Boiling Gems (The Owl House x Steven Universe)

Summary:

From one dream and trauma to another

Connie continued to tighten the bolt into the machine. "Three rotations, four rotations … five." She muttered. "This part's done from the looks of it." To combat the Cluster, the gang decided to build a drill to dig down into the earth … unfortunately, only Pearl knew how to build one, and they all had to listen to her instructions.

"Boscha!" The woman shouted. "Stop trying to use your own fire to weld the metal together, it's not precise enough!"

"Then I suppose I can get some practice in by piercing a hole through your stupid white head!" The three eyed witch lit her entire body on fire in anger, and unlike most times, nobody else felt inclined to really disagree with the sentiment.

"Come on Boscha just …" Luz paused to yawn as she carried a bunch of metal poles. "Just suck it up for now … we need all hands on deck for this." She responded tiredly.

"Luz, you need to take a break." Amity said, having similar dark circles around her eyes that Luz had, using her abomination muck to keep certain parts together.

"I took a break an hour ago. If I take anymore we're never gonna get done in time." The fellow human responded. "I just need a cup of coffee and I'll be good to go."

"No one's touching the coffee, not after what it did to Hunter." Willow put her foot down, pointing to the jittering bloodshot kid.

"I-i-i DON'T seeeeee the b-big DEAL." The boy with red eyes spoke. "I f-fe el completely fine."

"Hunter." Gus stated. "You haven't slept in four days."

"N- new RE cord!" Hunter cheered, before falling on his back. "LeT' S SHO OOT FOR fIV E."

"You know it's bad when even I think he needs a break." Lucci yawned as he carried a load of metal sheets.

"Come on folks, don't be down; turn that frown upside down!" Spinel cheered, having reformed a while ago with a more blue and pink just like appearance.

"Spinel…sweet summer child.." Lucci smiled, before falling to his face.

"Is he going to be okay?" Vee asked. "I thought gems didn't need to sleep."

"He's half human. There's only so much work an organic body can go through before it needs to rest." Garnet responded. "And that's not completely true. Gem's don't require sleep to function, but occasionally even we can tire ourselves out to require it."

"But we only have one to three weeks to finish and we're not even a quarter way done." Connie said, looking over the pile of parts. "The baseline structure is done, but we haven't even retrofitted it to be a drill."

"That doesn't mean you kids should work till you drop. You're all clearly exhausted." The fusion pointed out the obvious.

"Of course we're exhausted! We've learned we have less than a month before the earth blows up; and not to mention in between trying to find Belos and Peridot, I still have school!" Luz shouted. "And we haven't even factored in combat lessons, the fact you guys keep shoving me into therapy, multiple situations about-"

Boscha walked forward, hitting Luz in the back of the head with a metal pole, knocking her out. "For the record, we all know it was needed, and that I'm the only one who'd find it funny enough to do it."

"I'd kill you if it wasn't necessary." Amity sighed as she pulled the unconscious Luz away. "Boscha, you get Lucci, Willow, you get Hunter. We're in no condition to keep helping tonight."

"Co-come on n-now, we can dooo it." Hunter tried to shake off. "Vee's wid-de and awak-ke, right?"

"I drank enough magic to force myself awake because this is a bad and time limited situation." The girl answered. "You don't have a valid argument."

"Except you shouldn't be pushing it either." Garnet picked Vee up. "All you kids get some rest now. We'll keep working on the drill in the meantime." 

Pearl picked up multiple tools. "Time for absolute control of the situation." They muttered, before a ball of fire was thrown at her head. "HEY! That could've caused serious damage!"

"And you would still be the same insufferable bitch." Boscha growed as she picked Lucci up in a bridal style. "Sleep tight Crystal, your angel is watching over you now."

"I guess I'll be heading home then." Connie sighed. "See you later Vee!"

"See yah Connie, I'll text you later…"

"You're going to bed right away." Garnet interrupted.

"Aw…could you at least tell me a bedtime story?"

"Of course I will." The fusion responded without hesitation. If only Connie had that much of a good relationship with her own mother.

=======================================================================

Lucci woke up on an island with a single tree in the middle of the ocean. "... Right, of course." Can't even go to bed without something terrible happening. "If Luz blames herself for this I'm gonna lose it." He muttered, trying to look forward to any destination on the horizon. Why did he have to dream about being stranded?

