Steven Universe: Fissured [REFORMED]

by BellaBerryBoo

Summary:

After a training incident that leaves Jasper shattered, Steven is forced to deal with the aftermath of what his actions have done. And, what they've made. Broken and cracking under the pressure, things get worse, before they get better.

Notes:

Hello and welcome everyone to the Fissured rewrite! After four (Really? Four years already) years, I'd say it's time for a few things to change regarding the AU. These will include character backstory, how certain events happen, and character descriptions. I hope you can enjoy the story! And remember to check out the AU's Tumblr @suaufissured for updates, designs, and other miscellaneous things.

Chapter 1: Prologue:

  The only thing heard was thunder. Then, shards of pebbles landing on the ground. Then, feet landing, followed by slow, cautious footsteps. The dust settled around the broken clearing, revealing a large, looming figure. Pink light cut through the dust cloud like it was nothing. His footsteps stopped in front of the clump of stones. He raised an eyebrow in confusion.

 

  Steven began chuckling. Then, he erupted in laughter. Interlacing his fingers, he stretched his arms above his head, causing his joints to crack. "Well then," the gem hybrid began, "I guess I'm not so pitiful now, huh, Jasper?" He knew there would be no response. Steven craned his head to the side, creating a loud cracking sound. Shaking his wrists, he knelt down to the stone pile. He reached out a hand to the stone closest to him. "Y'know, maybe you need some training yourself. We'll get to talking after you ref-"

 

  He cut himself off with a startled scream. Falling backwards, the collision with the ground caused the orange gem shards in the crater to shift slightly from the tremor. Steven’s breathing began to pick up, heartbeat deafening in his ears, sitting up on his knees and reaching out a shaky hand to carefully grasp the largest shard in the pile. He stared at it with his diamond pupils flashing in between their standard and current form. The weight of the event crashed down on him. He’s a shatterer. He’s officially a diamond. He’s worse than his mother.

 

“NOOOOOO!!!”

 

There was a sharp pain in his abdomen, before passing out. 

Chapter 2: Broken Shards

Notes:

I wrote the first two chapters in a night. Nearly finished with Chapter 3. I'm really looking forwards to working on the Homeworld visit.

  Steven woke up to the sound of thunder. He quickly shot up. Big mistake as he clutched his head, sucking in air through his teeth. It felt like he had the worst headache ever. The pain faded enough, so he could think clearly. He rubbed his eyes before glancing around the area. Glancing down at his hands, he noticed they were no longer glowing pink. He began stretching his fingers, wondering why they were so sore.

 

  Then, he remembered. “Jasper!” he gasped, whipping his head to the now empty crater. His eyes widened in surprise. Standing up in shock, the gem hybrid frantically started whipping his head around the landscape. His thoughts ran wild. Where were the shards? Did something take them? Could he fix this? He froze, when something grazed his leg. He yelped and swung his leg in front of him, causing an orange blur to be launched a few feet away, skidding on the dirt floor. Steven gasped, instantly recognizing the orange coloration of the scrap of beige hair. The mass began to unfurl itself, standing on its quadruped form, shaking its hair from dust collected from the launch.

 

  Quickly, the creature started dashing at full speed back towards the shocked teen. He heard a hiss and felt something conceal around his arm. He whipped his arm toward his eyeline, revealing an orange striped snake. The snake dropped from his arm and turned to face him. The bull-like creature skidded to a halt right beside the snake. There was a scuffing of dirt behind him. Steven yelped and turned behind. Another orange creature emerged behind a boulder, resembling a rhino, with the gem clearly presented where a horn should be. The third creature lined up with the other two, with a fourth one slowly making its way with them. It looked like a hairball with two orange nubs.

 

  “No. No no no nononono,” Steven whispered, while taking a slow step backwards. How could he fix Jasper now? What did he create? With a final step backwards, it felt like he stepped on a beach ball. There was a yelp, underneath his foot, and then a thud, from his back hitting the floor. He groaned in pain as the four, orange gem creatures began swarming him. He didn’t feel like trying to bat away the grunting beasts. His body was too sore to do anything.

