"Alright miss, welcome to my humble abode! It isn't much, but it's home, yeah?"

As she stepped inside, Lapis was impressed by just how colorful and welcoming Rolo's apartment was, despite it being contained in one of Dizmol's many heavily rusted buildings. It was a simple home broken up into three rooms: a kitchen/living area, a door that seemed to lead into a bedroom, and another that led into a small bathroom. And the kitchen/living room in particular had quite the vivid color scheme: red walls, a yellow ceiling, and a floor with every color of the rainbow painted into stripes. The furniture meanwhile also ran the entire spectrum of colors in ways that managed not to clash, such as the green kitchen table with purple chairs, the blobby cyan sofa and similarly soft chairs seated in front of a wall-mounted screen surrounded by a yellow home entertainment system, orange houseplants that bore an uncanny resemblance to coral, and then you had the wall-mounted seashells and paintings showing off even more vivid colors and hues. Even though Krapton was bathed in neon light, it didn't quite hide the planet's dreary atmosphere which still made Rolo's home feel like a nice change of pace in Dizmol's scenery.

"It's a real nice home, Rolo. Very colorful." Lapis said, causing the smile on the seadweller's face to widen. "Did you do this yourself?"

"That I did, miss! Far as I'm concerned, you're not living unless you've got some color in your life!" he cheerfully responded. "Also does wonders for my homesickness."

Lapis shifted her eyes up to a painting over the entertainment system, and noticed that it displayed other members of Rolo's species playing and having a good time near a dazzling coral reef, in the indigo-colored depths of a faraway planet's ocean floor. You had anemone people eating, drinking, making sculptures out of dark sand livened up by colorful seashells, dancing, and in the case of one pair, kissing passionately near a vivid crimson portion of the reef. All in all, a vibrant, exciting piece that portrayed a place that was practically the polar opposite of Dizmol, which really made Lapis wonder why a guy like Rolo would want to come to a planet that was so soul-suckingly miserable. But Lapis didn't want Rolo to intrude on her personal life in turn, so she decided not to pursue that line of questioning.

"So... where am I gonna sleep?" Lapis asked, to which Rolo replied with a chuckle.

"I dunno: where DO you want to sleep?" he fired back before showing off the house with a grand sweeping gesture, "The couch? The bed? The rollup mat I've got under the sink? Hurley's not here yet and since you're a guest of honor, you get the first pick!"

"Oh!" Lapis exclaimed, turning towards the bedroom, "Well then, I guess I'll take the bed. I mean, that's where you're supposed to sleep, right?"

"Ha ha! I believe so, miss!" Rolo chuckled as he led Lapis to the bedroom. And when Lapis entered, she was met with a color scheme that was far calmer than the loud living room/kitchen. There was still a wide spectrum of colors, but it seemed to veer towards cooler colors such as indigo, wisteria, and seafoam green with some white trimming here and there. As for the bed itself, it was a soft white slab that seemed to protrude from the wall, with three comfy cream-colored pillows at the head. Quite simplistic, and yet very comfy.

"Ah well, you made the right choice, I'd say! I guess that leaves Hurley with the couch since he's the second guest of honor, and me with the mat! Eh, not one of my cozier nights, but I'll manage." Rolo said with a shrug. "Anyway, from the sound of things you've got a busy day ahead of you, so why don't you get yourself tucked in for the night? If you need anything, just gimme a holler, okay?"

"Okay, thank you Rolo!"

"Oh, no problem! Hope you have a good night's sleep!"

And so Rolo left the room and the automatic doors slid shut behind him, leaving Lapis alone with her thoughts and a rather comfy looking bed.

"Well... I've never been asleep before." Lapis noted, only to instantly correct herself. "No, wait. I think I technically did back at the restaurant... how did that even happen, anyway? Am I really that exhausted?"

Lapis suddenly yawned, answering her own question.

"I guess I am then. From what I've seen on teevee, I suppose all you really have to do is just... lay down and close your eyes, right?

Lapis flopped onto the bed and simply laid flat on her back while she shut her eyes. The mattress was decently soft and welcoming, as was the pillow... and yet she was still wide awake.

'Huh. Am I doing this wrong?'

Lapis suddenly had an epiphany as her mind wandered back to Earth, and when she looked back at all the televisions shows and movies where people slept, they were usually covered by a blanket or a sheet of some kind...

'Oh! Well I'm stupid!'

