Chapter Two
Steven, Amethyst, and Belle were running towards the boardwalk barely making it to Beach Citywalk Fries just as Mr. Fryman was turning the open sign to closed at the walkthrough window.
"Hey Mr. Fryman give me the bits." Steven said placing his hands on the window counter.
"Steven we're closed." Mr. Fryman said showing him the closed sign.
"Awe, what." Steven whined. Amethyst slammed her hands on the counter, "Give him the bits! The bits, the bits, the bits," She chanted, Steven smiled and joined in, "The bits, the bits."
"Ok, ok take it easy on the counter, will ya."
"Yes!" Steven and Amethyst cheered high fiving each other. Belle nudged Steven with her shoulder raising a brow at him.
Steven froze at her look and smiled nervously at her. "Sorry Belle." He mumbled and blushed when she smiled at him. "Don't apologize to me Steven."
"Buzzkill." Amethyst muttered under her breath into Steven's ear. Belle frowned and stuck her tongue out at Amethyst. "Rude!" Gasped Amethyst playfully holding a hand to her gem.
Steven laughed at the two as they started making faces at one another. Sticking out their tongues, pulling on their eyelids, crossing their eyes, you name it.
"I can give you actual fries if you want." Mr. Fryman said to Steven placing a bunch of fry bits into a small bag.
"Just the bits please."
Belle couldn't help but smile at Steven's politeness and press into his side, as Mr. Fryman got his bits ready.
Steven took after the Gems and tended to pick up on the bad things too. If it wasn't for the way she was raised she could've been like that.
"Thanks." Steven said taking the bag of bits from Mr. Fryman's hand. "Bye, Mr. Fryman!" Belle waved as she walked off with the duo.
Belle walked beside Steven hands crossed behind her back as they made their way to the beach.
"Awe sunset my favorite time of day, the sun goes down and the second son gets bigger and bigger in the sky." Steven said, gazing at the sky peacefully.
"What?" Belle questioned her head snapping to the sky. A giant red ball that oddly looked like an eye began to grow closer and closer to beach city.
Amethyst choked on her bits laughing, "Yeah that big red second sun-" She gasped, "Oh, no what's that thing doing here?"
"What is it?" Steven asked.
Amethyst picked up Steven and Belle, causing Steven to drop his bits on the ground, "Ah, my bits!"
"I'll buy you some tomorrow, Steven!" Belle yelled as Amethyst took off towards the beach, "Garnet, Pearl!" Amethyst yelled as she caught sight of the two where the ocean shore once was.
Pearl was looking into a telescope at the red ball in the sky before looking at Amethyst with Garent beside her.
"We saw, some of us are trying to protect humanity. Where were you?"
Amethyst put Steven and Belle down as she answered Pearl, "Eating fry bits."
Pearl groaned, face palming herself. "Can I see?" Steven asked before running past Pearl to look into the telescope giddily, "Woah, Its a giant eyeball, awesome."
"Not awesome its a Red Eye." Pearl exclaimed waving her hand at the giant Red ball in the sky.
"Red EYE! Its going to infect us all!" Steven yelled in panic.
"Thats pink eye Steven." Garnet replied.
"Its going to crash into Beach City and crush us all, along with a bunch of oblivious people. We have to stop it." Pearl explained to Steven as he stopped panicing.
"What are we going to do?" Steven asked, glancing at Belle as she gazed worriedly at the Red Eye, hands clutching at her shirt.
"The only thing powerful enough to destroy it is a light cannon that use to belong to Rose Quartz." Garnet said.
"My mom?" Steven asked.
"If Rose was here it'd be so easy." Amethyst whined, throwing her head back.
"I know but she's not and the cannon is missing. We'd just have to find another solution." Pearl said, to Amethyst.
"If it belonged to my mom maybe my dad knows where it is." Steven said excitedly stars in his eyes. "He can help us save the day!" He placed his hands on his waist and nudged his shoulder against Belle's, "Huh, Aye."
"Greg is nice Steven, but I doubt Rose would entrust someone like him with such a powerful weapon." Pearl said carefully.
"Your dad is kind of a mess Steven." Amethyst said placing a hand on Steven's shoulder.
"Amethyst!" Pearl yelled.
"I'm just saying, even if she did leave it with him. He probably broke it or lost it or dropped it in the ocean by now."