 

  There was a small whine near his legs. His eyes opened in confusion. There was a softness to it, unlike the gruffness of the orange gems. Using all of his strength to sit up, he caught his breath and looked at what was making that sound. There was a fifth creature. But, it looked drastically different than the others. It was round, almost football-like, with limbs similar to a frog with dog paws. It had a long tail with a massive puff at the end of it. Its eyes looked like two, wine-colored beads and its mouth had two jowls, like it was permanently smiling. It was bubblegum pink all over its body, sans for the puff at the end, which was a cerise pink, along with the four puffs trailing along its back, leading up to a large, curly one near its face. “H-hello?” was all Steven could say.

 

  He felt a spike of pain surge through him. His body tensed up at it, rolling to his side. The orange creatures ran away in surprise, while the pink one circled around to meet his face. Steven’s eyes were shut from the lingering pain, breathing through his clenched teeth. He shut his mouth when he felt something wet slide across his face. He groaned in irritation, batting away the slobbering creature. Then, he felt the pain instantly wash away. He sat up, his head wasn’t pounding anymore. Carefully reaching out his right hand, the gem being leaned its head into his palm and began purring. Steven chuckled at the cuteness, despite circumstances surrounding him.

 

  He shopped when his other hand lightly grazed his stomach. All feelings of comfort washed away in an instant, allowing fear to enter. He quickly pulled his right hand away and used it to lift his shirt. The sight alone made him want to vomit. His gem. It had a gaping hole in it. Steven quickly turned back to the pink gem creature. As if it read his emotions, he began looking uncomfortable. This basically confirmed Steven's suspicions. "Crap," he muttered under his breath.

 

  Steven looked down with his eyebrows furled in thought. The gem creature healed him. Does that mean it could also heal Jasper? Could it also heal his gem? His head shot up with an idea. He staggered to his feet, grabbing the pink gem creature with his hands. Steven glanced back at the four gem creatures, huddled together. “Don’t worry. I’ll find a way to fix everything,” he promised. Gripping the pink creature, he started running deeper into the woods, making a small detour to collect his jacket, which he used to wrap up the creature. He needed to fix this.

Notes:

Comments are appreciated!

Chapter 3: An attempt for fixing

  The rain showed no mercy for the teen. Steven was already exhausted from running, but the beach house was just in view. If he could make it a little longer…he felt the same surge of pain when he reached the bottom step. He fell over on the stairs, groaning as his shin hit one of the steps. The creature in his jacket poked out its muzzle from the fabric, only to have it be shoved back in. Staggering back to his feet, he completed walking up the stairs and burst through the door, ignoring the gems in the living room. “Steven?” Pearl gawked, while he entered the bathroom and shut the door. “Where have you been?”

 

  “We’ve looked everywhere for you!” Amethyst yelled from the other side of the door.

 

  “Not now!” was all Steven could say. He ran over to the bathtub, unfurling his jacket to release the gem being. Tossing it to the side, he frantically turned the knobs for the faucet. As the water started filling up the tub, he ran over to the mirror cabinet, opening it, and with one swift arm movement, knocked all of the diamond essence bottles into the water. Yellow, blue, and white essence began flowing in the tub. The confused gem creature licked at one of the ripples, causing a pink one to form. It yelped when Steven gripped it and held it close to his chest.

 

  “Please. Please, I need this to work,” Steven whispered into the creature’s fur. Tears began streaming down his face and dropping into the water. “I need this to work. I need to fix everything I’ve done.”

 

  After a few seconds, the gem creature reached up and licked the teen's chin. Steven cracked open an eye in confusion, looking down to see the pink shard wagging his puffed tail. This isn't what he wanted. The diamond essence isn't working. He was still split. "Why…why isn't it working?" he asked himself. His whole body started shaking. His hands released the pink creature and he turned to leave the tub. A hand gripped the rim of the tub and he hoisted himself up. From how slippery the tub was, he fell out of the tub, sliding on the tile floor. The tub overflowed, causing the frog-like gem to slowly wash out and slide on the floor, besides Steven's head.

 

  Still in grief at his failure, Steven placed both hands on his face and began sobbing. “What have I done? I’m a failure of a healer. How am I supposed to fix this, when I’m also broken?” he cried. He shut his eyes tight and curled up into a fetal position. His hands were pressed firmly against his mouth, diluting the sound of his sobs. He didn't want the gems barging in, seeing him in such a pathetic state.

