(a/n: Sorry for the wait everyone! New year, new chapter! Big thanks to Lucius Walker for all his help! This chapter is partly based off of the SU episode Rising Tides, Crashing Skies.)
Ch. 5: The Beast of Beach City
The film opens with a crude title card reading "Studio Fryman Presents," followed by a logo of a blog titled "Keep Beach City Weird," as Ronaldo Fryman begins to narrate:
"Beach City, a sleepy seaside town. From far away, it looks ordinary, but take a closer look, and you'll start to notice the cracks in the facade."
Cut to a tranquil looking beach. The camera pans across Beach City, leading up to the Lighthouse atop Lighthouse Hill. A screen tear effect rips the scene apart.
Generic, upbeat synth music sounded as the camera displayed the inside of the Beach City Lighthouse. Ronaldo Fryman, sitting in a swivel chair with his back to the camera, was dressed in a maroon suit coat. A brown curtain was set up as a background on the far wall, a sign reading "KBCW" hung above. Glancing backward, Ronaldo spins his chair to face the camera.
"My name is – *ahem* – uh…" the conspiracy blogger blushes, having spun a little too much and wound up with his back to the camera. He clears his throat as he readjusts himself so he's facing the camera.
"My name is Ronaldo." A slideshow of different conspiracies from his blog plays on-screen as he continues his narration. "For years, I've run a blog called 'Keep Beach City Weird'. My mission: keep Beach City weird, and also to expose the truth. Most people choose to ignore my mind-blowing revelations!" the camera cuts to a side angle, causing Ronaldo to turn to face the camera, dramatically. "But no one can deny it when the truth was pointing right in the town's collective face!"
The camera cuts to shaky hand-held footage with the subtitle "Actual Footage" in big white letters on it, and begins to play. The footage shows a stretch of beach before turning toward the sky. In the sickly green sky, a large blurry shape that looked like a hand began to descend from the sky.
"It's an invasion! Look at that thing, it's right there!" Ronaldo cried frantically and ecstatically.
SCREEEEECH!
"Yo dawg, get the fu**k outta the street before I make you my hood ornament!" an irate young man yelled.
The camera turns and pulls back, revealing that Ronaldo was standing in the street and was staring down a large white escalade. An angry redhead teen, Ed, was leaning out of the driver's side.
"Huh?" Ronaldo said, still dazed by the appearance of an alien starship.
"I said, get the fu*beep*k outta the street! We're evacuating here!" the young man yelled.
The camera panned and showed a quickly growing line of vehicles, all eager to get out of town.
"Uh…" Ronaldo said as Ed began to pull out his golden glock and climb out of the escalade, muttering "hamburger and fries mutha-". The footage paused.
"Beach City needed to be saved," Ronaldo narrated. "But from what?"
The paused footage was replaced by a photo of the Crystal Gems, Steven, and Rick.
"Dun, dun, dun!" The image zoomed in with each "dun."
A black and white title card appears reading "Rising Tides/Crashing Skies", followed by various sub-texts: "Danger On The Boardwalk", "The Truth About The Most Dangerous Boardwalk" "The Hunt for the Beast of Beach City" and "A KBCW Investigative Documentary."
The camera cut to an external shot of Fish Stew Pizza on the Beach City Boardwalk. Standing outside the pizzeria was Nanefua, who had a microphone aimed at her face.
"Ehh, I was just cleaning up some fish for a very big order when it happened. I heard this very peculiar rumbling, like 'boom boom boom boom boom boom!' and then a sonic 'BOOM!' and the fish I was preparing flew up into the air and fell on the ground!"
The footage cuts to a cheap animation of a fish tumbling around and cuts back to Nanefua.
"I ran outside and saw this great big thing in the sky."
Ronaldo pokes his head into the frame. "The town was under attack!"
Nanefua frowns in confusion. "What is this for again?"
"It's a web exclusive for my blo-"
"*cough* Bullshit! *cough* Bullshit! *cough*" an accented voice coughed, eliciting some chuckles.
Ronaldo scowls and the camera cuts away abruptly. This time, the camera was situated outside Beach Citywalk Fries. Ronaldo's brother, Peedee, was the current subject.
"Oh! Uh, yes!" Peedee exclaimed, startled that the camera was on. Beads of sweat visibly dripped down his face. "That day was crazy. The Mayor said-"
"Were you scared?" Ronaldo questioned loudly, off camera.
"What?! No! I wasn't." Peedee said, blushing. "I-I was just concerned that something bad would happen to the shop…"
"So you cried a lot."
Peedee scowled and his voice grew tense. "I don't know what you're talking abou-"
The camera cuts away to a segment of footage labeled "Actual Footage." Judging from the angel, this footage was procured from a security camera. The footage showed Peedee clinging to the shop counter while Mr. Fryman tried to pull him away.
"Let it go!" Mr. Fryman urged, pulling on his son's legs.
"Dad…Dad…no!" Peedee sobbed, holding on for dear life. "Please, no!"
The camera cuts back to Peedee in the present, who was scowling at the camera.
"I was under a lot of stress at that time, argh!" he grumbled defensively.
"Aww," Ronaldo said, walking into the shot. "Hey…"
"What?"
The blogger put an arm around his brother and pulled him into a tight hug.
"I'm here for you, bro."
"I'm fine, let me go!" Peedee said, trying to pull himself free.
"You can't make drama this good!"
The camera cuts to another segment of "Actual Footage." This footage displayed Ronaldo in the backseat of his father's car, filming his father and brother in the front. Ahead of them, was a lengthy line of other Beach City citizens evacuating the town.
"With the space hand closing in for a high-five of the third kind, we fled the town. But then, just as mysteriously as the space hand appeared, it exploded into an explosion."
Within the footage, the car rumbled as a powerful explosion sounded in the distance. Mr. Fryman, along with the rest of the citizens of Beach City, came to a screeching halt.
"What in blue blazes was that?" Mr. Fryman exclaimed.
"I think it was an explosion!" Peedee determined.
The camera panned to the right. In the distance, the silhouette of Lighthouse Hill could be seen in the distance, looking like a distant shadowy mountain against the red-orange twilight. On the side of the hill a thick column of smoke began to rise.
"Unbelievable," Ronaldo whined off camera, "I missed it!"
The camera cuts back to the interior of the Lighthouse's Lantern Room, with Ronaldo sitting in his swivel chair once more.
"There's no actual footage of the giant hand thing crashing into the beach, but here's a little re-enactment for you."
The camera cuts to a reenactment of the hand-shaped UFO, represented by Ronaldo's hand on the beach.
"Whooooaahwooo-phhh-woah!" *slams his fist onto the sand, causing a sand explosion, and gets pinched by a one-eyed crab* "Ouch! Ouch, ouch, ouch! Ahhh…my hand! Ah!"
The camera cuts back to the interior of the Lighthouse's Lantern Room.
"Beach City was saved…or so it seemed!"
Dramatic stinger plays:
Dun. Dun. Duuuuun!
"Although the spaceship was destroyed, I, along with my esteemed online colleagues, theorize that an escape pod managed to jettison from the ship prior to its demise."
The camera cuts to yet another "Actual Footage" segment, this time it came with a new subtitle that read "Courtesy of SwollenEye69." The footage was shaky and narrow, likely filmed on a smartphone. The camera moved around quickly, showing that the camera person was on the side of a coastal highway. Judging from the silhouette of Lighthouse Hill on the horizon, the footage was taken a good distance outside of Beach City.
"Yoooo this is so crazy, man," a man said off camera. "Yo, check this s*** out!"
The shaky camera tilted up and zoomed, showing a large, hand-like shape. The hand was ablaze and enveloped in smoke, looking as if it were a fiery hand of a wounded deity descending to strike the earth. A series of distant explosions cracked and echoed like fireworks as chunks of the ship were ripped away as the vessel hurtled to Earth.
"Yo! Yo! Look, look, look!" the cameraman urged.
Another loud bang sounded, this time, there was a flash of green as something shiny and green shot out from the side of the ship. The shiny object streaked across the sky like a meteor, arcing high overhead and screaming over the camera man. The cameraman whooped as the shiny object disappeared over the horizon, heading in the direction of one of Beach City's neighbors.
"Yo! Holy S***! Did you see that! Did you see that!"
The camera cut back to Ronaldo, who laced his fingers together.
"Skeptics may claim that it was a piece of debris breaking off from the main vessel. However, if one were to analyze the footage carefully, they can see that the object moved in a deliberate direction and at a faster rate than the other debris. In layman's terms: that was an escape pod!"
Another dramatic musical sting flared.
Dun. Dun. Duuuuunnnn!
Ronaldo cocked an eyebrow at the camera. "Don't believe me? Well, how about this! Actual news coverage of a UFO crash landing in Wake Town, at the historical Blackthorn Manor!"
The cut away to a clip from a local TV News station. The footage was dated to the day after the appearance of the hand-shaped UFO.
"...despite his pleas of innocence, the Senator could not explain his nudity. In other news, local amateur astronomers spotted a freak meteor shower last night. Here's the footage…"
In the corner of the screen, there was steady camera footage of what looked like a meteor shower. Dozens of distant objects streaked across the sky, with one of the objects having a faint green aura. While most of the meteors streaked by, the green one maintained its course and zoomed over the camera, searing off the tops of some nearby trees before disappearing over the horizon. A distant crash and boom could be heard.
"Over the following few weeks," Ronaldo narrated off-screen. "There would be sightings by various citizens in Wake Town, with the last one happening the night before the infamous Blackthorn Manor had burned down!"
New footage from the same news channel appeared, this time featuring a different news anchor and displayed the date, two weeks later.
"...and in the resulting carnage, there were no survivors. On a lighter note, there seems to be an uptick in alien sightings in Wake Town, Delmarva. Affectionately nicknamed 'The Wake Town Weirdo', townsfolk have claimed to have close and personal encounters with an alien being!"
The news footage cut to an elderly woman being interviewed in the public park.
"I heard this noise coming from my backyard," the woman explained casually. "And I thought it was those squirrels again, always stealing seed from my bird feeder or teasing my sweet little Cupcake–"
The camera tilted down to show a large, muscular pitbull wearing a frilly pink collar. The dog was the image of peak physical performance. His legs were thick as a man's arm and had a head and jaws powerful enough to chew through tank armor. The large, intimidating dog seemed to be glaring at the camera, as if it were regarding it as a threat. Or a snack. The camera quickly tilted up to the owner.
"-but when I came outside, I saw a little fella painted all green playing with my Cupcake. It was so cute. I've never seen my little snookums so happy before! The little guy absolutely squealed with delight as Cupcake spun him round and round as they played tug-of-war with that boot."
The camera tilted back down to the pitbull, who seemed to be grinning evilly at that, as if he understood what his human was saying.
The news footage changed again, this time a garbage man was being interviewed.
"Yeah, I saw the Weirdo," the grizzled man grunted. "Little f***er tried to rob me. It said something like, uh, 'surrender your vehicle in the name of the Glorious Diamonds' or some sh*t."
