*In Jay's Workspace, which has been deliberately remodeled to resemble the Boiling Isles of The Owl House, Janna, the Warner Trio, Kermit, GIR, and the Spongebob Narrator are standing outside a replica of the titular Owl House looking at one of the most disturbing things they've ever seen: Hooty the owl.*
Yakko: Uhhhh, what exactly are we looking at here, sibs?
Wakko: Maybe its some kind of science experiment gone horribly wrong.
Dot: Or maybe someone thought it would be funny to draw an owl face on a tube sock and bring it to life.
Hooty: Hey! I'm right here, you know. If you're going to be talking about me, then I'd like to be a part of the conversation, hoot hoot.
Janna: Look, Hooty, just let us in already. Jay invited us for the big Owl House watch party to celebrate the new season.
Hooty: Hmmmm, nope. Not until you give me the password!
*Everybody groans at this, but Janna just keeps glaring at the house demon. But before she say anything, GIR runs laughing like crazy!*
GIR: YOU GOT ANY MORE OF THEM BABY TAQUITOS?
Hooty: HOOT HOOT! THAT'S THE PASSWORD! COME ON IN, LITTLE MAN!
*Hooty then opens the door, revealing RJ "Jay" Writing Ink watching clips of The Owl House on his TV.*
Jay: Hey, you guys made it! Come on in. I'm just about to start!
Janna: Wait, don't you have a new chapter to give the fans, first?
Jay: Oh yeah, that.
*Jay then turns to look at the readers as everyone gets settled in and grabs snacks and fan merch*
Jay: So guys, I hope that you enjoy this next chapter. I worked really hard on it, and there's going to be plenty of character-building moments. Unless that's not your speed. If so, then you're going to hate it. Now, start the chapter while we start binging The Owl House
Marcia paced around the living room for the umpteenth time in the last few minutes as Karla and Comet watched her from the couch. "Okay. Let me make sure that I understand what's going on," Marcia said as she pinched the bridge of her nose to alleviate the inevitable headache. "You said that your Dad forbade you from taking part in the music contest in Symphonia?"
"Yep," Karla said, unaware of how Comet was subtly inching his way over to her as she talked.
"And when you guys got into an argument over it, he proceeded to ground you. And you retaliated by grabbing your stuff, waiting until he fell asleep, and then proceeded to sneak out your window and flying away on Kevin, who is now sleeping in our backyard?"
"That's also correct," Karla said.
"And now you need a place to stay, so you're hoping that we will take you in for the time being?"
Karla shrugged her shoulders. "Pretty much."
Whether he had wanted to actually provide meaningful input or simply say it for the sake of it, Comet finally spoke up. "Marcia, she said all of this the first time. I don't get why you needed to repeat all of it."
Marcia couldn't help but roll her eyes at this. "I know what she said, Comet. I just...wanted to make sure that I heard her right," she explained. "She's been threatening to do this for years now, but I never thought that she would go through with it."
"I thought that I made it pretty clear with my lyrics, Marcia," Karla responded before beginning to play music on her keytar. "~Dad, don't tell me what to do! I don't have to listen to you!~" she began to sing, much to Marcia's dismay.
"Okay! Okay, we get it, Karla. No need for the singing!" Marcia hastily told her friend. "I'm just still trying to process all of this."
"Hey, it's cool, girl. Take as much time as you need. Kevin and I got all the time in the world," Karla said as she continued to strum at her keytar while Comet (and Coryn, who had since joined the group downstairs) began to listen in silent rapture.
Marcia then turned to look at her parents, both of whom had been listening to the entire exchange in silence. "Mom, Dad, this is your decision more than anyone else's. What do you guys want to do?"
Mr. and Mrs. Diaz looked at Marcia, then Karla, and then to each other before they finally spoke up. "Well, Mija, we're not sure what to do," Rafael hesitantly admitted. "On the one hand, if your friend needs a place to stay, we are more than happy to take her in."
"I'm sensing that there's a 'but' coming up to this."
"But on the other hand," Angie added, "we're not sure if we should leave things between Karla and her father as they are. Maybe we should call him and ask him to come over and talk things over," she suggested.
That proved to be a mistake, though, as it prompted Comet to immediately shoot up from the couch. "Mrs. Diaz, you can't do that!" he objected.
"Um, Comet, this is my parent's house, so they actually can do that," Marcia pointed out.
"Well, okay, they can do that because it's their house and their rules," Comet conceded. "But they shouldn't do that," he argued before gesturing towards Ms. Greason. "You heard what Karla said. If she goes back home, her Dad will ground her forever, and she'll never be able to enter that contest, and just like that, all her hopes and dreams will be over before they even had a chance to start!"
"Comet, don't you think you're taking this a little too extreme?" Marcia asked, questioning the zeal with which her roommate was defending their mutual friend's decision to leave home.
"Trust me, Marcia. When parents are willing to put their foot down and ground their kids like this, they mean business," Comet said, shuddering as he remembered all of the times his Dad had done the same to him for wanting to do something crazy and fun. "If her Dad says that he doesn't want her going to that contest because he thinks it's a waste of time, then he means it. The only way that that's going to change is if Karla can prove her old man wrong, and that's only going to happen if she wins the contest in Symphonia. He'll have no choice but to acknowledge her dreams at that point and let her follow them!"
As Marcia stood there, trying to consider everything that he had just said, her parents just stood there, confused by everything. Seeing that they didn't know why Comet was going to greater lengths than usual for his friend, Marcia decided to clear things up. "Psst. Mom, Dad, can we talk for a minute?" Marcia asked as she motioned for her parents to huddle up next to her.
As soon as the family of three was together, Marcia began to explain things to them. "So, here's the thing. It may pain me to say this, but I think Comet might be right about this. If we send Karla back home now, there's no way he'll ever let her follow her dreams. In the best-case scenario, he'll try and get her transferred to another school. The worst-case scenario could see her running away from home for good. Either way, I'd never get to see her again, and that's something I can't live with!" Marcia told her Mom and Dad. "Plus," she then leaned in closer so that her friends on the couch couldn't hear her, "I think that Comet's doing this because he's got this huge crush on Karla and is trying to impress her."
Mr. and Mrs. Diaz couldn't help but coo at the sound of that. "Quiet, you guys," Marcia told her parents, who kept cooing but making sure that they weren't that loud. "So, if Karla ends up leaving home for good, then can you imagine how depressed Comet will be? It'll break his heart into a million tiny pieces, and I would never be able to live with that knowing that we could've done something to prevent it."
Mr. and Mrs. Diaz looked at each other for a moment and then nodded at each other. They had taken many foreign exchange students over the years and were always quick to become attached to each of them. They even dedicated an entire wall in the living room to photos of the students that stayed with them. But even with all of that, Comet was probably the one they had liked the most. If anything bad happened to him, they would never be able to live with themselves.
Seeing that they were all in agreement, Marcia and her parents then turned to look at Karla, who was happily playing for Comet and Coryn. "Um, Karla?" Mr. Diaz said, catching the girl's attention. "We've talked it over, and we would not be opposed to letting you stay here for a while."
