Multiverse Heroes: Magical Destinies(AmphibiaxSVTFOExTOH)

After some flying, the groups had finally arrived at the third and final Temple. The Plantar Group hopped off their bird while the Owl group had landed right next to them, Frobo also landing nearby.

"So this is the third and last temple, right?" Luz asked.

"Yes, it's the last step to completing the magic on this box," Marcy said. "With it, our quest will be complete."

"Alright, let's get this temple open," Anne said, aiming the Calamity Box. "Wa-Bam!"

Using the box's magic, it showed some hieroglyphics, Luz being amazed by the magic on display. "Whoa, what is that?"

"Old Amphibian language," Anne said. "I can't read it, but Marcy can. She'll be able to translate for us."

"Sweet, what does it say Marcy?" Luz asked, the girl brimming with excitement.

"It says..." Marcy looked very confused by what she read. "Lift to enter, brah?"

Luz's excitement deflated into confusion, "Huh?"

"Lift? Lift what!?" Polly asked. "That door!?"

"Don't worry, looks like that robot frog's got this under control," Eda said, gesturing to Frobo opening the cave wall.

"Wow, that was convenient, good thing he came with us," Luz said. "Of course I probably could have used my Glyphs in some capacity, but whatever works."

"Alright Luz, Marcy, time to crush this temple and get us one step closer to home!" Anne declared.

"Heck yeah!" Marcy shouted.

"Onward companions!" Luz said.

"Frobo, keep an eye on Joe Sparrow," Hop Pop said, gesturing to the bird.

Frobo saluted and went to keep the bird company while the gang went inside, unaware of the two extra guests on their way in as well.

The group traveled through the halls, Luz looking around in amazement, "So, are all the temples like this, or was their variety?"

"Oh yeah, there's definitely variety, standard JRPG fashioned temples," Marcy said. "The first was in a jungle with a green atmosphere. The theme there was mind, you had to use your wits to get through."

"The second was one that was blue-themed, fitting since it was on a cold, snowy mountain," Anne said. "It was about heart, like love for your friends and family."

"That's sweet, wonder what the theme here will be?" Luz wondered.

"Given the description, it might be strength-related," Marcy said.

"Ooh, not gonna be able to help with that, especially with my weak nerd arms," Luz said, gesturing the limbs in question.

"Maybe it'll be a different type of power," Marcy said. "At least I hope so."

As they ventured further inside, they began to pass by some lava, everyone sweating up a storm.

"Boy it's hot in here," Luz said. "How many challenges do we have to do?"

"Should be three," Marcy said, then turned to Eda, King and the Plantars. "How's everyone doing back there?"

"I'm fine," Eda gestured to the shriveled up Planatars. "Your friends though, not so much."

"I knew we should brought some water," King said.

"I don't think any water would last in here," Eda said. "Hey, you three aren't gonna die, are you?"

"No, we'll be fine," Hop Pop insisted. "We're just a little dehydrated."

"A little?" Eda asked. "Because you look like raisins."

"Will you be fine?" King asked. "Polly, need me to carry you or something?"

"Do I look like I need help!?" Polly asked, coughing up some dry air. "Alright, maybe a little."

King picked up Polly, allowing her to rest on his head, "You let me take charge, it rains acid where I'm from, so I can handle a little heat."

"Wait, it rains acid!?" Sprig shouted in disbelief.

"Let's just do this fast," Luz suggested. "Marcy, you lead the way."

"You got it," Marcy said, leading the group to another room, one that had a narrow path over a lake of lava. Suddenly a nearby glyph began to glow, Marcy translating for everyone. "Whoa there boss, think you got the strength to get across?"

"Sounds like this really is a strength-based temple," Anne said.

"Also, who wrote these? Are they all like this?" Luz asked. "This sounds like some jock level stuff, not the attractive kind either."

The chest began to open, revealing a bunch of weapons, Sprig being the first to voice his curiosity, "What are those for?"

Suddenly a giant worm emerged from the lava, startling the frog boy, and everyone present.

"I got this!" Luz said, readying an ice glyph, though all the ice immediately melted upon usage. "How!?"

Fortunately, Anne grabbed a hammer and whacked the monster in the face, scaring it off, "This thing is way too dang heavy!"

"Whoa! That was so cool Anne!" Luz commented. "You're so much stronger than you look."

"I am no longer doubting that sword fight," Eda said. "Alright, let's not dawdle, more of those things might come."

As she said that, more lava eels emerged, taking everyone by surprise.

"You really called it Eda," Luz said.

"Everyone, grab a hammer," Marcy said, trying to drag one out of the chest.

"Uh, Marcy, I don't think Sprig, Polly or Hop Pop will be able to do much," King said.

"I'll protect you," Luz said, grabbing a hammer, or trying to. She pulled at the handle, struggling to pry it away. "Come on, weak nerd arms!"

"Put your back into it kid, like this," Eda grabbed a hammer, and nearly fell over. "Holy smokes this weights a ton."

"Hurry up everyone!" Anne said. "I got you covered!"

Luz groaned in annoyance from her failed attempt at picking up the hammer, "Forget this, I'm going back to my magic."

Eda dropped her hammer as well, "Yeah, this bites."

"Hurry up!" King said, running over with Polly towards Anne while she kept some worms away. "The sooner we get through this-"

"King! Polly! Watch out!" Sprig warned as a worm came after the two.

"No!" Luz was about to use her magic when the worm got sliced in half by who she considered a mysterious girl in blonde hair. "Huh?"

The girl in question landed beside King, the little demon looking up in awe, "Wow, I don't know who you are, but thanks for saving me and my friend."

"No...way..." Sprig said.

"It can't be," Anne added.

"Uh, who is this?" Eda asked.

Marcy seemed the happiest out of all of them, "Sasha! You're here!"

"No time to talk!" Sasha said, effortlessly grabbing a hammer. "Quick! Go! Go!"

As the rest of the group ran, Sasha fought away the worms using both the hammer and sword, keeping them at bay while the others went through a door. Once the coast was clear, Sasha had rejoined the party, placing the hammer down.

Upon catching her breath, Anne grabbed her racket, "Sasha..."

"That's her?" Luz asked, taking note of her appearance. She definitely looked strong, she proved it by using that hammer with no trouble, and she had a neat looking sword.

Sasha took a breath before turning to her friends with what was the cutest pose she could muster, "Girlfriends! So good to see you!"

"Huh?" Anne said.

"Sasha!" Marcy ran to hug her friend, the two enjoying a nice reunion together, much to Anne's confusion.

"So, that's the friend you had that sword fight with?" Eda asked.

"Yeah, but why is she being so nice now?" Anne asked.

