A/N: I just wanna say thank you for the kind reviews so far, especially to the Guest. I'm glad you think it's an interesting idea. It's only about to get even more interesting! so~ y'all ready for Chapter Two? well, I ain't waiting for an answer! so here ya go!

WARNING
GET YO TISSUE BOXES AND HAVE THEM NEAR YOU! and there's quite a bit of blood in this chapter too.

A Triangle in the Stars
Chapter Two: Monstrous Unreality

Steven watched the popcorn pop, still blissfully unaware of what Bill was up to. After a minute or so, he came back up, holding the bag. He sat down and placed it open between of them. Steven watched the TV, grinning and getting into a prone position, "I know the show seems kinda boring, but it gets better as time goes by!" he smiled down at Bill.

"I should hope so," Bill resumed his "innocent" demeanor, eye on the television. He looked up at Steven, somewhat bemused, before he took a bunch of popcorn, ate it, and continued watching the show.

Steven ended up actually falling asleep before the end of the episode. The demon didn't notice this yet, having been partially sucked into the episode by mere curiosity. He ate some more popcorn, humming slightly. Eventually, it ended. Steven was snoring, sound asleep.

And then Bill finally noticed. He looked at the sleeping boy, and his expression morphed into a particularly monstrous one. He wanted to test if he had enough power to warp dreams into nightmares, and this boy had unknowingly provided him with an opportunity.

Steven stirred, but did not wake yet. He dreamed of Lapis, like he did a lot recently. Saw her in the stars, having a wonderful time. It made him smile, every time. The demon rubbed his hands together, and then raised an index finger, staring at it deviously. And then he touched Steven's forehead with it, and the crown of the boy's head glowed rather harshly for a while.

Steven watched Lapis fly up to the stars... when she suddenly started falling, a net enclosing around her, pulling her back to Earth.

"Lapis, no!" he reached out towards her, terrified.

Bill could feel this change in mood, and he laughed, withdrawing his index finger. It worked... and he was oh so glad of that.

She looked at him, crying. Water flowed freely from her eyes. She opened her mouth, and water flowed from there too. He felt himself begin to drown in the water coming from her. He couldn't move, for he found he was in a net too. He gasped for breath, reaching towards her...

The demonic triangle calmly and gleefully observed, content with how things were going. He sat back on the bed, legs crossed, humming a particularly dark song softly. And then Steven woke up. He lifted his head, gasping, "Lapis is in trouble! we gotta go save her!"

Bill promptly stopped humming, and assumed a look of condescending indifference as he stared at the kid, "Really now? do we have to?"

He was wondering why this kid thought Lapis was in trouble just from a simple nightmare he induced. His nightmares were just that. Nightmares.

"I... she was in trouble. I saw her, she... she needs my help! if you wanna stay here, that's okay with me. But I'd like you to come with me," he sighed. "What if she really is in trouble, and she gets hurt, and it's my fault because I wasn't there to protect her?" he looked at Bill, pleading almost.

He rolled his eye, glaring now, "Honestly, I could barely care less, kid, but fine. I bet you're freaking out over nothing, however. But fine. Not like I can do much here in this pathetic excuse for a house."

The demon could barely believe what he was saying. The insults and indifference he could get behind, but outright agreeing to go with this skin puppet? it was incredible at its most fundamental meaning.

"Alright then! come on!" Steven grabbed Bill's hand and started running down the steps, to where Lion was resting. He hopped on, "Come on, Lion, we have to go see if Lapis is alright!"

The demon groaned at being treated like a rag-doll, but didn't protest. He glared at his situation. Lion was still asleep, ignoring Steven. He let go of Bill, and patted Lion, "Come on! this is no time for napping! Lapis is in trouble, and we have to save her!"

Bill made no attempt to help, crossing his arms. Like he said, he didn't care. Not at all. The lion's fur felt extremely soft though, and for some reason he liked that feeling...

Lion grunted, but otherwise didn't budge. Steven groaned, "Liiiiiooooon! I need you to help me!" and then he sighed.

"Tough luck, kid," the triangle chuckled, feigning looking at his nonexistent nails now. "Why don't you just go back to sleep? do what this furry bag is doin'."

It wasn't said for Steven's benefit though. He wanted to torture the boy some more, and what better way than to infect his every dream with nightmarish aspects? and, with how he was treating his dreams, it'd have even more of a payout.

"I... I suppose you're right. Lion doesn't seem too concerned anyway, and I'm tired... yeah, okay," he sighed, stood up, and began up to the attic, completely forgetting about Bill.

The demon quietly chuckled again, his pupil glowing a dangerous deep blue once more before he floated up from Lion's mane and followed Steven. With a snap of his fingers, he made the empty bag of popcorn disappear. Steven climbed onto and lay on his bed, but didn't fall asleep. His eyes were closed, however, and his breath was slow. Bill was impatient, looking at a watch he had conjured up on his wrist just for this minute purpose. He landed on the bed, next to Steven's head, and sat down, crossing his arms and legs. Steven turned to Bill, "Do you sleep?"

