Summary:
Just some cloudy fluff ... mosly
Vee hummed as she watched Luz type. "Alright, this crossover is looking like it's coming together nicely."
"I figured the universes would mesh better if I went off the rails. You know, go off cannon so we can add our own original takes." She answered. "Any plot threads you wanna add?"
"I'm a little iffy about the romance subplots." Vee said. "We paired off Sacreetis with the thief mercenary. I feel like they're not the best or healthiest relationship."
"That's kind of a point I'm trying to bring out. We pair two unlikely people together, so that way we can develop the initially unlikable character in a more organic way."
"Is that really the best idea?" Connie asked.
"It worked for Boscha, didn't it?" Amity brought up.
"Do not compare my relationship to Lucci to one of your fanfics, nerds." Boscha herself growled as she and Willow watched tv together.
"Since when do you two hang out together outside of work?" Gus asked as he and Hunter read some sci-fi books.
"Since we realized that the one thing we had in common is enjoying survival shows." Willow answered.
"Sure, Total Drama may be over, but Survivor is a close second." Boscha shrugged. "Now come on, claim the prize! Claim it!"
"See, before Lucci, those two couldn't even be in the same room as each other, now they're sitting next to each other." Luz went on. "Romance affects more than just the two people dating. If you write it well, it expands to a web of interesting and compelling ideas."
"Speaking of, where is he?" Vee asked. "I haven't seen him selling anymore junk or meep morps lately."
"And he hasn't been giving me as much cuddling as he should." Boscha pouted.
"There has been a lot less singing around the house too." Gus pointed out. "Actually come to think of it, I don't think I've heard a peep out of him in about two days."
"He did say that if he was ever angry he'd go and punch a mountain." Luz recalled.
"A mountain or a mountain range?" Amity asked.
"They're all probably rocks and pebbles by now after he's done with them." Willow said reasonably. "Then again, it could be Spinel trying to make him play without a break. Maybe her persistence finally broke him."
"He has a phone right?" Connie asked. "You could always check his global positioning. I doubt any of the witches here turned theirs off."
" The global what now? " Proving her point, every witch asked, confused about the term.
"Basically a way to keep track of where you are in the world at all times. Really helps for when you're lost." Vee said.
"Wouldn't that mean, anyone is capable of tracking almost anyone they want with a couple of clicks?" Amity asked. "Like..the government?"
"Pretty much, but there are laws for privacy, so you don't have to worry about being spied on in your own home." Vee waved off. Probably should let her keep the bubble.
"So we just turn it on and … there." The screen showed a map with a red dot … right next to them. "It says he's in the temple."
"What?" Luz asked as they noticed ruminating from the fridge. "Hey Amethyst, have you noticed Lucci in the temple lately?"
"Huh?" She asked as she swallowed something. "Oh yeah. Saw him go into Rose's Room two days ago."
"Wait, you what?" Pearl asked with surprise, coming out of the bathroom with a cleaning rag. "Did you ever see him come out?"
"Nope, oooh, moldy baloney." Amethyst chucked it into her mouth. "All warm and fuzzy in my tummy."
"And that didn't concern you at all?" Amity glared.
"What? It's Rose's room. Out of all the rooms in the temple, it's like the least dangerous place we have aside from Vee's room." The purple gem shrugged. "Nothing but pink clouds in there."
"That's part of the problem!" Pearl stated. "There's no food inside of there, how is he even sustaining himself?"
"Lucci's practiced going days without food before." Luz explained. "He felt like he had to when we ran low on money in the owl house."
"... So he was taken by a desperate family to boot." And now the arguments were starting back up. Time for Vee to defuse the situation.
"Then let's just call him and see how he's doing." Vee suggested, dialing the latest number Lucci had given her, since this was the 7th phone he's stolen by now.
It rang … and rang … "This is the Kevin. The Kevin can't come to the Phone at the moment, leave a message Kevin decides to grace at a later date."
"Right, forgot. Lucci meant to destroy that one." Boscha chimed in. "So do we bust the doors down?"
"Doesn't work that way. The doors may as well be another world." Vee explained … "Why haven't we given Lapis a door?"
"Making my room took about three hundred years." Amethyst explained.
