ACT XIII: Comet, the Underestimated Chapter 25: Eclipsine's Trial

Prologue:

The Forest of Certain Death.

The monster formerly known as Headmaster Atrocious had been trekking through the Forest for hours after learning about his true heritage and feasting on the lifeforce of his minions. As if triggered by his memories, the latent connection to the Dark Dimension he inherited from his father seemed to heal his body and remind him of his mother's half. He had grown three times his usual size, his sickly pale complexion had changed to dark purple, a pair of curved horns protruded from his forehead, a powerful tail tore through his tattered trousers and dragged behind him, and the skin-grafts on his cheeks had peeled away to reveal clover-shaped marks.

But the scars he'd received over a lifetime of abuse remained.

Aside from altering his appearance, the darkness growing was having an internal effect on him. All of the rage, misery, and hatred that had accumulated over centuries of enduring St. Olaf's abuse and then passing it on to other princes were intensely magnified. Any creatures that came into view were either crushed beneath his feet or drained of their lifeforce. But his rage was not his current driving force. The small amount of Dark Magic within him was leading him towards something deep within the forest; a mountain where a similar aura of power called out to him.

He would reach that mountain and make the power his own.

End prologue.

Castle Dragonfly, Mewni.

Kye, Lady Dama, and the Solarian Trio marched down the halls of the castle with silver chains in their hands. When they arrived at the rose tower, they unlocked the door just as the prisoner had finished his last meal. Eclipsine wiped his mouth and stood up from his table with a neutral expression. Without making a fuss, he placed his hat with a twig sticking out on his head and held out his wrists for the soldiers to chain him. Dama cuffed his wrists together, then latched a collar around his neck. With that out of the way, the Solarian trainees led the prisoner down the halls into the trial room.

While Franklin, Vincent, and Harold were eager to get the trial over with, Kyle and Dama shared an uneasy expression. After the events that had transpired yesterday in the Royal Mystic Archives, the duo had been ordered to leave the rose tower after Comet and Marcia showed up. They had no idea what the king, the prince, and the squire were planning, but Eclipsine smiled and winked at them as they continued, trying to relieve them of their anxiety.

At last, the group arrived at the courtroom. Inside, King Mars and the Magical High Commission were seated at the judge's stand with Prince Comet standing behind his father. Once they led Eclipsine to the stand, the Solarians took their seats at the jury box with Marcia and Klutzy. Comet nodded at Eclipsine, who nodded back.

"The trial of Eclipsine Dragonfly will now commence." Mars announced.

Hekapoe raised his hand. "With all due respect, King Mars-"

Mars sighed. "Which means you're about to say something totally disrespectful. Go on."

"Why is your son here?"

"To make sure you guys give Eclipsine a fair chance." Comet scowled.

"Okay, and why is the squire here?" Omnitraxus asked.

"Because I'm the only one who can keep Comet from making a scene." Marcia remarked.

"Okay. But why is the pixie here?" Rhombulie added, referring to Klutzy.

"We needed a stenographer." Comet answered as Klutzy hopped along the keys of the typewriter as everyone spoke.

"Hey… Marcia…?" Klutzy gasped, tiredly. "How do you… spell… 'stenographer?'"

"Eh, fair enough." Rhombulie shrugged.

Mars snapped his fingers and magically conjured several large stacks of papers on the desk. Hekapoe angrily knocked one stack out of his way to clear his view, causing sheets of paper to rain down all over the room. Comet caught one of the papers and scowled in frustration. They were supposed to have collected all evidence of the serious aggressions against mewmanity that Eclipsine had committed, but the paper in his hand was nothing short of a list of nitpicks.

"Are you kidding me?!" The prince fumed. "Double-dipping?! Jaywalking?! Wearing black after mewman Labor Day?! This is the most ridiculous show-trial I've ever seen!"

"You shouldn't even be in here, kid!" Hekapoe snapped. "We're the ones who protect Mewni from evil! So shut up and-!"

"Hey, don't fucking talk to him like that!" Marcia snapped. "I have half a mind to-!"

"Sit down, Ms. Diaz!" Omnitraxus ordered. "Or we'll-!"

"Don't threaten my girlfriend-!"

"Prince Comet, please sit down-!"

