ACT XIII: Comet II, the Underestimated Part 6: The Blood Moon Ball

Dragonfly Castle, Mewni-Realm.

In the royal couple's private chambers, King Mars woke up to find his wife absent from their bed. Curious, he put on his robe and made his way down to the kitchen for coffee and breakfast. Much to his relief, Queen Lake was sitting at the kitchen counter sketching something out on a piece of parchment, so he went ahead and brewed two cups of coffee. As he waited for the coffee, the king smiled at the cute way his wife stuck out her tongue as she focused on whatever she was drawing. Once the coffee was brewed, Mars poured two cups and placed one in front of Lake.

"What are you working on, dear?" He asked, curiously.

"I call it 'Stjärnfall.'" Lake beamed with pride as she held up the blueprint. Mars took a sip of coffee before leaning in for a closer look. The queen had drawn up a double-edged battle ax with a curved handle. As per the oldest and noblest traditions, Johansens were to fashion weapons for their eldest children once they came of age. Lake's own father had gifted her with a spear that she kept with her even after marrying Mars. And now, she was preparing to do the same for her son.

"It's the weapon I'm going to make for Comet." She explained to her husband. "The handle will be made from a discarded deerfox antler, wrapped in leather strips. And as for the blade; my father found a meteorite on one of his latest hikes and offered it to me. If I can melt it down, it'll be the perfect blade! That way, our little shooting star will have his own Johansen weapon forged from an actual shooting star."

The king was most impressed by his wife's creativity. "Fascinating." He remarked. "But I thought Johansens didn't get their weapons until they turned sixteen?"

"Well, it's never too early to prepare for these things. I'll need time to create the mold, and… and I need to find a decent deerfox antler to widdle into the handle. And then, I… I…" Lake sniffled and wiped her eyes, setting her drawing aside. "I miss our baby. What if something happens to him while he's away?"

Mars set down his coffee mug to take his wife's hands into his own. "Lake, he'll be fine. He's in the safest realm the universe has to offer. I know. I've been there."

Lake perked up, slightly. "You have?"

"Only once. But it was so much fun." Mars nodded and chuckled as he thought back to simpler times. "My father took me with him on one of his trips to the Mewman-Human embassy. While we were there, he took me to a place called Baskin Robbins. It was an ice cream shop. And they - you're gonna love this - they sold thirty-one flavors of ice cream. I mean, they had flavors like butterscotch, orange sherbert, and even eggnog. And they would let you try a free sample of the flavors before you decided which one to buy."

"I love it, already." Lake smiled, licking her lips.

"Yes, well, I just wanted plain strawberry, but my dad… heh, he had to try each and every flavor they had to offer."

"Oh, no!" Lake giggled.

"Yeah!" Mars laughed. "Anyway, he took so long that there was a line leading all the way out of the shop and onto the sidewalk! Everyone was yelling at him to just pick something and get out of the way, but he just waved that tiny plastic spoon at the clerk and said 'I would like to try peppermint fudge next, please!' I was so embarrassed! I just wanted the ground to swallow me up to get away from there!"

Lake pounded her fist against the table as she burst out laughing. Mars bashfully rubbed his hand over his face, as he too started laughing. But the queen's laughter slowly died down once she noticed her husband sadly staring into his mug. "But the funny thing is… right now? I would give ten years off of my life just to stand and watch him try all thirty-one flavors again."

It broke Lake's heart to see the man she loved so upset. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry." She remarked before giving him a gentle kiss on the cheek. Ever since they were children, Comet's death had always been a sore subject for Mars to discuss, and even just the mention of the deceased king would put her husband into a depressed stupor. Thinking quickly, she tried to take his mind off of it. "What flavor did he settle on?"

Mars snorted. "Plain chocolate." Lake laughed once again, which in turn made Mars laugh, too. Feeling better, he patted her hand once more. "I miss our son, too. But it's important for him to learn how to wield the scepter in a controlled environment. And in a year or two, he can come back home. Besides, he's probably having the time of his life. If anything was wrong, he'd tell us."

Lake nodded in understanding and went back to sketching. Mars was about to head back upstairs for a quick shower before getting ready for work when his squire informed him that a visitor was waiting for him in the foyer. With a tired sigh, the king headed off to welcome whoever it was. His eyes widened in shock at the sight of the visitor. Patiently waiting in the foyer, in a black cocktail dress, was a young, three-eyed demoness with two horns protruding from her head surrounded by locks of spiky pink hair made up into a pixie cut. This was Theophania "Tiffany" Lucitor; crown princess of the Underworld. Clearing his throat, Mars shut the door behind him and measured his words, cautiously.

"Tiffany… what brings you here?" He asked, politely.

Tiffany bowed in respect with a smile on her face. "Good morning, King Dragonfly!" She greeted him in a sing-songy tone. "I'm here to ask Comet something really important. Have you seen him?"

