̬̲̪̀̊͋'There's no helping him.'
Š̴̛͖̟̞̜͔͎̪̞̯͖̦͙̓̈̋͑̓̈́̄͂͋́̈́̀͌̈́̂̎́̂̂̌̅̕͠t̶̨̧̢̨͓̙̱͙̗̤̰̖̻̣͎̪̓̊̓̈́̅̇̅̂͒͗̓̀͆̓̒̈́̎́̋̽͑́͛͐̂̂̕͘͠͝͝ǫ̵̩͚̍͛̊͌̊̒͒̎̿p̵̵̢̨̢̨̡̪̫̜͓̯̘̪̟̤̰̝̝̟͍̜̹͕̦͖̬͖͖̻͍͇̖̤̗̰̜̙͉̪̞̝̫̤̮̮̂̏̄̆̀̄̏͛̉̉̾̐̀͛͂͋͐́̏̈́̑̐̇̐̒͘͘͘̕͜͜͜͝͠ͅt̶̨͕̯̝̲̜̳̯͎̝͚̪̙̊̃̆̋͒̎̿̽̓͊͋̑̕͠͠h̴̡̧̳͈̯͎̺̬̖̝̠̪̝̱̝̻͍̩̤̪̱͚̄̎͊̇͑̾́́̑͗͑̽̓̈̆̃͘͜͠͝͝e̶̶̡̡̧̧̛̛̗̱̺͈̮̥̥̜̘̰͉̼̱͎̪̞͇͔̩̟̪̼͔͍̫̙̩̞̜̼̤̥͚̟̮̬̫̻͙͉̱͖̘̤̺̹͈̥̩̬͓̗͛̏̓͊̄̈́̋̄́͆̌̃͒͌̀̍̀̈́̂̕̚͘m̴̨̙̞͎͈͚̺̪̞̰̰̥̪͎͉̣̲̫̞͕̼͚͖̜̪̈́̓̈́̑̏̃̏̇̊́̿̾̃̚̕ã̛̹̬̻͕̆̽̈́͂́̒͆̉̀̾̿̐̽͒͘͝͝ģ̵̨̡̧̧̛͕͙͚̩͖͔̻̗̝̭͕̜͉̣̹͇̜̜͚́̀̔̽̀̄̒̾́̇͊̀̃͊͑̾̂̎́͑͘͜͠͠͝͝͝͠į̢̺̲͈̹͍̹͎͓͙̻̣͔̱̙̺̼͍̝̣̠̈͐̈̔̓͛́̀͊͂͆̽͠ͅͅç̷̡̲̞̖͕̺͖̰̣̹͓͚̮̮̼͇̱̯̝̌̒̏̿͋͒̓ͅ.
̴̓̈́̿͋͑
̡̛̜̳̭̟̟̦̠̘͍̭͕͔͎͖̪͖͎̗͒͜ͅͅ'Bring in another healer.'
. . .
. . .
. . .
. . . .
All that was, or would ever be, or should be, became nothing. The nothing became something. The something became life, which dulled and hummed. Life became death, and death became life, and the two reformed existence. Bright orbs of light shifted across neurones, crawling through cells, and bringing it back to existence.
Uncountable lengths of time passed. Between centuries to seconds, all of it amounted to nothing. Hanging on the edge of reality itself, to be a moment's away from shuffling off the mortal coil to descend into a pit of nothingness, was an experience only the dead could encounter.
Nobody died ever lived to tell the tale. All except one.
Blue light entered vision. A heartbeat arose amongst the darkness. Warm blood pumped through veins, replacing, and invigorating the frigid air. A finger twitched; a breath was taken.
Adam gasped, as his very soul shot into his body. His eyes opened, but everything was so warped and unclear. It was like staring through a frosty window, trying to see past a fog.
Where am I?
Steadily, his eyes focussed.
He was still staring upwards. Reflections of water waves skated across the ceiling and walls. Tiny ceiling lights glowed a warm yellow, easing his eyes into their new surroundings.
Groaning to move around, he looked around the room. It was about the size of an average bedroom, but more reminiscent of a medical ward with its wide, vaguely rectangular shape. The walls were polished white, constructed from marble or something similar. A sink, mirror and medicine cabinet were against the wall to his right, opposite a window obscured by blinds. A wide dresser sat under it, looking recently used.
He had been placed on some kind of waterbed, large and round with eight wooden posters, from which white, wispy curtains hung. They rippled in tandem with the glow of ethereal water seeping through the duvet beneath him. Surprisingly, the bed was extremely comfy. It seemed to have a calming element to it, which Adam ordinarily would have chalked up to magic, if he had detected the presence of magic.
How am I alive? The Whispering Spell…I should be dead...
And yet, he had. He was supposed to be dead. So why wasn't he? Answers. He needed…
All the breath he had ceased instantly. As his own feeling of proprioception returned to him, Adam knew instantly something was wrong. His eyes fell to his right arm.
Or lack thereof. Because his right arm was missing.
Gone. All that was left was a tiny, necrotic stub of flesh clinging on the end of his shoulder. Deep black veins spread out from the wound, fading as they ran further across his body. A dull, numb pain pulsed from the epicentre of the magical injury, a constant reminder to his loss.
