Seth storms into his office, activates the switch leading down to his basement and marches down to the bottom, kicking the door open and throwing his black book open.
Seth: Shadow, change of plans. Ludo is no longer on the table.
Shadow: What happened? Little Ludo wouldn't take the bait.
Seth: It's not that. I said something and it scared him away from me... a slip.
Shadow: Yeesh! Well, what's your plan now?
Seth: Well... I'll have to go back to plan B.
Shadow: The Toffee Experiment?
Seth: Precisely. His research on magic, how it can be corrupted, and be used it to be reborn. It's time to do it, Shadow. It's time to destroy the magic itself.
Shadow: Are you sure you want to do that? What about all that time you spent learning it?
Seth: It will not go to waste. They'll be here any moment now, and when they do... they're in for a rude awakening. The Queen and her sole living heir will perish, and when they do, I will use my power to destroy the Mewnan magic. It will all be over. We will rule all! The immortal Septarian race. We will reclaim this land, all for our own!
Shadow looked at Seth with a look of painful recoil.
Shadow: Um, yeah... about that.
Seth: What is it?
Shadow: You're not gonna like this.
Seth grabs the tiny shadow man by the collar of his shirt, holding him up to his eyes.
Seth: What gives?
Shadow: You can destroy the magic Seth, but you will regret it.
Seth: What are you talking about? Tell me or I'll rip your intestines out and jump rope with them!
Shadow shows no fear of Seth. He just looks at him with a glimpse of utter apathy and boredom.
Shadow: Seth, have you ever wondered about Septarian immortality?
Seth: What's that, little man?
Shadow: Well, it all started with your ancestors, very, very long ago. There was a period of time when your people weren't immortal. It was one, Septarin, and his wife Kalysis. They were mere thieves, lowly bandits really, but it was upon a very peculiar heist that they managed to get a hold of what was, at that time, a very rare commodity. A monster duke, making sale between dimensions, happened to come to this dimension. Before the Mewnans ever set foot on that land, your reptilian ancestors would get their very first taste of what magic really was.
The poor fellow was ambushed, and his horses became startled and tipped the carriage over. Those ruthless brutes killed that man in cold blood, and took everything, including his prized pair of inter-dimensional scissors. The duo would pawn them off, but after a bit of banter that led to Septarin cutting a hole into the universe, they witnessed their first dimensional rift. You see, the inter-dimensional scissors were, lets say, in their experimental phase.
Seth: Get TO THE POINT!
Shadow: I am, jeez. Don't have to be so pushy. Anyhow, Septarin and Kalysis made their first steps into the portal and do you know where they landed? Right into the Realm of Magic. As the Realm of Magic does, it slowly drains away at one's sanity, so it didn't take long for the effects to cause... rather peculiar behavior within our reptile friends. They became... playful. Oh, I'm starting to blush just thinking about it.
Seth: What? Spit it out or I'll gut you!
Shadow smiled and looked right at Seth with embarrassment.
Shadow: They made love... right there in the Realm of Magic.
Seth: Is this a joke? Tell me you're joking!
Shadow: Oh, I'm very much not, and this is where we get to the important part. After a bit of frolicking and playful whimsy from Septarin and Kalysis, Kalysis takes the scissors and playfully begins to cut the air with it, as if trying to make paper dolls. It's then that she realizes that she opened the rift back up and she could leave. She pulls Septarin back through the portal, and as they stumble and laugh, they slowly come back to their senses. I laugh when I think about the embarrassment they must have had arriving back in their dimension utterly indecent. Those fools left their clothes right in the Realm of Magic. Haha.
Seth: So this is what you tell me? A foolish and disrespectful story about the founders of Old Septarsis?!
Shadow: Kalysis was pregnant. Her gestation cycle was rather odd though, and in a mere 28 days, she laid several eggs. Those reptiles hatched, and the beings that would be the first true Septarians were born. Immortal, children, born of magic. They would bare children. And those children would bare children. And so on. Septarin and Kalysis died of old age, and their children would long succeed them hundreds of years later, bearing many, many generations of immortal children until they would meet their demise at the hands of the first age of Mewni. Well, you know the story from there.
Seth looks shocked and puzzled. He can't believe what he just heard.
Shadow: Only now, do you figure out that your life hasn't been permanently extended, but rather greatly. According to my estimations, the age of the Septarian was lengthened by approximately 2000%, meaning that instead of the ripe age of 75, which was, back then the average lifespan of your kind, and that's quite high really, considering at that time 40 was considered old by many, you should live to be approximately 1400 years old. How old are you now, Seth, 1300, 1350? You're quite an old man Seth. How long do you have left?