 

  He barely registered a fuzzy snout press up against his forehead. Suddenly, warmth flooded his mind. It made his mind feel soft and light. Steven cracked open an eye between his fingers to see why. The creature had its eyes closed and was glowing. It wasn't too bright, but similar to one of those glow-in-the-dark toys with a pink light. Its puffed tail was slowly waving to the side, releasing small, pink embers that quickly vanished with each sway.

 

  The gem creature stopped glowing and its tail went still. Opening his eyes, the being's jowls perked more upwards in a smile. Steven’s eyes gave a slight shimmer of appreciation at the gem shard. He reached out a now relaxed hand towards the pink creature, patting its head. It trilled with happiness. Steven’s eyes softened as the corners of his mouth began turning upwards. He gave a “hmph” sound as a “thank you.”

 

  The moment was cut short by a shrill scream behind the bathroom door. Steven and the shard looked up towards the direction. “Pearl?” Steven asked himself, recognizing the sound. Wasting no time, he stood up and headed towards the door. Unlocking it while putting his jacket back on, him and the pink creature rushed outside and stopped when they noticed the situation. The gems were surrounded. By the pack of orange shards. They had their weapons out, but had conflicted looks on their faces. Said pack was barking wildly at them. Pearl shot a small glance upwards, looked back down, then fully turned her gaze to Steven.

 

  “Steven!” she exclaimed, “You’re finally out! Now, please, help us with these…things!” The snake shard reached up and bit the pale gem’s spear. Now panicking, she began wildly waving around her weapon. The blade nearly hit Amethyst, but the snake’s tail whacked into her face.

 

  “Guys? Is it just me, or do these things look...familiar?” the purple gem pondered, getting tacked to the floor by the largest orange gem. It growled in the downed gem’s face, getting picked up by Garnet’s gauntlet. The striped creature began flailing its limbs around in anger. The fusion had an unamused look on her face, raising her free gauntlet to strike the shard. Steven’s eyes widened and silently gasped. If she struck it, they would know what he did.

 

  Raising his hands, Steven yelled, “Wait! Garnet, stop!” After the exclamation, he felt the same surge of pain through his gem, like when he discovered what happened to Jasper. This time, a bolt of pink lightning shot out of his cracked gem. The three gems quickly diverted their attention to him. Steven yelped and fell to his knees, clutching his abdomen. The pink creature stood on its hind legs and started pawing at his side.

 

  “Steven!” Garnet gasped, dropping the gem creature. The three gems ran up to him to help him up. Pearl and Amethyst propped his arms around their shoulders and hoisted him up. Pearl glanced downwards and let out a horrified gasp. Amethyst noticed it next and also gasped. Steven cracked open his eyes, still delirious from the pain. His eyes darted between the two gems and to where they were looking at. There was a new crack, right along one of the corners from the original. Adrenaline surged through his body and he regained strength in his legs. He stepped backwards, away from the two gems holding him up.

 

  “Steven! Your gem!” Pearl exclaimed in fear.

 

  “What happened?” Garnet asked with concern. The three gems started bombarding him with questions. His hearing started to dilute, drowning out what everyone was saying. The pink creature was ramming its head into his leg to catch his attention, but Steven was too focused on what happened to his gem. It had gotten worse. Why was it worse? He was gonna fix things, but now this had to happen! Why!? His eyes zoned in on the orange gems walking to his feet. Like before, they were all neatly in a row. All four of them bowed their heads in unison and the largest one started making low grunts, like it was about to cough something out of its throat.

 

  “M-M-my…D-dia-amo-nd.”

 

  His heart froze.

Notes:

Comments are appreciated!

Chapter 4: Homeworld or bust babyyy!!

  Did he hear that right? It called him “My Diamond.” Why? He shattered them, but they still called him “My Diamond.” Steven looked up towards no particular direction. Whatever the gems were saying was tuned out by the sound of his footsteps walking forwards. The gems looked at him in confusion, following him up the stairs, through his bedroom, and in the entrance of his observatory. Walking through the threshold, the voices returned.

