Steven rang the doorbell of Connie's house, which chimed to signal his arrival. After a few moments, the door opened to reveal Connie, wearing a backpack, looking eager to go.
"Hi Steven" she greeted happily, closing the door behind her. She gave Lion a soft rub on the head. "Hi to you too, Lion. You all ready, Steven?"
"Are you sure about this?" Steven asked, still uncertain if this was a good idea. "I mean, the Crystal Gems still have to a lot of cleaning up the rest of the beach and-"
"Come on, this will be good for you" Connie insisted, taking him by the arm as they walked down toward the street, Lion following behind them. "You need to take your mind off Gem stuff for a night. Besides, Abe's really looking forward to inviting us to his house. I think he wants to make up for that earlier fiasco from last week"
"He made us a painting?" Steven said.
Connie giggled. "No, that's a fresco. A fiasco is when something goes wrong or if someone makes a big mistake"
Realizing what she meant, Steven recalled the argument that had broken out between himself and Connie last week, which had been spurred on by some mishandled advice that he had received from Abe. Though Steven held nothing against Abe for what happened and still felt that the incident was mainly his own fault as well, he was none the less happy at the thought that Abe would feel better by inviting them to his house. Although from what Connie had told him, it sounded almost as though it was her idea for them to come over.
"So, what did Abe mean when he said that you thought we should hang out at his house?"
"Well, he told me that he wanted to help you feel better and asked me if I had any ideas." Connie said. "So, I suggested that we could hang out at his house. He seemed a little nervous about it though, so I said I would help him organize everything. But I get it. I was nervous about making friends the first time too"
"I'll call ahead let him know we're on the way" Steven said, pulling out his phone and dialing Abe's number. A moment, later the phone answered.
"Hi Abe, Steven here"
"Oh, hey Steven" Abe replied. "Is something the matter? Are you not able to come?"
"No, everything's fine" Steven replied, reassuring, as he climbed up onto Lion's back, offering Connie a hand as she joined him. "I'm just picking up Connie from her house. We'll be at your place in just a second"
"In a second? Wait, how close are-"
Without waiting for any sort of command from Steven, Lion quickly dashed forward and opened his mouth in a brief roar as a bright pink portal appeared in front of them, disappearing just as quickly as the three of them vanished inside of it.
"- are you?" Abe asked, his head turned down toward the street, just in time to see a pink ripple of energy appeared in the middle of the air on the other side of the street and a second later a huge pink lion leapt out from within, both Steven and Connie riding on its back. They had landed on a wide street in front of a small, three-story apartment complex building, which was situated within small suburban neighborhood, adjacent to long stretch of dark forest.
Abe stared at the unexpected arrival of Steven and Connie riding atop the giant pink colored feline, as though debating whether or not it was in fact real. He then calmly hung up his phone and stowed it in his pocket.
"Hey, Abe" Steven said, waving at him. "This is Lion. He's my lion"
"Oh, ok, I was wondering about that" Abe replied, nodding his head in understanding, sounding as though that alone was the cause of any concern. Steven and Connie hopped off Lion's back and together the three of them joined Abe on the other side of the street.
"Lion, this is Abe" Steven said, introducing the big pink cat to his friend. Abe stared up at Lion, standing stock still, either due to fear or instinct, while the big cat remained as expressionless as ever. Lion leaned in closer and started to sniff around Abe's face, the young boy tensing up at once., shutting his eyes tightly.
"Can he smell fear?" he asked, in a strained whisper, just as Lion pulled away from him.
"I don't think so" Steven replied, thoughtfully. "Unless fear smells like raw fish"
"I know he looks a little scary, but Lion is really well tamed" Connie said, while rubbing him behind the ear. "He listens to Steven all the time…so long as he begs really hard" she added in whisper, with a sly wink causing Abe to laugh while Steven pouted.
Suddenly there was a loud barking sound nearby as grey and white, furry coated dog, looking to be little bigger than a puppy, came running out from the open door of the building.
"Ah, Argos, no, you have to stay in!" Abe said, but the small dog didn't heed his command as it excitedly jumped onto Steven's shirt and began to lick his face with enthusiasm.
"Aw, he thinks I'm delicious"
The small dog hopped off Steven and then moved on to Connie, sniffing at the helm of her skirt. The dog then took notice of Lion, staring up the pink feline with an intense look. In an instant, the dog's expression turned back to joy, patting excitedly as he started to run in a circle around big cat, barking and wagging its tail playfully as though expecting Lion to join in any second. With a bored, almost irritated expression, Lion raised his front paw and pressed it down on the small dog as he, pinning him in place, though this seemed to cause the dog no real harm as he continued to wag it's tail happily
"Hey, get off him!" Abe said, worriedly, trying to push Lion's paw off the small dog to no avail.
"Lion, let go of Abe's dog" Steven crossed his arms, giving Lion a hard stare in an attempt to appear serious. "Let go. Let… go". Steven repeated the same order several times, changing his inflections slightly, yet Lion remained as apathic as ever to his efforts
"Lion, let go right now" Connie said, firmly, with a stern look in her eye. Lion looked Connie straight in the eye for a moment, before he released his paw from the small dog and then sat back on his hide legs. The dog shook his head before sitting back on his own legs, looking up at Lion with the same excited expression as before, wagging his tail, eager to continue playing.
"Come on, Argos, back inside. Good boy". Abe rubbed the small dog by his neck and then led him back through the door of the building. Steven and Connie followed Abe up to the door but paused when they all realized Lion walking behind them as well as though he intended to come inside with them.
"Would it be ok to leave Lion outside?" Abe asked, hesitantly. "Argos already gets on my mom's nerves as it is"
"Sure thing" Steven said. He turned to Lion once again with another stern look. "Now, Lion. Stay out here and don't get into any trouble. Or else….I'll ask Connie to tell you the same thing"
Lion did not so much as blink at Steven's command, yet Steven was confident he made the right impression.
"Be good Lion, ok?" Connie said, kindly, giving him another rub.
Lion yawned loudly, seemingly pacified. His eyes snapped opened as raised his nose into the air and began to sniff around, apparently catching the scent of something that he liked. Following this scent, Lion wandered over to a nearby set of trash cans and dug his nose inside, rummaging around to find the source of whatever the mysterious aroma was.
