I didn't think it would take me this long to pump out a new chapter. The final part of Soluna's arc is here! There are only two more chapters remaining after this, I expect to finish sometime in May.
The next page of my sketches will be uploaded tomorrow, you can find it on tumblr and deviantart.
to FungusDungus000: Yeah, Kevin was one of the main inspirations for Dev's character.
Dr. Amalgam's creation was near completion, he had asked his son to retrieve the last missing piece mere hours ago and now he sat at his desk awaiting his return. A portal opened in the center of the room, the chimera-boy stepped through holding the remains of the magic wand.
"Dev…you're in the chimera form…" the Dr. looked him over with surprise and worry, this form was a last resort, it had been severely difficult to change him back to human after the initial experiment "The Butterfly's saw me…" he kept his eyes to the floor, the possible permanence of his form not on his mind in the least.
"Did you-""Yeah, I used the venom." Dev rolled his eyes at his father, who continued to look him over concerned "No, did you get hurt?" the Doctor asked firmly. His mutant boy didn't say a word, but the cuts and bruises on his skin spoke for him. Dr. Amalgam shook as he felt his anger rising, he took the wand carefully from Dev and brought it over to his machine "That's all the people from Mewni have ever done, hurt us. The two dimensions should never have merged!"
The broken wand was placed in a slot in the center, under a large gyroscope serving as the centerpiece of the doctor's master plan "Science will not lose to magic this time! Once the Splicer is finished warming up, I will undo the cleaving that ruined the world!"
The chimera-boy hardly paid attention to his father; he was too focused remembering how SHE had looked at him…
OXOXOXOX
"Can't you get rid of this stuff faster?"
"I'm sorry King Butterfly, even with the antidote the effects will last for a few more hours." The medic informed the king. Marco and Star were currently confined to their bed, unable to move hardly anything with the paralyzing venom in their systems. The king also had his chest wrapped in bandages to cover up the cuts he received from Dev's crystal shards, although the lack of a shirt was because of his wife 'If I can't move at least let me stare at your abs!' she had said.
The furry monster medic packed up his bag and left the couple alone, promising to come back in a little while to check on their progress. Using what strength she had to move her hand, Star gripped her husband's hand and let out a sigh "This sucks…this really sucks…" she wasn't talking about their current state.
When Soluna had introduced them to her new friend they welcomed him into the castle with open arms. Marco at first secretly confided in Star that he thought the boy was a delinquent, he wasn't sure about his daughter hanging out with the kind of bad boy Marco wished he was when he was their age. He kept an eye on them and was relieved that his worries appeared to be wrong, after a while Marco was finally able to put his trust in the blonde boy. Dev had broken that trust in the worst possible way, he had been after the old wand this whole time and his friendship with Soluna had all been an act. Both Butterfly parents were hurt by the truth but Marco had taken it really hard, betraying the king was one thing but betraying his little girl was way over the line.
"How do you think she's taking it?" Marco stared at the ceiling; Soluna had been quiet ever since the fight, she had left once her parents were attended to by some of the castle staff.
The pink haired princess had been in shock once Dev revealed his true colors, she felt like someone hit her with a pause button, it all happened so fast and she couldn't do anything but watch. She hardly registered being shoved through a portal to her room by her mom; her brain was short-circuiting as the truth sank in. Dev had been using her, he was the bad guy, it had to be a misunderstanding. Soluna came to her senses and hurried back down to where the fight was taking place, making it just in time to see her mom and dad paralyzed on the floor and Dev about to leave through a portal.
There was no misunderstanding, Dev had attacked her parents and stolen a relic that she had defended once before. The princess had called her best friend as soon as she was able, meeting her on the roof as she filled the demon in on what had transpired.
"Ok so you're telling me that Dev has been a chimera this whole time?" Mandy took the information quite well "You know that kind of explains the gorilla-thing attacking the school when he transferred in."
Her companion let out a pained groan, curling herself into a ball while she tried to hide away from the world "Solu-""WHO NEEDS HIM ANYWAY!?" Mandy jumped back when Soluna suddenly screamed. Lifting her head up, Soluna's cheeks were streaked with tear stains "Dev was always a jerk and now I know why! I don't need someone that's always making fun of me for being a nerd, never calling me by my name, puts his muddy boots on the table, ditching me to go do who knows what, having my back in a fight, believing in me…seeing me as more than a magical princess…"
Dev could have won an award for best actor, since Soluna had been convinced of his charade the whole time. It was always too good to be true, finding someone else besides Mandy that didn't expect her to be some big important figure and instead appreciated her as a socially awkward dork. Purple hands wiped the drying tears from her cheeks; out of the corner of her eye Soluna could see Mandy giving her a sympathetic look.
"So our misfit friend is a spy, that doesn't mean he was faking everything." Mandy said unexpectedly, causing Soluna to whip her head around so hard it hurt a little "What?!"
The demon princess shrugged "Take it from someone who has dated dishonest people before. Joshua, Melanie, Schnitzenheimmer von Flumptertinkle, none of them lasted a week before I figured them out and kicked them to the curb. While I did notice how nervous he seemed a couple of times, now I know why, it never felt like he was just forcing himself to hang out with us. I'm not sure if you've noticed but he never zones out when you keep going on about the stuff you like, he was always listening even though he wanted you to think otherwise."