Mars rubbed the back of his neck in discomfort. "Um, well, he's not here, right now." He explained. "The queen and I sent him to study abroad until he masters the power of the scepter."

Tiffany's smile faded, slightly, and her left eye twitched. "Oh… May I ask where he is?"

Mars tugged at the collar of his shirt. "Only… only if I can ask what this is about?"

The demon princess' smile disappeared completely now, and she only wore an indifferent expression. "... fine." She huffed and went back to her gothic carriage. "I'll find him on my own."

Mars sighed in relief once the carriage was out of sight. It wasn't necessarily the princess of the Underworld he was afraid of, but rather the risk of what fabricated stories she would tell her parents if she were upset. Ever since the death of King Ryan, Mewni's peaceful relationship with the Underworld had been fragile at best. It was only because King Simon had been beloved by all demon-kind that the Underworld never sought war with Mewni afterwards. Mars was aware that his son was once romantically involved with Tiffany, but he had broken up with her on the grounds that she was manipulating him into staying in the Underworld with her forever and never leaving her side. The king wondered why she sought out Comet now, after all this time, when he suddenly noticed that the setting moon was beginning to shine with a faint red hue.

"Uh, oh…" He muttered, silently.

Echo Creek Academy, Earth-Realm.

The school was hosting the Church's annual Easter fish-fry, with the students volunteering to set everything up. The Diaz family had always supported the Church, so Marcia was happy to work alongside her parents with setting up the tables and chairs. Eager to learn more about Earth culture, Prince Comet readily and eagerly joined his best friend, and helped by blowing up balloons and taking the first shift at the raffle ticket booth. Jackson Lee Thomas' family owned the catering company that provided the fried fish, so the skater helped his parents cook before wandering around with Marcia and Comet. Jonah Ordonia - on the other hand - grabbed a plate of food, rolled up a zig-zag, lit it in plain sight, and began harassing the priest.

"Let me tell you something…" Jonah said through mouthfuls of french fries. "If there is a God, He is a grade-A dick."

The priest blinked in shock and disgust. "Child! Did you just call God a d-word?"

"Oh, yeah. I mean, He's got a hard-on for genocide and giving kids cancer. He sends anyone who has sex before marriage to Hell. He lets rednecks dress up as ghosts to kill gay folks and black to top it all off, His answer to the shitty existential crisis that is humanity is to send His own son to Earth to get murdered at thirty-three and nailed to a plank. That is a serious dick-move." Jonah punctuated his rant by blowing a puff of smoke into the priest's face.

The priest angrily waved the smoke away before confronting Jonah again. "The Lord has a plan for everything, boy."

"Oh, really?" Jonah rolled his eyes in contempt. "And what's the plan for all the starving children in - fuck, I don't know - name an African country? Is it for them to die? Because if so, it's working."

Marcia, having finished her work, quickly intervened. She apologized to the priest and led Jonah away towards a picnic table. She loved Jonah like a brother, but his attitude whenever he got stoned left something to be desired.

"Would you tone it down a notch?!" She scolded.

"Oh, sorry, Marcie. I didn't mean to offend your Mexican Catholic heritage."

"Fuck you! I'm Episcopalian!" Marcia hissed. "There's nothing wrong with having a little bit of the Church in you."

"Said the bishop to the nun." Jonah snorted just as Comet arrived at their table. "What about you, your highness? What's your stance on the whole 'God' thing?"

"Um… I don't know." Comet shrugged and took a bite of his fish.

"Oh, come on." Jonah pressed on. "You've got to have a general idea."

Comet rubbed his chin and furrowed his brow as he thought about how best to explain Mewman religion to his friends. "Hmm… well, when I was a child, my mom taught me about her kingdom's beliefs. She told me stories of two realms; Empyrean and the Underworld. Empyrean is home to the Celestians; spirits of life and light. And the Underworld is home to the Demons; beings of fire and torture. Celestians and Demons fought so intensely, that their power transformed the empty space between their realms into Mewni. And eventually, Mewmans and Monsters were born from the very same chaos. Because they cherished life above all else, the Celestians reluctantly brokered peace with the Underworld to keep Mewni safe; a deal was struck. The Demons would remain under Mewni and never seek war with the Mewmans, and the Celestians would remove themselves from the physical realm entirely. But they would always watch over the souls of their creations, and guide them to Empyrean once they died."

Marcia seemed mildly entertained by the prince's story, but Jonah was skeptical. "So you're telling me a bunch of high and mighty angels just left their home for you guys? I betcha this 'Empyrean' is just like a huge cemetery where Johansens bury their dead or something."

"Oh, no! No, no, no, no, no." Comet shook his head. "After the war, Empyrean became a realm beyond the realms. According to my mom, only the worthy dead go there. Such as those who die in glorious combat to protect their loved ones. Or honest parents who raise their children to know proper right from wrong. The Underworld is part of Mewni; reserved for those who die in dishonor."