"Not interested in having a room here anyway. I'm not a crystal gem." Lapis said flatly. "It's either Vee's room or the bottom of the ocean." Maybe Vee should invest in a water bed.
"You have to have some kind of back door or something. We can't just leave him alone, especially if he's locked up in the room of the one person he hates on par with Belos." Gus pointed out
"Technically we could try to work our way from inside the temple from one of our rooms … but the room itself might reject us on principle." Pearl stated. "Rose's room isn't like ours, it follows the will of the admin and only allows them to enter."
"It's better than nothing." Luz said. "Come on, we should get going before Lucci gets mad and blows up the place from the inside."
"Temple adventure!" Vee rarely got to do those. "We should grab Garnet, she knows it best!"
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"Um … Garnet." Their daughter started. "This is a little embarrassing."
"It's fine Vee." Connie smiled at the hold. "I think it's cute like this."
"We're trying to brute force our way through the temple, it's best to be protected." Garnet stated, clutching the girl like a doll as they walked through the bubble room. "I'm still not sure if Amethyst caught all the gem shards she and Pearl let loose during the 'secret club' incident."
"I assure you that I made sure to catch every single one.." Garnet turned to her, and raised a gauntlet. "I'll just…keep walking."
"Ha, girl got whipped." Amethyst laughed. Garnet stared at them next for a few seconds. "Come on, it was an accident."
"An accident you felt like not telling me. You thought you could get away with it, but Vee felt like including me." Garnet glared. Given the pink diamond reveal, there was so much dishonesty between the group. It was very concerning
"Well we clearly know who the alpha is." Boscha muttered. "Where do you fit on the hierarchy?" She asked Lapis.
"I'm above the hierarchy." Lapis said simply. "I go where I want, when I want, and if anyone tells me otherwise they're dead."
"Seriously, if you lived on the boiling isles, you'd be the most terrifying monster in history." Amity backed away just a little.
"It's hard to tell how different they act from Lucci." Willow noted. "How are neither of you the top dogs of Homeworld?"
"The Diamonds are pure power for the most part. They don't even have to move too much to show off their strength and fear." Lapis explained.
"How much fear are we talking about?" Hunter asked.
"I once caught a glimpse of White Diamonds Pearl … she looked just like the bird nose over there, except with a cracked eye and no free will."
"Pink's original Pearl.." Pearl shuddered. "White is capable of taking complete control and assimilating gems to her consciousness, expanding her sight and grip all over homeworld. If you encounter her, you're better off running away or dying before she gives you a fate worse."
"Great, not like we're struggling enough two at a time, now you're saying we have no chance against the head honcho." Luz groaned. "That's not demotivating at all."
"We kept telling you not to meddle with Homeworld before." Garnet stated as they moved forward. "Luckily, Vee was smart enough to actually try to talk you out of it."
"Not really. It's more like Homeworld isn't our problem to deal with. They just get in our way while we're trying to figure out how to get home." Willow stated. "We spent enough time taking down Belos and his empire, we really rather not fight another."
"Are we there yet?" Luz asked. "It feels like we've been walking for a while."
"The boiling room houses the crystal heart, the power source to everything in the temple." Garnet pointed to the pipes. "The veins lead power to each room. It gives Amethyst her space for her garbage, provides water for Pearl's room, and supply's the clouds for Rose's."
"So we just follow the pipe and we're in?" Hunter asked.
"Not that easy. Without explicit permission, the room is likely to reject us outright." Garnet said, point to a sizable hole where a vein led to a room brining with pink light. "Either it kicks us out or Lucci is too distracted using it for something else that we'll be able to slip in."
"Think I can just cut through it?" Luz asked, pulling out Rose's sword.
"Whatever, I'm going in, this has been taking way too long." Boscha rolled her eyes, and passed through easily. "Guys it's clear…and very weird. You have to see it for yourselves to believe it."
"Alright, let's go!" Amethyst rolled in…and got rejected, bouncing off it like a ball. "What?"
"Guess it's a friend thing." Amity stated, passing her hand through it.
"Oh come on! Did us selling Meep Morps together mean nothing to you!?"
"You know Lucci likes you the most. He just doesn't like the CG's in general." Vee patted her back. "I guess that means Connie won't be allowed … I'll stay out here with everyone else."
