Hey, guys! It's just me this week. It seems that everyone had a little too much fun partying last two chapters and needed to take some time off while I go it alone. This chapter was very difficult for me to write, but I honestly think that it came out better than I could've hoped for. Now, here's my take on "Ludo in the Wild."
"Uh," Ludo looked around at everything. "Where's my Castle?"
"It's gone," Comet simply said.
"And your Wand?"
"That's gone, too," he sadly said.
"Everything...everything is gone?" Ludo said, trying to process all that he'd heard. Then, his face began to turn crimson with pure rage. "YOU STUPID BRATS! YOU TOOK EVERYTHING FROM ME! MY ARMY, MY HOME, EVERYTHING!" Ludo then brandished his scissors with a crazed look in his eyes. "I WILL MAKE YOU PAY FOR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE TO ME, COMET DRAGONFLY! YOU WILL RUE THE DAY THAT YOU DARED TO INCUR THE WRATH OF LUDO AVA-"
"Shut up," Comet simply said as he walked over, yanked Ludo's scissors out of his hands before using them to open up a portal. Then, without any ceremony, he tossed the little birdman inside. "And don't come back."
That was the last thing that Ludo heard as he got thrown through the portal, destination unknown.
Day 1
The Void of Nothingness. The Cosmic Realm Between the Worlds. The Interdimensional Abyss. Over the eons, as countless civilizations across the Universe discovered the means to interdimensional travel, they came up with these names to describe the same thing. That 'thing' being the expanse that lay between the different dimensions that made up the Universe. It was an infinite space with no beginning or end, with not even the air needed for a creature to breathe. That mattered little in the face of magic, though, as its influence touched even this domain that was not a domain, allowing any creature unfortunate enough to find its way there able to survive.
Of course, that would be of small comfort to someone unlucky enough to find themselves in the Void. No one would want to travel to such a place, but an unfortunate number of people had found themselves trapped there, anyway. They could've been sucked there by a wild portal; such things were rare since the creation of dimensional scissors, but they could still occur in some small dimension. Or they used dimensional scissors but failed to think of a proper destination. Either way, the result would land them in the same, wall-less prison between dimensions.
And as Ludo Avarius discovered after being thrown into a portal by Comet, this was the new Hell he now found himself in.
Play Chopin - Nocturne op.9 No.2- /9E6b3swbnWg
Ludo dejectedly sighed to himself, adrift in his new home. How long had he been stuck there? Days? Weeks? Years? It no longer mattered.
"Alone, am I," Ludo thought aloud. "Adrift like a piece of driftwood, carried to and fro by the unseen waves of this infinitely expanding cosmos. Away...from nothing...towards nothing. No concept of what was, what is, or what will be. The passage of time, marked only by age..."
Ludo then paused his monologue for an undetermined amount of time, not caring about it or anything at this point. As he did so, the telltale whiskers of hair that lined his face began to grow into a full-fledged beard, something he detested. After an...embarrassing incident involving a bearded clown on his birthday as a kid, he vowed never to grow one. Yet, like so much of his life now, he remained powerless to stop it.
"...A hunger of the soul, and the mind..." Ludo muttered to himself as time continued to pass. He could feel his mental faculties beginning to slip away. The need to create, discover, to do anything that made life worth living faded from him.
*Growl. Growl. Stomach Noises*
"...And hunger of the body," Ludo sadly added as he looked down at his tiny form, beginning to waste away. Having gone so long without food, Ludo's body fell upon its last resort. It shut down anything not needed for survival and drew on its fat stores to sustain itself. Now, even that was failing.
"Alone, am I," Ludo muttered once more as he passed a drifting pile of garbage, not caring if the satellites, trash bags, or other unwanted debris hit him in the face. "Infinitely al..." It was then that Ludo caught something in the corner of his eye, and it was shiny, like gold, glimmering in the Void amidst all the rubbish. It was a bag of...
"Corn chips!" Ludo gasped, blinking to make sure that he didn't imagine things. A bag of unopened Gold'n Crispz corn chips floating amidst the trash. Now acutely aware of his hunger, Ludo frantically began to wave his arms like he was swimming, trying to get back to the chips. However, it was no use. Try as he might, he couldn't reach them. All he could do was watch them drift away.
"Come back," Ludo pathetically pleaded, hoping that whoever ran things would take pity on him. Luckily, someone, who happened to watch over events from an undisclosed location, felt bad for the little guy and decided to invoke the "throw the dog a bone" trope. What does that mean? It means that he conjured up a green meteorite that sent him hurtling towards the chips. Unfortunately for Ludo, he overshot them, with said space rock sending him straight for another rogue portal.
End Music
"AHHHHHHH!" Ludo screamed as he fell through the portal, which deposited him in an unknown location. The sky was covered in a grey haze of clouds, and the leaves had begun to fall onto the cold, muddy ground. After crashing into the dirt, it was into one such leaf pile that Ludo found himself in.
After lying on the ground for a few moments, dazed by the impact, Ludo threw his head up and realized that he was on a solid foundation for the first time in Axoxotl knows how long. Coughing as he hacked up a few leaves, Ludo looked around his new environment, only a single question coming to mind:
"Where the fuck am I?"
At this moment, the Universe decided to yank the bone away from the little "dog," as the cloudy overcast soon gave way to big, fat raindrops.
