Star vs the Forces of Evil is owned by Disney and Stands are the creation of the brilliant and talented Hirohiko Araki. Enjoy.
1-Up Girl: Chapter 2.
(Nine and a half minutes later)
It was an ugly scene down at the clearing.
Janna's callousness had sent Annie running off in tears, and now she was paying the price.
After ordering Star and Marco to train on the far side of the clearing, and sending Jackie to retrieve their runaway teammate, their 'distinguished' master started ripping into the young Filipina like a lion on a zebra carcass.
It was kind of disturbing actually. Seeing Jefferson rant and rave like that. It was like watching Mussolini on the balcony, but with more cursing. And poor Janna looked like she was about to start crying; not that she didn't deserve it.
At any rate, they were too far away to hear exactly what their teacher was saying, and in retrospect that was probably a really good thing.
"Wow…" Star muttered in frightened awe. "I've never seen anyone's face turn purple like that before."
"I have." Replied Marco, sounding just as shell-shocked as she did. "When I was ten, my Uncle Ernesto set my Mom's car on fire and my Dad just completely lost it."
"Really? Your dad?"
"I know, it takes a lot to get my Old Man angry, but once he gets going he's like a volcano."
"Wow… so what happened?"
"Well, after about twenty minutes, Dad finally ran out of breath and Uncle Ernesto was on the ground crying. Almost five years later and those two still can't make eye contact."
"Yeesh…" Star muttered, before her focus shifted back on the duo across the way. "Oh my gosh! Did Jefferson just spit on Janna?"
"Pretty sure it was an accident." Marco answered. "Good God. She's too scared to even wipe it off."
"I wonder what he's saying to her."
"Probably nothing we need to hear."
"Yeah, maybe. But I still wanna know." The Mewman Princess said with a slight pout. "I've been trying to read Jefferson's lips but it's not making any sense. He keeps calling Janna a stupid duck."
Marco shot her a look, and after a few minutes it finally clicked.
"Oh… Harsh."
"I know right. But listen, if you really wanna hear what they're saying, we could always overlay our ears."
"Will that work?"
"Sure, I've done it lots of times. It's easy."
"Well… okay. If you say so."
And with that, the Mewman Princess closed her eyes and focused all of her aura into her eardrums.
Now she could hear everything.
"… LIKE AN IRISHMAN'S BANJO! AND ANOTHER THING…"
"Okay, Okay, I get it. Just please, stop yelling at me."
"Oh, you haven't heard yelling, missy! Do you have any idea how much you've screwed us? The only reason we have even a slim chance of beating Chemical Romance is because we have her outnumbered! That's why I set up a buddy system! But now, thanks to your jackassery, that freak has an easy target!"
"Look, I know I messed up, and I'm sorry. I just… I just wasn't thinking."
"No, you weren't! Because if you were, you would've realized that you don't have the luxury of being irrational! Damn it, Janna! I depend on you to be my eyes and ears! Your Stand is the only thing keeping Diaz inline! You're the linchpin of this whole group and you let me down!"
"I'm sorry. Please, I'll make it up to you, I swear!"
"We'll see about that. But in the meantime, let me make one thing clear. You'd better hope for your sake that Jackie gets to Annie before that acid spitting freak does. Because if anything happens to either of them because of something this stupid… I… I… I can't even begin to think up a punishment big enough, but trust me it's going to be awful! The kind of thing that Harry Truman might order to end a war! AND IF YOU TWO DUMBASSES DON'T STOP EAVESDROPPING ASAP, YOU'RE GONNA GET IT A MILLION TIMES WORSE!"
Instantly, the two Users released their auras and ended their little spy game.
Jefferson may not have had the power to make good on his threat, but the harshness and intensity of his voice briefly made them forget that little detail.
But as they hastily resumed their regiment of sit-ups and pushups, the duo couldn't help but dwell on their master's words.
They too hoped that Jackie found Annie before someone else did.
XXX
(At roughly the same time)
Like a graceful gazelle sprinting across the savannah, Jackie dashed through the trees in search of her lost compatriot.
For a moment, she was worried that her teacher's fears were justified and that Chemical Romance had snatched up the poor, unsuspecting otaku. But luckily, thanks to her aura enhanced hearing, the young blonde soon picked up the unmistakable sounds of someone sobbing and that led her straight to her target.
Moments later, she found her teammate sitting under a tree, and as expected, she was sitting in a fetal position and crying into her knees.
Not good…
But not insurmountable either.
"Um… Hey, Annie." The young skateboarder said tentatively. "Are you alright?"
Not surprisingly, Annie did not reply.
"I'll… take that as a no. Sigh. Look, about what happened back there. Janna was completely out of line. And Jefferson's not gonna cut her any slack. He was actually screaming the F word at her right before I left. So… if you wanna come back with me, she won't bother you anymore. Not that you have to come back with me. I mean, Jefferson told me to bring you back, but if you'd rather not I understand. And I'd be happy to walk you home. Look, I even brought you your backpack. See?"
Annie lifted her face out of her knees and looked at Jackie with puffy red eyes.
"That… Sniff. That's Star's backpack."
Jackie suddenly felt very, very stupid.
