Lapis had no idea how long she had spent laying spread-eagle on the ground in the hangar. To her, it felt like an hour. In reality, it was probably half a minute at the most. But it was hard to keep track of time thanks to that horrific scene playing out in her head: Her ship being towed away by that bigger ship while she was helpless to stop it. Her ship... which had the CD player Steven gave to her on it. That memento of the only happy times she had on Earth was now lightyears away, likely being fawned over by some creepy alien weirdo. And she doubted that she'd ever get it back.

That in and of itself was bad enough, until one of those security drones that scanned her ship earlier flew by, it's optic sensor flashing with a yellow light as it emitted a pleasant chime.

"Transmission Received from Duality Towing," it replied in a high, feminine voice before shifting to a nasally, crass one that made Lapis grit her teeth out of annoyance. "So... if you're hearing this message then I'm afraid I'm going to have to be the bearer of bad news. You see, your screening results came in and as it turned out? You've tested positive for terminal stupid! Seriously, is it really so hard to park your ship in a way that doesn't involve turning it into a big clunky roadblock?! I mean sheesh, my grandma can park better than you and she's on life support! Anyway, by law I'm required to inform you that if you want your ship back, you've got three days to do so, and it's as easy as flying over to Duality Towing here in Krapton, Dizmol, and plopping down a fat stack of credits in my hand. So unless you want us to pawn off your ship to scrappers or something... well, you better start saving up, sweetheart!"

The drone flew away when it's message cut out, leaving Lapis to ineffectively simmer in the hatred and rage that was slowly building up inside of her. It started off beneath the surface, but she quickly began to grumble and mutter angrily under her breath while her hands balled into trembling fists...

"Uh... Blue?" Hurley asked gently as he cautiously made his approach towards Lapis. "Are you okay?"

"Am I okay? Am I okay?!" Lapis asked incredulously as she got up from the ground, her rage spilling out into the open, "My ship was stolen while it had my best friend's gift inside! How do you think I'm feeling?!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, just cool down for a second, okay?" Hurley urged the furious Gem. "Nothing's being stolen from you! You've just got yourself tangled up in a little parking dispute! It's hardly anything worth fussing about!"

"Oh, that's easy for you to say: you're not the one who got their ship hauled off!" Lapis hollered while pointing aggressively at Hurley. Despite the anger and venom in her tone however, Hurley laughed... or more accurately, chuckled shamefully while rubbing the back of his head.

"Um... ha ha, funny you should say that..."

Caught off guard by his response, Lapis' breathing slowed and the burning in her face subsided as anger gave way to curiosity.

"You see Blue, I've been flying around Nova Veluti for almost forty some-odd years now. And over those years... ha, well, it's easy to get a bit complacent when it comes to parking. You know, sometimes you might park a little too long in a hangar with limited time parking, or uh... you might accidentally park in the section of another hangar loaned out to a banker, business executive, or some other big shot. Heck, you might even visit some random moon and find out too late you were trespassing on some mining corporation's private property!"

Hurley shook his head, chuckling at his carelessness before enveloping Lapis's shoulder with a kind hand.

"So you see, Blue? I've had the Cosmic Dynamo taken away from me, but I got her back every single time! And you'll get your ship back too, so please: just have a little faith when I say that everything will be okay!"

Lapis' face burned a deep indigo again, but this time out of shame for how rude she had been. Here Hurley was, politely trying to put her fears and anxiety to rest while she was just screaming in his face...

"Oh... well..." Lapis wasn't even sure of what to say, before settling for a meek "S-Sorry..."

"Hey, you've got nothing to apologize for!" Hurley replied with the utmost sincerity, "You had something very important taken away from you, so of course you're gonna be a little upset!"

'If only you knew what happens when I get a "little" upset...'

Not wanting to give a reason for this warm, genial stranger to hate her, Lapis forced a smile. "Well okay then. Thanks, Hurley..."

"You're welcome!" Hurley replied cheerfully before taking his hand off Lapis' shoulder. "But we're not gonna get your ship back if we just stand here yakking on and on, now will we? Thankfully, all we have to do is make a quick trip to Krapton, and you'll be reunited with your ship before you know it! And lucky for you, the planet it's on is pretty close by!" Hurley then turned to a large, off-white, bulky ship and gestured over to it. "So feel free to hop aboard, Blue! Just give me some time to prepare for our maiden voyage, and we'll be blasting off in no time!"

