ACT I: Skywind, King of Hours Chapter 2: The Hekapoe Assignment

"King Skywind… welcome to Dimension X-103. Home of the Everlasting Forge."

The King of Hours and his crew found themselves in a barren wasteland. All vegetation was morbidly decayed, and the only notable features of the landscape were crages and volcanoes. If Skywind didn't know any better, he would have assumed he was in the Underworld, visiting the Lucitor kingdom. "How far away is the forge? Will it take us long to get there?" He asked, conjuring up a tall glass of water.

"Not too long, my king." Indexia assured. "One month, at the most."

"One month?!" Skywind shouted. "That is absurd! We don't have that much time! If I don't return to Mewni in a week, the peasants will tear the kingdom to-" A quick glance at his family's most treasured heirloom derailed Skywind's train of thought. The king tapped on the protective glass and shook it next to his ear, but the black onyx crystals that made up the clock's arms would not move. "Indexia, I think my scepter is broken."

"No, your majesty, the magic is still there. Your clock, however, is still set to Mewni's timeline. I designed this pocket-realm to exist outside the usual flow of time." Indexia explained. "One year here is less than half a minute on Mewni."

The king was both impressed and concerned. "And… how long has this Hekapoe been imprisoned here?"

"Almost ever since King Lyle passed the scepter to his son."

"What? B-but that was almost two thousand years ago!" Skywind spluttered. "All that time in isolation… who knows what it could have done to him."

"Don't worry, Skywind." Rosaline patted her oldest friend on the back, trying to ease his discomfort. "As long as I'm around, you have nothing to worry about."

"... thank you, Rosaline." Skywind smiled, and continued into the wasteland.

"So, how's Gem-ivine?" The squire asked, trying to make small-talk. "You have been treating my best friend well, haven't you?"

"Of course." He rolled his eyes. "We've been balancing our parental responsibilities. Jeshica gets rather fussy if either of us aren't around."

"She's a blessing, though, isn't she?"

"She really is." Skywind sighed, joyfully. "It's so adorable how she tries to say my name. And she's already started crawling! Gem-ivine is so happy with her, she told me last night that she wants another child!"

"Oh, that's great!" Rosaline squealed. "Wait… 'child?' Not 'daughter?'"

"Yes… why?"

"You want it to be a boy, don't you?"

Skywind groaned and rubbed his forehead. "Look, I told Gem-ivine, the same thing I'll tell you; I am perfectly fine with having a daughter. I don't care that my heritage is a patriarchy."

"But you would like a boy, wouldn't you?" She replied, slyly. "I won't tell her if you say yes."

The king waved his hand, nonchalantly, as they carried on. "Eh… if she and I were to have a son… I wouldn't complain."

"You do realize that if you have a son, he will inherit the scepter and the throne?" Indexia levitated up to the chatting pair of friends.

"Who invited you into this?" Skywind snapped, mildly irritated.

"I'm just doing my job, your majesty." The blue mage held up her hands, defensively. "Teaching magic spells, offering guidance on quests, and reminding how the realm of power works."

The rest of the trip was carried out in uncomfortable silence. Night time came, and Rosaline suggested that they should set up camp. Omnitraxus, not needing sleep, offered to take the first watch in the event that Hekapoe would come across them on his own. However, once the others fell asleep, she heard an ominous cackling coming from the distance.

"Hello…?" She called. Instead of a verbal reply, an orange, circular portal rushed towards her at an alarming rate.

Rosaline woke with a start, drawing her bow and readying an arrow. "Who goes there?!" She bellowed before cringing, inwardly.. "Ugh, that sounded cheesy."

By the time Skywind woke up, his entire crew had disappeared. Instinctively, he held his scepter close to his chest, ready to cast an offensive spell. Just then, another portal opened up right in front of him, and he immediately aimed his weapon. "AVADA KEDAVRA!" A blast of green energy shot through the portal, but struck nothing.

