Welp, this took a majooooooor time to finish due to real life and a whole lot of distractions, but I've finally got it done! I don't have much else to say so onto you reading!
After being thwarted by the hands of mere children, the arrival back to Castle Avarius was disappointing to say the least. Ludo was certainly outraged by his army failing to retrieve Star's wand yet again, but he decided not to scold his minions outright. Instead, he gathered them all in the meeting room as he sat at the head of the table, a pile of pillows under him so he could get a good height of his injured minions. A beat of silence roamed around the room, the monsters glancing around awkwardly as they waited for what their leader had to say.
"Does anyone mind explaining to me what happened?" Ludo deadpanned, his voice devoid of his usual abrasiveness.
His minions continued to stare at him with oblivious expressions, none of them wanting to answer before Boo Fly decided to speak. "Uh, we failed to get the wand again?" the fly monster answered, the stop sign still stuck over his head.
"Yes, we failed to get the wand again," Ludo repeated, scooting his chair out and jumping on the table as he walked down. "And does anyone wish to tell me why we failed to get Star Butterfly's wand this time?"
Another beat of silence passed before Spikeballs spoke up. "Because I couldn't grab it?" he questioned, raising his spiked hand.
"That is one of the reasons," Ludo muttered as he continued down the table, clearly irritated. "Now, does anyone want to inform me of the other reason why we failed to get the wand this time?"
Yet another beat of awkward silence took over the room, though Lobster Claws chose to answer this time. "Uh, because of those other two annoying kids?" he questioned with a shrug, unsure if that was the correct answer.
"Exactly!" Ludo exclaimed, his calm demeanor now replaced with his usual abrasiveness. "First it was that karate boy, now we have two more annoyances to deal with! We had Star down at the right moment, but if weren't for the fact you all were bested by those other brats, then I would've had the wand by now! I would say I'm disappointed in you all, but that would mean I had some hope to begin with!" He then turned his focus to Buff Frog, sending his henchman a disappointed glare. "And you! Next time I send you to spy on the brat, you better make sure there's nobody else we have to deal with."
"I am sorry, Master," Buff Frog apologized sincerely as he saluted his leader.
Ludo walked down the table back to his seat, adjusting the skull on his head as it tilted once he sat down. "Well, now that we're dealing with even more pests, I expect all of you to be at the top of your game!" he exasperated to his minions with a wave of his staff. "Lift some weights, eat a bunch of healthy things, do something! Anything! We were close today, so that means the stronger you all get, the closer I can get my hand on Star Butterfly's wand! And then, the universe will be mine!" he maniacally laughed at his growing ideas, though his attention was soon taken once he heard a knock from the castle's front door. "Oooh! That must be the new beak cleaner I ordered!"
The wicked leader hurriedly ran out of the room to retrieve his package, navigating the castle halls before he reached the front door. He opened it with a wide smile, expecting to find the deliverer holding his awaited beak cleaner, only to find a much more bizarre figure floating before him.
"Ludo Avarius!" Bill Cipher greeted with a twirl of his cane. "Great to finally meet you! And for you, it's great to finally meet me. How's your day been?"
Ludo looked around for his package, thinking it was in the floating demon's possession but found nothing around him. "Uh, are you the one delivering my package?" he asked with a puzzled eyebrow.
"A package, you say? What did you order? A snake with a baby's head?" Bill asked before he snapped his fingers, sure enough summoning an actual snake with a baby's head in front of Ludo, the horrid amalgamation squirming around the dirt helplessly as it couldn't move due to the size of its head.
Ludo gasped in disgust at the sight of the creature, flinching away as Bill laughed in amusement. "W-who are you? And how do you know my name?!" the wicked leader asked in apt confusion. "And why did you create that thing?
"The name's Bill Cipher," the demon introduced himself. "And for the record, I had no idea who you were until a few minutes ago, but that shouldn't make our meeting any less grand. Actually, I was just kidding, I know EVERYTHING about you, Ludo... Also, consider the snake baby a gift from me."
"I would advise you to quit frightening him, Bill. "
Ludo and Bill faced the direction of the new voice, the former getting a good look at the figure approaching the path. Vyódin glanced around the area in his walk down the gloomy path, intrigued by the decoration of discarded skulls and dead trees, finding the environment pleasing despite its bleakness.
"Might I say, very interesting decor you have here, Mr. Avarius," Vyódin commented as he grazed his hand through a dead bush, the remaining leaves falling off from his touch. "I believe the skeletal remains really help make the place feel more alive."
Ludo gaped in bewilderment at Vyódin's tall build, the celestial anomaly's size rivaling some of the monsters in his army.
"Wow, that joke was clever and terrible at the same time," Bill quipped as he went to float alongside the celestial anomaly. "You need to get some fresh material."
Ludo rubbed his eyes as he thought he was just imagining things, only for the two newcomers to still be in front of him. "I'm sorry, I must've missed a memo or something, but who are you and why are you both here at my castle?" he inquired, eyeing them carefully.
"Forgive my friend Bill here for the sudden intrusion, he was very excited to meet you," Vyódin apologized on behalf of his acquaintance.
"All I did was give the guy a gift," Bill remarked casually.
"You may call me Vyódin, I am a neighbor of a nearby dimension to yours," Vyódin introduced. "To what we are doing here at your castle is something I do not believe you want to miss out on."
Ludo raised a skeptical eyebrow, curious as to what Vyódin could be referring to. "Go on..." he said as he crossed his arms.
"You see, Ludo, there are great big opportunities out there, things we have yet to comprehend to our minds," Vyódin continued. "I am creating something with a given opportunity of mine, something of which I may need more assistance in. What I possess is something that will help push you farther to your endeavors faster than ever before, but that is something you will receive if you wish to join me."
Ludo squinted suspiciously at the celestial anomaly, hearing every word coming from his to be utterly ridiculous. "Nice try, but I know a scam when I see one," he retorted, all previous confusion now gone. "Don't think I wouldn't remember that monster community charity they keep sending people to pester me about. I mean, really? Think of a better strategy for once! So how about you take those "opportunities" you have and buzz off!" He stormed inside his castle and shut the door with a slam, wanting to focus more on important matters.
"Not even if it'll help you acquire Star Butterfly's wand?" Vyódin asked, making sure his voice was loud enough for Ludo to hear inside his castle.
Silence was on the other end of the door before the two beings heard a quick patter as the front door shot open, Ludo's eyes widening at the mention of the magical princess. "You know Star Butterfly?" he asked the celestial anomaly, his curiosity rising.
"I know everything there is about her; where she was born, the school she attends, and her many victories over your defeats to steal the Royal Magic Wand," Vyódin stated as he listed off his knowledge. "I know many things about yourself; your love of oysters, your wishes to own a "big boy body", and how you faced a negligent upbringing in your youth."
"Way to spill a guy's secrets," Bill remarked, although he already knew all of those facts due to his expansive knowledge.
Ludo stared in plain confusion at Vyódin, wondering how he could know all these things about him despite only meeting a few mere minutes ago. "How did you-" he muttered, though Vyódin soon cut him off with a raised hand.
"Come, let's have a walk," Vyódin insisted, catching onto the wicked leader's growing bewilderment as he walked down the path, Bill following shortly behind.
Ludo hesitantly followed alongside the two beings, growing more interested in Vyódin the more he was in his presence. He didn't exactly know what to make of the celestial anomaly, though he felt the being knew more than he made out to be.
Vyódin himself paused in his walk, checking the surrounding area before snapping his fingers, the enriching chime echoing throughout the area. It hadn't taken long before a portal shortly opened before the three, Ludo's eyes widening in awe at the display of the anomaly's abilities. Vyódin and Bill stepped inside while the wicked leader inspected the opened gateway, unsure of it at first before he hesitantly stepped inside himself, soon coming face to face with something he hadn't seen in a long while. The wicked leader was so used to seeing grey skies and darkened clouds that he gasped at the sight of the valley of space from the view of Vyódin's prism, the stars around him gleaming in his eyes. Vyódin and Bill were staring at the stars when Ludo came up beside them, the former aware of his presence.
