Forgotten Ventures

Taking A Risk

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

Merina bit her lip and tapped her foot, staring at the oak door embellished with multicolored drawings and chips in the wood. The door had seen hell, given how crooked and bowed it sat in its frame, a comforting distraction for her racing mind. What she really needed was to calm down, take a deep breath, and focus. She inhaled, held it, let it hiss through her teeth… and resumed tapping her foot.

Sluggish footsteps approached the door, and Merina caught her breath. Mercifully the lock clicked out of place before the jarred and beaten door groaned open, revealing a very disheveled princess in her nightgown. Star faced forward and scratched her bottom, smacking her lips before pulling her 'sweet Dreamz' sleeping mask out of the way. The bags under her eyes weren't a good sign.

Merina let a slow sigh escape her lips, recounting the dozens of times she'd reminded herself that this was not the time. But she had to commit. "It seems you've been on the fair side of the sandman this evening," she offered with a nervous laugh, "I'm sorry to have woken you, hun."

Star always felt comforted by Merina's voice, her accent like Moon's, only softer and more nurturing. She yawned and stretched, scratching at her disheveled hair before glancing at the grandfather clock in the hallway. "I was," she nodded, her voice a croak, "Everything okay? It's stupid late."

Merina forced an apologetic smile and nodded. "I've been doing some thinking about our problem, and I feel as though I may have come to a.. problematic conclusion." She glanced at the clock and winced. "It, erm… couldn't wait."

Star rubbed her eyes and stepped back, extending a welcome to her bedroom. "What... *yaaaawwwwn* what problem would that be?" She asked as Merina stepped inside and took a seat on a bean bag. Star plopped down opposite to her. "Do you mean Toffee, Vartek, the universe, my mom grounding me for the next thirty years, or Marco being in the hospital?"

"And here I thought things were just peachy," she sighed, watching Star sit before relaxing enough to clear her head. This wasn't going to be easy. "It's about Vartek- and before you freak out, yes, everything's fine."

Not that Star had any reason to worry, now that Vartek was largely powerless. According to Heckapoo, he still had a few traces of Merina's magic, and both her and Marco's magic inside of him, but nothing he could reliably use. With a tired wave, she bid Merina to continue, though she remained a bit more attentive given the subject matter. "Vartek is… different, apart from the obvious lack of murderous intent," Merina explained, carefully treading eggshells. "It's like he's back to who he was before I- before the other me, died. As he is now, physically, mentally, and magically, I don't think there's any hope that he can undo the Turned spell."

That got Star's attention. She sat a little straighter and narrowed her eyes. "Yeah, I've been trying to figure out the same thing. I don't know much, but I feel like even if he wanted to help us, he wasn't acting like he could. And walking up to the guy and asking him doesn't sound like the best plan. Even if he is 'better'."

"Yes, you're absolutely right," Merina sighed. She should have guessed that Star would have known Vartek's apathy was due to more than his 'success'. But how to broach the next topic wasn't made easier with her understanding. "But there may be an out in him yet. While he lacks power, he hasn't forgotten what he's been doing, for better or worse. The Turned, each of them has a piece of his magic- my magic- locked away, and until that bit of magic is removed they'll forever remain immortal and broken."

Star nodded along, now fully awake. She agreed that a conversation like this couldn't wait, especially if Merina had come to a hopefully positive conclusion. "It's been three months since Lekmet had the strength to fix a Turned. You sound like you have a plan to either fix them yourself or help Vartek undo it." She watched Merina stiffen, but hearing no objection she pressed on. "You've brought back a lot of those statues. We've been trying for months to figure something out, to put them back together and change them back. It's not just about 'pulling out the magic', you have to untangle it from their very being. To do that takes a lot of stamina. And magic. I don't even think we can do that, even with his help. And I don't think Vartek is a good place to start trying, mind or body."

