ACT XIII: Comet II, the Underestimated Part 22: Questioning Society

Prologue: Festiville, Mewni

Festiville; the poorest town in all of Mewni.

It was supposed to be a project started by King Festivio as a means of providing affordable housing for the citizens who lived outside of the protective barrier. But after Festivio's untimely death, King Crescento had cut off all funding for the project to focus on his plans to control monster politics. While the monarchy had forgotten about the town, the monsters had not. Hundreds of monster citizens with nowhere else to go had spent decades gathering scraps of wood and sheet metal to build makeshift homes to protect themselves from the elements.

Being so close to the Forest of Certain Death, the Magical High Commission never saw the need to reclaim it, despite General Loveberry's insistence. Regardless, the general had convinced them to have several Solarian soldiers posted at watchtowers where they could keep an eye out for any monsters trying to head towards the rest of Mewni. However, there had never been any incident of a monster wanting to leave Festiville.

Despite the ramshackle houses, the monsters who lived there had managed to find a clean water source and grow bountiful harvests every year. Not only that, but the small community had also set up an efficient barter system so that everyone got what they needed when they needed it.

Katrina Bulgolyubov, the oldest adopted tadpole of Yelena Bulgolyubov, made her way out of the Forest of Certain Death and headed towards the town with a basket of freshly shucked corn. She carried it towards the wood harvester's tent and set the basket down in front of him. In exchange for the vegetables, the cyclops gave her a reasonable stack of wooden planks that had been cut from a billboard of Festivio and Chastity Dragonfly.

Katrina smiled as she collected the boards; these would be perfect for her friends' newest project. She tucked the boards under her arm and went back into the Forest of Certain Death.

End Prologue.

Dragontown, Mewni

Half of Dragontown acted as a training camp for Solarian warriors and trainees, with the other half serving as living space for them and their families. The training facilities included an archery range, a list field for jousting, an arena for practicing armed combat, and a smaller ring for hand-to-hand training. Currently, the entire fourth-year class was crowded around the ring in anticipation for the sparring match between the top trainee and the prince's squire.

Marcia blew a kiss at her boyfriend before sitting down at her corner of the ring. Comet sat in the bleachers at the Solarian training camp, unabashedly waving around two flags that read "GO, MARCIE, GO!" and wearing her hoodie around his shoulders while cheering for her. Her opponent was Higgs Barr, a fourth-year Solarian trainee on the verge of graduating and becoming a full-fledged warrior. As such, he wasn't keen on letting a mere squire humiliate him in front of the crown prince.

Once the referee rang the bell, both opponents squared up and began circling each other around the ring. Marcia was the first to land a punch, much to Higgs' embarrassment, but the trainee refused to back down. He managed to land a decent haymaker, but Marcia managed to roll with the blow and counter with an uppercut to his stomach. Higgs may have been training for four years, but Marcia had plenty of years of street fighting under her belt on top of having spent the last year fighting monsters twice her size with Comet.

Marcia dodged another swing from Higgs, then delivered two swift jabs to his face. Higgs was growing visibly more frustrated and tried to get her with a knockout punch. But Marcia redirected his blow away from her and knocked him to the ground. Comet jumped up from his seat and cheered, as did Kyle and Lady Dama. The referee prompted Marcia to head back to her corner before counting down from ten. Higgs tried to pull himself up on the ring's ropes, but his head was spinning too much for him to regain his equilibrium. The referee finally counted to ten, declaring Marcia the winner by knockout.

But as the squire took a bow for the spectators, Higgs angrily kicked her knee to trip her up. The crowd booed Higgs for his poor sportsmanship, but he just arrogantly saluted them as he finally got back on his feet. "Hey, dickhead!" Marcia hissed. "The ref said the match was over!"

"In a real fight, a Solarian never backs down until his opponent stays down." Higgs boasted.

"That so?" Marcia grunted before jumping back onto her feet, rushing the startled trainee, and then punching him in the face and knocking him flat on his back out of the ring. "Then stay down, bitch."