"Whoa, really? You're okay with me just... hitching a ride?"

"Well of course I am! My ship's got plenty of room for passengers, and I'm always happy to have company on board!" Hurley confirmed, proudly thumping his chest with his fist. "And again: when someone's in trouble and you have the means to help them? There's no excuse not to lend a hand! It's your personal responsibility, you know!"

While shocked by the mere act of being offered free fuel, Lapis was absolutely floored by the true extent of this guy's generosity. She barely knew him, and yet he was willing to drop everything and fly her to another planet! It was so kind, so thoughtful, so... Steveny.

"Well when you put it that way? Sure, I'll come with you! Thanks for helping me out... again."

"No problem, Blue!"

"It's Lapis!" Lapis corrected, prompting a chuckle from Hurley.

"Ha ha, sorry about that!"

The pair made their way to the door of Hurley's ship, and the larger alien whipped out a triangular device that was the same shade of faded off-white that the ship was before pressing a button. "Well Lapis, allow me to introduce you to the Cosmic Dynamo! She may not be as sleek or swift as so many other ships, but she's served me well these past forty years. And I bet you'll love her as well! Just uh... watch your step, okay? I haven't had a chance to clean up so it's kind of messy inside!"

The door opened with a hiss, and a metal ramp stretched out towards the ground. Lapis couldn't see any sort of a mess due to how dark it was inside, so she took his warning with a grain of salt.

"Heh, I'm pretty sure I'll be fine..."

She stepped inside of the ship, and upon entering the Cosmic Dynamo, the lights activated and illuminated the interior. And to Lapis' horror, she realized that kinda messy... was something of an understatement. In fact, if she had to compare the interior of the Dynamo to anything, then a landfill would be an apt comparison. She gawked in absolute horror at the heaps of trash that surrounded her: large baggy clothes stained with god-knows-what, empty cans of a drink called "Tentacle Brew" and neon-colored wrappers laid at her feet while stale, rotten food and the trays they sat in were strewn all over a table and across a series of shelves, crowding out the small collection of ray guns and space gear that were spilling off their perches. There was also a nearby sink that was filled with dirty, off-colored undergarments that stained the water a nasty, filthy gray. And over near the ship's refrigerator... was that some kind of strange rodent that Lapis caught scampering away?

Lapis already felt squeamish just from being surrounded by all this garbage, but she graduated to full on "sick to her stomach" when she made the fatal mistake of sniffing the air. Just a small whiff was enough to assault her nose with a putrid mix of rot, filth, body odor, and mildew, and it made her nearly keel over to boot.

"OH GOD!" Lapis cried out, only to fall into a coughing and gagging fit while Hurley made his way up from the cargo hold and approached her. Lapis tried to choke out a word or two, but she could only continue gagging while Hurley clasped a hand on her shoulder and chuckled at her expense.

"Ha ha, that "bachelor pad" scent gets 'em every time, I tell ya! You okay there Blue?" Hurley asked while Lapis gave the alien a look of utter disbelief.

"Are you kidding?! That could have killed me!" Lapis spat angrily as she tried her best to choke back the bile rising in her throat, "How do you put up with that stench?! Or all that garbage lying around?! This place is a dump!"

"Well, I'm not gonna argue with you there, Blue." Hurley admitted, "It is a dump... but it's my dump, you know!" He then closed his eyes and, to Lapis' horror, took a nice, long whiff of the air before sighing peacefully. "Honestly, the scent isn't so bad after you've had enough exposure to it. Heck, I'd say it's downright enjoyable!"

Lapis had to fight back the urge to dry heave while Hurley popped his short, stubby fingers, and glanced over where the driver's seat and several other chairs were; the "bridge" of this disorderly ship. "Anyway Blue, I don't wanna be a rude host and leave you standing around while I talk your ears off: go take a seat in the bridge! Give me some time to empty the sink, grab something to ease the ol' motion sickness, and we should have this baby running in no time!"