"And then what happened?"
"And then nothin' I pulled out my gun and started blasting. Little p**** ran off, screaming shit like 'clod' or 'God' or something."
"Seems a bit extreme," the reporter said.
"Hey, I was defending myself and exercising my Second Amendment right. We may be a small town but we got a lot of weird stuff going on. It's bad enough we got those grabby ghost hunters and those Bigfoot freaks hiding out in the woods. But now we gotta deal with a bunch of little crackheads pretending to be aliens and breaking into people's yards and stealing sh*t? Hell naw! I moved outta Empire City because of that shit! And let me tell you something about that limp-d*** mayor they just elected-!"
The news crew cut back to the studio.
"Nobody knows for certain if there are little green men out there, but all we do know is that a lot has been happening in Oceanside County," the anchorman concluded the story before segueing into the devastating fire that destroyed Blackthorn Manor.
Cutting back to Ronaldo in the Lighthouse, the conspiracy blogger sat cross legged, fingers laced together and a stoic expression on his face.
"Some may say these were the antics of a prankster or a local meth head," Ronaldo said in a solemn tone. "But I say that this 'Weirdo of Wake Town', the one who was responsible for the destruction of Blackthorn Manor, was none other than the lone survivor of that downed alien ship!"
Dun. Dun. Duuuunnnnn!
"My theory is that the alien had crash landed near the town and was hiding in the woods nearby, gathering intelligence and scavenging for supplies. According to eyewitness reports, government agents were spotted in the area, searching for the alien."
Several blurry photos of men in dark suits and blacked out SUVs in different locations around Wake Town late at night.
"Despite a thorough search of the area, they didn't seem to have captured any aliens. It's interesting that-"
"Tell us about your personal experience," a man with a German accent asked, off screen.
The camera cut back to Ronaldo in the Lighthouse, who blinked in surprise.
"W-What?"
"Tell us about your own…close encounter."
"H-How did…what are you…I-I don't know what you're talking about." Ronaldo said, blushing and wiping away some sweat from his brow.
"Come now, don't be shy. You've probably come the closest to this alien and the Beast. Your audience would love to hear about your own experience."
Ronaldo tugged at his collar and shifted uncomfortably. The camera cut away from the interior of the Beach City Lighthouse and ended up on the inside of a well furnished hotel room with deep blue walls. Sitting before the camera was a handsome man with orange hair and an award winning smile. Dressed in an expensive suit, the man looked every bit a professional. Even the audio and visual quality of the footage was high quality.
"Some may say that I'm a bit harsh with young Ronaldo," the man explained calmly, "but I'm merely helping an inexperienced colleague. In our field, the field of Paranormal Research and Ufology, you need to have thick skin and to be able to back up your words. The young man's personal experiences may appear fantastical, there are grains of factual truth that are indisputable."
A voice could be heard asking a question off camera but it was muffled a little.
"Hm?" the man blinked.
The voice asked again and this time the man understood what was being asked.
"Right, right. Sorry about that. Introductions, right."
The man took a deep breath, looked directly at the camera and smiled.
"Hello, My name is Klaus Heisler. You may know me as the gold medalist of the German Winter Olympics Ski team. But some know me from a little show called, 'Mysterious Mysteries', the number one mystery documentary program on television and streaming. Starting today, we are on the trail of something truly…mysterious."
The camera cut to a montage of footage from the show "Mysterious Mysteries", showing Klaus traveling with a number of different people to haunted and strange places all over the globe. Haunting, mysterious music is playing, giving the viewer a sense of wonder and anxiety. One clip showed him lurking around in an underground crypt in Egypt with a flashlight, another clip showed him delving through dusty old books in a dimly illuminated library in Europe, one clip had Klaus standing on the prow of a motorboat that was racing up a river toward an unknown destination.
The montage ends and the camera cuts back to Klaus in his hotel room, this time Ronaldo was sitting across from him in a similar chair. The blogger was wearing his suit coat and was cradling a can of soda in his hands.
"Good afternoon and welcome back," Klaus greeted the camera with a smile. "For this week's Mysterious Mystery, we are here in Beach City, a humble little seaside town in the state of Delmarva."
A quick montage of scenic shots of Beach City played, showing the boardwalk, townhall and various pleasing locations.
"A quiet town, one of Delmarva's best kept secrets." Klaus narrated offscreen. "Not far up the coast is Wake Town, which has long been the home of the infamous Blackthorn Manor. Within the last month, these two sleepy towns have been a focal point of mystery and strangeness. For starters, as my colleague has shown–"
"I'm a colleague!" Ronaldo excitedly added.
"-that Beach City was visited by what appears to be an alien ship."
A blurred still from one of Ronaldo's videos of the spaceship flashed across the screen.
"Following its crash, there appeared to be an escape pod crash landing in Wake Town. Over the following few weeks, there were things going missing and unusual sightings and encounters were reported in and around the town. Soon after, the haunted house of Blackthorn mysteriously burned down. Far too much to be a coincidence."
The camera cut back to Klaus and Ronaldo sitting in the hotel room. Ronaldo was sitting up straighter and trying to appear more professional.
"The Mysterious Mysteries crew had arrived in town only today," Klaus explained. "As we began our investigation, we came across this vigilant young truth seeker–" he gestured to Ronaldo.
Ronaldo waved at the camera, sweating nervously.
"-Ronaldo Fryman, owner, moderator and sole contributor of the blog, Keep Beach City Weird. At first there were some…misunderstandings."
The camera cut back to Ronaldo's interview with Nanefua, this time from footage from a passerby. The passerby was filming both Ronaldo and Klaus and his crew. The footage showed Ronaldo interviewing Nanefua as Klaus and his people were preparing their camera and audio equipment for a shoot. When Nanefua asked Ronaldo what his interview was for and the blogger attempted to answer, Klaus pretended to cough, saying "bullshit" loudly. Klaus and his crew chuckled a little, causing Ronaldo to blush and scowl.
Cutting back to Ronaldo and Klaus in the hotel room. The former Olympic skier had a tight, forced smile on his face. He patted the blogger's arm.
"But, after realizing that we were hunting the same story, we decided to combine our resources and chase the truth together…"
Klaus's voice dropped to a mutter "...otherwise this little schweinehund will post that van video and ruin my career."
"But what's the story we're chasing?" Ronaldo said, cocking an eyebrow. He chuckled. "Strap yourselves in, because this is a doozy."
The footage then cut to a montage of images and footage. The first image was the picture of a muddy footprint. The footprint, at a glance, may seem human-like. However, upon closer inspection, one would see that the footprint was larger than the average man's and had only two sharp looking toes.
"Not long after the Blackthorn Manor fire, I came across a set of footprints in the woods outside of Beach City." Ronaldo narrated. "Though nowhere near the size of Bigfoot's, the size and shape were still intriguing. I made a plaster mold of them and, following a brief search, discovered some tracks nearby. I followed the tracks but hit a dead end. They had come to an abrupt end, as if the creature had vanished into thin air. I planned to investigate the area later. However, those plans were put on hold due to a heavy downpour that night."
"It was during this downpour that it made its presence known…the Beast of Beach City!"
Stock footage of a tape recorder appeared with a subtitle. The subtitle read: "The following is real audio, provided by Ronaldo Fryman of Keep Beach City Weird." The audio played. The sound of rainfall and thunder was audible. For a few long moments, the steady fall of rain was all that there was before the tranquil symphony of nature was interrupted by a monstrous, blood-curdling scream. The scream echoed and faded under the cover of rain before another scream cut through like a knife.
"This went on for a few minutes," Ronaldo said solemnly. "Chilling."
"Absolutely chilling," Klaus agreed as the camera cut back to the two in the hotel room. "Sound analysis shows that no Earthly creature could've made this sound. We even sent the molds of the creature's feet to an expert. They were left baffled, saying they've never seen such footprints before. But who, or what, could've made such footprints and sounds?"
Soft, moody music played as the two investigators paused dramatically.
"An alien!" the two declared at once.
"Jinx!" Ronaldo declared.
Klaus sighed heavily and just waved a hand. "Ja, ja. Let's just keep going, we can edit this in post."
"But where did this alien come from?" Ronaldo asked as the camera cut to a crude but eerie sketch of a monstrous silhouette belonging to the supposed "Beast of Beach City", which resembled a bipedal crocodile. "And why is it here?"
"The answer to the first question is quite simple," Klaus said as the camera cut back to the two investigators. The former Olympian was now swishing around a glass of brandy and looking composed and dignified. "This creature arrived aboard that hand-shaped starship. Obviously, it had escaped the craft via an escape pod and crash landed in Wake Town. In the ensuing weeks, it had scavenged what it could, gathered strength and–"
"-waited in the forests," Ronaldo chimed in, trying to not be one-upped by the professional investigator. "Gathering intelligence, accumulating resources. Watching and waiting for the perfect moment to make its move."
"Right," Klaus sighed, gulping the entire glass of brandy in a single gulp. He muttered something in German before resuming. "But the answer to the second question, well, that's a bit of a long story. For you see, this 'Beast' may just be another piece in a bigger, more complex puzzle than one would realize."
"It is?" Ronaldo questioned.
Klaus ignored him and the camera cut to a montage of images. These images feature walls, statues and murals from cultures and nations from all across the globe and human history. From Babylonian terracotta plaques to Roman frescoes and Mayan reliefs, each item featured strange scenes and bizarre looking creatures: giant crab-like creatures, worms, a humanoid creature with hundreds of hands, a stumpy little creature that looked like a head with arms and legs. Each of these creatures, no matter how different they were, all featured a gem-shaped object on their body.
"All across the globe, there have been a surge of unusual findings," Klaus narrated as the images of unusual items flickered by, occasionally interrupted by photos of archeological digs, featuring large teams of disheveled and dirty people, posing with unusual structures that didn't resemble any ancient human architecture. "Pottery, murals, frescoes, stela, all these things depict scenes and creatures that can be described as unnatural, unusual…mysterious. It appears that every corner of the Earth, no matter the time period or culture, seems to have been affected by, or at the very least observed, strangeness. Of all these findings, there has been evidence of a presence. Living amongst the peoples of Earth were these figures–"
The footage displayed different archeological pieces: Stone age cave paintings, Greek pottery, Egyptian statues, Chinese paintings, Medieval European Tapestries, and a Renaissance painting. All these pieces of art, though differing in style and spread across centuries, all featured the same subject. The subject was of a group of female figures, of different sizes, shapes and colors, all following the lead of a large figure in white with curly pink hair styled into thick ringlets. This pink-haired figure was always featured prominently, leading the group or acting as a protector in the face of monstrous enemies.
"-Dating as far back as sixty-four thousand years ago, these figures have time and again made themselves known to humanity. But what were they to humanity in the past? As protectors or as harbingers of doom? Whatever the case, whenever there appears to be an unusual creature present, these figures are not too far behind. Is history going to repeat itself here? Are they here to help or to harm?"
The camera cut back to Klaus and Ronaldo, only this time the two were crammed into a van, along with the rest of Klaus's crew, speeding down the highway toward Beach CIty.