"Well, you did say she had good in her, right?" Luz asked.

"Yeah, but I expected her to keep hiding it, this is way too big of a change," Anne said.

"Hey Anne," Sasha said, then took note of Luz. "Uh...who's she?" She remembered King and even took notice of Eda. "What about them?"

"Oh, this is Luz, Eda and King," Anne introduced. "Everyone, this is my...friend, Sasha."

"Hello, it's nice to meet you," Sasha said, unsure what to make of this.

"Hi, Sasha, I've heard a lot about you," Luz said. "Anne told me that you, her and Marcy were childhood friends growing up."

"Oh yeah, we're best friends," Sasha said. "So...um, I don't think I've seen you around here before."

"I'm new," Luz said. "So Sasha, gotta say, really great timing back there, I don't think anyone expected you to show up so randomly."

"Yeah, we came pretty far to find Anne and Marcy," Sasha said.

"Uh, we?" Anne asked. "We who?"

"Ahem," Came the voice of Grime, who despite being dehydrated, had successfully fended off some lava worms of his own. "Hello."

"Grime!" Hop pop shouted in worry, the others ready to fight.

"Whoa! Easy there, we're not here to fight," Sasha said. "We're here to apologize."

"Apologize? To us?" Sprig asked.

"Yes, I felt so bad about what happened at Toad Tower," Sasha began. "I shouldn't have put any of you in danger, and I never should have mistreated you Anne."

"Wow, you're actually sorry," Anne said.

Luz seemed a bit on the fence, but she didn't know Sasha as well as Anne or Marcy, so she could easily be wrong, especially given how wrong she was about Amity. However, despite that, she didn't quite get the same apologetic vibes from Sasha that she got from Amity, she knew Anne really wanted to make amends, and hoped that this wasn't clouding her judgement.

"Forgive me for being skeptical," Hop Pop began. "But why this sudden change of heart?"

"We lost everything at Toad Tower," Grime said.

"Yeah, we went into hiding, gave me some time to think things over," Sasha explained. "But first thing's first, what are you doing in a volcano?"

"That's easy, the music box, according to the King of Amphibia, is capable of transporting us back home," Marcy explained. "It needed to be charged at three temples, and this is the third one."

"So, we can almost go home?" Sasha asked.

"You bet, and get this, each temple has a theme," Marcy said. "First was mind, second was heart, this one is strength."

"It's a good thing I showed up then," Sasha said.

"Uh, what's that supposed to mean?" Sprig asked.

"That you three frogs are gonna slow us down," Sasha said. "You should just go wait outside. Maybe take that weird little dog with you."

King turned his attention to Anne, "Is she talking about me?"

"Yeah, seriously who are you? Where did you even come from?" Sasha asked.

"We're from The Boiling Isles kid," Eda explained. "Luz here is also from there, though originally from Earth like you. While you three girls were warped here through some music box, she came through a magical door, one that eventually got destroyed."

"When I tried making a magic portal back to Earth, we got stuck here instead," Luz explained. "Now we're trying to find a way to Earth and The Boiling Isles."

"Pardon the interruption, but did you say magic portal?" Grime asked.

"I'm a witch in training, so I know magic," Luz said.

"Wait, a witch?" Sasha asked. "Like pointy hats and cauldrons?"

"Oh the pointy hat thing is so out of style," Eda said. "But yeah, I'm a witch, and Luz here is getting there."

"Wait, she said she's human, can a human learn magic?" Sasha asked.

"Yeah, with training," Luz said.

Sasha found this revelation quite interesting, assuming it was true. "Well, if you know magic, maybe you'll be a bit more useful to us."

"Useful? I'm not your personal guard you know," Luz said.

"I'm not saying that you are, no need to get all finnicky," Sasha said.

"Finnicky?" Luz asked, somewhat offended.

"I'm just saying that you'd be of value to us, a bit more than Anne's frog friends," Sasha said.

"Don't say that about them!" Anne shouted. "They're actually really great at adventuring."

"Hey I'm just saying, look if they want to stay, that's fine. I don't think it's a good idea, but I'll go along with it," Sasha said. "We're wasting time, let's go."

Sasha led Grime and Marcy away, Anne and friends being hesitant to follow.

"She seems so full of herself," Luz said.

"Kind of reminds me of my sister when she was in the Emperor's Coven," Eda said.

"I almost see the resemblance," Luz then turned her attention to Anne, "You're her friend, do you think we can trust her?"

"I want to, but...I can't tell if she's changed or not," Anne said.

"Let's go along with it, but keep an eye on her," Eda said. "Rule one of life kid, keep your friends close, and your enemies closer."

Anne didn't want to refer to Sasha as her enemy, but at the same time, she couldn't disagree with Eda, "Yeah, sure thing."

"Say Anne, any chance we can get some of that lip balm? Feeling dry over here," Hop Pop said.

"Sure, Bubblegum, or Cantaloupe?" Anne asked.

"Cantaloupe!" The Plantars said.

"I'm partial to bubble gum," Eda added.

"We should hurry, Sasha's leaving us behind," Luz said, following after the girl, the rest of the group following shortly afterwards.

Sasha looked back, she could see that Anne and the Plantars still did not trust her and were ready for a fight. If that wasn't bad enough, even Luz looked distrustful. The fact that a girl she just met is already giving her this attitude did not settle well with Sasha.

They reached the next room, where the next puzzle was revealed over a bench-press set and translated by Marcy, "Sup Broseph, do you even lift?"

"Seriously, who wrote this garbage?" Luz asked.

"Yeah, they're not even trying at this point," Anne said.

"I got this," Sasha said, flexing her arms. "You all just stay back."

"Hey! I can totally lift that if I wanted to," Luz said, then heard the stifling laughter of King and Eda. Luz knew she was being full of it right now but her competitive ego was taking force.

"Yeah, this isn't exactly mommy's grocery bags, but you keep dreaming new girl," Sasha said, getting even more of an annoyed reaction from Luz.

"Sasha, wait up," Anne said. "These temples always have a catch; we should search the room first."

"Nah, this seems pretty direct, I got this," Sasha said, going to the bench press despite Anne's protests. Fortunately, the test was as direct as she expected, properly being able to lift the weight and open the next door. "Ha, easy. Let's go nerds."

"Nerds!?" Luz shouted in annoyance.

"By the way, she was talking to all of you, not me," Grime said.

"Says the toad who let a little girl do all the heavy lifting, literally," Eda said, much to the annoyance of Grime but also gaining respect from the Plantars.

Upon entering the final room, Marcy read out the new riddle, "You've definitely got skill, no doubt. But it's time you learned what strength is all about."