Thinking back, there were times when Dev went out of his way for her sake. The night of the party came to mind, in hindsight it would've been the perfect time to take the wand without anybody noticing. Instead he had found her alone on the roof, and he stayed by her side for the rest of the party just talking about whatever came to mind. Back then Soluna had felt the sincerity of his words, her heart still believed he was speaking from his own. She remembered her parents once telling her that your head and heart can disagree on somethings, right now she hoped her heart would win the argument.
Mandy smiled, seeing the hope come back to her bestie "So, what are you gonna do now?"
Soluna sighed "I need to find him."
OXOXOXOX
"Mom, Dad, I need to talk to you."
Soluna stepped into her parent's room; they seemed to have been expecting her to come by, neither moved as their daughter stood in front of the bed "Did…did Dev say what he planned to do...?" Soluna asked hesitantly.
"Not exactly-"Star spoke "-but his dad is the one behind all of this. Whatever they needed the old wand for cannot be anything good."
Marco studied his daughter's face, noting her confliction as she avoided eye contact "Soluna…someone needs to stop them." He grimly informed her, watching her fidget in place and rub her wrist "I know…" her voice barely above a whisper "I know I have to stop him but…" Soluna paused, cautiously choosing her next words "…I don't want to fight him…"
If he weren't paralyzed Marco would have bolted upright "WHA- Soluna he was a spy! He betrayed you…" Marco was scared enough to let his only child go off and fight this enemy on her own, but any slip of her judgement could have terrible consequences.
"Yeah, he did. But even so I think…I think there is still some good in him." Soluna pleaded her case "Yes he's been working for the bad guy, but after everything that we've been through I really believe that a part of him was really my friend. I know its naïve, but I can feel it in my heart that the Dev I liked was real!"
"Soluna…" Star wished she could get up and give her daughter a hug "Even if that's true, you will more than likely still have to fight him."
The pink-haired teen was on the verge of tears "How could you ask me to fight someone I care about! I mean-mom would you be able to fight dad if you had to?!"
Horrified expressions grew on Star and Marco's faces after her outburst; Marco in particular paled and looked like he had just watched a murder happen right in front of him. The king could hardly breathe, Star clenched his hand as if it were a lifeline, her husband tightened his grip in return as he sought her gaze for reassurance.
"Mom? Dad?" something was wrong, she had never seen such terror seize her strong, unbreakable parents. The king and queen exchanged a silent conversation, able to talk with each other using only their hearts. Marco gulped audibly "Sweetheart, there's something we've never told you." His voice wavered.
Taking a seat on the bed, Soluna waited for her father to find his words as he held onto the love of his life's hand for support "…you know all of those stories that we've told you about our adventures…well there was one of them that we never told the complete truth about…" this was news to the princess, every time she had heard about their exploits from other people it had always lined up with what they had told her as a bedtime story.
Star could feel her husband shake as he spoke; he hadn't talked about the incident in years other than when it would come up in the occasional nightmare. Star wished this conversation would never come though she knew it was inevitable.
Marco pushed through his nerves; he had to be the one to tell the story "You know the story about Ragnarok, and how we had to fight Seth and Mina? There was…actually one more minion working for him…" Marco swallowed the lump in his throat "…me…"
"I'm sorry-what?!" Soluna gasped.
"With all of the dark magic sealed inside my body, I was the perfect pawn for him to brainwash to be under his control. I-I was completely lost in the darkness; I didn't know who I was or recognize the people I cared about. I just blindly served that scumbag and gathered the seals for him." The red moons on his cheeks began to spark momentarily before he willed it back down "I tried several times to kill your mother and our friends, I almost succeeded a couple of times…" Marco's voice was strained, pushing down his sorrow in order to continue on "Star-my amazing, wonderful Star- she didn't give up on me. She never stopped trying to get through to me; no matter what I did she just kept getting back up and tried again."
"So how did you break free?" Soluna asked, her own voice soft and gentle as she could feel her father's agony as he spoke to her.
Marco locked eyes with his wife, their cheek emblems emitting a faint glow as they felt the other's love "I had to fight him, really fight him." Star admitted "It hurt me so much to do, but it was the only way I'd be able to get through to him."
"As I was-…as I was about to…I…I saw a necklace I had given her and I was somehow able to recognize it. It gave your mother the opening to reach out to me and bring me back to my senses with her love. We saved the day and restored magic alright but…I still remembered everything I had done under Ragnarok's control. It's been twenty four years and it's still too painful for me to talk about, and that's…that's why we never told you." If he had to eventually tell his little girl this story, he was just thankful she was now old enough to understand the trauma he had suffered from it.
Placing her hand atop of her parents', Soluna gave her father a reassuring smile. She didn't judge him for something he had no control over, she wouldn't think any less of him for it "Soluna, do you understand what we mean now?" Star asked her daughter "When you truly care about someone you have to help them see that what they are doing is wrong, even if it means having to fight in order for them to listen."
Soluna slowly nodded, now absolutely certain of what she has to do "Ok, but first I need to find where he is? I don't suppose you guys figured out where the secret lair is?"
