#if I give you kids are u gonna break the generational curses or nah ?

[princess-adronitis]

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[pbjpuppy]

do every oc question but with horsepower PLEASE

DUDE I WAS SO HOPING SOMEONE WOULD ASK ABT HER IM SO EXCITED

THIS IS SO LONG SO I’M PUTTING A READMORE

1. Do they sleep with a stuffed animal? If they have multiple, who’s the favorite?

SHE does Not surprisingly!! BUT similarly to Giovanni with his kids, Serene is always sleeping next to her bc she’s Warm and Soft so it’s like, kinda the same thing 

She IS the type to love sleeping with a ton of pillows though

2. Can they take care of a plant? What about a pet? What about a child?

Horsie doesn’t have the world’s greenest thumb but she could probably keep a houseplant alive!! She likes nature a lot she’s just not stellar at gardening

She would be REALLY GOOD with a pet though that animal would THRIVE and she’d be the type to take like 400 pictures of her pet and spam everyone with them like “Look at this Fucking Angel” 

And she’s DEFINITELY GOOD W KIDS seeing as she’s basically raising Serene!! Serene can testify that she’s the Best babysitter (even if she accidentially taught Serene like. 20 separate curse words gdgjdsk) 

3. Ask them to describe their love interest.

OOH FUN DIALOGUE

“Um, she’s.. REALLY pretty. Like, really fuckin’ pretty. I think she made me like, 17% more lesbian the first time I saw her. And like, we’ve known each other for a long time and we know each other’s secrets n’ stuff… ahahah, that came out really weird! I just mean we’re good friends, y’know? Hah. Anyway, she’s a bad bitch, I’d die for her. Love her.”

Her love interest is actually a character named Destiny who I havent drawn yet!!

4. Do they look good in red?

I think she could pull it off bc red is in her color scheme but also like.. there’s already so much warm colors!! I think she looks the best in gray or black tbh (like imagine her in a black suit or something she’d look SNAZZY)

5. Speech! Speech! Speech! Speech! Will they give one, and what about?

“HHuuh WHAT AM I S’POSED TO TALK ABOUT? Fuck. Uh. Respect lesbians.” Mic drop

6. Who will they take advice from, no matter what it is? Who won’t they take advice from, no matter what it is?

She’ll ALWAYS take advice from her friends, especially Destiny, bc she trusts them to know when she’s being too hot-headed or rash- There’s a character in her friend group who hasn’t got a name yet but he’s REALLY good at giving advice!!

She will NEVER take advice from her old rival Lockjaw, and she shouldn’t- he’s always out to sabotage her somehow and plays dirty a lot of the time, and he’s known to be a huge liar (Plus they just hate each other)

7. Describe them in three words. Now let them describe themself in three words.

My three words: Fiery, protective, loving!!

Her three words: “Uh.. Gay. Handsome. Wait, scratch that. Gay, HOT, optimist.”

8. Do complex puzzles intrigue or frustrate them?

She WANTS to be intrigued but she just gets frustrated and crumples up the paper after a few minutes if it’s not a super easy riddle sjhsjf she knows by now that it’s just Not Worth It

9. Do they empathize with non-sentient things (dolls, plants, books…)?

She only usually does with like people (or I guess furry)-shaped objects like stuffed animals and dolls, and even then not to an extreme degree- it’s really Serene who has the EXTREME empathy and empathizes with everything!!

10. What age do they most want to be right now?

THIS IS SUCH AN INTERESTING QUESTION she misses being a kid like Serene is a lot, but she’s pretty happy where she is- she’s in a better place than she has been for a long time at the current point of her story! If anything, she wishes she could go back and tell her middle/high school self that things are gonna be okay

11. They’ve won the lottery. Spend, or save?

She’d SAY she’s gonna save it and REALLY try but she wouldn’t be able to resist splurging on some really cool stuff bc COME ON she won the LOTTERY!! She’d also wanna buy gifts for the Monster family because she wants to thank them for how generous they’ve been to her so it’s really very wholesome 

12. Do they like romance in the books they read (or in the book they’re in)?

She doesn’t READ that’s for NERDS

JUST KIDDIN but nah she’s not really one for “mushy stuff” and prefers action/adventure stories!! She’s also a fan of mysteries and anything that’s not Painfully Heterosexual 

