Chapter Text
The night was dark and the wind was cold and bitter; but at least the stars were out. A small comfort Stepper could take in when everything else around him seemed so cold and harsh.
Staring at the waters, Stepper kept a tight hold on his makeshift spear. He stood as still as the water, watching the creatures below. As long as they couldn't see him…
Thrusting the spear through the water, the fusion let out a hearty laugh when he felt it piece something. He pulled the wooden weapon out and inspected the fish that sat upon it. It was plump with purple scales with silver fins. A good enough meal for the night.
Setting his catch over the fire, Stepper sat underneath his makeshift shelter and began to fiddle with the metal device attached to his arm. As he worked, he couldn't help but let out a sigh and stare up at the stars above him, at the two moons that hung in the sky. His mind wandered to when- and how he'd ended up there in the first place…
One week before...
Stepper felt the air be knocked out of him as his backside slammed against an asteroid. Where did it even come from? He grunted as he turned around, crawling up the asteroid to look over it. He couldn't see much but what he could see left him with a cold pit in his stomach
The first thing he saw was an unconscious Lapis, who'd previously been carrying him, being sent flying through the portal. The next thing he saw was that same portal snapping shut in a burst of blinding light, sealing not only the walls between universes, but Stepper's fate. And the final thing he saw was Bill, shaking off the after effects of their clash. All previous anger he'd been feeling was washed away; He was stranded. Sure he’d wanted to defeat Bill by any means necessary, but now he wasn’t sure what he wanted to do.
Standing up on the asteroid, the fusion looked around. He wasn't sure what he was searching for. Somewhere to hide? Something to help him fight back?
Just then, something glittered in the corner of Stepper's eye, causing him to turn. Just there, a few asteroid hops away, a portal appeared splitting open the cursed space of the Nightmare Realm. A way out! A glimmer of hope sparked in Stepper's chest.
"ROSE TREE!"
The shrill scream echoed around the nightmare realm, causing Stepper to freeze as he stared over at where the Bill was, or had been. The dream demon was rapidly approaching, his usual yellow demeanour now a blood red. The look in his eye told the fusion that he'd been taking more than his journal this time.
Not wasting any time, Stepper scrambled off the asteroid, hopping from one floating rock to another. The portal was inching ever-closer but so was Bill. Escape was getting closer. And closer. And closer. Stepper could almost taste the air on the other side of the portal. His fingers barely grazed the edge of the portal before he felt something grab the back of his vest, yanking him back.
"You're not getting away that easily Pine Bud," Bill spat.
Reaching an arm behind him to grab Bill’s, Stepper used one of his upper arms to summon a shield.
"That's what you think," Stepper barked back, flinging the shield straight through Bill's arm.
The dream demon let out another shriek as Stepper jumped back, feeling himself slip through the portal. He felt himself slam against something hard and rough, but at least he was out.
A grunt escaped his throat as he lifted his head. He saw the portal swirling around, beginning to close.
Before it fully sealed itself up, Stepper heard Bill's voice echo out of it.
"Nice try Rose Tree but you can't escape that easily. We'll meet again soon, you can be sure of that. Have fun out there."
The sound of Bill's laughter echoed around him until the portal snapped shut, leaving Stepper surrounded by nothing but the sounds of his own ragged breaths. He'd escaped. He was alive. He had no idea where he was.
Shakily pushing himself into a sitting position, Stepper glanced around at where he'd ended up. He was in the bottom of some sort of dark canyon. There was nothing around him except roughened walls of stone. It was dark, bathing the canyon in shadows with only the moon providing a guiding light.
Fully standing up, the fusion looked around for anything that might be of use. And something particularly shiny caught the corner of his eye. Where the portal had been lay a particularly interesting object. A crystal.
Walking over to the crystal, Stepper picked it up and inspected it. The object was a dusty white that shone with a rainbow gleam in the moon's light. It fascinated him. Maybe it had some connection to the portal he'd come from, given it laid where the portal once stood.