"Maybe it's because you're constantly feeling frustrated about being stranded and your hatred of earth is now manifesting in your dreams." He turned around… and saw Dogcopter, playing himself in a game of that checkers game.

"Dogcopter… why the heck are you here?" Lucci asked. "If I'm dreaming, wouldn't I have dreamt of something I like more, like Superman? Or the Animaniacs?"

"Dreams are weird, and I'm not an exception." They responded. "Checkers?"

"I…I guess, though I can't tell you I'll be any good at it." He said, moving a piece."... Why am I so lucid anyway?"

"It might be that you tapped into the collective unconscious." They gestured to the ocean. "Likely due to your exhaustion, your mind has become so clear it's been opened up to new possibilities, hence lucid dreaming."

"This isn't going to bite me in the but, right? The last time I had a dream like this, I dreamt about three monsters trying to rip my gem out… which I now realize was probably repressed memories of the gems that snowy day." Ironic, they were the source of his greatest nightmares.

"We're standing on your dream right now." He stated, taking one of his pieces. "Completely serene and at peace … other than the longing and despair of missing people locked inside of the coconut." He pointed to the moaning fruit.

"...Not going to touch that last part." He shook his head, looking up. "So if I'm dreaming, and I know it, I can do whatever I want, right?"

"As long as you're on this island, yes." They said. "If you leave, you become part of someone else's dream out there, and they have control."

"... What part of my mind knows so much about this?" Lucci had to get a straight answer.

"The pink side, or rather, the side that connects to your empathic abilities." Dogcopter said. "The more bonds you make with people, the more access you have to other's emotions, thoughts, and dreams."

"But that sounds like … Nope." He went back to playing, taking an enemy piece. "Not only is that oracle magic, that's an invasion of privacy, and will result in horrid and traumatizing images."

"Fair enough. That's your choice, and they are dreams after all. Nobody gets physically hurt in dreams." Dogcopter nodded. "I suppose you'll just have to ignore the cries for help and the misery people are going through."

"...Why did you word it like that?"

"Oh, I'm wording it like anything, I'm just saying when you start hearing someone cry for help, like if, say, they were drowning and being choked in cheese, you aren't obligated to help them."

Lucci stared at dogcopter. "... I'm going to go now."

"Of course. It's your choice, and your choice alone."

"And before I leave, since I control this place … eat the fruit ." 

"Wait, I was just trying to be help-ahghghghg.." The moaning coconut was shoved down his throat.

"There's being helpful, then there's being an ass about it." He muttered as he swam in the ocean. "Okay, there was no way he would've been that specific without a reason. But who dreams about getting drowned in cheese?" Also it felt weird to talk underwater, but guess he was in control here.

"WHY DO I ALWAYS DROWN IN CHEESE!?" Deep into the depths of the ocean, he heard a cry, along with a bright light. Guess that was someone else's dream….he better get some good karma for this in the morning.

Lucci swam down, more and more to the light … then he began falling out of the sky. "What type of ocean leads to a cloud!?" He screamed as he tried to think happy thoughts and slow his fall. "Okay, what are we dealing with?" He looked around, and saw everything was made out of…pizza. "Pizza dream…Okay, that's something I can get behind." He took a bite out of it. "Nice, spicy marinara. Who would complain about this?"

"GGAA-gggggg." A voice trailed off with the sounds of muddled screaming.

"Right, that direction." Lucci began moving forward in order to see if he could find anyone in this cheesy ocean. "Hey, if anyone's down there, shout so I can reach your better….or gurgle in pain, whatever you're more comfortable with." He saw a few bubbles pop out from the cheese. "Close enough." He muttered, flying down into the cheese-gah, in his eyes, hot cheese in his eyes! Okay, drowning in food was a pain, it wasn't paradise. "Grab on!" He said, sticking his hand out.

He felt a hand grasp his tightly, signaling him to force his way out, hot cheese, marinara, and basil filling every pore and hole as he fought his way out. "HACK." Ugh, cheese did not feel good going out the nose. "You-You alright?"

"*Cough cough*, thanks … Steven?" The familiar girl asked.

"Kiki?" Huh…Pizza girl with Pizza dreams.

"Kiiikkiiii." The cheesy ocean formed arms that reached out to them.

"No time to think, just keep holding on!" He hopped forwards, getting them away.

"Since when can you fly!?

