*We open up in the middle of the ending to the last chapter as Ludo's calling Jonah to tell him he's holding Marcia and Aqua hostage. Right as Ludo finishes the call and begins laughing evilly once more, the story pauses. And out comes RJ "Jay" Writing Ink in his usual attire.*
Jay: Hey guys, it's me, Jay. And yes, you read the last chapter right: Marcia and Aqua have been taken hostage by Ludo in yet another crazy scheme to get ahold of Comet's Wand. Now, you're probably wondering how the two girls found themselves in this predicament. Well, to answer that, this chapter's going to turn back the clock to earlier this morning, right after Jonah left Glossaryck, and Comet, Alfonso, and Ferguson went off to work on their science project. Take it away, Spongebob Narrator!
Spongebob Narrator: A few hours earlier...
Marcia could hardly believe her luck. Her parents were out doing stuff, Glossaryck had left with Jonah, and Comet had run off with Alfonso and Ferguson to work on whatever the Hell their science project was. For the first time in who knows how long, Marcia had the house all to herself. She was free to do whatever she wanted! And what Marcia wanted was a little R .
Without waking up Coryn or the laser puppies, who were fast asleep in Comet's room, Marcia made her way to the closet in her bedroom and pulled out a carefully hidden box filled with scented candles, luxury soap, and bath bombs. She'd been saving all of these for a special day. She then quietly made her way to the bathroom, shut the door, and locked it before walking over to the shower and pulling down on the towel rack before watching the magic happen.
This was a secret that only Marcia and Comet knew about their house. After Comet managed to retrieve everything in her room that got sucked into a black hole, he still wanted to make things up to her. While she turned him down at first, when it became clear that he wouldn't take no for an answer, Marcia got an idea. One zap from Comet's Wand later, and the bathroom had a very secret, very special addition.
As Marcia began to remove her clothes and underwear, she gleefully watched as the bathroom changed its accommodations. Slowly, the shower began to disappear in a haze of glitter, and in its place came a luxurious, collapsible bathtub, complete with ergonomic rests meant to support the legs and back, automatic water heating, a relaxing music player, and massage jets.
Marcia practically had stars in her eyes as she looked at the bathtub. It was near twice her size, and it looked like something out of a five-star hotel. And it's all mine! "Sorry, Mom and Dad, but I want to keep this to myself for a little bit longer," she muttered to herself as she carefully folded the last of her clothes up and put them to the side before stepping into the tub and settling in for a nice, long soak. It was heaven!
"Oh yeah. I have definitely earned this for myself!" Marcia happily said as she felt all the built-up tension in her body dissolve like the bath bombs she added, and there was a lot of stress to deal with. She never realized it until now, but having to look after Comet and join him on all sorts of crazy adventures could be stressful. Fun and exciting, yes, but stressful all the same.
It doesn't help that Comet tends to act without thinking things through, Marcia thought as she continued to soak in the tub. She cared about the guy, but he could be a handful. All the more reason why she was glad that, for once, she wasn't joining in on whatever crazy idea he roped Alfonso and Ferguson in on.
TEAARRRRR*
"Wha-" Marcia brought her head up in confusion. She could have sworn that she heard the sound of a dimensional portal opening somewhere in the bathroom. Yet as she looked around her bathroom, she didn't see anything to indicate such.
"Besides, not even Comet's dumb enough to portal into our bathroom," Marcia muttered to herself as she closed her eyes and laid back, ready to continue her "me day." "That, and he knows that I'd beat him senseless if he did," Marcia chuckled to herself. No amount of being her best friend would spare Comet from her wrath if he violated her time in the bath!
At that exact moment, though, something popped out of the water on the other end of the tub. It was small, blue, with a bizarre-looking head and mouth, like a weird, mishappen rubber ducky. But it also looked oddly familiar.
Marcia blinked as she looked at the new...thing in the water. Then, to her surprise, it spoke.
"Horsea!" the thing said, making Marcia gasp in shock as she remembered where she saw it before.
"Oh my gosh, Misty! Is that you?" She asked with a mixture of surprise and joy.
"Sea! Horsea!" the little creature said happily as it swam closer to Marcia until it was within arm's length. Marcia couldn't help but reach out and grab the thing and hug her like she would one of the laser puppies.
"Oh, it is you! You didn't think that I would forget about you, did you?" Marcia gently asked as she nuzzled against the tiny Pokémon's head. While she had acted upset that Comet had brought another Pokémon to life for their friend Aqua, in truth, Marcia was enamored by the little seahorse. As she held out the tiny water-dwelling Pokémon before her, she couldn't help but ask it something. "What on Earth are you even doing here, Misty? I know you couldn't have gotten to Earth by yourself." As if to answer her question, Marcia saw a rumbling of bubbles in the far end of the tub. It was like something was trying to dive up from deep beneath the water, even though that should be impossible.
Before Marcia could even have a chance to react, another figure appeared in the middle of the bathtub. A figure with sandy-blonde hair with a streak of blue in the bangs that made Marcia squeal with joy.
"AQUA!" Marcia cried out as she saw her mermaid friend standing right before her.
Aqua seemed to reciprocate Marcia's joy, as she didn't hesitate to smile at the sight of her. "MARCIA!" she said as she held out her arms and pulled Marcia into a hug. "Oh, it is most wonderful to see you again, my dear friend!"
Even though she was still soaking wet and bereft of clothes, Marcia didn't hesitate to return the hug. "I can't believe it! What are you doing here?" Once she asked that question, the realization of their location sunk in, prompting Marcia to break off the hug and sit back down in the tub. "Wait a minute, what are you doing here in my bathroom?" she asked, wanting an explanation.
"Ah, yes. I was hoping that I could spend some time today with Comet, so my father loaned me a pair of dimensional scissors so that I may visit," Aqua explained with a smile on her face.
"But didn't Comet put that spell on you so that you could change from human to mermaid form whenever you wanted? You didn't have to appear in my bathroom." Marcia was happy to see her friend, but she still felt a little bit miffed that someone intruded on her private time.
"I am aware of this, friend Marcia. But as a mermaid, I find being in the water to be most comforting. My apologies," Aqua said as she bowed her head. "I would not have done so had I been aware that you were using it."
"It's no problem at all, Aqua," Marcia said, shaking her head. "But I hate to tell you this, but Comet's not here right now." When Marcia saw the look of disappointment on the other girl's face, she began to feel a little upset. "I'll tell you what. Let me get dried off, and I'll explain everything."
