Two young boys rushed through the field just outside of the Johansen Kingdom. The older looking on chased after his younger brother, a smirk on his face. He eventually caught up to him, tackling him from behind and knocking him to the ground. "Ha! You're still too slow!" he yelled.
The younger brother frowned. "That's not fair. You didn't give me the full head start," he complained. His brother always started running before the end of the count.
"You shouldn't need the count. Just run faster, then I wouldn't catch you," he said as he turned and started heading back towards the gate. "C'mon, it's my turn. I'm gonna show you how to actually run and not get caught."
The younger boy huffed. "If Tor was here you wouldn't talk so big." His older brother didn't even make it half as far before Tor caught him.
He scowled back at him. "That's different! Tor is older and he's a knight! There's no way I could outrun him!" he argued. "Anyway just shut up and c'mon. We only have a little bit more time to play before we have to go back and help Sauce." If they didn't get back to help their big sister, their mom and dad would give them an earful.
The younger brother smirked as his reaction, but then noticed something in the distance. "Hey…" he said, narrowing his eyes. What was that? It looked like the ground was moving. Or like… something was coming out of it. "Hey… hey Crumble, look over there! Something is happening."
Crumble sighed and turned around. "Crisp, is this is another stupid imaginary thing you made up then I'm gonna… huh?" Sure enough, an incredibly large figure was making its way up from the ground.
When it finished rising, it stood at about seven feet tall. He had reptilian features, a long, scaly prehensile tail and a lean body build. His hair was tied into multiple warrior braids. His body resembles that of a Mewman save for four large fangs, green reptilian eyes, tail, and razor sharp claws.
He cracked his neck, then looked around confused. When he spotted the two boys, they froze. "Crisp… Crisp, c'mon. We gotta go," Crumble said, grabbing his brother's sleeve. He pulled him along back towards the castle. They had to tell their sister so she could call Tor. He didn't know what that thing was, but it looked sort of septarian, so it couldn't be good.
The figure watched the boys run off, and was about to make after them, but for some reason, he couldn't. He grunted and looked down at his hands. He still felt a bit hazy, but the last thing he remembered was… Baron. He'd been stuck down. So how in the world was he here right now?
"Venom…" The monster's eyes widened as he heard the familiar voice. He turned and glared at the figure who was rising up nearby. "How'd you survive, you filth?"
"Baron," he spat back. "I'd ask you the same thing, mewman."
His poison should have put an end to the warrior of the Johansen family. And, had he not been wondering how the Gorgon was still standing, he'd have been wondering the very same thing. Before either of them could speak, they felt something. It was… a call. Like some force was beckoning them to a certain place.
Without a word, they both began walking. "Is this some sort of twisted magic by the hands of your mewman Queen at work?" Venom asked, narrowing his eyes.
"More likely some sick dark magic from your kind," Baron spat back.
They continued to scowl at one another as they walked. They had no clue just what was calling them, or where they were headed. But they supposed they were going to find out soon enough.
The giant woman was confused.
Very confused.
She was pretty sure she wasn't supposed to be here right now. She was supposed to be… well, she couldn't quite remember. But now here. She felt like she knew where she was a few moments ago, but now? Her memory was fuzzy. "Let's see, what was I doing…?" she asked, rubbing her chin. "I'm pretty sure it was something important."
"It couldn't have been that important, you forgot."
The woman jumped, and then looked up to see two rather larger giants standing nearby. They looked remarkably similar to one another, and the only way they could be told apart was by the scars on their faces. "Maaaaan! You guys are tall! Who are you? I would definitely have remembered seeing you around?" she asked.
"Us?" one of them asked. "We should be the one asking who you are. We know everybody in the tribe, and we've never seen you before."
"Well I haven't seen any of you before! Who the hell are you?!" The woman and set of brothers both looked around confused, wondering where the voice had come from. "I'm down here you jackasses!" All three of them looked down, and saw a woman scowling up at them.
They were all silent for a moment, and then the first woman smiled and knelt down. "Aw, what are you doing out here little one? Are you lost?' she asked, reaching up to poke her. The smaller woman growled and then suddenly bit her, and she pulled her finger back. "Ow! That was rude!"
"I'm not a baby you knitwit! I'm a full grown giant!"
One of the brothers laughed, while the other smirked. "Impossible! No giant could be so small! At most you could be a goliath. There's no way you could-" He suddenly stumbled when the tiny woman kicked his foot from under him. He nearly hit the grown, and then glared at her. "You kicked me!"
"Damn right I kicked you! I'll jump up there and kick you in the face if you say I'm not a giant again," she shouted. She may have only been half, and she may have been smaller, but she was still a giant. And anyone who'd try and deny her heritage would have hell to pay.
"I do sense pretty strong earth magic in her. Nothing on Mama Matrona's, but-"
"Wait, mama Matrona?" Both the women looked confused. "As in Matrona, Mother of the Earth? Matrona the War Goddess?" Why would they refer to her as mama Matrona?