After giving himself a few minutes to catch his breath, the king of hours took a closer look through the portal. "Illuminate…" The clock of his scepter created a bright searchlight, allowing him to see through a bit more clearly. A high, piercing scraping sound crept out from the dark side of the magical gateway, prompting him to take a closer look. When he finally stepped inside, he found himself inside a seemingly abandoned forge, lit only by the molten metal used for crafting.

Following the sound, Skywind slowly aimed his scepter's searchlight at the opposite end of the forge, not noticing that the portal behind him had closed. Leaning against one of the furnaces, a demonic-looking man with pale skin sharpened his canine teeth with a file. He was dressed in a tattered yellow suit with a crimson tie and matching cape. Two orange horns protruded from his long, red hair, with a black crown resting in between them. But the most disturbing feature about this entity was the yellow cat-like eye staring at his new guest.

"Um… I take it you are Hekapoe?" Skywind nervously tugged at the collar of his shirt. "Master of this forge?"

"You're very perceptive." The demon chuckled as he started filing his claws, never once shifting his gaze. "So, what brings you to my humble abode?"

"Can you… can you still forge the inter-dimensional scissors?"

"I can."

"Are… are you the reason my crew has gone missing?"

"I am."

This was beginning to feel like more than Skywind bargained for. "Can you… please, bring them back? And, perhaps, create a pair of scissors for me?"

"... I won't." Hekapoe flicked the file away and slowly paced towards the timid ruler. "I mean, I don't really want to. Maybe later… but for now, would you care for a drink?"

"I… beg your pardon?"

"Do you have any idea what millions of years trapped in a pocket-realm with no one to talk to does to the mind of an immortal? Don't answer that… it ain't pretty." Hekapoe gripped both of his horns and fell to his knees. It sounded to Skywind as if he was crying, but all of the forger's tears evaporated upon contact with his flesh. The king couldn't help but pity the poor being.

Suddenly, however, the sobbing turned into sadistic giggling, and Hekapoe stood up to rub the sadness out of his eye. After straightening his tie, the enchanted blacksmith motioned to a stairwell, leading to a subterranean level. "Ahem. Like I said; not pretty. So, if you want a pair of my scissors, you're going to have to humor me. It's been a long time since I've had any company."

Reluctantly, Skywind cautiously followed his host down the steps. The cellar was abundant with a variety of alcoholic beverages, with nearly half of all the bottles being empty. But Skywind's attention was drawn to what lay beyond the bountiful alcohol; a display case full of inter-dimensional scissors. "Pick your poison." Hekapoe offered.

"Um… I-I'm not much of a drinker, actually." Skywind politely declined, never taking his eyes off of the case.

"Eh, suit yourself." Hekapoe shrugged as he lazily pulled one bottle off of its rack. Extending his cape outward, the demon pulled out a pair of scissors from a concealed pocket and effortlessly snipped the neck of the bottle off. Ignoring the sticky mess that dripped onto the floor, Hekapoe proceeded to drink the strong liquor as his gaze fell upon the king's magic scepter. "So… you're the king?"

"Yes. Why do you ask?"

"Well, when Indexia made me, they had a different guy." He coughed, lightly, before elaborating. "Some brunette in a cheap suit. Had these, uh… weird birthmarks on his cheeks."

"You knew my ancestor?" Skywind's curiosity piqued. "King Brian, the Predominant?"

"Nah, I think it was his grandkid." The blacksmith corrected with another swig of the bottle's contents. "That other guy was before my time."

"Uh, right. Now, about the inter-dimensional scissors-"

"Oh, yeah…" Hekapoe chuckled. "Pretty funny, right? See, Indexia made me to find a way to 'cut through the fabric of reality.' And I thought to myself; 'what's better at cutting fabric than scissors?' Get it?"

"Yes… clever." The king complimented, nervously.

"So, what do you want 'em for?"

"Well, it's a bit of a long story." Skywind explained, trying not to make it obvious that he was moving closer to the display case. "You see, we're planning to go on a time-quest, and the scissors would prove most helpful in preventing any harm to the timeline."

"I see… you do realize you're working with Indexia? The little blue bitch who locked me in here, right? And for what? Having a little fun?'