"Okay," Aqua said happily, her face beginning to brighten again as she and Marcia got out of the tub. "I have to admit, though, it's smaller than I was expecting."
"What, my bathroom?" Marcia asked as she began to dry herself off with a towel, trying not to feel envious of the fact that Aqua's clothes seemed to be waterproof. "I think it's a pretty decent size, considering how big our house is," she told her.
"Oh, I am sorry. But I wasn't referring to the size of your bathroom," Aqua said as she looked at Marcia. Marcia grew confused at first, but then she saw just where Aqua's eyes were looking. Blushing, Marcia crossed her arms and used them to cover her chest. "Not everything's about being the biggest. And I'm still growing, you know!" she said, trying not to get flustered.
"Horsea?" Misty asked inquisitively.
"Do not worry, Misty. It is not something that you need to concern yourself with, dear." Aqua told her as she held the Pokémon in her arms.
A few minutes later, Marcia finished drying off, letting the two girls move to her bedroom so that they could talk some more.
"So, where is Comet right now?" Aqua asked as she continued holding onto Misty like a child would a plushie.
"Well..." Marcia said as she began to go into detail.
Marcia watches from outside the doorway to Comet's bedroom as Comet, Alfonso, and Ferguson have gathered inside. Al and Ferg had both taken a seat on the floor next to everything Comet picked, confused. Not helping the fact was the grin that Comet had on his face as he looked at the two of them.
"Umm, Comet? I don't want to be a nag, but shouldn't we be focusing on writing our report for science class?" Alfonso said, breaking the silence.
"Yeah, man. I'm normally not that worried about this kind of stuff, but we really need to get a good grade on this thing," Ferguson piped up.
"Don't worry, guys. It's all under control," Comet said knowingly before continuing. "Now, as you know, we have been assigned to conduct an oral report on the Space Race. And, just to be clear, humanity has not only been able to travel to space but also land on your world's Moon. Is that correct?" Comet asked. When he first heard about the concept of space flight and going to the Moon in science class, Comet almost thought that the teacher was joking. But he wasn't.
"Yeah. We did it, like, fifty years ago," Ferguson casually told him. "Pretty much everyone knows that. Except for you, but you don't count since you're not from Earth."
"Well, that and all those people who think the whole thing was faked," Alfonso added in. "But they're wrong."
"Yes! Which brings us to the purpose of today's meetup!" Comet told them. "As we all know, I'm the kind of person who'd prefer to learn by doing rather than reading. So, I thought that the best way to get this done is by doing it for ourselves." Comet raised an eyebrow at this last part, trying to hint to his two friends at what he was getting at. Thankfully, both of them picked up what he was saying and looked at him more alertly than before. "And, if you'll recall, I just happen to have magic scissors that let me go wherever I want in the Universe." For added emphasis, he held the very same pair of scissors in front of the duo.
Alfonso and Ferguson's eyes began to light up. "Does this mean what I think it means?" Ferguson asked in anticipation.
"It does, indeed, dear Ferguson," Comet said before using the scissors to open up a portal. "Alfonso, Ferguson, grab your stuff. WE'RE GOING TO THE MOON!" Comet yelled in excitement, with the two other boys now jumping up and down, absolutely giddy with glee, as Marcia looked on.
"Oh, boy," Marcia said in worry.
"After that, Comet zapped all three of them with some kind of spell that would allow them to survive and breathe in the vacuum of space. Then the three of them ran into the portal yelling and screaming about how they were going to be the first people to take selfies on the Moon." Marcia said as she finished wrapping up her story to Aqua.
"Do you think that they will be alright?" Aqua asked in concern.
Marcia nodded. "They'll have Comet with them, so they shouldn't run into much trouble. Besides, we were able to travel to the Moon fifty years ago without the aid of magic or dimensional scissors, and nothing bad happened," Marcia told her honestly. At least, not on the Moon, she thought to herself. "Going to the Moon will be like a walk in the park for Comet," she joked. "And with my parents busy with errands today, I have the house all to myself.
"Oh, that sounds most delightful, Marcia," she said, trying to sound happy. But in the end, she couldn't hold back the sigh in her throat. "I only wish that I could have spent some time together with Comet," she said wistfully.
As Aqua looked out the window at the sunny California sky, Marcia felt bad for the mermaid. Poor thing. She's really got it bad for Comet. Marcia had figured out almost immediately that Aqua had a crush on Comet. As someone who was crushing on a friend, she saw the signs from a mile away. And while part of her hoped that things would work out between him and Karla, another, more rational part thought that Aqua would be a better choice for her best friend.
There's got to be something I can do to take my mind off of him, Marcia pondered. Then, she got an idea. "Hey, you know what we should do? We should have a girl's day out!"
"A girl's day out?" Aqua repeated.
"Yeah! You and me, we're going to spend the day having fun in Echo Creek. Just the two of us, and Misty!" Marcia explained. "Doesn't that sound like fun?"
Aqua's face lit up at the prospect of getting to spend time with Marcia. "Oh, yes! Being able to see the town you call home sounds most wonderful! Do you not agree, Misty?"
"Horsea! Horsea!" the Pokémon happily said, cementing their decision.
"All right, then. It's settled! While the boys are away, us girls are going to play!" Marcia jumped up off of her bed and pulled Aqua to her feet. "Aqua, I promise you that, before today is done, I'll have shown you the best that Echo Creek has to offer!"
With that, the two girls got some money and other essentials, with Marcia giving Aqua a purse to carry Misty in, and the two set out to enjoy themselves in Echo Creek.
"Well, here we are, Aqua. My karate dojo," Marcia told the mermaid as they stood at the entrance to the strip mall dojo. "Though I'm still confused as to why you wanted to come here in the first place," she made a point of adding on.
Aqua had only visited Echo Creek twice before, the first time having been when she first got her human legs. So, despite Comet wanting to show Aqua as much of Echo Creek as possible, it wasn't doable at the time. The best they could do was go to Britta's Tacos, which Aqua, not surprisingly, loved. Since she stayed home the entire time Lake visited, Aqua never really got to see much of Marcia's hometown. Marcia insisted on letting her see as much of the town as possible to make up for that. Though she never expected her to want to come here.
"Oh, it looks so charming, Marcia," Aqua said as she looked at the outside of the building. "May we please go inside?"