"Like murderers and rapists?" Marcia guessed.

"Uh-huh." The prince nodded. "And also self-mutilators, thieves, traitors, the elderly-"

"Elderly?" Marcia interrupted with a cocked eyebrow. "Your family thinks it's dishonorable to grow old?"

"Well… never too late to go out fighting I guess." Comet shrugged. "I don't know. I didn't make the rules. But it is very real. I have an ex-girlfriend who lives there."

"Ha! Don't we all?" Jonah chortled. Just then, Jackson sat down with the group. "How 'bout you, skater boy? Your family funds all this shit, you believe in God?"

Jackson brushed a lock of hair from his eyes as he thought the question over. "Well, I mean, it's not like I think it's Morgan Freeman up there, but… y'know, it can't all be random chaos, right?"

Jonah scoffed. "Sure, it can! What's wrong with random chaos?"

As if to answer his question, the ground suddenly began to violently shake until a section of the parking lot split open. At first, the residents thought it was a mild earthquake, until a wall of fire burst up from the cracks in the pavement. Marcia's parents and Jackson's parents hurried over to protect the kids, but the prince pushed his way past them, aiming his scepter at the flames as if ready to cast a spell that would put them out. However, as the rumbling and shaking died down, the wall of flames began to form a bizarre shape.

At last, the blazes dispersed, revealing a black gothic carriage pulled by a horse's skeleton. Silently, the door of the carriage swung open and revealed three red eyes glowing in the shadows. Out stepped the Princess of the Underworld, scanning the crowd until her gaze landed on the golden-haired prince among them. With an excited squeal, she hovered towards him before being stopped by a man in black clothes.

"Back, demon!" The priest shouted, holding a wooden crucifix in front of Tiffany's face. "Back to the pits of Hell with you!"

Tiffany, while momentarily taken aback by the gesture, merely scoffed and pushed the priest aside. "Ugh, puh-leez."

Marcia, Jackson, Jonah, and the parents backed away from the prince as he was approached by the demoness. Despite Comet's shocked expression, Tiffany proceeded to float towards him. She extended her arm towards the Mewman prince and snapped her fingers, conjuring a rose engulfed in flames. "Prince Comet Dragonfly the Second…" She smiled. "It is with great honor and love that I, Princess Theophania Lucitor of the Underworld, invite you to be my date to the Blood Moon Ball. What do you say, snookums?"

Now, Tiffany wasn't unpleasant to look at by any means. As a matter of fact, many of the teenage boys present - most of whom were currently dealing with raging hormones - found her drop-dead gorgeous. Therefore, they were all understandably confused by the prince's response to her offer.

"NO! No, no, no, no, no, a thousand times no!" Comet insisted as he pushed the demoness back into the gothic carriage. "So you can just take your fiery rose, your invitation, your fancy carriage, and your dead horse, and go back to the Underworld!"

"Wait, I'm dead?" The skeleton horse asked, clearly distraught. Comet rolled his eyes and walked back towards the school, but that didn't stop the horse from looking back at her master. "Why didn't you tell me I'm dead?"

Tiffany hastily got up off of the floor of her carriage and ran to cut in front of her ex-boyfriend. "Come on, snookums!" She whined, pleadingly. "At least let me explain what I'm inviting you to!"

Marcia, while initially shocked by a real demon rising from Hell, slowly began to recall where she had seen her face before. This was Comet's ex-girlfriend he had accidentally called while they were trying to solve his sleep-spelling problem. Comet hadn't mentioned much else about her, but he did say something about how she tried to convince him to give up his birthright to rule beside her in her own kingdom. Not only that, she had almost convinced him that his own family was abusive to him and intentionally holding him back. Slowly but surely, a righteous fury built up in her chest and Marcia marched towards her friend, despite Jackson and Jonah's protests.

"Snookums, I'm talking about the Blood Moon Ball, here!" Tiffany explained as she maintained a tight grip on Comet's wrist. "The most romantic dance in the history of the Underworld!"

"Tiffany, we broke up!" Comet replied, irritably. "I don't wanna go with you! Leave me alone!"

"Well, technically we never officially broke up." Tiffany tried to reason with the prince. "Sweetie, I know we had some problems, but we can work it out!"

Just then, someone cleared their throat, and both Comet and Tiffany turned to see a very angry Marcia. "Excuse me, princess." Her voice was laced with venom. "But when someone tells you to leave them alone… you leave them alone."

Tiffany sneered as a jealous blush spread over her face. She wrapped both arms around Comet's arm and her tail wrapped his leg. "Back off, he's mine!" She hissed.

