Welcome, my friends, to the third and final act of this sordid story. I don't have much to say, so see this somber conclusion for yourself...
"PRINCE OF DARKNESS"
ACT THREE: DESPAIRING DOWNFALL
Of all the places to be alone in, a cold, gloomy dungeon is certainly of the worst; Especially if it's under the palace from which you used to rule. Eclipsa, the captive "Queen of Darkness" was shackled to the wall of her cell, which was deep beneath Butterfly Castle. This specific prison was only for the most dangerous enemies of the kingdom; Until now, it had never held a reigning queen.
Ever since her capture, Eclipsa had gone through heartbreak after heartbreak; Her beloved newborn daughter was ripped from her arms, and neither Shastacan nor the High Commission would say what happened to her; As for her monster love, she could hardly bear to imagine the anguish he must be feeling, and how he must be handling his family's disappearance. The fallen queen wished she could escape this wretched cell, but despite her prodigious magic powers, she was all but helpless without her heirloom wand...
Suddenly, the cell door was quickly thrust open, and in walked four powerful mystical entities; The Magic High Commission was here to interrogate her yet again.
"Oh, great, you again. What do you want now?" Eclipsa sardonically scoffed.
"Don't act so confused! We're here because of your evil monster husband!" Rhombulus snapped, as he accusingly pointed one of his snake-arms at the captured queen.
"For the last time, Globgor isn't evil! He's just...misunderstood. And for the record, so am I."
"That's a lie. Show her what happened, Omni." Hekapoo ordered, as she gestured to her cosmic cohort. Using his magical abilities, Omnitraxus created a spectral dramatization of a gruesome recent event, and narrated over his visual aid.
"Last night, Globgor rallied his monster army, and burned Spiderbite Village to the ground. Then, he attacked the royal palace and devoured King Shastacan!" Omni explained. His dramatized demonstration showed hordes of monsters torching the town, as a grotesque depiction of Globgor stomped on the bodies of villagers while cackling maniacally. Then, he ripped open the roof of the castle, where King Shastacan was standing valiantly, clad in armor and brandishing a mighty sword. He leapt towards the sinister size-shifter with his blade, but the monster just picked him up, stuffed him in his mouth and ate him like a Snookers bar, armor and all.
At first, Eclipsa's face was blank. Then, she abruptly burst into laughter at Omnitraxus's skewed take on the razing of Spiderbite Kingdom.
"She's laughing? Now that's just sick!" scoffed a disgusted Rhombulus. Eclipsa stopped laughing, and turned her head towards the malcontented commission.
"I'm sorry. But do you really expect me to believe that rubbish? Globgor's a vegetarian, and a peaceful one at that. If you want to show me a lie, at least make it look convincing."
"Alright, Chancellor. Show her the evidence." Hekapoo ordered. The winged goat-man bleated with unease, and reached into his robe. He took out a broken, bloodied crown, and apprehensively tossed it at Eclipsa's feet. When the queen saw the familiar headwear of her former husband, she gasped with shock.
"No, no! That's not true—it can't be!" Eclipsa cried, feeling mortified. While she could hardly stand to be around her mewman betrothed, she felt quite betrayed by Globgor's broken promise.
"He's a monster. All he does is terrorize mewmans!" Rhombulus exclaimed. "And you were gonna be his next meal." The crystal-headed guardian's scathing insult greatly angered Eclipsa, who was in no mood for his petulant bigotry.
"Well, you reprobates helped that wretched, repulsive excuse for a king kidnap me, kill my husband's subjects and do corn-knows-what with my newborn daughter! I'd say he deserved his fate." The imprisoned royal coldly spoke, shocking the Commission's members.
"Where's Globgor? Where is he?" Hekapoo impatiently shouted, as she pointed her scissors at Eclipsa's throat. The Queen of Darkness's expression remained cold and stoic, even in the face of death.
"I don't know where my husband is. But if I did, I would never tell you."
