Holy crap, it's been forever since I updated this story. Literally the day it was published, I was able to get three chapters up and that's when writer's block hit me. I'm glad this story got a little support, though. I just wanna mention a few things besides the fact that I'm glad that I got this story up before New Year's.
I'd like to thank you guys for your reviews and support. You guys keep me going.
I'd also like to thank my roommates for collaborating with me on this one. They were a big help.
Glad to see that Steven Universe is still kicking and making its mark in cartoon history.
I'm sooooooooo friggin' excited for Tremors 6. You would not BELIEVE how!
Anyway, before I drone on any longer, the rights to Steven Universe belong to Rebecca Sugar and the Crewniverse and the rights to Tremors belongs to Universal Studios and Don Michael Paul.
As short as Onion was, the boy was indeed faster than Burt and Travis. Even with the gun in his hand, he managed to outrun the two men. Sweat drenched the survivalists' shirts, their legs aching from excessive strain due to chasing Onion and searching for the Shrieker prior to the situation. Burt lagged behind as Travis advanced further in an attempt to get a jump on the kid.
"I got him! I got him! I got him!" Travis repeated as he closed in on the boy.
Seeing how Onion was a few feet away, Travis took one last step before lunging forward. Burt smiled at the thought of the chase finally ending. Travis had his eyes locked on Onion the entire time off the ground.
"Get him, sonny boy!" The elder survivalist yelled, his voice ripe with joy.
However, much to both of their disappointment, Onion took a drastic turn to the right and advanced forward. Travis groaned in exasperation before his body met with the sand. Burt frowned in disappointment and took a breather next to his sand-covered son. He watched the child run around the corner of the cliff face, glaring all the while.
Travis lifted his head from the sand and groaned, "I hate kids."
"Welcome to my world." Burt replied, taking part in the chase once again in a jog. Travis was not too far behind after hopping off the ground. After rearing the large corner of the cliff, the two of them stopped to witness a sight one of them couldn't believe.
In front of them was a colossal, worn down statue of a woman with multiple arms. Each set of arms held its own pose either outstretched or conjoined. To make the giant stone maiden anymore peculiar, its head wore two faces. One gazed at the sky, laying upon the other like a mask. Judging from its condition, the colossus was able to stand the tests of time.
Burt marvelled at the statue with his jaw agape. Never before had he seen such a magnificent structure.
"Holy mother of mercy," said Burt in a low, amazed tone.
Travis shared this feeling of wonder, but in a slightly different way.
"Holy shit balls," said Travis in a similar volume and tone, "it's still here!"
"What?"
Their train of focus was averted to the sound of a few small murmurs coming from several meters in front of them. The two survivalists noticed that the boy they were chasing was sitting on a noss-covered rock with the Uzi in hand. As if to aggravate them even further, Onion stuck his tongue out faintly, receiving a small glare from Travis.
"I'm gonna slam this kid!" He said through gritted teeth.
"At ease, Travis," said Burt, acting as the voice of reason, "maintain a non-physical, negotiable relationship with the locals."
"Oh, like you and the pizza guy?" Travis retaliated.
"That was non-physical."
"Whatever!"
The younger of the two sprinted forward with determination in his eyes. Onion hopped off the rock, gun in hand, and zig-zagged across the sand. Burt watched the event play out like a cat and mouse and game.
"Couldn't be Nevada," said Burt, "had to be freaking Beach City."
"Then she just attacked me for no absolute reason!" Peridot exclaimed, thoroughly explaining the events that occurred prior to the Shriekers' attack, "Had it not been for Steven averting her attention from my forearm, I wouldn't be able to have subdued the beast with a boulder."
At the sound of "beast," Li'l Bud growled at the green gem but was immediately calmed by Steven. As this explanation went down, Pearl had been busy on the chalkboard. As soon as Peridot finished, Pearl dragged the chalkboard over to the living room and gestured to the drawings and labeled features of Li'l Bud and the Shrieker that was previously in their home.
"Okay, here's what we know," she began, "both creatures lack eyes, arms, and ears. Yet, they somehow manage to sense their prey in a way unlike any other monster we've faced."
"They lift their weird skin thingies." Amethyst added, motioning a rising movement with her hands from her forehead.
"Infrared sensors," Peridot corrected, "that's why that thing became hostile towards Steven! It can see his heat signature, but is completely blind towards us!"
Amethyst nodded, but knew none of what half what she said meant.
"In a way, Li'l...whatever… must only be prone to sensing the light emitted by our gems," Pearl analyzed, "As she is docile towards Steven but hostile to us."
"But Steven has a gem," said Amethyst, "so wouldn't that put him on her hit list?"
Pearl and Peridot were left speechless at this question and pondered on this. However, out of all of them, the one who was most curious was Steven. The young gem looked at his gem and back at Li'l Bud. Though it was true that Li'l Bud wasn't completely predatory to Steven at first, the mutated gem was still aware of his presence. He couldn't help but remember the fact that he has been told many times throughout his life: he's half gem and half human.
"He is neither enemy nor prey." Garnet finally broke the silence.
The gems looked at her in confusion as she continued, "Steven's heat signature balances out with the light of his gem. To Li'l Bud, he's not something she can eat, but someone she can see."
"If that's true, then why did the other one go after him?" Peridot inquired.