"That is what we are going to find out," Klaus said, glancing at the camera mounted on the dashboard. "We're on our way to Beach City to conduct our own thorough investigation."
Ronaldo, who was sitting in the back, squished between the luggage and equipment of Klaus and his people, squealed with excitement.
As the van came around the bend, a dramatic sting sounded as Klaus and his comrades gasped.
"Holy s***." the driver breathed.
"Mein Gott," Klaus whispered.
The former Olympain grabbed the camera on the dashboard and spun it around. The camera showed a wide view of Beach City. However, the main point of interest was the statue. The statue looked to be carved out of the side of the cliff upon which the Beach City Lighthouse sat. The structure was humanoid, with a serene face and wavy hair, though it had four pairs of arms, with four arms spread out and the other four converging around the navel, where a modern looking house sat.
"I've never seen anything like that," one of the crew members said aloud.
"It reminds me of something," another member said, pensively. "But I can't quite put my finger on it."
"H-How old is that-that structure?" Klaus asked Ronaldo, turning the camera toward the back of the van.
Ronaldo shrugged. "It's been there for as long as I can remember. As long as anyone can remember, in fact."
"Do you know who made it?"
Ronaldo shrugged again "I don't know. I think it was the Crystal Gems."
"Crystal Gems?"
"The band?" the driver questioned.
"Not Crystal Castles, Dummkopf," Klaus grumbled. "Crystal Gems. Who are the Crystal Gems?"
Ronaldo opened his mouth and hesitated for a moment. "Uh…"
The footage paused as a dramatic musical sting played.
"It would appear that my…colleague knew more than he was letting on," Klaus narrated off-screen, clearly suspicious. "I had to be careful. If this boy did know more than he was telling us, then it was very likely that he was working for…them!"
The camera cut to the inside of the Big Donut. Sadie was manning the counter and tending to a customer.
"So tell me, Sadie," Klaus asked, off camera. "What do you know about these…Crystal Gems? How long have they been living here in Beach City?"
"All my life, I guess," Sadie answered with a shrug, ringing up a customer's purchase. "They're Steven's family, I think?"
"Were they present when that hand-craft arrived a month ago?"
"Yes!" Ronaldo declared, somewhere off camera.
Sadie frowned and then looked at the camera. "I-I guess so. Yes. They usually keep to themselves, though Steven says that they protect the planet and the human race and that they have magic powers. It sounds hard to believe but I've seen some pretty wild stuff."
"I see…"
"What was this for again?"
The camera cut away from the Big Donut and now featured the inside of the office of Mayor Dewey. The perpetually red-faced, sweaty and nervous mayor sat across from Klaus and Ronaldo, trying his best to be photogenic.
"So, Mr. Mayor," Klaus began, lacing his fingers together. "What can you tell me about Beach City?"
"Beach City is by far the nicest place to live!" the mayor declared without hesitation. "Pristine beaches, friendly people and–"
"-and alien incursions?" Klaus offered.
"Huh?" Mayor Dewey blinked.
"Mr. Mayor, let us be frank with one another. Beach City is a splendid town, but we both know that there is more going on."
"T-There is?"
"That hand-shaped craft, for example. It just…showed up out of nowhere and took a chunk out of the side of Lighthouse Hill."
The camera cutaway, showing two still images of Lighthouse Hill, showing the "Before" and "After" of the crash. The differences were slight but one can notice, in the after picture, that there was a chunk of rock missing from the side of the hill and some faint scorch marks on the side of the cliff.
The camera cut back to Mayor Dewey's office and the mayor was shifting uncomfortably in his seat.
"I…wouldn't know anything about that," the mayor said carefully, regarding Klaus with suspicion.
"I see," Klaus said, nodding slowly. "And what of the Crystal Gems? I hear that they played a fairly large role in dealing with the craft."
"I suppose they did," Mayor Dewey chuckled nervously. "Though I'd say that it was the voters, the citizens of Beach City that played a real part in saving the town. My constituents know that they've elected a mayor who they can trust to get the job done."
"Hm."
Silence filled the room for a long moment. Klaus remained composed like a statue, staring at the mayor, while the mayor drummed his fingers on his desk and shuffled some papers around. Ronaldo kept glancing back and forth between the two men. Eventually, Mayor Dewey looked at Klaus and asked.
"What was this for again?"
"We're covering the story of the-" Ronaldo began but this caused the mayor's eyes to bulge.
"Cover up?! Who said anything about a cover up!? Oh gee, look at the time, I got a meeting. Security!"
A door opened and the mayor's bodyguards barged in and began escorting the paranormal investigation team out of the office.
The camera cut to the inside of the Buddwick Public Library. This time Klaus was alone, strolling among the bookshelves and paused beside a painting of a man who was the spitting image of Mayor Dewey. The man in the painting wore the uniform of an officer of the British Royal Navy, dark blue with gold embroidery. He stood beside a table covered in maps and gazed off to some far off horizon.
"It would seem that Beach City has had a long history of strangeness," Klaus narrated. "For the town of Beach City was founded over two hundred years ago by one Captain William Dewey, ancestor of the town's current mayor."
A snapshot of Mayor Dewey flashed by, showing him to be grinning nervously at the camera.
"According to his contemporaries, Captain Dewey was a mediocre commander, to put it lightly. He was a cautious man and fulfilled his orders to the letter, though he exhibited little by way of imagination or natural talent for sailing. Despite a dull and uneventful career, Captain Dewey had set a course for the Americas. Hungry for adventure and for a chance to carve his name in the annals of history, Captain Dewey set off with his crew in search of new land aboard the Valiant. He found new land but he found something else as well. Or rather, something found him instead."
An elegant sketch appeared, showing what looked like Captain Dewey, on the deck of his ship gallantly brandishing his saber, confronting a large serpentine monster emerging from the sea. The creature had several tentacles, a large beak-like mouth, gills and bulging eyes. The monster easily dwarfed the ship and looked like it could destroy it in a single blow. The rest of his crew cowered behind the captain, looking on in fear and dread.
"According to legend, the Valiant and her crew were set upon by some sort of sea monster. The accounts vary and Captain Dewey's own writings seem to exaggerate his own involvement. However, all accounts agree that, in the Valiant's darkest hour, help arrived."
The elegant sketch was replaced by a rougher looking sketch of a massive eight-armed silhouette, slaying the serpentine creature with a gigantic blazing sword.
"A gigantic figure, an entity of some sort, had arrived to rescue the Valiant. Notice anything…familiar?"
A still image appeared on screen, comparing Captain Dewey's shadowy savior to the enormous carving in the cliffside beneath Beach City Lighthouse. A series of red circles and arrows appeared, pointing to the similarities: eight arms, the shape of the face and hair of the silhouette and carving. A dramatic sting played.
DUN DUN!
"Just what is this…thing? A mythical giant of legend? An alien battle mech of some sort? With each new answer, more questions seem to spring up. Perhaps I'm getting too far ahead of myself, going a little too deep. For now, let us focus on our current mystery: the Beast of Beach City. What do we know?"
The camera cut to the inside of the Mysterious Mysteries van. The orange haired former Olympian was sitting in the midst of the crew's command center. Having cleared at the back of the van of junk and unpacked their equipment, the formerly cramped space was now a spacious and hi-tech base outfitted with all manner of monitors and devices needed for all manner of paranormal investigations. Klaus gestured to the monitor he was studying, the large one in the center, which featured a map of the area in and around Beach City.
"So far, we've compiled every scrap of information we could dig up on this so-called beast. It began with some strange sounds in the woods near North Beach City Highway"
With a click on the keyboard, a red "X" appeared near a rest stop north of town.
"Several more reports place the creature here, here and here,"
Another click and another three red "X's" appeared, this time a little further west and a little closer to town.
"There were some alleged sightings in town. I'm not certain of the veracity of these accounts but we'll throw them up on the board just in case."
Click. A couple of red "X's" appeared in town, forming a makeshift trail from the north, heading south, winding its way through some backyards and cutting across Main Street, before cutting sharply north and coming to a stop at a building near the U-Stor Self Storage.
"A little nonsensical, I grant you," Klaus chuckled, turning to face the camera. "But, hidden within our collected data is a picture. But a picture of what?"
There was a moment of silence as Klaus stroked his chin ponderously, while the map behind him displayed what looked like a trail leading from the U-Stor Self Storage through Main Street Beach City and headed up north. After a few moments of silence, one of the crew members spoke up.
"I-It kinda looks like a trail," said the man, off camera.
"Hm?" Klaus said, looking at the crewman.
"Looks kinda like a trail, s-starting at that U-Stor place."
Klaus blinked at the man then turned to look at the map. He turned to the camera and then to the map. An embarrassed smile appeared on his face.
"Huh, well…would you look at that? Verdammt-!"
The camera quickly cut away and showed a sketch of the supposed Beast of Beach City, which looks suspiciously like a drawing of the Hunchback of Notre Dame but given green skin, antennas and googly eyes.
"Aside from the trail and the nearly perfect timeline matching the spacecraft's arrival," Klaus narrated. "There isn't much known about this creature, what it looks like or what it wants. There isn't even anything in any of the local legends or folklore. It's very possible that we are looking at a visitor from beyond the stars."
The camera cuts to an elderly man, lying facedown on a tanning table, bare naked backside exposed to the sun. A subtitle declared that his name was "Douglas Kenway" and that his occupation was "Oceanside County Historian and tanning enthusiast".
"Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised," Douglas said, sipping a glass of lemonade. "Oceanside County is by far one of the biggest hotspots of unusual activities, probably even more than that little podunk town in Oregon."
"Do you have any theories as to what this Beast could be?" Klaus asked, shifting uncomfortably.
"Nope! Not a damn clue."
DING!
"Ooh, time to flip!" the elderly historian said, as he slowly propped himself up and began to turn. "Gotta get nice and golden brown before the big music festival. Lotta bodacious babes comin' from all over. Gotta look my best. "
The camera quickly cut away just in time. This time, the camera showed Klaus sitting in the driver's seat of the Mysterious Mysteries van, looking shell shocked. Outside, the world was dark, nearly pitch black. A gentle rain fell, tapping against the roof and windshield of the van.
"...looked like a rancid, old coin purse," Klaus murmured.
AHEM! coughed the cameraman.
Klaus blinked, glancing sideways and immediately straightened up.
"With no other leads, we now find ourselves here at ground zero. The site of where the sightings first began."
The camera panned and showed, through the rain soaked window, that they were parked in a makeshift parking lot. A short distance away was a little island of light, a reststop, complete with a large metal barrel acting as a trash can and a roadmap of the state of Delmarva bolted to the wall near the bathroom doors.
"Tonight, we shall stake out this area," Klaus explained. "We've set up cameras, microphones and sensors all over these woods. If the beast is near, we shall know."
Cutting to a different camera, this time on night vision mode and positioned on the ceiling in the van's little command center, we see a timelapse of Klaus and his crew sitting around, talking, eating fast food and napping. A little clock was visible in the corner, showing several hours flying by like nothing, before coming to a sudden halt at two o'clock in the morning.
Klaus was currently curled up in the back, wrapped up in a blanket, while his cameraman and one of his other crewmen were sitting in the front.
"...don't see how this is worth our time," complained the crewman in the passenger seat.
"We're still getting paid," the cameraman offered, trying to calm his friend. "Just be glad that you weren't here for the last one. Stuck in some creepy ass ruins, miles from the nearest town. Nothing but jungle and mosquitos and wild animals for miles."
"I know," said the crewman, wrapping himself up in his own blanket "But it's just…I was really looking forward to checking out that chateau!"
"Yeah, yeah," the cameraman rolled his eyes, "but hey, when the higher ups say jump, we jump. No matter what. Otherwise, you'll be working on that reality show that the network's got going on or worse."
"Right…"
"I mean it! We're just lucky that this UFO sighting has turned out to be a real gold mine."
"Shhh!" the crewman hissed, sitting up.
The cameraman frowned. "What?"
"D-Did you hear that?"
"Hear what?"
The crewman stared out into the dark and rainy night. The night vision camera showed nothing but dark, tranquil forest outside.
"I-I think I heard something," the crewman whispered.
The cameraman's brows knitted together. The crewman climbed out of his seat and crawled into the back. He reached Klaus and shook him.
"Wake up!" the crewman hissed. "Wake up!"
"...swear…said she was eighteen…" Klaus mumbled and snored.
In the front, the cameraman pulled out a pair of night vision goggles and began scanning the exterior through the windshield.
The tense silence was quickly interrupted by a series of beeps. Slowly, Klaus was roused from his slumber.
"Wha-What is it?" he mumbled.
The crewman went to the computer and typed in a command. The main screen showed a layout of the wooded area around the van and showed a distance to the west of them, a blinking dot.
"It looks like one of the sensors got some movement," the crewman observed.
"Probably just a deer or a squirrel," Klaus yawned before lying back down.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
"Since when did a squirrel grow up to eight feet tall and move at the speed of a ferrari?" the crewman said, growing pale.
Klaus bolted upright and gazed at the screen, alert and awake.
The screen showed that something was moving through the forest at an alarming and unnatural speed. One by one, the sensors quickly lit up and showed that something big was coming. Tense music began to swell, building tension as the paranormal investigators waited and watched the darkness outside.
Before anyone could react, there was a loud bang as something landed on the roof of the van, causing it to shake. Klaus let out a surprised yelp before covering his mouth. The three men sat in silence, looking up at the ceiling of the van nervously as someone or something moved around above.
THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.
The van rocked and shuddered, the ceiling creaked and groaned under the weight of the unseen creature. A deep, guttural growl could be heard.
"Holy shit…" breathed the cameraman.
"Don't worry," Klaus assured the man in a soft voice. "The van has been modified to withstand gunfire and explosions. As long as we're in here, we're completely saf-"
BANG!
The van jerked as a large dent suddenly appeared in the ceiling. A blood-curdling roar sounded and another two dents appeared in the ceiling as the creature began to pummel the ceiling. The men ducked and scrambled to avoid the numerous large dents appearing in the ceiling of their van. Klaus scrambled to the computers and rifled around in the space beneath the makeshift desk. The former Olympian pulled out a shotgun and frantically began to load shells into it. The cameraman pulled out his smartphone and began to film. As Klaus struggled to load his weapon, the reinforced ceiling of the van began to give way. The dents grew deeper, resembling large metallic bubbles and protrusions.
"Scheisse!" Klaus cursed as a shell fell out of his trembling fingers. He grabbed another one and managed to load it just in time as a large, crystal blue claws penetrated the ceiling.
Klaus and his two companions froze, gazing at the claws. In the faint light of the computer monitors, the claws gleamed and shimmered. In another situation, the trio would've admired them. But here, the claws tore through the metal, forcing an opening to appear.
Klaus pumped the shotgun and took aim. The view changed to the cameraman's smartphone. Though it was pitch black outside, the camera was able to see a shape through the opening. It was large and seemed to catch the light of the monitors in the van, giving it a faint blue glow. The creature growled and looked ready to strike.
"S-Stay back!" Klaus yelled, brandishing his weapon. Despite trying to sound calm and collected, his voice was shrill and terrified.
The creature ignored him and began to reach in with a large clawed hand.
Klaus fired. A loud bang filled the van, causing the other two men to cover their ears in pain.
The shot hit its mark, though it did little damage. Some glittering flecks fell and bits of the shot were embedded into the wall of the van. Despite a direct hit and some minor damage, the creature continued reaching deeper into the van.
Klaus and his comrades moved, even though it was clear that the arm wasn't reaching for them. Instead, it was reaching for the computers. The trio of investigators watched in a mixture of curiosity and confusion as the creature snatched one of the monitors and wrench it free from the wall. Sparks flew as wires were torn and the trio were plunged into blackness as the other monitors went dead. The night vision camera observed the creature pulling the monitor up through the hole, dragging a number of loose wires and smaller devices still connected to the monitor along with it, like the keyboard and one of the external memory drives.
"What the hell?" the cameraman murmured, documenting the whole thing.
Before they could process or theorize what was going on, there was a flash of red light, followed by a shrill, alien howl. The van rocked as the shadowy creature turned and leaped into the darkness. There was another flash of red, followed by voices.
"God-*burp*-damn it!" a gruff male voice belched.
"Well that didn't do anything," a female voice remarked coolly.
"After him!" another female voice cried. "He can't have gotten far!"
The cameraman turned the camera toward the front. Through the windshield, four humanoid silhouettes raced by and vanished into the darkness. Silence filled the inside of the ruined van, save for the soft pitter patter of rain that returned in the wake of the chaos. After a few long moments, a flustered Klaus finally spoke.
"What the f*** just happened!?" he shrieked.
The footage cut to a daytime establishing shot of the wooded area in which Klaus and his companions had spent the night. In the warm and comforting light of morning, the forest was peaceful but there were visible differences due to the events of the night before.
The camera cut to Klaus, pale and visibly shaken. He was dressed in an expensive looking dark coat and cradling a foam cup of steaming coffee. The former Olympian was watching as his crew rummaged through the ruined van, which now sported a gaping hole in the roof and a dozen or so large dents, and spoke with the local police.
Klaus glanced at the camera beside him and gave a wan smile. "It is the morning after our little…encounter. We have contacted the police and are giving our statements. So far, aside from some damages and missing equipment, we were lucky to escape with our lives. It strikes me odd that-"
"WHOA!" a familiar voice exclaimed.
Klaus closed his eyes and sighed in frustration. The camera panned over and showed Ronaldo, standing there, sitting on his bicycle, drenched in sweat. The blogger dismounted his bike and approached the scene, ducking under the police tape that cordoned off the parking lot.
"What happened?" Ronaldo asked, breathlessly drinking in the scene. He looked at Klaus and the camera. "It was here, wasn't it? The Beast?"
"Ja…" Klaus grumbled, not feeling up to dealing with the blogger. "Look, Mr. Fryman, we-"
"Ronaldo," the blogger corrected.
"Das ist mir scheißegal!" Klaus snapped, causing Ronaldo and the cameraman to jump. The former Olympian took a deep calming breath, and spoke in a gentler tone. "Forgive me. It's-It's been a long night. Yes, we saw the Beast."
Ronaldo opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by Klaus.
"No, no we did not get a very good look at it nor did we get very clear footage of it. We barely escaped with our lives. We shot it but it appeared that the creature hardly noticed."
"Whoa, but how did you escape?"
Yes, how did we escape? Klaus narrated, as Ronaldo began rattling off a series of questions at the orange haired former Olympian that were tuned out and buried beneath some somber, mysterious background music. The camera and Klaus turned their attention back to the van. Klaus stood closeby, pondering the ruined state of the reinforced vehicle, which was now being inspected by the police.
Why did the Beast attack us? Did it know we were investigating it? Did we stumble onto something we weren't supposed to? Who was there last night? And what was that light? Nothing but questions! This was by far the most troubling case I have ever tackled.
"Tracks!" Ronaldo yelled.
Klaus blinked and the camera quickly panned over to the blogger, who was standing at the edge of the forest, gesturing to something on the ground.
"I found some tracks!" the blogger declared proudly.
Klaus, the cameraman and one of the police officers rushed over. The former Olympian shoved Ronaldo aside and allowed the camera to document the blogger's findings. On the ground were, indeed, a set of tracks. Footprints, similar in size and shape to the ones that Ronaldo had shown them earlier. Larger than the average man's, yet not larger than that of those purportedly belonging to Bigfoot, the footprints were imprinted in the mud and led deeper into the woods.
"Amazing!" Klaus breathed, kneeling to get a closer look. "They're exactly like the others."
"We should set up a search grid," Ronaldo declared "We're gonna need helicopters, dogs, and additional personnel. We might have to call in every off duty officer and maybe even get the State Police involved."
"Whoa slow your roll, son," a police officer said, approaching the gathered investigators. The camera panned over and showed an older, solid looking man with a handlebar mustache. The man removed his sunglasses and eyed the footprints. "This is official police business. Why don't you run along and leave it to the professionals."
The camera turned to Ronaldo.
"Believe me, Officer Reynolds, I know what I'm doing," Ronaldo scoffed, adjusting his glasses. "I am a professional investigator, after all."
The camera turned back to the graying officer's, whose eyes narrowed at Ronaldo, containing a mixture of suspicion and annoyance. After a brief pause, the officer's eyebrow shot up.
"Wait a second…you're Frankie's boy, aren't you?"
"Huh?"
"Yeah, Frankie Fryman of Beach Citywalk Fries. You're that kid, the conspiracy nut."
The camera turned to Ronaldo, whose eyes darted about nervously. "I-I don't know what you're-"
"Weren't you the one who wrecked Mrs. O'leary's yard, yelling about Leprechauns or something." One of the other officers asked.
"Gnomes, actually, but I don't see how-"
"And stole a bunch of irreplaceable artifacts from the Beach City Archives?" another officer questioned.
"And publicly accused my mother-in-law of being a Yeti?" growled Officer Reynolds.
Ronaldo swallowed and held up a defensive hand "To-To be fair, her arrival did match up with the Yeti's migratory patterns-"
One of the officer's clapped a hand on Ronaldo's shoulder and began to shepherd him away from the scene.
"C'mon," Officer Reynolds said, following the two back to the parking lot. "We'll give you a ride home and let you off with a warning. But I swear, if I catch you interfering with police business again…"
The camera watched them leave before cutting away to footage of the forest from the night before. In the darkness, partially banished by night vision mode, the forest was tranquil and still.
"Aside from the cameras we had on hand at the van," Klaus narrated, "Our cameras didn't pick up much by way of footage, except for this…"
After a few moments of tranquil nature and rain, a large shape crashed through the bushes at breakneck speed. The shape paused for a brief moment before leaping high into the trees, grabbing a branch and then launching itself toward another tree. The shape bounced from tree to tree and was gone in moments. Shortly after, four humanoid silhouettes charged through the underbrush, hot on the creature's heels. The footage froze. Two still images appeared on screen, one of the large shape, hanging from one of the trees, and the other the silhouettes.
