*We return to the physics-defying space known only as Jay's workspace to find RJ "Jay" Writing Ink binge-watching the entire second season of Amphibia on Disney+. Resting by his side is a replica of Eda the Owl Lady's staff from The Owl House and a plushie of the character King from the same show. He's also chowing down on a bucket of popcorn as Janna, Kermit, and Ed come and join him.*
Jay: Hey, guys! You made it! Grab a seat and enjoy some popcorn!
Kermit: Oh, yeah! I've been waiting for the second season of Amphibia to come out on Disney+. This show's absolutely amazing! And I'm not just saying that because I'm a frog.
Janna: Yeah, no kidding. I'm surprised that the fans haven't broken the Internet yet over the season finale.
Ed: Ed needs music on iTunes!
Jay: We all do, Ed. And speaking of music, today's going to start a four-part arc centered around our story's resident musical aspirant, Karla Greason. And before you ask, the answer is that I want to give everyone on Earth decent development. Also, you can imagine Olivia Olson singing these songs.
Janna: Nice. Hey, can we get some salt on this popcorn?
Jay: No problem, Janna Bannana.
*Jay proceeds to grab a giant salt shaker that reads "Salt from the comments section of the Steven Universe v. Star Butterfly DEATH BATTLE! Episode while the others look at him, surprised that he did that.
Jay: Oh, don't give me that. We all knew going in that people were gonna be salty as Hell, even if Star won.
Janna: Meh, if you didn't do it, I would've.
Jay: By the way, this chapter's going to contain a song from The Little Mermaid, so I would like to offer my condolences to the family of Samuel E. Wright, the man who played the role of Sebastian in that iconic film. He will be missed. Now, let's start the story!
Play Final Fantasy VII Remake - Those Who Fight - piano version- /watch?v=k-FNDbK6Qhg
"Come on, you guys. Is that the best you got?" Comet shouted as he leaped into the air, backflipped, and then executed a perfect landing on his feet right as Spike Balls was about to crush him with his namesake in the middle of the Diaz family's backyard. "I guess that is the best you got, then."
"Why, you little-! Get over here!" Spike Balls' attacks became much more erratic as he began wildly swinging his arms around in a vain attempt to hit the Prince. On the other hand, Comet was nimbly dodging with a bored expression on his face, which only enraged the Monster even further. He was so enraged that he didn't even notice that Comet had gotten inside his defenses until he was right in front of him.
"Look, Spike Balls, if you're not going to take this thing seriously, then you might as well go home. ACME ANVIL ATTACK!"
"What in the?" Spike Balls had nothing to say about that, nor did he have time, as he heard a sudden whooshing sound coming from above him. Looking up, he was stunned to see a giant anvil with the word "ACME" painted on it, heading right for him.
"Oh no." Spike Balls brought his massive hands up to defend himself, ready to use them for batting the anvil away. That proved to be a mistake, though. As soon he touched it, the thing exploded, releasing...confetti?
Spike Balls looked at the confetti falling around him in complete and utter confusion. "Um, what was that supposed to do?"
"Distract you. BOXING GLOVE SURPRISE ATTACK!" Then, a spring-loaded boxing glove suddenly shot out of the bell of Comet's Wand and hit Spike Balls right in the kisser! The Monster staggered backward from the force of the impact before attempting to right himself in an attempt to keep from toppling over. However, it was of no use, though, as gravity, and the concussion, ultimately won out, sending him crashing to the ground. And right on top of several Monsters, no less!
"Aw, sweet. Multiple K.O.!" Comet shouted in celebration of his achievement. "Try and top that, Marcia!"
"No one likes a show-off, Comet," Marcia yelled to her friend as she faced down Boo Fly, Man Arm, and what looked like a cross between a centaur and a crocodile, which did not escape the girl's notice. "Just out of curiosity, are you two related in any way?" she couldn't help but ask as she pointed at the two reptilian beings.
Man Arm and the Crocodile looked at each other and then shook their heads. "Not that we know," Man Arm said before the three Monsters charged at Marcia. The girl responded to this by jumping over their heads and simultaneously grabbing Boo Fly before nimbly throwing the fly Monster back at them.
"AHHHH!" Boo Fly screamed in panic as he hit his comrades like a living cannonball, sending all three of them falling flat on their backs.
"Whyyyyyy?" Boo Fly groaned in pain as Marcia looked pleased with what she just managed to do.
"I'm sorry, Marcia, but what was that about no one likes a show-off?" Comet playfully teased her friend as he dodged an attack by an attack by Dave and Ping Pong before summoning a tornado made out of honeybees. Marcia couldn't help but roll her eyes at her friend's teasing.
"It doesn't count as showing off if you don't brag about it, Comet," she retorted.
"I don't know, Marcia. That 'fastball special' seemed a little unnecessary." Marcia looked off to the side to see Alfonso, Ferguson, Jackson (she blushed at the sight of him), and Karla relaxing in lounge chairs, sipping lemonade and watching the fight while Karla was playing the battle medley for Final Fantasy VII on her keytar.
She's doing really well playing it, too, Marcia noted. "You know you guys can help out at any time," Marcia said. "This isn't some kind of spectator's sport."
"Nah, we're good. You got this," Alfonso said.
"I left my Black Kabuto at home," Ferguson shrugged.
"I am helping, girl. I'm boosting morale using my sweet music," Karla said. "Oh, and look out behind you."
"YAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"
Marcia swiveled around to see Ludo, of all people, jumping at her, trying to whack her with that weird staff thing that he kept carrying around with him. Marcia felt her face go completely deadpan at this as she caught the staff before it could connect with her head. But Ludo refused to let go of it, leaving him dangling in mid-air, looking rather pathetic in the process.
"Really, Ludo? You're resorting to this? This has to be a new level of pathetic, even for you," Marcia told him with disdain.
"Er, um, any chance you'd be willing to surrender out of pity?" Ludo sheepishly asked, which only got him a glare from Marcia.
"No. And I haven't forgotten how you ruined my girl's day out with Aqua," Marcia said before proceeding to bitch slap him around like a ragdoll. To his credit, though, the tiny Avian refused to let go, even if it resulted in him getting beat up even further.
End Music
"Wow, this is almost sad to watch," Alfonso couldn't help but say off to the side.
"But also hilarious," Ferguson added. "Man, too bad Jonah isn't here. He'd be loving this shit."
"Whazzat? That weird kid with the beanie?" Ludo slurred as he struggled to keep his head on straight. "I hate that guy! That freaking bastard!" Ludo yelled as he waved his arms around in anger, inadvertently making him let go of his staff and fall to the ground. Not that Ludo seemed to notice as he continued his punch-drunken tirade against Jonah. "If it weren't for that rat, I'd have the Wand already! Why, if he were right now, I'd give him a p-piece of my mind!"
"~Heeeeey, bud. Guesssss whoooooo?~" an all-too-familiar voice called out, making everyone who had heard it shudder in fear; Ludo especially. After a moment's hesitation, Ludo looked up to find himself looking at the smirking, half-lidded face of Jonah himself.
"Oh noooooo," Ludo sharply uttered under his breath.
"So, did I just hear you call me a freaking bastard?" Jonah asked with a smile on his face that did more to unnerve his friends than reassure them. It almost made Ludo want to piss his robes. "Because I think the phrase that you're looking for is 'bane of your existence,' little man." Jonah clarified.
