Chapter 24

The costume's silence was unnerving, but I continued my approach, its empty, hollow eyes fixed on me.

[Frybo (Crystal Shard): Lv 15]

'I don't like this,' I thought, seeing the level of the costume brought to life. I didn't lower my guard—instead, I raised it. If Amethyst was any indication, levels could change in an instant.

As I approached, I activated weakness detection, my vision lighting up with colors. My eyes immediately locked onto the bright red glowing dot signaling where the Crystal Shard was located—my objective.

'Seems to be docile for some reason...' I thought, but I was soon proven wrong as my body reacted before my mind could, as I threw myself to the side, barely dodging a stream of what looked like a mushy fry substance that flew from its mouth.

'Shit,' was all I could think as I dodged the onslaught of fries coming at me from the mascot-turned-monster. Fortunately, its physical stats seemed low, as the speed of its attacks left much to be desired for its level. After making an Oath, I found it easier to weave between its attacks as I closed the distance.

'Almost there,' I thought, sliding under another spray of fries, quickly dodging another attack by leaping over it. Finally, I was close enough, my axe raised, ready to strike down the costume. But just as my axe got close, it was blocked by two massive fries that had grown from the costume's hand.

'Oh hell no!' I screamed in my head as I quickly retreated, Frybo in hot pursuit. The fries in its hands compressed into what looked like two maces, which it swung at me.

CRACK

BAM

BANG

Frybo's attacks, though heavy, proved ineffective as I dodged them easily allowing them to smash into the wooden ground of the warf. But I didn't let that cloud my focus as I aimed my first strike at the shard located in its chest.

SQUISH

'Too shallow.' I realized my axe hadn't hit the mark, and before I could pull back, hardened fries poured out of the hole I made, trying to trap my axe.

"LET GO!" I shouted, struggling to free my weapon soon realizing it wont work I activated weakness detection again, pulling back my fist and aiming it at the mess of hardened fries. My punch shattering them, freeing my axe and pushing Frybo away.

'This sucks,' I thought, continuing to fight Frybo. At one point, the commotion started to attract bystanders, much to my dismay. Frybo's next action nearly stopped me in my tracks. It jumped back, arcing its head up, and unleashed a stream of fries into the sky, which quickly rained down as needle-sharp projectiles.

"GET TO COVER!" I screamed, watching as everyone scattered to find shelter. Seeing some were too slow, I waved my hand, creating a circle on the ground beneath them. A flash of light moved them to the other side of the city, away from danger.

This action nearly cost me as I barely had time to save myself, by diving under a nearby picnic table as the sound of something sharp sticking into wood echoed all around.

'I need to end this,' I thought, sliding out from under the table and charging toward Frybo, which had turned its attention to the fleeing people. This gave me the perfect opportunity. I threw my axe at Frybo's back, causing it to stumble forward. It turned around, ready to attack, but all it saw was a flash of light as I appeared behind it, retrieving my axe embedded in its back.

'There it is,' I thought, spotting the Crystal suspended in the middle of its body by string-thin fries through the massive gash.

"Come on!" I groaned with effort as I ripped the Crystal out, leaving the costume to collapse to the floor like a sack of ragged potatoes.

'Oh, thank God,' I sighed in relief, looking around at the mess that filled the area. Mushy and hardened fries covered the ground, but luckily, no one was around. After the fry rain, everyone had cleared out.

"Hey, boss."

"FUCKING HELL!" I jumped at the sound of a voice and the tap on my shoulder, turning to see Jessica standing there, smiling.

"You should really announce your presence," I muttered, but she just smiled and pointed to the quickly approaching figures of Steven and Peedee. Steven was running toward me, while Peedee made a beeline for the costume.

"Hey, are you okay?" Steven's question echoed in my ears as I watched Peedee scream out in disappointment as he clung to the costume. Deciding to deal with that in a moment, I turned back to Steven.

"Yeah, I'm fine, but wow, that thing was tough," I replied, glancing above Steven's head to check his level. It was a solid 10, higher than mine.

"I'm glad to hear that, but what happened here?" Steven asked, his tone unsure. I quickly summarized the situation, leaving out the more magical details, explaining how the creature had suddenly attacked and how I'd taken it down.

"Wow, you're awesome! I'm really sorry about that—I was just trying to help Peedee out." Steven's apology was sincere, but I shook my head.