"No, I am not!" Comet finally pulled himself free from her grasp and instinctively aimed the scepter at her, only to freeze in terror upon realizing what he was doing. If he - a mewman noble - attacked a royal member of the Underworld hierarchy, he would risk starting a war with the Underworld. Luckily, Tiffany had also read up on what King Ryan had done to her great-great-great-great aunt Jane, and stepped away from the scepter in fear without provocation.

"O-okay, snookums." She trembled, fearfully. "L-let's not do anything we'll both regret."

"Aw, screw that!" Marcia stood next to her friend. "Ice this bitch!"

Comet took a deep breath and stepped backwards, maintaining his aim at his crazed ex-girlfriend while signaling for Marcia to calm down. "Now, listen, Tiffany…" He began again. "We did break up. I am not getting involved with you again. And you are not going to lay a finger on my friends."

With that, the prince grabbed Marcia by her arm and turned around to leave. Tucking the scepter back into his belt, he let out a deep sigh of relief for avoiding such a dangerous escalation. He liked to think that he would never actually hurt Tiffany, but a part of him wondered what he would do if she attacked Marcia. Unfortunately for him, Tiffany still wasn't backing down.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait!" She shouted and ran to get in front of him. "Comet, just hear me out. You would be the first Mewman to witness the Blood Moon Ball in six hundred and sixty-seven years! Your name would go down in history! Not only that, but there's dancing, and a live band, and lots of tasty snacks~!"

Comet was about to turn her down again, but he couldn't help considering her reasoning. If he could prove that a mewman was capable of peacefully interacting with demon-kind during one of their most important events, it would make him stand out as a Prince of Mewni. It would definitely impress his father. It might even impress his hardened great-uncle Etherio. But he still didn't trust Tiffany.

"Look, you'd be coming with me as my plus-one." She added, desperately. "As my friend. No pressure, no romance. Just hanging out, dancing, and eating snacks like we did when we first met."

"Hmm… well, that does sound kind of fun." Comet admitted.

Marcia's jaw went slack. "Don't let yourself get manipulated like this!"

Trying her best to ignore her growing annoyance with the mortal girl, Tiffany reached in between her cleavage and pulled out a black bell. "Here; if you decide you want to come, ring this bell and a transport demon will bring you directly to the ballroom."

Comet accepted the bell as Tiffany entered her carriage and prepared to depart. He pocketed the bell and turned to head home, only to stop once his ex-girlfriend called out to him again. "Oops! Forgot the little hammer." She explained, slightly embarrassed. With that, the princess of the Underworld finally departed with the same amount of fanfare as she had arrived.

Back at the fish fry, Jonah rubbed his chin as he processed what he had just witnessed. "Maaaaybe religion isn't complete bullshit." He remarked to himself.

The Underworld

Tiffany squealed with glee as she entered the ballroom of her family castle. It had taken months to convince her parents to let her organize the Blood Moon Ball while they were away on vacation, but now that Comet had accepted her invitation, it was well worth it. Soon, she and Comet would be bathed in the light of the Blood Moon, and he would see that they were destined to be soulmates.

But there was still much work to be done. She had already completely redesigned the entire layout of the ballroom; gotten rid of the macabre decor in favor of a design that was more appealing to a mewman, replaced the sacrificial virgins and blood of the innocent with rotisserie chicken and fruit punch, and enforced a strict dress code on all the attendees - even the succubi and incubi. The only thing that stayed the same was the ceremony of the Blood Moon because that was vital to her plan.

The princess was picking out her dress for the evening when her personal servant imp came in with a huge stack of papers in her arms and thousands of wrinkles under her eyes. "Your highness, we have received several complaints from the Underworld's six other rulers in just the past half hour."

Tiffany rolled all three of her eyes as she brushed her hair. "Relax, Karen, those stick-in-the-muds will be satisfied as long as the Blood Moon Ceremony proceeds as usual."

"But, princess, these changes you've requested are absurd!" Karen went on as she examined the catering order. "Swedish meatballs? Mozzarella sticks? Chips and dip? What in the seven rings of Hell is dip? Do you honestly think the sub-rulers will stand for this?"

"Okay, let me answer that question with a question…" Tiffany grinned, smugly, as she crossed her arms. "Am I or am I not the princess of the Underworld?"

Karen sighed, tiredly. "You are."

"Then do as you're told and continue with the preparations to my specifications!" The demon princess ordered. As her minions begrudgingly left to carry out her demands, Tiffany looked up at the giant red ruby built into the ballroom's ceiling with a gleam in her eyes. "You will be mine again, Comet. Tonight, we become soulmates."

Earth-Realm

Back at the Diaz household, Marcia followed Comet into his bedroom, still trying to dissuade him from attending the ball. "Comet, we literally just had an assembly about this!" She reasoned. "'Never follow a predator to a second location!'"