"We know that Dev is there, use Eclipsa's all-seeing eye spell and my old scissors to cut open a portal right to him." Her father advised. Doing as she was told, Soluna dug the scissors out of a drawer and recited the spell her grannie Eclipsa had invented "I summon the All Seeing Eye, to tear a hole into the sky. Unveil to me that which is hidden; reveal to me what is forbidden."
Mandy Lucitor poked her head into the room just in time to see the spell take form and reveal an image of Dev waiting around in a laboratory "Nice, does it get Disney Channel too?" the demoness quipped.
Approaching her best friend, Soluna held her by the shoulder and stared at her urgently "Mandy, I have to go alone. I need you to stay here and keep my parents safe until the venom wears off." Mandy grinned confidently "Give that jerk a kick in the knee for me will ya."
With the dimensional scissors, Soluna cut open a portal as she watched the spying spell "Here goes everything!"
OXOXOXOX
Waiting around was such a bore, how much time does it take to boot up a dimensional separator machine? Dev sat on an old crate near the entrance of the lab, he figured no one could find them but his dad told him not to underestimate the Butterfly family.
A bright light flooded the dark room as a portal came into being; Dev momentarily shielded his eyes from the abrupt shift from the low darkness he had been in moments ago.
"Dev."
His heart stopped and his eyes flew open. Standing directly in front of him was the girl he had just stabbed in the back "How-What are you doing here?!" he shouted, he was pretty sure he already knew the answer to his question though.
Soluna stared at him with no malice "Dev, what is your father doing?" if she was going to stop them, she at least needed to know what it was she was stopping.
"He's…we're making the world how it should be. So people like us won't be wronged like we have by this country." That's what his father has told him all these years, that the people originally from Mewni and those who have earned magic will always see normal humans as lesser than themselves. Even though the girl before him had complicated his beliefs, he still clung to what his father had insisted what right.
"People are going to get hurt, aren't they?" Soluna questioned him, the silence he gave her in response was an answer enough "Dev, I can't let this happen. Please step aside; I don't want to have to fight you. "Her foot moved a step closer and a wall of crystals shot up from the ground and blocked her way.
"Sorry Pink, but I can't let you through." The chimera boy's body covered itself in a layer of fire, his wings spread out and the intimidating creature before the princess truly looked like he had come from hell. Although clearly saddened by his choice, Soluna refused to back down; calling forth her magic she summoned a swarm of glowing fireflies "Comet Glow Flitter Swarm!" the little insects pelted the crystal barrier as each exploded on impact, breaking down the wall enough for Soluna to jump through.
Dev swung his flaming tail at her and she jumped over it like a jump rope "Sticky Eris Net!" at this close a range her spider web like net successfully entrapped her opponent and doused his flames "Nice try-" his wings retracted then opened again, stretching the net and tearing it apart.
He released more crystal shard at the princess, one snagging on her sleeve and pinning it to a wall. Soluna tugged at the shard, having to pull at full strength in order to dislodge it. Using the crystal in her hand, she charged it up with magic and threw it back "Shooting Star Glitter Bomb!" the gem erupted into a glittery smokescreen. Dev coughed as some of the glitter went up into his nose "I've always (hack) hated this stuff…"
The wind from his wings flapping cleared the cloud of sparkling blindness, revealing Soluna had snuck past him and was running further into the lab. Dev grunted angrily and chased after her, catching up in no time at all when the princess found herself at a dead end. The door to the rest of the facility was locked behind a password protected door, Soluna reached for the keypad when another shard hit the wall as a warning shot.
"This is as far as you'll get!" Dev's flame covered claw lunged forward, missing his former friend by a hair "Aquarius Stream!" Soluna shot a steady flow of water into the hybrid's face "Dev please, help me stop this! We were friends, remember!" the princess pleaded. Pushing through the torrent of water, Dev's shoulder became intangible and he slipped around to the right of Soluna "You were the one that thought that, not me."
"Fluffy Milky Way Fisticuffs!" cloud like boxing gloves materialized over Soluna's hands. Going head to head against Dev's flame covered punches; the blows canceled each other out as they continued to collide "So I'm just supposed to believe that our entire friendship was a lie, that none of it was real and I was just a stepping stone in your plan?!" tears clouded her vision "Wasn't there ever a moment that our friendship actually meant something to you?!" the tears rolled down her face "Well it means a lot to me! It still does! I still believe there is some good in you and that it's not too late to change things!"
"Why?" Dev spat "Why would you still believe in that crap?"
"Because I actually care about you, you big jerk!" Soluna screamed as she punched him square in the chest.
Dev stood silently, his bangs concealed his eyes while he thought back. He didn't bother with his intangibility as the princess continued punching him, the cloud gloves didn't hurt in the least. The continued silence only made Soluna more upset than she already was, holding back her sobs as she let out an enraged scream "DO YOU EVEN FEEL BAD ABOUT THIS?! DO YOU EVEN FEEL JUST AN OUNCE OF THE PAIN I FEEL!?"