"Oh, uh… oh jeez. I am so sorry. They look almost exactly alike and…" the young blonde managed to stop herself mid ramble, and after a quick cleansing breath, she was able to compose herself. "Annie, look, I'm really sorry about what happened. I shouldn't have shown the others your sketchbook. You clearly weren't ready to share and if I hadn't shown everyone then Janna wouldn't 've… This is all my fault."
"No… Sniff. No it isn't." Annie spoke up weakly, as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "Jackie, you didn't do anything wrong. All you did was get excited. Janna's the one who destroyed my book. You… you actually… made me feel good about myself."
"Really?"
"Well… yeah… I mean, I've never shown anybody my sketches before. I was afraid people would make fun of them. Make fun of me. But you liked them. Everybody liked them. Jefferson even said he was proud of me. None of that would've happened if you hadn't taken my book. So… thank you."
Needless to say, Jackie was completely blindsided.
Here she was, ready and willing to do whatever it takes to help her friend get through this difficult time, and Annie, that poor sweet loveable doofus, had pushed through her own sadness just to make someone else feel better.
It was truly awe-inspiring.
"Say, um… Annie," the young blonde said with a warm yet reserved smile. "Mind if I sit beside you?"
"No… I mean, yes… I mean, sure. Go right ahead."
Jackie couldn't help but chuckle at the otaku's antics. But once she was sure that her friend hadn't taken offense, she stifled her laughter and took a seat beside her.
"Annie, has anyone ever told you how amazing you are?"
"Uh… no. I mean, my mom does sometimes. But…"
"Well, she's right." The young skateboarder interrupted. "Annie, I came here to make you feel better. But the second you knew I blamed myself you forgot all about your problems just to reassure me. That shows real compassion."
"So what?" the young otaku asked halfheartedly. "Anyone can do that."
"Sure, anyone can. But most people don't." Jackie replied. "Annie, it's not easy being nice in a world like this. Especially for people who know the things that we know. It's much easier to be apathetic or just plain mean, but not you. You're stronger than most people; stronger than any of us, apparently. Because you put other people's feelings before your own and that… that's really something else."
Annie gave no reply, but it was clear from her expression that she appreciated compliment.
"Here, let me show you something." The young blonde said as she reached into her back pocket and pulled out a pair of silver and aquamarine scissors with her first name tastefully etched across the blade. "Ta-Dah~"
"Are those…"
"Correct~ Real life Dimensional Scissors. Curtesy of Marco and his new… friend, Hekapoo." She explained with a subtle note of revulsion in her voice. "With these I can go anywhere I want in the whole universe. But mostly I just use them to hang out with Kelly. And to visit my Island, of course."
"Wait, you mean the island where Chemical Romance was holding you captive?" Annie asked confusedly. "Why would you wanna go back there?"
"Because it was the site of my spiritual rebirth." Jackie replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "And it's where I go to ponder the mysteries of the universe and to form new theories about its inner workings. One of which you've just proven."
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"Well, you see, one of the things I've been meditating on these last few weeks is the nature of Stands. Specifically, why there are so few Stand Users who are active, healthy, and free of… personality disorders. I mean, I know what Jefferson said about power going to people's heads, but I don't think it's as simple as that."
"What do mean?"
"Okay… so, a Stand is basically just a physical manifestation of a person's true inner self, right? Well, I think that when a Stand first activates, or rather, when it first comes out, it brings the User's innermost self with it. All the thoughts and feelings and impulses that they try to keep bottled up are just suddenly pushed to the surface. See what I'm getting at?"
"I… guess."
"Let me put it this way. All my life, I've tried to play it cool and keep my fears and anxieties to myself. But after my Stand activated I was scared and anxious all the time. And I'd probably still be that way if I hadn't met the King. And it's the same with Janna. She always acts like she doesn't care about anything, but she's got tons of issues. And Marco… I… I just don't know who he is anymore."
"Um… okay… but what does all that have to do with me?"
"Annie, don't you see? You're the exception that proves the rule. Your Stand isn't making you crazy because there's nothing bad inside you. No daddy issues. No rage. No weird demon fetishes."
"What?"
"Er… never mind. What I'm trying to say is, you may have been a weird, awkward nerd on the outside, but inside you're a smart, compassionate, artistic person. And now your Stand is bringing all of that to the surface. Annie… you're becoming something new. Something beautiful."
Jackie wasn't sure if she'd worded that quite right, but it seemed to do the trick. Annie seemed to be feeling a lot better.
Unfortunately, the moment was soon ruined by an all too familiar ringtone.
SPACE UNICORN~
SOARING THROUGH THE STARS~
DELIVERING THE RAINBOWS ALL AROUND THE WORLD~
"UGH! Hold that thought." The young skateboarder said with disgust as she reached into Star's backpack to find the offending cellphone. "I hate this song!"
After about a minute or so of pawing through the Mewman Princess' cluttered mess of a carryon bag, Jackie finally found the annoying device, but by then the incessant ringtone had ceased.
And she probably would've been very irritated by this fact, had the glowing text on the viewscreen not caught her eye.
It read as follows.
You have 1 Missed Call from: StarFan13
End Notes:
Thanks for reading.
See you in the next one.
Peace.
