Chapter 57: Bon Bon, the Birthday Clown

Summary: Ah clowns, what could go wrong?

Moon came to a desolate dimension, one that Skywyne made uninhabited and never on the radar, perfect for the meeting she was having now. It was virtually a blind spot for all magic users, so no one would ever think about looking for her here, aside from Glossaryck, but he wasn't one to rat anyone out…or care to say anything for that matter.

"I wasn't sure if I needed to contact you…I've just felt a little paranoid within the past few days, and I'm afraid of making calls in fear of being traced. I had hoped your future vision would have alerted you to my presence here."

"Magic is harder for me to navigate through, but I can see through the fog better than Sapphire could do alone." Garnet walked up to her, her face looking as neutral as she remembered it being.

"It's been a while." Moon spoke. "I take it your recent mission went well?"

"… Oh right, you never learned fusion, did you?" The gem asked her.

"I know of it, from what Rose explained and interrogating my son and his friend Kelly about it during the Butterfly/Johansson family reunion picnic." Moon almost thought about exhiling the Woolet from Mewni altogether.

"I'm a fusion of Ruby and Sapphire." … That was food for thought. "So, what makes you suspicious of the Commission?"

"They've been asking more and more about Quartz lately. At first it was just Rhombulous, asking if his 'Gem buddy' had the time to 'hang out' as it were. Being that he's a being almost as old as the universe asking to be around my thirteen year old son, I chose to ignore him like most people tend to do." There was a reason why he was known as the 'time out guy'.

"Understandable. And I take it Hekapoo has been asking for Lion more often than not?"

"Yes, although the feline still gives chase, so she basically just went back to running around dimensions like she used to do before." That actually made the two of them laugh. "I didn't dwell too much about it until Omnitrackis asked me about 'Greg Demayo', and if I had an affair." The very thought of it just made her shiver.

"Well he is an attractive man, even if there was only one woman for him." She couldn't tell if Garnet was joking or not. "I think I can cause a ruckus somewhere, and due to Homeworld's recent invasion we can keep the Commision off of earth with paranoia."

"Thank you, thank you." Moon felt a weight off her shoulders. "I know this is a lot to ask of you, considering what's happened in the past, but.."

"No need to thank me, or apologize. I've had enough of both for quite a while." The apparent fusion gave a small laugh. "The truth of the matter is that we don't know how to take care of humans, let alone children. The circumstances are less than ideal, but Steven…your son has had a good upbringing with your presence in his life."

"I've tried, believe me, I've been giving my best from what I learned from my own mother." Moon said. "If you don't mind me asking…how's Star doing? I've talked to Glosseryck about accelerating her training, but he just told me that her training has to be different from mine."

"Out of all the kids, she's the one that's been training the hardest to get stronger since Homeworld invaded. She's even got a handle on using Steven's gem power somewhat decently."

"She can do what?" She asked with wide eyes.

Garnet stated to her. "They really don't tell you much, do they?" Yes, Corn knows what they are up to now.

========================================================================

"Tonight, we summon Bon Bon the birthday clown." Jana paced down her summoning book.

"Why?" Steven asked. "It's none of our birthdays."

"Like we need a birthday to someone the ghost of a clown." Star laughed. 

"Also it's an old Mayor's birthday." Jana explained. "After dying due to a birthday candle accident, he promised to return after a hundred years to celebrate the birthday once more."

"Wait, after dying? Was he already a ghost by then?"

"No, he just kept having constant heart attacks that kept bringing him in and out of the land of the living." Jana explained. "And tonight will be exactly one hundred years since that day, so we get to see up close if the legend is real." After exposing the Dewey family history, she had sort of a hunger for uncovering myths now.

"You know." Glossaryck spoke, eating some pudding. "I've never seen a clown ghost seance. Cowboy ghost sure, but never clown."

"Of course you haven't." Steven rolled his eyes. "Alright, I'll come, half because I'm sure something will go wrong during it."

"Oh come on bro, don't you trust me?"

"The last ritual you did summoned a halloween ghost of unspeakable horrors according to Marco … so no."

"Speaking of, where is the Karate boy?" She asked the two of them, looking around. He was usually chained to the hip to Star by this point."

Speaking of the devil, he crashed through the door, letting out a high pitched squeal of joy that caused Lion to look at him angrily, petting the adorable Steven Jr. "Jackie asked me out to the dance!"

"Oh…she did." Star said a bit hollowly. "I almost forgot that was a thing today." Star scratched her arms. "Guess that works out, you take out the girl of your dreams, and I get to summon a dead clown."

"Heck yeah! No crazy monsters tonight, just a normal school thing for once." The boy sighed before his eyes popped open. "I've gotta get dressed!"

"He's super excited about this thing." Steven looked a bit confused. "Are school dances that much more exciting than the one's on Mewni?"

"Hardly. They're probably the same with twice as many authority figures watching over your shoulder." Jana waved off, almost forgetting that for a brief second, she imagined herself wearing a pink dress while asking Steven out in a pink tux.

"Yeah, I mean, we can still have fun with our things still." Star waved off. "No big deal or anything. Just a bit of a division of the party."

"You could still go if you want." Steven suggested. "You could probably invite Ponyhead and make it a more lively event or something."

"No, no, Marco doesn't want weirdness tonight, so I won't give him weirdness." Star said, walking upstairs. "I'll get ready for tonight."

"… She's so jealous." Jana stated once the girl was out of earshot.

"Without a doubt. I'm honestly surprised she didn't take him on a date before this." Steven scratched his head.

"Meh, snooze you loose." She shrugged, realizing she had a teasing opportunity as she smirked. "Speaking of dates, wanna grab a blanket for the two of us to cuddle in the cold night?"

"That does sound like a good idea, maybe I can…" Steven paused, probably just now realizing the context of what she just said. "..oh. Do you want to make it a date?"

"If you're up for it." She said, staring out the window. "Don't wanna rush you into it."

"Mmm … maybe … but I'd rather not, I don't want Star to feel like a third wheel."

"Is that how you feel whenever Kelly's around with Tad?"

"More like I keep forgetting Tad's there. I'm getting a feeling the entire group doesn't think twice about him when stuff happens, and that worries me."

"What, you think he's gonna explode?" She joked.

"If he doesn't shoot us with that gun he has, he already fired it when we were Quana." Oh yeah … fun times.

========================================================================

"Gotta sat Marco, you clean up nice." Jackie said as they walked to the door. "Didn't expect it from a guy that always covers his hair with a hood."

"I know how to take care of myself, people just can't handle the full Diaz experience." Marco smirked, before blushing. "Wow, did I just say that? Don't know where that came from."

"It came from Mr Confidence, that's who." Jackie patted his back. "These last few months have been good for you man, you've come out of that shell of yours and become rockin."

"After all that happened with life and death experiences, the truth or punishment box, and the Naysayer, I don't think I have any shame left to hide behind." The boy joked on, opening the door. "Milady?"

"Why sir Diaz, how gentlemanly of you." She lightly curtsied, before entering. She never imagined doing something like this with Marco, at most she saw him as the reliable best friend type, but his confidence was definitely a very attractive quality.

Inside they were greeted by girls hanging at the bleachers, boys playing basketball lazily, and Oscar on DJ. Looks like Sour Cream couldn't make it. "What the…wasn't this whole thing planned in advance?" Marco asked out loud, looking just as confused as her.

"It was pretty much a bust." Buck said, leaning on the wall. "A lot of the more upbeat and social people got either last minute plans, weren't interested, or just couldn't make it. Kinda lowered the mood a lot."

"Wow, probably shouldn't have had my expectations set so how. That's what happens when you watch a bunch of highschool drama movies growing up." Jackie laughed at her own expense.

"I've actually been catching up on them myself." Marco smiled. "Steven and Star still haven't seen the masterpiece known as Glee."

"Oh those poor unfortunate souls." Jackie chuckled, glad she could at least have a decent laugh about the whole thing. "Come on, I know somewhere we can actually have a fun ti…"

"Well, looks like there's one good thing at this party." They turned to the guy leaning on the opposite wall. "The name Kevin, nice to meet you baby."

"..What the hell did you just call me?" Jackie immediately felt her skin crawl with this creep's eyes looking up and down at her.

"What, with looks and eyes like those it was a compliment." The smirk sent shivers. "How about we hit the dance floor, you and I?"

"Kinda on a date here." Marco spoke up. "We're actually about to leave from the lack of dancing."

"Yeah, because this place is filled with nothing but losers." The creep called Kevin stuck his foot out and made Marco fall on his face.

"Hey, what are you.." She tried to call him out, but the moment she stuck her hand out, the guy actually grabbed it!

"Now, now, baby, don't cause such a commotion. You don't want to make too much noise tonight, do yah?" That vile grin only grew bigger as she felt herself being violated.

"Buddy." Marco stood back up and placed a hand on the creep's shoulder. "I'm going to give you one chance to apologize, and walk away."

"Oh, and what's the 'safe kid' loser gonna-" He was cut off by a punch in the stomach, followed by a kick that sent him sliding across the floor, right under the skirt of one Brittny.

"I told you no a million times you creepy PERVERT! LEAVE ME ALONE!" The cheerleader wasted no time kicking the creepy guy right in the face. The funny thing was that none of the teachers were going in to stop her. And here Jana was concerned about adults ruining the good times.

"Sorry about that." Marco sighed with disappointment. "This night isn't going right at all."

"What are you talking about, you just saved me from that jerk, my knight in shining red hoodie." She hooked her arm around his and dragged out of the gym. "I think I know a way to make tonight just a little bit better."

========================================================================

Steven wrapped a blanket around Jana. "You know, I'm surprised she passed out so early." He said. "She seemed the most excited out of all of us."

"You know better than anyone Steven, it takes a lot of energy to be excited." Star groaned, lazing her head against the gravestone of Bon Bon, surrounded by the sorriest looking shrine he's ever seen. "Guess we're both out of luck. Marco's hanging out with Jackie, and your date passed out before anything exciting could happen."

"This wasn't a date, it's the three of us having fun as friends, remember?" Steven rolled his eyes.

"She was listening in on you from the top of the stairs." Glossaryck spoke up.

"Could you go back to your pudding!?" Star and Steven shouted at him.

"Geesh, only pointing out the obvious, no need to take it out on me." The genie of the book sank into the pages with his gooey desert. "This is why pudding is the best. It never gets anyone upset."

"Back to the main subject, you could've just asked Marco out yourself anytime you wanted." Steven did his best to ignore the blue man like usual.

"Oh sure, ask someone who already has a crush on another person out, that worked out so well for you and Kelly didn't it?" Star rolled her eyes.

"I never asked her out because she's actually dating Tad. Marco was available anytime before he asked out Jackie, crush or not."

"And Kelly's available anytime she breaks up with Tad!"

"Yeah, and she always goes back to him! I don't want her to go back to him! I don't want to just be some place holder for a dishrag that barely gets off his butt!" Steven's face glowed slightly pink.

"And I don't want to be a footstool for someone else!" Star groaned, her face also pink . "I bet the two are having a blast …" She looked at the sleeping Jana, and the tomb. "We still have time actually….we can do what we want until then." She looked at her wand.

"Star, what are you planning?" He asked worriedly.

"Just making sure my friend is nice and safe on his date." She held the wand up. "I summon the all seeing eye, to tear a whole into the sky." The area started to get a dark presence around them.

"Star, this isn't a good idea!" He shouted with worry.

" Reveal to me what is hidden, unveil to me what is forbidden." The dark cloud appeared once more, an eye shifting to Marco and Jackie, riding a skateboard and laughing.

"Alright, they're safe and having fun." Steven said, looking at the image. "We really shouldn't spy on them, Star. Spying leads to crying like Glosseryck says!" That left a bitter taste in his mouth after saying it.

"So he's having fun with her….nice…normal fun…without me. " Star face got noticeably bitter.

"You can have fun whenever you want, you live together. You shouldn't be getting mad here." He tried to talk her down.

"So this is what he prefers, huh." The wand let out a green spark, and a tiny burst of magic hit one of the wheels, knocking the two off the board.

"Star, snap out of it!" He tackled the girl and took the wand out of her hands, making the All Seeing Eye Spell disappear. "You just attacked them both! That isn't you!"

"I … but that's not …" She seemed to realize what she did. "Oh corn, I hit the board."

"Star, I'm not going to judge you for doing something that I've thought about doing to Tad once or twice, but we can't let these negative feelings hurt the people we care about!"

"You're right, I just need to apologize when I see him." She agreed, looking scared.

"Why is everyone shouting?" Jana yawned, waking up. "Did we see him …" She gasped. "Bon Bon! He's right there!"

"What?" Star looked to the shrine, where the gravestone and cake were placed for the clown's return. Guess they were seeing a ghost clown now … a short one.

"Happy birthday …" Spoke a familiar voice, as a nightmare face in a clown mask came to light. "To me!"

"LUDO!?" Everyone shouted, Star getting her wand ready and his shield ready to be tossed.

"Yep, now I want a birthday present!" He laughed. "Come with me Sta-" Grab the book.The voice rang in his head, Steven clutching it as he hit the ground. "What would I need a book for?"

"You're not taking me or my spellbook, Ludo!" Star fired off a cupcake blast at the Kappa.

Ludo recovered in an instant. "Spellbook!?" … Damn it Star! "Everyone, after it, bring it to me!"

The eagle, spider, and rat army rushed. Hand over the book. He resisted. Why argue giving away something you hate?

"No, no, no, no!" Just give in! " Never!" Steven felt his entire body grow and shrink rapidly at once as he started glowing pink and green all over.

========================================================================

"You okay?" Marco asked, using his torn sleeve to tend to Jackie's wound. The skateboard suddenly snapped on a wheel, sending them tumbling on concrete.

"Dude, I once fell down a cliff and twisted my arm sideways. Still have the scar." She showed off a mark on her elbow. "This scrape is nothing compared to the real life lost." She held up the object in question. "The poor life of mr rad dude."

"You named your skateboard mr rad dude?"

"If you love something, you name it. It makes it extra special." She looked over the busted wheel. "Let us take a moment of silence to honor our fallen comrade today."

They made a mock prayer, before Marco gave a mocking wail. "Oh, poor Mrs rad dude, widowed." It paid to have a friend like Steven who said these sorts of things on an almost daily basis. 

"It'll be a while before she moves on and finds Super Cool Guy, but for now, let's remember all the fun times he gave us." The two of them found themselves laughing, almost forgetting they were holding hands. "That's what I like about you Marco. No matter how many times you fall, you manage to pick yourself back up."

He blushed. "I guess you were always this really interesting person. You were so carefree and never really got upset over anything. I admired that deep down." He told her, holding her hand tightly. Was this … should he move in for a kiss?

"It took a lot of practice." She was leaning in closer. "There's times to live in the moment, and times to wait for just the right one." Jackie closed her eyes.

Marco pushed down nervousness, with a bit of effort, and leaned in with his own eyes closed. He could feel it, her lips meeting his in a blissful smooth warmth. It was just as amazing as he always dreamed it of being. This was the absolute best…

A sudden chill ran down his back, as he swore for a brief second he was surrounded by red moonlight. Suddenly he had the distinct feeling that he wasn't supposed to be here.

Jackie reeled back from the kiss, the look in her eyes showing that she enjoyed it, loved it as much as he wanted to love it, but slowly became a little confused. "Marco, are you okay?

"Yeah just a … feeling." He reached down to check his phone, seeing-FIFTY SEVEN MISSED CALLS!? "I think Star's in trouble, I've gotta go find and help her."

"Don't worry, Mrs. Rad dude can help with that." She pulled another skateboard that was hidden in her skirt. "One of the many benefits to having such a poofy dress on." He really loved this girl.

========================================================================

"Star, you might want to wrap up the fighting just a bit!" Jana called out to her as she used a hairdryer, cover her brother who was still glowing and growing on the ground.

"I'm doing my best here!" She shouted, blasting rainbows and sparkles at the little gremlin. "Just hang on Steven!"

"Hanging on … I have love … and friends." The boy held himself against a tombstone, holding his head. "You can't control me. I'm Steven. I'm Steven."

"You'll be dust if you don't hand over the book to me right now!" It's futile to resist.Ludo and the voice shouted at her, the princess's concentration barely able to keep focus with the rats surrounding her, and the eagle trying to attack from above. "Do you know how long it took me to recover from your last attack!? An entire month! You put me in a full body cast for an entire month!"

"You turned my brother into a giant creature that tried to eat me! I don't care what happens to you anymore Ludo!" She shouted. "Blueberry Dagger Rainstorm!" She shot tasty spikes that scratched the kappa.

"That exact attitude is why we will forever be mortal enemies, Princess!" Ludo blasted the ground, covering it with green fire as she barely avoided it. "This is it, Star Butterfly!" Ludo cackled, firing a massive green laser at her, one she had no time to doge.

A spectral being appeared before her. "After a hundred years, I, Bon Bon the Clown, have returned to bring joy to the kids of the wo-" He was hit by the laser, screaming as he vanished into mist.

"Hu … I believe I just killed a Ghost Clown." Ludo looked at his wand. "That's a sentence I never thought I'd say."

"NO!" Jana called out, dodging underneath the Spider's web. "WORST. SUMMONING. EVER!" Jana went into feral mode, grabbing the rusty pipe she packed with her and started hitting the rats away like they were golf balls.

"Don't worry Jana, I can-agh!" Steven tried to move, but only fell to the ground as five foot spikes shot out of his back. "I'm really starting to hate shapeshifting!"

"Star, you got to get Ludo's wand out of here! It's only making Steven worse!" Jana called out as her hand got webbed to a tombstone.

"I am working on it!" She shouted, charging magic. "Just get out of our life, Ludo, we have enough problems as it is!" She blasted him with raw magic

"Not until I get your spellbook!" Ludo fired as well, the two energies meeting and mixing … forming a black spot that felt like a vacuum cleaner, sucking up some rats.

"Guys I'm here!" Star was grateful for many reasons. "What did I-why is there a black hole!?" Although she wished it was at any other second than this one for Marco to come!

"No time to explain, just get my spell book out of here be-whaaaaah!" Star felt her legs lift into the air as the black hole began sucking her in. "Get the book!"

"Not until you're safe!" Marco rushed past the little bird man and grabbed onto her arms. "Don't worry, I got you!"

"And I got this, aha!" Ludo called out as the spider webbed the spellbook right to his side. "Eagle, Spider, get us out of here!"

"No!" Star reached out, separated from her wand, as the spider latched onto Ludo, the eagle carrying them all away. "Come back!!" The book, guarded and written for generations by Butterflies … gone.

"Star…Star…I.." Steven woozily ran up to her, the spikes and glowing starting to die down with Ludo's half of the wand getting farther and farther away. "I got you!" Steven grabbed onto Marco and pulled back.

"And we got you, dude!" Jana pulled from behind Steven as Jackie, the girl she attacked just minutes earlier, pulled from behind Marco. "Hold on…just…one more..PULL!"

The black hole died off as Star was flown into the dirt, where she knew she belonged after tonight's absolute blunder, one that would be recorded in infamy in the spell book…if that wasn't what she just lost. "It's gone..Ludo took the spellbook…he took Glossaryck….what the hell is wrong with me?!" She buried her head in her hands. She ruined everything tonight.