With the monsters and heavy atmosphere leaving them behind, they could finally somewhat let their guard down. Even with the wand in their possession, as long as they were in the Warnicorn Metro, they weren't truly safe. Which Kasper so kindly pointed out.

"We need to get out of this stinking place. Like, 10 minutes ago."

"All in due time," responded Lucan.

"Due time?! What more in the hell do you want to do in here? Are you trying to find more ways to get us killed?"

"Will you calm down? There was nothing - not a sound, or a movement - ever since we started to climb the stairs. It is safe to assume that the worst is behind us. And in this case - literally behind us."

"That doesn't mean shit and you know it!"

"All right. Let's test your theory of blood sucking monsters lurking behind our backs." Lucan turned around and focused his sight into the distance. The tunnel was semi-lit, as many lights were broken due to passage of time. But even so, the sound coming from afar was what put it off. "Do you hear that?" he asked Kasper.

"What?"

"Exactly. Now, keep your irrational fear in check. Look at Kobi - he managed to calm down just fine. And that says something. Isn't that right, Kobi?"

"Uhm." His answer was short and barely audible. The reason why he was so calm. It was as if his whole world was in their newly acquired wand; it fascinated him. He didn't know why, however, there was this warmth emanating from it. Whenever he started to feel anxious, he just looked at it and immediately felt like nothing could happen to him.

"See?"

"But…!"

"No buts! We are on our way out. I suggest to leave your doubts here as we march on."

Kasper had plenty to tell, but no desire to go against him for all costs, so he decided to keep it to himself. He had a point though: as long as they were still in this forsaken place, anything could happen.

That anything happened a lot sooner than he anticipated, although not in a way he expected. The long and barebone tunnel they were walking in was up until this point lit with somewhat working lights, but after a certain point they went dark. The path clearly continued, but the light did not.

"Hmm," pondered Lucan. "This is interesting."

"Not the word I would have used."

He turned back to check if there was a change in the scenery from which they came. "The lights are still working behind us, so unless the electricity is cut off in this particular place, we have to assume this sudden change has to have a meaning."

"And what would that be?"

"Let's see: if we take into consideration that we, supposedly, didn't miss anything of value on our way here…"

"That's a big if…"

"...then the logical conclusion would be that this place is hiding something important."

"Important, you say…" Kasper went to check both walls on the sides by touching and even smashing them. "Nothing. This better not be some kind of stupid puzzle."

"I don't believe it is. Look." He showed both of them what appeared to be a cutout in the ceiling above.

"A way out?"

"Most of the time problems tend to have simple solutions. And this appears to be the answer to our escape from this place."

After he concluded his theory, all the lights in the hallway went off, except for the one near them.

"That was random," noted Kasper.

"Or perhaps not." He looked down at the wand he was holding in his hand. There were residual sparks flying around it and its colors were slightly less intense.

"I don't like the idea of being led by inanimate objects."

"I have to concur that this situation is bizarre, but so far it has been beneficial. It looks like it wants to get out as much as we do. We have a common goal, which is good for us."

"That's cool and all, but wands don't have their own mind, right?"

"We don't really know. Up until now we only knew about one - belonging to queen Omnia - and our knowledge about it is severely limited. For all we know they can even talk."

"I hope not."

"Whatever the case, we need to proceed with opening the hatch. Kobi?" Lucan reached his hand to Kobi to take the wand.

But the big guy wasn't paying attention to anything they were saying. Strangely enough, even the loss of light didn't throw him off. There was something special about the wand that was drawing all his attention.

Lucan softly laid his hand on his shoulder. "You alright?"

"I like it. Can I keep it?"

"I'm afraid not, as we are going to surface and others can't see we have it. Its mere existence needs to be kept as secret."

"But… But…"

"I'm sorry, but this is the way it needs to be. Now, hand it over, so I can hide in my backpack." Even despite his direct approach, Kobi was still reluctant to let go of the wand. "You can hold it once we are back at HQ."

"Will you keep it safe?"

"Absolutely."

"O-Okay." Still unsure, he gave this thing that was occupying his mind into his care.

"With this out of our way, we need to get a move on. Kobi, if you'd be so kind?"

The massive man reached out to the hatch above and with his strong hands grabbed its handle. By the sound it was making while he was trying to open it made it clear that this particular hatch hadn't been used in a very long time. It tried its best to resist Kobi's force, but eventually it gave way and loudly revealed a pathway leading straight up.

Lucan checked the tunnel with his flashlight. "Except for dust, somewhat narrow space and this uncomfortably rusty ladder, it looks safe for us to traverse. Kobi, you'll take point, in case some unwanted surprises will be waiting for us and you Kasper will cover our back."

"Let me guess: in case of unwanted surprises?"

Lucan peered into the darkness behind them and listened to its sounds. "As a precaution."

"Uhm…"

"All right then. Let's move."

The tunnel was indeed narrow and Kobi wasn't happy about it one bit. But even less happy were the two unfortunate souls below him; he was scrapping all the dirt as he was moving along, falling it down on them.

"Pfft-pfft! BLUEGH! Fuck, I will be cleaning my hair for weeks!"

"The sooner we'll get out the better. Keep moving on, Kobi."

As they were progressing with their ascent, the air was getting lighter and fresher. A clear sign of better things to come. All they had to do was to suffer some more dust and dirt. And so they did in great disgust, until Kobi reported that he had reached the end.

"Finally, we can get out of this shithole!"

"But it's shut!"

"What do you mean shut?!"