Okay…don't…don't panic. This…this can't be real. I must be dreaming.
He squeezed his eyes shut and took several, deep breaths. He knew he had to remain calm. Maybe this was all some wretched nightmare. A test from eldritch beings.
Suffice it to say, it was not. When Adam opened his eyes and found himself exactly where he was, the impossibility of his situation dawned upon him.
'No, no, no…' he muttered, painfully trying to shift out of his seat. A strong pain in his left leg flared up as he slid onto the edge of the bed. His left shin was sealed in a cast. 'This…this…this can't be happening! No, no, no…!'
'I am afraid that it is.'
Adam jerked in surprise at the familiar voice. He looked up as a pale-skinned humanoid man walked into the room. He wore a set of white robes over a scaled tunic, and thin, freshly-pressed pantaloons. A set of gills ran down the sides of his neck, like an Atlantean from those weird human fairy-tales that Negative Janna would occasionally mention to him.
'Wait…' Adam muttered, frowning in recognition. He coughed violently. 'A-Argynos?' Argynos nodded. 'Wha…?'
'How are you feeling?' he asked. Adam blinked and instinctively moved to put his right hand against his head, only to be reminded it still wasn't there. He groaned a second later and rubbed his forehead with his left hand.
'I dunno. What…happened? Where am I?'
'You're in Apophis, the city below Lake Majoris,' Argynos explained, walking across the room toward him. 'We found you sinking below the depths of the lake. So, we took you to one of our healing rooms and brought you…well, back to life.'
Adam bit his lip.
'I died.' He looked up at Argynos, who nervously averted eye contact. 'Like…fully dead. You resurrected me…'
'Yes,' he said. Adam's eyes wandered back to his right stump.
'My arm…'
Argynos hummed in understanding. 'Yes…it was like that when we found you. We…think it might have been blown off by magic. We couldn't neutralise it, so we isolated it to a localised area. What do you remember?'
A sharp, stabbing pain arose in Adam's temples. He shook his head, hoping it would go away.
'Dark Star…' he said, 'she…the Whispering Spell…she used the Whispering Spell on me…'
Argynos nodded, seeming to understand what he meant. Either that, or he dared not ask what kind of foul magic could have caused it. As Adam's mind was racing, trying to process things, something suddenly occurred to him.
'Wait… "we"? Who's "we"?'
'I'm more than just a volunteer for the War Games, Adam,' replied Argynos. 'I am the Head Witchdoctor of the Royal Hospital of Apophis. My team of healers and I helped bring you back to life. You see, technically you were dead, but…a small portion of your soul seemed to linger. We're not sure why, but we believe it was the lasting effects of some kind of magical seal. Not that we know what it was, exactly.'
Oh, but Adam certainly did. The Seal of Arybailos. He recalled, murkily, that he had tried to cast it moments before his death. At the time, he assumed he failed to cast it, because it averted absolutely nothing. Yet, from what Argynos was telling him, it had played a part in saving his life.
Heh. Ironic.
'I suppose…I have you to thank, for saving my life.' He took a resolute breath. 'I owe you a debt.'
'Not necessary,' Argynos dismissed. 'I saved you as a mark of respect. For your actions in the War Games. You see, it was in our kingdom's best interest that the treaty be signed. You helped to ensure that, both in this lifetime and the next.'
Adam nodded dubiously. 'You…do realise, of course, that it was my fault the War Games even happened, to begin with?'
Argynos raised an eyebrow.
'Are you saying I shouldn't have saved your life?'
'No, no! Of course not!' he cried, shaking his head fervently. 'I just…sorry.'
'It's quite alright,' the Lacetus replied. The room fell silent for a moment and Adam almost wished his headache could somehow get worse, just to cover up the tension. He knew there was one thing left unaddressed. He sighed.
'Well…I…I'm a little scared to ask this,' he admitted. 'How long?'
Argynos looked down, crestfallen.
'A month.'
'A MONTH?!'
He shot up at a moment's notice, but the pain in his left leg throbbed to the point of agony. He collapsed onto the ground. An image of himself hitting the rocks on his fall flashed in his mind. A month gone by. No recovery. Adam knew it. It just couldn't be true!
'You…you're lying.'
'I'm sorry, but I'm not,' confessed the witchdoctor. 'You've been in a coma for a whole month. And a touch beyond that, even. That wicked spell left you completely dead. It took the best magic and medicine we have to bring you back.'
Adam's mind raced away faster than his heart. So much had gone by in a blink of an eye, and he hadn't even realised it. His eighteenth birthday. Marco's sixteenth birthday. Janna's annual paintball tournament. Half of the Great Monsoon. Everything.
Gone.
'No…'
He began to force himself up, biting back the pain of his busted leg. Argynos came over a moment later, helping him to his feet.
'I…I need to go back. Back home. The war…'
'Is no longer your priority,' said Argynos, pushing him back onto the waterbed. 'You're far too injured to even move right now.' The second Adam opened his mouth to object, Argynos spoke first. 'Besides, the city's in lockdown. Concerns about the Great Monsoon have reached their height since the Cloud Kingdom was taken last week. Regardless…I'm sorry to say, but even if you were to get out, there isn't much left up there anyway.'
Adam's eyes hardened as he asked huskily, 'What are you talking about?'
