Hey, guys! Jay here with the next chapter. I've got no funny, fourth-wall-breaking intro for you this time, though, since I just wanted to get right into this. But I will say this: what happens in this chapter takes inspiration from Atlus' Shin Megami Tensei series. If you haven't played the games or seen the accompanying media, I highly recommend it. They are very fun RPGs with a great premise and story, and I personally love them. Now, let's see what Jonah's up to this week.
"All right, class, we're done with lessons today," Ms. Skullnick said as the final bell for the day rang. "Make sure that you hand in your homework from last night before you leave. And to remind you all, I will be checking to make sure that you did it and that it wasn't done by Jonah's stupid 'Homework Hut' scheme."
The entire class groaned as they heard their troll-teacher remind them of the school's new restrictions. After Jonah had started his 'Homework Hut' business, he had managed to make in a few hundred dollars using his army of Meseeks to do every student's homework for them. While it was fun at first, it didn't take long for Jonah's new money-maker to attract the attention of the ECA faculty. Principal Skeeves had no choice but to force Jonah to shut it down, though not because of some pretentious reason like "it was depriving the kids of learning skills" or "they need the mental stimulation." As it turned out, students weren't allowed to conduct business transactions on school grounds.
Jonah also tried to bribe Skeeves off with a donation to the school, which didn't help things. Ergo, Jonah had to shut Homework Hut down. And to make sure that he didn't exploit the obvious loophole of conducting it off school grounds, Skeeves told the teachers to double-check to make sure the student's handwriting to make sure they did the work and not a Meseeks. Ms. Skullnick took to this task with unexpected enthusiasm; when asked why she said she liked putting troublemaker Jonah in his place.
Unfortunately, she had underestimated how far Jonah was willing to go. When it came time for Jonah to hand in his homework, she realized that Jonah wasn't even the one who handed it to her. Instead, it was the same lanky, blue creature she fought on the field trip.
"I'm Mr. Meseeks, and I'm here to turn in Jonah's homework for him!" the Meseeks cheerfully said, much to Skullnick's irritation.
"I'm sorry, but did you say that you're here to turn in Jonah's homework for him?" Ms. Skullnick reiterated.
"Yes, sireee!" the Meseeks said, never losing its positive tone.
Oh, great, Ms. Skullnick thought as she realized the implications behind the blue creature's statement. Seeing that Comet and Marcia hadn't left the classroom yet, she immediately approached them in the hopes of getting some answers. "Marcia, Comet, where's Jonah?"
"I have no clue, Ms. Skullnick," Marcia honestly told her teacher. "For all we know, he could be sleeping in a coffin alongside a group of vampires right now."
"Wait, Jonah's a Vampire?" Comet interjected, completely missing the point of the conversation. "That would explain why he wanted those bags of pig-goat blood," he muttered to himself, making both girls look at him like he was crazier than normal.
"I'm not sure if you're serious right now, and that's very concerning," Marcia told Comet before getting back on track. "Look, Ms. Skullnick, my best guess is that Jonah decided to bail on school today and sent a Meseeks in his place. Don't worry; he'll probably be back tomorrow."
"He better be, or he's going to be in detention for the rest of the semester!" Ms. Skullnick vowed.
"Alright, so I'm just going to hand in Jonah's homework and then give him his notes, then. Byeee!" The Meseeks said before leaving the paper on the desk and poofing out of existence, much to Ms. Skullnick's annoyance
"Don't worry, Ms. Skullnick," Comet said, trying to reassure her. "I'm sure that whatever reason Jonah has for bailing on class has to be a good one.
"For his sake, it better be."
At this exact moment, Jonah happened to be in another part of town: the Echo Creek Junkyard. While the city of Echo Creek did have a dedicated recycling center that could process many things people threw out, plus a dump for whatever they couldn't, some things were too big to throw away the conventional way; i.e., cars, boats, trucks, etc. So, until they could get cut up, recycled for materials, or turned into weird sculptures, this was where the city kept its discarded metals. Most people tended to avoid the Junkyard due to the safety hazards. Then again, most people weren't like Jonah Ordonia.
Jonah had secretly been coming to the Junkyard for years now. He knew every nook and cranny and where to find items in (mostly) working order. But scavenging for spare parts wasn't the reason he had come there today. No, he had a much bigger goal in mind as he, and the floating blue man at his side, made their way through the husks of scrapped cars.
"So, let me get this straight, kid," Glossaryck said as he helped himself to spoonfuls of pudding. "You ditch school for the day, sneak inside Comet's room to find me, bribe me with pudding, and then drag me out here, and you won't even tell me why?"
"Pretty much," Jonah said. "Besides, I'm pretty sure you do the same thing to Comet, so why does it matter?"
"Touche," Glossarcyk conceded. "So, what's so important, anyway?"
"You'll see," Jonah said as they rounded a corner before coming face to face with two things. One was a pile of crushed-up cars stacked on top of each other. The other was a pile of bags filled with suspicious red liquid.
"All right, here goes nothing," Jonah said as he approached the car pile and began to draw a transmutation circle on it. Taking a deep breath, he began to remember what Glossaryck had downloaded into his brain about the alchemical process. Jonah visualized what it was he wanted to make. Then, with a clap of his hands, he slammed down on the circle! At once, energy began to crackle and course through the cars. The metal chassis' started to twist, bend, and fuse themselves into a new type of structure—one with a very obvious purpose.