"SHUT UP!" the boy yelled, his stoicism finally past his limit "YOU HAVE NO IDEA THE KIND OF PAIN I'VE HAD TO LIVE WITH!" he forcefully shoved Soluna away from him, he didn't dare meet her eyes as feelings long suppressed bubbled back up to the surface "When I was little my mom got magic and left us for a Mewman, leaving me and my father on our own. I was the only one there to support him during the mental breakdown he had! When I learned about the genetic experiments and his master plan I volunteered to be turned into this freak so my father wouldn't have to do this alone! These burdens' I've had to carry, all of our suffering, IT'S ALL BECAUSE OF EARTHNI!"
All became quiet, Dev's heavy breathing and the humming of machinery were the only sounds to be heard in that moment. A tiny voice finally found the courage to end the silence with two words "…I'm sorry."
Dev finally looked up, gaping in utter disbelief at what he thought he had heard. When he saw Soluna beginning to stand back up, there were tears in her eyes, different from the ones she had shed earlier "I'm sorry Dev…I didn't know…" those tears weren't because of him, they were for him "You've always been willing to listen to my problems, but I've never been able to hear yours."
The chimera-boy stepped back, unable to stand looking at the girl that was supposed to be his enemy 'Everyone in Earthni thinks they are better than us. They look down on us for not embracing their magical ways. They will only hurt us more.' For years Dev had truly believed what his father had told him about this country. He had come to the land hiding his disgust of everything about it, the smiles they gave him, the fun they had, at first he thought it was only superficial. The princess he had accidentally befriended threw a wrench in his mindset, the more he got to know her the more he realized she wasn't putting on an act like he was, and from that he realized all these interactions he had with them all were genuine.
With his mind preoccupied elsewhere, Dev didn't notice the control panel behind him until he had bumped up against it. Warning alarms and flashing lights blared loudly, causing the tears to cover their ears. Dev looked to see what he had pressed, and his heart sunk when he read the system code on the monitor 'Test Subject Pods Release'
The lights returned to normal and Soluna snapped in the direction a sickening noise was coming from "What was that…?" she dreaded the answer. Around the corner dozens of stasis pods housing the unfinished chimera experiments opened up and the creatures gained consciousness, leaving their pods and making their way out of the room the only way they could, towards Soluna and Dev.
"You have to leave, now!" Dev sternly demanded.
"I already told you-""No, you don't get it! These are the unfinished ones; they haven't been fitted with the self-destruct failsafe yet!" Without a kill switch these things would keep coming back up every time they get knocked down. As a chimera himself Dev could take out five or six of them in succession, but there were close to thirty unfinished chimera last time he checked.
The feral mob of chimera charged through the lab and took sight of the teens in the middle of their path. Dev quickly took flight and made a hasty retreat, Soluna not far behind riding on her Cloudy 2. With the summon focused on escaping their pursuers, Soluna readied a counterattack "Southern Cross Karate Chop!" she sliced a cross in the air and pushed it into the chimera crowd. The attack only hit four of them and the rest charged onwards.
Putting up a crystal wall, Dev prayed for it to hold long enough for him to get away. Unluckily, the lead chimera broke through it like nothing with its rhino horn "Crap."
The hallway split in two with Soluna heading left and Dev heading right, the chimera's reached the split and decided that the girl on the cloud was an easier target and went down the left path. The road came to a halt as the hallway lead to some sort of electrical control room, Cloudy 2 flew behind a large pipe going from the floor to the ceiling and panted in exhaustion "Soluna, I can't keep going."
"It's ok, take a break." The princess reassured her mount, allowing him to poof away, leaving her on her own. The sounds of countless chimera drew closer and Soluna gulped audibly, hoping her magic was enough to get her out of this.
OXOXOXOX
Dev kept flying down the opposite hallway, only slowing down and dropping his feet to the ground when he no longer heard anything coming from behind him "Guess those guys chose Pink…" it wasn't his problem, she made her own choices and he made his. Whatever happens to her won't be because of him...
"She can take care of herself! She'll be fine on her own!" he muttered, trying to convince himself "It's just a huge group of vicious scientific creations, nothing her magic can't stop." Anytime they were in trouble, Soluna had managed to get them out of it. Of course she never did it on her own, Mandy and himself would always back her up, but she still had one of them on her side. The only time they ever fought a chimera was when they were all together, it took three of them to destroy one chimera and now Soluna was alone against a small army of them…
A chill shot through Dev's body, his insides ached and he stopped in his tracks 'She's going to get herself killed if she tries to fight them all at once!' reality halted his wishful thinking, she was doing this all alone, one wrong move and that would be it. The crushing feeling in his chest tightened the more he thought about it, her words from earlier involuntarily repeating in his head, his own feelings contradicting what he was supposed to feel.
'Wasn't there ever a moment that our friendship actually meant something to you?!' It was all a mission; it was never supposed to become personal. Dev wanted to keep denying that it ever meant anything…but it did. Somewhere down the way he kept forgetting his mission and began treasuring their time together.
'We were friends, remember?' How? How in the world did this one princess become the best friend he had ever known? Even now she still thought of him as a friend, and truly he did too.
'DO YOU EVEN FEEL BAD ABOUT THIS?!' The thing that always weakened his resolve was what she would think of him if she knew the truth. When the moment came he found the betrayal in her eyes had hurt him far more than her parent's magic did. Why did it hurt so bad, they were never supposed to become friends for real! But they had, and he couldn't just pretend he didn't feel anything for her…because truthfully…
'Because I actually care about you, you big jerk!'
