*In Jay's Workspace, we see that the entire area has been converted into a swamp, with all the plants and animals that go with it. And everyone who's currently watching the season finale to Comet vs. The Forces of Evil is now cosplaying as characters from the Disney Channel series, Amphibia. As for Jay himself, he's dressed up as a gender-bent version of the main protagonist of Amphibia, Anne Boonchuy*
Jay: The third season of Amphibia comes out tomorrow morning, and I had to put this in to promote it. That show deserves attention after what Disney did to it. Now, let's see what Comet's going to do to rescue Marcia.
In the Badlands of Mewni, just outside of Castle Avarius, a lone figure stood watch. For some time now, he'd been secretly observing the Castle and its inhabitants, trying to figure out what they were doing. However, the process had been going painfully slow thus far. With so little to be found in the Badlands, the Monsters rarely set foot outside the Castle. Besides, it was more efficient to use dimensional scissors to get anything they might need. Despite this, though, Buff Frog knew that he had to keep watching over the place where he once lived and worked. No matter how long it would take, he would learn what was happening in there.
Unfortunately for Ludo's former lieutenant and spymaster, today seemed to be yet another slow night. "Might as well return to camp," Buff Frog sighed before making the short trek back to the makeshift camp that he had set up. It was fairly modest and mainly consisted of things that he had either created himself or had acquired during his brief time on Earth. The weatherproof tent was barely large enough to accommodate his body, but it helped keep him safe from the elements. Nearby, there was a steadily crackling fire pit lay in the ground. Next to the hole were some utensils and food supplies from Earth, meant to supplement his diet during his long vigil. Sitting down on the log that he used as a makeshift bench, Buff Frog got out a can of beans from Earth and began to heat them over the fire.
"Still no idea what Toffee is planning," Buff Frog complained. Ever since he had returned from his brief time living on Earth, Buff Frog had made it his mission to watch over Castle Avarius. It was not out of loyalty to Ludo, though. Thanks to Toffee's meddling, any respect he had for his former leader had left the day he got fired. Rather, he continued to spy on the Castle because he knew that whatever Toffee was planning, it would be big. And somehow, it would end up affecting not just the Dragonflies but all of Mewni.
"What is that Septarian up to?" Buff Frog wondered aloud. From the moment Toffee had set foot in Castle Avarius, he had been suspicious of his motives. Whereas some would interpret it as him merely being jealous of being shown up by the intelligent lizard, there was more to it than that. While there were many species of the beings that the Mewmans had given the blanket term "Monsters," the Septarians were different from most of them. The Septarians were among the most feared beings to call Mewni home; fast, powerful, and intelligent to frightening degrees. The fact they rarely ever left the region that they now called home only heightened the sense of mystery and dread surrounding them. While most Mewmans were terrified of Monsters, other Monsters were terrified of the Septarians. The fact that one of them had ventured so far north and sought out Ludo did not spell anything good for anyone.
Thus, Buff Frog had watched over Ludo's Castle, trying to discover what Toffee had planned. At first, nothing of note happened. Then, about a month ago, Buff Frog's worst fears were confirmed when he saw his former comrades throw Ludo out and shut the gates behind him. Toffee had effectively usurped control of Ludo's army. As for Ludo, he kept pounding on the front gate for two days, demanding to be let back in. When that inevitably failed, though, the tiny Monster had proceeded to run off into one of the forests that dotted the Badlands. Buff Frog hadn't seen him since, not that he cared.
Just as Buff Frog was about to enjoy some of the beans, he was interrupted by a familiar voice as it climbed over a nearby hill.
"Oh, nyet," Buff Frog cursed his luck and wishing that it wasn't him. Sure enough, though, it was. There was Ludo, struggling up the hill, with a large, brown bag in tow. It was honestly pathetic to watch, yet Buff Frog continued to do so anyway.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Ludo managed to make it up the hill to where Buff Frog was camped before finally stopping, gazing up at his former lieutenant.
After a few more moments of awkward silence, Ludo finally said something.
"Hello, Buff Frog."
But Buff Frog didn't even say anything. He outright refused to even acknowledge his former boss' existence.
"Buff Frog, I know that you heard me. I just want to talk."
"What is there to talk about, Ludo?" Buff Frog coldly told him. "I tried talking to you, and you didn't listen."
"I'm sorry!" Ludo said. "You were right about Toffee trying to sabotage me! Is that what you want to hear? You were right; I should've listened to you, blah blah blah," Ludo said in a very insincere tone before stomping his foot. "Now, I demand that you accept my apology and come back to work for me!"
"Nyet. Go away. I have bigger concerns now," Buff Frog said as he went back to eating his beans. "Toffee is planning something big, and I have to learn what."
"See? That right there; that's what I'm trying to do!" Ludo tried to point out. "Which is why we should team up, help me get back inside my Castle, and get rid of that stupid lizard! We need each other, Buff Frog!"
"Nyet!" Buff Frog said as he stood up to his full height, towering over Ludo. "You need me, Ludo. You needed me to do all your dirty work and steal Wand from Prince Comet because you couldn't. And even after all that I did for you for years, you still threw me out! I do not need you, Ludo!"
Ludo was taken aback. In all the time he had known Buff Frog, the Frogman had never spoken to him like this. He didn't know whether to be impressed or angry.
Correction. It just made Ludo angry.
"Buff Frog, please! I just want to talk!"
"Buff Frog is not even my name! Is just nickname everyone calls me."
"I know that," Ludo admitted. "I could just never pronounce your real name," he embarrassedly told him.
"You mean Yvgeny Bulgolyubov?"
"Yeah, that. I could never master the pronunciation, so I gave up on it."
"Like you gave up on me?"
"Oh, come on!" Ludo groaned before finally moving for the brown sac that he had with him. "Look, At least let me buy back your friendship. Trust me, you're going to love this," he said as he motioned towards the bag, which began to wriggle and move, prompting Ludo to punch it. "Quiet, you!"
Seeing that Ludo wasn't going to give up anytime soon, Buff Frog reluctantly decided to let him stick around until he went back to his observation.
"Fine. But whatever is in there will not make me help you."
"Trust me, it will."