"Thank you, Mr. Diaz," Karla said while Comet began to jump up and down in excitement.
"Yes, yes, yes, yes!" Comet said as he pumped his fists into the air. "You won't regret this, guys!"
"But," Mrs. Diaz added, "We still want you to try and talk things out with your Dad when the time comes."
Karla winced a little at this, but otherwise, she made no objections. "Sure, Mrs. D. I'm sure he'll come to his senses after I win that contest."
"Yes! Karla's going to be living with us!" Comet began to cheer! "This is going to be like a sleepover every night! I'm so excited! We'll be able to work on what you're going to do for the contest all night in my room. Just you, me, Coryn, and the laser puppies!"
"Ahem," Marcia politely coughed to catch her lovesick friend's attention.
"Oh right," Comet said, thinking that he understood what Marcia wanted. "And Marcia can join us if she's not too worried about staying up until the crack of dawn."
Marcia could swear she felt a headache coming in. "I think that you forget that tonight's still a school night, Comet. Also, I think it would be better if Karla stayed in my room."
"Well, duh, since she can't stay in my room, Marcia," Comet told her. He was well aware of what he had just been implying, and as much as the boy liked the idea of his crush sleeping under the same roof as him, he didn't want to make things super weird. "Here, I'll go grab your things and bring them up to Marcia's room," he said as he got up off the couch and went for Karla's suitcase and backpack before carrying them up to Marcia's room.
"Okay!" Mrs. Diaz said as she clapped her hands together. "If that's all settled, then I think me and my husband will head off to bed. You girls should probably do so, as well. Good night, Marcia," Angie said to her daughter and her friend before heading to their bedroom with her husband in tow.
"My Mom's probably right, Karla," Marcia said to her musician friend now that they were by themselves. "The bathroom's upstairs on the right if you want to use it. I'll be waiting for you in my room."
"Thanks, Marcia," Karla said as she stood up and headed upstairs, leaving Marcia alone with her thoughts.
What am I going to do now?
Spongebob Narrator: Ten Minutes Later...
Karla had ended up taking less time in Marcia's bathroom than the latter thought. While her laid-back attitude would make her seem like the kind of person who would mooch off of someone's hospitality, Karla turned out to be very considerate when it came to staying at someone else's place. After taking a quick shower and brushing her teeth with the toothbrush she packed, the rocker girl had quickly slipped into her pajamas and joined Marcia just as the latter had finished getting out the extra sleeping bag and pillow.
In contrast to the more conservative PJ's that Marcia was prone to wearing (with the underwear underneath), Karla's choice of sleeping attire was a little more...revealing. The musician was wearing a red and black nightshirt that was very big. So big that it managed to flow down past her thighs to just above her knee caps. If it weren't for the fact that she was wearing pajama shorts located underneath, the casual observer would think that Karla was only wearing a shirt.
Thank God that Comet can't see this, Marcia thought when she saw what Karla was wearing. She trusted the guy, but he was still a teenage boy. And after the Mewberty Incident, she didn't want him to do something he would regret.
"Thanks again for letting me stay here for a while, Marcia. I appreciate it," Karla said as she sat down on the floor and began to make her way into the sleeping bag.
"It's no problem, Karla. That's what friends are for," Marcia said in response. "Also, I don't think Comet would forgive me if we didn't help you out. I don't know if you've noticed by now, but that guy's loyal to his friends."
Karla giggled a little at this. "I noticed, Marcia. Comet might be the most loyal person that I've ever met."
Hearing this made Marcia smile a little. "Yeah, I guess he is," she admitted. "You should have heard how much he gushes about your music, though. After he met you, it was all he could think about, Karla."
"Really?"
"Yep. He thought you were the best musician he's ever heard," Marcia said as she sat cross-legged on her bed. "At the time, I thought he just had different tastes in music. But after seeing how good you've gotten, I think that he may have seen something in your music that no one else did."
Karla chuckled at this. "Well, like I told him: it was great to have someone who appreciated my music in who knows how long and wasn't just saying that to be nice."
"Hey, we...liked your music," Marcia nervously said, as Karla just sat there, staring at her.
"You can't tell because of the hair, but I'm rolling my eyes right now, Marcy," Karla told her, much to Marcia's dismay. "Girl, admit it: I was garbage before I got those books from Quest Buy."
"I wouldn't go as far as call you garbage, Karla," Marcia answered. "But yeah, you were pretty bad at times. But that only makes what you're able to do now even more impressive!"
Karla couldn't help but start to laugh at this point. "Yeah, you're right! But if you ask me, that just means even more awesome than I already was!" At this point, Marcia started laughing, as well, with the two girls just enjoying themselves before they felt the need to sleep begin to take over.
"Good night, Karla," Marcia said as she crawled into her bed.
"Good night, Marcy," Karla said as she comfortable inside her sleeping bag as Marcia turned off the lights. And soon, the two girls had drifted off to sleep.
Due to the unexpected addition of a new houseguest, the next morning at the Diaz house was slightly different from what had become the standard routine. As usual, Marcia got up at dawn to do her morning exercises, only to find Karla wasn't in her room. For a moment, Marcia was worried for her friend's safety, but the faint sound of music coming from the living room put those worries to rest, letting Marcia do her warm-ups in peace. By the time she got dressed and made her way downstairs, Comet had already joined the aspiring musician/singer, quietly listening to Karla play with a content look on his face. And while Marcia would never say it out loud, she was grateful that Karla had unknowingly kept Comet distracted and away from the kitchen and the cereal.
After a quick breakfast (during which Comet would not stop looking at Karla,) the three teens headed to school. Rather than take the bus or walk, Karla insisted that they could fly Kevin to school, as that was how she usually got to Echo Creek Academy when she chose to attend. At first, Marcia wanted to point out that they could use Comet's scissors to get to school in no time, but out of consideration for everything Karla had gone through, she decided to keep quiet about it.
That, and if Comet didn't get a chance to ride Kevin, he'd never let Marcia hear the end of it.
The rest of the day at school was largely uneventful, with Comet and Marcia's friends too focused on the upcoming music competition to pay attention to any of their classes. Even Marcia had a hard time paying attention due to everything that happened to Karla. And the fact that Comet acted like nothing was wrong did little to ease the girl's concerns. Eventually, Marcia decided to take matters into her own hands and texted the group, telling them to meet up at her house after school for an emergency meeting.
All of this had led the band of seven gathering in Comet's room, where Karla took the liberty of filling them in on everything that had happened. The reactions that she got were...mixed.
"Damn, Karla. I can't believe that your Dad would do that," Jackson said in sympathy. As someone else who wanted to turn their passion into a living, he understood how much it sucked to have a parent try and put a stop to that.
"Wow. Just...wow," Ferguson mumbled.
"I'm so sorry, Karla. I can't believe that that happened to you," Alfonso said.
