A/N: Aaaand here's Chapter Thirty! finally, right? now, you get the near full insight... and, if you'd like, you can consider this a Wham Chapter. Sheesh, when will this Wham end? o_o
Hehee, AppleSpongeCake thought it was gonna end on the previous chapter. HAHAHAH! WELL, THINK AGAIN! this one's pretty long, to make up for the short chapters you'd been getting as of late. (EDIT: turns out she was upset about how the chapter ended. Whoops.) So, without further ado, ENJOY!~
A Triangle in the Stars
Chapter Thirty: The Tragic Keepsake
Silence overwhelmed the entire former battlefield. The piece of paper was still lying there, unnoticed by everyone in the shock. There was a bit of a delay, but soon the remainder of light from Gabriel vanishing into nothingness shot into the gem Bill was holding, like a spear. The power Gabriel had stolen. Steven was complete again. So the gem, once the demon realized this and thus let it go, began to lift and glow. Bill sighed, and knelt a little, the adrenaline rush disappearing. He was now really starting to feel the pain. But he just focused on the glowing gem. And so did the monsters who were still awake, eyes wide for some of them, though Pacifier and Teeth were coming to.
Around the gem soon glowed a familiar form. When it was fully and completely formed, there stood Steven, floating a little above the ground a little, in his normal clothing surprisingly enough. Bill very nearly smiled when he saw the boy was unhurt, and blinked a little, hand on one of his wounds, before he asked anyway, "S...Steven? are you okay?"
8-Ball finally, finally got to see who this Steven was, and he wasn't very impressed. For one, he was human. Er, half-human. Still. But if Bill was happy, 8-Ball was happy, and he smirked, crossing his arms. Xanthar hooted cheerfully, hopping up and down and rumbling the area again. Kryptos smiled. The rhombic demon was an anomaly, if only because he didn't see humans as fleshbags or insignificant creatures like his triangular friend and the grand majority of his friends did. Pacifier looked upon Steven, eyes wide. She seemed to have recovered from her trance. The picture on the ground was still ignored.
The boy was confused, looking around, not seeming to have heard Bill's question. "What's going on?" and then he gasped when he took a look at the triangle's cracked form, "You're hurt!"
He licked his hands and then stuck them on Bill, to heal him up. He was reminded of when he first found the statue of him and healed it. The memory brought a smile to his face. The demon shuddered at the feel of it, but soon felt relieved as his wounds and fissures vanished. Bill sighed as the pain disintegrated, and he smiled, "T..thanks.."
And then he finally looked around, getting up and floating, and he saw that piece of paper lying on the ground where Gabriel had been standing. An eyebrow rose, but Kryptos caught his attention, "So, uh, Bill. Now that Gabriel's gone, I guess we'll have to get going towards home now. Someone's gotta spread the news."
The triangle nodded, but seemed preoccupied, "Right. You do that."
The rhombus smirked a little, not noticing, "It still won't be the same without you. But I understand you wanting to stay."
Xanthar nodded vigorously, and 8-Ball hummed, arms still crossed. Pacifier still couldn't say a single word now. Bill frowned a bit, "Since when did I say I wanted to stay?"
Kryptos shrugged then, and the golden triangle sighed, somewhat exasperated. He knew, however, how his friend knew, but didn't call him out. He decided he could lift the rule that reading his mind was off limits for right now.
"I'll definitely miss having you around, Bill. But you should assign someone leader so we don't have another giant war or something," Hectorgon suggested.
Steven watched silently, confused. He gasped as he remembered. He could recall seeing the battle through Gabe's eye... and stopping him when he had to. He remembered the pain of his gem cracking... and the sudden emptiness that pursued. Bill nodded, and squinted his eye. However, he only focused on the hexagon and the diamond. He pointed at them, "Why don't you two be the leaders? I see no reason why you both can't rule."
Kryptos gasped, mouth and eye wide open, "R..really?"
The triangle nodded, and none of the demons objected. They liked the idea. However, the Cluster Demons were still standing around the Zodiac Temple, confused at the lack of thoughts transmitting through their minds. Gabriel wasn't around anymore. Who would lead them now? but the eyebats had already left. Hectorgon nodded, "That seems pretty cool to me."
Steven stared, wondering, "Hey, where'd all you guys come from in the first place?"
Bill nearly froze; he still hadn't told Steven where he came from. But, to his credit, he was planning it and how to tell it to him before the whole event that kicked off when they both saw the news. But it would be a lie. Half-lie, at least. Kryptos exchanged glances with 8-Ball after he saw the look on Bill's face, and cleared his "throat", smiling a bit as he looked at the boy, "We... we come from a land of dreams, Steven."