"True." Garnet replied.
"No way, I'm sure he's probably just keeping it safe somewhere. I'll go ask him."
"We can handle this Steven." Garnet replied before turning to Amethyst, "Ready?" She grabbed Amethyst and jumping into the air, throwing her across the ocean, into the Red Eye, where Amethyst slammed into it and landed in the ocean.
"Uh, I'm going to go." Steven said, grabbing Belle's hand as she stared at the Gems both weirded out and worried.
"Ok, good luck." Pearl waved, staring at the Red Eye.
Steven banged on his dad's van, "Dad it's me. Dad are you in there? Wake up we have to save the world" He slammed his back into the back doors causing the van to shake yet Greg made no sign of hearing Steven.
He jumped onto the van, lifting Belle up with him, "Are you sure this is ok for us to do?" Belle asked Steven as they stood up. He started slamming his foot down onto it. "It's fine I promise, if we don't wake him up soon it could be to late. Now jump with me. "Belle grabbed his hand as they jumped in unison, "Dad!" They slammed onto the top of the van and fell on their butt do to the van shaking as they landed. The alarm to the van went off and the back doors shot open.
Greg jumped out holding a waffle iron as a weapon. "Who's out there? I got a waffle iron."
Greg is a plump middle-aged man with a dark-beige beard surrounding his mouth. He also has a tan line on his shoulders and feet (possibly from the shirt and pants he used before) and bushy taupe eyebrows. Greg's skin color is a peachy red color, with the tan line spots being a light apricot color, and dark brownhair with a large bald spot on the top of his head.
"Dad it's us."
He turned around to see Steven on top of his van with Belle sitting beside him. He blinked and used his key to shut off the alarm, "Steven, Belle?"
Steven jumped off, Belle following as he went to hug his dad.
"I almost waffled your face. What are you two doing up so late?" Greg asked, holding Steven in his arms.
"What do you mean the sun just went down an hour ago." Steven stated.
"Oh, huh, it was a slow day at the car wash. Any ways whats up? Just wanted to see your old man, pal around, learn some leasons about life?"
"No, we need the light canon that belonged to mom, to blow up that eyeball."
"Eyeball?"
"That." Steven pointed towards the Red Eye in the sky, only to see Amethyst flying towards it, slamming into it, and falling into the ocean.
"Wait is that a magical thing. The gems told me not to get invovled in all that magic stuff. It could be dangerous or interfere with what's left of my hair."
"But they need mom's canon. You got to know where it is. Like a cave dungeon or a cloud fortress or a clam at the bottom of the ocean."
"A clam?" Belle mumbled.
"Well I don't know about all that, but I have an idea where it might be."
"A magical storage unit!" Steven yelled running towards the storage unit with Belle's hand in his.
"Huh not exactly, but some might say there might be some magic inside." Greg winked.
Steven blinked at Greg as he went to open the storage door. Belle smiling into her hand at the duo.
"It's just a shed I use to keep things that don't fit in the van. If it's anywhere it'll be in here."
Steven walked up to the boxes stacked up in the unit and pushed on some with his free hand, some falling creating a small gap big enough for him to fit.
"If I'm going in there, I'm gonna need some gear." Steven stated determination clear in his voice.
Releasing Belle's hand he picked up a flashlight and sock off the ground and used the sock to tie the flashlight to the top of his head. Greg grabbed an extension cord from the back of his van and tied it around Steven's waist. "When you find it, tie this around it so I can pull it out with the van."
"Ok dad." Steven turned to Belle, "Belle you coming?" Steven asked kneeling infront of the hole. Belle blushed and shook her head tugging at the end of her shirt. "No, thanks. You go ahead." He shrugged and crawled in turning on the flashlight as he went.
"Good luck Steven." Greg and Belle called.
Not to long after he went in a large thump was heard before Steven spoke, "Do you golf?" Greg poked his head into the small gap before answering Steven. "I like to think of myself as someone who would golf, eventually."
"Eventually?" Greg shrugged at Belle as he stood up from his kneeling postion. Belle and Greg could he Steven rummaging around in the mess of boxes and knick nacs mummbling to himself.
"You ok in there Steven!" Belle called out as she poked her head in the small gap. "I'm fine, still looking for the cannon though." Belle huffed, "Alright I'm going in." She told Greg before crawling in herself, "Be careful."