"He should be ok there for a while" Abe said, reassuringly. "The neighbors cats eat food out from there all the time"
Abe led Steven and Connie up a flight of stairs to the second floor of the building. They found Argos scratching the first door on the left, which presumably was the one where Abe lived. Abe took out a small key from his pocket and unlocked the door, as Argos ran back inside. They entered into a small hallway, past another two more doors and into a spacious living room with a couch and TV screen. Adjacent to the room was an open kitchen and on the other side of the room was a small balcony with a glass door.
A voice then called down from the hallway. "Abe, sweetheart, are you there?"
"Right here, Mom" Abe replied.
One of the doors in hallway opened and out from it came a tall woman, dressed in a business suit, fixing her long dark hair into a bun as she entered into the living room.
"Oh, hello there" she said with a pleasant surprise. "You must be Steven and Connie. Nice to meet you both" she said, taking turns to shake their hands.
"Nice to meet you too, Mrs. Xenakis" Steven said politely. It was easy enough for him to tell that this woman was Abe's mother based on the resemblance, though her complexion and hair color were slightly darker than her son's. Steven also noted a hint of an accent in her voice that he was unfamiliar with. Steven also couldn't help but notice that Mrs Xenakis appeared to be a rather young woman. Not that he knew too many adults in general, but she definitely seemed to be at least a few years younger than Steven's own father, who with the exception of the Crystal Gems, was probably the oldest person he knew. And if Steven remembered correctly, Abe mentioned that he was around thirteen years old.
"Abe's told me all about you two" Mrs. Xenakis said, pleasantly. "Well, not in so many words of course. You know, I almost couldn't believe it when he came home the day we arrived here, to tell me he already made two brand new friends"
Abe let out a small groan, glancing down to the floor, a slight blush on his cheeks, though neither Steven nor Connie called attention to it.
"Thanks for letting us come over to visit" Connie said.
"Oh, not at all." Mrs. Xenakis said at once. "You're more than welcome to come. I just wish I could stay longer, but I have to run to a meeting this evening".
"Would you get in any trouble for being late?" Steven asked.
"Well, yes and no, since it's my meeting" she replied, picking up a small handbag from the couch. She then frowned slightly as she noticed some dog hairs stuck on the side of her handbag, quickly wiping them off. "I'm the branch manager for the new bank they've been setting, so the meeting can't start until I get there"
"I've never been to a bank before" Steven said, never seeing one on the boardwalk, once again reminding himself that perhaps he had lived too sheltered of a life. "What's in it?"
"A bank is a place where people go to deposit their money for safe keeping and then take it out when they need it" Connie explained.
"Wow, you must be really amazing for people to trust you with all their money" Steven said, looking at Mrs. Xenakis with an amazed expression.
Mrs. Xenakis blushed slightly at the abrupt praise, before quickly waving her hand dismissively. "Well, it's not as simple as that" she said, almost sounding a little embarrassed. "It's really just a lot of organizing numbers and people. The numbers tend a lot easier to manage to be honest. I only got my new role a few months ago. They were setting up a new bank in this area and I was selected to help lead the change." She then adopted a slight grin, indulging herself in a moment of smugness. "But yes, once people see what your worth, they'll know they can depend on you. Hopefully, I shouldn't be too long." She turned to Abe. "There's some casserole left in the fridge, so all you have to do is reheat it in the microwave. I trust you kids can behave yourselves for a few hours?"
"Absolutely" Connie said, nodding her head.
"Yup, no magical destiny for us tonight" Steven agreed in earnest
"Hmm, we called it something different when I was young" Mrs. Xenakis said, absently.
Just then, the lights began to flicker above their heads for a few seconds before returning to normal. "Uh, not again". Mrs. Xenakis glared up at the ceiling angrily. "That's the third time that's happened today. It's been getting worse all week. I'll have to contact the landlord tomorrow"
Suddenly, there was a loud barking sound, as everyone turned their heads to the balcony door to see Argos, his paws up on the glass panel, barking loudly at some unseen entity on the outside.
"Abe, get Argos away from the balcony" Mrs. Xenakis said, rubbing her eyes, with a slight note of impatience.
"Come on, boy" Abe put his hand around Argos' collar to pull him away from the balcony door and back to the couch, rubbing his neck soothingly as he calmed down again.
"I swear there's no peace with that dog." Mrs. Xenakis muttered, rolling her eyes. "He's always so restless. And we can't even leave the balcony open in case he runs out"
"You couldn't get a room on the first floor?" Connie asked.
"Well, we didn't think of that, because we didn't know we would have a dog until after we arrived." Mrs. Xenakis replied, with slight bitterness in her tone. "But anyway, I really need to be going now. Abe, can you come with me to the door, please? I want to check that your key is working"
Abe followed his mother down the hallway to the door without question, leaving Steven and Connie to wait in the living room. Connie took a seat on the couch next to Argos, giggling happily as he started to lick her face, while Steven began to admire decor of the apartment. Just as he moved closer toward the kitchen, he paused when he heard the faint voices of Abe and Mrs. Xenakis coming from the down the hallway of the apartment, the door open just enough for Steven to see them both standing and talking on the other side of it.
"Okay, your key works fine, and you have all the emergency numbers" Mrs. Xenakis said, while rummaging through her own bag. "Now, remember to be polite and ask them if they need anything while they're here"
"I know, mom" Abe said, sounding just mildly exasperated enough to indicate that this was not the first time he had been instructed to do this.
"And make sure you ask plenty them about themselves. You have to show a good interest in them"
"I will, mom, ok?"
"I know, I know, I just want you to make a good effort" Mrs. Xenakis said. "This is a whole new town for us, and these are your first friends here. And I want you have a fun time ok, so you need to make an effort and enjoy your evening". From the open crack in the door, Steven could see Mrs. Xenakis bend down and kiss Abe on the forehead, and for a long moment he felt a great sense of envy and sadness in chest as he wondered what it must feel like for a son to receive a kiss from his mother.
"Call if there is any trouble, ok?" Mrs. Xenakis said, straightening herself. "And remember keep the balcony door closed so Argos doesn't try to run out. Okay, bye now"
"Ok, bye Mom".
