Gemma and the Ultimate Standoff

by Ahmet Zappa

  What in the stars was going on?

  Lady Cordial continued. “There were twelve missions in total. The last mission was taken by Gemma, who returned just starmins ago. Thanks to her hard work, the wish energy imbalance is about to be readjusted. Gemma, will you please step forward?”

  Gemma gulped, dropped Tessa’s hand, and did so.

  Lady Cordial next reached into her pocket and pulled out Gemma’s Wish Orb, still shiny and glittery. But then she did something strange. Lady Cordial blew on the orb, and the glitter fell away, revealing that it was dark and murky.

  Everyone gasped. It was a Bad Wish Orb!

  So that’s what happened! Gemma thought. It was a bad wish from the beginning. She turned to Lady Cordial again and she suddenly realized that her eyes hadn’t been playing tricks on her. Lady Cordial was transforming before their very eyes from the frumpy, awkward, and unremarkable headmistress to a tall and imposing presence. Her neat purple bun had been replaced by lank gray hair. Her plump cheeks were becoming thin and sunken. And her skin, once bright and sparkly like that of most Starlings, was now dull and ashen. But Gemma could only focus on her eyes. They glittered coldly. It was hard to look away. But she did notice that the stage was suddenly surrounded by a squadron of Bot-Bot guards, all there to protect Lady Cordial.

  “I, Rancora, in the guise of silly, stuttering Lady Cordial, tricked Gemma into granting a bad wish,” crowed the villainess. “And now, thanks to her, the balance has been shifted—to negative wish energy—just as I planned!”

  The crowd gasped again. Someone screamed.

  Lady Stella, who had been watching from a distance, took a step forward. She stared up at the woman on the stage and a wave of recognition crossed her face. “Rancora,” she whispered solemnly.

  Gemma’s stomach lurched. She could hardly believe what she was hearing. This changed everything. Her mission hadn’t been a good wish gone bad at all. It was out-and-out, no question about it, a bad wish that she had granted. The negative energy she had collected would be too strong and powerful. Her mission had been a huge mistake. She had fallen for Lady Cordial’s—er, Rancora’s—trick. And now everything was ruined—forever.

  Gemma wanted to run far, far away, but some terrible force held her in place. She watched in horror as the bulging, blackened orb lurched toward her, closer and closer. It hovered in front of her, mere star inches from her face, and she almost couldn’t breathe.

  What have I done? she thought, nearly overcome with despair. But then, as if in a trance, she held out her hand. The orb settled in her outstretched palm. A lovely warm feeling ran up her arm and coursed through her. And suddenly, she realized what had happened. By turning the bad wish into a good one, she must have reversed the orb!

  Before Gemma’s eyes, the orb transformed from a dark, misshapen thing into a beautiful glowing sphere. It felt warm and smooth and good. She felt strong and powerful as she held the orb above her head in triumph. “Yes, I was tricked into granting a bad wish. But what you don’t know is that I turned that Wish Orb into a Good Wish Orb, Rancora! Now watch!”

  Before everyone’s eyes, the orb turned into a flower—a beautiful chatterburst, a vibrantly bright orange blossom, fairly bursting with energy. The Wish Blossom swiveled around to face Gemma as she inhaled its sweet orange-vanilla scent. As she stared at its filaments, hung with glowing stardust, it suddenly opened, revealing her Power Crystal—a lustrous egg-shaped scatterite, sprinkled with stardust on its perfectly smooth surface. It settled in her hand like it belonged there.

  Triumphantly, Gemma held the milky orange stone up to Rancora.

  But Rancora did not look scared, taken aback, or even slightly concerned. She just looked at Gemma’s Power Crystal and laughed.

  “Silly girl,” Rancora said mockingly. “Once a bad wish is granted, you can’t negate its power entirely. I. Still. Win.”

  “It looks like she’s right, Gemma,” a voice said sadly. Indirra stepped out of the shadows, holding Lady Stella’s Wish Energy Meter. The arrow had lurched toward BAD and was swinging wildly back and forth. The sky grew dark and the wind started to whip. Thunder rumbled and lightning flashed.