"Please, I understand that you are upset. You have every right." Skywind measured each word carefully. All he had to do was keep him distracted long enough to grab another pair of scissors. "But this may be your chance to… prove her wrong!"

"Prove her wrong?" Hekapoe sounded interested.

"Yes! Think about it; if you be the bigger man and help us on our quest, Indexia would see that she was wrong about you being too chaotic, and finally let you out of this realm!"

The blacksmith set the bottle back on its rack, despite being empty. He rubbed his chin as he paced around Skywind like a hungry shark. The room was deathly quiet, with only the taunting cackles of the forge's molten metal echoing around them. The king was inches away from grabbing a pair of the enchanted scissors before a flaming dagger blocked his path, creating a wall of fire around the scissors. He froze in terror as his host rushed forward to gaze directly into his eyes. After a few more agonizing moments of contemplation, Hekapoe's lips curled upwards.

"Alright… I'll make you a deal." Hekapoe's devilish smile grew wider, still. "Trying to steal from me really pisses me off. But… you're not exactly the worst guest I've ever had, so I'll give you two choices. One; I let you and that Mewman girl go back home. Indexia and Prime stay here, to suffer as I have. And you forget all about this little quest. Two; if you can beat me in a challenge of my choosing, I'll not only give you a pair of scissors, but I'll hand the others over to you. But… if you choose option two, and you fail, you'll be stuck here, too."

Skywind's mouth was agape with fear. The idea of spending the rest of his life in the time-displaced pocket realm sent shivers down his spine. He would never see his beloved Gem-ivine or Jeshica ever again, the Dragonfly family would forever be disgraced, and without the power of the scepter's magic, the monsters would eventually wipe out all of mewmanity. But without a pair of inter-dimensional scissors, he'd never break through the time barrier, and his quest would be for naught.

In the end, it all boiled down to one question; was he really willing to risk everything over a quest? At last, he took a deep breath, clenched his scepter tight, and gave Hekapoe a stern look. "I accept your challenge. Whatever it may be."

"Hmm… this is gonna be fun." Hekapoe chuckled. The blacksmith threw the bottle away, and cracked his knuckles in preparation. On impulse, Skywind defensively pointed the scepter at his challenger, ready to cast an attack spell. Hekapoe lifted his right hand up to the tip of the black crown resting on his head, and with the snap of his fingers, a small flame flickered into existence. "If you want a pair of scissors all you have to do… is blow out this flame."

"That's it?" The king's eyebrow arched in confusion.

"Yup. That's it." Hekapoe nodded.

Skywind could hardly believe his ears; he now had nothing to fear. He leaned in close, took a deep breath, and his challenger disappeared, leaving behind a cloud of dust. "What the…?"

"Yoo-hoo~!" Hekapoe was now fifty feet away, with the same wicked smile plastered on his face. "Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention… I still have a lot of magic." Skywind watched in terror as the orange-clad blacksmith speed around in circles at a fantastic speed.

Steeling his nerves, he charged the power in his scepter and rushed at his enemy as fast as he could. He thought that if he could cast a shielding spell on himself, it would be enough to stop Hekapoe in his tracks. Instead, the crafty demon used his scissors to slice open a portal, and the young king fell through. The other end of the portal opened up high in the sky, and Skywind screamed as he drew closer and closer to the ground.

And then, everything went black.

A foul stench burned Skywind's nostrils as he struggled to open his eyes. Once his vision cleared, he found himself inside an active volcano. Desperately, he pushed himself as far away from the edge as he could.

"Wakey, wakey, your majesty…" Hekapoe cackled, sinisterly. The pale demon lifted an opened bottle of vodka up to the flame dancing atop his crown, and waved it, menacingly, in front of Skywind's face. "Care for that drink?"

"Wha…? What's going on?" The King of Hours stammered as he tried to find his footing.

"Welcome… to Hell!" Suddenly, Hekapoe leaped fifteen feet into the air, throwing the bottle at his prey's feet. Astonishingly, the flames spiraled away from the Mewman, and began to take shape. Fifty Hekapoes sprang to life from the dancing fires, rushing in different directions around the disoriented king.