Lapis sat up and pulled the blanket out from under her before placing it over herself. She felt noticeably warmer, and her mind began to grow fuzzier while she found herself slowly becoming less aware of her surroundings.

'Heh, alright! NOW I'm on the right track...'

Lapis yawned again, and smiled groggily as her mind trailed off. She lazily rolled onto her side without really thinking, and the process was complete: she was out like a light, and slowly recharging her figurative batteries for the next day...

"Avocado, no! AVOCADO!"

Broadcasted on the lighthouse's small TV, a cartoon blueberry ran towards a spaceship that was about to take off. Her eyes were gushing out literal streams of tears as she ran, a sentiment Steven shared as his own eyes watered up. Lapis however remained neutral, if a bit disturbed.

"Don't go, please! DON'T LEAAAAAVE MEEEEEEEE!"

She reached the top of the hill just in time for the ship to blast off into the great beyond. Her squiggly mouth quivered, and she whimpered like a sad puppy as she stared into the sky.

"Oh no, he's gone! He's gone forever and he's never coming back!" Blueberry lamented with a sniffle, "And it's all my fault! A-And now I'm never gonna be able to apologize to him!"

Blueberry's crying grew so intense that she fell flat on her back as enormous geysers of tears blasted from her eyes. She kicked her legs like crazy and spun around on the ground, her howls of grief echoing through the countryside as slowly but surely, her tears began to flood the planet itself. The TV then panned out from the Earth, leaving Steven and Lapis with a message of "THE END?" while Blueberry's sobs rang out through space. And while the announcer told kids to stay tuned for more Crying Breakfast Friends, fat tears rolled down Steven's cheeks as he turned to Lapis with puppy-dog eyes.

"W-Well, did you like it?"

"No." Lapis stated flatly.

"Aw... i-it was too sad, wasn't it?" Steven sniffled as he dried his eyes.

"It was just dumb. And weird." Lapis retorted. "Eleven minutes of the round guy being rude to the green guy and crying about it? I don't get it!"

"Well, that's what Crying Breakfast Friends is about: working through sadness and not being afraid to show your emotions! This is just another problem that a Breakfast Friend has to work through!"

Well it sure worked out for her, didn't it? The green guy's gone forever, and she'll never be able to apologize to him!"

"Come on, Lapis! This episode is the first half of a two-parter! Alien Avocado and Bawling Blueberry are gonna reunite and make up, trust me!"

To his credit, Steven did as good of a job as he could manage explaining this "Crying Breakfast Friends" show to Lapis, but she just couldn't wrap her head around it. There was just so much crying! She could understand crying about alienating a friend maybe, but crying because it was a little too warm? Crying because someone's pretzel was too salty? Crying because a tricycle went through some mud? Would it kill them to cut back the waterworks by at least a little bit?

"I don't get it." Lapis repeated, only to ease back into her side of the couch. "But I think I'll stick around for another episode. After this though, we're getting FAR away from the Teevee."

"Aw, thanks Lapis!" Steven cheered as he stood up. "Anyway, Ronaldo usually leaves snacks around here when he visits. I'm gonna grab us some real quick!"

"Okay! See you in a bit!"

Steven ran off, leaving Lapis alone with the TV as the commercials ran. She may not have been familiar with "Lightningdogs Howl", but her mouth was already crinkling in disgust as the bloblike, balloon animal-looking protagonist ran around and bellowed at the top of his lungs like a child. But before she had to endure it for too long, she was saved by a knock at the door.

'Oh! Steven said that his dad would stop by. I should probably let him in...'

Much to Lapis' surprise, when she got close to the lighthouse door her feet hit the ground with a splash. She looked down, and noticed that water was slowly trickling in from under the door, water that looked... oddly green. A familiar shade of green that made the Gem shiver on reflex.

"What the-"

She was cut off by a series of knocks on the door, this time far louder, harsher, and with enough power to make the door slightly bulge forward. The pounding continued, growing more frantic and violent, causing the door to splinter... until it was blasted off it's hinges by an enormous jet of icy water. And in the blink of an eye, the lighthouse was flooded from floor to ceiling, causing Lapis to freeze up and give a choked gasp as she succumbed to cold-induced shock. And that, in turn, made it impossible for her to resist as she was violently sucked out of the lighthouse and banished into an enormous sea of eerie green water. She floated farther and farther away from the lighthouse, which disappeared into the depths of the sea in a little under a minute.

