He'res a little au peice from across the universe, based off of morningmarks witches among humans au and the white diamond au series. Ever ten chapters or so we'll show you a these combo aus. The oringal story will continue next chapter.
Steven ran as the voice shouted out. "If you come back here, that'll be another beating!" Shouted the voice of his 'mother' from the cabin in the woods. Right, of course, because he couldn't have any positives in his life.
Going on the run might be for the best actually. That last foster family was the nicest and most stable place he's had, and it only lasted for a year. Heck, maybe he could find a job that would hire a teenager with no school experience. After that he'd just need a cave or something. Yeah, humans could live in caves, right?
He groaned. "This is all your fault." He said to himself, feeling that dumb bone growth in the middle of his forehead. It made Steven ridiculed his entire life. Called a freak at best and a demon at worst, mainly from the foster homes with highly religious beliefs. He still had the scar from the one that almost sacrificed him.
No future as a kid, that left a future of self reliance. He stopped trusting kids to be his friends, he stopped trusting adults to care for him. The only thing Steven could rely on was his phone, sadly enough. Now, where was a cave he could crash that didn't have a bear living inside of it?
He ran through the forest, noting a light in a small clearing. It was strange … mostly because the sun set an hour ago. Maybe it was a fire fly or something? Steven began slowly walking to the object, noting it's golden glow as it almost enveloped the area in a warming manner.
Steven reached out to touch it … and a bolt of energy met his horn head on. "Agggggh!" Black and white was all he could see as the pain traveled instantly but painfully throughout his body. Nothing but agony and the monochrome rainbow existed. "WHYYY!?" Why did he always get hurt, why was he always alone … why couldn't he be happy for a change?
Why..why…why couldn't he get a break? Was he just cursed to live this awful life, alone and unwanted by the rest of the world? "Hey kid." He was so lonely that now he was hearing voices in his head. "Yo kid." Just like he imagined that creepy one eyed stalker staring at him from the woods.
"Kido!" Why was everyone he imagined always female? Did that say something about his life? "Boiling Isles to kid!" Now they just weren't making any sense at all, like most of his dreams. "WAKE UP!"
SLAP
"Oowww!" He shot himself awake, sitting up as he got an eyeful of who was next to him.
"Oh cool, you're not dead. I was worried for a moment. It would take a lot of effort to hide a body while on the run." It was a girl, looking around his age, maybe a little older with the height difference. She had dark tanned skin and long scruffy hair.
"You could've been more gentle."
"I was gentle, I've been trying to wake you up for the last ten minutes with shaking. And this is the tenth time I've slapped you." That explained the stinging."It was either that or kissing you awake, and that's just unsanitary."
"That sounds weirdly thoughtful and reasonable when you put it like that." He answered, sitting up. "Alrighty … please don't call the police on me. I'm kinda on the run myself." That was the right term when ditching your horrible foster home, right?
"Cool, new crime buddy. Been needing a new partner since my last partner stabbed me in the back." The girl put her hands behind her neck and leaned against a tree.
"Ooof, did they call the police on you or…"
"No, they literally stabbed me in the back with like six cursed knives." She answered, turning around. "I got the scars, see?" She lifted up her shirt.
"Ahhhh, please keep your clothes on-Cursed knives?" Funny girl. "Maybe you should see a hex doctor." The boy joked.
"I did, but I ended up with the common mold as a side effect. The healing coven totally ripped me off."
At least he could have a conversation with someone, even if they were delusional at the moment. Then again that's probably why she wasn't calling him a freAl. "Well, do you know where we can find a cave around here?" The boy asked.
"I don't know, my latest travel spell must have sent me across the Isles." She muttered. "Where am I exactly?"
"Charleston." She gave him a look of confusion. "South Carolina?"
"Is that another island away from the isles?" The girl asked. "I haven't visited anything outside of the titan I live on.."
"Boiling Isles, Titan, what are you talking about?" Steven was beginning to think they were starting to lose ground here. Wait, maybe she was an immigrant, and the language difference was causing disinformation. "You're in America, you know, the US, the best and or worst place to live depending on who you ask."
"United States? United by what?" The girl looked at him like he was the weird one…well, weirder one. "Are you saying this place is ruled by someone that isn't the Empress?"
That got him curious. "Monarchies are illegal world wide." He responded. He heard about a queen of England, but apparently that was more of a show kinda thing. "What, is there some place on earth that still does that sort of thing?"
"Earth!? Did you say earth!?" The girl stumbled on her back. "How the heck did I end up in the human rea-those damn scouts! They completely messed up my spell!" The girl pounded her hands on the ground.
"Um …" He blinked at her. "Are you … alright?" He asked. "I know I'm a weirdo myself, so this sounds hypocritical… but you sound like you're from another world."
"Wait, so your not a-but the horn and all, what?"
"I got it x rayed as a kid." He sighed. "I was born with this weird growth in my skull." Even to the weird girl it was weird. "If your going to make fun of it, go ahead and get it all out now. I've heard it all. Horn head, bone head, rock head, devil, demon, the list could go on."
"Why would I make fun of it? It's actually one of the most simple looking horns I've ever seen." The girl looked at him blankly. "Looks more like a unicorn's than a demons." He stared at her. She … thought he was normal … "Besides, I'm the weird one here." She pointed to her … pointy ears … "I'm a witch."
A witch…a witch. "Am I being punked right now?" He looked around. "Or stumble into a larping session?"
"No, I don't have the lower body strength to punk you that far." She replied simply, before signing. "Look, I'm in a real big pickle and I don't have time for you to be skeptical right now, so here's my proof." She began moving her arms in a circle as…a bright circle of light manifested in the air.
