I've been looking forward to writing this chapter since before I decided to buckle down and write this series. So I'll make this quick. Star vs the Forces of Evil is owned by Disney and Stands are the creation of the brilliant and talented Hirohiko Araki. Enjoy.
1-Up Girl: Chapter 3.
(Two and a half minutes later)
For what felt like hours, Annie stared at the message on Star's phone as if she were staring into the face of God.
You have 1 Missed Call from: StarFan13
How was this possible?
How could she be calling Star when she didn't even have her phone?
Had someone else stolen it?
No, that wasn't possible.
She'd just used her phone less than half an hour ago.
It was in her backpack.
No one could've…
Oh, wait… Duh!
"Ugh! I'm an idiot!" Annie said with mock exasperation as she smacked her forehead with her palm. "It was Star! Ah! So obvious!"
"What the heck are you talking about?" asked Jackie confusedly.
"Don't you get it? You took Star's backpack by mistake. That means my backpack is back at the clearing. Star must've figured that out, so she used my phone to call her phone so she could tell you."
"Oh…" the young blonde replied, clearly feeling very foolish. "We are dumb."
"Yeah… I guess with everything that's been happening lately, we've kinda trained ourselves to always expect the worst. But it looks like this time we got ourselves worked up over nothing."
"Yeah… we are so dumb."
But as the girls took a moment to laugh at their own stupidity, the phone started playing that god awful ringtone again.
SPACE UNICORN~
SOARING THROUGH THE…
Beep
But luckily, this time Annie was holding the infernal device in her hand, so she was able to answer it immediately.
"Hello~" she said sweetly, expecting to hear Star's voice answer her back.
But what she got instead was much more alarming.
"Star Butterfly: Princess of Moony. Listen very carefully." Said the voice on the other end; a deep and masculine voice that was clearly being electronically altered. "My name is FinalJudgement42 and I have taken StarFan13. If you ever want to see your precious blogger alive again, come to 527 Somerset Boulevard in fifteen minutes. Bring your friend Marco if you want, but no one else. Try anything funny and the girl dies. Do NOT test me."
Beep. Beep.
And just like that the call ended, and the girls were left feeling very, very confused.
"J-Jackie…"
"I know, I heard." The young blonde replied, pointing to her aura infused ear. "What the hell was that all about?"
"I don't know. What did he mean when he said he'd taken StarFan? I'm StarFan!"
"Yeah, and what was up with that 'Princess of Moony' thing? Star's home is called Mewni not Moony. Even her dumbest enemies know that."
"Nothing about this makes any sense." Annie said in quiet exasperation. "Do you think it could be Chemical Romance?"
"Hmm… no, I don't think so." Jackie replied thoughtfully. "That voice was altered, but it was clearly male. And besides, why would she make up a new alias? She already has a name that sends shivers down our spines. No, this is someone else. Someone of obviously limited intelligence."
"You mean like that little bird guy who's always after Star's wand?"
"No… this plan is stupid, but it's a different kind of stupid than the kind of thing he might pull."
"Well, who's ever behind this, we need to go get Jefferson and the others right aw-uh!"
Unfortunately for Annie, her rational argument was quickly derailed when Jackie placed a hand on her shoulder and shot her a cheeky and uncharacteristically Janna-like grin.
"Yeah, we could do that." She said with more than a hint of mischief in her voice. "Or…"
XXX
(Across town, roughly thirteen and a half minutes later)
For those of you who don't know, Somerset Boulevard is a small, slightly rundown 0.2 mile dead end street on Echo Creek's upper west side. Back in 80s, it was the place to be on Saturday night; packed with trendy nightclubs, three star restaurants, and all sorts of other fun diversions designed to separate teenagers and young adults from their hard earned money. But nowadays it was no different than any other street in Echo Creek; just a quiet little strip of laundromats, pawnshops, and designer coffee houses.
However, this quiet was soon disrupted by the all too familiar FTOOM of a portal opening.
Jackie and Annie were on the scene.
"Well… this looks like the place." The young blonde said casually as she stepped through the gapping hole in the skin of reality. "Huh, pretty shabby looking neighborhood. Eh, Annie?"
"I can't believe I let you talk me into this." The young otaku replied nervously. "Explain to me again why we're not calling Jefferson."
"Heh-Heh. Don't you see, Annie? That call may have been meant for Star, but it was you who answered it. Therefore, it is the Will of the Universe that you must rise to meet whatever challenges are to come. And since I was there with you it is my duty to join you on your journey and help in any way I can. That is our destiny. And destiny is our friend."
"You've really gone mental, haven't you."