"Okay, but there's not going to be much to see," Marcia honestly told her. That admission did nothing to dissuade Aqua's enthusiasm as they went inside the dojo, though. "Well, here we are, Aqua. Welcome to Sensei Brantley's school of Tang Soo Do," Marcia said once the two girls stepped inside the building. It was still early in the day, so there weren't many people present, even if it was a Saturday. A few parents watched their kids practice their martial arts on the mats as Sensei Brantley oversaw them and gave pointers. When he saw that Marcia had entered, though, he smiled and began to walk towards her.
"Marcia! What an unexpected pleasure to see you here today!" Brantley happily said as he approached his student.
"It is a pleasure to see you again, Sensei," Marcia said as she respectfully bowed to her Sensei, who bowed to her in turn, pleased at the display of respect one of his best (and honestly favorite) students was giving him.
"So what brings you here today, Diaz? I know you're not scheduled for class. If you're here to get in some extra training, though, you're always welcome to do so," Sensei Brantley said with a smile, remembering how she recently acquired her red belt.
Marcia shook her head. "No, thank you, Sensei. I'm just here showing my friend Aqua around town," she explained as she introduced the girl that had been standing next to her, respectfully keeping quiet. "Sensei, meet Aqua. She's an old friend of Comet that I met a while ago. I'm showing her around Echo Creek while Comet's off doing something crazy and stupid." Marcia said as she gestured to the mermaid to introduce herself.
"I am Aqua. It is a pleasure to meet you, good sir," Aqua said as she did a slight curtsy to Sensei Brantley, who returned it with another bow.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, young lady. Any friend of Marcia and Comet is welcome to learn in our house."
Aqua giggled. "Oh, I am not here to learn. I merely wished to see where my brave friend Marcia learned how to fight. Without her, I may still be held captive by pirates."
"Wait, pirates?" Brantley asked in confusion.
"Long story, Sensei, one that I would be happy to tell you about later," Marcia interrupted, not wanting to spend time explaining the incident with Diavolo; that would take way too long "For now, though, I think that Aqua and I should be on our way. There's still so much of Echo Creek that I want to show her before the day's out."
"Then I will leave you to it, Marcia," Brantley nodded before returning to his other students.
"He seems very nice, Marcia," Aqua noted as he walked away.
"Yeah," Marcia agreed. "Some of his methods may be...odd, but he's a good teacher. He taught me everything I know about karate."
"You surely must enjoy spending your time here, then."
"Yeah. Whenever I'm not at school, hanging out with my friends, or babysitting Comet, I spend my time here." Marcia sighed, thinking of all the good memories she'd made there. But without even meaning to, less than pleasant memories began to board her train of thought. "There's just one thing about this place that I wish I could change..." she said, sighing.
"Well, well, well. Marcia Diaz." An all too familiar voice came up from behind Marica, nearly making her grate her teeth in frustration.
Speak of the Devil, and he shall appear, Marcia thought as she cursed her misfortune. The calm, rational part of her brain told her that she should merely turn around and face her unwanted admirer, Jeremy Birnbaum. However, she decided to forget about being rational for once. Instead, she took Aqua by her hand and began to lead her to another section of the dojo. Somehow, she hoped that Jeremy would take the hint and leave her alone.
He didn't. Instead, he appeared right in front of the two girls, cutting off their path. "You know, my darling Diaz, you don't need to play hard to get with me. After all, you already have my undivided attention," the prepubescent pest smugly said, waggling his eyebrows in a flirtatious manner.
All right, ignoring him didn't work—time for the direct approach. "Get lost, Jeremy. I've got better things to do with my time," Marcia bluntly told the smug little hellspawn, now not even bother to hide the grimace on her face.
Ever since she had destroyed his phone, and with it, all the pictures he'd taken of her, Marcia had hoped that Jeremy would get the message and leaver her alone. To her eternal annoyance, the next time they had a class together, he proceeded to double-down on his flirtations, doing everything in his power to be around her. It was like he was physically incapable of processing the fact that his very presence disgusted her!
"Now, Marcia. What could you possibly have to do that's more important than spending time with your future husband," Jeremy said as he took a step forward. Deep inside of her, Marcia could practically feel her level of restraint give way to frustration. Every instinct in her body was telling her to throttle the little creep right then and there. To Hell with the consequences!
Thankfully, the Universe saw fit to send someone to intervene on her behalf. Aqua politely coughed to get the two's attention before stepping forward, putting herself between Marcia and Jeremy.
"I am sorry, young man. But I do not believe that my friend is interested in conversing with you. You would do well to remember to respect other people's boundaries in the future," Aqua politely but firmly said. Marcia was taken slightly aback by this: while Aqua had always spoken with a degree of formality, it was like she had just kicked that into overdrive. It reminded her of the highly formal way Comet talked to the taskmaster in the shard mines of Pixtopia.
"Oh yeah? And who are you to tell me what to do, lady?" Jeremy rudely responded. Once again, Marcia felt her anger flare up, this time on behalf of Aqua. The mermaid, on the other hand, maintained a calm and serene look about her.
"My apologies, young man. I am Aqua, Crown Princess to the Kingdom of Oceanus, and a dear friend of the young woman that you are clearly irritating." Like she did with Sensei Brantley, Aqua gave a slight curtsy, making it look like she wasn't bothered in the slightest by Jeremy's rude remarks.
Jeremy quickly scanned the mermaid princess up and down before suddenly breaking out into a fit of laughter. "You're telling me you're a Princess? In that get-up? Yeah right! You look more like a beach-dwelling hippie who's way too desperate to get a boyfriend!"
That's it. HE'S GOING DOWN! Marcia thought as she began to clench her fists, ready to bury them in the little brat's stomach. Before she even had a chance, though, she was stunned to see the look on Aqua's face. Any attempts to remain civil were gone, with her face now morphed into that of pure anger. Aqua buried her foot into Jeremy's gut in a single, lightning-quick motion, knocking the wind out of him before sending him flying into a nearby wall, burying him several inches into it on impact. Everyone in the dojo stopped whatever they were doing to see what had happened, while Marcia looked on, stunned, for a minute or two, before she finally gave voice to what everyone was thinking:
"AQUA, WHAT DID YOU JUST DO?!"