"Well, that's simple," Pearl intervened, "Steven may be half gem, but he still has a heat signature. That makes him a walking meal for the creature."
"So… does that mean we can keep her?" Steven finally said while petting Li'l Bud. The Shrieker gem purred in approval.
"Well, um….In this case…eh…." Pearl stammered, "Garnet?"
Amethyst and Peridot looked at the gem leader curiously as to what her answer will be. In the past, Steven has befriended monsters alike, but another one to keep sounded like a risky idea. She remained silent for a few more minutes before looking at Steven. His doggy eyes reflected off her visor like a photo permanently engraved in the depths of her mind.
"You can keep her." Garnet finally responded with a grin.
This brought joy to Steven as he danced around Li'l Bud. Pearl, Amethyst, and Peridot felt slightly uneasy about this decision but knew they couldn't go against the judgment of their leader. Despite how happy Steven was, Garnet still had to drop the axe.
"But she has to be on a leash at all times."
Steven ceased his dancing and frowned, "Aw."
With this meeting over, Garnet got up and walked towards the warp pad, "Peridot."
The green gem tensed up at the sound of Garnet calling her and turned around.
"You and I are going to the Kindergarten."
"Why?" Peridot asked.
"We need to find out as much as we can about these things. We can't have them roaming around the planet without keeping them in check." Garnet answered.
Peridot reluctantly joined her on the warp pad, yet she somehow felt enlightened. Of all the gems to choose to accompany her on the mission, Garnet chose Peridot. She grinned widely and looked at Pearl.
"Look who's on the warp pad, now!" She chuckled tauntingly.
Pearl shot her an annoyed glare and pushed the chalkboard back into the bathroom hallway. Amethyst slumped on the couch and wished the two of them luck with two thumbs up. Steven waved at them with a smile on his face knowing that one of his guardians could trust him with the responsibility of another gem.
"Steven," said Garnet, catching the younger gem's attention, "one more thing."
"Yes?" Steven asked.
"Keep Li'l Bud hidden," she cautioned in a warning tone, "she's better off hidden considering the night at hand."
"What do you mean?" Steven inquired.
"I love you. Bye." Garnet said before she and Peridot disappeared in a beam of light.
Li'l Bud clamped her jaws twice, receiving a low purr from Lion in response. Amethyst in return pounded her chest twice and let out a hefty belch. Steven attempted Amethyst's trick himself but was left with a slightly bruised chest.
"Aw, no fair!" He complained, much to Amethyst's amusement.
"One day, little man," she said sitting up, "just not today."
Pearl walked back into the room with a rope in her hands. Steven felt as uneasy as Li'l Bud was as Pearl walked closer to them.
"Like Garnet said, she must be kept on a leash at all times." Pearl said before kneeling down towards Li'l Bud.
Suddenly, Steven ran in between them, "But what if she has to sleep!"
"Gems don't need sleep, Steven." Pearl sighed.
"Yeah, but..." the young gem pondered and pondered for a way out of this predicament. As he thought, though, Pearl waited impatiently for him to respond. Seeing Steven's struggle, Amethyst finally intervened.
"Just let his buddy sleep with him. No biggie," She gave a small thumbs up in Steven's direction, assuring the young gem, "it's not like you're sleeping with it."
"That's not the case!" She stretched the rope as she said this, "Leaving Steven with another corruption is like giving a child a knife!"
"Well...I'm not a child!" Steven stood firmly in between Pearl and Li'l Bud, "And she's not a knife!...I think...I'm not entirely sure what else she can do."
Pearl stared at Steven with a bewildered expression but added a bit of doubt with a cross of her arms. She could tolerate Lion walking free, but a corrupted gem was a whole other story.
"Trust me, Pearl!" Steven exclaimed wholeheartedly.
It was the face of the young Universe that Pearl could not possibly deny. She's seen him tame a beast before, and that was proof enough that he could do it again. She sighed and put the rope on the counter.
"Ugh...one night." She said, putting one finger up.
"That's all we need!"
As if on cue, Li'l Bud stretched her tongue out towards Pearl. The white gem looked at the tongue in disgust as Steven grinned.
"Shake her 'hand,' Pearl!" Steven quipped.
"I'm not touching that thing." Pearl deadpanned as she threw the rope onto the counter, "Amethyst and I will be out looking for the other t-"
"Whoa, whoa, why me?!" Amethyst exclaimed, "I didn't send those things flying out the window!"
"I'm not having this argument again. We're going out to find the other two and that's that!"
Amethyst groaned before sliding off the couch and laying on the floor. She raised her leg a few inches off the ground and wiggled it, hoping for Pearl to drag her. The white gem sighed as she grabbed her by the ankle and dragged her towards the door.
"We'll be back in two hours tops, Steven." Pearl said.
"Wait, can I come with?" Steven asked, already up and ready to go.
"We've already confirmed that they hunt by infrared, Steven," replied Pearl, "It's too dangerous for you to be looking for-"
Before she could finish that thought, she heard the sound of several footsteps running up the stairs outside. She assumed it was Connie, but shot that down considering the schedule she abides by. There wasn't much time to figure out who it was since the noise got even closer. Pearl hauled hauled Amethyst to the side of the door, much to the purple gem's surprise, and jumped back as soon as the footsteps reached the door. Heeding Garnet's warning, Steven threw a blanket over Li'l Bud and pushed her slightly behind Lion.