"I can't move it."

"Use your muscles, dammit!"

"I am. See? It won't budge."

"You've got to be fucking kidding me!"

"Kasper, wouldn't you have something that could remove it?" asked Lucan.

"Sure I can remove it. And us along with it."

"I meant something non-explosive."

"I'm a demolitions expert, not a gardener."

"Good point. Kobi, I'm sorry, but you are our only chance of getting out of here."

"But it won't move!"

"Are you sure you did your best?"

"Yes!"

"Your absolute best?"

"Y-Yes."

"So you did everything you could to open that hatch…"

"Well- I mean-"

"You have to get it open. You are our only chance. Do you understand?"

"I do, but…"

"What?"

"The last time I opened something that was closed so hard I got arm aches."

"You will have aches all over your body, if you don't open the damn hatch!" yelled Kasper.

"The pain will subside over time," Lucan was calming him down. "In fact, I should have something with me that should help you."

"Really?"

"For sure. So, will you open it?"

"Errm, okay."

With nervousness in his voice, he leaned against the hatch and gave all his strength into opening it. Kasper couldn't see anything, but Lucan witnessed how his body was shaking and struggling to move the hatch, while the hatch was struggling to stay shut. To anyone else this would look like a pointless attempt, but he knew that when Kobi put all of his attention toward something, there was no obstacle he couldn't overcome.

And so the unmovable object capitulated against the unstoppable force. How that went on, however, was unusual. The hatch did open, but before that it hit something and tossed it away. They couldn't see what that was, or why there would be anything on top of the hatch, but, truth be told, they stopped concerning themselves with it almost immediately. The way out was open and they were just looking forward to leaving this mold-infested place for good.

Without much thought, they all jumped out cheering about their successful escape and consequently, the success of their mission. It did not take them long to notice that their surroundings were not quite what they were expecting to see. They thought that the tunnel would lead somewhere up onto a street if they were lucky or more likely into some random outlet in the middle of nowhere. This wasn't nowhere. It was very specific somewhere and none of the five people occupying it couldn't understand what the hell was happening.

"You didn't anticipate this, didn't you?" asked Kasper.

"No, I did not," responded Lucan.

Albeit surprised, Kobi's attitude was more uplifting than that of his colleagues. "Uhm hello?"

The only response he got came from a child standing next to a young girl, that appeared to be pregnant. "Hello." Its voice was, despite the situation, surprisingly calm. As was the facial expression of the girl, although she was displaying some level of confusion as to what was going on.

All of this, of course, wasn't lost on Lucan. It took him a moment to readjust to this new and unexpected situation, but his mind was already working on analyzing it. Puzzle pieces were starting to fall in their place and the picture they were creating was bizarre. The situation had the potential of turning it into a serious problem if left unchecked.

"Is this your sister?" asked Kobi to the child.

"No."

This answer left him confused, but not Lucan.

"Is that…?" Kasper whispered over to him.

"It appears so."

The place they were in was the living room of a house. But not just any house. One that clearly belonged to a wealthy family. Which was another matter entirely, one that would be too difficult to explain to someone like Kobi.

The rich inhabitants of Mewmans were basically living in a bubble. A dystopia in which nothing bad ever happened, just constant pleasures from dawn to dusk. They had no idea what was happening outside their lives, nor did they want to know, Omnia made sure of that. So when these two individuals saw their TV being thrown against the wall, followed by three unknown men coming out of a mysterious hole in the floor, they simply didn't have the foggiest as to how to react.

Lucan took the initiative. "Are your masters home?" The girl didn't say a word, just nodded her head in disagreement. "We are lucky. Uhm, please, sit down with your child, we will be on our way shortly. How old are you, if I may ask?"

"Fourteen," answered the girl with a barely audible voice.

"Fucking hell!" reacted Kasper.

"And how old is this little angel?" he aimed his question at the child politely sitting next to her.

"I am three years old!" responded the kid with great pride.

"This is sickening!"

"They are getting desperate. Looks like the distribution of faulty DNA is speeding up even more in here than down there."

"They can't possibly keep doing this forever!"

"I'm afraid they can. And much worse than this. Anyway, we need to move. Her owners can get back any minute. Kobi, close the hatch tightly, and put all the stuff back in its place. With any luck, they won't notice nothing."

"But we can't go out in these clothes. They would bring too much attention."

"The regular folks would barely notice us, but random police patrol might have some uncomfortable questions I'd like to avoid answering. We need to blend in. Erm, girl, where do your masters keep clothing?"

"Upstairs in the bedroom. Do you want to go into bedroom?" The way she answered the question was a bit unsettling, but they were left with no choice but to play along.

"Uhm, yes, I suppose. Take us to the bedroom."

"Stay here," she told her child in a calm voice and led the duo of men upstairs.

While Kobi was keeping himself busy with fixing up the living room, Kasper with Lucan were led through the entrails of this luxurious household. Of course, the underground Resistance had basic information how upper Mewni looks like, but reading scarce information and experiencing it first hand proved to be different. For them, this place was indescribable.

"Here we are," the girl pointed her hand toward a set of doors, which she then opened.

The room before them left each of them stood there in pure awe.

"Damn," noted Kasper, "I feel cheap."

"You are cheap. Here, the wardrobe. Help me out finding properly sized clothes."

Despite their expectations, the contents of the wardrobe were even more luxurious than everything else they had seen so far in the house.