13. Name one thing their parents taught them.

Her parents weren’t the best, but they did teach her very good manners- she did go through a BIG rebel phase where she definitely was Not as polite, but overall her politeness and natural charisma really help her out in social situations (especially when she has to get favors from people and stuff)

14. Would they agree with the term ‘guilty pleasure’? Do they have any?

I think she’d agree with the term in a general sense!! I’m not sure exactly what guilty pleasures she has, probably just the fact that she can be kind of a thrill-seeker and take unnecessary risks- not involving Serene though ofc

15. What would they consider a waste of time– other than school or work?

The first thing that came to mind is that she considers arguing with people you KNOW aren’t gonna change their mind to be a waste of time- Especially when it comes to social justice type issues she knows not to waste her energy on people who just won’t listen (but she’s argumentative by nature and usually ends up doing it against her better judgement)

16. If money wasn’t a limit, what would they wear?

LEATHER JACKETS AND COOL BOOTS AND SUCH!! She’d also wanna buy a bunch of cool pins to put on said jacket (And she’d probably have to get it tailored bc of her wings too which would also be money..) She would also probably get some kind of cool patterned horseshoes!!

17. Do they like children?

Yes she DOES and Serene is her favorite (Even though she calls her a booger)

19. Do they study before tests? Practice before job interviews?

NOPE she usually dives into most things headfirst, which can be VERY UNWISE but she feels like it keeps her brain clear to not stress about stuff beforehand  

20. What do they like that nobody else does?

HMM… I don’t really have an answer for this one tbh!! I’ve been thinking about it for a bit, the only thing that I can think of is that she likes waking up REALLY early and the smell of smoke, but lots of people also like those things

21. What would it take for them to break up with someone? What would be the last straw?

She’s actually really bad at getting out of situations like that, like if she’s in a relationship she’s not happy in she’s bad at getting herself out of it- but probably something that really make her realize she needs to get outta there would be if the other person seriously hurt her on purpose 

22. Do they like being called pet names? Do they call other people pet names? What’s their go-to?

She LOVES pet names and calls EVERYONE pet names (unless they’re not comfortable ofc)!! Nicknames are kinda hard to make from “Horsepower” so a lot of the time she’s given weird affectionate pet names instead, it’s somthing that she’s kinda known for

DEFINITELY her go-to pet name is “babe”, she calls almost everyone that and I like to imagine that it’s very soothing bc she has a lovely deep voice.. other go-to pet names are baby, hon and love!! She has a lot of personal nicknames/pet names for individual people though 

Tbh she only really refers to someone as their full name if she doesn’t know them or if she’s mad at them shfshf

23. Stability or novelty?

Novelty!! Stability is important to her but she gets bored and anxious if she’s stuck in the same routine for too long, that’s why she likes taking care of Serene bc Serene is ALWAYS doing new things

24. Honesty or charity?

Ooh that’s difficult… Once again both are important values to her, but I’m gonna go with honesty- she’s a very (bluntly) honest person

25. Safety or possibility?

Possibility!! As established before she’s kinda a daredevil she doesn't care about SAFETY (unless it’s anyone else but her doing it then she’s gonna lecture them)

26. Talent or effort?

Effort!! She is EXTREMELY passionate and such an overachiever about everything shkfskh it’s like Hey Horsepower Can You Do This Simple Task For Me and she’s like Oh You Wanted Me To Change The World? I’ll Do That

27. Forgiveness or vengeance (or…)?

Definitely vengeance she holds grudges REALLY BAD and as kind as she tries to be if someone who hurt her or her friends gets hurt… she can’t help being satisfied

30. What would they do if they knew it would be forgiven?

OH THATS A HEAVY QUESTION since she holds grudges so bad she’s probably try to get revenge on Lockjaw for all the grief he’s caused her over the years, if she knew she’d be off the hook she’d get really nasty about it bc her anger at him has just been Boiling for years 

WOW THAT TOOK A WHILE BUT IT WAS SO EXTREMELY FUN THANK U SO MUCH FOR ASKING!!! I’ll do the other one tomorrow bc I need to go to BED 

Also I did cut out a few questions!! I either didn’t wanna answer them or I had answered them before 

[e350tb]

Steven Universe - Ruby Stars: Chapter Seven

A Trip to Wilmingmore

In the city of Wilmingmore, there was a enormous megamall. It was an enormous, grey concrete structure with a round roof, surrounded by a vast tarmac plain of parking lots and loading bays. It was if it resided in a gigantic black hole in the middle of the city, separated from the city centre and the docks by a ring of freeways, elevated roads and the railway line. It was the commercial heart of the state - it was called the Delmarva Centre.