"Sorry." He whispered.
Instead of the door knob turning, the door itself broke open and fell onto the floor with two figures scrambling on top of it. Travis was finally able to get his hands on Onion, but the boy was far from giving up. He writhed as Travis struggled to get a grip on him, but the two of them finally stopped when a spear was pointed in between them. Travis looked up to see to a familiar, yet angry gem.
"I'm giving you two five seconds to explain all of this before I use this!" She threatened.
Onion dropped the gun onto the ground and looked at Travis. The man had his hands up with sweat going down his forehead. If he was going to get out of this, he'd have to say the only thing he could possibly think of at a time like this.
"Nice to see you too, Pearl." He said nervously.
Pearl lowered her weapon with a confused expression and stared at the man with half-lidded eyes. Steven and Amethyst were just as confused. Travis slowly got up and stood, only standing a few inches taller than Pearl.
"It's me! Travis!" He stared at them with a small smile.
The gems stared at him with the same amount of confusion. Travis blinked once with a small frown.
"Travis B. Wellker?" He reiterated, hoping for that hint to plug in.
The name sounded slightly familiar to Steven, but the events of today had made that memory vanish. Nevertheless, their faces still held those confused looks. Travis sighed knowing how stupid this made him look.
"Oh come on, even you Amethyst?!" He asked, not believing the fact that the two gems have completely forgotten him, "We smashed mail boxes together!"
Amethyst pondered on this, stroking her chin while she did it. She remembered a moment in time where she was indeed smashing mailboxes. Her eyes widened as she finally remembered who the man at the door was.
"Ooooooooooh! Travis!" She exclaimed with a large grin, "...You grew a beard?"
"That's more like it," said Travis, pointing at her with both fingers, "Took you long enough."
"Cut me some slack. It's been like what? 20 years?"
"You know him?" Pearl asked, now even more confused.
"Well, of course you wouldn't remember him," said Amethyst playfully, "You never hang out with him. And if you did, he'd try to flirt with you every now and then."
"Shut up!" Travis said after a few chuckles.
Onion saw this moment of distraction as a chance to escape and bolted out the door. Travis attempted to grab him but missed by an inch. Travis was close to his frustration limit, but was relieved to hear the only other voice he wanted to hear.
"Not so fast, tiny!" Burt exclaimed as he grabbed Onion by the back of his shirt and lifted him up.
The old man walked up to the entrance and stared at the scene at hand. Burt couldn't make sense of the people living within this home. A small, slightly chubby boy with a gem at his belly button, a thin, pale woman with an incredibly pointy nose and a pearl on her forehead, and a shorter, purple woman with an amethyst on her chest. The pink lion only added to the peculiarity of this house.
Damn hippies. Burt thought as he rolled his eyes.
"I'm not even gonna ask if there's more of you." He said as picked up his Uzi and hung it from its barrel within a pocket in his jacket.
"Hey! It's the old guy who yelled at the pizza guy!" Amethyst pointed out, "Man, look older in person."
"If this about that thing in your cage," Pearl brought up, "we weren't properly briefed on the species at Han-"
"Excuse me?" Burt asked, taking a step closer, "You're the broads who broke into my truck?!"
"Let's not get hasty with the locals again, Bur-"
"And the ones who stole my Shrieker?" He took another step forward, prompting the gems to feel threatened.
"We're not the ones who brought that beast into the town in the first place!" Pearl retorted.
"Wait..." Steven squinted at the two men before he was hit with a sudden realization, "You made it!"
"What?" The other four asked, all looking at the young gem.
"My friend and I called you earlier today about that gem you found!" Steven explained.
"You called for two random men to come to our house?" Pearl asked, looking sternly at Steven.
"You say that as if we're just two pedophiles." Travis said, feeling a little offended.
"Negative and affirmative," said Burt, "I was informed that he had Intel on a rock in our possession."
"Gem." Travis corrected.
"Doesn't matter! Rock! Pebble! Crystal! Gem! Bullet! None of that matters now with Shriekers on the loose thanks to these two bumbling nitwits!"
"Why you insignificant-" Pearl was cut off as Burt took the Peridot out of his pocket and threw it in Steven's direction. The young gem nearly dropped it though he still got a good grip on the gem. Burt turned around knowing his work here was done with Onion still in his grasp.
"You got your gem, I got my gun, and this little twerp's got parents to go to," said Burt, "God help whoever they are."
"Hey Burt, I'm just gonna... gonna... you know..." Travis meekly said, hastening to leave.
"Not be as tense as the mayor." Amethyst concluded.
"You're not gonna do shit besides returning to the truck and loading up." Burt replied coldly, "Remember, there are Shriekers out there!"
"Come on, Burt! There's barely anything for that thing to eat anyway!" Travis replied.
Steven was close to spilling the beans before Amethyst elbowed him to stop. Pearl was about to as well but was stopped by Amethyst in a similar fashion.
"This isn't some God damn sunnyside vacation, Travis!" Burt looked over Travis' tropical wear and rethought his statement, "But you wouldn't tell that by looking."
Travis brought the older man to the door and took out a small device with a radar. He turned it on and gave it to Burt with the hopes of convincing him to let him stay.
