Camila felt exhaustion come and go as she walked through the door after a week in the hospital… man that was just as painful as the first time. "This is our home Dana." She told the little one.
"Aaaaa." They looked around, a hint of nervousness in their body.
"There's nothing to fear, nothing can hurt you here." She assured her precious little one.
"Ms Noceda!" Spinel shouted. "We were playing ball in the house and kinda … broke everything!"
"….Lucci, kindly escort your friend from the house before she crashes a wrecking ball through the walls." She told the boy as nicely as was possible at the moment.
"Sorry about that, she's been feeling extra hyper since reforming from hell. She likes to catch up on missed play time." The boy sighed. "Spinel, I'll meet you outside in an hour, just don't break anything, alright?"
"What about Lar's house? Can I at least break that?" The pink one pleaded.
"Mess with him at the donut shop, but don't cause too much of a mess." The boy answered. "Mayor asshole may have backed off for now, but people are weary about us at best and terrified beyond belief at worst."
"Can do!" The girl shouted, jumping out of what used to be a window.
"We'll fix it up, don't worry." Luz assured.
"It's fine. Given the past few days, the collateral damage is the last thing on my mind, surprisingly enough." Camila chuckled lightly. "So … is Greg … you know?"
"Unsure." Amity said, sweeping up the floor. "We left him on the beach after IMP shot him in the knees, but didn't check afterwards."
"If he's still walking I'm going back for round two." Lucci growled. "Or maybe I could let little Danna set him on fire. Baby's first arson."
"Yaaaaaahhhh." Already she had to worry about this child.
"Lucci, let's not try and turn our little sister into an arsonist when she's not even a month old." Luz fortunately took up the mantle of responsibility older sister to balance it out.
"So what, fourth birthday?" He asked. "I remember when my mom got me firework birthday candles … it was really pretty. We just … sat together, holding each other as the sky lit up." They trailed off. "Did the same for King too …it just makes me so happy…" Lucci teared up.
"There there, big guy, let it out." Boscha held the boy as he sobbed on her shoulder.
"I can't tell if I'm crying from happiness or sadness!" Lucci screamed out as he hugged his girlfriend.
"Clawthorne's emotional breakdown aside, I'm just relieved we finally have that bastard Belos contained." Hunter groaned a sigh of relief. "I just wish we could shove that bubble he's in and watch him turn into smoke."
"Not until we're sure that he can't just switch into a backup sludge ball somewhere in the world." Willow said, flopping onto the couch. "He's had WAY too many lucky saves for us to know for sure. If he could survive the collector ripping him apart and the center of the earth, we can't look past anything."
"I need to work on a way to undo that." Luz muttered, looking over her hands. "My last attempt just saved Greg and shattered Bismuth's gem in him …"
"Which both means we won't have to deal with the rainbow devil physically ever again, and Belos has lost his biggest strength boost." Gus smirked.
"I still don't know how to feel about it … I'll never forgive her for killing Centi…but…essentially killing her back … just feels … hollow." Wait, was her Luz talking about murder?
"It's because it's not Bismuth, at least not the one you know." Lucci said. "She's talking crazy in Pearl's head, so the personal satisfaction is greatly lessened, that and … well, you're still too nice to really kill anyone."
"Maybe…" Luz groaned, rubbing her head. "I feel like taking another week off, but with every major threat taken care of for the moment … we finally have all the free time we need to make the portal door."
"And focusing on this cute little gal." Lucci walked over. "Don't worry little Dana, I'm gonna teach you all the important skills in life just like a big bro should." He smiled down on the girl. "First up, pick pocketing. It gets you shiny dangling things like this keychain." … Were those her car keys?
"Bawa…bawa….bawa…" Dana reached up for the shiny object.
"That's right, reach for the shiny object. You're gonna need to use those tiny arms to your advantage eventually."
"...On a scale of one to 'oh no', how good of a brother is he?" Camila asked the group.
"Are you more concerned about her safety or how well Dana will follow the law?" Amity asked.
"The safety seems more positive."
"Unless it's Boscha reigning hell everywhere, every threat in a ten foot radius will vanish without a trace." Luz shrugged.
"Hey, I'm not that lenient." The boy pouted.
"So then I misremember you giving her potions to throw at King in my body?"
"That was to teach you both how ridiculous the idea of body swapping cons are." Lucci countered. "You got arrested in five minutes in mom's body."
…. And like that, every concern went to a solid eight.