"See all that? Those are the opportunities I was referring to," Vyódin said as he pointed out to a shooting star in the distance before turning his attention to the wicked leader beside him. "Tell me, Ludo, what is it you desire most?"
Ludo was simply awestruck by the beauty before him that he almost didn't register Vyódin's question. "Oh, uh, to get my hands on Star Butterfly's wand," he replied, looking up to the anomaly's singular eye.
"And why exactly do you want her wand?"
"So I can take over the universe,"
"Wow, seems like we all have the same idea here," Bill joked, lowering down to elbow Ludo, something of which the leader was disturbed by.
"And what's stopping you from obtaining the princess' wand?" Vyódin asked once more.
"Well, my moronic army is one issue," Ludo scoffed with a roll of his eyes. "Every time I get closer to getting the wand, they decide to become a bunch of fools. It's absolutely infuriating putting up with it! It's like their bodies are made of jelly, and not the good kind!"
"Hm, then how about I offer you a proposal?" Vyódin asked, Ludo genuinely intrigued by what he had to say. "You and your army assist me with my opportunity of creation, and in the end, I will assist you in receiving that precious wand in your hands. This will finally be your chance to prove to yourself that you can be who you are destined to become. No more living in that gloom-ridden wasteland—instead, you'll rule over as much as you desire... So, what do you say? Do you accept?"
Never in a million years would Ludo have guessed a random stranger and his lackey would show up at his door promising him that he would gain the item he sought out for years on end, but this was a moment he would never forget. Vyódin was a mysterious being to him, and while he and Bill were on the peculiar side, they weren't enough to deter him from the opportunity of a lifetime.
"I accept!" Ludo accepted enthusiastically, more than ready to do whatever it took to get Star's wand.
"Excellent, I'll get you started right away," Vyódin said, pleased to have made another addition.
"Looks like we're co-workers now, Bird Brain!" Bill exclaimed as he wrapped a jovial arm around Ludo. "Think about all the adventures we'll get to go on and stuff, doesn't that sound fun?"
"Are you always this annoying?" Ludo asked exasperatedly as he pushed himself away from the demon, dusting his clothes off.
"Since you'll now be assisting me, you will need some power to go along beside the strength of your army," Vyódin informed as he held out his hand to the wicked leader. "Please, lend me your staff, if you may."
Without wasting a second, Ludo eagerly handed Vyódin his staff, the celestial anomaly using both of his hands to hold it. With a firm grasp, a white light flowed throughout the object as Vyódin's grip tightened, Ludo watching in amazement as he did his work. It wasn't long before the light dimmed, the shape of the staff staying the same as it was before, though it seemed to radiate an aura that it didn't have before. "I believe your staff should be up to standards similar to the abilities I possess," Vyódin said as he handed Ludo his staff back, the wicked leader wielding it with great pride. "With this, you and your army will have a much easier time with the tasks set before you."
Ludo inspected his newly-powered staff, feeling a great sense of righteousness. "I've always dreamt of having such power," he grinned in anticipation of using its new abilities.
"Now, how about you go and fetch your army back at your castle," Vyódin advised, snapping open a portal behind Ludo. "We certainly have much more to discuss about."
A newfound sense of purpose entered Ludo as he stepped through the portal, returning back to the front of his castle as the gateway closed behind him. He once more inspected his staff, fully believing this could truly be the way to gain the wand and take over whatever he wanted however he wanted. "Watch out, princess," he smirked mischievously. "Soon, your wand will finally be mine!" he let out a maniacal laugh as dramatic thunder and lightning struck in the background, though that was cut short when another presence made itself known in the area.
"Package for Ludo Avarius?" the sloth deliverer asked, snapping Ludo out of his moment as he noticed the worker standing aside with his awaited package, the wicked leader nodding in response before the worker held out a clipboard. "Sign here please."
Ludo did as he was instructed, the sloth deliverer handing him his package before walking to his nearby scooter where he left to continue his job elsewhere around Mewni. After the short interaction, the wicked leader went back to his maniacal laughter as he ran inside the castle, storming back inside the meeting room where his army remained seated. "Everyone! Forget the advice I gave you all earlier!" he exclaimed as he proudly brought his staff to his side. "It seems we have a new job to look forward to."
A fresh new day had risen over Echo Creek, the citizens of the town going about their day as a cool breeze flew in the balmy air. A few residents of the Diaz household took this as an opportunity to continue exploring the expansive town, notably Star wanting to continue sharing her favorite locations with Dipper and Mabel. The twins accepted the continuation of the princess' tour, seeing as though they might see a few more places before ultimately heading back to their correct universe.
Dipper had a difficult night sleeping in Marco's room, mainly due to overthinking when to reveal to Star his and Mabel's entire problem, as well as worrying about everyone back in Gravity Falls. However, he also had to deal with having to rest on the floor, even if he was given a sleeping bag and a pillow. His night wasn't all too bad as he and Marco conversed for a while, discussing similar interests and whatnot that they could think of, though Marco's snoring did have a small factor in his lack of sleep. Marco's adoration for karate was something Dipper noticed the most, the boy considering getting a few pointers from him if he got the chance.
However, Dipper was focused on the much bigger picture. The boy lacked the confidence to hurry and speak what was on his mind due to how Star and Marco would react, but he knew he had to for the sake of getting back faster to save everyone from the impending doom that was to surface, though he felt he would ruin the positive mood that accompanied them if he brought it up. The sun was bright, there wasn't a cloud in the sky, and Star was happily skipping down the sidewalk as he, Mabel, and Marco followed behind, so he felt revealing it out of the blue would make things rather awkward.
Mabel, on the other hand, had a wonderful night staying in Star's room. She and the magical princess talked and gossiped endlessly about anything that came up in their minds, whether it be about boys or drama or something of the sort. She gained some knowledge of the princess' life before she came to Earth and listened intently as if every detail was sacred information, which could be classified as such due to how Mewni is from another dimension. The girl wondered if she would get along perfectly with Candy and Grenda, seeing that Star's royal status and magical abilities were something her best friends would adore.
"I can't wait to show you guys the library!" Star beamed as he continued her skipping. "Ever since Marco showed me what Earth books were like, I just couldn't stop reading them! They're all so fascinating! Especially those flat books with all the colorful pages and stuff."
"They're called comic books, Star," Marco reminded the princess. "And for the record, they've been the only books you've been willing to read."
"Okay, maybe not every Earth book is fascinating, but as long as they're entertaining, they get a pass from me," Star said with a smile.
"Reading is overrated anyway," Mabel shared her two cents. "The power of one's imagination is vastly superior than a bunch of nerdy words."
"But not everyone's imagination is as expansive as yours, Mabel," Dipper remarked pointedly.
"Well, it's time for everyone to get as imaginative as me," Mabel grinned as he pointed to her head. "Think big with ya brain!"
"I believe I use my brain enough, thank you," Dipper replied, believing his intelligence was evident enough.
"Yeah, because you're a nerd," Mabel joked, though Dipper rolled his eyes as he heard her call him a nerd numerous times.
"Very funny, definitely haven't heard that a billion times before," Dipper deadpanned at this sister's usual humor.
"Well, I believe you'll get the chance to nerd all you want, Dipper, because we are just about to reach our destination," Star grinned as the group turned the corner, their awaited location in clear view. "I present to you, the librar- wha?"
The sight that stood a short distance away from the kids was the last thing they had expected; that being the lines of police tape surrounding what was supposedly the local library Star wanted to show them, only now the building was in a wrecked state as a large chunk was no longer present. Pieces of brick and broken glass had scattered the ground as the local news crew reported on the situation, a duo of policemen standing in front of the building as one of them talked to the library's owner, the woman clearly distressed from her damaged workplace.
"Please tell me you'll find the person who caused this," the owner wept as he rubbed the tears from her eyes. "I can't believe someone would do such a thing to my library."