Kasper couldn't believe his eyes. "I can appreciate a fancy fashion sense, but this is ridiculous! Check this shit out: this cloak has more gems on it then it has actual cloth!"

"We didn't come here to criticize their choices in fashion. Take whatever fits your and Kobi's sizes so we can go."

"Already done."

"Excellent."

Having acquired all that they would need, they spun around to head for exit, but were greeted with a most unexpected offering.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" yelled Kasper.

"All right, now this is embarrassing even for me," said Lucan, as he turned his head away.

"Why in the hell are you standing there naked?!"

"You said you wanted to go to bedroom."

"For clothes, not you!"

"You don't want me?"

"Are you stupid or something?"

"Leave her be. She doesn't know she is doing something wrong. She was groomed into total and absolute obedience."

"But we don't own her."

"That makes no difference to her."

"You mean to tell me that if I would tell her to kill herself, she would do it?"

"Better to not say such things out loud."

"Right."

"Darling, take your clothes back up."

"As you wish."

"Then go down to your child and continue doing what you were doing before our arrival."

She silently nodded and went back to the living room.

Lucan was keen to leave as soon as possible. "Quickly, let's grab Kobi and get out before some similarly unfortunate occurrences can happen again."

"Yeah, this place is fucked up."

They expected an uneventful return and swift exit to the evening streets Mewni. With the girl in her place, they didn't expect anything to happen that could hinder their intentions to return to HQ with the wand. Except for the sudden arrival of the owners of the household.

"What is the meaning of this?! Who are you and what are you doing in here?!"

Kasper looked at Lucan for answers.

"Hello!" It would end up being Kobi who first attempted to break the tension in the most unusual way. "We were just checking on your children." His geniality was genuine, but as usual misplaced and made the whole situation a lot worse.

"What my colleague meant was that we… heard unusual sounds coming from your home and we… have decided to check if everything is right."

"Do you take us for idiots?!"

"Yeah, pretty much," responded Kasper with his typical flair.

That pushed the woman over the edge. "I'm calling the authorities!"

But something in the room had a different idea of how this mess could be resolved. At first, no one saw it. Afterwards though, despite Lucan's backpack being thick, there was a slight glowing emanating from inside. And it was getting stronger with each second. Eventually Kasper took notice of it and alerted Lucan about it.

"Glowing? You mean… that thing?"

"What else in there can glow?"

As the light was getting stronger, the lights inside the house started to flicker. Both of them exchanged confused looks. But as fast as the situation got weird, it went back to normal, with the exception of a sudden change in the television broadcast:

"We interrupt this program to inform all the fair citizens of Mewni about the vicious attack of the so-called Resistance. Approximately fifteen minutes ago a large group of savage monsters killed several dozen peaceful Mewmans during their shopping spree in our biggest shopping center. The blood bath then continued throughout the streets where clueless citizens were stabbed and murdered in the most gruesome ways. The authorities are requesting that all remaining citizens run for the nearest sanctuary and wait for further instructions."

The couple looked at each other nervously. They never thought that Resistance would ever be so stupid to launch a direct attack, so seeing intruders in their home didn't make them think it could be one of them. They didn't dare to move and neither did the trio. It was a stalemate, though nobody was clear on who was stalling who. With the desire to protect their assets being stronger than the fear of Resistance, they risked it, grabbed the girl and her child and went straight for the exit, while hastily giving her instructions what to do and how to behave. In just one minute the trio were left alone.

"What the hell just happened?" asked Kasper.

"I'm not sure," responded equally confused Lucan.

"Did we really launch an attack?"

"That… doesn't seem likely."

"Do you think that…"

Lucan took down his backpack and reached into it to take out the wand. It wasn't glowing anymore, but there was a subtle change in its color palette. "It appears to have awakened. Combining it with what happened in the metro, this suggests that perhaps wands do have… personality, for lack of a better word."

"If that's true, then I don't even want to know what Omnia's wand might be like."

"With this in our possession, we can learn that pretty soon."

"You really think that's a good idea?"

"That's ultimately up to the HQ, but I assure you they were pushing towards this very end for quite some time. Without the wand, the queen is just a regular mortal."

"But with the wand she can smite us!"

"And that's why with this we can finally push forward."

"Even if that's the case, do you really think we can control it?"

"One step at a time. Kobi, you all right?"

The big boy was sitting on the couch, obviously shaken and scared. "I don't wanna go outside."

"I'm sure nothing has happened."

"R-Really?"

"Of course. We just, uhm... That was just to scare them off."

"So there won't be rivers of blood flowing down the streets?"

"Rivers of what? Where did you hear it?"

"Kasper told me what would happen if I didn't keep up with you."

"Really?" he pounded a rhetorical question, while he turned his head to impale his teammate standing next to him with his eyes. "We will talk about this later."

"Oh come on! He wouldn't shut up!"

"Kobi, put these clothes on. Before we go out, we need to blend in with the crowd. As for you, Kasper… Just stay silent. The last thing we need is Kobi panicking."

With the home owners gone, wand neatly hidden away from sight and the trio clothed as wealthy Upper Mewmans, they were ready to start the return journey back to Mewni's bowels. Which was now far more complicated than originally planned, as the safest route was some distance away and not used by the rich. So the only way to get back without attention was going deeper into the most extravagant part of the city. It was a part which they knew very little about. Their goal was to reach the manufacturing area, wherever that might be.

There they were. A trio of grown up men dressed in noble clothing they apparently didn't like.

"I feel weird."

"This will allow us to pass through the city undetected."

"It's itchy," added Kobi.

