First contact
Alarms were blaring throughout the ghost prison complex. News of the encroaching army's advance spread quickly. The external defences were activated and a shield now engulfed the prison. When a couple of Bill's nightmare soldiers, ghoul-like creatures with just enough brains to hold a weapon, tried to penetrate the barrier, they were flung backwards. The nightmare hoard then came to a halt. Walker smiled and Vlad was left awestruck.
"Just installed this upgrade today. The shield was meant to keep the prisoners in, but a wise soldier can adapt to any situation," Walker remarked.
"That won't keep him out for long. Eventually, he'll get through," Vlad replied.
"You know this guy's MO, why attack here?" Walker questioned. Vlad thought about this, but nothing came to mind. Maybe Bill wanted to recruit the prisoners, but anyone stupid enough to get caught and thrown in here would not be of much use to him, especially the Box Ghost, who was a frequent 'visitor'. Just then, Skulker came to the warden's side.
"All external defences are manned and ready for combat, sir," Skulker reported.
"Get back to the front. I want eyes on that hoard at all times. Send reports every ten minutes," Walker ordered. Skulker nodded in acknowledgement and left to carry out the warden's orders. Skulker had just gotten to his observation post when he saw something disturbing. The cloaked figure, which Skulker figured to be Bill, was gathering energy with his staff.
"Oh no," Skulker remarked upon figuring out what Bill was up to. "Get down!" Skulker commanded. Everyone braced for impact when Bill fired a single, sustained blast at the prison shield. While no structural damage was sustained, the concussive force meant that everyone was knocked to the ground by the blast. As Bill kept up his assault, the guards and inmates were struggling to find their feet, the prison still being rocked by Bill's attack. When it finally ceased, there was a visible crack in the shielding. The final blow to the shield came from two lightning blasts emanating from two figures on either side of Bill. These two, Skulker surmised, were his lieutenants, or something to that effect, higher in rank than the rabble, but still take orders from him.
"Prepare for hard contact," Skulker stated. When the shield had finally given way, the nightmare hoard wasted no time rushing the prison. Fortunately, the ghost guards were well trained in both ranged and close-quarters combat. When they opened fire on the hoard, they hit their marks, and the hoard was held back for a time, but the nightmare army countered this with ranged weapons of their own, as well as flying bat-like creatures that strafed the outer perimeter, taking shots from the air. To the defenders' shock, the nightmare army's weapons were capable of vanquishing ghosts, effectively killing them a second time.
"Not good," Skulker commented as he blasted a few nightmare soldiers. It looked like the defences would hold, but then Bill's lieutenants, a young woman, and a human adult male came flying via fire jets emanating from their hands and engaged Skulker.
"When Bill told me he'd find us worthy enemies to fight, I didn't expect to encounter toy store rejects," the young woman mocked.
"I get enough lip from that hybrid, I don't need it from…..who are you anyway?" Skulker responded.
"Yes, daughter dear, where are your manners. Forgive her, I am Lord Ozai, and this is my daughter Azula. We, along with our army and our other associates are here to take this…..place, in the name of our beneficiary, Bill, so save yourself some pain and surrender now," Ozai menaced.
"Oh, la di da, a Lord. I had no idea. Forgive me if I don't get on my knees and beg for mercy, but I have a prison to guard, so I must respectfully ask you to leave. Of course, if you'd prefer to be kicked out, I'd be up for that too," Skulker shot back and fired off some rounds at the intruders. None of Skulker's shots hit their targets. Azula and Ozai skilfully evaded all of Skulker's attacks and shot fire blasts of their own back at him. Thinking he would have a better chance in the air, Skulker took off and fired from above. This did catch Azula and Ozai off-guard, but Azula retaliated by firing a lightning bolt at Skulker, which missed his body but did strike the tip of one of his wings, which sent him plummeting down to the ground, landing in the prison yard. Unable to take off again, Skulker could only watch as his perimeter guard was getting vanquished defending the prison. He found Walker again and gave him the bad news.
"They have weapons capable of vanquishing ghosts. We cannot hold out for long. Their numbers are too great," Skulker updated. Walker grunted in frustration. This prison would not fall on Walker's watch. Not if he could help it.