"That's our mama, yeah."
"Wait, that's impossible! Matrona died like… a lot of years ago!" the tiny woman yelled.
"What are you talking about! Mama Matrona can't be dead! She's a titan!"
The first woman pouted. "Wait, you guys are brothers right? And Matrona is your mother?" They both nodded. "Hold on, are you the Dory and Broggy?! The Boulder Brothers?!" she asked in disbelief. The tiny woman also seemed to recognize the names. "Oh my gosh, told my boys so many stories about… wait…"
The brothers had had smirks of pride when she had recognized them, but then looked curious when she stopped. "What's wrong?" Mountain asked.
"My kids! And my husband! I have to get back to them before… wait, I'm not pregnant anymore? Did I already have the baby?" she asked, tilting her head.
"How do you not remember if you had a baby or not? Are you stupid or something?"
Before she could answer, all four of them felt a strange sensation. "Uh… did you guys feel that? I think we're being called somewhere," Gorge said. He and his brother began moving away from the valley, and so did the smaller woman.
The other woman also began to walk, but looked over her shoulder towards the village. She was a little worried and wished she could check on Antero and the boys, but whatever was magic calling her right now seemed to command her attention. The first chance she got she was going to head back and make sure the baby way okay though.
"What the hell?"
The long haired fire nymph woman blinked and looked down at her hands. She was okay. No injuries, everything was where it should have been. And… that was weird. Because the last she had remembered was being run through with a spear. How exactly was she walking around right now? Had she been healed.
"Oh hey, I'm alive!" The woman looked over towards the hulking figure standing at her side. "Ha! That means I must have killed the Queen! I knew I was the strongest!"
She raised an eyebrow at him. "Bang? What the hell are you doing here?" she asked. It was hard not to instantly remember one of the loudest and most boastful members in the entire tribe.
His head whipped around, and he looked shocked to see her. "Phyra?! The hell are you doing here?!" he asked, confused. "You're supposed to be dead!"
Her eyes went wide. "I'm supposed to be what now?!"
"He said dead." They both looked down and saw a shorter fire nymph. It was a woman, with short bright orange hair and a pair of glasses. She wore brown pants, an orange shirt with long sleeves, and carried a gourd on her back. "Should I explain what that means for your tiny brained ones?"
Both Phyra and Bang glared down at her. "You little shrimp! Who the hell are you?!"
"Who are any of you savages?" All three of them looked over and saw a demon standing nearby. He had dark angry red skin, sharp teeth, two piercing yellow eyes, and horns sticking from his forehead. On his back were two absurdly large blades.
Phyra and Bang both got on guard, while the other woman simply crossed her arms. "I know you. You're the En, Demon Blade," the smaller nymph said. He was infamous for cutting down some of the main tribe's most powerful warriors.
"Well, it seems at least one of your savages recognizes the face of your betters," En said looking down at the woman. "Wait, aren't you one of those outcast savages…?"
She scowled up at him. "My name is Magmam, you nitwit. And How exactly are you here right now? You were slain by the Whore Witch," she stated.
"We were all slain…" Another figure walked towards them, this one even bigger than Bang was. He had a main of fiery red hair that went down to his waist, along with a long beard. He was covered in scars, was muscular, and only wore a pair of fur pants. The other fire nymphs looked at him wearily, and even En seemed cautious.
Phyra and Bang hadn't seen anyone with a hair that long. Not even that little punk Scorch. Who was this guy?
The large nymph growled and balled his fist up, leaving burning footsteps in his wake. "I remember things clearly. I was slain by that bastard Branch, there's no question about that. And the only reason I'm walking again…"
It had to be his doing. He could just feel. To be killed by an earth nymph was humiliating enough, but now to be used as some puppet.
"Damn you…"
Astro rushed towards the Field of the Fallen as quickly as he could. Some of the others had followed after him. He could feel multiple large magics. But not just from there. It felt like… like all of a sudden all these powerful presences were just sprouting up all around mewni. What was going on? Just what had the Ten done?
"Up ahead!"
Astro slid to a stop, and then saw multiple figures standing near the middle of the field. They all dawned Queensguard armor, though… some of them looked far older than others. One rather large figure in particular didn't have any armor at all.
"That's… that's impossible," Sarasim muttered, shocked.
"It's him," Higgs said in awe.
Astro was confused. He felt like he had maybe seen this man somewhere before, but he couldn't quite remember where. In a book maybe…? Yes, a book. But which was one.
"Wait, Galahad!"
The man hummed and looked towards the young king. Yes, it was him. Galahad the Unflinching. One of the most powerful knights in mewni's history. A man known for having an attitude as ungiving and sturdy as his own body.
He was also his grandfather, and he was supposed to be dead.