Putting the crystal in his vest pocket, Stepper rubbed a hand through his hair, noticing his hat had disappeared. It must have been lost in the tussle. No matter that, he had bigger things he needed to focus on. How could he get back home? Taking in a deep breath, Stepper began to make his way down the canyon, hoping it would lead him to some sort of salvation, or even a way home.
Sunlight was starting to creep over the canyon walls, revealing their cherry red colour. It wasn't anywhere he'd ever heard of on Earth; If he was even on Earth still. On his trek through the canyon, Stepper spotted something in the distance. It looked like a building; a building that was partly built into the rock.
Making his way up to the structure's walls, Stepper inspected it. The walls that were uncovered look to be made out of different pieces of metal, as if someone had put the building together using only scraps.
Peaking through one of the windows, Stepper let out a soft gasp at what, or who he saw.
Lizards. Or to be more specific, giant lizard people.
They were various shades of green, brown and red and wore dusty, almost baggy clothing, the kind of outfit you would need to survive in a desert. There had to be at least eight of them. The lizard people were crowded around a table that was covered in maps and hiking equipment. They were growling at each other and pointing at the map.
Stepper stared at them with wonder and caution. Would they be welcoming if he approached them? Or would they try and hunt him down for being on their land? Did he even have the opportunity to risk it? If things went wrong out here, he had no back up and he wasn't sure he could risk another fight so soon. He needed to be careful. He needed to be stealthy. He-
The sound of a metal pole clanging to the floor made Stepper jump. He hadn't realized he'd been leaning against it. The sound of the lizard people moving around made Stepper panic. He quickly looked around for somewhere to hide before turning his attention upwards. The roof.
Quickly jumping up, the fusion scrambled to get on top of the metal surface. Pulling himself up, Stepper pressed his stomach close to the roof, pressing himself as flat as possible. He heard the lizard people exit the building, the sound of pebbles rumbling around as they moved. They hissed at each other before the sound of movement died down as the door closed with a clang. The fusion let out a sigh of relief, letting his head rest against the metal surface. That was close. Looked like he couldn't move about while the occupants were home
The sound of the door opening once again startled Stepper, causing him to peak over the edge of the roof. The lizard people were all suited up, hissing to each other before making their way down the rocks, away from the building. Stepper made sure to wait until the lizards were completely out of sight before he dared raise himself up and off the roof. Now was his chance.
Plopping onto the ground, Stepper carefully made his way inside the foreign building. He wasn't sure what he was searching for as he looked around, inspecting all the surfaces and boxes he could find. Anything that could help him in the new landscape he'd found himself in.
Stepper searched and searched until he opened a box that intrigued him. Inside the wooden box were five objects. A thick gray cloak; a pair of protective goggles; two pairs of leather fingerless gloves and a leather bag. It was all the gear the lizard people had. Spotting a crooked mirror on the wall, the fusion got an idea. If the gear worked for the lizards, it could work for him as well.
Donning all the equipment and clothing, Stepper looked himself over in the mirror. Goggles, cloak, bag and gloves; he couldn't help but be impressed by his new look. He looked like some sort of desert outlaw. But enough about outfits, he’d need more than just clothing.
Searching through the rest of the building, he hoped to find something in the way of food or water; it had been a while since he'd eaten and his stomach was now begging for anything he could find.
Making it to the back, Stepper gazed upon the racks on the walls, containing many gauntlets. He lifted one of the gauntlets off the wall and inspected it up close. This one had a grappling hook attached to the front with a bunch of buttons on it in a language he couldn't read.
Curiosity getting the better of him once again, Stepper slipped the gauntlet onto his left upper arm. It felt surprisingly comfortable. Pressing one of the buttons on the side of the gauntlet, the fusion jumped when the grappling hook suddenly shot out, embedding itself into the wall. Pressing the same button, the hook retracted back to the gauntlet, leaving a sizable dent in the wall. He couldn't believe how powerful the device was. It could definitely be useful.
Inspecting the rest of the buttons, Stepper pressed a giant blue button on top. The grappling hook retracted deep into the gauntlet itself and the machine began powering up.
The sound of soft footsteps make Stepper turn around, spotting one of the lizard people looking at him with surprise. The lizard lacked the equipment the others had, the equipment Stepper himself now wore.
Before he could explain himself, the gauntlet fired a laser bolt. The bolt struck the lizard person directly in the chest, knocking them flat to the ground. The lizard let out a gasp before their eyes rolled back and their body went limp. A gasp escaped Stepper's mouth, his hands covering his mouth. Had he really just done that? It wasn't on purpose.
Noises sounded from outside, causing Stepper to look up to see the other lizard people entering the building, staring at him with shock. That shock quickly morphed into anger as they hissed at the fusion, raising their own gauntlets. Now would be a good time to run. Yeah that would be a good idea.
Quickly looking around, Stepper spotted a small window that was open. He scrambled over to the opening, dodging all the laser fire.
Slipping through the window, Stepper landed on the rough stone. He quickly rushed to his feet as he heard the lizard people exit the building, chasing after him. The fusion summoned a bubble as he ran, hoping that would be enough to stop the lasers. Summoning his shield journal, he skimmed through the pages as he ran. There had to be something that could help him out. There had to be.
He didn't have much time to look as the bubble suddenly jolted forward, sending the fusion crashing about as the pink orb fell down the rocky landslide. The bubble eventually came to a stop as it slammed into the wall, popping on impact. The force of the impact made the shield journal disappear and left Stepper upside down in a dazed state. That could’ve gone better. He tried to blink his gaze back into focus.
As his senses slowly came back to him, Stepper looked back at where he'd come from. The lizard people were slowly making their way down the rockslide. Curiously they were sticking strictly to the shadowed areas when the sunlit areas would make much more sense to traverse. One of the lizards slipped, their foot slipping into the sun. They let out a painful screech, wrenching their foot back and huddling in the shadows. That was it; that’s what he needed. He now knew what he needed to do.
Shakily getting back to his feet, Stepper swayed slightly as he began to run once again. There had to be an end to this canyon somewhere. And if he could just make it there. Unfortunately for the fusion, the area he was currently heading towards was heavily shaded and the walls were closing in on him But it seemed like luck was on his side as he could see a light at the end. He just needed to be quick.
Briefly looking over his shoulder, Stepper paled when he saw the lizard people had gained on him and were now only a few paces behind him. Everything was getting closer; and closer; and closer.
Just as Stepper got to the small gap that held the light, something grabbed the back of his cloak, dragging him back. He didn't have the space to turn around, with the walls pressing up against his sides, but he knew the lizards had caught up to him and they were not going to let him go.
His upper arms went to his neck, attempting to loosen the cloak so as to not choke himself. One arm went to the back of his cloak, hoping to wrestle it back. The other arm? The final arm summoned a shield. It took up a lot of space in the confined area but it would be worth it.
Stretching his body around as much as he could, Stepper threw the shield with as much force as he could muster. The edge of the shield caught his eye but it was a price he was willing to pay. The sound of slicing stone filled Stepper with determination as the whole area shook around them.
Yanking the cloak away from the lizard's grasp, Stepper kicked off the ground, jumping through the gap just as rocks fell. The fusion fell to the rough floor with a thud as a cloud of dust kicked up around him. He waited until the dust had cleared and the sounds of falling rocks had disappeared before he dared lift his head to see the carnage. The gap he'd escaped through had been completely filled with fallen rocks; not a single gap the lizards could crawl through, not like they’d come out into the harsh sun anyway. There was no sound of angered hissing, only the sound of the wind as it whipped around the fallen dust. He was alone.
Letting out a heavy sigh, Stepper let his body collapse onto the ground, heaving out his breaths, briefly closing his eyes. He was alive. They were alive. But the question was, what could they do now?