"Franklin get the tranquilizer darts ready-!"

"Are we yelling now-?!"

"Has anyone seen my sandwich-?!"

"Ow! Who stepped on my foot-?!"

"Watch where you're pointing that thing-!"

"All of you, stop at once!" Mars demanded, slamming his gavel against the desk. "You will all sit down and behave so we can get started!"

"Um, 'scuse me, Mr. King Mars…" Klutzy panted from exhaustion. "But… could you all please repeat yourselves for the record?"

In response, the mewman king glared at the tiny pixie, his eyes trembling with rage. "... no…" He hissed, quietly.

Klutzy fearfully pressed her feet down on the "N" and "O" keys.

"If I may…" Eclipsine raised on hand, earning the group's attention. "I grow tired of this mockery of justice. So, for the sake of speeding things along, I request Trial by Box."

"Trial by what?" Comet arched an eyebrow in confusion.

"Now, we're talking!" Rhombulie cheered, tossing aside the stacks of paperwork. "This'll be over in a flash!"

"Hold on!" Mars held up a hand in protest before turning to the prisoner. "Eclipsine, are you sure about this? You are exposing yourself to a serious danger."

"I've never been more certain about anything in my life, King Mars." Eclipsine nodded. "I willingly submit myself to the trial."

"Very well. Omnitraxus Prime, bring in the Box of Judgement." Mars ordered.

Omnitraxus' crystal ball shone with a brilliant glow. A strange cube-shaped object began to materialize out of thin air, hovering in the center of the room. At last, the Box of Judgement - a blue box with golden outlines spread across - floated into Mars' hands. The prince, however, was a bit perplexed.

"Wait, is that Truth or Punishment?" Comet arched an eyebrow. "We're going to hold a trial based around a toy?"

"What? No, no, no, no, son." Mars wagged a finger at the prince. "This isn't a toy, Comet. This is the Box of Judgement; a device that has been used in only the most dire of situations. It ensures that anyone brought to trial before the Magical High Commission will only speak the truth."

"Uh, that, dear father, is Truth or Punishment." Comet insisted. "I saw guys playing with it all the time at boarding school. It's a toy."

"It is not!" Mars objected as he activated the box.

"WHO DO YOU HAVE A CRUSH ON?!" The box shouted, aggressively.

"Ugh… it must be on the wrong setting." Mars grumbled as he picked up the box and began twisting the dials. The first setting was set to game-mode, but with a turn of the knob, it went to intervention-mode.

"WE NEED TO TALK-" The box remarked in a concerned tone.

Another turn of the knob changed it from intervention-mode to bachelor party-mode.

"LET'S GET CRAZY, DUDES-!" The box cheered.

One last turn finally set the box to trial-mode.

"PREPARE FOR JUDGMENT!"

Mars released his grip on the box, allowing it to once more hover into the air as it reconfigured itself into an open mouth.

"TO ALL WHO SEEK THE PATH OF KNOWLEDGE, LISTEN WELL TO THIS DECREE! SURRENDER TO THE EYE OF JUSTICE! SWEAR AN OATH OF TRUTH TO ME!"

Mars held his pinky finger up to the mouth. "I swear."

Next was Hekapoe. "I swear."

Omnitraxus conjured a portal to allow her pinky to fit through. "I swear."

"Uh…" Rhombulie glanced down at her snake-arms before placing a forked tongue in the box. "I… swear?"

At last, the box floated down towards the prisoner, who placed his own pinky inside. "I swear."

With everyone sworn in, the box hovered in the center of the room once again, prepared to start the trial.

Mars cleared his throat. "Alright, Omnitraxus Prime, you're the oldest and wisest among us. You will ask the first question."

"Thank you, King Mars. Box, materialize the Great Book of Magic." Omnitraxus ordered. Suddenly, the box transformed and displayed a hard-light copy of said book. "Eclipsine Dragonfly, is it true that you wrote the evil chapter of dark spells in the Great Book of Magic?"

"Well, yes. Of course, I did." Eclipsine shrugged before absentmindedly flipping through the pages. "Although, to be fair, I never called it 'the evil chapter.' That was all your doing. My spells may be dangerous and chaotic, but it all depends on how you use them. For instance, this one - Black Velvet Inferno - is nothing more than an improvement on one of my grandfather's attempts at an immortality spell. And besides, when I first inherited this book, I came up with far more dangerous spells that didn't even make it into the final draft. Writing is rewriting, after all."

