Boiling Gems (The Owl House x Steven Universe)

Summary:

A day of music!

Flapjack knew this house. The house of the Witabanes, the one that had the answers to everything Rose related. In this very house was the key to returning home! To make a portal door…in the HUMAN realm. The answer was here … the problem was that it was just so well hidden that nobody could actually LOOK for it! Damn it Evelyn, couldn't you have made it less subtle! Why wasn't he here when she hid it, he was Caleb's freaking Palisman for pete's sake!

"Hsss." Sugar slithered, asking him why he didn't tell the kids this.

"Chirp." He didn't want to raise their hopes too quickly in case he was wrong … that and he had a plan to make it look like Hunter found it, thus giving the poor boy the recognition he deserved.

"Meow." You mean the boy that once tried to kill Ghost's master?

"Chirp." Hey, it was a better option than the human.

"Snap." We should snuff her out in her sleep.

"Bzzz." Too many witnesses, plus Sugar's master might not hold onto his love for palisman if one of them did it.

"Bleh." Wait, we're in the Human world?

"Hss." Ghost, get Emile a professional, or fix the mess yourself, I don't care which. I'm tired of explaining this story.

"Grrr." The pink lion, Spice as rose's kid called him, yawned. You're all so annoying.

"Hssss!" Why don't you crawl back to the desert you came from and die!?

"Grrr." I already died once in the desert. Why do you think I'm pink?

"Chirp." Didn't think Rose's tears healed the dead.

"Grr." Honestly the only downside was the constant need to barf food. I can only digest those creamy lion headed snacks and the occasional lizard….or snake, I'm not too picky.

"Anyone gonna give me a translation to what they're saying?" The human girl Luz asked as the rest of the kids looked to the cabin.

"I only get the bits from my own Palisman, something about Spice eating Sugar." Emeline's master said.

"Spice, what have I said about eating our friends?" Sugar's master reprimanded.

"Grr." It was okay to do it as long as you can't blame me.

"Spice, knock it off, or I'm having Sugar live in your mane." Rose's kid put his food down.

"Hmmph." Spice simply shrugged and fell back asleep.

"Does he do anything other than sleep all day?" Clover's master asked.

"I have a feeling he's lived a long and hard life, and is just catching up on his zzz's." Rose's kid patted his back.

"Nah, he's just acting like a weird mix between a domesticated house cat and a Lion." The human said. "Lion's sleep up to twenty hours a day, and cat's are pretty lazy and like to play with their prey."

"Mew." She wasn't wrong…for once.

"They're so strong that they can afford to be so lazy…must be nice." Maya's owner slumped on a beanbag.

"You know, given Manticore's are part Lion, maybe that says something about Clawthorn." Flapjack owner's sat in a chair, messing with a notepad, and getting a tiny bubble flicked at his head. "Hey!"

"I am anything but lazy, Golden Boy. I've been working hard all my life, ever since my mom took me on my first heist as a baby." Rose's kid groaned.

"Meh, Hunter's got a point." The human shrugged. "You do tend to play around when we fight if yesterday was any indication."

"That's not me being lazy, that's me letting off steam. Sue me." He countered. "So are there any actual plans today, or is it one of those 'me days'."

"It's the first day off any of us have gotten from our jobs…so yeah for me." Ghost's owner raised her hand. "Tonight's matches are reserved for 'Purple Pumma', so nothing I need to worry about."

"Yeah, I'm only halfway through catching up on my schoolwork, so that's double for me." Luz sighed.

"Fair enough. I don't know about the rest of you guys, but I'm going to be spending the day on this." Rose's kid held up a flyer. "There's some music festival tonight and I'm gonna win this."

"… So we run for the hills when the sun goes down?" Clover's owner said fearfully.

"I can't even use magic on earth!"

"Sorry, force of habit." She amended.

"Geessh, here I was going to split the thousand dollar reward with you guys if you helped me, but I guess I'm on my own." He rolled his eyes.

"I can still help, let's rock this joint!" The human shouted. "You and Me, Lucci, duet!'

