"Alright Steven, here it is: a piping hot pepperoni pizza for you and your friend! Hope you guys enjoy it!"
"We will, thanks Kiki!"
"Anytime, Steven! See you later!"
With a fresh Fish Stew Pizza in hand, Lapis flew Steven up to the lighthouse on the top of the Crystal Temple. The duo took their spot near the edge of the cliff overlooking the beach, and Steven laid out a checkered blanket he had pulled out from his cheeseburger backpack. He took his seat, and Lapis followed suit at a slightly slower pace. She had to admit, it was a bit nerve-wracking being right on top of the Crystal Gems' home. And yet, it was so... peaceful up there. The lighthouse and the cottage attached to it looked wonderfully cozy and, the distant view of the ocean was breathtaking.
'Heh. I didn't give this planet enough credit: it really is a lot more beautiful than I realized. I'm gonna miss it...'
"Alright Lapis, here you go!" Steven announced as he held a paper plate with a pizza slice up to his friend, "Your first slice of pizza, one of the BEST foods on Earth! You remembered to shapeshift a digestive system on your way here, right?"
"Yep, I made myself a stomach, intestines, just about everything in that book you lent me."
"Alright then, just give it some time to cool off, and dig in!
And as the slice of pizza began cooling off, Lapis stared at it in wonder. It was so utterly bizarre to her: a doughy triangle that had been decorated with tomato sauce, cheese, and slices of meat? She learned enough about food to know that these ingredients were wildly different, and she couldn't help but wonder if they'd clash, but... it was clearly a popular food given how many people she had seen hanging around Fish Stew Pizza. Steven loved it too, so there had to be an appeal to it. And after a minute of waiting, Lapis took a bite. Then she understood everything.
"Oh my gosh!" She cried through a mouthful of pizza. She clasped a hand into her mouth and stared off into the sky as she chewed. Her tongue was graced with a spectrum of sensations: the tart yet slightly sweet flavor of the sauce, the creamy richness of the cheese, the savory and juicy pepperoni, the toasty crunchiness of the crust... it was like nothing she had experienced before, and she could hardly piece together the words to describe it.
"Well... do you like it?" Steven asked. Lapis squealed as she took another bite.
"Are you kidding?! I love it! It's... oh my gosh, it's so good!" Lapis moaned while devouring the rest of the slice. After finishing it, her chest heaved, hands trembled, and mouth watered like mad as she eyeballed the rest of the pizza with frantic glee. "C-Can I have more?"
"Yeah! We each get four slices, so help yourself!"
"Oh, thank you so much!"
Lapis grabbed her second slice, and as she bit into it a wad of melted cheese fell onto her lap. Lapis scooped it up with two fingers on her left hand, and moaned with pleasure few Gems had known as she slurped it up.
"Gosh, Steven," Lapis said, "I can't believe I've gone my whole life without eating anything! This is incredible!"
"And that's just one of a whole BUNCH of super yummy foods out there! Here, I've got something else for you to try!"
Steven reached into his backpack and pulled out two chocolate cupcakes wrapped in plastic foil. He opened the wrapper and tossed Lapis a cupcake. The friends bit into their cupcakes together, and Lapis sighed blissfully as she was overwhelmed by a combination of rich chocolatey flavor and sweet cream filling.
"Oh, this is so good... I know I'm repeating myself but seriously! I can't believe they never eat anything back on Homeworld!"
"Yeah, those other Gems are really missing out!" Steven agreed as he took another bite of his cupcake, "I know you guys don't HAVE to eat, but honestly? It's a really fun way to bond!"
"It is?" Lapis asked as she popped the rest of her cupcake in her mouth.
"Yeah! It's kinda hard to explain, but when people eat together, it just feels a lot easier to talk to each other! You can share stuff that's bothering you, tell funny jokes, or brag about cool stuff you've done... or you can just sit back and quietly think about your day! Like I said, it's kinda hard to explain, ha ha."