"Well, it seems like quite a welcome party has assembled for me," he said, twiddling his long silver haired mustache between his fingers. "Might I assure you a lot as to why I'm standing in the middle of the Field of the Fallen? And where my lovely wife could be… huh? Higgs, Sarasim, is that you?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.
Both the women seemed too stunned to speak. Galahad had died before Astro was even born. There was no mistaking that. They had seen the body themselves. It couldn't have been him. Even if it was, how could he look… well, the same age? He didn't look a day older than the last time they'd seen him.
He began walking towards them, and then noticed Astro. His eyes narrowed even further, taking in the sight of the young boy. "You look familiar to me. You have a strong resemblance to my daughter," he said rubbing his chin. "Might you be a distant cousin of some sort? Meissa didn't have any siblings."
"He's our grandson…"
Everyone looked up, and then saw a woman with long green hair floating in the air above. Higgs and Sarasim looked equally as shocked as when they saw Galahad. "Ah, darling. I was wondering just where you were," Galahad said smiling. "Now, what exactly do you mean by this young man is our grandson? Surely you must be mistaken."
"What's the last thing you remember Galahad?" the woman asked.
He hummed. "Let's see… I believe I was dealing with a rather stubborn monster, but that was little more than a minor annoyance," he said haughtily.
"You and the titan killed one another…" the woman said bluntly, causing him to go wide eyed. "And I died not long after, of a rare sickness. A rather dull way to go out if compared to yourself, but still. If I had to take a guess, I'd say the only reason we're up and about right now if because of some form of necromancy."
Astro looked back and forth between both of his grandparents, but right when he was about to speak, Higgs and Sarasim charged forward. "Asterossa, step them now!" Sarasim shouted as he brought her club back and prepared to attack. Higgs cloaked herself in lightning, and leapt up at Meissa.
They recognized a few faces among the ones who were standing in the field. And the ones they didn't, well, they could only assume they were dangerous as well. But Galahad and Meissa? Those two couldn't be allowed to be used by the enemy. They couldn't be allowed to leave here.
Sarasim swung and struck Galahad in his side, and Higgs swung her sword down at Meissa. Bonecrusher landed right on Galahad's side, but he didn't even budge. Meissa raised her hand, creating a barrier around herself that blocked Higgs strike. Higgs grit her teeth, cloaking her sword in lighting and trying to pierce the barrier. The blade managed to just barely start cutting it's way through it, but couldn't completely.
Meissa raised an eyebrow. "My, haven't you polished your magical abilities since we've last seen you. Quite impressive," she said before waving her hand. The barrier dispersed, pushing Higgs away. She landed on her feet and glared back up at her, while Galahd swung at Sarasim.
The knight leapt back, and Galahad smirked. "It seems my eager young squire has become quite the powerhouse. That actually tickled me a little," he said with a hearty laugh. Sarasim narrowed her eyes at him. He always had been a cocky bastard.
"As interested as I am in learning just what's going on here, whatever magic is pulling our metaphorical strings seems to have summoned us elsewhere. So we'll be taking our leave," Meissa said before raising her hand. She got ready to snap her fingers, but Astro suddenly leapt up at her.
His hand was cloaked in dark magic, and got ready to blast her. But then Galahad cut him off. "Dark magic, like Rosetta. I suppose you are your mother's son." he said. Astro grit his teeth and punched at him instead, but… nothing. If he felt it at all he didn't show it. "A shame you didn't inherit my abilities as well."
With a swing of his arm, Astro was sent flying back. To the ground. Meissa snapped her fingers, and suddenly her, Galahad, and the others knight all vanished into thin air. Astro rolled back up to his feet, then cursed under his breath. Sting made her way to his side. "Are you alright?" she asked.
"I'm fine. But… this situation just got a lot more complicated…"
Higgs sheathed her sword. "Complicated is an understatement. All of those knights had to have come from this field. That means they all had to have been of some skill. If the Ten have them, and not to mention Galahad and Meissa under their control, their ranks just got a whole lot tougher to deal with."
"It's not just them," Astro said, balling his fist up. "It's all across mewni. There's all types of magic just… appearing everywhere." The only real advantage that they'd had when this all started were the numbers, but now it seemed like the Ten were taking that away from them as well.
They were raising up an army, one made of powerful warriors from the past. And if they weren't being picky about whether they were monsters or mewman… this wasn't going to be even more of an uphill battle than he thought. "Go get everyone together. We need to discuss tactics, now…"
A/N: And so the warriors of mewni's past have awakened! What did you think of their intros? I didn't introduce all of them this chapter. Both because it would have been way too long, and I thought saving some of them for later would be a cool. There's still some of the winners and runner ups from the contest coming, along with a few others I've been planning for a while now!
Not the way Astro thought he was ever gonna meet his grandparents, that's for sure! I also am not sure if Sarasim ever mentioned the knight she squired for before (I don't think she did) but I thought it being Galahad would be a cool little twist.
Hope you guys enjoyed!