Chapter 10: First Third: Lars

Holding his arms across his chest, Lars traced a path to the Beach House, trying to stay close to the shadows.

"OW! Dang…!" He cursed as he tripped over some rocks. The problem with hiding in the shadows was that you couldn't freakin' see in the dark.

He brought his strained eyes up to take in the Crystal Palace. Alien and imposing in the blue moonlight, that big statue seemingly casting its blank stare down at him, daring him to follow through with this insane charade…

He glanced over his shoulder, to that path along the beach and around the corner that lead back to home; his room, his bed where he could hide from his problems…

No! He'd give up later, if actual obstacles got in his way. It might be huge and totally weird, but it was just a kind of house. And inside of that giant women's torso, he hoped to find Sadie.

As he crept towards the house, Lars felt an urge to direct his anger at the gems who had taken her away. But they hadn't abandoned her. In fact, they might actually be trying to help her! What was the point of this if he couldn't offer Sadie any real help…?

He shook his head. If he saw her, spoke to her, made sure she was really alive… it might make him feel better. That was why he was doing this.

One of the wooden planks screamed out a CREAK as he approached the beach house door. Sweating, Lars leapt backwards and nearly tripped down the small stairs. He stood for a tense moment, but heard nothing answering his mistake from inside Steven's house.

Hands beginning to quake, he procured a small bent paper clip from his pocket. He'd gotten good at this as a kid…

But… HEY!

The door didn't have a typical lock… he wouldn't be able to use this time-tested method to get inside! He started to panic, glancing around at the porch furniture and window. Should he use a chair to break the window?!

It would be too loud… ugh! What was he DOING? Was Sadie really worth this?!

Not for Sadie. It was for him. So he could sleep again. Wait, HE certainly wasn't worth that… was it really so bad feeling tired and guilty all the time?

Just because, he tried the door.

It swung open effortlessly, leaving Lars agape. This just made his frustration dig even deeper, even though part of him was relieved. After all, the gems were super-powered alien beings… they must not worry too much about locking the doors? Because they could just smash any intruder foolish enough to walk through it!

He leaned into the house anyway, trying to make his footsteps as silent as possible. He'd never been in Steven's house… it was actually pretty normal, smelling faintly of sea salt and musty furniture… there was a kitchen and living area, and Steven's room was...

"whhoo OKAY!"

Lars gasped audibly as he heard a voice from upstairs. It was STEVEN! His ears rang with panic. Why was his room so open like that?! It didn't even have a door!

Lars glanced back to the door. It seemed miles away… and Steven might hear him running away.

The couch. He could hide behind the couch. Steven wouldn't see him, go back to sleep, and Lars could continue his search.

It would work. It wouldn't work.

He'd have to try.

Unfortunately, Lars body proved a bit too long to fit. He hunched up his shoulders and scrambled behind the furniture as quickly as he could, biting his lip as Steven loitered on the stairs, eyes wide with fear…

He couldn't stand the tension. He closed his eyes and waited, listening as Steven came down the stairs and disappeared into the bathroom. He felt sweat start to bead on his forehead. Hurry up, you little jerk…

"Lars?!" A voice thundered in his ears, and Lars slowly opened his eyes to see Steven standing over him, looking both confused and relieved. A sort of relief flushed over Lars as well; he could stop hiding. Stop worrying. Stop trying. Game over.

"What are you doing here? That's a relief…" Steven gushed.

Lars scrambled to get free of his hiding spot, and Steven helped by grabbing his legs and pulling.

"Ugh! Steven!" Lars hissed, nearly accidentally kicking Steven in the face. "Why'd you have to wake up?"

"You're the one… trespassing! In MY house!" Steven yelled indignantly, and Lars shushed him.

"Are the… others… here?" Lars ventured, eyes shifting.

"You mean the Crystal Gems?" Steven replied. "Probably. But what are YOU doing here?! You hardly ever reply to my texts! Everyone is so worried about you. Even Sadie's mom… she asked about you at the vigil…"

Lars blushed visibly and looked away, balling his fists. Why did Steven have to make him feel worse?

"It's… just… hard to deal with, ya know?"

Steven had tears flooding his eyes.

"But we can help you deal with it!" Steven said, grabbing the taller human around the waist with a tight hug, gazing up at him with sad, starry eyes.

For a moment Lars flushed with anger, but it collapsed under the weight of Steven's empathy.

"Sorry," he said, barely a whisper. "But… I'm not the one you should be worried about. Sadie… she's the one who needs help. It's stupid for people to be worried about me!"

His heart was pounding. It was true. This wasn't just for him. It was for Sadie.

"Is that why you're here?" Steven asked.

"Yes." Lars sighed. "I just... I keep dreaming about her… It's not fair! I… I miss her." He paused. "A lot."

Lars refused to even look at Steven as he said this. He was amazed those words had come out of his mind; he must have been more fatigued than he thought.