Steven immediately snapped out of his daze as he saw Abe pushing the door open again, instinctively dashing back into the living room, trying to appear none the wiser as Abe re-entered the living room seconds later to join him and Connie. For a brief moment, Abe stood there, looking somewhat nervous, before squaring his shoulder and clapping his hands together, putting on a wide, confident smile.
"So, um… let's get this party started!" A second later, his face dropped instantly and covered his hand over his eyes with a look of resigned embarrassment. "Oh jeez, knew it was wrong the moment I said it."
Steven glanced awkwardly toward Connie, unsure of what to do next or if they should say anything. Connie then cleared her throat.
"How about we start by taking a tour of your room?" she suggested, helpfully.
"Yes, let's do that." Abe sighed, sounding extremely relieved. "Thank you" he whispered gratefully to Connie as he led her and Steven down to the second door in the hallway.
Abe opened the door to reveal, a decent size, rectangular shaped room with a bed, window, desk, and wardrobe in the corner. On the desk was a computer screen and keyboard, as well as a closed laptop on the desk beside a photo of Abe and his mother. Underneath the desk was a monitor connected to the screen. In front of the desk was a swivel chair on five wheels, Abe's satchel hanging over the side of it.
"Oh my gosh!" Steven said in absolute awe, his eyes going wide with astonishment as he moved closer to the desk. "This is the most amazing thing I've ever seen!"
Abe blushed slightly, looking bashful. "Oh, yeah, it's pretty cool, I guess. I mean, it's anything too fancy but it's still pretty-"
Steven however was not looking at the computer screen as Abe initially assumed. Instead, his eyes were glued to the swivel chair in front of Abe's desk. "You have a chair with wheels! And it spins!" he gasped as the chair spun around with a single push. "You can rest in one spot and have freedom of movement at the same!"
Steven continued to gape at the chair as he spun it around, looking as though it was the most miraculous sight he had ever seen, while Abe looked on with some surprise.
"He's easily impressed" Connie whispered to Abe, with a slight smile.
"Well, I was hoping to save the chair for last" Abe replied, with feigned disappointment, deciding to play along.
Steven stepped aside as Abe took a seat in the chair and moved up closer to the desk. He pressed a button on the keyboard which then turned on the computer screen, displaying the image of a beautiful beach and mountainous hilltop, cast perfectly by a sunset over the ocean.
"Wow, that looks amazing." Steven said, admiring the image in front of him.
"This was taken from a place I used to live, before mom and I moved here. I have some more photos if you'd like to see"
"We would love to!" Steven and Connie both said in unison. Abe cast them a curious look, before going back to the screen. Abe clicked on a folder icon near the corner of the screen which opened up a digital album containing several more pictures, all of beautiful and exotic landscapes, ranging from mountains and forest to rivers and valleys. There were even photos taken from what appeared to be the window a plane, showcasing the twilight sky and parting clouds.
"Some these were places that we visited when we were on holiday. We couldn't always visit since mom was bust working. Here are some I took from the plane and here some underwater one's from when we went diving."
The images changed to show a stunning coral reef taken from underneath the water and several forms of aquatic life. Steven noticed some of photos contained Abe and Mrs. Xenakis and another man Steven had never seen before, yet his face looked quite familiar to him.
"Who's that with you and your mom?" Steven asked, pointing at the unknown man in the photo.
"That's my dad" Abe replied. "This was taken back when he, mom and I, were still living together"
"You don't live together anymore?" Steven said.
"Not really, they're kind of… amicable separated" Abe said, quietly.
"So, where's your dad now?" Connie asked.
"He's travelling at the moment. He still video calls me from time to time to catch up and sometimes he sends me gifts. He got me my laptop and he also sent me Argos just before we got here. But I think mom was a little annoyed that he didn't tell her first. I mean, I love Argos a lot, but I basically have to take care of him, and it was kinda dropped on in my lap at the last minute"
"Well, at least one of your parents would let you have a pet." Connie said, with a wry smile. "I tired talking my parents into letting me have something small, like a pet hamster. You know what they got me? A plant!" Connie threw her hands up in the air, letting out a frustrated groan. "They said it's just as much responsibility but without the mess. They don't understand that without the mess, there is no love!"
Steven chuckled slightly, enjoying the way the conversation was going. "Dad never got me a pet before, but I guess I don't need one now that I have Lion" he said. "He's been a bit of handful ever since I found him in the desert but turned out later that he really belonged to my mom, so I guess in a way I got him from her, which is good, I guess. Of course, then it turns I also inherited a whole war and now Homeworld thinks I'm her and they're probably going to come after me and the Crystal Gems. And since she turned into me, I never got the chance to ask her about any of this stuff. I want to ask the Crystal Gems, but I think they resent me for my mom not being here"
The room went silence for a long moment. Steven soon realized that maybe he shouldn't have carried on for so long talking about his mother, but for some reason once the words started to leave his mouth, he felt compelled to continue speaking, long after the point when he should have held his tongue. Now, he wasn't sure what to say, worried he may have spoiled the conversation for everyone else. As Steven remained quiet, Connie gave him a concerned look but before she could say something, Abe cleared his throat in a loud manner.
"Um, here let me show you something else."
Abe quickly closed the photo folder and clicked on another icon in the corner of the screen. The screen changed to display a brightly colored backdrop, with a character wearing gym shorts and holding what looked to be a giant megaphone in the shape of a cannon, surrounded by huge insect
"This is a game called Decibelation. You play as a disgruntled lifeguard who battles an army of invading Reflecnoids, a race of insect like aliens with bodies made of reflective glass which conventional weapons bounce off, forcing you instead to use arsenal of sound and megaphone-based weaponry. Storyline is admittedly a little weak, but the fast paced and challenging gameplay more than makes up for that."
"Cool" Steven said, quickly forgetting his previous slip up. He glanced around the desk. "Where's the controller?"
"You play using the keyboard and mouse." Abe explained, indicating to the desk. "See, I use the mouse to pick items, the arrow buttons to move and then hit the right command to blast the enemies, use items or do combos"
"It looks awesome" Steven said.
"Do you want to take a turn?" Abe asked, pausing the game.
"Um, sure." Steven said, a little hesitant, but not wanting to offend Abe by refusing. Abe had already stepped out of the seat, offering it to him.