Teeth stared for a while, and 8-Ball nudged him, which prompted this, "Oh, oh, yeah! dreams! great dreams!"
Xanthar rumbled, catching on as well. Pacifier nodded, and spoke somewhat stiltedly, "Yes. We are from the Dream Realm."
Well, for Pacifier and the rest of the demons who weren't shapes, this was completely and totally true, but bowdlerized. "Nightmare" had too much of a negative connotation. The rhombic demon chanced a glance at the Cluster Demons. Steven frowned, "It sounds a little worse than that."
"Well, that's because the rest of the demons were all fightin'! now that we're going to tell them that we're the new leaders and Gabriel's gone, it should all be safe!" Kryptos continued his poor lie, weaving a truth into it. Bill snapped out of his trance, but was immediately put into another, staring at the still ignored paper on the ground. He couldn't quite get a good look at it, but he knew. He almost started trembling. Nobody noticed, too wrapped up in keeping Steven out of the loop on Bill's mental order.
"So what's it like there?" the boy tilted his head at them, mostly at the rhombus. "It doesn't sound too great."
Kryptos began sweating, obviously at his breaking point, "It's... exactly as you say! it was. But, as I said, it should be great again!"
8-Ball nodded, tightening the hold on his arms. He wanted to leave right now. He wanted to get back there and help Kryptos and Hectorgon spread the great news. Not help some... human. The triangle felt this thought and almost immediately reprimanded him via a psychic link, and the ape-like creature cringed. But, unlike 8-Ball, Bill was grateful for the distraction, even if it also took insulting Steven. Pacifier tapped her feet, and her natural frown deepened. She, too, was growing impatient. She, too, wanted to go home. She'd had enough of this dimension.
"Hmm..." Steven shifted his attention to the piece of paper lying where Gabriel had once stood. He began towards it, "Hey, what's this?"
Finally, they all noticed, much to Bill's chagrin, and ice ran through his veins. Kryptos and Hectorgon then developed strange looks on their faces, as if they knew. The triangle and the other shapes couldn't even stop the boy, however, in time. The paper was a photograph of a steel blue circle with a hot pink bow atop it, and a pale green square wearing a black bowler hat and tie. One of the odder parts was that the picture was half in color, half in black and white. 8-Ball grew curious, raising both eyebrows, and so did Xanthar.
Steven picked it up. "What... what is this?" he asked, frowning, before he showed it to Bill. "Are these some other demons?"
Bill stared at the photo, a never-before-seen, at least by Steven, emotion in his eye, and almost started shaking again, too caught up in his thoughts to answer at the moment. Kryptos bit his lip, and grabbed 8-Ball and the rest, however impossibly, before they started inquiring too, and fired this off at near motor mouth speeds, "Well, it was nice meeting you, Steven, gotta go thanks bye!" and they all, including the Cluster Demons with the rhombic demon's mental request, disappeared in a flash of a bright light.
Steven was frowning. "Who are they?" he asked Bill again, wondering why everyone else left so quickly.
The triangular demon sighed, and decided to out with the truth. However much he didn't like it. He sighed shakily, grabbing at his arms, "T..they're my parents..."
He hated acting like this. He tried not to break down, especially now. He had to keep it away.
"Oh... why is this photo even here?" he asked, knowing it had something to do with Gabe.
"I... I don't know... he must have kept it as a keepsake..." he frowned, and then he mumbled, staring at the ground, "all this time..."
Gabriel loved his parents. And they loved him too. If only... if only... he couldn't finish the thought, and it was hard, difficult even, not to cry. Not in front of Steven, he reminded himself. He took in a deep "breath", trying to stay calm.
"They're dead, aren't they?" asked Steven, understanding. "It's okay. My mom's dead too. I didn't even get to know her..."
But there had to be more, he thought, to this. The demon stopped floating, frowning softly. He nodded, oddly silent now. They were both the cause of their parents' deaths, he noted. One difference, though... and that was that the boy wasn't even aware. Just a baby. Just born. He almost wished it was the other way around, that what happened to Steven happened to him and vice versa, just then. The boy stared at Bill. Before hugging him. He knew the triangle didn't generally appreciate them, but maybe... just maybe... he'd be able to help him with them this time.
The triangle gasped, tears springing up in his eye. He wanted to pull away for a minute, squirming a little bit, but ended up just standing there awkwardly. It felt strange. But for some reason, at least for right now, he didn't complain. Bill closed his eye, and slowly hugged the boy back, almost letting the tears flow. He finally seemed to start to understand the value of hugs.