"So the rest of us go in while the three immortal and more experienced and durable rock lady's can't come in and follow us." Hunter grunted. "That doesn't sound like a bad sign to you guys?"
"If we're going by that logic, you wouldn't be able to go in either." Luz pointed out.
Hunter stared at the wall for a moment, gently poking it … before being blasted across the room. "... Ow." He groaned.
"I'll go tend to his wounds." Pearl sighed, walking over to the boy.
"Guess we're doing this with a small group." Luz began walking forward. "Hey, if he's letting his closest friends in; than maybe we'll be able to get him out of there by lunch."
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Luz blinked as a flash of pink washed over the area before clearing up. "Okay, nothing dangerous so far." She stared at the ground. "Poofy feeling ground." Definitely didn't feel dangerous.
"Just be careful." Willow said. "We don't know what kind of world Lucci's making inside of this thing."
"It could be a festering cesspool of crime and debauchery, where the most savage and hedonistic fantasies come to life." Gus shivered. "Or a dark empire of anarchy where the criminal and deprived run rampant throughout the streets with no limits or restrictions.
"It could just be fire." Boscha said. "His pyromania at its fullest potential without any restraints, watching everyone he hates burnt to a crisp."
"It could be an entire shrine dedicated to everything he's ever stolen, art pieces made to commemorate every heist, every pickpocket, every piece of cake he robbed from a bakery." Amity brought up.
They walked through the clouds, as the image finally cleared. "..Or it could just look like the boiling isles." She pointed out, looking at what seemed to be the streets of bonesburrow. "So uncanny." She poked at an eyeball from the base of a street lamp. "It feels so life-like."
"Even the people look familiar … is that Steve?" Gus asked, pointing to a Coven Scout.
"Hey there kiiii-kikikiki-" They glitched out like a computer program, before returning to normal. "Kids, better get a move on, before the rest of us Emperor Goons show up."
"Steve, are you alright?" Luz asked.
"Of course-course-course-course I am! I'm the same usual kind but naive doofus that means well even if I don't fully know-know-know-know what the hell I'm doing half the time!" The familiar figure continued to glitch out.
"What the heck is wrong with him?" Amity asked.
"My guess?" Luz stated. "Processing power. This room is keeping up an entire island with multiple people walking about. It's malfunctioning all over." She pointed to what looked like Kikimora getting her head bashed in by a Slitherbeast. "It's too much for the room to do all at once."
"So what happens if it stops working with all of us in it?" At Boscha's question, a moment of silence passed.
"Going by Cosmic Frontier Logic when the crew got stuck in the holodeck, this place is basically like a giant computer…and if you're inside a computer when it shuts down..then you go bye-bye." Gus made his guess.
"Alright, let's grab Lucci before we all die." Luz sighed. "To the Owl House!" It was the best place Lucci would be if she had to take a guess.
She began running….and was immediately stopped as a hand grabbed her from behind and lifted her up in the air. "Huh, Lucci must've made this one super detailed. It feels so much more fleshy than the others." Spinel looked her over.
"Okay, he invited you but not me!?" Boscha shouted in rage. "What the hell Lucci!?"
"Huh?" Spinel looked over the group and jumped down. "Don't remember Lucci creating any of you. And that voice sounded way too angry for one of the cloud people."
"We aren't cloud people Spinel." Willow said. "Lucci wasn't answering his phoon so we came in here looking for him."
"Phoon? Oh, you mean this thing?" Spinel held it up. "Yeah, he was busy making this fun place, so I thought he could use less distractions. I've read up on how addicting these things can be … okay maybe not read because I don't read human language, but I've heard around the block."
"Spinel, if you had the phone, why didn't you answer it, or tell Lucci we were worried about him?" Luz glared at the gem. "He's been here for two days."
"I know, it's amazing! He's finally learning how to play games longer than five hours!"
"Spinel, you can't play games forever." Amity accused.
"Yes you can. Pink and I played games for months, but they always ended cause the other Diamonds told her no. But they're not here, so we get to do what we want." She tilted her head upside down. "And that was when it got super boring and lonely, but hey, soon we'll never have to stop playing … ever." Well wasn't that a red flag.
"Spinel, we just want to make sure Lucci's okay.." Willow tried to pacify the gem, only for Spinel to hop right in front of her and get up close and personal into Willow's face.
