Like Father, Like Daughter
Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Star vs. the Forces of Evil
Chapter 31: Scorched Earth
5 WEEKS LATER
Seraph gasped as she woke up in bed. Her throat felt so dry.
Nachos and Cinnabar were close by and started to make sounds.
Angie ran into the room, "Seraph!"
Seraph motioned to her throat.
Angie reached over to the nightstand next to the bed for a water bottle. "Here you go, drink up."
Seraph quickly started to gulp down her drink.
"How are you feeling? You've been out for days." Angie looked her over, "We thought you might have a coma, we thought about taking you to the hospital, but we didn't know how we were going to explain the horns. We got the nurse from your school to check you, and you have a hard head. You kept slipping in and out. We just had to take care of you, hoping you'd wake up."
Angie hugged her granddaughter.
"Grandma, where's Star?"
"… We tried calling her using her mirror; we tried calling her parents, and her friends and your uncles. No one answered."
0000
Her grandparents weren't eager about letting Seraph go on her own, but they were all worried. They needed answers.
Seraph opened a portal to Mewni and stepped out. She regretted it almost instantly.
The air was hot and dry; it was hard to breathe; if she didn't have fireproof powers, she doubted she could have lasted more than a few moments.
She found the kingdom in ruins and burned to the ground. There were a few scorched bodies, but none she recognized. Seraph didn't know if that was better or worse.
She looked around and found the other kingdoms in ruins. The Underworld had been frozen solid; the Cloud Kingdom had crashed into the Johansen Kingdom.
The Forest of Certain Death had burned, the Jaggy Mountains had crumbled, and the oceans had boiled.
In all the time she was there, she didn't find any other living soul. She only stayed there for a few hours; she couldn't bear to be there any longer. When she got back home, she just cried.
2 MONTHS LATER
The word that Mewni was gone had sent shivers through the whole multiverse. The High Commission was missing and presumed dead, and that included the entire Butterfly Family.
Then things got worse like things tended to do.
Erebus was spotted across multiple dimensions tearing through them. He didn't seem to have plans or anything. He was just running wild now.
Seraph was invited to Tatakai with anyone that could be of some help. Lord Wukong greeted her in person.
"Hello, Lady Seraph."
"Hello, Lord Wukong."
"Are you all right?"
He motioned to her face; Seraph traced the scar over her right eyes. One of the rocks that fell on her head slashed up her eyes; she had gotten lucky it didn't damage her eyesight. Seraph half thought of trying her mom's look but didn't know if she could pull off the look.
Wukong tried to reassure her, "We are going to stop him. Almost the whole multiverse is here; he can't stop us alone."
2 MONTHS AND 1 WEEK
Many people scorned Mewni after the battle. That they thought could have stopped Erebus on their own. If they had asked for help, they could have prevented this tragedy.
The army thought themselves better and ready. They had every reason to; their forces consisted of some of the most significant multiverse forces.
Wukong's archivist had found these large robots hidden under the city. Sentinels to protect the city but had been lost and forgotten, but they repaired them. They stood in front of the army to protect them as best they could.
Behind the Sentinels were those from the Tournament, some of the best fighters in the universe.
Styx held all his weapons ready, behind him was the greatest warriors of the tribe of Lizard Men he led.
Princess Puri Puri Pearl was with Prince Galavant and the whole Sunshine Sailor Squad; they were an army unto themselves.
Noire brought an army of Vampire Knights like here; the others quietly wondered what an army of them could do.
Behind them stood soldiers from all around the multiverse, ready to put down the Erebus. Their forces even included some of the people from Mewni who saw what Erebus could do.
Mages and Spellcasters stood ready to counter every type of shadow he could muster, to bind him, to destroy him if they could.
They planned for everything they could, and as he arrived in a new world, they quickly met him. Seraph stayed in the back, helping people evacuate with Lord Wukong. They helped as many people escape as they walked down the roads of Vivaverde.
Erebus fixed his gloves, he got the pieces into position and readied to move them.
Together the army charged at him with everything they had. Erebus didn't bother to move as an arrow shot into his shoulder, followed by a fireball blasting him back.
"Ow! Illegal move! The pawns can't attack the players!" He had hit the ground, and he looked around for his hat.
Noire charged at him with her sword, ready to tear him to bits. With her speed, she rushed ahead of everyone else. Erebus pulled out his cape, letting his shadow stretch out.