The squire quietly made her own way out of the ring, stepping on Higgs' face for good measure as she wiped the sweat off of her face with a towel. Comet hastily made his way down from the bleachers with a bottle of water to help Marcia hydrate. Higgs grabbed a stick and prepared to hit Marcia over the head, but Comet quickly drew his scepter and used Light Magic to transform it into a swarm of butterflies.

"Higgs, if you ever try that again, I will take it directly to your superiors." The prince threatened. "Are we clear?"

Higgs just huffed. "Transparently, your highness."

"Come on, Comet." Marcia huffed as she slipped her hoodie back on, focusing on her squire duties to distract herself. "We've gotta meet up with your mom in the Johansen kingdom for lunch."

As Marcia cleaned herself up, Higgs grumpily ignored the crowd scowling at him as he headed towards the barracks. Suddenly, a horrified cry drew his attention and he grinned at the sight of a monster attacking a helpless civilian. "This'll make up for my rep." He thought to himself as he drew his mace and charged at the monster.

"Help! He's trying to eat my baby!" The woman screamed as she defended her crying infant.

"No! No, you don't understand!" The monster tried to plead his case before being struck from behind by Higgs. The trainee gave the monster a good thrashing before slamming him against a nearby wall.

"A little far from home, aren't you?"

"I-I just wanted some bread." The monster pleaded, weakly.

"If I ever see you again, I will not stop! You hear me?!" With that, Higgs kicked the monster off back towards the Forest of Certain Death before returning to the other trainees. While most of the other mewmans praised Higgs for taking decisive action, Comet couldn't help but frown.

"Was that really necessary, Higgs?" The prince asked. "I mean, I didn't even see that monster touch that lady or her baby."

"Well, he was going to. I found this in that monster's pocket, your highness." Higgs tossed what looked like a switchblade into the prince's hands. "It's a good thing I stopped him."

However, upon further inspection, Comet discovered that what folded out was not a blade. "It's a comb, Higgs." He said, judgmentally.

But the Solarian trainee just shrugged. "Eh, anyone can make a mistake. Besides, it was just a monster."

The other trainees - even Kyle and Dama - nodded and murmured in agreement, much to Comet's discomfort. Although the prince had been similarly raised to hate all monsters, even having to fight off Luna's army on several occasions while on Earth and killing Taffy on Mewni, his alliance with Yelena Bolgolubov had proven that not all monsters were unreasonable. Additionally, as a child, he once thought that smurfs and pussywillow pixies counted as monsters, yet there were never any hostilities between them and the mewmans.

"Hey, you alright?" Marcia's voice brought the prince out of his thoughts.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine." Comet sighed. "C'mon, let's go find my mom."

At that very moment, Queen Lake was busy at work in her family kingdom. She had taken the meteorite her father had given her to the Johansen's weapon forge to be melted down for her son's ax. Hogan and Rhea, her younger twin siblings, helped ready the mold while Lake stoked up the flames. Once the metal was properly heated, Lake poured it into the mold. As it cooled, Hogan and Rhea meticulously pounded away with their hammers to shape it into the mold. Once it was safe, Lake used her pinchers to knock the blade out of the mold, pick it up, and quench it in the dunk tank.

"Phew… you're getting rusty in your old age, big sister." Hogan snickered, wiping the sweat from his brow. "It's not like you to ask us for help."

"I just want my little shooting star's gift to be perfect." Lake smiled as she removed the blade from the quench tank and wrapped it in a cloth for later use.

"Hi, mom! Ready for lunch?" The prince called out, appearing right behind the queen.

"Comet!" Lake yelped in shock before trying to block the view of the forge. "Shooting Star! Y-you can't be in here! You're not wearing a hard hat!"

Comet arched an eyebrow at his mother's odd behavior. "Neither are they." He reasoned, pointing at his aunt and uncle.

"Oh…" The queen bashfully took off her own hard hat. "W-well, yes. But, they're professionals. Ahem, let's go ahead and get lunch, shall we?"

A few minutes later, the trio had arrived at Walter's Diner; the most popular eatery in the entire Johansen Kingdom. Lake had been coming to this diner ever since she was a little girl, and it always warmed her heart to come back with her son and his girlfriend. But throughout the entire meal, Lake slowly began to notice her son's dour demeanor. Eventually, Marcia had to excuse herself to go to the bathroom while Lake paid the bill, but Comet had barely touched his mutton sandwich.