"Wow, that was actually more philosophical," Luz said. "What does it mean though?"

Suddenly the room began shaking and a giant rock golem came down from the ceiling, flexing his muscles and egging the heroes on for a fight.

"I got this," Sasha said, grabbing her sword. Unfortunately for her and the others, everyone suddenly began to feel heavy as they fell face first to the ground.

"Holy cripes! Why do I feel like I weigh five thousand pounds!?" King shouted.

"That monster must have increased the room's gravity," Marcy theorized.

"Is this what Planet Jupiter feels like?" Luz wondered.

"You technically can't stand on Jupiter, but yeah, something like that," Marcy explained.

"I can't get up..." Sprig said.

"Let us humans handle this!" Anne said as she, Marcy, Sasha and Luz started trudging towards the monster.

Eda tried using her Palisman to prop herself up, nearly breaking it in the process, "Man, it's like being hung over but without the fun."

"What could possibly be fun about that!?" King shouted.

The monster grabbed some rocks and tossed them like bowling balls at the girls, Anne and Luz managed to dodge the first one, the second went straight for Marcy.

"Hey Marcy! Watch out!" Anne called. Fortunately, Sasha pulled her out the way at the last second.

"Thanks Sash," Marcy said, trying to stand. "I can't take this Gravity."

"Hey Luz, think you can do your magic?" Anne asked.

"Yeah, just..." Luz struggled to grab her glyph. "Give me a sec."

The monster smashed the ground, nearly causing some stalactites to fall on top of Luz, to which Anne managed to pull her away last second, "That was too close. Wait, where's your paper?"

"Must have dropped it, but I don't think that would work anyway, I need something bigger!" Luz grabbed a piece of rock, "I'm gonna need you to cover me though, this may take a while with the extra gravity."

"You got it," Anne said, stomping toward the monster. "Hey! Ugly! Down here!"

"Anne! Don't get yourself killed!" Hop Pop said.

"I won't!" Anne said, dodging a punch. "I'll try at least."

The monster punched again, but this time Sasha blocked with her sword, "I got you."

"Come on..." Luz said, trying her hardest to make her ground glyph, though messed up in the progress. "Dang it! Anne! This is gonna take longer than I thought!"

"What is she doing anyway?" Sasha asked.

"Trying to save our butts, come on, we gotta cover for her," Anne said, standing up to fight.

"You really think she can help?" Sasha asked.

"Well yeah, she's my friend, I can trust her," Anne said.

"Oh, isn't that nice!?" Sasha shouted, dodging from a falling pillar. "You trust this new girl more than you trust me!?"

"Huh? I trust you!" Anne said.

"Bogus! I've seen the way you've been eyeing me today, you still don't trust me, even after I apologized to you!" Sasha said.

"Well, can you blame me!?" Anne said, dodging a falling rock. "After everything you've done, it's a little hard to completely trust you."

"How can I make up for Toad Tower then!?" Sasha asked.

"You think this is about Toad Tower!? This goes way beyond that Sasha!" Anne shouted. "You've been pushing me around my whole life! Since Marcy and I were little, you've been telling us what to do and never giving us any choice in the matter!"

Sasha sadly looked down, "Yeah, I know..."

"I almost got it girls!" Luz said. The monster roared again and increased the gravity, making it harder to move. "Shoot!"

"Crap, my lungs are about to explode," Anne said. "Luz! How you holding up!?"

"I can't move!" Luz said, trying to finish her glyph. Unfortunately, the monster had grabbed a piece of rock, ready to use it as a makeshift club.

"We can't do this, we're gonna die in here," Sasha said.

"We're not Sasha! If anyone can save us, it's you!" Anne said.

"Huh? You still have faith in me!? After I was such a jerk!?" Sasha asked.

"I know we're seconds from possibly dying, but this is some pretty good drama," Eda commented.

"Seriously Eda?" King scolded.

"I know we've had struggles Sasha, but I've always admired your bravery," Anne said. "You never give up, you never surrender! I know you can do this!"

"Yeah, you're right!" Sasha said, standing up and tossing away her cape, the weight of it crashing down on the ground.

"Was she wearing weighted armor!?" Luz commented. "Like in Dragon Claw Z!?"

Sasha took her boots off as well, releasing even more weight, to the surprise of everyone, voiced by Sprig. "How heavy is her armor!?"

Sasha rushed in to do battle against the monster, the two colliding sword and club as Luz continued trying to apply her spell, "Almost..." By some miracle, she managed to complete a nearly perfect ice glyph that sent some shards at the monster, freezing its leg in the process.

"Incredible..." Grime said. "She truly can do magic!"

"Sasha! It's stuck, end it!" Luz called.

"Sure thing magic girl!" Sasha readied her sword, "Alright creep, get croaked!" In one fell swoop, she cut the monster in half, defeating it in an instant, the room's gravity returning to normal in the process.

"Yes! They did it!" Marcy cheered.

Luz took a moment to catch her breath, that was the most she's used her muscles in forever, "Wish I could have made it bigger, why'd it have to be one the more complicated designs?"

"Hey..." Sasha said, holding her hand out to Luz. "Thanks..."

Luz cautiously took her hand and allowed the girl to pull her up, "Sure, no trouble."

"I'm impressed, didn't think you could actually do magic," Sasha said. "I thought it was tricks and illusions."

"Well if you want illusions, my friend Gus is your guy, I'm more of a Glyph girl, for now at least," Luz said.

"Sasha! Luz! Over here!" Anne said at the now exposed altar. As the two made their way over, Anne held out the last gem to Sasha. "You can do the honors."

Sasha placed the gem in the hole, the calamity magic draining from her like it did with Marcy, and partially Anne before. Within seconds it was full of the magic it needed, with another message appearing overhead.

"Congrats brah," Marcy began, much to Luz's annoyance. "You finally know how to go the distance. For what is true strength without persistence?"

Sasha placed the last gem on the box, Anne finally relieved to see that it's ready.

"That's all done, should we open it?" Anne asked.

"Wait! Bad idea!" Marcy nervously insisted. "If we do that, we might end up somewhere besides Earth, or even The Boiling Isles."

"Kid's got a point," Eda said. "I don't think it'd be a good idea to get stranded in another world, again."

"King Andrias may know what to do," Marcy said. "He can get us home and help out Eda, King and Luz."

"Trust Marcy to have a plan," Sasha said.

"It's nice to have the gang back together," Marcy said. "In fact we're better than ever!"

"Did you just rhyme?" Anne asked.

"Probably, not intentionally though," Marcy sheepishly admitted. "But I'm serious, not only are we together, but we also have a new friend."

"Oh yeah, we have Luz now," Anne said.

"Who me?" Luz asked.