'The Empire have done much whilst you were unconscious,' he explained. 'Within a month, they've assumed control of the Cloud Kingdom, Mace Kingdom, the Spiderbite Kingdom, and the Johansen Kingdom. Waterfolk's the only other kingdom left.'
'No that's…that's not right. H-How did…?'
His thoughts were only of the people who suffered whilst he slept. Penelope had done so much to quell the Empire's infiltration, to save her boyfriend and all the innocent Monsters. Now their current status was in jeopardy, and Adam had no way of knowing if they were still alive.
Pony Head was probably not taking kindly to the Empire's occupation, assuming she was still alive. Adam had already seen what Empire influence could have on the Cloud Kingdom, and now history was repeating itself. Like some big cosmic joke.
And what of the Mace Kingdom? Not only would the Empire's control over it give them a huge advantage for attack on the Butterfly Kingdom, but what about Carter, or Caela? Ignius and his family were likely to have been executed, which rendered the peace that Argynos had mentioned earlier completely moot.
The Johansens would have butted heads with the Empire immediately. Best not to leave them alive, the Empire would think. River's relatives must all be dead now. Another thing Adam could never be forgiven for. Just because the Waterfolk Kingdom was still standing, didn't mean he was absolved.
'They've been leading daily sieges against the Butterfly Kingdom.' Argynos's voice broke him out of his reverie. 'But it seems that they have managed to erect a forcefield around their city. It's holding them off for now, but I wouldn't expect that to last forever.'
'They had a forcefield already. That must mean…a second, more powerful one took its place.' Although his mind remained murky, he still possessed an element of intelligence. 'Dark magic. They're using Dark magic.' An exhale escaped his nostrils. 'Heh. Bet the MHC must hate themselves for doing that.'
'Whatever the case may be, I'm afraid it won't be long before the Butterfly Kingdom falls,' said Argynos, reproachfully. 'Queen Moon and King River have been almost entirely on the defensive since the Mace Kingdom was taken. I'm surprised they haven't touched Apophis. It must be our unique location.'
'No, it's not that,' he replied, earning a puzzled look from his comrade. 'They haven't invaded Apophis because they don't know it exists. Apophis doesn't exist in the Negative Multiverse. I only know about it because I read about it – in the Butterfly Family library. A resource that the Empire doesn't have. Your kingdom's isolationism is what saved you.'
'Then…that makes Apophis the safest place on the planet.' Adam knew exactly where he was going with this, and he didn't like it. 'The safest place for you to stay and recover.'
'I can't stay here!' he cried. 'Not with the Butterfly Kingdom on the brink of collapse!' He shook his head in disbelief. 'Every kingdom? Not just the Mace, every single one beside the Waterfolk? I…I just can't believe it. I never thought I'd see this…the Red Queen, choosing to dominate, instead of destroying.'
Argynos knew this part was coming and he still wasn't prepared to divulge it. Nevertheless, he knew Adam needed to know this.
'I'm afraid…that's the last bit of bad news. The Red Queen is dead.'
Adam blinked. He stared at Argynos as though he had turned human. His jaw was left hanging open, lying on the floor somewhere. An utterly scatter-brained frown emerged on his face.
'What? How…? Wait, why is that bad news?'
'Because her daughter has succeeded her.'
Adam's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. And not in a funny way.
'No…no, no, no…that's…that's impossible. Dark Star is the new queen of the Empire?'
'Star the Unforgiving, she's going by,' elaborated Argynos. 'Worse, still…she's the one that did it.' When Adam still looked confused – as confused as he could, given his pre-existing bewilderment – Argynos swallowed the air in his throat. 'Her mother. She killed her own mother.'
'She…?' Adam couldn't bring himself to finish the question. Argynos nodded. 'How…how do you know?'
'She wasn't exactly hiding it. She was very proud to be the one to strike her mother down and strip away her father's royalty.'
Adam was on the edge of shutting down. He tried to calm his breaths, but he knew his mind was on overdrive. His chest felt so tight, like a vice was crushing him. Dark Star took his spellbook. Now she has Multiversal magic at her fingertips. Any second now, she would burst into this room and finish what she started. It was only a matter of time.
Stay calm…deep breaths.
'I'm sorry…I should have realised how difficult this must be to process,' Argynos admitted, hesitantly putting a hand on his shoulder. Adam took a few more breaths and quelled his anxiety attack by counting how many items in the room were the colour blue. It was a lot.
'It's…it's fine,' he stuttered, stifling a watery breath. 'How…how much have they managed to take over? They…they were invading other dimensions before.'
'Yes, well, I'm afraid there's no good news,' said the witchdoctor. 'The last we heard, Queen Star managed to take over Galafamor, Karabraxis, the Bounce Lounge, now the Torture Lounge, and at least one Quest Buy. With plans to invade the Demon Realm again. They've been starving the Butterfly Kingdom of its resources. Princess Star was last known to be trying to get the Underworld involved in the war, but details have been…scarce.'
Adam struck his fist down on the bed. 'I should be out there, not trapped here! They…they think I'm dead, Argynos!' He frantically rubbed his brow. 'I need to help! Dark Star…you don't know what she's like! She…she isn't like her mother. She's fierce. She's aggressive. And she's unpredictable! The Empire's winning because she is impossible to predict! You have to let me out of here, Argynos!'