"Astrobell! Time for your trick!"
The darkness beneath his cape swirled, a slender flowing form burst from forth from Erebus' portal. She put her hands together, and a black hole formed in her hands, and she pushed it towards the vampire. Noire tried to dodge, and if it were any other attack, she probably would have. The pull of the pocket-sized black hole pulled her in no matter how much she struggled. Her body contorted before she was crushed into the small singularity. The vampire's sword tumbled to the ground without a master.
Erebus got up. "Who set my hat on fire!?" He tried to put out the flame on his hat. He waved out his cape, and more figures walked out. "Whoever kills the guy who set my hat on fire gets their own planet." His hat had burned to a cinder. "Also, if anyone finds a new hat!"
They started to fight back the army charging forwards, most of them forced back by a barrage of black holes. Most of the Sentinels were destroyed pretty quickly.
"Domi, bring the party!" Erebus pulled out the arrow. "Ow!"
The sky went dark as a massive spaceship flew overhead; it was black with red lava-like veins going through it. The ship began to fire onto the ground, but instead of cannonballs, eyeball shaped tripods. The tripods were decorated with lava-like veins. The bots started to attack the army, splitting up their force.
From the shadows of his cape, Erebus pulled out a table and set out pieces. "I got my pieces, leftovers from Rhomby's crystal prison. Oh! So very eager to help out, well, most of them, some required a bit of persuasion." He fiddled with his mask, "Well, there were also plenty of people willing to join up with us."
Erebus watched as his forces fought the army.
"But, I have my pieces against your pawns." From his cape, he pulled out a chair and settled down in it.
"Are you guys ready to play? I know you've been listening. You've been letting the pawns die while you got into position to check me, so King Me already!"
The world burned as three significant figures materialized around him.
One was a giant floating salamander with frills around its next.
Next to him was a sizeable chubby baby, in a floating chair and a glowing hourglass marked on his forehead.
The final figure was a four-faced being in a long ruby-like robe; its head hovered above his body in a crystal-like helmet with a different face peeking from each side.
"Axolotl. Time Baby. Grob, Gob, Glob, and Grod. What took you guys?"
Behind them, the Time Paradox Avoidance Enforcement Squadron showed up and started to help with the battle.
"Erebus," Time Baby's voice boomed with anger, "You've gone too far."
"Really? What part? The killing of the Commission? Don't tell me you liked Glossaryck; no one liked him, not even his kids." He paused, pushing back his long black greasy hair, "Especially not his kids. The giraffe had father issues; I'll give you that."
Axolotl's voice echoed, "Your actions have brought untold chaos to the universe and unbalanced the forces that maintain order across the multiverse."
Glob only said, "You must be stopped, you will be contained. Destroyed if possible."
The three cosmic entities attacked him; energy blasted Erebus back, trying to bubble him up.
Seeing this, most of Erebus' forces fled the battlefield, and the army was left to deal with the tripods.
Shadows spread from the ground grabbing the entities, but they continued to fight him. They all agreed to die before they failed to stop him.
A pod was shot off from the ship and crashed nearby. The door opened up, and a short woman in a black dress walked out, holding a large yellow hand and a familiar-looking broken wand. Clover cheek marks decorated her face, and her face shadowed by a broad hat. The battle raged, and she walked closer to the entities.
"Ha ha ha ha he ha haw!" She laughed as tears streamed from her eyes; her eyes looked blank, devoid of real joy.
The wand began to glow as she recited the spell that Erebus had told her, she spoke words from a world long-since destroyed. Black marks grew on her arms and soon spread across her entire body, causing it to tremble.
She felt her body decay by the spell; she didn't care; she knew what she was told to do, and that was all that mattered.
The three entities paused as they felt something begin.
"Good work, Clipsy!" Erebus fiddled with his mask as he made his way to the chair.
"What are you doing!?" Gob yelled.
"Stole it from Omni's pad." Erebus stood the chair up, "A hand fell from a rift, fell into every possible universe and, well, see for yourself."
The hand grew stretched, and soon a skeletal form grew from it. Its head was neither human nor beast; a pair of long curved horns sat on his head. A wave of black and green flames spread from his feet; every living thing on that planet felt what was about to happen. Seraph and Wukong opened as many portals as they could, everyone who could open a portal did so, and everyone tried to flee. The wave spread across the world in seconds; it didn't burn, but once it touched a person, they fell lifeless.
