ACT XIII: Comet, the Underestimated Chapter 21: Nighttime Escapades
Comet smiled as his weightless body glided through the clouds high above Mewni. The stars in the night sky sparkled like diamonds, and his foggy breath in the crisp air traced them into beautiful constellations. One constellation shaped itself into him sharing his first dance with Marcia at the Blood Moon Ball, where he first began to feel differently about her. Another constellation transformed into the scene of Comet meeting the Stump and finally learning to dip down to defeat Taffy. And the final constellation depicted how he envisioned his future with Marcia and their future children.
Comet turned away from the sky, closed his eyes, spread his arms, and allowed gravity to pull him back down to the kingdom. After a few seconds of feeling the wind in his hair, Comet opened his eyes again and propelled himself back up into the sky. As he passed through another cloud, he caught up to a flying goblin dog vendor cart. Licking his lips, he took all the money he had out of his pocket, threw it at the vendor, and flew off with the cart.
The prince's clothes were stained with mustard from all the goblin dogs he'd eaten by the time he returned to the castle. He gingerly touched down in his bedroom and danced his way through the halls until he bumped into Marcia. He gave his best friend-turned-girlfriend a loving kiss on the cheek, took her by the arm, snapped his fingers to magically create music in the air, and began to lead Marcia in a lovely waltz through the castle. As they spontaneously switched between dancing on the floor and hovering through the air, Marcia rested her head on Comet's chest with a smile of her own. They danced for what seemed like hours until Comet drained himself of all energy, then he kissed his girlfriend goodnight and headed to bed for the night.
Castle Dragonfly. Morning.
As the appointed squire of the crown prince, Marcia was obliged to wake up early every morning to meet with Solarian soldiers for combat training. Luckily, the young human woman was used to waking up at such hours due to her own exercise routine she'd done on Earth since middle school. Better yet, her Solarian trainers taught her exciting new techniques that she'd never be able to learn on Earth; Queen Lake had even promised to teach her Johansen-style boxing once she'd finished basic training.
But what really had her in a good mood this particular morning was the spontaneous behavior of her new boyfriend the night before. After the party Marcia had helped him throw for his parents, Comet had given her a private tour of the entire castle while dazzling her with dancing and music as they went. She could have done without the mustard stains he'd left on her cheek after kissing her, but she admired his sensitivity and affection.
After a quick shower and dressing herself, Marcia made her way towards Comet's bedroom to wake him up for breakfast. She knocked on the door and waited to hear his perpetually cheerful voice welcome her inside. Instead, all she heard was a dead-tired voice reluctantly inviting her in. She slowly opened the door to see her boyfriend face-down on his bed in the same clothes he had been wearing the night before.
Marcia stifled a chuckle; of course he'd be tired after all that excitement. "Good morning, Romeo!" She beamed as she sat down on the bed.
"Huh… Marcia?" Comet rubbed the sand out of his eyes, smiling as he propped himself on his elbows. "Gosh, I had the most amazing dream last night."
But as the prince got up, his nose twitched at the strong smell of mustard coming from his comforter. He looked down and blinked in shock at the sight of a large dried stain of yellow all over his bed and clothes. "I-I… that… that wasn't a dream?"
"Dream? Are you kidding? That was the most fun I've had in a while, dude." Marcia nudged his shoulder, playfully. "A tour of the castle, dancing, mood music. You really went all out. Although, next time, could you maybe clean yourself up before kissing me?"
Comet sat up and glanced down at his palms. "But, I… I don't understand… I distinctly remember coming up here to go to sleep. Everything after that was a dream. Wait… Marcia, did I also create my own constellations depicting our future together?"
Marcia arched an eyebrow. "Uh, not to my knowledge. Are you okay?"
Comet thought back to when he was sleep-spelling back on Earth, and how it all started because his magic was making his body react to an unseen threat. He rolled down his sleeves to see that the dark red veins on his wrists hadn't spread any further. He hoped that meant this wasn't a side-effect of the Dark Magic in his system.