"STEVEN, NO!"

Having regained control of her body, Lapis put all of her strength into swimming after the lighthouse as fast as she could. But as she swam her head pounded, nausea surged through the pit of her stomach, and the world itself seemed to spin madly around her. The water was dark and foggy to the point of being impossible to discern just what direction she was going in, making this hellish ocean feel as if it was closing in on Lapis and smothering her to death. She wanted nothing more than to unleash the primal scream building up in her chest... and she did, when an enormous hand reached out from the depths and caught her in it's iron grip. Screaming as it's clawlike nails dug into her skin, Lapis was pulled back towards the creature the hand belonged to. An enormous creature that dwarfed the lighthouse in size, a titan with green striped skin and wild hair, whose four horrible eyes gazed right into her soul as her mouth contorted into an unnervingly wide, feral grin.

"FOUND YOU."

Lapis woke up panting and sweating as she laid in bed, disoriented and scared out of her mind. She found herself practically smothered by the blanket which had somehow wrapped itself around her head, but didn't dare remove it. What if she was still underwater? What if... she was still there?! But as Lapis continued laying down, she heard the calming sounds of rainfall and the occasional hovercar speeding by, and once she noticed that she wasn't submerged in water, she found the courage to sit up in bed. She removed the blanket and gave a sigh of relief as she found herself back in Rolo's bedroom.

"Oh thank god! Thank god..."

Lapis allowed her panicky breathing to settle down, and sat on the edge of her bed. She stared down at her feet and... were those tears she felt on her cheeks?

'No, that was a dream. J-Just a stupid dream, it wouldn't make me...'

Lapis wiped her cheeks and massaged her aching temples, humiliated and desperate to think of something else. But that nightmare was nearly impossible to get out of her mind. Her body locking up? The crushing pressure of the cold water? The way that... thing towered over her, leering down at her with murderous eyes that were partially her own? It felt way too real, and the way it interrupted a happy, silly memory made it all the more upsetting.

'Even out here, I can't get away from Malachite...'

Lapis grabbed a pillow and slammed it to the ground in frustration.

'Ugh. Why am I letting her get to me like this? Malachite was Jasper's fault, NOT mine!'

Indeed: Jasper was to blame for Malachite's creation. That brutish, sadistic thug of a soldier had her cornered and if Lapis said no, who knew what Jasper would have done to her? She had to fuse. It was her only option.

'Even though there was plenty of water nearby to weaponize?'

'Even if Steven and his friends could have helped you?'

'Even though YOU seized control of the fusion and could have ended it at any t-'

"NO." Lapis growled to herself, "It was Jasper's fault. End of discussion."

But that doubt nagged Lapis in the back of her head all the same, causing her to kick the fallen pillow in frustration.

'God, I'm getting something to eat. Or drink. Whatever will get my mind off this, I guess...'

And so, Lapis left the bedroom in a huff. And when she walked into the living room, she walked past Rolo and a freshly-dressed Hurley sitting on the couch captivated by a TV program (or this galaxy's equivalent). Initially confused, Lapis looked out the window and saw that the skies were a lighter shade of grey than yesterday. Seems like daytime had arrived.

"Oh, hey guys. Everything g-"

"A foul?! SERIOUSLY?!" Rolo screamed, causing Lapis to flinch and stumble back as he leaped out of his chair and violently shook his fists at the screen while brilliant electric currents lit up his body and caused him to crackle with latent power, "Nothing about that move was illegal, you swine!"

While Rolo's eyes bulged out his head and his tentacles undulated in frustration, Hurley gave a jovial laugh that drowned out the foul oaths muttered through gritted teeth.

"Rolo, your guy piledrove my guy onto an electric pylon. Don't you think that was just a teensy bit on the excessive side?"

"Excessive? When your guys are constantly sucker punching and body slamming everyone around them?!"

"Those are legal moves. Piledriving people into deadly hazards, not so much."

"Hypocrite! Two-faced swine! I wish a pox upon every member of your team-" Rolo's insane tirade stopped when he turned and saw Lapis staring at him in mild horror.

"Ah, you're awake! Sorry for the ruckus, it's just hard not to get worked up over the Galactic Cup, you know?"