"Order everyone inside and barricade the front entrance. We'll make a stand in the main hall," Walker ordered.
"That won't hold, either. We need to evacuate," Vlad urged.
"Where to? This is the only ghost prison in the Zone. I am not turning these convicts loose, no matter what the circumstances. Speaking of the prisoners, get them weapons and tell them I'll shave 500 years off their sentences if they help us fight," Walker responded.
"It won't matter. Defeat is inevitable, and knowing Bill, this is only a precursor to whatever grandiose plan he has up his sleeve," Vlad predicted. Walker pondered his next strategic move.
"We can hold out long enough to seal the Heart of the World. That way, no matter what happens here, the Ghost Zone will be safe," Walker reasoned.
"In the short-term, yes, but Bill once conquered an entire world in a day. Based on those projections, he will take the entire Ghost Zone in 4 hours, and that's the best-case scenario," Vlad guessed.
"I'm getting sick of your pessimism. Either fight or flee, but quit giving me the doom-and-gloom act!" Walker rebuffed.
"Over and over I tried to warn everyone he was coming. They didn't listen. Now we're all paying the price," Vlad said to himself in a defeated tone, as the remaining ghost guards retreated inside and barred the front door with anything they could get their hands on. After some rush jobs, the front was jammed shut.
"Your move, Cipher," Walker goaded.
In the fused dimension Timmy and Chloe found themselves stranded in, the two kids were thinking about how best to adapt to their situation. Cosmo and Wanda were gone, reduced to nothing but their crowns and wands. The portal that got them here was gone too, and it did not show signs of re-appearing to bring them back to Dimmsdale, and worst of all, they had no way to contact Jorgan or anyone else in Fairy World to give them an update.
"OK, let's think about this logically. What would be the smart thing to do in this situation?" Chloe wondered.
"There is nothing in the Squirrelly Scout handbook about being stuck in another dimension with no magic," Timmy rebutted.
"True, true, but that doesn't mean we can't adapt. Surely there has to be someone here who can help," Chloe reasoned. Timmy then thought back to a previous instance where he travelled to another realm with seemingly no way back.
"I do know of one person who could help, but this is not his world. If by some miracle, this place has interdimensional communication capability, I might be able to ask him to get us home. Jimmy's a boy genius, he should have a fix," Timmy explained.
"Which brings us to our next question, does this place have that technology?" Chloe inquired.
"Yeah, you might not want to go asking around about that sort of stuff. We don't want to be carted off to the cuckoo hut," Timmy shot down.
"I'm still wondering about the make-up of this world. A fairy-tale storybook mixed with the modern-day. I've only seen that in movies, and even then, the two worlds never merged, only people from one world stumbling into the other. It's an all too common trope," Chloe outlined.
"This isn't a movie, Chloe. We're stuck in this no-where freak place called…." Timmy then looked to a nearby sign that said 'Echo Creek Park'. "…..Echo Creek with no magic, no backup, and no way home, and no-one else knows we're here. How are we going to find a dimensional portal in this mess of a world?" Timmy ranted. Despite the desperation in Timmy's voice potentially clouding his rationality, Chloe did have to admit that Timmy had good points. Still, she was not one to give up. Spotting a newspaper stand, Chloe had an idea. She used some pocket change to buy a copy of the local paper, thankful that her money worked here, and read through it. She found a particular article that caught her eye.
Patriots secure pardon
Today, the Supreme Court has issued a full pardon to the remaining members of the former monster hate group known as the True Patriots of Earth, who renamed themselves the Patriotic Peacekeepers, following the attack on the monster temple nearly two weeks ago, at the onset of the ongoing fused dimension crisis. Assisting now-Ambassador Eclipsa with helping the human race, the Mewmans, and the monsters, adapt to this new world, Eclipsa has worked to ensure these men and women were properly recognised for their part in restoring order following the initial chaos. Ambassador Eclipsa, spokesperson for the monster people in the United Nations, as well as Ambassador Moon of the Mewmans, preached a message of forgiveness when speaking about this matter, saying that life is too short for grudges and that everyone deserves a second chance.