"I can't believe that your Dad actually thought grounding you would work," Jonah said nonchalantly, earning more than a few glares from the others. "What? She's got that giant bird that can take her wherever she wants. Like grounding her would end up working," he pointed out.
"He's right, you know," Comet pointed out. "I've snuck out after getting grounded enough times to know that it doesn't work if your parents can't keep you from leaving."
"Why am I not surprised?" Marcia muttered under her breath before turning to look at Karla. "Getting back on topic, Karla, what are you going to do about your Dad?"
Hidden underneath the bangs of her ear, Karla cocked an eyebrow at her friend's question. "What do you mean?"
"What do you mean 'what do I mean?' You can't leave things with your Dad as they are now. You should find a way to fix things with him," Marcia tried to argue.
"No, I don't," Karla said.
"But Karla, I-"
"Look, Marcia. I appreciate your concern, but you don't need to worry about me. I'm fine," Karla told her. "Right now, all I want to do is focus on winning that contest tomorrow. Then I can deal with my Dad."
"Look, Marcia," Comet said as he put a hand on her shoulder, "I may not know everything that's going on between Karla and her old man. What I do know is she's got the right idea in putting her Dad on the backburner for the moment."
"He's right, Diaz," Jonah concurred. "If she tries to get in touch with her Dad right now, there's no way he's going to want to listen to Karla. Like it or not, Karla will need time to let her old man come to his senses."
Inwardly, Marcia groaned as she knew that the boys were right. She had always been on great terms with her parents and never had to disobey them before. Her parents had never even had to ground her before, so she had no frame of reference on how to help Karla. "Alright," Marcia sighed, "you guys win. We'll focus on the contest. But I still think that Karla should do something about her Dad."
"Don't worry your cute little mole, Marcia," Comet teased her. "After we help Karla win that contest and get that spot playing at the Bounce Lounge, Karla's Dad will have no choice but to let her follow her dreams!"
"Oh, yeah. Yeah, he's right!" Alfonso exclaimed. "Think about it, Marcia. Mr. Greason doesn't want Karla doing this because he thinks it is a waste of her time and will never amount to anything. If she wins, then he'll have no choice but admit that he was wrong about it!"
"Huh. That's actually a good point," Marcia admitted. "But I think you guys are missing the point. Karla's going to be facing some stiff competition tomorrow, and Earth doesn't exactly have that big a reputation amongst the rest of the Universe. So how are we going to sure that she ends up winning the whole thing?"
"You're right, Marcia. How are we going to figure out how to win this contest and begin her to interdimensional musical stardom?" Comet asked in a sing-songy tone. "If only there were some handsome and incredibly attractive young man who came up with a fool-proof plan to help Karla...Ka-boom!" Before any had even realized it, Comet had used his Wand to create a giant, floating board in the middle of the room with many very crude drawings on it.
"Behold, my perfect plan to help Karla win the Bounce Lounge Musical Scouting Contest!" Comet said as he proudly displayed the plan. "First, we find the best songs ever made on Earth, and Karla practices playing them on her keytar. Then tomorrow morning, we portal to Symphonia and have our inter-dimensional fun time as per usual. We use our talents to help make Karla even more amazing than she already is and slay the competition. Milly Sparkles is so impressed that she declares Karla the winner and promises to tell everyone how awesome Earth music is. We come home, find Karla's Dad, and rub her victory in his stupid, dream-crushing face. He realizes how wrong he was and is all like, 'oh Karla, I'm so sorry I didn't believe in you when I should have. From now on, I'll support your dreams no matter what. And you're free to hang out with that incredibly handsome Prince with amazing fashion sense, who is not a threat to your safety or a bad influence.' Are there any questions?"
"Yeah, what was that supposed to be, Comet?" Ferguson asked, raising his hand.
"That's not really a question, Ferguson," Comet told him.
"And that wasn't a plan, Comet," Jonah snarked. "That was more of a best-case scenario, in my opinion."
"Oh, I'm sorry, Jonah, but that was a flawless presentation of what we should do to help Karla win this thing. I added helpful images and everything to help explain it!"
"Comet, you drew yourself and everyone else to look like characters from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, " Jonah said, pointing to the final drawing. This wasn't an exaggeration, either. Somehow, Comet had drawn himself and Karla as incredibly attractive, anime-esque versions of themselves that looked down on a groveling Mr. Greason. At the same time, everyone else did JoJo poses in the background.
"What's wrong with JoJo, Jonah? I thought you said that series kicks ass."
"Comet, you're missing the point," Alfonso tried to interject. "What does JoJo have to do with any of this?"
"For what it's worth, I like it, Comet," Karla told her friend. "A lot of the Stands in JoJo are named after famous songs and bands, so it feels appropriate."
"That's still not the point, Karla. Comet didn't explain anything!" Ferguson began to shout.
"I think it's pretty cool, Ferg. I mean, have you seen how hot we look?" Jackson chimed in, which prompted his pudgy friend to give him an incredulous look.
"Okay, guys, can we please focus on the task at hand?" Marcia said, making every stop talking and direct their attention to her. "Comet's got the right idea, even if he got a little carried away at the end there. If Karla wants to win this contest, then she's going to need all of our help to do so." Bringing out a marker on her person, Marcia then flipped the board over to the other side and began to draw out an actual plan. "Luckily for us, most of us have a skill that can help put on a performance that will blow everyone away."
"We do?" Alfonso asked in confusion.
"Yes, we do," Marcia reiterated. "Karla, since the whole point of this contest is to help get you noticed by Milly Sparkles, you've got the lead role as the singer and the one participating in the competition. Alfonso and Ferguson, you guys will be in charge of the technical aspects. You'll be backstage and controlling the lights, sounds, and anything else that we need to make sure Karla looks as amazing as possible."
"Oh, boy! I can finally put all that time working on computers to good use!" Alfonso said excitedly. Ferguson, though, looked more than a little skeptical of the idea.
"Um, no offense, Marcia, but how are we going to do all of that? Even if they let us go backstage with Karla, they're probably going to have all sorts of security guarding the place," the rotund boy pointed out.
"Already taken care of, Ferguson. I know I'm going to regret this, but Jonah, do you think that you can sneak Al and Ferg in without getting caught?" Marcia hesitantly asked her beanie-wearing friend.
"Marcia, the fact that you even have to ask that kind of question is almost enough to insult me," Jonah smugly said before raising his hands in a mock swearing of oaths. "And don't worry. No harm will come to any security they may have," he said before silently adding, "at least not physically."
Marcia took one look at Jonah and realized what she might have just unleashed. "Jackson, I need you to go with Jonah and help him out in any way you can. Think you can do that?" she asked the skateboarder.
"You mean I make sure he doesn't go overboard? Marcia Diaz, consider it done," Jackson responded before flashing a cool smile that nearly sent shivers up Marcia's spine.
Focus, girl. This is about Karla, Marcia mentally reminded herself before returning to the board. "Meanwhile, I'll try and find Milly Sparkles, get close to her, and talk up how amazing Karla is before she goes onstage. The better she thinks of Karla already, the greater the chance she'll have of winning the contest."
