"What the... What are you doing in my house?" Hannah asked, having just entered her father's study with a baseball bat, to find her new neighbor, Zach cooper holding one of the books from the shelf. He had his hand gripped on the ice-blue gem in the lock, as if about to pull it out. Another kid around the two's age was standing nearby in a grey suit, who looked slightly familiar to her.
"I wanted to make sure you weren't tied up somewhere in the house." he calmly replied.
"Why would I be tied up!?" she quickly retorted, unaware of the fact Zach had called the police on Stine earlier, after hearing her and her father fighting from across the street. "And who are you?" she asked, turning her attention to the other boy.
"Hi, I'm Champ." The boy in the suit said nervously as he politely offered her his hand, as if they didn't just break into her house. She reluctantly shook it, unsure what to think of the stranger. "W-we uh, go to the same school together..." he quickly added when he let go. 'That's why he looked so familiar' she thought to herself; she'd likely seen him around the hallways time to time the past few days. Though, how she had no clue how Zach knew him.
"Okk.. wait-" she soon turned back to Zach, seeing he was still holding the book. "You didn't take the gem out of there, did you?" she swiftly started to panic. In contrast to those two, she knew what happened when...
"No, it's still in there. But, why does it matter anyway? Who even puts a GEM in a LOCK on a BOOK of all things instead of a keyhole? Why would Mr. Shivers own so many of these anyway. Not to mention why their all labeled after Goosebumps books." Champ seemed to shiver at the name, as if the mere mention brought it upon him.
"Look, just put it back on the shelf Zach-" she responded, a bit of fear showing in her voice, as if he were holding some dangerous weapon. However, she was swiftly cut off by Zach. "Not until I get an explanation, Hannah."
"Put it down, then you both get an explanation. Got it?" she said, a bit of a glare in her eyes. He soon slowly put the book down on the edge of the desk. Before Hannah could even put a word in, the book ended up falling on to the floor, the gem, having already been pulled out slightly then fell out of the lock. It immediately began to glow brightly, slightly levitating off the ground. The circular, hexagonal faceted gemstone's light soon expanded, forming a giant, wolf-like creature, with pure white hair extending down its back, covering its tail. The monster itself didn't seem to have eyes, and unlike other corrupted quartzes, didn't show any sign of horns on hits head. The gemstone itself merely rested in its chest. It was large enough to end up almost touching the ceiling on its 4 legs, as it started sniffing around in curiosity, not yet noticing the trio of teenagers.
"No one move, or make a sound.." Hannah whispered to the boys as she knelt down, trying to reach the book without being spotted. To the three's dismay, when Champ started backing up from fear, he bumped into one of the nearby drawers, knocking a lamp on to the floor. Immediately, it perked up and seemed to glare Champ, starting to grow in agitation. "Dangit.." she muttered through her teeth, which now formed into a sneer. The creature seemed to growl at Hannah, backing up from the book... as if it loathed it even more then anything else. As quick at lightning, it turned to face the wall behind it and leaped through the window.
Connie and Steven, still riding on top of Lion's back, soon ended up through the portal, sliding slightly on the concrete road and landing outside of someone's house. The two soon got off, Steven quickly grabbing out the bag from Lion's mane and getting out one of the Lion Lickers. It had melted a little, but Lion started tearing on the wrapper in his jaws, as soon as Steven handed the treat over.
"Thanks buddy. You stay here and rest." ordered Steven, even if he knew Lion wasn't listening.
"So, where do you think this 'thing' is?" asked Connie, looking around, trying to spot the possible situation Garnet foresaw. Steven merely shrugged his shoulders, his hands resting in his pockets. He felt something in his right pocket, but as he started to get a grip on it and bring it out, a giant corrupted gem, seemingly a Blue Quartz, jumped out of the side on one of the upper levels of the house right in front of them.
"You think that's..." Steven didn't even need to finish the question- he knew right then and there this was what they were meant to stop. He knew Connie thought the same thing just by her serious expression. She soon unsheathed her sword and nodded towards Steven, signaling him. He soon summoned his shield. It was time to go to action.