Peeking open his eyes and raising his head, the fusion gazed around at where he'd ended up after his harrowing escape. Aside from the jagged walls of the canyon, there was absolutely nothing around him. The ground beneath him was dried and cracked. There were no structures, no life, no hope of survival. But Stepper couldn't go back into the canyon, he couldn't risk another encounter with the lizards. He had to hope there was something out in the vast landscape that could help him. It wasn't like he had any other choice.
Taking in a deep breath, Stepper began to walk. Since they couldn't go back, he had to move forward.
The trek across the wasteland was excruciating and miserable. The hours felt like days as the fusion trudged along the scorching land. It didn't help that he'd forgotten to heal the wound over his eye. He could still see out of that eye but the pain around it was unbearable. But he didn't have the energy to care about that, or the energy to carry on.
Stepper swayed in the sun, barely able to keep himself standing. He… he needed… something… Anything to help him keep going.
Looking ahead of him, Stepper squinted when he spotted something hazy in the distance. The vague outline of some rocks, or maybe, another canyon? He really hoped it wasn't a mirage, he prayed to any god that was out there that it was real.
Stumbling over his own feet, Stepper scrambled over to the structure, wheezing with every step he took. The structure was getting closer, and closer and closer. Until the cooling shade of the rocks overwhelmed the fusion, causing him to collapse onto the soft surface that surrounded the rocks. He welcomed the protection from the scorching sun, taking the time to gather his senses. He never knew he missed the shade this much.
After letting himself partly recover, he weakly pushed himself up and gazed around at where exactly he'd ended up. It was some sort of oasis, much smaller than the canyon before. The smoothened rock walls surrounded a small waterfall with a river that streamed out of it. Patches of red grass surrounded the water with small palm trees dotted around the place.
Slowly pushing himself to his feet, Stepper slowly waddled over to the water, letting the cool liquid wash over his throat as he drank. Who knew water could taste so wonderful? Shadows moved around the pool. Maybe they were fish; That would give him something to eat.
Letting his body fall against the wall, Stepper slid down to the ground, letting the cool mist of the waterfall calm him. Now that he had a moment to breathe, he had time to think about his current situation. He was clearly not on earth; no-where on the planet matched the sights he'd seen. He had a crystal that had appeared when the portal disappeared. He had very limited resources around him. He'd killed someone. The life in this place was not friendly towards him. He had no idea how he was going to get back. There had to be an answer somewhere. And Stepper would not stop until he figured it out.
And that's what the fusion had spent the past week doing. He scooped out the oasis, not finding anything else that could help him. He'd made a little shelter for himself using rocks, logs and palm trees; It wasn't much but it was something. He'd learned to fish (somewhat). He kept himself company. He was surviving. But how long could he survive and when would he start to live again?
The beeping from Stepper's grappling gauntlet brought him back to the present. He looked down at the device and saw it begin to light up. It was time. During the week he'd spent in the oasis, he'd begun to tinker with the gauntlet, wanting to figure out what it could do. It had the hook feature and the gun feature, but maybe it could do more.
Reaching into his vest pocket, Stepper placed the rainbow crystal inside the gauntlet, watching as it flared to life. If the crystal had come from the portal in some way, maybe it had some sort of dimensional properties of its own. And that is what he was going to find out.
The first test didn't last long; Stepper shot out a beam that briefly materialized before quickly fizzling out into nothing. The second test was better, forming into a portal that was half Stepper's size before exploding in a burst of light. Portal after portal was materialized and fizzled out, frustrating Stepper to no end. He was almost ready to give up. No! He couldn't do that, he had to get home.
Eventually, after many tests, a portal finally stabilized, being large enough for the fusion to walk through. Quickly gathering his small amount of belongings, he was ready. Standing in front of the portal, Stepper watched as it swirled around the many colours almost blending into each other.
Taking in a deep breath, Stepper stepped through the portal; the first step on his long journey to getting back. Someway, somehow, he would get home.