"Ow! Ouch! Yeowch!" Ludo cried out as he rose to what was left of his limbs and began to run for shelter amongst the trees. "The sky is attacking my face with water!" The Avian didn't get far, though. Having gone so long without working his limbs, Ludo had difficulty remaining upright. Eventually, his body gave way, making him slip and fall into the muddy ground before sliding down a sizable hill. As he did so, though, he caught the familiar sight of the chip bag, which also come through the portal, and began sliding down the hill alongside Ludo.
"My chips! My precious!" Ludo growled as he tried to reach for the bag. Since he wasn't paying attention to where he was going, though, he failed to notice the dead, partially uprooted tree in front of him until it was too late. With a notably loud *THWACK*, Ludo slammed into the tree, making it give way and slide further down the hill into a nearby creek of water. After that, the tree floated on the stream before beginning to drift away. As for Ludo, he found himself washed ashore by the water, coughing up large amounts of it as he did so.
When Ludo got back up, he looked around, frantically searching for the chip bag. Much to his frustration, he found no sign of it.
"Gods damn it!" Ludo cursed. "Now, what am I supposed to do for food?" he asked as he began to lick his lips. He wasn't in the water for very long, but it had been long enough for him to realize that he went too long without any fluids. Turning back towards the creek, he observed the body of water for a moment.
"Should I?" Ludo wondered as he weighed his options. On the one hand, he did have a viable source of water that would keep him hydrated. On the other hand, there was the chance that he could end up getting poisoned by unseen bacteria or parasites. But as the tiny bird man looked at his disheveled reflection in the water, he realized that it was either this or he died.
"Screw it," Ludo said as he thrust his beak down into the creek, taking large gulps of water as he did so. It felt cold, and not in a good way like a drink with ice cubes in it, and slimy. But as he ingested it, he felt his intense thirst begin to subside for the time being. Sighing to himself, he then fell onto his back as he wondered what he should do next.
"Now, what am I to do for food?" he wondered. He then heard tiny splashing sounds in the creek, prompting him to lift his head up just enough to see what was causing it. That's when he saw that the stream was teeming with tiny lifeforms. Insects, little fish, and more were going about their lives. From Ludo's perspective, though, they were just sources of food.
It didn't matter if it looked undignified for the self-proclaimed King of Monsters (yes, he still thought of himself like that), but he didn't care. All he wanted to do was live. So, he began to pounce into the water, thrashing about as he tried to get his hands on even a tiny bug for him to eat. Alas, his efforts were for naught. The bugs and fishes fled from him, too fast for him to pursue. All he ended up doing was exhaust himself even further. With a sigh of frustration, he then crawled his way back to shore, made his way to the nearest tree, and promptly passed out.
Day 3
When Ludo awoke next, he saw that the sky remained the same overcast as before. Beyond knowing that it was daytime, he had no inkling of how long he'd been out.
Who cares at this point? Ludo asked himself as he fought off the intense hunger pains he was experiencing. Thinking that the creek was a no-go, Ludo decided to look for food elsewhere.
"Come on, come on. There's got to be something to eat in this forsaken land." Ludo muttered in frustration as he overturned what was left of an old tree stump. To his surprise, he saw that it provided shelter to various worms and other insectoid creatures, the kind that would've made Ludo lose his lunch if he had any to lose.
A part of Ludo, the prideful, arrogant-as-Hell part of Ludo didn't want him to do this. After all, he was the Lord of House Avarius! He shouldn't have to stoop to doing something this disgusting. Yet, the more rational part of his mind realized that he had little choice. Reluctantly, Ludo snapped his head forward and grabbed a few bugs in his beak. He almost winced as he felt their shattered remains continue to struggle inside his mouth, but he didn't care. He was too hungry to worry about that. So, he forced his body to swallow them, much to its protests. Once done, it took a good deal of willpower to keep his body from puking its new contents back up.
With great reluctance, Ludo returned to eating up beakfuls of insects. It wasn't much; Hells, it was barely anything in terms of calories. Still, it was a source of protein, one that he desperately needed to get his strength back. After that was done, Ludo then moved on to another spot, searching for bugs and insects for him to eat. He repeated this process for some time before his stomach felt full at last. Satisfied with his disgusting task, Ludo walked down the hill towards the creek and took several gulps of water.
"It's not much, Ludo, but at least you're off to a good start," he thought as he began to doze off once more.
Day 7
Ludo continued to walk through the nearby woods, searching for food or anything to use as a tool. It had been a while since he arrived in this uncharted land, and Ludo was barely hanging on as it was. He could scavenge for bugs under rocks and drink from the potentially toxic creek all he wanted, but that wouldn't last him forever. While not as thin as he once was, Ludo still looked pretty skeletal. Thus, it was time for him to find better sources of sustenance.
As he walked through the relatively massive trees, Ludo was startled to hear a loud screech coming from above. Looking up, he then saw an enormous bald eagle, at least three times the size of one found on Earth, flying overhead before perching on a tree. As Ludo strained his eyes, he saw the telltale outline of a nest high up in the canopy.
"Hmm," Ludo pondered as he got an idea.
It took a lot of work to do so, considering the tree was at least 50 feet tall, and he wasn't in the best shape to begin with, but Ludo was eventually able to make it up to the giant bird's nest. Once he stumbled inside, he then saw that the bird was gone. But the nest wasn't unoccupied. Sitting on the ground was a trio of hatchlings, no more than a few weeks old, by the looks of them. For a moment, Ludo seriously considered killing the young birds right then and there before eating them. However, his mind concluded this would be a terrible idea. If the mother bird found her chicks dead when she returned, she would hunt down the one responsible. And Ludo doubted that he could fend her off by himself. Instead, he came up with a more devious method.