…Dev turned around, and hurried back down the hallway he had come from.
OXOXOXOX
"Capricornus Battering Blockade!"
Another group of chimera were pushed back by a solid pillar of magic, about a quarter of the chimera had been knocked out by Soluna's spells. She prioritized keeping her distance from the beasts, pulling up shields and using sturdier spells that would last longer than a simple fire blast or magic lazer "Pollux Double Punch!" a starry-sky version of her mother's Rainbow Fist Punch launched from both of her hands and hit the chimera's on her left and right sides.
A multi-headed feline chimera ducked under one of the fists and pounced at Soluna, who hastily threw up a small shield that deflected the chimera away. A smaller bird-rat creature flew over the shield and pecked at her head "Ow quit it!" the smaller chimera pulled at her hair and knocked her horned headband onto the floor, where a heavier sea-animal chimera rolled over and crushed it "My headband!"
Shielding herself in a small bubble, the chimera came closer and threatened to overwhelm her protection spell. Soluna was stuck, she couldn't see a way out of this, they had effectively trapped her. She reinforced the shield and hoped for an opening, praying for a miracle.
"GET AWAY FROM HER!
The new voice caught the attention of the chimera pounding away at her last defense. Less than a second later they were knocked away from the shield by the new chimera that had come to her rescue "Dev!" the princess couldn't believe her eyes "You-you came back!"
He wouldn't face her, he used his powers to take out another handful of chimera, burning some and stabbing others with sharp crystals. The chimera with the rhinoceros horn reappeared and rammed into Dev, sending him into the wall with a painful crack. Pulling down her shield, Soluna ensnared the large chimera with her magic "Ophiuchus Snake Strike!"
It took all of Soluna's focus to keep the spell from breaking, leaving her vulnerable to the remaining chimera behind her. Dev pulled himself from the wall and winced from the pain coursing through his body, the partial intangibility ineffective against full body attacks. He looked between the teenage girl keeping the biggest chimera at bay and the others behind her about to strike "SOLUNA!"
Dev threw himself around the girl, shielding her from the fangs and claws that bombarded his backside. The pink haired princess felt her heart swell and tears leak from the corner of her eye "Dev…you finally called me by my name…"
"Heh…I guess I did…" he smiled weakly, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. Even as pain overwhelmed his body he continued to shield his friend, against her pleas "Stop Dev! If you keep this up you could-""I know."
He didn't let go, he held on tighter "But I can't let them hurt my best friend." He could feel blood dripping down his back, his body was tough but it had its limits. Dev felt he deserved it, he was the bad guy after all, and getting literally stabbed in the back was a fitting punishment for stabbing her in the back. Too overwhelmed to use her magic, Soluna gently wiped off the blood from his face "You don't have to do this, I can still fight."
Dev shakes his head "No, I do need to do this…because...I really do care about you…"
Dev's body lit up in a flash of light, blinding the chimeras and scattering them across the room. The lock wrapped around the boy's torso broke apart, allowing his body to shrink back to its original size as five faint wisps of light left his person and evaporated. The glow stopped and the two teens gaped in disbelief, particularly at the lavender colored magic surrounding the boy "Dev…you-you dipped down!"
He should have been horrified, he now possessed the same power that broke apart his family and fueled his father's quest for vengeance. Instead the magic felt calming, a much gentler power compared to his chimera abilities. The largest chimera huffed as it got back up on its feet; Dev just held out his hand and quietly said "Nocturnal Whisper." His magic enveloped the chimera in a cloud of magic. The cloud parted moments later and the chimera gasped for air, flailing around until it created a hole in the wall and ran outside, the remaining chimera followed suit.
Now alone, Dev and Soluna wordlessly approached each other, the former wanting to apologize but unable to vocalize his thoughts. His pink haired companion pressed a hand to his shoulder, understanding what he had trouble saying. The blonde sighed and dared to look at her "I messed up; I really messed up didn't I?"
"Yeah, but it's not too late to make things right." Soluna reminded him, though he still seemed unsure "I don't know if my father will listen now…" he had magic now, he had no idea how his dad would react to that. But now Dev couldn't let the plan continue, not for the sake of the country, but for the sake of the girl that had become so much to him "We have to try." She took his hands.
Letting out a loud sigh, Dev shook his head "If this fails, I blame you." He began to walk back the way they had come, motioning for Soluna to follow "Come on, we should still have thirty minutes until the dimensions are separated." The princess stood back, letting the words sink in "HE'S DOING WHAT?!"
OXOXOXOX
The Slicer was almost ready; the progress bar on the screen had reached ninety seven percent already. Dr. Amalgam felt his heart race, his greatest achievement was within arm's reach; he would prove his capabilities to the world and be rid of the obstacle that had always managed to ruin his life. He briefly wondered how his ex-wife would feel when her mewman lover is torn out of this dimension, maybe then she would know how it had felt for him.
The door to the Splicer room opened, the doctor expected to hear one set of heavy footsteps belonging to his son, instead he heard two sets of regular footsteps come up from behind him "Dad…we need to talk…"
Turning to face his son, Dr. Amalgam found that he had not only reverted to human form, but the Butterfly princess was standing right behind him "Dev how- what is she doing here!?" he'd counted on his son to keep anyone else away, if she attacked he had no weapons ready to defend himself.