At this point, Ludo had fallen to his knees. With a look of fear in his eyes, he began crawling back to his staff, which Marcia had long since dropped to the ground. Alas, it was for naught, as Jonah kept pace with the Monster leader, still sporting the same grin.
"You know, it's actually good that you and your pals stopped by to play today. I was looking forward to having some volunteers to test out some new alchemy on."
Before Janna could continue talking, Beard Deer happened to bound over, having seen his leader fallen to the ground. "Ludo, boss. Are you alri-" The remaining words got caught in Beard Deer's throat as he saw who was staring down his boss.
At this point, Karla had switched from Final Fantasy VII music to a cover for a song that felt very appropriate for this moment.
Play Giorno's Theme (Piano Cover)- /NscXXbmAggI?t=231
Finally, Ludo broke the silence as he grabbed his staff and said what was on everyone's minds at that moment:
"RUN AWAAYYYYYY!" And Ludo promptly bolted as fast as his little legs could carry him, with Beard Deer not needing to be told twice what to do as he remembered what the human boy was capable of.
In the other section of the yard where Comet was facing off against the rest of Ludo's Monsters, everyone looked over in confusion as their leader and comrade came barreling towards them, screaming like there was no tomorrow. Then they saw who was following them.
"Aw, come on, you guys. Don't leave! We're just starting to have fun!" Jonah said as he whipped out his taser and pepper spray.
"IT'S THE DEMON CHILD! RUNNN!" Boo Fly cried out in a panic that caused the floodgates to break. The Monsters promptly ignored Comet as they tried to get as far away from the terrifying human boy as possible. After a few failed attempts, Ludo hastily pulled out his dimensional scissors and managed to open up a portal that would take them back to Castle Avarius.
"Everyone in the portal, NOW!" Ludo shouted, not even bothering to hide the panic in his voice. The other Monsters didn't need to be told twice, as they all clambered to get inside the portal. As the last of the group found their way inside, Ludo turned back to look at the teenagers and glared at Comet. "This isn't over, Comet Dragonfly! I will get that Wand from you, and your friends won't be able to help you!" And with that, Ludo disappeared into the portal, which sealed itself behind them.
End Music.
As soon as the Monsters had high-tailed out of there, Comet looked at his friends and then at Jonah in confusion. He had seen Ludo and his goons run away countless times, but this was the first time they looked outright terrified.
"Jeez, Jonah. What in the Seven Hells did you do to make them so terrified of you?" Comet asked without any hesitation.
Jonah just shrugged. "Oh, you, know, nothing out of the ordinary." Marcia and the others wanted to say something about this, but at this point, this was the kind of dangerous behavior that they'd expect from Jonah.
"Man. I'm glad that he's on our side," Karla said, to which her friends all nodded in agreement.
"Aw, relax, you guys!" Comet said with a smile on his face as he put his hand on Jonah's shoulder. "I'm sure that Jonah only said all that to make Ludo and the others run for the hills. And it worked! So why does it matter?"
Marcia could feel a sweat drop falling from her face in nervousness. "Yeah, sure. Let's go with that," she said, not wanting to drag this out.
"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm starving right now," Comet said, oblivious to how nervous everyone seemed to be about his statement. "Anyone else up for post-victory tacos at Britta's Tacos?" he happily suggested.
Everyone's faces lit at the prospect of eating at one of their favorite fast-food places in Echo Creek. "We're in!" they all said in unison.
"Alright! ~Tacos, tacos, tacos, tacos!~" Comet began to chant as he led everyone out of the backyard, with the others soon joining in as Karla started to play some more music on her keytar.
Back in Castle Avarius, the mood was significantly less festive. In the main banquet hall, all the Monsters either sat in dining chairs or laid haphazardly on the floor, unable to move from a mixture of pain and humiliation. The only one who had not joined them was their leader, who had promptly marched to his office without another word, leaving his followers to stew in their continued failure.
"I can't believe I fell for that little brat's fakeout," Spike Balls mumbled as he kept trying to hold an icepack to his head to deal with the massive migraine he got from Comet. Given how his hands were giant spike balls, though, he didn't make much progress until Lobster Claws had to grab the pack and place it on his head.
"At least your tried fighting your opponent. As soon as I saw that human boy with the beanie, I froze up in terror!" Bear Deer lamented as he buried his hands in his face in shame. "I looked like an actual deer in headlights! What kind of a warrior am I!?"
Buff Frog walked over to his friend and began to gently pat him on the shoulder. "It is alright, friend. You are not only one who has suffered pain at hands of crazy boy," he said in the most reassuring tone that he could muster.
"And that freak's only the latest of the Prince's friends to become a problem. Remember the party bus? That fat kid and the skinny one pelted us with rocks, water balloons, and who knows what else!" Dave complained as he remembered that night, with Ping-Pong nodding in agreement.
"And what about that weird little bird that the psycho kid set loose on us?" Lobster Claws shouted. "I didn't even know Earth birds could make blades out of thin air!"
"And that big bird thing that that girl with the fangs has! I still have nightmares about it!" The Giraffe-Man said as he curled up into a fetal position as he remembered the giant bird of death that attacked them that night.
"Face it, you guys. As long as the Prince has his friends around him, we can't even touch him," Bearicorn sadly noted as he laid on the floor, staring wistfully at the ceiling. "It's hopeless. We can kiss being in charge of Mewni goodbye." Lying nearby with his back to a pillar, Potato Baby grumbled in agreement, while Big Chicken sadly clucked to show that he felt the same way.
"ENOUGH!"
The Monsters were suddenly brought out of their collective moping as they saw the main door to the banquet hall suddenly kicked open by a very irate Ludo. None of them could be sure, but based on the looks that he was giving them, he had heard much of their discussion and was not in a good mood about it.
"I don't want to hear any more of this quitter's talk from any of you losers!" Ludo shouted at his men, who looked at him as he climbed up onto the table. "In case you morons have forgotten, that Wand is our ticket out of the gutters and to getting the respect and fear that Monsters rightfully deserve. Especially me!" he yelled, pointing at himself. "We have a golden opportunity to conquer the Universe, and here you are, whining and complaining because you got your asses kicked by a bunch of snot-nosed kids! I don't care how long it may take. WE. ARE. GETTING. THAT WAND!"
Buff Frog looked at his leader with apprehension. "Master, how do we do that? Prince Dragonfly is growing stronger, as do his friends and allies. We cannot keep fighting them like this." None of the other Monsters wanted to say it, but Buff Frog was right. Comet was getting better at his magic with each passing day, as was Marcia with her karate. Now that the Prince's other human friends had begun to join in on the fighting, victory was starting to look like it was impossible.
What Ludo said next, though, was something that none of the Monsters ever thought that they would hear come out of the Avian's mouth: "You are right, Buff Frog."
The other Monsters began to gasp and recoil in shock at what Ludo had just said. "He is?" they all asked in unison.
"I am?" Buff Frog asked, just as confused as everyone else.
"Yes, you are," Ludo reiterated, which was enough to make Lobster Claws almost pass out from shock. "With the way that things are going, getting the Wand through brute force is no longer an option. So, we have decided that we are going to try something a little more...elaborate."