"Hey, don't be like that. I'm just telling it like it is. And besides, Jefferson told me this morning that no new Stand Users have entered Echo Creek since the Diamond Dogs were slain. So, this is obviously the work of either an ordinary human criminal or one of Star's extradimensional enemies. Either way, they'll be unprepared for a couple of experienced Users like us. So we should be fine."
"But what if Jefferson was wrong? What if a new enemy Stand User slipped past Janna when she wasn't looking? Or worse, what if this is a trap set by some kind of creepy pedophile? Some gross old guy who wants to force feed us roofies and violate us with a toilet scrubber?"
"Now you're the one who sounds mental."
"Hey! I watch the news! Weird stuff happens!"
Just then, the girls' conversation was interrupted by the unmistakable tones of an electric keytar.
"Is that?" asked Annie.
"Couldn't be." Replied Jackie.
But low and behold, it was.
Around the corner, looking as spaced out and ignorant as ever, came Echo Creek Academy's resident John Bender, Oskar Greason. Who, as per usual, was playing his signature instrument with reckless abandon; as if he and it were the only two things in the entire universe. It wasn't until he was within five feet of the girls that he finally acknowledged their existence.
"Whoa… Jackie and StarFan." The young hipster said in the pseudo-stoner manner for which he was known. "What are you guys doing here?"
"Answering the call of destiny." Jackie answered with a surprisingly straight face.
"Whoa… that is dooooooooope. I'm just here cuz I got a text about this new store that only sells keytars."
"Wait, a text sent you here?" asked Annie concernedly. "Who was it from?"
"Huh… you know, I probably should've checked before I came down here."
"Yah think?"
Unfortunately, before Annie could continue with her sarcastic replies, the conversation was interrupted yet again; this time by the sudden intrusion of an annoying, yet oh so familiar voice.
"Well all-ruh-ruh-ruh-right!" the voice said in an obnoxiously playful manner. "Babe City, U-S-A~"
To everyone's collective revulsion, the owner of said voice, another Echo Creek Academy student by the name of Ferguson O'durguson, came swaggering over with his usual 'charm'.
"StarFan! My favorite otaku! Domo Ari-Ga-To~" the self-proclaimed ladies' man of Echo Creek said as he strutted around like a rutting peacock. "Ah~ And the lovely Miss Jackie Lynn Thomas~ So sorry to hear that you and Marco are on the outs, but you know what they say. When life gives you lemons, give em' a squeeze~"
As if his butchering of a time tested saying wasn't bad enough, Ferguson decided to punctuate it by groping Jackie's rather ample posterior; which of course, earned him a swift slap across the face.
"Ah-ha! You're weakening!" he replied, clearly not discouraged. "Three months ago, you would've kicked me in the groin. Admit it, baby. I'm growing on ya!"
"Ferguson, while I do my best not to vomit, mind telling us what you're doing here?"
"Well, duh. I'm here for the party, baby. What else?"
"Party? What party?" asked Annie confusedly.
"You know, the super exclusive underground dance party in the old entertainment district. My main man Alfonzo texted me about it like an hour ago."
"Wait… so both you and Oskar got texts that told you to come down here?" the young otaku asked as the wheels in her head started turning.
But alas, before she could try to build on this, her concentration was suddenly broken by the appearance of yet another familiar voice.
"Oh, goodie." Said the voice with icy sarcasm. "Looks like we've stumbled into some sort of freak show."
Not surprisingly, the voice turned out to be that of Echo Creek Academy's head cheerleader and resident mean girl, Britney Wong; accompanied by her less than talkative sidekick, Chantelle Riverbottom.
As expected, Ferguson pounced at the opportunity.
"Well, well, well, well, wellington wells. If it isn't the lovely Miss Britney Wong." The ginger Casanova said cheesily. "I must say, your sudden arrival is like a blast of arctic wind on a crowded subway. Unexpected, yet stimulating."
"Ferguson, I'm going to give you ten seconds to get away from me before I reach for my taser." The rich girl replied; clearly not joking.
"Oh come on, baby. You can play hard to get all you want, but you know you can't resist this." He said, gesturing towards his own bulbous physique. "Heck, I defy you to name one, no, three good reasons why U and I don't spell forever."
"Just three reasons? Okay, fine. 1) You're fat. 2) You're parents are dirt poor. And 3) Everything else that all women everywhere find repugnant about you."
"Has anyone ever told you that your voice gets husky when you get mad? It's kinda sexy."
"That's it. You asked for it!"
"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" Annie said frantically as she got between her two classmates. "Before we do anything we might regret, Britney, why don't you tell us what brings you to this neck of the woods. Okay?"