 

  “Steven, wait!” Pearl exclaimed. He stopped right in front of the Warp Pad, glancing down at his shaky fist, it flickering pink. He didn’t know if it would work from what happened, but he did it anyway. Waving his hand, a barrier of flickering, pink hexagons cut him off from the Gems, including the five shards. The orange shards started barking wildly at the barrier. Steven looked behind at everyone behind the wall with a sorrowful expression.

 

  “Guys. I love you, but…you can’t help me anymore. I’ve been avoiding the only people in the entire universe who can. Please, don’t follow me,” he pleaded. He turned around to the Warp Pad again. He placed one foot on the Warp Pad. His other foot was about to step on, when it felt like it got snagged on something. That’s odd. His head turned down to what it was snagged on. Apparently, it was “snagged” in the mouth of the pink gem shard. “What?” he whispered in confusion. Looking back at the barrier, he saw how it managed to get through. The instability of his gem being split also affected his barrier. There was an obvious missing panel in the wall that it had jumped through. Even at his best effort in using his powers, he failed.

 

  He shut his eyes and the shield disputed. The other gems wasted no time in running to Steven. “Steven,” Garnet said. Her voice was gentle.

 

  “What is the meaning of this?” Pearl said in a more demanding tone, “Where were you planning on going?”

 

  “Yeah, man,” Amethyst agreed, “You’ve been missing for days. What happened?”

 

  Steven glanced down at the pink shard still holding onto his leg. It made eye contact and nodded. Scrunching up his face, he sighed in defeat, knowing there was no running away this time. “Fine. I’ll tell you everything. Sit down and get comfortable.” The rest of the gems complied, sitting down on the hard floor. The orange shards all piled on the largest of the four. The teen sat down on the Warp Pad with his legs crossed. He looked up to speak, only to be cut off by the pink gem jumping in his lap and curling up. Steven placed a hand on its head, lightly tossing the very soft puff on its head.

 

  “So, I guess I should start with how those four came to be,” Steven began, tilting his head to the four orange shards.

 

  “If that’s how it starts, then go ahead,” Garnet replied.

 

  Steven inhaled deeply, “The first thing I did after leaving was go see Jasper. I don’t know if you know this, but I had originally visited her a couple months back.”

 

  Amethyst pinched the bridge of her nose and slowly shook her head, “Dude, I told you to just let her chill. She wasn’t disrupting anything.”

 

  “I should have,” Steven admitted, “But, during the visit, we got into a little…altercation. And,...” The hybrid lifted up his hand from the pink shard’s fluffy head, turning the palm towards him. It flickered pink for a moment, then extinguished. “That’s when I started glowing.”

 

  “If that’s what went down, then…where is Jasper now,” Amethyst asked hesitantly, like she already knew. Steven’s brow furled. Somehow, he knew she would be the first to catch on. His other hand started shaking and his stomach dropped. The pink creature pressed its muzzle against the shaky hand. This snapped him out of the rising nervousness. He placed the still hand to its snout

 

  “We…we started training..t-to better control my powers. Then, we had a rematch of our previous fight. At full power. It felt…amazing. All that raw energy in my veins. No restraint on what I could do!” Steven paused, noticing the startled expressions of the gems in front of him. He shook his head to clear the memories. “And…I ended up overdoing it. Jasper said to not hold back….And I didn’t.”

 

  There was a pregnant pause in the observatory. The three gems looked over to the four gem shards looking back. Steven looked down, not stomaching enough courage to look them in the eye after that. He didn’t register that his skin was slightly flickering pink.

 

  “So…what about the pink one?” Amethyst said. Steven perked up to look at the purple gem. Pearl was slowly removing her hand from her mouth and Garnet readjusted her visor. By the looks of it, everyone was uncomfortable. The teen looked down at the football shaped being, who looked back at him.

 

  “Well. After the…discovery, the next thing I knew, I was waking up with a headache. And, then,..they showed up. When they cleared my headache after it licked my face, I knew where they came from,” Steven explained. He picked up the gem shard, placing it next to him. Gripping the bottom of his shirt, he lifted the fabric, revealing an open crack in the facet.

 

  There was another silence, before Garnet spoke up. "You were going to the Diamonds," she concluded. Steven looked back up at the fusion, shyly nodding.

 

  "Well,...if you're going,...then I am too!" Amethyst exclaimed. Everyone looked at the shorter gem in surprise.

 

  "What?" Steven yelped.