"Luz, you can't do music." Lucci said bluntly. "You can sing decently, but you break every instrument you touch. Heck, last month you broke the mic when you dropped it on the floor."

"..But that's what all cool people do." Luz pouted.

"You'll get there someday. Besides, I think this is something I should be doing with Spinel anyways. She gets a little antsy if I'm with other people for too long without her."

On cue, there was a loud banging on the door. "Lucci, are there? Are you there? Are you dead? Did your friends kill you? Do I need to kill them? I can kill them real easily for you!"

"Seriously, this needs to be addressed." Emile's master stated.

"Come in, don't kill anyone!" Rose's kid shouted.

"LUCCI! YOU'RE ALIVE!" Spinel immediately burst through the door and hugged him, immediately going into that backpack mode. "I'm so glad you're alive, I mean, why wouldn't you be alive, you're my second bestest friend in the whole universe, you wouldn't leave me alone and die without telling me, that would just be silly, don't you ever die on me!"

There was a moment of silence. "Hey, Spinel." Emile's master said. "Hypothetically, and I'm not saying anything real, this is just hypotheticals, alright?"

"Is this a word game?" Spinel asked. "Because I know funny words. Like Pulchritudinous."

"No, hypotheticals means what if, and very big ifs that nobody actually believes could happen." The grimwalker explained. "Kinda like thinking really hard between friends."

"Oooh, sounds fun. What's on your mind."

"So hypothetically … what if Lucci had to go away … and couldn't take you with him?" The short child asked.

"... Like he needs to use the bathroom?"

"No, as in, he'd be…physically, mentally, emotionally, basically any way possible be unable to take you with him."

"Oh … then I'd find everything he ever cared about and destroy it to spite him. But that's not gonna happen because he's never gonna leave." The crazy lady chuckled. "Wow, hypotheticals are fun."

"Gus….you're a moron." Lucci gave him a deadpan stare. "Come on Spinel, we have a song and dance routine to prepare."

"Yay, dancing!" The pink lady dragged him out.

"Chirp?" Was that disturbing to anyone else?

"Mew." Yes, unbelievably so.

"Is anyone going to call out how unhealthy that whole thing is?" Hunter asked.

"I think Lucci's attached because she reminds him of Hooty." The human brought up.

"I thought it was just guilt for a mistake his mom made." Ghost's master suggested.

"No, he doesn't give a single crap about his womb donor…if anything it's probably out of spite for her." Maya's master brought up. "Then again, it could be all of the above."

"Then again, it's not any more unhealthy than most of the relationships we have." … They all turned to Emelie's master. "You all know I'm right!"

"This is why Lucci called you out earlier." Today was off to a chaotic start.

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

Greg had many regrets…the one that impacted his life the most at the moment was his choice to chase a music career that went absolutely nowhere. But on days like today, he could take advantage of his small accumulation of skills.

"Alright Universe, you'll be contestant number three." Mr Smiley said. "Right beyond accordion man and Marty the rabbit and his musical blender." 

Blinking, he turned to see some kid holding a rabbit next to a blender like one would with a cat and piano. "Come on now Marty, just like we practiced."

"Bzzt. Bzzt. Bzzt. Bzzt."

"Is…Is that what people call music nowadays?" Greg muttered to himself. If that was the standard, he wasn't sure if he was overqualified for it, or was lucky to fall off the sinking ship. For once Greg was sure that he only needed to do an equipment check instead of actually practicing. 

He sat back as he reflected on his life. He had an opportunity to get close to his son … he just needed a way in, something to bond over. He didn't make the best first impression on him, and the kid's personality was….prickly at best. But hey, everyone got a second chance. All he had to was be nice and presentable, make nice with his friends, and everything would be alright in the end. 

Then again, to do that he needed to find him. Camila more or less unofficially banned him from the house, so going there again wasn't an option. What were the chances he'd just randomly run into him. "Steven? First time I've seen you take interest in music." Mr. Smiley voice interrupted his train of thought.

"What can I say, I like to rock." A familiar voice spoke. "When I get up on stage, introduce me and my lovely friend as the Clawthornes. Trying to get my own brand going, you know?"