"Sure, who else?" Marcy asked. "You're officially part of our friend circle, if you want to be at least."

"Are you kidding? Of course," Luz said. "Wow, never had so many human friends before. If we get back to the Boiling Isles, I'd love to introduce you to Willow, Gus and Amity."

"I'd love nothing more than to go see that world," Marcy said. "Well, let's head back to Wartwood, our amphibious friends need water."

The group made their way out the volcano, eager for some water.

"Hey Anne, thanks for believing in me and stuff," Sasha said. "It was really nice of you."

"No biggie," Anne said. "I'm sorry for not trusting you earlier, or for making it seem like I value Luz more than I value you. I mean, I like her, but I want to like you all the same, not one better than the other."

"It's fine, she really came through for us," Sasha said, turning her attention the young witch girl who was helping Marcy tend to the Plantars. "Another girl, lost like us."

"Makes you wonder if there are a lot of kids like her, stuck in another world," Anne said.

"Probably, who knows, maybe we'll see another girl from our world, or guy, can't rule that out," Sasha said. "I bet you and Marcy would love to see some cute boys yourself."

"Eh, I'm not ready for that, Marcy might be though, one downside to being in a frog world is no cute human boys," Anne said, taking note of the struggling the Plantars had in getting on the giant sparrow. "I should go help the family out."

"You do that," Sasha said as Anne walked off.

Grime, who was fully hydrated, had made his way to Sasha, "Don't forget our plan, we only need those fools to access Newtopia with ease."

"I haven't forgotten, plus they probably bought my act back there," Sasha said.

"Perhaps your friends from home did, but what of that new girl?" Grime asked. "Or her two companions."

"Luz?" Sasha looked ahead toward Luz, the witch girl looking back, feeling mixed emotions. "Hey, I can win her over, sounds like she's desperate for friends too."

"Good, this requires careful precision, those three could put a wrench in our plans, so be on your guard Sasha," Grime warned as he began making his way to the sparrow. "The things we've set into motion cannot be stopped."

"Right..." Sasha seemed a bit disheartened, but nonetheless, she had a goal she wanted to complete. She too made her way toward the giant bird.

"Hey, Sasha," Luz said, getting the girl's attention.

"Yeah, you need something?" Sasha asked.

"Let me start by saying that I am aware you and Anne were friends first, and I know she wants to trust you," Luz said. "I respect that, because she told me you've been friends for years, and no one wants to throw something like that way."

"Well, yeah, I wouldn't want to myself," Sasha said.

"I hope so, because frankly, I don't know what to feel about you," Luz said. "I've seen others change for the better, I've seen them want to be better, when they apologize, it's genuine. But, I've also seen others that when push came to shove, they're willing to betray the trust of others just for self-gain."

"Uh, wow, sounds like you've been through a lot," Sasha said.

"I have, and let me say this," Luz said, glaring at Sasha. "I may have only met Anne yesterday, but it didn't take long for me to grow fond of her. She's a nice and caring girl, and a friend I wish I had growing up. You are very lucky to have a friend like her who wants to see the best in you. So, if this nice act is bogus, and you hurt Anne again, I will reign hell upon you. You have a special, one-of-a-kind friendship with her. So don't blow it."

Sasha seemed speechless at first, seems like Luz really took a liking to Anne. In a way, she was almost jealous that Anne could win someone over this easily while she usually had to work for it. "Uh, sure, you got it Luz. I promise not to upset her again."

"Good..." Luz turned away and left, leaving Sasha a bit irritated.

"That girl's gonna be trouble," Sasha lamented.

Back in Mewni, Amity was walking down the halls of the castle with Marco and Star, still trying to get used to the sights of everything.

"Have you ever gotten lost here?" Amity asked.

"I grew up here, I know where pretty much everything is," Star said. "Thanks to me, Marco hasn't really gotten lost much either."

"It can be a pain to navigate through," Marco said.

As they reached the throne room, Amity found herself immediately surrounded by a trio of magical beings, one girl with red hair and a yellow dress, a muscle guy with snake arms and a crystal for a head, and a giant skull in an aura of blue.

"Uh...what's going on?" Amity asked.

"Hey, where'd you three come from?" Marco asked.

"Queen Moon summoned us," the sole girl of the group said. "When she told us about visitors from another realm, naturally we got curious, especially me, I am the keeper of the Magic Scissors."

"Magic Scissors?" Amity asked. "Wait, are you Hekapoo?"

"Huh, so you know who I am?" Hekapoo asked.

"I know you went to The Boiling Isles where you met with Emperor Belos," Amity said.

"You mean that creepy old guy? " Hekapoo asked. "Yeah, I kind of stumbled there by mistake, and he started asking a bunch of questions, mostly about old Mewni and Toffee. But the question is, who are you, and why did YOU come to our realm?"

"My name's Amity, and I didn't come here to invade or anything, I got stuck here because I tried stopping Belos from invading you," Amity said.

"Poor job you did, especially given how two others were spotted, according to a witness, they're planning to revive Toffee's army and give this world to your Emperor," Hekapoo said.

"Hey easy, Amity came to help, let's just be a little grateful for that," Marco said. "Look, not to point fingers, but this did happen because you went to their realm first, sounds like if it wasn't for Amity, the Invasion could have been worst."

"Be happy Belos himself isn't here," Amity said. "His magical abilities is beyond what many in my world know."

"Yeah I'm not that worried," Hekapoo insisted. "Anyway, I guess we should spread out then."

"What about this girl? And that other one?" The muscle guy said.

"Wait, did you already meet Lilith?" Amity asked. "You didn't do anything to her, did you?"

"They wouldn't, these three are intimidating, but they aren't that bad," Marco said.

"Who are they anyway?" Amity asked.

"Well, you obviously know Hekapoo, the other two are Rhombulus and Omnitrax Prime," Marco said. "They make up the Magic High Commission, three warriors created by the book keeper Glossaryck to help all of Mewnie's would be Queens."

"There used to be four, until Lekmet gave his life during a fight against Toffee," Rhombulus said, patting his chest. "He was a good man, er goat. Things just haven't been the same without him."

"Yeah, Lekmet was nice," Star said. "And proof of how dangerous Toffee could be."

"Well now that you're acquainted, what's the plan to stop these other two invaders?" Marco asked.

"Simple, we're gonna go out there and beat'em up," Rhombulus said.

Amity raised her eyebrow in confusion, "That's it?"

"Yeah, you said there's only two of them, I mean are they even that strong?" Rhombulus asked.

"Well...no, not particularly, but that's kind of anti-climatic," Amity said.

"We do whatever gets the job done," Omnitrax Prime said. "You kids stay here and do...kid stuff, we'll take care of this."