"Rest assured, ma'am, we'll head back to the department and get this all sorted out," one of the officers said while his partner took notes. "A construction crew should be on their way shortly to help clean up the mess, but in the meantime, you take care of yourself and stay safe," The two officers bid their farewells to the woman as they went inside their police car. "I told you killer wrecking balls were real, but no, you just didn't wanna believe me."
The policemen drove away to report their investigation as the kids came closer to the damaged library, the wreckage more visible the closer they got before they stopped at the police tape. It was an oddity to see what was once a pristine location now with a portion of it missing, looking as though it was torn off rather than purposefully destroyed.
"What could've happened?" Star questioned in disbelief.
Dipper raised a questioning eyebrow at the wreckage, finding the small amount of rubble to be suspicious considering how large the chunk was. He gazed at the outline of where the chunk was seemingly destroyed, wondering who or what could've been this precise in its property damage. However, his eyes caught a glint of something along the damaged bricks, squinting them for a better look before they widened in shock at his discovery, finding the familiar blue glow that surrounded the stolen locations in Gravity Falls. Vyódin hadn't just sent them to the wrong universe, but he seemingly followed the twins as well.
"Mabel, look," Dipper whispered to his sister with a nudge, grabbing her attention as he pointed up to the blue glow, the girl letting out a quiet gasp once she realized what he was pointing towards.
Marco noticed what Dipper was pointing at, already gaining a hint as to who might have been behind this incident. "Hey, Star, you weren't doing any big magic recently, were you?" he asked the princess with slight suspicion.
"Nope, not at all," Star replied casually. "Wait, are you thinking I did this?"
"Not necessarily, but there's some blue stuff glowing up there," Marco defended as he pointed to the strange light around the damaged rim.
"Huh, that's odd," Star blinked as she looked up to the glow. "I have no idea what that's all about."
"Is there a spell you could use to fix this?" Marco asked, looking over to see the library's owner still crying.
"There might be, but we don't even know what caused this in the first place," Star said with a concerned frown, confused about where the blue glow could've come from.
"I think I may have an answer for that," an unsuspecting voice broke into the conversation as the owner of it popped out of the bushes, startling the group with a grin. They were a girl of similar age to Star and Marco, having tan-skin, dark-blue hair, an olive beanie, a turquoise jacket with an olive shirt underneath, a yellow skirt, and brown boots. Marco was immediately aware of who the familiar person was, seeing that his shocked expression morphed into annoyance.
"Janna?! What are you doing here?" Marco asked with an accused tone. "And why were you hiding in that bush."
"Well, I was just scoping out the scene of that weird stuff on top of the library and I didn't want the feds noticing me, so I hid here. And then, you guys showed up," Janna answered, soon noticing the presence of Dipper and Mabel. "Hey, who's the new peeps?"
"Janna, meet Dipper and Mabel," Star introduced the twins as she grouped them against her. "They just moved here and they're staying with me and Marco because their parents left for a business trip and they got locked out of their house."
"We were about to be homeless!" Mabel smiled pleasantly.
"Don't listen to her," Dipper shook his head caustically.
"Hm, Dipper and Mabel, huh? Cool names," Janna grinned, finding the twins to be pretty neat right off the bat. "Say, if there's anything you guys ever need, I know Marco's whole social security number."
"Alright, Janna, I think it's time for you to leave now," Marco insisted immediately as he tried to push the girl away, having deep regret for the troublemaker meeting the twins. "I'm sure they had a great time meeting you."
"But don't you guys want a clue on what happened to the library though?" Janna asked with a teasing grin.
This gathered the group's attention as Marco stopped pushing her away. "What do you mean a clue?" he asked, giving the girl a skeptical look.
"What else can a clue mean, Marco? You're the smart kid for a reason," Janna grinned slyly as she crossed her arms. "The library isn't the only place with that blue stuff up there."
"You mean there's more of that stuff?" Dipper questioned, fearing just how many more places Vyódin had taken.
Janna smirked at the group's interest in her discovery. "How about I show you guys a spot?"
The walk to Echo Creek's skatepark wasn't all that far from the library, so it hadn't taken long for the kids to arrive in the area before it could open to the public. Janna snuck the group around the back using various disguises of bushes and trashcans she collected to avoid security catching them as they approached the fence, the teen checking out their surroundings for any unwarranted attention before she discarded her disguise and began to climb the fence with relative ease.
"It's just right in here," Janna said as she continued scaling up the fence.
"Uh, are you sure we're allowed to be in here before the skatepark opens?" Marco asked with a frown as he and the others placed their disguises elsewhere, clearly hesitant about sneaking into the property when they weren't supposed to.
"Relax, Marco, you know I do stuff like this all the time," Janna assured as she reached the top of the fence before landing on the other side easily. "Lighten up a little, wontcha. Or did you still wanna be considered the 'safe kid'?"
"Hey, I wasn't against it or anything, I was just wondering, because I'm actually perfectly fine with trespassing," Marco defended in an attempt to remain as the risk-taker he wanted to be seen as, even when everyone else climbed over the fence before he could. He scoffed with a roll of his eyes before he jumped and scaled the fence, straddling it awkwardly before he fell on his bottom. "Oof!"
"Nice landing," Star complimented with a thumbs up as she helped her friend off the ground.
"Come on, it's right over here," Janna instructed the group to follow her as she led them through the skatepark, trying to keep as quiet as she could so they didn't alert security at the entrance. She led them down a slope where she brought them over to a discarded sheet covered in leaves on the ground. "Feast your eyes on this." She pulled the sheet off the ground as the leaves on top scattered, revealing a small, jagged crater in the concrete, accompanied by the same blue glow similar to what was on the library.
Star and Marco gasped in unison at the sight of the supernatural oddity, while Dipper and Mabel exchanged nervous glances, fully aware of its origins.
"Whoa... I'm gonna touch it," Star grinned, reaching out her hand towards the rim only to be stopped by Marco.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Marco advised, pulling the princess' hand away from it. "We don't know where it's from."
"But it's so pretty..." Star then reached out for it another time, only for Marco to retract her hand again.
"Pretty cool, isn't it?" Janna asked with a grin, proud of her findings. "I found this right before I went to the library to get an idea of where it came from. Whatever's making these things pop up definitely has some kind of occult magic—my guess is that a Kobold is behind this. I knew they've always been hiding in plain sight..."
"Well, whatever it is, we should hurry and find it before it damages anything else," Marco suggested something of which the whole group could agree on. "But where do we even look next?"
Incidentally, Marco's question gave Star a bright idea, evident from the hearts on her cheeks turning into lightbulbs. "Oh! I know! We can go to the Fountain of Fortune!" she exclaimed with a wave of her hands.
Everyone gave the princess a confused look at her idea, none of them knowing what she was referring to. "The Fountain of Fortune?" Dipper couldn't help but ask about the strange name.
"Yep!" Star repeated with a smile. "It's a fountain that lets you see into the future in the form of a riddle. I haven't gone there in forever, but my mom and dad usually took me whenever they were making bets with each other to see who'd win."
"Shouldn't it be called "The Future Fountain" then?" Marco asked, finding the name to be misleading.
"Yeah, but that's too basic," Star replied with a nod. "There's no pizzazz in it."
"I stand corrected," Marco said.
"Now," Star began as she reached and dug through her little star bag, pulling out a pair of red scissors decorated with a blue diamond encrusted on it. "Shall we get a move on?" she inquired everyone with a snip of the scissors.
"Oooh, are those magic scissors?" Mabel asked, eyeing the scissors curiously.
"Not just any magic scissors," Star grinned as she presented the object. "These are my dimensional scissors. I can pretty much travel to any dimension in the universe I want with these puppies."
"Whoa..." Mabel mused in awe, fascinated yet again by Star's magical accessories.
Dipper, on the other hand, was far more intrigued by the dimensional scissors than he initially thought. While he believed Star had some form of transportation spell in her Magic Instruction Book, he didn't expect her mode of traveling to be from a pair of basic-looking scissors. His nerves had settled a bit from gaining confirmation that the princess did indeed have a way of going to other dimensions, although he still had to face the pressure of telling the truth to Star and Marco.
