Today's chapter is an adaptation of the episode "Camping Trip", which wasn't even part of my first draft for this story. I did it to see how well I could do coming up with a chapter without any prior plan. Basically, I wanted to see how good my skills at BSing my way through a story were. Enjoy, and please stay tuned for a PSA at the end.

It was a beautiful morning in the California wilderness. The sun was shining, the air was crisp, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. In short, it was perfect weather for some time in the great outdoors. It just so happened that this was the exact thing that the Diaz family had left their home in Echo Creek to do.

"Ahh. Nothing like a little time in the great outdoors to make you appreciate what you've got in life," Marcia said as she began to remove things from the family car and set them down on the ground. Unfortunately, as she went to get the next item from the back of the car, she was met by an unexpected face-

"CAMPING!"

-Which prompted Marcia to jump back several feet away from the car, certain that she had just lost several years of her life.

Comet, however, seemed to pay no heed. The boy proceeded to clamber out of the back of the car, jumped into the air, and began running around in circles while chanting, "Camping! Camping! Camping!" with his fists pumped in the air.

"¿En qué me he metido?" (What have I gotten myself into?), Marcia muttered under her breath as she watched her best friend run around, more hyperactive than usual.

Finally, Comet stopped, if only so he could strike an epic pose with his fist raised in the air. "What up, Mother Nature? Prepare to be tamed by the hands of Comet Dragonfly!"

Marcia did her best to ignore her friend's bold declarations as she continued to get things out of the car. This camping trip was something that she and her family had done once a year for as long as she could remember. They had brought several foreign exchange students they had hosted over the years on these trips, but this was the first time they got Comet with them. There was no way that they were going to let Comet sit out on this.

Besides, it's not like we had much of a choice, Marcia reminded herself as she remembered what Comet's Dad had told her a few days ago.

Marcia called King Mune for advice about Comet, who had, over a single day, had gone from being hyperactive to downright Looney Tunes level of energy. He ran all the way to school without magic and beat the bus in the process, broke several school records in gym class, and spent the rest of his courses in near-constant motion. Eventually, Marcia and her friends had to be excused early and take Comet home.

For better or for worse, King Mune knew exactly what was going on with Comet.


"The Itch?" Marcia questioned as she spoke to King Mune on Comet's mirror.

"Yes, that is the term that we use to refer to what he goes through," Mune said, clearly not happy about having to explain this to someone outside his family, even if it was Marcia. "You see, Miss Diaz, Comet's mother and I discovered early on that, once a year, our son's already high energy levels increase exponentially. Unless he finds a way to alleviate this wild energy, he will become impossible to control. At least, more than he already is," Mune reluctantly added at the end.

"So, what do I do?"

"Well, my wife is the one who usually deals with this when it comes up," Mune explained. "She's found that the best thing to do is to take out into the wilderness, far from the prying eyes of those who would scorn him." Mune didn't say it, but Marcia knew that the King was talking about the members of his own family that disapproved of Comet, as well the nobles who looked down on him. It may not seem like it, but Mune cared about his son. "After that, she would let Comet run around until he was able to get himself under control."

"So all we have to do is to take Comet somewhere outdoors until he can relax?" Marcia asked, reiterating everything that she heard before smiling. "Well, that shouldn't be too much of a problem. My family's been planning our annual camping trip recently. We just need to bring Comet with us, and everything should work out just fine."

"Be that as it may, Miss Diaz, you should be careful. If Comet's unable to get himself under control, there's no telling what could happen. Especially now that he has the Wand with him!"

"Do not worry, your highness," Marcia said. "I'll make sure that Comet will be to make it through this in one piece," she reassured the King, putting him a little more at ease as the girl left to help finish preparations/look after his son.


I have to make sure that Comet can get all of that wild, excess energy while we're out here. If not, then I don't want to know what will happen! It wasn't easy to get Comet under control as he was already. If what the King said was true, then an ultra-hyper Comet could wreak havoc all over town! It would be a nightmare!

Marcia was so focused on trying to think about how best she could help Comet that she didn't even notice that the boy in question was saying something about nature landing on his arm. She did, however, notice the glow coming from Comet's Wand as he pulled it out, making her turn around in response.

"Why, you little! Cataclysmic Big Bang-"

"Comet, stop!" Marcia said as she rushed over, grabbing his arm and seeing that he had his Wand pointed at a tiny mosquito, its proboscis buried in his skin as it proceeded to suck his blood for food. "You don't have to do that, please!"

"But this thing attacked me, Marcia!" Comet tried to argue. "That means it's fair game!"

"Comet, relax," Marcia gently said as she got him to lower his Wand. "It's just a mosquito. I don't know much about what nature's like on Mewni, but here, everything's nice." As if to prove her point, Marcia then waved her hand, prompting the mosquito to fly away, its need for sustenance fulfilled...

...only for Coryn to fly out of the car, open his beak, and chomp down on the mosquito, swallowing it whole. The two teens couldn't help but cringe at the sight of it!

"Ugh," Marcia blanched as she watched the Hoothoot chow down on the insect, only for her to begin taking several deep breaths. "It's alright, Marcia, and it's just nature at work, even if it involves a magically-created fictional animal," she muttered to herself as Coryn came to perch himself on Comet's arm.

"Hoo?" The Pokémon hooted as he tilted his tiny body in confusion.

"It's alright, Coryn. You didn't do anything wrong," Comet said, reassuring his companion. "You were just looking out for me, is all."

"Hoo hoo!" Coryn chirped in response.

"So, Marcia," Comet said as he walked up to his best friend, "blood-sucking creatures aside, what else does nature have to offer here on Earth? Vicious giant snakes? Herds of warnicorns that we can tame? Man-eating plants that can dissolve our flesh in a matter of minutes because I've always wanted to see one of those!"

As Comet innocently kept throwing out suggestions of things to be found in the wilderness, Marcia just got an incredulous look on her face. She had to remind herself that Comet came from Mewni; from what little she'd seen of the wildlife there, things were probably far tougher than they were on Earth.

"No, we don't have any of those things here on Earth," Marcia replied, shaking her head. "Well, we do have animals that are capable of mauling us to death," she added on, "but they usually don't attack humans."