"We? Who's we?" Beard Deer asked.
"Myself and my new ally," Ludo said before looking back at the door that he just came in from. "You can come in now."
At this point, a second figure began to walk into the banquet hall...and all of its occupants found themselves still as statues as they saw who it was. Or rather, what the newcomer was. They stared in shock at the figure's reptilian face and long, gray tail that continued to not-so-subtly swish about as its owner walked by. No one said a word, though. Not everyone present had met one before, but they had all heard the stories about one of the most dangerous races of Monsters in all of Mewni.
A Septarian, Buff Frog grimly thought as the newcomer approached the table before standing next to Ludo. The Monsters that even other Monsters feared.
"Everyone, I would like you to meet my new efficiency expert, Toffee," Ludo proudly said.
"Gentlemen," Toffee curtly replied. "I look forward to working with all of you to bring down our hated enemy, the Dragonfly Family."
"Indeed," Ludo added. "Starting today, Toffee will be working here to mold us into a true fighting force, one that will make that little royal brat and his friends tremble in fear when they see us coming!" Ludo raised his fist into the air for further emphasis of his warlike intentions. "I had hoped to use today's skirmish as a means to show him what he had to work with, but we all know how that turned out, don't we?" Ludo asked, his voice dropping to a far more menacing tone as he added that last part.
"Yeah, we got our butts kicked and ran away in fear from a teenage boy with no magic." Ping Pong answered, making Ludo grimace in response.
"That was a rhetorical question, Dave," Ludo said as he tried to hold back the urge to hit the Conjoinican with his staff.
"Actually, I'm Dave," the left head on the two-headed Monster said. "And he gave you a rhetorical answer."
Ludo couldn't help but facepalm at the sheer stupidity of his underlings as he turned to look at the stoic Toffee. "You see what I have work with here?"
"Indeed. I can see why you have found it difficult to combat the Dragonfly Prince," Toffee said, his face not betraying any hint of emotion. "However, I have done more with far less," he added before stepping forward to address the assembled Monsters.
"Gentlemen, I am aware that many of you may be disheartened by your numerous losses at the hands of the Prince and his friends. But remember that you are not the first Monsters to fall victim to the magic of the Dragonfly family. Many of our people still bear the marks of their cruelty on them. But know this: no matter how powerful they may be, every enemy has a weakness that we can exploit."
Lobster Claws raised one of his claws. "But what weakness could Comet possibly have, Mr. Toffee, sir?"
"That is what we are going to uncover," Toffee quickly responded, his face as expressionless as ever before turning to where Buff Frog had been sitting. "You there. Buff Frog, was it?"
Buff Frog stood up from where he'd been sitting next to Beard Deer and walked over to Toffee and Ludo, making sure to give his leader a salute as he did so.
"Da."
"I understand that you are this organization's spymaster, is that correct?"
"Da."
"Very well, then. You are to return to Earth and shadow Comet and his friends for the time being," Toffee told the Amphibian before reaching into his suit and pulling out a small earpiece. "Use this so that we may hear everything that is going on. We cannot afford any more slip-ups because one of us neglected to remember something important."
Buff Frog narrowed his eyes as he looked at the Septarian. "I never forget important information," he proudly said.
"Oh, really?" Ludo questioned. "Then why do I remember you failing to tell me that Comet's guide on Earth was a master of hand-to-hand combat?"
Buff Frog winced a little at this rebuke about one of his earlier failures. "Ludo, master, there was nothing to indicate that karate girl was of any threat."
"I didn't ask for excuses, Buff Frog. Now go out there and do your damn job already!" Ludo said rather angrily.
Buff Frog wasn't certain of it, but at that moment, he swore that he saw the faintest hints of a smirk creep across the Septarian's face. Seeing that he was in no position to continue arguing, though, he did not speak up about it. Instead, he wordlessly took the earpiece from the lizard's hand and carefully placed it inside one of his ear-holes before using his dimensional scissors to open a portal to Earth.
"All right, then, Dragonfly. Let's see what chinks we can find in your armor," Ludo menacingly declared.
Spongebob Narrator: Meanwhile, at Britta's Tacos...
"So, wait a minute. You're telling me that there's a dimension out there made up of tropical islands and inhabited by pirates, adventures, and beautiful mermaids?!" Ferguson asked as he got up and started waving his arms around like crazy.
"Uh-huh," Marcia calmly clarified. "And watch where you aim with your arms! You're gonna spill our food everywhere!" she reprimanded him while pointing at the food and drinks everyone had bought.
"Sorry. Just got excited about the mermaids." Ferguson apologized before sitting back down at the table.
"I don't blame him for freaking out, Marcia," Jackson casually told his longtime friend. "I mean, the All Blue was a pretty amazing place," he said with a shrug of his shoulders.
"Dude," Alfonso said, putting a hand on Jackson's shoulder, "you do remember how you got beaten up by a bunch of pirates, right?"
"It wasn't that bad, Al," Jonah said, brushing off his bespectacled comrade's recollections. "Besides, I seem to recall Marcia patched him up. Do you know how many guys would kill for a cute girl to nurse them back to health?"
Marcia began to turn bright red at that comment. "J-Jonah! Shut up!" Marcia said before slapping the boy on the shoulder. This only succeeded in making Jonah laugh over being able to get a rise out of her.
"Relax, Marcy, I'm just messing with you. Besides, everything worked out in the end. Jackson got to fulfill his lifelong dream of being a merman-"
"Which I will always cherish!" Jackson added.
"-Comet saved his friend and got back the magical trident his family made for the merfolk-"
Comet nodded at that.
"-And I got to become a pirate and lead a mutiny—a happy ending for everyone," Jonah said before taking a sip of his horchata.
"I still can't believe that all of this happened without us, though," Ferguson remarked. "Lesson learned: next time Comet asks us to hang out, make the free time to do so."
At this point, Karla, who had been alternating between eating her taco and strumming on her keytar, finally spoke up. "Man, I still can't believe there's an undersea kingdom of merpeople out there. I can't even imagine how beautiful it must look under the sea."
"Oh, it is, Karla," Comet excitedly told his secret crush. "It's the kind of place that words alone can't describe!" the boy said with a wave of his hands, making Karla chuckle.
"Maybe, but you underestimate the power of music. I've been working on a cover for 'Under the Sea' that I think can sum things up perfectly."
Comet practically got stars in his eyes as he heard Karla say that. "You have?! Show us, show us, show us, show us, show us!" the Prince said as he began to bounce up and down in his seat, making the contents of the table come dangerously close to falling off.
"Just do it, Karla," Marcia said in resignation as Comet continued talking.
"Yeah, Karla, do it. We all know he's not going to stop until you do," Jonah said, not even bothering to hide the amusement in his voice.
If it weren't for the fact that her hair was covering up her eyes, everyone would have seen Karla playfully roll her eyes. "All right, all right, Comet, no need to freak out," she said with faux-annoyance in her voice. Looking down at her keytar, Karla took a deep breath, pressed a few of the keys, and let the sound of the song play through her head before beginning to translate them into notes on her instrument. After a few seconds of warming up, she began to sing the lyrics to the classic Disney song.