  Rancora raised her arms to the heavens and lifted her face to the stormy sky. Her lips twisted in an evil smile. “How do you stupid Star Darlings not realize that you need all twelve Power Crystals to have any sort of power? You’re the twelve Star-Charmed Starlings, after all! Without that final one, your crystals are completely useless on Starland! And I destroyed Leona’s Wish Pendant! It will never absorb wish energy again!”

  “You destroyed my pendant?” Leona shouted.

  “Child’s play, my dear,” Rancora said mockingly. “Remember the star key chains you all took along on your trips to Wishworld? I infused them with negative wish energy in order to sabotage your missions. It worked differently, yet effectively, on each mission. And luckily for me, it caused your Wish Pendant to malfunction. All the things you blamed on Lady Stella happened because of me. I sent you the flowers. I created the nail polish. I switched Scarlet’s and Ophelia’s grades.” She laughed. “I even hypnotized everyone with the song so they would all be happy about Starshine Day, knowing it was the perfect venue to make my announcement.”

  “But why?” Gemma asked.

  “For power, of course,” she said. “The rest of you thrive on positive energy. I thrive on the negative. By upsetting the balance, now I will rule Starland!”

  “Wait!” called a voice from the back of the crowd. Lady Stella walked toward the stage, the crowd parting to let her pass. She looked exceptionally calm and regal.

  “Lady Stella!” someone called out.

  “Well, if it isn’t our dear headmistress,” said Rancora. “I see you managed to escape from your crystal cave. Well, I am glad you are here, old friend, to witness the destruction of all you hold dear!”

  Thunder crashed, and lightning struck a nearby kaleidoscope tree. Gemma watched as the flowers drifted to the ground like multicolored snowflakes. How beautiful, she thought despite herself.

  “Not so fast,” said Lady Stella. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a golden orb, which floated up into the air. “I’ve held on to this orb in the hopes that it would someday transform.”

  Before everyone’s disbelieving eyes, the orb floated through the air, right toward Leona.

  Leona’s eyes were wide. She reached into her pocket, as if in a trance. Gemma had a sudden realization. The positive energy that resulted when Leona helped her turn a bad wish into a good one must have been so strong that it repaired Leona’s ruined Wish Pendant. And now her Wish Orb was glowing again. No wonder she had felt an impulse to push Tessa out of the way and join Gemma on her mission!

  As Leona pulled the golden cuff out of her pocket, Rancora, realizing what was about to happen, raised her hand to the pendant dangling from her neck and, opening it, poured out a cloud of negative energy and sent it soaring toward Leona. The negative energy glanced off the orb and hit the sign that hung over the stage, which was draped in briteflowers. They immediately withered and drooped. The orb, however, continued on its path. Then, just as it was about to land in Leona’s outstretched hand, Rancora shot another burst of negative energy, this time directly at Leona.

  “Nooooooo!” Gemma heard herself scream.

  Leona stood stock-still, unable to move. Just as the negative energy was about to hit her, a Bot-Bot lunged forward and absorbed the shot. It plummeted to the stage with a crash so loud it made Gemma wince.

  “That Bot-Bot saved my life,” said Leona in disbelief just as the orb settled in her hand. She held her Wish Pendant in the other. It now glowed with pure golden energy, burnt and blackened no more. The orb rapidly transformed into Leona’s Wish Blossom, a golden roar, which then opened to reveal her Power Crystal, a rough-cut, yellow-gold glisten paw. Gemma instinctively reached for her Power Crystal and held it up. That was when she realized that all the other Star Darlings were doing the same thing.

 
; Rancora shot another burst of negative energy at the Star Darlings, but this time it was as if they were surrounded by an invisible force field. It glanced off and dissipated.

  As if they were in a trance, the Star Darlings all let go of their Power Crystals, which floated in the air in front of them. They joined hands. The Power Crystals glowed so brightly that everyone in the audience had to shield their eyes and look away. Then the crystals began to spin, faster and faster, until they were a colorful blur.

  “NO!” Rancora screamed.

  Indirra was still holding the Wish Energy Meter. The arrow swung violently back and forth until it veered so violently to the good side that it flew right off! Then every light in Starland went on at the same time, flooding it with light once more. A wave of pure good wish energy swept over the crowd. The air was filled with positivity and light. The crowd cheered, overwhelmed with joy and relief.