"And you're sure that none of the bugs here can hurt us?" Comet asked, not quite convinced. "Because I read on your laptop about this thing called a 'murder hornet' that could inject liquid metal into your veins if it attacked you," he casually told her.

"No! No! Trust me, Comet, there are no murder hornets around here," Marcia hastily said. "If there were, then the government would probably have closed this place off so they could get rid of them." Marcia wasn't joking; ever since the invasive species of East Asian Giant Hornets had shown up in the Pacific Northwest a few years back, the US Government had been actively trying to wipe them out. Just one of them was capable of massacring hundreds of native insects. Worse, in enough quantities, their venom could kill a person. Marcia didn't want to think about the idea of them making their way down south.

"Trust me, Comet. Nature is way nicer here on Earth than it is on Mewni. We'll do some fishing, a little hiking, and exploring, and if we're lucky, we'll be able to see...this!" Marcia then held up a map of the local park for Comet to see.

"Whoaaa," Comet said, all wide-eyed. "Is this a treasure map?"

"No, Comet. It's Old Youthful, the local geyser. And guess when it's erupting?"

"Today?"

"Yep. And if we time everything just right, we'll be able to see it go off!"

"Oh, that is so cool! I can't wait, I can't wait! " Comet said as he started jumping up and down in joy, his energy levels spiking once more.

"All right, easy, Tarzan," Marcia joked as she reached into the car's trunk and pulled out a set of fishing poles. "Now, let's get going. My parents will be spending the trip making paintings of our trip-"

Off to the side, Mr. Diaz was putting the finishing touches on a painting of the forest while his wife posed in front of it, the two clearly in their own little world.

"-So it will just be the three of us," Marcia finished. "So, you ready to enjoy a nice, peaceful, and relaxing day in the woods?" Please say yes, Marcia thought to herself but chose not to say aloud.

"Hells yeah, I am!" Comet enthusiastically said. "What are we waiting for? Let's go, go, go!"

Before the two teens and their Pokémon companion could even head to the nearby lake, though, something happened that would end up derailing their entire trip, almost making Comet go crazy and potentially subject them to bodily harm. At that exact moment, an explosion occurred in the otherwise clear, blue sky, followed by a high-speed object careening down from on high before crashing into the ground a few yards from where the Diaz family had parked their car.

Driven by curiosity, the two teens and the Pokémon rushed over to the crash site, which had managed to create a crater in the ground that was at least six feet deep at the epicenter. As the three approached the rim of the hole, they were left wondering what in the world could have created something like this. As they did so, they saw something begin to move inside of the smoke. Instinctively, the three got into a combat stance, preparing to face down whatever had fallen from the sky. If it were an enemy, then it just made the worst mistake by choosing to pick a fight with the likes of them! At last, though, the smoke began to clear enough for them to see who this newcomer was...

"CAMPING, YEAH!"

"Mom?"

...revealing it to be none other than Comet's Mom, Queen Lake Dragonfly.


Spongebob Narrator: One hour later...

After the initial shock of what had happened wore off, Comet and Marcia tried to resume their itinerary for the day. Comet was still having trouble sitting still for very long, and while Marcia didn't know what would happen if he didn't get his excess energy out, she knew that it wouldn't be good for anyone.

The only problem was that Lake insisted that she go with them. Well, insisted wasn't even the right word to use; she basically invited herself to join the two teens (and Pokémon) for their camping activities. The next thing that Marcia knew, Lake was carrying them in a rental boat down to the lakeside before throwing it into the water with them still in it! The resulting splash came very close to soaking Marcia's clothes, and she didn't want a repeat of the 'see-through clothes' incident from the day Comet arrived.

Suffice to say, all of these things had now led to the two teens, the Hoothoot and Queen Lake sitting in a rowboat on the water, with the former three watching in confusion as Lake (who was wearing the same attire from when she fought the Zollum) was doing sit-ups, making the boat rock.

"So, Mom," Comet began. "Not that it's not great to see you, but what are you doing here?"

"Well, son," Lake said as she continued her workout, "Your father happened to tell me that you were going camping because you had your annual Itch, so I chose to come along and make sure that you got everything out of your system."

"Dad...told you?"

"Well...wait, hold on," Lake said as she brought her workout to an end. "Well, he didn't exactly tell me. I just happened to overhear you and this young lady talking on the mirror, so I dropped everything and rushed over," she said as she sat up. "Can you believe it? Mune-pie, not telling me that my son was going through the Itch? I'm the one who taught you how to camp!"

"Well, the thing is, Marcia's teaching me how to camp on Earth now," Comet pointed out, making the girl smile.

"Oh really? Sweetie, do you think that she can handle you when you get the Itch?"

"Mom, I feel fine now. I think the worst may already be behind me," Comet tried to argue, but Lake wouldn't hear of it.

"Nonsense, sweetie. You're just plateauing right now. It will come back soon enough, and you know what will happen if you don't get it out of your system. Besides, can your friend teach you how to stalk a Narinthian tar beast through the woods for eleven days, with no food, no water, and no clothes?!"

"I don't know, maybe?" Comet said with a shrug. "Though I doubt that she would have me do it without my clothes. That would be way too weird," he admitted. "But that's not really the point, Mom. Nature's not like it is on Mewni. It's pretty nice. I mean, look what it gave me right before you showed up." Comet held up the arm where a mosquito had bitten him like a badge of pride. "Love bites."

"Actually, Comet, you shouldn't let them bite you so much," Marcia interjected. "Mosquito's can end up carrying infectious diseases."

"Not helping, Marcia," Comet said in response before looking back at his mother. "Look, Mom, I get that you want to help me out, but I think I want to try things out Marcia's way this time around."

"Oh. Well...well, okay then," Lake said. Her voice sounded as jovial as usual, but the two teens couldn't help but notice that she looked a little crestfallen as she heard this.

Thinking quickly, Comet took hold of the fishing rod that Marcia gave him. "Come on, Mom! You're here now, so we can still enjoy ourselves," he said in a very enthusiastic tone. "Come on, Marcia. Show Mom how to Earth fish." Comet winked at her, and Marcia quickly got the message.

"Sure," she said in response before handing the Queen the rod.

"Ooohhh," Lake said as she looked at the tool. "So how do I...?"