Realizing the scene that she was creating, Aqua allowed the anger she felt towards the rude little boy to pass over her before adopting the same warm, inviting look that she had had mere moments before. Smiling, she turned to everyone and said, "I am sorry. I was merely trying to teach this boy the importance of respecting other's personal space," she said as she motioned towards the unconscious Jeremy. "I had no idea that he would end up like this. Please, allow my family to pay for any repairs you may need to make to your school."
After getting over his initial shock, Sensei Brantley finally spoke up. "Uh, have you ever considered taking up martial arts, miss?"
"I still can't believe that you managed to do that!" Marcia shouted at Aqua for the umpteenth time in the last hour. After what had happened at the Dojo, Marcia had apologized to her Sensei on Aqua's behalf before hastily leaving. From there, Marcia had taken Aqua to the Echo Creek Mall to browse the shops and enjoy the food. At the moment, the two girls were enjoying some ice cream and watching as Misty happily swam in the giant water fountain in the center of the food court, all while Marcia wouldn't stop gushing over what Aqua did to Jeremy.
"Marcia, I do not see why you care so much about what I did to that rude little boy. It was uncalled for me to lose my temper as I did," Aqua said, blaming herself for her violent outburst. While she had tried to brush it off in the dojo, Aqua was very embarrassed about what she had done in truth. She didn't like to resort to violence unless necessary; it was in her nature.
"Trust me, Aqua, you did me a huge favor by wall-planting that little creep," Marcia said, scowling. "Jeremy Birnbaum's been a pain in my side since day one. He's head over heels for me; he's deluded himself into thinking that we're meant to be; and worst of all, he even managed to obtain an entire collection of photos of me without my knowledge or consent!" Just thinking about that photo collection was enough to make Marcia's blood boil with anger. "If you hadn't done that to him, then I would have." Marcia took a lick at her ice cream cone, careful not to let it spill onto the ground. "But what I want to know is how you got so strong. I've been doing karate for years, and I'm still nowhere near that level of strength."
"To be honest, I am unsure myself," Aqua admitted as she continued to enjoy her ice cream. "My people have developed incredibly powerful muscles in our lower bodies to help us swim in the strong currents that flow through the waters of the All Blue. Perhaps they translated over to my legs in human form," she theorized before shrugging her shoulders. Truthfully, she didn't know how it was possible, but she did know one thing: she would need to be mindful of her strength while in human form, or else she could hurt someone.
"Well, regardless, I still think that was seriously awesome, Aqua. If you ever want to take up martial arts, I think that Sensei would be more than happy to have you as a student."
"Thank you, Marcia. I will keep that in mind, but I do not think that it will be necessary. I am very good at taking care of myself. Plus, I have Misty to defend me now."
"Horsea!" the little Horsea cried out in response.
By this point, Aqua had finished up her ice cream cone, much to her dismay. She rarely ever got to enjoy foods such as ice cream in Oceanus due to its watery nature, so being able to enjoy this so leisurely was a real treat. "Excuse me, Marcia. I'm going to go get some more ice cream for myself. I will be right back." Aqua then got up and walked over to the ice cream parlor across the food court for a second helping of the frozen dessert.
A few minutes later, Aqua was happily munching away at another ice cream cone as she made her way back to Marcia, thinking about how lucky she was to be able to experience all these new things for the first time. And while she was still a little upset that her plans to get closer to Comet had fallen through, it did not bother her as much as she thought. After all, she was able to spend the day with Marcia, one of the best friends she had ever made!
As she made her way back to the water fountain while happily enjoying her ice cream, Aqua didn't seem to notice that two teenage boys were watching her as she walked by. After looking her over once or twice, they each got smug grins on their faces before they got up from the table they were sitting and walked over to her. Aqua was too busy eating her ice cream cone that she didn't notice until they had cut off her path back to the fountain.
Taking a moment to look away from her snack, Aqua looked at the two strangers. One of them had on these grungy-looking pair of jeans and a shirt of some band half-tucked into his pants. His companion had on this beaten-up jacket and a beanie that vaguely reminded her of the one Jonah wore, but not as clean looking. Confused about what was going on, Aqua finally spoke up. "I am terribly sorry, but you appear to have cut me off from where I was going. If you would be so kind as to let me pass, I would be ever so grateful," she politely said. But the two teenagers wouldn't budge. They just kept grinning at her.
"No can do, babe," the one in the bad beanie said. "Me and my friend here needed to speak with you about something," he said to her, smirking.
"Oh? And what is it that you needed to discuss?"
Now the one with the grungy jeans and messy shirt spoke up. "You see, we couldn't happen to notice you as you were walking by. And we couldn't help but wonder to ourselves 'what's a pretty girl like you doing all by her lonesome-"
"When she could be spending some time with two fine gentlemen such as ourselves," the one in the beanie said as he stepped closer, making Aqua blink in rapid succession. "So how about, girl? You want to spend some time getting to know each other?" The way that he said that set off multiple alarms inside of Aqua's head. These guys were bad news.
Aqua was no stranger to being hit on. Her father had told her that she was growing into a lovely young woman. More than a few intrepid young mermen (and even a few mermaids) had tried to flirt with her whenever she traveled into Oceanus. She had turned them all down as politely as possible, not wanting to hurt their feelings too badly. However, some wouldn't get the message unless she spelled it out for them. And this was one of those times.
"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I am uninterested. I'm already here with a friend of mine, and she's currently waiting for me by the fountain. So, if you would be so kind as to let me pass..." Aqua tried to move around the two unwanted suitors, only for them to block her path once more.
"Oh, come on. Don't be like that, girl. Tell you what: we'll let you get your friend, and the four of us can all spend some quality time together," the one in the beanie said. "So how about it, dollface?" he said with an oily tone in his voice as he started to get up in Aqua's face.
"I'm not interested, good sir," Aqua bluntly told them as she tried to duck underneath, only for the boy in the grunge jeans to try and grab her by the wrist. Aqua could feel her anger at these two ruffians begin to rise, despite her promise of watching how she used her newly discovered strength. What's the worst that could happen if I were to beat them up, she began to ask herself, mentally bracing to kick their asses.
Fortunately, she didn't have to. "Hey, what do you think you're doing?" a new voice cried out, catching the three's attention. Aqua looked behind her to see a girl around her with long, black hair and a lilac sweater vest/purple skirt combo standing there, glaring at the two boys before walking towards them. Aqua wasn't entirely sure, but she swore that her harassers let out a small "Eep" as the new girl approached them.