"I don't, I float, though I guess since this is a dream, the definition is a little loose." He answered. "What's the deal with the Pizza?"

"Dunno, I've had this dream for a couple of months now." Kiki answered as they flew away from the hands. "Just drowning in pizza until I almost die but wake up."

"So you dream about dying every night…. titan you did need help." He winced. "Any particular reason why?"

"Don't know. Works good, Bosch and Willow are pretty chill to talk to, kind of worried about Cherry though, since they've been in jail for a while." 

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about them, I heard they might be getting out soon." He said vaguely.

"Oh that's nice …" She nodded."So yeah, pretty good on my end … wait, how are you here?"

"Oracle magic. Basically magic that has anything to do with brain stuff…and I hate it." He groaned. "One for breach of privacy, so sorry about that, two because it usually ends with me having a headache."

"Ah … I'll give ya free pizza tomorrow man. It's the least I can do." She patted his head.

"Thanks. Believe me, me and my friends could use it." He sighed. "Been working ourselves to the bone lately, literally no time for anything fun."

"I hear that. Before Boscha and Willow came, I had to cover deliveries all by myself. Even on days where Jenny's supposed to take over, she dumps the load on me, and I can't do anything because I'm the 'good twin', and I want to be supportive…" A cheesy hand grabbed her ankle. "AHH!"

"Hold still." He sent a disk at it, slicing it off. "You think this might be because your sis is stressing you out?"

She thought about it. "Maybe … but it's family, you know? You help them out when needed."

"True, but there's time where you need to put your foot down." He told her. "Sometimes you just have to look them straight in the eye and say, 'No, I'm not going to help you steal this because it'll only feed you gambling problem', or, 'no, we're not going to let you help us because you too motivated by guilt and we don't blame you for anything'."

"... Do we need to talk about your problems? They seem a lot more serious."

There was a scream in the distance. "... Nope, I have a therapist, Luz, and my girlfriend to talk about them." He turned around. "Well, guess I have more work to do. Watch your step, and try not to drown again."

"Okay … good luck little guy." She waved. "Don't overextend yourself."

"Oh the irony." He smirked, going forward, flying in the superman pose. Heh, this was a little fun. Hopefully the next dream would be easier to deal with.

=======================================================================

Boscha sat in the trash, alone and abandoned. Her team left her, her Crystal left her … there was no one, nothing. She was awful, just, awful, Lowly trash that no one wanted to be around. "Please…please don't leave me…"

"Why shouldn't we? You treated us like garbage. What, can't handle the bite of your own bark?" Cat mocked her as she dumped worm guts on her.

"Who are you talking to?" That green haired girl Boscha barely remembered asked as she dumped expired milk on top of her. "All I see is a pile of trash."

"Lucky you, you see something worth more than that." Skara chuckled as she tossed a tray onto her head. "All I see is something not worth existing."

"You …" A part of her felt rage and the need to murder them all … it wasn't strong enough.

"See, so pathetic and so weak. I don't know why my Crystal spent so much time on someone as worthless as you." Skara smirked.

He was gone … she had no one … she was a worthless piece of trash with nobody to hold onto.

"Hey, you all!" She turned to see Lucci, glaring. Great, now he was here to make fun of her too. She tensed up, preparing for the inevitable beating. "Get the fuck away from my Angel!"

FEOOOMMMPPPFFFFFF

A giant hexagon was made, slamming the three bitches into a wall, crushing them. "What the heck, Lucci!?" Skara called out.

"Sorry to do this to you Skara, but this is a dream, and you don't act like the real one, so toodles!" He charged forward, slamming into the hexagon, and pushing them through the wall.

"Wait, what?" Boscha was confused beyond all reason.

"Boscha, let's get you out of there." Her crystal reached out his hand…the hand she thought she'd never be able to hold again. "Something so beautiful deserves to be treated as such.

"I … what?" She was so confused. "Lucci, what's…what's happening?"

"It's a dream." He responded. "It's all in your head, from those fake friends to-"

"Hey, faker!" They both turned, watching as another Lucci, glowing pink, marched to them. "What do you think you're doing to my song bird!?"

"Songbird?" He turned to her. "What the heck is he going on about?"

"... Well if you're the real Lucci … then you knocked dream Lucci's girlfriend into a wall." She pointed.