Making his way to the nearest hatchling, Ludo promptly picked it up and threw it out of the nest, watching as it landed on a nearby branch.
"Sorry, kid, but you've been evicted," Ludo said without any remorse before looking at the two other chicks. "What? Do you want to join him? Because you will if you tell your mother about this," he threatened. The baby birds remained silent up until the moment their Mom returned. Once that happened, they started chirping like crazy for food, something their Mom was more than happy to provide. Regurgitating all she caught during her hunt, the birds happily ate up the meal. When it came time for Ludo, though, the Giant Bald Eagle didn't move, much to Ludo's confusion.
"What's wrong? Come on, mama. Baby's hungry!" Ludo said as he pointed to his open mouth. The Eagle studied him for a few moments before correctly concluding that this was not one of her chicks. Taking Ludo into her talons, she lifted the intruder out of the nest before promptly dropping him down towards the ground below.
"YOU NEVER LOOVVEEEEEDD MEEEEEE! Ludo screamed as he fell to the ground below. To make things worse, the rain over the last few days had made the ground slippier than it had been before, carrying down the slopes back towards the creek, which he proceeded to hit with a very loud splash.
Ludo found himself in the same predicament when he arrived while waiting for the water to take him to shore again. Then, to add insult to injury, the eggshell (which he'd been wearing that entire time) cracked, leaving him in his underwear. Embarrassed, Ludo tried to cover himself up, only to realize that this act would be pointless since there were no other sentient beings nearby.
"Well, at least it can't get any worse," Ludo said to himself.
But it did. The Eagle wasn't done with him. Having retrieved her missing chick from the treetops, the bird spotted Ludo on the ground, scooped him up in her talons, and carried Ludo high into the sky.
"NO! NO! PUT ME DOWN RIGHT NOW!" Ludo shouted, trying to get the Eagle to obey him, to no avail. After flying for several minutes, the pair made it to a clearing in the forests, and a lake lay at the center. Seeing this as good a spot as any, the giant bird then dropped a helpless Ludo into the water below.
"NOT AGAAAAAINNN!" Ludo cried as he hit the water. Given how high he was falling from, it felt like hitting concrete or a brick wall, making it very painful for the little Monster.
As Ludo began to sink underneath the surface of the lake, the pain became almost too much for him to bear. For a brief moment, he felt like he should close his eyes and let it end. But Ludo Avarius was far too stubborn to give in to the embrace of death, and he forced himself back up to the surface and swam to shore through sheer willpower.
"Stupid...bird..." was all Ludo could say before he passed out from the adrenaline wearing off.
Day 12
When Ludo awoke next, he found himself in an entirely new location. Rather than be next to a lake, he found himself inside a dimly lit cave. It was nighttime, but he could faintly make out the sight of snow falling outside.
"Oh, come on! Now it's snowing!? Last time I checked, it shouldn't be winter right now!" Ludo complained aloud as he tried to get up and leave the cave. As he did so, though, he was met with resistance. It was like something was preventing him from moving his limbs. Something very strong and sticky. He couldn't even move his head! His eyes, however, were able to look around, letting him figure out his surroundings. Much to his surprise, he found himself caught in the middle of a massive web that took up the back end of the cave. He saw the dead, half-eaten carcasses of various insects and animals straining his head. On the ground below lay the bones of even more creatures.
"Oh no..." Ludo gulped. It didn't take a genius to figure out what happened to him while he'd been asleep. As if to confirm his fears, the web began to move and vibrate, the faint pitter-patter of multiple sets of legs. Craning his neck, Ludo looked up to see what was coming...and nearly pissed himself.
Approaching the helpless Ludo was the biggest Spider the Avian had ever seen! It had to be the size of a full-grown Warnicorn! With its deep-blue, almost black exoskeleton, crimson red four eyes, and giant mandibles, it looked like the stuff of nightmares! And it was headed straight towards Ludo.
"No! Please spare me! I don't taste good! No, please!" Ludo cried out as he desperately tried to escape his fate. Alas, it was no use, and the web was too durable to break with his body in its current state. All he could do was shut his eyes and braced for the end...
But when the Spider saw the emaciated state of its next meal, it had only one thought: I'm not that desperate. With a swipe of one of its legs, it proceeded to cut Ludo free from the web, sending him tumbling to the cave floor below. It then decided to help itself to one of the many other meals available.
After looking himself over to confirm that he was intact, Ludo breathed a sigh of relief. However, his pride then got in the way of his common sense. Rather than run for it, Ludo got up and shouted, "Hey, you overgrown arachnid! Am I suddenly not good enough for you?!"
Pausing in its meal, the Spider saw that the tiny creature it discarded was screeching at it, much to its annoyance. Not wanting to bother with this thing, the Spider responded by webbing Ludo up once more. Then, like someone taking out the trash, the arachnid threw Ludo out of its cave into the snow.
"Jerk," Ludo said to himself as he got up from the snow. It was only now that he realized just how precarious his situation was. Here he was, no food, no water, in the middle of a snowstorm, in his underwear, and that was a recipe for death.
"Okay, this isn't good. Need to find some shelter, don't have time to hike anywhere," Ludo weighed his options as he stood up in the cold. That's when he realized something: as he pressed down into the snow, it began to pack.