"Oh, um, hello, Miss Wong," the boy in the beanie nervously said, any sense of confidence he had now gone. "It's so nice of you to grace us with your-"
"Save it, lowlifes," the girl said, cutting him off. "I saw you trying to hit on this girl when she clearly said she wasn't interested. Didn't your parents ever tell you how to treat a lady?"
"Look, we didn't mean anything by it," the boy in the grunge jeans said. "We just wanted to get to know her better, is all," he said, trying to justify their actions. But the new girl wasn't having any of it.
"I don't want to hear any of your excuses, buddy. Now, unless you want to hear about this from my Daddy, I suggest that you kindly walk away and never bother this girl again. Understand?" It was clear from her tone of voice that this wasn't just a request; it was a command. And she wasn't going to take 'no' for an answer.
The guy in the beanie got flustered as he tried to say something in response, but he wasn't able to come up with any retort. "Well, fine! We didn't even want to hang out with this chick. She's so not our type. Come on, bro. Let's get out of here!"
"Yeah, bro. Let's bail!" and with that, the two teens turned around and quickly walked away with their proverbial tails between their legs.
Smiling as they left, the girl then turned around to look at Aqua. "Are you alright?" she asked.
"Oh, I am fine," Aqua said, grateful for this new girl's assistance. "Thank you for stepping in. I fear that things would have gone badly had you not done so."
"No need to thank me. I've dealt with scum like those two before. The best way to deal with them is to let them know that they can't pull that shit on you." For a brief moment, the girl then looked at the ground as if she seemed upset about something. But it was only for a moment. "Well, then, I better go." The girl then turned around and began to walk away, only to be surprised when Aqua reached out and took one of her hands.
"Wait!" Aqua said. "I haven't even asked you your name yet, good lady."
The dark-haired girl blinked as if she was surprised by Aqua's request. Her eyes began darting all over the place, trying to look at anything besides the barefoot girl in front of her. "You, you don't know who I am?" she hesitantly asked. Aqua shook her head in response.
"No. All I know is that I like how pretty your hair is," Aqua said, complimenting how shiny her savior's hair was. That response actually managed to make her laugh a little.
"Thanks. I'm Brittney Wong. I like your hair, too," the other girl said as she introduced herself, with the slightest hint of a smile appearing on her face, though it was soon replaced by a more edgy look. "Do you...really not know who I am?" she asked, very hesitant to do so.
"No. Should I know who you are?" Aqua innocently asked, not understanding why Brittney seemed so apprehensive about talking to her.
"N-no, it's alright. It's just that, well, I assumed everybody around here knew about me," Brittney said, her voice becoming forlorn as she spoke.
"Well, I am actually not from around here. I came here today in the hopes of spending time with a friend. But now, I'm enjoying my day with another friend!" Aqua told her, not missing a beat in her happy tone of voice. Suddenly, her face lit up as an idea flashed through her mind. "Oh, I know. Why don't you spend the rest of the day with the two of us? We can have our very own 'girl's day,' as my friend would put it!"
Brittney felt her face begin to sweat a little bit at that suggestion. "You want to spend the day? With me? Are you sure that's a good idea?" she nervously asked. "Not to be rude, but I don't exactly have the best reputation with the people in this town," she explained, hoping that this new girl wouldn't press for more information. Not that I don't deserve it, though, she mentally reminded herself.
Despite the misgivings, Aqua was unconvinced. "It is alright. I can already tell that you are a good person," Aqua politely said, making Brittney blush a little in embarrassment. "And I am certain that my friend will not be the kind who will judge you on your reputation. Now come on, she must be worried sick about me by now!" Before Brittney could even protest, Aqua grabbed her by the hand and dragged her off to the water fountain. Not that Brittney could even protest. Her mind was still focused on what Aqua had said.
She called me a good person.
Brittney was so focused on that singular sentence that she failed to realize that Aqua had dragged her all the way to the water fountain. Nor had she realized who Aqua's friend was until she heard a very familiar voice cry out.
"BRITTNEY!?"
Brittney finally got out of her head long enough to realize who had just said that. Oh no. Please not her, Brittney pleaded in her head, not wanting it to be who sounded like it was. Reluctantly, she looked in front of her and saw that, much to her dismay, it was Marcia.
Oh, God, why? Why did it have to be her? Brittney cursed her luck, while Aqua looked confused by the whole exchange in front of her.
"Oh, I was not aware that you already knew each other," Aqua said, failing to realize the tension that was brewing between the two girls.
"We're...acquainted with each other, yes," Brittney simply said, not wanting to escalate things any further.
"Understatement of the century," Marcia responded. For the umpteenth time since her birthday party, Brittney remembered how big a bitch she'd been to Marcia in the past.
This was a mistake. I shouldn't have come, Brittney instantly decided. "Look, if my being here is going to be a problem, then I can just leave," Brittney told Marcia before trying to walk in the opposite direction. Once again, though, she felt Aqua grab her hand to try and stop her.
"Please do not go, Brittney. I want us to enjoy the day our girl's day out together," Aqua pleaded. "Especially now that I know the two of you are friends!"
"We're not friends, Aqua. We haven't been friends for a long time now," Marcia bitterly said, making Brittney wince in response. Even after she had helped her during the Mewberty incident and helped Comet out with that angry mob, Marcia still didn't trust her. It felt so unfair, but at the same time, Brittney knew Marcia had every right not to trust her.
"Look, Marcia," Brittney began to say. "I know how I treated you in the past was wrong, but I am trying to get better. You know that. Please, just give me a chance."
Marcia looked at Brittney before sighing. "Fine, but I'm only doing this for Aqua's sake, not yours," she bluntly told the former head cheerleader.
Off to the side, Aqua clapped her hands together, having just put Misty into her purse to carry him around. "Oh, this is excellent! I get to spend the whole day with my dearest friend Marcia and my new friend Brittney. We are going to so much fun together!"
Yeah, fun, Marcia thought to herself as she kept looking at Brittney, who once again felt like she didn't belong there.
As the day dragged on, Aqua wanted Marcia and Brittney to show her as much of Echo Creek as possible. Marcia was more than happy to do so, eagerly taking her to some of her favorite locations in-town. However, as she did so, she kept trying to keep Aqua as far away from Brittney as possible, something that did not go unnoticed by Aqua. Whenever she saw Brittney awkwardly standing off to one side, Aqua would insist that she come and join them in what they were doing. Marcia tried to play nice for Aqua's sake, but no matter what, she wasn't happy about having her around them. And whenever Aqua wasn't looking, she made it no secret that she didn't trust Brittney.