By the transmutation process had finished, the old car piles were no longer there. Instead, there was a giant, metallic throne sitting in the Junkyard. And on that throne was a metal effigy of an older, idealized/demonic-looking version of Jonah, clad in the attire befitting a demon king of legends. The Demon King Jonah had the same, half-lidded smirk as the real one as he seemed to be looking towards the ground, likely to his subjects. And to either side of him were two incredibly attractive demon girls clad in skimpy outfits.
"So, what do you think? Not a bad likeness, if I do say so myself," Jonah said, bragging about his creation as Glossaryck looked on. As he continued to snack on his pudding cups, the little blue man floated towards the sculpture and carefully inspected it. His discerning eye looked for discrepancies or flaws in the alchemical process before he finally returned to Jonah's side.
"Well, kid, besides the obvious egomaniac thing that you've got going on here, I'd say that you did a pretty good job. You might make a great alchemist yet," Glossaryck said, giving his critique. "Just one question, though: was the demon girls necessary?"
"Hey, one of the perks about becoming ruler of my own demonic dimension is getting a sexy demon girl to rule by my side," Jonah freely admitted, not caring if that made him sound like a pig.
"And the reason why one of them looks similar to Comet's ex?"
Jonah merely shrugged. "What can I say? She's hot-"
"And got a temper that even Comet couldn't handle," Glossaryck pointed out.
"Hey, I like fiery girls," Jonah admitted.
"So, did you drag me here to discuss your hormones, or was there a greater purpose to this?" Glossaryck said as he finished his current pudding cup being summoning another one.
"There was," Jonah said before reaching into his jacket and pulling out a series of books. They weren't that big, being only about the size of a notebook or journal, but they were very strange-looking. Various strange symbols adorned each of the book's covers, but unlike most works of literature, these books seemed to have the images carved into them, like a knife cutting into flesh. As if to reinforce this notion, the drawings were all blood-red, as was the writing accompanying them. All told, the books seemed to give off sinister energy, making it clear that they weren't meant for the faint of heart.
"You recognize these by any chance?" Jonah enquired.
"Yeah. They're books meant to teach people how to summon Demons," Glossaryck said without hesitation. "Though I think I should be asking you how you managed to get your hands on this stuff? Literature about demonology is not likely to be found in this-"
"Quest Buy," Jonah said.
"Of course. Why am I not surprised that those Sloth-men would have this kind of stuff for sale."
"I got these books on the same trip where I got that Alchemy book," Jonah explained. "And, now that I'm on the road to mastering the art of Alchemy, I figured that it was high time for me to begin my studies of the occult and to understand the world of Demons."
"And let me guess: you need my help to do so because you're incapable of figuring out these books for yourself, correct?" Glossaryck asked.
"Pretty much," Jonah admitted. "It's not for lack of trying, mind you. Like the alchemy book I showed you last time, these things are written in a language that has no basis on Earth. Kind of hard to dabble in the dark arts when you can't read the instructions."
"Did you try that 'Internet' thing for help?" Glossaryck suggested.
"Yep," Jonah quickly responded. "Checked every forum and message board related to the study of demonics and the occult, but no one on Earth's got any clue on what these books say." Jonah wouldn't say it out loud, but the fact that not even he, who prided himself on his knowledge of eldritch creatures and unholy rituals, could translate the books frustrated him to no end. "But since Demons are officially from Mewni, and you serve the head honchos of Mewni, I figured that you might be able to do something about that for me."
Glossaryck folded his arms into the sleeves of his yellow robe. "Suppose I did know something about this sort of thing, kid," he said as he turned his back towards Jonah. "What do you intend to do with this sort of knowledge?"
"Well, two reasons," Jonah began. "First, I want to become the ruler of my own dark dimension of hellfire and brimstone. But to do that, I'll need powerful and loyal followers who will do my bidding. Secondly, something tells me that I want to keep spending time around Comet, I'll need an extra set of hands. As convenient as a Meseeks box is, there's a limit to what they can do."
"But wouldn't it be easier to have Comet make you one of those 'Pocket Monsters' like that owl thing he has?"
"I could, but I'm not that big of a fan of Pokémon. Plus, if I rely on Comet for every damn problem I have, then I'm never going to grow."
"Alright. I can buy that reasoning," Glossaryck said before narrowing his. "But what makes you think that I'm going to help you with this sort of thing?"
Jonah smirked. "Because I'll fill an entire bathtub full of JELL-O."
Glossaryck's eyes almost widened as he heard what Jonah had said. "Are-are we talking a bathtub my size or-"
"Human-sized. Any flavor you want," Jonah clarified.
It took all of Glossaryck's willpower to keep from drooling at this. "Deal," the little blue man said as he held out a tiny hand, which Jonah shook. "Also, what's with the bags of dye over there?"
Jonah looked over his shoulder at what Glossaryck was pointing at and remembered the various bags he had brought to the Junkyard. "Oh, that's not dye. It's pig-goat blood I got from Comet."
"Whyyy?"
"Because I figured I would need it for some kind of blood ritual to summon a demon and make a contract," Jonah casually told him, not caring if that freaked the magical entity out a little. Thankfully, it did not; instead, Glossaryck just sighed.