"Sure thing kid … just don't set fire to the stage. You've been gaining a reputation lately, and the mayor's barely paying us for this as is."

"Sounds like a cheapskate." Steven rolled his eyes. "Gonna be hard to tone it down, but I'll be sure to not wow you're socks off too much." He turned to his backpack. "Sorry Spinel, no fireworks today."

"Awwww, But I got the really big ones too." The backpack responded. "It was going to go 'kaboom boom' all over the sky."

"We'll save 'em for another big event." He responded. "So when am I on?"

"Right after your dad over there." Mr Smiley pointed.

"My…oh shit." Steven groaned. "Spinel, turn away and don't make Eye-" Greg needed to make his move, he might not get another chance!

"Steven, wait!"

"-contact." His son stopped in his tracks. "What do you want?"

"Just five minutes of your time, that's all I'll ask for." He pleaded. "Please Steve-"

"Don't you start with that name." His son growled, pointing up. "First of all, it's Lucifer to you. Lucifer Clawthorne."

"Okay … Lucifer." Why was his son named after the devil? "Such a … lovely name."

"Thanks, my mama chose it well." Ste-Lucifer smiled proudly. "Secondly, what's there to talk about? The only thing we have in common is blood, and based on what Vee told me, how you treat family isn't exactly something to appreciate."

"That's not true. We also have music in common." He showed off his guitar. "I was a musician back in the day, riding around and singing music."

"Uh huh, and what are you doing now?" Ste-Lucifer glared at him.

"..Washing cars, but that's beside the point." Greg waved off. "The point is that you get that passion for music from me.."

"I got my love for music because my MOM, and not the womb donor you hooked up with, taught me about bard magic when I was little." He argued. "Saying I'm good because I'm related to you is an insult to the hard work I put in"

"Hey, Rose was also a big fan of music." Greg countered.

"And where is she now?" The kid asked. "Because I've been in this town for a while, and I haven't seen a single sign of her for all the crap she put me through.."

The man paused, almost dropping his guitar. "You … don't know what happened to her, do you?" He asked.

"No, like I said, the only thing I know is that she left behind a lot of crap for me to clean up." Ste-Lucifer growled.

Greg took a breath, sitting down on a crate. "I know you don't like me, or Rose … but could you please sit down and listen, Lucifer? At least to this."

The kid looked more annoyed, but sighed. "Fine. Make it quick.

"Rose … gems don't have what's necessary for making humans." He explained. "They can't even have kids of their own. What she did was a bit miraculous but … even then it wasn't enough." Greg took another breath, remembering the moments like it was yesterday. "Garnet's future vision told us that your body was connected to her gem."

"That's just ridiculous, I have my own gem." He said with that same annoyance.

"No … you didn't get your own gem … you got hers. " The father clarified. "She gave up her life so you could be born, Lucifer."

The boy's eyes widened for a brief second, before shaking it off. "Still doesn't excuse everything she left behind. My life was relatively peaceful before I knew anything about her, and now you're telling me I'm pretty much dragging around my Womb donor's corpse on my stomach." Lucifer looked him in the eye. "What part about that would make you think I'd be appreciative?"

Greg was a bit shocked at that. "Maybe the fact you're currently alive and can appreciate life with family?"

"Yeah…what else? She's not the one that raised me. She's not the one who I looked up to, who held me when I was sad, who made me smile when I was blue. My mom, Eda Clawthorne, was."

"It's not like she could do that to begin with." Given that she was gone. "Besides, I would have been raising you if it wasn't for the fact the gems decided to kidnap you."

"Wait, they what?" That seemed to surprise him.

"It was the day before Christmas, I went to the bathroom for like, one maybe two minutes, I came out to see the gems driving away with you in my van. I ran after them, and found it crashed on the side of a mountain next to a forest." He explained. "It was a miracle you didn't get a cold … or you did and that girl didn't get a cold."

"Nah, I was fine. You just gave me context for a few repressed memories." The boy shrugged.

"After I tried to take back the kid thinking it was you and stop them from hanging around those maniacs, but she clung to them like glue." He growled. "In that one moment, my life went out of control."