At first, Comet didn't say a word after stepping out of the portal and onto Mewman soil. Under better circumstances, he might have celebrated or made some sort of big, grandiose entrance that would irritate his relatives and make his friends laugh or playfully roll their eyes. After all, save for the impromptu day trip he took the Diaz family on, this was the first time he had set foot in his home dimension since he had gotten his Wand. At that moment, though, Comet didn't feel like celebrating. Not when he knew that Marcia's life was in danger.
That, and the fact that the Badlands of Mewni had to be amongst the dreariest and desolate places he'd ever seen.
As soon as he heard the portal close behind him, Comet tapped his earpiece. "Check check, one-two. Jonah, can you guys hear me on the other end."
After less than a second of delay, Jonah's voice came crackling over the radio. "Yeah, Comet. We can hear you just fine on our end. The camera's also working perfectly. We've got a full visual on your TV."
"TV? I thought you were using your laptop?"
"We are. But our resident Einstein thought it would be better if everyone could see it, so he hooked up my laptop to the TV you have in your room."
"We're all super jealous of that, you know!"
"Alfonso? How can I hear you?" Comet asked in confusion.
"Oh, yeah. I found some extra communicator-earpiece things, so I gave them to everyone so they could talk to you."
"Hey, Comet!" Came the friendly voice of Ferguson on the other side. "We may not be there in person, but we still got your back!"
"Make that little birdman pay for trying to hurt Marcia, Comet!" Brittney told him.
"And please bring our little girl home!" Came the voice of Mr. Diaz.
"Yeah, Marcia's parents are here as well," Jonah clarified. "If things start to go south, they're to use your mirror and call your parents right away."
"Mr. Diaz, you have my word that I will bring Marcia back in one piece. Ludo is going to regret trying to hurt her," Comet said, his voice containing a hint of cold seriousness in it as he headed towards Castle Avarius.
"So this is Mewni, huh?" Ferguson's voiced came over the radio once more. "It's not what I was expecting."
"Yeah, this place sucks," Karla couldn't help but say as she watched on the TV.
"That's because we're not in my family's official kingdom," Comet explained to everyone. "We're in the Badlands to the northeast of the Dragonfly Kingdom. Just north is the Jaggy Mountains, and to the south, we have the Forest of Certain Death. Each of them has its own challenges, but the Badlands probably has it the worst. The mountains keep any rain from coming in, and the predators from the Forest make trading for supplies dangerous."
"I think I'm starting to see why the Monsters are so driven to conquer Mewni," Jackson grimly noted. "I wouldn't want to live out here."
"Alright, enough with the commentary, you guys," Jonah said, getting everyone back on track. "Comet, you're the expert on Mewni here. How long until we make it to Ludo's Castle?"
"Well, this is the first time that I've ever been this far out into Monster territory," Comet admitted. "But from what I remember from some maps of Mewni, I should be about two miles from Castle Avarius. Give or take."
"That doesn't sound very reassuring, Comet," Jackson told him. "You're taking a huge gamble heading into their territory. What if the locals spot you and run off to warn Ludo?"
"What part of 'Badlands' did you not understand, Jackson?" Comet said in response. "I mean, there used to be a few villages around these parts after Castle Avarius was built, but after they fell out of power, everyone packed up and left." As if to emphasize this point, the camera on Comet's clothes showed everyone back on Earth images of abandoned huts and barren farms, now rotting in the dull environment.
"Yeesh," Jonah said over the radio. "So, what's the plan to get inside the Castle and rescue Marcia? I mean, you have to have a plan, right?"
...
...
...
"You don't have a plan, do you, Comet?"
"I have a plan, Jonah. Part of a plan...12% of a plan," Comet sheepishly admitted.
"Comet..."
"Okay, I was going to go in guns blazing, rescue Marcia, then level the place! You happy?!"
"Comet, that is not a plan. That is just you being reckless," Alfonso bluntly told him.
"In case you guys haven't noticed, that has worked for me in the past. And it will work for me-hold up." Comet then darted behind a rock, much to the confusion of everyone who was monitoring back home.
"Comet, what's going on? Talk to me, buddy," Jonah asked over the radio.
Comet peered out from behind the rock once more, wanting to make sure his eyes and emotions weren't playing tricks on him. Sure enough, they were not. Standing in the middle of the Badlands was none other than the Monster he sought, Ludo.
"Ludo..." Comet's body began to tremble. His voice shook with anger as he saw his hated enemy out in the open. Up until now, Comet had treated Ludo as a pain in the ass. But after going after Marcia? That was enough to make something inside of Comet snap. And when everyone back on Earth saw why, they guessed what was about to happen next.
"Comet, wait! Don't go charging in there!" Ferguson said, making a futile effort to get through to him.
"YAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Comet screamed as loudly as he could as he dove out from his hiding place like a bull and headed straight towards Ludo.
"JUST LOOK IN THE BAG, BUFF FROG!" Ludo yelled, stomping his feet like a child throwing a tantrum.
"No," Buff Frog said for the umpteenth time. "No matter how many times you ask me, Ludo, I will not look, and I will not come back to work under you."
"CORN-DAMN IT, BUFF FROG! I AM YOU-wait, wait? Do you hear that?"
The two Monster's argument was then suddenly disrupted when they heard screaming coming from the distance. Then, out of nowhere, Comet Dragonfly himself appeared in front of them, with a look of unbridled fury on his face.
"Come here, Ludo," Comet growled, almost like he was possessed by a Demon.
"Wait, I'm confused. Why is Comet Dragonfly he-gahh!" Before the little birdman could hope to finish, he found himself violently yanked from his feet by Comet and held in one hand by the Prince, whose anger only seemed to intensify.
"Where. Is. Marcia?" Comet repeated slowly and with emphasis, making sure that his enemy understood what he was saying. "Tell me where she is!"
"Who?" Ludo managed to squeak out. Not only was Ludo a pretty bad boss, but he also wasn't good at remembering the names of his enemies.
This only made Comet even angrier, as he proceeded to slam Ludo headfirst onto the nearby log before aiming his Wand at his beaked face at almost point-blank range. "Marcia Ulberta Diaz! About my height, brown hair, cute mole on her left cheek, wears red, and my best friend! NOW TELL ME WHERE SHE IS, OR THIS WAND WILL BE THE LAST THING YOU'LL EVER SEE!"