Lapis gave the bridge a look and surprisingly, it wasn't all that filthy compared to the rest of the ship. Sure, the control panel was cluttered with strange baubles and toys and she had to wade through piles of dirty clothes and wrappers to get there, but it was a lot more pleasant than... the rest of the ship, really. And besides, he left nothing nasty on the seats and to Lapis, that was the most important detail of all.

"Alright then." Lapis answered, "And uh... thanks for the ride."

"No problem, Blue!" Hurley said as he flashed a friendly salute. Lapis however gave an irate huff and stomped over to the chair.

"Lapis. LAPIS. The name is Lapis. Seriously: Blue? Bob? Why do so many people get my name wro-"

Lapis stopped cold in her tracks and fell silent when she felt her left foot step in something squishy. 'Oh NO.' Lapis thought to herself, her eyes wide with fear. A sense of dread boiling deep inside of her, Lapis slowly lifted her leg up, and let her jaw fall open in horror when she saw what she stepped on: it was... some sort of fruit, she guessed, due to the rotten yet sweet scent and the pulpy, juicy texture against her foot. And it looked absolutely ghastly: its color was an odd mix of puke green, dung brown, moldy grey, and just a faint hue of purple that she assumed was the shade it would have been had it been in date.

Lapis could only stare at the rotten sludge that was splattered against her foot for what felt like an eternity, before Hurley broke the silence. "Oh, Blue! Watch your step around there, okay? I chucked a bad Sugarfruit over my shoulder a few days ago, and it splatted on the ground. Ha ha, that's NOT the kinda thing you want to step on, that's for sure!"

With a horrified scream, Lapis fell onto her butt before summoning a stream of water from her back. Solidifying it to where it had a gel-like consistency, she grabbed it and used it to scrub all traces of the fruit off her foot, gagging and shuddering the entire time while fighting back the vomit rising in her throat. After cleaning her foot, she dismissed the water and gave a growl of annoyance before getting up and making her way to the nearest chair.

'Of course. Of COURSE the one guy who wants to help me out has to be a total slob! Why would I ever get a break?!' She thought grumpily to herself as she sat down. 'Please oh PLEASE just get me to Krap On or whatever it's called. Before the stench kills me...'


Meanwhile, on a not-so distant planet...

When the family you lived with owned a casino as prestigious as the Sinner's Pit, you'd think that there'd be little to no downsides to such an arrangement. Being able to enjoy top-of-the-line cuisine, hitting the consoles and card tables, placing bets on Felit races, being served drinks by beautiful Hopkoblin women in skimpy jumpsuits, watching other skimpily dressed women from across the galaxy dancing to sleazy jazz... and of course, since your family owned said casino nightclub, that made you the house. And when it comes to gambling? The house always wins. And that was very much the case for the Kazkani 500, a fearsome crime syndicate who held the port city of Krapton in their iron grip. But for Tadd Spadeclaw, the family slave? Well, not so much...

"HEY, RAT BOY! I got a fresh batch of orders for ya!" A stout female Hopkoblin barked, the seemingly permanent scowl on her face complimenting her ridiculously droopy, quivery jowls, "Bones' table needs refreshments, Dollface's date needs a chair, and the boss wants a platter of cream puffs delivered to his personal lounge! Now get that fuzzy little behind in gear, or I'll give you a jolt you won't soon forget!"

Speeding back and forth across the dimly lit, rainbow-tinted casino all day had worked a real number on poor Tadd. An anthropomorphic mole creature known as a Tunnelkin, Tadd was cursed with stubby little feet and a bowlegged gait, which meant that unlike the native long-limbed Hopkoblins of Dizmol, he had to take far more steps than usual in order to quickly navigate the Sinner's Pit. And unsurprisingly, his paws ached in utter agony: each footstep resulted in a dull stabbing sensation that made him wince, and it had gotten so bad that the beginnings of a migraine began to build up in his head as a result. It was so tempting to ask to take a fiver, a tenner, or even a thirtier, but the disciplinary microchip planted in his neck made that a dangerous prospect.