"Well of course she'd cling to them, Vee was all alone, the last of her kind, and they're the weirdest things in the human realm, of course she'd get attached to them…loathed as I am to admit it." Lucifer groaned. "That still doesn't give you the right to say she shouldn't have been born. You don't know how much she's been hurting."

"I thought my own kid never cared about me and abandoned me for a bunch of crazies that tried to kidnap them, what did you expect me to say?"

"Wow, you're telling me to have sympathy for your situation when you can't even sympathize with me for loving my mom more than my Womb donor. Hypocrite much?" Lucifer rolled his eyes. "Your five minutes are up. See ya, Mr. Universe."

"Let's have some fun!" The backpack shouted. "How about I throw some of the players in the air!?"

"I think that qualifies as 'illegal', but we can chuck water balloons at them."

"Aren't you a criminal? Why do we care about the illegal?"

"Fair point, but do it discreetly, we can't have it connect to us."

Well that failed spectacularly. But if Greg hadn't managed to give up on life before this, then he wouldn't give up now.

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

Gus sparkled as he watched the lights move. "They do this … without magic!?" The wires, the lighting, the ingenuity…the way everything was wired by pure muscle and memory…Human world stuff was the best!

"The show hasn't even started yet, you're just looking at the stage crew." Luz pointed out as they walked by.

"I know, and it's still better than I ever imagined!" He admitted.

"So do you know what this … Whatapalcrusha is for?" Hunter asked Luz.

"Beachapalooza." Luz corrected. "It's an annual thing Mayor Dewey puts together once a year to help draw out tourists. It's nothing big, and most people participate for the one thousand dollars, so it's mainly about the community having fun while complete amateurs play or sing whatever music they know. I've always wanted to participate…but…"

"You have a habit of breaking every instrument you get your hands on." Luz's mom chuckled. "You've broken the strings off three guitars, flooded six trombones, and I can't even count the number of cellos you've broken."

"So I'm not musically inclined; Sue me." The girl rolled her eyes.

"You're definitely a great artist though." Amity said, arms draped onto Luz's shoulders. "I could model if you need a muse." Ever since the reveal the girl had been a LOT more open. To the point where if King was here he'd be burying himself in the sand and refusing to come up for air.

"Just as long as you keep it PG, I'll allow it." Ms. Noceda herself seemed to enjoy it, mainly for the small teases she gave her daughter every so often. Made Gus glad he didn't have a mom to embarrass him like this…or anybody he was interested in to be teased over. "So I take it Lucci is pretty musically inclined."

Willow, upon hearing that, laughed almost maniacally. "HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE … HAHAHAHAHA…" Everyone rightfully took a step backwards. "...Sorry, had to get that out of my system."

"He sings all the time." Boscha said. "When he had magic it caused horrible disasters, but they were lovely to dance in as we sang over the corpses of our enemies … ahh…" she sighed wistfully. "So romantic…"

"...Do we need to head towards a shelter? I don't want to offend, I legitimately don't know how serious to take that." Ms. Noceda asked.

"It should be fine. Lucci doesn't have magic in the human world … which is weird.." Amity pondered.

"My best guess is that his gem acts like my glyphs. It gives me access to the magic surrounding the area." Luz explained. "No titan, no magic."

"If that's the case, then we really can't rely on his gem as a power source …" Hunter groaned. "No magic means he doesn't have a connection to the boiling isles."

"Guy's, we agreed this was going to be an 'us' day. Don't worry about the portal door, at least just for today." Gus reminded them, before gasping. "Oh my titan, look at that!" He pointed to the curtains moving. "All the sparkles and wonderful sways. It's like a master puppeteer."

"I swear if you ever went to human school, you'd explode from excitement." Willow chuckled. "So anything big that we should expect?"

"Not really, only that the whole thing lasts about half an hour to forty five minutes, and that Mr. Universe usually wins." Vee sighed. "He's the only musician in town with actual experience, so everyone else kind of falls flat."

"Wait, Lucci's dad is playing in the same competition as him?" Luz asked with surprise.

"Oh … maybe it'll be a nice father son activity." Luz's mom gave a small smile.