This girl had magic. This girl really was a witch … "Don't eat me!" He shouted, hugging himself tightly.
"I … why would I eat you?" She asked.
"Witches eat children." Mainly using giant houses made of gingerbread, but he would be one step ahead of the curve.
"Dude, if i was going to eat you, I would've done it while you were knocked out, so clearly I'm not going to right now."
"Oh …" He paused. "Are you gonna use me for blackmail?"
"Do humans think Witches are monsters or something?"
"Yeah..that's kind of the whole thing, though history shows it was mainly mass hysteria from simple minded folk who couldn't process progressive or new ideas." At least that's what the internet told him.
"... Witches are just people, man." She responded. "We have magic, but yeah, we're just people."
"Guess that makes sense. I'm not really one to judge that kind of stuff anyways." He sighed. "Well, welcome to earth I guess. I'm Steven." He held out his hand."
"And I'm Luz." She stared at his hand, before grasping it and pulling him forward.
"... What are you doing?"
"Didn't you want me to pull you?"
"That was just a handshake."
"So I grasp your hand and shake your body with it?" Luz asked with confusion.
"And here I thought I was clueless about the world." The white haired boy muttered softly. "So you're not able to just poof your way home now, aren't you?"
"Not until I can find the nearest titan on this planet. Used blood for that spell." She muttered. "You have any idea where that would be?"
"I don't know what you mean by titan, so I guess you're going to be here for a while." Someone just as lost in the world as him..well her situation was more literal, but still. "Let's rest for the night and get a move on in the morning. I'll explain more about things after-"
Rustle
Luz jumped forward and kept him on the ground. "Someone's watching us. Keep your head down, I'll take theirs off."
"Wait, we can't kill people." He tried to argue.
"Don't worry, I'm very adept at the art of combat. You can keep watch." Luz responded, pulling a staff from … somewhere.
"I ment morally, not physically." Steven glared.
"I don't get what you mean." She countered as she aimed the staff and made it glow.
"Don't-" He shoved it out of the way as it misfired, causing the nearby tree to catch on fire. "If your going to stay on earth, than killing's off the table!
"How are you going to survive if your enemies live!?" She asked with bafflement and annoyance.
"As long as we don't attack people, we won't have enemies."
"What kind of fantasy do you live in?" She gave him a look as something approached them. "Fine, but if whatever's there starts chopping limbs, you'll be dealing with it." They waited, and waited as whatever was there approached, making its way out was … a woman. A pale woman with cracks in her eye. "... Are you sure this is the human world?"
"You're not going to get the reference for what I'm about to say, but we're definitely not in kansas."
Unicorn Boy: How's it going you two?
Witch Gal: Remind me why I'm the one doing this?
Unicorn Boy: I'm the one running from child services. Can't risk being seen by anyone until we're at least two states away.
Witch Gal: Right right … so, remind me how to actually do this?
Unicorn Boy: Walk in, order the food I listed, give the man the money called dollars, then grab the food and walk away.
Witch Gal: Why don't I just steal the food? I can do it easily. Heck, I've already stolen people's wallets in between texting.
Unicorn Boy: Stop stealing! The point of being on the run is to not draw attention to yourself!
Witch Gal: Dude, I've been a criminal since I was five years old, I know how to do things without getting caught.
Unicorn Boy: I've been abused as a child, and I'm more worried about your home life. Let that tell you something.
Witch Gal: It tells me this world is really, really soft if you're going to worry about Lil ole me. Besides, One eye here is more likely to get us caught than I am.
Unicorn Boy: We need to figure out her name soon, I feel so rude just calling her 'her' and 'it' all the time.
Witch Gal: Well we could always just have her write out her name.
Unicorn Boy: Tried that. She wrote out a bunch of scribbles I couldn't read. I think that crack harmed her brain a little. No offense to her, she seems really sweet.
Witch Gal: Aww, don't worry gal, we love ya even with the brain damage. [Hug Emoji]
Witch Gal: [Eye Emoji] [Yeet Meme] [Window Emoji]
Unicorn Boy: Is that supposed to mean something?
Witch Gal: Nothing important, just tossed me through a window, no big deal.
Unicorn Boy: Why the heck would she do that!?
Witch Gal: I don't think our friend here is the touchy feely type. Side note, humans are calling out for a 'nine one one'. How concerned should I be?
Unicorn Boy: That's our cue to start running! If you hear sirens and cars with red and blue lights, then you know the police are nearby!
Witch Gal: Gotcha, so I should drop subtly altogether and burn the store down to cover our tracks.
Unicorn Boy: Don't do that!
Witch Gal: [Eye Emoji] [Gas Station Emoji] [Match Emoji]
Unicorn Boy: LUZ!
Witch Gal: Hey, the Eye Emoji is whenever our buddy takes the phone … they technically started it the moment I said fire.
Unicorn Boy: Okay, so I'm on the run with two criminals with little to no concern for human life.
Witch Gal: Hey, in my experience, a little fire does wonders for people, and so far most human's I've seen really, really suck….still not convinced you're not a demon so I'm confident in saying all humanity stinks.
Unicorn Boy: … Accurate … so I'm going to check the map real quick.
Unicorn Boy: We're taking a detour through the canyon, we're avoiding Salem like the plague.
Witch Gal: What, I think I can't handle another human town?
Unicorn Boy: Let's just say be glad all that all you do with your phone…which I just realized you stole too….is watch cat videos all day instead of research.
