Joshua Smyth had never been interested in sports, particularly football. Yet here he was, sitting in the bleachers of his school's stadium, waiting for the football game pep rally to start. Joshua sighed.
What am I doing here? Joshua asked himself for the umpteenth time, I don't even like football. And he had no answer for himself, just like every time before. No surprise there, really.
What was unusual, however, was that Joshua had been starting to feel drowsy. Even though he was bored out of his mind, Joshua rarely fell asleep at these sorts of events. Sure, he would stare off into the distance while ignoring everything else, but he never had trouble keeping his eyes open.
Joshua fought to stifle a yawn, but failed miserably. What is with me today? Why do I feel so tired...
"Hey, dude. Wake up."
"Gah!" Joshua awoke with a start. A girl with dark hair was sitting next to him, and she had a mischievous grin plastered on her face. Probably had something to do with the uncapped permanent marker in her hand. Her grin quickly disappeared as the girl looked at Joshua's startled expression.
"Dude, relax. I didn't draw on your face, you were sound asleep." The girl spoke with a laid-back tone, but with an edge that made Joshua instinctively want to check his pockets. "I don't think I've seen you around before. You new here?"
Joshua stared at the girl. Now that he was fully awake, Joshua could tell that her hair was a peculiar dark blue, and she was wearing a tan beanie over her head. He had never met this girl, but she seemed oddly familiar...
"Uh, I guess so?" Joshua replied uncertainly, briefly shaking his head to clear his thoughts. He extended his hand to her. "Nice to meet you. I'm Joshua."
The girl raised an eyebrow at him, but took the handshake anyway. "Janna."
"Janna?" Joshua frowned. He knew he recognized that name from somewhere, but for the life of him couldn't remember where.
Janna gave him a strange look. "Is there something wrong with my name?"
"No no, there's nothing wrong," Joshua said quickly, "I just thought I-"
"Oh my gosh! I can't wait, I can't wait!"
An extremely excited squeal came from in front of them on the bleachers, catching Joshua's attention. He looked down to see a girl with long blond hair and a colorful outfit, practically vibrating in her seat with hyperactive energy.
"My very first pep rally!" she gasps. "I am so excited!"
A beach ball, which Joshua had somehow missed bouncing around the bleachers, falls in front of the blond and she smacks it back into the air- somehow producing multicolored light and sparkles in the process. The person next to her, a boy in a red hoodie, doesn't appear to be amused by the blond's antics. He mutters something Joshua can't quite make out, but is quickly shushed by the girl.
"Hey, Janna? Who are those two?" Joshua asks, pointing to the pair below. Just like he had with Janna, he recognized both the boy and the girl, but he still couldn't figure out how he knew them.
Janna followed his finger and smirked. "Oh, them. The dork in the hoodie is Marco, Echo Creek's resident 'Safe Kid' and an excellent target for pranks. The girl who's had too much sugar is Star, the newest foreign exchange student."
Star and Marco, Joshua thought to himself. Those names resonated deeply within him, as though they had changed his life on a fundamental level.
But I've never met them before. I don't think I've even seen them before in my life. Or have I?
"Yo, Joshua. You dead?" Janna shook his shoulder, breaking Joshua out of his thoughts.
"Sorry about that, I was thinking." Joshua paused for a moment, contemplating. "They seem familiar to me somehow..." His voice trailed off.
Janna laughed. "I would be more surprised if you hadn't at least heard of Star. She hasn't been here long, but she's already made quite an impact. Especially since she's a-"
"Magical princess from another dimension." The words just popped into Joshua's brain and out of his mouth, and he blinked in surprise. Okay, how did I know that?
Janna nodded in confirmation. "Yeah, that's right."
The rest of the crowd suddenly started cheering, and a snobby-looking cheerleader was standing in front of the bleachers holding a microphone.