"...Riiiggggggghhhhhhttttt." Vee whistles. "Let's just…wait and see how that pans out." Yeah, that was going to be pretty awkward. It would be a miracle if Lucci didn't punt the guy into space before either of them played.

"Ladies and gentleman, welcome to Beachapaloza!" Mr Smiley shouted, causing everyone to cheer. "Now please give it up for our first act … Marty the Rabbit and his musical blender!"

"What?" Every witch asked.

They watched as what looked like a rabbit was put on a table, and began pressing against the buttons of a really weird cylinder thing. "Bzz bzz bzz bzz bzz. Bzz Bzz Bzz bzz bzz bzz bzz."

"So THIS is human music." Fascinating.

"...At least the rabbit's cute." Luz shrugged. "This is basically a meme waiting to happen."

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

"I'm surprised. Accordion man really knows how to play." Vee watched as the man left the stage. "Everyone always told me the accordion was the second most annoying instrument to ever be played, right next to the bagpipe."

"Lucci always tells me no instrument is bad, it's just people playing it wrong." Luz brought up.

"Wasn't he a treat folks?" Mr Smiley asked. Vee really liked the guy, always fun to hang around, if minorly amoral. Helping him and Mr Frowny get back together was really one of the high notes of her life…though admittedly from what she looked up about his standup, he wasn't all that funny. "Next up is a regular around beachaplooza, and around Beach city in general." Oh boy, this was the one she was dreading the most. "Our five year champion, give it up for … Greg Universe!"

About half the audience clapped as the man walked onto the state with nothing more than a simple stool and a guitar. The other half just murmured awkwardly in silence. "He's divisive around here, isn't he?" Amity asked.

"Let's just say he isn't the most…approachable person in town." Vee sighed.

"Don't speak too badly of him. Regardless of any…mistakes…he has made, you shouldn't be feeding into the rumors." Camila told them, though even she had a slightly uncomfortable expression on her face.

"Hey there Beach City." He spoke on the mike. "I know I haven't been the friendliest man over the years … but I got a chance to fix my mistakes, and I'm going to take it." He spoke into the mic.

"Oh brother." Luz rolled her eyes. "Because that excuses everything."

"What's wrong with letting someone try to be better?" Sure, it hurt Vee when he said that, but everyone deserves a second chance, right?

"Because people like him keep making the same mistakes over and over, they never learn, and as long as they keep going, they're going to keep excusing themselves like nothing they do matters and.."

"Mija, I suggest you be quiet now and listen." Camila said firmly.

Mr Universe began to play a light melody, letting it build up into a consistent yet strong temp. "Darlin' you got to let me know." The man sang out. "Should I stay or should I go?" The melody stayed steady as he began playing louder. " If you say that you are mine. I'll be here 'til the end of time." He slowly looked over the audience with a critical eye. "So you got to let me know … Should I stay or should I go?"

"Oh no.." Camila gulped, trying to hide her face.

"Wow, really giving him the chance aren't you?" Boscha sarcastically responded.

"Don't test my patience, tri Ojos, or I will break out the sandal."

"..Yes ma'am."

"Why are human adults so terrifying compared to witch ones?" Willow asked quietly.

"It's always tease tease tease…..You're happy when I'm on my knees!" Mr. Universe kept on playing, bobbing his head as the crowd started getting into the song more. " One day is fine and next is black…So if you want me off your back….Well come on and let me know..Should I stay or should I go?"

"Music really strips away the subtleties, doesn't it?" Hunter asked.

"Yes, yes it does." Luz nodded. "This is why I prefer art."

"Should I stay or should I go now?. Should I stay or should I go now?" He asked the world. "If I go there will be trouble … And if I stay it will be double." He kicked away the stool standing tall. "So come on and let me know!" The man began to spin around the stage, continuing the play on the guitar as he danced.

"Well he has style down." Gus nodded to the beat.

"This indecision's buggin' me, Esta indecisión me molesta! If you don't want me, set me free, Si no me quieres, librame!"

"Oh great, now I have to listen to it in two languages." Luz groaned, trying to bury her head in her chest. "Where did he even learn spanish?"