This probably wasn't helping their effort to blend in, however the biggest show was yet to come. The first to notice it was Kobi, who after witnessing the scene just a minute ago, got agitated. And there is nothing subtle about a huge man nervously looking around in a place that is considered to be a paradise.

Kasper noticed this sudden change in his behaviour and he wasn't pleased by it. "Kobi, what the fuck has gotten into you?! Calm down or you'll blow our cover!"

"The- The- The-"

"The-the-the what? There is nothing in here."

With shaking hand, he pointed to Lucan's glowing backpack. It was now even stronger than before.

"Lucan! Your backpack - it's glowing again! And this time it looks like it's trying to illuminate this whole fucking street!"

"Wait, what? Why would it be glowing?" He turned around, but saw nothing and no one out of the ordinary. "I see nothing suspicious."

"Yeah, well, if your theory is true, then who knows what that thing is thinking it's doing. And right now it's pulling attention onto us!"

"But why?"

"You're the one here with a big brain; you figure it out!"

While both of them were busy arguing among each other, Kobi's fear locked his sight onto the magical light tearing its way out. So he was the only that noticed a change in the way the light was shaped. Despite being covered under a thick layer of textile, the glow was slowly, but steady shifting, as if following something. Fear or not, Kobi's natural curiosity took over and made him to check what exactly it was that the wand was pointing to. It didn't take him long to find it on the other side of the street and his eyes locked onto the object, he had trouble understanding it. So he asked Lucan to help him out by tapping him on his shoulder.

"Not now, Kobi."

But he didn't allow himself to be denied, so he tapped him again and this time with greater force.

"Kobi, that hurts! What is happening to you?"

Instead of replying, he pointed with his finger to an object that was apparently moving. To anyone else, said object wasn't anything special, but to them seeing this particular object was a shocking revelation.

"This cannot be…"

But it was. Against all rational thought and logic, the girl from the metro was there. Granted, clothed differently and the makeup certainly changed her looks somewhat, but there was no mistake that it was her.

"How the fuck is this even possible?"

"Kasper, look at the light. What do you see?"

And he saw the exact same thing as Kobi. "It is-"

"-moving? Then we were right. That girl is the owner."

"But how is this possible?"

"You're as curious as I am, but our current predicament demands immediate attention: she is the key to unlocking the wand's full power."

"Well, that is nice and all, but how do you propose to, uhm… use her?"

"First, we need to retrieve her."

"That doesn't really answer my question."

"One step at a time. We need to-"

But before he could finish his thought, the girl entered a cab in great haste.

"Hmm. This is unfortunate."

"Not the word I would have used."

"Tell me, what is the wand doing right now?"

"Still pointing to her."

"As I expected. There is a connection between them. That connection will allow us to follow her wherever she goes."

"So you're saying that we need to follow the light…"

"I hope that your ability to stay incognito is better than your puns. Keep my backpack closed and peek inside only when necessary. Move out."

Shortly after that, the cab started to move away from them. Even despite being covered by local clothes, the unpredictable nature of the mission worried him. Back in his head, Lucan was aware of the immense risk he was exposing himself and his team to. Still, he was hoping that by the time anyone would have any questions about their business in there, they would be long gone.

Having proper clothes was only one part of being undercover. The other that was equally important was having proper behaviour. Lucan could pretend to be a native upper Mewmans, but Kasper had to keep peeking into his backpack, which was weird on its own. Further worrying was Kobi, who was having a field day, and he wasn't shy of making it obvious.

"Kobi!" Kasper rebuked him. "Stop eyeballing everything and everyone around you! You look like a tourist!"

"But it's so pretty in here!"

"This ain't a fucking vacation! Being undercover means avoiding attention, not to stick every eyeball in the damn city onto us!"

Kobi tried to heed his warning, but he was like a child in a fun park; behind every corner there was a fascinating new light, interesting shape, mesmerizing colors and… beautiful young girls in every direction. Each step they took bolstered their numbers.

"Damn," said Kasper. "If I didn't know better I'd say this place is a giant brothel."

Lucan nodded. "Indeed. Their number seems excessive."

"Do you think that everyone is using them like we saw in that family?"

"Such a theory is hardly far fetched. That being said, we aren't here to play moral police. Every extra minute spent here means increased danger of being uncovered. It is imperative that we find her in the shortest time possible."

"Yeah, about that. We might have a slight issue." Kasper noticed that the wand was pointing to a place where all the girls seemed to be gathering. It wasn't surrounded by any walls, so they could take a good look at it.

"Seems to be a market of some kind," noted Lucan. "And you say the girl is inside?"

"It looks like it."

"We don't have any other choice then. We'll go in, but incognito, alright? The last thing we need is to attract unwanted attention."

Trying not to raise suspicion among the buyers minding their own business, they calmly stepped into the outer ring. No one noticed their arrival.

"Huh, this was easy," noted Kasper.

But Lucan saw it differently. "They all look almost the same," he whispered. "And we can't rely on the wand's guidance in here without risking exposure."

"So what do you propose then? That we ask around?"

"Don't be ridiculous. We need to do this the hard way: we split up and look for her."

"Really? That's your ingenious plan? Did you look at our big idiot in here? He's this close from drooling all over his suit. We let him alone and he'll end up befriending one of these ladies."

"Hmm, that's actually a good point."

"Yeah, no kidding."

"Then perhaps we can-"

"You're thinking too much. Here, let me show you how the master does it. Hey, Kobi!"