Seraph saw it coming and jumped into the portal, closing it a second before the flames touched her. Seraph saw people trying to jump into the doorway before she closed it, she knew they were dead now, and she told herself that she'd be dead if she didn't close it. It didn't help; she fell to the ground trembling.
The three entities struggled to breathe, the wave did not kill them, but they were more than mortal and struggled against it.
The Skeletal figure breathed out black smoke, swirled towards them, and forced its ways into their mouths. They dropped the ground as their bodies began to wither, leaving behind nothing but bones.
The figure walked over the spell caster that restored him; he gazed at the three dead figures. Soon his eyeless gaze fell on Erebus, who had fallen onto the chair.
The undead being looked upon the world of death that he had created. Silence filled the world, followed by a screeching noise.
He turned around to see the world pulling itself around Erebus.
Erebus jolted up with a gasp. "Fun!"
"Who are you?" The Skeleton spoke, its voice low and rumbling. "You are neither are living nor dead."
"Yeah, can't die. Must be annoying for someone like you." Erebus walked over and took the wand from the spell caster and took her hat too. "What do you think? I think it will do for now." He rested the hat on his head.
"All things die."
"I must be the exception to the rule, trust me enough people have tried."
"Do you wish to die, little shade?"
"I have a wish; I'm not sure what it is. I'm sure I'll know it when I see it. But for now, I intend to play."
"Then speak,"
"When I was rummaging through Omni's thing, I found your hand. Omni's notes were less than garbage but, he saw you splinter across the multiverse and that you were a calamity on all worlds you arrived and were not stopped. I could use someone like that."
"I am not a toy,"
"No, but a weapon?" He spun around at a world motionless world, "and an effective one at that. You seek to bring death to the universe. I can open up paths for you, all I ask that you go where I tell you when I tell you to."
"And you believe I require your assistance to accomplish that."
"No, but it can be easier."
"Do you think I will serve you?"
"No, little Lich, but consider this: I can't die, can you? I don't mind if you're a one-off."
"I always return, I am the ceaseless wheel and-"
"Yeah, so no?"
"I will not be made into a pet. I exist in every world, and I will-"
"Fine, be basic. It could have been fun."
The ancient evils stared each other down.
1 YEAR LATER
The entire system that held Vivaverde was gone; there was only dust in its place. No one had seen Erebus since that day. Many had hoped that he was dead.
Most didn't believe it.
His forces ran rampant across the multiverse, destroying and causing chaos. There had been rumors that Erebus was ruling them from the shadows or at least someone who spoke for him. Seraph tried to help where she could, but the resistance was hanging by a thread after their most potent forces were wiped out in one day.
Seraph stayed on Earth most of the time and tried to live life. She looked out the window one night and saw stars begin to go out in the sky.
1 YEAR AND 3 MONTHS LATER
They didn't come to Earth right away, but the creatures began to show up and cause damage. Their allies across the multiverse tried to help, but they had already been stretched thin.
Still, it seemed Earth had some secrets and managed to fight back some of the threats, but it wasn't enough. In three months, estimates say 30-50 % of the population was gone. Not that the governments of the world could do proper surveys. People panicked as creatures from myths, legends, and other worlds showed up and attacked.
With worlds dying, they had to find a safe harbor for the innocent.
Wukong's mages found a spell with Seraph's helped tapped into Hekapoo's dimension and barrier she used to hold Erebus out of it. They made it so instead of keeping Erebus out; it kept everyone out except those who had Hekapoo's scissors with their name on it.
"You have to go," Seraph told her grandparents, trying to do everything to stay strong. "If you stay here …. please just go."
Angie looked at her granddaughter, "Seraph, you can't stay in that dimension you-"
"I know, but you will be safe. I'll give you guys the keys to the forge. You can be safe. You guys can have the forge."
Rafael put his hand on her shoulder, "You told us time went faster there. That a few minutes here would be years there then-"
"I never get to see you guys again. I know, but you will be safe. Mom and dad would want you to be safe too. You'll get to have a long, happy life."
0000
They argued about it for the rest of the night; they didn't want to leave their granddaughter alone in the world ready to fall apart. Seraph made a good argument that if they stayed together, they would likely not survive, but if Seraph were alone, they would survive, and she'd still have a chance.
