Chapter Text
Reformation sequence startup active.
Hardlight emitters standby.
Action cycle past reformation forms…
[ If: past reformation data is found, emit hardlight form file. ]
[ Else: past reformation data is not found / corrupted, cycle to next. ]
- Cycling…
Error reformation data not found / corrupted.
- Cycling…
Error reformation data not found / corrupted.
- Cycling…
(Past data inapplicable. Pull from keyword search: [Steven Universe].)
- Searching...
Reformation data found.
- Processing…
Reformation sequence begin.
Monochrome haze fills his vision.
White Diamond (#ffffff), pristine and wide-eyed, gawks at him. Her translucent cape shimmers and sparkles against her own hardlight glow.
Her puppets echo the expression of open-mouth-astonishment, all paralyzed as he floats downward. He passes by the grayed out Blue Diamond (#05E1F5), then the damaged Pink Pearl (#F6CCEE), before his hardlight form touches ground.
Something internal pulls his gaze away from the gems.
Steven Universe. Or at least… part of him. The human component of Steven Universe — which shows signs of physical trauma — leans against Connie Maheswaran, across the room. The human component's symptoms include paleness of form, eyebags, shaky limbs, labored breathing…
(Assessment: human component cannot function alone.)
He stares at the human component. The human component, and Connie Maheswaran, both stare back.
He reaches out for him and takes a step forward, out from under Connie Maheswaran's arm. His legs give out. He collapses to the floor with a gasp of pain.
Connie Maheswaran reacts with panic, on her knees with her hands hovering over the human component to try and assist.
The human component reaches out to him again, trembling. “Please, I… I need — I need it.”
Absolute objective assigned re-fuse.
White Diamond’s multiple voices boom all around. “What is this? Where is Pink?!”
- Searching...
Keyword [Pink / Pink Diamond] not found.
No records of files with keyword [Pink].
There is no Pink Diamond (#FBB9E4) data. Nothing within his gem is labeled as such, let alone with such importance. There is only the diamond (#E83C86) from which his hardlight form emits from.
He speaks with Steven Universe’s voice; the only audio he has. “She’s gone.”
The air crackles with tension as White Diamond and her puppets tense. Her singular voice hisses with a low, drawn out note. “What did you say...?”
Was he not clear enough? There is no Pink Diamond. There is no Pink Diamond! Pink Diamond ceased to be! The continued questioning of her non-existence is interfering with his objective.
He must make it crystal clear to White Diamond that —
“ /̵̢̜̀]̵̙̅[̵̰͍͊̍=̵̩̭͋̌_̸͖̄_̷͚̉̀\̶͕̆̊#̸̠̘͘*̵̼̜̐.̵̙̉͛_̴̡͛̃ͅ_̴̞̣̋̐-̸͓̌`̶̢̳̌|̶̬̉͝.̷̖̏̕!̴͈̌̈!̷̫̍ ”
His deafening synth note leaves a shallow crater beneath his form, the effects of the shock wave shaking the room and sending spiderweb cracks across the flawless ground and stairs.
His gaze bores into White Diamond’s. Further searches for [Pink Diamond] will result in further damages. White Diamond must be aware of this.
Cries from the human component draw his attention. (Absolute objective: re-fuse.) He steps across the crater and fresh blemishes in the floor, toward the other half of Steven Universe.
There is an iciness to White Diamond’s singular voice, her notes scattered and waning. “Where do you think you’re going?”
His objective takes precedence above all else. He continues forward.
Tears stream down the human component’s face. He tries to crawl, but does not get far. He whimpers out the tiniest “help,” which causes Connie Maheswaran to spring into action. She lifts the human component into her arms with some effort, her smaller frame straining under his limp weight. Connie Maheswaran grits her teeth and proceeds ahead — albeit at a slow pace.
White Diamond’s notes are hard edged, but an anxious dissonance shimmers in the background of the sound. “Don’t you dare take one more step.”
He continues to leave her unacknowledged. In under eleven steps, he will meet Connie Maheswaran, and reunite with the human component.
Ten steps remaining. Nine steps remaining.
White Diamond's filter drops. Her song rumbles and crashes, the drone at a fever pitch. “ =̷͙͋\̵̡̓\̶̯̎\̴̫̈́|̸̜͊{̶̭̍^̶̤̊/̴̣̈́/̷̝̑>̴̠̔/̵̲̋|̴̠͌≠̘̌_̷̱̎!̶̝̓/̶̨̂/̷̟͠ ”
DEFENSE PROTOCOLS ENGAGED
He stops in his tracks, willing a geometric proto-shield to manifest at his side, just before White Diamond's blinding ray of light slams into it. And he simply looks at her — an act of defiance that rings even louder than her collective same-song. White Diamond balks in shock, tries to shoot him with that blinding ray again, then again, and he raises his shield-dome before any of the hits land.
Her song wains and billows, a note of desperation rising from the din of noise. "I only want you to be yourself..." then that hard edge creeps in, drowning out all else. "If you can't do that, I'll do it for you."
She hits him all at once, each of her puppets streaming with that ray of condensed, sterilizing light. His shield-dome stands true, but he is no closer to reuniting with the human component.
(The human component cannot function alone.)
He does not have access to any specific program for attacking outright, but there is possibly a defensive measure he can alter to achieve a similar effect. A forceful disperse of the shield-dome should suffice; if any other actions are required afterword is yet to be determined.
Willing his shield-dome to shatter out and separate interrupts White Diamond's ray, eliciting a sharp, discordant yelp from the perfect diamond as her powers are disrupted. The force of the blowback makes the ground quake. It sends the smaller gems under her control flying, and the other two Diamonds topple.
The human component's voice overflows with pain. "No, stop — you're hurting them—!"
White Diamond hits the ground, the impact shaking the room so hard it causes everything — including himself and Connie Maheswaran — to jolt several inches off the ground. White Diamond remains still.
(Absolute objective: re-fuse.)
Eight steps. Seven steps.
Connie Maheswaran struggles forward. She may be able to rend vehicles in half with her blade, but she is only human, and she is only thirteen.
Three steps. Two steps.
The human component reaches out for him, straining.
One step.
His hand brushes against Connie Maheswaran’s. Her eyes dart up to his face, blown wide with spiking adrenaline, and tears sit just on the brink of falling. Every twitch, every stutter in her breath, reads as unsure. Her grip on the human component remains tight for a fraction of a second — hesitant. Even with her rapid pulse, she remains outwardly calm.
Connie Maheswaran cannot stand up for much longer, even in spite of her physical strength. Her voice wobbles. “H-Here…”
So he slips an arm under the human component’s shoulders, then the other arm under his legs, supporting him in a similar fashion to her protective cradle. Connie Maheswaran takes a step back, then another, still watching him and the human component with protective intent.
The human component smiles, tears flowing again. He wraps his arms around his neck and shoulders with such a fervor that he is sure they'll both topple over, a laugh of pure relief bubbling from his throat. He remains still, unsure how to process the action for a split second. The sound that comes from the human component is not gemsong, but it makes something within him ache in a way that he can only explain as welcoming. He returns the embrace with just as much joy, and joins the other half's laughter as they both twirl, holding each other tight.
The gem glows with the light of fusion as their dance goes on, a pure harmonette chord echoing from deep within his synth note laughter. He spins with his other half, the rest of the room practically non-existent as Steven Universe reunites.
Absolute objective: achieved.
Connie Maheswaran is by their side, holding Steven, tears of her own now racing down her cheeks. "Are you back together? Are you... you?"
"Yeah — Yeah, I'm me! I've... always been me."