Witch Gal: They're too adorable to do anything else. [King Cat Emoji]
The Pearl arrived with the group as they finally saw the local ocean. "Wow …" Their unnatural companion, Luz, stated with wide eyes. "So much water … yet no steam." The girl was now wearing an oversized red beanie to cover those pointed ears of hers and a green jacket.
"Yeah, water for the most part is cold, at least out in the ocean like that one over there." Her Diamond, or Steven, she was confused about the whole process, explained, wearing a hat to cover his oversize large bundle of white hair. The Pearl was confident that the 'boy' wasn't White Diamond, and she would continue to assume so unless proven otherwise.
"This is almost as weird as the cold rain … your world is so odd and fascinating." She said, gazing upon the waves as she moved closer. "And your sand is so smooth …" The 'Witch' fell face forward and began rolling around in it. "Like a giant soft bed of rocks.
The 'boy' snorted. "What, you're going to make sand angels now?"
"Sand what now?"
"Let me show you." The boy laughed as he jumped into the sand, moving his arms and legs into a shape. "Like this, check out what my impression in the sand is forming."
"Whoa, it's like you're crafting a dead demon bird into the sand…so majestic." The Witch awed at the sight and began following suit.
The Pearl had been … happy, following their gathering. Traveling the world, making the boy smile, the witch making it easier to act on destructive instincts. It all was perfect … besides the valley incident. Running from some strange mutant while locked away in a strange room regarding the diamonds … how strange. It was lucky that 'Luz' was able to create a warping spell, lest they be trapped inside of the enclosure forever.
"You seriously don't have sand back in your own world?" The boy asked curiously.
"No, we do, it's just that there's never a chance to enjoy it. The boiling sea is always moving, making the ground too hot to lay down on at any given time, not to mention when the tide gets too big and melts people's flesh off."
"And you say my world sucks." The boy rolled his eyes with a smirk.
"Yeah, yeah, your world has a few 'good' things going for it." The Witch laughed. "The bugs here only want to drink your blood and not bite your heads off. But even with that, you can't beat the view from the top of the titan." The girl recalled fondly.
"Oh come on, there's gotta be a good view here too." The boy looked around. "Let's see … eenie meenie miney … you!" He pointed to … cliffside carving of a giant woman … with few gems embedded into it.
The Pearl tried to block it off, waving her hands. It didn't seem trustworthy. There may have been rebbel gems.
"Whoa.." The girl gave off a whistle. "Fifty feet tall and multiple arms, my kind of gal." The witch blushed a little.
"I think this is the first time we've ever had a conversation involving romance." The boy noted. "Usually it's just our food and shelter situation, or where we go next."
"Maybe that's a sign that the worst is finally behind us." The witch smirked as she walked further. "Come on, I wanna take a closer look." No, no no NO!
"Sure, I don't think there's any harm in that. Worst case scenario, we get yelled at for trespassing." The boy followed right behind the witch.
"Aww, someone's finally learned to embrace their inner rebel. You'll be committing grand scale larceny in no time." While Pearl had no real say in what her diamond chose, but grand scale larceny seemed like a bad step.
"Not going that far. It would just be overkill at that point." The boy rolled his eyes as they approached the lady, eventually reaching a cave. "Huh, this actually wouldn't make too bad a living space. Beach side view, close enough to town but isolated enough for privacy."
"It's not living inside of a house demon, but it's a close second." Luz nodded with approval. "As long as we're away from people, I'm down with being a cave woman."
"Oh, we've got visitors." Out of the cave came an Amethyst, a very short one at that. "Welcome humans, to …" They trailed off. "Pearl?" The gem looked at her in bafflement. Shit, shit shit shit.
"Pearl? Is that your name?" Steven looked at her.
"Are you just going to overlook the short purple women in the room?" Luz asked the boy.
"After you two, nothing is out of the ordinary for me."
"Dude, what happened to your eye?" The Amethyst asked, moving closer. "Did you crack your gem or something? Why didn't you have Rose heal it for you…in fact, since when are you ever NOT by Rose's side?" Rose Quartz … stars no. Please no.
"Who's Rose?" The boy asked with confusion.
"Has she never talked about Rose before?" The Amethyst asked with confusion. "You'd think Pearl would blab on without end over the gal."
She began tugging on Luz's arm, trying to transmit her fear of the situation with one eye, desperate to leave now. "Hey, you know what, this place looks occupied, so we should probably look somewhere else for a hang spot." Oh thank the stars the girl caught on.
"True … well it was nice talking with you mam, we should head out." 'Steven' told the gem. "We just moved to Beach City and we're looking for a place to crash. Could you recommend anywhere in particular?"
"Huh, that's a tough one…but I happen to have a gal pal downtown in need of a few tenants." The Amethyst snapped her fingers. "Just keep walking into the city, you'll find her place when you see the house covered in owls."
"Thanks, we'll be on our way now." Great, now they could leave without a single inciden-
There was a flash of light, all eyes turning to a warp pad, which died down and revealed three figures. A fusion of some sorts with an afro, another Pearl, and … "Hey Amethyst, how was your … day …" Rose Quartz.
"Wait, there's two Pearls?" 'Steven' asked.
"Apparently." The Amethyst muttered. "Why didn't you tell me you had a sister on earth-"
One second she was staring at the Crystal Gems, the next the spear tip of the Pearl's weapon was inches from her lone eye. This was it, this was the end, they'd shatter her and her diamond.
"NOPE!" The witch pulled her out of the way, the spear missing by inches. "Great chat, we've gotta fly!" She was grateful for the witch, her criminal lifestyle made life fairly easier from time to time.