"Hmm?"

"I saw two policemen behind us."

"Oh no."

"What are you doing?" asked Lucan.

But Kasper ignored him. "Oh no is right, because they saw you looking at girls all the time and now they want to arrest you!"

"Bu- Bu- I didn't do anything wrong!"

"They don't care. You broke their law and now they want to imprison you and torture you!"

"…?!"

"My point exactly. So we need to create chaos to ditch them. Can you do that?"

If there was something Kasper was even better at than demolition was getting under Kobi's skin. It didn't take long for the big guy to react to this information; he spread his arms and started to run, while moving them around and yelling various sounds. That did get a reaction out of the buyers, but he felt they needed a little nudge. "There's a fucking maniac on the run! Save yourselves!"

Lucan couldn't believe his eyes. "What did you just do?!"

"Helped! Look - nobody is paying attention to us."

"But now she will run away from us!"

"So what? We have her wand to show us where she is and no one to bother us."

"No one except for the policemen that were alarmed by this."

"Oh…"

"As usual, you acted before thinking it through. Now we need to hurry and look for her before security will come to look for us."

Kasper couldn't deny that he liked what he saw. Kobi was off the leash, making his way through everyone like an angry bull and even destroying a few merchandise stands along the way. It was like witnessing an explosion up close without the fear of losing limbs. It was poetic.

Lucan on the whole was more worried of losing the girl, although to be fair he had lost her once already a few minutes ago. Except this time she was within his grasp, maybe even running alongside him, but because of all the people running around he couldn't possibly see her. He found it to be unacceptable.

Kobi was in full blown panic mode. The idea of him feeling pain was so scary that he couldn't stop rampagning the place. No matter what, he was determined to remain free. That determination wasn't getting weaker even after glancing at the second exit on the other side. The way to it was surprisingly empty, since very few people have a reason to run that way. Except for one. It was this person in particular that made him stop and calm down enough to recognize the silky smooth blond hair waving in the air.

"Why the hell did you stop?!" shouted Kasper. "They can be right behind us!"

"The girl…"

Lucan instantly locked his sight onto the place he was referring to. "Excellent job, Kobi! Lead the way!"

Most of the people were already gone, which made the pursuit much easier. That was the good news. The bad news was that the girl managed to step into yet another cab and was driving away.

"Unbelievable…" said Lucan.

"Well, that just happened. Now what, big boss?" asked Kasper.

"We follow her, what else."

Kasper made sure that no one is watching them, then opened his backpack to check on the wand's guiding light. It was there all right, but the light wasn't as bright as before. "It appears it's getting weaker."

"We need to hurry. Now, where is it pointing to?"

Kasper focused his sight into distance. He couldn't believe his own eyes. "Uhm, manufacturing area… Why would she go there of all places?"

"I don't know. But this plays to our cards. There is a guarded entrance to the lower levels. With any luck, the guards will stop her and guard her long enough for us to pick her up."

"And how do you suggest we do that?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there."

Having a clear vision of their goal made their traveling a lot simpler. They checked, subtly, several times to confirm that they weren't being followed, but this close to the industrial district there were fewer and fewer people to see. Mewmans weren't interested in how their stuff was being made, they only cared about when and where they could purchase it. This meant that seeing a group of wealthy individuals in these parts was highly unusual.

The shine of the healthy Upper Mewni was fading away, as the dirt and dust of the industrial zone began creeping in. Where their surroundings were once shiny and bright buildings, what they saw became grim, grimy replacements for their shiny counterparts. Architecture was also changing, more abruptly too, replacing extravagant designs with dull and boring shapes copied from one building onto the next one. Scarce lamps were casting shy lights onto this saddening scenery.

They felt at home here.

Seeing familiar surroundings gave them a much needed confidence boost. They felt like they could understand this place, its inner workings and unwritten rules, despite still being within spitting distance of the queen's domain. And as they were getting closer to the massive buildings hiding huge machines, the need to come up with the plan was becoming more and more urgent.

Lucan raised his head. "We have arrived."

Even without the gate, the complex structures ahead were clear signs that this wasn't the regular Upper Mewni anymore. Still, despite the surroundings being more familiar, their intactness made it all a bit alien to them; their siblings below were vastly damaged. Surprisingly, they didn't see a single soul, no worker of any kind passed by as they were moving among the monumental buildings and complicated pipes, even though the hum was a clear indication that the machinery was working.

"It must be controlled remotely," thought Lucan.

Kasper raised his eyebrow. "What kind of power source are they using?"

"Magic, probably."

"Magic?! They are digging their own graves with it!"

"They apparently don't care and neither should you. We have a pressing matter on our hands. Look up ahead."

They focused their eyes into the foggy distance where they saw a glimmering light.

"Is that what I think it is?" asked Kapser.

"Indeed."

"So what's your plan then?"

"Kobi."

The big man looked at him with visible confusion. But Kasper knew exactly what he meant. "You can't be serious."

"I am."

"What happened to stealth?"

"That is a luxury we cannot afford anymore. Taking the girl takes priority. She is the key to our success."

"Don't you think that's a bit far fetched?"

"Our opinions have no place in this matter. The fact is that she has the ability to unlock the wand's potential."

"Yeah, about that, it isn't glowing anymore."

"It doesn't need to. We know where she is."

"No, we know where she went. For all we know she might be on her way to the queen."

"The wand would show us that if it were true."

"You can't know that for sure."

"Silence. We're going in."