"Sleep? eh, no, not really," he answered, eyebrow raised with slight irritation. He didn't really need to sleep anyway.

"Do you like watching me sleep, like Pearl?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, yeah," he grinned. He definitely liked seeing pained faces when their owners were undergoing nightmares. Plus, he knew how uncomfortable this would make Steven, and oh how he liked making people uncomfortable.

"Okay. I'm okay with that," he smiled, shrugging. "Just try not to keep me up. Sadie's expecting me to help with some project tomorrow, and I need my sleeps!" he sighed and lay down again, Same as before, did not fall asleep.

This somewhat surprised Bill. How was he not uncomfortable? this boy was unlike any kid or any human he'd ever met in his life. Of course, he knew Steven wasn't all the way human, but he was more human than not. He put a hand to his "chin", thinking, still waiting for Steven to fall asleep. He now knew that Steven had plans for tomorrow, and he now wanted to ruin said plans with his nightmares. It would definitely make for some quick suffering.

Steven eventually did sleep, but this time, it was a dreamless, light sleep. Bill raised a finger once more, and it glowed red. He'd infect him with the most vicious nightmares ever told, and, since the sleep was dreamless, well, then it'd be literally anything. The demon chuckled silently and touched Steven's forehead with said index finger. The crown of Steven's head glowed a harsh red color.

The waking world melting away, Steven soon found himself in a black void, one whose darkness was overbearing and suffocating. He looked around, confused.

"Hello?" he called, cupping his hands around his mouth, staring into the dark depths. Nothing happened at first. But soon the ravages of Beach City welcomed him. Dark red soaked certain spots, and a large, ominous, rather colorful X was etched into the gray and cloudy sky. The town seemed eerily empty.

He stared up at it, uneasy. "Hello!?" he called again, louder this time, looking around. "Is anyone here?" he began to walk around the town, troubled by the lack of people.

He soon glimpsed a couple of bodies lying broken, near the famous Big Donut. He gasped and ran towards them, "Sadie? Lars?"

The bodies were indeed Sadie and Lars. Intact. But fatally wounded. Crimson soaked the ground beneath them. Steven licked his hands, and slapped them on their wounds. "C'mon, guys... please..." he felt tears begin to escape his eyes, running down his cheeks.

It barely worked, but it wasn't enough. Whatever did this to them made quick and efficient work. The wind kicked up, gently blowing through the area. Steven took away his hands, and saw they were bloody. He fell to his knees, staring at them. And then back at his friends.

Lars isn't the nicest person... but he doesn't deserve this... and Sadie doesn't either... whatever did this... he didn't finish that thought. Steven didn't make threats, even though two of his closest friends were... gone. He started up, back to the Temple, hoping, maybe, to find some relief from this nightmare.

The giant X in the cloudy sky pulsated, and the breeze started to become more intense. He reached the Temple and knocked on the door, "Hello? Lion? Garnet? Pearl? Amethyst?" he soon hesitated, and then called, "Lapis?"

There wasn't a response. Just the wind very gradually transforming into a gale. Steven entered the dark Temple, looking around for anyone, feeling extremely lonely and unbearably sad. He wanted to curl up on the floor and stay there forever. But he couldn't. He had to keep looking. Find someone. Something. He couldn't give up on his friends now.

And then, near the Warp Pad, he found a frightening sight. His family of Gems, all of them, were shattered into a gruesome rainbow of powder. Lion lay unmoving on the opposite side, in the same state as Lars and Sadie. He gasped, when he saw them. He knew there was no fixing them. So he turned, and ran to Lion, licking his hands again, trying to heal him. The taste of blood was on his tongue, and he hated it.

Despised it.

He watched the room go blurry...

Tears were flowing freely now, as he tried in vain to save Lion. But for what? everyone else was gone... he was sure if he went to his dad's place, he, too, would be dead... not gone, dead... just like his mom...

Now he fell on the floor. Now he gave up, sobbing, wondering how this could have happened, where he could have messed up. The area then started darkening again, a sign that he was going to wake up very soon. The wind made one final appearance, wafting through the windows, carrying a deep, chilling laugh along with it. He shuddered, and glanced at the powder that used to be his Gem family. He thought he saw some blue in the mix, along with the white and purple and red and another shade of blue. And maybe some green too.

It got darker and darker, and darker... creeping up on him like slime.

He closed his eyes, wanting nothing more than to sleep forever, like his friends and family. Though it wasn't really sleep, what they were doing...

The darkness then consumed him...

A/N: I was again Bill here, and I felt so heartless writing out the environment especially. Especially with Ace's wonderful Steven-y reactions. I also played Lion.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter.