ACT I: Skywind, King of Hours Chapter 3: Accidents Happen

After earning the inter-dimensional scissors from Hekapoe, Skywind insisted that his crew return to Mewni before proceeding with their quest. The king was highly concerned about the safety of his family, as well as the stability of the kingdom's populace. The portal opened up in the center of the throne room, and Gem-ivine was surprised to see her husband back so soon.

The queen led him into town, showing off the group of farmers she had already organized to begin the plantations, as well as her developing system for crop rotation and distribution. Skywind carried Jeshica around as he followed his wife through the cobblestone streets. After the horrors of facing Hekapoe in his hellish dimension, he was happy to spend a few precious moments with his beloved family.

When the time came to continue the quest, Omnitraxus Prime volunteered to stay behind and ensure that the magic barrier would still be standing when they returned. Skywind officially welcomed Hekapoe into the Magical High Commission, under the condition that he would continue to produce inter-dimensional scissors for the kingdom and submitted each pair for royal regulation.

At last, the crew finished their preparations and Skywind sliced open a portal. "Alright, Hekapoe…" He spoke slowly as they drifted through the void. "According to Omnitraxus, we need a dimension that is similar to our own. Only then will we be able to safely travel back in time. So, which dimension is most similar to ours?"

Hekapoe cracked his knuckles and pulled down his left horn, processing his encyclopedic knowledge of the multiverse. "Hmm, let's see… do, do, do, do... ah! Here we go! Dimension 811! It's perfect; right outside our timeline. So, what you wanna do is open up the scissors, think 8-1-1, and move them upwards until you cut a hole big enough to step through."

Skywind nodded in understanding and did as instructed. The group stepped through the flaming vortex one at a time, with the king guarding up the rear for safety. But when they arrived, the feeling of excitement quickly disappeared. Dimension 811 was a wasteland that looked worse off than Hekapoe's pocket-realm. There were signs of previous civilizations, but all buildings and roads were completely demolished. The plant life had grown over everything, as if trying to strangle the entire world.

"Only one word can describe such a desolate place…" Indexia surmised, gravely. "'Apocalyptic.'"

"Indeed." Skywind agreed. "This changes things. I will not risk traveling back in time to the starting point of this cataclysm. I suggest we have a look around. Perhaps we can find a historical archive, or something. If we find the latest catalogued date, we can deduce when this disaster happened."

"Good idea." Indexia agreed. "We can start with the nearest building. There."

The explorers headed into the building, huddled around Hekapoe for visibility. However, the blacksmith was soon not the only source of light. The king ordered his friends to stop as something caught his attention. A group of bioluminescent worms were crawling across the wall, each one glowing a different color. Skywind held out his hand, coaxing a few of them to crawl onto his arm.

"Oh, my…" He breathed in amazement. The colorful worms were having a tantalizing effect on the young king. "This is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen…"

"Uh, your wife?" Rosaline questioned.

"Oh, uh, right!" Skywind coughed, awkwardly. "I-I meant the second most beautiful thing."

"... your daughter?"

"Right, right. I mean, my top ten."

"I say we split up." Hekapoe chimed in. "We can cover more ground that way."

"Are you crazy?" Rosaline gawked. "For all we know, whatever did this could still be around here!"

Hekapoe scoffed. "I spent a million years in a hellish nightmare-world with only booze to keep me company. This'll be a cake walk." To emphasize his point, he split his own pair of scissors apart and held them like daggers.

"I agree with Hekapoe." Skywind admitted. "The sooner we find out what happened, the sooner we can determine how to proceed. Let's split up."

"Ugh… fine." Rosaline snatched a candle off the ground and lit it from Hekapoe's head, wandering off on her own.

The Mewman monarch watched his crew go their separate ways, while he stayed in the same room. Taking a look around, he spotted three bookshelves along the walls, a work desk littered with more notebooks and papers, a model globe in the corner, and a table in the center. A few beakers were stained from whatever used to occupy them, indicating that they hadn't been cleaned in some time.