=======================================================================
Pearl groaned as she rubbed her gem. If only aspirin worked for her…actually she could probably make it work, but that required developing taste buds, a stomach, and every other bodily system that was far too unpleasant to think about, even given her current situation. Who cares about that right now, food's just irrelevant from my experience! At least when it didn't concern Belos, witches, and the gems, Bismuth was agreeable. Rainbow Devil!
She supposed this was her punishment for everything she had down in the past four months. The moment the Boiling Isles was involved, Pearl should've turned the other way and ignored the issue all together. It took going to literal hell and back for the message to stick. Steven was gone….Lucifer Clawthorne remained, and he didn't want anything to do with her…so Pearl would just have to cope with the situation. You have to do more than just cope, you need to run up to the bastard and carve out his gem from their body! There shall be no carving! Do it!
"Lapis, poof me." Pearl groaned. "Maybe if I reform the voices will stop." I'm just one voice you moron! Yet it echoed enough to count as multiple.
"I don't know, watching you squirm like this is pretty amusing." The blue gem laughed at her expense. "Doesn't feel so good to live with karma, does it?"
"What will it take for you to end my misery?" Pearl begged.
"You getting on your knees and licking the dirt off my feet, apologizing to Vee, and stuffing your face with cream pie and shoving it all done your throat."
"... Amethyst, could you bother?" She instantly changed directions from the clear sadist.
"Shapeshift into Vee for a month wearing nothing but underwear while doing the cream pie thing." Amethyst stated her conditions.
"...I'm going to try it myself then." With a fridge, because she wasn't about to arm Bismuth with a spear. Dang it! Come on, just attack those traitors! They're not traitors, they're just mad at me. They side with the demon you despise! Attack them and behead that slimy bitch before she attacks someone! Wow…okay clearly being in Belos's mind had done more damage than Pearl had anticipated. Philip showed me the light, and I will avenge him by completing his work!
"And that's where we end this conversation." It will never end!
"Hey guys, I'm back with soda and Amethsyt's gasoline." The Baslisk walked in. She's right there! END HER! MAKE HER SUFFER!
"SHUT UP!" Pearl screamed.
"... I know you don't like her diet, but I feel that's overkill." Vee stated with a bit of a pout.
"No, I'm not referring to you … Vee…" Pearl acknowledged the creature for the first time in months. "Bismuth's mind is stuck in my gem … a process I don't think I'll ever fully comprehend … and I've been getting nothing but her obsessive brainwashed rants for the past week." It's not brainwashing you cunt!
"So like Moldavite." Connie stated as she brought in more food with Masha. "Have to say … this is kind of a fitting punishment for all the crap you pulled."
"Yes, yes, yes, I'm a terrible person who did terrible things, I get it!"
"Do you feel terrible because you know what you did was wrong, or only because you realized Lucci will never like you at all?" Masha sipped her drink.
"Can't I just say yes and be knocked unconscious?" Pearl asked. Maybe they'd knock you out if you actually tried murdering the demon. Right there after all. "QUIET!"
"Pearl, I would like nothing more than to poof you again after everything you've done." Garnet said. "Ruby especially would, she wants to punch you for twenty four hours straight and fling you into the atmosphere … but we're not."
"Fine, back to the fridge." Pearl turned to the white piece of metal. It's a pretty heavy object, you could just toss it at one of the traitors. Oh quiet you!!
"Do you know WHY we aren't going to poof you…" Garnet kept her from lifting it.
"Because you like watching me suffer?"
"No, it's because part of acknowledging and learning from your mistakes is living with it."
"And because we like watching her suffer." The group turned to Lapis. "I'm still in the 'we shatter her' group."
"That aside, poofing you, bubbling you, shattering you … that's the easy way out, you don't get the easy way out." Garnet said. "You're going to learn to BE better than who you have been in the past four months, you have no other choice than that." The fusion placed her hand on his shoulder. "Because like it or not, you're still a part of this team, this family, and if Vee can learn to not hate you after all this time … then maybe there's a good reason for that."
"Everyone deserves another chance." The girl smiled.
"... Too pure Vee." Connie shook her head. Great, just as corrupt. Just squash them before their soul is lost!
"That still doesn't solve my issue with Bismuth." Pearl groaned in pain. "She's too lost in whatever hold Belos had on her, and I'm going to lose it if she keeps yelling in my head!"
"Can't you project her out of your head as a hologram?" Vee asked. "You know, like you do for the holo-pearls? She'd probably still shout, but she'll be out of your head."
"That wouldn't work …" Pearl trailed off. "Would it?"
"She exists in your gem now." Garnet nodded. "As far as I know, you make the rules in whatever goes on in there."