"I love opossums! They carry their babies on their back!" Star calls out enthusiastically. Joshua couldn't help but snicker at the surprisingly factual comment. He might not know Star personally, but he could tell that she was one of a kind. Out of the corner of his eye, Joshua noticed Janna watching him with a sly grin.
"Come on, I'll introduce you." Janna stood, motioning for him to follow. Joshua felt a sudden surge of panic. He didn't know exactly why, but somewhere deep inside him screamed at him not to go with Janna. It could ruin everything! The feeling was gone as soon as it had arrived, leaving him utterly confused.
"What's the hold up? You want to meet them or not?" Janna was looking at him with amused impatience. It was an... unnerving combination, to say the least. Joshua decided to ignore the strange panic from earlier.
"Alright, sure. Let's go."
Janna led him down the bleachers until they were only a couple seats behind Star and Marco. She was about to get Marco's attention, but suddenly stopped, an interested look coming over her face. Joshua was about to question her about this when he noticed the ongoing conversation:
"Warriors?" Star asked, confused.
"Our rivals from Silver Hill Prep." A boy in a striped shirt and glasses explained.
"Every year, their team slaughters our guys," added Marco solemnly.
"It's gonna be a bloodbath." A deep rasping voice interjected. Joshua looked toward where the new voice had come from, just in time to watch a giant, green-skinned creature with bright red hair pull a whole chicken skeleton out of her mouth. Joshua grimaced. Okay, did not need to see that today.
"That's terrible! We must do something!" Star spoke with a determination that made Joshua unsettled.
"Well, you could join the Spirit Committee," Marco suggested. "Those kids are relentless when it comes to supporting the team."
On the field, a boy holding a pair of flags leapt into the air yelling "Opossums!" and landed in a split. Joshua winced at the impact, but the boy seemed curiously fine.
"Relentless," Marco said again, clearly just as unnerved by the display as Joshua.
"What a great idea!" Star exclaimed excitedly. She grabbed Marco's arm and turned to drag Marco out of the stadium. "We better pick up some supplies!"
Marco, however, stayed put. "As fun as that sounds, you can go without me." He pulled his arm out of his hoodie's sleeve. Star turned toward him with a blank stare on her face, which quickly changed back into a wide smile.
"Okay." Star dashed off to the side of the bleachers. Joshua smiled slightly at Star's enthusiasm. Compared to his own mostly disinterested outlook on life, such boundless energy was refreshing in a way. Then he noticed Star heading back to talk with the green-skinned creature from earlier. Thanks to his closer position, Joshua could hear every word of their whispered exchange.
"Hey, Skullzy, what's your favorite weapon?" Star asked.
'Skullzy' thought for a moment as she pulled the meat off a large drumstick. "Battle axe," came the reply. Star gave her a finger-gun gesture, then darted back toward the exit.
Janna had kept her word and introduced Joshua to Marco. To Joshua's surprise, they struck up a bond rather quickly. As the conversation shifted towards the new mascot, Joshua couldn't help but glance in the direction Star had left. His blood ran cold as he ran his mind back through the conversation he had overheard. He wasn't sure what Star was planning, but he had a feeling that whatever it was would end badly...
"Two, four, six, eight, distract them with our booty shake!"
Joshua looked away from the cheerleaders and sighed in pity. They were just wasting their time; there was no way anyone would be distracted by that kind of display.
Against his better judgment, Joshua had agreed to help Marco protect one of his friends, an overweight redhead named Fergusson. Marco was convinced that the Silver Hill Warriors would try to kidnap Fergusson at their earliest convenience because he was the Opossum's new mascot. Joshua thought that was ridiculous, but he didn't want to take chances when an actual person could be at risk.