"He is okay! He's happy living in his own head, and as long as he wants to keep being here, then I'm going to keep the game going."
They all stared at each other for a moment. "So is this a Collector move or a Pearl move?" Boscha asked.
"Collector, the childish insanity is what cements it." Gus answered what they were all thinking. "Spinel, we can't stay here forever, the room, the illusions, they won't last forever, and it's going to crash soon enough!"
"Then I'll make sure it never ever crashes! So stop trying to be a party pooper." She argued, shirting her arms into bigger and more menacing forms.
"Spinel, we want what's best for Lucci." Luz argued.
"So do I!" She shouted. "Whenever he's with you he's not smiling! He's always angry, or sad, or tired! Here he's none of those! He's happy with me, so shove off!" They tightened multiple fingers around Luz's neck like a lasso, lifting her into the air and swinging her into a building.
Fzzzzt
The entire building began to glitch as Luz just felt wrong all over the place, the area glitching as she got up, the building continued to fizz like old static. "Spinel calm down!"
"STOP TELLING ME WHAT TO DO!" She slammed her hands on the ground, causing more glitching, a dark rainbow static beginning to spread everywhere. "I am going to get rid of you guys, then I'm going to fix everything, then I'm going to have fun with Lucci, until I go back to waiting for Pink!!"
"Just because some bitch abandoned you doesn't give you the right to hog my boyfriend!" Boscha shouted, shooting a fireball.
The gem turned her head at that…her neck audibly cracking as she reached out her hand and grabbed the fireball, growing her fingers around it until it got snuffed out. "Do you… have… any idea… what kind of hell I've been living in for the past six thousand years!!!!!!!?" Twirling her arm, she shot it forward and grabbed Boscha by the collar.
"Yeah … you got … duped … by a horrible woman … with no redeeming qualities." … Maybe she and Boscha had more in common than she thought. They were both just begging for trouble.
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Spinel let those words echo in her head over and over again. She WASN'T abandoned (yes you were) Pink didn't leave her behind (yes she did) Pink wasn't a horrible person (Yes she was) And she was totally going to come back for Spinel (no she wasn't)!
"You don't know what you're talking about, Ms Bad influence." Spinel threatened as she moved her head closer.
"I'm…I'm the bad influence?" The three eyed bitch scoffed. "I'm not the one keeping Lucci locked up in the room of the woman he hates more than anyone in the universe made, stopping him from eating, sleeping. Sounds like you're the bad influence here.
"He doesn't hate it here, he's having fun." She smiled wildly. "We play games and spend time with his real family."
"… Of course, he replicated Eda." The plant girl groaned. "Damn it, the whole issue with Orchid brought up that insecurity. Why did I have to hold everything in..?"
"Doesn't matter where it came from, what matters is that we reach him before the whole place crashes.." Luz began to run.
"No!" She extended her arm out, preventing them from leaving.
"Spinel, we are getting Lucci out of here." The purple girl pulled out mud. "This is your one chance to not get poofed in the process."
"No, no, no…no….you all got it all backwards….this is your one chance to get out of here and leave us in peace…but since you won't do it the easy way, we're going to do it the FUN way!" She stomped the ground, as those pretty colors began to spread.
"Spinel, stop, you're only making the room glitch more-!" Luz tried to call out.
"STOP TALKING! For once I have a voice, and by the stars I'm going to use it!" She hopped on top of a street lamp. "I'm sick and tired of being alone…!" She screamed. "Wanna be connected, Have a bond to hold on to! Just gonna lay it all out, How I feel, honest ….."
(shout out)! An echo was made in the distance.
"It's been a while since we had a musical numbeeee-" She grabbed the short kid, swinging him into the ground, only for him to turn into smoke. "My illusions work on an opponent again!" Oh, they thought they had a chance….now this was going to be fun.
Smirking, she swung upside down from the lamp post and enlarged her head until it became like a wrecking ball. " Listen, baby, makin' you happy whether you like it or not! Gonna be up in your ears…..! " She swung it down at the ground hard enough to make a boom, pushing the kids back. "No runnin' away, Just wait for the beat to drop!"
Amity began using those purple glove things to shoot at her. Spinel responded by sending her own fist into the girl's face, knocking her into a trash barrel. " Listen for a surprise! Every word will entice!" Shoving the lid on it, she shook it with the girl inside, and bowled her into Willow, making both of them crash into a house. " Reality is overrated!"