The prince set the bell and hammer on his dresser and headed to his closet to pick out an outfit. While he considered his options, he still managed to speak to his best friend. "Marcia, you and I just fought Luna and her minions yesterday. I think I can handle my ex-girlfriend for a few hours." He set up a canvas divider and stepped behind it to start changing, unaware that Marcia could still see the outline of his form. "Besides, this party sounds like it could be a lot of fun."

"Well, we could have fun here. We'll just watch a movie and eat nachos in your room, where it's always fun!" Marcia covered her eyes with one hand. "Besides, why did she even want you at this ball anyway? I mean, if mewmans were created by the Celestians, shouldn't demons hate mewmans?"

"Love and hate are more often intertwined than you might think, Marcia." Comet remarked as he finished undressing and set about putting on his dress suit. "For instance, many demons do hate mewmans - and we fear them - but Tiffany's own mother is the mewman Countess Dana, one of King Wrathmier Lucitor's greatest and most endearing loves."

Marcia arched an eyebrow. "So, Tiffany's half-demon and half-mewman? Weird."

"Eh, it's not that weird. My great-great-grandfather was half-demon, too." Comet shrugged before using the scepter to fix up his hair. Once he was satisfied with his attire, he stepped out from behind the curtain. "So… how do I look?" He asked, innocently.

Marcia peaked through her fingers and her eyes widened in surprise. She moved her hand away to get a full view of the prince. He was dressed in a pair of black loafers, a blood-red dress shirt with a black bow-tie, a pair of clean white trousers with a matching blazer. His golden hair was slicked back with a small golden crown resting on top to complete his outfit. Marcia was utterly speechless; she had lived with the prince for so long, yet she never considered how well he cleaned up.

At last, she found her voice again. "You look amazing, Comet." She shook her head, trying to focus on protecting the prince. "Maybe I should come with you. Just in case. I have a dress I could-"

"You weren't invited, Marcia." Comet reasoned as he made his way back to the dresser to ring the bell. "Besides, if Tiffany sees you with me, she might get the wrong idea and try to hurt you. And that's just not acceptable to me. I'm going to use tonight as an opportunity to set Tiffany straight once and for all; we are broken up, we're not getting back together, and I don't want us to get back together."

Marcia was about to protest further, Comet rang the bell and a fiery pentagram ignited on the floor. The flames grew more intense until an elevator materialized and opened up. "Which floor?" The escort demon asked.

"Um… the bottom floor, I guess." Comet replied as he stepped inside. With that, the elevator closed and descended back to the Underworld.

Half an hour later, Marcia had changed into her Día de Los Muertos dress out of spite, fixed herself a plate of nachos, and had laid down on Comet's bed to stare at the ceiling. "Here I am… in Comet's bedroom…" She muttered to herself. "Where it's always fun…"

She didn't fully understand why she was so worried. Comet was a big boy who regularly fought monsters with his magic scepter, so dealing with a clingy ex-girlfriend should have been easy enough. But as she fiddled with the skeleton mask in her hands, she kept wishing that she could have gone with him. It wasn't as if Marcia was his new girlfriend. So why did she feel so jealous? A heavy sigh slipped through her lips as she noticed she was out of nachos, and got up to head back to the kitchen.

"Blood Moon, tonight."

Marcia blinked in shock as she scanned the room for the source of the voice. No one was in the room with her, but she spotted the Blood Moon outside the window. She looked back at Comet's dresser and saw that the Great Book was laying open.

"The Moon of Lovers."

The voice called again. At first, she thought it might have been Indexia, but the blue mage was nowhere to be seen. Upon closer inspection, she saw one of the pages had a portrait of a sea captain named Alphys Gibbs. Marcia glanced over at the bell that would summon the demonic elevator and tightened her grip on the skeleton mask.

The Underworld. First Circle.

Comet was highly underwhelmed by the decorations for the Blood Moon Ball. He had been looking forward to seeing some exciting authentic Underworld architecture, but the entire ballroom resembled something more akin to a high school prom. The musicians looked absolutely miserable as they played pop-dance songs for the equally bored guests. The only interesting thing that caught his eye was the giant ruby embedded in the ceiling of the building.

Comet recognized the gem as the Underworld's equivalent of a sun; the Heart of Lucitor. According to legend, the first ruler of the first circle of the Underworld created the ruby to act as a window into Mewni's realm for the demons so they could keep watch and ensure that the Mewmans were never plotting against them. Comet smiled; he loved hearing stories from his mother about Empyrean and the Underworld, but to see such otherworldly landscapes with his own eyes was much more exciting.

"SNOOKUMS!" Tiffany suddenly jumped out of nowhere to hug her plus-one from behind. "I knew you'd come!"

Comet grunted and wriggled his way out from her grip. "Just. Friends." He said, sternly.

"Oh, of course. Of course." Tiffany backed off and brushed off her clean white dress, but her smile faded once she saw the prince's attire. "Did you have to wear that? We can't both wear white."