"Well… I can show her to you…" He started, and Lars looked right at him, his eyes lighting up. "But… she's asleep and…"

Lars leaned down, grabbing Steven by his shoulders. "PLEASE! That's why I came here! I have to see her! See if I can help her from the real world!" Would it really be this easy? Just asking Steven for a favor?! Steven would even believe that he had a solution… he could easily trick Steven…

"Pearl said…" he began, but Lars begged Steven with his eyes, his slumped shoulders, that tense and hopeful grip.

"Ok. I'll see what I can do."

Chapter 10: Second Third: Sadie

Sadie walked alongside her magnificent alien companion, feeling its long tendrils warp around her arm as they kept pace with one another. The ugly winds of the nightmare seemed to work around the beast's body, leaving Sadie free of the stinging lash she had grown so used to.

Out of nowhere, the sound of dance music caught Sadie's ear, and she paused, listening for the source. The image of a dance hall illuminated only by glow sticks faded into view, and she heard a voice call her name.

"Yo, Sadie! You made it!" Sour Cream called to her from the DJ stand, smiling. Sadie waved back; hadn't she missed his last big rave for work? She always wanted to see what it was like! She approached the dance floor, excited.

Suddenly a wild screeching filled her ears, and a massive blue-green blur rushed up beside her. Di was screaming at Sour Cream and the scene before her, its fur lashing angrily. She gasped, the reality of the dream darkening. She felt the soft touch of Di's fur, pulling her back to the top of the nightmare.

The creature gazed at her with concern, clicking rapidly as the dream vanished with a whimper.

"You… you protected me." Sadie whispered in awe. Di had saved her the agony of yet another dream; defended her from the lies and disappointment that lay within.

She caressed its soft bony nose, thanking it.

"We where trying to find those shards for you, weren't we? Ok, lets stay focused. Sorry." She said apologetically.

She let Di lead the way, gradually breaking into a run as the creature became more and more excited.

Sadie stayed focused on the soft greenish glow of her companion, careful not to stray into another dream. But it seemed to be leading somewhere concrete.

A wide room roared into life around them. A rich red color permeated everything; thick wires coiling up the wall like vines. At the circular pit sat in the center, patterns of lines cut into the floor around it. It was a fascinating, otherworldly place. Surely a dream but… perhaps Di's dream, and not her own.

Sadie walked slowly into the room, but squeaked in pain as she bumped her nose into an invisible wall. Muttering, she held her hands out like a deranged mime, tracing a circular prison around her. As she studied the air around her, she noticed how the air distorted where the "invisible" force field waited.

Di was beside her, whining anxiously and gesturing towards the curved wall.

Sadie placed a palm on the edge, a question her eyes. Di clicked and clawed at the field urgently. Sadie raised her fist and knocked on the invisible wall, eliciting a wail of glee from Di.

"You want ME to break it?" It seemed absurd that Sadie could accomplish an act of force better than this powerful monster. Di shook its head in apparent agreement.

Breathing deep, Sadie took a lighthearted punch at the force field. To her surprise, her hand didn't feel any pain from the impact. Emboldened, she punched it harder.

Di flowed around her, howling in excitement, urging her on. Each collision filled her with a sense of power, and she worked herself into a rhythm, willing the transparent jail to shatter and let them free.

Chapter 10: Final Third: Lars

Lars waited miserably in the living room as Steven pleaded with the gems to let them visit Sadie.

"…no, Steven, I told you once and I will tell you an infinite number of time… no!" The tallest gem was berating Steven with a stern, very momish voice. All three of the weird ladies stood around Steven, who was arguing on Lars behalf.

Lars felt a bead of sweat trickle down the side of his face, burning up with embarrassment and worry. This was NOT what he had in mind when he had tried to sneak into the Crystal Palace to find Sadie ON HIS OWN. But Steven couldn't get into the place where Sadie was held without the other gems help! And the other gems did not seem keen on letting Lars get what he wanted.

It was just… perfectly terrible, that's what it was. He glanced towards the door of the beach house, considering sneaking out into the night while the argument was still going on. He could feel hopeless about Sadie later on, when he had time to reflect on how badly his plan had failed.

thud. thud. thud.

Lars slowly became aware of this weird pounding that almost seemed like it was sounding from under his feet. He wouldn't be surprised if it was normal, but… straining his ears, he noticed that the gems had lowered their voices, and were whispering about something… had they noticed the sound too?

"Lars! Hurry! Get on the warp pad with us, we're going to Sadie!" Steven was calling to him in an urgent tone, running towards him.

The situation had changed dramatically.

The gems had sprung into action, racing for the big crystal pad in the far corner of the room, bodies tense with worry.

"Wait, what?" Lars stammered, as Steven grabbed his hand and started to drag him towards the waiting gems.

All three scary women started to protest loudly as they saw what Steven was doing, but Lars ignored them. He raced ahead of Steven, leaping into a searing bright flash just in time. He felt his body transform into pure light and shoot off into the horrifying unknown, where, hopefully, Sadie was waiting.