"Look at that," Travis pointed at a few red dots along the outskirts of the town's beachside, "Gotta be like what? 2? 3 Shriekers? And they're not doing anything damaging!"
"What's your point?" Burt asked, adjusting his grip on Onion's shirt.
"I'm saying that this'll be a piece of cake for you, man! You don't need me!" Travis reasoned, "That's at least one-thirty-ninth of what you've tangled with."
"And while I'm killing said Shriekers, what, pray tell, are you going to do?" Burt asked with his chin up.
"You know, getting info!" Travis replied, "That's what we came here for, right? Learn a bit about that green chick you killed back in those fields?"
"1. I didn't kill her," Burt clarified, "And 2. Why is the arrow on my bullshit detector still in the red?"
"I don't know, man. You've still got trust issues," replied Travis, "Why can't you just trust me on this? Who knows! What if we run into an army of those green things and have no idea how to take them down?"
Burt glared at his son for a solid 30 seconds before looking over his shoulder to see the gems staring back. Steven waved nervously as Amethyst scratched her stomach and burped. Pearl gave him an "I'm watching you," look as well, making him feel slightly suspicious. Nevertheless, he knew more than anyone that Travis wasn't a complete nut job when it came to his plans. He pulled out his army knife and handed it to Travis.
"Stay alert," said the survivalist, "I don't trust them."
Travis smiled and returned the knife, "Well I do. So I won't be needing this."
"You have 3 hours to report back to the truck." Burt warned before turning towards the stairs with Onion still in his hands.
"That's all I need, Pops!" Travis called after him.
Travis could hear the man groan at this and grinned. He turned back around and walks over the door to greet the gems once again.
"Sorry about the door," said Travis, "I'm not so fond of hardwood either."
"Why are you still here?" Pearl asked, still uncomfortable with a stranger in the house.
"Well, I'm definitely not here to clear out your fridge. I can bet ya Amethyst already beat me to it." Travis glanced at the remnants of mashed potatoes near the fridge, "Case closed."
Steven examined the Peridot gem from all angles. Judging from the limb enhancers in the photo of the article, he could infer that she must be an Era 2 Peridot.
"All right, I'm just here for one thing." Travis pointed at the Peridot, "Whatever the Hell's up with that thing."
"She's a gem from outer space." Steven answered.
"Yeah, no kidding," replied Travis, "but what I want to know is why that gem was practically embedded on her forehead?"
He looked at the three of them and took note of the gems on their bodies as well. He stroked his chin at this; the Crystal Gems have always been an enigma in his past, and things seemed crystal clear at this point.
"You guys should know, right? What with the gems and all." He asked Amethyst and Pearl.
"Well, technically speaking," said Pearl, "it's not simply embedded in her body, but rather the source itself."
This fact was lost on Travis, though. The man stared at her clueless.
"It's like a heart but without the blood." Amethyst summarized.
"Right now, she's regenerating." Steven said.
"I have no idea what any of you are talking about." Travis said with a straight face.
"Well, you're still as dull as before. I remember that." Pearl sighed, walking over to the other room to retrieve the chalk board.
"Aaaaaah, so you do remember me!"
"Just sit down!"
Just 30 minutes after the confrontation with the gems, Burt had already made it to the suburban neighborhood of Beach City. Halfway through the walk, he let Onion walk freely beside him so as to lead the way towards his house. Burt checked his watch and then at his satellite map of the city. The red dots grew in quantity from four to eight, proving that he couldn't waste another minute.
"The longer this walk takes, the higher the percentage of how screwed this town is." Burt complained, "How much further?"
Onion pointed at a house with a large garage, prompting Burt to carry Onion by his shirt collar again and picking up the pace. He ran right up to the steps and stood in front of the door with Onion back on the ground. He rang the doorbell once; getting more impatient by the second. He finally decided to be even more direct and proceeded to knocking on the door. After a few minutes, knocking turned to pounding. Once Burt was about to pound again, he heard a raspy, feminine voice come from behind the door.
"I heard the bell!" The woman exclaimed angrily.
Burt winced at the sudden outburst and took a step back. The door opened to reveal a woman looking to be in her mid to late 40's wearing a robe, slippers, and yellow, onion-shaped hair. The wrinkles on her face were accompanied by a glare that could shake any man in his shoes. However, upon seeing Burt her glare vanished into that of shock.
"Burt?" She asked, hoping that she wasn't mistaking him for anyone else.
This came as a shock to the old man considering this was his first time meeting the woman. He looked down at Onion to see if he could explain, but the boy stared back in shared confusion.
"I don't mean to sound rude, but do I know you?" Burt asked.
"It's me! Vidalia!" She exclaimed with a large smile, "I haven't seen you in 30 years!"
"Vidalia?" Burt inquired, pondering on the name through memory.
"I was the little kid who stole one of your guns when you weren't looking?" Vidalia reminded him, "Back at Rehoboth Beach?"
Burt's eyes widened at this as he remembered a moment in time as a youth in his 20's that he somehow couldn't forget. Burt remembered finding a little girl with long hair ending at a smaller onion-shaped top with one of his pistols. Despite having to run around just to catch her, he couldn't help but smile at how much she laughed whenever he failed.
"Vidalia?!" Burt asked in shock while slightly smiling, "Look at you!"
"Yep." Vidalia responded proudly, "You haven't changed a bit!"