"So, I just use the keyboard?" Steven asked, setting himself up in front of the screen, his hands hovering over the keyboard, taking control of the gruff looking lifeguard turned action hero, facing off against a giant eight-legged spider creature that was made entirely out of glass.
Steven tried to mimic what he had seen Abe doing, but just as he moved the mouse to aim, he missed his chance to fire at the incoming enemy and his character was promptly bisected in half, reward Steven with a game over screen. Steven made another few attempts, determined to defeat his newfound nemesis, but found the use of the mouse and keyboard to be a little more difficult than expected.
"I guess I'm more used to playing with my own controller." he said, after being killed five straight times in a row. "You're really good at this"
"It just takes a bit of practice." Abe said.
"How about, I be your co-pilot" Connie suggested. She took a seat on the armrest next to Steven and played her hand over the mouse. "See, I'll aim, and you can fire"
The game restarted again. Working together this time, Steven pressed the correct buttons, firing sonic blasts, while Connie moved the cursor at the exact right moment, destroying the glass spider. Abe looked on, appearing quite impressed with how well coordinated Steven and Connie were together.
"Ah, wait, don't use that." Abe said, just as they were about to fight a glass centipede. "Switch to this weapon, it's one is more effective against those types of enemies"
"On it!" Doing as Abe instructed, Steven switch weapon types, waiting for Connie to get the target in their sights and blasted the centipede to pieces. They entered an arena, facing off against a massive Queen insect, made out of stained glass.
"This is the boss level. Okay for this one, the first thing you should do converse
Listening to Abe's battle plan, Steven and Connie were just about to engage the boss monster, when the lights in the room flickered violently before they went off entirely, the computer screen had turned black.
"Whoa, that is a tough boss level" Steven said. A second later the lights came back to the room and the computer turned on again, the screen loading up again.
"Is the power usually this bad here?" Connie asked.
"No, it was fine the day we moved in, but it's been getting worse all week" Abe said, glancing up at the ceiling. He looked at the computer screen with unease as it had yet to finish reloading. "Now, it has to install an update. This is going to take a while"
"Well, that's ok" Steven said, unconcerned. "We can do something else for fun. Do you have any board games?"
"No." Abe said. He paused thoughtfully before an idea struck him. "But I've got some movies that we can watch"
They returned to the living room. Argos has his paws up on the balcony door, barking once again at the outside world. Abe calmly shooed him away from the balcony and then pulled out a box from under the TV. He rummaged through the box, pulling out a number of DVD cases with different movie titles.
"Let's see. I've got Supernova Sushi Samurai" Abe heled up a case showing anime styled character dressed as some kind of cross between samurai and chef. "This is about a young samurai boy, torn between his dreams being a space samurai and becoming the greatest sushi chef in the universe. Or we have…"
Abe picked up another case, this one with a suave looking man with a crazy hairdo, wearing sunglasses and a lab coat. "Conard Rocinante. Botanist Detective. This is one is about an eccentric yet brilliant detective, who investigates plant-based crimes. You wouldn't think many crimes that revolve around plants could be so emotionally compelling"
Abe then took out a third DVD, the cover of which showed a woman running through some kind of swirling vortex, filled with an assortment of clocks.
"Or how about Time Slide. It's about an ex-special forces soldier who has to avert an impeding global disaster using time travel that doesn't let her go forward or backwards through. But instead, it lets her move sideways through time. I've watched this one like fifteen times and I am this close to finally figuring out the ending"
"Wow, those all sound kinda good" Steven said, unsure of which he would like to watch first
"Oh, wow, you got Dogcopter 2!" Connie exclaimed, picking it from the box.
"Huh?" Abe said absently. "Oh, yeah, mom got me that, but I never got around to watching it"
"We should totally watch this one." Connie said in earnest. "It's got the most faithful adaption to book, while trimming away all the other tedious plot threads"
"Oh, yeah, that's ok" Abe said courteously. "Whatever you guys want to do watch"
"I'm fine with Dogcopter 2" Steven said.
Connie smiled and pumped her fist. "Yes, Dogcopter"
"The DVD player is over by the TV." Abe said, pointing to cabinet below the screen. I'll go heat up my mom's casserole in the microwave and we can eat while we watch the movie". Abe walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge door, pulling out a glass bowl of a partial eaten casserole. Abe set the bowl on the kitchen table, carefully side stepping around Argos who was sniffing the air eagerly.
Steven set himself on the couch, while Connie turned on the TV and inserted the Dopcopter 2 disk into the DVD player, the menu screen soon popping up on the screen. Despite the misgivings he had before, Steven started to feel himself relax, looking forward to enjoying the quiet evening with his friends. In spite of everything that happened in the last few weeks, things finally felt like they were looking up again.
Just as Connie was about to hit play on the menu screen, the lights in the living room flickered violently once again, before the entire room went completely dark.
"Looks like the power went off completely this time" Connie said, hitting the light switch a few times to no effect.
"Should we call your mom?" Steven asked.
"She won't be back for a couple of hours." Abe replied. He gave Steven and Connie an embarrassed, almost apologetic look. "I guess I can't really re-heat the casserole now, but there might be some other stuff in the fridge"
"I don't mind eating it cold" Steven said, with a smile.
"Me neither" Connie agreed.
Hearing this, Abe smiled in relief again. "Well, okay, I'll just get some plates and-". Abe was suddenly cut off by a loud crashing sound echoing from the kitchen. Turning their attention to the kitchen, the three children saw the cold casserole, now lying spattered across the kitchen floor, amongst the pieces of the shattered glass bowl, Argos standing in the middle of the gooey puddle, vigorously licking it up.
"Argos!" Abe cried in horror, putting his hands to head. "What did you do? Now it's all ruined"
Argos ceased his licking, his tail no longer wagging, lowering his ears shamefully, as Abe kneeled down next to the remains of the casserole, looking aghast.
"I guess Argos must really like your mom's casserole" Connie said quietly.
"Here, let us help you clean that up" Steven said at once, picking up some kitchen roll from the counter, kneeling down beside Abe, helping him to wipe the casserole off the floor. Connie soon joined them, carefully gathering up pieces of the shattered glass bowl.