"It looks like this was some sort of… laboratory." Skywind thought to himself. The king of hours continued with his inspection, rummaging through broken beakers and dusty notebooks. The worms tickled as they clung to his face, prompting him to pick them off and place them in his pocket so he could focus. The intellectual part of his brain took over, and he began taking a closer look at his surroundings.

As he proceeded through the lab, a piece of paper stuck to the bottom of his boot. Once he peeled it off, he saw that it looked like a page torn from one of the notebooks. He leaned against the table to balance himself and gingerly peeled it off to examine it. But as he read the sloppy handwriting, his eager smile gradually disappeared.

"What…? What does this-?" His eyes scanned over the paper countless times as he tried to wrap his brain around its meaning. "'All livestock has gone extinct… sentient life too unpredictable.. too cruel... w-we deserve to die…?'"

Meanwhile, Rosaline was equally fascinated by the dark, mysterious lab. But her candle light was very dim, forcing her to pay close attention to where she was walking. A few minutes into her search, she found a door that lead to a much longer hallway. Despite the limited light source, she saw something that stood out from the darkness; four men made of metal leaning against the walls. A closer inspection, it looked as if they were operated by clockwork mechanisms. However, they had obviously been deactivated for some time.

Curious, Rosaline placed her fingers against its chin and gently tilted it to the side for a better look. But without warning, the machine aimlessly turned its head back in the opposite direction. Disturbed, the squire slowly backed away from it, hoping not to draw attention to herself. Unfortunately, she failed to notice the pile of scrap metal laying on the floor before tripping over it.

As the sound echoed around the room, and Rosaline struggled to get up, a dim light appeared in the eyes of the machine, and it slowly turned its head back towards her direction. All she could do was gawk as the empty eyes stared back at her. At last, an eerie, garbled voice came from the rusted robot. ["E-e-e-e-e-ex…"]

"What?" The squire was too afraid to move. "I-I'm sorry, what?"

["E-e-e-e-e-ex…."] The automation repeated.

"I don't… I don't know what you want."

["EEEEX…. TERRRRR…. MIIIIII….. NAAAAAATE…."]

The lights gradually grew brighter, and the machine's rusted joints creaked as it slowly stood up. Rosaline finally found the strength to start backing away, unaware that the other machines were also reactivating. ["Ex… ter… mi… nate… exter… minate! Exterminate! EXTERMINATE!"]

A beam of light shot forth from its eyes, just narrowly missed Rosaline's feet, leaving a crater in the ground beneath her. The squire of Mewni's king took that as her signal to run away. "Skywind!" She called out in terror. "Skywind, help!" The other machines slowly followed suit, and attacked Rosaline with extreme prejudice.

"Rosaline!" A beam of green magic soared past her head and blasted the machines away from her. Skywind embraced his friend in a comforting hug before dragging her away. "That won't hold them off for long!" He told her.

Rosaline looked over her shoulder and noticed the mechanical menaces repairing the damage done to them as they continued their pursuit. "That won't hold them off at all!" She shouted.

"Indexia! Where are you?!"

"You called, my king?" The blue mage appeared at the mention of her name.

"What are these things?!"

"Hmm… they appear to be enemies, I would assume-"

"Dammit, woman!" Skywind snarled as they rounded a corner. "This is no time for one of your blasted, cryptic lessons! Give me a straight answer!"

"I only pretend to know everything, Skywind." Indexia retorted. "Wait a minute… where's Hekapoe?"

"What?" Skywind stopped in his tracks to survey the area. "I don't know. I thought he was with you."

An agonized scream made everyone's ears perk up. The group ran as fast as they could to the source, and found their comrade in the clutches of a fifth robot. The blacksmith was fighting to break free with all his strength, but the flame atop his crown was fading fast.

"Release him!" Skywind ordered, and charged his wand for an attack spell.