"Just watch this," Marcia said as she allowed the line on her fishing rod to go over the side, letting the hook sink into the water. Queen Lake copied her, letting her line fall into the water.

"Wow! Amazing! So, now what?"

"You're already doing it, your majesty," Marcia explained.

"All right, Mom!" Comet said as he began to clap while Coryn hooted in response enthusiastically.

"And now, all we have to do is just sit around and wait," Marcia explained with a peaceful look on her face.

...

...

...

"You wait for the fish to come to you?"

"Pretty much."

"But that's not exciting! Comet needs excitement if he wants to get all that wild, Johansen energy out of him!" Lake tried to argue. Much to her surprise (and Marcia's), Comet was currently lying on his back on the floor of the boat, his hat obscuring his eyes.

"You know what, Mom? I think that this might be alright. There's something about being out here on the water that feels so...relaxing," he said with a happy sigh.

Comet wasn't joking. Normally around this time, he would be right in the thralls of the Itch, running around the place, exploring his surroundings, and picking fights with the local wildlife. And while he might have been hyper when they first got there, he felt strangely calm after that. It was as if the lack of danger in the woods on Earth (comparatively speaking) allowed him to unwind and enjoy the serenity of nature. Or maybe he was just plateauing, as his Mom said. Either way, he didn't want to pass this opportunity up.

Marcia couldn't help but smile as she saw how peaceful Comet looked. It looked like her plan to help him was working. "Your son's right, Queen Lake. Fishing doesn't have to be exciting. Sometimes, it's better to simply relax and take it all in." Marcia then took a deep breath as she savored that pristine fresh air. "You feel that?"

But Queen Lake was nowhere to be found.

"Comet? Where did your Mom go?"

"Huh?" As Comet and Marcia looked around the lake in confusion, they saw a mass of bubbles gurgling under the surface nearby. Before they could even process what the heck was going on, Comet's Mom shot out of the water carrying a boulder that was three times her size over her head.

"FISHING!"

"Oh no..." Marcia already knew where this was going, and she wasn't going to like it. Before either of the teens could stop the older woman, though, Lake hefted the boulder back into the water, creating a massive wave engulfing their tiny boat, soaking them and their Pokémon companion in water.

Thus, for the second time since she had met Comet, Marcia found herself soaked so thoroughly that one could see straight through to her undergarments. Three if you count the waterslide the last time Lake showed up. Fortunately for her, Comet had met with the same problem and had enough sense of mind not to look. That, and he was too busy trying to help Coryn. The little Hoothoot was drenched in water, and being an owl Pokémon, that was bad news.

On the other hand, Lake seemed to pay no heed to the effects her stunt caused. She was too busy lunging into the water, trying to find some fish to attack. At one point, she ended grabbing her own leg and started biting it, thinking that it was a fish!

"Comet?"

"Yeah?"

"Is this how you guys fish back on Mewni?"

"YAHH! GOTCHA NOW! POW! BAM!" Lake kept shouting as she continued fighting her own foot.

"Sometimes."


After the group returned to shore, their first task was to get themselves nice and dry. Lake had suggested that they simply start a campfire and use that to dry all their clothes off at once. She had even started to strip off her hunting outfit as she said this, much to Marcia's exasperation. Thankfully, Comet just used his magic to dry them off instantly, something that the girl and Pokémon were very grateful for him doing.

After that was done, Marcia decided that it might be a better idea to forgo any of the other activities that she had planned for the day and just take Comet to see Old Youthful before anything else bad happened. After ensuring that the map of the park was safe, the three decided to head out towards the geyser. Coryn, on the other hand, was a different matter.

It would seem that the shock of getting soaked in water by Comet's Mom had left the little Pokémon very pissed off at Queen Lake. As a result, he didn't want to be around her right now and told Comet such (the fact that Comet could understand what he was saying was a mystery that would have to wait for another day, though.) Even though Marcia didn't think it was a good idea, Comet decided to let Coryn go explore the park by himself, but only if he promised not to use his powers on anything...as long as they didn't mess with him. Comet conjured up some teddy bears and honeybees for extra insurance to keep him company, and the Pokémon went on his merry way while the trio went towards the geyser.

"So listen, guys. According to the website, Old Youthful got its name from early settlers who believed that the geyser's water had rejuvenating powers," Marcia told her companions as they started to walk towards the geyser.

"Whoa! So is it like that 'Fountain of Youth' thing that I read about online?" Comet excitedly asked. Marcia shook her head in response.

"Comet, the Fountain of Youth is just a myth that people came up with thousands of years ago. People have spent centuries trying to find it and come up empty. Besides, I'm sure that the story about Old Youthful is just an exaggeration," Marcia told her friend.

"Yeah, well, humans probably thought that magic wasn't real, either, but yours truly has proven them to be wrong," Comet countered.

"Fair enough," Marcia conceded, "but that's because you've proven it's real, Comet. Unless there's proof, not everyone will believe something just because you tell them about it."

"Well, I don't care what you say, Mar-Mar. I think that that story is really..."

"BORING!"

The teen's debate got interrupted by the loud groans coming from Queen Lake, prompting them to look in her direction.

"This trip to see this mystical geyser is so boring! We haven't even come across a single vicious predator or man-eating plant, and it is taking forever!" Lake complained. "Why are we walking so slow?"

"Well, Queen Lake, I thought that maybe we should take it easy for a while. You know, because, on account of what you did to your foot while fishing," Marcia explained as she pointed to the Queen's foot. Sure enough, Lake's foot was covered in scratches, cuts, scrapes, and bruises, most of them self-inflicted.

"Aw, phooey! That's nothing to be worried about, young lady! I don't even feel the pain!" Lake said, waving off their concerns.

"You know, Mom, I could always magic you up some boots to wear," Comet suggested. "~I'll even make them your favorite color!~", Comet offered in a singsong voice.

"Comet! You should know me better than that, sweetie! I'm a Johansen, and we Johansen's don't need boots. Hells, I don't even need feet to get around." As the two watched, Lake proceeded to jump into the air before landing onto his hands, using them to walk upside down. "See? Nothing to it! I bet your friend can't do this, can she?" Lake then proceeded to lightly tap Marcia's shoulder with her foot. "Can she?"

"Uhhhh...no? But I hope to one day, maybe?"