"Believe me, he's the last option I want to consider," Merina agreed, swallowing her nerves. "But… I don't think there's any other way. Think about it, he's the only one who knows how the spell works, and he's got the best connection to the magic used to Turn them. He remembers everything, and if we can get him in the right place, under the right circumstances, maybe we can give him enough juice to-"

"Merina." Star was staring at her, her eyes slowly getting wider with each passing word as it reminded her more and more of her conversation with Marco. Every ounce of drowsiness that had been hanging in bags beneath her eyes was gone. "We can't give him an inch here. If he finds a way to re-activate those things while dozens are in the basement? Or worse, if he can get his magic back?" She didn't need to finish the thought. Merina only nodded, but her expression put her resolve on full display.

"We have a real chance of rescuing everyone he stole from us. Would you deny your citizens the same relief you shared with Marco? How carefully did we consider the consequences of releasing Vartek, just so you could have Marco back?"

"That's not the same," Star barked. "That was-"

"How?" There was a dangerous edge to her words, but just as quickly as she'd countered, Merina softened enough to notice. She looked almost scared. "You did it because it was your only option. And I'm telling you that there is no other option to rescue the Turned but through Vartek. His magic is the key, and his mind holds the answers I- we… need."

Not wanting to get into a shouting match, despite having been called out so boldly, Star set her jaw and narrowed her eyes. "You want to use him."

Merina started. "Of course I do, hun. If we use him to get them back to-"

"After that," Star cut her off, standing from her chair and sliding on her slippers. "You want to use whatever magic he can scrape together… so you can go home. You need him strong again so he can take you- he's your ticket back to the future. Back to the girl, right?"

Whatever front Merina had been wearing, it dissolved in an instant. Her expression went from excited to guilty in an instant. She'd been caught and she knew it. "I do, and he is." Merina stood as well, eying Star with more intensity. "Twice now you've made promises to me, Star. You promised me that I would have time with him. However much I needed. You told me that I would see Silva again if I just helped you get them out."

Now it was Star's turn under the spotlight. She immediately felt a wash of guilt knowing that not only had she made those promises, but that she had no idea how she could deliver on them. "I didn't think you'd want to recharge his friggin batteries to time travel," Star grumbled, shaking her head. "Do you realize how dangerous it is to-"

"That's all anyone wants to say to me in this bloody timeline!" Merina shouted, her voice carrying far more than her frustration. "Every step I took to bring back Marco and Vartek, every piece of the puzzle we put together, I was told time and time again that we were meddling in things we shouldn't. I warned you that we shouldn't venture down that road. And now every step I try to take towards Silva, I am reminded of the very same! But somehow I'M the only one who has to abide by those warnings?! Whatever we stand to break by pursuing this, we've likely already broken!"

Star moved her mouth to refute the idea, but she soon found that Merina was completely in the right. She deserved to try just as much as she did. She had earned the right to pursue her goal just as much as she had. "So you want Vartek to pull his magic out of the Turned, and use that same magic to go back home?" At Merina's nod, Star sighed and shook her head. "And have you given any thought to what you might find when you go back? What if it's completely different? What if Vartek can't take you back? Maybe it was like a one-time thing, and we've messed up your future too bad to fix."

It wasn't a barbed question, but Merina stiffened as though it had been shouted. "I know it sounds ridiculous, but what other choice do I have? It's the only thing I can-"

"No no no, I'm not knocking you, I just want… I need to make sure you've thought this through," Star finished the thought with a yawn. Boy did she sound like her mother these days. "How sure are you about this?"

For a long moment, Merina said nothing. It would have been effortless to just bark 'very' and be done with it, but that wouldn't be a genuine answer. For months now she'd pondered over this very idea, that if she could only understand what Vartek had done, that she could replicate it. She'd thought of Silva, of going home, and how to harness the power Vartek had stolen. Nothing was easy, there was no direct path, and for all intents and purposes, it would be impossible without him. But this was her chance. Only he knew how to get back home and undo the damage he had done in the process. "All I need is a few moments to talk to him. If he's truly lost… then I guess, so am I. But I couldn't live with myself if I didn't at least try. Like you."

Star watched her carefully, looking for any sign of uncertainty or negligence. When she found neither, her shoulders sagged and she let a low whistle blow through her lips. "Fine. But we can't just run into this," Star noted, folding her arms. Merina only stared, too surprised at hearing a yes. "There's too many ways for this to blow up in our faces to count. So let's just start with talking to him. We need him on board for the Turned spell, that's gonna be all you, sister. Pulling enough magic out of the Turned to get you home, that's gonna be a whole lot harder."