~The seaweed is always greener
In somebody else's lake
You dream about going up there
But that is a big mistake
Just look at the world around you
Right here on the ocean floor
Such wonderful things surround you
What more is you lookin' for?~
Karla felt her voice begin to lift, become lighter and more playful as she reached the most iconic lines of the song.
~Under the sea
Under the sea
Darling it's better
Down where it's wetter
Take it from me
Up on the shore they work all day
Out in the sun they slave away
While we devotin'
Full time to floatin'
Under the sea~
Karla was so engrossed that she didn't notice it, but as she continued to play, Comet secretly used his Wand to create images of an undersea paradise that began to surround the group. As his friends listened to the song, they became amazed to see merforms of themselves swimming through a bright and colorful reef alongside countless fish and other sea creatures, in perfect sync with the music.
~Down here all the fish is happy
As off through the waves they roll
The fish on the land ain't happy
They sad 'cause they in their bowl
But fish in the bowl is lucky
They in for a worser fate
One day when the boss get hungry
Guess who's gon' be on the plate~
Much to the teen's amusement, they saw their underwater counterparts begin interacting with various aquatic animals from myths and pop culture. There was a group of Horseas swimming happily through the reef, while overhead swam a pod of Wailmer's and Wailord's and led by, of all things, a shiny Kyogre.
~Under the sea
Under the sea
Nobody beat us
Fry us and eat us
In fricassee
We what the land folks loves to cook
Under the sea we off the hook
We got no troubles
Life is the bubbles
Under the sea
Under the sea
Since life is sweet here
We got the beat here
Naturally
Even the sturgeon an' the ray
They get the urge 'n' start to play
We got the spirit
You got to hear it
Under the sea~
As Karla continued to sing, the group of friends then saw their counterparts joining up with the cast of Spongebob, clad in their attire from the legendary episode, "Band Geeks," as they began to enthusiastically join in on the music.
~The newt play the flute
The carp play the harp
The plaice play the bass
And they soundin' sharp
The bass play the brass
The chub play the tub
The fluke is the duke of soul
(Yeah)
The ray he can play
The lings on the strings
The trout rockin' out
The blackfish she sings
The smelt and the sprat
They know where it's at
An' oh that blowfish blow~
At last, Karla had reached the song's climax and let her voice ring clear for everyone to hear as she stood up from her seat. She was loud, energetic, and from how she was playing her keytar, it looked like she was having the time of her life. As Comet and the others began to sway in rhythm with the music, the magical illusions began to enthusiastically swim around and dance together as they let the joy of the song take over their bodies.
~Under the sea
Under the sea
When the sardine
Begin the beguine
It's music to me
What do they got? A lot of sand
We got a hot crustacean band
Each little clam here
know how to jam here
Under the sea
Each little slug here
Cuttin' a rug here
Under the sea
Each little snail here
Know how to wail here
That's why it's hotter
Under the water
Ya we in luck here
Down in the muck here
Under the sea~
As Karla finally finished playing the song, she let her fingers fall from the keytar and return to her sides. As she did so, Comet allowed the images to fade away, with his friend's merfolk counterparts giving their best "kawaii" poses before they faded away.
At last, Karla took a deep breath as she tried to steady herself. She felt her heart pounding in her chest from putting everything she had into her singing and music playing. While some people would take it to mean that she was nervous as Hell, Karla didn't let it bother her. To her, the pounding heart and need to take deep breaths were a sign that she had given her performance her all, and that was enough to make her happy.
"So, what did you guys think?" She finally asked as she settled back down into her seat. Her friends just sat there for a moment, wide-eyed with disbelief at what they had just heard and witnessed. It was Ferguson who ended up breaking the silence.
"All right, Karla. For real, no cap," he said as he held up one of his hands, "that was one hundred percent straight FLAMES, GIRL!"
"You really think so?" Karla asked. And with that question, the collective dam broke as everyone lost their shit.
"Are you kidding me, Karla?! That was amazing!" Marcia shouted as she slammed both her hands down onto the table, no longer caring if she spilled her food everywhere.
"I don't think I've ever heard you play that well before, Karla!" the normally calm and collected Jackson said, worked up by the sight of himself as a merman.
"Who are you, and what have you done with Karla?" Jonah asked, finding it hard to believe that his longtime friend was able to play so well.
"Wha-when-how," Alfonso found himself stumbling over his words as his brain tried to process what he just heard. "When did you get so good?"
"I've been practicing a lot lately," Karla admitted. "And those books that Comet got me at Quest Buy have been a big help in improving my music. Now, I'm better than ever!" Karla emphasized her newfound skill by playing a quick solo on her keytar that made everyone clap in approval.
"No joke!"
"Yeah, seriously!"
"That's an understatement!"
"Your music took a total 180!"
"Hey, don't say it like that, you guys. You're going to make it sound like she was total garbage before," Comet said, only for Karla to interject.
"Nah, they're right, Comet. I was pretty much a dumpster fire before you showed up," Karla admitted, much to the boy's surprise. "It's only thanks to all your encouragement that I was able to improve myself," she gave off a small smile as she looked at all her friends as while saying this, one of the tiny, fake fangs she wore poking out of her mouth.
"Ahh, Karla. That's what friends are for," Marcia said sweetly to the wannabe rocker. "And you deserve the praise for how good you've gotten."
"Too bad no one else in Echo Creek will give you the time of day, though," Ferguson said, unintentionally ruining the moment. As poorly timed as his comment was, though, everyone (except for Comet) knew that he was telling the truth. Before Comet had shown up, all the students and faculty at Echo Creek Academy avoided her music like the plague. The small circle of friends she had made were the only ones who tolerated her passion for music, and even that was pushing it, at times. As good as she had gotten, it was hard to shake her earlier reputation.
"Hey," Marcia said as she reached over and put a reassuring hand on Karla's shoulders. "don't let the haters get to you. I'm sure you'll find plenty of people who can appreciate what you have to offer as a musician."
"It's too bad there isn't someplace famous that would be willing to let Karla perform," Jackson absent-mindedly said. However, Comet immediately began to perk up when he heard these things.
"Jackson, can you repeat that?" Comet calmly asked the skater, who gave him a confused look in response.
"What? All I said was that it's too bad that there isn't someplace famous that would be willing to let Karla perform," the boy repeated.
Comet's eyes began to grow wide as he let out a small gasp. "The Bounce Lounge," he whispered to himself.
"I'm sorry, what was that you were saying?" Alfonso asked, but Comet just looked at him and smiled.
"You guys, I think I may have just gotten one of my most brilliant ideas ever, and it's guaranteed to get Karla the popularity she needs to launch her music career!"
"Really? How?" Karla asked him, and for the second time in the last few minutes, Comet got stars in his eyes.
"Three words, Karla: The Bounce Lounge!" Comet excitedly said.
"Oh, boy," Marcia sighed, "here we go."
"Um, Comet, not to burst your bubble or anything but-" Jackson began to say.
"-But we have no idea what you're talking about," Jonah said.
"Just listen. Or better yet, look," Comet explained as he began to wave his Wand in the air and began to conjure images of a place that was all-too-familiar to Marcia. "The Bounce Lounge is one of the most popular nightclubs in the entire Universe! Before I got sent here to Earth, me and my bro, MC, would go there every chance we had to party! The lights, the sounds, the dancefloor, it's the perfect place for everybody who's anybody to chill!" As he added that last part, an image of a younger Comet and MC sitting in beanbag chairs while wearing cool shades and fake crowns flashed onto the magical screen, making Marcia giggle.