Steven smiled and patted his back, "There, there. It's alright." He then glanced at the photo, and discreetly stuck it into his pocket, deciding it was best to be somewhere else for now. The demon sniffled, luckily having had sucked the stray tears back into his eye by then. He was grateful, and relieved, that Steven wasn't asking more personal questions. But... at the same time... he felt like he wanted to answer them. Bill was conflicted once again. And the very fact he was conflicted made him remember that he was conflicted about saving Steven. His frown deepened slightly, and he slowly let go of the boy, reluctant yet not reluctant at the same time.
Steven looked Bill in the eye. "Are you alright now?" he asked, with a soft, concerned smile.
He sighed, and then somewhat lied, "Yeah, I think so. Thanks, kid..."
But he wasn't alright. He felt like Gabriel was having the last laugh right now, wherever dream demons go when they die. He felt confused again, especially with Steven. His thoughts were becoming a jumbled mess, but the majority of it was about his parents, and was about the enigma that is Steven. He couldn't figure it out. He just couldn't, and that was so unusual to him. But, even with all this, he was grateful that he wasn't about to break out into a pathetic weep any time soon.
Steven nodded. "Don't mention it. I think we should get out of here, though..." he shot a curiously nervous glance towards the crumbling Temple.
"Agreed," Bill seconded his glance and started levitating again. "There should be a Warp Pad in the near distance, I think..."
He wasn't sure if it was working though. It would certainly explain why the Crystal Gems were walking instead, though they had had first to retrieve something important. The demon rubbed at his top point, taking another deep breath. He wanted to ask his own questions now, but held it down. And he was wondering...
..should he tell Steven where he came from?
The boy looked around and soon saw it. "There! let's go!" he exclaimed, rushing towards it, unaware of Bill's thoughts.
Bill followed him, silently, still thinking. He hummed softly, and finally decided. He adjusted his bowtie, "Hey, uh, kid..."
But his mind decided to stop on him, which was rare and had never happened since... that incident, at the school... he frowned, shivering a little bit. His mind wanted to leave it well enough alone now, leave it in the past where it belonged, just like he wanted with this rescue. But, at the same time, something inside wanted him to answer all of the boy's questions, bar one...
He groaned inwardly.
"Yeah, Bill?" Steven stopped and turned to the triangle, giving him a concerned glance.
"I.. uh.. I," his groan turned outward then, and he forced his mind to work again. He finally got out, "If you have any questions, any at all, don't hesitate to ask me. Sans one," and then he hesitantly added, "or else. Alright, kid?"
The threat was empty though. Very, highly empty. It was his attempt to get back to how he acted prior to meeting Steven, prior to everything that happened with Steven. It mostly worked. And yet it didn't at the same time.
"Uh... okay, then," the boy was lost for a moment before he realized what the triangle meant. "Wait, you mean I can ask you any questions, but...?" he couldn't get that last part.
"But one. And that's Weirdmageddon," he replied, frowning. That event was yet another stain on his life, but it was sliding into different reasons now. Very slowly.
Steven nodded. "Alright. So what exactly happened to your parents?" he asked softly, hoping that had nothing to do with Weirdmageddon. He picked up the pace again.
His frown deepened, and he was about to complain. But he did say the kid could ask anything he wanted. He didn't move for a while, but eventually he did, floating next to Steven. Bill fixed his bowtie unnecessarily, growing a little uneasy, "Well, remember when you overheard Gabriel? back at the school?"
He nodded, looking at Bill, "What about it?"
"That's what happened to my parents..." his tone suddenly got dark, and his pupil, for a brief second, flashed a deep crimson. He was angry at them, that was for sure. Even after all these years. His hatred for them, all of them, ran deep. And, apparently, as he unfortunately discovered, the pain he tried to hide and push away ran just as deep.
"You... you killed them?" he asked, surprised.
"Yes..." he admitted, unashamed, and clenched his fists, looking towards the Warp Pad. They were only a few yards away from it now, nearing it at a brisk pace. He growled slightly, before he continued, "And I know what you're thinking, but they deserved every minute of it..."
And he left this part out, only thinking it to himself with an inward sigh, My parents weren't like yours, Steven... or Sadie's...
"How so?" Steven pursed his lips, looking concerned, and then he looked across the Warp Pad when they were a few feet away. He was dismayed to find that it was cracked along the center, but was sure he could fix it with his healing spit.