Belle made her way through the mess even squeezing herself between matresses to make her way to Steven. She noticed a lot of cat themed knick nacs, even a painted picture of Amethyst as a cat.
"Why would he have that in here?"
She made her way to Steven as she found him messing with what looked like a T-shirt cannon.
"Boo." Steven screamed and accidently set off the t-shirt cannon and knocking over a cat statue. "Belle!" He yelled when seeing her. "Why! Why would you do that." Belle laughed and giggled to herself, face red as she clutched at her stomach. "I'm sorry! I didn't know you would freak out so bad!"
"Whatever, just help me look for the cannon." He grumbled before turning away grumpily taking notice of a box filled with CD's.
"Hey there's a bunch of copies of your old CD." He yelled for his dad to hear.
"Huh, oh man." Greg said, "I couldn't give those things away. You know before I ran the car wash, when I was a one man band I traveled the whole country."
Steven inspected the box of CD's stashing one in his pocket, "I know dad." Before walking away to resume searching for the light cannon Belle following behind.
"When I came to play a concert here in Beach City, no one showed up except-"
"An alligator!" Steven replied jokingly.
"No it was your mother!"
Steven laughed, "I know!"
"We were always together after that, until she gave up her physical form to bring you into the world. I don't know what a magical lady like her ever saw in a plain old dope like me."
Steven gasped at the sound of a crack from beneath his knees, "Uh dad, I broke a photo." He took a good look at the photo seeing his dad with a hot dog in his mouth with a pink lady with giant curly hair next him. Greg and Rose.
"Is that Greg and your mom?" Belle asked gently picking up the picture, "Yeah." He whispered.
"It's ok buddy, if every porkchop were perfect we wouldn't have hot dogs."
A soft pink glow filled the small space at the back of the storage unit where Steven was catching his attention.
"The light canon!"
"Oh boy, that thing is giving me the willies." Greg said referring to the Eyeball.
"Dad we found it!" Steven yelled, untying the extension cord from around his waist to the cannon.
"Really?" Greg replied.
"Get the van!" Greg tied the other end to the vans tail end and started the van. The tires of the van screeched at the weight of the cannon as it dragged all of Greg's stuff out of the storage unit with it.
"This thing can save the City, we have to get it to the beach!"
"How, it's to big for the van." Greg replied.
A little red wagon rolled to their feet giving them an idea. "The cannon is to big for the wagon too. How would this even work?" Belle said, as Greg and Steven shrugged. They picked up the cannon shakily and placed it in the wagon causing its wheels to break. They tied the extension cord from the cannon to the wagon. As they drove the van was dragging the wagon behind.
"Is it going to be ok?" Steven asked glancing at the back of the van towards the cannon. Belle staring back as well watching the cannon get dragged behind the van.
Greg shrugged, "If every porkchop were perfect-"
Steven cut in, "We wouldn't have hot dogs."
The Red Eye was getting closer and closer to Beach City, sort of magnetic pull was causing nearly everything that was held down to start flying towards the Red Eye. Even the oceans was being pulled towards the Red Eye.
"That things getting huge its freaking me out." Greg said eyeing the Red Eye. "Can't the van go any faster?" Greg stepped on the pedal at Steven's words trying to help, but it did nothing, "This is faster."
"Don't worry, come on lets put on your CD." Steven held up a CD, 'Mr. Universe Let me drive my van into your heart' to lesson the tense mood. "Uh, really. Come on you heard it."
"You come on!" Steven smiled and started dancing in his seating, Greg and Belle smiling softly in response.
'I know I'm not that tall
I know im not that smart
But let me drive my van into your heart
But let me drive my van into your heart
Let me drive my van into your heart
I know I'm not that rich
I'm tryna get my start
So let me drive my van into your heart
So let me drive my van into your heart
And if we look outta place
Well baby that's ok
I'll drive us into outter space'
Greg parked in the sand near the Gems catching their attention.
"Throw me again I think I'm cracking it!" Amethyst turned around noticing Pearls and Garnets faces. "Is that?"
"Hey guys." Steven yelled.
"He really had it." Pearl gasped
"We're saved!" The Gems took off towards Greg's van where the light cannon sat tied to the van.
Suddenly a gravitational pull began to pull everything towards the eyeball. Even Mr. Frymans fry sign broke because of the pull towards the Red Eye.