"But the most important thing, though, is that the place's owner, Milly Sparkles, is always on the hunt for hot, young talent to perform for her. Anybody good enough to play at the Bounce Lounge's guaranteed to become an overnight success, their names known all over the Universe!" To emphasize this fact, Comet then brought up an image of Karla playing before a massive crowd at the Bounce Lounge before it quickly transitioned to her living a life of fame and popularity with fans in every dimension imaginable, making Karla's unseen eyes widen in amazement.
"Whoa..." Karla managed to get out as she saw what looked to be her lifelong dream. "I could be famous throughout the entire Universe. People would finally recognize my talent."
"Recognize? Oh my gosh, that's right!" Marcia suddenly said as memories of the way Earth was mocked by that snooty noble on Mewni came flooding back to her. "Guys, I'm not sure if you know this, but the rest of the Universe looks down on our dimension. They think we're a backwater joke because we don't know anything about magic or traveling to other dimensions and think that gives them the right to make fun of us."
"Which is ridiculous because Earth has some of the coolest things that I've ever found in any dimension!" Comet added with the same level of passion that Marcia was exuding.
"Okay, but what does that have to do with me?" Karla asked, confused as to where this conversation was even going.
"Don't you get it, Karla? If we got that Twilight Sparkle-"
"Milly Sparkles, actually," Comet corrected his bestie.
"Yeah, Milly Sparkles, to let you play at the Bounce Lounge, then you could introduce all of the amazing music we have on Earth to the rest of the Universe. Then maybe people would stop thinking that we're a backwater dump and respect us!"
Karla's mouth nearly went slack-jawed as she heard what her friends were suggesting. They seriously thought that she, Karla Greason, could be the one to introduce the Universe to Earth's most excellent musical vibes. "A chance to make my mark on music the likes of which no one on Earth has ever gotten before? How can I say no to that?" she jokingly asked, making her friends laugh in the process.
Everyone, that is, except for Jonah. "Hey, Courtney Love," the boy spoke up, making everyone focus on him. "I think you and your groupies are forgetting something important: how are you going to convince this chick to even let you perform onstage. It's not like you can just waltz in there and expect to be allowed to perform."
"Already ahead of you, my beanie-wearing naysayer," Comet said before using his Want to change the images being shown. Instead of a popular and successful Karla, the Wand now displayed a colorful flyer with the words "Milly Sparkles Presents Mega-Musical Contest in Symphonia" on it in big, bold font.
"I found this while I was looking through what counts as social media for everyone outside of Earth," Comet explained, with none of his friends bothering to question that statement. There were more important things to worry about. "Milly Sparkles is holding a talent scouting contest this weekend and is inviting musicians and singers to come and play in Symphonia, the musical capital of the Universe. The winner will get the chance to play regularly at the Bounce Lounge. If Karla wins, then she'll be able to spread her music to everyone there!"
"Comet, that's perfect!" Karla exclaimed before her face became uncharacteristically sullen. "But do you really think I could win?"
"Girl, what are you talking about?" Ferguson asked, questioning why his friend suddenly had self-doubts. "After what we just saw you do, there's no way you can't win this contest!"
"Go for it, girl," Jonah simply said.
"I mean, what have you got to lose?" Alfonso told her.
Jackson gave her a reassuring look. "As someone who's also aiming for stardom, I know that you have to take opportunities like this when they come, Karla. You should do this."
Marcia simply gave her friend a nod and a look of approval. She thought that her friend should do this.
On the other hand, Comet had somehow created a giant banner that said "KARLA #1" in big, bold letters, plus foam fingers. "GO KARLA, GO KARLA! YOU'RE NUMBER ONE!" He chanted incessantly before somehow roping Alfonso and Ferguson into it when no one was looking, much to Karla's amusement.
"All right, all right, you guys. You convinced me. I'll do it!" She said, trying to hold back her laughter at her friend's antics.
"AW YEAH!" Comet cheered in support of his crush. "Okay, guys! The contest is in a few days, so we should all use that time to prepare," he said before jumping onto the seats at the table as he looked at everyone. "We'll meet up at Marcia's house at noon this Saturday and use my scissors to take us to Symphonia. We'll support Karla in any way that we can. Karla will win the contest, get the offer to play at the Bounce Lounge, and begin her interdimensional stardom. Any objections?"
No one else seemed to raise their voices, so Comet took that as a sign that they were all on board for this. "All right, then," Comet said before sitting back down in his seat and grabbing his drink. "Here's to Karla and great music, everyone!"
"Comet, you know that we wait to make a toast until after Karla wins, right?" Marcia pointed out, only for him to wave off her concerns.
"Come on, Marcy, we all know that she's going to win. It's not like that someone's going to try and sabotage the contest or something crazy like that," Comet said, clearly not worried about his friend's chances.
"Uh, anyone got some wood I can knock on?" Alfonso nervously asked in response. "What? I don't want to take any chances."
Alfonso didn't realize it, but he was right to be worried, though not for the reasons he thought. Unbeknownst to the group of teens, someone had been observing them carefully from the shadows for some time. Now, from his perch on the roof of one of the buildings that surrounded Britta's Tacos, their unseen eavesdropper had finished listening to their conversation. Having heard everything that he thought to be vital, the being reached up for the earpiece nestled away in one of the slits on his head where one would normally find an ear.
"Did you get all of that, master?"
Back in Castle Avarius, Ludo and everyone else in the banquet hall had been monitoring the conversation using a strange, radio-like device that Toffee claimed to be hooked up to the earpiece Buff Frog had on him. Sure enough, they had managed to hear everything that the Prince and his friends had said.
"Yes, Buff Frog. We got everything," Ludo simply said. "However, we seem to have a problem."
"Problem, master?" Buff Frog asked on the other end.
"Yes, Buff Frog. You see, I fail to understand how ANY OF THAT GARBAGE COULD POSSIBLY HELP US!" Ludo began to yell. "WHO IN THE SEVEN HELLS CARES ABOUT SOME STUPID CONTEST! WHAT USELESS KNOWLEDGE!"
"Uh, I thought it was interesting," Lobster Claws made the mistake of saying, which earned him a deadly glare from his leader in the process.
"SHUT UP, LOBSTER CLAWS! NOBODY ASKED YOU!" Ludo yelled at his minion in frustration. "NOW WE'RE NO CLOSER TO FINDING COMET'S WEAKNESS!"
At that moment, the urge for Ludo to bang his head on the table in frustration proved near overwhelming. However, before he could do so, he felt the hand of Toffee placed on his shoulder to placate him.
"Do not be so quick to dismiss the frog man's findings, sir," the lizard man cooly said. "They have already given us more information than you may realize."
Ludo turned his head to look up Toffee in confusion. "Explain."
"It's simple, sir. Comet's already shown his greatest weakness: his loyalty to his friends."
"Yeah, everyone knows that. What of it?"
"Well, from what you have told me, the Prince is willing to go out of his way to ensure that his friends are happy. And more importantly, he is unwilling to allow anyone around him to be hurt."