"So you had a kid of your own, huh?" Burt asked, looking down at Onion.
Vidalia picked up Onion and held him like a baby. She poked his nose and chuckled.
"Yeah, Onion's my little troublemaker!"
"Like mother, like son," said Burt before he took out his Uzi, "He snatched this little number from me and my boy earlier."
"That's Onion," said Vidalia with a grin, "always up to mischief...boy?"
"Hm?"
"No way," said Vidalia with a mix of surprise and excitement, "You and Heather had a kid?!"
"What? No," replied Burt, "It's...it's a long story."
Burt couldn't stay much longer with the situation at hand, "It was great meeting you again, Vidalia. Really. But I have a group of pests to eradicate."
"Aw, you're leaving already?" Visalia asked disappointedly, "You just got here! Stay for a bit and chat!"
"Negative, the longer I stay here, the worse my situation beco-"
"Burt, I have a bowl of noodles on the table just waiting to be eaten," said Vidalia sternly, "And you're eating it with us!"
Without a word, she grabbed Burt by the arm and dragged him into the house. This caught the old man by surprise, especially seeing how strong her pull was.
"Now let's review," said Pearl, "What are gems?"
"Rocks that have... like some kind of hologram body with mass." Travis answered half-awake.
"How are gems made?" Amethyst asked.
"From nutrients in the Earth."
"And what's the beet way to eat chaaps?" Steven asked with a large grin.
"Any way!" Travis said, not as enthusiastically while shaking his hands.
Pearl tried her best to hold back a giggle at Steven's antic, but failed seeing how Travis was still shaking his hands with him. Steven surrounded the Peridot gem with a blanket and pushed it slightly to the side. Amethyst sat on one of the stools and slouched on the table with a bored expression. Their explanation took them a total of 30 minutes yet it felt like 3 hours to her... and Travis.
"All this teaching Travis junk is boring," said Amethyst, now pointing at each one of them, "You're boring. You're boring. You're boring...I'm bored."
"I still can't believe you guys are aliens." Travis said, feeling more intrigued, "I always assumed that you were a bunch of magicians or some junk."
"Well, we tend to be mistaken for that at times." Pearl replied.
"My friend Ronaldo thought we were Snake People once," Steven chuckled, "...The gems almost killed him after he kidnapped me."
"Sounds like you've been through a lot of shit," said Travis, "I can relate."
"How? You're wearing a Hawaiian shirt." Amethyst quipped.
"Hey, if you guys don't like it, I can just take it off right now!" Travis retorted, grabbing the first button of his shirt.
"Keep it on, please!" Pearl cringed. The thought of a shirtless human was still unsettling to her.
"How big are those Graboid things you hunt?" Steven asked.
"Huuuuge!" Travis exclaimed, extending his arms, "They make Greg's van look like a beetle car."
"You know my dad?!" Steven gasped.
"Dad?"
"Travis and your father were close friends back in the late 80's," said Pearl to Steven, "Amethyst, too." Pearl's expression turned straight at that last part.
"Hold up...dad?" Travis asked again.
"We'd always spray paint 'colorful' words on people's cars." Amethyst said before sighing satisfactioningly, "Those were the days."
"Dad never told me about any of that." Steven advised.
"Seriously? Not even the boat incident?" Amethyst questioned.
"We destroyed one his rentals a few weeks ago!" Steven added.
"Yo!" Travis exclaimed with his hands in the air, "Greg and Rose had a kid?!"
This brought a moment of silence amongst the group, leaving an embarrassed look on Travis' face.
"Not...not to sound rude, I mean," Travis apologized, "What did I miss?"
"Long after you left," said Pearl, "Rose and Greg decided to conceive of a child. One that would be half gem and half human."
"That's me!" Steven exclaimed joyfully as he pulled up his shirt to reveal the quartz gem in his belly.
"Daaaaaamn!" Travis exclaimed, "That's a new level of ballin'! Where is the lovely couple, anyway?"
"Greg's at his car wash, but Rose..." Pearl looked down as Amethyst rubbed her shoulder, "No longer with us."
Travis looked distraught at this news seeing as how he was on good terms in friendship with Rose. He looked at the painting above the door and reminisced about the kindest person he ever met.
"Well...you either die a hero or live long enough to be the villain is what they say." Travis said softly.
"We got the hero," said Amethyst, headlocking Steven and ruffling his hair, "that's for sure!"
Travis smiled, "I never got your name, by the way."
"I'm Steven! Steven Universe." Steven answered.
"Travis B. Welker."
"Who was the old fart with the mustache?" Amethyst asked.
"He's as unpleasant as older humans come." Pearl added with a frown.
"Burt Gummer, the man, the myth, the guy who boned my mom." Travis explained.
Pearl blushed at this and covered Steven's ears while glaring at Travis for his impudence and use of words. He shrugged with a clueless expression.
"So you finally found him, huh?" Amethyst queried, "Took you long enough."
"You wouldn't believe how much I had to go through just to be his cameraman," said Travis, "6 years in the union really paid off."
"What was Burt telling you before he left?" Steven inquired.
"Something about killing Shriekers or something." Travis replied, "But there's gotta be like a couple out there."
"Then shouldn't you be out there as well?" Pearl asked with her arms crossed.
"Well yeah, but I wanted to catch up, you know!" Travis replied, "It's been twenty years and you guys barely changed!"
