*In Jay's Workspace, RJ "Jay" Writing Ink is going over his previous chapters and is noticing a trend amongst some of the earliest ones: how they're nowhere near as long as his most recent ones.*
Jay: Hmm...maybe that's why I've been so reluctant to write as of late. All right, then...time to readjust!
Hey guys, Jay here! So, after looking back on my story, I've realized how much pressure I've put on myself to write as much into a single chapter as possible. And that might be why I've been falling behind on my writing lately. So, it's time to get back to basics for our sake. With that said, I hope you enjoy seeing how Comet and the others react to being stuck in a frozen wasteland.
And for the record, this isn't Comet's fault. I know how it looks, but trust me.
DAU Kermit: Hey Jay, are you coming or what? The Ashoka series is coming on! You're the one who wanted us to watch it together!
Jay: Say less, Kermit! Let me just get my lightsabers and blaster!
After Comet returned inside and locked the balcony door tight, he started pacing around his bedroom. Both as a means of staying warm in temperatures well below freezing, if not subzero, and mentally taking stock of the situation. I.E., trying to keep from freaking out.
"Okay, don't panic, Comet. So you might be single-handedly responsible for generously burying the town, allowing you to stay in a veritable avalanche of snow. Stay calm. Maybe it's not as bad as it looks."
"Oh no, it's not. It's worse."
"GAAHH!" Comet almost jumped out of his pajamas in fright, startled by the new voice in the room. Looking over his shoulder, he was surprised to find Glossaryck floating behind him, his body covered in a bevy of winter clothing. Between the padded gloves, parka, and at least three scarves around his neck, he looked less like the little...whatever he was and more like a floating, blue marshmallow.
"Glossaryck, what in the Seven Hells is going on here?" Comet demanded to know. "It was not this cold last night when we went to sleep!"
"I should have known something was wrong when I woke up in the middle of the night for a snack and found my pudding supply frozen solid," Glossaryck said with a weary headshake. He pulled out a brown block of ice that, upon closer inspection, Comet realized was pudding. "I can't even eat this, and I don't have a stick to hold it!" Glossaryck sobbed, his tears freezing up when they left his tear ducts. "And now my tears are freezing!"
"Glossaryck, what's happening outside is worse than whatever you're dealing with," Comet told him, trying to get him back on topic. "What could've happened while we slept that made things go out of control? Did I do something wrong with the spell? Put too much power into it?"
"No, you did the spell perfectly," Glossaryck told Comet. "If you had messed up, I would've noticed." Glossaryck tried to use a hand to tug at his beard as he said this, only to realize that the cold froze it. "Okay, that's not good. Anyway, I don't think that this is your fault, Comet. No, this is someone else's doing," he said as he floated towards the balcony.
"Who, though?"
"I don't know, but I'm going to find out," Glossaryck said with a severe look. "I'm going out to do some scouting," he said as he flung open the door, much to Comet's dismay.
"Dude! Not cool!" Comet complained.
"Oh, relax. You've been through worse. In the meantime, I suggest making yourself useful and making sure the other inhabitants of this domicile are, you know, alive." With that, Glossaryck flew off into the sky, which Comet now saw was still churning snowfall even as they spoke.
After closing the balcony door (again), Comet made haste and inspected the house, wanting to ensure that Coryn, the Laser Puppies, and the Diaz Family were alright. Not in that order of importance, mind you. Not helping matters was the fact that the house was as cold as it was outside, meaning the entire place was below freezing.
Thankfully, Comet didn't have to spend much time looking for the house's other inhabitants. When he didn't find them in their rooms, his first instinct was to rush downstairs to the living room. Sure enough, the Diaz family was already wide awake and gathered around the fireplace on the wall's far side, as were Coryn and the laser puppies. Most surprising, though, was the fact that the group was working on starting a fire. Since he had never seen it used, Comet thought it was for decorative purposes only.