"A cup of hard apple cider, some tomato juice, a hint of iron tonic, and a dash of coffee." Eda smiled as she stirred her concoction. "With the final ingredient, a bottle of vodka, it's finally complete." The woman lifted her drink, taking a sip and finding delight in the feeling and taste. "Apple Blood." Her special drink that only she had the recipe for.
She needed it to calm her nerves given that her roommates, two runaways teens and a broken nanny, were just a little more than off. Eda was around long enough to know they weren't exactly normal, given both felt the need to cover half their heads in big hats.
So she set down the ground rules. Rent was due at the end of the month, never go into her room without permission, and whatever they do, never answer the phone. The only callers she had were either her police giddy sister, her insane mother, a drug dealing client, or an ex.
Money was money, so she never asked how they paid rent. For the boy, Evan or something, apparently he had a bunch of part time jobs around town. Bit of a pushover, but he alway did as he was told, even if it was less than legal.
The girl, Laz or something, was actually pretty open, just admitting she robbed everyone in town. Hearing that she stole from Lilly was always a fun treat.
As for the Nanny … she just gave a clean stack of hundreds ever time with a blank smile. Eda was never one for questions, especially with how disturbing that lady was about it, so they just nodded and walked away from them.
Other than that, her main complaint was that they were loud. Eda walked in on the current construction project they had now. "Seriously, how high tech do you need your doors?" Especially with all the weird gunk that was placed onto them. Did that mud have eyes?
"It's a…passion project of ours." Laz answered as she held in her hand what looked like a ball of light that the kids always said was a lightbulb. "I want to make a door so tight and secure that I can't break into it, then sell it to the mass poplance where I can easily break into every house because I'll have the master key."
"Bit complicated for a larceny scheme, but go big or go home I guess." Eda shrugged. "I'll stick with a rock through a window any day of the week." She answered, drinking her apple blood. "But if this one explodes again, I will be adding damage fees to your rent."
"That's fair." Evan sighed as he lifted up a weird glowing yellow mixture in a vial. It was one of the few times she could notice that the boy's hair was a massive mop of gray and white. She'd call it odd, but there were weirder dye jobs around town alone. "So do you think this one will work?"
"Absolutely. You mentioned touching the portal before, right?" The girl asked. "Then that means you've gotta be the key somehow." Why did these kids always talk in strange magic lingo? Were they playing the longest game of dungeons, dungeons, and more dungeons?
"I'm not sure Luz, my head's weird sure, but it's you and your magic." Evan looked to the side. "It's just a weird bone growth everyone hates."
"First off, I don't hate it, remember?" She asked. "Have you seen the ladies that try to kill Earl all the time? They got gems that look just like your horn, that's gotta mean something right?"
"Maybe. I just never thought anything good could come of this." The kid rubbed that white bump on his head. "It's not like I have some magical destiny waiting for me."
Eda rolled her eyes, turning on the news to see if she could get some other thing in her life other than modern day larping. "In other news, the giant crab monster with one eye was stopped by the mysterious Witch Girl, the modern day vigilante." Oh right, some fancy stage magician that did stage shows on top of monster bears or whatever. "We go live to word from Chief Officer Lilith, who was at the scene earlier today."
"She's a menace! Just let us do our jobs, maybe then we could live five minutes without giant beanstalks growing out of buildings and half the city covered in flames!" Anyone that could make her sister that angry had to be a riot at parties.
"You should really think about slowing down. You're getting too much exposure." Evan said in a low voice that indicated he assumed no one was listening.
"Aren't you the one saying I should go out there and help people all the time?" Laz rolled her eyes. "I mean, sure, just wait until someone else stops the bullet proof worm monster, that sounds fun."
"I'm not saying you're not doing good, it's just too public. Don't you have illusion's or something to cover yourself."
"That's making people see something that isn't there, doing it the other way around is harder to focus. Outright invisibility is high grade stuff." Laz grabbed a cable. "Now enough babbling. Let's get you plugged up."
"Luz, I really think we should think this thr-" Evan had no time to say anything else as Laz clamped that bump on his head, making the boy shake and sparkle with weird colors all over his body.
"Can you keep it down? I can't enjoy the apple blood with all your-"
SHEIK
All the lights went out and the room went black. "..noise." Eda grumbled. "You're paying for the electric bill on top of the rent this month. No complaints.
"Yes mam …" Laz sighed. "Oh hey, the lights are still … working …" She stared off at the glowing door … that led into nowhere. Not that it led into a wall, or outside, but a genuine void that should not exist in this universe. "And you said you weren't magic. I told you Steven." i
"Grgrgre." Evan was still sparking wildly, the glow getting brighter and brighter as a small hum took over the area.
"Ahhh…." Eda was mildly concerned for the boy's health and greatly concenred for her own, feeling like a bomb was about to go off. "You guys really take this larping thing seriously."
"Steven?" Laz asked in concern, slowly approaching the boy. "Are you-?"
"Scraaaaaaa!" From the door that lead into the void of absolutely nowhere, a giant decaying and scaly looking hand looking like it came from the depth of hell popped out and began scratching its way through.
"Whatever you did, shut this thing off now!" Eda shouted, yanking the kids back.
The moment she pulled Evan off the sparking coils, the door yanked shut … with a bloody hand left in their living room. "...Well, we're halfway done."
"Why does everything sound like peppermint and taste like clouds?" Evan looked dazed and out of it.
"What … what the fuck just happened?" Eda asked with mild horror, looking at the twitching hand.
"Ugh…my head…it feels like someone rammed a spike through it." Evan felt his weird head bump again. The second he did, it glowed as something was starting to come out. Something long and slightly pointy. "Huh?" He kept pulling, until it was all the way out, showing off a fancy looking spear.
