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.

1-Up Girl: Chapter 13.

(Moments later)

In an abrupt, and quite frankly bizarre, turn of events, Annie suddenly found herself standing in the dark and dust filled hall of the abandoned Lucky Land Arcade.

After a quick examination of her person, she realized that both her clothes and her body had reverted to their original states. Which, as I'm sure you can imagine, came to here as a huge relief. After all, who wants to go through life as an Arabian frog?

But as glad as she was to be back to normal, this paled in comparison to the relief she felt once she realized that Jackie and the others were their with her, and that they, like her, had been returned to their usual manners of dress. For this was all but undeniable confirmation that their ordeal was finally over.

John Ringo was dead and his world of illusions had been destroyed.

At last, they could all go home.

"Uh… what the heck just happened?" asked Ferguson, suddenly shaking Annie out of her thoughts.

"Duh! Lightfoot won the game, genius. What do you think happened?" answered Britney cuttingly; clearly unchanged by her experience.

"Yeah, I got that. But I mean, why did it all just stop? One minute Ringo's about to be torn to shreds by those ninja weapons, and the next we're all back here. It doesn't make any sense. Shouldn't there have been a kill screen or an end credits sequence or something? Really anticlimactic if you ask me."

"Yeah, well, nobody asked you." The head cheerleader replied bluntly before giving her arms a quick and catlike stretch. "Personally, I don't know what happened and I don't care. I'm just glad it's finally o…"

"UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGH!"

Suddenly, everyone's attention was diverted to the far end of the arcade by a loud, almost zombielike groan.

"UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGHH!"

Despite the darkness that permeated the room, there was just enough light peeking through the boarded up windows for the group to see where the dreadful noise was coming from.

On the far side of the hall, a large doughy looking figure sat slumped against the wall. Upon closer inspection, Annie could clearly see that it was a young man, most likely in his mid-thirties, with pale pasty skin and horrible acne. His body was so bloat and hairy, that to the casual observer he might've resembled an overweight sasquatch, but his thick prescription glasses, carpal tunnel braces, and open toed sandals with socks were a dead giveaway of his status as a human being; albeit an extremely unattractive one.

"UUUUUUGH! My stomach." The ugly ape-man groaned in a voice that was disturbingly familiar. "That bitch really tore up my insides."

"What the hell?" said Ferguson, unknowingly speaking for everyone. "Is that…"

"John Ringo." Jackie finished his sentence. "Only without all the smoke and mirrors."

"Wow, he's even uglier than I imagined." Britney added tactlessly. "Good Lord, he's like the world's fattest orangutan."

"I can hear you." The fat man said annoyedly as he shakily attempted to get back on his feet. "And for the record, I was right. My Stand didn't kill me. So, HA!"

"It didn't kill you because you didn't let the game play out to its natural conclusion." Jackie spoke up again, this time with a disapproving tone. "You recalled your Stand before Annie could deal the final blow."

"Ah-HA!" exclaimed Ferguson. "I knew something screwy was going on here. After all that bunk about devoting your life to the games and never backing down, you chickened out at the last minute. What a loser!"

"Oh yeah, well… shut up!" Ringo replied childishly as he finally managed to get back on his own two feet. "Of course I value my own life. Like any of you wouldn't 've done the same. And besides, she wanted to quit first! How come you're not giving her any flak?"

"Lightfoot wanting to quit was an act of mercy. You quitting was just plain wimpy." Britney explained insultingly, before quickly adding, "Not that I'm surprised, considering what a whiney baby you were during the games."

"Yes, I quite agree." Chantelle spoke up unexpectedly. "After all your shameful behavior, you could've at least let yourself die with dignity."

"Nyah, Nyah, Nyah, Nyah, die with dignity~" the fat man replied with infantile mockery. "Whatever! All I know is that I didn't die. And if I didn't die, then I didn't lose. And if I didn't lose, then that means I'm the winner. So you can all just go eat a giant diAK!"

Before anyone knew what had happened, Ringo was laying flat on his back; his glasses shattered and his eye sockets oozing with blood.

After the initial shock had worn off, everyone realized that Annie had somehow dashed clear across the room in less than a second. And was now standing over the unconscious gamer with her right fist raised.

Slowly she turned back around to face the others, and with a look of utter bewilderment she said,

"Um… oops."

XXX

(Roughly fifty five minutes later)

For the first time in over twenty-five years, Somerset Boulevard was abuzz with activity.

Police and paramedics dominated the street while crowds of curious onlookers congested the sidewalks.

And at the center of it all, sat six courageous teens and one very bewildered officer.

"Okay… let me see if I got this straight." Said Officer Frehley, sounding deeply, deeply confused. "That fat guy over there on the gurney lured you all down here with fake text messages. He then kidnaped you with the intent to kill. But then she broke free and beat him up?"

"Yes, that's precisely what happened, Officer." Britney replied curtly; having already gone through this six times.

For those of you out there who are a little confused by this scene, please permit me to explain.

Shortly after Annie had clocked Ringo into next week, the group took a vote and decided that since his Stand required a specific set of circumstances in order to work it would be fine to just call the cops and have them arrest his crazy ass.

Naturally, they had Britney make the call; her wealth and status ensuring a speedy response. And while they were waiting they decided, for obvious reasons, to give the cops an abridged version of what actually happened.

Unfortunately, the abridged version was almost as hard to swallow as the full story.

So there they were, six teens sitting on the sidewalk with blankets draped over their shoulders for some reason, telling the same story over and over again to some big dummy in a uniform.