"Gems don't age," said Amethyst, "That's what makes us cool."
"No matter the case, I'm going out there and taking care of the Shriekers myself." Pearl said, summoning her spear and heading for the door. Amethyst followed suit with her whip in hand. Steven was last to follow before turning back to see if Li'l Bud was fine. The corrupted gem poked its head out slightly before Lion took a step to the side to hide her once more. This brought a broad smile to the young gem, but disappeared when he saw Travis frowning.
"Whaaaat? Come on!" Travis complained, "You guys are gonna pull a Burt on me, too?"
"For all we know, there could be more of them!" Pearl replied.
"You should come with us, Travis!" Steven suggested, "You have experience with these things!"
The gems stared at the survivalist, waiting for a response. Travis thought about what he was about do contrary to what he wanted to do having come back to this town again. He gave a long, frustrated groan with his head tilted back.
"I knew I should've worn my jacket." Travis noted as he took out his pistol and cocked it.
Burt stared at the device Travis gave him the whole time Vidalia was washing the dishes. The Shrieker population remained at a total of 8. As much as he needed to leave, he knew he couldn't with someone as persistent as Vidalia around. The woman practically had eyes in the back of her head since she could tell what Burt was doing.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you'd go blind by looking at that thing for too long." She spoke up.
The old man poked his head up and put away the device. She took a seat in front of him and interlocked her fingers over her head. She exhaled in relaxation and proceeded to converse with Burt.
"So what has the trigger-happy Burt Gummer been up to since we last met?" Vidalia asked.
"Well, after leaving the military, I settled down in my great grandfather's bunker in Perfection." Burt replied.
"Sounds perfect," said Vidalia, chuckling at her own joke.
Burt couldn't help but laugh along as well; for a short time, though.
"Not exactly. 10 years afterward, the town was under siege by monsters we called Graboids." Burt explained, "Next thing I know, I find myself killing these things for the next 26 years in three different countries on two different continents!"
Vidalia simply stared at him in disbelief trying comprehend what the survivalist just said. The first thing that was up for questioning was what a Graboid was. Before she could, a teenage boy with pale yellow, spiky hair, a blue hoodie, and orange pants walked in with a newspaper in his hand.
"I sent you out to get the paper 7 hours ago!" Vidalia exclaimed.
"Sorry, there was a rave!" Sour Cream apologized, "There's no way I could turn it down!"
Vidalia sighed and waved it off. The boy noticed Burt looking at his device and felt curious.
"Who's this?" He asked Vidalia.
"Oh, this is Burt." She answered, "Burt, this is my oldest, Sour Cream."
"Pleasure to meet you." Burt said, tipping his cap yet not looking away from the device. The population of Shriekers increased by 2, the threat level rising slightly as well.
"He's an old friend from when I was a kid," said Vidalia, "It's been years, but his mustache barely changed."
"Hm." Sour Cream shrugged and walked into the other room.
As Burt continued to observe the digital map of the area, Vidalia skimmed through the newspaper. Nothing seemed to catch her eye until she came across a small article with a picture of two men standing in front of a giant...thing on their truck. Her eyes widened at the sight of the monster's appearance and especially the article's description as well.
The man on the right was Burt all right, but the man on the left had a name that she instantly recognized from her twenties: Travis B. Welker. This day just seemed to get weirder and weirder.
"You know Travis?" She queried.
"I don't just know him," replied Burt, "He's my son. Met him a year ago and halfway through our mission, I find out that he's my long lost offspring."
"Talk about a family film," said Vidalia, still staring at the article, "He wasn't kidding!"
"About what?"
"20 years ago, Travis started talking about how you were his 'badass dad' and...well I just didn't come to believe it!"
"I couldn't believe it at first either," said Burt as he took off his hat, "But...the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree. He's not that bad of a gun man."
"I'm...guessing Heather didn't birth this guy?" Vidalia asked. It would make sense seeing as how she met Burt in his early thirties when she was only 10.
"Negative. It was with, uh...A woman I met at a gun show in Pensacola." Burt responded, "You could compare Jasmine and Travis like you would a pistol and a BB gun."
Vidalia nodded at this and remembered the first time she met Heather. It was right after Burt caught her that Heather intervened to keep the peace.
"So how's Heather?" She asked.
"She's...visiting her sister." Burt assured, though the lie was very see-through according to Vidalia's doubtful look. She remembered the kind of relationship he and Heather had. And she knew damn well that a couple like that wouldn't be separated by a great distance.
"Really?" She inquired, "She didn't bother to follow you all the way from Nevada?"
Burt tapped the table trying to come up with another lie, "Well...you know how she is? A family woman!"
"Not even for her step-son?" Vidalia questioned, looking even more doubtful.
Before Burt could say anything else, she held up one finger for him to stop. Burt knew the lie had to end there.
"Heather left me 20 years ago." The old man sighed, "It was official as soon as she called for the HK-91."
"Man," said Vidalia in pity, "what made her leave?"
"Since the fall of the Soviet Union, she said I was too hard to live with," replied Burt, "Said I couldn't live without the thought of global war."
Though she didn't want to say it, Vidalia had an expression that read, "No kidding." Burt wasn't always the most stable-minded person she met. The saddened expression on Burt's face shot down this thought, however, with Vidalia trying her best to cheer him up.