"Then we'll find him ourselves!" Omnitraxus boomed. "Come on, we must stop that menace before he hurts anyone else."
"Aw yeah, crystal time!" Rhombulus cheered, then abruptly tuned his monocular gaze to the chained queen. "Oh, and once we're done with him, you're next."
Hekapoo then opened a portal for her and the others to head through, on their search for Mewni's most wanted enemy. "Stay here, Lekmet. Watch the queen, so she doesn't escape."
As the three mystical counselors headed through the portal, Eclipsa began to sob softly. Chancellor Lekmet sighed, and turned away from her; He felt far too guilty to look the princess he knew since birth in the eyes. As bleak at it was, she had accepted her fate; Her family was ruined by Mewni's bigoted ways, and she'd forever be remembered as the epitome of evil...
As darkened dusk and pouring rain fell upon on the wild lands of Mewni, an enormous army was on the warpath. Over a thousand monsters had been gathered for Seth's insurmountable fighting force, which was set to raze the Butterfly Kingdom. While many of the troops had enlisted on their own volition, others were conscripted; Not even children were spared from serving the Septarian general. With more than two dozen Solarian Warriors still serving the kingdom, many of these youths were sure to face an early demise...
The monster army marched through a rocky canyon, as Seth and his loyal lieutenants flew overhead on Darkwraith, their imposing serpentine dragon. Once all the troops were finished traversing the gorge, they gathered in a wide-open field, where the Butterfly Kingdom could be seen on the horizon. Darkwraith landed on the ground, and Seth stood tall on its head to address his troops.
"Monsters of Mewni!" Seth shouted to his legions of followers, some supportive and some reluctant. "For millennia, the mewmans have caused nothing but pain and suffering for our people. They've stolen our land, slaughtered us in droves, and destroyed our civilizations! Remember the Kingdom of Septarsis? You can thank them for its destruction!"
There were scattered murmurs in response to that anecdote; Most monsters knew hardly anything about the long-gone Septarian kingdom, but Seth did; He was there when it fell. "But on this historic day, we will destroy the invaders that plagued this realm for so long, and usher in a new era for monsterkind!"
The soldiers all cheered and clapped, some out of support for Seth, and others out of fear. "Once King Globgor gets here, we'll bring a swift end to the evils of the Butterfly Kingdom!"
"There he is!" A porcupine monster exclaimed, as he pointed to the top of the rocky ravine. The moons of Mewni illuminated the size-shifter's unmistakable outline, as he stood imposingly above all the others. The soldiers began to cheer and chant Globgor's name, when he suddenly leapt off the cliff. He enlarged his size five times, and landed hard on the ground, causing a mighty tremor and a colossal cloud of dust.
The monster troops all staggered and stumbled, as the earth shook beneath their feet. As the dust cleared, the gigantic monster walked towards the army with an angry expression on his face.
"My liege! You've finally come to aid us in our righteous conquest." Seth cordially greeted, unaware of the monumental danger he was in.
"You LIED to me!" Globgor roared, as he bared his fangs. Seth's prideful expression quickly soured, as his lizard lieutenants began to shudder. "Shastacan didn't kill my family! We destroyed that village, killed all those innocent people for nothing!"
"Mewmans aren't people! And Shastacan was far from innocent; He deserved his death regardless."
"I promised my wife I would never eat another mewman, and I broke her trust because of you!"
"That petulant queen was holding you back from your true potential! You're better off without her!" The Septarian general hatefully shouted. Now, Globgor was infuriated; That loathsome lizard may have had the nerve to insult his beloved wife like that, but he sure as hell wasn't getting away with it.
"I order all of you to STAND DOWN! Seth's leading you to your graves!" The monster king commanded. As the troops nervously looked at each other, unsure of what to do, Seth became enraged by his partner's betrayal.
"The Queen of Darkness made Globgor delusional! PUT HIM DOWN!" Seth ordered. The frightened army shakily stood in place; Not a single soul was going to fight the Prince of Darkness alone.