Dismissing it for the time being, Comet assured Marcia that he was fine and the two went about their day as usual. They both studied academics, Comet looked after Indexia, Marcia continued training with the Solarians, and they both ended the day with a nice dinner with the king and queen. At the end of the day, Comet and Marcia kissed goodnight before going their separate ways.
The crown prince was just about to go to bed when he suddenly remembered his dream from the previous night. As a precaution, he picked up his scepter and magically conjured up one hundred lit candles all over his bedroom. The idea was, if these unconscious sleep-activities were caused by Dark Magic, then a little natural light would help keep it in check. Relieved, he laid down on his bed, pulled the comforter over himself, and closed his eyes.
When Comet awoke, he was blinded by an overwhelming light.
One hundred creatures made of blinding flames surrounded him, chanting in a dialect he didn't understand. These flaming creatures surrounded him, roughly pulled him off of the ground, shackled him, and ushered him into a cage. As he looked down at his shackles, the prince noticed that his skin was now a shadowy pitch-black tone. But what truly shocked him was that the other people locked in the cage appeared to be silhouettes of his family and friends with the same complexion.
The flame creatures hovered through the air as they set up some sort of stone table in the middle of the room. Another duo of creatures set up a gilded statue of a tree stump in front of the stone table. Comet was confused about the situation until he spotted another flame creature brandishing a glowing knife and leading another shadow creature towards the table. Then he noticed the shallow crevices carved into the table that all led straight to the statue.
Comet felt a chill run up his spine; these creatures were going to sacrifice the shadows in some sort of pagan ritual to their god.
Refusing to let that happen, Comet used his natural strength to break his shackles and bend the bars to escape the cage. While the flame creatures were startled by his sudden actions, Comet summoned a sword from his arms and let out a feral Johansen battle cry before rushing towards them. He vertically bisected the leader with the knife, then freed the shadow tied to the stone table. After that, the prince had turned into a blur of blackness cutting the fiery cultists to pieces and turned their corpses into lumps of melted wax. Once they were all dead, Comet used his magic to melt down the golden statue into a pile of gold coins.
"Here, take this and run." Comet offered to the shadow-people. "It should be enough to help you get home."
"Thank you, so much!" A little girl-shadow hugged him. "Hooray for Prince Comet!"
The other shadow-people quickly joined in singing his praises. "Comet! Comet! Comet! Comet-!"
"-Comet! Comet! Comet!"
Comet's eyes suddenly snapped open to see Marcia standing in the doorway, himself standing in the center of the room with a magically-conjured sword in his hand, and dozens of lumps of melted wax splashed over the walls and his pajamas. Subsequently, the candles he'd lit earlier appeared to be gone. Glancing at the clock, he realized it had only been half an hour since he went to sleep.
"Dude, what are you doing?" Marcia asked.
"But… the flame creatures… the sacrificial table… the shadow-people…" Comet muttered. "It felt so real…"
Marcia carefully tiptoed around the hot wax on the floor towards the distraught prince. "Hey, man, are you okay?"
"I-I… I don't know…" Comet replied as he focused on making the sword disappear. He rolled up his sleeves once more to check on the dark red veins, but still saw no visible changes.
The newly appointed squire quickly caught on to what the prince was thinking. "Maybe you should talk to your dad."
Comet let out a shaky breath as he rolled his sleeves back down and nodded. "Yeah." He agreed. "Yeah, I'll… I'll talk to him in the morning. Sorry I woke you. Go back to sleep."
After that, the prince hardly got any sleep that night. Once the dawn came, he quickly got out of bed and raced towards his parents' bedroom. His mother was just finished with making the bed, but his father was nowhere in sight.
"Good morning, shooting star!" Lake smiled warmly.
"Uh, good morning, mom." Comet nodded as he scanned the room. "Hey, where's dad?
"In his office."
"Okay, thanks!" Comet nodded and ran back out of the room.