Merina nodded, holding her chin. It wasn't that she didn't believe Star wanted to help, just that she hadn't been expecting that help to come so readily. She'd been imagining a bit more begging. "I can speak to the Queen about speaking to him, and I'll omit any talk of going home for the time being. I just… if I can get him to help… I know he can-"

A hand rested on her shoulder, and Merina nearly jumped. Star stood beside her, stifling another yawn before pushing Merina towards the door. "I got this, okay? I owe you, for everything, so the least I can do is set this up." She held her chin for a moment. "I'm meeting with my mom tomorrow to talk about the Kingdom of Corn Dinner, among other things… so I'll bring it up then. She's already on board with working with Vartek, at least in secret, so I'll get you some time alone with him and we can work from there. But for now, I'm going back to bed, and so are you."

Merina couldn't help but laugh, nodding at the sentiment of some good Ole R&R. It had been a long night of planning and calculating, but a fruitful one it seemed. "Even if I can't go home... if I'm stuck here forever?" She stopped just outside the door. "I do think he can fix them. We just need to get him to try, and hope that the purification spell fixed his mind enough to keep him sane."

Nodding, Star couldn't help but smile. As big of a monster as Vartek was it was still possible that he had an ounce of rational emotion left. Maybe even a crumb of empathy they could capitalize on. And as scary as the thought was, she knew he would help for one reason above even salvation itself. "Despite being a boiling bucket of sweaty garbage that deserves at least six more ass kickings?" She pulled her sleeping mask back down and shrugged. "Everything he did, he did it because magic made him crazy. So if he's back to normal, if he's fixed… I betcha he'll do anything so long as it's you who's asking."

Merina blushed profusely, her shocked expression dipping towards offense that Star couldn't see. "He's a murderer, Star. If you're proposing that I cozy up to someone like the man he's become-"

"The man he was, before we cleaned him up. And I didn't 'propose' anything," came the princess' coy response, "I'm just saying. He has a weakness we can use. I'd cozy up to him myself if it meant I could get Marco back. I already did with Toffee, if you think about it."

"You were furious that I let him out."

Star's smile wilted as she started closing the door. "Still am, still working on finding him. All I'm saying is that you've got leverage. He wants to atone, he wants to wallow in self-pity, and he wants you. Factor that into your ideas and get back to me."

The door shut with a loud thud, lacking grace, and Merina found herself standing in a dark hallway biting the inside of her cheek. A furious tirade of responses and denials and… she blushed, the words they'd shared in the Nexus fresh to her ears. 'You're alive, that's all that matters. Remember me as I was when I loved you, that's all I ask of you.'

O - O - O - O - O - O - O

"You're looking nervous, but don't worry, there's no need to be. Take a deep breath and relax, you've got this."

"I am nervous. I think I'd rather be dead."

Torriditty nodded and ran her hands through his hair, organizing the mess even a little. He wore slacks, a white dress shirt, and a plain black tie. Neat, simple, and dignified. She reassured him with a smile, but appeared equally uneasy. "You just might get your wish. We could still go see your parents if you feel like that'd be safer."

The acting plan was to go and make nice with Torriditty's parents first, as they were more likely to kill him and spare him from a visit with his father. That little appointment wasn't in the books yet, but it had been eating away at him for days. Given that Torriditty's father hated the nobility- even going so far as to threaten him when he was dressed as a mere soldier- and Tom had 'kidnapped' the Count's only daughter? Yeah, this was easier by a mile. "Let's just… rip the bandaid off," he sighed, checking his outfit for the fifth time in the mirror before accepting that it wouldn't matter once he'd been murdered. "If I die, I die. Maybe I can mention that I committed high treason. That should score some brownie points with your dad."

She snorted, laughed, kissed his cheek, and handed him a small disk of polished obsidian. "I doubt it. That's why you're gonna give him that." At his marked confusion, she rolled her eyes. "It's like a token of good luck. It's super taboo to be rude to someone who gives you one of those. Do you guys not have that in the capital?"

