This is a long one, folks. So, buckle up. Star vs the Forces of Evil is owned by Disney and Stands are the creation of the brilliant and talented Hirohiko Araki. Blah. Blah. Blah. Enjoy.

Flowers and Brimstone: Chapter 13.

(Picking up where we left off)

Wasting no time, the pompadoured goat-man sat up on his lofty perch and then dropped down to the ground with a soft THWUMP.

Now that he was standing directly in front of her, Jackie could see that he was a whopping twelve feet tall; easily towering over her like a colossus.

"Hey, you alright, sweetheart?" he asked, apparently sensing her anxiety.

"Y-Yeah, I'm alright." She replied, half lying. "Just a little nervous, I guess. I mean… I've never met a god before."

"God?" he said, sounding genuinely confused. "What the heck are you… Oh! You mean this? Oh, no, no, no, no, no. You got it all wrong, baby girl. I'm no god. I'm as mortal as you."

"What?"

"The being you see before you is just my Stand, Aloha Oe. My real body is over there."

Jackie looked where he was pointing but saw only the trunk of the ancient willow.

"Is it… behind the tree?"

"It is the tree."

"Uh… what?"

"Yeah… I'm a tree. Probably should've led with that. Sorry."

"B-B-But that's impossible. Trees can't talk. And they definitely can't have Stands. Only people have Stands."

"Really? And who told you that?"

"My… My Stand Teacher."

"Another human, no doubt." The goat-man said, with a not so subtle roll of the eyes. "You're all so proud of your Stand abilities, and rightfully so, but you neglect your Cosmic Awareness. It's one of the reasons why human Users tend to be so… unstable."

"Cosmic Awareness? Stewart mentioned that earlier. What is it?"

"It's… kinda complicated. But basically, it refers to how deeply one understands the true nature of the universe. Most humans only achieve Level 3 or 4 Awareness in their lifetimes. I myself am at Level 18; not that I'm bragging or anything."

"How many levels are there?"

"Twenty-seven in total. Of course, to reach a level higher than eighteen, I'd have to abandon my physical body and convert my consciousness into pure energy. Which, as I'm sure you can imagine, would be a bitch and a half."

"Um… okay… Listen, not that this isn't fascinating and all, uh… Mr. Tree. But… why am I here?"

"Oh, right, of course. How rude of me." The goat Stand said embarrassedly, before quickly resuming its usual swagger. "Ahem. Permit me to introduce myself, fair lady. I am the king of this island. And my name is… The King!"

"The King?"

"Yes!"

"Your name is just… The King?"

"That is correct!"

"That's a really weird name for a tree."

"Well, what were you expecting, a wood pun?"

"No, I just thought… you know, with you being a king and all, you'd have a more… regal sounding name."

"Kid, I'm a tree. Most trees don't even have names. We're not like humans. We don't need names to tell each other apart. You know what, we're getting off topic again. Let's start over. Ahem! I am The King! For five thousand years I have ruled over this island; sharing my great wisdom with all who are willing to learn. My roots stretch under every inch of the great forest. Nothing happens within my domain without my knowledge."

"Is there a point to this?"

"Yes, little miss killjoy. I'm trying to tell you that I know about your situation and I wanna help you."

"Really? That's great! I've been going out of my mind all week. But if you can beat Danni for me then…"

"Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Hold on there, missy. My Stand is not built for combat. I'm not going anywhere near that psycho."

"But you said…"

"I said, I would help you. And the best way to do that, is to help you help yourself. See, I saw your fight with Danni and I know how you can beat her. Your Stand has an ability you don't know about yet. All you have to do is master it, and it's game over for Little Miss Diamond Dog."

"Okay, so what's my new power?"

"I can't tell you."

"Oh, come on!"

"Sorry, I don't mean to keep jerking you around like this, but I can't just tell you, you wouldn't understand. You have to figure it out on your own."

"Well, I don't exactly have a lot of time, you know. I gotta fight that psycho tomorrow or else another psycho 'll rip my head off!"