"Comet, wait!" Lake called out.
The prince pivoted on his heels and ran back. "What?"
Lake kissed the boy's cheek. "I love you."
Comet hastily kissed her cheek in return. "I love you, too." He replied before running out again.
A few minutes later, he skidded to a halt just outside of the king's office. Taking a moment to straighten himself up before entering, Comet internally cursed himself for not taking the time to at least change out of his pajamas. Shaking those thoughts out of his head, he finally knocked on the door.
"Come in." Mars called from inside.
Comet entered the room and made his way to his father's desk. The king was surrounded by a mountain of paperwork - most of which seemed to pertain to Eclipsine's upcoming trial. Regardless, Comet's promise to not keep secrets from his father overrode any guilt he felt about interrupting his work.
"Hey, dad? Can we talk? About, uh…" Comet rolled up his sleeve, slightly, to illustrate the importance of this conversation.
"Oh. Oh, sure. Sure, son." Mars set his paperwork down and closed the doors of the room with a snap of his fingers. He then leaned back in his seat and motioned towards his son. "So, what did you want to talk about?"
"Well, after you used Dark Magic for the first time, did you ever have these… these weird dreams that kind of…" Comet struggled to find the right words. "I don't know, they kind of reflected what you were actually doing in your sleep?"
Mars crossed his arms as his brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"
"I don't know!" Comet sighed, exasperated. "Two nights ago, I dreamt I was flying through space while eating goblin dogs and dancing through the castle with Marcia! Then, I woke up the next morning covered in mustard and Marcia told me how good a dancer I am! And just last night, I lit a bunch of candles before bed, dreamt I was fighting flame creatures to save shadow-people, and woke up half an hour to find my room covered in chopped up candles!"
"Comet! Comet! Comet!" Mars moved to hug his son. "Easy, son. Take a deep breath."
Comet closed his eyes and did as he was told. "Okay…" He nodded.
Mars released his grip on Comet and began pacing the floor as he thought of a solution. He checked the boy's wrists again, also noticing that the red veins hadn't spread further. After a relieved sigh, he got an idea.
"Does it hurt?"
"No."
"Have you done any serious damage?"
"Not really."
"Does this happen during the day?"
"Not yet."
"Alright, hopefully, this means your body is trying to purge the Dark Magic from your system. Just go about your day as you normally do and let me know what happens after tonight."
"Okay." Comet nodded and hugged his father. "Thanks, dad. I love you."
Mars smiled and hugged him back. "I love you, too."
Later that night, Marcia had finished her training and education for the day, so she headed straight for Castle Dragonfly to check on her boyfriend. Stopping only to pick up dinner, she eventually made it up to Comet's chambers.
"Hey, Comet, you up?" She asked as she knocked on the bedroom door. "I brought some dinner. I'm still not quite sure what it is, but it tastes like Chinese food."
"Come in!" Comet called back. Needless to say, when Marcia opened the door, she wasn't expecting the sight before her. Comet had chained himself to his bed with multiple locks keeping his limbs spread out. His scepter was far out of reach and both of his hands were tied to the bed posts. The prince craned his neck to where he could look up at the doorway. "Ah, Marcia! Just the squire I needed to see!"
"Okay, what is the legal age of consent in Mewni?" Marcia asked, nervously.
"What? No!" Comet rolled his eyes. "Marcia, somehow Dark Magic is making me act out in my sleep. I need to wait it out until the Light Magic in my body purges it from my system. So I need you to make sure I stay put while that happens."
Marcia's mouth opened and closed like a fish as she tried to process the order. On the one hand, this had to be one of the most bizarre jobs she'd ever had. On the other, this prince was the reason she was currently receiving private tutoring and professional training complete with free room and board. So, the least she could do was make sure he stayed in bed for the night.
"Alright, let me go eat my dinner, brush my teeth and change into something more comfortable." She nodded and closed the door behind her.