"Cowards, all of you!" Seth shouted with corrosive vitriol, then turned to his five disciples. "Do whatever you can to kill him."'
"You heard him, attack!" One of the lizards exclaimed. The five Septarians swiftly sprinted towards their massive foe, then leapt high and latched onto him with their wicked claws. As the size-shifter groaned in agony, the Dreaded Beasts started stabbing him with their swords, sickles and spears. One of them wrapped a ball-and-chain around his throat, and began pulling on the weapon in an attempt to strangle him to death.
Luckily, Globgor thought quick and used his unique size-shifting abilities to the advantage. He shrunk down to the size of a mouse to escape the saurians' hold, then enlarged his arms and slammed them on the ground, causing a shockwave that stunned the Septarians. He then grew back to his enormous height, and stomped the cold-blooded cronies with his powerful feet.
However, the king's harrowing battle wasn't over just yet. Out of the sky came a ferocious snarl, causing Globgor's hair to stand on end. Flying towards him at breakneck speed was the vicious lindwyvern Darkwraith, with Seth controlling her by the reins. The deadly dragon glided at Globgor, and scratched his shoulder with her hooked talons. She tried to scratch him a second time, but the mighty monster blocked her attack, and grabbed the flying serpent's body. However, Darkwraith countered his retaliation by wrapping around his body like a boa constrictor.
As the serpentine wyvern tightened her grip on her prey, Seth sneered, and disdainfully berated his foe. "You were a fool for seeking peace with mewmans! All they do is loot and kill!
Globgor tried to break free using all the strength he could muster, but he still couldn't break the lindwyvern's vice-tight grip. Darkwraith lunged at his head several times, but he narrowly dodged each of her attempts at a fatal bite. As he felt the life get squeezed out of him, Seth delivered a scathing goodbye to his former apprentice:
"We'll all be better off without traitors like you..."
Just as Darkwraith was about to lunge once more and sink her fangs into the size-shifter's skull, Globgor pulled off a daring endeavor. He shifted his size until he was small enough to escape the constrictive clutches of Seth's deadly dragon; Once he was free, the miniature monster clung to the stony side of the chasm, then taunted Seth and his serpentine steed.
Darkwraith roared ferociously, and rushed towards the diminutive size-shifter. She opened her mighty jaws, and the diminutive size-shifter willingly leapt into her gaping maw. While it seemed like a suicidal act, this was exactly the outcome Globgor was hoping for. He hung for dear life on the dragon's uvula, and prepared to pull off a morbidly creative move.
Now that the Prince of Darkness was seemingly devoured, Seth stood proud atop his lindwyvern's head, and turned to face his army. "THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS TO MEWMAN-LOVING WEAKLINGS!"
Before Seth could speak another spiteful word, Globgor grew ten feet while he was still in Darkwraith's mouth, making the dragon's head burst like a biological bomb. All the monsters gasped, shocked by such a striking show of strength.
After being catapulted through the air by the size-shifter's unconventional attack, Seth fell to the muddy ground like lightning from the sky. Once the Septarian regained his senses, he saw the Prince of Darkness savagely charging towards him in the pouring rain, his bulky body covered in the green blood and guts of his draconian steed.
Seth quickly got back up, and equipped his bone-and-metal mace; He knew all too well how powerful Globgor was, but he'd rather perish in combat than die a coward. He dodged the size-shifter's first punch, then struck him in the shoulder with his mace; But to the reptilian monster's horror, it broke on impact!
Globgor howled in pain, and retaliated in a most gruesome way; Ripping Seth's right arm clean off his body. The Septarian let out a blood-curdling scream, and dug his talons deep into the monster king's torso. Enraged, Globgor pushed Seth to the ground, brought his heavy foot down upon the lizard's chest, and plucked off his other arm. With the bloodthirsty general literally disarmed, the size-shifter picked his enemy up, quadrupled in stature, and pinned him to the canyon wall.
Now, Seth was at the mercy of his furious former protege; A rare time where he was actually feeling frightened. He writhed and wriggled in an attempt to free himself of Globgor's hold, but it was no use.
"What REALLY happened to my family, Seth? Tell me NOW!" The monster king roared with rage.
"You expect me to talk? You can't kill me, we Septarians are immortal!"
"Then I'll make you beg for death!" Globgor tightened his grip on the lizard general, and grated his scaly skin against the rough, rocky walls of the canyon. Now that his foe was hurt even further, Globgor interrogated him again. "Where are they, Seth? WHERE ARE THEY?"
"Saint Olga!" Seth quavered in agony, as he heaved deeply. The size-shifter loosened his grip, and held Seth closer to hear the long-awaited truth. "Shastacan gave your daughter to Saint Olga."
The name "Saint Olga" wasn't familiar to Globgor, but the institution she ran definitely was. Throughout the years they spent together, Eclipsa would tell him horror stories of the Reform School for Wayward Princesses; She knew other princesses who were forced to attend, and her mother even threatened to send her there a couple times. If Meteora was really taken in by that mechanical menace, then she was in trouble.
"Then where is Eclipsa?" Globgor interrogated, afraid of what the answer may be. Seth just let out a deep snarl, and coldly looked the giant in his lower eyes.
"The fate of your precious queen eludes me, but one thing is certain; She certainly got what she deserved..."
Wrong answer. His breaking point shattered, Globgor let out a wrathful shout, and threw Seth towards the stony face of the gorge at breakneck speed. The impact shattered the armless Septarian's bones, and he fell into the cold mud below. Unfortunately for him, the Prince of Darkness wasn't finished yet. He struck the top of the canyon with both of his muscular arms, causing it to crumble and shatter.
Mere moments later, a hailstorm of large, heavy boulders began to rain down upon the sinister Septarian. The first one fell upon his back, breaking it and pinning him to the ground. The next stone came crashing down on his tail, and he yelled out in agony. Finally, a third boulder descended from the apex of the canyon, and landed on the reptilian reprobate's head, crushing his skull like it was made of glass.
Globgor growled and shook his head, then trudged away from the scene of his former general's death. After walking through the canyon, he saw the legions of Seth's army all staring towards him in frightened shock. However, the five Septarian lieutenants who served Seth were glaring daggers at the giant size-shifter. So, he glared right back at them, to instill some rightful fear in his foes.
Not wanting to end up like their fallen master, the rest of the Dreaded Beasts got down on their knees, and submissively bowed. The rest of the troops all did the same, and soon the entire army had knelt before the Plucker of Limbs, the Crusher of Skulls, the Prince of Darkness; Globgor, the true king of monsters...
With Seth vanquished, Globgor called off the invasion, and ordered his army to set up camp in the nearby woods. Because of his merciful act, the Butterfly Kingdom would live to see another day. On the other hand, the Dreaded Beasts were ordered to go into exile, for aiding the hateful Septarian in his nearly-successful plot. However, Globgor didn't stay at his troops' camp; He rushed all the way back to the Monster Temple, for there were much bigger things at stake.
Now that Meteora's survival was confirmed, the monster king was hatching a plan to break into the soul-crushing academy, and rescue his daughter; He even promised himself he'd do it alone this time, so that no innocents would be hurt. Due to the formidable security, robot guards and the fact that St. Olga's wasn't even in Mewni, this would prove to be a daunting task; Still, there was nothing in the world Globgor wouldn't do for his beloved baby girl...
After the temple nurses treated his wounds, Globgor sought some well-deserved respite in his "comfort place;" The nursery of his newborn daughter. After his battle at the canyon, his emotions were bittersweet; While he still felt guilty about his earlier actions, slaying Seth and calling off his forces had saved the Butterfly Kingdom, redeeming him of his past sins. In addition, he now knew Meteora was alive and well; He could only hope the same went for his wife...
"Meteora, my sweet, darling angel..." Globgor sighed, as he longingly looked at the name scrawled on the head of the crib, which was adorned with a drawing of a shooting star. "I know you must be so scared, being alone in that horrible princess school, but don't worry. No matter what it takes, Daddy's coming to save you. And then I'll find Mommy, and we'll finally be a happy family, just like we've always wanted..." This was a vow he intended to keep, even in the face of death itself...
The size-shifter's tender moment was interrupted, when he suddenly picked up the sound of a commotion unfolding in a nearby room.
"Where's Globgor! WHERE IS HE?" A baritone voice angrily shouted. The size-shifter's heart raced when he heard the intruders in his castle; He was still weary and drained from his struggle against Seth, but now there was yet another battle for him to fight...
But who were the trespassers who broke into the temple? Three of the most powerful magical beings in the universe; Hekapoo, Rhombulus and Omnitraxus Prime. They were harshly interrogating the handful of monsters still left in the castle, to locate the whereabouts of their most wanted target.
"This is HIS castle! If Globgor isn't here, then where is he?" Hekapoo inquired. All of a sudden, the mighty size-shifter burst through a wall, sending Rhombulus and several of Hekapoo's clones into the air.
"Leave my people alone!" Globgor angrily refuted, as the other monsters began fleeing the temple. "If you want a fight, then pick on someone your OWN SIZE!" The monster king shifted his stature to match Omnitraxus's, and began to clash with the cosmic colossus. As he struggled against Omni's might, he felt a plethora of tiny blades dig into him; Dozens of Hekapoo clones were swarming him, whilst stabbing him with their scissors. Globgor roared with rage, and threw off the scissors enforcers' clones with a mighty shake.
"Leave me alone! I'm not the bad guy here!"
"You destroyed a kingdom and devoured its king! That's as evil as it gets!" Omnitraxus shouted, and struck Globgor with a mighty blow to the head. The size-shifter tried slamming his arms into the space-time guardian's skull, but Omni turned his entire body intangible, causing the blow to pass right through him. He then hit the monster king in the stomach, weakening him further.
"Enough playing around! You're getting crystallized, just like your EVIL WIFE!" Rhombulus yelled, as he aimed his snake-arms towards his offending enemy. Enraged, Globgor let out a mighty roar, and tried to strike Omnitraxus down in anger; However, the hot-headed creature fired a blue energy beam from his arms, which quickly encased the giant in a massive mound of unbreakable crystal.
Now that Globgor was neutralized, the three members of the MHC gathered in front of his crystallized body. The monster king was frozen in a frightening pose; He had an enraged expression on his face, and he was poised to attack; One arm was raised, the other was reaching with his claws out.
"Not so scary now, are you?" Rhombulus retorted at his petrified adversary.
"Come on, Rhombulus. It's time to punish the Queen for her treachery." Omnitraxus ordered. Hekapoo opened a portal to the Crystal Dimension, and the trio of mystical bureaucrats walked through the magical gate. Then, the wormhole closed shut, leaving the temple empty.
An eternity petrified; Sadly, this was the tragic demise of Globgor, the king of monsters, Prince of Darkness, and monster husband to Queen Eclipsa. To make matters worse, the Queen of Darkness would soon meet the same fate as him. But worst off was poor Meteora, who would have to face centuries of abuse at the mechanical hands of Saint Olga...
In all, the last of the true Butterflies had all met their tragic destinies, all for the crime of being in love with the wrong people. An impostor was due to inherit the throne, and the bigotry and conquest in their realm ran more rampant than ever. Such is the bleak ending to a tale of love, loss, revenge and regret...
Alas, nothing is set in stone, nor is it set in crystal. As it turned out, fate had other plans for Eclipsa and her kin. It's a tale for another time; The story of a shining star, whose light would help to heal this broken realm...
THE END
Or is it? Check out the epilogue for an extra scene featuring a frighteningly familiar face, as well as my parting words for the story's end...