I used that thumbnail for a video.

Here's the video (I listen to the music to help me write):

Fun fact: While it's mostly background lore, I feel like I should say this nonetheless, there's a reason why Huge Gigantacus corrected Amethyst when she called his freeze ray an ice ray. While this wasn't shown in AU2 or AU3, here's why it matters. You know how in Wander Over Yonder, Lord Dominator got her ice powers because of the Frostonium? Well, in AU2, she already had her ice powers, so how did she get them? Huge Gigantacus' old 'freeze ray' was actually the ice ray Amethyst mentioned, which is made of the same components of Frostonium, and she stole it from him, which forced him to create a freeze ray. For those of you who are also curious of his freeze ray's name, it's called Ice Moon.

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3rd Person P.O.V.

Enslaved Planet:

Two humanoid creatures were congregating amongst themselves after they were given a break from their slavery, a automated mandated schedule given to them by Huge Gigantacus. These creatures speak a different language, but for the sake of convenience, it will be translated to English for the readers (unless you don't read English, and then you need Google Translate).

"I'm just saying, it could be worse." The confident alien said.

The other one scoffed. "How could it get worse than this?! We're forced to work our butts off for some midget dictator!"

The first one hissed. "Quiet! If he even hears you making fun of his height, he'll send you to the mineshaft and, trust me, you don't want to end up there. And yes, it COULD get worse. At least we're under protection."

"Protection?!" The second alien is baffled. "What PROTECTION are we under?!"

"From all the other galactic big-shots out there." The first alien replied. "HG makes sure they don't come near his planets."

"Or maybe they haven't even noticed his occupation." The second alien argues. "They're universal threats, Huge Gigantacus is a galaxy threat. He doesn't scare them."

"He doesn't scare them?" The first alien reiterates, baffled by the second alien's response. "How come Thanos or Darkseid haven't come in and try attacking the planets HG has taken over?"

"What?" The second alien gasps.

"Yeah, how come Thanos hasn't sent drop-ships into HG's planets? How come Darkseid hasn't produced hellspores on HG's planets? The first alien mockingly asked. "That's because HG has either killed them or scared them away with his countermeasures. His gun turrets will cut them to pieces, and his robots will finish them off."

"Unless Thanos uses his infinity stones." The second alien pointed out.

"He doesn't have them, HG does." The first one replied.

"How do you even know that?" The second alien asked.

"His helper, Iron Boarder, told us. HG keeps the infinity stones locked up tight in a vault; because he knows Thanos can't 'balance' the universe without them. And I'm not sure about Darkseid, but I know HG keeps him at bay with something." The first alien elaborates. "See? We don't have to fear them anymore, because he scares them away."

"I haven't seen them in a long time. Do you think he actually killed them?" The second one fearfully asked. "Because if he did, what's stopping him from taking over the entire universe?"

"Nothing, I guess." The first one shrugged. "I know I would rather have HG take over the universe. He may not be the nicest guy out there, but he's a terrific leader and entrepreneur. After all, we're privileged slaves. We still have our homes, our families, good wages, very low unemployment, a working economy and we're protected from other hostile takeovers. Sure, we have HG and his robots looking over our shoulders, but if we ignore that, it's like a utopia."

"When you put it that way, it does sound like it." The second alien responds. "Though, that flower might stop him."

"Yeah, except she hasn't. He's been set up for a while now, and she hasn't liberated us." The first alien pointed out.

The first alien tapped her feet. "I guess HG has gotten too strong for her. If she can't beat him and if he has killed or scared the other big-shots, who CAN stop him?"

"Nobody, I guess." The second alien was a bit fearful again of how big Huge Gigantacus has gotten in power.

He's too big to fall now... ironic.

Homeworld:

Rose teleported to Homeworld upon being told that Huge Gigantacus was there. Much like she planned to, she wants to talk to him. Whether it's about them or just the situation, which all depends on both of them.

She immediately knew where to go, because she could smell the horrendous odor of the black smoke that puffs out through the exhaust pipes of Huge Gigantacus' chair. She sniffed all the way until she found him, on top of the Crystal Entertainment building, staring off into the almost-desolate structures of Homeworld. Homeworld still has little to no gems wandering around the streets, the entire planet is still under lockdown from Huge Gigantacus' occupation around the galaxy.

She wondered if Huge Gigantacus even knew that she was right behind him, or he was just lost in thought. The only sound that their ears could pick up was the mechanical hum of his constant-powering chair that is still puffing out plumes of black smoke. If she had human organs or if she was a normal rose-flower, she would die from inhaling the cancerous smoke too much.