Seth: Shut up!
Shadow: Hey now, calm down Seth. You think you're old. Look at me! I'm over 10,000 years old!
Seth: What?
Shadow: I know right? I don't look a day over 8500, do I? I was an old man when you were an egg. I could just live forever, but you... you have to accept the reality of death someday.
Seth: Igneous Obliterate!
A massive ball of fire projects itself from Seth's hand, destroying the Black Book, as well as the Shadow inside of it.
Seth: Shows how much you know.
Seth marches upstairs and summons the Captain of the Guard. A massive Septarian man with pointy scales and dreadlocks-like quills stands before him.
Captain: You have summoned me, Father?
Seth: Yes Captain, the time is coming. It is inevitable. Gather every last fighter in Septarsis. They are coming, and they will try to smash down these doors. We can deny it no longer!
Captain: Shouldn't we try to negotiate?
Seth: They will not negotiate. They never have, and never will! I will not have another fallen Septarsis! I will not have another tragedy on my hands! Those Mewnans are in for a rude awakening when they get here.
Seth provides clear directions to the Captain of the Guard, to which he salutes Seth, and then leaves to relay the information onto his troops. In a hurried fury, Seth marches, remembering that there is an important step in his plan that must not be glanced over, an ingredient that can mean the difference between success and failure. With heavy footsteps, Seth barges into Iggy's castle.
Iggy: Hi Seth... ugh... what are you doing?... Seth?
Seth heads towards a refrigerator. He looks on the shelves, pulling out all the goods.
Seth: Where is it?!
Iggy: Where's what?
He looks in the freezer, pulling all of Iggy's frozen popsicles and TV dinners out onto the floor.
Seth: There it is.
Iggy: Where's what? What are you doing with that thermos?
Seth takes the thermos and looks at Iggy with a face of pure derangement, and Iggy reflexes a perplexed and very concerned look back at him. Seth holds the thermos right above his gaping maw, dropping the whole thing into his throat.
Seth struggles to swallow the thermos.
Iggy: SETH! SPIT IT OUT! YOU'RE GONNA CHOKE TO DEATH!
Seth holds up a finger to Iggy, signalling him to back off. Lurching back his head, eyes watering and face turning blue, Seth takes one big gulp and swallows the entire thermos.
Iggy: ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!
Seth grabs the scientist by the collar, holding him right to his face.
Seth: Don't EVER question my sanity again!
Seth throws Iggy backwards, knocking over an entire table of hazardous volatile liquids that Iggy only manages to narrowly avoid getting on himself. Elsewhere, the real Glossaryck feels the severing of the book. Star is in the middle of conversing with him in her room when all of a sudden, a black ooze pours out of him.
Star: Glossaryck! What's this? What's happening to you.
Glossaryck was hunched over. He looks up, with a smug smile on his face.
Glossaryck: Finally... whole again.
Star: Glossaryck, what are you talking about?
Glossaryck: My other half, my shadow. He has returned.
Star: But Glossaryck, I could already see your shadow.
Glossaryck: No, Star. My soul was split... into two pieces, the one here, and the other...
Star: Where, where was the other side?
Glossaryck:... Septarsis.
Star: Septarsis?! What are you talking about, Glossaryck? Are you telling me the Septarians are holding onto some form of magic?
Glossaryck: Sh... uh huh... yes... you don't say... my my... I am so sorry about that my shadow... there there... it's okay now. We are one.
Star: What is your shadow telling you?
Glossaryck looks at Star, smiling while making the following statement in a candid matter as if it bore no importance towards anything.
Glossaryck: Seth of Septarsis... he has become a MASTER of magic.
Star: What?!
Glossaryck: Seth has learned to dip down. Not only that, he apparently taught little Ludo to perform one as well.
Star: This is bad! This is really bad! I have to go tell mom! Come with me, Glossaryck!
Star snatches the tiny blue man out of the book and runs down the hall to confront her mother.
Star: Mom! Mom! Mom!
Queen Moon: Star, you know I hate when you do that!
Star bursts into her mother's office, speaking at about a million miles an hour in a hurried panic.
Star: Glossaryck just told me he got his shadow back. He had a bunch of icky black stuff pour out from his body and then said he was complete and that his soul was split and_
Queen Moon: Star, slow down!
Star: Seth was learning magic from Glossaryck's shadow. He figured out how to dip down! and He taught Ludo how to do it!