 

  "My words exactly," Pearl agreed, "What?"

 

  Amethyst turned to the other gems and sighed. "Look, I know we can't do anything about his gem now. But, maybe he has a point. I mean, nobody knows a diamond better than a diamond, right?" Amethyst turned back to the teen, "At least let us join to make sure things go smoothly. Please?"

 

  Steven's eyes darted to the pile of orange gems, back to the gems, and down at the pink creature. It gazed back up at him with its beady eyes. His eyes squinted shut and sighed, before looking back up at the gems. "Alright," he agreed, "You guys can tag along."

 

  The other gems' faces perked up. Everyone stood up and made their way to the warp pad. The four shards scampered over each other in a race to be the first one on. Everyone settled in their spots as the pad began to glow. "Homeworld or bust, babyyy!!" Amethyst exclaimed, raising her fists in the air. In a beam of light, they vanished.

Chapter 5: A New/Old Face

  It only took a few seconds, but it felt like hours until their feet touched the ground. The light around them dispersed as they landed. The shard pack landed with a hard thud after floating around in the stream. The pink being was safely nestled in Steven’s arms. Without speaking, Steven stepped off of the Warp Pad, being silently followed by the other gems. The Crystal Gems gazed around in amazement at how much the environment had changed.

 

  “This is incredible! Never had I thought Homeworld was capable of growing plant life,” Pearl commented. There was a large contrast to when he visited Homeworld a couple months ago. He was kind of glad to see they’ve made improvements without him being there. Like they didn’t need him anymore.

 

  The group made their way through the doors of the main palace. The gems behind Steven gazed in wonderment at all of the gems running around, admiring the structure of the building, conversing with different classes. Except Steven. He just faced forwards, not bothering to look around. His legs stopped moving as he looked up at the four thrones. His hands started to tremble, remembering certain events that happened. The ball, the destabilizing, the cold, dark tower. He felt something pawing at shoulder. Looking down, he saw the pink creature staring up at him, tail slightly wagging. How could he not pet such a cute little guy? He reached a hand underneath its chin and gave it a few scritches, earling a trill of approval.

 

  “Steven!” Someone exclaimed. Steven lifted his head up and looked around at whoever might have called him. His eyes landed in front of Pink’s old throne. There stood a pink gem, lanky, tufted hair, and long lines under their eyes. Spinel. She was grinning with glee, stretching her legs in a corkscrew and bounding towards the group with arms outstretched. Everyone barely had time to register her arms wrapping around them two or three times, squeezing them together in a hug.

 

  “Spinel! I-it’s good to see you,” Pearl politely said. Spinel unraveled her arms around everyone, snapping back to their normal position. Everyone was still adjusting to just getting squished.

 

  “Good to see me?” the pink gem rhetorically asked, “It’s great to see you!”

 

  “Um..yeah, same,” Steven said, finally getting his bearings, “How have you been since…”

 

  “Since I tried to kill you?” She replied. She flicked her wrists in exaggeration, “That was sooo embarrassing. I was just a wreck back then, but I am so much better now!” Her eyes darted past Steven to the four orange shards behind him. Spinel stretched a foot in front of them, propelling her body forwards, until she was standing in front of them. “Oh, and who are these little guys?” she said in a baby talk voice, “Aren’t you four just little cuties?” She started wagging an index finger in front of them. The largest of the four promptly bit it. Spinel’s face dropped and she stood up with it still attached, like a fish on a hook. “Well, anyways,” she shrugged, “Aren’t you gonna introduce us?”

 

  “Introduce you?” Steven asked, bewildered.

 

  “Yeah! Like what are these little guys called,” Spinel explained with the gem shard still attacked. The remaining three leapt up and bit her remaining fingers.

 

  “Oh, well they are…um..” He looked closer at their appearances. The largest resembled a bull more than the others. The second largest looked uncannily like a rhino. The third one was obviously a snake, and the final one closely resembled a tadpole with legs. “They’re…Toro,..Rhino,...Slither, aaaaand…Pollywog.”

 

  Spinel awed at the four gems dangling on her fingers. She looked back at the gem hybrid and perked up. “Oh! And who is that?” she asked, stretching her free thumb to the pink creature in Steven’s arms. It pressed its snout to it.