Although the centre was vast, the stores inside needed space for their excess goods. On the eastern, dockyard side of the Centre were a series of warehouses for this purpose. They were old, dark and dusty, but they protected a sea of products from the elements.

That wasn't the only thing they protected.

Sometime in the previous winter, a corrupted quartz had lumbered down from Jersey in search of warmer climates. She travelled by night and slept by day, and incredibly had gone completely unnoticed by the time she reached the city.

She didn't like the city, however. It was loud, crowded and bright, and metal monsters screamed down the roads and railways at all hours. She had tried sleeping in the sewers underneath the city, but the dampness and the smell made her uncomfortable. So she wandered further along, cold and miserable, until at last she found one of the warehouses.

Inside, she found a bed in the corner. It was large and wooden, and she could just about fit inside, once she pushed out some of the strange trinkets that were already inside. Satisfied, she climbed inside, carefully closed the lid, curled up and went to sleep.

She slept for a very long time indeed. She was only awoken by a jolt as her bed started to move.

As it turned out, the crate belonged to an electronics store, and it was being moved inside the centre so that the contents to be added to the in-store stock.

Both they and the quartz were in for a nasty surprise...

"...yeah, I'm with Connie. I mean, fifty pages? That's way too much..."

"But Jenny, it's adorable!"

The van pulled into an empty parking space, and Greg turned off the engine.

"Okay, remember where we parked!"

Sadie climbed out of Greg's van, stretching her arms and legs. Wilmingmore wasn't that far from Beach City, but she was glad to be off the road all the same. In any case, she'd been looking forward to this for a while.

She, Steven, Connie and Jenny had come up to the Delmarva Centre to buy equipment for the band. Greg had suggested some new sound equipment, and they'd decided to make a day trip of it. Buck and Sour Cream hadn't been able to come (something about a project, they said), but that didn't mean they couldn't have fun on their own.

In any case, she needed the down time. Training back at Beach City had moved on to summoning her weapon. It wasn't going well, probably because she didn't have the first idea of what her weapon actually was. A day to cool off and focus on herself would probably be good for her - Garnet had even said as much herself.

"Okay," said Greg, "I'm gonna go pick this sound system up from WirelessShack - you guys meet me back at the van at about... three?"

"Are you sure you don't need help?" asked Sadie, "You're doing this for us, and..."

"Nah, I'll be fine," replied Greg kindly, "You guys enjoy yourselves!"

He wandered off in the direction of the Centre entrance.

"So," asked Connie, "What do you guys wanna do?"

"I'm pretty sure there's an arcade in there," replied Jenny, "I mean, if they haven't closed it or anything. I haven't been here for a year..."

"Or we could go to the LEGU Shop!" exclaimed Steven.

He held up his hand and Connie high-fived him.

Suddenly there came a low rumble. Connie looked at her stomach and blushed slightly.

"Well, guess we know what we're doing first," said Sadie.

She chuckled as they headed inside.

"...Seriously, you're making us come here so that you can use a payphone."

"It's not my fault they didn't have one at the office!"

"Bracknell, before we leave, we're getting you a mobile phone. I mean come on..."

Clancy and Bracknell wandered the colossal avenues of the mall. They were in search of what Clancy reckoned might have been the last payphone in the city of Wilmingmore so that Bracknell could call his parents on his mother's birthday. Clancy would have lent him his phone, except he was under no circumstances to lend his OSS-issued phone to anyone else - his boss had repeatedly told him that it was worth more than he was. Besides, it needed his fingerprints to work.