"Dude…you had a magic staff in your head this entire time!? How lucky of a bastard are you!?" Laz shook the boy, still looking dazed. "I had to wait years to carve my own and you're born with it!?"
"I … what?" The boy looked around, and at the twitching dead hand. "... We can clean that … giant dead rat."
"Kid, I'm may be old, petty, and drunk off my ass right now, but I'm not stupid." Eda glared, pieces of the puzzle starting to fall into place. "She's that witch girl from tv, isn't she?"
"Yeah …" Laz sighed. "We'll get our stuff packed in the morning.."
"What, no, I didn't say I was kicking you out." Eda corrected. "Having magic means more elaborate scams I can pull, and I'm still expecting payment for all the damages you've done."
"Yeah sure …" Luz nodded. "... I'm not turning stuff into gold though. I have standards on that." Eh, that would make things too easy, Eda preferred a little challenge. "But on that note, Steven, you're going to be helping me deal with the monsters from now on. You have a weapon, so you're going to use it."
"Look, I'm still trying to see colors right now, just give me like five minutes to figure out details." He asked. "Also I'm pretty sure the hand is growing a mouth on his fingers." … This was her life now … great.
Amity opened her locker, figuring out which books to bring to her next class. "Did you hear about that Unicorn Boy lately?" Boscha asked with a dopey smile. "A real, genuine superhero in our town. And a boy our age too …"
"Meh." Amity shrugged. "It's probably some lame short guy looking like a teen in the bright light." She thought aloud. "That's why nobody has a good description of him." Besides, he came second to the real hero of the town any day of the week.
"You're just riding that savior high from when the Witch Girl scooped you from the fallen debri." Boscha counted right back.
"Could you imagine the arms of a girl that can scoop you and run?" Amity countered. "What about you, Skara?"
"I'm pretty sure that they might be a couple if they work so well together." The CLEARLY wrong and delusional musical girl stated her very wrong opinion. "Just think about it, they're partners, they both have strange powers no one else has, kind of a perfect match made in heaven, don't you think?"
"That's a little narrow minded to think about." Cat piped up from behind them. "Just because two people look strange, hang around each other, and act in a particularly similar way doesn't mean they should automatically get together romantically. Maybe they're siblings?"
"They don't look that similar." Amity muttered.
"Yeah, and on the off chance they were, us getting with our crushes would make me and Amity sisters in law." … Boscha had a very scary point.
"Kind of a bold statement to make, seeing as how no one's been able to get a good look at any of them outside of brief camera sightings." Skara brought up another point. "What are you going to do? Show up at every monster sighting and hope they come just before they squash you to death?"
"I'll do you one better." Boscha grinned. "Head to the gym after school, buy a metal baseball bat, and show I'm strong enough to hang out with him whenever he needs muscle."
Amity raised an eyebrow. "You know I saw the action yesterday, right?"
"And?"
"And the muscle he needs is someone strong enough to use a city bus as a baseball bat." Whoever the duo were, they clearly weren't human…not that it was a turn off, on the contrary in matter of fact.
"Whatever." The top mean girl rolled her eyes, before it turned into the usually evil and cruel smirk she usually carried. "Hey, have you seen the two latest additions to the loser brigade at lunch today? They looked like they live in a cave with how they're dressed."
"Actually they kind of do. They live with the 'Owl Lady'." Cat snickered, recalling the moniker given to the petty thief.
"Old miss Clawthorne? Hah, no wonder why they're practically wearing rags." Boscha laughed out loud.
Amity sighed. No offense to the woman who was rumored to be fatally ill, but her family had a not so pleasant history with the Clawthornes. Amity didn't particularly care, but she wanted to live her life without an old feud dragging her under. "Great, now we have two children who live with the most notorious criminal in town in the school." The girl lamented. "Just imagine how much chaos they're gonna bring."
"We actually like to avoid chaos." … She turned to a surprisingly familiar voice, met with the face of the new girl, smiling at them. "Hello there, fellow student." The girl waved. "Tell me how your day was as I retrieve my notebooks." They looked at their locker, putting their hand on it … then feeling all over. "Come on, where's the lips?"
"Hey, oh those silly foreign transfers, they can say the strangest things when they haven't mastered the language." A shorter boy can in an old white hoodie and messy black hair, moving to the other girl's locker. "Luz, I know you haven't memorized your locker combination yet, so I'll remind you how to open it."
The boy moved the dial, eventually opening it as the girl gave a small squeal. "You killed it."
"What kind of lockers-discuss this later." The boy groaned, moving some books.
"Yuck." Boscha rolled her eyes. "It seems the new losers live right next door." Guess Boscha's targets for the day have been chosen.
"I know, so terrible, we have to listen to your bitchy voice all day." The hallway became silent as the girl insulted the top female athlete of the school without so much as hesitating.
"... What did you say to me?" Boscha growled out.
"What? I knew your voice was annoying, but is it so bad it damaged your own eardrums?" The girl continued. "Man, that's gotta blow."
"I don't know what kind of gutter you crawled out of, but obviously you don't know you're place around here." Boscha marched up to the new girl with her palms turning into fists.
"Sure I do." She smiled like she was chatting with an old friend. "I'm the new girl with no current place in the lot, you're the annoying alpha bitch who thinks her money and skills can cover up the fact she has no real friends."...Well she wasn't wrong.
Multiple students started piling around them. "Fight! Fight! Fight!" They chanted out.