But the game was about to start, and thanks to their efforts-
"It's almost game time, and thanks to me, no Warriors have even gotten close to you." Marco patted Fergusson lightly on the stomach as he spoke with obvious satisfaction. Joshua loudly cleared his throat and stared pointedly at the self-absorbed boy in the red hoodie. Marco flinched as he realized his choice of words. "Right, sorry. Thanks to us, no Warriors-"
A loud yell came from behind them, startling the three boys into falling on the ground. Joshua sat up to see Star dressed in metal armor and holding a massive spiked mace. She had grey skulls on her cheeks instead of the pink hearts he had seen earlier, and her eyes were red and bloodshot.
"Who's ready for a bloody, bloody bloodbath?" Star said in a chilling voice. She slammed her mace into the ground, nearly missing Marco's legs, and let out a maniacal laugh.
"Oh, this does not bode well," Joshua muttered half to himself as he picked himself up off the ground.
Marco stood as well, greatly worried. "What's with that crazed look in your eyes?" he asked Star.
"What do you mean?" Star's eyes somehow got even more bloodshot.
Marco sighed, and turned to Alfonzo, the boy in glasses from earlier. "Watch Fergusson," he said, grabbing Star by the arm and dragging her toward the field. "I need to talk to 'Princess Cuckoo-Pants.'"
Joshua watched the pair leave, then glanced at Alfonzo. "Think you can handle this by yourself?" Alfonzo gave him a thumbs up. "Thanks." Joshua smiled, then turned to follow after the two teens.
When Joshua caught up to them, Marco was just starting to confront the princess.
"Okay, Star, what are you up to?" he asked.
A little confused, Star replied, "Exactly what you said." She hefted her mace onto her shoulder, and continued proudly, "I booby-trapped the battlefield."
"WHAT?!" Marco exclaimed with a look of horror on his face.
An ice-cold chill ran through Joshua as he turned to look closely at the field. There were mines, covered pits, and laser traps littered everywhere. His eyes widened in shock.
"Oh, no," Joshua spoke with immense dread. He had been right all along.
"STAR!" Marco yelled in exasperation. "The Warriors weren't actually going to kill our team! They were just going to beat them in football! Which is a GAME!"
"Ohhhhh..." Star's face slowly dropped from one of pride to cold realization, then to one of horror at the sharp note of a referee's whistle. The football game had just begun.
The kickoff went to the Warriors. But the instant the kicker's foot came into contact with the ball, he was caught in a multicolored explosion. Everyone stands stunned as the smoking football is caught by one of the Opossums, who drops it with a terrified shout. That single outburst causes a mass panic, everyone running around and screaming loudly. Including the players on the field- which was now covered in various magical traps.
Joshua groans as the panicked crowd sets off trap after trap. One of the Warriors ends up trapped in a blue vortex, struggling to avoid getting sucked in. The Spirit Committee boy from earlier sets off a mine, and is sent flying through the air in a stream of sparkling pink smoke. The three of them watch the chaos in terrible awe.
"Oh, no. Everything's going according to plan." The horror on Star's face was just as plain to see as it was in her voice. Joshua grimaced in sympathy. He might not have single-handedly ruined a football game, but he had made plenty of mistakes himself. Joshua turned to Star and-
TWEEEET!
The referee blew his whistle again, running onto the field in an attempt to regain some form of order, only to trip on a tripwire. A trapdoor lifts up, releasing several large moths, giant squirrels, a giant bird-like creature, and a trio of flaming cats.
Marco gives Star a sideways glare. "Let me guess, the kitty-cat offense?" Star chuckles nervously.
"Uh, Marco? You might want to lay off a little," Joshua said, taking a couple cautious steps away from the chaotic football field. "We have bigger problems at the moment."
Marco followed Joshua's gaze and gasped. One of the giant squirrels was chasing a group of Warriors across the field. Even more concerning, the squirrel looked hungry.
"We have to do something!" Marco shouted, and started running after the rampaging squirrel. Star looked around nervously, then took off to a different part of the field.
Joshua surveyed the chaos, and saw a small group of cheerleaders being menaced by one of the flaming cats. He sighed, "Of course, I get the damsels in distress." Resigning himself to the stereotypical situation, Joshua hurried to save the day...