Lapis turned to the screen and watched heavily armored members of Rolo's species glide around on hover boots, sliding against walls and flying off ramps on a large playing field as they tossed a large golden ball from player to player, violently clashing with an opposing team of members of Hurley's species. One of the anemone men grabbed a Queasian by the nose, and pumped a vicious surge of electricity into it causing him to fall over and scream in agony. While he curled up into a fetal position and massaged his nose, a siren blared and the camera panned to a referee in yellow robes shaking his head and gesturing angrily.

"FOUL!"

Rolo yanked on his head-tentacles and took angry deep breaths while the player spiked the ball to the ground in frustration. He looked like he was about to explode before he closed his eyes, took a big controlled breath, and calmed down.

"You're really taking this personally, aren't you?" Lapis asked.

"Well of course I am! Do you have any idea how long it's been since Bellamaré's made it to the Galactic Cup?!" Before Lapis could answer, Rolo interrupted with aggressive zeal. "Too long, mon! And after everything's that's been happening back home, we need some kind of silver lining..."

"I suppose so." Lapis answered with a shrug. "Anyway, it seems like you guys had a good night's sleep."

"Indeed we did, Blue!" Hurley responded, taking a sip from a can of Tentacle Brew, "I take it you slept well too?"

Lapis' response was a blunt "No," wiping the smile right off Hurley's face.

"Aw, really? Well what happened? Did you have a hard time falling asleep? Or did you have a nightmare, or-"

"Hurley. Stop." Lapis huffed, and the old Queasian gasped as he remembered his promise from the day prior.

"Oh, riiiiight! No poking my nose in your business, got it!" Hurley promised, saluting enthusiastically. "Sorry about that!"

"Eh, it's okay."

Lapis walked off and grabbed a handful of purple berries from a basket seated on the kitchen table. She popped them into her mouth, and as she enjoyed their rich, tart flavor and extreme juiciness, she peered out the kitchen window and watched the gentle rainfall in brief silence.

"So... are we gonna go out and continue job hunting soon?"

"In an hour, yeah! It isn't until around the seventh when most businesses start opening and the like. So until then, feel free to have a seat and watch the game with us!"

Since she didn't have anything better to do, Lapis took her seat between Rolo and Hurley on the couch. She was a bit caught off guard by the way her body slightly sank into the soft squishy fabric, but giggled once she settled in. And for a little bit, she, Hurley, and Rolo continued watching this... "Brute Ball" game, as the commentators called it. And when Rolo's team finally caught a break and scored, the anemone man practically jumped through the roof as he leaped into the air and waved a tiny ornate flag around.

"BOOYAH! Never count out Bellamaré! NEVER!"

His fit of maniacal laughter was met with with an angry thump from the tenants above the ceiling, and Lapis couldn't help but smile at his sheer enthusiasm.

"Proud of your home, I take it?"

"That I am, miss!" Rolo replied as his tendril hair undulated cheerfully, "The planet herself is beautiful! The cities are clean, the people are wonderful, and our Brute Ball players... heh! They make all other teams look like clumsy siren calves! I really do miss her..."

Rolo turned towards the painting depicting a scene from Bellamaré, and his tendrils drooped.

"Then go back." Lapis replied bluntly, "Dizmol sucks, why would you even live in a city like this to begin with?!"

Rolo hissed while his tendrils went wild, and Lapis cried out as sparks flew from them and neon patterns on his skin sparked up from out of nowhere. So caught off guard by how the flamboyantly cheerful fellow completely blew his top, Lapis accidentally flopped off the couch. She landed on her head, and her little "Agh!" snapped an ashamed Rolo out of his funk while Hurley looked on in concerned silence.

"Oh my! I-I truly apologize, miss! I didn't mean to snap, it's just... it's a sensitive subject..."

"No kidding," Lapis shot back, getting back on the couch while massaging the back of her head. "And that just proves my point: if you love your home so much, why don't you just go back?"

Rolo and Hurley exchanged knowing glances before Rolo explained himself.

"Pardon if I sound rude, miss. But you're an outsider, and you only just arrived in this galaxy yesterday, yeah?" Rolo asked, only to continue before Lapis could answer. "Well, if you decided to fill that pretty head of yours with news-"

"Hey!" Lapis huffed as Rolo tapped her on the forehead with a finger.

"-you would know that all is not well on the homefront! Very much not well, mon! Bellamaré may be a beautiful planet, but that beauty's been fading fast as of late! For the past few years these horrifying monsters straight outta my worst nightmares have been cropping up and laying waste to our cities and infrastructure! We've been forced onto the land while the king and the Prism Patrol try to work out a solution but... well? They've been at it for three years, and all they've got to show for it is-" Rolo blew a raspberry while simultaneously making a thumbs-down gesture.