"I-I don't know who that is, I swear!" Ludo said as he began to squirm and panic at the sight of a raging Comet pinning him down. The two had fought each other several times in the past, but this was different. The look of pure wrath on Comet's face was enough to frighten the little Avian like nothing else ever had. For a moment, Ludo was terrified that Comet may actually try to kill him right then and there.
Fortunately for Ludo, Buff Frog, while still unwilling to help his former boss, was equally reluctant to see him die right in front of him. "He is talking about karate girl, Ludo! Now just tell him what he wants to know!"
"I swear, I have no idea where your friend is! I haven't made a move on any of them in weeks! Honest!"
"And why should I believe you, Ludo? How many times have you tried to kill my friends and me and take this Wand for yourself? Unless you want to see another sunrise, then I demand that you tell me where Marcia is!" The glow from Comet's Wand only began to get even brighter at this point.
"Comet, stop! He's telling the truth!" a female voice cried out, making Comet stop what he was doing as he tried to process this.
"Brittney?"
"Brittney's right, Comet," another voice, this time Jonah, called out to him on the other end of the radio. "Ludo doesn't know anything."
Comet just got confused at this point. "How-how do you guys know he's not lying?"
"Hey, when you get good enough at it, you tend to tell when someone's telling the truth or lying," Jonah said. His ability to lie and tell who was lying to him had gotten him out of a lot of trouble over the years. Hell, some of the stuff he got away with could've landed him in Juvie.
"When you spend your life surrounded by people trying to butter you up, you tend to figure out their ulterior motives," Brittney sadly said. "I'm surprised that you didn't realize that."
As soon as Brittney had said those words, Comet realized what he had just been about to do and then felt very ashamed of himself. He may hate Ludo, but he didn't have the heart to kill him. Reluctantly, he released his hold on Ludo and backed away.
As for those monitoring the situation in Comet's room, they breathed a collective sigh of relief. Even Jonah!
Sensing that the crisis had been averted, Buff Frog nervously began to walk closer to Comet. The last time the two had met, they had been on neutral terms. Still, the Frogman did not want to risk provoking the currently volatile young man even further. "Prince, what is all this about? What happened to karate girl?"
Comet let out a heavy sigh. He still didn't trust Monsters, but considering how Buff Frog had helped them with the rollerblade relay race when he had no reason to, he should at least tell him.
"Earlier today, Marcia was kidnapped by a group of Monsters, and she's being held hostage as we speak. One of them told me that if I ever wanted to see her alive again, then I should come to Castle Avarius." Comet then turned back to glare at Ludo, who couldn't resist trying to reach for the Wand in his pocket, who gave his best shit-eating grin before wisely deciding to take a step back. "Since it was one of your guys and they told me to come to your Castle, I figured you were behind all of this."
Ludo scowled at the mention of his former men and now-lost Castle. "I wish I could take credit for all that warnicorn shit that you're accusing me of, Dragonfly," Ludo said as he pouted on the ground. "Bringing that stupid friend of yours back to my Castle would've made so much more sense the first time around-"
"Wait, when did you-?"
"But it's not me this time, you little brat!" Ludo continued to rant. "And in case you haven't noticed by the fact that I'm hanging around out here, that place over there-" Ludo then pointed in the direction of Castle Avarius, "-Is no longer my Castle!" At the mention of this, Ludo then became crestfallen. "Those ungrateful jerks threw me out after the whole Mewnipendence Day debacle. After all that I did for them, they decided to side with...him!" Ludo practically spat out that last word.
"But who is 'him', Ludo? None of this is making any sense!" Comet complained as he felt his frustration begin to reach new levels. "If you weren't the one who kidnapped Marcia, then who was it?"
"I know who," Buff Frog told the boy with a grim look on his face. "Toffee," he said as he narrowed his eyes.
"Toffee?" Comet repeated, trying to make sure he heard Buff Frog right. "Okay, first of all, who in the Seven Hells is that? Second of all, why is he named after a dessert?"
"Oh, you wanna know who Toffee is, do you?" Ludo said as he started getting worked up again. "I'll tell you who he is: he's a lying, backstabbing, piece of mouth muck! He'll fill your head with promises of greatness and power, but the first chance he gets, BAM! He'll take everything from you! That's who Toffee is!"
"That did not explain anything, birdman," Comet said as he looked at the angry little Monster. "Buff Frog?"
"Toffee was new advisor that Ludo hired," Buff Frog explained. "Very intelligent and cunning. He came up with plans to take your Wand at the concert-"
"I knew Ludo was too stupid to come up with that on his own! Ha!" Jonah gloated over the radio.
"-And during field trip to crazy museum dimension," Buff Frog continued. "And, it seems, whatever happened on Mewnipendence Day," he noted. "Even though he claimed to be working for Ludo, I had suspicions about him. Comes with the profession of being a spy. But before I could do anything, Toffee undermined plans in Museum Dimension, keeping me from giving Wand to Ludo when I had the chance."
"So that's why you started panicking in the Dimension of Wonders and Amazement!" Comet exclaimed. "Toffee sabotaged you so that he could get you fired."
"I have to admit, I'm a little bit impressed," Jonah commented once more.
"And after the whole Mewnipendence Day Massacre, he somehow talked my Monsters into mutinying against me!" Ludo complained. "I've been stuck out here for weeks trying to get by as I figured out a way to get back inside my Castle," Ludo said as he got up and walked towards the brown sack. "And that's why I brought these," he told the two as he opened up the bag, revealing it to contain...
"Tadpoles?!" Comet said in astonishment.
Sure enough, the brown burlap sack was filled with numerous little emerald green tadpole eggs. Inside the eggs were simple black blobs with wide, button-eyes looking back up at the adult.
It was enough to make most of the people watching at Marcia's home go "Awww!" While Jonah just went, "Cool."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. They're cute, adorable, and whatnot," Ludo said. "And do you know how hard it was to get them here?!"
Under normal circumstances, Comet's love of all things cute and adorable would've overwhelmed him on the spot. However, he had two far more pressing matters that he had to concern himself with. Firstly, he had to get to Castle Avarius and rescue Marcia. And secondly-
"Okay, but why is his name Toffee?" Comet asked aloud, but Ludo wasn't paying attention, and neither was Buff Frog. The latter was too busy looking awestruck at the bag of baby tadpoles.
"Ludo gave me babies," Buff Frog said in a very soft tone of voice as he gushed over the little ones.
