Alright, so I've managed a few adjustments. Ch. 18, Mecha Mayhem, has been replaced with a shorter chapter and I've decided to leave the rest of the story mostly as is. There was a large word count in that story that I...well, it wasn't my chapter really. I hate that I forced myself into a corner like that. But hopefully it will be very different from here on out. Thank you to everyone that stuck with me!
TheBookWorm106: You have no idea how much that means to me. The only chapter I changed completely was Ch. 18. So hopefully it's up to par with what you were expecting. Thank you so very, very much!
DragShot: (gives you a hug) thank you! And yeah, that was my issue. It was getting to the point where I had just inserted and OC into the show's set plot. That's not what I want. So I hope I can put this story back on track.
Therichardater: The wait is over...my friend.
Anzac-A1: ...oh well? I mean, there are ancient human stadiums from way long ago. Besides, if it's really an issue...then this is a cartoon and we'll all just say baseball was a gem sport and they made a stadium for it that ultimately got destroyed...truce?
"You're what?!" Peridot gawked as Debbie hefted the last of her personal effects into the bed of her old pickup truck.
Debbie managed a small chuckle at the small gem's indignation. "I'm leaving, Peri. I've got to go take care of the house. Remember that old man, Mr. Madruid?"
"Vaguely…" Peridot crinkled her nose, "He...I set the featheroids on him, right?"
"Yeah, that's the guy." Debbie laughed, "I...honestly, I'm nervous whenever I leave the house for too long. There's always the chance that man will work up the balls-."
"What does balls have to do with anything?"
"The courage," Debbie rolled her eyes, "To come back and make another attempt at kicking me off the property."
"You never told us another human was trying to take your home away."
Debbie jumped and spun to find Pearl approaching them. Garnet, Steven and Amethyst weren't far behind. The ginger-haired woman chuckled nervously, face flushed with embarrassment.
"It's...well, it ain't something I'm all too proud of."
"Yeah, she hasn't even told me about this guy." Peridot puffed up. "So...what's he following you for anyway."
"This...it's a long story. Are you sure you want to hear it?"
"If someone's bothering you, we want to know." Garnet spoke up with a firm, yet supportive tone.
"Yeah, you're part of this family too." Steven grinned. "Don't worry about the star though."
"Yeah, it's so hard to figure out where to put them anyway." Peridot huffed, eliciting a laugh from the woman.
"Okay, okay...really. Thanks. It means a lot." Debbie let out a long sigh, "But...wow. Where to even begin."
"Take your time, we've met our quota for the day." Pearl advised.
Debbie allowed a small smile to form. "Well...see, there was this family, the Marsons. They were quite surely the nicest people for miles around. The 'see a need, fill a need' type. Well, they had a young son, fresh outta high school who was going to get feed from a nearby town when he sees this woman. She's got the reddest hair, the darkest eyes, and the coldest, most guarded expression he's ever seen. And she's outside of this pawn shop, glancing at the door every few minutes." Debbie giggles, "The man, Tobias Marson, was looking at his future wife, my mother, Loraine Parley. Which was scandalous in its own right."
"Scandalous. He was just lookin' at her." Amethyst huffed.
"Oh, but it was scandalous. See, unbeknownst to most of the town, my mother was...okay, long story short, she was dating a very rich, very nasty man for his money. Rumor had she was, uh, exchanging some nightly favors for cash. And she was...but not because she wanted to. Everyone assumed that she did it because she was a lowlife who...well, Steven cover your ears." Debbie rubbed the bridge of her nose, "She was thought to be a slut for the hell of it." she muttered and signaled Pearl to release her hold on Steven, "So no one thought to ask her why she needed so much cash so quickly."
"What did she do?" Garnet asked.