Argynos sighed.
'I'm sorry, Adam, truly, but there is nothing that I can do.'
'Bullshit! You're the Head Witchdoctor; you must have…connections, or something! What's stopping you from getting me out of here?'
'In case you forgot, the whole city is in lockdown. Nobody can get in or out.' Argynos folded his arms and gritted his teeth begrudgingly. 'Besides, even if you somehow do manage to get above ground, what would you even be able to accomplish? You're heavily crippled, and we don't have any Mewman prosthetics. You lost an arm, Adam. And your left shin has a compound fracture.'
'I might be injured, but that doesn't mean I should give up!' Adam protested, standing up slowly. 'Even then…I don't need my right arm just to do magic. Perks of Dipping down.'
Argynos raised an eyebrow. 'Are you sure about that?'
'Yeah,' he scoffed, moving to fold his arms. Only to realise he couldn't.
'You're in denial,' said the Lacetus. 'You know what the Whispering Spell does. Butterfly magic is well-documented. The Whispering Spell destroys magic. All magic. You're lucky it only took your arm!'
'My magic is different!' he insisted, looking frantically about the room for some way of proving it. Eventually, his eyes fell upon his distinct gold compass, sitting on top of the marble dresser. 'Look!' He pointed at it. 'See my compass over there? Watch this. Levitato!'
He said the spell as clearly as can be, but nothing happened. No brilliant blue hue, not even a few sparks. Adam frowned.
'Levitato! C'mon, stupid magic…Levitato!'
It didn't matter how many times he said it. Adam knew he wasn't casting a spell; he was merely speaking an incantation, without any meaning or power to it. Red Glossaryck would've been disappointed. And probably Blue Glossaryck, too, but with more riddles.
Adam shook his head in disbelief. 'No, no, no, no…this…this is impossible…I'm…I…'
'I know this must be difficult for you, but you have to accept it,' said Argynos, handing him a small object. A mirror. 'Your magic is gone.'
Reluctantly, Adam took the mirror and looked into it. The man who stared back couldn't have been more different. His features were sallow and sunken, his complexion somehow paler than the average Mewman. His jaw bore a scruffy stubble, with thick, uneven strands of short, black hair and a layer of sickly grey skin underneath. His raven-black hair was lighter now, slightly greyed, and entirely dishevelled. Frayed tresses stuck out from the rest, dangling in disorderly ways from the matted mass of hair on his head.
Most noticeable of all were his cheek marks. His once signature pale purple hexagons were gone. Adam raised a tentative hand to his face, scraping his unmarked cheeks. It was true.
No more magic. He had nothing left to offer. Not only that, but his right arm was gone. His left leg was fractured, trapped in a cast. His friends thought he was dead. They had to suffer, and continue to suffer, with the concept that their friend was dead.
And, to add insult to injury, he was now trapped in Apophis.
A flash of Star's horrified, grief-stricken face, moments before his death, graced his mind once he closed his eyes. He waveringly resting his hand on his chin. A second later, he gasped and suddenly looked up at Argynos.
'Well…if you're keeping me here…' he stuttered, putting his hands forcefully on the witchdoctor's shoulders. 'Argynos, please. You've got to send them a message. I have to let them know I'm still alive!'
Argynos shifted his jaw remorsefully.
'I'm sorry –'
'No!' he cut off, turning his back to him, and limping over to the nearby window. He raised the blinds and leaned on the windowsill. 'Don't tell me you can't even send a fucking MESSAGE!'
'It's too risky.'
Adam nearly turned and spat at him. '"Too risky"?! Are you kidding me?!'
'The Empire's occupation of the Mace Kingdom prevents it,' Argynos explained, sighing away his frustration. 'They can intercept any and all communications going to the Butterfly Kingdom. We'd never get the message past the Mace Kingdom before the Empire found it. And if that happened…well, not only would they know about you, but they'd know about Apophis. I'm not putting the safety of my home at risk for you anymore than I already have. Besides…with the recent lockdown, incoming communications have been limited to almost nothing. We'd have no way of knowing if the message made it to the right people.'
Adam sniffed. He'd done his best to hold back the tears, but now he couldn't stop it. Warm droplets of water slid down his blank cheeks, as he turned and looked at Argynos with his bloodshot eyes.
'Well, what the hell am I supposed to do now? What do I even live for?'
'For starters, you'll need a walking stick for your leg,' said Argynos, after a moment. 'And I will have to prescribe you Antioctarine pills for your arm. The residual effects of the Whispering Spell still linger there; it's what's causing the pain you're feeling in it right now. The Antioctarine should sooth that. I…wish I could provide you some kind of prosthetic…but none of our Lacetian parts were compatible with Mewman physiology. Your immune system kept rejecting it.'
Adam hummed darkly. 'I probably don't deserve one, anyway.'
If Argynos had heard him, he made no indication of it. He simply continued on with the explanation of his treatment.
'I must go request your medication,' he told him, as he was halfway out the door. 'You still need to recuperate. I'll explain how things will go for the foreseeable future once I return. I won't be a moment.'
Adam nodded.
'Yeah.'