"..." Pearl sighed, focusing … pushing … and there … Bismuth, just as she remembered … and the woman simply glared at them all.
"Great, maybe now I can convince you all to stop being morons." The rainbow gem pointed at Vee. "And end this abortion of nature."
"Okay, flinging her into the sun now." Lapis got up.
"As long as she exists as Pearl's hologram, she can't do anything to hurt anybody." Garnet said, staring into Bismuth's eyes. "You were an old friend, Bismuth. For your sake, we're not going to give up on you just yet."
"Clearly I had shit taste before I was reborn." The hologram rolled its eyes."I'm not going to stop until you Crystal Clods do what's right and destroy those damned witches!"
"You were friends with this loser?" Amethyst asked.
"Different times, Amethyst … much more optimistic times." Pearl sighed. At least she was out of Belos's head. Oh … if only she had Rose's optimism.
=======================================================================
"Gaaag….gaggggh….gaggg…" Belos could barely breathe. Not just from the pain of his body being cramped up in a bubble, not just because said bubble was floating atop a pool of lava…but….pieces of his very soul itself felt like they were fragmented. That attack … that glyph attack Luz pulled with her friends … it was so much more harmful than anything he's ever experienced, almost tied with the Collector's attempt on his life.
Sir, we need to escape and reconstitute. We won't survive for much longer. Peridot stated. The damage on your mindscape … They didn't finish that sentence, and they didn't need to…Belos knew too well what the damage was..
That new glyph … the cold, empty void, parasitic feeling … it was much stronger than the Pink glyph … something much more … ancient. While the pink defused him from both Clawthorne's father and the rainbow devil … the new … BLUE glyph, it attacked his mind … ripped apart the structure he had developed within the last four centuries.
I memorized the glyph. We can run experimental simulations later … but that doesn't matter as long as we're trapped without a way to recover.They continued. Can we access a backup, leftover body perhaps? No, I've tried. My main consciousness is here, I cannot simply transfer my mind into scattered pieces of it … their fear of my return is the only thing keeping me alive now.
A very ironic situation indeed, but not one he had the strength to laugh at. He needed to get out and recover … get out … how to get out of a bubble while being this damaged? Could you potentially have control over any leftover remnants of your body that remain outside of this bubble?Possibly, I doubt it would make it far without being spotted. You need to try sir, we don't have any options. You need to live, you're our last hope against witches.
Ironic, the best support he had came from a species he greatly hated. If only that translated to actually usefulness, the most he could probably muster was a few feet before those gems found and exterminated his remains-
What if…what if he wanted them to find those parts….what if….he found them first? I sense you've been hit with inspiration? Indeed. I have found many uses for the pink glyph, one such use is manipulation on the emotional scale…particularly aggression.
So what? They get even angrier at you? Not at me….at each other. I can amplify their negative feelings, stir them against each other, get them to fight each other…a fight that will destroy Gravesfield and force the people to wake up.
A self-inflicted version of his Mayor Universe plan… how fitting. That fixes their focus, but not on escaping before we rot away. Their destruction will reach far and wide, the water one will flood the town with water, water that will reach into this very room … and when that happens … we will make our escape. You'll lose much of your mass by then. You'll need an immediate host or you'll die out.
I'll figure it out … after Greg and Jacob, there literally isn't anyone worse … except that Onion child….so disturbing, a being that could give Clawthorne a run for their criminal streak.
Right now, Philip needed to focus on the long term. Staying on earth was not going to work out in the long run, and the children would eventually find a way back to the boiling isles…they had managed to break him apart to this point, he had no doubt Luz would discover a way…which meant he needed to go back, and end this game personally.
But what of the humans here? They're being corrupted. The witches … they're the source of all corruption. The collector merely toys with his victims … which means he still let them live. Once the witches die from extinction, then humanity will finally be cleansed.
And a world without the corruption of witches could truly begin.
=======================================================================
Lucci hummed to himself as he looked over his paper. "A list of lullabies, a list of clothes to get her for adorable pictures, toys to play with … and separate things to suckle …" Yeah, he really needed to unpack his finger fetish if that trip to the past meant anything. For now, he would get her lollipops and binkies.
He would've taken Dana out for a stroll and showed her first hand the perks of larceny while getting her everything she needed, but Luz managed to talk him down by pointing out that a baby wouldn't even remember the event in question. He called snorseshit, but Luz was her sister too, so he wouldn't make a big deal out of it….for now at least.