"Just one day." The boy lamented. "One day of peace …" He tried to walk in the middle. "Look, if we just calm down a little…"
Trip
Boscha stuck her foot out and made the kid fall. "Stay out of this, butter-ball, I'll get to you once I'm down moping the hall with this cun-"
SMACK
The new girl socked a knuckle sandwich right into Boscha's right eye. "You can insult me all you want, but NO ONE hurts my friends!" And the little psycho in the making leapt forward on top of the group leader for a full on feral assault.
"Well that escalated quickly." Skara muttered in mild horror. "Should we … break them up?"
"FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!" The students continued to chant.
"I think the best thing to do here is back away slowly and pretend we don't know them." Amity suggested.
"That's what I do everytime we wait at the train station." The boy agreed as they walked away from the slowly biggering crowd. "Sorry about that."
"Nah, let the girl knock some sense into her, see if it sticks." Amity waved off. "Just promise to not cause chaos involving me and we're even."
He sighed. "I'm sorry, but I can't promise the inevitable."
"WHY THE HECK ARE YOU BITING ME!?" Boscha yelled as a loud crunch could be heard.
"Can you promise to at least stay the sane one so things don't get too crazy?" She begged.
"I have to make that promise for my own sake, so deal."
"So I have a question." Cat piped up. "What do you think about the Witch Girl and Unicorn boy? Personally I think they're interdimensional siblings, come to stop evil entities from invading our world."
"My money is on star crossed lovers." Skara grinned.
The boy looked a little stunned by the question, but slowly shook his head. "Well, I think the magic is just advanced technology we don't understand, and that they seem like two good friends just trying to do some good in the world."
"Hmm." Cat hummed. "In that case maybe Boscha has a better chance getting into Unicorn Boy's bed than we thought."
"Wait what?" Even the new kid found it horrible to think about.
Rose ducked under the spikes being thrown at her. "You suck as a person, but you are awesome as a workout buddy." The girl, Luz, smirked as she kept throwing projectiles at her flying on a staff
"Are you treating this like a game!?" Pearl shouted.
"I mean, sort of. Right now I'm playing the world's biggest game of meat-beat-mania!" The mischievous child laughed as she shot a ball of ice at Garnet's head. "Two hundred points so far, I'll beat my highscore before lunch after all!"
She didn't have time for this. She needed to stop White Diamond before they became a threat. They came by the cave, they knew everything. The only consolation was that Pink Diamond was still dead to them. "For once can we talk this out!?" The gem shouted, shooting white energy she had to block. "The back and forth is getting really annoying!"
"There's nothing to talk about, White." She couldn't let the manipulator get a word in edgewise, it would never end well. Rose moved forward, throwing a shield at them.
"Why the titan do you keep saying that!?" The witch girl shouted out as she created a trail of fines to slow down Pearl's charge right at her, knocking the shield out of the way. "There's no one here named White! Even for a group of walking talking rocks, I didn't expect you to be this dull!"
"White Diamond is the boy calling himself Steven." Garnet explained, trying to land a punch. "He's been lying to you this whole time." Even future vision apparently had trouble against the unpredictable nature of the witch, considering they poofed out of thin air.
"No I haven't!" The boy shouted. "I really am Steven! That's my name!"
"A diamond stooping so low she resorts to lying to organics. Oh how far the mighty have fallen." Pearl summarized the situation eloquently, throwing her spear at the boy's head. "You've been assisting one of the greatest threats this universe has to offer. If you have any noble intentions, you'd join and fight the greater evil here!"
"The only evil I see around here is you trying to decapitate the first real friend I have in this entire stinkin world!" Slashes of fire cut the air as well as the spear in half.
"Look, I like the guy too." Amethyst stated. "But I've known Rose for over five hundred years, she wouldn't lie to us." They glared, spinning into a ball and rushing right at White.
"And Steven hasn't once lied to me about anything, we tell each other everything! He's afraid of possums, he hates the dark, and he hides that he has his own fashion blog that he wants to turn into a legitimate business someday!" The witch shouted as she sent out fireballs to Rose.
"Hey, I thought we agreed to keep that between us!" White shouted, shooting more light at the gems as they had to evade.
"That broke the moment you spilled my crush on Amity!"
"At least she was crushing on you, meanwhile I just have the mean girl stereotype chasing me around when she's not dumping milk on my head!"
"Love is a complicated and beautiful thing." Garnet deadpanned. "Be glad you can treasure it while you can." They rushed forward, trying to use their gauntlets to block the beams while moving in closer to White.
"Yeah, try telling that to someone you aren't trying to murder!" White's eyes glowed even brighter as the intensity began increasing from the beams, begging to turn the fusion's arms gray. "So why don't you just leave me THE HELL ALONE!?"
Garnet stopped moving, gray and silent, walking backwards. "... What was that?" The witch asked.
Rose glared. "White's ability to control other gems." She stated. "If she's been telling the truth … why hasn't she released her Pearl?" Rose accused.
"What…? Earl's gray and mute because of…" White Diamond for some reason had an expression on her face that resembled regret and disgust. "No. no, that can't be…no…NO!"
A huge wave of white flashed from the Diamond's gem, knocking them all back as Rose felt her entire core being shaken from the very center. "Steven, calm down!" The witch shouted.
"Calm? Calm!? I've been controlling every action Earl took since day one … without even knowing about it!" The light grew more intense. Rose created a barrier to stop it. "What if they're right? What if I'm evil and …"
"Steven, listen to me!" The witch grabbed the boy's face. "You know my morality is as flimsy as a piece of curled milk with holes in it.."
"Hehehe…swiss cheese you mean…?" The Diamond sniffed.