The atmosphere in this lifeless part of the city was eerie, maybe even spooky for the faint of heart. But the three persons lurking through its mist weren't interested in how the place felt. Their goal lay on the opposite side, where they hoped to reunite a long lost pair.

It was almost a miracle to catch up with her. They hid behind a container near the entrance to the lower Mewni and inspected the scene. Lucan was right: the guards did hold her. Unfortunately for them they didn't stall her long enough. The only thing they saw from her was her back passing through the gate. She was out of their reach once again and this time going to a place that could very well shorten her existence.

Lucan was baffled. "She wanted to enter lower Mewni this whole time?"

And so was Kasper. "This girl… I don't know if she is so smart, or so stupid, but her chances of survival just lowered to the minimum."

"Whatever reasons she has, her going to our domain has the upside of us knowing it better than her. We can finally gain an advantage."

"Yeah, that's a cool plan and all, but how do you want to go through the security guards? The moment they see us they'll be onto us like flies on a pile of shit."

Maybe they heard him, because both guards ran out of the security both, however in the opposite direction.

"They are after her!" noted Kasper.

"I can see that," responded Lucan. "We need to act quickly. Kobi, stop them! They can't reach her!"

It was always amazing for them to watch him run. Despite his massive size, Kobi could run fast. And there are not many things scarier than seeing a huge ball of muscle running at you at full speed. The guards were so focused on catching the girl that they didn't notice his heavy footsteps gaining on them. Once they did, it was too late; Kobi grabbed their heads and smashed them together. They both instantly went down to the ground.

Lucan and Kasper quickly caught up with him. They checked their life signs.

"Alive," Lucan informed.

"Yeah, this one too."

"Is that a bad thing?" asked Kobi confused.

"No no, this is good," Lucan assured him.

"But that is not good," added Kasper. "Look - the elevator is on its way down."

"That is troublesome. But we can still catch up with her. She is now entering our domain, which will finally give us the advantage."

"Let's just hope others won't take advantage of her before we can catch up to her."

"Stay positive." Once it stopped, he pressed the button to call it. "Time to go home."

Everything was greasy, smokey and dirty. The air was heavy and smelled like wet dog. Sunshine was nowhere to be found and everything was artificially illuminated. They were indeed home. The upper citizens never saw this place, they never learned how exactly it looked, nor had they ever cared. But if one of them happened to end up in here, they would probably start screaming and senselessly running around.

At least, that was the general consensus among those living in this swamp. When they stepped out of the smelly old elevator, they were expecting to see her to keep doing just that. But she was nowhere to be seen.

Kasper grabbed his head. "What the hell is this girl?! Is she fucking with us or what?!"

Lucan took a calmer approach, although it was apparent that he too wasn't happy how the whole situation was unravelling in front of his eyes. "Press on. There is only one way from here. She couldn't possibly could get far."

"Yeah? And what the hell makes you think that?! We have been chasing her for a good half an hour without much success!"

Lucan ignored his remarks and led his comrades deeper into subterranean Mewni, where law was just a differently labeled rule book. It was for this very reason that he was worried and keen to find her pronto. Down here, the line between crime and police was so blurred that more often than not it all came down to how you spelled them. The society basically consisted of different anarchist groups breathing down each others' necks.

All these descriptions were running through Lucan's mind when he was observing the scene from afar, hidden behind a pile of trash on the side of the street, witnessing her being cornered by a bunch of people. "We are in trouble."

"What else is new…"

But Kobi felt optimistic. "I can go there and just take her away. Gently, of course."

"As appealing as it sounds, we cannot do that. We don't know what exactly is happening over there, or who she is with. We could endanger her life."

"I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I agree with Kobi. She obviously isn't having a fucking tea party with those people and while they are all focused on her, we can just fly in, break their skulls and just as fast flee away with her finally in our possession."

"I said no. We don't have the complete picture. It's too risky."

"Listen-"

"After her! Don't let her get away!"

"What?"

They all focused their sight into the distance. The girl managed to run some distance away, but was apprehended shortly after. Luckily for them, the place they were standing in now was lit well enough to recognize her followers.

"They're just a regular street thugs! Surely we can take them down, right?"

"Yes! Kobi, yo-"

But before he could give them instructions, he was interrupted by a siren and a pair of blue/red light. The situation just got a lot worse.

"Oh for fuck sake, give me a break! When will this shitshow end?!"

"Shh, just watch."

And so he watched. He watched as the thugs fled the scene. He watched as an officer stepped out of the car, approached the girl, and after a short talk, as she went into the car with him. Then he watched as the car drove away.

"This… complicates things," noted Lucan.

"You think?!"

"Of all people it had to be Toffee."

"I don't like the lizard man," added Kobi.

"Yeah, well, nobody does, that's the fucking point. Who knows what he will do with her."

"Toffee isn't stupid. He will recognize her value."

"That doesn't really make it any easier for her. His 'values' are fucked up."

"Agreed. Which is why we are going to retrieve her from him."

"And how do you intend to do that?"

"With you."

Kasper gave him a long, empty stare. "You can't be serious."

"We are close enough to the HQ now. In the event of an onslaught, we call for backup."

"HQ won't risk a full on war with the police department!"

"They will once they learn the value of our mission!"

"That's crazy! You're crazy!"

"It is imperative to capture the girl before Toffee realizes her potential. Try to imagine what would happen then."

"That's- that's a good point. But I still don't like it."

"Your liking it is not required, only your obedience. Let's go."