"Hey, mom…?" Comet spoke up at last, earning his mother's attention. "Why didn't dad ever try to make peace with the monsters like grandpa did?"

The queen arched an eyebrow. "What brought this up?"

Comet shrugged as he used his fork to stir his mashed potatoes. "I don't know. Just curious, I guess. I mean, dad told me grandpa got really close before Taffy betrayed him and Queen Batra."

Lake was visibly uncomfortable with this topic, but she cleared her throat as she tried her best to explain. "Well, after your father proved that lizards aren't as immortal as they think they are, the rest of the monsters were too afraid to ever continue any peace talks."

Comet frowned, dissatisfied with that answer. "But did dad ever try to reach out to them?"

Lake's brow furrowed. "Well, of course not, Comet. Those monsters killed his father."

"No, Taffy killed grandpa." Comet corrected. "A monster killed him. One. One monster."

"So?" Lake's tone grew impatient. "What difference does it make if it was one? Hundreds of different monsters killed your Johansen ancestors long before that!"

"But we have an alliance with a kingdom of literal demons, and we were at war with them for a long time, weren't we?" Comet reasoned.

"That's different." Lake retorted. "It's better to trust the demons you know than the monsters you don't."

"Well, why can't we try to get to know the monsters?" Comet asked. "I mean, have you ever thought that if you treated them the same way you'd treat any other mewman, they might do the same?"

"Comet, it's not that simple!" Lake replied, exasperated. "The monsters are…! I mean, they don't…! That is to say…! Well, you try being nice to a monster sometime! See how far that gets you!"

"Well, maybe I will someday!" Comet huffed, crossing his arms.

"You will do no such thing, young man!" Lake scolded. "Not so long as you are my son!"

With that, Lake left a generous tip on the table and stormed out of the diner. Comet slumped back in his seat, muttering to himself and thinking about what his mother had said. For what he gathered, the only reason she hated monsters was because of a personal bias. In fact, every time he ever spent time with his Johansen relatives, all they ever talked about was glorious combat against the monsters without ever reasoning why. But then again, the prince had never questioned their prejudice. And his own prejudice was only reinforced when he came to Earth and had to protect the scepter from Luna and her lackeys.

But once again, he couldn't help but think of Yelena the frog monster and how she had helped him save Marcia's life. And a few months after that, she even joined Marcia in taking on Taffy while he was indisposed. He had even used the scepter to build a house for her and her tadpoles out of gratitude.

"Hey, wait a minute…" Comet's eyes suddenly widened as he got an idea. As far as he knew every king before him - with the exception of Eclipsine - had only ever used magic to harm monsters. But after his alliance with Yelena, even after she had nothing to offer him in return, he had used magic to help her. And the two were even able to part on friendly terms. If he could use magic to help other monsters, it could lead to a successful peace treaty.

"You okay, your highness?" The waitress asked as she collected the money. "You only took one bite of your sandwich. Was it not to your liking?"

Comet smiled. "Yeah, the sandwich was great. I guess my eyes were just bigger than my stomach. Could I get a to-go bag, please?"

Once Marcia left the bathroom, she spotted her boyfriend scribbling a note on his napkin before neatly folding it up. "What's up, C?" She asked.

"Marcia! Just in time!" The prince handed her the napkin and conjured up a backpack to carry his leftovers in. "I need you to take that note to my parents. I'll be back at the castle later."

"Where're you going?" Marcia accepted the note, but her curiosity prompted her to ask.

"I've got a… social experiment I need to conduct." Comet nodded. "I'm not exactly sure when I'll be back, but this is important."

With that, the couple went their separate ways. Marcia could have used her scissors to teleport back to the castle, but decided to get in some cardio and jogged back on foot. Once she arrived at the main gate and flashed her squire I.D. badge at the guards, she began searching for the royal couple. At last, she found the queen lounging in the library, sharpening the tip of her spear next to the fireplace.

"Your majesty, Comet wanted me to give this to you and the king." Marcia handed the note to Lake.