"TRUTH!" The Box of Judgement declared.

Comet glanced over Hekapoe's shoulder. The magic blacksmith was holding a list with eight boxes; half of them labeled "good" and the other half labeled "evil." The prince sneered in anger once Hekapoe checked off one of the "evil" boxes.

"Ugh, whatever! Have any of you even read his chapter?!"

"Comet, hush!" Mars scolded before turning towards the blacksmith. "Hekapoe, your turn."

"Thanks, Mars. Box, bring up the historical archives."

Suddenly, the Box shifted once more, displaying a hologram of a younger Eclipsine being unhappily wed to Shastica. The King of Darkness scowled in disgust and turned away from his hideous faux-bride. But a sideways glance back at the hologram also allowed him to see a more pleasant view. His holo-image tossed aside the crown and scepter, ran away from Shastica, and appeared right beside a familiar size-shifter.

"Eclipsine, is it true that you abandoned your queen, your people, and your duties to elope with a monster?!" Hekapoe asked.

"Oh, hello, my darling…" Eclipsine blushed, brightly, at the image of his monster wife. After clearing his throat, the former king turned back to the judges. "Yes, I did run off with a monster! But can you really blame me? How could I resist a kind soul with such a pretty smile?"

"TRUTH!"

Comet and Marcia watched as Eclipsine gingerly stroked his fingers along the hologram's cheek before glancing towards each other. Despite not being as radical as a mewman/monster relationship, they couldn't help but recognize that they themselves were in a unique mixed species relationship; with Comet's affection for Marcia closely mirroring Eclipsine's own love for his monster wife. The teenage couple turned away from each other, blushing furiously, only for Comet to watch Hekapoe check off another "evil" box.

"Grrr… come on, Eclipsine."

"Alright, Rhombulie-"

"Did you eat those babies?!" The crystalline prison warden shouted, startling everyone.

Eclipsine blinked in confusion. "What?"

"Ugh! Bobipsine was the baby-eater, you idiot!" Hekapoe snapped, irritably. "Not Eclipsine!"

"Oh… uh, I wanna change my question."

"THERE ARE NO TAKE-BACKS IN TRIAL BY BOX!"

The Box once again shifted to display another hologram. However, due to the misinformation, the hard light was nothing more than a cartoon-like depiction of the King of Darkness devouring babies wrapped in swaddling cloths.

Eclipsine couldn't help but chuckle. "Well, Rhombulie, I hate to disappoint you, but no. I have never eaten a single baby. Now, I did torment the occasional teenager every now and then. But only psychologically, and they always deserved it."

"TRUTH!"

Comet glanced once again at Hekapoe, who checked off yet another "evil" box on the clipboard again.

"Are you kidding me?!" Comet fumed, furiously. "Didn't you hear him?! He didn't eat those babies!"

"Comet! Sit down and be quiet or I will hold you in contempt of this court!" Mars shouted, sternly.

"I have nothing but contempt for this court!" Comet huffed, sitting back down with his arms crossed.

"Alright, one final question…" Mars locked eyes with the prisoner. "Eclipsine… are you sorry for what you've done?"

Eclipsine's glare hardened at the Magical High Commission as he gave his answer. "... no. I'm not."

"TRUTH!"

Mars closed his eyes and tiredly hung his head in disappointment. "Very well. Rhombulie?'

"Aw, yeah! I've been waiting for this!" The crystal warden bolted up from her seat and immediately fired a crystallization beam at the King of Darkness. But unexpectedly, the Box of Judgement fired another beam that neutralized the crystallization process, confusing the MHC.

"Rhombulie, it didn't work!" Omnitraxus complained. "What are you doing?!"

"I-it wasn't me! It was the Box!" Rhombulie replied, defensively. "It won't let me crystallize him! I don't know why!"

"It's quite simple, my friends." Eclipsine smirked. "I haven't asked my question yet."

"Pfft, what?!" Hekapoe chortled, indignantly.

"You can't ask a question!" Omnitraxus sneered.