"Hey, at least you got Travis!" She mentioned, "He's an adrenaline jockey. The kind you like!"
Burt looked at Vidalia as she gave him a nervous smile and gave a small smile. He appreciated her for trying.
"I've gotten used to it."
Vidalia giggled softly; the smile on Burt's face was more satisfying than a gloomy old man. It was only a few minutes before the cheerful atmosphere was broken by consecutive beeps. Burt's eyes widened as he whipped out the device and observed the map. Although the Shrieker count remained at 10, it wasn't as alarming as the new threat: a Graboid closing in on the beach.
"Shit!" Burt exclaimed, "This can't be possible!"
"What?" Vidalia asked curiously.
"There's a Graboid in the vicinity!" Burt exclaimed as he put his cap back on and shot out of his seat, "Thank you, Vidalia, but I have to go!"
"Wait, one of those giant things are here?!"
"I don't know how, I don't know why," said Burt as he cocked his Uzi, "what matters is that I get to my truck and load up."
As the survivalist rushed to the door, Vidalia shuddered at the thought of one of the beasts seen in the article invading Beach City. Before Burt made it out the door, she spoke up with a shaky voice.
"W-what can I do?!" She asked with eyes widened.
"For the time being, I need you and your boys to get up on your roof and stay there until I report back to you!" Burt advised, "They can't reach higher ground."
"How are we supposed to know whether you die or not?" Vidalia looked genuinely worried at this point.
Burt pondered on this for a bit before he took out a card from his pocket. Upon giving it to her, Burt pointed to her home phone.
"Call me on the horn and refrain from making immense sound vibrations!" He said before running down the street.
Vidalia looked at the card bearing But and Travis' faces along with their cell numbers next to them. She stuffed it in her robe pocket and ran to get Sour Cream and Onion.
Don't fail me now, Burt. She thought as she ran up the stairs.
"Anything?" Travis asked Amethyst.
The purple gem came out of a small hole in the cliffside as a rat. She returned to her original form and shook her head.
"Nothing but guano." She noted.
"That's gross!" Steven exclaimed with a slight chuckle.
"Ugh, they wouldn't be in there!" Pearl groaned, gesturing to the hole.
"Then where would they be, Sherlock?" Travis asked mockingly.
Pearl shot him a spiteful look before hearing a strange ringtone. The Tupac rap came from Travis' pocket. Once he picked it up, the ground below them shook softly. Steven set his hand on the ground to feel the low rumble as did Pearl.
"You feel that, too?" Amethyst asked them.
"Maybe Lion's just purring really loudly," said Steven with a smile, "That happened once."
"No...this one's not stopping..." Pearl confirmed.
"Burt, calm down! You sound like you're running from a pack of wolves." Travis said while on the phone.
"Travis, I need you report to the truck ASAP! ASAP!" Burt shouted through the phone.
"God, my ear, man!" Travis replied, cleaning out his ear, "Why? Did you kill those Shriekers, yet?"
"That's not the problem, there is another adversary. I repeat, there is another adversary!" Burt panicked.
"Ass Blasters?" Travis questioned, causing Amethyst to snicker.
"Graboid!" Burt yelled.
Travis could hear his father unload weapons from his truck, but not after feeling the rumble in the sand grow larger. He looked down at the shaking sand along with the gems. He pulled out his gun and aimed it at the ground hoping to kill any of its tentacles first.
"What are you doing?!" Pearl questioned loudly, "Put that gun away!"
"Woah man!" Amethyst exclaimed, running away from Travis and towards the beach, "Watch it!"
Steven backed away but stopped as soon as the shaking increased. They all looked back at the ground's incessant shaking. Travis went stiff as a boulder with the fear of making too much noise, but Amethyst did the opposite. She continuously moved around to get a better balance, much to Travis' anxiety. He constantly gestured for her to cease her movement but soon the shaking in the ground stopped instead.
A moment of silence passed among the group after the sudden stop. Travis, Steven, and Pearl remained stationary as Amethyst looked around herself.
"I don't know what the big deal was," said the purple gem, "Nothing but a trem-"
Before she could finish, the ground below her gave away and carried her upward. Pearl summoned her spear immediately upon seeing the colossal worm beast pop out of the ground. The Graboid's tentacles lifted Amethyst above its jaws and bit down on her arms and legs.
"Amethyst!" The other three screamed.
Travis shot bullet after bullet into the Graboid's body, but its skin absorbed them like pebbles to a boulder. Amethyst quickly shapeshifted into a bird and flew past the Graboid's jaws, allowing Pearl to send a round of lasers from her spear. The Graboid's skin burnt upon impact, but the beast kept moving. It sunk into the ground and circled around them.
"What is that?!" Pearl asked in a panic.
"A Graboid," replied Travis dreadfully, "a hungry one, too!"
"Look out!" Steven yelped upon seeing a small 'wave' of sand heading right for them.
Pearl walked slowly backwards, firing as many lasers as she could towards the Graboid. Travis stepped to the side but fired at it as well. Neither of them could get a lucky shot; the monster just kept coming.
The Graboid shot its head upward through the ground and slammed its body hard on the sand. The force was enough to knock the two of them off their feet. In retaliation, Steven and Amethyst came running towards it with their weapons. Steven threw his shield at the Graboid's head, stunning it for a short time. Amethyst wrapped her whip around the top of its jaw and pulled back. While the beast was restrained, Pearl took this opportunity to attempt a fatal stab to its throat.