Queen Moon: What?! How long was Seth practicing magic?
Glossaryck: Hm?... yes... shadow says over 100 years.
Queen Moon: Glossaryck! You don't find this to be at all pertinent information you should have told us DECADES AGO?!
Glossaryck looks at her with disinterest.
Glossaryck: You didn't ask.
Queen Moon: Sometimes I wonder whose side you're really on. I have to get over to Septarsis immediately!
Star: I'm coming with you!
Queen Moon: No way Star, it's too dangerous!
Star: If Seth's been practicing for a HUNDRED years, do you really think you can take him on by yourself? We need strength, in numbers. Also... I have another idea.
Queen Moon: What?
Star: Eclipsa.
Queen Moon: You'd trust Eclipsa, the monster lover,with something this urgent?
Star: Mom! She's a Butterfly first! If the kingdom is in as grave a danger as we think it is, we're gonna need her help!
Queen Moon: I don't know why, but I believe you. Very well, summon Eclipsa, tell her what's going on. See if she will aide us!
Star: Infrared Detection! Find me Eclipsa!
Through the eye of the wand she sees Eclipsa, sitting at a fountain, sticking her black hand into the water, swirling it around. She goes to approach Eclipsa, and much to her surprise, Eclipsa is quick to pick up on the urgency of the situation and is fully willing to comply. Star has more preparations to be made before heading to Septarsis though, and she begin to wrangle her friends.
Ludo and Jade are on their way back to Septarsis aboard Eagle and Spider. The birds above them are far off in the distance to where Ludo can't really get their attention. Down below, an army of monsters Ludo recognizes very well are marching towards Mewni as well.
Ludo: Look! What are they doing here? Do they really think they can take on Seth? They couldn't even handle Star Butterfly herself! They're nuts! They're gonna get themselves killed!
Jade: We have to hurry and stop them!
But it 's too late. The birds descend before the ocean bank. It is quiet. Nobody is there. There is no serpent in sight.
Unknown Voice: You shouldn't have come here. Now... face your demise!
Lady Avarius: Give it up, Seth! We know you're here! We know about Septarsis, and we know you have my son! Give him back now, or face the wrath of the Avarius family!
Out of nowhere, a meteor hurtles towards the Avariuses, but they fly out of the way just in the nick of time.
Lord Brudo: Really, Seth? Firing out from the shadows? Face us you coward!
After a brief silence, Seth lifts the veil. The entire army of Septarsis stand on the shores, previously masked by a veil of invisibility. Now, everything is clear. Face to face, they finally meet.
Lady Avarius: So... you're Seth, correct?
Seth: Indeed I am, my little dove. And you must be Lady Avarius. How that pigeon husband of yours managed to bag a looker like you is beyond me.
Lady Avarius looks at him with daggers, cutting through him with her eyes.
Lady Avarius: Where is my son?
Seth: To be quite honest, I haven't a clue, Ma'am.
Lady Avarius: You're lying!
Seth: Oh really... then what's that up there, flying towards us on the horizon?
Lady Avarius and Lord Brudo turn around. Jade and Ludo are descending upon them on Spider and Eagle.
Ludo: Mom! Dad! What are you guys all doing here? What's my army doing here?
Lady Avarius: Ludo! You're alright!
Ludo runs over and embraces his mom and she just showers him in kisses and relief that he's okay.
Lord Brudo: How did he treat you Ludo? He didn't hurt, you did he?
Ludo: No, mom and dad, I'm fine.
Lady Avarius: And who is this?
Lady Avarius looks over at Jade who looks back at everyone rather shyly, playing with her ponytail.
Ludo: Mom and dad... this is Jade. She's a really good friend of mine. I owe everything to her.
Seth: Well, this is an awfully touching reunion and all, but I think it's time we discussed the bigger picture. Ludo here, he was MY apprentice. I taught him everything, and of course, that little backstabber_
Seth stares at Ludo with complete contempt, forcing guilt out of him.
Seth:_Of course he goes crawling back to you.
Lord Brudo: You're a nobody, Seth. As much as you want, you'll never be Ludo's father!
Seth: I'm a better father to him than you ever were, you pathetic potato of a man.
Lord Brudo: If were gonna settle this, lets settle it like men!
Seth: Men? You can't be serious.
Lord Brudo: You heard me. Fight me!
Seth: I'm not fighting you Brudo. It's a waste of time.
Lord Brudo: What's the matter? You scared, old man?
The crowd of Septarians behind him gasps and looks at Seth, who raises an eyebrow. The crowd starts chanting.
