'Sup people! Here comes another chapter!

We're getting close to finishing part 2, which means we're getting closer to the ending of this fic. Don't worry, theres still a bit more ahead. It might take a while for me to post new chapters. I'm getting hook into Amphibia, and i have a few project ideas. Not to mention work, which takes a good of my time (both at office and at home). But i'll try to stick to a new chapter every three weeks!

For now, enjoy this one. We dig a little deeper into how magic works, and how gems fit into this setting. Plus, theres more Sheriff Lowe!


Sheriff Lowe woke up quickly and roughly. He'd a nightmare about a creature getting its claws into his head, trying to get to his brain. But as he woke and turned his head around, he saw no monster, but a familiar, more pleasant face.

"Woah there, try not to move," said Aylin as she hold him down by the shoulders.

No, wait… She's Rain now. That's right, she'd changed it —only God knows why, thought Lowe, as he caught sight of his surroundings.

"Rain?" said Lowe. His throat was raspy, like he'd never used it and had accumulated cobwebs. "W-what are you doing here? What happened?"

Rain smiled smugly. "You tell me. You hit a tree with your car and lost control. You're mad lucky you slid all the way down the hill or you would've ended in an upside down car and we wouldn't be having this conversation."

A powerful headache throbbed behind Lowe's head as he heard Rain's tale. Forcing his brain to remember was like going to your superior's office, only to find it empty, with a note on the door saying 'Gone fishing, come back in tomorrow'. It must be true, however, as Lowe found himself laying against his patrol car. His Cadillac. Damn, that was a really big shiner it had.

"I don't seem to recall any of that," said Lowe, in a high pitched, horrified-but-trying to-stay-in-control voice.

"Well, it's true. My friend Bennie saw you."

Lowe got into alert at the mention of another man. This 'Bennie' in question was a short, rather chubby guy with tired eyes and an awkward appearance. He could've been any of the punks Lowe had driven to the station after one of those rock concerts in the Hall. He stood oddly too; in the sort of way you do when you try to not be seem as odd, leaning your weight against a wall. Except there was no wall. Bennie had an arm folded up in the air, like leaning over an invisible table.

He also looked familiar. Somehow, but…

"Is that blood on your shirt?" asked Lowe as he began to stand up.

Bennie, too, stood up straighter. "N-yes. Obviously it is. You rolled me over."

"I did?" Lowe gasped. How can a man be rolled over by a car and be so put together? At his side, Rain hid her face in her hands. She must care a lot for his friend.

"I'm very sorry. Um…" Lowe began, uncertain. Apologizing to someone you had bump into is not something that's covered in the police training. Maybe it should be.

"Do you need a drive to the hospital?"

"NO!"

Rain and Bennie shouted at Lowe like he was about to jump down a canyon. They took turns looking at each other and him, before Rain ran to Bennie's side. "What we mean is you don't need to do that, he's fine. Right, Bennie?" Rain playfully nudged Bennie's side. He dropped a low 'ouch'.

"Y-yeah! I'm totally fine. Just like new." Bennie gave a dismissive hand gesture. "I mean, you didn't really 'ran' over me, you know? You just drove towards me on the road and I jumped out of the way. A-and then I felt down the hill, which completely explains my shirt and all this blood. But those are scratches! Rain helped me and now I'm fine."

"That's right. Benny gave me a call and I came over. Then we pulled you out of the car," said Rain. "You're lucky your head's as thick as ever, or else you could've been really hurt. Can't say the same about your car, tho."

Lowe's headache was intolerable now. There was too much information that didn't fit in. He could remember giving chase to a speedster on the route, and then only white nothingness until he woke up. It could be possibly he'd taken the chase a bit too far and had gone over the edge of the road —the bruise on the front of his Cadillac certainly supported the theory. There is also the possibility that it was Bennie whom Lowe was chasing; after all, he is here now, and he'd this 'guilty as charged' look. If that were true, though, there would be another vehicle; a car or something. But there was only Lowe's Patrol Car, Rain's Triumph parked behind said car, and of course Bennie and Rain, standing side by side. Too closely, by the way.