"Well, technically, Eclipsine was once a King of Mewni." Mars reasoned. "As such, the Box of Judgement must still recognize him as a member of the Magical High Commission. It can't pass judgment until all of us have asked at least one question."

"Ugh, fine. If it'll get this over with." Hekapoe relented. "Like it'll make a difference."

"Very well, Eclipsine. What's your question?" Omnitraxus asked.

The King of Darkness glared at the Commission. "What did you do with my son?"

A gasp slipped through the lips of everyone else in the room. The two royals, the squire, the pixie, and the Solarian trainees all turned towards the Magical High Commission, awaiting to hear their reply.

"Uh… I have no idea what he's talking about." Hekapoe shrugged.

"We didn't do anything with your son!" Omnitraxus declared.

"And, to be honest, I'm a little offended!" Rhombulie added, crossing her arms.

"TOO BAD… EVERYONE LIED!"

The Box expanded itself to cover up the entire interior of the room, trapping Eclipsine, Mars, Comet, and the MHC inside. The blue lights changed to red as the walls slowly began to close in on the group. Marcia and the Solarian trainees tried to get inside and free them, but it was no use.

"Wha-what's going on?!" Rhombulie spluttered in shock. "We told the truth!"

"The Box seems to disagree!" Mars remarked.

"Then shut it off!" Hekapoe demanded.

"You know it doesn't work like that!" Mars reminded the group as he and Comet tried pressing against a wall to stop the enclosure. "The Box won't let us out until whoever was asked a question answers truthfully!"

"We're not the ones on trial here!" Omnitraxus reasoned.

"IF YOU'D LIKE TO GET TO THE TRUTH SOONER… I CAN ARRANGE THAT!"

The walls began closing in much faster, threatening to crush them all if something wasn't done to stop it soon. Hekapoe made several clones of himself and spread them out to try stabbing their way through, Rhombulie kept conjuring crystal support beams to slow the process, and Omnitraxus tried summoning her hands into the box to push it apart. All while Eclipsine stood in the center and calmly glared at them all as he awaited an answer to his question.

Ultimately, their efforts were for naught. Omnitraxus' power was useless against the vow she had taken. Hekapoe's clones poofed out of existence from the pressure. And even Rhombulie's crystals shattered to pieces. Not even Comet's Johansen strength could keep the walls from closing in.

"Uh, okay! I'm done! I want out!" Rhombulie cried.

"It's no use! My magic's no good here!" Omnitraxus lamented, fearfully.

"Ah! We didn't do anything wrong!" Hekapoe declared, gripping his horns, nervously.

"You cowards!" Comet snapped, earning the group's attention. "You claim that everything you do is in the service of Mewni, but you'd rather die for whatever secret you're keeping! How does that make you any different from the villain you claim Eclipsine is?!"

At last, the Box had pressed everyone together, threatening to crush them to death. And Rhombulie snapped.

"We got rid of your son!" She cried just in time. "Sorry!"

In a flash, the room returned to normal and the prisoners were returned to their original positions. Marcia and the Solarians stared in shock at the MHC, as did Eclipsine, Mars, and Comet.

"What the fuck, Rhombulie?!" Hekapoe scolded.

"I-I couldn't take it anymore!" The crystalline warden sobbed from the trauma. "I didn't want to die! Just tell them, Omni!"

Everyone turned to the crystal ball, who sighed in annoyance. The game was up, and there was no point in lying anymore. The Box displayed one more hologram as Omnitraxus narrated the truth. This time, Eclipsine watched in horror as his miserable ex-wife tossed aside his true son, handing him over to the MHC, who in turn traded him for another child who was given his family's scepter.

"Eclipsine, your mewman wife, Queen Shastica, wanted nothing to do with your half-monster son. And we couldn't allow him to inherit the powers of magic. So we swapped him out for an orphaned peasant boy. We raised him ourselves, named him Festivio, gave him the scepter, told everyone that he was your only son, and he became the next king of Mewni. As for Meteoro… we gave him away to St. Olaf, who trained him to become our secret executioner. If a royal family from the other kingdoms produced an heir that would be too much trouble, we'd send them to him so he would execute them for us."

"TRUTH!"