"Yes … where?" Ms Noceda looked away.

"Exactly whom I'm supposed to be, Dime! ¿Qué tengo ser?! Don't you know which clothes even fit me? No sabes que ropas me queda! Come on and let me know! Pero tienes que decir! Should I cool it or should I blow?, ¿Me debo ir o quedarme?!"He sang out, gripping the mic with one hand and playing with the other. " Split!"

"I just hope Lucci didn't get too much of his genes. I'd rather not deal with so much facial hair." Boscha commented.

"I think you should be more worried about the baldness." Hunter pointed out.

"Doble! ¿Me frío o lo soplo? Esperda! Rrattarrattarrattaa…" Mr Universe cried out as the audience ate it up. " Should I stay or should I go now? Yo me enfrio o lo soplo! Should I stay or should I go now? Yo me enfrio o lo soplo!"

Vee just sort of shrank in her sheet, really wishing she wasn't here for this part. Her relationship with Greg Universe was…complicated. And by that, she meant nonexistent. The gems seemed like people who would understand her more, more so than the human that for all intents and purposes lost their son….man, it sounded so much more messed up when she put it like that.

"If I go there will be trouble! Si me voy, va a haber peligro! And if I stay it will be double! Si me quedo, es doble! So you gotta let me know! Pero que tienes que decir! Should I cool it or should I blow? ¿Me frío o lo soplo?" The man increased the intensity of his guitar as he reached the climax. "Should I stay or should I go now? ¿Me frío o lo soplo?"

"If I go there will be trouble! Si me voy, va a haber peligro! And if I stay it will be double! Si me quedo, es doble! So you gotta let me know! Pero que tienes que decir!" He finished, looking out at the sky. "Should I stay or should I go?"

"Go, please, go, go far, far away." Luz muttered as the crowd cheered. 

"What a spectacular performance, but did we expect anything less from Gravesfield's resident musician?" Mr. Smiley went up to the mic again as the rest of the group, mainly Luz and Camila, looked like they wanted to be anyone else. "Now how about some special excitement for the man's son, performing on stage tonight!

"Yikes, Lucci's not going to like that, being introduced as his kid." Boscha winced.

"This entire thing was a mistake." Luz groaned. "Lucci, if you burn down the stage … I won't blame you."

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

Lucci held a match in his hands. "I really … REALLY want to set fire to the stage now." Just one flame was all he needed.

"Okay." Spinel placed a firework next to his match. "Lets light em up."

"No, no ... I'm not going to do that…not yet anyway." He pulled the flame away. "If my sperm donor being here wasn't enough, the smiling man had to introduce me to the crowd as his kid….this is the worst." He slapped his face against his palm. 

Spinel just looked him over and patted his back. "Hey, you can't let one guy stop you from having fun. That's why we're doing the whole thing, right?"

"That and the one thousand dollars, but yeah, the fun thing too." He nodded.

"Then lets have fun!" She shouted, spinning around and shifting herself into a tux, complete with a hat. "Come on, come on!, get the show on the road."

He smirked. She really reminded him of Hooty. From the positive attitude, to the seemingly endless ability to stretch almost any length. "You're just an endless bag of cheerfulness, aren't you?"

"That's my job as a Spinel, and as a bestest best friend!" She saluted.

"Ladies and gentlemen, for our next performance, we're proud to introduce the musical duo.." The smiling man introduced them as Spinel brought out the Piano, riding on it like a cart. "So give a warm and hearty welcome to the Clawthornes!" Man, it felt SO cathartic to hear that name be said out loud. It didn't matter where he was in the universe, he was ALWAYS going to be a Clawthorne first.

He gave a look to the audience, spotting his friends somewhere in the middle. This was his first time playing in front of a crowd without his bard magic. A relief to some, but a bit of a downer to him.

He took the mic in hand, spinning it around as he held it to his lips, grinning as he hopped into the piano seat, and began playing.. "You can pack your bags and start skipping town….Hang up your hat when the show shuts down.." Spinel played with her hat, flipping onto her head, and onto his. " But when the world says you ain't quite world-renowned…..Don't count yourself out yet!"

