Hello everyone and welcome to Part 5. Aka: Janna's time to shine. I know some of you have been looking forward to this one. Anyway, before we get started, Star vs the Forces of Evil is owned by Disney and Stands are the creation of the brilliant and talented Hirohiko Araki. Yadda. Yadda. Enjoy.

A Clock in my Head: Prologue.

(Cambridge, Massachusetts: July 24, 2046)

Enzo's Trattoria & Pizza Palazzo.

The oldest running Italian restaurant in all of Cambridge.

Established in 1927 by an ambitious young immigrant named Enzo Barone, this fine eatery has been one of the city's proudest institutions for almost 120 years. While relatively unknown to tourists, it is a popular hangout amongst the resident intellectual elite; both for its relative seclusion and first-rate service. Admittedly, the food wasn't that great; above average at best. But still, it was good enough if you were just looking to fill your stomach.

And although this tiny little hole in the wall would never make it into the history books, it would, on this day, play an important role in the lives of two young girls. For the next few hours it would serve as an amphitheater for a tale that would rock them to their very cores and alter their perceptions on a great number of things.

Not bad for a Tuesday afternoon.

Anyway, it was around a quarter to one when the front doors of Enzo's let out their usual Jingle Jangle; alerting the staff to the arrival of a new customer.

As per usual, Rodney was the first man on the scene.

"Good afternoon, and welcome to Enzo's." the blonde youth said with practiced enthusiasm. "Our special today is Veal Milanese and… Oh, Professor Ordonia, so good to see you again. It's been awhile."

"Yeah, well, I've been busy." The plump professor replied, half sarcastically. "So… eh… Rodney, how's your old man?"

"Much better, but I tell you, he had us all worried there for a while." Rodney went on, before noticing the two girls standing behind his 'favorite' customer. "Oh, and who are these two little ladies?"

"These are my nieces, Artemis and Marisol. Girls, this is Rodney. He was a student of mine a couple semesters ago."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Rodney."

"Yeah… ditto."

"Heh. Heh. Cute kids. But Professor, I didn't know you had any family."

"There's lots of things you don't know, Rodney. That's why you failed my class. Remember?"

"Heh. Touché. So, your regular table then?"

"Like you gotta ask."

"Alrighty then. This way, ladies."

And with that, the trio were led through the mostly empty establishment.

Because of its relative obscurity, Enzo's was almost never crowded. Which is precisely why the wily old professor had chosen it as her venue. If she was going to tell her nieces this story she wanted to minimize the chance of eavesdroppers. Plus you know, it never hurts to be somewhere where there's food.

"So, Professor, been awhile since we've seen you around these parts." Said Rodney, shaking the old Filipina out of her thoughts. "Word on the street is you've been frequenting Machiavelli's Diner over on Memorial Drive."

"Yes, well, that was just a passing fancy." She replied bluntly. "It seemed like a good fit at first, but after an objective observation I found the service perfunctory, the décor severely lacking, and the cuisine only marginally preferable to hunger."

"Not comping your meals anymore?"

"Not since Mrs. Machiavelli came back into the picture."

"Oh well, better luck next time, eh Professor."

"Just shut up and take us to my booth."

And without a second's hesitation, he did precisely that.

Within moments, the trio were seated at a rather spacious booth on the far side of the restaurant; not exactly isolated, but just out of the way enough that no one could eavesdrop on a conversation without being noticed.

"So, do you ladies need a minute to go over the menu?" the young waiter asked professionally.

"No, no, I got this. Uh… Let's see… Start us off with some antipasto and… some of those stuffed peppers I like. Then an order of Spaghetti alla Puttanesca and some of that Veal Milanese too, that sounded really good. One large Neptune's Delight and… some tiramisu for dessert."

"Very good, and what will the children be having?"

"Ah-Ha-HA! So sidesplittingly funny!" the plump professor replied in a tone that was both sarcastic and abrasive. "Just bring me my food, you stupid f*****!"

And on that pleasant note, Rodney quickly scurried off to the kitchen, but not before Janna added,

"And you're not getting a tip!"

After that, the atmosphere shifted to an awkward and uneasy silence.

Neither the girls nor the old professor knew what to say next.

Fortunately, after what felt like an eternity of unpleasantness, Janna finally managed to find the right words.

"It's a pizza." She said, almost stupidly. "The Neptune's Delight, I mean. It's bacon and clams with the house's signature garlic sauce. It sounds weird, I know, but trust me, you'll love it. It's to die for."

"I'm sure it's… uh… positively scrumptious, Aunt Janna." Marisol replied with her usual diplomatic air. "So, eh… what classes are you teaching right now?"