Comet crossed his arms and huffed. "I like this suit. Marcia liked this suit."

The demon princess sneered at the mention of that name; Comet shouldn't value the opinion of a lowly human female. But instead of letting her anger get the better of her, she chose a more subtle approach to dealing with the problem. "You don't think that human really likes you, do you?" She asked, lightly squeezing Comet's shoulders as she spoke. "After all, she's just your housemate, not your friend. You're just a chore for her. Just like Lady Dama and the Solarians Three."

Comet's heart sank. The last thing he wanted to think about was the four mewmans who had pretended to be his friends. However, he remembered Marcia had said something similar to him about being nothing but a chore to her. But they had moved beyond that and were true friends.

Weren't they?

"Greetings, Tiffany!" An effeminate male voice called out. Comet looked up to see a ten-foot, red-skinned demon with lobster-like claws wearing a red jacket and skirt with pink frills and black thigh-high boots. Next to him was a yellow-skinned, one-eyed triangular demon with thin arms and legs wearing nothing but a black top hat. "Well? Aren't you going to introduce us to this delightful little mewman?" The tall demon asked, stroking his curled goatee.

"Oh, of course. Comet, these are the rulers of the sixth and seventh circles of the Underworld." Tiffany introduced. "Bill Cipher and His Infernal Majesty."

"Oh, come now, Theophania, no need to be so formal."His Infernal Majesty playfully teased as he extended a claw to shake Comet's hand. "You can just call me HIM, my boy."

"Buy gold, sucker!" Bill Cipher gleefully shouted in Comet's face before turning to the ball's hostess. "So is this the guy you wanted to come to the dance because you think the Blood Moon will-?"

Tiffany hastily silenced the triangular demon with a wave of her hand and a fierce look in her eyes.

"Will what?" Comet arched an eyebrow at Tiffany.

"N-nothing!" She stammered. "Just, uh, let me go get you some punch."

Once Tiffany was out of sight, Comet turned back to the other demons. "She's up to something, isn't she?"

HIM frowned. "Ah, young love. Such a sickeningly sweet thing to witness… dear, dear Tiffany went to such great lengths to bring you here, including defiling our most hallowed traditions WITH THIS DISGUSTING MOCKERY OF A LITTLE GIRL'S DAYDREAM!"

Comet flinched in terror at the demon's sudden outburst.

Thankfully, HIM's lips curved back into a smile and he seemed to calm down. "But as long as the Blood Moon Ceremony proceeds as planned, I guess I can't complain."

"Sure you can!" Bill chuckled. "Complaining is fun!"

Once HIM and Bill wandered off, Comet spared himself a moment to check and make certain that his scepter was still tucked away into his belt for protection. He breathed out a shaky sigh of relief once he felt it, but kept his guard up. He was beginning to think he should have brought Marcia along after all. However, he was brought out of his thoughts once he heard someone tapping on a microphone. He turned around and followed the crowd as they huddled around a demon priestess.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the time is upon us." The demon priestess called out over the microphone. "As it has been so every six hundred and sixty-seven years, the light of the Blood Moon shall shine directly into the Heart of Lucitor, imbuing every facet of the ruby with its ethereal glow until it shines down upon two lucky beings. As they bathe in the light, their souls shall forever be intertwined with one another, binding them until the end of their days, and onward."

"Whoooooa." Comet breathed out in awe. "That actually sounds pretty cool."

Meanwhile, Marcia's elevator had finally arrived at the ballroom, and she rushed into the crowd to find Comet. She was still dressed in her Día de Los Muertos dress, complete with the skeleton mask to disguise herself among the demons, but she didn't care. At the moment, her focus was entirely on making sure Comet was safe.

As for Comet, he was circling around the area beneath the Heart of Lucitor, watching as the Blood Moon slowly aligned itself with the massive ruby. Suddenly, he heard Tiffany's voice call out to him, and he finally understood what this was all about; she was hoping to force him into becoming her soulmate. The prince rolled his eyes and started to walk in the opposite direction of her voice, only to be stopped once someone grabbed his wrist.

He turned around and found himself face-to-face with a skull-masked female wearing a unique black dress and a black laurel hat with red roses adorning it. The crown prince of Mewni was about to ask who this mysterious stranger was when a dark red light suddenly surrounded the both of them. They looked up to see that they had been chosen by the Blood Moon's light. The demons surrounding them stared in awe at the rare spectacle as the band began to play a hauntingly beautiful waltz. Comet's mouth seemed to go dry and he couldn't think of anything to say. But as he stared into the gorgeous chocolate-brown eyes behind the mask, he decided actions would speak much louder than words.

And so, they started to dance.