As a means to get a move on, Star cut through the air with her dimensional scissors as it created a portal before the group, an excited grin on her face as she presented the opened pathway. "Let's go, guys!" she exclaimed as she ran into the portal without a second to waste.
Mabel, Marco, and Janna followed the princess through the portal, leaving Dipper to be the last one to enter, though he was hesitant to. It wasn't the fact that the last portal he entered led him through a train of events that landed him here, but he felt skeptical about what was on the other side. Nevertheless, he walked through the portal to join the others, shielding his eyes in case of any hazardous effects that were to hit.
After he felt he reached the other side, Dipper carefully uncovered his eyes, taking in the sights of the new dimension around him. His eyes widened in awe as he looked upon what was a valley of clouds floating in the distance, each of them colored in a different tone of yellow as a warm light pierced upon them. "Whoa..." the boy gasped as he walked forward, feeling a lack of solid ground before he noticed he was standing on a cloud itself, surprised he hadn't fallen through it due to his weight.
He gazed around the colorful environment, clearly interested in it despite having his fair share of stranger places during his last visit in Gravity Falls. The boy was so caught up in his engagement that he didn't notice he was nearing the edge of the cloud until he felt himself step onto nothing, his eyes widening in fear once he looked down to see a darkened abyss below, the color contrasting with the yellow clouds above. Dipper steadied himself so he didn't fall into the void, which he, thankfully, didn't have to worry about as Star came just in time to pull him away from an unknowing demise.
"Careful! Wouldn't want you falling down there," Star said with a smile as the others came to join them, equally as captivated by the dimension as Dipper was.
"This place is so huge!" Mabel exclaimed with a delightful grin as she fell on the cloud beneath them, rolling around in its soft feel. "And fluffy too! It's like being on a giant kitten!"
"Just the way I remember it," Star grinned cooly, breathing in the air of the familiar dimension.
"So where is this Fountain of Fortune?" Marco asked as he looked around the area. "It's kinda hard to see where we're supposed to go with all these clouds everywhere."
Star searched in the distance through the bunches of clouds for the foretold fountain, shortly spotting the structure due to sticking out from the abundance of clouds. "Ah! There it is!" She pointed to the fountain in the distance, leaping down the path of clouds before them as she made her way to the center, the others following behind her, albeit more carefully than the princess, save for Mabel and Janna.
The princess jumped from the last cloud and landed graciously at the front of the fountain while the others simply walked over, getting a good look at the decorative reservoir. It was sculpted in marble with clouds painted in a pattern around it as water softly poured out from the upper bowl, the group getting a clear reflection of themselves as they looked over the lower bowl.
"Wow, very fancy," Janna commented, finding the single decor of the dimension interesting.
"It's like looking in a mirror, but if that mirror made my face look really weird," Mabel smiled, staring at her reflection.
"So, what are we supposed to do now?" Marco asked Star with a curious eyebrow.
Star laid herself against the cloud as she dug her arm through it, clearly in search of something. "Gimme just a second," she said as she continued looking through the cloud, growing impatient as she couldn't find what she was looking for. "He always forgets to keep it on the fountain whenever someone needs it." she groaned before she dove into the cloud itself.
Dipper raised a confused eyebrow at the mention of 'he', wondering who Star could be referring to. The princess hadn't mentioned that someone else would be residing in this dimension, so it came off a little suspicious to him.
"Found it!" Star exclaimed brightly as she popped her head out of the cloud, bringing her arm out where the group saw she was holding a small handbell. With an excited grin, she rang the bell, its tinkling sound echoing throughout the area.
Silence had sat amongst the kids for a moment before a strong gust of wind began to pick up behind the fountain as the yellow clouds from around began to swirl into one, their growing size towering over the group. Star, Mabel, and Janna watched the formation in awe while Dipper and Marco watched in apparent bewilderment as the clouds shaped into more of a humanoid figure, the lower half of its body remaining a simple cloud as it gained burly yet puffy arms and a head, the formation soon reaching its culmination once a pair of gleaming white eyes formed on its head. Once the creation of clouds was complete, it crossed its arms as the clouds behind began to subside.
"WHO DARE BRING THEMSELVES FORTH TO THE FOUNTAIN OF FORTUNE?!" the mass of clouds' voice bellowed from above, glaring down at the group of kids beneath him as he crossed his arms.
The group didn't exactly know how to respond to the question given how menacing the mass of clouds was as they exchanged concerned glances with each other. The cloudy being shook his head with a snicker at their shocked expressions, save for Star, and that snicker soon turned into a fit of laughter. "HA! I GOTCHA GOOD THERE! YA'LL SHOULD'VE SEEN THE LOOK ON YOUR FACES!" The cloudy being continued his burst of laughter, the kids staring confused at him at the sudden change in his demeanor. "WOO! I'M SORRY, GIVE ME JUST A SECOND!" The cloudy being bellowed before he dispatched some of the clouds within him away, his white eyes soon gaining pupils while his size shrunk so he could see the group more clearly, sticking his hand through his body before he pulled out a cap that he put backward on his head, a tuft of cloud poking through the opening. "My bad, ya'll. I always like to give the people a little scare when they come ringing the bell—gotta keep 'em on their toes," the less large cloud explained with a grin. "Now, where are my manners? The name's Clou Dee, the keeper of the Fountain of Fortune."
The silence that had once familiarized itself with the group was soon broken once Star spoke up as she popped out of the cloud with a wide smile. "Hey! Clou Dee, my main man! How's it hanging there?"
Clou Dee stared in disbelief at the sight of the princess, believing his eyes were deceiving him as a smile grew on his face. "If I'll be a sock in a swimming pool, is that you, Star?" he asked as he floated over to her, his question becoming answered once he got a better look. "What! This is crazy! It's been ages since I've seen you! Look at how big you've gotten!"
"I know right?" Star chortled. "You haven't changed a bit yourself!"
"Well, I am immortal, so there's nothing much to change about me," Clou Dee joked with a confident grin. "But how about you? It's been like, what? Two years since I last seen you? I'm sure plenty has happened over there on Mewni."
"Oh, me? Well, since it was my fourteenth birthday, guess who finally got to have the Royal Magic Wand," Star smiled proudly as she waved the wand for the cloud to see.
"Get outta here, no way! That's what I like to hear! See, I knew you'd make it big! You know, that's a major responsibility you got in your hands there," Clou Dee praised enthusiastically. "Wait, how'd you get there though? Your mom and pops sent you on your own?"
"Not exactly that, more so the fact I have my own pair of dimensional scissors!" Star beamed with a wave of the magic scissors.
"Wow! Just wow! I knew you had it in you, but wow! Makes me almost wanna start crying," Clou Dee sniffled, a single tear shedding from his eye, though he was quick to wipe it away before it dropped. "I mean, uh, I'm really proud of ya, yeah." His attention was then taken to the others standing beside the princess. "Hey, are these your friends?"
"Yeah!" Star grinned as he huddled them all together. "Clou Dee, meet Marco, Dipper, Mabel, and Janna. Everyone, meet Clou Dee."
"Sup,"
"Hey,"
"You got a cool hat!"
"Are you part ghost by any chance?"
"Ha ha ha!" Clou Dee laughed at the kids' greetings. "Ya'll adorable man! You know what, Star? Your friends are alright with me," The cloudy being soon chillaxed in the air once he was on the right foot with everyone. "So, what brings you all to the Fountain of Fortune today? Besides seein' me, of course."
"Oh, nothing much, we kinda just have a bit of a sticky situation on Earth," Star started. "So there's these weird blue circle thingies popping up all over the place, and we're pretty sure they're destroying everything they touch, so we just wanted to know what's behind all this before things get really bad."
"Weird circle things, huh?" Clou Dee mused, a hand perched under his supposed beard. "Yeah, you were always prone to getting trouble at your front door back in Mewni, or you were the one causing it. But, if it's a fortune you need, it's a fortune you shall receive," The cloudy being floated over the Fountain of Fortune before he placed his puffy hands down on the structure, the kids watching in complete awe as the white marble color was now replaced with a golden texture. "Now, if you may all please put a hand in the water."