"La la la la la.." Spinel spruing right beside him, and began playing alongside him with the piano. Great thing he learned was that as long as she was having fun, Spinel was a quick learner of just about…anything.

"When you hit that lonely and lowest low, Well, up's the only way left to go!" Spinel hit the lever on his seat and made him jump to the top of the piano. " "You're meant to reinvent the show! So ain't you glad we met?" He asked as he danced on the keys.

Spinel especially seemed to gleam at that sentence, smiling as she took him by the arms, and rode the piano all over the stage "Turn that dull and dusty solo …"

"To a dazzling duet!" They sang at the same time, and for a minute, he forgot all about his worries, about all the troubles that came his way…exactly why he turned to music in the first place. "La la la la, La la la la, La la la la!"

"We started pretty small…" From petty crook to most wanted. " But take a look at us now…"

" Take a look at us now"

"Suddenly standing ten feet tall..!" Spinel grew out her legs and lifted him on her shoulders, shooting them up into the sky. " Take a look at us now!"

" Take a look at us now!" Living in another world they didn't belong to. " Though we have no way to stay afloat.." Finding new ways to make money… " We were scared and saying "That's all she wrote…" There were some days where the struggle wasn't worth it…where he wanted to throw the towel and give up. " We're ending on a sky-high note….Somehow….!" He couldn't accept that…they WOULD make it back home…they ALL would.

"Buddy, you were all it took!"

"So take a look at us now!" No enemy could keep them down, they would solve it all. No gem could tell them what to do, they'd figure it out themselves. And then they'd leave this no good planet that just ruined everything.

The crowd seemed to be cheering, but that seemed very little at the moment. Right now…he was just focusing on having fun…with possibly the only good gem he's ever met in the universe. " When that perfect plan's going off the rails…"Pretty much no plan they had went accordingly. " A heap of trouble is on our tails!"People or life just getting in the way.

"It's time to polish up those scales, And give it all you've got!" He and Spinel were dancing side by side, moving to each other's rhythm. Aside from Skara, he never had another music buddy he harmonized so well with and so quickly.

"If you're out of step…"

If you're out of sync.." 

" If you care too much what those critics think…" Those crystal idiots, Golden Boy, all those coven heads, most human's that he's met, all of them judged him for being who he was. " Well, when you find your missing link, Don't give it a second thought!" He was surrounded by friends…by family…that accepted him for who he was, by people who didn't try to change him. "'Cause in the center of the spotlight….We just might have found our spot!"

He created a shield and floated it in the air, having himself and Spinel jumped on top of it as they held hands and spun around. "Tryin' our luck with every leap, Take a look at us now!"

"Take a look at us now!"

"The road could be steady, could be steep!" It didn't look like they were going to go home anytime soon…but that didn't matter. Take a look at us now!"

"Take a look at us now!"

" Though we might be sunk upon first glance…" They had no portal, no titan blood, no glyphs, and no magic for themselves. " Well, who'da thunk that we had a chance…" He could feel Luz's fleeting optimism fade as the days passed by. That happy hyper-active girl was no longer there…at least not to the capacity he knew.

"And life could be a song and dance, Somehow" He needed to fix that, be the guy who could solve any problem easily…not just that…he needed to do it all with a smile…no matter how hard it got, he needed to be on the bright side … that's what she needed.

"Buddy, you were all it took…!" Spinel laughed as they hopped back down to the stage. With Spinel, it was easier to be happy in spite of the circumstances. He had her, he had Spice, he had his friends, and he still had his lovely Angel….the circumstances were terrible, but he had good things in his life. 

" So take a look at us now!"

The music slowed down as Spinel got on one knee and rubbed his face. " So even when you're terrified…Just find a smile a mile wide.." She stretched the corners of his mouth upward.

"'Cause bud, when you and I collide…Standing side by side!" He stood next to her and bowed. " We're gonna take a great big bow…! Would you take a look at us....now?!" He would do his best to keep it all together.

"Give us a spotlight and a crowd. Take a look at us now!" No matter the performance, no matter the fight, they would give everything they had.