"~And what about meeee?~" Comet asked in a sing-songy tone as he did a little pose.
"Comet, you're going to have the most important job of all," Marcia said, smiling.
"Oh yeah? What is it? Tell me, Marcia!" Comet asked as he began to excitedly bob up and down on the balls of his feet, making Marcia chuckle.
"Easy, tiger. Remember what you did with your magic while Karla was playing at Britta's Tacos?" Comet quickly nodded his head as he eagerly wanted to know where his best friend was going with this. "I want you to do the same thing while Karla's onstage. Give everyone a spectacle that will make them remember the name 'Karla Greason.' Can you do that?"
Without a second of hesitation, Comet raised his one arm in a salute. "Sir, yes, sir!" he said in an overly enthusiastic tone.
"At ease, soldier," Marcia said as she decided to play into whatever was going on inside of Comet's mind. She then turned to look at the others. "All right, then, team! I don't think I need to remind you all what's at stake here. If Karla doesn't win this thing, then there's no way she can ever get her Dad on her side. Failure is not an option here, people!" Marcia shouted.
"Marcia, relax," Jonah said without any hint of concern in his voice. "It's us we're talking about here. In case you've forgotten, we've done a pretty good job of getting shit done."
"He's right, girl. Between our mad skills and Karla's music, there's no way we can lose," Ferguson confidently said as he pumped his fists in the air. "We are going to take our friend to the top of interdimensional superstardom! Besides, it's just a music contest. What's the worst that could happen?" Ferguson questioned, making Marcia narrow her eyes in response.
"There are so many answers to that question that I won't even dignify it with a response, Ferguson," she said, making the chubby boy shrink a little into his chair. However, he nearly jumped forward and out of it when Comet suddenly threw his arms around his and Ferguson's shoulders.
"Come on, Al, don't be like that! We're going to make sure that Karla wins this thing!" Comet said as he flashed a very confident grin that seemed to lift everyone's spirits. "Now come on, people! We've got the rest of the day to prepare, so let's get moving!" Before anyone could even respond, Comet had run out of his room chanting some sort of strange battle cry, much to everyone's bewilderment.
The remainder of the afternoon was a blur for the seven friends as they prepared for the upcoming contest in Symphonia. Jonah enlisted the boys in going around the house for any trash and discarded items that he could use as material for his alchemy. It took some doing, but eventually, the boy converted various pieces of junk into pellets that Al and Ferg could then use with their Black Kabuto slingshots. As a bonus, he then had Comet use his magic to fill them with various chemicals that, when combined, would create a potent sleeping gas, which both boys were more than happy to use. On the other hand, Comet got so excited seeing Jonah perform alchemy that, at one point, Jackson had to hold him back.
While all of this was going on, Karla was busy rehearsing with Marcia, trying to perfect her music. As Karla quickly found out, though, Marcia was not a very lenient instructor. She would continue to point out any flaws she noticed, whether it was a missed note or if she felt that the pitch in Karla's singing was out of tune. Fortunately, though, Marcia also knew how not to come off as harsh and unforgiving, making sure to give her friend plenty of positive encouragement as they practiced the songs they would play. And Karla proved to be a very receptive student, as well; it didn't take her long until she was playing like an absolute pro, rocking away to some of her favorite songs and drawing everyone's attention. Before long, the rest of the house's occupants had come outside to hear her play, turning the place into a mini-concert that everyone just enjoyed.
Eventually, though, the sun began to set, and despite Comet's insistence that they could keep going since it wasn't a school night, the other teens agreed to head home for the night. They would need a good night's rest if they wanted to ensure Karla's victory tomorrow.
Thus, after everyone else had left, the three teens had a quick dinner before taking turns using Marcia's bathroom to shower and brush their teeth. Thankfully, Comet had the common sense to stay in his room and play video games until the girls finished up and returned to Marcia's room for the night.
"Well, we've done all that we can, I guess," Karla said as she finished drying off in one corner of the room before beginning to put on her oversized PJ tops. "Tomorrow's the moment of truth."
"Yeah, the moment of truth," Marcia said as she sat near her bed, making sure that she was nice and dry before beginning to put on her panties for the night. She may have hated the feeling of wet socks, but leaving on wet panties overnight could lead to chafing, and she did not want that! "You nervous, Karla?" She hesitantly asked.
"Not at all, girl," the rocker said. "You heard me playing out there. Whatever competition I may be facing tomorrow, they won't have anything on me!" Karla enthusiastically proclaimed while doing air guitar.
"Well, even so, it's normal to feel nervous before something like this," Marcia stated. "When I started performing in karate tournaments at the Dojo, I would be a complete wreck up until the first match." Marcia couldn't help but wince at just how freaked she had been the first time she had fought in front of a crowd. She ended up winning that match, though, so that made things easier for her.
"But I told you, I'm not nervous, Marcia. I'm going to win tomorrow, and that's that," Karla said in a matter-of-fact tone that made Marcia pause as she finished putting on her top. She couldn't help but admire how confident Karla seemed to be in her ability to win, but at the same time, it worried her.
"Wow. I had no idea you could have this kind of drive towards...well, anything, Karla," Marcia said without even thinking.
"Hey, Diaz. I've got plenty of fire in me. Whereas some people choose to let everyone see it, I decide just to channel it into my music," Karla explained as she reached inside her bags and pulled out the photo from her room. "Besides, I'm not just doing all of this for me," she quietly said to herself.
"Huh? I couldn't quite hear that, Karla. Did you say something?" Marcia innocently asked, turning around after she finished putting on her pajamas. That was when she noticed the photo in Karla's hands that she was wistfully staring at. "What's that you got there?"
"Oh, this?" Karla said. "It's just an old family photo I took with me. I take it out whenever I need some encouragement."
At that moment, Marcia wanted to tease Karla about the fact that she was nervous about her chances in the contest tomorrow. However, she quickly realized that this was something that Jonah would most likely do, and the last thing that she wanted to do was to stoop to his level. Yet, as she looked at the photo and then at Karla herself, Marcia couldn't help but see just how engrossed the girl was in the old image. And, even though she couldn't see her eyes due to her bangs covering them up, Marcia managed to figure out that she was focusing on a single portion of the image. It was of an older woman with long, brunette hair that ran down past her shoulders even as a portion of it covered one of her eyes. She had on a leather biker's jacket, torn jeans stained with grease, and various tattoos lining her arms.
It didn't take much mental effort on Marcia's part to put two and two together. Even so, she found herself asking the question aloud before she had a chance to stop herself. "Hey. Is that woman in the photo supposed to be your Mom?"
Karla frowned, and for a moment, Marcia feared that her unlikely friend was upset with her for asking that. If she was, though, Karla made no indication. The young Ms. Greason just nodded her head and said, "Yeah, this is my Mom. Nancy Greason, the woman who brought me into this world." Karla then paused for a second before choosing to add, "and the first person to believe in me and my music."