Rose contemplated what she was supposed to say here. The last time they encountered each other, she saved his life and restored his body back to full potential. She was actually nervous for once, which is highly unusual.

Their fights always start with witty banter, Rose annoying Huge Gigantacus by teasing and taunting him with the occasional seductive flirts and blowing kisses, and then they actually fight. Now, she's worried about saying something wrong. Huge Gigantacus is the only person in the universe who she views as a friend... for now.

Steven, his friends, the Crystal Gems and the Diamond Authority don't have the special bond she has with Huge Gigantacus. Of course, they've been fighting for over five hundred years, so they would know each other better than anyone else. However, Huge Gigantacus also gives her some anger and anxiety, depending on the situation.

Surely fuel for Nec'Rose.

"What are you doing?"

Rose flinched, she just noticed Huge Gigantacus had turned around and stared at her.

"O-Oh... how long have you been staring?" Rose inquired.

"Long enough to be confused about why you haven't started with the usual 'hiya HG' and the other annoying crap." The little man replied.

Rose fidgets with her wand, lightly tapping it on her free hand while Huge Gigantacus adjusts on the cushions of his chair.

"I suppose we should talk about our last encounter..." Rose starts.

"Why did you do that...?" Huge Gigantacus questions. "The smart thing was to let me die and take back the galaxy without hindrance."

"I couldn't let you die..." Rose utters, only Huge Gigantacus and herself could hear that.

"That was a mistake on your part." Huge Gigantacus remarks, hiding his emotions about the sorceress.

"Ever heard of gratitude?" Rose playfully replied, regaining some of her confidence by attempting to stir him up - just like old times.

"You're the one who damaged me to that point." Huge Gigantacus' demeanor remains as serious as ever, making Rose's smile die.

"I'm sorry..." Rose apologizes, feeling the guilt coming back to her since she recently shed some tears prior of this confrontation.

Yes, cry. Give him a reason to further berate you and get you angry!

Rose dipped her head down to hide the suble tear dripping down her face.

That singular tear slid down and was frozen onto her face when she accidentally morphed into Frost Rose.

Huge Gigantacus had his finger hovered over the flamethrower button if Frost Rose were to move an inch toward him.

Frost Rose notices her own existence and waved her wand to morph back into Rose again. "Sorry."

The little purple bean kept his finger over the button to disperse flame - should Rose give him a reason to.

"You're very... quiet..." Huge Gigantacus acknowledges, looking at her with skepticism. "What's up with that?"

"Things are just... getting more complicated lately..." Rose sighs, being more honest with her mortal enemy than with the Crystal Gems. "I miss the simpler times when it's just me and you, not some galactic dictatorship or other people getting involved... HG, I'm gonna be honest about something..."

He slowly removed his hand away from the button.

"Don't you ever get tired of this never-ending struggle between the two of us? It used to be fun, but the more we continued to fight it just seemed like it wasn't fun anymore... I-I hurt you and only made you mad when I was only trying to encourage you to stop..." Rose subtly choked on her emotions, but Huge Gigantacus didn't notice. "I don't want to hurt you anymore, I just want to be your friend and possibly something more... b-but I can't let you enslave the galaxy for your own capitalist nature. Please, just stop this life and let me help you... Everyone wants you dead or locked away forever, but I can protect you from both of those outcomes."

She offered him her free hand: the one not holding her wand.

Huge Gigantacus dipped his helmet down to conceal his eyes from her view. "I've worked for so long to become a success... I finally got what I've wanted after all the blood, sweat and tears I put into this occupation. I deserve this, and I won't let you take it from me."

"HG, I could grant you anything you ever want in this universe." Rose retorts. "Money, fame, glory... love... anything."

"I already have what I wanted. I don't need magic to give me some sort of consolation prize." Huge Gigantacus replied softly, not sure if he should give in to the opportunity she's offering to him.

"Let me ask you this: are you happy?" Rose inquires, being a bit passive aggressive. "Are you happy in your little high chair of power? Do you have friends to talk to about your success? Do you have any family left to look back to share your thoughts? Do you have anyone to come home to? I don't think you do. You could be so much more happier if you just... take my hand and let me help you before you go too far."

She still kept her arm up this entire time, not caring that it was getting tired.

"I am happy..." Huge Gigantacus replied after the long silence. "I'm a success and I'm king of the galaxy."

"But not the universe." Rose remarked.

"I could care less about the universe." Huge Gigantacus dismissed. "This is my galaxy now, nobody is gonna take it from me. And if you want it back, you're going to have to kill me."