The group did as they were instructed, the warm-feeling water touching their skin as Clou Dee snapped his fingers, the spewing liquid at the top pausing its run. The living cloud placed his hands in the water, the kids noticing the small ripples moving towards him as he absorbed some of the water into his body, and that water soon transferred to his head where it started to combine with his thoughts. "Ah... hold on... I'm gettin' something..." he said, closing his eyes as his mind processed the group's future. The water that was stored in his head began to travel down to his hands, Clou Dee putting them over the fountain's water as it flushed out of his palms, indicating he was finished processing their awaited fortune. "You may not see it, but your vision is clear, the answer you seek is just right near. From the shadows, the dangers laugh, running away to an open path. What you search for will seem grim, but do not let that get you down a whim. All that matters is that find inner peace, for which you will then have your sweet release."
Satisfied by his work, Clou Dee opened his eyes and placed his hands on the rim of the fountain, turning its golden texture back to its original marble white. "So, did ya'll get anything from that?" he asked with an awaiting grin.
Truthfully, none of the kids had much of a clue as to what the riddle could mean, Dipper deciding to speak up from their obvious confusion. "That's it?" he asked, clearly baffled. "There's no full-on answer or anything?"
"Yep," Clou Dee answered nonchalantly.
"...That's kinda bogus, dude," Janna deadpanned, crossing her arms in disappointment.
"Hey! I can't just flat out give the answer to ya kids," Clou Dee defended. "If I did, one: I wouldn't be doing my job correctly. And two: ya'll wouldn't find the drive to piece it all together. Everybody's got a path that they have to figure out someday."
"Your vision is clear, the answer you seek is just right near..." Star pondered the riddle, deep in thought. "Hm, I think we can work with that."
"See, Star's got some stuff thought up already," Clou Dee pointed out. "Whatever you kids do isn't up to me, but don't underestimate my vision. What you'll find ahead will surely lead you in the right direction."
Dipper was never much into solving riddles, so it didn't come as much of a surprise to find how he was a little peeved by not getting a concrete answer. He secretly hoped the riddle would shed some light on the whereabouts of Vyódin and his motives, even if everyone but Mabel hadn't known about him. The others hadn't shared his exact sentiment, but he could tell that they, save Star, were at least disappointed by the result.
"Hm, I'm sure we'll figure something out soon. Right, guys?" Star asked her friends, receiving a few nods and a thumbs up, even when they didn't know where to start. Satisfied, the princess shook the water off her hand and took out her dimensional scissors before cutting a portal through the air. "Thanks for the help, Clou Dee!"
"Anytime, princess," Clou Dee waved the kids goodbye. "Come visit again soon, ya hear? And bring your friends too."
The group waved goodbye to the living cloud as they walked through the portal, the pathway leading them to the outside of the skatepark from where they snuck in. "He seemed pretty nice," Mabel said with a casual smile, something of which the others could agree with. However, that sense of positivity didn't stay long as Marco scrolled through his phone.
"Uh, guys?" Marco frowned, bringing everyone's attention to him. "We might need to figure out something quick." Everyone gathered around to see what Marco was scrolling through, seeing multiple news sources report on new cases of the blue circles appearing over town. He played a video showcasing a news reporter covering the destruction caused upon Britta's Tacos, the cameraman showing where the demolition took place at the side of the building, the kids being able to spot the same blue glow just around the rim of what was destroyed.
"Whoa, that ain't good," Star noted at the obvious wreckage.
"Ah sick! There's more of them!" Janna beamed as she leaned in closer, wanting to investigate the strange phenomenon further.
"No, not sick!" Marco chastised, his eyebrows furrowing. "Whatever's doing this is fast—real fast. We have to think of something before everything gets destroyed."
"No need to worry, Marco. I believe I might just have a good enough idea," Star assured with a confident twirl of her wand before pointing it in the distance. "To my room!" The princess then proceeded to backflip out of the scene toward the Diaz house, though Marco quickly realized she was heading the wrong way.
"Star! The house is that way!" Marco exclaimed loud enough for Star to hear, the princess soon backflipping in the right direction this time.
The kids headed back to the Diaz residence to conduct a plan of action against the infestation, though Janna wasn't present amongst the group as she went to investigate the newly reported anomalies herself. All of them gathered in Star's room as the princess dropped her Magic Instruction Book on the floor, thinking she could find a spell useful enough to take care of the reoccurring oddities.
"Okay, let's see if we can find anything," Star said as she quickly flipped through the book's pages, reading each spell in hopes something would be of use. "Hm, that won't work... Hm, too much fire... Too many words... Too much makeup... Nope, nope, nope."
While Star continued scanning through the book for a spell, the others in the room occupied themselves with some sort of miscellaneous activity. Dipper took to writing in his notebook about Vyódin and how he could stop his escapades, Mabel sat at the head of the princess' bed petting Waddles, and Marco was busy scrolling through more news sources on his phone.
Noticeably, Marco had a frown on his face as he looked to see his favorite hangout spots reported to fall victim to the ongoing phenomenon. For the fourteen years he's lived in Echo Creek, he hadn't expected such a strange occurrence to happen to the town, even with Star's magical presence near him everyday. He feared whatever was hitting the town would eventually come for his home soon, or his school, or his favorite pizza place.
Marco turned off his phone, not wanting to see the news any longer as his mood sunk before he shifted his attention to the princess. "Did you find anything yet, Star?" he asked, concern in his tone.
"I wish I did, but I just can't find a single spell that'll help deal with these circle things," Star replied, urgently flipping through more pages. "There's just so many of them."
"Aw, come on. There's gotta be at least something in there," Marco insisted, wanting to rid of these anomalies as soon as possible. "Here, let me see if I can find a spell."
As Marco reached for the book, its pages suddenly flipped on their own before landing on a page where Glossaryck sat, a stern look on his face. "Ah ah ah," Glossaryck wagged his finger. "You can't rush magic, kid, especially to someone who's still learning it. It takes time and effort to find a proper spell and get it to work."
"Whoa... she even has a tiny wizard in her book," Mabel quietly gasped as she squished Waddles' face, while Dipper felt rather uneasy at the little assistant's presence.
"Ah, Glossaryck, perfect timing!" Star smiled brightly. "Do you happen to know any spell that can fix this mess? We're kinda in a hurry here."
"Nope, not at all."
"Say what now?"
"I hate to break it to you, princess, but this is an instance where magic is out of use here," Glossaryck explained as he floated in the air, his eyebrows stern. "Not even I can interfere with those things popping up. Whatever is behind all this has power far greater than anything the spell book can produce."
"So that's it? There's nothing we can do to stop these things?" Marco asked with a worried frown.
"Don't fret, Marco. I just know there's something we don't know about in here—I just gotta keep looking," Star assured as she went back to flipping through the book, hopeful that she was going to find the right spell. However, she hadn't gotten far as everyone's attention was suddenly drawn to her magic mirror on the wall, static appearing for one moment before it showed a clear slide off the other end, Star immediately recognizing who was calling her. "Mom! Dad! You're calling earlier than usual."
"Hello, Star," Queen Butterfly greeted her daughter with a wan smile. "Um, how are things?"
"Pretty good," Star answered with a convincing smile. "Just studying magic in my spell book as I'm supposed to."
"Wow, she has really big hair," Mabel whispered to Dipper, earning a jab in the shoulder from the boy.
"That's very good to hear, King Butterfly said rather tentatively. "It's best you read it at least three times a day."
An awkward silence passed for a while before Star picked up the conversation again. "Soooo, did you guys call me for anything?" she asked.
"We just wanted to check in to see if you were safe on Earth, Star," Queen Butterfly replied, the smile on her face looking somewhat despondent.
"Of course I'm safe, why wouldn't I be?" Star questioned, raising a concerned eyebrow.
"Well, it's just that, Mewni's going through some... changes right now," King Butterfly explained with a frown.
"Like the fun kind of changes or boring kind of changes?" Star asked innocently.