"Ready to sing our song out loud! Take a look at us now!" Regardless of judgment, regardless of harshness, they would push on through. "Won't you take a look at us….Take a look at us!"

"Take a look at us now!" They sparkled, bowing to their adoring audience. An audience that was still in their seats, clapping because they weren't blown away in a whirlwind of chaos and calamity. Which was a bit of a shame…but the standing ovation felt nice too.

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Luz watched as all the musicians stepped up. "Alright, clearly we have one of two winners. But there's still the third place prize of a gift card for twenty bucks at the Big Donut. Which goes to … Marty the Rabbit and his musical Blender!"

"Go Marty!" Vee cheered. The rabbit itself said nothing as the owner calmly picked up the gift card.

"If there's any magic in the human realm, it solely belongs to a rabbit that somehow managed to get third place in a music competition." Luz let out a small laugh. That alone was worth coming here.

"So kitchen appliances are also musical instruments…I have so much to expand upon in my notes…I'll finally be able to reclaim my throne in the HAS!" Gus cheered.

"Earth music is weird." Hunter stated rather bluntly. "I don't think I get it."

"None of us understand the freaky nature of this planet." Boscha groaned.

"I'm just amazed by the fact we listened to one of Lucci's musical numbers without getting hurled into the sea." Willow laughed. "If that's the price to pay, then I'm fine with not understanding." For once, her friends seemed to be happy.

"Now down to the final two. It was a close call, by twenty votes!" Mr Smiley shouted, putting on the show.

"Is he like this at your job?" Luz asked.

"Yeah. Just be glad he's not telling any jokes…he really stinks at them." Amity said. "I'd punch him for all the puns if he wasn't the one giving me my check."

"And the first place winner is … The Clawthornes!" 

"YAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYY!" Spinel's cheer could be heard all over the beach as she grabbed Lucci and hopped all over the stage. "We won! We won the music game! I barely win anything, it feels great, and I won with my second bestest best friend!"

"Oh boy, Clawthorne is going to be riding out this one for a while." Hunter rolled his eyes.

"With one thousand dollars in hand, he can brag about all he wants." Boscha smirked.

"You're just saying that because you know he'll spend half of it on you." Amity rolled her eyes.

"Not true..that's only half the reason. I'm also super supportive of my boyfriend winning any competition and destroying his foes."

They saw Lucci coming back with Mr Universe in tow. "Good job kid, I'm proud of you." He said.

"I wasn't playing for you." He retorted, not even looking at the man in the eyes as he walked up to them. "Hey guys, hoped you enjoyed the show."

"Without being whisked out of a window, it was pretty pleasant." Luz smirked. "Very weirdly optimistic for you."

"Meh, trying something new. Now come on, I'm going to be buying dinner. I can never get full with earth food." Luz knew…that's why her friends had jobs to begin with.

"Hey, Camila.." Oh great, Mr. Universe was still here. "You..you liked the performance?"

"It…was interesting, Greg." Mom responded. "Look, it's getting late, and I think I should head home now."

"Ah, right. I can give everyone a ride if you want. I brought the van after all." He offered.

Please don't say yes, please don't say yes, please don't…."I actually drove them in my own." She said.

Gus looked confused. "Didn't we wa-" Knowing what her mom was trying to do, Luz slapped her hand over his mouth…and knocked him into the sand. Huh, so that's how Willow felt like when she was hiding Orchid.

"I see…I'll see you tomorrow then?" Oh get a clue guy!

"I'm busy with work, maybe some other time." Her mom nodded, scooting her and the rest of them away. "Quickly, look ahead and don't look back." She whispered as they disappeared, putting the crowd between them and mr universe.

"You feeling alright Ms. Noceda?" Willow asked. "You want us to beat up Lucci's dad for you?"

"Children shouldn't get involved in matters like this, so no." She replied. "Thank you for the concern, but I'll be fine. I've just had a little motion sickness lately." Weird, she never remembered her getting that before … must have been an age thing … or another thing Luz missed or messed up.

She shook her head. Her friends had a decent day overall. She would take it for what it was worth.