"What? I thought Comet was-"
"I said he was the first person in a long time to like my music, Marcia. I never said that he was the first person," Karla clarified as she pointed at the picture. "That honor went to this amazing woman here," she said with pride in her voice while Marcia looked at the photo in awe.
"I didn't think that you could be so energetic," she said as she looked at the younger version of her friend, who looked like she was practically fit to burst with energy in the photo. It was a far cry from the laid-back and chill girl sitting next to her now!
"Yeah, I was a pretty wild kid growing up. My Dad couldn't get me to sit still for more than ten seconds before I felt the urge to get up and do something," Karla admitted. "Yet my Mom always knew what to do to help me channel my high spirits into something more productive."
"What, like your music?"
Karla shrugged her shoulders. "More or less. But she taught some other things, too. Like how to take apart cars and put them back together."
"Is that how you've been able to keep that old car of yours running?" Marcia then asked. "No offense, but it looks like it's a minute away from being sent to a junkyard."
"Well, you're not exactly wrong about that," Karla said. "I don't have my license yet, so technically, I'm not even supposed to be driving it. Not that my Mom would've cared. She would just be proud that I can drive already."
As Marcia resisted the urge to groan over the fact that she now had two friends with parents that would enable potentially dangerous behavior, she couldn't help but notice a pattern. She didn't know much about Karla Greason's family life beyond the lyrics she put into her songs, much to her dismay. However, the last few days helped fill in some of the blanks for her, and what she was looking at wasn't exactly the happiest of circumstances.
Deciding to take a risk, Marcia spoke up once again. "Hey, I couldn't help but notice how you talk about your Mom in the past tense. Is she-?" Marcia hesitated, not wanting to finish the sentence. Fortunately, she didn't have to, as Karla nodded her head in affirmation. Marcia felt her heartstrings being pulled almost immediately while the urge to comfort her friend began to well up inside her. "Oh, Karla...I'm so sorry."
"Don't be, Diaz. You didn't know, and it happened a long time ago," Karla simply said. Yet despite this reassurance, Marcia could still feel the awkward tension permeate her bedroom.
Getting into a cross-legged position beside the other girl, Marcia sat up straight and looked Karla in the eyes as she continued to speak. "If...it's alright with you, Karla, do you want to tell some more about your Mom?"
"Sure," Karla simply said as she began to tell her story...
More than thirteen years earlier, a much younger and leaner Carl Greason is at the Greason & Greason Auto Shop, hard at work on a customer's vehicle. As he leans under the hood to inspect the car's engine, he's then startled by the sound of an electric guitar playing behind him, making him drop the wrench in his hand into the engine compartment and making him hit his head on the hood. Angrily trying to keep himself from cursing, Carl then turns around to give the one responsible a piece of his mind, only for his face to soften when he sees that it's his wife.
"According to my Dad, there were two things that my Mom loved: anything that could burn rubber on the road and music. The two of them first met when she pulled into his shop one day and asked for some help on her motorcycle."
Carl happily walks towards his wife and embraces her before the two proceed to kiss. He then looks down at an infant, Karla, who's happily giggling and laughing at her parents in her Mom's baby harness as the little family joins together for a group hug.
"The two of them bonded over their shared love of cars. It didn't take long for the two of them to start dating. Eventually, they tied the knot, and just like that, I came into the world."
Some time passes, and soon Karla's started to walk around her house and her parent's auto shop. Her Dad keeps trying to keep her away from the cars and tools, but after a while, and with some prodding from his wife, he allows her to stay as long as she's safe in a playpen or looked after by one of her parents. Karla watches from behind the playpen as her parents alternate between working on cars, trucks, and motorcycles and jamming out to various songs on the radio. It's not long before Karla begins to imitate them, making Nancy beam with motherly pride.
"As you can imagine, my parents were more than happy to share their interests with me, even if I was still too young to know about something like replacing a car battery. And while cars were cool, what I loved was music, something that my Mom couldn't have been happier with."
By the time Karla's in her late toddler stage, her Mom's already begun her musical education. At their home and the auto shop, Nancy enthusiastically teaches her daughter everything she knows, from the lyrics to famous songs to playing a guitar. Karla proves to be an eager student, doing her best to copy everything that her Mom does. However, because she's still young, she doesn't do quite as well as her Mom hopes.
"Mom would spend hours teaching me about the history of music and all the greats like the Beatles, Freddy Mercury and Queen, AC/DC, and Elvis. According to her, music had the power to bring together people from all over the world, even people who lived entirely different lives, and make them all happy. And I knew right away that that's what I wanted to do with my life."
On Karla's seventh birthday, her Mom hands her a carefully wrapped present that the young girl eagerly tears open. From behind the bangs of her hair, little Karla's eyes go wide in shock as she sees what her Mom got her: the keytar that she continues to use to this very day, making her hug her Mom in happiness.
"My Mom said that when she was my age, it had been her dream to become a famous musical performer playing in front of millions of people. However, she could never get the big break that she needed to make it happen, making her give up on that dream. But when I showed an interest in music, she thought I could do what she never could. So she put all her time and energy into nurturing my love for music. She even got me my keytar, though it took some time for me to play it without falling over."
Later, Karla's in her room, trying hard to play music on the instrument, but finds herself hampered by the fact that it's too big for her to use. This doesn't stop Karla from playing, though. Badly. Yet Nancy still can't help but look at her daughter with pride as she watches from the doorway before eventually joining her daughter, the two girls happily singing a duet together.
"No matter how questionable my taste in music was, My Mom was always there to support me. She was the first person who believed that I could do great things in life. Which only made it harder when she suddenly got sick."
In the Echo Creek Hospital, a nine-year-old Karla and her father watch over Nancy in a hospital bed as she's hooked up to various life-support systems. Most of her hair is gone, she has tubes plugged into her nose, and she looks like she's barely clinging to life.
"I don't know how it happened or why, but one day, my Mom came down with a form of cancer. We did everything that we could to help her, but given how we weren't rolling in money, there was only so much that could be done."
Sometime later, Carl and Karla are seen standing over Nancy's grave at the Echo Creek Cemetary. Both of their faces are unbelievably forlorn, with Karla barely able to hold back her tears as her Dad tries to comfort her. Things are hardly any better back at home, either. Karla comes into the living room with her keytar and tries to get her Dad's attention. Mr. Greason merely looks at the keytar and grunts in disdain.
"My Dad was never really the same after Mom died. We were never as close as my Mom and me, but after she was gone, things got worse. Whenever I told him about my dreams to become a musical performer, he would get this sad look in his eyes and walk away."
In her room, Karla's sitting on the floor, quietly playing with her keytar before she looks at the very same photo from before. With renewed focus, she climbs onto her bed and begins to practice with her keytar.
"But no matter how much my Dad disapproved, I wouldn't let go of my dreams to be a rocker."