Steven turned towards the ocean, and he and Lapis took some time to just bask in the atmosphere. They took bites of pizza while watching the waves and the circling birds, and Lapis realized where Steven was coming from: despite all the ugly emotions stewing away inside of her, being able to just hang out with a friend and take in some gorgeous scenery was wonderfully calming. She knew it wouldn't last, but for now she was at peace. And that was all she really needed at the moment...
"Miss! YOO HOO, MISS! You gotta wake up!"
Lapis flinched, snorting a bit as she suddenly found herself back in her seat at the Rainbow Reef, that seafood restaurant Hurley spoke so highly of. Considering how wildly different it looked compared to the rest of Dizmol, Lapis felt a bit disoriented as she found her bearings, but she was quickly eased back into the surprisingly warm, inviting atmosphere. It reminded her a lot of similar eateries she had seen in Empire City and Ocean Town, as it was an outdoor patio mostly lacking walls with a glass canopy acting as the roof, giving customers a view of the immense tarry ocean as they ate while protecting them from Dizmol's frequent rain storms. And unlike other Dizmolan buildings, the owner of said restaurant seemed to have fun with livening up the place, as there were strings upon strings of seashells dangling from the ceiling that glowed with a faint, soothing light, and the walls near the counter/kitchen were decorated with colorful abstract art, terrifying fish with bulging eyes and needle-like fangs mounted on trophy stands, and a large boat constructed from what looked like pale pink coral mounted right above the counter itself. All in all, it was a pleasant place to eat and probably the first place in this side of the universe that she genuinely liked.
"What happened?" Lapis asked as she stretched and eased herself back in her chair, "I mean, I was eating and all, but I feel like I kinda... blanked out, if that makes any sense?"
"You slipped into a food coma, that's what!" Hurley chuckled as he gestured towards all the stacks of empty plates and bowls surrounding Lapis. Plates that once held slabs of fried fish, roasted ocean-dwelling bugs, skewers of grilled shrimp and colorful exotic fruits, entire roasted cephalopods with juicy tentacles... and now, they were all packed inside of Lapis, who had suddenly become aware of just how ridiculously bloated she was, as well as how wonderfully full she felt.
"Whoa, ha ha... guess I got carried away." Lapis replied, suppressing a belch as she patted her swollen gut, "But what exactly is a food coma?"
"It's what happens when you stuff yourself to the gills, mon!" the waiter, the first non-Hopkoblin Lapis had seen in Dizmol announced. He was a rather tall and wiry fellow with slippery midnight blue skin skin, and the wavy mass of neon-colored tendrils on his head bore an uncanny resemblance to that of a sea anemone. His wide eyes made him look incredibly approachable and friendly to the point that even the pointy, scary fangs he bared while grinning were more endearing than creepy. "Anyway missy, you've been eating real good so far, so how's about some whipped ice to chase all that seafood down?!"
He held up a bowl of cold, fluffy, rainbow-colored desert to Lapis, who chuckled nervously as she pushed it away. "I'll pass, thanks. I mean, your food is AMAZING, buuuuut I'm pretty sure I'll literally explode if I eat anymore."
"Fair enough, fair enough!" the waiter replied with an understanding nod before turning to Hurley, "Hurley however, he ALWAYS has room for whipped ice!"
"That I do, Rolo! That I do indeed!" Hurley replied as he accepted the bowl, and ate a spoonful of whipped ice. "Oh ho!" he laughed, tearing up as he swallowed and sighed wistfully, "I swear, the food tastes better every time I visit!"
"That's 'cause I got a LOTTA time to improve during the year long gaps between visits, ya big fool! Seriously mon, you need to stop by more often!"
"I'll try my best, buddy! I promise!"
The waiter named Rolo walked away, and left Lapis and Hurley alone. The cuddly alien tucked into some more whipped ice, and let out a muffled "Mmm mmm MMM!" before swallowing and addressing Lapis.
"Alright Blue, now that we're all settled in and cozy, how about we start brainstorming about how to get your ship back?"
"Yeah, that's probably a good idea." Lapis shifted her gaze towards a loud, festive-looking mask mounted on the wall and started drumming her fingers on the surface of the table. "Hmm... you know, back on Earth I saw people perform in the streets for money, usually through dancing, music, stuff like that. Might try my hand at that."