Ambassador Eclipsa has also been responsible for spearheading numerous efforts to help with domestic affairs as a result of the merging, including but not limited to the restoration and reclamation of the Amazon Rainforest to use as a home for forest-dwelling monsters, establishing a secure living area for those monsters in the rainforest, sending any species capable of breathing underwater to confirm that no traces of the Atlantean super-weapon known as the Poseidon Engine remain in the Bermuda Triangle, and working with King Typho and his son Mermando to ensure the Atlantean people have a seat in the United Nations.
Ambassador Moon has been instrumental in her peace-keeping efforts between the three sets of races, human, mewman, and monster, and has launched her unification campaign, seeking to end the segregation of these three races and encourage them to live and work together as one. When asked about these efforts and the motivation behind them, Moon took responsibility for her family aiding in the demonisation of monsters when Mewni and Earth were separate and sought to make things right in this new world, citing her daughter, Star, and her human boyfriend, Marco Diaz, as inspiration.
What grabbed Chloe's attention was the pairing of this 'Star', a mewman, and a human named Marco. These two would have likely spent a lot of time together, and this 'fused dimension' phenomenon, looked to be a more recent occurrence. Gears turning in her head, Chloe surmised that maybe one had ended up in the other's realm, back when the two were separate.
"This 'Marco Diaz' person, if he's seeing a mewman, he might have extra-dimensional experience," Chloe hypothesised.
"So, your plan is to find some random stranger with an outer dimensional girlfriend and hope he can help us? That seems like a long shot," Timmy replied.
"I know, but it's the only plan we've got," Chloe agreed.
Eclipsa, Globgor, and Meteora were taking a well-deserved break from meetings with the Patrons and Excalibur to enjoy some family bonding time. It had been too long since they had a day like this, even before the Cleaving. It was some time before Meteora noticed something that caught her eye. She crawled over to it and examined it with curiosity. It was a portal, but not one she'd ever seen before. Before anyone could react, two girls came falling through from the other side.
"Meteora," Eclipsa called out. She found her child, along with the unconscious girls. "Globgor, come quick!" Eclipsa urged. The three found the pair, one with a hoodie like Marco, but purple instead of red, and the other in a blue, long-sleeved shirt. At the same time, Marco and Star were having a backyard barbecue with the Diaz family, when a portal came from nowhere, only this one spat out a teenage boy in green flannel. He was pretty out of it when he saw Star.
"Oh, Babe! I knew I'd find you," Bobby said in his half-delusional state, hugging Star awkwardly before passing out.
"OK, what?" Marco asked, confused as to what just happened.
At Moon and River's community, River was out fishing by the lake, when he noticed a similar portal, only this one spat out a boy and a girl, right into the water. After fishing the two out of the water, admittedly not what River was hoping for, he brought them to Moon.
"River, what is going on here, and who are they?" Moon inquired, seeing the two teens River had brought back with him. One had a teal streak through her blonde hair, and the other, the boy, was in a blue shirt and gray jeans. Both teens were soaking wet and would catch a cold in those clothes. Moon and River lit a fire and moved them next to it in the hopes of staving off hypothermia.
Back at the Diaz household, Marco and Star dragged their sudden, unexplained, uninvited visitor onto the couch where he rested in his unconscious state. Marco had questions, having just heard the boy call his girlfriend 'babe'.
"Star, who is this guy, and why did he call you 'babe'?" Marco quizzed.
"Yeah, ask me as if I know. I have never met this person before in my life, I swear," Star promised.
"He's been out for a while, should I get the eye-scanner?" Angie probed.
"Better safe than sorry," Marco reasoned.
"Oh, come on, he looks harmless," Rafael countered.
"We are at war, Dad, against an enemy that can take control of your body in your sleep if you let him, and he can be very persuasive. We take no chances," Marco replied. Angie had left to get the eye-scanner when Star thought back to something she saw when the boy came tumbling through.
"I may not have met this guy, but I do recognise the portal he fell through. He came from the Uncharted Realms," Star surmised.
"The what realms?" Marco asked.