"And all the while, our useless king has been letting energy companies set up refineries that are draining the very LIFE out of our reefs, mon! All in all, it's been hard to handle, so I decided to fly out elsewhere to escape from all this. And unfortunately, the planet with the cheapest real estate just so happened to be Dizmol. And as it turns out, she's got a nasty, NASTY hidden tax in the form of "Kazkani Protection". So here I am, squatting out in this miserable ashpit of a planet, trying to make my home as bright and happy as it can be while these miserly goblins bleed me of everything I have!"

Rolo clapped his hands together before slumping back into his couch, sighing deeply. "You'd think that bloated, gluttonous swine of a king would at least try to look after his old head chef..." he glanced at Hurley's generous waistline before clearing his throat. "No offense to you, mon."

"None taken!"

Lapis and Hurley chuckled together, but the former's laughter was a lot more scornful. "I know what that's like."

"Yeah?"

"My home planet's changed a lot too. And much like yours, it's been for the worst. That's what bought me out here in the first place, actually. Aaaaand what got me in debt, too."

"And does it have anything to do with the incompetence of your planet's ruler?" Rolo asked.

"Nope, just malice."

"HELP! SOMEBODY HELP ME!"

Lapis, Rolo, and Hurley all flinched, and the rapport established between both refugees was derailed by someone screaming bloody murder from the outside.

"HELP ME! HELP!"

"What the-"

"That sounds like a kid!"

His body surging with electricity once more, Rolo leaped off the couch and made a mad dash for the balcony. Lapis and Hurley followed suit, and once the trio stepped out onto the rusty, rickety overlook they were met with the sight of a small mole-like creature dressed in rags running for his life from a pair of horrific black creatures that were snarling and roaring as they snapped at him with their enormous jaws. And hot on the monsters trail were a sizable group of Kazkanis led by a particularly large, muscular, yet slightly fat Hopkoblin woman with droopy jowls reminiscent of a bulldog. While her followers hooted and hollered as they chased the tiny mole, the heavily jowled leader removed a remote control device from her suit pocket and pressed a button, causing the boy to howl in pain as he was knocked to the ground by a surge of electricity. One of the beasts pounced and pinned the boy down with a horrific snarl that made Lapis' hair stand on edge.

"Atta boy, Scarface!" the heavily jowled woman praised as she approached the beast and gave his belly a hearty smack. "Now drag him over to that alleyway, hop to it! And you, Warts!"

"Yes, ma?"

"Ring up Val, and let him know that we found the kid!"

"Gotcha!"

While the froggy little Hopkoblin whipped out a triangular communication device, the creature called Scarface grunted in affirmation before dragging the boy off screaming to an alley that wrapped around the apartment complex. As the Kazkanis followed their victim into the alley, Hurley looked on in silent horror as Rolo muttered to himself under his breath.

"No no no... that poor kid..."

Lapis thought back earlier that night and gasped when she realized who that boy was.

"That's Tadd, right? The kid that Val guy talked about in your restaurant?"

"Yep." Rolo replied shakily, "And from the look of things, he's in for a world of hurt..."

His head tendrils pulsated violently and his whip-like fingers turned pale as they forcefully coiled around the railing. His breathing was labored, and he stared down towards the ground as he mumbled out another weak series of "No"s. Lapis however pursed her lips and breathed forcefully through her nose.

'Great. Just great. Not like I needed that reward money...'

She shook her head in annoyance and stepped back through the door, only to stop halfway when Hurley suddenly leaped off the balcony.

"What the- HURLEY!"

Lapis dove after the Queasian in a panic, spreading her wings in the process. But she had nothing to worry about because despite hitting the ground with enough force to crack the pavement, he stuck the thirty foot landing like it was nothing and took off towards the alley after staggering back to his feet. He came to a stop right at the entrance, only for the now-earthbound Lapis to pull him away.

"Hurley are you crazy?! What the h-"

Rolo caught up with them and wrapped a tentacle around Lapis' mouth, shushing her as he looked into the alleyway. Lapis growled angrily, but fell silent when her anger gave way to curiosity. She and Hurley peeked around the corner, and were greeted with the sight of Tadd pressed against the wall as the jowled Hopkoblin towered imposingly over him. Meanwhile, her cronies and pets alike crowded around them and eagerly watched the debacle unfold.