"Okay, Dad. I think that's the last of the wood," Marcia said as she walked over to her father while carrying several logs in her arms before setting them down into a pile next to the fireplace. Mr. and Mrs. Diaz worked with some matches, trying hard to get them to light to warm the house up. To their dismay, the matches refused to light, or stay lit.
"Oh dear," Mrs. Diaz said with a worried look as she looked at her family, and then at the animals that were all shivering at their feet.
"Don't worry, mi amor," Mr. Diaz said, trying to reassure his wife, but the lack of confidence in his voice didn't help matters.
Having seen all he needed, Comet finally spoke up. "Here, let me," he said, prompting everyone to turn their heads to him in surprise.
"Oh, Comet! We were about to come make sure you were alright, sweetie," Mrs. Diaz smiled.
"I'm fine," he told her, grateful for the concern. "Mr. Diaz, I think I have a better idea than those matches," Comet said as he motioned for Marcia's dad to step aside.
"Ohh, are you going to use magic?" Mr. Diaz asked in excitement.
Comet shook his head. "Nope. I've got something else," he said before grabbing one of the laser puppies and held them facing towards the fireplace. The poor puppy whimpered from being separated from its siblings and the cold, earning everyone's sympathy.
"All right, Barko Diaz," Comet said in a tone meant to sound reassuring. "I know you're freezing, but I need you to focus. If you can do this, you'll be helping everyone." The laser puppy continued whimpering but nodded in understanding. Comet then pointed him at the logs in the fireplace.
"Now, laser the wood!" In a flash, the familiar beam of red lasers shot out of Barko Diaz's eyes, hitting the logs gathered in the fireplace. They instantly burst into flames, creating a good, roaring fire, much to everyone's relief.
"Good boy, Barko!" Comet said as he petted the puppy on the head before returning him to his siblings, who were now yapping happily near the fire. Coryn, meanwhile, got as close to the flames before extending his wings, trying to direct as much heat to himself as possible.
Now that they at least had a source of heat for the moment, everyone turned their attention to the more important matter of long-term survival.
"Has anyone gotten outside yet? It's probably a good idea to know how bad this storm is," Rafael suggested, to which Comet spoke up.
"I managed to get out on my tower's balcony. From what I saw, it looks like the whole town's buried in ice and snow," Comet explained. "No sidewalks, roads, or grass. It's like a winter wonderland out there,"
"He's right, Rafael," Angie said as she looked outside one of the living room windows. "The entire town's coated in snow. It would be a beautiful sight if it weren't for how bad things are."
"Can we get outside?" Marcia asked her Mom, who raised her hand to perform the universally recognized gesture of "ehhh,"
"It doesn't look too bad around the sidewalk, so we might be able to dig our way out." Angie honestly said. "Given how bad the roads are, though, there's nowhere for us to go."
Marcia felt the strong urge to facepalm, only stopping because she was too focused on warming her hands. Instead, she said, "You've got to be kidding me. It wasn't this bad when we went to bed last night!"
"That's what I said, Marcia!" Comet chimed in as he also sought to warm himself up. "It doesn't make sense. I know my weather spell wasn't this strong," he muttered, his mind still trying to wrap itself around the idea that things had gone so wrong.
Marcia couldn't help but look at Comet, sympathy welling up inside her. "Don't go beating yourself up too badly, Comet. The only reason this happened is because me and the others pressured you into casting it in the first place," Marcia pointed out. "The heat must have kept us from thinking straight, I guess."
"You know, in hindsight," Comet said even as his teeth chattered from the cold, "I could've just taken us to the All Blue. Made a beach day out of it."