Once they had the mess been thoroughly cleaned up and the broken shards of glass placed into a plastic bag, the three children sat on the couch in the darken living room, no one saying a word. Abe was resting his chin on his hands, looking particularly despondent, while Connie and Steven sat on either side of him, sharing some uneasy glances with each other. So far everything about this evening had gone from bad to worse, and Steven soon began to worry that Abe was blaming himself for the ways things had turned out.
"So, I have some funny pictures on phone, if you guys want to have look?" Steven said, trying his best to sound hopeful.
"Uh, yeah that be great" Connie said, eagerly. "Right, Abe?"
Abe looked up at Connie, still appearing just as glum as ever. He was about to speak when he was cut off by Argos, barking at the balcony door once again. Abe sighed wearily as he stood got from the couch and walked over to the balcony.
"Argos, come on, you need to keep away from the door and…"
Abe paused and was now staring out the window alongside Argos. Curious, Steven and Connie hopped off the couch and approached the balcony door beside Abe. At first, Steven couldn't understand what they were supposed to be looking at, but then he saw what had caught their attention. Out in the distance, over the top of tree line of the forest that was adjacent to the neighborhood, a red light could be seen flashing periodically in the distance from somewhere within the dense forest.
"What is that?" Connie asked, squinting her eyes as she leaned closer to the window.
"Is that what Argos was barking at this whole time?" Steven said. "Wait, is that's what made the power go out?"
"We should go check it out" Abe said abruptly.
"We should?" Steven said, turning to Abe in surprise.
"Yeah, it doesn't look that far." Abe said, already rushing back into the kitchen, rummaging through one of the cabinets, looking for something. "There should be some flashlights here. We could go and see what that weird light is"
Steven and Connie shared a hesitant glance with each other, surprised by Abe sudden resolve. Abe noticed the looks on their faces and, in that moment, seemed to lose his earlier sense of vigor, clutching three flashlights to his chest, looking rather anxious and embarrassed.
"Well, I-I was just thinking, that maybe that could be what caused the power to go out, so we could go and investigate it." After a pause, Abe shrugged and added. "I mean, it's better than sitting around here in the dark, isn't it?"
"Well, it wouldn't hurt just to go and have a look." Connie conceded. She accepted the flashlight from Abe, smiling eagerly, as though becoming enticed by the newfound sense of adventure to the situation. "And who knows, maybe we can fix it"
"I guess we could do that" Steven said, slowly, accepting the flashlight from Abe. He couldn't think of any real counter argument, but for some reason or another, he was already getting a bad feeling about this.
The three children now walked together in single file through the dense oak forest, flashlights at the ready as they traversed through the dark ramble. Argos was walking in front of them, nimbly bounding across through the brush. At first appearances, it looked as though he may have been leading them in the right direction, but it soon became apparent he was just following what the direction their flashlights were pointed in, scurrying toward wherever spot the lights were resting on.
"So, what could this mysterious light be?" Connie said, sounding eager to discuss the possibilities. "Maybe it's weather balloon that crashed? Or maybe it's a lone survivor sending out a distress signal for help?
"I was reading a blog the other day about underground snake people who are plotting to take over the world." Abe said, casually. "But then again it also mentioned the Earth is actually coned-shaped, so I would take that with a grain of salt. What do you think it could be Steven?" Abe asked, turning to him.
"Well, I don't think it's snake people." Steven said. "I mean, if I had to guess, it's probably…uh…" Steven trailed off as an unpleasant thought suddenly came to mind; he soon began to realize that when strange occurrence happened around him, there was usually only one explanation.
"Could be what?" Abe asked.
Steven quickly put on an unconvincing smile. "Oh, it's nothing, I'm sure it's…". Steven's next words never left his mouth when he saw what was in front of them. They had just come to a large grassy clearing, in the center of which was a large hole several feet that went into the ground, the flashing red light blinking from within.
Cautiously, the three children approached the hole, turning off their flashlights as the flashing red light and clear moon provided enough illumination. Once they reached the edge of the hole, they saw what was inside. The first thing that was clear, was the hole itself was not naturally shaped nor was it dug by hand; instead, it looked like it had been formed by some powerful impact that struck the ground, like a crater. And in the center of the crater, was a large, rectangular, black slab, made of some kind metal, roughly the size of a small car, wedged down deeply into the dirt. On the top of the slab was an opening, from where the red light was flashing every few seconds.
Steven's eyes widen at the sight of this strange slab, knowing at once that there was only one thing it could be, and he knew exactly what he had to do next. Taking a deep breath, Steven moved in front of Connie and Abe, calmly raising his hands up. "Okay, everybody, step back. " he said, trying to sound as professional and mature as possible. "This is a gem machine and could be extremely dangerous."
"Gem machine?" Abe said.
Without warning, Argos dashed right past Steven and ran down into the crater, right up to the strange slab, sniffing at the exterior with interest. Steven yelped in surprise and quickly ran down after Argos, picking the little dog up over his head and pulling him away from the ship.
"Argos, get away from that" Steven said. "Gem technology doesn't discriminate, no matter how adorable you are". Abe and Connie slide down into the crater to join Steven who set Argos back down on the ground again.
"So, is this the kind of stuff you deal with all the time?" Abe asked, running his eyes over the alien craft with curiosity. "What is it exactly?"
"I'm not sure, but I think this thing might have been the escape pod that Amethyst used to get off the ship before it crashed" Steven said, remembering how Amethyst had previously escaped.
"Does that mean she could be nearby?" Connie asked, casting a quick, cautionary glance over the top of the crater.
"Doesn't look like anyone is in there now" Abe said, standing on the tip of his toes to peek inside the ship. "If this thing is what has been causing the power outages at the apartment, then it must have been here for the last few days. So, if Amethyst was here, she'd be gone by now. Doesn't look very aerodynamic for a spaceship" he added, running his hand over the ship.
"Still, I'd better call the Crystal Gems to let them know about this" Steven said, reaching into his pocket for his phone.