"Hey wait, I want to go too, I am the next queen, I should be more involved," Star said.

"Yeah, but you might slow us down," Hekapoo said.

"Uh, no I wouldn't, I'm more than capable of keeping up," Star said.

"Look, we'd rather you stay here," Hekapoo gestured to Amity. "And keep an eye on our guest."

"Who me?" Amity asked.

"It's only fair to warn you that we do not trust you whatsoever," Hekapoo said. "For all we know you might be evil."

"Huh? What makes you think I'm evil!?" Amity asked.

"Well, you are a witch, aren't you?" Rhombulus asked. "Typically witches are evil."

"That's a bit discriminatory, not all witches are evil," Amity said.

"Yeah, she's actually really nice," Marco said. Hekapoo then leaned in close, inspecting Marco's face, the boy blushing and getting nervous. "Uh...what are you doing?"

"Making sure you weren't hexed," Hekapoo said.

Amity turned her attention to Star, "Is this gonna be a regular thing?"

"I...can't promise it won't," Star said. "It's not you, it's our culture."

"Monsters of all kinds have roamed our lands for eons, I'm afraid we can leave little room for chance," Omnitrax Prime said.

"Still, if you treat every newcomer to this world as a threat, you might make more enemies than friends," Marco said.

"How is he Hekapoo?" Rhombulus asked. "No charms or hexes?

"He's clean," Hekapoo said. "Star, if you want to come, then be my guest. I would advise that Marco stays behind, just to further keep an eye on this girl."

"I have a name you know," the witch said. "It's Amity! Amity Blight."

"Well Amity Blight, be a good girl and don't cause trouble," Hekapoo warned. "Let's go Star."

As the Commission made their way out, Star quickly began to follow them, not before sharing one thing with Amity, "Sorry about that, they take a lot of getting used to. See ya!"

Amity huffed in annoyance, shaking her head in the disappointment she felt, "What a warm welcome."

"They're like that with a lot of people, even I was on the receiving end of suspicion on occasion," Marco said. "I hope it doesn't bother you too much, I mean, I get that it should but you shouldn't let it because you're...what's the word, worthy? Or..."

"I get your point Marco," Amity said. "And it's fine, honestly it's probably karma. When I first met Luz, I pretty much treated her the same way, rude to her because she was a human. I even mocked her for even believing she could learn magic."

"Well, you're not like that now right?" Marco asked. "I mean you got lost in this world because you wanted to save her. That already puts you above Hekapoo and her friends. I mean I like H-Poo but I won't deny she could use a few lessons in manners."

"Huh...H-Poo?" Amity asked.

"Yeah, it's a nickname I gave her when chasing her through the multiverse," Marco explained. "She hates it but eh, friendly banter."

"Think she'd mind if I used it?" Amity asked, cracking a snug smile in the process.

"Well she might take issue, mostly with me since she would have known I told you about it," Marco said. "So keep that in mind if you use it."

"Hey if she takes issue, she can take it with me, I could defend myself better," Amity said. "I mean, I know you have a Red Belt but magic works better against magic."

"Hey my martial arts skills have come in handy against monsters," Marco insisted, flexing his muscles. "But yeah, I will step aside if an enemy is too much for me, there are times that Star's magic comes in handy a lot better."

"Well, you yourself could probably learn magic, I mean if Luz can then you should be able to as well," Amity said.

"Well, I did use Star's wand the other day," Marco said. "When Star got trapped in another dimension, I had to use it to find her. I just recited a spell and it showed me where she was."

"Hm...and this wand of hers, is that her only source of magic or can she use magic without it?" Amity asked.

"She can, all Mewman Princesses can use their magic eventually, the wand is basically their way of training until she can use it on her own," Marco said.

"Oh, so anyone can use the magic wand then?" Amity asked.

"Yes, which was a problem when a villain named Ludo took it," Marco explained. "The wand is pretty clever, it actually changes form and adapts to whoever's using it, be it good or bad. I mean if you wanted to, you could use the want yourself, mixed with your own magic, you could probably cause some serious damage."

"Almost got me curious about it," Amity said. "Anyway, it sounds like you were able to use magic well."

"No, not really actually, first off I could not fight well with the wand, anytime I try using one of Star's spells, they would come out really badly," Marco explained. "Using the wand is a lot harder than it looks."

"Well magic's tricky, it just requires practice," Amity said.

"A lot of practice," Marco said. "Anyway it doesn't really matter, I can't have a wand like that anyway, only the would be Queen can have a wand, and a chapter in Magic Book of Spells."

"Magic Book of Spells?" Amity asked.

"Oh it's really neat, it's more than magic spells, it contains brief snippets of the lives of all the Queens who have ruled over Mewni," Marco said. "According to Star, there's been about thirty-six Queens of Mewni, and if all goes well, Star will be the thirty-seventh."

"Pretty impressive that you're friends with a future queen then," Amity said.

"Yeah, hard to believe almost, sometimes Star just wants a normal life, but Royal Duties require her to be Queen," Marco said. "She has no choice but to inherit the throne."

"That's bogus, but I totally relate, my mom wants me to inherit our company, to the point where I have to put on these boring demonstrations, but I really could not care any less," Amity said. "I just want to figure out who I want to be, not what anyone tells me to be."

"Oh yeah, it sounds like you and your parents have a strained relationship," Marco said.

"You can say that again, I hope Star doesn't feel about her mom how I feel about mine," Amity said. "I mean, I haven't had a chance to talk to her much, she seems alright but..."

"Moon's a really nice woman, though she can be a bit old-fashioned and somewhat too By the Book," Marco said. "But she's been through a lot, she had to take the throne at a young age after all."

"I guess that type of responsibility would weigh down on a person," Amity said.

"It does," came Moon's voice, the woman getting the attention of the two teens.

"Hey Queen Moon, did you need something?" Marco asked.

"I just came by to check on our guest," Moon said.

"I'm fine, just had a run in with some High Commission or something," Amity said. "Apparently they found some lead on Kikimora and The Golden Guard."

"Yes, thanks to our old friend, Buff Frog," Moon said.

"Huh? Who's Buff Frog?" Amity asked.

"Former enemy of ours who turned good," Marco said. "He used to be one Ludo's men, when Toffee took over his squad, Buff Frog got booted from the group for whatever reason, apparently he and Toffee just didn't get along well. It worked out, he helped us defeat Toffee for good."

"Well it's good to know that he's on our side," Amity said. "Still, is he like a giant frog or something?"

"Yeah, Star called him buff frog because of how buffed he looked, he's about as tall as a human adult male," Marco said.

"Oh, is Buff Frog not actually his name then?" Amity asked.

