ACT XIII: Comet, the Underestimated Chapter 17: Dip Down

Unknown Location

When Comet woke up, he was drowning. Instinctively flailing his arms to escape whatever liquid he was in, he closed his mouth to avoid letting any more of it fill his lungs. At last, he broke free to the surface and took a deep breath before studying his surroundings. He appeared to be in a vast ocean of black saltwater with no land in sight. He looked up to see that there were no stars or moon in the night sky. The only source of light around for miles were his dimly glowing Heart-shaped cheek marks.

"... where am I…?" He whispered to himself.

"PRINCE COMET GALAXIUS ASTRO CELESTIO COSMO DRAGONFLY THE SECOND. THE UNDERESTIMATED. SON OF KING MARS." A voice echoed from the sky. "YOU ARE IN THE REALM OF LIGHT."

Comet looked up to see a golden triangle appear out of thin air which shone like a blinding spotlight. As his vision slowly began to clear, he could see hundreds of roots spreading out from the light until the silhouette of a humanoid figure appeared in the light. The prince's eyes widened in shock as he realized what was happening.

"Y-you… you're…"

"YES, MY CHILD, I AM THE STUMP." The mysterious figure nodded. "THE STUMP UPON WHICH YOUR ANCESTORS BUILT THEIR CASTLE. THE STUMP THAT FORGED YOUR FAMILY'S SCEPTER. THE STUMP THAT IS THE SOURCE OF MEWNI'S LIGHT MAGIC. AND WELCOME TO MY REALM, YOUNG COMET."

"Uh…" Comet fumbled in the waters. "A-apologies, mighty Stump. I'd bow if I could."

"NEVERMIND THAT, YOUNG PRINCE. THERE ARE FAR MORE PRESSING MATTERS TO CONCERN OURSELVES WITH." The Stump declared. "FOR YOU SEE, THE MACHINATIONS OF THE MONSTER KNOWN AS TAFFY HAS HAD CATACLYSMIC CONSEQUENCES TO THE REALM OF LIGHT. WHEN YOU CLEAVED THE SCEPTER IN TWO, HER SOUL WAS ABSORBED INTO THE CRYSTAL, ALLOWING HER TO CONTAMINATE THE LIGHT WITH HER WICKEDNESS UNTIL NOTHING REMAINED."

Comet glanced around the area once more. He could hardly believe that any of this was happening. Here he was, trapped in the Realm of Light, with no access to magic, and his god basically told him it was all his fault. However, given that his cheek marks were still glowing, Comet believed there was still hope.

"There has to be a way to fix this!" Comet suggested to the wooden deity. "What can I do?"

"YOU MUST SEARCH FOR A LINGERING PIECE OF LIGHT MAGIC FROM THE MORTAL REALM." The Stump explained as the light behind him began to fade. "ONCE YOU FIND IT, IT WILL REVITALIZE THE REALM, REPAIR THE SCEPTER, AND RETURN YOU TO YOUR HOME. BUT IF YOU FAIL, YOU WILL BE TRAPPED HERE FOREVER."

Just as suddenly as it had appeared, the triangle of light began to fade away. Once the Stump had disappeared, Comet began his frantic search for the lingering Light Magic. Taking a deep breath and holding it in, he dove underneath the waves and began searching for any source of Light. Using his cheek marks as his compass, he swam in whatever direction made them shine brightest.

Castle Dragonfly, Mewni

Meanwhile, as Taffy triumphantly marched away from the castle, Comet's friends and family were still grappling with what Taffy had told them. Instinctively, Kyle, Dama, and the Solarian Trio rushed towards the rest of the monsters, keeping them away from their king and queen. However, Lake quickly picked up her spear and furiously joined in the fight. Her child was dead, and she was out for blood.

Yelena the frog monster went over to check on Mars. The king hadn't gotten up since Taffy beat him down; he just rested on his knees with his back turned to everyone else. As Yelena stepped closer, she could see his trembling hands shuffling through the blackened pieces of shattered crystal, trying to put them back into the scepter.

"King Mars?" Yelena knelt down. "What are you…?"

"I-I thought… I thought maybe if I put the crystal back together, I could… Comet will…"

Yelena's heart sank. As a new mother, herself, she understood too well how hard it must have been for the king to have just lost his son. She picked up another shard with an empty smile and held it out towards Mars. "Here. Let's try this one."