"Hmm."
Day 17
Play Day 37 On Repeat- watch?v=B0lCz8MKvh0
It had taken five days of ceaseless labor, but eventually, Ludo was able to construct a crude igloo out of the ice and snow. The inside was bare and lacked any distinguishing features, but at least it kept him a little bit warmer than he was outside. Of course, there was also the fact that his beard had begun to grow even longer. At another time, Ludo would've been disgusted by his growing facial hair, but considering how it was the only source of warmth at the moment, he couldn't have cared less.
Having managed to fashion a basic shelter, Ludo resumed finding food for himself. This would prove to be an even more difficult task than it had been when he'd first arrived, though. With the area now covered in a blanket of snow, most creatures had gone into hibernation, determined to ride out the weather. Still, Ludo was desperate enough to look for something, anything, to satisfy his hunger!
As he was scrounging around for any stray bugs on that day, Ludo then noticed the familiar carapace of the Spider, silently making its way across the snowbanks. It struggled to stay upright at first, but it managed to stay atop the snow after a few steps before heading away from the forest.
Seeing that he had nothing to lose, Ludo decided to follow the Spider, thinking it would lead him to some actual food. Getting on all fours, the Avian mimicked the Spider's walking, careful not to put too much weight onto a single limb and throw him off balance. It took some doing, but he got the hang of it and hurried off after the giant arachnid after a while.
After following the Spider for a good distance, Ludo found himself back at the lake where the Eagle dropped him. By now, the lake had completely frozen over, making Ludo curious as to why the Spider had come there. As he looked at the lake from atop a cliff, Ludo was able to see the faint outlines of fish moving just below the surface.
So that's what it's trying to do, Ludo realized. But how is it going to...?
As if to answer Ludo's question, the Spider made it to an overturned log wedged between a ravine overlooking the lake. Aiming its spinneret at a section of the log, it shot out a line of webbing before using it to lower itself down to the ice below. Ludo watched the creature do so, then noticed multiple other spiderwebs covering the log. Realizing that this was how the Spider hunted and survived in the winter, Ludo resolved to do the same. Carefully making his way onto the log, Ludo searched for a discarded thread of web that he could use, which was harder than it sounded. Most of the web strings were old and worn like they'd been there for some time. Eventually, though, Ludo managed to find one in relatively good shape and looked like it could hold his weight.
"Look out below," Ludo cried as he rode the web line down to the lake... and fell flat on his face, disturbing the Spider. Seeing that it was the same little creature that it had discarded before, the Spider paid it no heed, continuing with its work. Using the ends of its legs like glass-cutters, the Spider expertly cut a hole in the ice, creating an opening. As the now recovered Ludo watched, the Spider then shot its webbing into the water before dragging it back up, revealing a makeshift net filled with tons of delicious fish.
If it can do that, then so can I, Ludo thought. Thinking creatively, Ludo used the sharp end of his beak to carve a crude hole in the ice. Unlike the Spider, though, he didn't bother trying to get rid of the ice. Instead, he just waited for it to sink to the bottom. Once it did so, Ludo was met with another dilemma: how would he catch fish? He couldn't dive in the water, as he would succumb to hypothermia in moments. Then, it hit him: he could use his scraggly beard!
Leaning over the edge of the fishing hole, Ludo dipped his beard into the water and waited. After a few moments, he felt a slight tug on his beard, prompting him to pull it up. Once he did so, he found a tiny fish attached to the end of it. Tiny was an understatement: it was only around the size of his hand! Yet, it was still Ludo's.
"He hehe! Gotcha!" Ludo shouted. Alas, his moment of triumph was short-lived. At that moment, the Spider came over to Ludo and whacked him aside before taking his hard-earned fish for herself, swallowing it in one bite.
"No!" Ludo cried out in anguish, to which the Spider responded by spitting out the leftovers at him. Seeing there was still some food left, Ludo hastily gobbled it down while the Spider narrowed her eyes at him in disgust. Then, just for emphasis, it spat at him. But Ludo didn't care. It was the first real food he had in weeks!
This process continued for the next several hours. Ludo would try and catch some fish for himself, and the Spider would steal it and only give him the scraps. Ludo just munched away at the fish the entire time, just happy to have something to eat.
As night fell, the Spider returned to her cave with her haul for the day in tow, with Ludo following close behind. His initial plan was to try and steal some fish from the Spider when she wasn't looking but then realized that this would result in death. Instead, he decided to simply follow it until he could make his way back to his nearby igloo. That's when he caught the familiar, golden glint of something lying in the snow. It was the corn chips bag.
Ludo immediately broke into a sprint towards the chips, no longer caring about saying above the snow. "Yes! Yes! Come to me, my precious! The precious!"
Then, as if for no other reason than to rob Ludo of this victory, the Spider swung in from above and grabbed the chip bag right as Ludo was about to reach it.
"No, no! My Precious! My precious!" Ludo cried out as the Spider swung away, with Ludo taking off after it. It was a tough chase, and the Spider could web sling between the trees while Ludo had to contend with traveling on the ground. After what felt like an eternity, Ludo managed to catch up to the Spider, only for his eyes to widen when he realized where they were: his igloo, with the Spider standing right next to it.
"Oh no," Ludo whispered in dread. "Don't. You. Dare!" Ludo shouted at the Spider, who simply narrowed her eyes. With a swift motion, the Spider proceeded to smash several of the blocks in the igloo, causing it to topple over into a heap of snow.
"No!" Ludo cried out in despair. This didn't last long, though, as his focus immediately returned to the stolen bag of chips. The chips that should belong to him! He continued to pursue the Spider to its nearby cave, shouting "My chips! My chips!" the whole time. By the time they got to the cave entrance, the now irritated Spider had turned around and hissed at him before sealing up the opening with webbing as it retreated into its depths, leaving Ludo alone.
All alone. Never in his life had Ludo felt so defeated. He had lost everything. His army deserted him, and his mortal enemy destroyed his ancestral Castle. He'd been exiled to this forsaken wilderness where he barely managed to get by. And now, he was deprived of food, water, and shelter.
It was at this moment that, somewhere deep inside of Ludo, something in him...snapped. Ludo had reached the limits of his patience, and he was sick and tired of everyone taking what was rightfully his! And at that moment, that spark of anger and resentment in him exploded into an inferno of determination.
"Big mistake," Ludo hissed as he looked at the cave entrance. Reaching out towards the webbing, Ludo then got together a plan. From this moment on, Ludo was done having others take from him, and from now on, he would be the one doing the taking.
In the back of the cave, the Spider nestled itself next to its webs as it opened the bag of chips. Using its forearms, it carefully took the chips out one by one, savoring their crispy, salty taste for herself. She was so caught up in snacking that the Spider failed to notice a cocoon beginning to descend to the floor beneath her. Once it got within inches of her face, though, the Spider stopped eating long enough to notice the oddity.
Those few seconds were all Ludo needed.
Play Ludo vs. Spider- /K-RrUM0_yh0 (and keep looping it until I say so)
"YAAAHHHHH!" Ludo jumped out of the cocoon in one swift motion, pouncing on the Giant Spider before expertly leaping towards her web.
"Come and get me, you overgrown insect," Ludo said as he landed on the web. He knew that the Spider wasn't an insect; he just said that to piss it off.
And it worked. The Spider wrapped the chips bag up in webs, set it aside for later, and then screeched before jumping onto its web.
The two adversaries stared each other down before charging forwards. The Spider used her legs to attack the Avian, but Ludo was ready. With a strength that could only be brought about by desperation, he managed to grapple with the Spider. For a moment, the two remained evenly matched. Then, Ludo lunged his head forward, using his beak as a makeshift weapon as he tried to stab at one of the Spider's eyes. Taken aback by this unexpected ferocity, the Spider retreated, but Ludo wasn't through yet. Using some spare bugs, rocks, and bones lying on the web as projectiles, Ludo threw them at the Spider, disorienting it enough that it had to stop fighting to get her bearings.
Ludo took the initiative and worked his way over to the Spider before leaping onto its back. Using his claws, beak, and unkempt beard, he began to attack the Spider's carapace, making it screech in pain and irritation.
"Take this, you stupid arachnid! This is what you get for messing with an Avian!" Ludo triumphantly said as he started to do damage. "We eat things like you for break-whoa!"
Having lost patience with the tiny creature, the Spider lashed out with her many limbs, using them to throw Ludo back onto the web. Rather than get trapped, though, Ludo managed to grab hold of the webs and used them to crawl away.
"Haha! You can't catch me!" Ludo taunted his opponent, only making the Spider angrier. Using the bottom half of the webs as a shield, Ludo deftly weaved his way around the enraged Spider's attacks, narrowly avoiding her legs as they tried to cut, jab, and impale him.
"Is that your best shot? Come on, hit me like you mean it!" Ludo taunted the creature again. Having lost all patience with the intruder, the Spider's mind said, "Screw it," and did what it should've done from the getgo: it reached underneath, grabbed Ludo by the head, and flung him to the ceiling, where another web waited to catch him. Now trapped, the Spider began to crawl forward, ready to deliver the death blow. Yet Ludo appeared unfazed by all of this.
"I wouldn't be standing there if I were you," Ludo quietly whispered to the approaching Spider. No sooner had he said than did several snapping noises begin to echo through the cave. In the Spider's haste to kill Ludo, it had destroyed several of the strings that held the web up. Having lost its structural integrity, it could no longer support the massive Spider's weight. Thus, it gave way, sending the Spider plummeting to the ground below, making it lay in a heap.
End Music
"Haha! I win!" Ludo shouted before shaking himself free from the webs, landing atop his defeated foe. "And to the victor-"
Ludo then held Spider's abdomen aloft, aiming her spinneret at the bag of chips. The Spider's silk came out with a light squeeze, grabbing the bag and allowing Ludo to yank it towards him.
"-goes the spoils."
Reverently, Ludo then looked down at the corn chip bag, holding it like it were some sort of sacred artifact. A feeling of satisfaction, the likes of which he hadn't felt in a long time, came over him; he truly earned this! He opened the bag up with his little, clawed hands, revealing its still preserved contents within it.
Ludo then gluttonously proceeded to devour the contents of the bag, savoring the taste of each chip as he did so. After what felt like a lifetime, he finally had some proper food, and it was Heaven!
As the little Monster continued to enjoy his victory chips, several of them began to fall onto the ground next to the defeated Spider. In a reversal of their roles not just a few hours ago, the Spider carefully moved its legs, grabbing the chips and placing them in its mandibles. As it did so, it started to get up and move a bit, something that did not go unnoticed by Ludo.
Seeing how attached the creature was to the chips, Ludo got an idea. Putting his theory to the test, he threw a chip within the bag onto the ground a short distance away from the Spider. It followed after it and then ate it. Ludo decided to try it once more, and the Spider repeated the process. Emboldened by this discovery, Ludo threw more chips away from the Spider, leading it out of the cave and into the snow-covered forest outside.
"Go get it," Ludo told the Spider. Rather than hiss at him, the Spider obeyed his commands, making the Avian smile.
"Ludo Avarius, you may have just solved all your problems."
Day 39
More than three weeks had passed since the battle against the Spider. A little over a month since Ludo had landed in this strange wilderness. And much had changed in that short timeframe.
Ludo was no longer the weak, emaciated Monster he'd been when he first arrived. Having tamed the Spider (Which he'd come to name Rachnera), Ludo found many of his problems regarding food and water to be a thing of the past. With Rachnera now capable of hunting for him, he had a steady supply of fish and other small wildlife from which to eat and rebuild his strength. Before long, his body regained its previous weight, though Ludo wasn't content with that. Losing his followers and home sparked an epiphany in Ludo. He could no longer solely rely on others to fight his battles for him; he must fight them himself. So, despite his minute frame, Ludo took the opportunity to retrain his body.
Ludo had subjected himself to a custom workout regimen in between hunting sessions. Push-ups, crunches, stretches, and lunges, all meant to build his muscles. Once that was done, he moved on to building up his agility. He would have Rachnera create obstacle courses to traverse, teaching himself to use every aspect of his body to move on reflex. It was slow at first, but soon, the progress became apparent. Within a few weeks, his tiny body felt limber and more agile than it once did. In addition, his formerly lean frame began to develop some muscle to it. It wasn't much, but it was a major improvement considering how scrawny he once was.
Ludo had also taken to improve his physical appearance. After finishing off the contents of the chips bag, he fashioned it into a makeshift outfit for himself. As for his beard, he used Rachnera's silk to tie into bands, giving a more refined appearance. Now, Ludo looked less like a feral savage and more like a semi-fearsome warrior riding atop his mount, Rachnera the Spider.
As for Rachnera, she no longer had any qualms about serving Ludo. The tiny bird person kept her fed and happy, and with his brain, he was able to come up with much more efficient ways to provide food for them. It was a mutually beneficial relationship.
And it was about to get even better. After exploring the forest some more, Ludo happened to see a familiar sight flying through the sky: it was the Bald Eagle that dared to throw him from her nest. Her chicks had since grown big enough to fly. Not long afterward, they left the nest to live their own lives, leaving her to hunt for herself. Perfect prey for a certain Spider and Avian.
"It's time," Ludo ominously told Rachnera.
The pair were patient. They followed the Eagle's flight pattern for days, learning where she preferred to hunt and where she liked to rest. Before long, they knew her daily routine like the back of their hands. After that, it was a simple matter of laying a concealed web between some trees and waiting for the bird to fly into it. It was over before the Eagle even knew what had happened.
"Rachnera," Ludo said as the two triumphantly approached the helpless Eagle, "Say hello to our newest recruit."
Unbeknownst to Ludo, he was being watched by an unseen, hooded figure. This figure had, in fact, been observing the Avian for some time, waiting to see what he was capable of. Now, they had their answer.
He is the one...Phase Two can now begin.
Day...Whatever. It's not important anymore.
Play Chopin - Nocturne op.9 No.2- /9E6b3swbnWg
Ludo sat near the campfire at the entrance to what had once been Rachnera's lair. Now, it served as home for himself, Rachnera, and the Eagle, whom Ludo had dubbed "Aquila." Watching as Aquila slowly turned one fish they caught that day on a spit, Ludo raised his hand, signaling the bird to stop. Taking the fish off the fire, Ludo carefully inspected it to make sure it'd been properly cooked. He no longer minded eating fish raw, but meat generally tasted far better cooked! Once he was satisfied with the results, Ludo began to help himself to his meal, stuffing as much of it as he could into his stomach. He needed as much protein as possible to maintain his new body.
Ludo could still barely believe the physical transformation he'd undergone since arriving in this harsh land. The developing muscle on his body had only increased since he last checked it. While the flimsy corn chip bag he wore made him look as scrawny as before, it concealed someone with an impressive array of muscles. He wasn't a beefcake or crazy jacked, but he remained proud of how far he'd come.
Yes, nature is a cruel and unforgiving mistress, Ludo thought to himself as he finished his meal before giving the leftovers to Rachnera and Aquila. One that favors the most cunning, adaptable, and merciless. And so, to survive, Ludo in the wild must bring out the wild in Ludo.
Sighing contently, Ludo leaned back and looked at the stars twinkling in the night sky. Each could contain a thousand different worlds with countless life forms. None of that mattered to Ludo, though. For the first time in his life, he felt at peace. No planning on conquering kingdoms or subjugating lands. No headaches from dealing with ungrateful, incompetent followers. And best of all, he no longer wasted his life trying to get a magic Wand from a spoiled prince!
Not that it matters, anyway. The Wand's gone, so that royal brat's powerless now.
"Sup, Ludo."
Ludo looked up in shock while Rachnera and Aquila stopped eating to see what was happening. Standing there, not two yards away from them, was none other than Comet Dragonfly, Crown Prince of Mewni, and wielder of the Dragonfly Wand. A Wand that he just so happened to be carrying around in his hands.