"We have to use it now!" Garnet said turning to Pearl, "I don't know how it worked, it was Roses."
"Dad how do we use it." Steven asked Greg. He only shrugged in respones.
"We have to hurry, its getting closer abd destroying the boardwalk!" Belle cried.
Pearl grabbed Steven, "Steven this is serious." She gasped in realization, "The gem, you have Rose's gem."
"That's it!" Amethyst picked up Steven from Pearls hands and rubbed him up against the canon trying to activate it. "Ugh, come on."
"Stop that." Garnet said.
Amethust let go leaving Steven on the canon.
"Its no use." Pearl cried.
"Fine forget it throw me again." Amethyst yelled, jumping into Garnets arms.
"That's not going to work." Garnet replied.
The van bagan to slide with the cannon still attached. "I got this." Greg untied the cord from the van, but the van kept going, "Woah wait no. Maybe I don't."
Steven pounded his fist on the cannon. "Please work, unlock, activate, go please. Everyone is counting on you, you can't just be useless. I know you can help." He talked to the cannon. "Steven!" Belle called worried.
"Its ok Steven, we'll figure out something else. Something even better!" Greg said to help Steven.
"Right, if every porkchop were perfect we wouldn't have hot dogs." Steven spoke softly. The cannon began to glow dropping Steven as it opened up like a blooming rose.
"Its working." Pearl spoke softly in awe.
The cannon fell over, Steven went under it and picked it up struggling before the others came to help. "Steven!"
"This is it." Amethyst said, standing on the other side of Steven holding up the cannon.
"Brace yourselves!" Garnet yelled.
That cannon shot a beam of light that formed into a rose, before it turned into a Rose Quartz herself surrounded by roses. Everyone stood in awe of the light as it struck the Eyeball.
It exploded and the floating stopped, but pieces of the Eyeball flew all over the boardwalk and beach creating a lot of damage.
"Steven you just saved most of Beach City!" Amethyst cheered.
"Sorry about that!" Steven yelled, to the small figure of Mr. Fryman.
"What!?" Mr. Fryman yelled back.
"How did you get it to work?" Pearl asked.
"I just said that thing that dad always says."
"That thing about porkrines?"
Garnet placed a hand on Pearls shoulder, "Hot dogs."
Greg was in tears an wiped them away, "Rose."
The water came back crashing into our legs and suddenly Greg's van began to float away, again.
"My van!" Greg yelled.
"Its ok dad if every porkchop were perfect-"
"I live in there!" Greg took off after the van Steven following. "Wait up!"
"Ah geez!" Greg and Steven waddle in the water towards Greg's van trying to catch it before it floats further away.
Belle sighed staring at the water surrounding her. "It's ok now." She spoke to herself, tears falling into the water. A hand fell on her shoulder catching her attention, "Are you alright?" Garnet asked.
Belle nodded and smiled through her tears, "Just shaken up is all. That was scary." Garnet nodded and patted her head. "Its ok to be scared, Belle."
"I know." Belle looked out at the ocean watching as Steven and Greg tried to push the van towards the shore. "We should probably help them." Belle said.
"Yeah, your right."
Belle was walking towards the bathroom to get changed out of her wet clothes. "Alright you two, its late. You should hurry up and head to bed." Pearl spoke.
"Awe, man. I'm not even tired" Steven replied walking up the stairs. "Come on Steven, we all had a long day. It's time for bed."
Steven walked into the bathroom as Belle walked out. Belle plopped on the couch after getting out her blanket and snuggling into it.
Steven walked out and settled into bed, yawning. "Alright you two, Garnet, Amethyst, and I are going to pick up the pieces of the Red Eye and discard of them. Who knows what would happen if that thing gets pieced together and activated again."
"Ok, night Pearl" Belle said, yawning into her arm.
"Night Pearl!" Steven said.
"Night you two." Pearl walked out the house to help the others.
"Steven." Belle called softly.
"Yeah."
"You know your not useless right?" Belle said, turning to face the direction of Steven bed. "I know."
"You're not useless or a burden. You don't get in the way and you always find a way to make everyone happy. Steven you're more than what you think you are. At least I think so and I know the Gems and Greg think so too. We love you."
Belle could here sniffling from Steven's direction. "Th-thanks Belle. I love you too." She smiled and snuggled into her blanket. "You're the best Steven Universe."