After visiting several locations, such as the park, the spa, and more, the three girls (and Misty the Horsea) had ended up at Marcia's favorite place in Echo Creek, Britta's Tacos. Much to the disgust of Brittney, who considered the place beneath her. Just sitting at what was, to her, at least, a third-rate fast-food stand was enough to make her skin crawl. Still, Brittney wanted to prove to Marcia that she was trying to change for the better, and she wanted to make Aqua happy. If that meant having to put up the greasy, disgusting, pore-clogging, zit-inducing food, then so be it!
...is what she wanted to say! But the moment she had to set foot near the taco place, Brittney had been fighting back the urge to vomit. The dirty tables, the people sitting nearby, and the noxious fumes from the kitchen were too much for her to bear! Not helping matters was that the whole time they were there, Marcia kept glaring at her. Even though Brittney hated it, she kept quiet. She didn't want to ruin things for Aqua.
Brittney liked being around Aqua. And for the first time in forever, she found someone that genuinely liked being around her, and not just for her wealth and status. It was a strange feeling, one that felt nearly alien to Miss Wong. But even after all these years, she could still recall what it was she was feeling: happiness. To be happy that someone liked her for just being herself. It was a warm, comforting feeling that she didn't want to let go of again. She may have burned her bridge with Marcia, but she was determined to not do the same with this new girl, Aqua.
Which was why Brittney now found herself, of all things, standing in line, waiting for the two other girls' food.
Ugh. It smells even worse up close, Brittney thought as she waited at the counter while the teen operating the register got her food ready. No, no. No complaining, Brittney Wong! You are going to show Marcia that you have changed, acne be damned! Brittney fought back the urge to puke as she was handed the girls food: two soft fish tacos for Aqua and nachos and horchata for Marcia. Once she had everything, she then hastily made her way back to the table where the other girls were sitting.
Unfortunately, Brittney was walking so fast that she was paying attention to her surroundings. Right as she was about to reach the table, she ended up tripping over her own two feet, sending her crashing to the ground with a hard "Oof!" and sending the contents in her hands flying into the air.
Brittney winced, struggling to resist the urge to scream in pain. Hitting the concrete wasn't life-threatening, but the ex-cheerleader could tell from the stinging sensations in her arms and legs that she had skinned herself. It stung like Hell, but she'd been through worse accidents in cheerleader practice. She would power through.
Besides, she had bigger problems, like how she dropped the food. "Ow. Are you guys okay?" Brittney asked as she looked up at the two other girls. Aqua and the strange-looking animal that she had with her were unscathed. However, Marcia wasn't so lucky. Her shirt and skirt were covered in a layer of melted cheese and nacho chips now stuck to them, while her poor head now had horchata dribbling down it onto her collar. And she had fish taco covering her legs. And she was looking at Brittney like she was the scum of the Earth.
"Oh my gosh, Marcia! I am so-" Brittney started to say, but she didn't get the chance to finish that sentence.
"You...you did this to me on purpose, didn't you?!" Marcia growled at Brittney.
"What? No, I-"
"Don't you lie to me, Wong!" Marcia said, cutting her off again. "You did that on purpose to try and publicly humiliate me again. Just like all the other times you did that in the past!"
"No!" Brittney shot back as she began to stand up, no longer caring about any injuries to her flawless skin. "Marcia, it was an accident, I swear!"
"Um, Marcia, I think she is telling the truth," Aqua tried to interject off to the side. Whether Marcia didn't hear or just chose to ignore what she said, Aqua didn't know, but Marcia did not let up with her accusations.
"And you expect me to believe that? After everything you've put me through over the years? The name-calling, the gossip, ostracizing and abandoning me?" Marcia just kept listing grievance after grievance on her fingers as she continued to tear into Brittney.
"Look, Marcia. I know that I was mean to you in the past-"
"That's an oversimplification, Wong! There were times where it felt like you wanted to make my life hell! And that's not counting everything you said to me at your birthday party! Do you have any idea how hurtful it is for someone you once called a friend to call you a slut? Pretty god-damn hurtful!"
"Hey, I did not call you that, and you know it!" Brittney said in her defense, which didn't help matters.
"Um, guys, if we could just-" Aqua tried to say, only for her pleas to fall on deaf ears.
"That's not the point, Brittney! It was uncalled for, and it didn't change the fact that it was coming from someone who used to be my best friend!"
"I know that it was uncalled for, Marcia," Brittney said, her tone now coming close to pleading. "But it was thanks to what Comet said that made me realize just how horrible a person I'd become, and now I'm trying to change for the better."
"Helping save the school while Comet was in the throes of Mewberty is not enough to forgive a lifetime of bullying, Brittney."
"Wait, Comet went through Mewberty?" Aqua asked, genuinely shocked by this news.
"I know that. But that doesn't change what I just said. I'm trying to change, Marcia! If you could just give me-"
"-What, a chance? You expect me to believe that because Comet had the guts to tell you what everyone should have said to you a long time ago, you've decided that now's the time for you to reform. To change your ways and try to get things back to the way they were before third grade?"
"Well, yeah! I thought that's what you would want," Brittney nervously said.
"You think I still want you to be my friend? After all that you did to keep me as far away from you as possible? You think that I'll let you back into my life just like that?" Marcia snapped her fingers for emphasis.
"Look, Marcia, I'm trying to change myself for the better. Comet was willing to give me a second chance, so why can't you?" Brittney sincerely asked.
"Why can't I? WHY CAN'T I?" Marcia asked, incredulous that she even had to say it. "Because Comet only just moved here and started to get to know us. He's only ever seen you being a total bitch once at your birthday party. He doesn't know you like I do, Brittney!" Marcia paused to take a breath before she continued her tirade. "Comet never had to deal with you for years. All the name-calling, mocking me every chance you got, always trying to belittle me and make me think less of myself. And now you suddenly want to be my friend again? Just so you can try and make everyone think that you've changed? To make Comet think that you've changed so that he'll give you another chance?"
"That is not why I am doing this, Marcia!" Brittney angrily retorted.