"Uh...hi?" Ludo said in confusion as he looked at the Prince. The boy didn't say a word, and he just kept staring at Ludo for a minute or two before, without any explanation, he began to run off into the night.
Ludo tensed as he watched the Prince run away, his eyes fixed on the Wand. Rachnera and Aquila looked at their master in concern, noting how tense his body was getting. However, Ludo then shrugged his shoulders and lay back on the ground once more.
"Don't do it, Ludo," Ludo told himself. "It's not worth it. You know what's going to happen. You chase him down, he leads you to his group of stupid friends, and they beat the shit out of you. It's the oldest trick in the book," he told himself.
"He's just taunting you. Let him go find someone else to play his game. Let him find someone else to, to..."
Too bad old habits die hard.
"GET THE WAND!" Ludo jumped up from where he was sitting and bolted into the woods after Comet. Rachnera and Aquila looked at each other in confusion but quickly followed after their master.
"GIVE. ME. THAT. WAND!" Ludo cried out as he pursued Comet through the woods. Much to his surprise, he wasn't doing as terrible as one might think. Thanks to his built-up muscle and increased agility, Ludo found himself keeping pace with the teenager. It was amazing! Ludo had never felt so strong before!
"THAT WAND IS MINE!" Ludo roared as he tried to catch the Prince, only for him to evade his lunge. Not willing to give up the chase, Ludo whistled for Rachnera. Obediently, the Spider obeyed, dashing to her master's side and letting him jump on top. With the added speed, Ludo managed to catch back up to Comet.
That was when the Prince did something unexpected. He jumped ten feet into the air, leaving Ludo flabbergasted. The Avian knew the Prince was athletic, but never to this extent! Had he been by himself, Ludo never would've been able to catch him.
However, he wasn't alone. He had allies to rely on.
"Aquila!" Ludo called out, bringing the Bald Eagle to his and Rachnera's side. Grabbing the Spider in her talons, the bird lifted the three of them into the air until they were far above the speeding Comet. "Now, Rachnera. Web him!"
Turning her body so that her spinneret faced their target, Rachnera fired several volleys of silk at the boy, aiming to slow him down. Next, Aquila dived down, ready to take him into her talons. Once they were close enough, Ludo jumped off Rachnera and hurtled towards the Prince below. Using his body as a living missile, he aimed squarely for the child's unprotected back, ready to knock the wind right out of him!
But then, much to his confusion, Ludo found himself going headfirst in the blanket of snow that covered the ground. As the Spider and Eagle returned to the ground, Ludo pulled his head up and began to frantically look around.
"Where is it? Where is he!? WHERE IS THAT BRAT!?" Ludo shouted, demanding to know what had happened. He was only met with silence.
"GRAAAAAAHH!" Ludo yelled in anger and frustration. "It was nothing but a cruel vision!" He slammed his fists into the snow as he felt tears beginning to come to his eyes. Even after all this time, he was still just the Universe's punching bag. Nothing had changed for him!
That was when Ludo opened his eyes and found them flooded by a strange, glowing light coming from underneath the snow in front of him. Frantically, Ludo began to dig through the snow, filled by a desperate need to find whatever was making that light. At last, he found the source: a rock, held in the palm of a skeletal arm. Pulling the object out of its resting place, Ludo inspected it further. That's when he noticed just what was creating the glow from the rock. Or rather, what was fused to it. An eerie, green crystal was in the center of the rock, carved into half of a broken star. Right away, Ludo knew what it was; after all, he'd spent months trying to take it for himself.
"The Wand..." Ludo quietly whispered to himself, barely believing what he was seeing. Somehow, against all odds, part of the Dragonfly family's precious Wand had survived the destruction of Castle Avarius. And now, it belonged to him.
Dawn began to break over the landscape, leading to yet another revelation for the surprised Monster. Off, far, far in the distance were the spires of an all-too-familiar castle and one that stood as a symbol of Mewman tyranny for centuries.
"I'm on Mewni..." Ludo said in realization. Rachnera and Aquila just looked at him, perplexed by his strange behavior.
At that moment, the metaphorical floodgates within Ludo opened. Within a moment, all of the ambitions and dreams of glorious purpose that crowded the tiny Monster's mind for so long returned with a vengeance. And Ludo began to laugh to himself. It was slow, at first, but then it started to pick up in intensity, before finally culminating in the manic laughter of someone whose sanity had taken a few hits. The intent behind it was clear, though:
Ludo Avarius had returned. And this time, he wasn't going to let anything get in his way as he fulfilled his destiny.
Which was exactly what the black-robed figure watching from a distance wanted to see. Satisfied with how things had unfolded, the being took out a pair of dimensional scissors and tore open a portal before stepping through, their reptilian tail barely visibly underneath their clothes.
An Unknown Location...
The familiar, shimmering sound of an opening portal could be heard throughout the massive, torch-lit tent. None of its occupants said a word as a solitary figure, a scout and messenger, exited the magical construct. Instead, the newcomer approached the table, deliberately raised high above the ground to emphasize its occupant's superiority, before getting down one knee. The figured kept their head facing the ground, not daring to look up at the eight or so beings assembled before them, each wearing the same attire as the messenger.
"Report," one of the figures from the table commanded.
"My Lords," the messenger began. "Phase two of the plan is underway, and the chosen piece has found the relic and has started to make plans to rebuild his strength."
"Excellent," another one of the robed beings said.
"You have done well," a third member told their spy and messenger. "Now leave us. Inform everyone in the camp that Phase Two of our High Lord's plan has commenced."