"The bad kind," Queen Butterfly answered, her eyebrows furrowing. "You see, your father was having his usual lectures when we noticed these holes in the castle. We didn't know what to make of them at first, but me and your father noticed that there were more of them. They weren't just around the castle, but over the entire kingdom as well. We're unsure if this is an attack from an unknown caper, but we just wanted to let you know that we love you, Star."
"You're a bright and adventurous young girl, and we want you to know that we'll get this situation taken care of so you have a home to come back to when you've mastered your magic," King Butterfly reasoned, his smile sincere.
"Farewell, Star. Please take care," Queen and King Butterfly waved to their daughter before they hung up on the magic mirror, the room growing quiet.
Star stared in disbelief at her reflection in the mirror, her parent's conversation fresh in her mind. The realization that the strange oddities weren't only present in Echo Creek, but in Mewni as well was daunting to the princess. Marco was quick to notice the princess' downward mood as he put a hand on Star's shoulder to help console her, albeit hesitantly at first. "They're in Mewni too..." she lamented, her eyebrows furrowing in dejection.
Dipper and Mabel exchanged concerned glances at Star's somber state, feeling sorry that she had to learn the risk of her home dimension being ruined. This further pushed their confusion about why Vyódin was doing all of this in the first place, finding whatever he was planning to be an absolute mess if it involved this much destruction. Contrary to his beliefs earlier, Dipper hadn't wished for this to happen to the princess, no matter how suspicious she seemed.
Glossaryck believed the silence was deafening to his ears, choosing to speak to clear things up. "Star, listen to me," he insisted, grabbing her and Marco's attention. "We may not have the right magic to deal with these strange occurrences, but I'm aware that we're going to get this fixed."
"But how?" Star asked with a frown.
"Simple," Glossaryck replied before pointing at Dipper and Mabel, the twins flinching from the sudden attention. "Them."
Star and Marco were both confused as to why Glossaryck pointed to the twins in an accusing manner, knowing Dipper and Mabel couldn't have been behind any of this. "Glossaryck, what are you talking about?" Star asked, raising a bewildered eyebrow.
"Our two guests here know something the two of you don't, especially the boy here," Glossaryck explained, folding his arms. "Care to explain?"
Dipper and Mabel knew that they would have to eventually tell Star and Marco the truth, yet as of right now, it felt very sudden. While Mabel was on the more open-minded side, Dipper's nerves made themselves aware as he knew it was only a matter of time before he had to say anything. The boy spared a quick glance at his sister, his nerves calming a bit before he came clean.
"He's right," Dipper started confidently. "It's better if you guys knew this sooner, but, me and Mabel aren't from here."
"We know you guys aren't from here, you just moved here," Star pointed out the obvious.
"No, it's not like that," Dipper corrected tentatively. "We're from a different... universe," At the reveal, he noticed Star and Marco's surprised look at the reveal yet continued with his explanation nonetheless. "We were stranded here yesterday from someone by the name of Vyódin."
"Vyódin?" Marco questioned, perplexed by the odd name.
"We don't know what he is or what he wants, but he's after... something?" Mabel continued with a shrug.
"We found out about him yesterday when he took the arcade from where we're from," Dipper added. "The same thing that's happening here happened to us. He's not destroying places, he's taking them, but we don't know what for."
"So, you guys didn't move here and get locked out of your house?" Star asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Dipper's pretty good at convincing people," Mabel affirmed, knowing how her brother's ways.
"We were worried that-" Dipper cut himself off, knowing Mabel didn't fit into this equation before correcting himself. "I was worried that you wouldn't have believed us if we told you where we're from at the start. Could what we did be considered against the law? Yes. But, now that you know, Vyódin is still out there, and he has a chance to come back for more. We don't know how to stop him, but we can try and get an idea of what he's planning next."
Upon now learning the truth, Star and Marco exchanged a confused glance with each other, the teens uncertain of what to make of the reveal. With confirmation of who the mastermind was behind the ongoing anomalies, they were relieved to know who it was, but they couldn't help but feel sorry for Dipper and Mabel's predicament. However, they all seemingly shared the same goal in mind: stop Vyódin and fix the mess he caused. And given Star and Marco's track record for dimension adventures, they couldn't simply pass this opportunity onward.
"Great idea, Dipper," Star affirmed with a smile, the boy feeling a weight off his shoulders considering he wouldn't have to face the wrath of the princess' magic.
"How are we gonna find Vyódin though?" Marco questioned, pointing out an obvious cog in the plan. "He could be anywhere around town, and it's pretty big here I might add."
"He's most likely to come overnight," Dipper answered, scratching his chin as he recalled the anomaly's pattern. "If we head out around then, we can catch him in the act and find out what he's planning."
"Aaaaaaand, we can use Waddles again as a tracker" Mabel exclaimed brightly as she held up the pig, who let out an amiable oink. "He led us to the right place the first time, and he sure can do it again!"
"He's so adorable..." Star gushed as she pet Waddles, something which the pig enjoyed.
Dipper was initially against the idea of Waddles being involved again, but he couldn't argue with his sister's logic. After all, the pig was a big factor in finding Vyódin's whereabouts to begin with. "Marco, where was the last place that was reported to have those circles?" he asked the teen.
"Uh, the last place that was reported today was the cafe downtown," Marco replied as he scrolled through his phone.
"Hm, so if Vyódin was at the cafe, then that means he's still gonna be around the part of the town," Dipper concurred with a point. "If there's something interesting around the cafe, then he's bound to take that spot next."
"Then I guess that settles it—we sneak out at night and see what this guy's up to," Marco said, feeling content with the plan. "Wait, but if magic won't be able to work against him, then what are we gonna do if he finds out about us? He's gotta have like, an insane amount of power or something."
"No need to worry about a thing, Marco," Star assured her best friend with a bold grin. "I know just the right things that'll help us out."
The journey through the maze that was Quest Buy was a tedious one to say the least, but the kids were able to find the necessary weaponry needed to scope out Vyódin. From swords to battle axes to other assortments of things that murder, they gathered up as much as they could hold without getting completely lost in the store, though Mabel was fairly distracted by most of the selection where Dipper had to drag her away to focus on getting her weapon of choice.
After purchasing their much-needed supplies, much to the annoyance of the cashier, the group headed straight back to Star's room where they organized what they bought. Dipper himself acquired a pair of light-blue cuffs, unsure of what they did until he clamped them on his wrist, a field of energy surrounding his hand before dispersing in the air. The boy grinned confidently at the weapon as he took it off, having a feeling it would assist him well enough. Mabel had gotten herself a spiked mace from the wide variety of weapons, though she felt it didn't match her all too personally. So, she bedazzled the weapon with a bag of sequins and glitter she had saved for her scrapbook, feeling great pride in her creativity.
Star grouped a variety of battle axes before her, each of them scaling in size as she inspected them to see which one would suit her fancy the best against Vyódin's unpredictability. She ended up picking the sharpest one from the bunch seeing that it would be the most effective, tossing the others into her closet as they were no longer of use. Marco believed his martial arts skills were comparable to that of the weapons they purchased, but he decided to get himself a sword in case of anything. It wasn't that he didn't believe in his physique, but it was more so that he could look cooler.
Night had soon settled itself over the town of Echo Creek, activity out on the street becoming minimal as its residents returned to their homes or ventured off elsewhere. The clock struck twelve as the kids finished gathering their weapons, Star and Marco putting their weapons in Dipper and Mabel's bags, seeing as though they were big enough to fit them. While it would relatively weigh down her bag, Mabel offered Star to carry her Magic Instruction Book along with the axe, both for spells and Glossaryck's assistance. Once everyone was prepped and ready to head out, Marco checked to see if his parents were sound asleep in their room, which, thankfully, they were. He felt a little guilty sneaking out when his parents were unaware, but he knew he had to for the sake of saving the town from the continuous anomalies. The teen confirmed to the others with a nod that his parents were sound asleep, all of them and Waddles heading downstairs and through the front door to begin their investigation.