Argynos blinked. He left the room with a noticeable guilt to his gait. Adam remained leaning on the windowsill, but he moved to place his back against the wall. Dumbfounded, he allowed himself to slide down the wall and onto the floor, next to the sizeable dresser.
His eyes glanced up. His disloyal compass was still sitting there, unmoving. Whoever had taken the time to put it there, they obviously knew it was mildly important to him. With a painful groan, Adam reached up and swiped it off the edge. Holding the small round device in his palm, he inspected the little compass hand for any sign of movement.
None. No interference. Usually, he'd expect a tiny bit of movement, a miniature degree of coercion in its direction. Nothing. There was no trace of magic left within him. He was totally powerless.
Adam screamed in anger and hurled the stupid thing across the room. It smashed into the wall and became a crumpled mess of metal on the ground.
He should be dead, dammit! His own pathetic arrogance had brought on his demise, and yet fate wouldn't even allow him a swift end. No, it just insisted his life would continue, insisted that Argynos find him on the cusp of death and resurrect him from nothingness.
I didn't earn this. I never should have lived in the first place. I should be dead. I should have listened to Star. To Janna. But I thought I could handle it alone.
Kelly had been right. His compulsion, his pathological need, for revenge had cost him everything. Revenge wasn't all that he had thought it to be. He'd spent long wishing for it, imagining it, preying upon it, and the time came when he had the ultimate opportunity…
…and he failed to realise what an idiot he had been.
He had let it control him. Drive him. He thought he was doing the right thing, avenging Beru, Negative Janna and his parents…but instead he just let it destroy him. How much happier could he have been if he had just let it go?
Adam had nothing. No home to call his own. No friends left. They all thought he was dead. He had forced them to live in suffering and grief and anguish, and what was the worst part? He didn't even die. He didn't even offer the opportunity to move on, because they never could if he couldn't even die correctly.
Trust me to not even be able to DIE right.
Now, Adam had gone and handed the entire multiverse to the Dark Butterflies on a silver platter. He had not considered himself vital to the conflict, but his loss had been the saddle to break the Warnicorn's back. His own arrogance had done more than destroy himself, it had destroyed everything. Condemned the whole multiverse to the cruelty of the Dark Butterflies.
And there wasn't a single thing he could do to stop it.
Adam almost missed the sound of the door opening to his left. He looked up and saw Argynos walking back into the room. He was a carrying a stick in one hand and a white pill container in the other.
'I brought you y– what are you doing down there?' Adam merely gave him a scowl. Argynos rolled his eyes and walked over to him. 'Anyway…I brought you your cane.' He handed the object down to Adam, who inspected it curiously.
It was long and dark red, hooked at the end with a browning leather grip. The wood had carvings on it, dotted with rhombuses and runic markings. Adam took the cane in hand and used it to push himself off the ground. Admittedly, the stick did nothing to alleviate the pain, but at least he could walk more than a few meters without collapsing.
'T-Thanks,' he said, his jaw jammed together in pain.
'I have your Antioctarine medication, too,' replied Argynos, handing him the white bottle. Adam stared at it, reading the label absentmindedly. 'Take two pills, twice a day, at least four hours apart.'
'Twice a day; four hours apart. Got it.'
'Good. You…might wanna take it now. We've got a meeting to attend.'
'Meeting?' he asked, as he snapped open the bottle and popped two pills into his mouth. He quickly swallowed it down with water.
'The Primajora – the main governing body of Apophis – want to see you. They wish to discuss the circumstances around your stay in the city. Since it's obvious you're not going anywhere, we need to sort out the terms of your accommodation.'
Adam nodded, as he limped about the room. Getting used to being one-armed, walking with a stick, was certainly going to take time. He took a moment to test walking without the cane, and instantly hated that choice. Adam cried out in pain for a moment. He immediately returned to reliance on the cane.
Once he was done mulling about in pain, he asked the question that had immediately been on his mind. 'How'd you convince them to let me stay here, anyway?'
'I haven't.' Argynos hummed when Adam looked at him, puzzled. 'Not yet. That's what the meeting's for. The Primajora let you stay whilst you were in a coma because you were still under my duty of care. Now, you are not. Not unless we come to some kind of arrangement.'
Adam nodded dumbly. 'Oh…right. Yeah. I…guess you'll be taking me to them, right?'
'Yes. It's not far from here. We will be walking, however.' Adam sighed in acceptance. 'I'll let you have a change of clothes. I'll be outside.'
As Argynos turned to leave, Adam gritted his teeth and followed. He held in a groan of pain, as if, somehow, a moment of weakness invalidated his existence. Why couldn't the ground open up and swallow him whole right now?
Meditating on her grief was scarcely successful for Eclipsa. She had tried so many times to rid herself of the pain of loss. She never could. Globgor, Meteora and now Adam. It was a sordid endeavour, but it was the only thing that she felt gave her meaning.
So, as she stormed through the Demon Realm and fought off the forces of the Butterfly Empire after such an abrupt return, there was little on her mind. She knew her interest should have been the safety of the citizens of the Boiling Isles. But her rage won out.
Eclipsa slew through hordes of Empire Knights without a care to the bloodshed. Her mind had an intense focus on an outlet for her grief. To the demon observers on the Isles, she appeared as a nightmarish blur of black and purple. She reduced her enemies to bloody pulps with ferociously swift spells that could not catch their eyes. The only indication she was even supposed to be helping them was the fact that she hadn't killed them yet.