"Mr…Dev's dad? I'm not here to fight, I just want to talk." Soluna cautiously took a step forward. She eyed the machine behind the scientist, staring at the wand remains covered in black energy. The sight made her feel uneasy, it didn't look right at all.
Straightening his composure, Dr. Amalgam addressed his son "Dev, please 'escort' this intruder out of here." The boy in question didn't move, he nervously snuck a glance at his companion, finding his resolve "Dad, I can't go through with this."
"What- Devon we are minutes away from achieving our goal! This isn't the time to get cold feet!" he couldn't understand what was going through his son's head, this is what they wanted wasn't it? Why wasn't his son as excited as he was?
"I'm not backing out because I'm scared; I'm backing out because this…this is wrong…we can't cleave the worlds apart." Dev stood his ground, maybe it was the brutal beat down he received from his fellow chimeras, maybe it was unlocking magic or his epiphany about his best friend, but the blonde boy had seen another perspective of what his father was doing. Separating Earth and Mewni would fix nothing, it would just give them the briefest satisfaction that other lives would be torn apart the way theirs had been.
Dr. Amalgam shook his head in disbelief, a desperate gleam in his eyes "Yes we can! This world will be much better off when all the magic is gone!"
Dev held his hand outward, letting the lavender glow of his magic light up the room. Dr. Amalgam fell backwards when he saw the light, shaking his head and muttering over and over "..no..no..nonononononononono! Dev how could you?!" betrayal. At the final hour his son had betrayed him, using the magic they had fought so hard to rid the world of. Turning to the princess he pointed an accusing finger at her "This is all your fault! You turned my only son against me! Magic has ruined everything once again!"
It hurt; it hurt to see his father instantly reject him the moment he revealed his magic. Dev didn't blame him though, after all he was the one in the most pain "I'm not against you dad! I only want to help you!" "LIES! You think you're above me now! You're going to leave me and run off with the people of Earthni aren't you! Just like your mother!" the doctor shouted venomously "You and the princess are going to stop my machine and destroy whatever bit of my life that hasn't already been destroyed!"
"I am nothing like mom! All these years I thought I was helping you by going along with your plan…I thought everything would be ok as long as we still had each other." Dev wished his younger self wouldn't have blindly believed what his father kept saying, the world wasn't as black and white as he made it seem. Magic wasn't the source of their pain; it had just been something coincidentally involved with it.
The Doctor slammed his fist against the console "Fine! Be that way! I can do this on my own! The world will be better off the way it was before the merge!" as he spoke the progress bar rose up to ninety-eight percent completion. Soluna came forward, standing side by side with Dev "Then what? What happens after you succeed and cleave the dimensions apart again?"
Dr. Amalgam paused, he had an answer, he had to have one. It would all work out wouldn't it? Would all these years of pain finally go away? The doctor should have had an answer…but he didn't.
The teens could see the realization dawn on the desperate man, there was never a plan for after he had won. He had gotten so caught up in his revenge, that any consequences had slipped his mind "Dad…this won't make everything instantly better. It's only going to hurt people that have no idea what they did to be punished." The boy prayed his dad would come to his senses; Soluna prayed for him as well "Life hasn't been fair, I can understand that. But all you're doing is finding something to blame for all the things that have gone wrong, and all you will get in return is hollow revenge."
The Doctor silently contemplated the matter, facing away from the duo and staring down at the control panel to the splicer. Was it all worth it? Would taking his frustrations out and damaging the world finally put his heart at ease? Would he still have his son afterwards…? "Dad…we can still change this. You don't have to let the pain define you." Dev approached his father, leaning his forehead on the back of his lab coat.
"…I've...I've not been the best father, have I?" For all of the affection she showered the boy with, it hadn't crossed his mind that his actions had also messed up his life even further "You wouldn't win an award for parenting…" Dev remarked, in a loving yet sarcastic way. Dr. Amalgam faced his son and pulled him into a tight hug "Forgive me…" Dev returned the hug; his own guilty heart had already forgiven him.
Soluna wiped a tear from her eye, moved by the familial moment…until a spark coming from the splicer caught her attention "Uh, is it supposed to do that?"
The Amalgam men parted, the doctor looked over his invention and paled when he saw what the girl was referring to "It's not." He scrambled to the keyboard and disabled the activation sequence, but the sparks continued and only spread further across the machine. The control panel was hit by one of the charges and short circuited; causing Dr. Amalgam to back away "This is bad, very bad."
"What's happening?" Dev asked, pulling his father further away from the splicer. The man looked grim "The splicer is malfunctioning, my calculations were wrong! The matter director is unstable; it's going to absorb mass and collapse on itself!"
The princess recognized that process, gasping as she realized what was about to happen "It won't split the dimensions, it'll create a black hole!"
The gyroscope in the center tore itself apart and a black hole began to form where it had been. Gravity began to pull itself into the hole, sucking any stray objects inside of it and beginning to grow by the inch "How do we shut it off?!" Dev shouted, grabbing onto one of the pipes dead bolted to the floor, his father taking hold of it as well "We can't! Not anymore!" Soluna grabbed onto a heavy machine attached to the wall "Nothing can stop a black hole! It just keeps sucking in mass!"