The kids made sure to keep themselves in the shadows to avoid suspicion from any late-night citizens in their venture downtown, namely Star and Mabel using any nearby bush, bench, or trash can as cover. They believed it made them look stealthy, but it noticeably made them look more suspicious than they already did, Dipper nor Marco choosing to comment on it as they knew the girls would continue to hide in them regardless. It hadn't taken too long until the group had managed to enter downtown, Marco leading everyone to the cafe where Vyódin's presence was reportedly last spotted. Star hid around the corner of the street, peeking out for any wandering eyes before signaling the others to follow her to the shop, the kids taking a gander at the entrance of the building covered in police tape as its front was severely damaged, the familiar blue glow accompanying its destroyed rim.
"Alright, what do we do now?" Star asked, keeping her voice low as to not draw attention.
"Now, we leave it to Waddles," Mabel insisted amiably, reaching into her bag and taking out a pine cone she saved from when they first arrived here, kneeling so Waddles could sniff it. The pig simply oinked as he walked down the sidewalk, Mabel optimistically following him in hopes he would lead them to the right destination like last time. Dipper, Star, and Marco accompanied the girl and her pig as he led them down the street, the streetlight aiding them in their walk to where Vyódin was, hopefully, located.
It wasn't much of a hassle for the group to navigate the streets of downtown due to how late it was, so Waddles' guidance didn't become all that difficult for the kids. Though it was a tad strange for them to be following a pig in what was an important mystery-solving case, they didn't let that stop them in their search. The farther they walked, the more they noticed a continuous amount of glowing rims around the area, seemingly leading them down a trail. It felt almost eerie how many spots went missing from around downtown, not just from the buildings, but miscellaneous objects as well.
Dipper felt a sense of righteousness now that he was finally going to have the chance to see what Vyódin's been up to, knowing how much he desired a new mystery to take on. While he wished this new mystery didn't reach this level of catastrophe, he wasn't going to deny his thrilled interest in it. It was the one thing he had hoped to continue during his second summer vacation, so to have the opportunity was something he couldn't resist.
After more rounds of turning corners and crossing streets, Waddles came to a stop, looking up at Mabel with his small, pure eyes with an oink. "Why'd you stop, Waddles?" Mabel asked as she kneeled down to Waddles, the pig giving a simple oink in response.
Her question was shortly answered when the group heard a commotion just up ahead, the voice evidently heated yet distant to their ears. Dipper was unsure if the unknown voice originated from Vyódin or not, though he went to check anyway as he tentatively took the lead of the group, motioning everyone to follow him as he slowly walked down the sidewalk. The voices had gotten clearer the closer they stepped down, the kids hiding beside the building as they peeked around the corner to spot the culprit, their eyes widening in shock at the scene just a distance away from them.
At the front of the local convenience store 'Stop & Slurp' stood Ludo and his army, the leader of the group of monsters currently berating his staff while his minions watched aptly. Besides the obvious issue with this scenario, the kids spotted a collection of orbs his minions had gathered in their arms, Star and Marco both confused by what they were while Dipper and Mabel gained a sense of what was happening.
Dipper was more bewildered by the fact that Vyódin wasn't the one behind the strange circles popping up over Echo Creek recently, the boy suspecting the anomaly to make an appearance. He did, however, wonder how Ludo was able to achieve this feat, remembering his lack of magic during their last encounter.
"Come on, work you blasted thing!" Ludo fumed, hitting the end of the staff against the ground. "I finally get the full load of power I rightfully deserve, and this is how it decides to treat me! Unbelievable. You know, he should have really told me how to use this more efficiently now that I remember." The wicked leader continued to try and get his staff to work, though his attention was soon driven elsewhere by a new presence in the area.
"Ludo!" Star called once she arrived on the scene, her hands on her hips as she grabbed the attention of all the monsters. "What do you think you're doing here?!"
"Well, well, well, if it isn't Star Butterfly, Karate Boy, and you two peasants who I don't care enough to know your names," Ludo listed as he saw Marco, Dipper, and Mabel join alongside the princess. "You're all just in time to witness my brand-new power! That's if this stupid thing decides to work," He shook the staff to show some semblance of power, only looking more pathetic once it hadn't done anything. "Work already will you!"
Whilst the wicked leader continued to attempt to get his staff's new powers working, Star peered over to the sets of orbs the monsters had acquired, noticing a collection of pieces from Echo Creek's buildings and objects inside them. However, she gazed at more of them to see pieces of Mewni as well, noticing a fair amount of stolen goods from the kingdom's marketplace inside. "Wait a second..." Star mused, her train of thought running before her eyes widened in realization. "You're the one who's been destroying pieces of Earth and Mewni?" she questioned, her eyebrows furrowed.
"Oh, wouldn't you like to know," Ludo teased with a mocking grin.
"Yes, that's why I asked."
"Hm, maybe for this instance I might as well tell," Ludo shrugged. "I recently met someone who was willing to lend me his power in exchange that I travel to as many universes and take as much as I can from them. What for exactly? I'm not too sure, but he promised me something that I couldn't refuse. And what would that something be exactly? Simple really; I get to have possession over your wand."
"What?" Star questioned, deeply confused by what the wicked leader meant.
"What do you mean "what"? I made myself very clear just there. Are your ears filled with wax or something?" Ludo chastised with a scowl, furrowing his brows before he calmed back down. "Now, I believe I must get back to more important matters," He turned his focus back to the convenience store, a nefarious grin growing on his face as he spared a glance at the group. "Although, now that I think about it, I could get the wand early if I wanted to."
"Not a chance, Ludo," Star remarked as she stood her ground, Dipper, Mabel, and Marco ready to back the princess up if needed.
"Oh, very well then," Ludo shrugged nonchalantly, sending a glare their way right after. "Get me that wand!"
The army of monsters let out a collective battle cry as they dropped the orbs they held before charging at the kids, the goal of stealing the wand being their top priority. Star took out her wand with a twirl of her hands, aiming it at the approaching monsters with a steady grip. "Mystical Cupcake Blitz!" she announced as she fired a plethora of cupcakes from her wand, the frosted desserts striking the monsters as many of them were knocked back from the blast, though some took to eating them when they had the chance.
While Star delved into her side of the fight, Marco delivered an axe kick to an approaching Boo Fly who tried to get a hold of him yet ultimately failed, falling to the ground pitifully. The teen was about to congratulate himself on his small victory when he sensed something behind him, turning around to see Man Arm, Big Chicken, and Beard Deer glaring down at him. He hastily looked around for something to use to protect himself, finding a nearby stick on the ground that looked thick enough for defense as he picked it up and spun it around, pointing it at the large monsters. "Don't make me use this!" Marco declared, showing off the stick in a threatening manner, although it was anything but that.
The monsters laughed at the teen, finding humor in the small piece of wood being used as a supposed weapon. A daring grin grew on Marco's face as he used the stick against each of them once they tried to land a hit against him, his hits accurate and effective as they all fell from the unsuspecting speed and strength. The teen now had time to rightfully congratulate himself, though it hadn't lasted long as Three-eyed Potato Baby suddenly bashed into him, throwing him off guard. Marco sat up to see the monster crack his knuckles with a fiendish smile as he prepared to pummel him, only to fall to the ground as he was hit over the head with a bedazzled mace, the culprit behind it being Mabel.
"Wow, this thing works like a charm!" Mabel grinned, helping Marco off the ground as she and the teen combated any monster that dared to approach them.
Dipper reached into his bag and pulled out his brand-new energy cuffs, clamping them on his wrists as there was no better time to use them. He didn't know how they functioned until he was almost attacked by Bearicorn, haphazardly throwing a punch in the monster's direction as a blue fist soared and decked the monster in the face. "Huh, cool," he said, amazed by the power of the weapon. Now knowing what they were capable of, he threw as many punches as he could at any monster that tried to tackle him, including Buff Frog who was sent reeling back against the pavement.
The frog-like monster landed with a thud, jolting up as he angrily picked up the nearest object he could find to throw at the kids, completely bewildered when he noticed he picked up Waddles instead of something more forceful. "What the-" He wasn't given enough time to think before he was whacked across the face by Mabel's mace, the pig landing safely on the ground with a casual oink.