"Okay, kid. You made the right choice by coming to me about this," Glossaryck said. "Because otherwise, you'd be wasting all that blood on a pointless ritual."
"So, no pig-goat blood, then?"
"Just grab the bags and move them out of the way, kid," Glossaryck told him. "Then we can begin."
Spongebob Narrator: One transition scene later...
"Okay, now that we properly disposed of those bags of pig-goat blood," Glossaryck said after Jonah had moved them to another section of the Junkyard, "we can begin."
"Alright," Jonah said as he stood in front of the little man. "But if I can't do a blood ritual, then what am I supposed to do?"
"Well, in the olden days, Demons would've required a blood sacrifice and whatnot to be summoned," Glossaryck explained. "But now things are a bit more streamlined. Which, reminds me: I'm going to need those books of yours, and that thing that you call a phone."
Jonah wasn't sure what Glossaryck was going for, but he figured he had nothing to lose. He pulled out the demon books and his cell phone before handing both to the bearded one. "So, are you going to use magic to infuse my phone with the knowledge of those books or something?"
"Something like that," Glossaryck before, without any warning, he swallowed the books and phone whole!
"Dude, what the Hell?!" Jonah yelled in frustration. "I needed those!"
"Don't worry, kid. You'll have them back in a second," Glossaryck said as his stomach began to gurgle. Then, just as soon as he'd swallowed the items, the phone came out of his mouth, none the worse for wear. "You know, for a company named after a fruit, their products don't taste like apples," Glossaryck said as he handed the phone back to Jonah. Surprisingly, when the boy took it back, it didn't have any stomach acid or traces of saliva on it.
"So you did all of that because, why exactly?" Jonah said as he inspected his phone for good measure.
"You'll see. Open it up and look at the home screen. You should find a brand new app on there," Glossaryck instructed his informal student. Curious as to what he meant, Jonah did what he was told without any complaints. True to his word, when Jonah opened up his phone, he found a new, ominous-looking app on the home screen. Figuring that there was a reason it was on his cellphone, Jonah tapped the app with his finger, opening it up. As soon as he did, though, his phone momentarily went black. Then, suddenly, a series of numbers and symbols appeared on the screen in rapid succession. Far too fast for Jonah's eyes to be able to keep up with them. Despite this, though, Jonah was able to recognize the meaning behind them. He had seen it before whenever Alfonso had shown them something he had whipped up on his computer.
"It's programming code," Jonah muttered as the text came to an abrupt end. In its place were six simple words that flashed across his screen. "Welcome to...the 'Demon Summoning Program'?" Jonah read aloud, somewhat stunned by what he saw. "No way."
"Um, yeah, way," Glossaryck said in amusement. "This, young man, is what we in the rest of the Universe call the 'Demon Summoning Program,' or DSP, for short. I think that the name's pretty self-explanatory."
"Wait. So you're telling me that there's an app containing a program that allows me to summon Demons?" Jonah couldn't believe what he was hearing. Of all the things he'd encountered in the wider Universe thus far, this was one of the most unexpected!
Glossaryck chuckled to himself. "Yep, that sums it up. So, do you want to dive in? Or do I have to answer the questions that you so obviously have buzzing around in that curious little head of yours?"
"The latter, please."
"Very well, then, young Human. Allow me to elucidate just what this program is all about," Glossaryck said as he began his explanation. On his mental command, the gem in his forehead began to glow before projecting a holographic screen, much like Comet liked to use. On that screen, various images started to flash by.
"By now, I'm sure that you know that the beings known as Demons are native to the dimension of Mewni, having existed there long before first Mewman Kingdoms began to form on the surface. In fact, before the rise of the Dragonflies, Mewni was predominantly known as the land of Demons. And even though they kept to themselves within the massive underground caverns that span underneath Mewni, the Demons managed to become well-known throughout the greater Universe."
"Unlike many other beings, Demons were usually not born ordinary. Many of them possessed powers beyond this world, ranging from incredible strength to mastery of arcane sorcery that seems like magic yet appears to operate on a different level than what the Dragonflies and others use. Those who knew of what they could do feared them for their powers. Eventually, they became known as one of the deadliest races in the Universe."
Jonah whistled. "Sounds like my kind of people."
"Indeed," Glossaryck dryly noted. "In any case, the Demons soon realized that, with their awesome powers, came awesome opportunities. So, they began to hire themselves out to those who wished to wield their power." As Glossaryck said this, a lone figure appeared on the screen and drew a demonic circle, summoning a horned Demon that one would find in Judeo-Christian religious texts. "As you would expect, people from all walks of life would summon Demons and form contracts with them. However, the process was...flawed."
"Flawed...how?"
"Flawed as in the summoning ceremony wasn't always perfect. If the summoner failed to conduct it properly, there was the chance it could backfire, killing both the Demon and the summoner." As if to prove Glossaryck's point, the screen then changed to show another figure trying to summon a Demon through a poorly-made summoning circle. The resulting backlash of demonic energy vaporizes the summoner as well as the unfortunate Demon that got called. "So, yeah, that wasn't good. Fortunately for both parties, someone came along who figured out a solution to this: the Demon Summoning Program."
Once more, the screen changed, revealing a peculiar site: it was of a bespectacled man in a blood-red business suit, sitting in a wheelchair as he demonstrated some sort of invention to a crowd of onlookers. The figure began to press buttons on the invention, and then, poof! A Demon appears right next to the guy!
"This inventor found a way to streamline the process using technology. By converting the rituals needed to summon and form contracts with Demons into code, he made the whole thing far more efficient. He called this new concept the 'Demon Summoning Program.' The thing ended up catching on like wildfire in the Underworld, and soon it spread to the rest of the Universe. Now, if you want to summon a Demon, you can do it from the convenience of a handheld device."
"Hard to believe that something like a computer would exist elsewhere in the Universe," Jonah couldn't help but comment.
"If you ask me, it's more unbelievable that you humans have computers," Glossaryck replied.
"And what's that supposed to mean?" Jonah raised an eyebrow as he dared Glossaryck to come up with an answer.
"Heh heh. Let's just say that your boys Steve Jobs and Bill Gates had a little help when they got started," Glossaryck said, clearly unwilling to elaborate even further on the matter as he allowed the screen to dissipate. "Look, kid, the point is that that app on your phone gives you the ability to summon Demons and make contracts with them. All you have to do is open the thing up, browse through the list of Demons currently selling their services, and pick one. The program will take care of the rest!"
"Really? It's that simple?" Jonah asked, skeptical about the whole thing. "Because, from what I've heard, there's usually a catch to this sort of deal."
"Well, there is," Glossaryck freely admitted as he helped himself to some more JELL-O (just where he got it, Jonah didn't know.) "You see, Demons won't just let anyone form contracts with them. They're picky. They want to make sure the person they're hiring themselves out to has the strength of will to handle them. And the stronger the Demon, the higher their standards will be," Glossaryck then shoved another spoonful of JELL-O into his mouth. "Oh, and if you're not up to the task, they may end up killing you. So, something to consider."
Taking Glossaryck's words into consideration, Jonah began to flip through the DSP, trying to find a Demon good enough for him. It wasn't easy, though, as Jonah had some pretty high criteria that he wanted to fulfill. Besides the reasons that he'd given Glossaryck just now, Jonah had another motive, one that he loathed having to admit out loud: he needed someone to protect him.
Thus far, Jonah had used his alchemy skills in combat a few times, so he didn't have that much practice with performing it under pressure. His experiences, though, had taught him a few things. Performing alchemy required time to set up the transmutation circle, which would be hard to do in the middle of armed combat. Jonah had been working on a few ways to circumvent this flaw in his spare time, but he didn't have anything concrete yet. On top of that were the seconds it took to visualize what he wanted to make and touch the circle. Even a few seconds could mean the difference between life and death in a fight, and Jonah very much liked living. He could always ask Marcia to teach him some martial arts, but the idea of her holding it over him rather than the other way around irked him to no end. No, Jonah decided. The best thing to do was to find a Demon that would serve him.
After scrolling through the list of Demons willing to make contracts for a few moments, Jonah's eyes settled on one in particular. It was a giant, black-looking creature that seemed to be a cross between a snowman and an Imp. It wore black, pointed clogs with gold ribbons running around the ankles, a jagged purple collar that reminded him of the one on Kermit the Frog, and a purple cap with antennae shaped like lightning bolts pointing towards the back. Curious, Jonah clicked on the Demon's picture and read their name and profile: Black Frost.
"Hee ho! My name is Black Frost, the Great Ice Demon. I used to be a re-heely tiny little Demon called Jack Frost, but I trained myself to be super tough, ho! Now, I'm the strongest Ice Demon in the Underworld and can take even the mightiest fires. Currently, I'm seeking a pow-ho-ful master to serve and play with me."
Powerful, mischievous, and not afraid to let everyone else know it. He's perfect. Jonah made up his mind. "All right, Glossaryck. I think I found the Demon for me."
"Really? Oh, well, let's see." Glossaryck hovered on over next to Jonah and took a look at what he chose. Jonah wasn't entirely sure, but he could've sworn that some of the color on the blue man's face drained a little. "Oh, him. Yeaaahhh, I don't think that you should go with him for your first, kid."
"What's wrong? You don't think I can take him?"
"To be blunt, no, I do not," Glossaryck shook his head. "I've heard of this guy. Went from being a lowly ice imp to an unruly wild child. Not that many people can keep up with him, and when they don't, he usually leaves them frozen in blocks of ice."
"Well, aside from the ice thing, that sounds a lot like Comet, and I can keep up with him. How's this any different?"
"Fair point," Glossaryck conceded. "But I would like to remind you that you're still a regular Human boy, a people that aren't particularly well-known for being strong, fast, or smarter than anyone. And I don't think that your alchemy's gotten to the point where it can take him in a head-on fight."
"So I won't fight him head-on then. That's not really my style anyway."
"Look, kid, I get that you want to get stronger, but all I'm saying is-"
"Glossaryck," Jonah said, cutting him off. "I get that you're trying to look out for my well-being, but I think I've proven by now that I'm capable of fighting well above my weight class. Also, I never said anything about summoning him right away."
"Oh?" Glossaryck raised an eyebrow to this, genuinely curious about what the human boy was going to do.
"Let's just say that I'm the kind of guy who likes to stack the odds in my favor beforehand." Jonah then winked at Glossaryck. "If you'll excuse me, I've got to go get a few surprises ready for my future minion." And with that, Jonah began to walk away from Glossaryck, taking one of the blood bags he had brought with him.