Dr. Amalgam looked on sadly "It's going to keep growing until it's swallowed the whole planet…" he did this; it was all his fault that the Earth was going to be destroyed. The doctor was filled with regret as he used one of his arms to hold onto his boy "…So there's nothing we can do?!" Dev yelled in disbelief "Dev, it's not like someone can just magically shut it off."
"…maybe they can…" the Doctor's words spurred an idea in the princess's mind, a crazy suicidal idea that could only be thought of by a Butterfly "Soluna…?" Dev felt his heart stop, catching her eyes as she was about to do something stupid "My magic is super powerful, enough that if I get close enough I might be able to reverse the hole." It was utterly insane, but it was the only idea that could possibly work.
"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!" the boy screamed, clearly distraught at her plan. Soluna gave him a shaky smile "Maybe, but if I can save everyone…then that's ok…" the princess released her grip on the machine he had been clinging on to, allowing herself to be pulled towards the menacing abyss threatening to pull her in "Gravity Disruptor!" her magic blasted into the black hole, the suction slowed but did not cease "Uhh…Void Nullifier!" Soluna created any spell she could think of to stop the hole; she was getting dangerously close to it and still fired off her magic "Reality Stabilizer! Space-Time Fixer! Antimatter Force Blast!"
The looming void failed to slow any further, Soluna had run out of ideas for spells and was inches away from being sucked in "SOLUNA!" Dev screamed her name, she looked back at him just as the hole caught her and swallowed her.
…
…if she wasn't absolutely terrified Soluna would have been fascinated to be inside a black hole. Somehow she avoided being crushed when she came inside and now found herself floating in absolute darkness "Uh-um-ok ok-I'm inside the black hole-maybe…maybe I can still stop it from the inside!" she desperately hoped.
"Gravity Disrupter!"…no change
"Void Nullifier!"…nothing.
"Reality stabilizer!...Space-Time Fixer!...Ant-…Antimatter Force Blast!" the princess screamed with increasing desperation. Sadly her efforts were in vain, her magic had changed nothing "…what's the use?" Soluna pulled her knees to her chest, curled into a ball as she floated aimlessly "I knew I couldn't do it! I'm not as strong as mom and dad; I can't fuse dimensions or remake magic! I'm just…Soluna…"
Having lost all hope, Soluna prepared herself to spend an eternity here, when it eventually swallows the Earth maybe her friends and family can float aimlessly with her. Would they blame her for not being able to save the world? Would her parents be disappointed that she wasn't a hero like they were? Soluna would have asked herself more questions but an object bumping into her forehead disrupted her despairing thoughts.
"Ow-what was…" floating in front of her face, the remains of the Royal Magic Wand spun silently in circles. Cupping the relic in her hands, Soluna brought it to her chest "Guess you survived too, maybe there really is some magic left in you…" she figured the old wand was supposed to anchor what was once part of Mewni when the Splicer would work, instead it got sucked in too. When she was younger she had protected this small thing once, and had seen it in its prime, but Soluna herself had never gotten a chance to wield it.
"What would you have looked like if I had used you?" Soluna pondered aloud "It would have been a reflection of my magic…but what even is my magic? It's just a weaker version of my parents, nothing unique about it." Briefly, a tiny sparkle glittered atop the surface of the fragment. Soluna saw it, her eyes widened with a sparkle of their own "But…maybe I can still find it…magic that only I can do." Holding the fragment in her hands, Soluna closed her eyes and whispered "Solar…Lunar…Lumiere…"
The absolute nothingness of the black hole was filled with a golden light bursting from the old wand. The broken piece turned to pure light and formed into the shape of a wand, the top a large circle with a ring around it similar to Saturn, the outline of a sun and moon in the center burning white. The handle grew down and changed into a key shape, Soluna couldn't believe what she was holding, it was her own version of the wand "It's a key…"
Soluna gripped it just below the top orb, thrusting it forward against the void, the wand connected to the black hole like it was tangible. The darkness thought back but the princess continued to push forward, pushing the key further into the abyss "This is what I can do! This is my power! Just like how the stars I love shine across the night sky, I can also shine in the blackest of space!"
"CELESTIAL LUMINARIA!" Soluna screamed as she turned her key.
The once empty hole filled with golden light, ceasing its gravitational pull as it begun to fade out of existence. Soluna gazed in awe, she did it, she had stopped a black hole "Unbelievable…" her attention went back to the key in her hand, it slowly disintegrated into small bits of the same light, this time not leaving even a single fragment left behind. Soluna saw it off with a gentle smile, thankful that she had been able to use the old weapon at least once.
Something gripped around Soluna's waist; it looked to be a lasso made of lavender colored magic. The lasso yanked her back and sent her flying backwards out of the quickly evaporating void. It happened so fast the princess hardly had time to scream before she felt herself tumble and fall onto the cold, metal floor of the lab "Ow! Why couldn't the floor be carpeted?" "Soluna!" The source of the magic tether that rescued her cried out, Soluna grinned as Dev approached her, pulling him into a tight hug which he actually reciprocated.
The lab was utterly wrecked, but the black hole had vanished. The planet was safe once more.