Crowd: Seth! Seth! Seth!
Seth smiles, looking down at the ground, hands on waist in slight embarrassment.
Seth: Very well.
Lord Brudo strikes Seth in the face before Seth even makes a stance. Seth's head jerk's back, before adjusting to upright, where he just looks on at Brudo, feeling his chin. He chuckles.
Seth: You hit like a girl.
Brudo then swings at Seth once again, who swiftly dodges the attack and punches Brudo right in the gut, winding him and bringing him to his knees.
Ludo: Dad!
Seth: You're making a fool out of yourself.
Brudo lunges at Seth, taking multiple swings at Seth while he dodges with complete ease, grabbing Brudo by the wing and forcing him into a stance of submission.
Seth: Do you yield?
Lord Brudo: No way! I fought guys much tougher than you!
Seth: And won?
Lord Brudo: In my younger years.
One of the Avarius kids, a taller, more muscular one, lunges at Seth to attack him and Seth backhands him. He smacks against a wall, enraging Brudo, who strikes at Seth several more times. Seth gets mad. He intercepts the fourth punch, initiating a lightning fast one-two jab at Brudo, sending him to the ground. He struggles to get up, dizzy.
Seth: This is disappointing. Are you really gonna go down like this, losing to an "old man"?
Lord Brudo stumbles to get to his feet, but as he does, limply, he makes a statement.
Lord Brudo: I'd rather go down fighting, than to hide, and cower like you Seth. I'd rather die than not fight for the people I care about, for my family, for my country, for my kingdom. You've stayed down there for decades, cowering as the Butterfly family inched closer and closer to your domain. Now you've escaped to the surface like a scared little rat. Well, Seth, that cat's coming! You're finished!
Seth rolls his eyes.
Lord Brudo: Long live the Butterfly family!
Seth performs an aerial roundhouse kick right to Brudo's face. Knocking him out cold.
Lady Avarius: Brudo!
She runs over to him. He's completely out. She just looks at Seth, lunging out at him with swift dagger thrusts and claw swipes. Seth is bored by her lack of fighting prowess, but decidedly takes a more defensive approach to dealing with her. As she swipes at him over and over, a single strike of the dagger grazes his face, causing him to palm shove her, rather hard, sending her rolling backwards towards her husband.
Seth: Pathetic.
Ludo: Mom! Dad!
Seth: Ludo... you disappointed me. You really broke my heart back there, kiddo. I thought we had something, you and I. I extend myself to you. I welcome you into my home. I feed you, clothe you, teach you magic, and THIS is how you repay me?
Ludo: I didn't bring them here! I never wanted this to happen!
Seth: I offer you... one final chance, Ludo. You can make this all end.
Ludo: What?
Seth: Join me. Join me and I won't scatter Lord Brudo and Lady Avarius across this land. I will forgive you, and we can put this whole thing behind us. Join me, and I'll send your parents and your friends home. Join me... and nobody gets hurt.
Ludo: I... I...
Jade: Ludo! Don't do it! He's tricking you!
Seth: Oh will you just butt out of it!
Jade: No Seth! I won't butt out of it! All this time, you were just waiting for an excuse to start a war. It's because of you that Septarsis will always be on the brink of conflict with Mewni!
Seth: You poor, delusional girl. I pity you.
Jade: I'm not delusional Seth, you are!
Seth: Your father and I, we used to be friends. We accomplished so much together, but as time inched forward, it became evident to me that Toffee sought one thing, and one thing only, to be the number one head honcho around here. He was the task man. You hire him to do a task, and he gets it done. Incidentally, you and he aren't all that much different really. You're just a means to an end... just like your father was. His mission, for what it's worth, was a stunning and fabulous success, dying, corrupting the magic, and rising once again. Like he, I will become one with magic. And when I do, every last Mewnan will die!
Jade: Don't you ever talk about my father!
Jade lunges at Seth, utilizing both her daggers and various assassination instruments she attacks him wildly, everyone watches in amazement at the fury of the daggers digging away at Seth's torso. Seth knees Jade right in the chest, grabbing her and holding her up in the air by her ponytail.
Seth: You little runt! How about a time out?
Seth takes his inter-dimensional scissors out of his pocket, cutting open a portal to an unknown location, tossing Jade inside before closing it up.
Ludo: Jade! What did you do to her?
Seth: I sent her to a "special place".
Ludo: Where?!
Seth: On a trip to go see her dear old dad. She can find out for herself just what kind of man he is.