She noticed Gus popping up from behind. Learning from last time, she twirled in the air and shot out her arms multiple times, hitting every piece of the air until she hit the actual place he was hiding. " You're not gonna outthink me! I thought of everything!"
"You'll never get it." A fireball hit her face. "You can't keep up." She stretched her leg out, decking Boscha in the stomach. "So just stay out of my way, Be my good, good, good boys and girls!"
"You're being really stupid right now!" Luz rushed forward, swinging her blade at an extended limb.
"You think you're so tough!? Well I've had enough of it!" She turned her left leg into a spring and kicked her back right in the chest. " I got something here that's better!" Spinel saw Amity trying to fly in close on that wooden stick animal thing, so she extended her neck and headbutted the girl off of it. " So come on up and we can sing together! Fun unfettered! Get on stage - Let's goooooooo!"
"Take this!" Willow shouted, aiming her hands … as nothing happened.
"... We're in cloud land, no real plants." Spinel laughed, grabbed the girl by the arms and swung her around and around like a merry go round. "Wanna make your day!? Do my thing loud and proud - Hey! No shame in what I create! I got this down!" She let go, sending her flying upward into the sky. " Everything exactly how we want it….This is a utopia!"
"Your utopia is shit!" Multiple Boschas shouted, all firing off fireballs.
"Been a long time coming! Now it's here to stay! You can't deny!" Spinel twirled around like that taz creature from those cartoons, taking in those fireballs and lighting herself on fire. " It's a miracle of mercy! You can't stop it if you try!" And shot them all right back, setting most of the buildings on fire as the rainbow glitches continued to spread, making the lights on and off. "I know it's possible, I'm not trying to ask too much."
"Spinel, you're LITERALLY asking for too much!" Luz swung at her head, and Spinel ducked underneath her, slitterhing between her legs and shoving her in the back.
"I wanna know how to give you what you want! Extricate all you got deep inside." Spinel expanded her foot into a giant one. "Don't need nothin' in return, Honey stay with me or I'll freak out!" She began stomping on the human girl repeatedly.
"Big mistake bitch!" Amity came charging ahead, only to be stopped by a single enlarged hand.
"You keep saying that but you keep failing to do anything about it." Spinel noted as she slapped around her. "Wouldn't you rather be floatin' up high?" She sent the girl flying up high. "To your cares, say "bye"? Fanservice flowin' so free you could die." Once the girl fell back down, Spinel slapped her into a wall. "Just you and I, no ending in sight!"
"It'll be super fun-Don't you know I'm gonna make you a zealot! In here all logic has got to go!" Logic made everyone bored anyways. Rules made people miserable. The rules of Homeworld made pink miserable, and the rules of this world made Lucci miserable. " We won't go!Nobody here gets to leave! Oh no no no no!" She grabbed Gus and held him like a microphone. "I got the mic and I'll never say goodbye!" She flipped him around and slammed him into the approaching Willow like a baseball bat.
"Okay … can we actually try keeping her in place?" Willow asked.
"Just follow the beat, Let the melody inspire!" She went forward to finish the job with at least one of these jerks that just wanted to ruin the fun. "Luring you into enchantment!"
"This is the least enchanting place on earth…or in the universe!" Boscha yelled, trying to throw one of those bottles she sometimes carried.
Spinel grabbed it before she could throw it and placed it in the air, creating even more pretty fireworks. " So come on up and we can sing together-Fun unfettered-Get on stage - Let's go!"
"On three we go at her all at once!" Luz shouted as they all surrounded her. "One….THREE!"
Spinel chuckled as she simply jumped up, making them all run and headbutting each other. " Wanna make your day!? Do my thing loud and proud - Hey! No shame in what I create! I got this down!" She used the fact they were all in one place to squeeze them like a snake, hearing a few crunches.
"Uggh, this is getting ridiculous!" Boscha shouted as she roped them all together.. "We can't even touch her, how the heck is she this good at fighting!? Isn't she just supposed to be a silly toy by gem standards!?"
"Apparently, we can't even match up to silly toys when it comes to combat." Luz groaned as Spinel continued to squeeze them tighter.