"Well that's a great idea!" Hurley exclaimed after another spoonful of dessert, "I mean, you did some crazy stuff with water back at that rest stop, just imagine all the minds you'll blow if you do it out here!"
Lapis was almost optimistic, until Hurley sighed and slumped back in his chair. "Too bad it all hinges on the locals caring. Unfortunately for us, Dizmol-born Hopkoblins tend to skew towards the cynical side of things, and may not see a water show as anything worth spending money on."
Before Lapis could really let her cynicism set in, Hurley suddenly sat right back up and chortled merrily to himself. "Oh, who am I kidding? There's bound to be more than a few who'd get a kick out of your abilities! Come on, what was I thinking, painting every single Hopkoblin with the same brush?"
Lapis simply waited to see if Hurley's mood would continue to shift, but he seemed to firmly be in the "Optimist" camp as he finished off his bowl of whipped ice. "Yeah Blue, that's exactly what you should do! But we have to be realistic: even if it can help bring in the credits, we can't solely rely on it for our income. We need to expand our horizons, and pursue other avenues!"
"Well, what kind of ideas do you have?" Lapis asked.
"For starters, I've got a number of things on my ship I can sell for some quick cash! Namely ray guns and old clothes, maybe some food..."
Lapis remembered that rotten fruit she had stepped in, and had to fight back the urge to spew her massive dinner all over the table. "Uh... I don't think that's such a good idea. The food part, I mean."
"Yeah, you've got a point there," Hurley admitted, "I'm pretty sure around 80, 90% of it's gone bad by now. Last thing I need is to cause a health scare by circulating all my rotten food through the local markets, ha ha!"
"It wouldn't be a problem if you threw away your trash. Just saying."
Hurley's morale had to have been bulletproof, because he effortlessly deflected her bluntness with another booming laugh. "Ha ha, another point taken! It's just so hard to find the time, you know? I mean, in between all my traveling and all the odd jobs I take... anyway, back on topic: the guns and clothes should net us a decent amount of money, but it definitely still won't be anywhere near enough to cover the cost of your ship."
Hurley held his spoon to his chin and stared contemplatively out towards the sea. Lapis followed suit, and felt a bit of gloominess set in at the sight of the murky, inky water. It looked less like an ocean and more like an impossibly gigantic tar pit, making Lapis seriously question just how anything could actually survive in the crushing black depths of the Dizmolan sea. She thought the bottom of Earth's ocean was nightmarish, but Dizmol's abyss? It would have been her own personal hell: darkness that made it impossible to tell where she even was, and in turn impossible to see even the most frightening, titanic monsters even if they were right in front of her face-
"Blue, hey! BLUE!"
Lapis flinched, and immediately turned away from the ocean. "Wh-what?!"
"You drifted off again, that's what! I tell ya, your mind really seems to be wandering today-" Once Hurley got a good look at Lapis' face, he stopped short and frowned. "Blue, are... are you okay?"
"Of course I am, why-"
Lapis was now painfully aware of all the sweat dribbling down her forehead, as well as how deathly cold her face felt. She hastily wiped her brow and forced out an insincere laugh. "Ha ha, I-I'm fine Hurley. I'm fine... so anyway, what exactly were you talking about just now?"
Hurley didn't look quite convinced, but he seemed to have taken his oath not to intrude on Lapis' business to heart and changed the subject. "Well, I was just mentioning the fact that we could also see if the townsfolk have any odd jobs they need taken care of. Like say, plumbing, home improvement, or pest control, that sort of thing. I've got experience in all those fields, so I'd be able to get some money that way!"
"Home improvement... is that a form of construction?" Lapis asked, her eyes widened with interest.
"Yep! Usually it has to do with renovating an existing home such as upgrading the plumbing and any kind of power source, doing a bit of masonry or metalwork, sometimes even just tearing down parts of the home itself to expand it! I take it you're interested?"
"Well, kinda," Lapis admitted, "That's actually why I exist in the first place! Lapises like myself are supposed to be terraformers: we'd take control of large bodies of water, and use them to tear up and reshape land in order to make room for Gem structures."