"Haha! But that day isn't today! Yes!" Lake cheered. "Come on, sweetie! You want a piggyback ride?"

Comet laughed for a moment, but then his face got serious. "No."

"Wha-since when are you too old for a piggyback ride from your Mom?" Lake asked, exasperated at the very idea. She quickly got over that, though, as she proceeded to sprint off down the trail. "Whatevs! Race you two to the water thingy!"

"Is that the right way to Old Youthful?" Comet couldn't help but ask.

"No, it is not," Marcia said without hesitation. "Come on, let's go make sure she doesn't do anything stupid," she said as the two proceeded to sprint off down the path.

"Comet, I get that your Mom is just trying to help you, but is everything all right with her?" Marcia asked as the two tried to clear a way through the tall grass.

"Yeah. She just really likes camping. Heck, everyone on her side of the family likes outdoorsy shit like this."

"Somehow, I believe that," Marcia casually said. "So, any idea where the woman who gave birth to you went?"

"Hold on a sec." Comet then whispered something into his Wand and used it to create a portable tracker that allowed him to locate someone. It didn't take long for him to find his Mom, located atop a very tall tree. "There she is. What she's doing in a tree, though?"

Using another spell to summon Cloudy to carry them up to the top of the tree, Comet found out just what had brought his Mom to their current location. She was currently crouched inside a large nest and was staring down a large bird that Comet knew he had seen somewhere.

"Hey, Mom. What are you doing-"

"Shh! Not now, son! I'm in the middle of a staring contest with this giant bird!" Lake told Comet, not even breaking eye contact with the creature in question. When Marcia saw just what Lake was currently in a staredown with, though, her eyes almost bulged out of their sockets.

"Whoa! That's a bald eagle! We can't be doing this!"

"He started it," Lake remarked, refusing to give up.

"Marcia, isn't that the bird that your country uses as its mascot or something?" Comet asked, wanting to clarify things.

"Something like that," Marcia whispered. "It's our national bird, and there are multiple laws in place that protect it from being messed with by anyone. If we get caught like this, we could get in a lot of trouble!"

"So, we shouldn't be fucking with it?"

"No," Marcia said in a tone that was far harsher than how she meant for it to sound.

"Um, Mom, how about we forget about this and just go to see Old Youthful," Comet suggested, hoping to end things before it got out of hand. But his Mom refused to budge.

"Don't worry, sweetie! After I break this thing's spirit, he'll fly us there!" Lake told them. Then she started speaking gibberish at the eagle. Even though it couldn't talk, it just looked at Lake, its head tilted in confusion. Its face said it all; it was thinking, "What the fuck is going on here?"

As the eagle continued to stare at the stranger intruder, Comet began to feel a little antsy. He wanted to go see the geyser with the two of them, and his Mom was acting all weird; if Comet was thinking someone was acting strange, then that was saying something!

"Mom, come on. Let's forget about the bird and just get back to what we were doing," Comet said, the impatience in his voice becoming noticeable.

"Don't worry, sweetie! I'm sure that he's close to giving in," Lake reassured him. But it was clear that the eagle wasn't.

As the seconds began to drag on, Lake started muttering gibberish to herself as the bird kept looking at the strange intruder in confusion.

"This guy's unbelievable. You can't let him beat you in front of your own son. He looks up to you; you're his idol. Does he, though? What is that supposed to mean? Did you notice he's pretty much over your piggyback rides? He used to love those! What are you talking about? He still loves them! Keep telling yourself that! What are you talking about? He went camping without you. Camping is supposed to be our thing, but he never even told you. He told his Dad. No, he didn't. That Diaz girl told Mune-Pie, not him. And do you realize what that means? That Marcia kid is probably his girlfriend. What? No way."

Comet and Marcia just stared at each other in confusion as they watched Lake have a conversation with herself like Gollum from Lord of the Rings. They were also confused about why Lake would think they were a couple.

"There's no way that your son's dating again. He'd tell you if he were! Keep lying to yourself, old lady! Who are you calling old?!"

Before the strange event could continue, a siren went off below the nest, breaking the Queen's concentration and prompting all three of them to look down. Much to Marcia's dismay, they saw it was a pair of park rangers.

"Oh no..." Marcia groaned as her worst fears were coming true.


Not long after that, the group was at the local ranger station, having been escorted there due to Lake messing with that bald eagle and damaging their rental boat earlier with her little rock stunt. Fortunately, all they had to do was pay a fine for their troubles, which Lake was in the process of doing while Comet and Marcia sat in the chairs waiting.

Despite his best efforts to hide it, though, Comet was starting to get frustrated. He kept tapping his foot on the ground and fidgeting in his seat, like the very act of sitting still was agitating him.

"Hey. Are you alright?" Marcia asked as she looked at her friend and charge.

"Well, considering how this camping trip isn't turning out to be as fun as I thought it would be, I think I am doing alright, Marcia," Comet said before noticing how he was acting. "Don't, don't worry about that. I'm just a little pent up from being stuck in here for the last half-hour."

"Well, don't worry. We'll be out of here soon enough, and then we'll be able to go see Old Youthful."

"Yeah, but something is definitely up with my Mom. She's been acting all weird ever since she showed up, and while I normally don't mind that sort of thing, it's starting to get to me. Is it just me, though?"

"No, it's not just you, Comet," Marcia explained. "Maybe she just doesn't know how to process the fact that you went camping without her or something like that."

Before the two could continue their discussion, Lake came over. "Sorry about that. Apparently, that bird was some sort of sacred animal. A heads up would've been nice."

"We did give you a heads up," Marcia said without any humor in her voice, irritated at the fact that her warnings went clear over the Queen's head. "Look, let's just go see Old Youthful now."

"Oh, you better hurry," one of the rangers, a guy in his mid-late twenties with a scarf tied around his neck, said. "You're gonna wanna get a move on if you want to see that old geyser go off today."

"Who are you calling an old geezer!?" Lake snapped, much to everyone's confusion.


"Oh, he meant geyser. Sorry, I must've misheard him," Lake admitted a short while later, once the group was back on the trail.

"Yes, Mom," Comet said, trying his best not to be annoyed at his Mom. "The thing that Marcia promised that we were going to see today."

"Don't worry, Comet," Marcia told her friend. "We can still make it in time. All we have to do is follow this map," she gestured to the one in her hand, "and we'll get there in plenty of time."