"Right now I'm on sabbatical, but in the Fall I'll be holding my class on Lovecraft."

"Love Craft?" went Artemis confusedly. "Jeez, I didn't take you for the romantic type."

"It's not a genre, smartass. It's a surname. Howard Philips Lovecraft. One of the most significant horror and weird fiction authors of the 20th Century. His short stories have been influencing other writers, directors, and even game designers for generations. Without him, the modern horror genre as we know it would not exist."

"Sounds like you're quite passionate about him." Marisol observed.

"You're damn right I am. This man saw the world in a way no one else could. It was like his brain was a reservoir of dark forbidden knowledge and the only way to keep his head from exploding was to put it all down on paper. Sure, some small minded peons might criticize him for being a White Supremacist, but this man took a lifetime of pain and loss and channeled it into something new and different. Show me a PCist who can do that and I'll gladly turn in my resignation."

"Heh. Forget passionate. She sounds more like a groupie to me." Artemis chimed in, much to her sister's ire.

"Look, I'm not trying to justify his racism or anything. I'm just saying that he was a complicated person. His life was just one adversity after another and yet somehow, instead of breaking him, all that pain and misery just made him stronger… and wiser… and kinder. And he shared that kindness with others. And not just with his friends, but with his enemies too. So what if he didn't trust Hispanics? It's not like they'd ever given him any reason to. And besides, even with all his personality flaws he was still a far better man than you'll ever be, you demon loving bastard!"

By the end of her rant, Janna was almost completely out of breath. And judging from the look on her face it was clear she'd said more than she meant to.

"We're… not talking about Lovecraft anymore, are we." Artemis observed, doing her level best not to set her host off again.

"I… I'm sorry, girls. I just… I don't know where that came from." The old professor replied, apparently shaken by her own outburst.

"No, it's… it's quite alright, Aunt Janna. We understand." Said Marisol, ever the sensitive diplomatic type. "We know how much Mr. Jefferson meant to you. He was like a father to you, after all."

"Yeah… like a father." She replied somberly, but with something else in her voice that the young princess couldn't place. "I guess I'm still a little raw about the whole thing. I mean, we'd just talked on the phone the night before. He sounded fine. He and mom were gonna fly out here in the summer. I was gonna… show him my office."

Janna paused for a moment to wipe a tear from her eye.

"Oh God… Why can't I keep it together?"

"It's okay, Aunt Janna. These things take time." Marisol spoke up again, still doing her best to be sympathetic. "It's only been a few months. And with your love life as turbulent as it is, your emotions must already be frayed to-OW!"

In a rare twist on a familiar theme, Artemis delivered a swift blow to her sister's shoulder.

"What was that for?" she asked angrily.

However, one look at their host's face told her everything she needed to know.

"Oh… oops."

"What did you just say?" the older Filipina asked as her left eye twitched with rage.

"N-N-Now, Aunt Janna. There's no need to get upset. I only meant that… well, since you've been through so many… uh… less than ideal relationships, you might be…"

"And who told you that? It was that carpet-licking bush-head wasn't it?"

"Uh… well…"

"Well let me tell you something, princess. Whatever that homewrecking bitch told you is a barefaced lie. I never broke up with anybody over a stupid dessert. I once broke up with a senator because he was way too into S&M. I broke up with a research scientist because he called me by a demeaning pet name in front of my class. I even broke up with a famous novelist because he didn't keep his bathroom clean enough. But I never broke up with anybody over dessert. So don't go around telling people I'm so pathetic that I pick food over companionship. Especially if you're getting your intel from that lying tramp Kelly. Understand?"

"I… I-I just meant…"

"Understand?"

"Yes, Yes, we understand. And we're very sorry." Artemis said in an attempt to soothe her clearly wounded guardian. "Look, we're not here to judge or to dredge up any weird personal biz. We're just here…"

"To hear my part of the story." The old professor finished, suddenly sounding a bit less irrational. "Yeah, Annie told me you two were on to your mom's little ruse. Sigh. Okay, I'll tell you my part. But I warn you, from here on out things get intense. Are you sure you two can handle it?"

"Well, we've come this far. It wouldn't make sense to stop now." Said Marisol.

"What she said." Added Artemis.

"Sigh. Okay… you asked for it." Janna said, before adjusting herself to get more comfortable. "It all started about two weeks after Annie kicked the crap out of Ringo the Second. Summer Vacation was only a few weeks away, which meant that Final Exams were closing in. And as I'm sure you can guess, none of us were too thrilled about that. Anyway, it was Monday and Marco, Jackie, your mom, and I were sitting in Skullnick's class, just waiting for the bell to ring."

End Notes:

Well, that was the prologue. Next comes the real meat of the story.

See you then.

Peace.