Seeing as how the two weren't going to be of any further help, Comet finally lost patience. "Screw this! I'm done!" he said before walking off.
This was finally enough to get Ludo to stop complaining about how it took a whole day of dragging the babies back to Buff Frog's camp to notice that his arch-enemy was leaving. "W-wait, wait. Where the corn are you going?"
"To get Marcia back! You're not even worth my time!" Comet said as he continued to head towards Castle Avarius.
"First of all, am I suddenly not good enough for you anymore because I lost my army, resources, and base of operations," Ludo asked, indignant. "Second of all, wait for me!" Ludo then made to catch up to Comet, only to be stopped by the sound of Buff Frog clearing his throat. "Oh, so now you want to talk to me?"
"Ludo," Buff Frog said as he held the tadpoles in his arms, looking happy as he did so. "I-I wanted to say thank you. For giving me the gift of fatherhood..."
Ludo groaned. He really didn't have time for this. "It wasn't a gift, you idiot! It was a bribe. I stole those tadpoles from an orphanage so that I could bribe you with them," he bluntly told the Frogman. "I buy back your loyalty with these little ones, then you'll be like, 'Oh, Ludo, master, how can I ever repay you?' And I'd be all like, 'You can start by getting back inside my Castle, throwing Toffee out, and re-assert my dominance over my army.' And then you'd go and punch Toffee and throw him over the gate and probably ruin that suit of his. It was the perfect plan!" Ludo explained. "But now Comet's here, and I don't need you anymore, so later!"
With that, Ludo sped off in the direction of Comet, leaving Buff Frog alone with the tadpoles.
"Uggh," Buff Frog groaned. He didn't like Ludo, and he only tolerated Comet, but he knew that whatever Toffee was planning couldn't be good for anyone, Mewman or Monster. And those two were the best chance he had at stopping him. "Let's go, babies. We must help out idiots," Buff Frog said as he followed in the pair's wake.
Marcia Ulberta Diaz, what have you gotten yourself into?
What had Marcia gotten herself into, exactly? Not even she knew, beyond the simple fact that she was in big trouble. All she knew was that she was:
In a vaguely gothic, aristocratic style banquet hall in an unknown location.
She was stuck inside a giant glass cage with her wrists strapped down to a swivel chair.
She was surrounded by a bunch of Ludo's Monsters!
In short, it was like a repeat of the time she and Aqua got held hostage in a warehouse by Ludo that one time. The big difference between then and now was that none of her friends likely knew where she was or that she was in trouble. In other words, she was officially in the deep end without any water wings.
How the heck did this happen? Marcia wondered as she thought back to the events that she assumed led to her predicament...
"WELCOME TO THE CLUB, PAL!" Marcia shouted from inside her bedroom, making sure that Comet could hear what she was saying, but that did little to help with her frustration at her roommate. Feeling the need to vent, Marcia walked to the center of her bedroom and took a fighting stance before wordlessly practicing her karate techniques.
This was something that Marcia did whenever she was really pissed off. Part of being a martial artist was learning to control your emotions, lest they harm you and those around you. At the same time, Marcia was wise enough to understand that there were moments when keep your emotions in check was impossible. So, over the years, she came up with various methods to deal with negative feelings productively. She would meditate until her head felt clear. Beating the shit out of enemies in video games, while not the most productive, always left her feeling good afterward (especially when she imagined all the enemies having Jeremy Birnbaum's face!) And when she felt the overwhelming urge to punch something? She would practice her karate.
Despite her attitude at times, Marcia could be very imaginative. She would close her eyes and picture herself fighting someone she was mad at and try to visualize how every kick, every strike, and every blow would hurt them. However, today, the person she imagined she was fighting was Comet. And Marcia knew that that wasn't healthy.
She didn't care. She was too mad at Comet at that moment. In her mind, the way he acted earlier that die was the worst possible version of Comet. The one that was proud, inconsiderate of danger, and thought that he was invincible. But Marcia knew better: arrogance could topple the mightiest of giants. She had hoped that he had learned that after Mewnipendence Day, but it turns out that that lesson was short-lived!
"Why do you have to be like this, Comet?" Marcia grunted as she continued punching the air, imagining that she was hitting an overly cartoonish version of her best friend in his smug face. "I'm only doing this because someone has to look out for you when you're too busy to look out for yourself!" She cared deeply for the guy, but sometimes he made it so hard to do so.
By now, Marcia had been venting for the last half-hour or so and had worked a little sweat. But she felt no need to do anything about it for once since she was too pissed off to leave her room. "You may be tough, Comet, but sometimes, you're not as strong as you think you are!" she muttered to herself as she got out of her fighting stances. "I just wish that something would happen that would make him realize that!"
"That can be arranged."
Instantly, Marcia's senses went on high alert. There was an intruder in her bedroom, and what's worse, she had no idea how they got there! Quickly, Marcia proceeded to scan her bedroom for the unknown intruder. But before she could find them, though, she heard a loud *THWACK*, accompanied by a powerful, stinging sensation to the back of her neck.
"What...in the...?" Marcia was out like a light before she even hit the ground. All she ever saw was a black suit.
When Marcia woke up, she found herself in her current situation, much to her confusion. After that, she spent the better part of the next five minutes trying to bust out of her restraints. That, however, proved to be a relatively futile use of her energy. The clamps that held her wrists in place were too strong to break. Plus, she couldn't move her chair around; the damn thing was welded to the floor of her cell. And even if she somehow got free, she'd still be trapped in a cage with no discernable windows or doors and surrounded by Monsters that would be more than happy to pay her back for all the beatdowns she gave them. So, she gave up, decided to play the long-term game, and sat in silence, glaring at everyone in the room as she waited for an opportunity to present itself.
While she was looking at all of Ludo's Monsters, though, there was one in particular that caught her attention. At the end of the banquet table sat a Monster that she wasn't familiar with. He was tall, reptilian in appearance, with concrete-gray skin and piercing yellow eyes. Given how he was wearing a black suit and tie, Marcia quickly deduced that he was the one who attacked her. So, for the last several minutes, Marcia had been silently looking at him, trying to study him while the other Monsters went about the room. At some point, she wasn't sure when, the lizard noticed that she was looking at him.
"You're not going to even make an effort of escaping?" the Monster said, smirking in amusement as he did so.