"Well I'll be! I never took you for the landscaping type!" Hurley admitted, "Water powers really would come in handy for that sort of thing, huh? Well Blue, should anyone need a hand from a landscaper, I'll point them in your direction! And lucky for us, it's very, very lucrative work!"
Hurley set his spoon back in the bowl, then leaned forward while extending a hand towards Lapis. "Alright Blue, I think I've got us a good system worked out: It's currently around the 25th hour, meaning that we've got probably a good four, maybe five hours until most people go to bed for the night. I'm gonna polish off the slurry left over from my whipped ice, and after that I'll start going door to door asking around for potential home improvement projects! Meanwhile, how about you start showing off those water powers of yours? We'll use tonight as a test run to see just how much money you're likely to make!"
"Sounds like a plan," said Lapis. She thought back to her time on Earth, thinking of the wondrous things she had seen for inspiration for her performance later on. Earth's wildlife was rather beautiful, but she particularly loved the creatures that called the seas home: angelfish, dolphins, whales, sharks, octopi, turtles... even before she began to find meaning in the Earth's beauty, she remembered going out of her way to make sure they weren't hurt when she turned all the Earth's oceans into a tower just because she found them that fascinating. And who knows? If she had enough room in her cold, anger-filled heart for those creatures, perhaps the same would go for Krapton's populace... seeing as how Hurley had literally licked his bowl clean, she'd find out real soon.
"Alright Blue," Hurley began before belting out a belch nasty enough to make Lapis' upper lip curl back in disgust, "I'm all done! I'd say it's high time we got our butts in gear and started making some money, don't you think?"
"Yep. Sooner we get off this planet the better..."
But Hurley wasn't able to call Rolo over for the bill, because the second he turned to him the pair noticed a rather large party of Hopkoblins storming their way into the restaurant, with Rolo scowling at them as they stormed past. All these Hopkoblins, male and female alike were rather snazzy dressers that favored what humans called "Business-Casual" outfits with the occasional pretty dress worn among the ladies. Their leader however, a particularly muscular Hopkoblin with ghostly white skin, was dressed in a fancy red and black-striped suit along with a pair of red sunglasses with circular frames that helped him cut a striking figure as he swaggered over to the middle of the restaurant. He stood as tall as he could manage and waited patiently while a particularly bony, gaunt Hopkoblin shrilly whistled.
"HEY! Val's got an announcement for you bloated lowlives, and I think it'll prove to be worth your time if you'd shut up and listen for a bit."
The other customers all turned towards the group of sharp-dressed goblins, looking every bit as irate as Rolo. Even Hurley wasn't smiling, but furiously scowling at the group while the leader gave the speaker a friendly pat on the back.
"Thank ya, Bones."
The Hopkoblin named Bones nodded curtly as he and the rest of the group took their seats at the enormous centermost table, allowing Val to address the crowd.
"Well folks, I've noticed a couple of fresh faces in the crowd," Val sneered as he looked right at Lapis and Hurley, "So lemme give you guys a quick rundown: the name's Val. Val Kazkani. You've probably heard of me on account of my family being the most powerful in all of Krapton! We own most of the real estate, businesses, a good portion of the docks... and as a result, we've got WAY more money than we know what to do with!"
Hurley scoffed and rolled his eyes, and Lapis couldn't help but sympathize.
"Now most of you people know that I'm a fairly generous guy: if you need some quick credits, I'm always happy to loan some! Provided ya pay me back soon, of course..."
"Or else you break people's fingers..." Hurley growled under his breath while Val prattled on.
"But today, I've got a heck of an offer for you guys: FREE money, with no strings attached! No need to pay me back, no need to worry about getting in trouble with my friends, nothin'!"
That made the other customers perk up alright: the pointy ears of all the Hopkoblin patrons stood up straight, and the scowls on their faces disappeared while they let Val sell his offer to them.
"So here's the thing: a couple of years back, I adopted a kid by the name of... uh..."
"Tadd." Said a breathy-voiced Hopkoblin with a bizarre face that appeared to be made of porcelain, prompting Val to smile at her.