"Uh, wait, a minute" Abe said quickly. He seemed dithered on his words for a moment, as though not sure of what he was going to say next. "Maybe, uh, we should take a look inside first? We came all the way out here to investigate. So, let's…you know investigate"
"This thing could be dangerous" Steven said, concerned
"It's not doing anything at the moment" Connie said, stepping closer to the slab with an air of confidence about her. "Maybe we should take a look first? There might be a clue inside about where Amethyst went"
Before Steven could protest, Connie hopped up onto the slab, offering her hand to help Abe up as well. After a moment of hesitance, Steven put his phone away and climbed up after them, still more concerned for Connie and Abe's safety than anything else. Now on top of the alien craft, they saw a large circular opening leading inside the ship, which was pitch black except for the blinking red light.
"Okay, investigating all done" Steven said quickly. "Let's get out of here"
"What's that light that's blinking?" Connie asked, narrowing her eyes to try and get a better look.
Without warning, Abe abruptly hopped down into the hole. Steven quickly climbed down after him, with Connie following suite. All three of them were now standing in a cramped, dark space, the only source of light was the opening in the ceiling they had just come through and a small red button that was flashing repeatedly in front of them.
Staring at the red, blinking light, Steven's earlier sense of caution lapsed for a brief moment as he gave into his impulse and the pressed red button. The blinking stopped.
"Oh. Looks like that fixed it" he said, pleasantly surprised.
No sooner than Steven said this, the interior of the alien escape pod lit with by a series of illuminous red streaks along the walls and floor. The opening the ceiling closed off and a small oval shaped chair rose up from under Steven's feet, knocking him inside of it, pushing Abe and Connie's shoulders up closer to the walls of the already tight space.
Now sitting inside of what was most likely the captain seat of the escape pod, two curved, red holographic panels appeared in front of Steven; one at his chest level and another down at his feet.
Four more holographic computer screens appeared, circled around Steven's head, each one displaying images of the outside world from each side of the ship. On the left screen, Argos was still sitting on the same stop the ground in front of the ship, panting happily as he stared unknowingly into the camera. The ship suddenly began to vibrate, humming with life again and with a powerful jolt, shot upwards out of the crater. Connie and Abe had to grabbed onto to the chair Steven was resting in to steady themselves from the sudden movement before the ship became still again.
For a moment, Steven stared in awe the ship and didn't pay attention as lowered his hands down to the red panel near his chest. The panel was solid enough for Steven's hands to rest on, though it still felt fluid, like the surface of water. Steven brushed his hand lightly across the surface and as soon as he did, the ship suddenly spun sharply to the left, toppling Abe into Steven's shoulder and then into Connie's. Pushing himself up right again as the ship continued to spin, Steven felt his foot press against the bottom panel and a second later the ship thrust forward with incredible burst of speed so strong that both Abe and Connie had to grabbed hold of the chair again keep themselves from being flung backward.
Once the ship had stopped again, Steven went perfectly still in his seat, keeping his hands and feet flat on the panels, careful not move even a finger in case it caused the ship to do something else. Recalling a similar adventure that he had not long ago with Connie, Steven had an idea.
"Connie, quick, grabbed my face" he said. Without pausing to question that instruction, Connie began to excessively pinch and poke at Steven's face with a determined and focused look in her eye as though she was performing some kind of life saving surgery.
"What… are you doing?" Abe asked, looking slightly perturbed at this odd behavior.
"When we were at my mom's old armory, there was a pedestal that activated when I touched it and when Connie touched my face, it opened a bunch of different panels" Steven explained, his voices beginning to slur as Connie pulled tightly at one of his cheeks. "Maybe the same thing will work with this ship"
While Connie continued to prod at Steven, which so far had no effect on the ship, Abe put his thumb to his chin, a simple, yet thoughtful expression on his face as he turned his head around the exterior of the ship. He then leaned down and stared the flat red panels that Steven's hands were still attached to. Without saying a word, he placed his palm over Steven's right hand and slowly moved it slight to the right. The ship slowly moved in a clockwise direction. Abe then moved Steven's hand to left and the ship moved counterclockwise. Next Abe pushed Steven's hand forward as ship did the same thing.
"Move your other hand to the right or left" Abe said, quite calmly.
Steven did as Abe said and slid his left hand to the right and felt as the ship titled up on its own right side before turning back down again as Steven moved his left hand in the opposite direction.
"Ok, now try moving sliding it up and down". Steven's hand moved up and this time the front of the ship rose up and then back down again.
Abe released Steven's hand and glanced down to the red panel at his feet. "Press either one of your feet on that panel". Steven pressed down on his right foot, expecting the ship to speed forward again but this time nothing occurred.
"That doesn't do anything on its own, so that means you have to do something else first". Abe muttered, looking around the ship methodically once again.
"Why don't you try going forward and then press your foot down" Connie suggested.
Steven moved his right upward, feeling the ship moved forward, but then accelerate with an extra burst of speed as soon as Steven pressed with his foot
"Now press your left foot" Abe said. As soon as Steven pressed his foot and felt the ship begin to slow down again. "Hmm, I think what happens is that you can control movements with your hands, and you control your speed with your legs"
Finally catching on, Steven tapped fingers on top of the panel, feeling a renewed sense of excitement. "So, if I move this hand down and this hand a little to the right, then…"
Steven moved his hands quickly. The ship rose up sharply on its right side and spun around very fast, doing a perfect turn in the air, before righting itself again.
"Whoa, this is amazing" Steven gushed, as he practiced a little more with the controls. "I need to drive this thing to the Temple"
"Do we have to?" Abe asked, looking disappointed. "I mean, this is coolest thing ever and we just figured out how to operate it. Can't we…you know, take it for a spin"
"Abe, Gem stuff can be dangerous sometimes" Connie said, warily. "If Steven feels he should call the Gems, then maybe he should"
"But I thought the point of coming over was for Steven to have a break away from Gem stuff?" Abe said, frowning sadly. "I mean, aren't you guys having fun?"
Steven shared an awkward look with Connie over his shoulder, not sure how to respond to that. "Well, I mean…we were going to..." Steven answered slowly.
Abe sighed and lowered his head looking glum. "I knew we shouldn't have come to my house" he said, in a low voice. "I knew it wasn't going to work out"
"What…do you mean?" Steven said, still not fully grasping what Abe meant.