As they were moving towards local police headquarters, the street was getting weirder and branching out in all directions into smaller roads. Seeing people walking outside was more prevalent, leaving the dark alleys behind. In any other place this would mean increased security. Not here. The only change was the increased means of getting attacked. People living here weren't fond of bonding, so more likely than not they were forging paths just as a means to an end. Those who actually did stick together were seen as dangerous to the goals of others. And the most coherent group among them all was the Resistance.

Seeing their members walking on the street always piqued interest among locals, but seeing them dressed in fancy dresses from the surface had their full attention. Lucan was aware of this, as well as of the reaction of management, but his resolve couldn't be shaken by a few uptight rules. He knew that once they learned about the wand and the girl, they would be vindicated. All he had to do was blow up some walls and survive the aftermath.

Instead, it was his plan that blew up. They were on their way when they saw a massive explosion. Someone had beat them to it. People were running and screaming in every direction in pure panic mode. They were used to seeing a regular amount of street violence, but this was too much even for them.

"What is happening here?" said Lucan in disbelief.

Kasper was also looking at the damaged building with an open mouth. "Who would be stupid enough to attack the police like that?! I mean, I admire the pure stupidity of the person, but still. Wait, who is that running away?" Due to the smoke he had trouble recognizing the person's face, however one short window of clear air was enough for him to realize who it was. "It's the bitch that wanted to rob the girl! What the fuck does she think she's doing?!"

Before she disappeared in one of the side alleys, she stopped and yelled: "That's what you get for fucking with me, you pigs! MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"How the fuck did she get explosives like that?! That's military grade stuff!"

Lucan had trouble processing the whole scene. The whole time he was chasing the blond girl, always being one step behind, always being careful with every decision he made. And this crazy person just walked in and blew up a huge chunk of wall, made a joke of it and left. He liked challenges, but the constant flow of failures ever since they left the Warnicorn Metro finally got to him.

"We're going in!"

Kasper looked at him in shock. "Are you crazy?! They'd be onto us the second we step foot inside!"

"This is not up for debate! We are done playing second fiddle! She is in there and we need to collect her while they are stunned. It's now or never. Now move!"

With the air being filled with thick fog form the explosion and with Kobi on point acting like a plow, the trio went to the rubble surrounding the entrance to the building. The structure itself wasn't extremely big, as many of its contents were hidden below the ground. Despite that it was still big enough to get lost in it. The explosion gave them two advantages: first, there was no one outside who could watch them entering the precinct, but most importantly the officers inside were either unconscious or barely standing.

"It's the resistance!"

Alas, there were a few that strongly objected to their presence.

"They broke through to the prison cells!"

"Are they in the basement?!"

"Get the steamhounds! Don't let them escape!"

Luckily, Kobi and his fist were there to put all of them to sleep with a few good aimed slaps. He was extra motivated to keep them out cold as he hated those awful creatures.

All the major parties in lower Mewni were keeping tabs on each other, so they had a general idea of where to look, though dust and rubble all around them made the search somewhat difficult.

"Do you see the stairs leading down?" asked Lucan.

"Stairs?!" responded Kasper. "I can barely see Kobi and he's fucking huge! But Lucan, they think we did this!"

"I don't care what they think! Just keep looking! She is somewhere in here! We can't leave without her!"

Time was pressing them and the dust was setting down too slowly. As the seconds were passing, the weight of the current situation was weighing on them. The longer they were there, the bigger the risk of facing an overwhelming opposing force, against which even Big Boy wouldn't do much. The diplomatic incident was unavoidable at this point, so the only thing they could hope for was for the HQ to have their backs. And for that they needed the girl.

"I see it!" informed Kobi, triumphantly.

"Where?" asked Lucan.

"In the right corner. There are damaged doors."

"Excellent work! Go to them and smash them open! We need to hurry!"

It was always fascinating to watch Kobi being so swift for his size. It took him a mere seven seconds to move himself in front of the doors and push them off of their hinges. They made a loud screech and landed a few meters down on the stairwell.

"Go, go, go!"

They found the correct room. They knew that because of Toffee's limp body lying in the dust. And also because their quarry was gone.

"Where is she?!" shouted Lucan, who was clearly losing it. "WHERE IS SHE?!"

"I don't know, alright?!" yelled back Kasper.

But Kobi kept his cool. "Maybe she escaped by there?" he asked as he was pointing his finger to the rather small entrance in the wall.

Like a hawk suffering from caffeine overdose, he moved his head like lightning to the spot on the neighbouring wall. There was indeed an opening. With a swift movement he came closer and inspected it for clues.

"It's a small cargo elevator! It looks like she used it to escape! We need to get out!"

Sadly, even his quick thinking wasn't fast enough to avoid the inevitable.

"Search everything, room by room! Don't leave a single piece of rubble untouched! We need to find Toffee!"

Kasper was first to react. "Shit! Now what!"

Lucan looked on into the opening. "We can use that to escape!"

"Are you nuts? That thing is so small that maybe, just maybe I would be able to fit through, but certainly not you and sure as hell not Kobi."

"No…"

"I'm sorry, but this might be the end of the line for us."

"NO! I refuse to give up! You… Blow our way out!"

"Did you hit your head?! I'd send this whole thing down onto us!"

"I COMMAND YOU!"

"You can shove your command up your ass! I ain't doing it!"

With the policemen on top, no way out, and Lucan being on the verge of complete mental breakdown, the tension could be sliced into pieces. All seemed hopeless and without a positive resolution in sight.

"Uhm, guys?"