"I know, and I'm gonna help you, I swear. But you have to let me help you my way, otherwise it won't work. Okay?"

"Sigh. Okay. So, what's your way?"

"First, I must tell you a little story. And I'm not gonna lie, I'm gonna be dropping some major bombshells. Real, S-Rank, paradigm shattering pearls of cosmic wisdom. So, you probably wanna sit down."

"Oh, um… okay." The young skateboarder said before squatting down and adjusting herself into a seated position. "Is this good?"

"Yes, now listen carefully. The story you are about to hear comes from a lifetime of meditation and reading the Cosmic Ley Lines. It contains several of the universe's most ancient and jealously guarded secrets. This is not something to be taken lightly. Do you understand?"

"Y-Y-Yes Sir." Jackie replied nervously. "I understand."

"Good. Now then, I shall begin with the ending." The King began cryptically. "Roughly 150 trillion years ago, a universe, having reached the end of its lifespan, collapsed in on itself, and all the matter and energy that once existed in it was compressed into a single mass of carbon, roughly one and a half times the size of our sun. Naturally, no one was around to name it, but I like to call it the Mother Rock."

The young skateboarder said nothing, but she was very interested in what the goat-man was saying. It sounded a little farfetched, but it was certainly fascinating.

"For eons, this lifeless mass was the only thing left in all existence; a lone object floating through a dark and infinite void. But then one day, about 14.8 billion years ago, a miraculous thing occurred. A second object, more or less the same size, suddenly appeared within the void. But unlike the Mother Rock, this new object, which I like to call the Catalyst Comet, was composed not of carbon, but of pure pyonium; an element of unimaginable power."

"Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Back it up a second." Jackie interrupted suddenly. "You're saying this comet thing just appeared randomly out of nowhere? That makes no sense."

"Actually, it does, when you consider the nature of pyonium." The King corrected her casually. "You see, pyonium is an incredibly rare element which can bend the laws of space and time. It's likely that the Catalyst Comet was the remnant of some other dead universe and upon its creation the properties of the pyonium within were activated. Thus, propelling it across multiple realities."

"Oh… I guess that makes sense. I think."

"Yes, well… anyway, when the Catalyst Comet appeared, the pyonium energy reacted with the carbon of the Mother Rock, causing them to collide. Resulting in a tremendous explosion; an event you humans colorfully refer to as 'the Big Bang'."

"Wait… so you're saying our universe was created by the remnants of two dead universes crashing into each other?"

"Eyup."

"Wow… that's… that's unbelievable."

"Actually, it's more common than you might think. But let's try to stay on topic. Ahem. Anyway, from that one random occurrence, our universe was born. And over time, new worlds were formed, and life began to take shape. But unlike the lifeforms we know today, these primordial beings all possessed a rather unusual ability. Namely, the ability to summon forth powerful avatars made of psychic energy."

"You mean Stands?"

"Bingo, baby. In the beginning, all lifeforms had Stands; regardless of their shape, form, or species. And for a time, it was pretty bitchin'. However, as time marched on, some civilizations came to see Stands as primitive and vile. So, instead of looking within themselves for strength, they began drawing in the energy of the universe itself. An act that would one day become the basis of what you call 'magic'. Unfortunately, this also caused a shift in the Cosmic Ley Lines, and over the next few generations, the number of Stand Users grew smaller and smaller. Until finally, there were no more. Before long, Stands faded into myth, and eventually they were forgotten completely. The Age of Stands had ended, and the Age of Science and Sorcery began."

This time, Jackie had no question or reply. She was too transfixed by the goat-man's tale.

"Now, those species who were exposed to Magic on a regular basis, either directly or indirectly, they lost their Stands completely. But on worlds like this one, where the Magic levels are low or nonexistent, the potential for Stands remained. However, the shift in the Cosmic Ley Lines caused them to become inert. In short, we still had the locks, but we lacked the keys. And so it would have stayed, if not for an incident which occurred on this planet roughly 65 million years ago."