As Glossaryck watched, Jonah began to make his way around the Junkyard, climbing atop piles of wrecked vehicles, crawling between cracks and metal canyons, and occasionally grabbing various materials and carrying them back to the statue. He then began to organize the materials into piles before placing them in different locations throughout the Junkyard. As he did so, Jonah periodically looked up at the sky as if he was trying to see something that wasn't there. Glossaryck didn't say anything, though. He just kept enjoying his pudding packs.
After an hour or so had passed, Jonah returned to Glossaryck with a satisfied look on his face.
"Alright. Let's do this thing."
Glossaryck shrugged his shoulders in indifference. "All right. But if you die, I'm not responsible for it."
"Don't worry," Jonah said with his trademark half-lidded smirk. "I won't die."
"Said everyone who then proceeded to do just that," Glossaryck dryly snarked. "Now, if you want to do this, all you have to do is click on the big guy's photo and just press the yes button."
"All right, then. Here goes." Jonah did as Glossaryck instructed. Once he'd pressed the button, the screen on his phone went black once more, only to have a single phrase appear on it.
"Peaceful days died. Let's survive."
Before Jonah could make sense of what was going on, a massive, black sphere of energy suddenly appeared in front of him! It crackled with power, and strange, red lightning emerged from its depths before arcing out in all directions. Then, just as soon as the bubble had appeared, it vanished. In its place was a very giant-looking Demon: Black Frost.
"HEE HO!" the ice Demon cried out to the heavens, seemingly overjoyed to be wherever he was.
"See, I told you that he was a wild one," Glossaryck said as he covered his earholes.
"Hee ho, at last, I have been summoned! Finally, I shall have someone powerful enough to pl-hee-y with me!" Black Frost joyfully shouted before beginning to look around at his surroundings. "Now, where I have been summoned to, ho?"
"Do you want a general idea or a specific location? Because I'm more than happy to provide you with both," Jonah called out to him. When his profile had said that Black Frost was giant, he wasn't kidding. He stood at about eight, nine feet tall, towering over Jonah. "Man, you are a giant, you know that?"
"Whoooo said that, heeee hoooo?" Black Frost wondered aloud. It would seem that he did not see Jonah at first.
"Right here, big guy. I'm standing right in front of you." Jonah waved his arms to let the Demon know of his presence. It worked as Black Frost craned his neck down to look at Jonah.
"And who might you be, hooo?" The giant inquisitively asked.
"Hey there," Jonah said in a very relaxed manner. "Name's Jonah Ordonia, aspiring alchemist and future demonic overlord," he introduced himself. "You are currently standing in the middle of a Junkyard in the sleepy town of Echo Creek, California, located in the dimension known as Earth. And it just so happens that I was the one who summoned you."
Black Frost narrowed his eyes as he looked at the boy. "You. You are Human."
"Last time I checked. However, some people think that I was a Demon in a past life. Why? Don't tell me you've got a problem with Humans."
"Noooo. It is just...I did not expect a Human to be the one who summoned me." the frost demon responded. "We had thought that your kind no longer needed our services."
"So you're familiar with us, then?"
Black Frost bobbed his giant head in affirmation. "Oh, yes. Hundreds of years ago, Humans were some of our best clients in the Universe. They would summon us to do all kinds of things. But then one day, the contracts stopped coming in. So we thought we were no longer needed and moved on to other beings."
"Understandable. We did tend to stop believing in magic and the supernatural after science became the guiding light of humanity." Jonah admitted. "But, as you can see, there are still those who wish to dabble in that which is arcane."
"Why have you summoned me, hee hoo?" Black Frost asked.
"To make a contract with you," Jonah said, getting right to the point. "Black Frost, I need demonic services, and I would like you to come work for me for the foreseeable future. You'll get to use your powers whenever I say so, and there are plenty of people for you to beat up." Jonah held out his hand. "So, are you interested?"
"Hmmm...nohooo, thanks!"
"No?"
"Sorry, ho, but I only work for the strongest of clients. And you? You are just a teenager. And a Human one, at that."
"But did you not just say that Humans were some of your kind's best clients hundreds of years ago?" Jonah was quick to point out.
"That was before you turned your back on us. Now you are all soft and squishy and easy to beat. No way will I sign a contract with a Human now, ho!"
Even though Jonah had anticipated being rejected, it stung his pride, nonetheless. However, Jonah Ordonia wasn't the kind to give up so easily. "All right, then. How about we play a little game?"
"A game?" Black Frost curiously asked.
"Yeah, a game. Let's play a game, just the two of us. And if I win, you have to form a contract with me. If you lose, then I'll admit I wasted your time, and you can go back to the Underworld."
"What did you have in mind?"
Jonah crossed his arms. "Well, since you're an ice Demon, I think that it's only appropriate that we play a game of freeze tag."
"Oooh! I love that game! It's one of my favorites because I always win!" Black frost clapped his hands. "But wait, won't it take a while for us to play that? I don't want to do that."
"No, no, see. That's the beauty of this game. All we have to do is tag each other one time," Jonah explained. "If I tag you once, then I win. But if you tag me before I can tag you, then you win."