["Negative. He must die."] The robot replied. ["I thank you for your part in our reactivation. I am Alpha-Zero, leader of the Automen. My creator invented us for the soul purpose of destroying all sentient life. Unfortunately, with no life left to destroy, we were forced into mandatory shut-down. But now that you have come, we have been given a new purpose. With this new technology, the one that allows users to travel through dimensions, we can function forever as we spend eternity wiping out all life across the multiverse. Starting with your home dimension!"]

"Mewni is not so easily conquered!" The king boasted. "There are over one thousand citizens, many of whom are highly skilled knights and warriors! How many are you?"

["Five."]

Skywind scoffed at the absurd notion. "You think you could destroy us with only five Automen?"

["We would destroy you with only one Automan!"] The tyrannical robot snapped. ["You organic beings are superior to us in only one respect!"]

"Oh, yeah?" Skywind tightened his grip on the scepter. "And what's that?"

["You are better at dying!"]

A strong laser blast further emphasized the heartless sadist's point. Skywind narrowly dodged the beam and rushed at his attacker. He grabbed his comrade away from Alpha-Zero and blasted the robot with avada kedavra. But the spell only worked on living beings, and a robot was not alive.

Multiple lasers came after the heroes as the Automen went on with the offensive. The white-skinned blacksmith finally woke up and readied himself for battle. Rosaline fired every arrow she had at the enemy, but they all shattered upon contact.

"We're gonna die!" She cried.

"Think positive!" Hekapoe offered.

"We're gonna die, quickly!" She corrected.

"Indexia, help them!" Skywind ordered as he cast a barrier spell. But his teacher had also been taken captive. Alpha-Zero personally held the mage in his clutches, tauntingly waving her in front of the king. Three other Automen approached Rosaline and Hekapoe, while the remaining robot focused its attention on Skywind.

The King of Hours grit his teeth in anger and did his best to defend himself, but the soulless machine quickly overpowered him. In no time, he was backed into the corner, forced to watch as his friends would be killed. "This is my fault…" He thought. "If I hadn't proposed this damned quest, we wouldn't be in this mess!" Suddenly, a surge of magical power sprang forth from his scepter, and overloaded the Automan's mechanical mind. Everyone's attention was directed at Dragonfly, now.

All the stress and frustration had finally manifested at just the right time. The dual hourglass-shaped birthmarks on his cheeks glowed brighter than ever before, as did his eyes. Four, transparent wings sprouted from his back, a pair of antenna grew from his forehead, and four extra arms tore through his tunic. This was Skywind's mewberty-form; the point where his magical prowess was at its natural peak.

"Get your hands off of them!" He bellowed, angrilly. Using a lasso of pure magic, he tugged his crew away from the sinister machines and dragged them to safety. Hekapoe opened another portal to the dimensional netherworld. Once they were away, the king decided it was time to use the most powerful spell in his arsenal.

With both hands placed firmly on the scepter, Skywind spun the mystical artifact through the air while he gracefully danced around his comrades. Indexia recognized this technique; only Rosaline, Hekapoe, and the Automen were confused. At last, with his powerful gazed locked on the enemies, Skywind struck the bottom of his scepter on the ground. "Warnicorn… STAMPEDE!"

Astonishingly, an ominous cloud formed in front of the Mewman heroes, followed by a hoard of warnicorns. And it was here that Skywind made his mistake. The pure concentrated rage, combined with the raw strength that came with his mewberty-form enhanced the spell beyond his capacity. The feedback forced him backwards through the portal, and knocking him back to his senses.

The portal closed, automatically, leaving the group floating through the void. Skywind took out his inter-dimensional scissors, trying to reopen the portal. But the portal didn't lead to the same realm, no matter how hard he concentrated.

"It's no use, Skywind." Hekapoe explained. "If the scissors can't take you there, it's because the dimension you're thinking of… doesn't exist anymore."

"W-what did I do?" The king of hours stuttered in terror. "What did I just do?!"