"Ohh, that sounds wonderful right now," Mr. Diaz commented, trying to keep his spirits up despite the bad things. "Maybe it's not too late if we used those magical scissors-"
"Yeah, that's impossible, I'm afraid," came a voice that Comet and Marcia knew all too well. Looking over their shoulders, they found Glossaryck floating behind them, holding one of his frozen pudding cups. "It would seem the cold weather, combined with the loss of indoor heating, has prompted Comet's dimensional scissors to freeze shut. They're inoperable." Glossaryck hovered over to the fire as the group watched and held his pudding cup over it. It was a blatant attempt to warm it up enough to eat. As he did so, he noticed Mr. and Mrs. Diaz giving him confused looks.
"Oh, hello there. The name's Sir Glossaryck of Terms, magical advisor to House Dragonfly and mentor to Prince Comet Dragonfly," the little blue man said to introduce himself. "We met during the whole 'Toffee Incident', but never spoke. It's a pleasure to meet you, even if it's under these circumstances."
"Nice to meet you, Sir Glossaryck," Mrs. Diaz politely replied.
"Glossaryck, please tell me you figured out why my weather spell has gone so wrong," Comet begged his mentor to tell him.
"Well, I managed to examine the town, snow, and stormclouds hanging overhead, and I've got good and bad news," Glossaryck told everyone. "The good news is that I have confirmed that this unnatural storm is not the result of your initial spell."
"It isn't?" Comet asked in surprise, a surprise that Marcia shared.
"No, it isn't," Glossaryck reiterated. "While the initial storm was your doing, Comet, the spell that created it should have dissipated by now. The problem is that another form of magic is preventing it from doing so."
"What kind of magic could be stronger than Comet's?" Marcia asked.
"That's what I wished to know myself," Glossaryck admitted, "And after continuing my search, I managed to locate the source."
"What is it?" Asked Comet.
"I could tell you," Glossaryck started to say, "but I think it would be better if you went outside and saw for yourself. And I suggest you do so now, while there's a lull in the weather."
Comet and Marcia looked at each in apprehension, unsure what to do. On the one hand, neither wanted to go outside; on the other hand, they had no choice. Reluctantly, they both went to the front door and prayed that the cold air wouldn't kill the fire.
As the two teens opened the door, they looked around, trying to find whatever Glossaryck wanted them to look at.
"Nothing but snow," Marcia said in disappointment. "What are we trying to find?"
Comet, however, managed to find it with little effort. "Um, Marcia?" The mention of her name prompted Marcia to look at her best friend. "Look," he said while pointing off into the distance. As Marcia followed the fingers, she soon saw what Comet was pointing to...and what it was made her jaw drop.
A massive, spiraling castle stood in the distance, around the location of what should've been Echo Creek Dog Park. It took Marcia a moment to realize that it was the same one that Black Frost had made a day or two earlier, only it had somehow doubled in size. Rather than being a scaled-down version of the Cinderella Castle of Disney World, it now looked as big as its inspiration. The outer appearance had also changed, becoming less fairy tail and more jagged, crooked, and edgy. Most surprising of all, though, was the flag now flying atop the central tower, containing a series of three blue, interlocking triangles on it.
"What the heck is that supposed to be?" Comet asked as he stared at the castle, dumbfounded.
"That would be the symbol of the ones responsible for this mess," Glossaryck grimly told them. "The symbol of the Jötunn's."
"Jötunn's? Who are they?" Comet asked, not understanding the significance of that term. On the other hand, Marcia perked after hearing that name.
"The Jötunn's? You mean the frost giants from Norse mythology?"
Despite the severity of the situation, Glossarcyk couldn't help but be impressed by Marcia's keen knowledge. "The one and only, though the description is misleading. The name 'Jötunn' in their language refers to giants in general. The frost giants just happen to be the majority."
"Is no one going to tell me who these guys are?" Comet said, raising his voice in confusion.
"Right, right. Let's get inside and back to the fire, and I'll explain everything." With that, Glossaryck ushered the teenagers inside and then shut the door.
By now, the house was starting to warm up somewhat, with Mr. and Mrs. Diaz having moved into the kitchen to take stock of their supplies while Coryn and the laser puppies rested. Sitting on the floor, Comet and Marcia listened as Glossaryck explained what they were dealing with.