In any case, he was privately glad to be out of the factory-turned-office. The metallic smells were often overbearing, and either Bradshaw or one of his lackeys  called him every couple of hours. At least now he had an excuse to ignore them - and if he got Bracknell a phone, he could claim it was work.

Eventually, they reached the payphone. It was nestled in a corner overlooking a massive, circular concourse. As Bracknell dialled his parent's numbers, Clancy walked over to the railing and peered over it - he felt like a bit of people watching.

It was lunchtime, and people were generally heading to the food court, which was on the other side of the avenue Clancy had just come up. Some were getting business from students, as the Wilmingmore University generally allowed breaks for lunch around this time. There were a lot of people at Cold Issue, for example, and a few more at GameShop. Comparatively, the WirelessShack just across from him was quiet.

Suddenly, a familiar person caught his eye.

Clancy cursed under his breath as he saw Greg Universe, a U-Bahn sandwich in his hand, wandering over to the WirelessShack. He was whistling a tune, and seemed to be in good spirits.

"Okay," Clancy whispered to himself, "Don't worry, Bracknell's gonna be on the phone for a while, I don't have to talk to him..."

"Yeah, I'll call back when I get my phone. Give Dad my love! Bye!"

Clancy's eye twitched as Bracknell hung up the phone.

"She's at lunch with Grandma," he said, walking over, "I'll call her back tonight after I set up my phone. So, WirelessShack?"

Clancy frowned deeply.

Greg stood in line at the WirelessShack, waiting for the man in front to finish paying for his TV.

It took a lot to annoy Greg, but this man was starting to do just that. He was a well-dressed man in a fine suit with no tie, his hair immaculately coiffed, and his voice underlined with a deeply aristocratic air. He probably could have ordered a TV online (or gotten somebody else to do it), but instead he insisted on insulting and abusing the staff at the counter.

"Hurry up, you!" he spat, "I want this television today!"

"Uh-y-y-yes sir," replied the cashier, "I-I just need to make sure your card is valid before I can..."

"Valid? Valid? Do you know who I am?"

Greg was about to open his mouth and ask the man to cool off, when he suddenly felt a soft kick against his heel.

"Ooh, sorry sir, my fault."

"Nah, it's fine," Greg said, turning around.

He paused.

He didn't recognise the man that had kicked him - he was a short, suited, dark-skinned man who looked friendly enough. Behind him, looking as though he wished he was absolutely anywhere else right now, was Agent Clancy Miller.

"Clancy?" said Greg.

"Uh...Greg, yeah," nodded Clancy, "I… uh… we were just getting this kid a phone."

"A phone," nodded Greg.

"Yeah."

"And you went a hundred miles from Washington to get it."

"I… uh..."

Clancy sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"I'm not here about your kid, alright?" he said at last, "They just want me to keep watch on gem stuff."

Greg nodded sceptically.

"Is...is Sadie well?" asked Clancy hesitantly.

"She's-"

"I want to see it before you load it up!" barked the rich man, "Bring the box out here and make it quick!"

Greg shot the man the sternest look he could (which was hard, as he was not a naturally stern man) before turning back to Clancy.

"She's okay," he replied, "She's living with the Gems for now."

"Yeah, Barb told me," nodded Clancy, "Do you...check in on her?"

Greg nodded.

"Does she tell you anything?"

"I promised I wouldn't tell you or Barb anything she didn't want you to know," replied Greg.

"Um, sir, I'm sort of feeling a bit 'third wheel' here," interjected the other man, "How do you two know each other?"

"Stay out of this, Bracknell," grunted Clancy.

The older agent sighed.

"Look, Greg, just... make sure she stays safe, okay?" he said, "Not for me. For her."

"She'll be alright," replied Greg, "I promise..."

"Ah, perfect! Finally, some punctuality. Wheel it up and I'll look inside."

The rich man was looking at a crate that had been wheeled up from the back. It was about waist high and quite wide - it must have been a very upmarket television. A grumpy looking worker was unscrewing the bolts to the lid. The rich man leant over him, waiting impatiently to see inside.

"Come on, come on, we haven't all day! Let's see it!" the man snapped, with his holier-than-thou attitude that made Greg's skin crawl.