"Thank you, Marcia, dear." Lake smiled as she accepted the napkin and unfolded it. "Unfortunately, Mars Bar is still preparing for Eclipsine's trial, but…" The queen stopped talking and her brow furrowed as she continued to read the note.

"What's wrong, your majesty?" Marcia asked.

"Comet… of all the ridiculous…! He's going to try and pacify the monsters!" Lake threw the note down, got up from her seat, and marched towards the war room.

Marcia had picked up the note before following the queen, reading it for herself as they walked. "'Dear mom and dad, I have an idea on how to end hostilities with the monsters. I'm heading to Festiville to show them what mewmans have to offer in exchange for peace. I'll be back before dinner. Love, Comet…' Aw, man, Comet…" The squire groaned, internally.

Once the duo reached the war room, General Loveberry and his men immediately stood to attention and saluted the queen.

"At ease, men." She snapped. "General, I have a new assignment for you. My son is headed to Festiville. I need you and Squire Diaz to bring him back to me."

The general glanced at Marcia and scowled. "Isn't a squire supposed to stay by the prince's side at all times?"

"Hey, Comet asked me to do something for him! I didn't know he was gonna run off!" Marcia replied, defensively. "Besides, he's got the most powerful weapon in this world strapped to his belt. If anything goes wrong before we get to him-"

"Enough! Just go get my son and bring him back, general!" Lake ordered.

"I understand, my queen!" Milo saluted. "Find the prince and bring him back, dead or alive!"

"General Loveberry!" Lake scolded, angrily.

Milo blushed and bashfully tugged at the collar of his shirt. "Oh! Right! Not dead! Just alive. Aheh, sorry, your majesty. It's been a while since I was sent on a rescue mission."

Marcia rolled her eyes. "I can't imagine why."

Meanwhile, Comet tucked his scepter into his belt before continuing towards Festiville. Being his first time in the poor town, Comet was understandably surprised to see how decrepit and run down everything was. But what surprised him more was the fact that the monsters didn't seem to mind. They were all going about their business, working on farms, trading supplies and food, and playing games; they were no different from mewmans in a way.

The prince smiled to himself, confidently strolling into the town to introduce himself to the first monster he saw. A poor kappa was trying to carry a heavy crate that obscured her vision, so the prince hurried to her aid.

"Let me help you with that!" He offered, cheerfully. He grabbed the crate and easily lifted it up.

"Oh, thank you, young-" The kappa's smile was instantly replaced with a fearful expression.

"Where are you taking this?" He asked.

"I-it's nothing! Forget it!" The kappa screamed before running off.

"Hey, wait! Where are you going?!"

But it was no use, the kappa was already gone. Slightly put off by the reaction, Comet set the crate aside and decided to try again. This time, he walked further into the town to try and find a community leader to ask directly how he could help people. But every time he got close to someone, they either ran away or threatened him. Hours passed and by the time Comet made it to the center of the town, every monster had received word that he was there and to avoid him. However, he spotted a little monster girl playing with blocks near a defunct fountain in the town square, playing with blocks and oblivious to the prince's presence.

Determined, Comet slowly walked up to the little monster girl and quietly sat down next to her. When she looked up, she didn't seem scared, just confused. Taking that as a sign of his luck about to turn, Comet placed his hands next to the scepter tucked into his belt. With a whisper of a spell and a flash of Light Magic, Comet created a colorful top and held it out towards the girl. She tilted her head in confusion, unaware of what it was for.

"Here… like this." Comet demonstrated the purpose of the toy by spinning it on one of her blocks.

The girl smiled in awe as the top spun.

"Get away from her!" Her mother snapped at Comet before angrily pulling the girl away from him.

"N-no, wait! Don't be… afraid…" With a defeated sigh, Comet made his way out of Festiville and sat down on a tree stump just outside of the Forest of Certain Death. "How can I help anyone if I can't get close to anyone…?"

"Hello, mewman boy." A voice called out.

Comet turned to see a young frog-girl with a bundle of wood planks tucked under her arm standing beside him. "Oh! Hello, little one. What're you doing out here?"