And so, without any complaints or whining, Tadd did as he was told: he grabbed a stool and pushed it over to a bar where a tall, pink-haired, voluptuous Hopkoblin serving girl took her seat near another slender female Hopkoblin whose eerily delicate, beautiful face seemed to have been crafted from porcelain. He then headed around the bar and into the kitchen, accumulating a platter full of cream puffs as well as a few bottles of liquor that he delivered to a group of male mobsters seated near a Felit racing pen, the leader of which looking incredibly gaunt thanks to his distinct cheekbones and dangerously pointy shoulders. He then dashed up a flight of steps to a room labeled "VIP", where the fearsome boss of the Kazkani family and his entourage laid in wait for their delicious snacks...

"Well it's about time, ya dumb rat!" A gruff, crass-sounding voice whined from the back, "Now hurry up and gimme those puffs, would ya? I promised these ladies a snack before the big show, and I'm not looking to disappoint!"

Reclining on a black leather sofa with two curvaceous, dangerously attractive Hopkoblin women dressed in skimpy gold and silver swimsuits on each arm was "Red Eye" Val Kazkani, a thuggish mob boss who was a cut above the average member of his species. He was a head taller than most male Hopkoblins (Though he was still shorter than the taller females), his jaw was square and strong, and he had a rather brawny physique as opposed to a typical scrawny build. Unlike the yellow eyes that the rest of his species had, his were a bloody crimson that complimented his skin, which was downright ghostly when compared to the already pale skin of his kin. And while his goons all dressed in more simplistic formalwear, he was dressed in a snazzy red and black pinstripe suit which perfectly suited the similarly colored VIP lounge.

"Alright Mr. Val! Just... just hold on...!"

Panting like a dog, Tadd put the agony of his feet in the back of his mind as he staggered past beautiful plants and ornate pottery, and approached the small table in front of Val's couch. He set the platter of cream puffs down, and Val chuckled smugly as he grabbed a puff and gave it a sniff before wolfing it down.

"Aw man: smells sweet, tastes sweet, looks aesthetically pleasing... ha, that's my baby sister for ya!" Val leaned back and placed his arms around the shoulders of his girlfriends before continuing. "Hey ladies, fun fact about my family: my youngest sister? Best chef in Nova Veluti: guaranteed! Ma and Pop didn't like that she went to culinary school on account of them wanting her to join the family business, but considering how good her cooking is? I'd say she made the right choice! Now how's about you two see for yourselves..."

Val then grabbed the platter and set it on his lap before grabbing a puff.

"Alright Silva, here ya go!"

Val fed the chunkier of the girls by hand, and she gleefully gulped the cream puff down. And while she swallowed, he grabbed another and held it up to the more delicate of the two.

"Your turn, Goldie!"

Despite being the thinner of the pair, Goldie attacked the puff with far more ferocity than her sister. Val was quick to put another puff in Silva's mouth, and while he reached for another to feed to Goldie, Tadd was feeling antsy. His feet were in utter agony, and he had to balance himself on one footpaw at a time in a futile attempt to ease the pressure on them. It was so tempting to ask Val if there was anything else he could do to at least keep his mind off the pain, but his master made it clear that he had a "Don't speak unless spoken to" policy that was punishable by a few hundred watts coursing through his veins. But thankfully, Val turned towards him after each girl ate four puffs and scowled.

"Hey butthead, what's your deal?"

"M-My deal?"

"What are you doin', standing around and gawkin' at us like that?"

"Oh! Sorry sir, I'm just waiting to see if there was anything else you wanted me to do!" Tadd promised meekly, his neck feeling uncomfortably itchy at the moment.

"Waiting? WAITING? Pfft, what, you stupid or somethin'?" Val groaned as he rolled his crimson eyes, "Ya give us a platter of cream puffs: tasty snacks that make ya thirsty on account of them being baked goods... and you won't go get us a drink to chase 'em down with?"

"A drink...?" Val fished a small black controller with a prominent electric blue button out of his suit pocket, and Tadd nervously chuckled like mad as he put on an air of bluster and bravado. "Ha ha, yeah, a drink! I-I was gonna get you one, b-b-but I didn't want to just walk away! I-I thought it'd be rude, sir!"

Tadd grit his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut, bracing himself for a brief, yet nasty electric shock... but luckily, Val elected to pocket the shocker and instead approached him. And once he reached the young tunnelkin, he went the less painful, yet still unpleasant route of grabbing him and bending his head down before knocking on it like a door.