Then, out of nowhere, Lake grabbed the map, crumpled it up, and shoved it in her mouth, eating it.

"Queen Lake!? What was that for?!" Marcia shouted.

"Mom! Not cool!"

"What? I was hungry," Lake said nonchalantly. "Everything is potential food when you're in the wild!"

"Except we're not on Mewni, we're on Earth, Mom! Not everything on Earth is out to get us!"

Lake's face fell as she remembered that. "Oh, right. Sorry. I guess I must've forgotten that."

"It's fine. It's perfectly fine. We are perfectly fine!" Marcia said to herself as she looked at the many winding paths ahead of them. "I'm going to stay positive. I'm sure that one of these paths will take us to the geyser."


Alas, the path that Marcia picked for them wasn't the right one. In fact, when Comet and Marcia saw the sign that said "Old Youthful 50 miles," the pair felt the need to express that frustration in the most appropriate manner: crying out in frustration.

"Nooooooo!" Comet and Marcia screamed as Lake looked on.

"Hoh, boy. I think that this might have been my fault," Lake admitted, earning herself a glare from Marcia that said it all: You think?

"Hey, don't worry, you guys! I'll just go and get us a ride. You kids wait right here!" And with that, Lake ran off to find them a means of transport.

"Oh, please God," Marcia said as she began to pray. "Please let it be a normal vehicle and not something crazy like a..."

Spongebob Narrator: 10 minutes later...

The overall silence of the park was broken by the sounds of four park ranger vehicles and a helicopter barreling through the woods. They were chasing after a woman and two teens currently riding atop a grizzly bear as it ran through the park, putting everyone at risk in the process.


The trio found themselves stuck at the ranger station for the second time that day. This time, the rangers weren't so lenient on Lake, though. While the fishing boat and the bald eagle were considered nuisance's at best, getting a bear to run amok in the woods was far more serious. Thus, Lake was forced to clean out any remaining coins she had on her, and offer up her crown as collateral.

Comet and Marcia were sitting in the corner during all of this, trying to stay calm. For Comet, though, that was easier said than done. He was finding it incredibly hard to be indoors. He couldn't take much more of it, and if he didn't get to enjoy himself outdoors some more, then it felt like he was going to explode!

Marcia could tell that her friend was slowly starting to lose control of himself, but she was left at a loss over what to do. Still, Comet was her friend, and his Dad told her to make sure he got through the Itch, so that's what she was going to do.

"Comet, it's okay. I'm sure we'll be able to see Old Youthful soon."

"I hope so. I don't know how much more of this I can take," Comet admitted. "I've barely been able to do anything outdoorsy on this whole trip! I mean, we've gotten to walk around everywhere, but that's not enough; I need more!"

"But, that's not all that you're stressed about, is it?" Marcia asked, guessing that it wasn't just the Itch that had Comet on edge.

"No, it's not. I don't understand why my Mom's acting like this! I normally don't mind spending time with her; hells, I love it. But she's been really weird all day, and it's messing everything up!"

"Tell you what, Comet: why don't you go outside and get some fresh air?" Marcia suggested with a friendly smile on her face. "Maybe that will help clear your head a little bit."

"That...sounds like a good idea. Thanks, Marcy," Comet said with a tired smile on his face. With that, Comet got up and headed outside, not even looking at his Mom as she talked things over with the rangers.

After a few more minutes, Lake finished working out their problems with the rangers and then went over to where the two had been sitting. "Okay, kids. I think I managed to work everything out, so we still have time to go, and...where's Comet?"

"Outside. Being stuck in here was driving him nuts," Marcia said as a matter-of-factly.

"Wha-you let him out of your sight? While he's going through the Itch? Do you know how dangerous that could be? We need to go get him right now!"

Marcia looked up at Queen Lake. "Is that really the best thing to do, your Majesty?"

"Of course, it is! I know my son, and I know how to deal with this!"

Marcia got up from the bench to look Lake in the eyes. "Your highness, I had everything under control before you showed up. You saw for yourself that Comet was doing just fine. It wasn't until you came here that things got out of hand."

"Are you saying that this is my fault?" Lake said, incredulous at the idea that she was making things worse.

"I don't know, alright," Marcia said with a weary look on her face. "All I know is that you've been acting weird ever since you got here, and it's starting to get to your son. If you want to know more, then you're going to have to ask him once we get to the geyser."

"Oh, you poor, poor girl. I'm afraid that that's not going to be happening today," One of the park rangers said off to the side, gaining the attention of both girls.

"Huh?" Marcia asked in confusion.

"I just got word on the wire. We gotta shut the park down for the next few days," the ranger continued saying.

"What? Why?" Marcia, now even more confused.

"Well, if what I heard is right, then this park is now home to a nest of Murder Hornets."

Marcia's face went almost as pale as a sheet when she heard 'Murder Hornets.' "They're here? In California? But I thought that they were stuck up north?"

"So did we," the ranger with the scarf said with a serious look on his face. "But it turns out that some of them managed to find a way out of Washington state, started making their way down south. We already got reports of them being sighted in Oregon, too, but this is the furthest they've gotten. Now the Feds are ordering the park shut down to bring some people to wipe them out before they can gain a foothold. Sorry, ma'am, but I guess them's the breaks," the ranger said as he sat back down into his chair. "By the way, you may wanna tell your friend out there."

"Oh, crud. Comet is not going to be happy about this." Marcia could already feel the headache coming on from Comet's inevitable tantrum over having to return to civilization. Still, she mustered up the strength that she would need to do what needed to be done and walked out the front door, while Lake just stood there, confused.

"I'm sorry, but I don't get why everyone is freaking out. What's a murder hornet?" Lake asked, trying to understand what was wrong.

"Seriously? You've never heard of 'murder hornets' before, lady?" Lake shrugged at this, prompting the guy to get a confused look on his face. "Well, consider yourself lucky. These bugs are the stuff of nightmares."


"Hey, Comet?" Marcia asked as she walked outside of the ranger station, bracing herself for what was to come. "I don't know how to tell you this, but the park's going to have to close for a couple of days, so we gotta pack it up and head home." Yet Comet was nowhere to be found.