Each Hekapoe clone laughed hysterically as they rushed around him, occasionally slicing at him with his razor-sharp scissors. "You can't catch me! You can't catch me!" They all taunted in unison.

"Enough!" The Mewman king held his scepter aloft, remembering a spell he had created on accident that would end this chaotic brawl. As the black onyx crystal housed in the scepter's head shone brightly, all the Hekapoe's began to levitate above the ground. They were all visibly frightened, some of them even clawing towards the planet's surface.

"What is this?!" One of them demanded.

"I turned off the gravity." Skywind smirked. Once they were high enough, he conjured a lasso of pure energy that wrapped around the barren soil, and the planet began to rotate properly again. As each Hekapoe fell, Skywind blasted them with a gust of wind that blew out their flames. At last, the king landed on his feet, gazing at the only remaining Hekapoe as he fell to the surface.

"Mental illness-regression beam!" The hands on Skywind's clock spun out of control as a fine beam of light shot forth into Hekapoe's temple. The demonic blacksmith somersaulted backwards and fell on his back. The scissors fell from his fingers and his pupils rapidly grew and shrank. The king cautiously moved forward as Hekapoe slowly sat back up.

"Whoa…" The horned hunter shook his head and held his stomach. Suddenly, he didn't look as wild and menacing as he did before. The spell cast was clearing away the cobwebs that plagued his mind. "What… what was that? Why am I here? How did I get here? What am I doing h-?"

Skywind puffed a gentle breath, and extinguished the flame. With a smile, he extended his hand towards Hekapoe. "Oh, yeah… now, I remember." He grunted, and straightened his tie. Once he was back on his feet, he finally smiled back at his opponent. "Not bad for a Mewman."

"Thank you." Skywind nodded in appreciation. "Now, about our arrangement."

"A deal is a deal." Hekapoe conceded, handing over the scissors. "You earned them."

"Thank you. And my friends?"

"Oh, right." Hekapoe took out another pair of scissors and once more sliced open a hole in the inter-dimensional barrier.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH-oof!" Rosaline fell flat on her face while Indexia and Omnitraxus landed, gracefully. "We have been falling… for three hours!" She fumed.

"My king! Are you hurt? Did Hekapoe harm you?" Indexia's crystal shone a probing light over her ruler, checking for any serious injuries.

"Nice to see you, too, mom." Hekapoe snarked. "Well, thank you all for visiting Chateau de Lonely. Have a safe trip back home."

"Wait!" Skywind gently placed a hand on his former enemy's shoulder. "I still need to learn how to properly use these things. And you know them better than anyone else. How would you like a spot on the Magical High Commission?"

"Really?" For the first time since they had met, Skywind saw a sparkle of hope in Hekapoe's eyes. "You mean… I can leave this place?"

"Yes. If you promise to behave."

"My king, are you sure that's wise?" Omnitraxus advised, uneasily. "He was locked in here for a reason, after all."

"It's pretty clear that I can handle him at his worst." The King of Hours replied, confidently. "It'd be nice to see him at his best."

"... fine." Indexia sighed, waving her hand over her creation's heart. "Hekapoe… Master of the Eternal Forge… I hereby renounce your banishment."

A brilliant aura surrounded the blacksmith, causing a marvelous transformation. His tattered suit was mended and cleaned, and his skin was a healthier shade of white. "Wow… I don't… I don't know what to say. Thank you, your majesty."

"No need to thank me, my friend. Just point me towards the nearest dimension." Skywind beamed. "Allons y, Hekapoe!"

"... uh, what the hell does that mean?"

"NO, PLEASE!"

"WAIT, STOP!"

"DON'T ASK HIM THAT!"

"I'm glad you asked!"

A collective groan filled the air as Skywind opened a dimensional portal.

To Be Continued!

I'm glad you're all liking this so far! Please, keep me updated if you have any questions about what's coming up! Also, any "Potterheads" catch that little reference back there?