"65 mill… isn't that when…"

"Correct! An asteroid roughly 15 kilometers in diameter collided with the Earth, triggering an extinction level event. But what your scientists don't know, is that this was no ordinary asteroid. It was a mass of solid carbon charged with pyonium energy."

"Wait… are you saying…"

"Correct again! The asteroid that killed the dinosaurs was, in fact, a shard of the Mother Rock. And when it hit, pieces of pyonium charged carbon were scattered all over the planet. Eons later, early humans began finding these pieces and, sensing the power within, carved them into spears and arrowheads to use for hunting. However, it wasn't long before they discovered the rocks' true power."

Suddenly, Jackie remembered the story Jefferson had told her just a few days earlier.

"Wait… you don't mean…"

"Ding! Ding! Ding! That's three for three, Jackady! The spears and arrows had the power to activate the dormant Stands within any lifeform they pierced. And once they realized this, those hunter gatherers started using them on themselves in order to attain this great power. And thus, the Age of Stands was born anew; albeit on a much smaller scale."

"Oh, I think I get it." Said Jackie, hoping she wouldn't be interrupted this time. "So, people who are born with their Stands today are the descendants of people who had their Stands activated by the arrows in the past. That's why there're so few of them."

"Wow, you really do pick things up fast." The goat-man replied, making Jackie blush a little. "In total, there were twenty arrows made from the shard of the Mother Rock, and eleven spears. And through the millennia, those artifacts changed hands more times than anyone can remember; passing through every human civilization that has ever existed at least once. But of course, as these civilizations became more advanced, people began discovering other ways to awaken their Stands, such as drugs and meditation. Over time, many of the spears and arrows were destroyed or became useless with age, so the other methods became the standard. Today, only two arrows remain. One is hidden within my roots; entrusted to me almost four thousand years ago by a great mauri warrior for safe keeping. The other, I can't say for sure, but I know it's still intact. I can sense it."

"Whoa…" the young skateboarder said in astonishment. "This is some heavy stuff."

"I know, and it only gets heavier from here on out." The King replied with an uneasy sigh. "Jackie, I've told you all this because I want you to understand something. This universe is connected in ways you can't even begin to comprehend. And the only way to understand these connections is to learn to think outside the box. To not base your perceptions on what you think you already know."

"I don't understand.

"You will." He said cryptically, before continuing. "Now listen, in order for you to discover your Stand's true power, I must first open your mind to new possibilities. And to do that, I must show you a Cosmic Ley Line."
"What?"

"That's right, one runs right through this island. Did you think it was coincidence that your captor chose this island out of all the others? No, it was fate. Jackie, it is your destiny to gaze into the Cosmic Ley Line and learn the secrets of the universe."

"I… I don't know… I don't think I'm ready for something like that."

"Full disclosure, you're not. At your current level of Awareness, you'll be unable to retain or even comprehend most of what you'll see. And what little you can will most likely drive you mad. That is why you must remember what I've already taught you. Remember that all things are connected. Learn to think beyond your preconceptions. And open yourself to new possibilities. Now, are you ready?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"Of course, you do. This is going to be intense. I need your full consent."

"Well… if it helps me save Kelly and get the heck outta this place, I guess I'm in. Okay, Your Majesty, let me have it."

"If you insist." The goat-man said with a playful shrug, before placing his palm directly on Jackie's forehead. "Oh, there's one little thing I forgot to mention. There's a good chance that this will permanently alter your brain chemistry. So, you'll probably be a different person when you wake up."

"Wait, what?"

"Doesn't matter. Okay! Let's make it happen, Cap'n!"

And before she could even try to respond, Jackie's mind went blank.

Then, for one split second, she saw everything.

End Notes:

Fun Fact: Pyonium is a fictitious element created by Masafumi Harada.

Anyway, thanks for reading and I'll see you in the next one.

Peace.