"I could ask you the same thing." She replied, tilting her head slightly. "Mewmans don't usually wander this close to the Forest of Certain Death."

Comet sighed, tiredly. "I… came down here to offer my help to the less fortunate. But, it seems I'm not welcome here."

The girl set down her bundle and sat down next to the prince. "My name is Katrina. What is yours?"

"I'm Comet. Nice to meet you."The prince smiled, softly. "You're not… afraid of me?"

"Not really. You looked so sad. Most of the time, sad people don't hurt anyone." Katrina smiled and grabbed the prince's arm to drag him along. "Come. I'll take you to mama."

Deeper into the forest, Yelena wiped the sweat from her brow once she and the rest of her tadpoles finished loading her harvested corn into the silo. With her tadpoles growing up, she needed to teach them how to handle the harvest before they could inherit her land. While the children took enough corn inside for dinner, Yelena made her way towards the tool shed to hang up her scythe when she spotted two shadows approaching from the west. A warm smile spread over her lips once the mewman boy came into view.

"Friend Comet. This is a pleasant surprise." She said, happily. "Have you recovered from the battle with Taffy?"

"Oh, Yelena." Comet rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Yeah, I'm feeling better. Sorry to pop up like this. I didn't know this was your daughter, or that she was bringing me here."

"It's no problem, friend Comet." Yelena assured him with a firm pat on the back. "But what brings you here?"

"Oh, uh, well, it's actually a funny story." Comet chuckled, half-heartedly. "You see, I was just in the neighborhood and-"

"He tried to be nice to monsters, but everyone was rude to him." Katrina interrupted before showing off her stack of wood. "I'm going to set this stuff in the barn, mama. I think we might have enough this time."

"Alright, little one. Put that in the barn, then wash up for dinner. Friend Comet and I need to talk." Yelena instructed her daughter before turning back to the prince. "So, is this true? You wanted to help monsters?"

"Um, yeah. Basically." Comet bashfully kicked the dirt beneath him. "I just… I wish mewmans and monsters didn't have to be enemies. And I thought if I did a few good deeds with my scepter… ah, it was stupid. I was being stupid."

Yelena sensed the sadness in the prince's heart, and felt compelled to help him. "Come in. Meet my tadpoles."

"Oh, no!" Comet politely protested. "I-I wouldn't want to intrude."

Yelena frowned and gently placed her hands on the boy's shoulders while looking him in the eyes. "Friend Comet… come in… and meet my tadpoles."

Comet sighed. "I guess there's no arguing with you." He chuckled as he followed her inside.

"Yes. This is true." Yelena nodded and led the prince inside.

Once they were inside, the other tadpoles immediately stopped what they were doing to look at the boy.

"Is this the nice prince who gave us the house, mama?" One tadpole asked, innocently.

"Yes, Alexi. Everyone, this is friend Comet." Yelena happily patted the prince on the back and motioned to her tadpoles. "Friend Comet, this is Boris, Alexi, Anastasia, Dimitri, Anya, Igor, Mikhail, Leo, Irina, Nadia, Sergei, and you've already met Katrina."

Comet politely bowed to the young frog monsters. "Hello. I am Prince Comet Galaxius Astro Celestio Cosmo Dragonfly the Second. It's a pleasure to meet you all."

The family invited Comet to sit down with them at the dinner table and offered him his own bowl of creamed corn with a side of corn on the cob. Over the course of the next half hour, Comet happily listened to the tadpoles explaining their studies and hobbies, as well as answering any questions they had for him. Eventually, dinner concluded and Comet collected the dirty dishes from everyone before taking them into the kitchen to be cleaned.

Wanting an opportunity to talk to the prince in private, Yelena ordered her tadpoles to their rooms until further notice. After ensuring that they would not be disturbed, Yelena closed the door to the kitchen and prepared her coffee maker. "You did not have to do the dishes, friend Comet." Yelena spoke up.

"Oh, it was the least I could do in return for your hospitality." Comet assured his friend as he dried off his hands. "And I'm glad you let me meet your children."

"They are blessings, no?" Yelena smiled.

"Yeah. They don't even hate me."