Ludo looked at his new hire with confusion. "What are you getting at?"
"I'm simply proposing that we put the Prince in a situation where he will be unwilling to use his Wand. No matter how dire the situation could become."
Ludo pondered over the idea for a moment, and the more he thought about it, the more it made sense. Take away the royal brat's ability to use magic, and he was just a normal teenaged boy. "I assume that this has something to do with that stupid contest."
"It does. There will be thousands of people present, far too many for one boy and his handful of friends to deal with independently. We will simply make the people at that contest turn on Comet. He won't be able to fight back..."
"Because he'll be too worried about hurting anyone in the process. That's brilliant, Toffee!" Ludo said excitedly. "All that's left is to figure out how we can go about turning a crowd of potentially thousands of people into an army that will obey my every command." As Ludo began to pace around on the table in an attempt to think of a solution, Toffee spoke up once more.
"Do not worry about that, sir. I already have an idea in mind on how to go about doing this."
"You do? How?" Ludo asked.
"All will be revealed once I've finished preparations. For now, recall your spy and have the rest of your followers prepare. If all goes well, by the time the week is over, you will have your Wand." Having said all of that, Toffee then turned and made to exit the banquet hall.
"Hold on, Toffee," Ludo called out, stopping the Septarian in his track. "Can't you at least tell us how we're going to go about doing this? I wanna know!"
Toffee suppressed the urge to sigh at this but decided to indulge his leader's request. "Let's just say that we will win everyone over with something that they will have no power to resist: the sound of music." And with that, Toffee left without another word.
"Okay, that explained absolutely nothing. How is 'the sound of music' going to get us that Wand?"
"Um, maybe he's planning on creating a song that will brainwash everyone into doing what you say, boss," Boo Fly suggested.
"Nah. That sounds like a dumb idea," Ludo said, brushing him off. "He's probably got something much more elaborate in mind.
After everyone had finished stuffing themselves at Britta's Tacos and talking about the contest some more, the group of teens decided to split up so that they could each get ready. With nothing else to do that afternoon, Karla decided to wander around Echo Creek while practicing her music some more. That, and she wanted to hear the opinions of some of the other people in town about her skill. For the most part, the few residents of her hometown that were willing to give her the time of day had nothing but positive things to say about her music playing. It wasn't much, but it was still nice to know that she was starting to get a little recognition for her passion.
Eventually, though, the sun began to dip below the horizon, and Karla decided to call it a night. Reluctantly, she headed back to her domicile, continuing to quietly sing the lyrics to various songs that she liked as she did so.
"~If you want it all, lay it on the line.
It's the only life you got, so you gotta live it
BIG TIME!"~
Karla couldn't help but smile as she finished singing that song. "Man, I love that song. Great show, too; so glad Big Time Rush is on Netflix now," she mused to herself as she turned the corner and arrived at her home, making her smile fall a little as she did.
"Home sweet home," Karla said to herself as she looked at her single-story house. It wasn't much to look at, really. Unlike Marcia's home, Karla's residence was not as nice looking. The paint was peeling in several spots on the outside, and a few of the shingles on the roof had broken loose from the weather. The old car that she had liked to drive around town (despite not having her license yet) sat in the driveway, resting in the California sun. Now that she had Kevin, she had started driving it around town less or just had Kevin carry it wherever she went.
The yard itself was doing little better. The grass was overgrown from weeks of not being mowed due to their lawnmower breaking down, and that was just the spots where it grew. The girl could see several spots where the grass either refused to come in or holes left by various pests could be seen looking around the front yard.
Thank God Kevin was able to drive them all off, Karla thought to herself. Speaking of which, where is he, anyway? Karla looked around for any telltale signs of Kevin, but she saw none. That's when she noticed that the sunlight had suddenly become a shade, and she soon saw why. Looking up, she saw the familiar form of her mythical pet flying overhead before coming down in front of her. The giant beast began to happily screech, excited to see his master's return, make Karla's smile return.
"Hey, big guy. You been good while I was gone?" Karla said while she reached out and began to pet the griffin's beak affectionately, making him happily chirp in response. "I'll take that as a yes," Karla said, smiling before she began to walk to her front door to head inside.
"I'm home."
Karla took a moment to look around the inside of her house. There wasn't much to speak of, though—her house as drab and plain-looking on the inside as it was on the outside. The living room consisted of a coffee table with some decorations on it, a last-gen T.V. in one corner, and a worn-out sofa and recliner chair to complete the place. Just beyond that lay the home's relatively small kitchen, a few unwashed dishes from the day before still laying on the table, while another few lay in the sink. To the opposite of that was the hallway that led to the bathroom, her bedroom, and her Dad's bedroom.
"Karla! There you are!" A familiar voice cried out from down the hall, making Karla grimace a little as she heard footsteps coming her way. Within a few moments, the voice's owner had made it into the living room/kitchen, revealing it to belong to Karla's father. "Where have you been all day?"
To this day, Karla wasn't sure about who she took after more appearance-wise: her Mom or Dad. Her Dad was a reasonably heavyset man, though most people didn't notice that right away due to how tall he looked. His arms and legs were pretty thick to look at, owing to years of working manual jobs that let him build up some muscle. However, that muscle was offset by the sizeable stomach he had, despite his attempts to diet. His head was topped off with a thin layer of brown hair that had begun to recede near the top, making him look a little older than he actually was, and the mustache complimented that. Completing the outfit was the worn-out, pale blue mechanic's jumpsuit he wore, with grease stains and more coloring the thing.
All told, Carl Greason looked like your typical working man, which she was. He was the proud owner of Greason & Greason, a local autobody shop run by him and her Mom before...she went away. It didn't provide much in money, but the two had managed to eke out a decent living and provide for their daughter.
"Hey, Dad," Karla said in response. "I was just hanging out with some friends today."
"You mean like that Diaz girl?" Mr. Greason asked. When Karla nodded in response, he let a smile appear on his sweaty face. "Good. That girl's a good influence on you, and she's going to help you go places you wouldn't be able to, otherwise." Karla's Dad then motioned to the kitchen. "I put a pizza in the oven a little while ago. It should be done by now. You want some?"
"Sure." Karla could never say never to pizza, and the two made their way over to the kitchen, got some clean dishes out of the cupboard before putting the dirty ones in the sink, and got ready to enjoy some pizza.
The rest of the dinner was uneventful, with neither talking that much. Karla was used to it, though. The relationship between the two of them had never been that stable, but the two had more or less been on civil terms. Most of the time, at least.
"So, listen. I don't know what you were going to do this weekend, but I thought that maybe you could help me down at the shop, learn a few new things on auto repair."
And just like that, any chance of a quiet night went out the window. Mentally, Karla steeled herself for the fight that she knew was about to happen, but it had to be done for the sake of her dreams.
"Actually, Dad, I can't. I already made plans this weekend with my friends."
"Well, can't you cancel them?" Mr. Greason asked.
"No, I can't, Dad. And these plans are important."
"Oh, come on. What could be more important than working with your old man?" her Dad asked. She knew that he was trying to sound playful, but beneath all that, she could sense what he really wanted to say: Cancel your plans. I want you in that auto shop, period.