Tom flipped the disk over in his fingers and frowned. "You guys sure have some… different traditions in Blazing Lake." Torriditty only nodded, but maintained her eager grin nonetheless. "You really think he'll like me if I give him a little coin and smile?"

"It'll keep him from breaking you into a bunch of tiny demon pieces while you win him over, so sure. Everything after that is all you, babe."

Tom groaned and stuffed the small disk into his shirt pocket. "I'm fucked," he affirmed, approaching the stone balcony outside his room and extending his arms. "That's it, I'm just fucked, that's all there is to it."

Mercifully, Torriditty didn't try to cushion his nerves. It wouldn't help someone like him to be lied to that it would be easy, nor would it make him feel better. So as Tom summoned a pillar of roaring fire, she shrugged and stepped in after him. "I'll be with you no matter what. But If you do die, you better wait for me on the other side, or I'll rip off your-" *FWOOM*

Once the transportation blaze had died down, the two found themselves overlooking the mouth of a valley that spit into a lake of fire. The flames stretched to the horizon, igniting the Underworld ceiling even miles away. And nestled where the valley and lake met was a small fishing village, one as familiar as it was bone-chilling. Blazing Lake was, in itself, a small settlement with barely any capital, citizenship, or military. To call it a town, much less a province would have been a gross overstatement. But it was governed by Torriditty's family, homely in every facet of the word, and… well they hated the nobility like it was a sport. What Tom's father had done over the last few decades to garner such dissent was, simply put, nothing. It was as though he didn't even know the village existed. But that was apparently more than enough.

Tom skimmed through the internal reminder that he was largely hated here, but just as he was considering turning tail and disappearing, Torriditty grabbed his hand. "Just trust me. I've been in your corner since day one, and not even my dad can change that now. Got it?" She stared his nerves down, relieved to see the stress of his shoulders melting away. Tom nodded, squeezing her hand and taking that slow first step toward the center of town. Towards the manor. Towards death's front door.

The walk into town was uneventful. Save for a few glares, a couple of spits on the ground, a few mumbles about 'corrupt nobility', and the off-handed drunken fisherman. Not unlike his first visit here, before he'd had time to better himself. At least nobody was throwing things at him this time. The lesson of wearing a disguise had been hard learned, and ditching it now was only proving to be more and more of a mistake.

Before he knew it, he was reliving his terror of only six months ago, only now he wasn't wearing a protective suit of armor to hide his identity and his vitals. Just before the two of them stood a proud, if a little lackluster, Manor of Governance. Tom swallowed his nerves and let out a shaky breath, deciding that committing now was his only option. Maybe death would be quick.

It was Tom who approached the door first, giving the lion head knocker one solid rap before stepping back and catching his breath. Almost immediately there came a slow, heavy drum beat of footsteps that shook the floorboards. He had half a moment to wonder if Torriditty's parents told the villagers not to knock before the door swung open hard enough to create a vacuum. Standing there, was Count Magmus Delferus, a man four heads taller than Tom, thrice as wide, and infinitely more angry. "Yoouu," the man growled. Immediately the Count's eyes blared red as he lunged forward and seized Tom's collar, lifting him effortlessly to eye level. He didn't even waste a breath.

"WHERE IS MY DAUGHTER YOU WORTHLESS SON OF A-!"

"Dad."

The Count whirled his attention towards the offending voice. His eyes shifted back to normal and the heat around them began to dissipate. Magmus visibly softened and breathed only, "Thank the blazes…" before abruptly throwing Tom to the side like he weighed nothing. He enveloped Torriditty in a bone-crushing hug, his once curled lips pulled into a smile as happy tears boiled in the corners of his eyes. "My little girl… Seva! Come out here! Tori's home!"

As Tom struggled to untangle himself from casks and piles of fish netting, he noticed the way Torriditty blushed at the nickname. She tossed him a nervous glance before another demon, this one with a deep purple complexion stepped onto the porch. Her horns were curled, a rare defect even for Eighth Circle demons, and her eyes were a pale lavender. She too wasted no time in throwing her arms around the princess. "Oh, my embers… where in hell have you been, young lady!?"