So right now it was more of a matter of making her happy and cared for. So all the necessities, and all the products, then he'd focus on extremely fun activities. "And maybe add in a puzzle toy … or a doll." Nothing like King's Jean Lucc …creepy guy, felt like he was staring at him night and day. "Alright, that looks like everything….let's go.." He reached for the door handle…
…Only for it to open by itself … and reveal … his sperm donor. "Hey-" He slammed the door shut. Lucci waited about five minutes, before opening it again. "-there…" The man was in a wheelchair, his legs covered in casts, likely from Blitz's gun…not that it made any difference to Lucci.
"I don't think I made myself clear." Lucci clarified. "Me closing the door is the start of how long you have to run." He took out his razor disk. "So unless you want the chance to walk again…you roll away before I cut off your legs-"
"I'm sorry, okay! I'm sorry!" The bastard shouted, bowing his head.
"...Sorry for what?" Lucci raised an eyebrow.
"Sorry for being pushy, for making Camila uncomfortable, for abandoning the snake girl…for the goop guy…everything!"
"… Snorseshit." He called. "We gave you multiple chances to do better and you took none of them." He stated. "I let you into my life and you ruin Vee. Then you mess with Camila so much she tries to run away from you, yet you didn't take the hint like a creep. Then you work with Belos and think it's a good idea." He grabbed the man by the collar. "I'd be okay with you trying to kill me, that's one thing … but you went after my friends … you worked with a monster that threatened my baby sister … your kid … who you didn't give two shits about because anybody who's name isn't Rose fucking Quartz you don't care about."
"I-"
"Just like Pearl. The only reason I didn't shatter her is that she's being punished with another voice in her head for the rest of her days." Lucci continued. "And my main concern, more than anything, is to keep you quiet as I drag you away so little Dana can sleep."
"...That's…that's her name…" The man cried.
"Yes…it's a girl…not that you'd care." Lucci began pushing the guy back. "You know, my girlfriend is like me in a lot of ways. She doesn't like earth very much…in fact, she hates humans more than me…she even hates Luz…yet last week, she put all of that aside to help Camila deliver her. She knows how to be a fucking adult…unlike you." He growled out.
"She …"
"And to top it all off, you think that it was a good idea to walk back here when everyone is still recovering from fighting you." Lucci continued. "Do you know what it's like for me? The 'Mr flip his lid guy'? Do you know what it's like to look at you now and constantly focus every atom of my body from causing an explosion out of consideration for Luz and her resting family?" If he raised his voice too much the man would go flying, but the baby would wake up. "And yet I'm the one who you walked up to and tried to make your dumb, futile, case about false redemption. Because I can name plenty of horrible, terrible people that have at least tried to put in the effort, one of which I hang out with everyday now due to this fucked up situation I'm in."
"I…I know….I messed up….I fucked up…I ruined my own life….." The bearded man cried into his eyes. "I just…I don't want to ruin anyone else's life….I'm tired of being who I am….I want to be different…"
"You say that, but we gave you that chance, and you refused to take it. You were with Belos, you knew what he did, and you didn't fight it at all." He glared into the man's eyes. "I gave you a chance to be a half decent sperm donor, and you immediately took advantage of it. Are you going to do the same to Dana? Are you going to use her for emotional validation of your pathetic life?"
"No! I don't want that at all!"
"Then what are you going to do for her!?" He shook the man. "What benefit would your existence bring to her life!? We have your ten million, Camila doesn't need your child support!"
"Lucci!" The woman herself called out. "Is everything alright?" Like he said earlier, too loud and there were problems.
"Just…singing out loud, I'll be out of earshot in a minute." He responded, pushing the man out of the yard and into the sidewalk. "What good are you to Dana? What about you will make that kid's life better in the long run?"
"I…"
"You're not." Lucci continued. "We took your check from Mary or whatever his name was, so she's financially stable. She can grow up perfectly content with a single parent, as me and Gus are examples of, and all you can offer is a broken car wash, a cluttered van, and self absorbed songs trying to make yourself feel better."
"....You're right." The man sighed in admittance. "I'm…I'm a wreck….I'm no better than my parents….in fact I'm worse." He sniffed. "Dana's probably better off knowing I don't exist."
"Yeah, probably.." Problem was that eventually Dana was going to wonder. Whether for good or for ill…Dana would get curious eventually…and she would find out the truth…whether she wanted to or not. "Look, you, me, any kind of positive relationship that could happen between us, that's gone, obliterated, non-existent. It's too late for you to be my dad." He spoke. "And don't think for a second I'm letting you try and ruin another kid's life. You already did it with two."
"I..I know.."