"Yeah, Tadd! Thank ya, Dollface."
She nodded, and he cleared his throat before continuing. "Anyway, I adopted a kid named Tadd and let me tell ya: he's a good kid. Real good kid! He does his chores when he's asked, he makes sure he's seen but never heard, just a really really good kid."
Lapis and Hurley exchanged glances of disbelief. She couldn't place why, but there was something incredibly off about this story...
"However, the poor guy's got a heckuva fatal flaw, and that flaw is his attention span... oh wait, I mean LACK of attention span! I tell you guys, he's a twitchy little dude and sometimes he gets kinda sidetracked when I ask him to go do something, the little tyke!" Val gave perhaps the most insincere chuckle Lapis had ever heard before picking back up. "And just a few hours ago, I had him run to the kitchen and grab some drinks while I was entertaining some lady friends of mine, but he never came back! He seems to have gone out to play in the rain, but no one's seen the kid since! My aunt Jowls has been searching with her hounds but... well, you know how Dizmol's rain can get! The stuff seems to have washed away his scent! So here's my offer to you: keep an eye out for that kid, and if you even THINK you see him, let us know! He's not hard to miss, he's a Tunnelkin, one of those squat ratty looking guys with huge claws, probably the only one on Dizmol! I don't care if you bring him in yourself or just tip us off, but ANYONE who helps us find him will be paid five thousand credits!
"Five thousand?!" Lapis asked loudly enough for everyone to hear, prompting a hushed "Blue, wait!" While everyone turned her way. Val grinned and nodded grimly.
"That's right, Bluey! I take it you need 'em for something?"
"Well, yeah! My ship got towed and apparently, it costs three thousand credits to get it back!"
"Ah, well I'm sorry to hear that, miss. And I'm even more sorry about that fine you've gotta pay! But hey: at least it's motivation to go out and look for my kid, right?"
Lapis had to admit: as obnoxious and showy as he was, this Val guy's offer was hard to refuse. The money he offered was almost double the amount she needed to pay off her fine to the towing company. And thanks to the maneuverability that came with being able to fly, she'd certainly have the advantage over anyone else looking for that missing boy...
"No!" Hurley hissed as he grabbed Lapis' hand and tugged it. "Don't listen to him, Blue! Trust me, he's nothing but bad news!"
"HEY! Let me go!" Lapis pulled her hand away and glared at Hurley, who rapidly shook his head and gestured wildly.
"Blue, please! You do realize that his whole tale sounds incredibly suspicious?!"
"Hey butthead!" Val bellowed, pointing a long finger with the thickness of a sausage at Hurley, who glared right back at him. "What's your deal? If the lady wants to take me up on my offer, then let her take the friggin' offer!"
"You mean finding a missing child adopted by some scumbag gangster? A child who just so happens to come from off-world, whose name you can't even remember? Excuse me for thinking this whole deal sounds highly suspect."
Val stepped forward, looking outright demonic thanks to the way he bared his fangs, along with the murderous glint shining through his shades. "What exactly are you implying, gramps?"
Hurley stood up and glowered down at Val, who only now seemed to realize how much the older man towered over him. He flinched and quickly backed off while Hurley took a single step forward. "I'm saying that the kid you're looking for is a slave. I'm right, aren't I?"
The atmosphere had grown so tense that you could hear a pin drop, with Kazkanis, customers, Rolo, and Lapis all staring wide-eyed at Hurley and Val. They could practically feel the electricity crackle in the air as the small, loudmouthed crime lord continued backing away from Hurley, who had closed a trembling fist and continued his approach. It was the perfect recipe for a chaotic, one-sided beatdown, but before any punches were thrown, the tension was broken by the sound of Dollface clearing her throat.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you~" Dollface sneered in her delicate, airy voice. Everyone turned to face her, and realized that she was standing uncomfortably close to a local family that was eating out, stroking the hair of a young Hopkoblin girl who innocently stared up at her through a spoonful of whipped ice. "Starting a fight in a crowded restaurant? It's almost like you want innocent bystanders to get caught in the crossfire..."