"Comet? Where are you?" Marcia looked around the place for Comet, but he was nowhere to be found. "Where is he?"

"You're not gonna find him here, ma'am," a voice told her, prompting Marcia to look around, trying to figure out who had said that. "Down here," the voice said, starting Marcia to look down at her feet...and her eyes widened at what she saw. Laying on the ground were the spells that Comet had summoned to accompany Coryn when the latter had gone off by himself. What worried the human girl most, though, was the fact that they all looked like they had gone through a blender. The bear with the eye patch (Comet and Marcia had dubbed him Commander Patchy) was looking over a few of his comrades, all of whom were battered, bruised, and a few of them had barbs sticking inside of their bodies that Patchy was trying to pull out. The magical honeybees that Comet had brought weren't in any better shape, either. One of them had half of its stinger broken off, and another one had a black eye.

"What the Hell happened to you guys?" Marcia asked once she got over her initial shock. "And where's Comet?"

"Well, General Diaz," Patchy said as he stood up and saluted Marcia, "if you want to know, then we'll tell you the same thing we told the boss: we got attacked."

"By what?"

"Bugs from the Seven Hells, that's what..."


While Comet, Marcia, and Lake were getting into trouble, Coryn was leading the other spells while they explored the woods. They were running around, jumping through the trees, stopping to smell the flowers (or, in the case of the bees, trying to get their pollen), and enjoying themselves.

"So there we were, in the middle of the forest, enjoying ourselves. That's when one of the magic bees said that they found a hive belonging to those earth bees. And we were getting hungry, so we thought, 'hey, maybe if we get our guys to ask nicely, they'll let us have some honey.' Sounded stupid in hindsight, but we thought it couldn't hurt to try."

After locating the hive, situated inside the crevice of a very large tree, Comet's bees then flew up to the entrance and got ready to ask their counterparts using the art of interpretative dancing...only to be met with a very horrible sight.

"When we eventually found the hive, though, we learned that the former occupants had gotten slaughtered. There were hundreds of them in that hive, all dead. Their heads were missing from their bodies, arms and legs torn off, wings gone. It was like one of those things you see on the picture box. And it didn't take us long to figure out who was responsible."

As Coryn and the other spells try to make sense of what they had just seen, one of the magic bees notices something flying away from the hive, carrying the severed head of a bee in its mandibles.

"It looked like something out of a nightmare. It was black and orange, massive, and had black, tear-dropped-shaped eyes. And the stinger coming out of it? It looked like a miniature harpoon. And when Coryn saw it carrying the heads of those poor, poor insects, the bird just lost it."

Angered at the sight of those poor bees slaughtered by the invaders, Coryn flew into the air and used his powers to slice at the monstrous insect, cutting it clean in two as it fell to the ground.

"Unfortunately, the thing wasn't alone. It had brought friends with it."

Out of nowhere, several more Murder Hornets start buzzing into the area, their stingers armed and aimed directly at Coryn. Right before they can skewer him with their venom-tipped spears, Comet's honeybees buzz up and start body-slamming them away. Of course, this only makes them turn their attention onto everyone else present, at which point, even more, Murder Hornets (who had been getting ready to carry off the rest of the bee remains) show up. The next thing anyone knows, the entire place is turned into a bizarre warzone.

"And just like that, all Hells broke loose. Those little freaks just kept coming at us. Pretty soon, we were on the verge of getting overwhelmed by them. That's when Coryn came and put himself between them and us."

As the other spells look on, Coryn proceeds to hold off the invasive hornets while hooting at them to get away. Despite wanting to stick around and fight, Patchy knew that this was a battle they couldn't win.

"With Coryn keeping the freaks away, we had no choice but to run for it. We knew the only way we could deal with the little pests was to get help from the boss."

After making it back to the ranger station, the spells found Comet and began to explain everything to him. And as soon as he heard about what was going on, all the stress from the Itch and his frustration with his Mom made him end up losing it. Without even thinking, Comet proceeded to run into the woods, ready to cut loose and lay into the little beasts that had tried to hurt his spells.


"So, you're telling me that there's a swarm of vicious insects capable of killing a human being running around in the forest, that Coryn's out there fighting them all by himself, and Comet ran off without telling any of us?!" Marcia shouted as she summarized everything that Patchy had told her.

"Pretty much, yeah."

"Oh, dios mio...of all the things that Comet has done, this might have to be the most reckless ever!" Marcia wasn't exaggerating when she said that, either. She had read about how deadly Murder Hornets could be. Like other kinds of wasps, they generally didn't attack humans unless you angered them. If they were pissed off at you in any way (and knowing Comet, he would piss them off), then you would be in for a world of hurt.

For once, Marcia was at a loss about what to do. Fighting Monsters, she could handle. Dealing with the unwanted advances of Jeremy Birnbaum? A major pain, but still something she could deal with. This, though? This was something that she was genuinely worried about.

"He did what?!"

Though, evidently, not as much as she should've been worrying about the fact that Lake Dragonfly was standing right behind her and had managed to hear pretty much everything.

"Um, your Majesty, I, uh, I can explain-" Marcia nervously got out, suddenly desperate to avoid the wrath of a woman who had just gone into full-on mama bear mode.

"No need!" Lake shouted, cutting her off. "I heard everything that that little talking bear thing just said, and that guy over there-" she pointed indoors to the park ranger sitting at the desk, "-just told me about those little freaks of nature! There ain't no way in the Seven Hells that I'm letting my baby boy go and get himself killed by a bunch aggro insects!" Before anyone present could do anything, Lake proceeded to march right up to the injured spell creatures.

"You, one-eye," Lake said, referring to Patchy. "You will take me to wherever my son has gone, and you will do it now! Do you understand me?!"

Despite being exhausted and wishing to return to...wherever it was that Comet's spells went when they weren't in use, Patchy immediately stood at attention and saluted his boss' Mom. "Yes, ma'am! Right this way, ma'am!"

"Hang on, sweetie! Mama's coming!" And then, Lake let out a mighty war cry before following Patchy back into the woods, leaving Marcia and everyone else at the ranger station behind.

"Uhh, did that lady just run into the woods with a talking teddy bear?" the ranger asked, utterly dumbfounded that anyone would attempt to do such a thing.

"Yes. Yes, she did," was all Marcia could say.