Its something that didn't sit easy with any of them, but they agreed. Seraph opened up the portal, Angie and Rafael hugged Seraph tightly. They kissed and said their goodbyes.
"We love you; we love you so much," Rafael kissed again. "No matter what happens, that is never going to change."
"My brave little Seraph." Angie kissed her, "there was so much I wanted to do with you and say to you. Just, your father told me he thought of you as a miracle. You are. You deserve better than this, you deserve so much more, and I wish I could give it to you."
They held themselves each other for ten minutes before they could pull themselves away.
Rafael and Angie walked into the portal; the puppies followed them, whimpering as they did.
"They'll be safe; they'll be safe," Seraph repeated to herself.
Behind her stood hundreds of people from the city, people of Echo Creek ready to leave for hopefully somewhere better. Seraph knew many of them; she'd called many of them friends. She didn't have the heart to say goodbye to any more people.
0000
Seraph ran into her bedroom. After a while, she managed to look outside to see the crowd gone, and she closed the portal. Nachos and Cinnabar crawled into bed with her trying to give her some comfort as she cried. She would have wanted to send them too, but they would rather die than leave her without Hekapoo and Marco around. Seraph had spent the last few hours crying, and at this point, she couldn't stop. She held the little plush dragon, Jalapeño, close for any comfort.
She'd get used to it; she liked the idea she'd get used to it.
"Seraph?"
The door to her bedroom was pushed open. Seraph looked up to find Janna, Jackie, Sensei, and Skullnick at her door.
"What? What are you guys doing here? Why didn't you leave with everyone else?"
This odd group looked at each other; they all came to the same idea independently.
Janna moved over and sat by her bed; Janna put her arms around her and didn't say anything. But Seraph just sobbed into her shoulder, hugging her back.
1 YEAR AND A HALF LATER
Madrid was supposed to be a lovely city; she had once made plans to go to it with her dad. That chance never came.
She went to Madrid to try and get people into her mom's dimension. Not everyone listened to her; some thought it was a trap. She'd been going across the Earth and other dimensions trying to get as many people to safety as possible.
It had been going pretty much the same as the other times, but something happened. The sky went dark, and something roared above them.
It happened fast; she couldn't have known. It started to rain something black, she reacted, and flames erupted from her protecting her from it.
The black rain burned away everything it touched, she had to keep the flames up around her to save herself, but she couldn't save anyone else. She didn't know how long it lasted; she heard everything around her melt.
She finally let down her shield just when she didn't have the energy to keep it up anymore. The world around her had been worn away, and melted. Seraph laid on the ground, exhausted. Above her, something continued to roar, raining death around the world. It wasn't right above her, but it would be back soon.
She had to move, but she just couldn't muster the strength.
"Come on, come on," A voice rang out from what used to be a street.
Seraph blinked; someone in a long blue coat held a strange black umbrella and was running towards her. "You!"
At full speed and never let himself slow down, not even when he bent down and scooped her up in his arms, he tried to keep the umbrella up over them.
"Seraph Diaz, I presume." He kept running.
Seraph blinked.
"Yellow horns like your mother. I'm kind of guessing; I heard you were here. And, well, that happened. You here, I don't know how many people besides you could have survived-I mean- yeah. I did. But. Whatever! Running!"
Seraph barely caught a glimpse of something bright shooting from miles away and striking at the dark thing. Whatever it was soon crashed into the ground with a tumble.
"Don't worry, that's me, well, my friends. Why am I still running?"
There was another roar, "Right, yeah, never that easy! Hold that umbrella! I'm pretty sure it should block out the black rain! It got me here safe enough, but don't want to push it."
"Who are you?" Seraph managed to whisper.
"That's an excellent question!"
1 YEAR AND SEVEN MONTHS LATER
He was weird. He was also the best hope for the planet.
Earth had a lot of secrets; he seemed to be the keeper of everything. Seraph had wondered something: why were there stories about dragons and monsters on Earth when there wasn't any sign of them on Earth. How did they know about magic when there wasn't any?
They were hidden all over Earth, and this guy helped hide them. There were lots of people dealing with all of the strange things on Earth. All these people didn't always agree on things but with how bad things had gotten.
He decided it was time for them to talk, and he thought Seraph should be there too.
He sat in a chair as a black orb with red-eye floated around him. Seraph sat closed by; there a few people around him getting things ready and looking into the computer. Around the table, some people and others were merely there through computers and a couple of holograms.
He looked bored and like he needed to sleep.
"The world is in danger. It's falling apart piece by piece. And if we don't all start working together, this place is going down. Considering how much work I've put into it, I don't want that, and I don't think you do. Look, you guys are some of the most secretive and reclusive parties in this world who deal with the weird. Well, the weird is out of the bag. Maybe some of you want to know why that is."
They seemed more eager to listen.
"I think we've all heard some rumors; we've all picked up on stuff. Magic has been out of whack the last few months, and suddenly, stars start blinking out. Vox, please do the thing."
The orb seemed to sigh and projected an image of Erebus. "Erebus, if you know the name, you probably recognize it from Greek Myths. He was considered to be a primordial born out of chaos and considered a god of darkness. I doubt he's an actual primordial, and I don't think he's any sort of god."
A hologram of a man in a uniform spoke up, "why is this important?"
"Stories are important; everyone has some truth in it. I looked around, on other planets, most of them have gotten hit worse than us; I'll be back to that. Erebus shows up every few generations or so and causes chaos. But things must have gone just right for him; he's decided to do more this time around."
"What does he want?" A hologram of a man with thick glasses asked.
"To watch the world burn? Who knows? Its possible he doesn't know. He's been missing for a while; he might be done for this round. Everything that's happening might just be leftovers of his last action."
"I think you're dancing around the point," Another man in a proper suit spoke up.
"Earth isn't important. Erebus is barely mentioned in Earth myths, but in other words, they have legends spanning a millennium. He hasn't aimed anything to Earth, but we are getting the splashback. If we get ready before the big stuff, we have a chance to ride it out. There is a resistance and I think it's time we join. We might be able to help a lot of suffering if we do, but we gotta do it together."
"How do we know any this is the fact?" A woman with an accent spoke, her face was covered in shadows. "You aren't known for being upfront."
"I've verified, I've checked in other dimensions, Demon Realms, Amphibia, the Blazing World, Rodentus, Pylea, and several others, and they say the same stories. Plus, I've verified with Miss Seraph here."
Seraph gave a timid wave.
"A child?" Possibly a cat asked.
"Yeah, a child," He growled, "A child who is the last family member of the Magic High Commission who is supposed to keep magic running and were taken out by Erebus as this all started. A child who has spent the last few months trying to evacuate as many people into a safe dimension. She's already said she is willing to help, so the worst-case scenario is humanity doesn't die out. So treat her with the proper respect, or I'm more than happy to cut you out of this conversation. So, ladies, gentlemen, and others, we can discuss the Earth's fate if you are ready to act like mature sentient beings. Who's ready to talk?"
2 YEARS LATER
Earth was still hanging in space, it was still spinning, and the population dropped by a lot in the last two years. It could have been worse.
Seraph sat besides Nachos and Cinnabar, she dug through the remains of her house, what was her house.
A few weeks back, tremor worms rushed through the city and tore everything up. The resistance finished them off; most of them anyway, but a few were still digging in the city's outer edge.
They did manage to so save everyone, but this looked like the end of Echo Creek.
The worms would attack whenever there was a portal or anything significant happening, so she had to portal outside of town and ride in.
Seraph wanted to save as much as she could, baby photos, anything that could help her remember. She found old keepsakes from her drawer.
As she looked, she found an old notebook.
"Star's spellbook?" Seraph whispered to herself.
3 YEARS LATER
They had started to call him the General, a nickname he hated. He was surrounded by people asking him all sorts of questions.
"Okay, take one my generators to AIU and Eagle Eye; they can at least watch themselves and what's left of Virginia. See if they need help transporting people out. Then send a message to Newtopia, ask Commander Wu how the evacuations are going. Does she need more manpower? We crippled Dominator's bots, but she's going to keep going. She needs to be ready when they start up again. I need an update on the Temple of the Celestial Beings, the planets aren't going to be aligned any time soon, but Astrobell has turned her attention towards it. I want to know what she has planned for it; Astrobell isn't one to care about a gold Pyramid for the gold. Send the 501 to Commander Clawthorne; they have been holding back those Scavengers Crows; they want to dig every bit of power they can from that Titan. Magic is clinging to life; I don't need them getting what little is left in those bones. Tell the troops they ship out first thing tomorrow. Okay, the last thing Zedlord was bumped off, but he managed to break the planet, so very him. So send the 507 and the 682 guys to The Dimension of Cat with Human faces."