They look terrible together, thought Lowe, red with anger. They won't make a good couple at all. He's too short and weird. Probably too young for Aylin too.

Bile grew in Lowe's chest. Except she wasn't Aylin. She hasn't been Aylin for a while. Maybe this is what she was into now?

Guess I'll have to be the bigger man. Lowe extended his arm to shake Bennie's hand. "Thanks for your help. Sorry for, ahem, you know."

Bennie hesitated before taking the Sheriff hand. Lowe huffed. Strong grip. They shared a moment of manly recognition of strength —at least in Lowe's head it was.

The Sheriff blinked a few times and rubbed his eyes. He crossed sights with Bennie. Just two regular pupils. Now that's weird! Lowe could've sworn… No, it couldn't be. He was just tired. Although, now he was sure he knew Bennie —and it wasn't from seeing him with Rain. Lowe had met him somewhere else.

Maybe it'll come back to me in the morning, thought Lowe and directed his attention to Rain. To bad he wasn't wearing his hat to tip it. "Rain I-"

"Don't mention it," Rain interrupted him. "I mean it. We were never here, and neither were you. We don't want this embarrassing accident to become the town's monthly gossip."

Lowe felt himself getting red again. The sooner he left the better. He searched the pocket of his pants for his keys. His stomach turned.

"Have any of you seen my gun?" said Sheriff Lowe before he realized how that sounded. "I... it's supposed to be at my hips end but…" He pointed at the empty holder where his gun was supposed to rest.

The young couple shook their head. Of course they haven't seen it; Lowe will have to pay for it with his check.

He got inside the car. A quick look inside told him something was off. "I, uh, I don't suppose you've seen my rifle, either?"

Again, the couple shook their heads no. Lowe turned the car on and rushed to get out of the river bank, giving one last glance at the couple in the rear mirror.

Sheriff Lowe didn't thought about them after that. He didn't thought much until he reached town. By that time, he'd accepted there was a blank spot in his memory he'll never recover. And somehow, that made the headache go away.

Suddenly, he felt calm. Happy, even. He even dared turn on the radio as he drove through Death River's streets. His shift was over and he could go home. First thing tomorrow he's gonna drive the Cadillac to his mechanic, David, and he's gonna patch his baby real good. Then Lowe won't have to think about this night —and his unfortunate accident— ever again.

But the best part was that Former-Sheriff Lowe wasn't here to pester him about his mistakes. No sir, he was too busy living the life in Florida, worrying about alligators, and disease-filled mosquitoes and… and…

"TYPHOONS!" shouted Sheriff Lowe as he hit the brakes at a red light.

That's what they had in Florida, he thought, full of joy. Typhoons. He turned around the block. His good, old fashioned police station came into view, and Lowe knew he was gonna be fine.


Rain and Steven waited ten seconds after the Cadillac was out of sight before letting go of each other and falling to the ground.

"Oh my Stars, I can't believe that worked." Steven broke the silence. "I thought I was gonna have a heart attack when he shook my hand, but I didn't!" he cheered, laughing like a kid. "It was great. You were amazing Rain."

From the fog of her mind, Rain could hear Steven kept rambling and calling her name.

"Rain? Are you OK?"

Rain produced a weak smile. "Yeah I'm just… give me sec." She made a hand motion, banishing her spell altogether.

The invisibility shroud was lifted, turning the giant pink sphere visible. Peeps and Sol were safe and sound inside, sleeping and unaware of everything that has transpired. Or that they were inside a bubblegum bubble.

Rain dried the sweat from her forehead with the back of her jacket. "I haven't used that invisibility spell since I was 18. I'd forget how tiring it is," she said, feeling a bit older than before. "Good job with your pink bubble thingy, by the way.."

"Thanks. At least I could help with something." He gave a slight pat to the bubble. It shook like jelly but didn't burst. "I hope they don't take long to wake up. I need to see they're fine."