Yelena sighed, sadly. "Well, they've been rather sheltered until today. They just haven't learned to, yet." The frog monster poured two cups of cappuccino, then sat back down at the dinner table. "So, what exactly was your plan?"

Comet took a small sip from his cup before trying to explain. "I just… I just thought I could give something back. Like, after all the times a king had used magic to hurt monsters, maybe I could use it to help them."

"Well, there is your problem." Yelena set her cup down and crossed her arms. "You tried to take a shortcut. Even with a magic scepter, you can't magic away all those years of monster prejudice… but I think I know a way to start. Katrina! Come downstairs!"

Soon enough, the prince heard the pitter patter of the first tadpole he'd met as she made her way to the kitchen. Once she arrived, Yelena whispered something into her ear that made her daughter smile. Katrina once again led Comet by the hand out of the house and into the tool shed where they collected the planks of wood from earlier.

"So, what're we doing?" Comet couldn't help but ask.

"We are going to help." Katrina smiled and led him deeper into the forest.

At that very moment, Marcia and Milo arrived at the watchtower closest to Festiville. After climbing up the ladder, they found that all six guards posted at the tower were fast asleep. Marcia noticed the sparkles around their eyelids, indicating that Comet had cast a sleep spell on them so they wouldn't report him. Milo, on the other hand, did not notice the spell and angrily stomped his foot down.

"ATTEEEEEEEEENTION!" He shouted. The guards jolted awake and jumped to their feet to salute the general. Milo grabbed the one closest to him and hoisted him into the air. "Just look at yourselves, men! You have failed your only mission! Because of this slip up, the crown prince is now alone in the Forest of Certain Death with no protection!"

"General, it's not their fault!" Marcia tried to speak up on the guards' behalf. "I think-"

"Do not talk to me, Squire Diaz! I did not ask you a question!" Milo snapped at the squire before setting the guard down and pushing him into line with the others. "Each and every one of you has failed this kingdom! You are all weak! Now, the squire and I must find the prince and bring him to safety! So stay here and await further orders! And stay awake this time!"

"Sir, yes, sir!" The guards nodded in unison.

The duo quickly climbed back down the tower and headed into Festiville. Marcia watched uncomfortably as the general roughly shook down the first monster he laid eyes on, causing the other monsters to run away in fear.

"Where's Prince Dragonfly?!" He snarled.

"How should I know? Probably eating caviar with his snobbish father." The bull-monster snarked back, only to choke in pain as Milo tightened his grip around his neck. "ACK! I don't know, honest! I-I heard a rumor that he was wandering around town earlier, but then he went into the forest and disappeared! That's all I know, I swear!"

Marcia tried to avert her eyes, but she ended up glancing at a poster of King Festivio and Queen Chastity. "This is senseless." A voice whispered in her mind. "Leave the poor man alone and go find Comet!"

Marcia turned back and grabbed Milo's wrist once she saw the malevolent gleam in the general's eyes. "That's enough! We've got what we wanted." She reasoned.

In response, Milo dropped the frightened monster and turned his angered gaze towards Marcia. "Now, listen here, squire." He spat, disdainfully. "You may be sweet on the royal family, but when it comes to military operations I've got seniority! I've been fighting monsters and rescuing mewmans since long before you were ever a sperm cell in your father's nutsack-"

"Fuck you!" Marcia snapped back, punching the general across the chin.

But Milo just rubbed his chin in mild discomfort. "The truth hurts, doesn't it, squire?"

"Alright, look, if you wanna keep swinging your dick around, swell! But my boyfriend is out there and I'm gonna find him!" Marcia huffed and marched into the forest. And once he saw that there were no other monsters around for him to interrogate, Milo followed close behind.

At that very moment, Comet and Katrina had arrived at a wide gorge in the middle of the forest. The frog-child set down her bundle of wood and lit a few torches surrounding the area. And on the other side of the gorge, someone else lit similar torches. Katrina picked up a hammer and a sack of nails, then headed back towards the prince.

"For a long time, this gorge has separated this part of the forest." She explained, eagerly. "But my friends and I are going to fix that. We are going to build a pair of catapults to send us back and forth across the gorge."