Everyone present groaned, hearing the location.
"Yeah, I know, they freak me out too. But we're not going to let them die. I'll send some of my portal tech. They ship out as soon as they can get ready. Now get going, people." He clapped his hand, "Move it!"
"Yes, General!" They saluted him.
He rolled his eyes; he was sitting on a crate and looked back at Seraph. He was seated crossed legs, he looked like a cat a bit regal and liked owned the place —it was his place— but also like he could be distracted by a laser pointer.
She was sitting feet away on the floor with a particular notebook and several old tomes around her.
"How's my best student?"
"I'm making progress. Do you need me to head out with-"
"No, they will handle it. My portal guns are enough. Magic is all but done in, but your powers are more or less intact."
"Less, my flames are still good, but magic, I was never good with it."
"It takes me a huge amount of effort to cast any spell; you can still do a bit here or there. Maybe it's because half your parents were pure magic, and the other half was human. Maybe magic filters differently through you. Fairies magic, titans, celestials, and the alike are humming, weakened, but humming and getting worse each day. Your magic, it hasn't gotten weaker."
"It's hasn't gotten all that stronger."
"No, I think it has; you are going inches, not miles, but you are growing. Try to take a deep breath and focus; the world speaks. You just have to listen. You gotta walk before you can fly."
Seraph did as she was told and tried to focus on it. She closed her eyes and focused on a single flame in the dark; the image helped her clear her mind.
"Hello, Mister General, Sir," Two women walked to him, one with long brown hair and a black coat half saluted.
"Please don't call me that," He sighed, "I expected from her, not you." He motioned to the other girl, a red-haired young woman with a cat-like smile.
"She beat me to the punch," Her voice was rough and a bit gravely. "How's the firebug?"
"She's making progress. Also, really? From you? Firebug?"
Flames danced around her fingers, "What? I'm helping her learn to control her flames. And, its better than my nickname. Scarlett, my name, is already descriptive enough."
The other young woman just rolled her eyes, "This is kinda nice; remember when we were kids? You dreamed about being a teacher. It's nice that you got the chance at it."
"I learned from the best. Beatrice, do you ever miss being a teacher?"
"A little, but the world isn't fair. I'm happy enough for helping you with her. Plus, I needed someone to spar swords with me."
"Thank you, Lieutenants."
"Don't start," Scarlett growled at him; Beatrice chuckled as they bickered, which turned to them making faces at each other.
Seraph tried not to listen in, but she couldn't help it sometimes. They were weird; they helped her, they taught her all sorts of stuff, and when her home was gone, they took her in and gave her a home.
She was never sure about them. They looked like young adults, but they didn't talk like ones.
They seemed to know things like they were much older than they looked. The world seemed to crumble around them, they felt the pain everyone felt, but they kept going like they had experienced it a thousand times already.
She thought it was maybe because they had each other; they could keep going. Perhaps that was how anyone kept going. As long as there was someone to hold your hand through the worst of it, you could make it.
The books around her trembled and started to float just a foot above the ground. "Learning to walk."
Her teacher smiled, something he tended to do less as these days passed, "But one day, you will soar, and I look forward to seeing that."
6 YEARS LATER
Erebus wasn't dead.
They were all disappointed by that fact. It got worse; he made his grand entrance by sending an ancient being to Earth.
They called him Orgalorg, the breaker of worlds. A good part of the West Coast was forever reshaped, and their home was shattered. They lost a lot of good people.
"Come on; we gotta go!" Janna ordered as she and Jackie dragged her away.
"We can't leave him," Seraph argued.
"I don't think he's coming," Jackie whispered.
The General had fought like a beast before; they liked to tell stories that he could fight off whole armies and sing as he did. He was on top of the giant monster beast and stabbing it in the eye with a sword without restraint.
A giant vampire-squid-bird and a strange man in a blue coat, and no one could say who would win. Though saying he was human was a stretch, the rage in his eyes and how his face was contorted didn't make him seem human.
He caused an explosion that froze his bottom half and gave them a chance to escape. People were trying to escape while they could. The General was surging with power, drawing every bit of magic he had; every bit he could pull in. He wasn't going to stop until this was all over.
"Moving out now!" Skullnick grabbed the girls and started to run.
Sensei had grabbed supplies and booked it with them.
Seraph started making sure to remember him for what she was sure to be the last time.