"Miss Jowls, please! I didn't-"

He was silenced by another jolt of electricity, followed by Jowls pressing down on him with a boot-clad foot.

"You are in big trouble, you little rat!" she growled, sending flecks of spittle flying in every direction with each syllable, "Disobeying a direct order from Val and running away on top of that?! Just who do you think you are?!"

"I... I'm sorry!" Tadd squeaked, before crying out as Jowls dug her boot into his chest. Electricty crackled through Rolo's body as he bared his fangs, and even Lapis felt uneasy from watching this horrible scene play out. She took a step back as Jowls flew into a roaring tirade.

"Who welcomed your sorry hide into their home? Who kept you fed and clothed?!"

"Y-You guys..." Tadd whimpered.

"And yet you have the audacity to spit in our faces!" Jowls roared as she was met with approving chatter from her entourage, "All you had to do was keep your head down and stick to your chores! Was that really too much to ask?!"

"N-No..."

"And yet you ran off anyway, making us all look like a bunch of morons while we spent all night looking for you!"

"I didn't mean to make you guys look bad-"

"Well, you did. And in our line of work, we can't afford to even sort of look weak! The Kazkani family's spent four generations establishing ourselves as the toughest, roughest mob family in Krapton, and if we can't even find one escaped slave it reflects badly on us all!"

The other Kazkanis nodded in unison.

"Heh. Beatings, canings, non-stop workloads... oh ho, those are nothing compared to the punishment I've got in store for you!" Jowls growled as she leaned closer to Tadd, "You're in a world of hurt for humiliating us!"

"Those scumbags!" Rolo hissed as he balled his hands into fists. "We... We have to do something!"

"No we don't!" Lapis hissed as she dragged him away, "These guys practically run the town! Do you really think it's a good idea to pick a fight with them?!"

Rolo growled in frustration as his body's bioluminescence powered down. Furious as he was, he didn't seem to disagree with Lapis' warning.

"I know, but... I can't just sit here and let them hurt him like this!"

"I missed the part where that's my problem!" Lapis hissed callously, "Now come on, we NEED to go!"

"No."

Hurley silenced Lapis' protests with an uncharacteristically harsh tone of voice. Gem and anemone-man alike were utterly shocked, and when they got a good look at Hurley that shock multiplied tenfold. The genial old Queasian's enormous meaty hands were clenched into trembling fists, his eyebrows were furrowed, and his face. Good lord, his face. If looks would kill, Lapis was certain that she'd shatter if he so much as sort of looked her dead in the eye. He took a step towards the Kazkanis and Lapis gasped in shock.

"Hurley, what... what are you doing?!"

Lapis' question was met with silence as Hurley stomped past her and made his way into the alley. Lapis' stomach dropped, and this time she joined in with Rolo when he uttered another little "No."

"Hurley, STOP!" Lapis hissed as Hurley stepped closer and closer towards the Kazkanis, "Everything about this is a bad idea!"

But Lapis' words were tuned out: the only sounds that registered to Hurley were Tadd's cries of pain as well as Jowls Kazkani's booming voice. And as the cruel mobster tore into her helpless slave, Hurley continued his approach with one thought in mind.

He was going to finish what he started in that restaurant.

Since she was closest to the alley's opening, the metal-jawed Hopkoblin from the diner was the first to notice Hurley's approach. She turned to face him and drew a large electric prod hanging from her waist. "HEY! Take one more step and-"

Lapis and Rolo gasped as the hulking brute was knocked out with a single uppercut from Hurley, a punch so powerful it dented and unhinged her jaw with a crunch as she hit the ground with a solid thud. She was out like a light, which certainly got the attention of all the Kazkanis present as they turned around and gasped in horror.

"HEY! IT'S THAT FAT G-"

The tiny mobster called Warts was silenced with another bone-splintering punch, as was another who was in the middle of drawing his plasma pistol. Completely caught off guard by the speed and ferocity that which Hurley was tearing through her lackeys with, Jowls stumbled away in a panic.

"What the hell?!"

After swatting away two mobsters with enough power to slam them against the alley's brick walls, Hurley trained his gaze on Jowls. He lunged towards her, and the frightened woman pressed her boot right on Tadd's throat.