That smirk alone was enough to tell Marcia what kind of being she was dealing with: he was intelligent and dangerous. Far more dangerous than any of the other foes she'd faced since meeting Comet. The look in his eyes was enough to nearly make a chill run down Marcia's spine. However, the girl refused to let her fear overtake her or intimidated by this lizard-man.
"I've got nothing to say to one of Ludo's flunkies," Marcia said, returning the lizard's smirk with a glare.
"Wrong on that account, little human," Beard Deer said as he, Boo Fly, and Bearicorn approached her cell. "In case you haven't noticed, Ludo's out."
"Out?" Marcia inquired.
"Azz in, we threw him out," Boo Fly clarified with a grin on his labella. "We don't take orderzz from him anymore."
"Yeah. Now we follow our new boss, Toffee," Bearicorn said as he gestured towards the lizard sitting at the dining table.
Marcia then looked at the Monsters and then at the lizard that they called Toffee...and proceeded to burst out laughing, much to their confusion.
"What's so funny, brat?" Beard Deer demanded to know.
"I'm sorry, but Toffee? You're telling me that your new leader, the guy that looks like a lizard version of the guy from American Psycho, is named Toffee. After the type of candy? I'm sorry, but that is just so lame!"
"Why, you little-!" Beard Deer was very much tempted to break open the girl's cell and strangle her for that comment.
"No, no," Toffee cooly said, raising the hand that was missing his finger. "Do not let her get to you. She is merely trying to anger us in the hopes that we may slip up. Besides, I've heard all manner of jokes about my name."
"You're smarter than the rest of them, I see," Marcia said, complimenting the lizard. "But that still doesn't matter. I know that you're after the Wand. You're not going to succeed, though. Lots of people have tried and failed to get that Wand from Comet, and we've kicked their asses. It won't be any different this time."
"We'll see," Toffee merely said, his face like a stone mask.
"Look, what you're doing is not original, you know. Ludo already tried taking me hostage to lure out Comet, and that didn't work. Comet didn't even have to show up, as everyone here can testify."
"I still have nightmares about what that demon child did to us," Beard Deer said with the thousand-yard stare on his face.
"When Comet and my other friends come, and they will," Marcia confidently said, "They will beat you all to a pulp and then have you for dessert," she pointed an index finger at Toffee.
"Well, that's a new one," Toffee admitted but otherwise did not acknowledge what she said. "However, I am well aware that the Prince will come here. And when he does, we will be ready to greet him," he gestured to all the Monsters, who got wicked grins on their faces.
Marcia fell silent for the next few moments, seeing that she wouldn't get any more information out of them. Then, she finally spoke up again. "You know, I understand why you're doing this."
"Huh?" one of the Monsters (she thinks it was Lobster Claws) asked.
"I said, I understand why you guys are doing all of this," Marcia said once more, much to the Monsters' confusion. "Why you guys are so desperate to get the Wand. It's because you see it as the means to provide a better life for yourselves and others like you."
"BAWK! BAWK BAWK BA-GAWK!" Big Chicken loudly clucked, much to Marcia's confusion.
"Oh, he sayzz 'and what makezz you think that human?' or something like that," Boo Fly translated.
"Because, a few weeks ago, I happened to run into your old pal, Buff Frog." At the mention of their former comrade, the Monster's ears (or whatever they had for audio sensory input) began to perk up. It had not been mentioned at the time, but part of why the Monster's mutinied against Ludo was out of payback for firing Buff Frog. His experience and cool head had made him well-respected among Ludo's minions, and seeing their boss fire him despite his efforts in the museum dimension had embittered Ludo to his followers. The failure of Mewnipendence Day may have been what pushed them over the edge, but the departure of Buff Frog had been what set them on that path.
"Buff Frog told me the basics of what happened to you guys: how you were driven from your homes, hunted down by the Mewmans like animals, and treated little better than dirt," Marcia explained. "He told me everything. And I felt...bad for you guys. I felt sorry for all that happened to you."
"You pitied us?" Bear Deer asked, incredulous. "What in the Seven Hells gives you the right to pity us?!" He yelled at her while banging on the glass of her cell, not caring if he bruised his hands while doing so.
"Because I understand what it's liked to be treated like garbage for being different from everyone!" Marcia cried out, taking the Monsters aback. "You think that you're the only ones who have been persecuted simply for existing? Well, you're not! Humans have done that to each other for longer than anyone can remember!" she said, shaking with frustration.
"I've lost count of how many times humanity has turned on itself, killing each other for the most ridiculous of reasons. My country alone has had a problem with racism since day one!" she said, not caring if she was letting herself get worked up. "For hundreds of years, my country would bring people from another continent over on ships in chains and sold them into slavery. And even after they were all freed, they were still treated as lesser than everyone else, while the ones in charge let it happen until it was finally changed. And even after all this time, their descendants are still fighting to be treated with basic decency!"
Marcia thought that she should stop but found herself unable to do so. "And you weren't the only ones who got driven from their homes by newcomers. People lived on my country's land for thousands of years, and like you guys, they came close to losing everything. They were driven from their homes, forced onto shitty land, and left to rot there. And don't even get me started on the genocide of minorities," she said as images of the Holocaust flashed through her mind. "So people have died from deliberate attempts to wipe out entire groups that if you piled them all together, the bodies would form a mountain. A literal mountain."
"And I'm not just saying all of this because I learned about it in some book. I've personally experienced that kind of treatment," Marcia said as some very dark memories from her childhood began to bubble to the surface. "Because my Dad moved to our home from another country, some people hated him for no other reason than for existing. And since I take more after him than my Mom, some people may treat me the same way," she sadly admitted. "Do you know what it's like to walk down the street and have some random kids sneer at you, call you names, and tell you to 'go home?' Or what it's like when the adults who should be stopping that behavior not only let it happen but even join in on it? It's a horrible experience, especially when you're still a little kid who doesn't understand why they're doing it."
Marcia slumped into her chair, feeling exhausted all of a sudden. "I understand what it feels like when the world seems out to get you simply for existing. That's why you're doing this. Because you think that getting your hands on Comet's Wand is your only way of making a better life for yourselves." The Monsters then looked saddened at what the girl said. "But all you're doing is proving the Mewmans right and making things worse. Maybe instead of doing that, you should be working on proving them wrong. Because, otherwise, this is only going to end when one side wipes the other out."