"Okay, look. The Jötunn's are a race of beings that hail from a dimension called Jötunnheim, a land largely made of nice and snow," Glossarcyk started.
"Well, that doesn't sound so bad," Comet said, only to earn himself a glare from Marcia that screamed, "Really?" "Sorry, insensitive."
"Trust me, Comet, it's not the winter wonderland you think you know from growing up on Mewni. Jötunnheim is a cold, harsh, and unforgiving land where only the strongest can hope to survive. This is no problem for the Jötunn's, since they're some of the toughest people you'd ever meet."
"Why, though?" Comet questioned.
"Well, two reasons: one, they're infamously strong warriors. Two, they are among the few people with the inherent ability to use magic. Most often in the form of the ability to shapeshift and control ice."
"Glossaryck," Marcia now spoke up, "I've read a lot of myths and legends from around the world that talk about beings with control over ice and snow. Do you think they were talking about the Jötunn's?"
Glossaryck nodded. "Most likely. Despite the rest of the Universe largely looking down on Earth, that hasn't stopped them from travelling here. Either travelers brought stories about the Jötunn's with them, or the Jötunn's themselves visited Earth centuries ago and inspired the myths themselves. Either way, when they show up, that's usually not good for anyone."
"Don't tell me: they end up making colder and covered in snow wherever they go, don't they?" Marcia said with a deadpan look on her face.
"Bingo!" Glossaryck exclaimed. "Wherever they show up, they bring the weather of their homeland with them. And what's worse, they're also notorious for being incredibly rowdy and obnoxious. It's like having unwanted, obnoxious in-laws coming and changing everything in your house to suit themselves, even when you don't want them to do that."
"Yikes," Comet cringed.
"Well, that explains whose keeping this blizzard around," Marcia said. "But how did they get here in the first place?"
At that moment, as if on cue, a knock came from the front door, much to everyone's confusion. Comet ran to the door and looked through the peephole, wondering who had even managed to make it to their house in this weather.
"Huh?"
"Who is it, Comet?"
"Well...okay, I could come up with something funny to say, but now's not the time." Comet just opened the door and said, "Come on in, guys."
Marcia was more than a little surprised to find just who these visitors were: Jonah, Ferguson, and Ms. Skullnick. Jonah was currently covered in a winter version of his normal attire; Ferguson was only wearing the bare minimum of cold-weather gear; Ms. Skullnick was in her normal clothes, much to Comet and Marcia's surprise.
"Hey, Marcia," Ferguson said with a cheerful smile like he wasn't bothered at all about the extreme cold.
"Hello, Marcia," Ms. Skullnick said respectfully. "I'm glad to see that you're doing fine."
"Nice pajamas, guys," Jonah remarked as he looked Comet and Marcia up and down, to the latter's dismay. Her embarrassment was secondary compared to the bigger matter at hand.
"How did you guys get here? It's freezing cold outside and the snow's making travel almost impossible."
"Not for me, it isn't," Jonah smirked as he crossed his arms. "I used my alchemy to dig myself out of my house and made a path here. It took some doing, but it was worth it."
"I dug myself out of my house the old-fashioned way," Ms. Skullnick explained. "When I saw Jonah and Ferguson making their way here, I knew it had something to do with Comet and followed them." When she saw Comet and Marcia's eyes were focused on the fact that she was still wearing her normal clothes rather than winter ones, Skullnick elaborated. "It turns out that my Troll body has an extreme tolerance for cold weather. I guess I lucked out in this case."
"That would make sense," Glossaryck agreed. "Trolls are known to live in Jötunnheim." When he saw Ms. Skullnick giving him a weird look, he followed up by saying "I'm Sir Glossaryck of Terms, magical mentor to Prince Comet."
"And I happened to be out when I came across Jonah," Ferguson admitted, "so I joined him."