He paused for a minute. "Wait…. you think… Me and Skara…" Lucci turned to her with a look of disbelief. "Why would you even think that?!"

"She's your longest lasting friend, she talked about you alot, you're both into Bard magic…" She turned her head. "And when we got sent into those other worlds, you and Skara were an item."

"I thought we agreed the other worlds didn't happen?" He said sternly.

"I know, but you don't forget nightmares that easily." She responded.

"Look, I'm not going to leave yo-" The dream Lucci hit real Lucci through a wall, jumping in after them as the sound of combat rang on. "Why is he so strong!?"

"I dream about you being an unstoppable force of nature." Boscha answered. "I know that's an exaggeration, but a lot of the time it feels fitting… I mean, you beat Jasper by yourself…. what have I done?"

"You-" Punch. "You got into Moldy's head twice and knocked her down a peg, you beat a lapis with sheer force, you helped bring down Peridot's ship the first time, and do I need to mention everything we do-" Punch. "-As Cherry! You're amazing, Boscha!"

"But all of that was with hel-"

"It shouldn't matter if you had help or not!" Dream Lucci wrapped his hands around real Lucci's neck. "You have more brains than me! You figured out how to make potions with earth items, heck, you get along better with humans more than I do, and I'm half human!" They slammed a bubbled fist into Lucci's face. "You're amazing, you're an angel, you don't need me for validation!" He was sent into the ground. "YOU'RE THE CAPTAIN OF THE BANSHEES!"

"Shut up!" Dream Lucci slammed him through the ground. "She's just trash that shouldn't be picked up!"

Boscha was the captain of the Banshees… she was the star Grudby player.... and this was her world. "Hey, Trashthorne!" She glared, getting a grudgby ball ready. "Get your disease ridden hands off of my precious crystal!"

"What the fuck are you going to do about it-" 

Boom

She kicked a fiery ball into the fake, blasting it right through his chest. "So, what, I can just regrow-"

BOOM

BOOM

BOOM

BOOM

She kicked off one ball after enough, making the faker turn into a smoldering, mush pile.

"... I can't tell whether to find this hot or not." Her Crystal muttered. "On one hand it's awesome … on the other hand it's me."

"It's not you… it can never compare to you." She picked her crystal up, and kissed him all over. "Ohk you have no idea how good this feels for me. How did you even get here?"

"Oracle magic. Apparently exhausting myself opened up my brain or something, so I can travel into other people's heads."

"..." Keep all the sexy stuff in the back, please. "So … you saw all that."

"Yep … I just realized something..you and Spinel have the same fear." Lucci said. "I don't if that says more about you two or me."

"I'm not afraid of that." She scoffed. "I'm just… delirious from being tired, that's all. It's an off day… off night… you know what I mean."

"I do." He responded. "I'm gonna go into someone else's dream now, you gonna be okay?" Her crystal asked, planting a kiss on her cheek.

"I will. Just don't do anything weird, save that stuff for me."

He blushed. "Okay… I'm just… going to head out now… see you in the morning." He left.

"So my boyfriend can go into people's dreams…. wait… does that mean he possessed me as a ghost….." She thought for a minute. "...DAMN IT! Missed opportunity!" Maybe next time.

=======================================================================

Gus screamed. "Can anyone hear me!?" There was no response. "Please, answer me!" He ran forward, trying to get someone's attention. "Tell me I'm real!" He ran in front of a witch … only for them to walk right through him. "Come on, don't tell me I'm dead, don't tell me I'm dead." It's been going like this for hours, no one noticed him, bumped into him, or said a single thing to him. Even his own dad didn't even seem to register him.

"Wait a second … if I'm dead … oracles!" He ran to Celine. "Hey, Celine, hey!" He saved in front of her. "It's me! Please, notice me!"

" Hey Celine, notice anything off today?" That ghost that always followed the moon girl asked.

"Not really. They said there's a few rouge illusions running around school, but no one's worried. Illusions can't do anything." Celine answered as she walked right through him.

"Illusions …" No … was he … was he a leftover illusion? "I … I can't be fake … I can't be nothing …" Was this how they all felt? Like they had something to live for? "No, I'm real, I have to be real, I can't be fake!" He tried to grab onto the door… and his hand passed right through it. "No…No…" 

His entire balance felt off, as he began sinking. "No, no!" Gus tried to grasp onto anything, books, desks, chairs, nothing was working, he couldn't grab onto anything! "PLEASE, SOMEONE NOTICE ME!" He began falling into the ground, nothing solid able to touch at all…no one around to notice him.