Beneath the mask, Marcia wore one of the biggest smiles she had ever made in her life. Comet was practically gliding with her across the dance floor while maintaining eye contact. He dipped her, spun her, and even lifted her into the air without making her feel uncomfortable. For all the flak and ribbing she gave him for his snooty attitude and over-the-top clothing, she had to admit that the prince was one hell of a dancer. This ballroom dance with her best friend was turning out to be the most fun she'd ever had.

As for Comet, he was completely enamored by this beautiful stranger. He spun her again, and her silky hair came so close to his face, he could almost smell it. He dipped her once more and his sparkling blue eyes looked deep into her own. As he pulled her back up, his lips curved up into a smile, and his heart-marks began to glow. His heart was beating so quickly that his veins could have set ablaze from all of the friction of his blood pumping through them. He felt so embarrassed about falling in love with someone he didn't even know, but in that moment, he didn't even care. Whoever this woman was, he needed her in his life.

"Psst! Comet!" She whispered.

"How did you know my name…?" He asked, still in a lovestruck trance.

"It's me!" She lifted her mask for a brief second. "Marcia!"

Suddenly, Comet went from lovestruck to dumbstruck. "Marcia?!" He gasped. "What are you doing here?!"

"I came to get you out of here." She explained while still dancing. "C'mon, let's beat it before-"

She was cut off when Tiffany angrily shoved her to the ground, away from Comet. The crowd gasped in shock and the music stopped. Tiffany looked up in horror as the Blood Moon passed over the Heart of Lucitor; the ceremony was complete. Tiffany's pupils disappeared as she stomped towards the intruder who had single-handedly foiled her plan.

"That dance… was meant… FOR ME!" Tiffany bellowed, summoning a wall of fire behind her. Marcia managed to get back on her feet and backed away, raising her fists to defend herself. "Do you have any idea how long I've waited for this?! I finally managed to lure Comet back to the Underworld-!"

Marcia's fear vanished. "You what?"

"I had almost convinced him of your fake friendship with him-!"

Marcia lowered her fists. "You what?"

"And I was finally about to dance with him in the light of the Blood Moon to become his permanent soulmate-!"

Marcia was furious. "You what?!"

"And now I'll never convince him to stay with me forever! All because of yo-!"

Marcia's fist connected with Tiffany's cheek, sending the demon princess to the ground so fast that the hellfire behind her was extinguished. Comet and the other demons were speechless as Marcia continued to march forward, punching Tiffany with all of her strength to keep her down.

"¡SUCIO MENTIROSO PENDEJO!" Marcia screamed as she continued beating the stuffing out of her enemy. "¡PEDIDO DE MIERDA! ¡PEQUEÑA PUTA MENTIROSA! ¡ESTÚPIDA PERRA DE MIERDA!"

Half of Tiffany's face was swollen beyond recognition by the time Marcia finally relented. "Y-you can't do this to me!" The demoness trembled. "I-I am the future queen of the Underworld! And-!"

"Oh, ho! You think you're the baddest bitch here?!" Marcia snarled, slapping the startled demoness once more. "You lost that title the second I set foot in this shitty ballroom! I am the baddest bitch! You look up 'baddest bitch' in the dictionary, and you're gonna see a picture of my goddamn face!"

"I-I-I-I-"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Marcia barked and grabbed Tiffany's necklace to bring her up to eye-level. "If you ever try to make Comet think I'm not his friend ever again, I'll rip off both of your fucking horns and shove 'em in your eyes! Then I'll rip off your fucking tail and shove it up your ass! Now, apologize to Comet, right fucking now!"

"O-okay! Okay!" Tiffany whimpered in fear as Marcia threw her back onto the ground. The other demons were flabbergasted at the sight of their own princess cowering before a mere mortal, and yet none of them dared to intervene. Trembling and crying, Tiffany crawled on her knees towards the mewman prince. "I-I-I'm sorry, Comet. I'm s-sorry I lied to you about your friends. F-forgive me?"

Comet - who had been watching Marcia's confrontation with Tiffany in silence - tapped his scepter against his chin as he feigned thoughtful consideration. "Hmm, let me think… no."

Before Tiffany could respond, the prince calmly froze her in a block of ice. He then cast another spell to conjure a t-shirt on her that read "Gaslight, Gatekeep, Girlboss!" Now that he and Tiffany were officially broken up, Comet grabbed Marcia by the wrist and rang the bell for the transport demon to take them back to Marcia's house. Once they were gone, HIM and Bill shared a glance.

"... Best. Blood Moon Ball. EVER!" HIM cheered and high-fived Bill.

Earth-Realm

Marcia was feeling absolutely proud of herself for the most part. She had just beaten an actual demon into submission and rescued her best friend, and her adrenaline was running on overdrive. Once the elevator brought her and Comet back to his bedroom, she immediately began boasting of her victory.

"Ha, ha, ha, yeah!" She cheered. "That succu-bitch won't be bothering you anymore, Comet! Not with me around! Up top!"

But Comet didn't respond to her; he just silently walked past her and sat down on his bed, untying his shoelaces. The prince kicked off his shoes and laid down on his bed, facing away from Marcia. Marcia took off her mask, revealing her worried expression. She sat down on the bed next to him and contemplated whether or not to rub his back.

"Um… are you okay?" She asked.

"Of course." Comet huffed. "How could I not be with you breathing down my neck?"

Marcia was shocked by such a retort. "Are… are you mad? Why're you mad?"

Comet angrily sat up to face her. "I told you I would handle it, Marcia! Did you think I couldn't take care of myself?!"

"What?! No! I just-!"

"Then why did you follow me?!" He fumed, jumping up from his bed and marching towards the window to see the moon's red aura slowly fade away. "Did you mean it when you said I was just a chore for you?! I mean, you're just like Lady Dama and the Solarian Three!"

"I-! Wha-?! Who?!" Marcia spluttered.

Comet sighed and leaned against the wall as he explained. "When I was a kid, someone tried to poison me and my parents. They failed, but my dad got so paranoid that he hired four Solarian trainees to look after me and keep me safe. They were Lady Dama, Franklin, Harold, and Vincent. At first, I thought they were my friends, but I overheard them talking one night… to put it lightly, they were annoyed at having to babysit me twenty-four/seven! But they 'put up with it' because they were given direct orders from the king to be my bodyguards! I don't need a bodyguard!" Comet sighed in exasperation before turning around to look out the window. "... I need a friend."

Marcia wasn't feeling very proud of herself anymore. She could understand why Comet felt she had betrayed his trust, but she had to prove that that wasn't the case. She set her mask down and walked over to lean against the wall next to Comet.

"I'm sorry if I made you feel that way, Comet." She sighed. "It's not that I don't trust you to take care of yourself. I do. It was Tiffany I didn't trust. And after what I heard her say tonight, I… just wanted to protect you. Like how I protected you from the monsters while you were going through mewberty. Or how I helped you when that goblin guy was making you sleep-spell. Or when I went with you to Mother Time's castle to fix the timeline."

"But I never asked you to do any of that!"

"Of course, you didn't!" Marcia let out an exasperated sigh before softening her tone. "I did it because we're friends. And friends look out for each other no matter what. I know you could have dealt with Tiffany on your own, but that doesn't mean you had to. You wouldn't have let me fight all those monsters by myself, would you?"

Comet was starting to understand her. "Of course not, Marcia." He said, softly. "I'm sorry… I guess Tiffany still knows what to say to make me doubt myself…"

Marcia smiled and gently punched his shoulder. "Best friends…?"

Comet smiled back and nodded. "Best friends."

Marcia looked out the window and saw that the red aura had almost completely disappeared from the moon at this point. "So, was the Blood Moon Ball as fun as you'd hoped?"

Comet snorted. "No. It was honestly pretty boring before you showed up. But, I guess it wasn't all bad." Comet smirked as he took Marcia's hat from her and placed it on his own head. "Now I know you can dance."

Marcia gave him another light punch, which made him drop the hat. The two friends looked up to see that the hat had messed up his perfectly fixed up hair. "Heh-heh. Hat hair." They chuckled in unison, startling them both. "Hey, we both said… the same thing… okay, stop that! Seriously, stop! I mean it!"

They both covered their mouths, afraid to say anything else. Were the legends true? Did the Blood Moon have the power to turn people into soulmates? Comet took out his scepter and prepared to cast a spell to break whatever curse they were under. But instead, the two friends simply burst out laughing at the absurd idea.

"Okay… let's watch that movie." Comet suggested.

"Good idea." Marcia agreed. "I'll go make the nachos."

To Be Continued!

Epilogue:

Back in the Underworld, Karen had dutifully pushed her master - who was still trapped inside a block of ice - into her bedroom. She placed the frozen princess under a stream of flowing magma to help her thaw out, and then left to avoid dealing with her wrath. One hour later, Tiffany burst free from the ice and stepped out from the lava flow. She noticed the t-shirt she was wearing and took it off to examine it. Suddenly, it all came flooding back to her. The human female had turned her beloved Comet against her and stolen him from her. She burned the shirt in her grasp as she fumed with rage.

"This… means… WAR!"

Author's Notes: For those curious, "Stjärnfall" is Swedish for "Shooting star," which is another name for Comet.

NEW CHARACTER UNLOCKED: Tiffany Lucitor is a manipulative, selfish, and very evil princess who doesn't take no for an answer. Fortunately for Comet, she's also very cowardly and highly intimidated by Marcia.

DISCLAIMER: Jonah's commentary about God and religion is meant to be satirical and does not reflect my opinion on religion, nor is it meant to offend anyone.

As always, please read and review!