"Even though my Mom's been gone for five years now, I kept playing my music, no matter how bad other people think it is. It's my way of being close to her. And I know what you're going to say, Marcia. That I don't have to fulfill my Mom's wishes to give my life meaning, I can decide what I want to do with my life. But the thing is, I don't want to do this just to honor my Mom. I also want to do this because I love it, and I want to let the whole world know that," Karla said as she finished her story. "So that's basically why I'm so deadset on doing this. Pretty crazy story, right, Marcia?" When Marcia didn't respond at first, Karla turned her head to the side to look at her friend, only to see that Marcia was sitting there, completely silent as she struggled to hold back the tears forming in her eyes.
Marcia didn't say anything at first. She just leaned forward and began to hug the other girl without any warning. "Oh my gosh, Karla, I-I had no idea. I'm so sorry that that happened to you," she eventually managed to get out of her mouth. "I'm so sorry that I never bothered to ask about any of this sooner, and I'm so sorry that I never thought that your music was any good."
Karla didn't say anything in response to this. She just smiled and began to rub Marcia's back as she calmed down. "It's alright, Diaz. I never really liked to talk about this kind of stuff, so it's not like you could've known."
"But I still should've asked, Marcia. How can I call myself your friend if I didn't even try to help you with this!" Marcia tried to argue, only for Karla to put a finger to her lips to silence her.
"Marcia, girl, like I told you, it's fine. You've already helped me plenty, and do you want to know how? Simply by being my friend. Before Principal Skeeves assigned you to babysit me, I really didn't have that many people in the way of friends. And now, I've got you, Jonah, Ferguson, Al, Jackson, and Comet. Whether you guys realize it or not, you've all become as much an inspiration for me as my Mom. I want to do this for my Mom and me, sure, but I also want to prove that you guys were right to have faith in me."
"Oh my gosh, Karla. That is so sweet!" Marcia said as she looked at her friend and smiled. "I know that not many people get why we hang out, but I'm glad that you're my friend, too. We all are."
"Thanks, Marcia," Karla said. "I'm glad that you're all my friends, too."
Marcia then stood up from where she had been sitting and began to stretch her arms before climbing back onto her bed. "All right. I think that that's enough talking about her feelings for one night. We should hit the hay if we want to be rested for the contest tomorrow."
"I couldn't agree more, girl," Karla said as she made to get into her sleeping bag. "Good night, Marcia."
"Good night, Karla," Marcia said as she went to turn off the lights before letting the sweet release of sleep take hold of her.
Unbeknownst to either of the two girls, someone else had been listening in on their entire conversation. He had never meant to eavesdrop; he had just been coming back from using the bathroom when he had overheard Karla talking about her childhood, and his innate curiosity compelled him to stick around and hear the rest. And by the time Karla had finished telling her story, Comet found himself close to tears.
Part of Comet told him to swing open the door and hug Karla like there was no tomorrow, to say that he would do everything he could to help make her dreams come true. However, he had enough common sense to know that wouldn't be the most appropriate response for him. Also, Marcia had made it clear that she did not want him to enter her room after bedtime unless she permitted him. Reluctantly, he wiped off the rest of his tears and returned to his room, but not before making a silent vow to do everything to help Karla at the contest. And to fix things with her Dad. His relationship with his own Dad may not be the best, but there was no way he was going to let his friend end up in the same boat!
The next morning, the teens of the Diaz household all got up bright and early around the crack of dawn. They each performed their daily rituals:
Marcia did her morning stretches.
Karla checked over her keytar.
Comet fired off a few spells with his Wand to make sure his magic was in top form.
After that, the three then gathered downstairs for breakfast and to go over any last-minute plans and ideas they may have had. Once that was done, they each went to get dressed for the day before reconvening in the living room and waited for the rest of the group to show up.
Jonah was the first to show up. He brought with him some extra ammo he made for Alfonso and Ferguson overnight, along with his taser, pepper spray, and stuff to draw transmutation circles with, much to Marcia's dismay. When she tried to make Jonah leave them at home, though, Comet used his "puppy dog eye technique" on her. Marcia could never say no to Comet when he looked like a sad puppy dog and ultimately relented (though she still felt like it was a terrible idea).
Jackson showed up not long after, much to Marcia's relief. She was counting on him to keep Jonah in line since she would potentially be too busy to do so. That, and she liked having an excuse to spend more time with her crush.
Alfonso and Ferguson were the last to show up. And by last, that meant that the two came close to oversleeping, grabbed whatever clean clothes they could wear, while simultaneously brushing their teeth and holding their Black Kabuto's, and then hoofing it to Marcia's. Yet despite the urgency, they still insisted on stopping at Britta's Tacos to get breakfast burritos for everyone.
Even though every instinct in her body was telling her to admonish her two friends for almost messing up their plan, Marcia accepted the bribe and kept her mouth shut. However, she did come close to cursing her love of Britta's Tacos as a result.
After taking some time to enjoy the burritos, the band of seven then made their way to the backyard where Kevin had been sleeping for the last two days. Despite Marcia's obvious reservations about keeping the giant Griffin in her backyard (especially since Karla forgot most of her pet supplies at home,) the mythical creature had been very well-behaved. During practice the day before, Kevin had quietly watched over his master and her friends from afar, only acting up when Karla played a wrong note or Comet wanted to pet him.
"All right, Kevin," Karla said to her winged steed, "The others and I are going to head somewhere else so I can prove to everyone that I'm a great music performer. Please stay here and be on your best behavior for Mr. and Mrs. Diaz, and when I get back, I'll take you on a nice, long flight around town. Okay?" The Griffin happily chirped before nodding his head in affirmation, while the others just looked at Karla in absolute wonder that Karla had just managed to pull that off, leaving the girl confused.
"What?" She asked in confusion. "I read some of the pet care books that Comet got us." The notion that Karla read something that didn't have to do with music only increased the shock on their faces, much to Karla's amusement.
"Dudes, you should see the look on your faces right now. It's awesome!"
Being the first to recover from the shock, Marcia clapped her hands to bring everyone back to reality. "Okay, people! Less gawking, more focusing!" Right away, the others snapped out of their shock and directed their eyes towards Marcia. "Now, do we all remember what our plan is?" The others nodded to confirm that they remembered everything they rehearsed the day before. "All right, then. Unless there's anything that we're forgetting, we will head to Symphonia and get ready. Comet, would you do the honors?"
Comet saluted his best friend before reaching into the pocket of his jacket and pulling out his dimensional scissors. Right before he was about to use them to open up a portal to Symphonia, though, the Universe saw fit to throw a monkey wrench into their plan.
"Um, Marcia?" Mrs. Diaz called from inside the house. "There's someone here to see you!"
"Someone's here to see me? Whaaa?" Marcia repeated to herself in confusion. "Mom, we're about to head out! Can't they come back later?" She asked her Mom.
"They insisted that they need to talk to you right now, sweetie. And I think you should speak to them!"
Marcia groaned, knowing that there was no way to get out of this. "Hold on a second, guys. This should only take a minute or two," she told everyone before jogging to the backdoor.