"...it would seem that we aren't the only ones in pursuit of the Beast," Klaus spoke, the music growing unsettling "But who are these hunters? Another group of aliens? An enemy faction perhaps? Or are they agents of the government, sent to subdue the Beast and cover up any traces of alien activity? Well, we're just going to have to find out!"
The camera cut to Klaus, accompanied by only his cameraman, along the beach, heading toward the massive statue of the woman with eight arms.
"After combing through hours of footage." Klaus explained, trudging through the sand and obviously regretting wearing his expensive shoes to the beach. "We've uncovered some peculiar material from our van after the attack."
An image flashed, showing a glass jar holding tiny glittering crystalline flakes and fragments.
"We consulted an expert on gemology and sent him a sample. What he said was perplexing."
Cut to a man in a lab coat sitting in a laboratory in what appeared to be a university. The man held up the sample, a glimmering crystal chip, with a pair of tweezers.
"I haven't seen anything like it," said the man. "At first, it had the appearance of a crystal but a closer inspection shows that its structure, while similar to a crystal, is quite different."
Cut to a view of the crystal under a microscope. "Its structure appears to be far more complex than your typical crystal. It was apparent there had been damage, but…" the man paused. He took a deep breath and continued "If I didn't know any better, there seems to be a sort of…organic character to it, like a living cell. I've only had this sample for a day or so, and I've noticed some of the damage is gone."
The footage cut to images taken of the inside of the crystal and was placed beside an image of an ordinary crystal. Both looked nearly the same, though the sample delivered to the gemologist was of a bluer hue and had little peculiar features here and there. But the main attraction was the damage, clear signs of disruption in the crystal's structure. However, as the expert mentioned the damage disappearing, a more recent image replaced the one on the screen. The damage to the crystal was gone and looked as though they had never existed.
Cut back to the gemologist, who set aside the sample and looked at the camera with a serious look. "I'm not entirely sure what this sample is. What I can tell you is that, in all my years, I've never seen anything this…unusual. It feels as though, to me, that it's…alive."
DUN DUN!
Cut back to Klaus on the beach, who was standing at the foot of the stairs leading up to the house nestled at the navel of the cliff statue.
"Living crystal?" Klaus said, cocking an eyebrow at the camera. "Sounds like science fiction, but is it possible? We may find out soon enough."
Klaus began to climb the stairs, the camera followed.
"It would seem that, no matter where one goes in Beach City," Klaus said, glancing over his shoulder "One will always hear something about a group called the 'Crystal Gems' who seem to be at the center of every major event or controversy that has occurred in this town. Whether it's the Hand-shaped UFO or the tragic and mysterious destruction of the Crow's Nest bar, threads seem to always lead back to this particular group."
Klaus and the cameraman arrived at the front door. He slicked back his hair and brushed sand off his shoes. Looking at the camera with a determined expression.
"Whoever or whatever they are, these Crystal Gems may hold the answers to some of Beach City's most mysterious mysteries…"
He turned to knock on the door but paused and looked at the camera. The former Olympian grinned. "You like that? How I worked the show's title into my monologue."
"Couldn't have done it better myself boss," the cameraman mumbled.
"Ja, I know you couldn't." Klaus sniffed, turning to knock on the door once again. "Harvard dropout…lucky to be riding my coattails…"
The former Olympian knocked on the screen door. Nothing, except for the crashing of the waves and the wind. Klaus knocked again. This time, there sounded like some movement from the inside and a shape moving toward the door. Klaus's eyes widened and the color drained from his face.
"Oh scheisse!" he said, before running. "C'mon Johnny! Move your fat ass!"
The cameraman moved quickly as the door could be heard being kicked open. Everything was a blur of motion. In seconds Klaus and the cameraman were already on the beach, making a bee-line for town.
"You motherf***ers get off my property!" a man yelled at them.
BANG!
The ground near them burst, kicking up sand. The cameraman managed to steady the camera and get a shot of the house as it receded into the distance. Standing on the porch was an elderly looking man with wild blue-gray hair, holding a shotgun and looking pissed.
"This is my property!" the man yelled, pumping the shotgun "And I have a legal right to defend myself. F***ing Youtube Pranksters!"
The footage cut and Klaus and the cameraman were both back at their hotel. The camera lying on the table, tilted and left running. The two were alone in the spacious, finely decorated room. Klaus was rummaging around the minifridge near the camera while the cameraman sat with his back to the camera.
"I think we've got enough," the cameraman said, sounding exhausted.
"Nein," Klaus sighed, producing a bottle of Jack Daniels from the minifridge. He poured himself a glass and sank into a nearby armchair.
"What do you mean? We got ourselves a tantalizing mystery with lots of questions and evidence but no answer! We can come up with some bulls*** ending like, uh, oh! How about we were told to stop or that the evidence has gone cold and call it a week."
"I wish we can do that but not this time. We're going to need a little more."
"A little more?" the cameraman scoffed "We nearly got torn to shreds! We probably got tinnitus or worse from that shotgun blast and the van's wrecked to shit! We almost got shot! If we don't turn something in soon, the network might actually go through with those budget cuts! I still got student loans to pay off!"
"Ja, ja, I know!" Klaus growled, frustrated. "It's just…we really need something spectacular! Something that'll make us legends and satisfy the network. The usual junk isn't going to cut it anymore. The audience has grown more jaded and hard to please. Nobody wants to hear about aliens or ghosts or even lost civilizations anymore. It's all political scandals and celebrity bulls*** now."
The cameraman was silent for a moment, as if contemplating their situation. After a few moments he let out a sigh.
"We're going to have to go and try and get a better look at that Beast thing, aren't we?"
"Positiv," Klaus said, pouring himself another glass.
The cameraman's shoulders slumped. "I really wish we took that ghost job in France."
The footage cuts to black.
Dissolve in, the footage shows that night has fallen on Beach City and the sleepy beach side town has grown eerily silent. A montage of shots showing stores have closed up early and houses are all brightly lit, probably in fear of the Beast of Beach City that has so far stalked the town. Fortunately, there had been no victims or fatalities. Yet.
Cut to Klaus, riding shotgun in a newly rented van. Driving was the cameraman. In the back were the remaining members of their film crew, each dressed in black and outfitted with makeshift body armor, headlamps and body cameras.
"Alright everybody," Klaus said aloud, trying to stir up morale. "Tonight's the night we're going to face this Beast head on! We're going to get conclusive proof of who and what it is!"
The others nodded slowly with varying degrees of confidence. Those who were there the night the van was attacked were still rattled but looked to have recovered some of their courage.
"What-What's the assignment?" one of the crewmen asked as his hands fidgeted.
"We've received a tip from a friend in the police department," Klaus explained, glancing into the backseat. "There have been sightings of a sort near a cave not far from Beach City."
Klaus pulled out a roadmap, which showed Beach City and the surrounding area comprising Oceanside County. There were several red X's on the map. In addition to the trail of X's leading out of Beach City, there were scattered X's outside of town that ended at some caves a few miles away from the coast.
"This cave is part of a network of caves that used to be underwater thousands of years ago," Klaus explained. "Under the watchful eyes of the National Park Service, it's a preserved archeological site that's heavily restricted. Supposedly, there's evidence of early man being unearthed there."
"What would a giant monster be doing in a National Park?" one of the crewmen asked.
"I dunno," said another. "Sounds like the start of a bad joke."
"In any case, the Park Rangers have reported some unusual activities and have since cordoned off the area after one of their own had been injured."
"Aaaannnnddd, why are we doing this?" asked one of the crew.
"We're doing this in the name of truth!" Klaus declared. "We do this in the name of advancing humanity's understanding of the Earth and the Universe!"
"And for a fat paycheck to keep us from starving!" the cameraman chimed in.
A montage of footage plays, showing the dark countryside rolling by, including trees, fields and the ocean. A pale moon hung over the sea, providing a serene yet unnatural light on the landscape. After almost an hour or so of driving, the van came to a stop.
Cutting to one of the mini cameras strapped to one of the crew member's heads, Klaus climbed out of the van and looked around. Around them was a vacant parking lot. An information kiosk was close by as well as a bulletin board and a map of the National Park. The investigators unloaded some weapons and scanning equipment from the van and gathered around the map with Klaus. The former Olympian studied the map. The National Park was small compared to its more well known cousins but still large enough to get lost in. There was a network of hiking trails leading to picnic areas, some campsites and scenic points of interest. In the furthest corner of the park were the caves.
With the location set, the band of investigators set off. Rousing, determined music begins to play. As they marched through the dark, the team prepared themselves mentally and physically. After the last attack, Klaus and his team wanted to be prepared. Some of the men brought firearms of their own, a few pistols, a hunting rifle, a Shotgun and an AR-15.
Arriving at the cave, Klaus and his team found a Park Ranger waiting for them.
"Mr. Heisler?" the ranger, a large man with a bushy beard, asked.
"Good evening," the former Olympian greeted with a smile and a hand extended. "And you are?"
"You can call me Chuck." the ranger said, giving the former Olympian a firm handshake. "Reynolds said that you'd show up. I didn't believe him but, here you are, in the flesh! I'm a big fan of the show, by the way."
"What can you tell us about these caves and what has caused them to be cordoned off?"
"Well, these caves have been formed out of so many years of erosion by the sea. A hell of a long time ago, these caves were, according to archeologists, a dwelling place for a tribe of early man. Some pottery, bones and even a few interesting cave paintings and carvings were found. But, in more recent history, some of the dig team members had come under attack."
Klaus frowned. "Attack?"
"Yeah! Started off with equipment gone missing and such, but as the archeologists ventured deeper into the caves, some…thing attacked them, scratched them up pretty good. Luckily, nobody was killed."
From one of the crew's cameras, each of the crew looked visibly nervous at that.
"We thought it was a bat or something," Chuck continued, glancing at the cave. The entrance looked like a dark, bottomless pit waiting to swallow them up. "But after a few more attacks, each of 'em getting more serious, we had to call off the dig and cordon the place off."
"Have the police or any of the Park Rangers tried to investigate?" Klaus asked.
"Indeed we have, and that's when poor Billy was put in the hospital. Although we don't know what it is, we now know where it is. At the moment my superiors have passed word along to their superiors and they're likely going to call in some heavy artillery. Ordinarily, we're not supposed to let folks down into these caves. Hell, I'm still not sure if I should be doing this, but you made a, uh, pretty convincing case."
"Yes, yes, I know," Klaus said, his eyes darting nervously and very unsubtly handing the Park Ranger a large wad of money.
Chuck pocketed the money and unhooked the chain that ran across the opening of the cave, with a sign that read "Closed. Keep Out!" in bold red letters, and pulled the chain aside. A gust of wind blew, causing everyone there to shiver a little.
Klaus swallowed hard, clearly wanting to be anywhere but there. He glanced at the nearest camera and nodded.