"Incredible!" Indexia exclaimed. "Of all the previous kings before you, none have ever displayed the power to destroy an entire dimension!"

"N-no! I didn't mean to! It was an accident!"

"Skywind, calm down!" Rosaline consoled her friend. "Let's just… go home for now. Give ourselves time to think this through."

"I urge you to listen to the squire, my king." Indexia agreed. "A little rest will do you good."

Skywind didn't know what to do. But then again, he doubted anyone would if they had completely annihilated an entire realm. In the end, he agreed to return for Mewni. Once they arrived, the king sadly announced that the time quest was a complete failure, and that they would not be attempting a second quest. When asked why, he ignored the question and ordered everyone to focus on the plantations.

Only the queen, who knew Skywind better than anyone else, was finally able to get through to him. He told her everything. From the horrors of the Automen, to the greater tragedy he committed with his own power. He left out no detail; even telling her about the beautiful worms that he destroyed. By the time he finished, even she needed a moment to process all the information.

"Well, you said all sentient life was already destroyed beforehand, right?" She pointed out. "So, you only killed a few worms."

"Yes, but I liked those worms." He set his scepter down on the bed so that he could lay down. Jeshica, sensing his distress, crawled over to her father and snuggled up beside him. This warmed the king's heart as he happily took her into his arms. "Aw, thank you, sweetheart… you don't thank your daddy's dangerous, do you?"

Gem-ivine laid down beside her husband, nuzzling his neck to provide comfort. But Skywind's giggling ruined the mood. "What's so funny?"

"Like you don't know!" He laughed. "Stop tickling me!"

"I'm not tickling you." The queen protested, holding up her hands to prove it. "See?"

"What…? But then, who-" Skywind handed his child over to Gem-ivine and lifted his tunic. The brilliant glow lit up the room, as well as the king's eyes. "The worms!" He rejoiced as he gingerly plucked the insects from his body. "I forgot I placed a few of them on my person in the lab!"

"Oh, my. You weren't kidding." Gem-ivine gasped. "They are tantalizing."

Jeshica's eyes sparkled with wonder and amazement, reaching out to hold one of the glowing worms. But her father had already gotten off of the bed and placed them in an empty jar on his desk. Carefully plucking a leaf from the rose stem next to him, he surrendered it to his tiny guests. "There you go…" He sighed, as they greedily munched on the flora. "You came a long way for a little snack. I'm… sorry I destroyed your home."

The queen wrapped her arms around Skywind, and kissed his cheek. "You see? You didn't wipe them out. Maybe this is a sign." She suggested. "Maybe you can make amends for your accident."

"Yes… yes!" Skywind grew more animated with each word. Gem-ivine beamed with pride at her husband's enthusiasm. "Yes! I'll do it! I am Skywind! The King of Hours! If I possess the power to destroy dimensions, who is to say that I do not possess the power to rebuild them?!" He lifted his wife into the air and spun in circles with joy. "You're right, Gem-ivine! I can't erase my mistakes, but I can make up for them! But first…"

Gem-ivine shrieked with delight as her king lovingly ravished her neck with lustful kisses. She eagerly encouraged him onwards by unfastening the laces on her corset before she spotted Jeshica, still sitting on the bed. " Wait! Wait! Wait!" Reluctantly, she pushed him away. "Not in front of the baby."

"Oh, right." Skywind blushed. He moved towards the door and placed a hand to his mouth. "Uh, Rosaline?! Please, take the princess to her nursery!"

"Coming, my king!" The faint sound of footsteps echoed down the halls. The squire of Mewni hurriedly appeared in front of the door.

"Oh, and after the queen and I... emerge from our chambers, I'll need to consult with Indexia. So, prepare my inks!"

"Calligraphy or artistry, my king?" Rosaline asked, struggling to catch her breath. But her old friend just stared at her, indignantly. "Um… I'll just get both."

To Be Continued!