"I'm confused, guys. Who the corn could want to talk to Marcia on a Saturday morning?" Comet asked as he absent-mindedly used the wings on his Wand to scratch his head. As the other looked at each other, trying to guess who it could be, they didn't have to wait long. In a few seconds, Marcia had come running back outside with a panicked look on her face.
"Comet, get the portal open! We need to leave right now!" She shouted at them.
"Wait, what? Marcy, why are you freaking out more than usual?" Comet asked out of concern for his best friend, only for a new voice to answer his questions for him.
"KARLA GREASON!"
The new voice immediately directed everyone's attention to the backdoor, and when they saw who it was, Karla's normally cool and collected face almost went pale. Standing there, clad in his blue mechanic jumpsuit, face as red as a lobster, was her Dad.
"Oh, shit," she whispered to herself.
"You've got some nerve doing what you did, young lady!" Mr. Greason said as he began to march towards the teens. "Running away from home on that giant bird-thing that you call a pet-" Kevin screeched in resentment at this comment "-and leaving me without any idea where you might be for the last two days! Do you have any idea how worried sick I was about you!? DO YOU!?" He yelled as he marched his way past Marcia, who had been desperately trying to block his path.
"Well, what did you expect, Dad?" Karla said, doing her best to keep her emotions under control. "I told you that I was going to that contest, and you responded by grounding me. What was I supposed to do? Sit in my room and let the best chance I have at making my dreams a reality fly right out the window?"
"I expect you to listen to me, young lady. I am your father, and so long as you live under my roof, you will do as I say!" Mr. Greason shouted. "I have tried to be patient with your ridiculous ideas of being a music performer, but that ends now! No more! I don't want you to have anything to do with music again, you hear me?!"
"Mr. Greason, please calm down-" Marcia said to Karla's father, only for the man to turn his attention towards her.
"And you! When Skeeves told me he was putting you in charge of my daughter, I hoped that you would be able to set her straight. But all you've done is encourage her to keep pursuing a hopeless fantasy!"
"Sir, I was trying to be her friend," Marcia tried to explain, but the man was in no mood to listen.
"If you were her friend, then you would've done what was best for her and get her to focus on her schoolwork! That ends today, Ms. Diaz! After I get home, I'm going to make sure that she can't see any of you ever again!"
"WHAT?" Ferguson yelled in panic. "You can't do that!"
"I can, and I will, kid!" Mr. Greason said before pushing the other teens aside and walked towards his daughter. "Now come on. I'm taking you home and grounding you until college!" he said as he tried to reach out and grab his daughter's hand. Before he even came close, though, the man was surprised to find another hand holding his wrist: it was Comet.
"Hey, buddy, I don't think that she wants to go home with you," Comet said, his voice devoid of much of the light and laughter that her friends were accustomed to by now.
"Uh oh," Alfonso said, voicing what everyone (except for Jonah) was thinking.
Mr. Greason wasn't going to back down, though. "Why you little-let go of my arm, you little punk."
"No," Comet said. "Not until you let Karla go with us to the contest."
"And just what gives you the right to tell me how I can and can't raise my daughter?"
"Because I'm her friend, that's why. And I care enough about what Karla wants out of her life to support her dreams. And right now, that's something you're clearly failing to do as a Dad."
"Listen here, young man! If you really cared about my daughter, then you would help her see that she's wasting her time chasing a pipe dream-"
"It's not a pipe dream, Mr. Greason! Your daughter is probably one of the best music performers I've ever seen. And if you cared about her, then you would respect her decisions and let her follow her dreams!"
"And what? You think that just because you're her friend, you think you care about my daughter more than I do? Just who the Hell do you think you are, punk?"
"Who am I? I'm Comet Dragonfly," the boy proudly proclaimed, "and I'm going to make sure that your daughter wins that contest and proves you and all the other naysayers out there wrong!"
If Comet thought that saying his name would affect Mr. Greason's stance, he was wrong. Instead, it just made him even angrier. "I know you! You're that freak who tore up the school and nearly got my daughter killed!" He yelled. "Now I know that I'm doing the right thing by keeping her away from you punks!" As Mr. Greason tried to make Comet let go of his wrist, he turned to look at his daughter. "Sweetie, I am ordering you to come home with me right now, or I'm going to-"
Thankfully, whatever threat he was going to make never finished, as an audible ping rang out in the backyard as Mr. Greason's head recoiled. Before anyone else even realized it, a small, pink-looking cloud of vapor was enveloping Carl's head. His eyes began to glaze over as he tried, and failed, to maintain his balance.
"Oh, boy, I, uh, I don't feel so good all of a sudden, Mommy. Tuesday is applesauce dayyyy..." And just like that, Mr. Greason fell to the ground, out like a light, much to Marcia's complete and utter horror.
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!?"
"I'll tell you what that was: it was top-grade marksmanship!" Ferguson jubilantly shouted in victory. "Nice shot, Alfonso," he said to his bespectacled friend, who had his Black Kabuto out and aimed at Mr. Greason's head.
"Damn right! All those hours of playing FPS games paid off!" Alfonso proudly stated.
"Well, I never thought that I would say this sort of thing, but good job, Alfonso," Jonah remarked as he held up his hand to give his friend a high five, which the boy gladly returned.
"ARE YOU GUYS CRAZY!?" Marcia yelled at the others. "We just knocked someone out cold in my backyard! That qualifies as assault!"
"Oh, come on, Marcia. He wouldn't leave us alone, and we didn't have time to convince him to listen to us. So, we got him to be quiet. Simple as that." Jonah casually explained. However, this did not do anything to help Marcia's anxiety!
"You're missing the point, Jonah!" Marcia lambasted the teen. "As soon as he wakes up and realizes that we're gone, he's probably going to call the police on us! By the time we get back, my house could be swarming with cops ready to take us in!" Marcia then crouched down on her knees and held her head as her mind began to race with the worst possible scenarios. "We could get arrested for assault and possible kidnapping. We'll get sent to Juvenile Hall to spend the rest of our teen years with all the other delinquents and hoodlums. I'll have to shave my head and join a gang just to survive, and by the time I get out, I'll never be able to get into my dream college and GET MY DOCTORATE IN PSYCHOLOGY!"
Everyone else began to look at Marcia in concern as she seemed to be going through a nervous breakdown. Everyone, that is, except for Comet, who carefully worked his way towards Marcia before pulling out his Wand and saying something along the lines of "Magic Massage Mitts!" In an instant, a pair of giant, gloved hands appeared out of thin air. They began to carefully work their way around Marcia's shoulders, giving her a relaxing massage that eliminated any stress she might have had.
"What the? What are you doing, Comet? This is not the time to-oh my gosh, that feels so good!" After a few seconds of protesting, Marcia gave into the power of the magic mitts and felt herself calming down. Their task completed, the magic hands gave Comet a thumbs up before vanishing in a puff of smoke, returning to whatever plane of existence Comet's spells existed on.
"You good now, Marcia?" Comet asked his friend as he knelt next to her, to which she nodded her head in response.