As for Marcia, she fell to her knees in despair. Jackson knelt down to hug her for comfort, but she hadn't even noticed his presence. She couldn't believe that Comet was gone. As tears ran down her face, all of her brightest memories of the prince flashed through her mind.

"You… you saved me!" Comet smiled. "I was wrong about you! You're no ruffian! You're a hero! A fearless, selfless hero!"

"I was just thinking… since we're in the same boat - having to pretend to be someone we're not for the sake of appearances - well, how about we just be ourselves with each other?"

"Subject is a fourteen-year-old safe girl who pretends to be a bad girl for the sake of reputation and fear of vulnerability. However, her behavior shows that even though she makes mistakes, she is still the best friend anyone could ask for who can kick fanny as best as the rest of them!"

"If you stay here, you'll lose everyone who loves you! What about your parents? Or Jackson? Or Jonah…? Or me?"

"No. It was honestly pretty boring before you showed up. But, I guess it wasn't all bad. Now I know you can dance."

"Forget the stupid scepter! I thought I was gonna lose you! I can live without the scepter, Marcia! I cannot live without you!"

"You stood up for me. Even when no one else would. Even when I didn't stand up for myself."

"Marcia, I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have yelled at you like that! I was just… you're my best friend! And I love spending time with you more than anything! But Jackson's your boyfriend, and I was jealous of all the time you were spending with him, but I know how much you've been waiting for this, and I… I… I'm sorry. I was being stupid and selfish. That makes me a bad friend."

"Sometimes I forget how lucky I am to have you in my life."

"Marcia… I'm sorry. You've been the best friend I've always wanted, and you never asked for anything in return. But I haven't been completely honest with you, lately. And it's not fair that I'm telling you all this at the last minute, but you deserve the truth. And the truth is… I am in love with you."

Something snapped inside the human girl's mind. As if several voices were screaming all at once to get up and take revenge on Taffy. A burning fire rose up in her chest unlike any she had ever felt before. Clenching her fists and gritting her teeth, she slowly stood back up and locked her eyes on Taffy. Jackson stumbled backwards when Marcia got up, and was about to ask her what she was doing until her eyes started to glow.

Taffy sighed in annoyance as she sensed someone else following her. She readied her claws and prepared to strike as she turned around. But within an eyeblink, Marcia had rushed forward and punched her fist into Taffy's chest; so hard that she could have grabbed the monster's heart and ripped it out. The impact of the punch was so powerful that it sent out a shockwave that earned everyone's attention. Marcia's body seemed to be generating electricity and fire, shaking the ground beneath her as her rage increased, prompting the others to take cover.

"What's happening?!" Lady Dama shouted.

"I don't know!" Kyle shrugged. "Maybe it's a human thing!"

Jackson watched as Marcia's hair shone with green energy and a pair of crescent moon-shaped marks appeared on her cheeks. "This is not a human thing." He remarked.

Meanwhile, Marcia effortlessly pushed her arm further into Taffy's chest, tearing a hole all the way through her beating heart and out of her back. "That was my best friend…" She growled, tearfully. "... and you just killed him!"

She tore her arm free from the monster's chest, and punched Taffy in the face with all her might. The lizard flew through the air at a tremendous speed, but didn't have enough time to react before Marcia sprinted after her. Marcia struck the lizard once again, but left herself open to retaliation. However, despite the monster's greater height and muscle mass, none of her attacks did any lasting damage to the human. Marcia not only shrugged off every scratch and punch with ease, but struck back with the strength of ten people.

"S-stop!" Taffy growled as her flesh boiled from Marcia's super-swift punches. "Stop it! Leave me alone!"

Marcia didn't respond, she just kept trying to put Taffy down for good. It was as if she weren't even in control of her own body anymore. As if all that mattered was avenging the prince's death.

Little did anyone realize that while the fight continued in Mewni, Comet somehow finally found a flickering light in the realm he was trapped in. Taking one last deep breath, he bravely dove into the water once again, fighting against the current and crushing pressure as he reached out. Just as he was about to pass out from the lack of oxygen, he felt his fingers wrap around the Light.

Back on Mewni, Marcia's energy began to dwindle. Her punches grew weaker, her hair stopped glowing, and the crescent moons disappeared from her cheeks. She fell backwards from fatigue, leaving herself vulnerable when Taffy regained her strength. The lizardwoman angrily stalked towards Marcia with the intention of strangling her with her bare hands.