OXOXOXOX
The authorities were waiting for the doctor when he and the teenagers arrived back in town. Dr. Amalgam went along willingly, knowing it's what he deserved. However, they also questioned his son's involvement in the incident.
"My son had no part in this; this was my doing and mine alone." The doctor insisted.
The cops took his word and left the blonde teen alone, Dev begrudgingly allowed it. As much as he wanted to stay with him, his father lied so that he could keep his freedom. Father and son took one more longing stare at one another as a handcuffed Dr. Amalgam was placed into the police car, the two gently smiling to each other until the car was out of sight.
The two teens stood alone for only a few moments before they felt an intense presence in the air. Soluna turned around to see her parents slowly approaching them, able to move but very stiffly "Mom, dad!" Soluna ran to them, pulling them into a hug. The monarchs wrapped her in their arms, with the king keeping his eye on the boy.
Marco's gaze was terrifying, Dev felt as if the king could end his life in an instant. Soluna felt it too, and stepped away to grab Dev by the wrist "You gotta talk to them…" her friend didn't argue, but he found it impossible to look her parents in the eye as the two approached them.
"King Butterfly...Queen Butterfly…" Dev started "I have no excuse for what I've done. I betrayed you all and it nearly caused the world to be destroyed. I'm ready to accept any punishment you have for me."
The Butterfly's were silent, making the teens both sweat nervously "Dev, although the law has deemed you innocent, me and my family still know the part you played in this." Star spoke seriously, her feelings hard to read "However, my daughter still believed there was good in you and it looks like she was right."
The boy finally looked up, surprised by her words. The king spoke next, addressing the girl beside him "You never closed the All Seeing Eye, so we were able to watch some of what happened. Namely how you earned your magic, protecting my little girl." Though the king was still mad at the former chimera, he acknowledged that the boy really did care about Soluna.
"It will take a while to earn back our trust, but you can start by doing some 'community service'." Marco used air quotes when telling the boy his punishment. Star stiffly came up to her husband's side and pulled up a file on her phone, showing it as a hologram to Dev and Soluna "A large group of chimera escaped the facility; you will be the one tracking them down and capturing them." The queen decreed.
Dev sighed "Yep sounds fair."
While Soluna was glad Dev was getting another chance, there was still one more matter left to tell her parents "Mom, I'm sorry but the old magic wand is completely gone. I had to use it to seal the black hole up…" Star was not upset when she heard this; she pushed her knees down so that she was at Soluna's eye level and cupped her daughter's cheek "It's fine, it was just a dumb old stick anyway. What matters is that you are safe, I am so proud of you Soluna." The pink haired teen wrapped her mother in a hug.
"Uhh what is this about a black hole?" Marco asked, concerned about what happened that they hadn't seen "I'll tell you guys over dinner, but right now I just wanna go home." Soluna let go of her mother and started to walk off, before noticing her mother was still having a hard time getting back up "Little help sweetie? Still a bit stiff from the venom." The princess helped her mom upright and the two began heading home.
OXOXOXOX
BEEP BEEP…BEEP BEEP…
A hand slammed down on the alarm clock, the princess was already up and awake as she passed the clock on her way to the bathroom. Briefly stepping by her closet, Soluna reached in and grabbed a new outfit to change into. She pulled out a red-violet and blue sweater vest with a long white shirt underneath; a purple skirt and shoes of the same color, and long white leg warmer socks.
Using her magic to brush her hair, Soluna quickly got dressed and looked herself over in the mirror. She grabbed her long pink hair and tied it into a long ponytail on top of her head, brushing long strands of hair over her ears as she styled it. She reached over and grabbed the last piece of her outfit, a blue halo ring placed around her hair tie. Looking herself over in the mirror, Soluna smiled as she was satisfied with the results.
Coming down the hall, she passed by her parents as they were headed off to the kitchen "Morning mom! Morning dad!" Soluna greeted them before continuing to run off. Star and Marco looked to each other fondly "Looks like our little girl is growing up right in front of us." Marco commented "Yeah, let's hope her next couple of years aren't filled with drama like ours were." Star responded.
Opening the door to the balcony, Soluna grinned as she spotted Mandy and Dev waiting for her at the ledge "About time you showed up, I was gonna start eating all these doughnuts myself if you didn't get here soon." The demon girl held up a box of doughnuts, several already eaten. Soluna walked up between the two of them and leaned on the railing, her friends took notice of her new look "Nice outfit, the ponytail suits you." Dev complimented.
Mandy smirked knowingly at the two teens currently trying to hide their blushing faces "Thanks, I wanted to try something different."
"Hey I'm up before the sun is, that's as different as I'll ever try." Mandy grabbed a coffee cup and took a long sip of it, charring the cup into ashes once it was empty "I have no idea how the two of you are so awake right now."
"I do this every day." Soluna answered "And I was fighting chimera no. 88 almost all night, sleep is a foreign concept to me now." Dev gave his own answer, it was the third chimera he'd been able to recapture and there was still plenty more to find.
The sky began to change color and a light caught the attention of the trio "It's time." Soluna focused on the horizon before her, Mandy and Dev followed her lead. The sun gradually rose into the Earthnian sky, signaling the start of a new day, and new possibilities for the three teenagers watching it.