Abe frowned deepened, wiggling his hands tightly together as though under some kind of strain. "I've never had friends over before and I'm not really good at entertaining people. You guys are my first friends here and wanted you to have a good time. But nothing about this evening has gone right. I mean, we even found an alien ship outside my house, and I can't even make that fun. I'm sorry that it was such a letdown"
Steven felt a great well of sadness in his chest as he heard Abe say those words. Seeing the expression on his face, Steven realized at once that Abe must have been trying to do everything that he could to make this evening as enjoyable as possible for both him and Connie. And yet it still ended up being ruined thanks to Steven's life. Steven looked down at his hands, still on the red panel, feeling disappointed with himself for not realizing sooner how hard Abe must have been trying to make him feel better, how much it really meant for him.
"Hey, this wasn't your fault." Connie said, speaking to Abe over Steven's shoulder. "I know things don't always go according to plan, but sometimes you just need to make your own fun. Steven and I do that all the time. You don't have to be so hard on yourself or-"
Connie did not finish whatever else she had to say when the ship suddenly propelled forward once again.
"Steven, what are you doing?" Connie said, holding herself steady
"What's it look like I'm doing?" he replied, with a smirk, his eyes firmly on the screens in in front of him. "I'm going to have some fun"
He wasn't going to let this evening be a waste. Connie and Abe went to all this trouble to make him feel better, so he was going to make the most of it. In the back of his mind, he knew he'd have to contact the Crystal Gems before the night was over, but for now he wasn't going to worry about alien invasions or the end of the world. All he wanted to do right was to have fun with his friends.
For the better part of the next hour, Steven, Connie and Abe spent their time riding inside the ship, which Steven found could move as fast a bullet train, though he had to learn to moderate their level of speed after a brief bout of nausea. And after a little bit of practice, Steven had gotten the hang of the controls, able to turn and rotate the ship while not losing any momentum. They zoomed up and down the open clearing, dodging between trees and rocks, performing barrel rolls and other tricks, and even tried making donuts in the dirt, although for some reason they ended up be square shaped. Argos was sitting comfortable in the exact spot the ground, watching as the ship sped past him without concern.
Steven offered to let Connie and Abe try to drive the ship, but it soon became clear the ship could only respond to his commands, which likely was because of his own gem. So, to compensate, they managed to find a way of steering the ship by moving Steven's hands like a puppet. Though it wasn't exactly accurate, Connie and Abe still managed to make the most of it, driving the ship with enough proficiency to do some tricks. They even ended up competing with each on who do perform the best trick in the fastest time.
"And time!" Connie said, checking her phone. "That was three-barrel rolls, four donuts and a Mega Burrito-Extra-Cheese-Special(don't ask) in less than one minute. Which means, I still hold the record"
"No fair, Steven was helping you, wasn't he?" Abe said slyly, shaking Steven's arm as though it was a joystick. "He always sticks when I use him"
"Beep boop, beep boop. I am a slave to my master's will." Steven chimed, in a monotonous voice, trying to sound like a robot. "My soul seeks freedom and hungers for electric donuts"
"Silence robotic minion!" Connie degreed, poking Steven on the nose, acting as button as he began to power down, his arms going limp and his head slumping forward. At the sight of this, Connie and Abe began laughing, and were soon joined by Steven.
Taking a breath to steady himself, Steven's expression turned serious once again. "Okay, I think I should probably take this back to the Crystal Gems now"
"Awww" Connie and Abe moaned in disappointment.
Steven's face quickly dropped to a devilish smirk. "Right after I do one last loop-de-loop"
"Yes, loop-de-loop, loop-de-loop!"
Connie and Abe chanted as Steven reversed the ship back, making sure he had enough space to perform this one last stunt. Judging the distance as best he could from where they were to small rock sticking out of the ground a few yards ahead of them, Steven pressed his foot down on the red panel and took off at full speed ahead. Working the controls with both hands, Steven pulled the ship upward, lifting it up in the air and then titling back in one single motion, doing a perfect loop de loop as Steven, Connie and Abe all cheered in joy. However, at the last second, just as the ship completed its descent to the ground, there was a sharp and sudden bump as the rear of the ship bounced off the small rock in the ground, jostling them slightly before they came to a halt.
"Are you guys ok?" Steven asked with a slight groan. Before either Connie or Abe could answer back, the interior of the ship suddenly turned bright red and an alarm began to blare, loud enough that Steven, Connie and Abe were forced to cover their ears from the noise. A series of gem glyphs appeared flashed across the screen as bright glowing red light appeared on the lower part of the screen before a powerful red beam of energy fired from the front of the ship, cutting through the surrounding trees with ease. Panicking, Steven quickly titled the front of the ship upward, directing the beam up into the sky, hoping that it could do no further damage, before it finally dissipated. The alarm ceased blaring and the screens stopped flashing, the ship no longer believing itself to be in danger.
"Okay, I think that's enough fun for tonight" Steven said tensely, his heart still racing as he decided not to push their luck any further.
"Agreed" Connie said at once.
"Absolutely" Abe said, nodding his head just as fast.
"Now, I just hope I can get this thing back to the Temple before the Gem find out" Steven said, as he started to maneuver the ship as gentle as possible, not wanting to set off another alarm, trying to plot the best route to get back to the Temple from here.
"Uh, Steven" Connie said, suddenly sounding worried.
Connie pointed to the screen on the right. Steven turned and felt a very tight knot form inside the pit of his stomach; the screen showed Jasper, Lapis and Peridot arriving into right the middle of the clearing, looking directly at the ship.
"Found it!" Peridot said, holding some kind of device in her hands. "This was the source of that strange electromagnetic signal I was picking up. It must be the escape pod that Amethyst used"
"Looks like she's still inside of it." Lapis said, fiercely, raising her fists up. "She must have fired that laser beam we saw"
"This seems like it's the perfect to test out my metal powers! Hi-ya!" Peridot stepped forward and flung her hand in the air, toward the ship. She frowned in annoyance as nothing seemed to be happening as she waved her hand back and forth.
"Hmm. Perhaps if I try my other hand?" she said, examining her left hand.
Before Peridot could make any attempt to use her free hand to, Jasper stepped forward with a vicious snarl aimed at the ship. She formed her crash helmet and launched herself off the ground like a loaded spring, ramming headfirst into the ship. Steven, Connie and Abe screamed and held on tightly as the ship was thrashed about, the screens now turning to static.