"You hit me and I'll kill-"

Lapis could have sworn that in a literal blink of an eye, Hurley had Jowls in his grasp before twisting her arm with a sickening crunch. She howled in agony as he lifted her into the air, causing the remote to clatter to the ground before he slammed her head-first into the ground. Despite the ridiculous amount of punishment she had been put through however, Jowls remained conscious as she sat up and scooted away while gingerly cradling her wounded arm.

"GET HIM, ALREADY!" she bawled as she continued scooting away, "GOD, I-I THINK HE BROKE MY STUPID ARM!"

And just like that, the already hectic brawl descended into full-on chaos as several gangsters whipped out their guns and started blasting. Neon green plasma bolts rang out through the air, causing Rolo and Lapis to yelp as they ducked for cover and watched the fight go down from the relative safety of the ground. But despite the gunfire Hurley remained cool under pressure as he continued laying out Kazkanis: he sent one flying by merely body checking him, tossed another into his sister, and yanked the plasma rifle one was firing away before breaking it over her head. And all the while, Rolo was whooping and cheering wildly while Lapis watched in awe.

"WHOO! GET 'EM, HURLEY! GET 'EM!"

This was by all means stupid and suicidal, yet Lapis was impressed as she watched Hurley utterly lay waste to this gaggle of thugs. Not once did she think this loveable fat dope could move or fight in such a manner, yet here he was: grappling with one of Jowls' monsters before tossing it at at the other when it tried to maul him. The creatures yelped before ferociously snarling as they now turned their attention to fighting each other. And since they weren't paying attention to him, the exhausted and battered Tadd slowly got up from the ground, saw Jowls blubbering like a baby... and laughed maliciously as he ran over and dug his claws right into her broken arm. It was hard to hear over the resulting shriek of agony, but Lapis was able to make out a defiant "THAT'S WHAT YOU GET!" before Tadd left the alleyway and zipped right past her and Rolo.

"GAIZ!" The Hopkoblin with the incomprehensible voice ineffectively bellowed while he pointed in the direction Tadd fled, "RETBOIZCAPING! RETBOIZCAPING!"

Hurley silenced his unintelligible shouting with a waste container lid to the head. At this point the number of conscious mobsters could be counted on both hands, and two of the remaining thugs simply threw their weapons down and ran for it while an absolutely irate Jowls howled in fury.

"YOU IDIOT COWARDS! WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING?!"

The deserters disappeared around the corner, and Jowls growled through gritted teeth and tears.

"For crying out loud, he's making you all look stupid! Get your act together and just SHOOT HIM!"

"But Aunt Jowls," one of the remaining males shrieked, "Wh-What if I accidentally kill one of the guys?!"

"SWITCH YOUR SETTINGS TO STUN, DUMBASS!"

And so the nervous crook took time to fiddle with the settings on his gun... and was slammed into a garbage container while he was distracted. For a few seconds Hurley seemed like he was about to achieve the impossible and come out on top over the mob... until their numbers finally won out. A smarter henchwoman had stepped back and took a clean shot at Hurley. He was hit in the arm, and cried out in pain as he clutched it. And that was the opening they needed: one of the women grabbed him by the collar of his jumpsuit and viciously punched him in the face. One of the fallen men got back up on his feet and threw himself at Hurley, clinging to his back before sending a stun baton crashing over his head. Hurley cried out with each painful blow and staggered around, trying to fight him off before two other men grappled and beat on him. And now that he was overwhelmed, Jowls was able to drop him with a carefully aimed plasma bolt to the chest. Hurley moaned before lifelessly falling to the ground with a thud, and Lapis and Rolo gasped in horror as the still-conscious Kazkanis laughed and cheered at his demise.

"NICE SHOT, MA!"

The speaker squealed as his long ear was suddenly pinched and yanked by the scowling Jowls.

"Well SOMEONE had to pick up the slack for her idiot family!"

"Aw ma, I-"

"SHUT UP!"

Jowls threw her son to the ground just in time for a glitzy hovercar to pull up right behind Lapis and Rolo. They gasped in surprise as Val and an entourage of mobsters got out and approached the alleyway while several other hovercars arrived as well. Not wearing his shades this time, Lapis could see Val's bloody red eyes practically pop out of their sockets as he beheld the carnage left in Hurley's wake.

"Holy- what the hell happened here?!"

Clutching her bad arm and wincing in pain, Jowls held her head down in shame. "Right when we cornered the boy, that fat lump from the bar jumped in and attacked us. And... well, you know how it is with Queasians and their ridiculous strength..."