At the end of the day, when the invasion had been driven back, Eclipsa found herself surrounded by the crowd in one of the major cities. She stood there, covered in blood, panting for breath. Their eyes reflected fear and terror at her. As she caught her breath, she opened up a portal beside her.
'You're welcome,' she said, before disappearing through it.
Once Adam had had a change of clothes from drab patient apparel to the shirt and jeans that they had provided him, he hobbled his way out of his room. Following Argynos whilst his leg was injured was unpleasant, but at least it gave him an opportunity to get used to his…situation. By the time he and Argynos left the hospital, Adam had created a dedicated rhythm of movement to mitigate some of the pain.
Apophis was like nothing Adam had ever seen before. An entire city, sitting on the bottom of the seafloor. Whole districts contained within a single bubble, separated by a network of metal tunnels.
Far above them, there was a massive, reinforced glass dome, marking the outermost border of Apophis. By pure estimation, Adam guessed the upward radius was at least four miles. He couldn't see the edges of the city from where he was, and if it weren't for the reflections of the city lights in the glass, he wouldn't have been able to tell there was a dome in the first place. The curvature was barely noticeable.
For the richer citizens, there was a network of flying cars whizzing about a mile above them. How they remained in orderly lanes, Adam wasn't so sure, though he guessed the system in the vehicle indicated virtual car lanes.
For the common folk, the city had a regular road system, with more floor-bound cars and hovercycles. The tarmac material, streetlights, road signs and sprayed white car lanes reminded Adam more of Earth than Mewni. Perhaps Apophis drew inspiration from other dimensions once dimensional travel was devised? No wonder they remained so isolated from Mewni. Perhaps they were chiefly concerned that their discoveries would be stolen.
The particular street that Adam was now standing on was called Orderly Street, which seemed fitting. It was a double lane street, lined with mid-height buildings on either side. From the alleyways and dark windows to the four-way intersection a hundred yards to the right, it was an empty street. Judging by the low-level streetlights, and the dark sea water above, Adam guessed it was quite early in the morning.
'We're heading just across the street,' said Argynos, pointing at the old stone building across the street. 'To the Prime Court.'
The Prime Court was the largest building noticeable on the street. It wasn't tall, probably due to old building height city disciplines, but it was very wide.
If Adam were to give a sense of scale, he would say it was about the length of five Earth trucks, or thirty Warnicorns from nose to tail. Ornate stone statues of cherubs, hydras and mermaids sat on plinths beside Corinthian columns marking its entrance. A set of steps ran up to a marble plateau, where the vast wooden doors stood, next to a sign written in a language Adam didn't understand.
As he hobbled up the stone steps of the entrance to the Prime Court, he wondered just how big Apophis really was.
Relatively little was known about Apophis above the waters of Lake Majoris. Information was restricted due to their isolationist policies, so knowledge of the city lingered only on the word of mouth. The Empire likely didn't know about Apophis for that reason; nobody wanted to tell them, and documents on it were only found in the Butterfly Castle on Positive Mewni.
If Adam were lucky, the Empire would never find out about Apophis. Given recent events, however, Adam didn't consider himself any arrangement of the word "lucky".
Argynos led him through the building with a steadfast pace. Eyes were on him in an instant. The stone walls were not thick enough to obscure their thoughts. His pale complexion gave him away as Mewman near-instantly. To their credit, their eyes seemed to lack the judgemental pigment distinctive to landborne dwellers, they seemed only curious. Most of them probably had not seen a Mewman before, or they identified his paler skin as completely unseen. Regardless, Adam wished he could pick up his pace.
They reached a set of doors with a sign above it, reading "Courtroom C-6" in italics. Adam instinctively reached forward to open the door, with his right hand, only to realise his mistake. He made a correction, to use his left hand, but the instant dagger of agony from his leg perished the thought. Looking at him, Argynos sighed sympathetically.
'I'll get it for you,' he offered, reaching forward, and pulling the door open. He beckoned Adam to enter, and the Mewman begrudgingly made his way inside.
On his way in, Adam knew straight away what the crime levels were like in Apophis. The courtroom was almost completely full, with rows of jury seated around an oval theatre around the main stage. As he hobbled his way towards a seat in the centre of the room, he noticed the group of Lacetans sitting at the stand, all of them wearing judicial uniforms with dark shades of green.
'Adam, yes?' said the white-haired Lacetus in the middle, whose seat was higher than the rest. Adam nodded nervously. He smiled thinly. 'Take a seat.'
Adam didn't have to be told twice. He sat down in the seat without a moment's hesitation, eliciting a groan of pain as he did. He glanced to his left and saw Argynos, who was standing behind a wooden face. Argynos gave him a nod, and Adam nodded back.
'We are called here today to decide how to deal with your immediate future.'
The leader, whose plaque described him as "King Head Ophis" had been the one to say it. He was dark-skinned and aged with wrinkles, his gills looking slightly wilted. He wore a professional suit underneath his judge's gown, visible with the bright white collar and red tie underneath.