8 YEARS LATER
The sky was dark, and Seraph sat by the cliff, her legs dangling from the edge.
"You know, sometimes I wonder if my life was a mistake that the universe is trying to correct." She took a deep breath, "The world seemed to try to snap me and my dad's age to what they should have been. Monsters from other dimensions came and attacked me, The Dream Eater and-"She paused as she traced the scar's outline.
"Yeah, and Erebus. He said my birth woke him up." She looked down at the long drop to the water below. "He brought the Love Bugs and everything. He took away my uncles, Star, Moon and River, and all of Mewni. Then everyone else had to leave or was forced to leave. Everyone the resistance has lost and everyone-so many worlds. So, sometimes when I'm alone like this, I wonder if my birth was a mistake. It's stupid, I know, but it's not hard to see it."
Seraph jumped on her feet and just balanced there for a moment before she stepped back. "But like you'd remind me, Erebus would have shown up sooner or later. I didn't hide away Glossaryck. I didn't break the magic. I didn't sing that stupid song. And I didn't make an army to wreck the universe, I didn't break homes, and I didn't break families."
Seraph took a step back to the two graves, for Beatrice and Scarlett. She took a breath and spoke a small spell, it strained her, but she managed a few more flowers to bloom for them.
They would have liked having flowers.
They had gotten lucky to find this out of the way spot for them. Erebus had taken a good junk of the cost for his place. Beatrice and Scarlett had died, making sure everyone else got away.
"You think they'd like the flowers?" Seraph glanced, just covering eyes enough to glimpse the Sun.
Stuff went insane after that day; Orgalorg fought the general for hours, they wrecked what remained of San Francisco. In the end, the space squid had enough and decided to destroy the Sun, but the General wouldn't have it.
No one was sure about the details, but the General followed him along and did something as the Sun started to go out. No one saw either of them after that, but the Sun had turned blue. It was his favorite color.
Some said he was holding Orgalorg back in the center of the Sun, an eternal fight. Some said he was in the Sun fixing it, and someday he'd be back. Some said he used up the last of his life to reignite it.
Seraph wasn't sure, but she knew he wasn't coming back. He couldn't face the universe without them in it. She missed them; they were good teachers for her; they were good friends and good people.
She wasn't sure she'd be able to see any of them. But they all were important to her; they made her strong and gave her something to believe in. None of them, her teachers, her family, her friends, her parents, not a single one would give up so she wouldn't no matter how hard it got. And there were times she wanted to run away and hide from all of this.
She had spent the last few years fighting whatever creature made its way to Earth look for trouble. Whatever thing Erebus sent their way. Whatever greedy idiot thought they'd make themselves king over those already suffering. She'd fought Tricksters and their changelings who wanted to take advantage of the chaos. She'd gotten pretty good at it.
"Commander Diaz?" One of the troops rushed over. "Sorry, I know this is a-"
"What happened?"
"Corbenic, our contact says Erebus and his forces have found the device from Corbernic."
Seraph picked up her coat from the ground and put it on. "Okay, there's work to be done. Lots to do before we can rest. We think they are trying to get that giant eel."
She started to walk away but paused and saluted. "Goodbye, and thanks for hearing my out."
Seraph walked away, pretending to hear them snark and roll their eyes at the sight.
Seraph was ready to soar; if it took her whole life, she'd find a way to stop Erebus.
16 YEARS LATER
In a broken and burned down-home, a black and white portal formed. Two figured fell out, a young man in a red hoodie and a young-looking woman in a yellow dress and skin as white as snow.
"Ouch!"
We once again see our Beta-Reader, RJ Writing Ink, this time sitting in a recliner and eagerly reading everything while eating popcorn.
RJ: ADdude, this may be some of your best work yet, and it helps to show just how deadly Erebus really is. It's been a long time since I've seen a story that shows the universe falling apart so thoroughly before. Oh, and because you asked, remember about the song thing.
Author Notes:So, you guys were all complaining that Earth was left out last time. There you go. Happy now!? ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED!?
So, I take it you see now why Hekapoo was terrified when Seraph first ran into Erebus. Anywho, we see familiar and not familiar faces come and go as do the years of Seraph's life… like sands through our fingers or of an hour glass.
Stuff happened.
Leave reviews and telling me what you guys think. And yeah, if anyone has any talent writing song lyrics please DM me I could use some help to re-write a certain song for a day.