"Loraine, hadn't done a damn thing. She needed money, cause her papa, my late grandfather, was sick. Really sick, and the doctor they needed in order to treat him wasn't a fan of low prices or discounts." Debbie smiled, "But Tobias wasn't like most of the town. He was very...thoughtful. He knew the man Loraine was waiting for. He couldn't imagine anyone in their right mind dating or paying favors to a man such as the one in the pawn shop. Tobias figured that the woman just needed cash. Without much further thought, my dad goes up to Loraine. Now, my pop was nervous as all get out. But, facing the raised brow of this beautiful woman with less clothes on than appropriate, the man thrusts a twenty into her palms that he was supposed to use to buy feed, and before she can say anything he says…
'Well that ought to knock off a few nights from that greasy bastard, yeah?'
And with that, my father wishes her a good day with a face redder than a tomato and stiffly walks off. If he would have looked back, he'd of seen shock, awe, and the ice melting away from my mother's heart."
Debbie paused to laugh at the wide smile both Garnet and Steven sported. Amethyst was snorting while Pearl and Peri merely urged her on. Debbie smiled and absently scratched at her arm.
"Tobias got shouted at for giving away money, but wasn't punished too severely once he was allowed a moment to defend himself. Then, two days later right before the Marson family was sitting down to eat, they hear a knock at the door. Mrs. Marson opens the door and immediately hollers for Tobias. Now, everyone's gathering around to get a look at this stranger." Debbie giggles at the memory. "It's Loraine. She's dressed more than usual as her face is nearly as red as her hair. Tobias stands in front of her, his family gathered behind him, but before he can say anything, Loraine bows her head in respect and says,
'You have no idea what you've done for me. Your kindness...my father's going to live now. My momma and I won't have to watch him suffer and waste away anymore. I really can't thank you enough for allowing me to save him and get away from that awful man.'
And she offers him this beautiful smile that turns his cheeks redder than a tomato. Meanwhile his family is floored and ushers the girl in for supper. She becomes a regular part of the family and soon enough, Loraine and Tobias are in a happy relationship. They had me a few years later...but…"
"But, what?" Steven asks, his face falling.
"Well, you see...my father is in the military now. But he's been...MiA for a very long time. Presumed dead and that...it was too much for my mother. She left me behind...left the house and never came home a few years back. So I went to live with my grandparents, the Marsons from my story. However, my grandmother, Sue Marson is in the nursing home and my grandfather died of a heart attack just a year and a half ago. So I'm the only one still caring for the farm, where Mr. Madruid comes in…" Debbie smirked, "Betcha can't guess where he fits into the story, can you…"
"He wasn't...no…" Peri gasped and Debbie laughed.
"That's right. The greasy man in the pawn shop was ole' Mr. Madruid. He had a fixation on my mother and never forgave Tobias for 'stealing her away' from him. He's had it out for me ever since. He thinks I'm an easy target and wants to take away that house of mine where my father once lived and where my mother came to live. He wants to take away what he can't stand, the fact that he lost and that I came of that loss. But I don't think I could bear seeing that place in any hands but my own...so, I have to keep fighting him...unfortunately, he controls the payments I have to make alongside most of the buildings in the next town over. So I have to be careful-."
"Not anymore you don't." Garnet huffed and rose to her feet.
"Garnet," Pearl began to chide, silenced solely by the way Garnet set her jaw.
"Madruid can try to take this house, this story of love away from Debbie, but I have yet to find an outcome where he succeeds." Garnet stated and made her way over to the passenger side of the truck, "Come on, Debbie. If you've got everything packed, we should go now. Madruid should be heading there too."
Eyes widening, Debbie quickly clambered into the truck and began starting it up. Though she couldn't help but laugh as everyone began piling into the bed of her truck, trying to find a place to sit amongst her tools and effects.
"This ought to be fun?" Debbie chuckled nervously once she was well on her way to the farmhouse.
"Don't worry, Debbie." Garnet assured her with a grin, "You've got the Crystal Gems on your side, so relax. We don't plan on losing."
"...thanks, Garnet."
The gem shrugged, but was still smiling. "What can I say? I'm a sucker for a good love story."