"No, but I can't really remember his actual name," Marco said. "It did sound foreign though, like Russian. Not sure if you know what Russia is though."

"Luz has told me about some of her world's countries, I'm not too savvy with Earth Geography but I'm getting there," Amity said.

"Well anyway, is there anything we should be aware of Queen Moon?" Marco asked. "Is Lilith doing alright? Also what about Eclipsa, I know that's another issue."

"Eclipsa, that great, great grandma of Moon's?" Amity asked. "How was she around again?"

"She's my fifth Great Grandmother," Moon explained. "And she's around because she was frozen in a crystal for Three Hundred years, as punishment for leading our Kingdom into a reign of darkness."

"Wait, so she's evil?" Amity asked.

"That is our belief, she wouldn't be called 'Queen of Darkness' for nothing," Moon explained.

"What did she do exactly?" Amity asked.

"It's a long story dear, you need not be concerned," Moon explained. "We will get to the bottom of this soon."

"Uh, alright, I hope everything works out for you," Amity said.

"Me too," Moon said, making her leave to figure out both the potential Boiling Isles invasion as well as the Eclipsa situation.

"That Eclipsa lady, is she bad?" Amity asked.

"I mean, she doesn't look bad, personally I'm just hoping that it's a big misunderstanding," Marco said.

"Sounds like we came at a really bad time," Amity said. "Given your own struggles, I hope this doesn't add to it."

"Hey it's fine, Mewni experiences loads of trouble as it is, this is merely just another speck in the road for us," Marco said.

"Not sure if that eases my worries very much," Amity said, sheepishly rubbing her arm.

Marco had to think of something, last thing he wanted was for Amity to feel even more terrible about this, "Look, why don't we go and hang out for a bit, seems like Star's gonna be busy, and it'd be great to show you around Mewni."

"Sure, that'd be nice," Amity said. "No one would mind though, will they?"

"I don't see why anyone would," Marco said. "Maybe I can even show you how the magic scissors work, we can see some of Star's friends too."

"So does Star have friends in other dimensions?" Amity asked.

"Yeah, like, you remember that she has a boyfriend from the Demon Realm," Marco said.

"Oh yeah, his name's Tom right?" Amity asked.

"She also has a friend named Kelly, she's a Woolett from Woolandia," Marco said. "When I first met her, she looked like a giant walking bush, but it was just her hair. Seriously, you can get lost in her hair, it's like a jungle."

"You've been in her hair?" Amity asked. "Like literally?"

"Yeah, see she broke up with her boyfriend, but he still lived in her hair, so I had to convince him to leave," Marco said.

"Uh, is this normal for their world?" Amity asked.

"Apparently," Marco said. "Thing is, I haven't actually been there yet, she usually comes here. She might be somewhere around fighting monsters. She's a warrior girl with a big sword, that she keeps in her hair."

"So, her boyfriend and her sword were in her hair? What else did she have?" Amity asked.

"Well I remember she had apples, that she refused to share with me at first, even though I was hungry," Marco said, lamenting at the memory of their first encounter. "But it's no big deal, she wasn't trying to be mean, she was just a little shy. But she's got a strong warrior spirit, honestly if she found out about this so called Invasion, she'd basically beg for it to happen so she can bust some heads."

"The enthusiasm is a good thing," Amity said. "I don't suppose there's other strong warriors in this world that Star knows."

"Well, we did meet this girl once, Mina Loveberry, she's Mewman but I think she has eternal youth since she hasn't aged in over three hundred years," Marco said. "Anyway she's strong but way too old fashioned, and kind of a jerk. Which is a shame because Star looked up to her and idolized her, never meet your heroes."

"Yeah that's always a shame," Amity said. "Still, do you think she'd be able to help us?"

"Probably, but sure if Star wants to risk finding her, we don't even know where she is anyway," Marco said.

"Still, alive for three hundred years? Even for a witch that's a lot," Amity said. "Of course, some witches do have the power to expand their lives if they know the magic. Sounds like that Mina girl is an exception."

"Most likely," Marco said. "Mewmans do have access to magic."

"By the way, what is the difference between a human, and a mewman?" Amity asked. "Like do they all do magic?"

"Well, no, some mewmans are basically no different than humans," Marco explained. "Truthfully, only the Butterfly Family has any special abilities. I mean, I can show you Star's book and it can give more detail about the Butterfly family than I can."

"Would she mind?" Amity asked.

"Probably not, plus I think she'd like for you to understand this culture more, this way you know what to expect," Marco said. "I know what it's like being a stranger in a new world, so in a way, we're both kindred spirits, and I got your back."

"That's nice of you Marco, thanks," Amity said.

"Alright, time to show you some magic," Marco said, about to turn when he found himself face to face with Janna.

"Sup dweeb?" the girl greeted, munching a bag of chips.

"Ugh, it's her..." Amity lamented.

"So...gonna show her some magic huh?" Janna asked. "You know this girl one day and already you're trying to put the moves on her? You work fast."

"Janna, what the heck?" Marco shouted. "Don't say stuff like that!"

Amity's face had immediately turned red, mostly from annoyance that Janna would say something like that. Of course from what she's gathered, this girl is far from concerned with how she says things.

"I'm just teasing," Janna said. "But if you and our friend here were to get a bit friendly..."

"You really have no filter, do you?" Amity asked.

"Not really," Janna said.

"Janna, come on, you're better than this," Marco said. "Anyway, I'm not trying to hit on Amity, I'm just offering to show her Star's Book of Spells, you know, so she can compare magic."

"So, you want to show her Star's book, without Star's permission," Janna said.

"Hey you looked at her book too you know!" Marco said. "We both have!"

"Well we're Star's friends, and we've earned her trust," Janna said. "Has Amity earned her trust? I don't think one slumber party is enough to say we're all best friends. It's one thing to be a good host, it's another to give out too much information, after all, you don't know for sure she's good, she could be a spy for this Belos guy."

Amity wanted to debunk that, but she really didn't have much proof to say otherwise. She is very new to this world, and she did just meet Marco and Star. Kind as they were, to call them close friends is really stretching it.

Marco also had to admit that this was poorly thought out. He may have gotten carried away in wanting Amity to feel at home that he hadn't realized she could potentially be an enemy. Of course, he didn't want to think that way, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

"Sorry Amity, unfortunately Janna has a point, I probably shouldn't get too carried away," Marco said.

"No, it's fine, I should earn the trust of this world," Amity said.

"Got that right, Moon doesn't even trust her multi-great grandmother, and she was a former Queen," Janna said. "You're a witch girl who got suddenly stranded here, for all I know, you could have hexed Marco into thinking you were nice."