Not one for an abundance of personal contact, Torriditty forced herself to focus on the question rather than her lack of oxygen. To say simply that she had been out wasn't sufficient, and to explain the entirety of the last two seasons' events would take far too long. So she opted to simply answer, "I was… helping my friends stop armageddon."

Countess Sevastielle didn't look happy with the lackluster explanation, and neither did Magmus. They both set Torriditty down and continued to ignore Tom, the act thoroughly appreciated. Magmus gave her a stern glare, though even now he was nowhere close to the level of anger he reserved for Tom. "Tori, you've been gone for six months," he grumbled, "What in hell's name could have possessed you to leave? We said we'd talk in the morning and you were gone!"

Going by her expression, she was about as anxious as Tom, but remarkably she managed to settle herself. Probably because she wouldn't be beaten to a pulp for existing. A glance at Tom revealed the young man giving her a thumbs up, a pep talk she didn't know she needed. "Dad, I told you that night that my friends needed me." She inhaled a shaky breath. "I left because you wouldn't listen to-"

"This is all his doing, isn't it?" Magmus turned a furious glare at Tom, who had only recently become untangled from the garbage pile. Quick as a flash Magmus was looming over him again, his hands shaking like he was itching for something to strangle. "Don't think I don't recognize you, 'soldier boy'. I don't know how you convinced my daughter to run away with you; I should skin you and ship you back to that wicked palace you call home. Mark my words, you only breathe because she isn't hurt, boy!"

No one said anything.

Tom stood fast in the face of certain death and let out a deliberate breath. Torriditty couldn't help him now, and Seva, while far more reasonable than Magmus, was little more than an audience. Tom reached into his shirt pocket and found the obsidian disk shattered from the tumble. He cursed internally, but he was committed to making things right. If for nothing else, then at least for Tor's sake. Magmus was looking for some reaction to justify his assumptions. But Tom wasn't about to give him one.

He bowed fully at the waist, staring at the floor as he spoke.

"I'm sorry, sir. I have no excuse for taking her, and I deserve whatever punishment you can think of, maybe even more for putting her in harm's way." He took a deep breath, satisfied that at least he wasn't getting screamed at. "My actions were stupid and selfish. I knew better and I chose to take her with me, knowing that it went against your wishes. If you can forgive me, I can promise you it will never happen again."

Collectively, all eyes moved to Magmus. He looked about as stunned as a man like him could be. Admittedly, Tom expected him to soften up at such a heartfelt apology, but Magmus only snorted a cloud of black smoke from his nostrils and shook his head. "You Royals aren't worth the effort of forgiving," he thundered, folding his arms. Tom could only wince. "Get out of my village before I come to my senses and have you quartered. And if any of you imperial hounds so much as show your faces here again I'll-!"

"Dad! Enough!"

If his heart had been beating, Tom would have felt it flutter. Torriditty pushed to stand next to him and took his hand, staring her father down in defiance. "I made him take me to Mewni," she corrected. "And I asked to stay there after the battle." At Magmus' stunned silence, she rolled up her right sleeve to reveal a scar two inches long running over her shoulder. Varteks arrow, a wound that wouldn't heal, not even for a demon. "Tom risked his life to save our friends, and me. We'd all be dead if we hadn't gone to Mewni, and the whole kingdom knows it. You owe him a-"

Magmus growled. It was a baritone rumble deep enough to shake soot from the rafters and ripple through their bones. His eyes were already red, but against Torriditty he held fast. "Tori… Don't. You. Dare," he rasped.

As if he was little more than a human, Torriditty stepped right up to him and glared right back, her eyes glowing a blazing orange. "You owe him a Nakveen."

Again, everyone fell silent. Tom had no idea what the hell that was, amounting it to another tradition her family abided by. Magmus looked deadly serious, glaring at Tom first before softening to look at Torriditty. "For anyone else in the Underworld, I would offer a hundred. I would grovel and revere any demon for the entirety of a Nakveen if they had kept my little girl safe," he conceded. But his eyes narrowed as he turned back to Tom. "But them? The Imperial family tosses us aside like garbage. We're less than commoners to them, the lowly Eighth Circle of demons. They will never deserve a day of debt like that."