"Exactly! I wouldn't care if you were a street rat in an alley or some Galactic Overlord wiping out entire universes, every step I've taken since coming to this world I've taken with you. I can actually find myself being happy because you've been helping me this entire time." The girl hugged the once high and grand diamond in a tight squeeze. "I'm pretty sure that's not evil, but if it is…then let's be evil together."
There was a moment of silence within the blinding light, as it eventually began dying down to nothing. "I'm … I'm sorry …" White … apologized … what the fuck?
"Ugh…My head…I feel…so violated.." Garnet spoke as her head spun…Garnet spoke…
"You're free!" Rose couldn't help but hug her long time friend with everything that she had at the moment. "White freed you..but…why would she..?" Rose turned around, only for a cloud of smoke to be in the place of the two beings…again. "They got away again."
"We'll find them Rose, don't worry." Pearl shook her head. "They can't have gotten far."
"Rose…are you certain that was White Diamond?" Amethyst asked her, confused.
"I … I don't know anymore." If she ever knew anything about that gem … it was that she never apologized. Something must seriously be wrong … but what?
Willow blushed hard right now. Not because of the heat, or because she was sick … but because this was the first time she held a boy's hand … in public. "So …" She started the awkward conversation.
"Yeah …" Steven, the new kid, agreed. "I've um … never been to a park before, normal or amusement. I'm not sure where to start." He was one of two friends she's made since the beginning of the school year, and it was easy to tell he was a little sheltered.
She had a fondness for plants and he was vegetarian, so they had almost instant common ground appreciating fauna and such. Being the main targets of Boscha didn't hurt either…okay it did sometimes, but socially most of the time.
"Well as much as I want to show you the food, it's not good for the stomach." Willow stated. "Maybe we could try a ride first or something?"
"Oh, sure …" The boy looked around. "Should we start with that?" Steven asked, pointing to the small train ride for kids.
"Sure, slow and steady and all that." Willow laughed hesitantly, grateful that she wouldn't have to start with something fast. She still got nauseous from the roller coster incident
"Two people a seat." Mr. Smiley at the front explained. "... You sure you two wanna get on this ride?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Willow glared.
"Well you two are just a little bi.." She sent him an even harder glare, daring him to finish that sentence.. "..You know what, I'm old enough to see a death sentence coming, and money's money either way." The man shrugged and let them through.
"What was that all about?" Steven asked obliviously.
"Nothing Steven." She sent her … date(she still blushed when she thought of it) a smile as they got on. "Don't worry about it." Willow said as they moved into the tiny train. … Now that she was sitting next to Steven in kiddie seats, squished tightly against his body, she realized what Mr Smiley ment. She took a glance back, seeing another couple, Connie and Gus (they were so adorably awkward at times), holding each other tightly to alleviate the space.
"Guess I should've thought this through a little more, heh. I'm kind of used to making on the spot decisions." The boy gave a nervous chuckle. "I've been moving around alot lately, had to make choices quickly."
"Half the time I'm struggling to make any choices at all. Gardening's the one thing that I don't hesitate over." Willow decided to speak. If it wasn't for Luz pushing her into this, the plant girl probably wouldn't have asked the boy out today. She was a good friend, if a little too involved and pushy.
"So that's where the flower from your hair came from." Steven smiled. "It looks as pretty as you." The two of them blinked, blushing. "I mean, pretty with you-I mean, it looks awesome together-I mean…"
"I know what you meant." She gently moved an arm over his back, holding onto him as the ride began. "So…you and Luz live together, right?" She decided now was probably the only time she'd be able to ask a few personal questions. He and the rebellious girl seemed so secretive with everyone except each other.
"Oh, yeah." He blinked. "She … helped me in a rough patch. Foster care wasn't the best, then she came crashing into my life, literally." He laughed. "I still have the burn mark from the first encounter.
"Burn mark?" She asked. "I thought she crashed into you."
"Yeah, crashing into me with a taser." Ah, that made a lot of sense. Luz seemed to have a habit with collecting small and painful weapons. "Earl then came and took us in for the longest time." The boy explained. "After some traveling and hijinks, we made it to Beach City, which just became home to us."
"Yeah, we are a pretty homey looking place. People all around come for the beach, and stay for the rumors."
He snorted. "Do you know how valid some of those rumors are? Apparently there was one time Eda baby fed an owl."
"I actually have context for that. Back when I was younger about ten years ago, I walked past her house. There was an owl nest that was built on top her house. The mother was scared away during a storm and the baby was left behind. Before you know it, Eda's taking it inside and nursing it back to health."
"And she dared to claim she didn't have a nice side." Steven began laughing. "She even checks in on us sometimes to make sure we're sleeping."
"Guess you don't become a bird person without mana bird instincts flooding in eventually." Willow laughed, trying not to move too much given their limited space. "So, think you'll be settling down here or is there another move in the future?"
"I really hope the situation's permanent. Do you know how good it feels to go to school for once? Most of my education comes from tracing newspaper articles and messing with my calculator app."
"Yikes, sounds like a rough time." She winced. "Can't say school's completely peachy for me one hundred percent of the time though. Boscha's group's been gunning for me ever since preschool."
"She's the worst." The boy rolled his eyes. "As mean as it sounds, I'd like to imagine her running for her life sometimes." She probably kiss him while listening to her screams. "Can't imagine why she'd be mean to you. Maybe she's just jealous."
"Jealous? Of me?" Willow laughed. "What would she even be jealous of?"
"You're strong, funny, smart, kind … then again with Boscha it's a multiple choice for anyone." Steven laughed. "If she tried to be nice, reality would break, but for you, it just comes so naturally, and I admire that."