"Into the unknown we go."
As Klaus and the Mysterious Mysteries crew ventured into danger, Rick and Steven were back in Beach City. The two had finally arrived at the front door of a modest looking house.
"Do we have to?" Rick grumbled.
"It's our best shot at finding him," Steven argued. "Besides, Ronaldo's a good guy. A little weird, I guess, but he means well."
"That's what they all say," the mad scientist grumbled, but unfortunately, the little gem-kid was right. If they could count on Ronaldo for anything, it was that once he had his sights on something, he refused to let it go even after being driven away. He'll definitely make things worse along the way and would definitely have a lot of outlandish, dead leads, but a broken clock was right twice a day.
Besides, he did have his memory gun and a can full of gasoline, so they could always tie up loose ends that way.
Taking a deep breath, Rick pounded his fist into the Fryman's residence.
"Anyone h-*urp*-ome?"
A few seconds of not-so-subtle tip-toeing followed by several locks being undone and Ronaldo Fryman finally opened the door.
"I-It's you two!" he declared excitedly before nearly flinging open the door. "Please, come in! Quickly!"
"Would rather not," Rick gave a sharp glare to the teen, but did so anyway.
"I assume you're after this living crystal creature too, yes? Being a man of science, you must be interested in such a find!"
"Y-Yeah, something like that," Rick belched. They were led up to the attic, AKA "Ronaldo's secondary workshop." The rafters, the floor and the bulletin boards scattered around them were covered with photographs, newspaper articles and printouts from various websites. Rick scoffed upon seeing the many conspiracies and supposed connections to events and creatures that was mostly your typical conspiracy bullshit.
His eyes lingered over the notes of the once haunted Blackthorn manor, followed by the doodles of a familiar fake talisman.
"The demon...she-she has a message for you."
"What?"
The priest's eyes turned milk white, and a grin appeared on the priest's face.
"Hi, bitch," the priest said, his voice a low, demonic growl.
Rick's eyes widened in shock, knowing what the demon was going to do.
"No!"
Doug shoved the barrel of the gun in his mouth and squeezed the trigger.
BOOM!
Everyone screamed and jumped back as Doug's head exploded into a shower of blood, flesh, and bone. Doug's body fell over dead with a single twitch.
Rick clenched his fist as he resisted the urge to turn Ronaldo's skin inside out. Opting to reach for his trusty flask instead, he downed half of its contents before saving the rest for later.
"So, here's what I got so far from my research," Ronaldo started, moving to a far corner of the attic. "At first I thought that all of these ancient archeological sites–" He waved his chubby hand at the photographed images of sites that Rick and Steven recognized as the many gem sites scattered across the globe. "-were the work of Sneeples, short for Snake Peoples, of course."
Rick resisted the urge to let out a loud groan. Yes, reptilian people existed in most dimensions and planets, but in most of them they kept to themselves, either because they were on the run or because they knew just how terrifying humans could be to literally anything that didn't look exactly like each other. Also, there was no such thing as "Snake People", mostly because the minute they had legs and eyelids, they stopped being snakes and were more like lizards.
"But then upon further investigation–" He jerked his thumb to photos of Steven's home and the Crystal Gems, "I have…reluctantly realized that perhaps I was off. This was especially due to the new discovery of 'living crystal' – something which can't be a coincidence after learning more about these 'Crystal Gems.'"
Rick raised an eyebrow at that. Okay, he'll give him one thing, occasionally he could connect some dots together. Still pretty off, but at least he seems to have moved one from the Sneeple obsession he apparently had.
"Apparently, these Crystal Gems have been here for a long time, living in the shadows, affecting human history and even shaping it in some parts."
"Ooh, somewhat got caught up," Rick clapped sarcastically.
"And what does this have to do with Gar-uh-the crystal creature?" Steven asked.
Ronaldo adjusted his glasses. "I believe that this crystal creature is in fact the last remnant of an enemy people that is seeking revenge on the Crystal Gems."
"By attacking humans and robbing a storage locker and random tourists?" Rick asked, as if Ronaldo was missing something obvious.
"I believe he's scavenging for equipment and biding his time before sending out a distress call for reinforcements, possibly to others of his kind who have escaped their downfall."
"Kind of a leap, and how do you know this creature is a he?"
"Pfft, well obviously it's a he. From my research, the Crystal Gems have always been predominantly female. Obviously they've either have always been exclusively female or they've grown to despise males and have long since killed off their male counterparts."
…Okay, so it looks like Ronaldo might have some brain cells after all.
Rick rubbed his eyes, tired from a week of hunting and failing to recapture a crystalized beast-mode Gary. While the blogger's theories were interesting, the mad scientist was unsure how much longer was going to last in this attic. Fortunately for Rick and for Ronaldo, Steven spoke up.
"If you were this living crystal creature," Steven asked, gently steering the conversation, "where would you be hiding? If the Crystal Gems were his enemies and were looking for him, he'd need somewhere safe and hidden to him, yet would also know enough about Earth's ancient history-"
Ronaldo's eyes widened and he turned and began searching through the scattered notes and charts around him. After a few frantic moments, the conspiracy blogger produced a pamphlet and showed it to Rick and Steven.
"The Oceanside Caves: a tunnel into Humanity's ancient past," Steven read the inscription on the pamphlet.
"It's the perfect location," Ronaldo said, pulling up a map of the county. The map was covered in dots and annotations, possibly points of interest for the blogger. He grabbed a pen and began marking out new points on the map. "There had been a series of robberies in both Wake Town and Beach City. At first, they seem unrelated and not noteworthy. After all, nothing seriously valuable was stolen. However, if you put them on the map…here and here…"
Rick and Steve watched as the markings the blogger made began to form a pattern. The robberies in Wake Town seem to be scattered, moving westward away from town. Meanwhile, the robberies in Beach City were more focused. Rick was there at the first one, at the U-Stor. That was when Gary broke free of containment and had pilfered some of his tech. The scientist had chased Gary in the other ones and had heard of robberies from people arriving in town of a "monster" that ransacked their RV's, vans and campsites, stealing odds and ends.
"Aaannnddd there!" Ronaldo said, crossing out the last place and displayed his handiwork.
The trail of sightings and encounters led to a nearby National Park, the same park that encompassed the Oceanside Caves.
"I heard that the Park Rangers had cordoned off the caves due to an 'incident,'" Ronaldo said, making air quotes. "But what they haven't told the public was that one of the archeologists working at the site and a Park Ranger who later was investigating the caves, were both attacked by some 'creature.'"
"And you know this how exactly?" Rick asked.
"I,uh, may have heard it when Officer Reynolds drove me home from the scene of last night's attack."
"You were there?"
"Unfortunately, I wasn't. I was there, however, in the aftermath and had found a trail of the creature's footprints. I would've investigated it alongside the intrepid Mysterious Mysteries team, had it not been for Officer Reynolds."
Rick glanced at the map and, he wouldn't say it out loud, didn't really consider the Oceanside caves. He's never really heard of them. Maybe they only existed in this universe. It may be nothing but it was as good a lead as any.
The mad scientist frowned.
"Mysterious Mysteries team?" Rick asked, looking at Ronaldo.
"The premier paranormal hunting team on TV and Streaming."
"Stupid name."
"Be that as it may, they're respected, hard-hitting investigators. I'm certain that, by now, they're already hot on the trail of this crystal creature. If only I could be there with them when they expose him!"
"Wait, what?" Steven exclaimed. "They're looking for the creature?"
"Oh yeah and I'm certain they've got him cornered in that cave by now."
Rick let out a frustrated sigh. "Oh I don't think they've got him cornered. I think he's got them cornered."
Klaus Heisler was cursing the day he decided to take on that TV gig. He was back home in Germany, living it up, the man of the hour. Sponsorship deals, women, parties, everything he could have ever dreamed of. But then, one day, he had been approached by some producer who asked him to host some mystery documentary program.
"It'd be great," the man said. "Just some narrating, interviewing some kooks, and spending the odd night in supposedly haunted places." Easy money, but that was almost two decades ago. Back then, Klaus's popularity was at its peak and supernatural mysteries and conspiracies were all the rage. Nowadays it's nothing but True Crime and scandals.
That was the problem with a series like Mysterious Mysteries. You can give all these unanswered questions but, sooner or later, people are going to want answers. They don't want to be left in suspense. Unfortunately, that was the format for the last twenty something seasons and it had slowly worn down their loyal fanbase. Klaus had nowhere else to go and no other options. This show has taken up a good portion of his life and is his only life line left to fend off the loan sharks who were eager to break his limbs.
Which was what ultimately led him to possible career and literal suicide: marching into a deep dark cave network to hunt an alien monster that trashed his van. But that's ok. He didn't need to kill it or cage it. He just needed to get a clear picture of it, definitive proof of its existence. In and out, real quick.
The group shuffled their onward, following a narrow path down into the Earth. They kept close, their eyes, lights and weapons trained on the darkness around them. Winding through clumps of stalagmites and ducking under stalactites, the investigators were careful to be respectful of the cave. After all, the network, the National Park Service and a bunch of archeologists would be up their collective assess if they damaged the cave too much.
"Holy shit, this is a deep cave," one of the crew members muttered.
"Yeah, it kinda reminds me of your mom for some reason," Klaus remarked.
This prompted some nervous laughs and chuckles. Klaus knew that none of his coworkers wanted to be there, but he sure as hell didn't want to be left down here alone. More eyes and more guns the better. More meatshields and potential sacrifices, even better.
The group eventually arrived at the dig site. The site was situated in a spacious cavern with a high ceiling and a spacious and flat area in the center. Surrounding the area were scattered stalagmites and stalactites, some of them had combined and formed pillars. In the flat area in the center of the cavern was a shallow hole that had been carefully and methodically excavated. Some scattered archeological tools, tables and lawn chairs were nearby in a chaotic manner, possibly due to the chaos of the attack. The hole was mostly empty, save for what looked like some partially unearthed bones. The team spread out and inspected the space. The walls of the cavern were smooth and had some faint handprints on them.
"Alright," one of the crew spoke up, hefting his AR-15. "So…now what?"
Klaus turned his head, directing his headlamp toward a narrow opening on the other side of the cavern.
"Now…now we wait."
"For what?"
"For the Beast of Beach City."
"Seriously?" asked John, the cameraman.
"It's either this or go play a game of grab-ass in the dark with a homicidal alien monster."
One of the crew held up a hand. "I'm fine with waiting."
"Besides," Klaus said, picking up a knocked over lawn chair, setting it right and settling in it. "Beyond that opening, it's all uncharted territory. Miles of tunnels and caves, going every which way. Easy to get turned around and get lost."
"Hey, no need to tell me twice," said one of the crew, settling down in another discarded lawn chair.
"We just need to get another sample or get a really great picture and we can haul ass out of here."
John eyed Klaus for a moment before giving him a nod. "Alright."