"WHAT?!" they both shouted.

"I think the wand is trying to do something."

Lucan quickly regained at least part of his sanity. "What?" He quickly took down his backpack and brought out the wand. It was glowing like before, but now the intensity of the light was constantly rising. After mere seconds they couldn't see anything but bright white light filling up the room. All the sounds and voices subsided and were replaced by a subtle white noise, filling up their minds. Lucan couldn't focus and neither could Kasper. Kobi, on the other hand, was smiling. He had no problem looking directly into it, as if the ridiculous illumination didn't bother his eyes at all. He was just standing there, feeling content and happy.

"Yes," he agreed, although there was no voice heard.

He reached out for the wand, locked his massive palm around it and removed it from Lucan's grasp. The moment he lost touch with it he was tossed away together with Kasper against the stone wall. The impact was strong, but thankfully not damaging. They carefully tried to stand up, which resulted in painful moans.

"I'm not getting enough money for this kind of shit," lamented Kasper. "What happened?"

"I haven't the foggiest. All I know I was holding the wand and then Kobi- Wait."

"What?"

"Where is the wand?!"

"What do you mean?"

"I was holding it in my hand! And now it's gone!"

"What the hell?! How is that even possible!"

"I don't know!"

"Lucan?"

"Yes?"

"Where is Kobi?"

They inspected the place, but aside from Toffee's motionless body, they were alone. Neither Kobi nor the wand was anywhere to be found.

Kobi's body was thrown against a wall.

"Ouch!"

It took him a while to sort out his thoughts over the past few seconds. Slightly confused, he looked around. "Guys?" He noticed that he was alone, standing in a narrow alley that ran between a dirty building behind his back and an intriguing one made up from gaudy bricks. The windows on them were covered in dark colors, so he couldn't see what was inside. Yet strangely he felt he belonged there. It was then that he realized that his hand wasn't empty. He raised it up and noticed the wand still being securely locked inside his palm.

"I remember now!" he called out happily. "But I need to hide it." As he was searching for something to cover it with, he saw a familiar object resting on the ground near him. "Lucan's backpack. But where is he?" Kobi looked around, but he was the only one around. "And where is Kasper?" He once again took a look at the wand. "I can't wait for them. I promised. I'll take you there."

After hiding it inside, he took a journey deeper into the depths of the alley. He wasn't clear on where exactly he needed to go. The only thing he had was a sense of a general direction in which he should go. The road he was walking on didn't look like anything special. Aside from the weird looking building, which he never saw before, there was nothing that would tell him he was getting anywhere close to his goal.

His train of thought was abruptly interrupted by a massive explosion behind him.

"What was that?!"

It was this moment when the realization of him being completely alone hit him with full force. There was always someone with him, telling him what to do. The prospect of being on his own terrified him and he had trouble remembering why he was even there. He calmed down a bit after he noticed a colorful glimmer coming from the backpack. He peeked inside and noticed the wand emanating a wide range of colors.

"You're… welcome," he responded precariously. This and the weird creaking sound from above were the last thing he remembered before everything went black.

"I see him! Come over here!"

Both men quickly approached Kobi lying unconscious under a pile of rubble.

"Is he alive?"

"I feel his pulse and I don't see any fracture on his back or head. He looks fine, just beaten."

"Wake him up."

The man took a small vial and let him smell its contents. It didn't take long for him to abruptly wake up and start to catch his breath.

"Relax, slow down your breathing. You're under some rubble, but otherwise alive. Can you stand up?"

Kobi tried to recognize the two men standing over him. "Kasper? Lucan?"

"Can you stand up?" Kasper repeated.

"Y-Yeah, I- I think so." It took him some effort, but the debris wasn't too heavy.

"Where were you all this time?" asked Lucan.

"I don't understand."

"You were lost for two weeks. Where were you?"

"Two weeks? But I came here a minute ago."

"After you escaped with the wand and my backpack, we crawled through the elevator shaft. We barely made it out. But you were nowhere to be seen. We tried to come back a few days later and searched for you, but you were simply gone."

"Bu- I'm not…" Confused, he looked at Kasper.

"Don't look at me."

"I don't- Wand told me to go here. I thought this is where the girl is. I came here and then I saw that thing falling onto me and then… Kasper woke me up."

"Is that so? Where is the wand then?"

"It's right…" He pointed to the place where he expected it to be. "...there. Where- I had it in your backpack."

"The backpack is here, but it's empty."

Kobi didn't know what to say.

"Us, being surrounded at the police station? That happened two weeks ago."

"Two weeks? I remember… touching the wand and then being here."

"Why did you even touch it, Kobi?"

"It spoke to me."

"Really? It talked to you?"

"Yes. It wanted me to take it here."

"Why?"

"I thought it was telling me where the girl is. I knew how much you wanted to get to her, so I just did it. I shouldn't do that?"

"Kobi, whatever I or Kapser think is meaningless. The HQ believes you're an inside man."

"Who?"

"Yeah, that's what I kept telling them. But after they learned what we were bringing back and that we failed, they got… upset."

"But I was trying-"

"Look, the moment we detected a magical surge, they wanted to send a security detail to investigate it. But I convinced them that in case it'll be you, it would be more prudent if we would bring you in."

"Bring me… in?"

"I'm sorry, Kobi, but it's out of my hands. Was for two weeks now."

He looked confused and scared at both of them. Even Kasper wasn't happy with the situation.

"Come. You have a lot to answer for."

Chapter 5 was written by Terepin.