The workman muttered something under his breath as he unscrewed the last bolt. Then, slowly and carefully, he lifted the lid off.

"Wait," said the wealthy man, "That isn't..."

A blue blur flew right into the snob's face, knocking him hard onto his back. Despite the panic of the moment, Greg had to admit it was a little vindicating.

The creature standing on the rich man's chest resembled a very large, very furry and very agitated bobcat. It's fur was light blue with a sprinkling of darker blue spots. Instead of a muzzle it had a beak, and one of its eyes was replaced by a blue gemstone. At the end of its tail was a large, sharp spike.

"Corrupted gem," hissed Clancy.

As the store erupted in a cacophony of amazement, some terror and a few laughs at the annoyingly well-tailored man's misfortune, the gem's head darted around. She seemed to be shaking - Greg realised it must be terrified.

"Okay, everybody quiet down!" he said, "She's scared!"

At that, the rich man tried to sit up. He scowled at his assailant.

"Get this hideous creature off of my new suit!" he thundered.

The gem jumped and yowled. For a second she dug her heels into the man's chest, causing him to wince and yelp in pain - then she was off, out of the store and into the mall, bowling down everyone in her way.

Greg, Clancy and Bracknell watched it disappear towards the food court.

"We... we should get after that thing," said Bracknell.

Clancy sighed.

"So much for a day off," he muttered.

Sadie picked at her food and sighed heavily.

They were sitting in a restaurant in the food court - a fifties-styled diner, with an old jukebox and a lovingly restored roadster out the front. Sadie and Jenny sat alone in the booth; Steven and Connie had gone to try and work the jukebox.

"What's up, Sadie Killer?" asked Jenny.

Sadie stared at a fry in her hand.

"I'm starting to notice that everything seems to taste different," she replied.

"So you hate some of the foods you used to like?" asked Jenny.

Sadie nodded, pointing to an unfinished burger on the side of her plate.

"I never used to have a problem with them," she explained, "But now onions make me gag when I try to eat 'em. And it's not even just that! I don't need as much sleep as I used to or get tired as much, and I never feel like I'm too hot or too cold, and..."

In fact, it was more than simply the taste of the food. Perhaps she was being paranoid, but she was sure that people were looking at her differently - and why wouldn’t they? Her strange new red eyes, the gem that poked out from under her shirt - these were not things normal people had. She felt like everyone was judging her, silently fearing her - like she was something other than what they were.

She no longer felt like Sadie Miller (and in many ways she wasn’t - after all, Clancy Miller wasn’t even her father.) In many ways, she hardly felt like Sadie at all. She felt more a Ruby, less a human, the gem in her torso starting to weigh on the wires supporting her sense of who she even was. They grew tauter by the day, and she felt about ready to snap.

Jenny put a hand on Sadie's.

"Hey, girl, breathe," she said.

Sadie closed her eyes and breathed in and out slowly.

"I just... feel less human," she said, "And that's not fair, because I'm not any different from Steven and he never feels like he's not human... at least I don't think he does..."

"Look, Sadie," replied Jenny, "I'm not gonna pretend I understand this, but it's okay if you're scared of what's happening to you. I mean, change is freaky. But you're gonna get through it. You're not alone."

Sadie nodded and smiled weakly back at her.

"Yeah," she sighed, "I guess you're right."

Anything else she might have said was interrupted by the return of Steven and Connie.

"They unplugged the jukebox," said Connie, shrugging, "Someone set it up to play What's New Pussycat twenty-one times."

"Geez, really?" asked Sadie, "Somebody must've had a lot of time on their..."

A shriek echoed through the diner.

Sadie got up, looking out into the food court. Scores of people were racing for the exits, although a few had stopped and whipped out their phones and cameras. The cause of the concern was a blue monster, large and fluffy, that stood on a table. It growled at a security guard, who was very nervously backing away.

"A corrupted gem!" gasped Steven.

"Darn it, now?" exclaimed Connie, "But I left my sword at home!"

"You have a sword?" asked Jenny.

Connie shrugged.

"It's a long story."

The monster growled, stepping towards the security guard. It looked like she was preparing to pounce.

"Okay, we need to bubble her," said Steven, drawing his shield, "Just take it nice and easy, and..."