For a stretched moment, no one argued. Not even Tom could contend that someone of his status and heritage deserved to take part in a 'Nakveen'. If it was a day of repayment in the form of gratitude, then he had no choice but to begrudgingly agree. He had no right to a piece of their world, regardless of his title. But it seemed there was someone who disagreed. Countess Sevastielle stepped forward and put a hand on Magmus' shoulder, smiling at Tor. "Magmus. By right we do owe him, unless we can't trust our own daughters' claims." She wasn't giving Tom an olive branch, but her disposition towards him was at least slightly better than neutral. "Besides, how many boys would come to apologize for fighting for us? Especially a noble."

"I could give a piss about his apology like his family could give a piss about us," Magmus growled." His eyes never left Tom's, and the punctuation of his statement was clearly presented. "You're a noble whelp, a spoiled heir, and the spawn of a despot. I know your sort," he emphasized the point by jabbing an iron finger into Tom's chest. "My daughter is not some passing prize for you to claim and abandon on a whim. You think that because you're royalty you can skulk about and woo any young woman you catch an eye for, but I won't let you make a trophy out of my little girl. Especially not a Lucitor."

Tom flinched at the accusation, not because the Count scared him, but because for a long time, he'd have been right. At first, Tom had only been interested in Torriditty as a means to make Star jealous. The young 'Princess' of Blazing Lake had just appeared at the end of the Blood Moon Ball to melt him free from his prison. She was interested in him, hot, and she was more than willing to be paraded around like exactly that: a trophy. But over time? As the weeks went by, the more time he spent with her, the more times he snuck her out of Blazing Lake just to hang out. For the first time, he found someone who wasn't put off by his temper. Someone who could help him channel it into passion and drive. Someone who could comfort him at his lowest, and lift him higher when he needed it. Torriditty wasn't a passing fancy, she was everything. She was the only thing. She was perfect, even if he wasn't.

Tom balled his fists. His eyes shifted to a scalding white. The air around him began to roll and writhe with heat. "I'm getting real tired of you telling me what a piece of shit I am," he hissed, careful to keep his frustration in line. "I don't care what you think of me, I don't care what you think of my family. I'm not my family. Torriditty is the only person whose opinion I care about, and she loves me for who I am without the titles and bullshit. As long as she wants me around, you don't scare me. Sir."

Not the least bit perturbed, Magmus stepped closer, leaning down to within inches of Tom's face. "I know you better than she does, Prince Thomas Lucitor. I know the kind of man you are, the side of you you hide from her. I know the type of lies you royals spread, and I intend to protect my daughter from you. You're every bit the arrogant, selfish, narcissistic, royal shit you've been for the last 15 years." As if to emphasize his next point, Magmus cracked his neck, inhaling sharply through the nose. "As a courtesy to your nobility, I'm asking you to leave. But if you'd prefer I make you…"

Tom had no intention of backing down. Angry was an understatement. But so much more was his frustration. With his father for causing this, with Magmus for holding a vendetta, and with himself for taking so long to grow a pair. "You dont know a thing about me. I love Torriditty, and even if I have to leave, even if you want to beat the souls out of me, that's not gonna change. I won't stop fighting for her, not even if I have to fight you."

A collective gasp sounded from the crowd that had long since collected around the manor. A Royal and a Count measuring dicks was a spectacle that couldn't be missed. Magmus grunted a huff of smoke, and for the first time in Tom's memory, he smiled. He shouted over his shoulder, "HOLMGANG!"

Immediately the onlookers took to murmuring and clamoring to get a better view. Oohs and ahhs sounded from the crowd as a buzz of excitement overtook them. Tom felt a chill ride up his spine as Torriditty paled, Sevastielle shook her head, and Magmus grinned. "You'd like to fight me over your honor, boy?" He asked, standing tall and gesturing to the lake of rolling fire in the distance. "Here's your chance to defend it, your majesty."

AUTHORS NOTE

Hey all. Just a short chapter this time, a little side project to keep my mind fresh while Cornwallis and I work on finishing the next OAFQ update. Doing rewrites and stuff, expect that next chapter soon! Also, let me know if you guys want more frequent short chapters or less frequent long chapters. I'm trying to squeeze in what I can lol. See y'all soon!

~Mr. Ronald Reagan