  Everyone but Rancora, that is. With a bloodcurdling scream of anger and despair, she opened her pendant once more, tapped out some of the powdery substance, blew on it, and disappeared in a puff of acrid smoke that stung Gemma’s eyes.

  Gemma ran over to the spot where Rancora had seemingly disappeared into thin air. She was really gone.

  Just then Gemma heard a cry. She rushed to Sage to see her kneeling over the brave Bot-Bot who had saved Leona’s life.

  Sage turned when Gemma touched her shoulder. “It’s Mojo,” she said sadly. She turned back to his still metallic body and peered down at him. “Mojo, speak to me,” Sage pleaded.

  But there was no answer. His face was blank, his eyes empty. Sage began to weep bitterly, the tears coursing down her face in glittery purple streaks. “Oh, Mojo,” she said. “You saved us. Please wake up!”

  With a whir and a shower of sparks, the Bot-Bot sat up so quickly he bumped heads with Sage. She lost her balance and landed on her bottom.

  “Why are you crying, Miss Sage?” Mojo asked worriedly. “I’m fine!”

  Sage rubbed her head and laughed shakily. “Oh, Mojo,” she said simply. Then she stood up and jumped into the air with joy. “We did it! We did it!” she shouted, grabbing Gemma’s hand and raising it in the air.

  Gemma jumped up and down with her. They had done it. They had rescued Lady Stella, turned a bad wish into a good one, saved Starland. Her sister ran over and swept her into a tight hug. Relief and happiness rushed through Gemma, leaving her shaking.

  There was a roar and Gemma looked around wildly. “Gemma, look!” said Tessa, pointing to the crowd. Gemma looked down to see a sea of upturned faces calling out their names, hundreds of Starlings clapping, cheering, and pointing to a spectacular rainbow glittering in the sky. Gemma noticed the bright orange aura emanating from her body and gasped as she realized that she and her fellow Star Darlings were glowing so radiantly that together they formed the most beautiful glittering rainbow anyone had ever seen.

  Lady Stella stepped forward and applauded right along with the crowd. Then she motioned for the Star Darlings to gather around her. When Gemma got closer, she was confused by the look of regret on the headmistress’s face. Smiling at them sadly, Lady Stella said, “Star apologies, my Starlings.” She raised her arms in the air and the crowd silenced.

  “For what?” Gemma asked, but her words were swept away by the loud whooshing wind that ripped through her hair and tore the Starshine Day decorations off the stage, scattering them into the air. Gemma shielded her face with her arm. What in the stars was going on? Tessa put her arms around Gemma and the two sisters huddled together fearfully.

  But their terror turned to awe as a shooting star streaked across the sky, exploding into multicolored blossoms that fell toward their upturned faces, close enough to touch. “Ohhhhhhhhh!” said the crowd. Suddenly, the sky was dancing with colorful beams of light. The crowd and the Star Darlings were transfixed. Gemma was filled with an amazing sense of hope and beauty and pure wondrous joy.

  It ended as quickly as it had begun. The Star Darlings stood blinking at each other in confusion. The air—and the mood—felt different. Something momentous had just happened—but what exactly?

  Gemma looked down at the crowd. The faces were no longer looking at them in adulation. In fact, they looked confused. Some faces even looked irritated.

  “Get off the stage, you Star Ding-a-lings!” someone called out.

  Gemma felt her face grow slack with shock. And then, suddenly, she laughed loud and hard. The rest of the Star Darlings joined in. Their moment in the suns had been quite fleeting!

  Lady Stella shook her head, her expression sympathetic. “I’m sorry, but everyone’s memories have just been erased. Starland needs your special talents to remain under wraps, at least for now. I have a strong feeling this is just the beginning of your adventures. Your time in the starlight will come, Starlings. I promise.”

  Lady Stella turned to the crowd. “Attention, students! Now we will crown the winners of the Battle of the Bands. Will Vivica and the Visionaries and Star Light Star Bright please join the Star Darlings onstage?”

  Gemma, Tessa, Cassie, Adora, Piper, Astra, and Clover moved into the wings to watch the judging. Gemma saw Leona grab Scarlet’s and Libby’s hands. From the pained looks on their faces she was apparently squeezing them very tightly.