"Oh, that makes things way easier!" Black Frost said. "You have yourself a deal, Human!"
Jonah smiled to himself. I've got him right where I want him, he thought as he mentally prepared himself for the fight that was to come. "All right then. And just so you know, we're both allowed to use any powers that we may have."
"Are you sure?" Black Frost asked, tilting his head. "Because I have awesome ice powers, and you're just a little Human. It won't be fun if I win right away."
"Trust me, Frosty: you won't. I'm not like a lot of other humans, and I've got plenty of fun tricks up my sleeve," Jonah said as he got into position to run. "Hey Glossaryck, you mind refereeing this to make sure it's a fair game?"
"Well, I normally don't do this, but what the heck." Glossaryck tossed his empty pudding cup aside before spinning around. When he had stopped spinning, his normal yellow robes were replaced with a ref's uniform. "All right. Now I want a good, clean game of tag. No outside help, no hiding, and no cheating. Understood?" Both Human and Demon nodded their heads. "All right, then. After I blow this whistle, let the game of freeze tag...BEGIN!"
"HEEEE HOOOO!" Black cried out as he charged towards Jonah, his one hand outstretched to reach him. But Jonah wasn't going to give the Demon a chance to do so. In fact, he wasn't going to let Black Frost get near him until he said so!
All right, here goes nothing. Jonah fished something out of his jacket pockets, producing a card with a transmutation circle on it. This was one of the ideas that he'd gotten after the contest in Symphonia. After using his own blood to make a transmutation circle, he realized how he made it from didn't matter. So long as he could consciously activate it, then it would work. And that gave him an idea. It took some doing, but he came up with cards with the circles already stamped on them. However, he never got the chance to see how well they'd fare in the field...until now.
Fortune favors the bold, Jonah thought as he slammed one of the cards down onto the ground. As he had hoped, the ink for the transmutation circle transferred into the ground. After that, all Jonah needed to do was tap the ring, and bam! A pillar of rock rose from the ground, sending Jonah into the sky, well above Black Frost's reach.
"Whoa-ho!" Black Frost said in awe. "I didn't know that Humans could do that!"
"Most of us can't. But since I've taken up alchemy, something like this is child's play!" Jonah boasted before using another transmutation card onto the pillar, converting it into a slope that he used to effortlessly slide down to the ground before breaking into a sprint. "Catch me if you can, Frosty!"
"Ohoo no, you don't!" the Demon said. "Taste my ice power!" On Black Frost's command, a pillar of ice shot up from under him, propelling him forwards as he began to chase the kid into the Junkyard.
"Well, this is going to be fun," Glossaryck said in amusement.
Jonah ran through the maze of cars and metals of the Echo Creek Junkyard as fast as he could. He felt confident in his ability to best the frost Demon, but he needed to keep one step ahead of him to do so.
Most people didn't know this due to his lack of notable muscles, but Jonah was in fairly good shape. Yeah, he lifted weights in gym class, but that was to get a good grade more than anything. His real physical prowess lay in the arts of parkour and free-running. It was part of why he had a reputation of being able to appear and disappear so quickly. And right now, he was grateful for it because it helped him keep his distance from Black Frost.
Black Frost continued to chase after Jonah throughout the Junkyard, blasting various icy attacks at the teenager, laughing the whole time. At first, they started out small, with snowballs and little ice cubes meant to stun him and slow him down. But Jonah knew the area like the back of his hand and wasn't afraid to use that to his advantage. He would duck behind the metal wrecks, climb on the more stable piles of cars, and would do just about everything to stay out of reach.
"Yeah! This is fun, ho!" Black Frost, clearly enjoying himself as he followed Jonah deeper into the Junkyard. He was laughing most of the time confirmed to Jonah that the Demon wasn't taking this as seriously as he should have. As far as Black Frost was concerned, he would win against this small Human, and that he could just enjoy himself.
Keep thinking that, big guy. It'll make it even better when I beat you, Jonah thought as he continued to lead the Demon amidst the car wrecks. Black Frost didn't realize it, but Jonah wasn't running the Demon: he was leading him. And as they passed the wreckage of an abandoned minivan, they just reached the first of the many traps Jonah had laid out.
Showtime. As Jonah dodged another blast of icy magic, he swung around to face Black Frost before tapping on the transmutation circle drawn from pig-goat blood that he made earlier. The circle activated, responding to his command, transforming the old car into a giant battering ram, complete with Jonah's smirking face that rocketed towards the ice Demon just as he was about to fire off another ice blast.
"What in the-OOOF!"
Caught off-guard, Black Frost was powerless to stop himself from slamming back into a pile of car chassis, knocking the wind out of him. Then, to make things worse, the ice spell he'd been preparing misfired, hitting the ground right under him, covering it in sheets of ice. As the giant Demon tried to pick himself up off the ground, he ended up slipping on the ice and falling flat on his face.
Jonah knew that he shouldn't, but he couldn't resist laughing at his opponent's misfortune. "Dude, you should see yourself right now. You look so silly!"
"Oh hooo, now you've done it, Human!" Black Frost cried out. Rather than try and stand up again, the Demon pushed back on the scrap pile behind him and, using his demonic powers, created a pillar of ice that sent him rushing forward like a bobsled.
"Oh, dang, that's cool!" Jonah said as he immediately resumed his strategic retreat plan, which is like running away, but manlier.