"I didn't hex anyone," Amity said. "Plus, even if I could, I don't think you'd want to try your luck with me in that case since I could easily hex you."

"But she won't, because I feel like Amity is a good person," Marco said.

"You always were a sucker for a pretty face, Diaz," Janna said, then stroked his chin. "But I guess I am too, so I can't blame you."

"Uh, are you flirting with me?" Marco asked.

"What makes you say that? Wow you're so full of yourself," Janna said, turning away and acting like she did nothing. "Well I got some old people to harass, see ya."

Marco groaned in annoyance as Janna made her exit, "That girl, I swear."

Amity scratched her head in confusion, "So, does she have a crush on you, or...what?"

"I don't even know half the time, she's weird," Marco said. "But anyway, let's change plans, or rather go back to my original plan. The two of us can hang out a bit and get to know each other more. If you'd like to that is."

"Sure, I'd like that," Amity said.

"Sounds like a da...y of fun," Marco said, catching his near slip. "A day of fun, just the two of us, hehe."

"Yeah, just the two of us," Amity said, awkwardly turning away. She couldn't tell if this was Janna's influence of just Marco's near slip that she totally caught, but she hoped that he wasn't starting to develop a crush, that would be a big problem for her if that happened. Just in case, she had to say something to nip this issue in the bud, "Hey Marco, thanks for being my friend, that's all I really need right now, just a friend."

"Right, just a friend, that works out great," Marco said, forcing a smile.

"Glad it does," Amity said, hoping she wasn't being too on the nose.

"Ok then, let's hit the road," Marco said, leading Amity away, the girl still feeling a bit awkward but hoping that things will turn out well.

Elsewhere in the castle in a dining area, Lilith was busy writing in a Journal, trying to document a lot of the things she's seen so far and making a list of things to research later, especially within this world. Meanwhile she had Hunter and Kikimora to worry about.

"Oh, you must be the new visitor," she heard. she turned to see a woman with green hair and red spades on her cheeks. "It's such a pleasure to meet you."

"It's a pleasure on my end too," Lilith said, finding this a bit random. "So...are you also a resident of this castle?"

"Oh yes, actually this used to be mine when I was queen," the woman teased. "I suppose I should introduce myself, I am Eclipsa Butterfly."

"Queen?" Lilith asked. "Wait, you were a queen?"

"Twenty-Sixth to be precise, but I'm not one to brag," Eclipsa teased.

"So...are you Moon's mother?" Lilith asked. That would be surprising, she did not look that old."

Eclipsa let out a chuckle, "Oh I'm flattered you think I'm that young. I'm actually her fifth great grandmother, I've just been frozen in crystal for three hundred years."

"Oh, right! You must be that woman I heard about earlier, something about...darkness?" Lilith asked.

"Yes, I was called the Queen of Darkness, not sure why though, I knew some dark magic but I never used it to oppress anyone," Eclipsa said. "But I have disgraced my throne so not many in Mewni speak fondly of me, what a shame."

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that, truthfully I am still learning of this world, and all its prior queens," Lilith said. "I'm almost surprised that it's mostly a matriarchy, no real Kings unless the Queen marries."

"Yes, it is an old rule that has existed for generations," Eclipsa said. "Of course there are exceptions, my Uncle nearly got the throne, but had to give it all up when my mother was born. I felt so bad when I heard that, he must have been so excited, but according to my mother, he was quite supportive, and he does have the honor of being one of the few men to have his own chapter in the Book of Spells. Honestly he may have lucked out, being Queen was not all that great, especially when you have to marry some stuck up man just to have a child to be the heir."

"Oh I see, rather be single right?" Lilith asked.

"Oh no, I loved the idea of marriage, I just wanted to do it for love, not because I had to," Eclipsa said. "Arranged marriages are not pleasant my dear."

"I could imagine," Lilith said. "So, if you were crystalized, how are you free? Was it for a set amount of time?"

"No, if it were up to the Magic High Commission, I'd be stuck in a crystal forever," Eclipsa said. "But, back when Moon was a child, we made a deal together, and as a result, I have earned my freedom, and I hope to make the most out of my second chance in life. I just need to convince her and her Commission not to crystalize me again, so, wish me luck."

"Uh, sure," Lilith said, not too sure what to make of that. Seems like this woman has a lot of issues, and hopefully for her, they can get resolved.

Back in Amphibia, everyone had arrived in Wartwood, relieved at a job well done, and being one step closer to going back home.

"It's so great to not be in that temple," Polly said, leaping down. "I could still use some water though."

"I could just use a break," Eda said.

"So, our next plan is to visit this King, right?" Luz asked.

"Yeah, we would go now but he might be busy, and he'd rather have complete focus when activating this chest," Marcy said. "So we might need to wait a couple more days, if that's alright with you Luz."

"Sure, I can wait," Luz said.

"And you're positive he can get me and King back to our realm," Eda said.

"It should be possible," Marcy said. "I just need to do a little more research, but theoretically that box should be able to open many dimensions."

"Well, we're relying on you kid," Eda said. "But I don't think you'll let us down."

"I'll do my best," Marcy nervously insisted.

"Hey, you're back!" Came the voice of Ivy, the girl being joined by Maddie. "How was the temple!?"

"Any cool magic? Maddie asked. "Did Eda or Luz do any cool spells?"

"Luz did something pretty cool, but we also ran into a little surprise," Anne said, gesturing to Sasha and Grime, "Ta-dah!"

Ivy and Maddie immediately grew worried, those two were not exactly who they were expecting to see.

"So...are they on our side now?" Ivy asked.

Sasha groaned in annoyance, "Yeah, maybe I should leave. Anne, call us when you and Marcy figure out when you're going to Newtopia."

"Call you how? I have no service on my phone," Anne said.

"We'll be around," Grime said. "We won't go too far."

"Alright well, maybe you can come by for dinner soon?" Anne suggested. "If you want to at least."

"Oh, you're inviting me for dinner?" Sasha asked.

"If it's alright with The Plantars that is," Anne said, turning to the family. "What do you say?"

"Well, I don't see the harm, Sasha did help us out and we owe it to her to treat her like a friend," Hop Pop insisted.

"As long as she doesn't try to kill us," Polly said.

"Polly!" Anne scolded, then turned to Sasha. "She's just joking."

"Yeah, joking..." Sasha said. "Humorous."

"Actually, I have a better idea," Grime said. "How about a Game Night? A riveting chance for all of us to put our past rivalry behind us and start anew. It will be great for you Sasha, you will rekindle your bond with Anne and Marcy, and perhaps form a new friendship with that Luz girl."

