Star vs. The Forces of Evil - Never Hold Back

Chapter Three

“What do ye mean he won't pass the sanity test?” the guard laughed. “Look at ‘im, he's a big beast of a boy but he's got the brain of a mouse!”

The other guards cackled as they stared into Justin’s cage. He huddled into the corner, crossing his arms and looking away from them. He felt this way many years ago, but after the incident, nobody’s ever attempted to harm him, and he became extremely cautious about the emotions of others. Of course, the old shadow still lingers, but a good person always tries to fix themselves.

“Ashy, what do ye know about ol’ beasty here?” the same guard asked a student.

“Well…” Ashlyn began. “I do know that umm… he's very nice-”

“Nah nah, I mean his strength!” the guard interrupted. “Surely he uses those muscles for somethin’!”

“Oh! Y-Yes, he's the quarterback of the football team,” Ashlyn explained. “I mean… I don't know much about football-”

“So is he… the alpha?”

“... I guess?”

The guards all laughed victoriously.

“He'll be the best!” a scrappy old guard exclaimed. “He'll plow them all down like a tank, spilling their guts all across the land! That damn Force-03 doesn't stand a chance!”

The first guard patted Ashlyn on the back.

“Glad to have ye on the team, lassy,” he said. “Once I saw that big ol’ feathered cap on ye noggin’, I knew ye were somethin’ special.”

Ashlyn let out a nervous laugh, not sure what to say. Afterall, they mistook her marching band hat for that of a leader’s. Who knows what they would think of anything else?

One of the guards walked around towards Justin’s side of the cage. He was a large, minotaur-like monster, seven feet tall and full of muscle. Justin could see and smell the sweat pouring through his short, dark gray fur.

“Humans are all mighty, eh?” he laughed as he opened the cage door. “Then let's see if the princess speaks the truth!”

The other guards began to cheer as the minotaur beckoned for Justin to leave his prison. Justin only looked away.

“C’mon, big fella!” the scrappy guard shouted.

“What, are you scared?” taunted the minotaur. “Come on out, big baby!”

Justin tapped his foot, growing irritated. There was a brief moment of silence as the guards listened closely to see how Justin would react.

...

“Go away,” he snapped.

A guffaw erupted as the guards heard what the human said. Ashlyn backed away uneasily, knowing where the whole situation was going.

“Awwww, did ye hear that, boys?” the first guard laughed. “He wants us to go away!”

“Is the big baby all tired?” the scrappy guard cooed.

“Bah, I'd like to see him try and fight at this rate!” the minotaur said.

As the cackling raged on, Justin felt an old form of himself awakening, a sort of demon that lurked in the darkest lands of his mind, waiting to be beckoned…

It sprang to life, rushing through his blood all the way up to his head, causing his power to scream inside him. The air hissed, and his hand became wet with blood as it smacked against a rubbery surface. The next thing Justin knew, he was standing over the minotaur as he fell flat on his back with a thundering boom. Justin stared at him as he sat up, wiping the blood from his nose.

“Damn!” the minotaur exclaimed. “Beasty really is a fighter!”

Ashlyn almost looked relieved.

Almost.

She stared at Justin as he kept his icy cold gaze locked onto the monster. She knew they were going to praise him, and she knew that it could change him back to his old self...

~☆~

The cage trembled as the vehicle crossed vigorous roads, but fortunately not enough to toss them about. It seemed to be that everyone around Justin was asleep except him. He heard a few faint snores, but mostly the gentle rumbling of the cart, the steady breathing of others, and the somewhat calming sound of gentle rain. Above them all, an old canvas tarp of covered them from the rain, but also made seeing rather difficult. Justin remained in his corner, staring at what he could make out of his bloody hand as he continued to attempt to process what he had done.

“I can't let it get to me,” he muttered repeatedly. “They'll kill me.”

“Did you kill someone or something?”

Justin gasped and looked towards his right, searching for the source of the voice. He could barely make out the silhouette of another student sitting in the corner of their cage directly next to him in the dim light.

“N-No,” he stammered. “I didn’t kill anybody… but I punched him in the nose…”

“To the point where he was bleeding?” the student concluded.

“Yeah…” Justin sighed. “I really shouldn't have done that. I've been trying to kill my daring personality for years.”

“Is it threatened masculinity?” laughed the student. “You're a boy, it's in your nature, not to mention a big jock like you. Me? I'm just a nerd, or at least I was… I think.”

“I'm still trying to just get rid of my old self!” Justin said.

“Your old self will always be there somehow,” the voice said. “Even if your new self is in control, the old will still be there… lingering in the shadows…”

“You really are a nerd, aren't you?” Justin chuckled.

“...That's what you said last year…” the voice growled. “Your old self really is still there… but I wouldn't worry about it. You should worry about me.”

Justin froze, sensing the threatening darkness of the student’s tone.

“What happened to you?” Justin hesitantly asked.

“What happened to you?” the voice returned. “Are you not Justin Armberg?”

There was nothing but silence…

“... I'm trying to fix myself.”

“And you're going BACKWARDS!!!”

Suddenly, Justin felt the hard unmistakable knuckles of a fist slam into his face, knocking him three yards to the other side of his cage. His blood dripped from his nose and all onto his hands as he attempted to sit back up.

“I-It’s not… my fault…” he stammered in a whisper. “Timmy… I'm sorry about what I did…”

“You're lucky I did that,” Timothy said. “Otherwise, you probably wouldn't pass the test…”

...

“And don't call me Timmy. I'm trying to change too.”