The football stadium lay in ruins as the last of Star's moth creatures had been returned to normal. The goalpost had collapsed, and there were smoking craters and assorted debris all over the field. Joshua noticed Star looking at the destruction, worry written all over her face. He made his way toward the distraught princess
"Hey, Star? Are you alright?"
Star didn't look at him, but answered his question regardless.
"I've really messed up," she said in a soft whisper.
"You mean we really messed up." Star turned sharply towards Marco, who had just returned from scolding Fergusson. He had a regretful look on his face. "I should have been watching out for you." As he spoke, Marco placed his hand on Star's shoulder, bringing a smile to her face. Joshua smiled as well, touched by the kind gesture of friendship.
'Ah, young love is so sweet.' The words popped into Joshua's head again, baffling him immensely. Excuse me, what?! Joshua thought to himself, trying to drown out the implications that the errant thought had sparked in his mind. Seriously, they're friends! Trying to pair them like that is just wrong! Besides, I hardly know them! Joshua paused, a sudden realization striking him. Or... do I know them?
"Let's get outta here!" Joshua's thoughts were interrupted by the terrified voice of a Warrior. The other Warriors clearly agreed with their teammate, since they rushed to the Silver Hill Prep school bus and peeled out into the street. Everyone stared in confusion until one of the Opossums spoke up, taking off his helmet.
"Hey, they just forfeited." He raised his arms in triumph. "We win!" At this, the crowd came out of hiding, cheering wildly. The Opossums came and hoisted Star, Marco, and Joshua into the air in celebration. Star cheered along for a moment, then stopped in confusion.
"Huh... why do I have this weird feeling I'm forgetting something?" She started gnawing on her wand, lost in thought.
Joshua stared at Star for a moment, confused as well. Then a memory popped into his head, and his eyes widened. No way. They're not- I can't- that's not possible!
The giant bird creature swooped down from behind them, grabbing a screaming Marco by the arms and flying off. Star watched it in astonishment. "That was it."
Joshua paced behind the destroyed stadium, muttering to himself. Everyone else had already gone home, including his new friends Star and Marco. This didn't bother Joshua in the slightest, however. In fact, it gave him a chance to contemplate his discovery at the end of the game. Hence, the muttering:
"I actually met Star Butterfly and Marco Diaz! How can this be possible? They're not real, they're cartoon characters! What's going on?! Am I dreaming? Hallucinating? Or have I finally gone crazy?!" Joshua took a deep breath. "Okay, let's think about this. I was beat up by two of those flaming cats, and nearly got eaten by a giant squirrel. I think it would be safe to say I'm not dreaming or hallucinating." He paused for a moment, considering. "Aaand the fact I'm thinking logically about this probably means I'm not crazy." Joshua looked down at the ground. "Looks like this is really happening then. Whew, alright then, I just have to be careful not to mention anything about the future, and everything should be golden." He chuckled cynically. "No pressure. Absolutely no pressure at all. This'll be a piece of cake."
"Joshua?" Joshua spun around to see Janna walking toward him, her usually indifferent expression now showing a touch of concern. "I thought you'd have gone home by now. What're you doing here still?"
"Oh! Right, uh," Joshua stammered for a moment, then sighed. "Actually Janna, that's part of the problem. Turns out, I don't exactly have a home to go home to."
Janna's eyes widened in surprise. "...Oh."
"Yeah," Joshua replied sheepishly. Then, he had an idea. "Say Janna, do you think I could crash at your place for now?"
Janna winced. "Uh, yeah, I don't think that would work. But hey, we could always try the Diaz's place. They take in exchange students all the time. I'm sure they'd be able to help you out." She gave him her trademark smirk. "I'll even put in a good word for you."
Joshua smiled. "Thanks, Janna. That means a lot."
"Alright, no need to get all mushy. Let's just get going."