"I don't care. You think that you can just come back and act like those years of torment never happened and that we can go back to the way things were before? Well, guess what? WE CAN'T. I already moved on with my life and found new friends. Real friends that won't abandon me for the sake of status. But you? You're still all alone. Because nobody's ever going to want to be your friend! AND NO AMOUNT OF TRYING IS EVER GOING TO CHANGE THAT!"
The silence after that followed what Marcia said was so great, one could hear a penny fall to the ground. Marcia just stood there, panting heavily after letting out all her pent-up frustrations towards Brittney, who just stood there in silence, looking down at the ground. Then, a tiny sniffle escaped from the girl's throat, and one by one, tears began to fall from her. Brittney looked up to face Marcia, who gasped in shock. Brittney was...crying.
For a moment, Brittney tried to hold back the waterworks. She tried to maintain a semblance of dignity. But everything that Marcia had said to her had hit her hard. Without even saying anything, Brittney bolted from the table straight for the restrooms so that she could let everything out in peace.
Marcia just stood there, stunned by what she had just witnessed. Brittney had been crying. Marcia had guessed that Brittney was not above using crocodile tears to get her way in the past, but this was different. Somehow, Marcia could tell that those tears were real. And it was enough to give Marcia pause.
"Marcia! How could you say such awful things to that poor girl?" Aqua asked, slamming down on the table as she stood up to look at her friend with nothing but disappointment in her eyes. "She's done nothing but be nice to you all day, and this is how you repay her kindness? By getting mad over what was clearly an accident?"
Marcia couldn't believe what she was hearing. Aqua, of all people, was defending Brittney! "You're seriously going to take her side? You saw what happened!"
"I saw that she tripped on the ground and spilled our food by complete accident and that you overreacted and lashed out at her!" Aqua said as she raised her voice towards her friend. "Accident or not, making her cry like that was uncalled for. Now you need to go apologize and mend things with her!" Aqua said, now standing only a few inches away from Marcia's face and angrily glaring at her.
Marcia flinched for a moment. She had already seen Aqua get angry with Jeremy, but this felt like it was on another level entirely. With how friendly she is, you almost forget that she's a princess sometimes. After what felt like an eternity, Marcia turned her head away, not wanting to look her friend in the eyes. "I'm sorry, Aqua, but that's easier said than done."
"Marcia, I do not-" Aqua started to say, but then she suddenly got cut off.
Thwink*
Amidst the music that could be heard playing at Britta's Tacos, a faint sound could be heard. Then, suddenly, Aqua's eyes began to roll into the back of her head before she collapsed on the ground.
"Oh my gosh, Aqua!" Marcia cried out as she knelt down next to her friend and raised her head up, trying to figure out what happened to her. That's when she noticed a small, needle-like item protruding from the back of her neck.
"What in the-" before Marcia could even examine the needle, she suddenly felt a sharp prick hit the back of her neck. Then, her vision started to get blurry as staying upright suddenly became an arduous task! It was like her whole body was trying to fall asleep, even as her mind scrambled to make it obey her orders.
What the Hell...is happening to me? I can't move my body! Marcia felt the urge to panic begin to well up inside her chest as she felt her mind begin to go blurry. However, years of mental discipline and karate training kicked in, and she began to resist the urge to fall asleep as she struggled to figure out what happened to her and Aqua.
Scratch that, make that her, Aqua, and Misty. Marcia caught a glimpse of the little Horsea in Aqua's bag and saw that it had one of those needle-things stuck in its neck as well. Suddenly gaining a moment of clarity amidst the fog that threatened to overtake her mind, Marcia felt behind her neck until she came across yet another strange needle. No, a needle wasn't the correct thing to call it. It was a dart. It was small, thin as a needle, but there was no mistaking that it was a dart.
Ah, crud. We got tranq'd. Feeling her mind fading, Marcia began to rapidly look around, trying to figure out who the Hell was responsible for this. That's when she heard an all-too-familiar cackle piercing the air.
"Yes. Yes, it worked!" Sure enough, standing in the middle of Britta's Tacos, was Ludo and his marauding monster miscreants, with Ludo carrying a blow-gun in one of his hands in place of that staff-thing he usually lugged around. "Let's see that royal brat try and keep the Wand away from us when we have his best friend prisoner!"
"Uh, Ludo, sir, you do realize you also shot that other girl. What do you want to do with her?" Marcia vaguely heard a Monster (Lobster Claws?) ask.
"What do you think, you moron? If she's with Comet's babysitter, then she must be important to him, too. Bring them both to the secret headquarters. And put that weird-looking pet thing in a jar!"
"Urhrhr...Screw you...Ludo." Marcia slurred as she tried to raise her fist at the approaching Monsters. "When I get my hands on you, I'm gonna. I'm gonna..." But Marcia never got to finish that sentence, as sleep finally claimed her.
"Not so sweet dreams, you stupid brat. At last, the moment of victory is at hand!" And then Ludo began to cackle like a maniac even as Lobster Claws, Buff Frog, and Bear Deer hauled the two girls (and Misty) into a portal.
Unbeknownst to them, not everyone present at Britta's Tacos had run for the hills. One girl had chosen to stay behind and observe the whole situation from behind a nearby corner: Brittney Wong.
"Oh, no..."
Spongebob Narrator: We now return to the present time.
"...After that, those weirdos dragged Marcia and Aqua into that crazy portal thing and disappeared. So I tried to look for Comet around town, but I couldn't find him. And that's when I ran into you and this little blue man," Brittney said as she finished telling her story to Jonah and Glossaryck, who had been quietly listening to her the whole time.
The aspiring Alchemist and the magical entity looked at each other with mild levels of concern on their faces as they tried to process everything. Ultimately, it was Jonah who ended up breaking the silence. "So, let me get this straight. After Marcia vented years of frustration at you bullying her, you ran off to cry it out. When you came back, you saw Marcia, Aqua, and the Pokémon that's supposed to be protecting her being kidnapped by Comet's worst enemy. And rather than call the cops like most people would, you decided to waste time looking for Comet. Did I miss anything?"
Brittney scowled at this. "This isn't the time to be criticizing my decisions, Ordonia. Marcia and Aqua are in trouble, and Comet's the only one who can help them. So please, can you tell me where he is so he can do his thing and save the day like he always does?"
"Oh, you won't find him, little missy," Glossaryck said. "He told me last night that he and those two guy friends of his were going on a field trip. Something about the Moon or somewhere really crazy."