"Razor leaf shurikens!"

"Hoo-hoo!"

In the middle of the forest, a bizarre and deadly battle was taking place. On one side was a teenage boy wielding a magic Wand that was currently slinging out everything from crystal cupcakes, narwhals, and various pop-cultured inspired moves alongside an actual Pokémon.

On the other side was a swarm of pissed-off insects out of hell.

When Comet managed to locate Coryn, the Hoothoot started showing his exhaustion. It had been pecking, slicing, and wailing away at the swarm of Murder Hornets that had gathered, but they were proving to be very hard to kill. Experts say that a handful of them could wipe out an entire hive of honeybees, numbering in the thousands, in a matter of hours. Their reputation proved to be very well-founded, as they were vicious once pissed off enough. On top of this, they were massive by insect standards, the biggest growing up to two inches in length, stinger and all. Their sheer size made them very hard to kill with just physical blows. Coryn had to resort to Air Slash and Steel Wing so much that it was starting to grow exhausted before Comet showed up.

Comet's sudden entrance had caught the swarm off-guard, but once he made his intentions clear, they shifted their hostility towards him. Comet managed to keep them at bay using magical forcefields while also using his magic to tear them to shreds, but it was hard. Their sheer numbers meant that Comet had to constantly maintain some form of protection to keep the angry bugs away, which proved to be taxing on him. Sooner or later, he would run out of the energy he needed to use his magic.

Come to think of it, I think the only thing keeping me going right now is the Itch, Comet noted as he and Coryn did their best to keep the Hornets at bay. Then again, it was that same Itch and the pent-up energy that had led him to run off into the woods without even telling his Mom or Marcia or come up with some plan beyond attacking the enemy.

This is bad. If this keeps up, one of those little freaks will get the drop on us! Comet remembered what he read about their stings, and while he was no stranger to pain, he wasn't looking forward to what they may have in store.

Just when it looked like there was no way out for either Comet or Coryn, help arrived in the most unexpected of forms.

"JOHANSEN, HO!"

The boy and Pokémon heard it well before they saw it, for the noise echoed through the woods. Then, out of nowhere, a grizzly bear came charging into the spot where the fight was taking place, ramming itself into the hornets. And atop that bear was none other Lake Dragonfly, bellowing a mighty war cry.

"Mom?!"

"Hi, sweetie!" Lake waved to her son as she proceeded to backhand some of the insects so hard they slammed into a nearby tree, splattering apart on impact. "I'm here to help you out of this! Yaah!"

As Comet and Coryn watched in amazement from inside their magical bubble, Lake and her grizzly companion proceeded to thrash the vicious insects. The hornets buzzed around, trying to sting the intruders, but they just seemed to shrug off everything they threw at them. At one point, Lake even purposefully let herself be wide open for the hornets to sting her, only for her to squash them in between her hands!

"Wow," Comet said with stars in his eyes. "This is so cool."

"Hoothoot," Coryn hooted in agreement.

After a minute or two had passed, the murder hornets seemed to have realized that this was not a fight that they could win. Thus, they broke off their attack and proceeded to flee into the forest, back to wherever their nest might be, sparing all those present.

"Yeah, you better run, you little cowards!" Lake taunted them as the last disappeared from sight. "Huzzah, Grizz! We have won the day! Those winged terrors shall bother us no more!"

"Oh my corn, Mom," Comet said as he lowered the barrier and ran over to give his Mom a hug. "That was amazing! I can't believe you and the bear drove them all off!"

"Of course we did, son! And we managed to do it all without getting a single...injury...ooh, boy, I feel a little dizzy." Lake began to stumble on her feet in front of Comet. That's when Comet noticed the swelling from the multiple hornet stings that she had recieved...and that the bear had gotten some as well.

"Oh, crapbaskets," Comet said as he realized that his Mom may have gotten a little poisoned from the hornet venom. "Come on, Mom, let's get you back to the ranger station and get you treated."

"Treated? I don't need to be treated, son. I'm perfectly finneeeee," Lake slurred. "That tickled."

Comet didn't waste breath arguing any further, and he just took his Mom and the bear back to the ranger station for treatment.


"I still can't believe that you two ran off to fight those death bugs on your own," Marcia said as the rangers finished looking over Lake, making sure that she wasn't going into shock or suffering from organ failure due to venom from the stings.

"Marcy, I said I was sorry! I just...wasn't thinking straight, is all," Comet said, trying to come up with an excuse.

"Since when do you ever think straight, Comet?" Marcia deadpanned, prompting him to shut his mouth. "You're just lucky that your Mom is as tough as you are."

"Hey, I came out of that fight just fine, young lady!" Lake said as she got another once over from the ranger with the scarf. "Those little bastards were running for the hills thanks to Grizz and me!"

Outside, the bear roared something that was supposed to mean, "Leave me out of this," before walking into the forest.

"Ma'am, need I remind you that what you did was potentially life-threatening and could've put you and your son in serious danger?" the scarfed ranger stated. "Also, if it weren't for the fact that your fight allowed us to track the Hornets back to their nest so that we may destroy it, then you could be facing serious legal consequences."

"I still say that I could've taken more of them on," Lake proclaimed, seemingly ignoring the pain she was in...only for the pain to immediately come back and hit her like several molten skewers ramming themselves inside her body. "Trust me. This is nothing like what I've been through back home, right, Comet?"

But Comet didn't say anything to his Mom. He just stood there, looking at her very anxiously, much to Lake's confusion.

"Um, Comet? Is everything all right?" Lake asked, now worried about her son's unexpected silence. Finally, the young Prince took a deep breath before breaking the silence.

"Mom, I need you to answer me, honestly: why did you come here today? Is it because you were worried about the Itch? Or because we were going camping without you?"

"Aw, phooey," Lake said as she tried to rub the back of her head. "Son, it's...complicated, and I don't exactly know how to explain it, but I'll do my best." Lake then took a deep breath before getting started.

"It's just that...ever since what happened with all those Monsters, I've been worrying more about you than I should be. I know, I know, you can take care of yourself. I made sure that you knew how to do that well before you even got the Wand, but still, hearing about what happened to you and your friend here...gah, I'm still a Mom, for corn's sake! So, of course, I'm going to worry about you! And when I heard that you were going through the Itch again, I was worried that your friends wouldn't be able to handle it, and I thought I could, like always."