"Sure, I'd like that," Sasha said, glancing towards a slightly suspicious Luz. "We'll work out the details."

"Awesome, now if you don't mind, we have stories to tell Ivy and Maddie, that may or may not be exaggerated for dramatic effect," Anne said.

"I do love me some exaggerated drama," Ivy joked.

Back in Mewni, while Marco was showing Amity around town, Star had joined the Magic High Commission in meeting up with their recent tip.

"So, where is the person who spotted the two lackeys of that Belos guy?" Star asked.

"He'll be here," Hekapoo said. "Actually, there he is."

"Star Butterfly," came the voice of one of Star's monster friends.

"Buff Frog!?" Star said, running over to the former villain and current castle employee. "So nice to see you, did you enjoy your vacation?"

"Was not vacation, some little ones were sick, so I needed some time off," Buff Frog said. "They are better now, should be back in castle tomorrow."

"Aw, well that's good to hear," Star said.

"Good thing I was home, my daughter overheard some suspicious folk nearby, she became worried and came to me," Buff Frog explained.

"She described a short woman with pointy ears and a Mewman like boy with blonde hair," Hekapoo said.

"That fits Amity's description," Star said.

"So, they are invaders from other realm?" Buff Frog said. "They are dangerous too?"

"Well, from what Lilith told me, they aren't too bad, it's more their leader that she's worried about," Star said. "An evil Emperor named Belos."

"You have mentioned names unfamiliar to me, who are they exactly?" Buff Frog asked.

"Amity and Lilith and friends from the same realm that these two invaders you saw are from, but they're on our side," Star said.

"Supposedly," Hekapoo added.

Star glared at her briefly, before turning back to Buff Frog, "Yeah, 'supposedly'."

From Star's reaction, Buff Frog could tell that these other invaders were likely already judged by the Magic High Commission. It doesn't surprise him that they would assume the worst, it is what he himself has gone through, and he already sympathizes with them. "Do you have plan for stopping invasion?"

"Not yet, we still don't know exactly what we're going up against," Star said. "I just know it may be really strong magic."

"Well, I am not worried, when it comes to magic, you are the best," Buff Frog said.

"Aw...you're exaggerating but it's sweet," Star said.

"Well I think you are strong, and together, we vill push back invaders," Buff Frog said.

"Yeah, this is sweet, but we really need to get moving," Hekapoo said. "You with us Frog man?"

"Yes, I shall help you protect Mewni," Buff Frog said.

"Good, come with us," Hekapoo said, leading the way.

"Should we seek assistance from Mina Loveberry as well?" Omnitrax Prime asked.

"I'd rather not, that girl is weird as hell," Hekapoo said.

"Weird or not, she's pretty strong," Rhombulus said. "Too bad no one knows where she is."

"We don't have time to look, we gotta focus on catching those two other Boiling Isle natives," Hekapoo said. "We also have that stupid trial to attend to as well, the one for Eclipsa."

"Oh right, that," Rhombulus lamented. "Think she'll find out about her daughter?"

"Not if you keep your trap shut about," Hekapoo said. "None of you better blow this, we don't need any more trouble for this Kingdom."

"I am in full agreement," Omnitrax Prime said. "Let us hurry on."

Star couldn't really hear what any of the High Commission was saying, but she certainly did not trust them.

"The other two natives, the good ones, what are they like?" Buff Frog asked, snapping Star out of her thoughts.

"Well Amity's nice, I even invited her to a sleepover, so she felt more at home in this place, and she's bonding well with Marco too," Star said. "I don't know too much about Lilith but she seems nice as well, even if she feels a bit out of place herself. I mean, I can relate to them, it was tough being on Earth, and I know Marco had trouble adapting to Mewni, but I think they're handling it well."

"Funny, of all worlds, I have never heard of this Boiling Isles place," Buff Frog said.

"There's probably a lot of different worlds, we've seen ones with Demons, Wooletts, Ponies, maybe soon we'll see a world of Frogs, kind of like you," Star said.

"No frogs like me," Buff Frog joked. "I am one of a kind."

"We all are," Star said, clutching her wand. "I hope Amity and Lilith won't have to endure the same nonsense as Buff Frog and all the other monsters trying to reform."

Off in the distance, in an isolated area, the dethroned villain Ludo was on the search for some edible plants. "Ooh, these might be good."

As he rummaged, he overheard some talking, the voice belonging to Hunter, "That stupid Kikimora."

"Huh? Wonder who's there?" Ludo snuck over to where he heard the voice.

He saw Hunter resting against a tree as his Palisman came to life, "This is the worst. I've only been in this stupid world for one day and it's already miserable, then I still gotta follow every beck and call from Kikimora while she desperately tries to create some portal back home. It was by pure luck Uncle summoned a portal here, what makes her think she can do one by herself?"

The little Palisman chirped at him, Hunter rubbing its head.

"I'd offer to help, but one she's too stubborn to accept it and two, I don't have much magic to offer, this is such a pain," Hunter lamented. "I just want to go back home."

"Poor boy, seems lost," Ludo said, then overheard Kikimora's chanting. He snuck over and saw the woman trying to create a portal.

"No use..." Kikimora said. "Too bad I don't have those magical dimensional scissors I've heard about.

Ludo briefly brought out his own pair, "Does she mean these? Strange, wonder who these two are? Does Princess Star know about them? Are they invaders perhaps?"

"Hey! Who are you!?" Hunter shouted, having noticed Ludo.

"Oh boy, better scram!" Ludo said, making a run for it.

However Kikimora had leapt into action, using magic to block Ludo's path with by striking some trees with lightning, causing them to fall over as the burning wood blocked his path. She and Hunter cornered Ludo, the Kappa like being finding himself trapped.

"Well this is a fine mess I've gotten myself into," Ludo lamented. Before they got closer, he aimed his scissors at them. "One more step and you'll be stranded someplace terrible."

"Wait, could those be the scissors that uncle mentioned?" Hunter asked.

"They might be! Give them here!" Kikimora reached out to grab them, but Ludo pulled back.

"Ah-ah, I wouldn't be too hasty, not like you'd know how to use these anyway," Ludo taunted. Kikimora then threatened him with her magic. "Someone's hasty."

"If you value your life, start talking," Kikimora warned.

Ludo could only smile, if to hide how nervous he felt. Of course he almost respected his opposers, especially Kikimora. She has the same intensity he had not too long ago, and the charisma to back it up. This was a tough spot though, he didn't know what either of them could do with the scissors, if he was not careful, things could go badly for him.

Seems like Kikimora was once step closer to helping Belos with his Invasion, all the while the Calamity Box was at its completion level, with the item soon to be evaluated by Andrias. Trouble was looming in the horizon.