Brittney was not amused. "You're kidding, right?"
"Of course not. I would never kid about something like this." The fact that Glossaryck could say something like that with a straight face was not lost on Jonah.
"Yes, you would," Jonah remarked, to which Glossaryck just shrugged.
"Eh, probably. The point is, Comet's not here. So, you're out of luck, lady."
When she heard what the blue entity said, Brittney struggled to resist the urge to reach out and try and strangle him! While he and the school's resident weirdo Jonah were sitting around eating meatball subs, the first friend she ever made, the one that she was desperately trying to get back, Marcia Diaz, was in trouble. And just as bad, the first person in living memory to call Brittney a good person was in danger, as well. The thought of those two being hurt was almost more than what Brittney could bear!
That is why, rather than throw a fit like she used to, Brittney didn't let her anger get the best of her. It's not about you, Brittney. This is about Marcia and Aqua. Standing up from the table that she'd been sitting, Brittney looked Jonah and the blue man in the eyes. "Please, I am begging you. You have to help Marcia and Aqua. I can't go to the police because I don't know if they'll be able to do anything against a bunch of Monsters. And I can't wait for Comet to come back from wherever the Hell he is. You guys may be my only hope." Figuring that they may need some extra incentive, Brittney pulled out her checkbook. "If it's money that's the issue, then I'll pay you guys whatever you want. Just name your price, and it's yours. Just help me save Marcia!" By this point, Brittney struggled to keep herself from crying for the second time in the last hour or so. She didn't want to be caught crying in public, especially in front of someone like Jonah, who was infamous for teasing people in school.
You're still all alone. Because nobody's ever going to want to be your friend! Marcia's words still rang in Brittney's head as she struggled to keep it together. "Please. Please help me," Brittney said to the two.
Jonah looked at Brittney in silence, his face the picture of indifference. In truth, though, this was just a mask created to hide his emotions. On the inside, Jonah's mind was abuzz with activity as he listened to everything Brittney had told him. He already knew Brittney was telling the truth about Marcia and Aqua; Ludo had seen to that. However, even after what Brittney did during the Mewberty Incident, a large part of Jonah didn't want to help her. One, because he held Brittney in very low esteem, and two, because he wanted to see if Marcia would bust out on her own.
She's a tough girl, and it's just Ludo and his gang. It's not like she couldn't handle them all on her own, Jonah reminded himself. Having seen Comet and Marcia decimate Ludo's guys on the daily, he had little doubt that Marcia could kick their asses if need be.
Then again, Comet's probably going to be super pissed at me if he finds out Marcia was in trouble, and I didn't help her when I could have. While Jonah acted like he didn't care about anything, he didn't want to drive Comet away so soon. The Prince of Mewni wasn't just a good friend but the key to getting out into the greater Universe.
At last, Jonah made up his mind and turned to Glossaryck to ask him the million-dollar question. "So, teach, what's the verdict? Do you think that I could take them with what I've learned so far?"
Glossaryck looked at Jonah long and hard before giving his answer. "Well, kid, you've got a lot of promise, despite being new to this stuff. You're cunning, resourceful, and play by your own rules rather than someone else's. Therefore, I can safely say that if you went in there looking for a straight-up fight...you'd lose. Really badly. Like, I may end up crying from how bad it was."
Jonah resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "I'm sensing there's a 'but' coming."
"Buuutt," Glossaryck continued, "if you were to play those strengths to your advantage, then you might have a chance. The hardest part is actually using alchemy in combat. You'll have to prepare the transmutation circles quickly, or else the enemy will overwhelm you. But at the same time, if you don't do them right, the process could backfire, and that would be nasty. Nasty jack, right there!"
"Hmm," Jonah thought about this for a few moments. And then, his face lit up with a stroke of inspiration. "All right then, Glossaryck. I think I've got an idea on how to pull this off." Jonah then turned to look at Brittney, who had stood there watching the whole exchange with confusion. "Alright, Miss Wong, I'm in."
Brittney gasped before letting a hesitant smile cross her face. "So then you'll help me?"
Jonah shook his head. "No, prima-donna. I'm going to help Marcia and Aqua. Speaking of which, we need to head back to Marcia's place. I've got some supplies we're going to need there...along with a few friends who might want to help out."
"I like where this is going," Glossaryck said with a half-lidded smile.
"I don't," Brittney butted in. "Can somebody please tell me what insane idea you're planning, Ordonia?"
"All will be made clear in time, Wong," Jonah said as he sported his trademark, half-lidded smirk. "All you need to know is that it's time for the Raven Alchemist to take flight."
"I don't get it." Brittney bluntly said.
"You don't have to. Just follow my lead, and we'll get out of this in one piece."
And thus began the birth of the Raven Alchemist.
Well, I think that was quite an emotional rollercoaster of a chapter, especially towards the end there. Now, I know that some of you may still think that I'm rushing Brittney's redemption arc, but I have my reasons for it. If I want to keep the Earth characters active in the story until the end, I want to get most of them on the right path as soon as possible. Don't worry; I have a plan.
In the meantime, let's respond to some more
READER'S REVIEWS
FungusDungus000-Well, what do you know? Great minds think alike, I suppose, in more ways than one.
NightAroma-The funny thing is, I cannot remember for the life of me where I got the idea of Glossaryck loving Jell-O. I think I remember it in this old Star vs./Gravity Falls crossover, Starfall, but I'm not sure. But I think I made the right choice.
Oh, and that kid with Eternia is going to be important to the story. But you won't see him for a long time.
The Wandering Hippie-My intent from the beginning was to give Jonah and Glossaryck a good informal student-teacher dynamic in this story. Janna and Glossaryck are both trolls with similar personalities, so I think they'd mesh well together. The main thing that makes their relationship different from that of Star or Comet is that Jonah can figure him out pretty quickly. As a result, Glossaryck treats him with more respect.
But Glossaryck does have other reasons, and they're tied back to his decision to have Comet sent to Earth. He thinks that many of the people Comet's met on Earth can become potentially powerful allies once he becomes King. Partners that can help change Mewni for the better. Basically, he's trying to subtly nudge things in a particular direction. Or not. Who knows.
You know what to do: fave and follow this story, and follow me on Twitter (JZ-Gaming), Insta (RJ Writing Ink), and YouTube (Jungoguy)
Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to go prepare for the season finale of Amphibia.