This scene continued to play out throughout the entirety of the Junkyard. Jonah would keep running ahead of Black Frost, dodging all of his attacks, activating the transmutation circles he had the foresight to put up beforehand, and then stunning Black Frost. And every time he did so, Black Frost seemed to alternate between wanting to get mad and laughing at what was happening.
Despite some reservations that Jonah was just pissing him off, the Demon seemed to be genuinely enjoying himself. Unfortunately, that also involved him stepping up his attacks, going from simply trying to throw snowballs and freeze Jonah in place to flat-out freezing his surroundings to make Jonah slip up. One time, he nearly succeeded, freezing the ground ahead of the teen and sending him careening towards another junkpile. Fortunately, Jonah used one of his cards to create a ramp that sent him soaring up to the top of the car piles. Then, he used another card to turn the junkpile into a pillar of metal that went barreling towards Black Frost. The Demon froze it to the point that it collapsed into little ice crystals, but Jonah was long gone.
At last, Jonah had reached a clearing in the northeastern portion of the Junkyard. There were no vehicles, though. Just the wooden fence that served as the limits of the Junkyard and piles of metal and glass laying about the place. Jonah paused and then looked up at the Sun in the sky. It was now hanging right above their location by this point in the day, with no clouds around to block it out or buildings to obscure it from view. Just as Jonah planned.
"HEE HO!" came the familiar cry of Black Frost as he lumbered through the Junkyard to catch up to Jonah. He was more than a little battered from Jonah's various uses of Alchemy, but he retained the same excited grin on his face. "You put up a good chase, Human! That was the most fun I've had in a while, but now there's nowhere left for you to run!"
"Then come and get me, big guy!" Jonah shouted, making no effort to run.
"I'M GONNA TAG YOU!" Black Frost cried as run straight for Jonah, his finger outstretched and pointing towards Jonah.
Perfect. Black Frost had fallen right into Jonah's trap. Had he bothered to look down at the ground, he may have noticed the faint outlines of a large circle in the dirt. And the moment that he stepped into its center, Jonah made his move. Without a second of hesitation, he slammed his hands onto the ground, activating the hidden transmutation circle! At once, the familiar red energy began to crackle from the ground as Jonah's trap finally came into play.
"Ho?" Black Frost looked around curiously, only now realizing that something was happening. Before he could figure it out, though, the ground beneath suddenly opened up into a gaping, black maw that immediately swallowed him! "HO!" Black Frost cried out in surprise as he proceeded to fall into a pit fifteen feet below.
"Wha-where am I?" Black Frost looked around in confusion, trying to process what happened to him. Then, he looked up to find Jonah standing at the edge of the pit, smirking down at him.
"You liked my little surprise, Frosty?" Jonah cheekily asked the Demon. "I made it just for you."
Black Frost laughed. "That was a good trick, Human. But this won't keep me stuck here for long. I can just use my powers to create a giant ice pillar and get out of here-ho!"
"Nah, I don't think you will. Know why? Because this is only one part of the surprise. The other part will be ready for you in about the next five seconds." Much to Black Frost's confusion, Jonah then disappeared from view. Then, the Demon heard that same crackling sound that always seemed to happen whenever he got hit by one of those strange attacks. By the time Jonah had returned, many odd metal pillars with glass lenses looked down at him.
"Surprise!" Jonah grinned. "I made you your very own heat ray!"
"A heat ray? What's that?"
"Oh, it's just an invention invented by some Greek dude a few thousand years ago," Jonah explained. "When his home came under attack from invaders one day, this brilliant old man got an idea on how to take care of them. Using only a set of giant mirrors and the power of the Sun, he was able to reflect them into a single location, letting him set fire to the enemy ships. Or maybe it blinded their crews and warped the ships enough to put them out of action. The point is, it made things really, really hot."
"Okay," Black Frost said, not understanding where this was going.
"And in case you haven't noticed, the Sun is at the perfect angle from which I can use its heat onto these mirrors and concentrate it onto its designated target: the pit that you happen to be standing in."
"Hee ho! Do you think that that can stop me? Ha! One of the first things I did was train myself to become immune to heat! This won't stop me!"
Jonah shrugged. "It may not be able to melt you, but I'm willing to put that to the test. Enjoy getting a tan, big guy." Jonah stood back and watched as his improvised heat ray began to Black Frost's pit into an open-air oven. Within moments, the heat of the Sun's rays began to take effect, with the giant snowman beginning to sweat.
"Ha ho! This is nothing to me!" Black Frost proclaimed. "I can just use my ice powers to bust out of here!" At his command, Black Frost created a pillar of ice to carry himself out of there...only for it to immediately melt into a puddle of water.
"Wha?"
"Oh, I forgot to mention: while I doubt that this thing can put you down for good, the same can't be said of the stuff you make out of your ice," Jonah casually told the Demon from his vantage point. "Keep trying to do that. You're liable to flood the pit with water. And when that happens, you'll be stuck in boiling water, which I doubt you'll like.
"Oh yeah? I'll show you!" And Black Frost continued to try and use ice to get out of the pit.
Spongebob Narrator: A few minutes later...
Just as Jonah predicted, the pit was now flooded with water that went up to Black Frost's stomach. And the excessive use of his ice powers was beginning to take its toll on the big guy. That, and the heat ray.