"Hello? Hello?! Is anybody home?!" Val asked sarcastically before exasperatedly throwing his arms into the air. "Think, kid! Think! You don't have to ask permission to grab us a drink, it's common sense! Are you tellin' me ya don't have any common sense?!"

"N-No sir, not at all!"

"Coulda fooled me!" Val sighed and dug his finger claws into his temples. "Eh, you know what? I DO appreciate you wanting to be polite and all, so I'll do you a favor and let this slide. So go ahead and grab us a bottle of Tentacle Brew, why don't ya? And after that... eh, you know what? Why don't ya hang around for a bit? We've got a heck of a good show coming up, and it's educational to boot! Might teach ya some important life lessons!"

"Life lessons? Like what?"

Right on cue, the automatic doors to the lounge parted and two beefy female mobsters stepped through, each with the arm of a tiny male Hopkoblin tucked under their shoulders. All it took was one quick glance at his quivering lips and teary eyes for Tadd to know exactly what he'd be watching.

"Life lessons such as ALWAYS pay your debts back to Val Kazkani!" Val growled. His almost comedically loutish voice had gained a gritty edge, and the way his pupils dilated reminded Tadd a little too much of the Scum Sharks that populated Dizmol's Soured Sea as the bulky mobsters pushed the shivering debtor in front of him. "Heya Flek!" He greeted tauntingly as he pulled a tiny silver mallet from his pants pocket, "Nice to see ya again. How's the hand?"

Flek whimpered as one of the mobsters forcibly grabbed his left hand displayed it to Val, the fingers looking slightly twisted and crooked from past fractures.

"Well look at that, your fingers are all better! Too bad they aren't gonna stay that way, on account of their owner being lousy with money!"

Flek began sobbing softly, and blubbered out a quick "No, don't!" that made Tadd feel sick to his stomach. He bolted out of the room and breathed heavily, his face looking strangely pale despite being covered in brown fur.

'Oh my gosh... oh my gosh, you've gotta be kidding me! That poor guy!'

Tadd's heart raced as he slumped down on the floor, rocking back and forth while he clutched a paw to his forehead. He was no stranger to cruelty given that he was currently owned by a family of cutthroat mobsters, and spent a good part of his early childhood doing nonstop chores for his slaver master on Volcus Prime. And even before that, he woke up one morning to a space pirate attack on the mining colony he called home. He had watched his parents, as well as countless Tunnelkin lose their lives and had witnessed plenty of horrible punishments bestowed upon his fellow slaves, and had seen Val hurt a good number of debtors and family rivals. By all means he should have been desensitized to cruelty and horrible violence.

But he wasn't. It didn't matter if he was five years old or ten, Tadd couldn't stomach the sight of such awful cruelty. Seeing innocent, good, or at the very least helpless people be so horribly hurt by the worst kind of people who just... got away with it all made him want to vomit and cry.

'Val is... he's a monster! Why can't he just give Mr. Flek more time to pay him back?! Why does he have to break his fingers?! I... I can't just watch that happen... I... what do I even do?!'

Suddenly, Tadd's internal dilemma was interrupted by a quick, yet painful jolt of electricity that completely enveloped his body. He jumped at least a foot in the air and landed on his feet, clutching his neck as he saw the saggy-jowled Hopkoblin from earlier glaring down at him with her predatory eyes, shocker in hand.

"What do ya think you're doing?!" she snarled, causing Tadd to flinch as stray bits of spittle pelted him on the snout.

"I-I'm sorry ma'am, I-I just needed to get off my feet for a second and- AH!"

She delivered another quick, painful jolt of electricity, a favorite past-time of good old Jowls Kazkani.

"Are you kidding me?!" Jowls snarled as Tadd quickly stood up straight and shook his head, "I've spent all day on my feet too, but you don't hear ME whining about it!" She lifted Tadd by the collar of his rather ragged set of plainclothes and pointed a clawed, sausage-like finger in his face. "So get back to work. Now. Or the next shock is gonna hurt even more!"

"Yes ma'am! So sorry, Ms. Jowls!"