"You were out there in your normal attire? In this weather?" Marcia incredulously asked. "How are you not freezing to death?"
Ferguson gave a satisfied smirk at this question. "While my extra bulk might be a hindrance in the middle of a heat wave, Marcia, it proves an excellent form of insulation in weather like this. I can still feel the cold, but I don't need to wear as much to stay warm...I think. Either that, or I'm just tougher than I look."
Jonah spoke up to get them back on track. "At any rate, guys, we're here because I think what's responsible for how bad the weather's getting...or rather, who."
"You do?" Marcia questioned.
"Yeah, and he's standing outside on your driveway," Jonah continued as he pointed to the front door. Upon hearing this, Comet, Marcia, and Glossaryck all made their way back outside, doing their best to ignore the cold as they did so. When they made it to the driveway, they were surprised to see none other than Black Frost, Jonah's Demonic underling standing there, his ordinarily happy face replaced with one of sadness and guilt.
"Oh, hey!" Comet called out as he waved at the giant snow Demon. "How are you doing, Frosty?" Comet said, forgetting the whole reason they were there to talk to him.
"Heeyy-hoooo, Prince Comet!" Black Frost said, the smile on its face returning briefly. Until he got several glares from Jonah and Ms. Skullnick, making him sad again.
"Black Frost..." Jonah spoke to his minion, his voice uncharacteristically stern. "Remember what you wanted to tell our friends?"
At this, Black Frost broke down in tears; which, since he was a giant snowman, amounted to a bunch of ice cubes coming out of his eyeholes as he fell to his knees.
"I'MMM SOOO SORRRYYY, HOOO!" Black Frost blubbered out. "I was having so much fun, and I didn't want to go home after everyone else went to bed last night, so I called my pal from Jötunnheim to hang out in that cool ice castle, ho! And then he called a bunch of other Jötunn's and then the next thing I know the whole castle is filled with them and they don't wanna leave and then they THREW ME OUT!" The others stood in the snow as they watched the ice Demon continue his inelegant blubbering.
"So, in short, you're the reason why this town's plunging into a new ice age?" Marcia asked, to which Black Frost nodded.
"Yes, ma'am, ho," the giant snowman said. "I'm sorry, though, ho, so that amounts to something, right, ho?"
"Well, mister, 'sorry' doesn't change the fact that the town is about to become the West Pole! And to make matters worse, this snowstorm's so bad, it's impossible for us to try to leave town!" Ms. Skullnick sternly told Black Frost. "At this rate, we'll either freeze to death or die of starvation!"
"I mean, if worse comes to worst, we can always eat the dead," Jonah half-jokingly commented, only to recieve looks of unbridled disgust from everyone for even suggesting that. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding," Jonah said as he held up his hands. "But for real, we've got to do something about this before one of us turns into a second Ötzi the iceman."
"I don't know who this Ötzi is, but it sounds like they did not die a peaceful death," Glossaryck remarked as he floated outside to join the others. "Regardless, our course of action is clear."
"It is?" Marcia questioned, to which Glossarck nodded in response.
"Yes. We must travel to that icy fortress," Glossaryck pointed at the massive castle "and speak with the Jötunn's and convince them to leave."
"Will they leave if we ask them to?" Ferguson couldn't help but ask. Glossaryck just laughed.
"Oh, no. No, they will not. We're going to have to use force," Glossaryck told everyone. "And since they can use magic..." the rest didn't need to be said, as everyone looked at Comet. To their surprise, they found that he was already working on preparing a dog-sled he conjured to transport him to what used to be the dog park. He hooked the laser puppies up to a harness and even gave them little pouches to help shield their privates from the cold.
When Comet saw that everyone was done talking, he got up from his kneeling position to address them. "Oh, I'm sorry. Were you guys done talking? Because I stopped paying attention after Black Frost's crying session."
"Basically: we need someone to go to that castle and make the Jötunn's take a hike before we all die," Jonah said before stepping forward. "And since this is Black Frost's fault, I'm in."