Suddenly, a group of ten more monsters came out from the shadows.

"Hey, what's he doing here?" A young bat monster sneered, pointing to the prince.

"He's here to help us build, Flim-flam." Katrina replied, sternly. "He is my mama's friend. That makes him my friend."

Comet smiled, meekly, and held up the planks of wood. "Just tell me what to do." He offered.

Over the course of the next few hours, the group had set about constructing the catapult, with the group on the other side doing the same. Comet dutifully followed all of Katrina's instructions and put his Johansen strength to good use by carrying the supplies wherever they needed to go. Without even using his scepter once, Comet took part in assembling the base, the frame, the arm, and the bucket. By the time the sun was just about to set beneath the horizon, Yelena and other adult monsters arrived just in time to see the completed project and began celebrating.

Comet wiped the sweat from his brow as a rock monster set it to launch. "Wouldn't it be safer to just build a bridge?" He asked.

Suddenly, a slime monster jumped into the catapult, pulled the lever, and screamed in excitement as it flung him across the wide gorge. Once they landed on the other side, another monster flung himself across the gorge from the other side. The monsters cheered and clapped as if it were a game.

"It's not enough to give people what they need to survive." Yelena remarked as Katrina happily jumped into the catapult. "You need to give them what they need to live!"

Comet watched in awe as his new friends happily flung themselves back and forth across the gorge. The young monsters and their parents patted Comet on the back, shook his hand, and sang his praises along with the rest of the monster children. Even Flim-flam nodded at him in gratitude, silently thanking him for his help. Pride swelled in the prince's chest as he felt he'd taken the first step towards a peaceful coalition.

Alas, it was not meant to be.

A fearful scream rang out as everyone heard someone attacking the group. Comet instinctively drew his scepter and made his way through the crowd to see what was the source of the problem. His heart jumped up into his throat once he spotted General Milo Loveberry assaulting every monster in his sights. Before Comet could order him to stand down, Marcia ran up to check on him.

"Comet, what were you thinking?!" She scolded. "Do you know how worried we-?!"

"General Loveberry, release them! By order of the prince!" Comet demanded.

Milo gasped and bowed. "Prince Comet! Thank Skywind I found you! Join me, and together, we can take these evil monsters' heads!"

Once the general spotted the catapult, his eyes turned blood-red as his muscles spontaneously grew larger. He grabbed two monsters by their necks, ran towards the mechanism, and jumped high into the air. When he came back down, he smashed his captives into the catapult, shattering it to pieces and killing both monsters.

"No!" Comet ran towards the catapult and pushed Milo off of the shattered remains and bloody bodies. The prince fell to his knees, crying over the damage and death. "What have you done?!"

Milo rose to his feet and crossed his arms as he proudly gazed at the destruction. "I'll tell you what I've done, your highness; I've prevented these monsters from attacking the kingdom with their artillery!"

"Loveberry, you dumb fool!" Comet fumed as he angrily stood up. "This catapult wasn't meant for an attack! It was to help the monsters travel across the gorge!"

"Don't be so naive, Prince Comet!" Milo snapped. "Can't you see these criminals were taking advantage of you?! Having you build these war machines so they could turn them on you and your home!"

"We're in the middle of the forest!" Comet shouted. "Even if they wanted to fire artillery at the castle, it never would have reached it!"

"We can discuss your foolishness later, your highness!" Milo insisted as he grabbed the prince by the wrist. "Right now, we have to get you out of here!"

"Loveberry, stop!" Comet ordered. "Let me go! You're hurting me!"

"Hey! You let friend Comet go!" Katrina snapped as she picked up a broken piece of wood and swung it at the general.

Unfortunately, the plank broke in half upon contact and Milo prepared to strike back. But just as he swung his fist, someone else caught it in their palm. Marcia's eyes and hair shone with green energy as the bright crescent moon marks reappeared on her cheeks. Her right fist burst into flames while her left fist cackled with electricity.

"You were gonna hit a child?" She growled and punched Milo's arm to force him to release his grip on Comet, then hit him in the head to push him back a couple feet.