The assembled Monsters didn't really know what to make of Marcia's plea. Everything that she said managed to hit very close to home for a lot of them. Many of them had grown up on the streets or in poverty, having to fight and steal to survive. And that was not counting all the hatred they got from the Mewmans. It was a hard life that none of them wanted, but none of them knew what else they could hope to do.
Whereas the other Monsters were moved, though, Toffee was not. Instead, he stood up from his chair and calmly approached the cell.
"Are you finished, little girl?" Toffee condescendingly asked her. "Let me make one thing clear: you may think that you understand our plight and know what it is like for us and what we have to endure. But you do not. Because despite all you say, despite the difference in your skin color, you still look like the other Humans. At the end of the day, you are still Human and thus have that in common with other Humans. We, on the other hand, lack even that luxury. No matter where we go, no matter what we do, we will always stand out. We will always draw the eyes of people on the streets," Toffee then pressed a button that created a door on the cage, allowing him to walk inside towards Marcia. "At the end of the day, we will always be what we've been called for the last thousand years: Monsters."
At this point, though, Marcia wasn't listening. She was putting her plan into action.
Marcia had a secret hidden on her, one that not even Comet or Jonah knew about her. Following the incident at Stg. Oleg's, Marcia thought that it would be a good idea to keep her lockpicking tools on her at all times. So, she had modified the cuffs on her shirts and created a secret pouch where she could keep her lockpicking tools. The entire time that she had been sitting in silence, she had actually been at work on her locks. It took some doing, especially since she couldn't move her arms, but she had been able to unlock her restraints. She had just been feigning like she gave up to let everyone's guards down and then lure one of them inside so that she could escape.
As soon as Toffee opened the door and stepped inside to face her, Marcia took her chance. She leaped out of her chair and proceeded to throw an uppercut at Toffee's snout. After she had stunned him, she would bolt out of the cell, then use her superior skill and agility to outrun the guards and escape the Castle.
Much to her surprise, though, her punch never connected with Toffee's face. Right before it would've hit, she felt her fist meet his palm, blocking it entirely.
"A poor decision." Something in Toffee's tone of voice was enough to draw Marcia's attention. That's when she saw the dark gleam in his eyes and a subtle, predatory look on his face.
Oh no, Marcia realized too little, too late that her assessment of Toffee had been correct: he was dangerous.
As Marcia tried to force her fist forward, Toffee looked like he didn't care, only to begin putting up greater pressure on the hand blocking hers. At first, it wasn't much. But suddenly, the pressure started to increase exponentially. Then, in the span of a few seconds, Marcia heard a snapping sound, followed by a sharp pain traveling up her arm towards her brain. Toffee had managed to fracture the knuckles in her fist with his bare hands!
Marcia didn't have long to worry about the state of her hand, though. In another second, the girl felt an even worse pain coming from her chest, a pain so great, it knocked the air out of her lungs. All Marcia could do was look down and see that Toffee had used his free hand to deliver a devastating punch to her gut, leaving her reeling.
Toffee wasn't done, though. All Marcia could remember happening next was a sharp pain running up and down her stomach. It took all of her willpower to keep from crying out in agony as she fell to the floor. As the girl took short, rapid breaths and tried to steady herself, she touched her stomach with her uninjured hand, only to find three horizontal slash marks in her shirt. Worse, she found her hand to be caked in blood.
Marcia then looked up at Toffee, who stood over her like a predator sadistically watching its prey take its last breath. "Don't worry. You won't die from that. But if you attempt to escape again, you may not be so fortunate," he told her. His voice was cold, but the way he spoke sent shivers down Marcia's spine.
This guy...he's nothing like Ludo, Marcia thought through the pain. It was so unbearable that she didn't hear what he said next. It was something about the treachery of Mewmans and those who looked like them, how Marcia used fake sympathy in an attempt to escape, etc. It was enough to make Marcia wince; why she was trying to escape, nothing she said was a lie. Not that that mattered to Toffee, though, who was now exiting the cell. This time, Marcia didn't even try to escape; she was in too much pain to do so. As he left, though, Marcia somehow found the strength to talk:
"Why me?" she asked. "Why take me and not grab anyone else. Or just take Comet outright?"
"It's simple, really: I've been watching you and the Prince for some time now," Toffee told her. "While it is true that he has made numerous friends in his time on Earth, you, alone, stand out amongst them. The two of you are nigh inseparable, doing everything together. You are, without a doubt, the most important person in Prince Dragonfly's life right now. He'll do anything to protect his friends, but from what I have seen, the mere threat of doing harm to you is enough to make the child take leave of his senses."
"Oh no," Marcia thought as a realization dawned on her.
"Oh yes," Toffee told her. "That boy is incredibly powerful. Far more powerful than someone of his kind deserves to be. But he is also reckless, especially when those he cares about are in danger. That is why he will come here, his heart full of rage, trying to save your life. To put it simply, you are the fire that feeds Comet's anger. And before tonight is done, that fire will consume him."
"And then what?" Marcia asked as she fought through the pain. "What's your endgame?"
"My endgame is the same as all Monsters: the destruction of Mewni and the end to the Dragonfly Family." Toffee didn't even look back at her as he said this, exiting the cell. "Oh, and don't bother trying to break out of here. This prison is made from magically reinforced crystals. Not even your friend Comet would be able to break it." And on that note, the door closed behind him, leaving Marcia sitting on the floor of her cell in pain.
Marcia's hand hurt. She was certain that Toffee had fractured the bones in her hand. At the very least, he had sprained or tore a muscle in them, making healing it a pain. Her more immediate concern, though, was the claw marks on her stomach. With her remaining hand, she gingerly touched the wounds, wincing as she did so. They were still bleeding, but it was not as bad as before. In addition, the cuts were very shallow, piercing only a few layers of skin. Still, Marcia didn't want to run the risk of getting them infected or leaving a scar. Using her lockpicking tools, she tore off a portion of her shirt, hating having to do so. Then, she used the torn cloth as a makeshift bandage, wrapping it around her stomach to stop the bleeding. It was a painful process, especially since she only had one good hand, but she eventually finished. After that, she slumped against the cell's wall, exhausted and wondering how in the world she'd get out of this.
Comet...