"Mum told me about them. They're a subsect of dimensions where the laws of magic are very different from ours. The High Commission declared them taboo centuries back," Star explained.
"Could that be where…he's been?" Marco inquired tentatively, referring to Bill.
"Anything's possible. We should call Albert just to be sure," Star responded. She was about to make the call to Excalibur HQ when Angie came back with the eye-scanner just as the boy came around. He moved to get up when Angie stopped him.
"Hold still for a second and look into this, please," Angie requested. The boy complied and an eye-scan revealed no sign of possession. "He's good," Angie added before helping the boy into a sitting position.
"Where am I? What is this place? Oh no, where are the others?" the boy asked frantically.
"Easy, easy, you took a nasty fall. Slow down and let's start from the beginning. Preferably with a name," Marco eased.
"It's Bobby and…..wait, who are you two?" Bobby probed.
"Told you I've never met him," Star interjected.
"Wait, what happened?" Bobby asked.
"You called my girlfriend 'babe', hugged her, and then passed out," Marco filled in the gaps. Bobby's face was one of moderate embarrassment and a little guilt.
"I am so sorry, dude. All I saw was the blond hair and I thought you were Lori. I never meant to…." Bobby explained.
"It's fine, you did look pretty rattled. Falling through a dimensional portal will do that to you. What are you doing here, anyway?" Marco replied.
"We all came here looking for a family of sisters and one boy who went off to fight some interdimensional sorcerer of some kind. My sister, her friend, and two others, a boy and a girl, around our age, but a bit younger," Bobby answered. Star and Marco were confused at this answer.
"You emerged by yourself. There was no-one else with you when you landed," Star clarified. Marco was thinking about the rest of his answer. If Bobby came here to find a family that went off to fight Bill, they were in real danger.
"Bobby, was it? Tell us everything," Marco insisted.
Back at the ghost prison, the nightmare army was hammering on the front gates. Huge, troll-like creatures were hitting the gates with a battering ram. The gates held firm, but it was only a matter of time until they got in. The defending ghost army, which consisted of the remaining guards and conscripted inmates armed in a hurry, was nervous about the siege and pessimistic about their chances of victory. Walker, too, knew the odds were grim and came up with a plan.
"Skulker, get down to the Heart of the World and seal it off. This key should help," Walker ordered and gave Skulker a key.
"I can still fight," Skulker insisted.
"No. If things do not go well here, someone needs to ensure the Ghost Zone's future, as well as warn others of the coming war. Now go," Walker urged. Begrudgingly, Skulker did as he was told, heading down to the lower levels where the sole entrance to the Heart of the Ghost Zone was. Another boom from the front gate and the ram had broken through a hole in the door.
"This is it. They're almost through," Vlad observed.
"See you on the other other side," Walker remarked and the last swing of the ram made the gates give way. The doors opened and the horde came rushing in, trolls included. The battle resumed, with more close-quarters combat than the initial assault on the perimeter. While the defenders gave it their all, there was no stopping the nightmare soldiers for long. Their only hope now was to buy Skulker enough time to lock up the Heart. Walker and Vlad, being skilled combatants in their own right, dispatched a huge number of enemy soldiers, but it was not long before they found themselves overwhelmed.
Down at the lower levels, Skulker found no resistance on the way to the Heart, which he thought was strange. He found the entryway and sealed it. As soon as he took out the key from the lock, the door itself disappeared, ensuring that Bill would never get to it.
"Well, that was easy," Skulker commented. He was on his way to rejoin the battle above when he caught a glimpse of someone at the consoles in the observation room. "Hey, who the devil are you?" Skulker demanded. The figure turned to face him, and it was revealed to be a bipedal lizard man wearing a sharp suit, the kind you wear to funerals or board meetings, something Skulker did not care for.
"I do not care for interruptions, especially when I am in the middle of my favourite shows," the lizard-man joked.
"That post is for observing the other dimensions, not your personal entertainment. Now, answer my question!" Skulker retorted. The lizard simply turned back to face the monitors, ignoring Skulker completely. Something on one of the monitors made him grin with anticipation.