She wasn't sure if it was the words or the fact the two were practically spooning each other with how cramped the space was, but Willow was really feeling the heat. "Hey Steven." She asked. "Have you ever … done something with another girl?"
"Done something?" He looked confused, a little red in his face forming. "Like what?"
"You know, gone out..on a date…hold hands…doing the normal couple stuff?" Somehow she managed to scoot herself closer.
"Oh, those kinds of things.." He gazed away. "No..can't say I have..actually it took me a while to realize I like girls like that." Well with his fashion blog, a lot of people tend to make assumptions.
"Then …" Willow gulped. "Can I be your first … kiss?"
If Steven was blushing before, then this was a next level version of a flaming face. "I..I..Only if…I'm yours." He managed to sputter out.
"You are…am! Will be!" Willow freaked out a little before taking a moment to breathe. "Just close your eyes and take it slowly."
"Alright." He said quietly, allowing himself to lean forward, making themselves even more intimate than they already were.
She felt eternity slow down as their faces moved closer, lips almost connecting …
CRASH
"Monster!" Willow felt herself getting pushed out of the car by her date as the ride began derailing, finding herself rolling out of the way.. in a giant white bubble?
"What the-" She stopped talking, gazing at a brilliant light blinding them all.
"You're all safe." A familiar voice called out. "Hang tight while I deal with this mess." The light dashed forward, going after the sounds of screaming.
"Huh, wha,..where.." She looked around, trying to find her date. "Steven!? Where are you!?" She looked for any trace of the black haired boy.
She looked to the source of where she asssumed he was, and found herself confused. There was no Steven in sight, but instead another figure, with white hair and a spike like horn coming out of his head. The entirety of the rest of his body was indescribable, as a bright glimmering right obscure most of his face and skin.
"Witch Girl, what are we dealing with!?" The familiar voice shouted out, sending beams of light at the monster.
"Slitherbeast! Terrible combo of durable and temperamental!" The girl shouted, seeing forth a wall of earth.
"At this point I don't know whether I prefer dealing with demons or rock aliens!" The Unicorn boy shouted as he took out a staff form his head and began firing a barrage of lasers from the tipping point.
"Personally, demons are less traumatizing!"
After a few second everything clicked. The voice, the disappearance, the timing. "… I'm dating a super hero." What had her life become? And why did she feel more excited and inspired than terrified?
Luz laid in silence, gazing at the stars. "Do you wonder?" She started. "If there's aliens in the Boiling Isles?" She asked.
"Alien demons, sounds like one of those bad movies that plays on the 'used to be about history' channel." The closet friend she had in this world answered with a small snort. "I've come to realize that there's nothing I should ever doubt, so probably."
She thought about that for a moment. "What about Jacob and Rhonaldo?" Luz brought up.
"The only exception. I don't know whether I'm more annoyed at the ranting, or just how wrong their mewtube videos get the information. Witches from mars coming to steal teeth, I-I can't even with that."
The witch snorted. "I kinda want to bring teeth to mars just to validate the weirdness of that claim."
"Well it's easier than finding lizard people at the center of the earth. Nope, it's just a giant cluster going to doom us all."
"Good thing those crystal fems or whatever they call themselves are taking care of that." Those big jerks were useful every once in a while. "Did we ever figure out their deal?"
"Other than calling me some reincarnation of a space dictator, not really. In the end they're just more people that hate me befoe they know me." He said, staring quietly at the night sky for a moment. "Hey.." Steven looked at her. "Back in your world…was it better?" The kid asked with curious eyes. "Did no one mock you or hurt you for being different?"
"They didn't." She answered. "People were just who they were … I mean, the social class thing was even more a dick if you could believe it."
"Worse than Mayor Dewey? That alone sounds impressive."
"Oh yeah, Empress Camila is the worst. She's been enforcing regulations and restrictions on magic for as long as I can remember." She looked at her hands fiercely. "I've been fighting for freedom to live my life how I want almost longer than I've known how to read."
"Well that explains why you're failing English and Spanish." She gently whacked his shoulder. "Alright alright, but seriously, it … your world sounds lovely."
"It is …" Luz smiled. "You finally ready to see it?"
"Born ready..no seriously, I honestly think I've been born in the wrong world for almost half my life. I've only been living a good life this past year because of you."
"You mean me and a certain little flower growing in the garden?" She nudged him gently. "I told you that you'd go well together." She saw them cuddling like two little potted plants leaning on each other when they thought no one was looking.
"And you finally telling Amity the truth caused me to loose sleep with all the screaming you two do at night." Luz had the humility to be embarrassed at that tidbit. She should have invested in soundproof walls before she left. "You certain about leaving this behind?"
"I have to get back home. There's too many people depending on me and too much unfinished business." She sighed. "It's not like it'll be forever. With your horn head and titan blood, coming back will be a snap and a half." Luz gave her friend a look. "If anything, I should be asking if your alright with coming along with me."
"I don't trust you to take on a magical tyrannical ruler by yourself Luz. You can barely handle Jasper without me."
"Not all of us have awesome mental powers, mr 'I sprout new abilities every other month'." She glared.
"Hey, you can gladly take fusion if I knew how to give away my powers. It felt way too wrong when Coral came out." He responded, looking distraught. "Do you … think we can help Earl with magic?"
"Magic can do a lot, but it's not a miracle worker, as contradicting as that sounds." Luz patted him on the back. "We can try our best, but don't get your hopes up, alright?"
Steven nodded. "Alright …" He turned to her. "Let's save the Boiling Isles."