Over the course of the next half, Comet had to keep himself awake before Marcia came back. He whistled a song, counted the cracks on the ceiling, and even followed the path of a piece of lint twirling in the air. At last, Marcia returned to Comet's bedroom dressed in her signature hoodie, sweatpants, and slippers. As Marcia set up a folding chair, the prince couldn't help but smile at how his girlfriend looked just as pretty in leisure wear as her regular clothing.
"Okay… I'm going to go to sleep now." Comet laid his head on the pillow, flexing his muscles once more to ensure that the chains were tight enough. "If I start to do anything weird, wake me up."
"Ugh… hang on." Marcia zipped up her hoodie and tucked both arms inside. A few seconds later, her arms popped back out with her bra in one hand. Now that she was comfortable, the squire leaned back in the beanbag and continued watching over her boyfriend. "Okay. I'm ready now."
Comet, however, blinked in confusion as he glanced down at the bra laying on the floor. "What kind of witchcraft was that?"
Shaking his head, Comet closed his eyes, relaxed, and allowed himself to drift off to sleep. Marcia waited for almost ten minutes in anticipation, almost hoping for something to happen. But after an hour passed and nothing happened, Marcia was beginning to suspect that Comet had just been paranoid. As much as she wanted to help him, her exhaustion from training and studying finally caught up with her and Marcia eventually nodded off.
"Globgal!"
Marcia was awakened two hours later by Indexia as the diminutive mage fearfully scurried out of the room. The squire was so startled that she accidentally fell out of the chair and hit her elbow on the hardwood floor. Hissing in pain, she slowly rose to her feet before spotting what had spooked the ancient mage.
Comet was hovering above his bed in a trance. The chains and locks that had been holding him down were now shattered to pieces, orbiting around his body as he lay suspended in the air. His skin was pitch black while his heart, veins and arteries glowed with Dark Red Magic in contrast. Suddenly, his eyes snapped open, firing a magical beam that opened an inter-dimensional portal to a seemingly empty void. The prince sprouted his wings and extra arms and slowly fluttered towards the portal.
"No!" Marcia shouted and grabbed two of Comet's arms in a vain attempt to keep him away from the portal. "Comet! Wake up! Come on, man! There's no telling what's on the other side of that thing!"
Meanwhile, in Comet's dreams, the prince was already in another dimension; one made up entirely of blinding light. Comet waved his hands in front of his eyes, creating a layer of darkness that shielded him from the light. Once his vision cleared, he gasped in shock at the sight of a golden Stump glaring down at him.
"HOW DARE YOU BRING SUCH POISON INTO A REALM UNDER MY COMMAND?"
Before Comet could answer, several vines shot forwards and dug under his flesh. He opened his mouth to scream, only for another vine to block his windpipe. But just as he was about to succumb to the light, a shadowy hand appeared out of thin air and sliced the vines away. Comet gasped and fell backwards into the giant hand's embrace.
"BEEEEEEE NOOOOOOOT AFRAAAAAAID… FIIIIIIIIIIRRRRRREEEFLYYYYYY…"
"-Comet! Wake up, please!"
Comet's body instantly reverted back to normal and his eyes shot open to see that he and Marcia were helplessly drifting through an empty void. Once he spotted the portal he had dragged them through, Comet grabbed Marcia's arm and tried to summon his wings back to fly them through it. Likewise, Marcia patted her pajama and hoodie pockets for her scissors, only to realize that she'd left them behind.
But just as the portal was about to close, Indexia suddenly leapt through with several bed sheets tied around her waist as a lifeline and grabbed onto Comet's face. Comet grabbed Marcia's hand and tugged on Indexia's lifeline. Someone on the other side of the portal pulled with all of their might until the trio were safely back on Mewni. Once he caught his breath, the prince looked up to see a familiar green-haired man dressed in purple silk pajamas with silver shackles on his wrists.
"Eclipsine?" Comet rubbed his eyes to ensure that they weren't playing tricks on him. "What're you doing here?"