'Yes…' Adam uttered, biting down on his lip. 'I, uh…well, thank you for saving my life. I'm…I'm not sure how to repay it.'
'That is what we're hoping to decide,' replied Ophis, barely looking at him as he straightened a stack of papers. He cleared his throat. 'Adam Butterfly, legal Ward to Queen Moon, and Royal Magic Ambassador to the Butterfly Kingdom. Is this information correct?'
Adam frowned. He just called him by his name. Before he even read from the sheet. Shouldn't he'd already know those details were correct?
Ophis seemed to be understanding him, for he then said, 'You must confirm, for legal reasons.'
'Oh,' chirped Adam. 'Uh, yes. The information is correct.'
'Therefore, as you are a Butterfly, your hospitality is the responsibility of Queen Moon?'
'Yes.'
'Are you thus confirming that Queen Moon failed in her responsibilities as your legal guardian?'
'No!' he cried, before he could even stop himself. He should've known this line of questioning was going somewhere unfavourable.
King Head Ophis raised an eyebrow. 'Can you explain to us the circumstances surrounding your near-death situation?'
Adam bit his lip.
'It was my fault.'
'Go on,' said a female judge, Kory. When Adam still hesitated, she leaned forward. 'Head Witchdoctor Argynos over there informed us that you were found in Lake Majoris on the brink of death. On the very same day as the Mace Kingdom invasion.'
Adam knew he should be calling that out for being circumstantial, but it really wouldn't help. He may not have been present for the invasion itself, but he was certainly present for its precursor. Honesty seemed like the only option. Lying could get him thrown out and crushed by water pressure.
'I was fighting an enemy. The current Queen of the Butterfly Empire. A magical curse got me. A curse that I failed to avoid.'
'Does this mean you are taking up our time because of your own arrogance?' Ophis prompted, folding his arms.
'Yes. It's my fault,' he lamented. 'I should have listened to my sister. She warned me not to take Dark Star on alone.'
One of the other judges, a male Lacetus by the name of Rory, raised a hand. 'What do you mean by "Dark Star" and "Butterfly Empire"? Forgive me, but I am confused.'
'It's a long story.'
'Then explain it,' said Kory, earning nods from the other judges.
'At the dawn of time, there was a single multiverse,' he recounted, 'but it split in two, inexplicably. Randomly. (I promise this is relevant.) The split wasn't perfect. The two multiverses were still… "clinging" onto one another. Dimensional bridges were left behind – multiversal bridges, is what I call 'em. They remained dormant for billions of years. The multiverse we're in right now, is the Positive Multiverse. The other multiverse…that's the Negative Multiverse. That's where I'm from.'
He paused for a moment as he thought about what he wanted to say. All the judges stared at him intently, somehow without a speck of doubt in their eyes. The jury whispered amongst themselves, but a stern glare from Ophis silenced them immediately. Undeterred, Adam continued on with his explanation.
'In my multiverse, things are different. Have been different for a long time. I don't know everything but…at some point, the Butterfly Democratic Province discovered interdimensional travel. Earlier than they did here. So…instead of making the shift to a kingdom like they were supposed to, under Primus Butterfly, they began colonising other dimensions. Fast forward a hundred years, and you have the Butterfly Empire. It's run by evil versions of the Butterflies — Dark Butterflies. Specifically, an evil version of Star Butterfly. I call her Dark Star. Before that, it was the Red Queen…who it seems you're already familiar with.
'This war was sparked when I accidentally travelled from the Negative Multiverse to this one. It took the Empire a year to follow. They're using those multiversal bridges to access this world…using magic that I invented. Fortunately, Dark Star isn't in tune with Multiversal energy like I am…like I was. She lacks the precision, even with my notes. And I set up a protective anti-dimensional, anti-multiversal barrier around the Butterfly Kingdom. That's why she can't just open an intermultiversal portal directly into the Butterfly Kingdom and sic their forces on them. Or open a standard dimensional portal there, either.
'I don't know what you know about the Great Monsoon, but it's between intermultiversal duplicates.'
'Yes…' uttered Rory, coughing. 'Thank you for your, ahem, lengthy description of things. It did clear things up.'
Ophis nodded. 'Given the extraneous description of events, we'll just have to accept your word as true.'
Adam felt like a child after lengthily describing their day to their parents. He cleared his throat nervously. Judging by the eyes on him by the jury, not everyone in the room welcomed the long story.
'Whatever you want me to do, I'll do it. I won't cause any trouble…not that I really can, like this.'
King Head Ophis hummed in response, but it was Kory who spoke first.
'He is handicapped,' she pointed out. 'It limits what he would be capable of doing.'
'That is true,' admitted Ophis, rubbing his chin. 'Our usual penance, military service, would not suffice.'
One of the other Primajora raised a hand. Ophis nodded in confirmation. 'What if we were to send him to the younglings?' they suggested.
'How unsafe!' Kory cried. 'He is a stranger to us! We do not know if he can be trusted with our young!'
'An eye can be kept on him,' Ophis said. 'Any causes for concern would be identified before any harm could be done. Believe me, Kory, I take the welfare of our younglings very seriously.'
Someone in the jury decided to ask Ophis a question. 'How long would he be staying?'
'Indefinite. Going by his current condition.'