Ludo was beyond frustrated with the display his army put forth once more, evident by the tight grip he held on his staff. "There you idiots go again! Is it simply too hard to grab the wand?!" Ludo exasperated loudly with a wave of his hands, watching as Big Chicken was sent hurdling into a parked car. "I hired you people for a reason! And yet you continue to disappoint me! Can you people do anything right?!" He harshly banged his staff against the ground in anger, unbeknownst to the white light beginning to glow at its top. Before he had a chance to react, the glow finalized before it shot out a beam of light towards Star.
The princess was so caught up in the middle of the fight that she didn't notice the beam heading towards her before it struck the ground in front of her, sending her and the wand rolling back.
"Star!" Marco called, karate-chopping a nearby monster before he went to check on the princess. Thankfully, she didn't sustain any injuries, but her wand being out in the open made her panic.
"Not again!" the princess gasped.
"Ah! Someone get the wand!" Ludo exclaimed, quickly noticing a glaring issue with the statement. "Someone who isn't Spikeballs get the wand!"
Being the closest one to the wand, Lobster Claws went to retrieve it with an open claw, though he didn't get the chance do to so as Mabel swooped in and grabbed it instead. "Fat chance, you overgrown crab thing!" Mabel declared, holding the wand up high for all to see. Not a moment later, the wand suddenly glowed as a bright light enveloped it, everyone watching as its royal design shifted into that of something of Mabel; its purple coloring changing into a pink tone whereas the crystal star that was once on it changed into the shape of a cat's head, and the wings on the side looked almost knitted compared to how they were originally. "Whoa..." she gasped in awe at the wand, amazed by its design.
While everyone was astounded by the new wand, Ludo was sharp to get his army back on track to the goal. "Don't just stand there and gawk at it, you imbeciles! Get her!" Ludo commanded as his minions charged at the girl despite some of their throbbing injuries.
Mabel had no idea how to properly use the wand, but judging from Star's past spells, she had a clue as to how to effectively wield it. "Ultra Glitter Ray!" she announced as she fired a ray of glitter at the monsters, their eyes stinging from the particles. Dipper ran over to assist his sister in the fight as he threw a few punches at any monster that got too close to them. He narrowly dodged a punch thrown from Man Arm until he uppercut the reptilian monster with as much force as the cuffs gave, the strength making him crash into his colleagues behind him. He felt proud of his fighting techniques, even if they weren't directly coming from him.
"Super Kitten Blast!" Mabel announced with a wide grin, firing an array of pink kittens at the monsters, many of them catching them while others fell victim to the force of the blast.
Bearicorn was one of the lucky patrons to catch one of the kittens, completely infatuated with the feline's cuteness. "Awww, who's a cute little guy?" he asked as he scratched the animal's head, though its cuteness subsided when it hissed at him before attacking his face. "Get it off! Get it off!" he yelled in pain as he flailed around.
Mabel chuckled at the monster's attempt to pry the wild feline off, completely unaware of a stalking Big Chicken until he made himself known with a loud cluck. The girl gasped with a turn at the bird-like monster threatening to scratch at her, but an unsuspecting bite on the leg from Star threw him completely off guard. The bird hastily tried to shake the princess off his leg, Mabel using the distraction as a chance to punch the bird away with the power of the wand.
"Nice one, Mabel!" Star complimented as she and Mabel exchanged a high-five before defending themselves against more of Ludo's army, their fighting evidently effective as more of the monsters fell from their injuries.
Marco fought off against Emmitt as the minotaur-like monster tried to slash the teen with his broadsword, the stick providing no usage in the fight as the monster easily sliced it. The monster lifted his sword to strike the teen with a triumphant laugh, though he was soon distracted by something else.
"Hey, bull guy!" Dipper called to the monster, capturing his attention before he sent a punch flying at the minion's stomach, the monster kneeling over in pain as Marco delivered a swift kick to the face.
"Nice thinking, dude!" Marco smiled as he and Dipper exchanged a fist-bump, the two continuing to take on more of Ludo's army.
With more collective rounds of punches, kicks, and magic being thrown, the army of monsters were soon reduced to nothing but aching bodies on the ground. Ludo's eye twitched at the sight of his minions failing once more to retrieve his desired item, feeling as though he would pop a blood vessel soon enough. The kids viewed their victory before them with jubilant smiles and exhausted breaths, their work right about done.
"I believe this belongs to you," Mabel said with a wide grin as she handed the princess back her wand, a bright light filling the area as the wand returned back to its original design now that it was in Star's possession again.
"Why thank you, Mabel," Star grinned as she twirled it around. "And I know just the way to finish the job," She aimed her wand at the injured monsters, some of them struggling to remain conscious after the intense battle. "Super Mega Rainbow Blast!" she announced, firing a burst of rainbows at them as they were all sent flying back.
The force from the magic was strong enough to send Ludo tumbling back, the wicked leader dropping his staff against the ground with a clank. The same white glow from earlier surrounded the staff once it collided with the ground before it fired a beam in the distance, the projectile soon morphing into a portal. The force from the princess' blast still lingered as many of the orbs were sent rolling around, one of them containing a fire hydrant edging close to the opened pathway.
Ludo gasped in realization once he saw how close the orb was to the portal, hoping it wouldn't roll in and potentially be lost to whatever was on the other side. Thankfully, the wicked leader didn't have to worry as the orb stopped itself before it could enter. "Phew..." he breathed, wiping the sweat from his forehead. However, luck wasn't on his side as the orb miraculously rolled in not a second later. "No!" he exclaimed as he sprung and bolted to the portal, no longer caring what was on the other side as he jumped right in.
"Hey! He's getting away!" Star gasped in shock when she saw the wicked leader enter the pathway, the princess giving chase after him as she jumped into the portal herself without much regard.
"Star, wait!" Marco called out to the princess, his voice falling numb to her ears as she had already entered. Without giving much of a second thought for his safety, he chased after his best friend through the portal.
Dipper and Mabel exchanged concerned glances, neither of them knowing what to make of the teenagers' sudden action. However, they both knew the right thing in the situation; while this wasn't their mess to clean up, this was something they could help with. The twins exchanged confident nods as Mabel picked up Waddles before she and Dipper ran into the portal, the destination unknown.
For a moment, everything was white, until color filled the kids' vision once more as they fell onto an open field of grass. Unlike Echo Creek, Sunlight had filled the sky instead of night, and a cool breeze filled the air that swayed the grass ever so slightly. Dipper sat up from the ground slowly, observing his surroundings as everyone else recovered behind him.
Star quickly sprung up after landing face-first into the grass, spitting out some of it that went in her mouth. "Are you guys okay?" she asked, clearly worried that someone had a potential injury from the portal.
"All good!" Mabel threw a duo of thumbs-up while Waddles sat on top of her.
"Yep, I'm fine," Marco groaned as he stretched before sitting up, raising a confused eyebrow at the field they sat on. "But better question: where even are we?"
Dipper silently answered the teen's question as he stood up, noticing they all arrived atop a hill once he looked in the distance. He walked to overview what was below, his eyes widening in certain surprise at what stood below. "Uh, guys, you should take a look at this," he said to the others without taking his eyes away.
Mabel, Star, and Marco were confused at first but soon made their way over to Dipper, their eyes collectively going wide as well. The hill they stood upon was slanted, giving them an open view of a town that sat in the distance. It was fairly smaller compared to Echo Creek, but it gave much more of a summer vibe as evidenced by the boardwalk and the expansive beach that surrounded it—not to mention the amusement park by the pier.
"Whoa, what is this place?" Star questioned as she and everyone else continued to view the new location, their eyes simply intrigued.
At the mention of it, Dipper saw a sign on the other side of the road, confused about how he didn't notice it at first. An illustration of a seagull standing on top of sand was the first thing he noted, though he eventually read what was inside the bird's speech bubble, giving them some context to where they were located:
"Beach City?"
Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Once again, I don't have much else to say, but if you could leave a review that would be nice!
Until next time!