The former king of Mewni dropped the makeshift lifeline and helped the duo up to their feet. "I was hoping you could tell me. I was just about to head off to bed when this little gal burst into my room."
"Globgal!"
"Well, thanks, Eclipsine." Comet smiled.
"'Eclipsine?!'" Marcia gasped in shock. "Isn't he that ancient evil king you told me about?!"
"'Ancient?'" Eclipsine scowled. "Young lady, I'll have you know, biologically speaking, I'm only twenty-five! Hmph, a man gets crystallized for a few centuries and suddenly, he's ancient."
"Back off, old man!" Marcia pointed at the man in a threatening manner. "We don't trust you one bit!"
Eclipsine couldn't help but chuckle. "Oh, what's wrong? Are you afraid I'll get my evil cooties on you?" He teased.
"I said stay back!" Marcia got into a fighting stance with her fists raised, trying to intimidate him.
"Uh, Marcia?" Comet gently rested a hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her down. "It's okay. He's not really dangerous."
"Oh, aren't you precious!" Eclipsine chuckled.
"Who the hell are you calling 'precious?!'" Marcia sneered.
"Okay, enough!" Comet snapped, irritably. He used his scepter to conjure up a pot of magnolia tea, poured himself a cup, and drank the whole thing to calm himself down. "These past few days have been so confusing and I am in no mood to sit here and listen to you two go back and forth like this!"
"Oh, I'm so sorry." Eclipsine pulled up a bean bag from the corner of the room and took a seat. "Would you like to talk about it?"
Comet and Marcia shared a sideways glance. A few minutes later, the prince and his squire were sitting on the bed and sharing tea with the former king while explaining the situation. Comet told Eclipsine about his dreams and how he was acting out in his sleep. Then, Marcia explained how she was just watching over Comet for when it happened again, and how she failed to stop him from traveling through the portal. She also described to the duo how Comet's body had transformed into a dark reflection of his true appearance. At last, Comet explained the details of his latest dream.
And Eclipsine was excited.
"This is extraordinary!" The King of Darkness beamed as he finished the contents of his cup. "It sounds as if you've subconsciously made contact with the Living Void! Not even I have ever been able to do that! Oh, I've met some of his proxy, but never the Living Void, himself!"
"Uh… you say that like it's a good thing." Marcia remarked.
"It is a good thing!" Eclipsine insisted. "This could not only be the first time in three hundred years that a Mewman successfully wields Dark Magic, but it could be our only chance to learn more about the Living Void!"
"No, no, no, no. You weren't there. You didn't see what I saw." Comet shuddered as he recalled his latest nightmare. "It was terrible."
"What about the other dreams?" Eclipsine asked as he poured another cup of tea. "The ones where you didn't try to resist. Were they so terrible?"
Comet recalled the details of his first two dreams; how he had flown through the sky with ease, how he'd danced with Marcia, and how he'd saved the shadow-people. "Um… no, actually. They were kind of fun." He admitted with a small smile. "I don't know… what would you do if you were me?"
"If I were you?" Eclipsine smiled, softly; it felt nice to impart some of his own wisdom on a troubled youth. "I would embrace these dreams. See where they take me. All knowledge is good knowledge, I always say."
"But my dad-"
"If you're worried about your father, share whatever you learn with him." Eclipsine added. "I'm sure you both could benefit from what you discover. And he will respect you for your honesty."
Comet opened his mouth to respond, but couldn't think of a rational argument for Eclipsine's suggestion.
"You're not seriously considering this, are you?" Marcia gawked.
"Well, why don't you think about it, at least?" Eclipsine finished his drink and brushed himself off as he rose from his seat. "As for me, I'd best get back to my room before the Commission notices I'm gone. I still need to prepare for my trial."
"Hey, wait." Comet scratched his head. "How did you get out of the rose tower?"
"Well, so long as we're sharing secrets…" Eclipsine turned towards a portrait of Alphys Gibbs. "Oh, Captain! Permission to come aboard?"