"None of that!" A pink hand grabbed him, pulling the boy up. "Hey Gus."

"Lucci?" He asked. "But … you ignored me earlier …"

"I'm going to be explaining this a lot tonight, aren't I?" The boy grumbled. "Short version, you're dreaming, and I can go into people's dreams."

"Oooohhh." He nodded. "So I'm not an illusion, and they don't feel existential dread whenever I poof them away."

"No, and not sure about that last part. I've only cast illusions to disguise myself."

"... I can never cast another illusion again." Gus muttered in horror.

"Come on Gus, it's not that bad." Lucci explained. "You just had a nightmare. It's just your fears playing tricks on you. Besides, even if that's the case, Is casting illusions really that bad compared to Abomination magic, which uses the corpses of dead people and creatures and mushes them into obedient slaves?"

"Point taken." Gus nodded. "So am I the last dream of the night?" It made sense compared to Luz, Willow, Amity, Boscha, Vee … "Or third last if you include Hunter and Connie."

"Actually you're the third I've been to tonight. I think my powers are leading me to the people that need them the most." He explained. "In fact, the first dream I went to was Kiki's, which is weird because, I mean, yeah I like her, but she's more Boscha and Cherry's friend." Well it felt nice to not be in the lower spectrum.

"You think all of Gravesfield is gonna pop up?" He asked.

"I hope not. Oracle magic is a strain on the brain, and I'm already feeling myself getting tired." Lucci yawned.

"... You should probably stop, between last night and now it already looks bad Lucci."

"Would if I could, but there's a small part of my conscience that won't let me stop until I help everyone that needs it… damn it, I sound like Luz and Vee." He complained. "Just know we're never gonna forget you, alright Gus?"

"Even when I'm not helpful on missions?"

"Gus, you are helpful. Boscha told me how you traumatized Vitimir and Gray, and you're the one that got the Golden Tool to switch sides. That's something even Luz couldn't do with all her talks of friendship and tropes." Lucci snickered.

"Yeah…about that.." Gus winced. "So..when we fought Belos during the draining spell, I read his mind… and…I know that… HunterisagrimwalkerofCalebWittabane."He said quickly. "And I know that you guys know, but I know that Hunter doesn't want people to know, and I don't know how to break it to him that I know and-"

Lucci raised a hand. "... Okay … I don't know how to break that to him either … but I think you should probably be blunt about it."

"You sure?"

"He has no social skills, he probably won't notice if you try to make it subtle." He said.

"..That explains why he doesn't notice the irony of liking the clone character in Cosmic Frontier." Gus noted. "Alright, I'll try to be more direct. Thanks Lucci."

"No prob Gus. Goodnight."

=======================================================================

Hunter took deep breaths, before holding a hand over his mouth at the sound of footsteps. "I know you're here Hunter … please, come back …" The sound of… himechoed in the air. How… HOW did he come back here!? "Hunter, there's no need to be afraid. I simply want you by my side again so we may progress our work once more."

Hunter tried to slip away, using the shadows. He had no Flapjack, no staff, no friends…and he was in the golden guard outfit….. he wouldn't go back… he wouldn't… HE WOULD NEVER GO BACK!

"Come now Hunter, you know there's no leaving. I have eyes and ears everywhere. It's best to make this easier for the both of us." Those ghastly, horrifying blue eyes appeared all over the walls, looking down on him. "Why do you hate me so much now? Why do you despise the good work we've done together?"

"Good work… NOTHING we've done has been good! You've ruined so many lives…and you used ME to do your dirty work, over and over and over again!" He couldn't help but exclaim.

A hand grabbed onto his shoulder. "I never used you … you've simply chosen the wrong side." The voice gripped his shoulder as Hunter heard something crack. "Why do you choose to hurt me? I love you.."

"YOU HURT ME FIRST! Over and over again! You killed your brother, and you continued to kill him a dozen times over!" He screamed. "If that's what you call love, than I NEVER WANT IT!"

They slammed him into the ground. "I see you're confused. You believe these monsters have a right to life, like my brother did. And you think you have a choice in the matter." The man's grip on him deepened. "No matter, you will join me again, whether you want to or not."