"They are alright," Rain said and tapped the bubble. It was hard as steel and didn't even bulge. "See their auras? They're clearer and have grown up. I don't think they'll be out much longer."

"Yeah, I guess you-" Steven made a face like he has seen a ghost tap dancing on the air. "Wait. You can see auras?" Rain was surprised at his surprise. She nodded yes. Steven seemed to wrestle with something he wanted to say. "Say, you think you … It's totally cool if you don't want to do it, I won't blame you if you don't want to I mean, with everything that happened-" Rain glared at him. "Right. I just want to know if you could tell me what my aura looks like."

Now that was shocking to hear. She'd assumed that magic flowed in Steven's family as much as Death River's river —during summertime. Surely there was someone, anyone, that could see his aura. Once again she'd made assumptions. Shame on her. It wasn't just because of courtesy; taking suppositions as facts could cost her life. For the second time, she felt very old.

She agreed to Steven's request. The boy straightened up, quiet and smiling way too much, as if he was posing for a picture. Rain took a moment to look at Steven. I mean, really look at him. Rain's mother used to call the soul 'the light of the self'. Steven's was more like a walking nuclear explosion. After a few seconds she pulled her watering gaze away.

"You're weird," she said. Steven brows furrowed. "Hold onto your thought, I'm not done yet. Look, you can see auras right? Well, they are an extension of the self. Like the barcode of a person. It stays the same through their whole life —although some big magic shit can alter your soul composition, but let's not get into that. Now you, however," she flicked a finger in Steven's way, "are weird because you have two auras. I've seen that before, when ghost possess living beings. Awful lot of ghost in these woods. But you're not like that. Those were two minds, two people in one body. You are one person with two auras. The same soul split in half. And back then, when you turned big and pink?" Rain intertwined her hands. "They became one."

Steven heard everything, looking completely mystified. It seemed Rain's explanation made sense to him; which was good, because Rain had no clue what It meant. Steven was a unique creature. The only time Rain has seen something like this was with that lich; half of his soul inhabited his body, and the other half lived in the phylactery inside his briefcase. Weird guy, even for a tax collector.

But Steven was no Lich nor tax collector. No, Rain had a good guess about what he was, but she was too scared to ask. She was, however, more scared of living her whole life with the doubt; and so she braced herself.

"You're one of them right? You and your 'Gems', you are the Others." She read the question in Steven's face. "You know what I mean, the Others. The things, I mean… the monsters that attack people." She felt herself getting redder. Why did that word came up first? "Look, I just want to know if you are one of the rock creatures, the ones with big gemstones in their bodies."

Steven's mouth became a big O. "You mean one of these?" he lifted his shirt.

And lo and behold, there it was. Big, shiny and pink; a gemstone inserted in Steven's stomach, where his belly button should be.

"Yeah I'm a gem, but I'm not a monster!" he said and pulled his shirt —and his hat— down. "I mean, none of us are. Well, some of them where, but not anymore! It's a long story."

"I bet," Rain managed to say. She'd her tongue made a knot, and Steven wasn't doing much better. "This is another new for you, ain't it?"

"Of course it is!" Steven began to walk In circles. Literally. "First, I thought only Gems could do magic, which turned out to not be true. And now I find out there's people outside of Beach City who knowsabout Gems?" He stopped walking, red with embarrassment. "OK. I guess it wasn't a big secret in the first place. But I was so scared about everyone knowing who I was and it all feels pointless now."

"Don't get your hopes to high. Most folks don't know jack about magic, and even those who do don't know much about Gems. I'm not an expert either, but I heard the rumors. The impossibly tall towers with stone carvings older than anything on Earth. The rows of empty human-shaped holes." She shrugged. "But that's just gossip anyway. Some folks said you guys came from space. Others, that you popped from the ground."

Steven's smile was indescribable, but his aura was incredulous. "Would you believe it's a bit of both?"

"I would. Its not like we had one of you guys in Death River before."

Steven laughed. "Then I guess I'll be the first."