 

  “Oh, him? Well..this is…” Steven had to think harder on this one. It didn’t look particularly like any big creature. Body shape like a frog, paws like a dog, a long, tufted tail similar to a jerboa. He just decided to let his mind spitball something. “P…p…puuukaa..shell..Puka Shell. This is Puka Shell,” he concluded.

 

  “Aww, well he is the cutest of them here!” Spinel concluded. “Oh! Speaking of introductions,” she began, flinging her hands back, causing the four, orange gems to fly backwards. “I also have someone to introduce you to.”

 

  “Oh? Is that so?” Pearl wondered.

 

  “Yep!” Spinel confirmed, “But, I should fill you in on a little back story on how we met.”

 

  “Um..y-you don’t have to..rea-” the teen was cut off by Amethyst.

 

  “Lay it on us, Spin-nelly!” Amethyst exclaimed.

 

  Spinel chuckled at the enthusiasm. “Okay okay okay. So, I’m sure you know about the whole Gem Rebellion, right?”

 

  The group glanced between each other in confusion at that, unsure if it was rhetorical or serious. “We’re aware of it,” Garnet replied.

 

  “Okay, great! So, due to the number of soldiers that have either been shattered, experimented on, or turned around, they were short on, what’s the word? Staff. So, Yellow D started using other vacant planets as “soldier factories” as one may call them,” Spinel explained.

 

  “So,..what happened next?” Steven asked.

 

  “Weeeelllll…” the pink gem began, “This was cut short by the quote, unquote “passing of Pink Diamond.” Afterwards, Yellow halted production and basically forgot about it for thousands of years,” she shrugged.

 

  “So, wait. There were other gems abandoned on planets??” Steven asked bewildered, but also upset that he didn’t know about the possibility of someone else being alone with no purpose.

 

  “You wanna know the funny thing about that statement? They only found one!” Spinel yelled, oddly enthusiastic.

 

  “Whaaaa?” Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, and Steven said in unison, tilting their heads to the side.

 

  “Why don’t I introduce ya?” Spinel said, stretching out her hand in the shape of a megaphone and pointing it towards the thrones and took a deep breath. “OOOOH EMS!!!” The yell practically caused the entire room to shake. In the distance there was a green gem that turned around to face them. It grinned and rolled into a spin dash, rolling past groups of touring gems before skidding to a halt besides Spinel. The group batted away smoke left over from the new gem’s screeching halt.

 

  “Ems, meet the guy I was telling you about,” Spinel said, gesturing to Steven.

 

  “Oh, this is the guy?” the green gem asked, “Y’know, I was expecting someone kinda taller.” Said gem was about the same height as him, with a few inches taller. Her skin was a dark pastel green and her hair was a very light green. Her eyes were a darker shade of green. She wore a dark olive colored unitard with a white ring around her abdomen, where the bottom of the suit cut off, and her heeled boots were white as well. A big thing that stood out to Steven was her headband. It was blue, contrasting with the overall color palette of the gem. Her gemstone shone a vibrant green on her chest.

 

  “Uh, it’s nice to meet you…Ems,” Steven awkwardly said, reaching out a hand for the gem to shake.

 

  The new gem reached out and shook it, chuckling. “Ems is just a little nickname Spins over there gave me,” she said, playfully side-eyeing the jester gem. Spinel chuckled, covering her mouth with one hand and shyly flicked her other wrist with the other. “But, if you wanna go formal, Emerald Facet 4 cut 7XZ.”

 

  “Spinel mentioned you were made on a vacant planet. Does that mean there were others then too?” Pearl asked.

 

  Emerald let go of the teen’s hand. “Oh that?” she said, nervously laughing. She looked at the ground, placing both hands on her waist and kicked at the floor. “Well, there were. I ended up being the last to emerge. Just in time to witness how they all left. It wasn’t the best place to emerge. But, Yellow was desperate enough to use a planet notorious for harsh weather. Lightning storms, dust tornados, quakes. With it being such a barren planet, we didn’t have a lot of cover. One by one, I watched the gems I emerged with disappear, like the dust that covered their shards…”

 

  Emerald’s head snapped back up to the horrified looks of the visitors. “Well, thank the stars I was introduced to Spinel. She helped me through all of the horrors I experienced,” she said, grasping Spinel’s hand.