"All right, I'm at the front gate, guys," Comet radioed in. "Any suggestions on how we want to go about getting in."
"Fly over it?" Ferguson suggested.
"Kick the door down?" Jackson offered.
"Blow it up? Come on, it's the most logical solution," Jonah said, wondering why they were debating this.
"Trying to get in there?" an annoying voice asked, prompting Comet to turn around. To his dismay, he saw Ludo standing there with a smirk on that face. "Good luck with that. Those gates are made of some of the strongest metal on Mewni. Not even your Wand would be able to blast a hole through them."
"Oh, and I suppose you've got some sort of secret way inside," Comet sarcastically asked.
"As a matter of fact, I do," Ludo said before proceeding to inspect the rocks.
"What are you doing?" Comet asked.
"Looking for something. I left the keys to the Castle inside, so I didn't have time to grab them before Toffee usurped my home from me. Fortunately, I had an extra set made in secret and hid them out here where only I could find them." Ludo continued to inspect the rocks. "All I need is to find the-aha, here it is!" Ludo then held up a tiny rock in his hand.
"The key's a rock? That's dumb."
"You're dumb!" Ludo retorted. "And that wasn't just a lame comeback. I'm calling you stupid. Because you, and the rest of my traitorous men, have failed to realize that this 'rock' has a hidden compartment." True to his word, Ludo opened up the bottom of the rock, revealing it to be hollow on the inside and containing a key, complete with a chain in the form of Ludo's face that read "Ludo's Spare Keys." "Ta-da! Not so dumb now, huh?"
But Comet was already gone.
"All right, where did you go now?" Ludo asked
"I got bored listening to you, so I jumped over the wall," Comet called out from inside the Castle, infuriating Ludo.
"Oh no, you don't!" Ludo said as he went to open the gates just enough for him to squeeze inside, finding Comet standing in the abandoned courtyard.
"Why are you still following me?" Comet asked out of annoyance.
"Because you need me, that's why!" Ludo said as he ran in front of him.
"No, I don't," Comet simply said as he continued to walk towards the Castle.
"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait!" Ludo said as he ran up to a nearby fence and climbed on top until he was closer to eye level with Comet. "You can't go in there blind! You have no idea, oof!" Ludo then lost his balance and fell to the ground. After managing to pick himself up, though, he continued like he hadn't been interrupted. "You don't know how dangerous Toffee really is, and you have no idea how to find your way inside my family's Castle. But I do! I know this place like the back of my hand!"
"And your point is, Tweety?"
"All right, look," Ludo groaned. "I want my Castle and men back, and you want your friend back, so let's make a deal. I help you get to your friend, and you help me get Toffee out and me back in charge. After that, I'll let you leave and swear to not bother you or your friends...for a whole month."
Comet pondered this offer for a moment but decided to ask for a second opinion by calling his friends.
"So, what do you guys think?"
"Comet, we all agree that he's full it and that he can't be trusted," Jonah said without missing a beat.
"Same," Comet said before turning back to Ludo. "No deal, angry bird. I'll just trust my instincts. Now beat it!" Comet said as he pushed Ludo away with his foot.
"Oh, come on!" Ludo cried in disappointment.
"You should not trust him, Prince of Mewmans." Both Comet and Ludo turned around and were surprised to find Buff Frog standing there, the tadpoles carefully resting in his massive arms. "I will guide you instead."
"Buff Frog!" Ludo gasped as he ran over to his former second-in-command. "I knew that you were still loyal to me!" he cried out with tears of joy...only for the Frog Man to copy what Comet did and push him away with his foot.
"I am not doing this for you, Ludo," Buff Frog bluntly told him, much to his dismay.
"Um, no offense, Buff Frog, but I don't exactly trust you, either," Comet was quick to point out. "I mean, you helping us out with Lars was nice, but one good deed is not enough to wipe away multiple attempts at trying to kill my friends and me.
"Da, I understand," Buff Frog said as he walked over to a nearby fountain and gingerly placed the tadpoles in the water. "But I am father now. And I would like for children to grow up safe inside Castle," he explained as he went to a nearby tree, inspected the vines hanging from it before retrieving the strongest and sturdiest of them. "You do not have to trust me, but consider alternative."
As if to prove his point, Ludo was trying, once again, to steal Comet's Wand from his hands. As soon as he saw this, though, Comet proceeded to fire a quick blast, making Ludo scurry away like a rat.
"Touche," Comet said before contacting his friends. "Guys, what do you think?"
"Okay, I know he helped wreck my birthday party and held our class hostage, but he's not lying," Brittney's voice responded.
"Hate to admit it, but Brittney's right," Jonah commented. "Go for it, dude. What have you got to lose, besides the obvious?"
"Okay," Comet said before walking over to Buff Frog, who had now wrapped the vines around the fountain, hoisting it on his back like a makeshift backpack. "Buff Frog, I still haven't forgiven you for all the shit you did to us, but you did help us with Lars and the Monster Arm. And, I'm trying not to 'judge a book by its cover' or whatever it was Marcia said," he added as he made air quotes. "So if you help me save Marcia, and promise to leave my friends and me alone," Comet made sure to emphasize that, "I'll help you." Comet held out his hand.
Buff Frog shook the boy's hand. "Deal."
"Oh, come on! You're willing to make a deal with him and not me?!" Ludo complained. "Ah, screw it. I'm going in!" And with that, Ludo ran out of the courtyard and into the Castle.
"Oh, no, you don't!" Comet shouted, preparing to run inside after the devious Avian, only to have Buff Frog block his way. "Buff Frog, I need to get in there! Every second I wait, Marcia's life could be in danger!"
"Wait," Buff Frog sternly told him like a parent scolding his child. "Before we go in, I must warn you: Toffee is nothing like Ludo. He is cunning, ruthless, and he does not like you or your magic."
"Yeah, yeah, all the bad guys say that about themselves, and last time I checked, Monsters hate me, my family, and my magic. You're not exactly telling me anything that I don't already know, Buff Frog!" Comet quickly said before trying once more to head inside.
"You do not understand!" Buff Frog angrily told the boy. "Toffee is different from other Monsters you have met. Toffee's kind may hate magic more than all Monsters."
"But why? What difference does that make?" Comet impatiently asked, not understanding the point of this.
"Because Toffee is...a Septarian."