For what seemed like an eternity, the Mysterious Mysteries crew waited in silence and near total darkness. At first, they howled and bellowed, they shouted curses and challenges to the so-called Beast of Beach City. Despite their fear, they were eager to get this over with. They did everything they could to goad the monster into appearing. Nothing. In time, the men grew weary and decided to sit and wait. Eventually, some of the men decided to take a nap or make shadow puppets to occupy their time.
Still, time carried on. Klaus wasn't sure if it had only been a few minutes or if it was morning already. Regardless, he felt he'd give it another hour or so before packing it in. Maybe this was going to be another inconclusive episode. They did have the footage of the attack on their van. Maybe they could try and cut out the parts of him being terrified and redub some of his words, to make him sound more heroic.
Sometime into their dark vigil, Klaus heard something. The former Olympian sat up and quieted his companions. At first there was nothing. Maybe it was just his mind. However, the longer they waited in silence, Klaus could hear voices and movement. A part of him, for some reason, worried it was a ghost. He shook his head. Ridiculous, there's no such thing as ghosts.
Emerging from the passageway to the surface was an unusual group of people. Firstly was a tall, lanky old man with blue-gray hair. Even though he was a few feet from Klaus, the former Olympian could smell the booze on him. Second was a young boy in a salmon pink t-shirt with a star on it. The remainder of the group was a trio of women, a pale slender one, a tall woman in shades and a short purple one. Each of them were wearing different colors. No, they were different colors. They weren't different ethnicities, they were literally different colors.
"Who the he–" was all Klaus managed to say before Rick pulled out a gun.
"Woah woah woah!" Steven cried out, waving his hands. "We don't have to fight!"
"Ain't gonna kill 'em," he grunted. The gun in his hand was much larger than his usual laser pistol, as well as more circular for some reason.
"J-Just don't hurt them!" Steven pleaded, and Rick just let out a groan.
"C'mon, it'll be so much easier!"
Klaus jumped, bewildered. John and the rest of the crew aimed their weapons at the elderly newcomer.
"Alright, who the hell are you?" John demanded.
"Well, I'm Rick," the old man said, keeping his gun on Klaus. "And the short one's Steven. The other three, who cares?"
"Funny," Pearl sniffed. "I'm Pearl, and this is Garnet" pointing to the tall one in the shades. "And that's Amethyst" gesturing to the short purple one.
"Now, now, no need to be hasty," Klaus said, smiling nervously. "You want money? I can get you money…not much but it's something."
"We're not here to rob you," Garnet said stoically. "But we are here to bubble a Homeworld Gem and recapture Gary."
Silence filled the cavern for a moment.
"Bubble a what and who?" John asked.
"Look, there's no time to explain," Rick growled. "Since I can't kill you or mind blow you, I'm going to give you guys on the count three to fu*urp*ck off out of here alive."
"Why would we do that?" asked one of the crew members, fingering the trigger of his shotgun.
"Because this whole thing has been a misunderstanding," Pearl said, stepping between the armed men. "Our friend Gary is here in this cave and we're here to rescue him."
"Did the monster snatch him?" asked John.
"He's uh," Steven said, scratching the back of his head nervously. "He's…the monster."
"...What?" Klaus said, looking at Steven.
"Gary is the monster. He's the, what do you humans call him…oh! The Beast of Beach City!" Pearl explained, smiling cheerfully.
Klaus looked at the gem as if she were insane. "Was in Gottes Namen are you people talking about?"
Before Pearl could answer, there was a loud, blood curdling roar. The roar echoed forth from the other opening, the one leading down into the earth. The humans and gems covered their ears. Klaus felt a chill run down his spine. It was the same as the one they collected for the Mysterious Mysteries episode. The film crew turned their weapons toward the other entrance.
"Trust me, those guns are only gonna tickle him!" Rick laughed. "Now let the professionals handle this shit!"
While Klaus had a measure of professional pride and had always wanted to see a job through to the end, he was man enough to know when to cut and run.
"Alright! Alright!" Klaus cried, throwing up his hands. "You take care of it! No matter how up the creek I am, no loan shark or network executive is scarier than whatever the hell that-that thing is!"
"Good answer," Rick said, staring into the darkness.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Let's go!" the former Olympian shouted to his companions and took off running.
John and the rest of the film crew didn't need any further incentive as they grabbed their things and hurried after Klaus. Once Klaus and the rest of his crew were gone, Rick and the Crystal Gems formed a line, blocking the exit.
Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl summoned their weapons while Steven conjured his shield.
Rick checked his gun and saw that it was ready to go. He looked up at the opening at the opposite end of the cavern. In the dark, he could make out a large shape coming straight for them. He let out a sigh and muttered, "You owe me big time, Gary."
When the crystallized beast emerged, the battle commenced.
Klaus and his crew were near to the surface when a supremely stupid thought occurred to him.
At the mouth of the cave, the film crew rushed out into the cool, rainy night, relieved and overjoyed to not have to actually face a genuine monster. John let out an excited, joyful laugh, excited to be given a new lease on life but stopped when he saw Klaus still standing in the cave.
"What are you waiting for?" John asked. "Let's go! Let's get out of here. Maybe we can switch careers and forget this whole thing ever happened."
"Ja, we could, but…"
"But what?"
"We actually stumbled onto something real. A real life alien monster. Not many can say that."
"I guess, but what's your point?"
Klaus took a deep breath and turned. "You go on ahead. I…I still got one last episode to do."
"Are you kidding?" John croaked.
Down in the cave, they could hear loud animalistic roars, metallic crashes and what sounded like the blast of an energy weapon from a sci-fi movie. Klaus wanted nothing more than to run but he couldn't. Aside from having to answer to a very powerful and very impatient boss, the former Olympian was genuinely curious as to what was going on down there. Who were those people? How much did they know? What kind of world was hidden from the eyes of the general public. He had to know. He had to do something.
"...No." Racking a round into his shotgun, he snatched a body camera off of his crewmember, he slapped it onto his chest as he returned to the darkness.
John called after him but Klaus forced himself to ignore him and to push onward.
…
The way down was easy. It was a singular winding path that led down to the dig site. The problem was fighting against the urge to retreat. Every fiber of his being was screaming "run!" and "save yourself!" But he pressed on. Guided by the bobbing light of his headlamp, Klaus quickly and carefully journeyed back to the cavern. The sounds of battle grew louder and louder. Reaching the entrance, Klaus ducked down and peered inside.
In the cavern, the battle was at a fever pitch. The one called Pearl was engaged with a large hulking figure, who was swinging at her with large arms. At the end of those arms were enormous hands with clawed fingers. Ducking and batting away the swipes, Pearl moved like a dancer with a spear. As she kept the beast occupied, Garnet launched herself into the air. Bringing her gauntlets together, she brought them down, delivering a devastating double axe handle punch
But for all of their skills and power, all they seemed to do was anger the beast.
Enormous blue spikes shot out of the beast's back. Garnet was pulled back in time by Amethyst's whip.
"Gary! The sun's gonna get really low if you don't cut this shit out!" Rick growled.
"I don't think he can hear you!" Amethyst observed as the beast returned his attention to Pearl.
"We've got him cornered," Pearl said, retreating as she fired energy bolts from her spear, "but how are we going to stop him? None of our attacks seem to be doing anything?"
Klaus wondered that as well. He reflected on the case so far. So far, the creature was seen and had shown to be violent. But it wasn't exactly what one would call a beast. No, a true beast would be mindlessly rampaging downtown, killing and eating everything in its path. He thought of the map. At first, Klaus thought that the creature was making his way toward Beach City. Maybe it was the opposite. Maybe this creature, Gary, was making his way out of Beach City. The "attacks" so far had been property damage and stolen items but nobody was hurt. Not until the caves at least. Perhaps this creature was only defending himself. Maybe he was trying to leave?
"Hey!" a voice exclaimed.
Klaus blinked and looked up and saw the boy, Steven, looking at him. The boy was staying at the edge of the fighting, carrying a shield of sorts.
"What are you doing here?" the boy asked.
"I came to help," Klaus answered with more certainty than he's ever felt in his whole life.
Steven smiled. "That's great, but it's kinda dangerous right now."
"I know, but I was just thinking. Maybe your friend Gary doesn't want to fight."
"What?"
"Think about it. If he wanted to hurt and kill people, there'd be a mountain of corpses already. I mean, look at him! He's ripped! He looks like he could bench press a tank!"
Steven blinked and he gave his mutated friend a look. Upon further inspection, he realized that he was right. He was just defending himself at most, but he never once chased after one of the Crystal Gems or Rick.
"I was wondering why he didn't attack us when he had the chance," Klaus explained, "but it makes sense! That archaeologist and the Park Ranger both delved too deeply into the caves, into his turf and he reacted accordingly. Although they've been hospitalized, their injuries could've been far worse. He's not your typical brute. Maybe we can reason with him and show him that we're not here to harm him."
Steven nodded slowly. He looked out at the battlefield. Gary was currently wrestling with Garnet on one hand and trying to pull his other arm free from Amethyst's whip. Pearl and Rick were preparing themselves to deliver a surprise attack. This time, Rick pulled out a little silver orb from his pocket. While he wasn't sure what the orb was, Steven knew that it was dangerous and could cause serious harm.
The half-gem took off running. Klaus burst from his hiding spot and hurried after Steven, silently cursing himself and hoping he was right.
"Steven, get back!" Pearl cried, noticing the boy racing toward the mutated crystal monster.
"Everybody stop fighting!" Steven yelled as loud as he could. "STOP!"
"Goddammit, Steven!" Rick snapped, catching the orb he nearly threw.
Steven threw himself in-between Rick and Gary. For a brief moment, everything and everyone went still.
"Steven, get out of the way!" Amethyst grunted, straining to hold Gary's arm in check.
"It's okay!" Steven told the others. "It's okay. Gary's not trying to hurt us. He's…afraid."
"Huh?" Amethyst said.
"Think about it," Klaus chimed in. "Has…Gary actually went out of his way to hurt someone? Has he gone on a blood-thirsty rampage and slaughtered a village? Nein. He's been acting defensively, like a frightened human being or a wounded animal. Ja, he has stolen and caused mayhem but actually think about it. Has he attacked anyone first?"
A brief pause.
"Not really," Garnet answered after a moment.
"And he never really did anything to me or my crew. He only started acting up when you guys showed up. And look!"
Klaus pointed to the center of the cavern, toward the shallow hole with the partially unearthed bones. "The bones have been left untouched! He could've easily stomped his way into the center of this cavern, giving him more space to fight and to move. He could've plowed right through the lot of you and escaped to the surface. But he didn't!"
Pearl blinked in surprise and looked. The dig site was left untouched and she realized that Steven was the only one guardian the way out. She lowered her weapon. "You're right."
"And look at him!"
Klaus directed his headlamp toward the hulking mass of living crystal. In the dark he was a terrifying monster. But in the light, he looked rather beautiful. Gary's face was a mask of flawless shimmering blue crystal, his mouth was partly open and the former Olympian could see human teeth and a tongue. What was surprising was the eyes. The eyes were very human, though frantic, bloodshot, and clearly confused.