"Yeah, I know: he beat the tar outta nineteen guys before you dropped him. Man, the hospital bills are gonna be brutal..." Val looked around the alleyway and bared his fangs in frustration. "Aw no, don't tell me that the kid escaped too!"

"Sadly, yes..." Jowls grumbled while Val turned to Lapis and Rolo.

"Hey, YOU TWO! If you have any idea where the kid went, you better speak up!"

Before Rolo could muster up a shaky defense, Jowls growled as she gave Hurley's body a kick.

"Hey, forget about them! Turns out the old Queasian's still alive after everything we threw at him, look!"

Sure enough, Hurley's chest and gut were slowly heaving. Jowls twirled her plasma pistol with her good hand before pointing it down at his head. "Want me to finish the job?"

"Hmm... nah." Val said with a flourish of his hand. "Ever since we crossed paths, the old crackpot's been nothing but trouble. We put a bolt in his head, and he gets off easy! If he's gonna hurt my family and steal our private property, then he's gonna suffer. 'EY, SHARKFACE! Grab the old guy and stuff 'im in the car!"

A Hopkoblin with incredibly nasty, prominent fangs growled deeply in affirmation as she dragged Hurley over to the hovercar and stuffed him into the backseat.

"Alright, now you help the other guys into the cars and take 'em to the hospital! And the rest of you... meet me at the casino. 'Cause I'm gonna have grandpa there put on a little show for ya!"

The other Kazkanis that were still conscious kicked it into high gear and hopped into a bunch of hovercars. And while a hissing, grunting Jowls hopped into Val's hovercar, the boss himself shot a nasty grin at Lapis and Rolo.

"As for you guys? Might be a good idea to start looking for my kid again, if you get my meaning."

Val suddenly threw a punch at Lapis, only to stop short and cackle when she flinched. Annoying as it was though, Lapis couldn't muster up the hatred for the man. She was too busy standing rooted to the spot in horror while he and the rest of his gang left. In between Hurley being taken away and her paying off her ship's debt being less and less likely, one thing was painfully clear.

'I'm screwed.'

XxXxXx

Author's Note: Another week, another chapter, and this was a pretty big one! I can't help but fear that I front-loaded it a bit with filler, but I really feel it picks up in the second half which makes up for it.

But anyway, aside from the important plot developments I also wanted to use this chapter as a way to touch up on Lapis' post-Malachite psyche, something the show DID do a good job at... in the one episode it was relevant for. In general I really wished they did more with Malachite because that problem was solved too easily. Then again, you could say the same about literally every conflict in Steven Universe, so eh. So as this chapter may indicate... I'm definitely focusing more on the effect Malachite had on Lapis. And maybe, quite possibly, the effect it had on her... other half. ;)

Also, I liked being able to flesh out Rolo here, too. And it's funny because originally he was just going to be a throwaway waiter character to replace a major character I felt was messing up the narrative flow. And yet, the more I wrote for Rolo the more I liked him and thus I fleshed him out! So more on Rolo: I actually don't have a name for his species yet but the tentative name is Monae (Which I'm not sure I like since it sounds too much like a flamboyant pronunciation of Money) and they're a seafaring species that tend to skew towards being happy and joyful. Rolo's kind of meant to fill a similar niche to the character he replaced in the sense that he's a cheery contrast to Dizmol's dreary and grumpy Hopkoblins, even if he has a temper where sports are concerned, ha ha. And here's a confession that may startle some people, but a big influence on him was Star Wars' Jar-Jar Binks.

Yeah, old Jar-Jar is a very controversial and widely hated character... and yet I can't help but like the guy. He can be a bit much at times but overall he's just such a happy, friendly, and helpful character that I can't help but like him, and it helps that he was actually super influential when it comes to motion capture performances in film. But I understand that his portrayal didn't gel with a lot of people so with Rolo, I kind of want to take on that archetype of a happy and helpful eccentric space Jamaican but make him a lot less in-your-face if that makes sense. And in that vein, I imagine him being voiced by Jar Jar's actor Ahmed Best (Who is a wonderful guy who got a lot of undeserved hate thrown his way) doing Jar Jar's Jamaican accent but with a tone closer to his actual speaking voice.

Also, stay tuned: I'm posting Chapter 10 later today which brings the Krapton arc to its thrilling conclusion! I've actually written all the way to Chapter 18 and would like to speed things up a little. ;)