Comet and Marcia watched in awe as the portrait winked at the former king and swung off of the wall, revealing a secret passage within. The prince's eyes widened in astonishment. "Whooooooa! I didn't know that was there!"
"There are secret tunnels all over this castle." Eclipsine chuckled as he hoisted himself into the passage and began to close the portrait behind him. "They made for a very convenient method of getting away from those stiffs in the meeting room, just so you know. All knowledge is good knowledge."
After Eclipsine shut the portrait, Comet began to pace the floor as he considered his options. He knew that his father was wary of Dark Magic - as was the rest of the Magical High Commission - but at the same time, he had just learned the hard way about the consequences of trying to forcefully purge Dark Magic from his body. At last, he made up his mind and laid back on the bed.
"Are you sure about this?" Marcia asked in a concerned tone.
"I have to try." Comet insisted as he closed his eyes once more.
Half an hour later, Comet's body again began to change. This time, however, instead of his flesh turning pitch-black, only his cheek-marks and heart glowed with dark red energy. Marcia curiously held a hand over his chest, feeling a warm sensation emitting from the glow.
At the same time, Comet once more found himself drifting through an empty void. But this time, several smaller lights began to appear around him like stars in the night sky. Willing himself to move, he began to fly through the mysterious dimension. Just then, another shadow-person with wings appeared and beckoned for the prince to follow him.
A few hours passed by and the shadow-person had finally led Comet to his destination. It was a beautiful ebony palace where a giant man made up of black cosmic dust sat upon an obsidian throne.
"FIIIIIIIIRRRRREFLYYYYYY… THE KEY TO MASTERING THE DAAAARK… IS TO FIIIIND… THE LIIIIGHT WITHIIIIIIIN THE DAAAARK…"
When Comet awoke again, he felt refreshed and well-rested. Sitting up in bed, he looked out the window to see that it was finally morning. Marcia soon woke up after him, having once again fallen asleep in the chair. After a few seconds, she bolted upright to check up on him.
"Comet! Are you alright? Did anything happen this time?" She asked.
"Hmmm…" Comet considered. Based on Eclipsine's description, he had every reason to believe that he had indeed made contact with the Living Void. He rolled up his sleeves to see that his red veins still hadn't spread any further, and he felt completely healthy. Then, he remembered what the eldritch being had told him in his latest dream. "I think I get it."
"Get what?"
"Maybe it's not about light versus darkness." Comet smiled. "Maybe it's all about how we use them. Whether I like it or not, Dark Magic is now a part of me. And I get the feeling that trying to fight it will only get worse. But maybe if I embrace it - make the best of it - I can do some good with it."
"But what about the Commission?" Marcia asked in a concerned tone. "Won't they get you in trouble if they find out?"
"Well, they looked the other way when my dad used Dark Magic to try and kill Taffy." Comet reasoned. "Maybe if I do enough good, I can convince them - and by extension, the world - that Dark Magic isn't so bad."
Marcia sighed and tiredly shook her head. "That's a pretty big 'if,' Comet… guess it's a good thing you've got me as your squire to make sure you don't get in over your head."
Comet smiled and pulled his girlfriend into a hug. "Aw, Ms. 'Bad-Girl Marcia' just turns into a safe kid for her boyfriend, huh?"
Marcia blushed and returned the hug. "Smart-ass." She snorted.
To Be Continued!
Epilogue:
In the dilapidated remains of St. Olaf's Academy for Wayward Princes, deep beneath the surface, a mechanical being lay in the basement. In one lifetime, this was the original St. Olaf who had been created to reeducate misguided youths into becoming proper monarchs. But after his adopted son came of age, the robot was deactivated and left to rust. Even after the school had been destroyed, the robot remained somewhat intact. That was fortunate for the menacing headmaster who now stood before St. Olaf.
"Hello… father." Atrocious growled.
Author's notes: Please leave a review. This website won't show me the traffic graph and reviews are the only way I know if anyone's reading this.