Everyone was rendered speechless until Eclipsine broke the silence with a scowl. "And you have the gall to call me evil."

"THE TRIAL HAS ENDED!" The Box announced. "ECLIPSINE DRAGONFLY HAS BEEN FOUND GUILTY OF CRIMES AGAINST MEWMANITY! BY ABANDONING HIS DUTIES AS KING AND MEDDLING WITH DARK MAGIC! HOWEVER! IN A SHOCKING TURN OF EVENTS, THE MAGICAL HIGH COMMISSION HAS ALSO BEEN FOUND GUILTY! BY USURPING ECLIPSINE'S TRUE HEIR FROM THE THRONE! TAMPERING WITH MEWNI'S ANCIENT HISTORY! AND OMITTING THE TRUTH FROM THE ROYAL FAMILY FOR GENERATIONS! THIS CONCLUDES TRIAL BY BOX! ALTHOUGH… IF I'M BEING HONEST, IT SOUNDS LIKE Y'ALL STILL HAVE A LOT OF ISSUES TO WORK OUT."

The Box deactivated itself and landed in Mars' hand. The current King of Mewni set it aside and took a deep breath. "So… it is just as we suspected."

"WHAT?!" The MHC gawked.

"Uh, Mars? What're you talking about?" Hekapoe asked, nervously, as the king made his way down from the judge's stand.

Mars reached into his coat pocket and pulled out the tampered document from the archives. "Eclipsine's son should be here, in the royal archives! But he's missing! We knew someone had to be responsible for it! And when Comet told us about Atrocious kidnapping him and Marcia, and what they discovered, we knew it was because someone didn't want to know about him! And the only way to get the answers we wanted was to get it from you three!"

"W-wait, this whole trial was a setup?!" Rhombulie spluttered in disbelief.

"You planned this all along!" Hekapoe gasped.

"Actually, we planned it all along." Comet revealed, crossing his arms as he stood with his father and Eclipsine. "I knew that something was wrong when Marcia and I met Mother Time! And then, after I first met Eclipsine for myself, I could sense that he wasn't evil! But it wasn't until Headmaster Atrocious kidnapped Marcia and I that the whole picture came into view! You imprisoned Eclipsine, and then abducted his son! You handed him off to St. Olaf to be abused and conditioned into becoming your personal enforcer to get rid of unruly princes!"

"We had to!" Hekapoe reasoned, desperately.

"Can you even imagine if the power of the scepter fell into the hands of a monster?!" Omnitraxus added.

"You didn't give him a chance! Eclipsine's not…! Wait…" Suddenly, a painful realization struck Comet's very core. He turned back to the King of Darkness, his eyes beginning to water. "You… you're not my great-great-great… whatever-grandpa… are you?"

"... no, my boy." Eclipsine sighed, sadly. "I'm not."

"Then… then we're not really part of the Dragonfly family… we shouldn't even have the throne!"

"You're still a prince, Comet…" Mars declared, trying to comfort his son.

"No, dad!" Comet whimpered as he looked down at the scepter in his hands. "We're nobody!"

With a heavy heart, Comet aimed his scepter at the silver shackles around Eclipsine's wrists and neck, casting a spell to vaporize the metal and free the prisoner. Once Eclipsine was free of his shackles, Comet dropped the scepter to the floor and tearfully bolted out of the room.

"Comet, wait!" Marcia called out, chasing after her boyfriend. Klutzy fluttered after them, followed by Kyle and Dama.

Rhombulie turned back to the monarch. "King Mars, please, try to understand-!"

"Enough. Omnitraxus Prime, Hekapoe, and Rhombulie, I hereby accuse you all of high treason against Mewni." Mars declared. "As such, I strip each and every one of you of your rank and titles, and call for your immediate imprisonment."

"No!" Hekapoe spluttered in fear. "NO!"

"Franklin, Harold, Vincent, arrest these traitors!"

The Solarian Trio drew their weapons, ready to escort the Magical High Commission to the dungeon. But Hekapoe swiftly drew a pair of his scissors and teleported himself and his sisters away. Mars angrily slammed his fist against the wall in frustration, angered that he let them get away. Eclipsine placed a calming hand on his friend's shoulder.