"Never… NEVER!" He screamed as the world turned black… only for a spotlight to shine down on him. "What…?"

" You say…" Belo's voice called from the shadows…except more….Melodic. " The price of my love's not a price that you're willing to pay." The man's shadowy visage surrounded him, preventing him from moving a single inch. " You cry…..So you flee, across the stars and the seas, or so you try."

If Hunter wasn't screaming on the inside from the man's touch, he would be more inclined to call out how ridiculous this was coming off. " Why so sad? Remember, we made an arrangement when you went away-"

"No we didn-" He was cut off as a goopy, decayed hand covered his mouth.

"Now, you're making me mad! " Hunter was slammed into the ground over and over. "Remember, despite our estrangement, I'm your man." They spoke, letting him breathe just a tiny bit. 

" You'll be back, soon, you'll see. You'll remember you belong to me." Belos spoke, boring into his eyes. " You'll be back, time will tell… You'll remember that I served you well." The goo extended out like puppet strings, controlling how he moved and walked, no matter how much he tried to fight it."

"Oceans rise, empires fall! We have seen each other through it all!" The lights cleared, putting them back in the throne room… where they were surrounded by hundreds of Coven scouts. " And when push comes to shove...…I will send a fully armed battalion to remind you of my love!"

"Not really feeling any love here!" Hunter shouted as the scouts fired on him repeatedly. He ran, barely avoiding the fire and ice and every other form of magic being hurled at him.

"You say our love is draining, and you can't go onnnnnnnn!" He spoke sarcastically. "You'll be the one complainin' when I am gone."

"No … I … wouldn'-" Hunter was punched in the gut.

"And no, don't change the subject!" The bastard grabbed him by the face. " 'Cause you're my favorite subject!" Oh didn't he feel special! "My sweet, submissive subject. My loyal, royal subject." … This was getting a little disturbing in an entirely different way.

"Forever…..and ever…..and ever and ever and ever...You'll be back like before…"The halls of the castle disappeared, and Belos was walking towards him. " I will fight the fight and win the war. For your love, for your praise….And I'll love you 'til my dying days!"

"Trust me when I say I'd have those dying days come sooner rather than later!" He shouted, getting near a cliff.

"When you're gone, I'll go mad, So don't throw away this thing we had…." Belos barely stopped him from going over, hanging onto him by a thread. " 'Cause when push comes to shove….I will kill your friends and family…..to remind you of my love.."

"What…" He looked behind Belos…and saw everyone he knew in a big pile….. deadand bleeding profusely. "No, no, no this can't be happening!" Luz, Lucci, Gus, Willow, Vee, Boscha….Willow. " No, no….NOOOOOOOO!

"Da-da-da, dat-da-"

Splat

Hunter stared at the liquid remains of his … well, creator, turning to see a pink fist where his head once was. "You're already a big enough of a jerk … don't ruin music too." A familiar face complained.

"Clawthorne …" He was so confused. "What-"

"Nightmare. I enter dreams. I stopped your nightmare." The kid yawned. "Ugh, I hate using Oracle mag-"

A liquid blade dug into Lucci's chest. "I do so hate when family meetings are interrupted." Belos spoke, tossing the boy into a wall.

"Hunter, it's a dream! Just stop being afraid of Belos and it'll go away!"

"Stop being afraid of the man who survived the Collector and nearly killed us all in one night while weakened!?" Hunter shouted. "Within a single minute!"

"Okay, I get that's a dumb thing to ask for, but this is your world, your head!" The boy shouted, turning pink and punching the goop repeatedly. "Belos can't hurt you here!" 

"Oh really?" The goop chuckled. "I've been in here for years, raising him. I know every little thing he's scared of, every little secret he holds. You think that damage can be fixed just by being BRAVE!?" The former emperor slammed Clawthorne into the ground. "I control my brother, I decide his fate, not you, NOT ANYONE!"

His brother… his brother… "I am not your brother." Hunter growled. "I am not Caleb Wittabane… and that's what you wanted, isn't it?" Hunter gripped his hands, walking up to the man. "You didn't want your brother back, you wanted a puppet version of him, one that would agree with you on everything, that would follow your lead."

"One that would remember the good work we did-"

"That's what really bugs you… he never was on board with hating witches, with hating magic that's why you killed him, why you couldn't stop killing him." Hunter stared the man in the eyes. "No matter how hard you try, you couldn't accept the fact that your brother wasn't yours, that he lived his own life, and you were stuck, being miserable with your hate."