She ruffled the little girl's hair for emphasis, which didn't bother her yet absolutely horrified her parents. Hurley on the other hand huffed deeply through his nose as he shifted his unsettling gaze onto the rest of the Kazkanis.
"...cowards." was all he had to say before sitting back down. Val curled his lip back in a sneer and nodded in approval.
"Good choice, gramps. But remember: in the future ya might wanna watch what you say about me. But not on my account, 'cause I've got pretty thick skin." He boasted while gesturing towards his group, who all flashed insincere smiles as they waved at the crowd. "Y'see, I always try to maintain a good relationship with my immediate family, and because of that? They get pretty protective of me when morons like you start trying to slander my good name!"
The restaurant roared to life, with the other Kazkanis excitedly chatting with each other while a few loud voices stood up for their boss.
"C-C-Come off i-i-it, gramps!" A jittery little Kazkani dressed in a patchy suit hollered, gesturing wildly with a small walking stick, "V-V-V-Val's a gr-gr-great g-g-guy! A-A-After he br-br-br-broke ma's arms, sh-she stopped cl-cl-clobbering me every t-t-time I stuttered!"
"He made my groom disappear, saving me from a loveless political marriage~" Dollface cooed.
"He helped deliver my firstborn child!" A male Kazkani with a frog-like gait bellowed proudly.
"He spots for me when I lift." A hulking colossus of a woman with a literal iron jaw growled.
"Eee shaarstettaklbru wivmyevrymornn" A Kazkani with particularly squinty eyes mumbled incoherently.
"What we're all saying is that Val is what's commonly referred to as a standup guy." Bones said, bowing towards his boss. "The thought of him owning a slave is simply absurd, and we won't stand for it."
"Point taken." Hurley growled.
"'Ey, EY!" Rolo hollered, having enough of being walked all over in his restaurant. "We get it Mister Val, you're a real nice guy. Now that you've established your niceness, either get something to eat, or LEAVE! You're upsetting my costumers!"
"Don't worry squiddy, we aren't hanging around much longer. I've gotta keep spreading the word around town, ya know! But before I do that, lemme tell that old guy a little something..."
Val stepped over to the girl Dollface threatened and snatched the bowl of whipped ice she was eating. She fell into tearful hysterics while he flung it across the room, soaking Hurley in the frosty dessert and bouncing the bowl off his face while his entourage cackled boorishly.
"You better stay outta my face, butthead!"
And with that, Val and his groupies left the Rainbow Reef, leaving an infuriated Hurley wiping the colorful cream off of himself while he grumbled harshly to himself.
"Stupid swaggering little coward, thinks he's SO tough because he hides behind a gang..."
"I, uh, take it you don't like that guy." Lapis stated with a nervous chuckle, hoping to ease the tension a bit.
"Understatement of a lifetime," Hurley grumbled as he turned towards the girl, who was still sobbing inconsolably while her mother patted her on the back and held her tightly. "Gangsters like Val are a blight on this planet. Just about every major city and a few of the smaller ones have at least one powerful crime family crushing everyone under their heel, and have the local police in their pocket. They're free to terrorize and bully to their heart's content, and because the risk of collateral damage is so great, you can't do anything about them! Gah, what I wouldn't give to teach those thugs some manners..."
"Well, you can't. So can we just go and start building up the funds for my ship already?"
"Sure." Hurley agreed grumpily as he and Lapis got up. He walked over to the counter, and fished out some credits from his pocket. "Alright Rolo, I believe that'll be 87 credits for our meal..."
"Indeed." Rolo replied with a nod as he reached for the money. Hurley however retracted it and held up a hand before looking back over at the crying Hopkoblin child again. While her mother rocked her gently in her grasp, her father looked absolutely defeated as he denied her pleas for another whipped ice.
"I'm sorry kiddo, but we don't have the money for another one! We just barely have enough money to pay our debt to Mr. Kazkani, and if we come up short, he'll..."