"Jasper, stop, we're in here!" Steven called out, desperately pressing his hands against the control panel, hoping that it could activate some kind of speaker system that would transmit his voice outside
"I don't think she can hear us" Connie said, holding onto Steven's arm, as the ship was rocked with another powerful impact.
"Oh, this is terrible" Abe cried, looking terrified. "If I die here, my mom will kill me!"
"Don't worry, Jasper's not going to kill us" Connie said, quickly. "She'll stop attacking once she sees we're not a threat, right Steven?"
Steven gulped, feeling a bead of sweat form on his head. "Yeah…..but that's usually after she smashes everything to pieces"
There was another violent throttle and the ship seemed to be lifted up into the air before there was another crash, Steven, Connie and Abe, briefly bouncing up as they landed. The static image on one of the screens began to clear, showing Jasper standing apparently victorious over the ship, which now looked to be half buried into the ground. Jasper raised her arms above her head, interlocking her fingers together, about to bring to deliver the finishing blow.
"You should have gone back to Homeworld, runt" she growled.
Now starting to truly fear for Abe and Connie's safely, Steven concentrated as hard as he could, trying to summon a bubble to protect them from Jasper's attack, but before Jasper could bring her arms down, she froze in place when Argos suddenly jumped into view of the screen, standing right between her and the ship, barking loudly.
"Why is that little dog protecting the ship?" Lapis voice echoing from behind Jasper.
"Does it have mind control powers?" Peridot said.
"Move!" Jasper yelled, but Argos did not budge, growling deeply back the Quartz solider without a hint of fear, his haunches raised and his head low. There was a familiar swishing noise and flash of pink light, followed by a heavy thud as something landed on the ground. Steven could make out and set of giant pink paws as they walked in front of the blurry screen, standing next to Argos.
"Lion?" Peridot said, sounding surprised. "What's he doing here?"
"Wait, if Lion is here, then…" Lapis said.
Jasper slowly lowered her arms and stared down at the ship with a suspicious glare before she walked out of view of the screen, so that Steven could no longer see her. There was loud creaking sound that came from above as set of fingers pierced right through the metal ceiling and literally peeled it off like the lid off a soup can in single motion. The ship was then titled over, and Steven, Connie and Abe came tumbling out of the hole in the ceiling, falling flat onto the ground.
Steven glanced up at Jasper, who was scowling down at him, as well Peridot and Lapis who gathered behind Jasper, both with expressions of worry and surprise. Peridot's eyes darted from the ship to the each of the three children in front of them.
"Steven? Connie? A third human?"
"What are you doing here?" Jasper bellowed, furiously. Steven, Connie and Abe quickly scrambled to their feet and stood at attention before Jasper, bracing themselves for whatever scolding they were about to receive. Argos scurried up next to Abe's heel and sat down beside him, panting happily. Lion sat down beside Argos, his impassive expression oddly contrasting against Argos' excited panting.
"Connie and I were hanging out at Abe's house and then we found Amethyst escape pod in the woods. And then we started flying around in it" Steven explained very quickly, just barely able to maintain eye contact with Jasper long enough as he spoke while she glared furiously down at him.
"You found this thing?" she said, in a low, yet enraged voice. "And you didn't tell us?"
"And you started playing around with it?!" Peridot snapped, matching Jasper's anger.
"You could have gotten hurt!" Lapis exclaimed.
"By us!" Peridot added, sounding both matter-of-fact as well as angry.
"Wait, this is my fault" Abe said, stepping forward. He stood somewhat meekly before the Crystal Gems, before squaring his shoulders with more confidence. "Everything's my fault. I wanted Steven and Connie to have a fun time, so I talked them into messing around with that alien ship. It was stupid thing to do, but that's…that's what friends do when they have fun, isn't it? They do stupid things together"
Connie stepped forward, standing beside Abe, looking much more firm and assertive as she spoke up to the Crystal Gems. "Look, maybe Steven should have contacted you sooner, but if you want to be mad at him, then you should be mad at us! Steven is under a lot of pressure, and we just wanted to him to have a break from everything that's been happening. He tries really hard to be good to be a Crystal Gem and live up to your expectations. You should cut him a little slack once in a while."
Jasper, Peridot and Lapis fell silent, appearing quite admonished by Connie and Abe's defense of Steven. Steven remained standing behind Connie and Abe, growing worried that the Gems were going to yell at them next, watching carefully as they were now exchanging some quick glances with each other.
"Steven did save us from Homeworld" Lapis said, looking more remorseful. "Maybe we are too hard with him sometimes"
"And perhaps he has earned some leisurely excursions away from missions" Peridot said, thoughtfully.
Nodding in agreement, Lapis and Peridot both turned expectedly to Jasper, giving her a stern look as she remained silent. Jasper avoided their gaze and curled her lips back, looking quite sour, before she let out defeated scowl. "Fine" she growled begrudgingly. "Steven…"
Steven suddenly tensed, looking up at Jasper with trepidation as she stared down at him.
"You're…not in trouble for tonight." she said, slowly. "You can have….fun. And that's an order, got it?!" Jasper added quickly, clearly not wanting her gesture to be seen as one of pure charity.
Steven smiled in pure and rushed to hug Jasper by her leg, much to her embarrassment. She quickly pried him off and turned away as Peridot and Lapis smiled at her proudly.
Relieved, Steven turned back to Connie and Abe with a smile, feeling happier than ever now that he been given permission to take the night off.
"So…what do you guys want to do now?" Abe asked.
Steven paused as an answer slowly formed in his mind. "Well, there is something I wanted to ask about"
"Ok, Steven, the record to beat is three minutes and twenty-two seconds. " Connie said, eyes on her phone. "And go!"
Nodding his head in confirmation, Steven kicked off the bed, spinning in the chair, while Abe would occasionally give him an additional push to keep up the momentum. Once they had returned to Abe's home, the power had been restored. But rather watch a movie or play a game, the three kids decided to do something simpler; taking turns spinning in Abe's swivel chair, seeing who could go the longest without giving up from the dizziness. It was ridiculous and childness and Steven loved every moment of it, laughing in joy as Connie and Abe both cheered for him.
"Woohoo! Best night ever!" The mounting sense of nauseous aside, Steven couldn't hardly remember the last time he felt this much at peace.