"Stop apologizing, and GET TO WORK!"

Tadd made his way to the kitchen, sniffling and holding back tears as he felt hundreds of eyes on him: staring at him with looks that conveyed a mix of emotions such as disdain, uncaringness, and even concern. Despite how quickly the pain went away, the humiliation was completely unbearable to the boy, and he couldn't even bring himself to smile as he entered the kitchen and was met with the friendly grin of Su, Val Kazkani's favorite baby sister and the family chef.

"Hey little buddy!" She greeted cheerfully, looking particularly spritely thanks to the splash of grey freckles on her cheeks and her cropped pink hair, "Running more errands, huh?"

Tadd nodded sadly, not able to meet her friendly gaze. This wasn't lost on Su, who frowned as she bent over and met Tadd at eye level. "Aw, you don't seem too happy today. Do you wanna talk about it?"

If Tadd had to be honest? He was tired of working for the Kazkanis. Sick of it. He thought things were looking up after leaving the clutches of his vicious slavemaster, but things were just as bad now as they were then: exhausting work around the clock, being forced to bear witness to cruelty that went unpunished, being met with violence for the slightest transgression... he wanted nothing more than to just get up and leave. Just walk out the door and never come back.

But he couldn't tell Su that. Oh she was nice, sure, but it was always risky to badmouth the Kazkanis on their turf. What if one of her assistants heard and snitched to Val? Or what if Jowls was lying in wait, ready to make good on her threat earlier if she heard him tell the truth? So Tadd simply settled for wrapping his surprisingly long arms around Su's legs and hugging her tightly, sniffling as a few tears streamed down his cheeks.

"Oh... someone shocked you, didn't they?" Su asked. Tadd nodded, and she shook her head somberly. "Let me guess: Val? Aunt Jowls?"

"Jowls." Tadd sniffled.

"Ugh, well there's a surprise. Val's no hero, but Jowls? She's an animal. Heh, between you and me, I think she's the one who deserves a shock chip."

Tadd's eyes bugged out in fear as he shushed Su, but she giggled and ruffled the fur on his head.

"Don't worry little buddy, she's not gonna do anything to me. She's too much of a coward to try to go after someone who knows about every little food allergy she has..." Su chuckled grimly as she eyed a bug eyed, hideous fish on the counter that looked like it had been freshly pulled from a tar pit, "But seriously, she's disgusting. Real sorry you've had to put up with her, dude."

Tadd wiped his eyes as Su stood back up. "Well, I'd love to chat with you some more, but you're obviously here on business. And I'd hate to be the reason you get shocked again... so what did you need, anyway?"

"Tentacle Brew. Val wants it for this dumb, awful party of his..." Tadd growled, prompting a sigh from Su.

"And said party wouldn't happen to be him breaking the fingers of a debtor, now would it?"

Tadd nodded.

"That's my brother, alright," Su stated glumly after mock-shooting off a finger gun, "He can be a great guy, don't get me wrong, but... what can I say? Ma and pop really rubbed off on him... anyway, just sit tight while I go grab a bottle from storage."

Su opened a door to their right, and as she went inside to grab Val's refreshments one of her assistant chefs came in from the backdoor, carrying a trash container that was at least as big as his body.

"Geez! I don't care what the other guys think, I'm sittin' out on the next dumpster trip. It's murder on my friggin' spine..."

He walked right past Tadd, pretending he wasn't even there as he made his way to the casino and in his wake, left the door wide open. It was pretty much the only traditional manual door in this building, likely because since it led straight to the dumpsters and a rather dirty back alley, there wasn't much incentive to make it look nice. Tadd wouldn't have paid it much mind... except for the fact that it was just hanging wide open.

Wide open to the outside world.

An outside world that, while harsh and depressing, wasn't anywhere near as cruel as the inside.

And all Tadd had look forward to if he stayed inside was more shocks, more slave labor, and being forced to watch Val brutalize some poor sap who couldn't pay his unreasonable debts.

Deep down, a voice was urging, no, pleading him not to do anything stupid. If he tried to run away, he'd be tracked down by Jowls' Obsidian Hounds and possibly mauled by the monsters. And if they didn't get him, he'd be in for the shock of a lifetime. Things would be so much worse for him if he fled.