"You can find them later." He reasoned. "I do believe we'll have more important matters to worry about in the near future."

Meanwhile, Comet had raced back to his bedroom and sadly laid down on the bed. By the time Marcia and the others arrived, Globgal was nuzzling against his head, trying to provoke a reaction.

"Globgal…?" Indexia asked, tilting her head, slightly.

The boy let out a long, sad sigh. "Yeah… yeah, I'm fine, Indexia… except for the fact that… that I just found out everything I ever believed in was a lie. And that my entire family was put in power just to continue a legacy of genocide… other than that, yeah… I'm just peachy."

Klutzy nervously fluttered down towards the table. "Prince Comet… are you being sarcastic?"

"Yes, Klutzy." Comet sat up, tiredly, and wiped his eyes. "All my life… my whole life, I've been told that I had a purpose. That one day, I would grow up and lead Mewni to prosperity and security. But ever since I picked up that scepter, I've only made one mistake after the other. I mean, I've done more good with Dark Magic than Light Magic. I don't… I-I don't even… even know what I am anymore."

Marcia sat down on the bed and gently took Comet's hand into her own and looked deep into his eyes. "You are what you always have been." She declared, softly. "Smart, brave, kind, loyal, trusting to a fault… and the best damn friend I've ever had."

"Yeah…? And a lot of good it's done me." Comet whimpered. "If I'm so smart, why'd I burn down that village right after getting that scepter? If I'm so brave, why did I hide away from Luna when she came for my scepter when I was going through mewberty? If I'm so kind and loyal, why did I butt into your relationship with Jackson and guilt you into being with me? And as for trusting? I trusted the MHC, and look how that turned out…"

Marcia's heart sank. She couldn't stand to see her boyfriend like this; without his usual infectious positivity and happy personality. Likewise, Klutzy, Kyle, and Dama felt utterly helpless as their friend and prince sulked in self-pity.

"Okay, hey, how about a vacation?" Marcia suggested, showing off her phone's screen. "My parents texted me about a party they're hosting. It'd be a good opportunity for you to process this and clear your head."

Comet sniffled and took the phone into his own hands. The idea of going back to his second home did sound good to him. With a sad nod, he agreed. "Alright. Klutzy, Kyle, Dama? Feel up for another trip?"

"Of course, my prince." Dama nodded.

With that, Marcia used her own scissors to open a portal to Echo Creek.

To Be Continued!

Epilogue:

The Forest of Certain Death.

After the fiasco of a trial, the MHC had escaped to a mountain in the middle of the forest, unknown to anyone but them. The mountain had been hollowed out into a series of caverns by commission of King Theodore several hundred years ago. Now that they were on the run, it served as the perfect - and only available - hideout for them.

"That went well." Hekapoe huffed, tossing his scissors aside.

"They tricked us!" Rhombulie fumed. "This is all your fault, Hekapoe! If you hadn't-!"

"Enough!" Omnitraxus bellowed. "What's done is done. Our plan to replace the Dragonfly bloodline with a random peasant's obviously failed. We can't change that. But we've escaped imprisonment and we can safely plan our next move. Let's not forget, we now have to come up with another way to complete King Brian's plan."

"Well, maybe this will help." Hekapoe grinned as he held up the Dragonfly scepter.

"Whoa!" Rhombulie gasped in surprise. "How'd you-?!"

"Well, when that idiot freed Eclipsine and ran, he dropped it on the floor." Hekapoe smirked, smugly. "So before I opened the portal here, I just, uh… grabbed it."

"This is perfect!" Omnitraxus smiled. "With the scepter in our possession, Eclipsine cannot safely channel Dark Magic. And as long as he doesn't find what we've been stockpiling here for centuries, he never will."

However, the MHC were currently unaware that on the outside of the mountain, a certain size-shifting monster was clawing away the rocks. The magic within him was leading him to a secret treasure buried deep within the mountain. A treasure that would grant him full access to his incredible power.

"I had everything… my mother… my father… my kingdom!" Meteoro snarled as he continued to claw his way through the mountain. "But they… stole it from me! No matter… soon all of Mewni will bend to my will! I am Meteoro Dragonfly! This realm is my birthright! And I will crush all who get in my way!"

Author's Notes: As always, please leave a review.