Marcia looked down at her hands, amazed at the fire and electricity cackling from her knuckles. Just like before, when she fought Taffy, Marcia felt as if she had the strength of ten women coursing through her veins. And now was as good a time as any for this power to return, as Milo stomped towards her. Marcia also seemed to move much faster, easily dodging Milo's punches and striking back at him with earth-shaking blows. But the general had a few centuries worth of experience over the young squire and managed to strategize how to get close enough to put her down. With one savage blow to her ribs, all of Marcia's energy seemed to disappear along with her breath.

While Marcia slumped to the ground, Milo grabbed her by her hair as it changed from green back to brown. "Squire Marcia Diaz, you're under arrest for assaulting a superior officer and obstructing justice!"

"ENOUGH!"

A raging fireball shot through the air and torched Milo's wrist. The intensity of the Light Magic forced the general to release his grip, dropping Marcia to the ground. Milo reflexively turned around to see his attacker, only to spot an angered prince.

"That's it!" While Comet charged Light Magic through the scepter in his right hand, the dark red veins traveled farther up his left arm. "This ends here and now!"

Light and Dark Magic spiraled around the prince as he aimed his scepter at the general. Milo reached out to stop Comet, only to leave himself open to a destructive blast. The force was so powerful that Milo was blasted over the treetops and into the distance. The prince sighed in relief at having removed the threat, then turned to use his magic to repair the destroyed catapult. However, all of the monsters looked at him with fear and shock in their eyes.

Comet gently lifted his hands in a calming manner. "N-no, no! It's okay! The bad man's gone! He can't hurt you anymore!"

But still, the monsters backed away from him. He took another step forward and they all began to run away as fast as they could. Confused, he looked down at the scepter in his hand and immediately dropped it.

"No! I'm not going to hurt you! I promise!" Comet cried, tearfully. But it was no use; every monster except for Yelena and her tadpoles had fled. The prince fell to his knees in despair as he gazed at the empty forest. "Please… come back…"

Tears rolled down his cheeks and dripped onto the crystal of his scepter. At last, he understood; so long as any mewman had the power to completely annihilate anything, the monsters would always fear mewmans. And no amount of good deeds would ever change that in his lifetime.

"I did this…" Comet sniffled, hugging his knees to his chest. "I came here… I told my mom I wanted to make peace with monsters… and she sent Loveberry after me… this is my fault…"

"It's alright, friend Comet." Yelena smiled as she patted the prince's shoulder. "Maybe mewmans will not accept monsters in our lifetime. But you see us as more than monsters. And perhaps, for now, that is enough."

Comet wiped a stray tear from his eye. "It doesn't feel like enough."

Yelena gave the vulnerable prince a comforting hug. "I must go take my tadpoles home. But I promise we will see each other again, friend Comet. I believe in your crusade for peace."

After Yelena and Katrina left, Marcia groggily made her way towards her boyfriend and sat down next to him. "What was this all about?" She asked.

"I… I just wanted to help." Comet sniffled. "But I think I just made things worse."

Marcia gently rubbed Comet's back before fainting onto his lap.

"Marcia!" Comet gently lifted his girlfriend's head. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah… I think that fight just took a lot out of me." Marcia nodded, glancing at her hands. "'Give her strength that will surely last, the strength of our lovers from the past.'"

"What?" Comet arched an eyebrow.

Marcia shook the tiredness out of her head. "Ugh, that was… weird. It felt like someone else was in my head just now. I think we need to head home now. Don't you think, Comet…? Comet…?"

Comet couldn't have replied even if he wanted to. A tranquilizer dart had struck his neck and sent him into a state of unconsciousness. Marcia scanned the area for the source of the dart, only to catch one of her own in the thigh, and she too fell unconscious. The duo were dragged out of the Forest of Certain Death and into an abandoned castle just on the edge of the forest. When they both awoke, they were both strapped to tables, the scepter had been taken away from Comet, and a familiar malevolent face sneered down at them.

"Well, well, well…" Atrocious grinned, viciously. "What do we have here?"

TO BE CONTINUED!

Author's Notes: First chapter of the new year, and I end it with a cliffhanger! MWAHAHAHAHAHA! Please read and review!