Sorry, old man, but I've got bigger fish to fry. "Well, if you must know, I'm going to a talent contest somewhere to show off my music," she said as a matter of factly. As soon as the words escaped her mouth, her father let out a weary, heavy sigh.
"Oh no, not this again, Karla."
Karla fought off the urge to scowl at what her father said. "Look, I know what you're going to say. That I'm wasting my time with these things, but it's different this time."
"Karla, that's what you say about every time, and they all end the same," Mr. Greason tried to argue.
"Well, this time, it is different. This isn't just some talent show. It's more like an audition. If I do well enough and win, Comet says that I could end performing at this popular nightclub that he goes to all the time."
"Ah, yes, that friend of yours that tried to make a meal out of you at school," Mr. Greason said with obvious disdain in his voice. After Comet underwent Mewberty, all the parents and students were made aware of the reasons behind Comet's actions. Most were quick to forgive him, especially since he personally apologized to all of them. However, a small minority had been very vocal about letting a potentially dangerous boy around their children. Some had even threatened to withdraw their kids from Echo Creek, but some monetary compensation from Comet's parents had silenced most of them. Mr. Greason was not one of those parents, though.
"You know that what happened wasn't his fault, Dad. And if he says that I have a shot at playing at this place, I'm going to enter that contest," Karla calmly shot back.
"Look, Karla," Mr. Greason said as he stood up from his seat. "You know that I want to support your dreams and everything, but I think it's time that you start being realistic about things."
"And what's that supposed to mean?" Karla dared to ask.
"Hey, first of all, don't you take that tone with me, young lady. And secondly, it means that you need to start thinking about more realistic options. Your grades have started to go up thanks to Marcia's help, so now you might have a chance to graduate High School."
"I know that, Dad," Karla said, wanting him to get to the point.
"Look, my point is that now's the time for you to start buckling down and really focus on your studies. Maybe, just maybe, you can get into a decent college and get a good job for yourself." Mr. Greason was trying to act calm, but by the tone of his voice, it was clear that he was trying to plead to his daughter to meet him halfway on this.
"Dad, I'm 14. I'm not even sure if I want to go to college when the time comes."
"Alright. Then you should start learning more about how to run the auto shop so you can take over when I'm gone."
"No offense, Dad, but I don't want to work in an auto shop for the rest of my life."
"Well, then, what do you want to do with your life, Karla?"
"You know what I want to do with my life, Dad. I want to be a singer and musician. It's all I've ever wanted to do!"
"And it's a great dream to have, Karla, but do you really think that you can support yourself while chasing a life that may end up being unattainable? I'll answer that for you: no, you cannot!" Mr. Greason argued, slamming his fist on the table.
"Dad, I'm fourteen. I don't have to worry about that for a while," she tried to point out, but her Dad was having none of it.
"You don't have a while, Karla!" Her Dad said, cutting her off. "That's what I'm worried about! Before your Principal put you under that Diaz girl's care, your grades were absolute garbage. At the rate you were going, you were going flunk out of school, and then you'd have no future at all! No chance at college or a secure life! Is that what you want, Karla? To be a high school drop-out living on the street with no talent and no chance at a real job!? IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT?!"
Karla wasn't the kind of person who let anger get the best of her. She was known for being the mellow, laid-back girl who never let anything bother her at school. And she liked being known as that because that wasn't entirely true. Because there was one thing that always managed to get under her skin: her Dad. And right now, what she said managed to push her over the edge.
"No talent? No talent? You really think I have no talent at music, Dad?" Karla asked him. "Well, guess what? You're wrong! You think that I've been loafing around at school or with my friends, but I'm not! While you've been so busy with your job, I've been practicing my butt off trying to get better!" Karla's voice continued to rise with every word that came out of her mouth. "And you know something? I've gotten really, really good! All of my friends think so! A bunch of people around town thinks so! And now, thanks to Comet, I have a real chance to get a headstart on my musical career! I'm going to that talent contest, and when I win, I'll be able to play for people as much as I want!"
"Oh no, you won't, young lady!" Mr. Greason yelled at his daughter, "I forbid it! You are not allowed to go to that friggin talent contest, you hear me?"
"Wha-you can't just-you can't be serious!" Karla managed to sputter out.
"Oh, I am, young lady! I am not going to see you waste your life on some silly dream, and that's final!" he said before pointing to the hallway. "Now go to your room! I don't want to see your face for the rest of the night!"
"You can't tell me what to do, old man!" Karla angrily snapped at him.
"I can and I will! As long as you live under my roof, you will do as I say. And I say that it's time to stop wasting your time on a fool's dream!"
"IT'S NOT A FOOL'S DREAM, DAD! THE ONLY FOOL'S DREAM IS HOPING THAT YOU'D UNDERSTAND THAT!" Karla yelled at him before stomping off to her bedroom, slamming the door behind her in a fit of anger.
"GRAAAGGHHH! STUPID OLD MAN!" Karla yelled in frustration as she felt the uncharacteristic urge to smash something.
"You know I can still hear you, right?" she heard her father shout from the kitchen.
"GOOD! I WANT YOU TO HEAR ME!" Karla cried out but slumping against her door in an exhausted heap. "Stupid old man," Karla muttered to herself as she looked around her room. Since her family didn't have that much money coming in, her room wasn't as nice as she sometimes wanted it to be while growing up. There was a small bed with messy sheets to sleep on, a dresser with a few accessories and other junk that she liked to use, a shelf with some books on music that she liked to read from when there was time, and a closet where she kept all her clothes. In the far end of the room, she had a window that let her look out into the backyard where Kevin now resided. However, what she took the most pride in about her room were the various posters hanging on the wall.
Each poster was of a different singer or famous band from throughout the history of music. Or, as Karla liked to put it, the muses of the past immortalized on her wall to inspire her. There was an old portrait of the Beatles, a poster of Sir Elton John, Black Sabbath, and the original members of Queen, both together and with Freddie Mercury by himself, all representing Great Britain. As far as stateside, though, she had posters of AC/DC, Nirvana, Kiss, Aerosmith, Big Time Rush, and more. All of them were great musicians, singers, and artists that Karla had looked up to while growing up. And someday, if she played her cards right, Karla had hoped to have her as a poster on some kid's bedroom. But, if her old man had anything to say about it, then she'd never be able to see that dream come true.
"Uggh, this is the worst," Karla said as she walked over to her bed and lazily plopped onto the sheets. Right when she had a shot for her dream of being a singer/musician appear before her, it gets snatched away by her Dad. At that moment, Karla didn't know what felt worse: the fact that he was trying to close the door on what she wanted or the fact that she let herself get angry. She never let anything faze her, so why did she let her Dad get under her skin like that?!
"Why can't he understand just how important this is to me?" As she asked that question out loud to no one in particular, she happened to gaze over at her dresser, where her eyes happened to fall on a certain photo. It was an old one, taken at the Echo Creek Park when Karla was much younger. If the girl was honest with herself, she looked like a completely different person back then. Not only did her younger self look a lot more vibrant and energetic, but her hair didn't cover her face, letting her big, aqua-colored eyes be visible for all the world to see. She had a tiny toy guitar in her hands that she pretended to play an epic solo on as a younger version of her Dad looked on with an amused smile on his face. But it wasn't the younger version of herself or her Dad that always drew Karla's attention. It was the brunette woman with the leather jacket and tattoos on her arms that always got Karla's attention.