"But you know I won't do that. Hence why I'm having this discussion with you." Rose bemoans. "Haven't you been listening to me this entire time?"

"I have..." He kept his helmet dipped in front of his eyes. "It's not as simple as you make it out to be Rose. You're a living plant, and I'm practically a zombie. We're opposites, we... we can't be friends..."

Rose noticed his hesitancy. "Wait a second... Did you pause...?"

He would blush if he had adequate blood flow. "N-No..."

"Did you stutter?!"

"No!"

"I can look into your heart, HG." Rose replied, her gloom mood turning into something more positive. "Do... Do you have a crush on me?"

"NO!"

She smiled, her depression quickly subsiding upon realization. "You do! Oh, my gosh! I can't believe this!"

"IT'S NOT TRUE!" The little man hides his face behind his gloved hands. "I REFUSE TO BELIEVE IT!"

"HG, I'm flattered!" Rose grins, feeling so relieved. "For all this time, I thought that you genuinely hate me and never even thought about the possibility of being my friend. But it warms my heart to know you like me in some way."

"Stop it! JUST SHUT UP!" He tried covering his ears.

"You do know that I'm very open to that possibility, right? I gladly be your romantic partner!" Rose gives him a sly, but also seductive, grin. "And we'd be just fine together. We got lots in common, like sight-seeing, exploring the universe, planetary tours, and--"

"ROSE!"

She silenced her rambling when she saw that he had the Ice Moon equipped and ready.

"I do not know why I feel this way... maybe this is some sort of glitch in my brain, or maybe your sweet scent finally got a hold of me... but I'm not going to let it distract me from my objective." Huge Gigantacus asserts, finally having the nerve to stare her down.

Rose's confidence returns and she proud puffs out her chest - even though it's just a stem. "And I won't let it distract me either. I will stop you, HG. Like always."

"And I will always keep trying until you or I die." Huge Gigantacus retorted, sounding more like a traditional bad guy from those Saturday morning cartoons.

He slammed his fist down onto the button to fire his freeze ray and Rose swiftly dodges the frosty beam. She gives him a wink, which only made him flustered a bit. He switched to his flamethrower and greedily presses it to disperse the flame at the flower.

Rose uses her wand to suck it all up like a vacuum and shoots it out of the wand up into the sky to create a lovely visual for anyone down below. He pressed a different button to shoot out a purple orb out from behind his chair.

Rose quickly zapped that orb with her wand and ot disappeared, she knew what it was and she wouldn't let Huge Gigantacus use it against her.

"Is that all ya got, love?" Rose playfully mocked as she gave him another one of her winks.

"Stop it!" He growled. "Quit playing around and take this seriously!"

"Hmm..." Rose tapped her chin with her wand. "Nope! ^^"

"RAH!" He pressed a button to shoot out weed spray at her, to which Rose countered by summoning a large fan with her wand with blew it back to Huge Gigantacus.

He coughs as the effects had little to no consequences on him. He notices that Rose is playing only defensively, which is not how their fights usually go. And then he realizes it's because of the fact she knows about his secret.

He hates that she could see into his heart, and really hates that she knows his secret. He wanted it to take it to his grave, but now she knows and will forever taunt him about it.

He pressed another button to fire lasers at Rose. As always, she dodges them quite effortlessly - demonstrating that she knows all of his tricks. He slowly realized that she's just playing with him, so he's going to leave while he had the chance

With one press of a button, the thrusters on his chair send him sky-high, enough to break Rose's line of sight.

"Well, that happened..." Rose said to herself, being a bit disappointed at the anticlimactic battle.

While she didn't rescue the gems he's holding captive, she did learn something new about him.

She learned about his crush and this gives her an advantage over him. Perhaps if she could use it and make it into a slow-burn development, she could reform him and free the galaxy that way.

It could take weeks and months to free the prisoners he has and the rest of the galaxy, and everyone would prefer if she just freed them now. But... she likes what she and him have at the moment.

This brought a new kind of spice she never knew she needed in their relationship, and she's gonna savor every bit of it.

Was it selfish of her to basically withhold the galaxy's independence, along with Peridot, Amethyst and Spinel, for the sake of her experiening some new thrills and kinks?

Yes.

But it's not like they're in immediate danger. She knows that Huge Gigantacus won't harm them, he isn't that kind of guy. So they'll be relatively safe for now, unless he gets angry.

So, nothing bad could happen for her to 'play with her food,' as some people would use that analogy in this situation.

She knows that she eventually had to apprehend him, or else everyone else will know. But for now, she's gonna have fun with this.

End of Chapter 13.

April 7th, 2023. 7:37 PM.