They stared at Hunter, dropping Clawthorne onto the ground. "You dare …." The man turned into his monster form, and surrounded him. "You're bravado betrays you boy. You're still afraid of me!"

"I am!" Hunter shouted, pulling back his fist. "And I don't care!" And shoved it into the man's face. "No matter how much you scare me, it's not going to stop me from ending you! I will fight you even if it takes a million years, because that is MY CHOICE, NOT YOURS!!!!!!"

A bright light shined within the bastard. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" The goop burned… leaving nothing.

"He's gone… for now…" Hunter slumped to his knees, knowing it wouldn't be the last time he'd see Belos in his nightmares.

"Cool … titan this is stressing me out." The kid groaned. "And now I have to deal with Luz's nightmares next."

"... My condolences." Hunter honestly said. "Thanks Lucci…."

"No problem. I know we have our differences, but we gotta stick together." He shrugged. "Besides, screwing over Belos is a passtime everyone can agree on."

"Agreed." He nodded. "Just… promise me. If Belos does get to me, if I change sides…"

"That's never going to happen…"

" If Belos possesses me… you won't hold back." Hunter said. "We've seen what's done to people like Bismuth, and like Jacob…If I'm ever like that… do it fast, and do it quickly."

"..." They scoffed, walking away. "Like I'd hold back at punching that ugly face."

"Least mine doesn't grow fur." He smirked, knowing that if there was one thing he could rely on Clawthorne for, it was this.

=======================================================================

Luz gazed into the horizon, watching the sunset … as Lucci climbed out of the ocean. "Gah … alright … what am I dealing with … Luz?" He asked,

"Lucci." She blinked in surprise, before frowning. "Oracle magic?"

"Yeah … where's the nightmare?" He asked. "I've been with everyone else, and this was the one I was dreading most."

"Over there." She pointed to the flaming city. "It's got Jasper and Peridot killing us, the Diamonds crashing down, Pearl and the Rubies betraying us, Belos winning, the Centipeetles as uncontrollable monsters that have to be put down, the souls of everyone I failed guilting me into submission, my mom and a long line of chains to her house, and self doubt demons flying all around." Luz said. "I was too tired to deal with it, so I just walked to the sunset to gaze at it."

"Cool, mind if I sit here? I've had a long night, and I'd rather get some semblance of sleep before I wake up."

"Sure thing." She patted the sandy beach, watching him sit as he gazed at the sunset with her. "Long night?"

"That doesn't even describe half of it. First I get sent into Kiki's head, then Boscha's, then Gus's, then Hunters, now yours." He yawned. "My head feels like it's running on fumes."

She stared at him in confusion. "You went into Kiki's, but not Willow or Amity?"

"I only followed the scream and cries of fear and pain. If I didn't hear them; then that means they're fine." He responded. "Besides, if I went into Willow's head outside of fusion, she'd rip me apart piece by piece regardless of if I was helping."

Luz thought about that. "Point taken …" She went back to looking at the vast ocean. "... You try making your way to King?"

"Tried that. Only gave me a bigger headache." He rubbed his forehead. "You know how inexperienced I am at oracle magic. Doing it across dimensions might even be out of Celine's league."

"That's fair." She nodded. "... It's funny, we can send them all the reassurances they want about what used to be the most boring planet to ever exist, and they can't tell us a thing while dealing with the Collector."

"Guess that's just how life works. Screws you at the most inconvenient times." He sighed. "I never had the chance to thank you, you know, for stopping Pearl from changing the past."

"Not like she could have to begin with. Closed loop, remember?"

"But it only was a closed loop because you fought her." He responded.

"Technically speaking, it stopped being closed when I made that wish and nearly killed space time." She reminded him.

"Luz. You're the reason why I'm Lucifer and not Steven." He countered.

"Yeah yeah, I know, I saw it man … I saw you as Steven." She responded. "Saw the whole thing from every angle … an entire world at peace … but none of you guys were happy …" Luz gave a weak chuckle. "I'd call it selfish if I wasn't sure you'd punch me the moment I said something."

"I would've." He smirked. "You know that morally speaking, that ship has sailed for me. For the most part I go by how I feel at the moment. My main concern is my own happiness and my loved ones' well being."

"I know."