"He looks more like someone who has no idea who he is or where he is at. Believe me, I know that look."
Rick and the others looked at Gary and studied his features. After a rather long moment of tense silence, Klaus stepped up. He raised his shotgun and gently placed it on the floor.
"It is okay, my friend," Klaus said soothingly. "We're not here to hurt you, even though it looks like we can't really put a scratch on you." The former Olympian looked at the others. "Right?"
Pearl lowered her spear and it disappeared. Garnet released Gary's hand and Amethyst released his other one. Both dismissed their weapons and all eyes turned to Rick. The mad scientist eyed Gary coldly. After a long pause, Rick holstered his gun and returned the sphere to its place.
"You better be right about this I swear," Rick muttered at Klaus threateningly.
All eyes turned to Gary. The crystalline creature remained still as a statue. Eventually he lowered his head and grunted, before turning and retreating into the opening, venturing deeper into the cave.
"...Well, I don't know about you, but now that I know he's not a threat, I want to see what he's been up to," Klaus finally let out a weary smile. "You guys coming?"
The orange-haired Olympian hurried after Gary. Rick, Pearl, Garnet, Amethyst and Steven shared questioning looks and hurried after the two.
The tunnel took them deeper into the Earth, winding and twisting. Occasionally it branched off, leading into wider tunnels or claustrophobically narrow passages, but eventually, Rick and the Crystal Gems caught up to Gary and Klaus.
The crystalline mutant had led them to another chamber. This chamber was smaller than the previous one. Although it was smaller, it did have some interesting features. This particular chamber was smooth and stony, as if it had been carved by hand and not by water and the passage of time. Here and there were curious carvings of humanoid figures doing various things like hunting, fishing and dancing. There was a carving of a tall, slender robed figure, standing amongst a crowd of shorter humans. As mysterious as the carvings were, what caught everyone's eye was the pillar.
Standing in the heart of the chamber was a single stone pillar. It had four sides, each covered with strange, jagged inscriptions on it. Wrapped around it were a tangled vine of cords and wires. These wires and cords led to what looked like a makeshift computer of sorts. There was a flat screen monitor with a keyboard. Beside it were a collection of batteries, ranging from double AA's to a full car battery. There was even a full fledged gasoline fueled power generator.
"What is this place?" Amethyst wondered aloud.
"I don't know," Klaus said, inspecting the pillar and the carvings on the walls. "But I have a feeling that we're the first group here in a very, very long time.
"So that's where all the stolen stuff went," Steven observed.
"But why bring them here? What was he doing?" Garnet wondered, looking at Gary.
The crystal man was kneeling before the pillar, looking skyward. Steven followed his gaze.
"Can you shine your light up there?" the boy asked Klaus.
Klaus obliged. The ceiling was high, but from what they could see in the light of the headlamp, a constellation was carved into the stoney ceiling.
"Look familiar to anyone?" Klaus asked. "Not really into astrology myself, but even I know that you don't learn this sh-stuff off of YouTube."
"Afraid not," Garnet said. She looked at Amethyst, who shrugged.
"They're not any constellations I'm familiar with," Pearl admitted, stroking her chin.
"They're likely Taydenite constellations," Rick said grimly.
"Taydenite?" Klaus said.
"Yeah, a race of living crystal and rock men."
"Wait…I've heard of that name." Pearl said slowly. Her eyebrows rose. "I believe I know a Taydenite. Petro was his name. He helped me escape that awful prison asteroid."
Pearl looked to Gary, who remained transfixed to the constellations in the stoney sky.
"So…Gary's a Taydenite?"
"No. Kinda." Rick said, scratching his chin. "He was a sentient machine at first, a mechanoid. He was powered by a hunk of Taydenite. I fused it with his spine to give him improved memory. That little throw down with that Keeper of Secrets in the Boiling Isles must've rattled something loose. Those binding sigils can really mess with your mind."
Pearl frowned and looked at Rick. "What do you mean he was powered by a hunk of Taydenite?"
"I dunno, don't you guys power your machines with other gems or some shit like that?"
"No," the white gem said in disgust. "Not unless it was a form of punishment."
"...But you guys could, in theory, be the world's strongest brake light batteries?"
"I suppose, if you wanted to be so crass about it."
"Who could do something like that?" Amethyst asked, touching her chest as she felt uneasy about gems being used to power machinery.
"The fine people of the Teth Conglomerate and by fine, I mean extremely fucked up and evil." Rick answered, shoving his hands in his pocket. "If it's useful and can be made into a quality and profitable product, they'll use it. Skin from a Grog Beast, Teeth of a Luna Wolf, the crystalline brains and bodies of Taydenites. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on where you stand, they soon ran out of Taydenites in most universes. They paid bounty hunters massive fees for any Taydenite they captured."
"...Mein Gott, this is way out of my league," Klaus muttered.
"Yeah and that's not even a tenth of what they usually do. With Taydenites, they were batteries and computer components like no other. Absolutely top of the line stuff. Never breaks…"
Rick paused. He looked at the pillar and then up at the stone constellation. "Shit. That's probably why he was down here, with this junk. He was trying to call home."
A cold silence fell on the group.
"W-What?" Pearl said, shock written on her face.
"I've heard stories but the Conglomerate's Quality Control and PR Departments are very good at burying the rumors. But, from what I've heard, every once in a while, the bits of Taydenite had some…residue."
"Residue?" Garnet echoed.
"Remnants…leftovers. Pieces of minds, fragmented memories and consciousness. Although they were 'killed', some say Taydenites can survive even in the smallest piece of their crystals. I heard that one was part of the computer of a starliner. It went insane during a routine check up and crashed the ship into a small moon."
"W-What if Homeworld intercepts the signal? Could they?" Pearl stammered.
"Probably, if Gary's tech over here's as rudimentary as you guys' – which, from the looks of it, yeah, they probably could."
Pearl hurried over and inspected the rudimentary computer set up. From the looks of things, it looked like Gary was able to somehow rig up a powersource and connect the computer to the pillar. However, when she clicked on the screen, all she got were a series of unrecognizable symbols and numbers.
Steven approached Gary and saw, to his surprise, tears streaming down his face.
"Well, did he send a signal?" Rick asked.
"I…I don't know." Pearl answered.
"They slept on the abyss without a surge," Gary suddenly spoke. His voice was raw, gravelly, sounding as though something older was speaking through him. "The waves were dead; the tides in their grave. The moon, their mistress, had expir'd before; the winds were wither'd in the stagnant air, and the clouds perish'd"
"What the hell?" Rick jumped in surprise.
"Interesting choice," Klaus observed.
"What is it? What is he saying?" Steven asked, worried.
"It's a poem, from Lord Byron. Darkness, I believe that's the one."
Everyone looked at Klaus, who shrugged. "What? I love poetry and it also happens to help me pick up chicks."
"Darkness had no need of aid from them–" Gary rasped, sounding on the verge of sobbing. "She was the Universe."
He lowered his head to the ground and whimpered. "They're gone…all gone. Alone…all alone…"
"But you're not alone," Steven said, kneeling beside Gary.
The crystallized young man raised his head and looked at Steven. The boy placed a hand on his large arm.
"You have us."
Gary looked at him with tearful bloodshot eyes. At first he looked like he was going to sink into despair. Gradually, a look of recognition appeared on his blue crystal face.
"S-Steven?" Gary said slowly, his voice was hoarse but sounded closer to how it usually sounded.
"Gary!" Steven embraced him. "You're back!"
There was a loud crunch, like glass being grounded down by stone, and the large mass of living crystal began to shrink. In a matter of moments, Gary was no longer a hulking behemoth but back to his original size. Another moment passed and the blue crystal began to recede, retreating back into the back of the teen's neck. Another moment later and Gary was back to normal.
"W-What happened? Where are we?" the teen looked around. "Did we stop the Keeper and rescue Connie?"
"Long story short: You went beast-mode, we're back on Earth, and yes to the last two things," Rick said, counting his fingers.
"What?" Gary blinked, still confused.
"How are you feeling?" Garnet asked.
The teen thought for a long moment before answering, sounding surprised. "Hungry."
"I might know a place," Klaus said.
"Whoa, whoa, hold up there," Rick said, pointing to the camera. "We're not going anywhere until-"
Klaus unhooked his body camera and tossed it to the mad scientist, who caught it.
Rick gave the former Olympian a suspicious look.
The orange-haired man smiled and waved a hand. "Don't worry. Your secrets are safe with me."
"But…what about your show?" Steven asked, curious.
Klaus shrugged. "Eh, the show's already on its last legs. We can make do with what we got. Although the show has always been about the truth, I fear that I've stumbled upon something beyond my paygrade and that the truth would be far too…overwhelming for the public."
"You have no idea," Rick said, pocketing the camera.
"Besides," the former Olympian chuckled. "The battery died like an hour ago!"
- End of Chapter 5 -
Pearl didn't meditate like Garnet.
Sure, she did meditate, but she was never the type to sit still. Instead, she meditated through actions. Calm, repetitive actions that expressed all of her emotions.
Anger. Peace. Hatred. Love. Grief. Joy. Despair. Acceptance. Whether she danced, fenced, or drew (a hobby she took up after a certain artist fancied her), it was how she maintained all of her pain and kept herself together after all these years.
Taking a deep breath, Pearl began to dance on the fountain in her room. Steven had once asked her where she got all this water, and how they could walk on it like it was sand. Amethyst told him that it was a fountain of tears, and the two had a laugh about it.
It wasn't a joke.
Summoning a sword from her gem, she swung it as she conjured up a hologram of one of the many corrupted gems they had fought. It let out its roar as she charged at it blade first. The beast parried and swatted at her, moves she dodged, ducked, sidestepped, and parried back.
Her simulated opponent suddenly flickered and she froze upon seeing the human man that plagued her thoughts.
"Ugh, not this again…" she grumbled, and concentrated her efforts to reform the beast. After the hologram of Klaus Heisler flickered away, the corrupted gem returned, and the spar resumed.
"He looks more like someone who has no idea who he is or where he is at. Believe me, I know that look."
Suddenly, the monster flickered again, changing this time into the mutated form of Gary. Pearl froze again as her blade was inches away from piercing the hologram's skull. Her eyes stared into his own. It was wild. It was full of fear. Confusion. Pain.
"...Oh stars, dammit." She lowered her sword before dropping it into the water below. But the hologram didn't go away. Instead, it remained there, frozen in time, frozen in the moment when another human of all beings figured out what was truly wrong with Gary, and how they were going about it all wrong.
A smile made its way onto her weary lips as she remembered the joy and relief that was brought upon the group when Gary recovered. Of all of those many years she had existed, she had never seen a corrupted gem return to their true selves – whole and healthy once more. Sure, she knew little about the Taydenite race, but still, if Gary could be restored to his former self…
…then could the rest of the corrupted gems be restored as well?
"...Oh Rose, what would you think of it all?" she murmured.
(a/n: I hope you enjoyed the chapter, especially the documentary style of the earlier half of the chapter. Until next time, see you later!)