"Well, not that it's any of your business, Lightfoot. But Chantelle and I were down at the Westside Mall, when my shopping app started beeping about some new bath and body shop. But clearly it must've been a glitch, since there's nothing here but a freak, two burnouts, and a pervert."
"So let me get this straight. You, Oskar, and Ferguson all got messages to come to this exact… wait a minute! Since when do you know my last name?"
"Again, not that it's any of your business, Brace-Face. But I make it a point to know the first and last names of all the people I make fun of."
"Okay… but why?"
"Because otherwise it would just be rude. Obviously."
"That doesn't make any sense at all."
"Maybe not to you. But then again, you're not rich."
Unfortunately, before this riveting conversation could go any further, the girls were yet again interrupted; this time by an almost earsplitting CREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!
On a reflex, the six teens all spun around and finally took notice of the building they were standing in front of.
527 Somerset Boulevard.
A rundown, boarded up, old dump of a place, formerly known as the Lucky Land Arcade.
Only now the front door was mysteriously open.
"Okay… well, that's ominous." Said Ferguson, unwittingly speaking for everyone.
"Yeah… this is obviously a trap." Annie said nervously. "So, I say we all get as far away from here as possible and then call Jefferson. Sound good, Jackie?"
But the young skateboarder gave no reply.
"Uh… Jackie?"
The young otaku turned her head and saw that her friend had vanished.
"Oh no."
XXX
(Inside the arcade, moments later)
Despite the inherent danger, and against all common sense, Annie dashed into the abandoned arcade in search of her lost companion.
Unfortunately, this was proving to be more difficult than she thought. The room was almost pitch black, and the layers of dust on everything were aggravating her sinuses. But still she persisted; weaving through the rows of forgotten video game cabinets like a marathon runner sprinting through the woods. Eyes darting back and forth. Peering through the darkness. Looking for any sign of… Ah-Ha!
"Jackie!" she exclaimed with equal parts joy and relief as she rushed towards her blonde companion; who for some reason was just standing out in the open. "Oh, thank goodness! I was so worried! Are you alright? They didn't hurt you, did they?"
"Oh, hey Annie." The young skateboarder replied casually. "I was wondering when you'd show up."
"Show up? But… I thought… Hold on, weren't you just kidnaped?"
"Kidnaped? Hell no, I came in here all by myself."
"What?"
"Yeah, I already told you. I'm following the flow of the universe to see where it takes me."
"Jackie, are you nuts? Don't you see that this is all a trap?"
"Of course, that's why I decided to spring it."
"What?"
"Annie, don't you see? The universe has brought us here for a reason. This is a turning point. A crucible. Mine was on the Island, but this one's all yours. This is your chance, Annie. Your chance to shed your awkward chrysalis, and become the beautiful Frog Princess you were born to be."
"You've been eating those weird mushrooms again haven't you?"
"Hey! They're over here!" shouted Oskar from somewhere in the darkness.
Within moments, the young hipster joined the two girls in their little clearing; followed swiftly by Britney and Chantelle.
"What the hell are you guys doing here? I told you to wait outside!" Annie shouted in exasperation.
"I wanted to. But Bug-Eyes here dragged us inside." Britney replied annoyedly.
"Hey, there is some seriously crazy stuff going on here, man. I couldn't just leave 'em hangin'." Oskar replied defensively.
"Okay, buy why did you have to drag us along with you?"
"Uh… because it's dark in here."
"Ugh!"
"Hey! There you guys are!" said the unmistakable voice of Ferguson as he sauntered over to join the others. "Man, this place is like crazy huge."
"Ferguson! What the hell?" the young otaku shouted again. "You were supposed to wait outside!"
"PFFT! Yeah right! I haven't had any real fun since our last fieldtrip. No way I'm missing out on… whatever this is."
"No! No, No, No, No, No! We all have to get out of here right now before…"
SLAM!
CLICK!
"… that happens."
Just then, the lights suddenly came on, and the air was filled with a mysterious, almost Arabian sounding music.
Acting on instinct, Annie craned her head towards the source and found that it was coming from one of the old arcade cabinets. Specifically, from one entitled, The Prince of Araby.
Unfortunately, before she could ponder this strange turn of events any further, a mysterious voice started booming over some unseen intercom.
"What's that I hear? Someone wants to leave the party early? Oh, no, no, no, the fun is just getting started."
Suddenly, the old arcade machine started to shake; as if it were experiencing its own mini earthquake.
"Okay now, everybody say the magic words!"
Then, the room was flooded by a blinding flash of white light.
"HAIL 2 U!"
End Notes:
Thanks for reading.
See you next time.
Peace.