Dutifully obeying their master's commands, the messenger got up and exited the tent to deliver the news throughout camp. As for the ones who remained in the tent, they began to discuss matters amongst themselves.
"So," a fourth being began, "It would seem that Lord Toffee's decision to use Ludo Avarius was a wise one."
"But are we certain that he will do as we wish?" One member asked their colleagues. "From what Toffee told us, Ludo is a being ruled by his emotions, and he could end up becoming more trouble than he's worth."
"Do not worry about that, my brethren," another member replied. "Ludo is ambitious and power-hungry, and that makes him easy to manipulate. And now that he has part of the Dragonfly Wand, he will become a far greater threat to the Mewmans than he once was."
"And while he keeps the attention of the Mewmans and the Prince, we may continue to put the finishing touches of our master's plan."
"Yes. And what of our master? Has there been any progress regarding preparing him?"
"Regrettably," another conspirator said, "we have been unable to procure the materials necessary for our master. However, given everything that we've seen, I feel that our best course of action would be to investigate in the Earth Dimension."
"And what could they possibly have to offer us?" someone asked.
"You know as well as I do what the Humans lack in magic, they make for in science and technology," the one from before countered. "While their resources aren't as advanced as what our people were once capable of, their crude inventions should be enough to prepare our master for his role."
"And the Prince? What if he were to catch wind of what we are up to?" Someone pointed out.
"We are aware of the risks that traveling to Earth will bring. However, Prince Comet is young and easily distracted. More importantly, once he learns of Ludo's return, he will devote all of his energy towards fighting him-"
"-leaving us to do as we please."
"Then we are in agreement," yet another member of this mysterious group stated. "We shall continue to watch over Ludo and the Prince, and they shall distract each other while we work to bring about our master's grand plan. By the time the Dragonfly Family realizes what we're up to, it will be too late."
"Yes. Our master will be ready, and then, Mewni shall be restored to its natural order."
At this point, everyone in the room stood up and began to perform a ceremonial salute.
"GLORY TO SEPTARSIS!" They all chanted before adding one, final line:
"GLORY TO OUR LEADER, HIGH LORD SETH!"
OHHHHHHHH, SHIIIIITTTT! SHIT JUST GOT REAL UP IN HERE!
In case you didn't figure it out in the first book, Toffee isn't acting alone in my story, and he's merely part of a much larger plan that's already been set in motion. And if you read the Book of Spells that serves as a companion to the series, you should recognize the name, Seth. That guy's bad news for everyone!
This was probably one of the most difficult chapters of the story that I've had to write thus far. "Ludo in the Wild" was one of the best episodes of Star vs., thanks to the minimal amount of talking, letting the environment, character actions, and music doing the storytelling for it. It reminded me of Samurai Jack. Unfortunately, that also meant that I had to work extra hard to make this whole thing work.
And yes, I'm well aware that Ludo was nowhere near this tough in the show, even after his involuntary camping trip, but my Ludo is a bit more competent, so I gave him an upgrade to make him more of a threat.
Now that that's out of the way, we can get on to
READER'S REVIEWS
Guest 1-There won't be any "Star on Wheels." I never liked that episode, and I found Star's idea couldn't figure out how to stop a bike was very unbelievable. I mean, even if she didn't know how to use the brakes, she could've just jumped off and rolled to the ground.
NightAroma-See, one difference between Comet and Star is that, unlike Star, Comet's a bit more observant of what's happening around him.
And yeah, the "Dip Down=Super Saiyan" was just a comparison that I made myself. Hidden powers unlocked in a time of great stress or anger are pretty common in the Shonen genre. And don't worry about Goku's best friend. They got the titular Dragon Balls that grant wishes, and they use them to bring back people who die frequently. Mune's reaction aside, it also serves a greater purpose. Since Earth seems to lack magic, it's looked down upon by a lot of the Universe. Part of this story is showing everyone that, despite this handicap, Earth has its own worthwhile strengths. In this case, humanity's impressive imagination.
Yeah, I know I'm ship-baiting people. But I saw Star's crush on Marco coming a mile away. Still working on the ship name, though.
Maybe Comet will add Sangheili Energy Swords. Then again, Marcia might not let him.
Let's just say that Comet's Pokémon may come back to bite him.
I am also well aware that in 2015, LEGO rebooted the BIONICLE line of toys, but I consider them to pale compared to the original, which I was a massive fan of. I have most of the comics, and I still have all the sets I got, albeit some of them are in pieces...and the pieces are damaged and without their boxes. But they could end up being worth a fortune when I'm older.
Do not worry, NightAroma; I understand. You didn't know what The Last Airbender film was doing to a great show. May the Netflix series do better.
Julayla-I forgot about the comic books! What a letdown! Don't worry, I'm not using it.
The Wandering Hippie-Thanks, man! But don't beat yourself up over the Super Saiyan thing. That was just a comparison I came to on my own. Your story was a big inspiration for it, though.
Don't get too impressed with the Gravity Falls and One Piece references. They were just the hats. Though I'm disappointed that you didn't recognize the man-sized hamster ball that Mabel wanted.
You know what to do: fave and follow this story, and follow me on Twitter (JZ-Gaming), Insta (RJ Writing Ink), and YouTube (Jungoguy)
See you guys next week because we will be doing one of my favorite episodes in the series: Mr. Candle Cares. Or rather, Ms. Candle Cares!