Comet had no idea how he was supposed to react to what Buff Frog had told him. However, somewhere in the recesses of his brain, the word "Septarian" rang a bell. Instinctively realizing that this was important, Comet called his friends back on Earth.
"Jonah, it's me. I need you to get my Book of Spells and find something for me. Look up 'Septarian' for me. I think I remember seeing something about it in the entries from my ancestor, King Solarius."
"We're way ahead of you, Comet," Jonah said on his end, having already gotten the Book from underneath Comet's bed. "And don't worry about Glossaryck. We bribed him with a six-pack of vanilla-chocolate swirl pudding."
"This is the best idea ever!" Glossaryck said as he helped himself to the pudding with Karla feeding him in the process. "Oh, and the kid's right. You should check Solarius' chapter. That guy was pretty aggro when it came to fighting Monsters."
After a few seconds of searching through the contents of the ancient Book, Jonah, Alfonso, and Ferguson, at last, managed to locate what they were searching for.
"Here it is, Monster Annihilation Techniques," Alfonso pointed out before quickly skimming through the section, growing more and more unnerved as he did so. "Aw, jeez, Comet. Your teacher wasn't kidding about your ancestor. A lot of his entries are really...gory."
"Yeah, isn't it awesome?" Jonah said, though quickly realize that this wasn't the best time to say something like this. Wanting to help, Jonah began scanning the pages until he finally found what they were looking for. "Here," he pointed to an image of a reptilian humanoid creature, next to a word: Septarian.
"All right, let's see what we're dealing with here," Ferguson said as he and the others began to read through the section. The more they read, though, the further their faces fell.
"Oh...oh jeez...oh, dear God," Alfonso began to worriedly say.
"Guys? Did you find what I asked for?" Comet asked on the radio.
"Yeah. We did," Alfonso spoke first.
"But you're not going to like it," Ferguson told him.
"I'll be the judge of that, Ferguson. Now tell me everything."
"All right, then," Ferguson gulped. "Here's everything that Solarius wrote word-for-word. Ahem." And Ferguson began to read.
"The Septarians: of all the Monsters that I have faced in my time as King, only two have ever managed to fully stand their ground against my magic. One of them is the Size-Shifters, which I will detail next, but the other is the Septarians. Originating in the jungles purported to lie far to the south of the Great Mewni River, these are one of the few races of Monsters that I would say are truly bred for war. They possess strength, speed, and durability ten times greater than any Mewman. Able to survive days without food, water, or rest and capable of running at speeds of 45 MPH for hours without rest, they are among the most dangerous beings ever to walk the face of Mewni. They can master any form of weapon, strategy, technology, and environment in half the time a Mewman can AT THEIR SLOWEST. Their silver tongues allow them to manipulate those around them so that they may strike when it is most advantageous to them. As leaders of Monsters, they are capable of outmaneuvering all but the best of our soldiers, despite the Monsters' lack of discipline. But perhaps their most dangerous trait is their ability to heal from any wounds, no matter how severe. Cut off one of their limbs, and they will regrow it within a matter of moments. Destroy them down to a single limb, and within a few months, they will completely regenerate, with all their memories intact. Because of this healing power, they can live for centuries, absorbing skills and knowledge the entire time. NO PERMANENT SOLUTION TO DEFEATING THESE BEINGS. If you face one of them on the battlefield without magic, run."
Everyone in the room just let the knowledge of what they just read sink in. These Septarians sounded like the stuff of nightmares. Finally, Jonah broke the silence. "Did you hear all of that, Comet?"
"Yeah. I heard all of that, Jonah," Comet said, his face solemn from all that he heard.
"Comet, are you sure you don't want us to come over help you?" Ferguson asked him"Maybe Jonah could call in Black Frost and a group of Meseeks to-"
"No, Ferguson," Comet refused. "I have to do this myself, and I have to do it now. If I don't, Marcia could die."
"Comet, this is serious. I know that you've watched enough Shonen anime and read enough comic books to know how dangerous a healing factor can be in the wrong hands," Alfonso tried to tell him, to no avail.
"Comet, you should listen to friends," Buff Frog stated. "All these things are not what make Toffee to be feared. It is his people's hatred of Mewmans and magic."
"You said that before," Comet pointed out. "What did you mean?"
"I do not know full story, but I have heard stories about the Septarians," Buff Frog began. "Long before Mewmans came from unknown lands, the land you know call Mewni was made up of many kingdoms and tribes of Monsters. They did as kingdoms do: they grew, expanded, fought, and fell. But one stood out from others: the Septarian Empire."
"The Septarian Empire?" Comet asked, curious about this.
"Da. They came from far to the south from jungle-lands they called Septarsis, where it is said that they built mighty civilization and used technology more advanced than any our ancestors had ever seen. With their deadly weapons and prowess, they began to conquer everything that lay before them. It seemed that soon, all of Mewni would be ruled by Septarian Empire."
"Wait, wait, wait," Comet said. "If these guys were so dangerous, then how come I've never heard of them?"
"Don't know," Buff Frog admitted. "But according to stories, their conquest of Mewni ended a thousand years ago when new group of strange people came to our shores. Your people."
Comet was able to figure the rest out for himself. "Us. You mean to tell me that, somehow, my ancestors managed to stop them in their tracks and send them running back to wherever they came from?"
"Da. I do not know what happened, but their Empire lost, and they retreated back to their homeland beyond Great Mewni river. Then, their once great Empire collapsed in on itself. Those who could fled and scattered across Mewni, while others remain behind. But they never forgot what Mewmans did to them." Buff Frog then briefly paused before continuing. "I do not know what Toffee has planned, but I think that he seeks to harm you in revenge for what your family did to his people. That is why I am warning you: do not underestimate him."
Comet looked at the Frogman with steely resolve in his eyes. "Buff Frog, I don't care about these ancient wars or the grudges of people who died long before I was born. I don't care why this Toffee guy has a hate on for me. All I care about is the fact that right now, he's got my best friend held captive in there, and I'm going to get him back. Now," Comet then stepped forward towards Buff Frog, "please get out of my way."
Seeing that there was no way to convince him otherwise, Buff Frog stepped aside, allowing Comet to pass and enter the Castle. Though as he did so, Buff Frog had a very concerned look on his face.
"I have bad feeling about this," he said as he then followed the boy inside.
To Be Continued...