Rain, however, didn't laugh. Yeah, that's precisely the problem. Rain had inherited a good deal of stuff from her mother —the hostel being the most recent. The gift of prophecy, however, was not one of them. Still, she'd seen the look on Lowe's face when he touched Steven, and she didn't need future vision to see the dark clouds in her future.

With a heavy chest, Rain got up and extended an arm to Steven. He hesitated before taking it. He'd claws for fingernails.

"Thanks for your help with Lowe. Your powers were… very handy," she said and before Steven could retort she added: "But I need to ask another favor from you."

"Sure! Whatever you need, I'll do it," said Steven, with not a hint of lie.

That was the worst part.

"I'm gonna need you to leave the town," said Rain, "and don't come back."

Oh God, the effect was immediate. Steven's wouldn't have been more hurt if Rain had punched him in the face; in fact, he might even thank her for that. He reeled back his arm, as if any contact would hurt him.

"B-but why? I mean I get that I messed up, but I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you, whatever you need-."

"Is not you," she said. "I mean, it is. But not because of what you did; you tried to help, and you did. We are cool." Rain rubbed her temples as she began to sweat. This shouldn't be so difficult. "You saw Lowe, right? The way he was looking at you? He was this close to figure out who you were. And if he sees you walking around the town and his memory starts to come back..."

She let Steven fill in the gasps. His eyes widened with understanding. "You're afraid he'll remember you were here and you'll be in trouble again?"

"Yes, and that's a trouble I can't put my friends through," she said and surprised herself. She touched the marble-like structure of the bubble. It was a truth she had been hiding from, but there it was now, free in the air. These two spoiled but sweet kids sleeping in a pink-bubble were her friends, as much as it hurt her. And it hurt her a lot. "And it's not just because of Lowe. The folks around here, in Death River? They're used to me using magic; they don't know I do, but they're so used they're blind to it. I could juggle with fireballs at the park and they won't even care. But you are different. All the people I talked with tell the same story. In the places that are abounding with Gems, The Craft becomes hefty and weird. Like a magic black hole. Don't ask me why. I just know that you guys' magic, and our human magic, are not compatible."

"But I AM a human," Steven said, soft but really loud at the same time. "And a Gem. I'm both of those things."

"Yes. And I don't know how that's possible."

The mood went downhill from there. Nobody said anything, but Steven might as well die on the spot. His aura was growing and shrinking, alternating between pure rage and the deepest sorrow.

And it's because of me. But I did what I had to! That didn't make Rain feel better. This is the first time she'd to ask someone to leave town. She'd give the boot to many people in these years, both magical creatures and regular human lazybones alike. She was used to be alone, keeping the town free of freeloaders, both mundane and supernatural. At least until Peeps came by. Then Soledad dropped here too. And now, Steven. But this was the actual first time Rain had closed the door to someone who actually needed it.

And it hurt like crap.

"Look, you don't have to leave ASAP. I ain't giving you a kick in the ass," said Rain, knowing that she was kicking Steven's ass a little. "You can stay in the hostel for the night, I don't think Lowe would-"

"No," said Steven firmly. Then he showed Rain the best actor smile she'd ever seen. But his aura showed otherwise. "I'll be fine, don't worry. Besides, Death River was never gonna be my home. It's too close to my old home for my taste. A-and I have a plan, remember? I've places to go. I'll be fine."

Rain tried a few more times to talk to him, but he kept repeating he was gonna be fine. Obviously that was bull, but she wasn't gonna force him to talk. She'd others things to worry about now, like her two friends in the bubble, beginning to stir and shake.

"I guess they're coming back to it," said Steven softly.

"Good," said Rain, who has had too many emotions for one day. "Let's wake them up for good and get to your car. I'm very tired."


And with that, we say goodbye to Sheriff Lowe. I was gonna add a scene of him into part three, but i thought, since he debuted in part two, he might as well go away in it.

Writing this chapter was very funny. I like how both Rain and Lowe turned out. And Steven's a mess, but thats usual lol.

Anyway, see you guys later! Dont forget to like and comment!