Suddenly, everything seemed to happen at once.

A young man in a black suit dove out from behind a table, aiming to tackle the monster. He missed, landing hard on his stomach and knocking over the table next to it. A bottle of ketchup crashed to the floor and sprayed him in the face.

The creature just about jumped out of her skin, shooting off the table like a startled cat. She roared and thundered towards the window of the diner. With a mighty crash she jumped through, landing right in front of Sadie and Jenny.

Before they could react, she roared again - this time, a sonic boom burst from her mouth, picking Sadie up and sending her flying into the back wall. She hit her head hard - she slumped to the floor, her vision swimming. Dust flew everywhere.

"Put him down!"

Sadie's vision cleared. She saw the monster - she had lifted Steven up by his shirt with her tail. Connie had picked up a stool and lifted it over her head - she was about to charge in.

"OSS! Stay back!"

A man stepped through the dust, carrying a crowbar. Sadie's eyes widened.

It was Clancy Miller.

"C'mere girl," Clancy urged, "C'mere. Nice and easy..."

The creature dropped Steven - he landed hard on the tiled floor. She turned to face to agent, growling again. Clancy braced himself slightly - he didn't seem to have noticed Sadie.

"Yeah, that's good, away from the kid," said Clancy, "Over here, I can make this nice and easy..."

The monster pounced towards Clancy. He held up the crowbar like a swordsman parrying an enemy - with a sickening crunch, the crowbar bent out of shape as the monster caught it in her beak. She tore it from the agent's hands almost effortlessly and threw it to the floor.

"...oh," said Clancy, backing away, "Uh… shoot, um..."

The monster charged again. The agent shut his eyes.

Before she could tackle Clancy, he was shoved into cover by Jenny. They both landed hard in a corner booth, the agent knocking his head hard on the bottom of one of the stools. Instantly, the creature turned - it growled and prepared to charge once more. Jenny shielded the stunned agent and braced, waiting for the attack to come.

Sadie shook the dizziness from her head and grit her teeth.

This wasn't fair. She'd come here to get away from her problems, just for a day. Not only had a corrupted gem turned up to ruin it, but her once-father had also had the gall to turn up and make everything worse. Now her friend was going to get hurt, and she was just sitting here, watching numbly.

Jenny didn't deserve this.

Steven and Connie didn't deserve this.

She didn't deserve this.

It just. Wasn't. Fair.

"Get away from her!"

Sadie lunged to her feet, rushing towards the gem monster. Her gem glowed, and she felt something emerge from it. Without thinking, she grabbed it and pulled it out.

She lifted the short, red spear and buried it into the monster's back with all the force she could muster. There was an enormous puff of smoke, and she heard something hard land on the floor.

She landed on her knees, breathing heavily. As the adrenaline wore off, she gazed in wonderment at the weapon. It was a practical spear, no more than a meter long - it was dark red with a lighter red head. It seemed to glow slightly, but perhaps that was Sadie's imagination. She glanced from the weapon to her gem and then back again, her face going slightly pale.

"Did… did I make this?"

She looked over to Jenny and Clancy. The former had already gotten up and was running over to check on her friend (she seemed to be stowing her phone as she did), but Clancy was frozen in place, gazing in stunned silence at the half-gem.

"...my god," he breathed.

Sadie wondered if he was in awe or horrified, but she couldn't help but suspect the latter.

They stared at each other in numb silence. Jenny was saying something, but Sadie couldn't process it. Steven was bubbling the gem, and Greg had arrived with the other agent - they were saying things too, but they might as well have been mute.

At last, Clancy spoke again.

"I can't… I… Bracknell, we need to go!"

He sprung to his feet, adjusting his tie with shaking hands as he walked briskly to the door. The younger agent - Bracknell, apparently - quickly followed, glancing back towards the ruined diner as he did. They passed several diner patrons and mall customers, none of whom paid them any attention.

All attention seemed to be on Sadie. She swallowed, her throat dry, and looked at her shaking hands.

She didn't want this. She didn't want this.

"Sadie?" asked Steven, his voice underlined with worry.