Hopefully.
Maybe.
Bill sighed, looking down at the ground now, "Well... you ever heard of abusive relationships, kid...? or even the concept of abuse in and of itself..?"
His eye twitched, and he felt his eye getting wet around the edge. No. He wouldn't engage in that sap. Never. Especially in front of Steven. He was about to get into some of the most sensitive parts of his life. He needed to stay strong for this.
"Oh... no wonder..." Steven thought of Amethyst just then. How her background was. He couldn't help but compare the two. They both were mean sometimes, but they both had gone through things... "Hold on," the boy reached the Warp Pad and spat on it. To his amazement, it glowed and healed up.
The triangle squeezed and wrung out his hands, watching the restoration of the teleportation platform. He sighed, "Yeah... only Amethyst eventually had gotten people in her life who actually loved her... where I came from, triangles were extremely, extremely low on the hierarchy. My parents didn't want me because of that..." and then he mumbled, "why they didn't just put me up for adoption instead of trying to get rid of me like that when I was still an infant is beyond me..."
He started shaking uncontrollably now. He doubted even Kryptos and Hectorgon liked him just for him. He wondered if they only pitied him. After all, diamonds and hexagons were a lot higher up.
"Oh... so the more sides you have, the higher level you are?" Gabriel had ten sides, Steven had noted. But he still considered Bill greater. A lot greater. "But Bill... you're not in the hierarchy now. You're here. On Earth! you can do whatever you want here. And... I don't think you're low. I think you're pretty great."
Bill looked at Steven just then, and he felt that warm feeling again. He smiled a bit, "T..thanks..."
It helped just a tad at helping him feel better. But it wouldn't immediately erase the suffering. It would be highly unrealistic, and just plain impossible. And then he frowned, the little feeling poking about inside again. He studied Steven a little bit, and decided to ask, "What are you...? I mean, I know you're half-Gem and all that, but.. I.. I don't exactly.. get you..."
Steven took all this in, and sighed, "Sometimes, I don't get me either. I mean... I should have died when I was poofed, according to Gabe. So maybe I'm not as human as I thought... or not that human at all..." and then sighed again.
"Th..that's not what I'm talking about..." Bill's eye twitched again. "You have so much..." and his brow furrowed as he tried to wrack his mind for that one word that evaded him every time, "what is that word...?"
"So much what?" Steven sat on the Warp Pad, staring at Bill, wondering what he meant.
"I.. I believe it starts with an... "e".. doesn't it?" he sat beside Steven on the edge, trying to think so hard on this. He remembered Shooting Star exhibited this right when she was about to hand the Journal over. And it confused him so much. And Steven was practically made of it, which made the boy pretty much unpredictable to the golden demon. Uncanny enough.
"E...? hmm... encouraging?" he wondered, uncertain.
Bill shook himself. He knew that wasn't it. Though Steven had been a great deal encouraging when the demon was doing something right or what he wanted. He clasped his hands, brow furrowing further, hoping it wouldn't take too long.
"...I've got nothing," Steven shrugged after a while.
"Well.. then I guess I got nothing as well," the triangle sighed, a little disappointed. He got up and walked into the middle of the Warp Pad. "Let's just go back."
Steven nodded and sighed, and then got up and joined Bill. He activated it, and a beam of light seemed to "disintegrate" them as it took them elsewhere, back home through the long Tunnel. The boy thought he'd take a nap when he got there. He yawned, breaking his concentration for just a moment—and for just a moment, they both floated in an inky darkness, in which they could only see one familiar pink figure, and Bill's eye widened with a short gasp—until Steven regained control and finally landed onto the Pad in his beach home...
A/N: And there it is! I hope you enjoyed it! and now that you've read this chapter the secret story I'd been trying to work on has been unlocked. First chapter'll be released within a few hours, or within a few days. :3
Ace had Steven again, and Hectorgon for his first two lines, and I had the rest of them, especially Bill. :3 I hope it's not too fast. Ace and I thought it was just right, the pacing. Also, there are about three or four or so references in this chapter. I hope you can spot them! and here's a question for you all, just to see if you're paying attention. It's the same thing Bill asked Steven, but I'll say it again here: "What is the 'e' word Bill's trying to think of?"
Haha, you got homework! on Winter Break.. and for some reason it's still silent... I hope you guys are alright.
But, anyway, the end of this year is nigh! and since I'm still wobbly on when I should upload the story I'm talking about, I'll wish you a happy new year just in case I decide to upload it afterwards or beforehand. HAPPY NEW YEAR!