  “As you know, we use the Ranker in our competitions to ensure that the judging is fair and unbiased. The Ranker uses an algorithm that measures the level of crowd reaction, difficulty of music, and creativity of lyrics to choose the winner. And the winner of this year’s Battle of the Bands is…” Lady Stella paused and consulted the Ranker. It seemed like she was moving in slow motion. Gemma realized that she was holding her breath. A Star Darlings victory would be so sweet at that very moment.

  “Vivica and the Visionaries! Star kudos, Starlings, on a job well done!”

  Gemma felt her heart sink down to her sparkly orange flats. She saw the disappointed faces of the Star Darlings band, smiling bravely. But then she brightened. So they had lost the Battle of the Bands. They had won the battle for Starland—even if they were the only ones who knew it.

  The Star Darlings gathered on the stargrass, where they stood in companionable silence. They were exhausted, ebullient, a tiny bit disappointed, and a whole lot proud.

  “Don’t look now,” Gemma whispered to Sage, “but here comes Vivica.”

  The girls watched as the Starling made her way to them, her aura glowing pale blue. She was clutching the holo-statue she had received in her hand and had a huge smile on her face.

  “Maybe she’s coming to extend the kaleidoscope tree branch to us,” said Gemma optimistically. “It could be now that Lady Cordial’s negative influence is over, she’ll be nice.”

  She smiled at Vivica.

  “Hey, girls,” Vivica said.

  “Hey, Vivica,” said Sage. “Star kudos on your victory.”

  The rest of the Star Darlings nodded.

  Leona bit her lip but managed a smile. “Yeah, you put on a good show,” she said.

  Vivica looked down at the ground almost bashfully. “I just came over to say one thing,” she began. Then she looked up and her grin turned nasty. “Beat you good, Star Dippers,” she said, then spun on her heel and marched off.

  Leona’s mouth fell open. “Of all the…” she started. “I have half a mind to…” Her voice trailed off and she said simply, “Starf!”

  Lady Stella glided over and gave the Star Darlings a sympathetic look. “Oh, my stars,” she said. “That was certainly unpleasant, wasn’t it? Talk about a sore winner!” She looked at Vivica’s retreating back and shook her head. “We had better keep an eye on that girl. She seems like trouble.”

  A short time later, the Star Darlings stood on their own private section of the Wishworld Surveillance Deck. Lady Stella had brought them there for a confidential chat.

  She smiled at them tenderly. “I want to tell you star salutations once more for saving Starland. You faced many challenges from a formidable foe. Rancora tried e
verything she could to make you turn against each other, but you persevered and stood together!

  “You were strong, smart, and startacularly brave. Even what you thought was a huge misstep—accusing me of working against you—was actually beneficial, as we were able to get the real saboteur into the starlight.” She glanced at Cassie, who was staring at her feet. “So no more feeling guilty, Cassie.”

  Cassie’s glow deepened. “Star salutations, Lady Stella. That means a lot,” she said earnestly.

  Lady Stella continued. “The twelve of you were brought together for your strengths. Separately, you are strong and spirited, smart and talented. Together, you are an unbeatable team. Your differences could have been your undoing, but you managed to find ways to work together. And for that, I will be forever grateful.”

  Gemma noticed that the Star Darlings were all glowing with pride. They had grown to understand and accept each other and in the process had forged an unbreakable bond.

  “Do you have any questions?” Lady Stella asked.

  Vega spoke first. “What about Rancora?” she said. “Who is she?”

  Lady Stella frowned. “It appears that she has been plotting the downfall of Starland for quite some time, and she infiltrated Starling Academy disguised as Lady Cordial in order to gain a position of power.”

  “What will happen to her?” asked Gemma.

  “The authorities are searching for her right now,” Lady Stella explained. “She will be apprehended in due time. You can be starsure of that.”

  “Will we be sent back down to Wishworld again soon?” Scarlet asked hopefully.

  “Eventually,” the headmistress said. “At the moment, we have plenty of wish energy. There will come a time in the not-too-distant future when you will be sent back down to Wishworld. But first I’d like you all to meet with our leading wish energy scientists for a debriefing. They have a lot to learn from you and your extreme success in collecting wish energy.”