"Awesome! I planned to ask you to come anyway, so this works out perfectly!" Comet admitted.
"Do you guys mind if I come? I don't want to miss this," Ferguson asked, to which the boys waved for him to come over.
"Oh no! You boys are not going out there without a chaperone!" Ms. Skullnick told them. "I'm coming to make sure you three don't make things worse for all of us!"
"Boo!" Jonah booed, much to Ms. Skullnick's displeasure, but she chose not to say anything.
"Marcia, do you want in on this?" Comet asked. "We could probably use your help."
"You could, but if you guys are going, then I think that someone needs to stay behind and make sure the giant, talking snowman's all right," Marcia said, gesturing to the still-depressed Black Frost. "And I doubt Glossaryck will care enough to do that for us."
"That's hurtful, Marcia, but also accurate," Glossaryck told her. "I'm more worried about my pudding stash, anyway. Call me if you guys need me!" With that, Glossaryck zipped inside the house and shut the door behind him.
"Well, if you're not coming with us, Marcia, then make yourself useful and head to my place," Jonah told her.
"Excuse me?"
"My Meseeks Box is in my bedroom," Jonah explained. "Before I resorted to using alchemy, I planned to use an army of Meseeks' to dig myself out before doing the same for the neighbors."
"Wow, Jonah, that's pretty generous of you-" Comet began to say as he used his magic to create another sled for Ferguson to use. Ms. Skullnick opted to walk since the snow didn't slow her down, while Jonah would ride passenger in Comet's sled.
"-And make a huge bundle of cash in the process," Jonah finished, making Marcia frown in disdain.
"Of course, you would do something like that," Marcia muttered. "Look, just go and help save the town from being frozen over!"
With that, Comet and his team either mounted their sleds or got into a running position as they got ready to move out, the laser puppies spread out evenly between the two sleds. With a crack of the reins and a cry of "Mush" from Comet and Ferguson's throats, the laser puppies took off across the barren snowscape while Ms. Skullnick broke into a sprint after them, leaving Marcia alone with Black Frost. It was then that she realized she was still in her pajamas.
"I need to put on something warmer," she said as she started to feel the chill of the storm getting to her.
To be continued!
Hey guys, RJ Writing Ink here. I just wanted to say I'm sorry for this chapter not coming out when it was supposed to. In case you haven't figured it out, I was starting to come down with writer's block for a little bit, needed to find a little more motivation to get back into writing. That's when I started reading this new fanfic for Mushoku Tensei by someone named Quidopher, and it made me realize that I was putting too much pressure on myself to write big chapters. So, I'm going to try and write shorter chapters and see how well the story flows. I want to keep writing this story for as long as possible, and I appreciate you guys sticking by me this entire time. It means a lot to me. But enough about that. Me and the others have to go watch the Ashoka series when it comes out on Disney+, so let's end this with
READERS REVIEWS
LockAndKey989-Yeah, they did pressure him into doing it. In hindsight, it might have been easier for him to just take everyone to the All Blue for the day, but I'm saving the beach episode for a later chapter in the future.
Ted Glass-Crazy as it sounds, I've been through storms just as bad as the one Echo Creek's experiencing, if not worse. I've seen several feet of snow on the ground at a few points in my life, and it was both breathtaking and concerning to watch. But mostly, I was just glad to get off of school for an extended period of time. Hopefully, I can touch upon that stuff more in the next chapter.
95-Actually, yeah. I got the idea from that Jimmy Neutron episode where Jimmy uses sunblock to change the weather, only to almost cause a new ice age.
Julayla-It's about to get cooler as I'm going to introduce a few new original characters next chapter.
You know what to do: fave and follow this story, and follow me on Twitter (JZ-Gaming), Insta (RJ Writing Ink), and YouTube (Jungoguy).
Share this story, you guys! Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go binge Star Wars: the Clone Wars to hype me up for Ashoka.