"Yeah. Thanks, man, I needed that," Marcia gratefully told her best friend and roommate. "But seriously, we can't just leave Mr. Greason here, or else we're going to be in huge trouble."
"Don't worry, Marcia. I've got a plan, and it's a good one: we're going to take him with us."
"Um, no offense, Comet, but that seems like a terrible idea," Jackson told his compatriot in response to this.
"No, no, listen!" Comet told everyone as he got to his feet. "If we take him with us, then he'll have no choice but to watch Karla perform at the contest in front of everyone. He'll see just how awesome she is on stage, everyone will love her, and then he'll have no choice but to admit that he was wrong about her dream of performing music!"
"Huh," Marcia mumbled as she got to her feet. "You know, it may be the massage talking, but that seems like a good idea, Comet," she told the Prince. "I mean, at this point, we've got nothing left to lose, so we might as well go all in."
Jonah began to rub his hands together in excitement. "Ah, yeah, now we're talking! This day just got way more interesting!"
"Um, question," Ferguson said, raising his hand. "How are supposed to get him to cooperate once he wakes up? Because I'm pretty sure he's not going to be in the mood to listen to anything we have to say."
"Don't worry about that, Ferguson. I've already got a few ideas in mind," Comet told them as he eyed his Wand before pulling out his scissors. "Now, come on, you guys!" He excitedly told the group as he opened up a portal. "Symphonia is waiting for us, and we've all come too far to back down now! Plus, if we stay here when he wakes up, we'll have to deal with the Earth authorities, and I doubt that they'll listen to us."
"Good point," Alfonso concluded. "The last one in's a rotten egg!" With that cry, Alfonso then ran headlong into the portal with everyone else following close behind him, save for Comet and Marcia.
"So, how do you expect to carry him around in another dimension, Comet? Because I sure as Hell ain't doing it!" Marcia told her best friend and now a potential partner in crime.
"Marcy, relax," Comet said to her. "I got this. Now hold on! I need to go get something out of your room. Be right back!"
"Wait, you're going to do what now?" Marcia tried to ask the boy, but Comet was already climbing up the roof and making his way to his bedroom window by the time she finished her question. Which Marcia instantly realized was his weird way of taking a shortcut to her room!
"Oh, good grief," Marcia groaned aloud as she watched the boy she and Karla were putting their hopes in crawl up his tower like a spider. "I better not regret this, Comet," she said before trudging her way to the portal.
*Most of the people watching the chapter on the TV in Jay's Workspace are left speechless at how things ended in the chapter. The only ones who aren't shocked are Janna, who's loving every minute of it, and GIR, who's not even there for some reason.*
Kermit: Whoa, did they just knock out Karla's Dad and kidnap him?
Jay: I wouldn't go so far as to call it that, Kermit...
Spongebob Narrator: Then what would you call it, then?
Jay: Involuntary volunteering? The heck if I know. All I know is that when I came up with this arc, I knew I needed a means for the gang to change Mr. Greason's mind. Having him join them on this musical adventure seemed like the most logical thing to do.
Yakko: Uhhhh, I'm pretty sure this is still kidnapping. Oh well. They can always run for Canada with those scissors.
Jay: They're not moving to Canada, and you guys are freaking out way too much. This will get resolved before the arc's over. I know what I'm doing.
Janna: Well, I like it. Kudos on the backstory for Karla and her Dad. Where'd you get the idea, anyway?
Jay: I've seen plenty of stories where characters have sad backstories, but in truth, it just came to me. I think I did a good job.
Hooty: I think that you did a good job too, Jay!
Everyone: HOOTY!
*The group starts throwing stuff at Hooty, trying to force him outside. Only for everyone to realize that GIR's riding him like a horse.*
Jay: Well, you don't see that every day.
Janna: Wait, is the robot riding the tube owl? Oh, I gotta see this! Come on, everyone! Let's go watch the rodeo while Jay does his responses!
*The entire party then runs outside to watch GIR ride Hooty like a cowbot, leaving Jay all by himself.*
Jay: Sigh, sometimes, it's lonely being the host. Ah, well; I like doing this stuff! Now it's time for
READER'S REVIEWS
NightAroma-Sorry, man, but your prediction streak is stuck at two in a row. You were right about the backstory revelation, but you were wrong about who Karla directly told. And yes, in hindsight, it does remind me of Moon and Star's relationship; and Mune and Comet's. Good observation!
Guest 1-I looked that AU you mentioned online. Meh, I like MoringMark's better, and I know some good fanfics for the show.
LockAndKey989-Karla's Dad isn't in the wrong in this case, but he's not in the right, either. He doesn't realize how good Karla's gotten since Comet arrived and got her those books. Until then, she was largely self-taught.
Guest 2-I hope this didn't disappoint!
Julayla-Not all of the fanworks have the Septarians as evil, you know. The 'Monster Love AU' by The Wandering Hippie is one example. But I assure you, here most Septarians have a reason as to why they hate Mewmans more than a lot of Monsters.
FungusDungus000-It wasn't easy, but I got inspiration from The Wandering Hippie. He proved that you can make a flat character into a dynamic and interesting one in a fanwork! And I may end up using that idea of Jonah getting beaten up by Toffee when the time comes.
95- Yeah, I knew that this DEATH BATTLE! wasn't going to be the most well-researched one they've done. But I still think that they were pretty accurate in their assessment.
StarnightCanyion-Never underestimate the power of a willful teenager.
The Wandering Hippie-Okay, I wouldn't outright call Toffee one of the best villains in western cartoons, as that would require him to have been more involved in the show than he was. But yeah, he was a good villain, and I wanted to carry that over. And I plan on keeping it that way. And yes, the Greason conflict is a case of right vs. right, and the only way those conflicts can resolve is when they both accept this and compromise. Or one side wipes the other out. Preferably the former.
You know what to do: fave and follow this story, and follow me on Twitter (JZ-Gaming), Insta (RJ Writing Ink), and YouTube (Jungoguy)
And before I go, I thought it would be appropriate for me to give a shout-out to two of my favorite Owl House fanfics!
First we have Luz Noceda, The Fighter, an AU by Jss2141. Basically, in this story, Luz grew up taking kickboxing lessons, so when she arrives in the Boiling Isles, she's much more prepared for all the dangers she faces, both phsyically and mentally. It leans into the Shonen genre in terms of style at times, but it captures the spirit of the show very well.
Then we have Luz Clawthorne: Hexside's Number One Delinquent Witch, an AU by JP-Ryder. The short version: Eda found Luz in the human world as a baby after her Mom died and raised her as her daughter. This Luz is a lot rougher around the edges due to growing up under Eda's influence, but underneath her tough facade, she remains the same kind-hearted person who looks out for her friends. Also, she spent a lot of her childhood being bullied for being a human, hence why she developed her tough persona. It's really good, though, and proof that one doesn't need blood ties to be family.
See you next week, everyone! Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go watch GIR ride Hooty around the Boiling Isles!