Sadie clutched her head, the spear vanishing as she let go of it. Her head was spinning again, and she felt like she was going to be sick.

"... I… I think I need to go."

"Sir," said Bracknell, "What the heck was that?"

They had driven back to the factory in utter silence, Clancy's hands clutching the wheel so hard that he feared he might crush it. Now, sitting in the parking lot, his partner had decided to break the oppressive quiet.

"She's not supposed to actually have a gem, Bracknell," replied Clancy, "I… she's supposed to be normal."

He clutched his forehead and ran a hand through his hair, gritting his teeth.

"That's what Barb wanted, that's what I wanted, that's what Kay wanted!" he exclaimed, "She was supposed to have a normal life, and I told her about that gem, and I screwed it up!"

"It can't be that bad, can it?" asked Bracknell.

Clancy breathed in, shaking his head.

"The ruby I was supposed to get from Beach City," he replied, "The one I was supposed to find..."

There was a long silence, save for the sound of Clancy’s ragged, anxious breathing.

"Oh," said Bracknell flatly.

"Yeah," snapped Clancy, "Oh."

He shook his head.

"And then I just ran off," he sighed, "She probably thinks I think she's some kind of freak. She doesn't need that, and..."

Hesitantly, Bracknell put a hand on his partner's shoulder.

"It's okay, sir, it's okay," he said, "Just… we'll figure it out, alright?"

Clancy shook off his hand.

"No," he said, sending his partner a sharp glare, "This is my mess, Bracknell. I don't want you mixed up in it."

He sighed again, turning the engine back on again. Bracknell bit his tongue and swallowed, not daring to speak up.

"Right, let's go," he said.

"Go where?" asked Bracknell.

"To one of the other Wilmingmore malls," replied Clancy, "We still need to get you that darn phone."

The sun was setting as they approached Beach City.

The van ride had been quiet. Greg had taken everything in his stride - he could always get the new sound system another day, after all. Steven and Connie had quietly discussed the bubbled gem and the possibility of getting a sword rack for the van for the next time they travelled.

Sadie had spent the whole trip home looking out the window - she felt absolutely miserable.

There was a soft beep from Jenny's phone. She checked the message and smiled.

"Yo, Sadie Killer?" she said.

"Yeah?" sighed Sadie.

Quietly, Jenny wagered a question.

"Feeling any better...?"

"No," replied Sadie.

"Well, I've got a little something for you," said Jenny, smiling, "Here, take a look!"

Sadie looked at Jenny's phone. On the screen was a picture of her in the diner, spear in hand. Her eyes seemed to glow like burning coals, and the discarded gem of the monster lay next to her. She frowned - could that really be her?

No wonder people thought she was a freak.

She was about to say something that effect when Jenny scrolled down, revealing a long list of messages received. She smiled earnestly as Sadie read through them.

looking good SK!!! that spear would make a rad prop in our next vid!

Buck is pleased.

SADIE!!! AWESOME SPEAR!!! WE NEED TO TALK, I HAVE TO PUT THIS ON MY BLOG!!!

omg jen?! she beat a monster! that's amazing!

Hello Sadie

Excellent work! We'll need to discuss how you did it, but I couldn't be more proud!

From Pearl

By Jove! She looks like a modern day Artemis! I'll have to cast her in my next play!

Sadie continued to read the long list of replies. It seemed that Jenny had sent the picture to just about everyone, and they'd all sent praise back. She shook her head - how was she supposed to process this?

"See?" said Steven, "Nobody in Beach City thinks you're a freak!"

"They do think you're awesome, though," added Connie.

Jenny put an arm around Sadie's shoulders.

"Sadie, it doesn't matter if you're human or gem or one of Ronaldo's sneople," she said, "You're still Sadie, and that hasn't changed. All the people who matter still love you, girl!"

"Yeah!" Steven and Connie exclaimed.

"Yeah!" said Greg.

He paused, biting his lip.

"I wasn't listening, what's the conversation about?" he asked.

Sadie smiled.

"Yeah, I guess," she sighed, "Thanks."

She closed her eyes and put a hand over her gem, slowly breathing in and out. She still didn’t feel human - but just for a moment, she felt like Sadie again.

"It really means a lot," she said sincerely.