"So, another magic realm does exist," the lizard said to himself. Skulker, having lost patience, aimed his weapons at the intruder.
"Step away from the monitors and put your hands on your head, unless you want to get blasted!" Skulker threatened. The lizard merely chuckled.
"Why waste your time on me, when you should be focused on them," the lizard replied. As if on cue, Skulker was struck in the back by a lightning strike from Azula and Ozai, who appeared behind him.
"This mook bothering you, Toffee?" Azula inquired. Skulker snorted with slight amusement, despite being on the floor.
"Your name is Toffee?" Skulker teased, earning him another lightning strike from Azula.
"No. Besides, I have what I need. Bill needs to see what I've learned," Toffee addressed Azula. The three then proceeded back to the main hall, dragging Skulker behind them. When they arrived, they found the place wrecked, with ghost defenders writhing in pain, or what passes for it, half-vanquished, and fires dotting the area. Walker and Vlad were held by soldiers in a corner, while a cloaked figure strode across the battle-damaged prison.
"Ah, Bill. So glad you could join us," Ozai greeted. Vlad was visibly confused. The last time he saw Bill, he had a more triangular look than the one he was sporting now. Something must have changed.
"Take it from someone who's been there, dying the second time is no easier than the first. Although, there is a hidden familiarity to it. It is almost welcoming, in the sense that you no longer worry about unfinished business. But I never like leaving things unfinished," Bill menaced.
"I combed through their records while you were busy massacring the defenders. You were right, there is a second Realm of Magic," Toffee updated.
"Let me see," Bill replied. Toffee then played the footage on his wrist-mounted device, another gift from Bill. The footage showed a boy dressed in pink and a girl in a yellow and white dress emerging from a portal into the cleaved dimension, along with their fairy companions, who instantly vanish. "Interesting, those two could be the catalysts behind the restoration of magic. This cannot happen," Bill concluded. Walker recognised the world in the footage as the one he and Skulker went to in order to apprehend Vlad. If Bill or anyone of his cronies planned on going there, the authorities, namely Excalibur, needed to be warned.
"Activate Caliburn Protocol," Walker called out.
"Caliburn Protocol activated," came a voice from behind Skulker. It was his jetpack, and it seemed to operate on its own, sending Skulker flying away from the prison and speeding along to a random portal in the Hub. Bill and the others then turned to face Walker. Bill approached him.
"Now why did you have to go and do that?!" Bill asked in a menacing tone. Walker said nothing, only giving Bill a defiant look. Bill then raised his staff and brought it slicing down to strike Walker, vanquishing him, shocking everyone except Toffee, Azula, and Ozai. Even Vlad couldn't hide his fear. Bill then faced him. "Hmmm…..I recognise you. The coward who chose to hide rather than fight during all my other visits. Spare this one. Let him run and hide once more," Bill mocked. Vlad was too paralysed by fear to respond.
"What should we do now? Every second we waste here, the catalysts could find a way back home," Toffee probed.
"Find those two kids and bring them to me. Alive," Bill instructed.
"I have an area where they emerged from, but no specific coordinates," Toffee stated and showed Bill an image of the California area where the two kids emerged.
"In that case, there are two possible locations they could be. Toffee, free up some of your monster pals and pay the Diaz family, as well as that princess Star, a visit. Azula, Ozai, you'll be meeting some old enemies of mine, and incinerating them. Don't worry about your bending, you'll still have your abilities in that world, even with magic gone," Bill guided.
"Now you're speaking my language," Azula responded. Bill generated two portals. Toffee took one, Azula and Ozai took the other. The nightmare army then pulled out, leaving Vlad alone. Bill was about to leave when Vlad surrounded him with clones.
"Care to find out if dying a third time is permanent?" Vlad asked rhetorically. Bill laughed at him.
"Don't you have a rock to hide under or something?" Bill taunted in response. Vlad stood firm.
"I'm done running," Vlad asserted. All his clones then fired ghost blasts at Bill.