Just peachy.

"But… we're talking about that girl, right? The little scrawny one with the braces?" the officer asked again, clearly not buying it.

"Look, we've been through this six times. What part of it aren't you understanding?" Britney shot back, clearly starting to get annoyed.

"Well, you gotta admit it's a little farfetched. I mean, look at her. She's just a scrawny little nerd."

"Are you calling me a liar?" the head cheerleader said in a sharp and threatening tone.

"W-What? No, I didn't say that."

"Oh, so then you're saying I don't know what I'm talking about? That I'm just some airheaded bimbo cheerleader? Is that it?"

"No! I didn't say that either!"

"Do you know who I am? Who my father is?"

"Y-Yes, Miss Wong."

"Are you aware that with just one phone call I could see to it that you're busted down to meter maid for the rest of your working life?"

"Yes, Miss Wong."

"And that with another phone call I could have Daddy's lawyers litigate you and your entire family straight into the poorhouse?"

"Yes, Miss Wong."

"Yes, Miss Wong. Yes, Miss Wong. Yes, Miss Wong. Is that all you can say?"

"No, Miss Wong."

"Here's a fun idea. Why don't you just go. Go give your report to your captain or whatever. Instead of standing here like a big dumb stiff and wasting my time with your 'Yes, Miss Wong', and your 'No, Miss Wong'."

"Y-Yes, Miss…"

"GO!"

And with that, the forty something year old cop scurried away from the ninety something pound cheerleader like a frightened rabbit.

Needless to say, the others were quite impressed.

"Whoa… That was hot!" Ferguson exclaimed, his teenage hormones practically tripping from every word.

"Ugh. I can't stand men like that." The head cheerleader said, ignoring the tubby ginger's not so subtle come on. "Just overgrown kids in uniforms. Acting tough just because they've got a badge. But line a hundred of them back to back and there's not enough spine between them for a jellyfish."

"You know Britney, if I didn't know any better, I'd say your little outburst was the direct result of that officer's less than favorable description of Annie." Said Jackie in that knowing and slightly condescending tone usually reserved for old people. "Yes, I'd even go as far as to say you were defending her honor after he called her a nerd."

"Oh, shut up, Thomas." She shot back sharply, before quickly changing the subject. "Hey Lightfoot, you like boxing?"

"What?"

"Boxing. You know, two men with perfect bodies punching each other until one of them can't get up. Do you like it or what?"

"Oh, um… yeah, it's pretty cool, I guess."

"Good, because Charlie 'Dynamite' Watkins is having his third title defense next Saturday, and you're coming over to watch it with me."

"Wait, are you asking me to hang out with you?"

"I don't ask, Lightfoot. I tell."

"Oh, um… okay then. I guess I'll see you there."

"You'd better."

"So, uh… Annie." Chantelle chimed in out of nowhere. "What exactly was that whole… frog thing? I mean, how did you do that?"

"Yeah, and what was with that punch?" Ferguson interjected. "Do you have superspeed all the time now?"

"Sigh. I have no idea." The young otaku answered exasperatedly. "I don't even know how I'm still alive. I remember my insides getting all torn apart and losing tons of bloods. And then… Boom!"

"It was a metamorphosis!" Jackie spoke up suddenly; sounding slightly crazed. "Like a butterfly emerging from a cocoon, you shed your awkward chrysalis and transformed into the beautiful Frog Princess you were always destined to be."

"Sigh. Jackie, can you please not do the whole fortune cookie guru thing right now? I have a huge headache."

To this the young skateboarder replied with a short chuckle.

"Well, whatever it was, it was amazing." Ferguson chimed in again. "The way you were jumping around all over the place and shooting ninja weapons. It was like a figgin' movie."

"Yeah, I guess it was pretty cool." Annie said with pride before adopting a slightly more serious tone. "I just hope there weren't any permanent side effects."

"You mean besides not needing your glasses anymore?"
"Yeah… That's gonna take some getting used to. Plus, what am I gonna tell my parents?"

"I think you look better without 'em." Oskar said unexpectedly; instantly earning everyone's attention.

"Y-Y-You really think so?" Annie asked as her cheeks began to burn a little.

"Totally. I think…"

"Sigh." Went Ferguson, cutting Oskar off midsentence. "You know, as much fun as it is seeing Ringo get carted off in an ambulance, it still bugs me that I didn't get to see the end of the game."

"Ugh. Are you still harping on that?" Britney said annoyedly. "Just look it up on your phone, genius."
"Oh right, duh. Hold on. Just give me one… ah-ha!" the tubby ginger said as he found the desired article via his mobile device. "According to this, after Le Jinn explodes, the prince and his harem are teleported back to the oasis. Then he takes his most beautiful bride in his arms and they kiss as the credits start to roll. Aww man! Now that would've been a cool ending. Wish we could've seen it."

"I think I can help with that." The young hipster spoke up again, before quickly leaning in and planting a short but passionate kiss right on Annie's lips; shocking her and everyone else in the vicinity.

Moments later when he finally pulled back, Oskar was looking mighty pleased with himself. Annie on the other hand looked like she'd just witnessed a car accident. Her eyes were wide as saucers and all the blood had drained from her face.

"So… are you, like, doing anything later?" the young hipster asked her casually.

To which she replied,

"I… I-I… AH-HA-HA-HA-HA!"

And then she fainted.

"Uh… was that a yes?"

End Notes:

Only three chapters left and then I go on vacation.

Thanks for reading and I'll see you in the next one.

Peace.