"Could've fooled me," the ranger snarked, only to get a glare from everyone present.

"But after today, it's clear that I'm not the Mom I used to be. I can't keep you safe like as much as I want to." Lake sighed. "Maybe you just need someone younger to look after you, like Marcia over there. Who may or may not be your girlfriend."

"I'm not," Marcia said, clearing that up as Comet looked at his Mom with great sympathy.

"Mom, you don't have to prove to anyone how awesome you are, least of all me. I already know how awesome you are: I mean, you're the one who taught me how to fight and survive in the wild, for corn's sake! It doesn't matter how old either of us get: you're still going to be my Mom, and I'm still going to need you. And for the record, and do not tell Dad I said this, you have every right to be worried about me after what happened with Toffee."

"She does?" Marcia asked, taken aback by this admission from Comet.

"I do?"

"Yeah," Comet reiterated. "I mean, if I had brought more help with me, then maybe things wouldn't have gotten as bad as they did, and I wouldn't have come close to destroying my Wand. Or not; hard to tell."

Comet then continued. "Look, let's just forgo the rest of the cheesy heartfelt speech about how I love and admire you unconditionally by being my Mom and skip to the part where we hug it out. Okay?"

"Awww, come here, you!" Lake then pulled Comet in for a bear hug...only to wince once more when the pain came back. "Okay, that was a mistake."

"Ma'am, I cannot stress this enough: no more stressful activities for the rest of the day!" the ranger lectured. "You're lucky that we don't kick you out of the park."

"Wait, is the park still open?" Marcia asked in surprise.

"Well, now that we know where the nest is and the government can come in and destroy it, there's no reason to shut the park down to conduct an extensive, time-consuming search," the ranger told them before looking at his watch. "By the way, if you are still interested in seeing Old Youthful go off, then you'd better get a move on. The next eruption's in about half an hour, and it will likely be the last one for today."

"Well, what are we waiting for, then?" Comet asked. "Let's gooo!" With all the energy of a hyperactive child, Comet proceeded to run out the door, all the while chanting "~Old Youthful! Old Youthful!~" Over and over again, much to everyone's amusement.

"Come on, your majesty," Marcia said as she led the Queen out the door to Cloudy, who Comet had already summoned and hopped aboard alongside Coryn. "We better make sure he gets the last of the Itch out of his system."

"Damn right we do, girl!" Lake said, trying not to strain herself in the process. "Camping!"

Like Mother, like son, I guess, Marcia thought to herself as the quartet then flew off to see Old Youthful. Unfortunately for them, Lake leaned too far off of Cloudy and fell into Old Youthful's crater. So, when it next erupted, it sent her flying into the sky, much to Marcia's concern and Comet's delight. Silver lining? They learned that the stories about Old Youthful's rejuvenating powers were true. Queen Lake's skin had never felt so smooth!

*Jay's Workspace is now hosting a bright, ornate study that's decorated with posters, autographs, and fanart collected by RJ "Jay" Writing Ink over the years. In the center is a nice, roaring fire, with Jay sitting in a comfortable chair next to while wearing a smoking jacket and sipping on hot chocolate*

Jay: Hello. I'm Roderick Jay Fritz, the author of this fanfiction. And the reason why I'm in this getup is because I want to say something important, and this is an easily recognizable trope. But I'm not here to talk about that. I'm hear to talk about the East Asian Giant Hornet.

In the year 2020, these giant, unholy abominations of nature managed to make their way to the US, and have since begun to take root in our forests in the Pacific Northwest. Not only do they look like the stuff of nightmares, with stings that can be incredibly painful, but they can, in fact, wipe out hives of hardworking bees. And that's bad because we need the bees to keep our ecosystem going. Otherwise, we will have to rely on wasps.

So, if you happen to see a murder hornet, please call someone in power who can do something about it. Only together can we prevent these winged monstrosities from fucking our shit up. And before you ask, yes, I do hate wasps. I hate them with all my heart and soul.

Also, I am well aware that this chapter may not feel as put-together as many of my other ones, but that's because this was a test of my ability to come up with writing on the fly. I think I passed. And yes, the Itch is something I got from another cartoon, Big City Greens, which will be airing its third season tomorrow morning on Disney Channel. So please, go watch it. It is awesome.

Kermit: Jay, how much longer is this going to take? We got shit to do!

Jay: All right, guys, joke's over. Now, before we go, it's time to do my thing with

READER'S REVIEWS

Julayla-I heard its called a Womance, actually.

LockAndKey989-Already did, thanks for that.

NightAroma-Actually, my line from my review from "Star the Monster Princess" was a reference to Rocko's ModernLife. And yeah, I know using Smash Bros. was way cooler than ping-pong. It's what I would do. Lucina's also one of my mains, actually.

Believe it or not, my first Smash main was Pikachu, so you have good taste. Also, I didn't even know who Frieza was until I was well into my teens. The similarities to Mewtwo never even registered until someone pointed them out on YouTube.

Sleepover will have plenty of ship bait, by the way.

Yeah, in hindsight, Moon becoming Queen before she was mentally ready really stunted her emotional growth as a person, thus leading to her cold relationship with her daughter and her eventual fuck-up that ruined everything.

Hey, you guessed the reference! Good for you!

And no, Red Belt won't be for some time. And it will be for much more poignant reasons.

The Wandering Hippie-Yeah, I think I did a great job with Comet and Marcia's situations. Mr. Candle Cares was one of my favorite episodes, so I went above and beyond for it. Plus, I also wanted to see how Tammy would react to know that her ex is an unknowing chick magnet. Don't worry about the "frenemies" episode-I got something planned.

You never played Smash Bros? ... to each their own. I will not judge.

Guest 1-Thank you. I appreciate that more than you know.

Gorg-Comet's not that crazy, even when he is crazy. Also, you got in under the wire.

You know what to do: fave and follow this story, and follow me on Twitter (JZ-Gaming), Insta (RJ Writing Ink), and YouTube (Jungoguy).

See you next week, guys. We're going to be covering another memorable episode, Goblin Dogs. Oh, and Kelly's gender-bent counterpart will finally make an appearance.

Also, will you guys please get to work on the tv tropes page for this story?