"She has to have some kind of weakness! She can't keep this up forever!" Willow shrieked.
"Actually I can." She giggled."Sorry to tell ya, Gems don't get tired, and neither do I!" She slammed them into the ground. "Salvation's got to come, your generation's done!" She walked up to Amity, pressing a boot on her head and pressing down. "I'm tired of never being listened to!"
She saw Boscha and WIllow coming at her from both sides, only to punch them back with two extending arms. " My screams were never heard! Suffering I endured….But no more!" The world began flicking more and more as those rainbow glitching colors kept spreading everywhere…and she couldn't help but love it…she was having so much FUN! " Watch me rock this! You got nothing! Up to me! You just need to stay out of my way!"
Gus created multiple copies that went scattering … likely trying to find Lucci. Nice try, little guy. "There's no turning back now, Gonna be singing jointly for all time!" She stretched her limbs everywhere, snatching the kid after a bit of trial and error before swinging him back onto the ground.
The world was becoming more and more like a kaleidoscope, circles and spirals of colors spreading everywhere. The kids were becoming more and more confused, making the game all the more easier to win. " Blowin' your mind with my face! Drummin' to burst your ear drum!" She turned her hand into a microphone and blasted them away into a deforming cart. " Bring in the bass, guitar and keys! Macaferri got nothing on me, no!"
"How the heck … are we gonna …" Willow tried to stand.
"Let me hear you shout!" She punched the girl back down. "Banish every gaslight, Let clarity shine!" And again, before moving onto Luz as she once more tried to cut her with the sword. "Gotta clean up this brainwash, Don't let 'em tell you lies!"
"We're not leaving without Lucci!"
Spinel rolled her eyes, before spinning her arm for the final blow. " Heads up, let my song clear your senses!" She shot it out. All you really need is my true voice."
Poof
And…it vanished. "What…it was another illusion!?" Spinel shrieked.
"You'd didn't think I wouldn't make illusions of just me, did you?" Gus laughed as he coughed. "The real Luz slipped past you about five verses ago."
"..." She kicked Gus in the face, before extending her arm, flying forward to the Owl House. She wouldn't let this game end. It would never end.
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Lucci laughed. "Okay, seriously, the fire ants were a brilliant idea King." He sat down with his family as literal fire ants marched ahead and bit Oldalia Blight while setting her ablaze.
"I told you. Not only will she itch in unbelievable pain, she'll suffer third degree burns!" The little guy laughed. "The glory!"
"Oh, check this out." Mom grinned as she pulled out a purple square. "Oracle Amplifier. We could sell this for thousands. We're eating good tonight you two!"
"Nice, I didn't even plan on making this a payday. Beating her up is fun enough." He leaned into his mother's hold. "This is nice…why didn't we have days like this before?"
"Because in the real world Oldalia had too much Financial power and your mom didn't want to deal with that mess." Mom said.
"Not to mention she specializes in home security … like seriously, she makes a living in defense systems." King said. "It's easier to beat them up outside of their house than it is inside."
"I still say we could've burned down their house at any time. I just needed one match." Lucci argued as mom rubbed his head. "I wish I knew what you were thinking right now."
"Probably a little about arson, a little about larceny, and general chaos. But mostly, keeping King safe and worrying about you …" She rubbed his head. "How long do you wanna keep doing this Lucci?"
"Until I possibly can't anymore." He answered.
"Lucci!" … That was faster than he would've liked. He turned to see Luz running at them, panting. "Lucci, we gotta-!" She was slammed into by Spinel, who wrapped a hand around their mouth.
"Don't mind her, something went wrong and the Luz copy went crazy! I can fix it, we'll be off-"
"Spinel, you don't have to lie." He said.
"What, but.."
"Spinel, I never made a copy of Luz." Lucci said calmly. "Neither did I make copies of Gus, Amity, Willow, or Boscha. Do you know why?"
"... Because they would have objected to you beating up Hunter's copy and torturing it?"
"Oh no, I would've done that regardless of what any of them thought." He chuckled. "I didn't make copies of them because I knew they'd come here somehow. They're real…I have them in my life….it be stupid to make a cheap copy of any of them."
"But … they're trying to end the game." He could see her arms wrap tighter around the damaged Luz. "I don't want…I don't want the game to end."