But before she could even come close to the human girl, a fissure of light appeared in the sky. The scepter suddenly flew out of Mars' hand, followed by the broken crystal shards on the ground. The scepter's crystal miraculously reformed itself just as it hovered in front of the fissure and a hand reached out to grab it. While Taffy was distracted, Jackson and Kyle hurried to drag Marcia away and wake her up.

At last, Comet stepped out of the fissure, walking on air with the scepter still in hand. Four beautiful dragonfly wings sprouted from his back, four more arms grew from his torso, two antennae popped out from his forehead, and his eyes opened to reveal golden heart-shaped irises. Comet had finally activated his mewberty form in all its glory. Mars and Lake smiled in relief, Yelena, Kyle, Dama, and Jackson gawked in disbelief, and Marcia simply cried.

"Comet!" Lake cried, happily.

The prince turned around to smile at the queen. "HI, MOM!" His cheerful voice boomed.

"H-hello, sweetie." Lake nervously waved, slightly put off by the echo of her son's voice. "You look… handsome."

"WHERE'S TAFFY?"

Mars pointed forwards, showing his son where his enemy stood. With a smile, Comet aimed the scepter towards the lizard monster and prepared a spell. "SU… PER… NO… VA… BLAAAAAAAAAAAST!" A destructive beam of Light Magic towards Taffy, who could only scream in rage before succumbing to the blast and being reduced to dust. Once the threat was neutralized, Comet tiredly fluttered down to the ground and slowly reverted back to his true form.

Mars and Lake immediately rushed forward to hug their son while Kyle, Dama, and the Solarian Trio cheered in triumph. Kyle turned towards the pile of ashes that was once Taffy and poked it with the tip of his sword.

"So… Taffy's gone now?" He asked no one in particular.

"Seems gone to me." Dama shrugged.

"I'd say she's pretty gone." Franklin nodded.

"Definitely gone." Vincent crossed his arms.

"Don't get more gone than that." Harold huffed as he knelt down for a closer look.

However, as he overheard the conversation, Mars suddenly felt a heavy weight in the pit of his stomach. Reluctantly, he broke the hug with his son and ran towards the castle. Before Comet could even call out to his father, someone punched him in the face. After falling to the ground, he looked up to see Marcia standing above him.

"Ow!" Comet yelped, even as she continued beating on his shoulder. "Marcia, what are you-?!"

"You asshole! You bastard! You piece of shit! I thought you were-! I thought you'd-! I thought-!" Marcia stopped hitting the prince, buried her face in his chest, and tightly wrapped her arms around him as she cried. "Don't ever scare me like that again." She whimpered.

Comet smiled, softly, and wrapped his own arms around his best friend. Lake ushered the others away, giving the Solarian Trainees orders to round up the rest of Taffy's forces and dismissing Yelena so she could go back to her tadpoles. But Jackson simply stood back and happily watched the two best friends hug each other.

While he hugged Marcia, Comet sighed as he looked down at his wrists. Dark Magic would always be a part of him, but now he had an obligation to keep the Realm of Light intact by using Light Magic. But with the scepter restored, he hoped that it would no longer be a problem keeping the Light alive, even if he was forever attached to the Dark. For now, he was content to enjoy the company of his friends and family.

Castle Dragonfly, the Crystal Prison.

Just as he'd almost run out of breath, Mars arrived in the catacombs beneath Castle Dragonfly. As he stood there - in the same spot he'd stood when he made his deal with the devil - the king stared at the crystalized form of Eclipsine Dragonfly. Nothing had changed. Despite Taffy's death, the contract remained unfulfilled. The undaunted king let out a small chuckle of relief before making his way back upstairs to check on his son. However, once he left, a hairline fracture appeared on the surface of the crystal.

The fracture spread further until becoming deep cracks within the crystal. Rays of dark indigo light shone through the cracks, the crystal violently trembled, and streams of liquid dark magic erupted from the ground. At last, the crystal prison shattered to sparkling dust, and Eclipsine gently floated down to the ground with his eyes and Spade-marks glowing with dark magic. As the fog cleared from his mind, the former prisoner took a deep breath and reached his hand out towards the vending machine. A beam of telekinetic energy shot forth from his palm, disassembled the machine, removing all of the Snookers bars, and then reassembling the machine as if nothing had happened. As the candy bars orbited around him, the King of Darkness smiled as he looked upon his newfound freedom.

"...guess who's back."

To Be Continued!