However, right when she was in stabbing distance, the Graboid's jaw strength broke through Amethyst's whip. This force of the pull sent it jerking downward and knocking Pearl backwards.
"It's too strong!" Steven exclaimed.
"Ya think?!" Amethyst retorted, summoning another whip.
"None of what I have is gonna slow him down," said Travis as he helped Pearl up, "where's that taller chick you live with?"
"Garnet's on a mission," replied Pearl before they avoided another head-on collision from the Graboid, "If I could just get a clear opening, I can end it with my spear!"
"I can help with that!" Steven exclaimed before rolling past them in his pink bubble.
"What the f-Where'd he get that?!" Travis asked, awestruck.
"He's full of surprises!" Amethyst answered as she ran in with two more whips.
The Graboid twisted around for another attack only to be hit straight in the head by Steven's bubble. It grumbled in irritation but was unprepared for Amethyst's whips wrapping around its body. The purple gem used all her strength to keep it still, even digging her feet into the ground for foundation. Steven rolled over the Graboid from behind, bounced off its head, and dissipated his bubble before landing on the sand.
The Graboid roared immensely with its tail breaking through the ground nearly 30 feet away from its head. Travis cocked his gun again and fired round after round at the beast's mouth. Steven gave Pearl a thumbs up, prompting the white gem to run towards the detained Graboid.
"Let loose, P!" Amethyst encouraged.
"Kill that bitch!" Travis shouted encouragingly. He looked down at Steven and coughed, "Pardon my French."
"That's a French word?" The young gem asked.
Pearl ran like Hell and leaped with a stance. The Graboid didn't have time to defend against what came next. Finally at a closing distance, Pearl jabbed her spear so far into the Graboid's throat that the tip came out to the other end. She pulled out her spear out once she saw its tentacles go limp and orange blood drip through its wound and jaws. She stepped back as a measure of preparing for another attack.
Amethyst dissipated her whips and winced at the terrible smell emitting off the corpse. The others did as well.
"Ugh...it smells putrid!" Pearl exclaimed.
"It smells like a moldy pizza!" Steven noted.
"Woooooo! Eat shirt, worm!" Travis exclaimed excitedly, giving Amethyst a high-five, "You're in the Gem Zone, now!"
The purple gem ran along the length of Graboid's half-submerged body all the way down to its tail. She lifted the tail higher, causing the sand around the body to sink in and reveal the rest of the worm's wide and spiky length.
"This thing's huge!" Amethyst exclaimed, "I bet we can fit a whole bunch of my junk in here!"
"We are not keeping it!" Pearl retorted.
"But Steven got to keep his!" Amethyst replied.
"Keep what?" Travis questioned.
"Nothing." Steven answered nervously.
Travis headlocked the boy and ruffled his hair lightly. Steven chuckled in response as Pearl grabbed the Graboid by its head and pulled it to the side with Amethyst.
"I knew sticking around would pay off," said Travis with a grin, "You guys were made for this!"
"We've seen worse," said Steven, "But where do you think Burt is?"
"Hold on, let me call him." Travis replied as he took out his phone.
Locked and loaded with an LMG and grenades, Burt jumped out of his truck looking at the satellite map. The Shriekers were still in bound, yet the Graboid's seismic movements vanished. His face held a confused expression before his phone started to ring. He took it out and was relieved to see that it was Travis.
"Travis?"
"We got it, Burt! We got it!" Travis exclaimed excitedly through the phone.
"You killed it?" Burt inquired.
"Not just me." Travis replied before the phone was given to Steven.
"Hi Burt!" Steven greeted.
"Pearl stabbed that worm through the throat!" Amethyst exclaimed.
"It was all a team effort." Pearl spoke up in the background.
Burt smiled at the news and laughed softly but excitedly. Had he taken Travis with him, this hunt wouldn't have been as easy as it was.
"And here I thought you were all a bunch of hippies." Burt said.
"We're just full of surprises, Burt!" Steven replied, "You never know what's gonna happen next!
"Bet you're glad I stayed, huh Burt?" Travis asked smugly, now with the phone in hand.
"Don't get cocky, Travis," chuckled Burt, "There are still 10 Shriekers to eradicate at the edge of this city."
"We'll meet ya there." Travis assured before hanging up.
Burt put his phone back in his pocket before checking his satellite map again. The Shrieker count may have increased by two, but the survivalist was confident that this wouldn't be an issue. He took two whole steps before the map started beeping once again. A feeling of dread came over the old man as he looked at the device again. The seismometer on the map signaled a turn for the worst: a second Graboid.
"Son of a bitch."
Man, you would not BELIEVE how many rewrites this chapter had. Literally halfway through the year, I almost gave up on this story. It was the interactions that I conceived in the original draft that made me consider giving up on this chapter and story alone, but that was because it's also been forever since I wrote a fanfiction. And trust me, those were shit times.
Anyway, I'm glad I could get this chapter up before the end of year. I can't promise any deadline for next chapter, but I can assure you that I will try to finish it. Thanks for reading this monster of a chapter and this story in general.
Merry belated Christmas and Happy New Years!
And remember: Survival starts with you.