'Well…' uttered Adam, feeling like he should be keeping his mouth shut, but refusing anyway. 'I…I'm sure you wouldn't want me staying long just as much as I do, so…I'd like to be out of here as soon as possible. Uh, so as not to intrude, of course.'
'I'm afraid you have no choice,' Ophis replied flatly. Adam groaned under his breath, feeling glad that Lacetans did not have enhanced hearing. 'Nobody may enter or leave Apophis. The lockdown shall remain in effect until the Great Monsoon is over. As much as I wish we should be defending our home dimension, it was a democratic decision.'
'Do well to remember, Butterfly,' said Kory, 'the only reason we allowed Argynos to save you was for your actions in the War Games. You helped to secure the safety of Apophis for future generations. That is all.'
Ophis smiled at an unspoken joke. 'Indeed. You shall be sentenced to take care of the beginnings of the generations that you helped to save.' He hit his gavel on a little metal plinth. 'It is decided. You are henceforth ordered to work at the Royal Residential Children's Home in the Old Quarter.'
Adam nodded simply, knowing there was no other way out of this. He concealed his clenched fist as he swallowed down the air in his throat. He could at least ask them one thing.
'I…I really need to know…is there any feasible way that you could get a message to the Butterfly Family? I…I need to let them know I'm alive!'
'It cannot be done,' Ophis told him plainly. 'All communications going outbound from Apophis have been shut down.'
Kory nodded. 'Indeed! We cannot risk the safety of the whole kingdom just so that you can speak with your loved ones!'
Adam swallowed down the boiling frustration in his throat. He noticed Argynos relaxing in his peripheral vision. He nodded reluctantly, as he pulled himself out of his chair.
'I accept these terms,' he said, with trivial effect, as he shuffled his way out of the room. Argynos met him on the way out and was probably telling him he'd show him where the Royal Residential Children's Home was, but his mind was beyond zoned out at that point. He merely kept walking, going wherever it was apparent he needed to be.
This day was simply getting better and better. If there was an Apophian phrase for feeling like absolute shit, he would have to ask Argynos for it.
Surprise, Adam's alive!
You probably saw this coming. I never intended to make you think Adam was dead – in actuality, I only ever said that he died. Past tense.
Because he did die. The Whispering Spell did kill him. But a combination of the Seal of Arybailos and Argynos's healing magic that resurrected him and brought him back into the mortal plane. If you recall, all the way back in the War Games arc, Argynos is mentioned to have magical powers. It was not mentioned, however, that he is actually the head witchdoctor in the kingdom of Apophis.
Apophis itself is a place I have wanted to explore for a long time. It's more advanced than the Butterfly Kingdom by miles, and even the Cloud Kingdom, but their isolationist policies have largely kept them from going to the outside world. Argynos and Ophis are the only Apophians to have actually gone topside, and the only reason Argynos did is because they had communication with the Mace Family. Specifically King Pacem and Queen Lucetia, who were always interested in broadening their horizons. With the Mace Family having fled from their kingdom due to the Empire's invasion, knowledge of Apophis is not accessible to the Empire. This is important to note: the Empire DO NOT know about Apophis. It doesn't exist in their world, and they have no way of discovering it right now.
On a different topic, I finally showed Beru's death. Beru made scarce appearances throughout the actual story because he was only supposed to serve as an overarching element of Adam's psyche. However, Beru taught Adam many things, and the flashback shown at the start of the chapter will be important in Adam's arc for the following few episodes. It's weird to think that a character so central to Adam's character didn't really show up in the flesh much until now, but he didn't need to. Although I probably should have included more flashbacks beyond the brief one showed in Chapter 18, and the one shown in this one. I admit I got side-tracked.
Adam's not in a good spot right now, is he?
Lost his magic, lost his right arm (he's right-handed), and his leg's busted (more on this later). He's stuck in Apophis whilst his loved ones think he's dead. I understand if my readers might get bored by this storyline, since it doesn't really focus on the Great Monsoon itself, and more on the effects of it and how it has affected Adam specifically. But there's only so many big battles I can show before I get bored of writing them.
Personally, I felt the finale arc would get repetitive if it continually focussed on just the war and not how the war affects society. Also, if you recall, Baby mentioned in Chapter 32 that Adam needed to experience one last "push" before he could reach his full potential. If you can't tell, that's what these next few episodes will be about. There's also going to be an overwhelming amount of original content. It occurs to me that some chapters might feature entirely original characters, scenes and locations.
That being said, there will still be shifts to alternate perspectives. We'll see how Star and Marco are handling Adam's death. In this chapter, it was shown how Eclipsa was handling it (albeit briefly). And I snuck in a more egregious reference to The Owl House. I couldn't resist. Technically, as of this chapter, this fanfic is a crossover since the Boiling Isles makes an explicit appearance (though none of it is described). I would also like to state henceforth that this story takes place many, many years before The Owl House does. Fifteen or so, probably. This isn't super important unless I decide to write an Owl House story that crosses over with this one. I haven't decided yet.
I'm rambling again, but I hope you liked this chapter! As always, thank you very much for all your support. Lots of new lore introduced in this chapter. I love worldbuilding, but I understand if some people are bored with it. Nevertheless, I hope to see you, reader, in the next chapter, titled 'For the Wicked and Forgotten'!