Mom...even after all these years, Karla could still remember everything about her late Mother, Nancy Greason. Her Mom always had a can-do attitude about her that made her seem so cool in her daughter's eyes. Of course, it helped that she shared her daughter's passion for music and actively encouraged her to follow her dreams in the music business.
There was one memory about her Mom that Karla could vividly recall. One day, she had made a homemade guitar and tried to play in front of a group of kids at the dog park. However, said kids proceeded to smash her guitar and mock her for bad she was, sending her running to her Mom in near tears. After comforting her daughter (and scaring the daylights out of the bullies), Nancy taught Karla an important life lesson. If she concentrated hard enough, she could still hear what she had spoken.
"Remember, Karla. There are always going to be things out there that are going to try and drag you down. But you can't let them get to you and tell you you aren't good enough. Because when you put your mind to something, you can accomplish anything."
Karla's Mom practiced what she preached, too. Whenever she decided she wanted to do something, she would do it, no matter what people would say. She taught Karla to brush off all of life's problems and to believe in herself. Which only made it harder knowing that she wasn't around anymore.
"I wish you were here to help me, Mom. I bet you would let me go to that contest," Karla lamented as she got up off her bed and went to pick up the picture of her late Mother as her words continued to ring in her head. As she did so, Karla felt a well of determination spring up from inside of her. Being a musician and singer had been her goal for as long as she could remember. She had worked hard to improve herself, and now, her work was finally beginning to bear fruit! She wasn't going to let all that effort she put in be wasted!
"To Hell with what you think, Dad," Karla said to herself as she felt the fire reignite inside her. "I'm going to that contest, and there's nothing he can do to stop me!"
Putting the picture down, Karla then ran to open her window before peeking her head outside. Looking around the backyard while carefully making sure that her Dad wasn't looking, Karla could only grin as she spotted Kevin sleeping peacefully in the corner.
"You may think you have me locked up, Dad, but you forgot about the giant griffin that lives with us," Karla boasted. Gingerly closing her window to not arouse suspicion, Karla then crept towards her closet as she began to look for a backpack or suitcase, along with any clean clothes she might have lying around. She had some packing to do.
After the group of friends had parted ways to think of ideas on how to help Karla out, Comet and Marcia decided to walk around town for a while before returning home for their weekly "Friendship Thursday" activities. Marcia wasn't entirely when they had started doing it, but every Thursday night, the two would just sit on the couch, stuff their faces full of Marcia's homemade nachos, and either watch movies or play video games on Comet's UGC. Ultimately, Comet had won the coin toss, which meant that he got to decide what to do that night. And what he wanted to do was binge-watch the final season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars on Disney+.
At first, Marcia had tried to pay attention to the show alongside Comet. However, since she had seen it already, her focus began to wane before a third of the season was done. So, while Comet was too engrossed in the show to notice, she decided she would get a headstart on her shower and getting ready for bed. Just as she had finished putting on her pajamas (and making sure she had no embarrassing underwear underneath), she heard the front doorbell ring.
"I'll get it!" she heard her Mom call out from downstairs, so Marcia had thought little of it. That is until she heard her Mom call out again. "Um, Marcia, sweetie? There's someone here to see you."
Marcia couldn't help but feel confused by that. Who could possibly be there to see her at that time of night? For a brief moment, she had indulged herself with the fantasy that it was a shirtless Jackson with a bouquet of roses in hand, there to finally declare his undying love for her! But she knew that those kinds of things never happened in real life, so it couldn't be that. Finally, her curiosity won out, leading her to the front door. When she saw who was standing there, though, she felt her mouth hang wide open.
"Karla?" Standing in the front door, with her signature keytar in hand, was her friend, Karla Greason. Only, they weren't the only things with her. She also had a backpack that looked like it was filled to the brim and ready to burst open with all the items kept inside, plus an extra suitcase resting by her side.
"Hey, Marcia," Karla said in the same casual tone as always. "So I need a place to stay for a while, and I was wondering if you and your family would be willing to take me in."
*Back in Jay's Workspace, everyone's looking at the events occurring inside of the story with great interest as Jay sits back and enjoys seeing how everyone's reacting to his story.*
Kermit: Holy shit, that was...what's the word I'm looking for?
Jay: Deep?
Kermit: Yeah, that. That was, um, that was pretty deep.
Jay: Hey, Kermit, I said that I wanted to give the secondary cast good character development, and I meant it.
Janna: Yeah, but still, dude, I think you may have exceeded expectations here. Between the look at Karla's home life and the fight with her Dad and the stuff about her Mom, that's a lot to take in.
Jay: Well, I had to put in the extra work since Oskar's such a flat character in the show. Speaking of shows, I got the inspiration for Karla's parents from two different shows, voices included. Her Dad's supposed to be based on Carl from Aqua Teen Hunger Force, but with more hair. And I got her Mom from Nancy Green from Big City Greens.
Ed: ENCORE! ENCORE! SING MORE SINGS!
Kermit: Oh, and I gotta say, wasn't expecting the musical number, but I freaking loved it. Could almost hear Olivia Olson singing it.
Janna: And did you see how scared the Monsters were of my counterpart!? I couldn't stop laughing!
Jay: Yeah. At this point, Jonah's basically 'the dreaded' for Ludo's group. They're more afraid of him than they are of Comet or Marcia.
*Jay then gets up out of his chair and begins to rub his hands together*
Jay: Well, I hope that you guys enjoyed this because this is just part one of four! I've got three more chapters in the pipeline, and all of them are as long as this one. So, hope you guys got some time to read this. But for now, it's time for me to respond to
READER'S REVIEWS
NightAroma-Wow. This is the second time that you've accurately predicted what's going to happen. I'm impressed.
LockAndKey989 -OMG, YES! IT'S TOFFEE!
FungusDungus000-Yeah, for the life of me, I couldn't think of a way to make a gender-bent Toffee, so I didn't bother trying.
95- As a seasoned fan of both shows and a longtime viewer of DEATH BATTLE!, I can safely say that they did this fight well. Very good research.
StarnightCanyion-I'm gonna make Jonah a badass. Janna was my favorite human character besides Marco, so I want to use Jonah as much as I can.
Julayla-I have big plans in store for Toffee. And you'll get your first hint about them before this arc's done.
The Wandering Hippie-As I said at the start of this story, one of my goal's was to improve on the characters and give them greater depth than what the show could do. Or whatever Disney would allow it to. In this case, I'm relying on my knowledge of good plot development and character growth found in many great cartoons, both Western and Anime. I think I got it right on the money.
Also, in this story, I've been trying to make Ludo less of an idiot than he was initially in the show. He's got a decent amount of smarts, but he's just not at Toffee's level. But, he also knows he's backed into a corner, so he's willing to listen to the Septarian. Even though many other Monsters don't trust them. And as you'll eventually learn, for a good reason.
You know what to do: fave and follow this story, and follow me on Twitter (JZ-Gaming), Insta (RJ Writing Ink), and YouTube (Jungoguy)
Come back next week to see what happens to Karla, learn more about her past and what happened to her Mom, and see what Comet has planned to help her win. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to enjoy my new subscription to Paramount Plus!