"I know Spinel…I don't want it to end either." He gently approached the gem, and slowly got her to release her grip on Luz. "But sometimes…sometimes one game has to end in order to start a new game. You and Pink played a lot of games together, didn't you? It wasn't just one game, right?"
Spinel pouted, looking to the side. "Y-Yeah…we did…but I like playing long games." She answered. "The games here rarely last more than a day … we always played games that went on for weeks …"
"Then why don't we make that a game too?" He smirked. "Why don't we make a game about playing games?"
"...Tell me more." She looked inquisitive and took on a 'thoughtful' look.
"We aim to play as many new games as possible, some old we haven't tried, some new we can invent, but we play something new everyday, and we do it over and over again until we break the record for most games played in the universe." He suggested with a smile.
"... That sounds super fun!" She instantly let go of Luz, who was gasping for air. "I'll go grab everyone else!" She slung off.
"... She tried … to murder us …" Luz gasped.
"So has Amity, Hunter, Willow, Gus, Boscha-honestly Luz, murderous intent is not really a valid complaint anymore." He licked his palm and ribbed it on her bruises and scratches. "Feeling better?"
"Physically, yes, mentally and emotionally….WHAT THE HELL DUDE!?" She screamed in his face. "You've been here for two days! We all got worried something happened to you!"
"Could have sworn I left a message on Connie's phoon." He muttered. "... Wait no, I stole her phoon, it's coming back to me."
"Lucci." She groaned. "What's gotten into you?"
He sighed, knowing there was no bearing around the bush. "Remember how you gave me that superman comic?"
"Yeah."
"Well I've kind of gotten hooked and started reading everything from the golden age onwards, you know, before material got too political."
"Obviously." She nodded.
"In one of them I read, he got a parasite stuck to him that made him imagine the perfect world, one where his home never blew up."
"... So this is my fault." The girl sighed.
"What, no, geez."
"Hhhss." A little bit.
"Quiet." He didn't need Sugar to feed her guilt complex. "I know the point of the story was that the hero needed to give up what he loved the most to save the day, and…and I know that..that I have to accept that we aren't going home anytime soon.."
"Lucci…"
"I haven't given up on getting home…but it's not happening soon. So…I made this…a cheap copy of home as some self indulgent way of saying goodbye." He gestured to the house, to King…to Mom. "I know this isn't real..I know this is pathetic…but it's the only way I can see my mom."
Luz looked at the copy's, waving her hands in front of them. "You stare any longer, kiddo, and your eyeballs will pop right out." Mom laughed.
"They're accurate as heck." Luz looked impressed.
"They're the first ones I made, so they're the ones with the most details." He said. "Even then, they only really say what I want them too, not what they would actually say…and much as I want to be…I'm not my mom."
Luz continued to look at him, before sighing. "Lucci … in any other circumstance, I would have walked out the front door and told you to take as much time as you need."
"But …"
"But, the room can't handle the entire Boiling Isles. It's crashing." The whole area began to glitch. "Like that. If we don't get out, we're all gonna die."
"Of course we are." He groaned. It had to end at some point…he knew that far too well. "Bye Mom…bye King." He hugged the two.
"See ya Kiddos. That goes for you too, Luz." Mom pulled his surrogate sister in.
"Wow, she even hugs the same." Luz shed a single tear.
"Make sure Lucci doesn't cause too much trouble. There's only so much space in the human world to run from lawsuits." King chided.
"Kind of too late for that, but I'll do my best to keep him out of jail." Luz chuckled. "So please tell me you can take us out of the exit."
"I can. First things first." He took one final glimpse at the room…at home….before taking in a deep breath, closing his eyes, and raising his fingers.
Snap
And like that…home was gone, reduced to nothing but pink clouds. "Hey Lucci!" Spinel shouted. "I got everyone!"
"She is a danger to us all!" Willow shouted.
"Everyone is a danger to us all." Lucci rolled his eyes. "Come on, I haven't had anything but clouds for hours."
" Lucci…" Boscha walked up to him, feeling a fire in her eyes. "You stuck yourself in here…without me….alone…with her…for two days."
"Ahhhh…" He had no argument against that.
"You're making up the cuddle time we lost…starting right now." She gripped him by the arms, and forced her lips onto his. Well, not the worst punishment in the world.