"Ho, it's no use. There's no way out of here," Black Frost lamented.
"Well, there is one way out," Jonah admitted.
"There is? Please tell me, ho!"
"It's simple, really: you let me tag you, and I'll get you out of there," Jonah smirked. This was his plan all along: put Black Frost in a position where he'd have to ask for help, forcing him to give up the game.
Black Frost sighed. He knew that there was no way out of this pit without humiliating himself even further. And, the Demon had to admit, this was pretty clever of the Human to pull off. "Okay," Black Frost said. "You win."
"Glad you could see things my way," Jonah called down. Using a jagged piece of metal to draw another transmutation circle in the dirt, Jonah used alchemy to create a series of steps to take Black Frost out of the pit. Reluctantly, Black Frost walked out...and walked right into Jonah's waiting finger.
"I win." Jonah simply said.
"AND, THAT'S GAME!" Glossaryck said, suddenly appearing out of nowhere. "Jonah Ordonia is the winner!"
"I can't believe that I lost to a Human," Black Frost lamented. However, his despondency didn't last long, as he quickly returned to his original, cheerful self. "But whatever. That was the most fun that I've had in a long time!"
"So, I take it that you're willing to make a contract with me?"
"Of course! You may be Human, but you're cunning enough to be a Demon!" Black Frost enthusiastically complimented the Human.
"Glad to hear that because I'm not your average, Human teenager," Jonah said. "I hang with magical royalty from other dimensions, I study alchemy and the unholy arts, fight Monsters regularly, and I plan on becoming a feared and respected ruler of my own dark dimension when I come of age," the boy proclaimed. "And now that I have you working for me, you'll get the privilege of seeing my rise to Universe-spanning infamy and helping me rule my future kingdom."
"But what do I get out of it? What's in it for me, ho?"
"Free frozen deserts. Ice cream, shaved ice, sundaes, gelato's, you name it. Or, if you're the kind who ironically enjoys hot and spicy foods, I can provide you with them, as well."
"Ohh! I love ice cream!" Black Frost happily said. "You've got yourself a deal, Human-no, boss!" Black Frost then held out his giant hand, which Jonah took with his own. As soon as he did that, a series of ribbons began to rope their way around the two's arms.
"And that signifies that the contract has been sealed," Glossaryck explained. "I gotta hand it to you, kid; I had my doubts that you could pull this off. But you proved me wrong."
"Well, like I said, I'm not what you call a regular Human being," Jonah reiterated. "Now then, what do you say that we celebrate our newfound partnership by heading home and making the biggest snowcones we can eat."
"We're in!" Glossaryck and Black Frost said, the two eagerly following Jonah back to his house for the promise of snowcones.
"This was so worth ditching school for," Jonah said as he walked out of the Junkyard, having taken another step towards his life goal of becoming a Demon King.
"So, what do you think Comet and his little friend are doing right now?" Glossaryck wondered aloud.
"Do you really care about, Glossaryck?"
"Not really, no. Now, let's go get several tubs of syrup and make some giant snowcones!"
"HEE, HO!" Black Frost cried in joy as he followed his new boss and the tiny blue man into the future.
And just like that, Jonah now has another minion to do his bidding.
When I first came up with the concept of this story, I knew that I wanted to make most of the Human characters more badass, and Jonah was at the top of that list. I set him up for greater power all the way back in Quest Buy, and now, we're finally starting to see the payoff to it.
Just don't expect him to regularly make contracts with Demons and start summoning them into battle at every chance he gets. That would make things too easy for the heroes, and that's no good for the story.
Now it's time to respond to
READERS Reviews
NightAroma-Okay, first off, I wouldn't say that Comet and Buff Frog have an understanding; Comet still thinks poorly of Monsters at this time. It's more like he's got no reason to fight him now that he's not working for Ludo anymore.
Also, I'm well aware of how my flashback story turned out, but it's also not the whole story. It's the abridged version and it's going to have a lot of holes in it and things glossed over. I intend to (hopefully) reveal more about the history of Mewmans and Monsters in the future. And just because Buff Frog says that the Monsters lived in relative peace doesn't necessarily true. They fought as much as anyone does. It's likely that they're remembering it as far better than it actually was because it serves as a reminder of what they had before the Mewmans came.
And no, it's not the gender-bent version of Solaria. It's someone else; still working on the details regarding that. Hopefully, I will be able to delve into the history of the early Dragonfly Kings in the future.
Also, you found a reference to The Last Airbender in this chapter, and I didn't even realize it? What was it? And I don't know how you guessed the plot of this chapter, but don't get cocky.
LockAndKey989-Lobster thing? Do you mean the reference to the "Lobster Claws" episode?
The Wandering Hippie-I'm glad you liked the flashback. I tried to balance the need for exposition with what was necessary for the plot. Also, you thought that what happened to Lars was too harsh? I just did what Mabel did to Grunkle Stan in Gravity Falls. Look up "Stan Wrong Song" on YouTube. It's hilarious!
You know what to do: fave and follow this story, and follow Jay on Twitter (JZ-Gaming), Insta (RJ Writing Ink), and YouTube (Jungoguy).
Okay, people, we're nearing the end of the first part of the story. Now, next week, because you guys won't let it go, Mewnipendence Day.