"Come on, then!" Bill replied, ready for battle. He threw up a shield to protect him from the blasts. Then the clones all rushed him, delivering punches and kicks where they could. Bill could not block them all, but he fired off lightning bolts in all directions, and as a bolt hit each clone, they disappeared, and the one that would've hit the real Vlad was barely shielded in time. Vlad then created a sword and proceeded to clash with Bill's staff. The two combatants were in a saber lock, neither giving ground.
"Playing the hero doesn't suit you," Bill observed. He then managed to score a few hits on Vlad and, after getting Vlad on the defensive, was able to land a magically powered strike on Vlad, sending him flying backward and disarming him. In a last-ditch attempt to force Bill back, Vlad tried conjuring a powerful wind with his cape, but all that did was slow him down. After some struggle, Bill got close to Vlad once again and held him by the throat. A point-blank ghost blast from Vlad forced Bill to let go. Vlad then threw a punch at Bill, who caught it, but Vlad conjured a dagger and tried to lunge it at Bill's chest, but he blocked it with his staff. The ghostly dagger flew out of Vlad's hands and Bill caught it, then sent it straight into Vlad's gut, putting an end to the fight. Small flames sprouted from the wound, and Vlad knew that his time was up. He could only laugh awkwardly.
"If only Maddie could've seen this," Vlad gave his last words as he was vanquished, engulfed by flame.
In the cleaved world, at a federal prison where Simon Edwards, a.k.a. Vlad Masters, was being held, said man was getting what could only barely pass as a meal from the cafeteria. He was about to take a seat as far away from the other inmates as possible when a sudden pain came from his chest and he collapsed onto the floor. The other inmates were backed up against the wall as guards and medical staff rushed to his aid. The human Vlad knew it was no use, and that the moment he had been dreading was fast approaching.
"He's coming," Vlad said weakly before taking his last breath. At Excalibur HQ, Albert was going over the weapon designs Danny had brought with him when he was summoned. They looked impressive and had potential.
"You invented these, Tucker? If you weren't mayor of Amity Park, somehow, I'd offer you a place in our tech division," Albert complimented.
"I don't make a habit of weapon design, but from everything I've seen Bill do from those videos Danny showed us, I figured you'd need every advantage you can get," Tucker responded.
"That we do," Albert agreed. Just then, the phone rang. Albert answered it. "Hello? I see. Thank you for the update. Get back here ASAP," Albert said into the phone line and hung up. "That was the agent I assigned to watch Vlad while he was in prison. Vlad is dead," Albert informed Danny, Sam, and Tucker.
"Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy," Sam replied.
"There's more, his last words were 'he's coming'. Three guesses who that refers to," Albert added. This elicited looks of shock and fear from Danny, Sam, and Tucker. As if on cue, a voice came from the base communications panel.
"Sir, someone's just emerged from the portal down in the vault," Farran, Albert's chief engineer, informed.
"On our way," Albert responded, and he, Danny, Sam, and Tucker went down to the vault to see who came through. When they got there, they were surprised to see Skulker, his equipment damaged and fear all across his face.
"What happened?" Danny probed.
"Bill attacked the prison, vanquished everyone inside. He has an army and henchmen the likes of which I've never seen before, and he's coming here," Skulker answered. The fear was palpable in the room. Albert then got onto the base communications once again.
"All hands, this is the captain. I am declaring Code Red. Everyone to battle positions. That is all," Albert announced to the whole base. Alarms started blaring and everyone was rushing to their assigned stations, bracing themselves for the coming storm. "Bring it on, Cipher," Albert added.
Author's note: Sorry about the wait for this part, work has been brutal lately. A colleague had to have a medical procedure, so I've been taking on additional responsibilities to cover for them. I hope the battle at the ghost prison is epic enough. I did say in a previous story that I am not used to writing Peter Jackson-esque sieges, but I think I did well enough. The next part will cover the other arrivals into the cleaved world, and how they interact with whoever they landed near to. I wanted to include them here, but the chapter was getting too long. The usual disclaimers, I own nothing. Danny Phantom and Fairly Odd Parents belong to Butch Hartman and Nickelodeon. Gravity Falls belongs to Alex Hirsch, SVTFOE belongs to Daron Nefcy, and Disney owns both. Enjoy.