Too bad his brain and heart didn't see eye to eye.

"Alright buddy, here's your- WHOA!"

Su walked back into the kitchen just in time to see Tadd shoot off like a rocket and run outside as quickly as his stubby legs could carry him.

"DUDE! HEY, STOP!" She hollered as she chased him outside. "Don't do it, Tadd! If you run away, Val and Jowls are gonna kill you!"

But Tadd refused to stop, wincing as he was pelted by the harsh Dizmolan rainfall. And as he weaved through alleyway after alleyway, dashing past tired and forlorn Hopkoblins and small mountains of refuse, his thoughts turned back to Su. He felt bad about leaving her behind, given that she was always willing to talk to him or sneak him a few treats when no one was looking. She was the one thing he liked about living with the Kazkanis but... was that one thing anywhere near enough to justify him staying anymore?

'No way,' Tadd thought to himself as he made his way to an open street and darted through irate crowds of civilians into another alleyway, 'I can't stay anymore, I've... I've gotta find a ship and stow away, or get to another city, or... or...'

It just now occurred to Tadd that he didn't really have a plan, but there was no time to fret over it. Because every second spent running would mean more distance between him and the Kazkanis once they realized that he was gone...

XxXxXxX

Author's Note: I don't have much to say about this chapter since it's a pretty self-explanatory set up for the next story arc, so here's me talking about a few OC's...

Hurley: This guy is just too fun to write for: a big, jovial, fatherly alien who keeps a... VERY messy home. I really do like the "friendly, helpful blue collar working man" archetype and Hurley's meant to embody the best parts of it. Albeit, he's far from perfect, something that will be made very clear in his backstory... but until then? I think he bounces well off of Lapis and hope you guys find him as entertaining as I do. And a bit of trivia: his species and overall appearance are based off of the Mr. Queasy doll in Cheeseburger Backpack! They're called Queasians and are super strong and durable... with the drawback of being heavily, heavily prone to crippling motion sickness (Oog! Kid, don't shake me!) And as far as his voice goes... imagine him sounding like John Goodman, lol. That's like, THE perfect dad voice.

Tadd Spadeclaw: This fella was going to be in the original version of this story, but I initially cut him from this version because I didn't think he'd fit. But now, I'm bringing him back, and while he'll still be important? He's not gonna be a main character like last time: basically, I wanted Tadd to be a tagalong kid who Lapis would bond with due to his similarities to Steven, but I felt that he didn't have a place on the team and couldn't think of anything for him to do despite his prominence. So the role of the "Steveny kid Lapis bonds with" is being given to an as-of-yet unseen character, but Tadd? He'll still be important for introducing the next arc (Which is where the conflict really gets moving) as well as another arc where I CAN fit him in without it feeling shoehorned. But yeah, Tadd was basically a child slave who grew up relatively well-adjusted due to adopting an optimistic outlook on life in spite of his personal tragedies, and that aspect of his character is still present... just heavily downplayed with the tragic aspect of his life amplified. Doesn't mean his arc will be all doom and gloom though! And while he won't have the same bond with Lapis as originally intended, I kinda want to use him as a stepping stone to further her character growth all the same... as far as my ideal voice for him goes? I dunno, I'm thinking Atticus Shafer who voices Peedee in Steven Universe. Not much more to say here.

Val Kazkani: Every story needs an overconfident warmup villain to show how outclassed the usual baddie is against the hero, and Val is no exception. A foul little goblin who is mainly inspired by Back to the Future's Biff Tannen as well as various Batman/Dick Tracy mobsters, Val is pretty much the kind of guy who could easily be the main villain in a more grounded setting... but when your hero is a Gem who can steal the ocean, he's not going to amount to more than being a glorified punching bag. :p Not much to say here other than that I love his archetype and am having fun writing him. And while reading his dialogue... considering I've been copying a few of Biff's mannerisms, I totally picture him with Thomas F. Wilson's voice, ha ha. (Fun Fact: He was a woman in the original draft, but I changed his gender since I didn't like how I was writing Fem!Val and am having more fun with the "Totally not Biff Tannen" characterization I gave Male!Val)