"That's why you're not going to come back here until you've straightened your crap out." Lucci put his foot down. "Much as I hate it, I don't want her to be constantly wondering what kind of dad you are, so you're going to get your life together, and you're going to show her none of..this." He waved to all of him. "Because I know what it's like to wonder about having a dad. So be the best damn dad to her, or I will kill you."
The man looked surprised. "I … you …"
"Your last." He let that glow, with a bit of the ground cracking under his foot. "Chance … do not … mess it up …" Lucci walked away, taking breaths as he looked over the list again … maybe a bunny doll, like Francois. That would take his mind off the conversation he just had.
"Lucci…thank-"
"Don't thank me … don't ever thank me for anything." He answered back without even looking to the bastard. "I don't know you, you don't know me, leave it at that." Please, for the love of titan, take the hint this time.
=======================================================================
Luz looked over the glyphs. "So … we have Pink for plant, and Blue for ice …" She sighed. "The two most passive out of the four elements …"
"Are you really disappointed in something that worked against Belos?" Amity asked.
"No, it just means that these are going to be useless in our theoretical portal door glyph." Luz explained. "Maybe we can search around for Yellow Diamond remnants near the Cluster spot …"
"It'd have to relate to whatever Yellow's power is, which we don't have a clue for." Lucci pointed out.
"True, but again, at this point we're desperately experimenting for success." Luz continued. "We don't really have another way back to the Isles."
"What about that ingredient list we found?" Hunter pointed out.
"You mean the list that drove us to insanity while reading?" Willow asked. "We're talking about real, magical reality here, not one of your sci-fi books." So fun their weird world was when it wasn't annoying.
"So, are we gonna try fixing up the drill to go back down?" Luz asked. "I figure with three Diamond glyphs, maybe that can substitute enough power to punch a hole into the dimensional walls and get us back there."
"You sure that's not just going to reopen a portal to hell?" Gus asked.
"As long as we keep Lucci happy while not punching people near the portal? Yes." Then again, they were still going off on theory, but like said before, they didn't have much options to begin with.
A knocking on the door had them look at the door as Dr. Waybright walked into the cab. "Whoa, neat little place you got. Cabin in the woods, nice and isolated."
"Thanks." Luz smiled. "We used to have the Centipeetles here, but we moved them to the barn as Greg became mayor …"
"Apparently one of his mayoral ideas was 'remove the house without an owner or historical significance' and build something worthwhile, so a lot of people scouted it." Amity groaned.
"Well luckily for you guys, theirs talks about him getting removed after everyone saw him go monster on stage." Sasha brought up. . "… Lesser talks about hazmats cleansing the town while they're at it."
"As long as we don't have to constantly deal with my sperm donor sticking his nose in our asses, we'll be good." Lucci rolled his eyes as he looked over the notebook of Rose Quartz. "Why womb donor…why couldn't you be less vague in your instructions!?"
"Let me see that." Their therapist looked it over. "Piece of an elder god…huh, that reminds me of something Marcy showed me once." Dr. Waybright took out her phone. "She likes to travel to get inspiration for her webcomic, and she came across something that was advertised as the petrified body of a being of pure weirdness and chaos."
"...That looks like a corn chip with a top hat." Willow stated.
"Yeah, we thought it was BS too." Sasha admitted.
"We literally got sent to hell a couple of weeks ago and met the daughter of the devil himself, who's literally the purest soul we've met in any world." Luz pointed out. "At this point I'm willing to believe in anything."
"Let's take the warp pad then." Lucci began walking. "So where is this place?"
"Gravity Falls Oregon."
"We don't have warp pads there." Vee brought up. "They were placed all over the world in the beginning of the war to give the gems more field advantage, though not every place in the world."
"Okay … well, where's the closest location in Oregon?"
"Seattle … on the other side of the country.
"... You guys weren't very practical in your spacing." The boy muttered. "I guess we're stealing a car then."
"We don't need to steal anything, we're rich now." Luz said. "And that Marty guy left his tour bus. Gives us plenty of space to move."
"Does this mean what I think it means?!" Vee jumped in the air. "Are we going on a magical roadtrip!?"
"If we get someone with a license." Amity brought up. "None of us know how to drive…"
"Ahem.." Boscha and Lucci cleared their throats.
"..And don't have road rage." Amity continued.
"You're right, and I can't ask mom to do this, she needs to take care of Dana." Luz sighed. "Where are we going to find someone to drive us cross country?"
"Ahem." This time, their therapist cleared their throat. "My job is to look over your mental wellbeings, and it's not like I have anything else to do."
"… Well then …We're off to Oregon!" Luz exclaimed. A cross country roadtrip … at least it sounded better than building a drill to the center of the planet.