"It's alright," I said, then turned to Peedee, who was still gripping the costume.

"Peedee," I called out. He looked up from the costume toward me, but as if embarrassed by what he'd done, he looked away and slowly walked over to stand in front of me.

"I'm sorry," Peedee mumbled, guilt evident on his face. I looked at both him and Steven, the culprits behind this mess, and spoke to Peedee first.

"You asked for responsibility, but the moment a chance to shirk it came, you took it. I hope you understand how disappointed your father's going to be when I tell him." My words made Peedee lower his head in shame. I felt a bit bad, but the memory of the people who nearly got hurt pushed that feeling aside. I then turned to Steven, who grew nervous under my stare.

"I know who you are, and I want to know—why on earth would you use something you clearly didn't understand? People could've gotten hurt!" Steven shrank back, clearly not expecting the reprimand, but he needed it. From what I recalled, Steven's actions in the show often nearly got people killed, and with events like the Laser Light Cannon not playing out as they should, there's a chance those near-deaths could become real ones if we're not careful.

"But—" Steven began, but a stern look from me quickly silenced him. At that moment, Pearl appeared, spear in hand, screaming Steven's name as she ran over.

"Steven! Garnet said you were in danger! What on earth happened?" Pearl's voice was filled with concern. I quickly spoke up to explain, and as if sensing that an explanation was coming, Peedee's dad emerged from his fry shack, looking frightened by the commotion as he ran over to hug his son.

"You're okay!" His father sounded extremely relieved. With both him and Pearl here, I wasted no time telling them what had happened.

"Steven, did you listen to a word I said about the wars?" Pearl's voice was laced with worry as she led Steven away, lecturing him as they quickly fell out of earshot. I was left watching as the father and son somehow made up, now hugging each other.

'This world's weird,' I thought, walking away as Peedee's dad thanked me. I headed back to the motel, but much to my surprise, Jessica appeared out of thin air beside me, holding nearly a dozen large and small shards similar to the one I took from Frybo.

"Where on earth did you get those?" I asked, stunned. Jessica grinned and pointed in the direction where Pearl and Steven had gone.

"Originally, I was following Steven, but at some point, Pearl returned. And surprise, surprise, she had these in hand. So, I changed my target and followed her. For some reason, she placed them down in the most insecure place possible—the kitchen drawer." Her explanation left me dumbfounded. I stared at her for a moment before taking the crystals, feeling like my day was getting longer by the second.

"Thanks, Jessica. These should be useful. Hopefully, next time you see them, we'll be using them to to make a robot army." My words made Jessica nod before she disappeared once more, probably off to monitor Steven. I didn't care, though, as I vanished in a flash of light, heading back to the farm. My stay in Beach City was over, knowing that if I stayed, I'd only find myself in more trouble.

Improved Version

"Yo." Thirty minutes later, I appeared back at the farm, greeting Miguel, who I found chilling with Ocean Jasper, scratching her belly and causing the Corrupted Gem to growl happily.

"Oh, back so soon?" Miguel asked, surprised at my quick return. After a bit of explaining, I showed him the crystals and even gave him a demonstration. I dropped one into a shirt I took from my inventory, causing it to writhe as if it were alive. The movement stopped immediately when I removed the crystal, which the fabric had been trying to protect frantically.

"Wow, that's cool. I wonder what would happen if we gave it a full set of armor," Miguel mused, making me shiver as I imagined the fight going very differently if Frybo had anything more than a soft, pliable mascot costume.

"We'll get to see that—if Ms. Cary can study them first. I want them to follow only our commands," I said. Miguel nodded at my words, and I waved him goodbye, continuing to make my rounds until I eventually found Cary. She was in her cabin, observing a fragment of the Red Eye through a magnifying glass.

"Hey, Cary, I've got something for you," I called out. Cary immediately stopped what she was doing, looking over at me with curiosity as I brought out the crystals. I quickly explained what they did, much to her amazement. She bombarded me with questions, keeping me there for a good hour before she finally allowed me to leave, much to my relief.

I continued making my rounds, eventually talking with Old Man Dew, who gave me a long talking-to for missing a day of work.

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Mixed feels about this chapter but Its alright.

Also will more than likely skip over cat fingers and and go straight to Bubble buddies which I might also skim over or might add something short to the encounter