The father couldn't bring himself to say exactly what it was, but the way his wife took his hand and massaged his crooked fingers told Lapis everything she needed to know. Hurley and Rolo similarly looked on glumly, before the former pressed his lips together and pulled out a few extra credits.
"Hey Rolo, you mind fixing me another whipped ice?"
Rolo gasped, before a smile lit his goofy face back up. "Ha HA! Coming right up, mon!"
He ducked into the kitchen, and could be seen pouring a bunch of ice and six differently colored colored bottles of creamy juice into an enormous machine. He pressed a button and it roared to life, noisily mixing it's contents around at ludicrous speed. Rolo grabbed a bowl, and then reached for a nozzle protruding from the machine almost like an elephant's trunk. He pulled a trigger under the nozzle and it sprayed out a thick, rainbow-colored mass of cream, creating another bowl of whipped ice that Rolo decorated with a beautiful flower from a nearby basket. He handed it to Hurley, who in turn walked over to the table and cleared his throat.
"Excuse me little miss, but it appears my jumpsuit ate up your dessert! Here's another one, free of charge!"
The teary eyed Hopkoblin's ears perked up and the waterworks stopped instantaneously. She flashed an enormous fanged smile as her parents looked on in shock, and wiped away the tears before gleefully accepting the treat. As she cheerfully guzzled down her whipped ice, the mother spoke with a rather shaky tone in her voice. "Th-Thank you so much! I'm sorry we can't pay you back, but-"
"Don't you worry about a thing, ma'am!" Hurley interrupted, "That smile on your daughter's face is the only compensation I need!"
Now in high spirits, Hurley motioned towards Lapis. "Come on, Blue! That money won't earn itself!"
He marched out the door, whistling cheerfully while the little girl continued eating. As Hurley said, she had the biggest smile on her face as she finished her dessert, and her parents couldn't hide the spark in their tired eyes as they excitedly discussed the matter of Hurley's generosity. Lapis turned to leave, only for Rolo to reach towards her with a rubbery limb and poke her on the shoulder.
"'Ey miss! It's been real nice having you and Hurley over! You tell that big dolt that Rolo said thanks, ok?"
"Will do, Rolo. And uh... thanks for the meal!"
"Oh no problem, miss! You have a good night!"
When Lapis stepped back out into the rainy streets of Dizmol proper, she couldn't help but feel a bit conflicted. After all, Hurley helping that little girl out was incredibly sweet. She'd be lying if she said that it wasn't hard not to feel sorry for her when she had her snack taken away... and yet, she couldn't help but feel a bit annoyed as well. Because as nice as Hurley was, did he really have to spend all that money better saved for her ship?
'Ah well, what's done is done. All I can really do now is see if I can make back those lost funds...'
XxXxXx
Author's Note: I dunno if this chapter will really be appealing since now that I'm looking back at it, it kind of drags on. I think a part of it was the flashback to hanging out with Steven but honestly? I think it's a necessity: I don't want to repeat the show's mistakes of just saying stuff happened and never showing it, so why not commit and actually show bits and pieces of Steven and Lapis' fun times on Earth? They actually make for good framing devices leading into certain chapters, and it helps keep Steven and Beach City relevant to the story since despite the overall different tone I still want it to feel connected to the show.
And now that I've properly introduced the Kazkani 500 in their element, harassing people and acting like general scumbags, a bit more about them! At first they were just going to be generic gangsters with only Val getting any real focus... and then I decided that was lame, since technically they're the antagonist of this arc as a whole. So I fleshed out characters, made sure to note them having distinct personalities and appearances, and overall? Just about every important Kazkani is a callback to those old Dick Tracy comics where the titular detective was pitted against a bunch of really freakish looking criminals, and I even based the one with garbled dialogue on an actual Dick Tracy villain known as Mumbles who speaks exactly like him. Since most of them aside from Val, Jowls, Razz/Pazz, and maybe Dollface are really minor characters I don't think it REALLY matters since this isn't even a visual medium where you can ogle over bizarre character designs, but still! I thought it was a nice way to spice up an otherwise bog standard group of baddies.
So that'll be it for now! Next chapter goes up the following Monday, so until then I hope you all enjoy this one!