"The thing is, if the well being of the universe requires your loved ones to suffer,then maybe it isn't all that good of a universe to begin with." Lucci chuckled. "Peace is subjective. Belos established 'peace' and you know where that led."

"You make a solid argument." She nodded. "So, any other screams, or do you wanna get back to your own dream before you crash and burn, mr selfless?" This was the most he's ever gone out of his way to help people in a long time.

"No screams as far as I know. Just weird flashes." He answered, Turning to his own shadow, which was in the shape of the cabin.

It showed the door being burned down … causing Luz to groan. "Great, it's the Centipeetles acting up again … alright, you spent your entire sleep helping others, let me deal with this before the door is destroyed." Again.

"You sure? One Centi is one thing, two might be a little overwhelming."

"I'll figure it out." Luz said. "Between the portal, Belos, the Drill, Peridot, you guys have enough on your plate."

"You do too, Luz. You're a part of this group too." Lucci responded.

"I know … I also happen to be the only one in this group without a wooden creature that they would like to munch on." She reminded him. "Just get your rest."

"Fine…Oh, I scored us all a free pizza for helping Kiki, so look forward to lunch."

"Nice!" She shouted. "Take that existential nightmare city I'm ignoring!" She screamed to the mess of flames behind her.

=======================================================================

Kiki grinned as she spun around the pizza in one finger, whistling a tune as she multitasked and organized ingredients. "Man, what's got you worked up." Jenny asked with a curious look. "I haven't seen you this peppy since they announced Total Drama got a fourth season."

"I actually managed to get a good night's sleep for once." For once, she didn't wake up feeling like all the air was being sucked out of her lungs, and for some reason she felt the need to make Steven and his friends a free pizza. Sure Steven being there was just part of the dream, but she was in a good mood, so why not spread the good will?

"Well good on you sis, glad to see you rockin." Her sister smirked, grabbing some boxes. "I'm off for the morning deliveries. Seriously, who orders pizza before noon?" She asked, running out the door. A good night's rest and her sister doing her job for once? Miracles really DID exist.

She continued to toss the dough in the air as she heard the door ring, showing off the familiar group."So the cabin was destroyed again?" Amity asked.

"Yeah, along with all the supplies, all covered with acid." Luz sighed. "I know we're focusing on the drill, but I'm gonna have to spend some time taking care of the two gals until they learn to not instantly attack it."

"Honestly it's probably best that we let it be an all gem project. They're slowing down to get us up to speed on the mechanic's, and they don't require sleep." Gus spoke up.

"Yeah, but then we'd leave bird nose unsupervised." Boscha said. "And is that a world any of us want to live in?"

"Mshshqahfuperl." Steven said incoherently as his head slumped onto the nearest table.

"Whoa, what's gotten into him?" Kiki asked as she laid out the group's pizza. "He looks completely out of it."

"Lu… I mean Steven's, still sleeping." Boscha said. "Apparently he pushed himself too hard."

"He might be in a mild comma." Luz said bluntly as she took a bite of pizza. "We tried everything from air horns to threats of embarrassing childhood stories, nothing."

"Hnsgdbxa." He continued to mumble, reaching for a slice … before giving up, and going right back to snoring.

"… Oh, thanks Kiki." Willow said as she looked away from the sleep deprived boy. "How much do we owe you?"

"Don't worry about it. It's on the house." She reassured them. "So … since when has Steven had the power to jump into people's heads?"

The group paused for a second. "Wait, you know about that?" Gus asked.

"Well, first I thought it was just a dream, but seeing how exhausted he is, and how in my dream he said doing so causes brain strain… it's not hard to connect the dots." She explained. "Besides, the entire beach side sees the gem battles all the time. We know about them … although last time he said shapeshifting was all he had."

"They… pop up randomly. He just discovered them last night and used them to help us sleep better." Boscha hugged the unconscious boy and nuzzled her face against his. "And you've done such a great job, haven't you Crystal?" Didn't they look so cute together…

"Mnvfpnb." Kiki paused for a second. There was a small warmness inside of her whenever she thought about both Boscha and Steven lately… a feeling she got usually when Cherry was around.

She shook her head. "Anyway, enjoy your meal, I'm gonna go back to cooking." Kiki waved as she walked back to the kitchen. She probably just wanted to see Cherry again. Prom was coming soo, and they were the only one they would consider going with.