 

  “Why, I’m glad I can be of service, m’lady,” Spinel said, bowing to the green gem. Both Homeworld gems started laughing, like they didn’t just talk about the horrors they experienced from the Gem War. It was interrupted when Steven cleared his throat. “Oh, nearly forgot about you fellas! Sooo, what brings you here then?” Spinel asked.

 

  The group looked at Steven. He sighed, knowing what he had to say. “I…had a little..incident when it came to my powers. As a result…” Steven lifted his shirt, revealing the hole and crack on his gem. Spinel and Ems sucked air between their teeth in sympathy. “Puka Shell here is what became of the piece that broke off. I tried the diamond essence, but it didn’t work. And,...I feel like I failed.”

 

  Spinel popped up right beside him, gripping his shoulder. Steven quietly squeaked in surprise. “Oh, don’t be so down Stevie! Lucky for you, we might actually help!”

 

  “Y-you can?” he asked, slightly enthusiastic. Spinel slid beside Emerald once again.

 

  “Yep! Yellow Diamond actually has something that can help with your predicament. C’mon! Let’s go!” Spinel waves a hand, gesturing for the group to follow her. The pink and green gems started merrily skipping down the hall towards Yellow’s room. The group followed soon after. Steven gave a small gulp, unsure of what will happen next, or if he’ll end up ruining things again.

 

  “So, uh, Spinel and Emerald,” Pearl began whispering to Garnet, “Are they-”

 

  “Yes,” Garnet quickly replied.

Chapter 6: Diamond in the rough

Notes:

Okay, this is where things get heavy. The following topics are in this chapter
- Blood & injury
- Unintentional self-harm
- Involuntary movements
If any of you feel unsettled by any of these, feel free to skip this chapter. But, keep in mind that it may possibly lead to confusion in the timeline.

  It felt like they had been walking for miles before reaching the door. Walking down the hallway, two gems ran by giggling, a Flint and a Chert. The pair of running gems nearly ran into the Shard Pack, swerving away at the last moment. The four orange shards growled in frustration.

 

  “Y’know, I’ve been thinking about this, and the four back there and Puka Shell are basically a new type of gem species,” Amethyst said to the group.

 

  “Well, not so much a species, but rather a more animalistic subgroup,” Pearl interjected, “Because, regardless, they’re gems as well.”

 

  “So, what then? Do you have an idea on what we should call the gremlin guys?” Amethyst asked.

 

  “Well, eehh,” Pearl trailed off, not knowing what to name them.

 

  “Alright, Gem gremlins it is!” Amethyst concluded.

 

  “Gemlins, for short,” Garnet interjected.

 

  “Aww, you said the better name,” The purple gem fake pouted.

 

  Emerald was waiting by the door when the group showed up. “Spins is letting Yellow know you’re here. It’ll be a moment,” Emerald said.

 

  “And, you’re sure she can help with my issue?” Steven skeptically asked.

 

  “Believe me. When it comes to broken and cracked gems, she’s the one to call,” Emerald confidently said. The door slid open slightly and Spinel’s hand emerged with a thumbs up.

 

  “Welp, let’s go everyone!” Ems exclaimed, grabbing the gloved hand and getting immediately pulled in the door. Steven looked conflicted at the door. Did he really want to get the Diamonds involved with his problems? Puka Shell gave a small yelp to catch his attention. Taking a deep breath, he walked through the door.

 

  Around the room, plant life was flourishing. Bubbles of gem shards floated around the room, sending a shiver down his back. At a large desk, Yellow Diamond was sitting down with Spinel and Emerald standing on the table. “Steven and the Crystal Gems! I’m so glad you could see me. I just finished reversing one of my awful experiments. Spinel and Emerald informed me of your situation and I’d be more than glad to help.”

 

  “Yeah!” Spinel agreed, “Flint and Chert just ran out. Yellow has this neat little power to help fix gems!”

 

    “Wow, this is almost too perfect,” Amethyst said to the other gems.

 

“After all the damage I’ve done, it’s only right to use my powers to help the gems I’ve hurt,” Yellow monologued, “Speaking of which, I’ve got to reconstruct the gems inside the Cluster. And, if any of your uncorrupted Quartz friends want their horns reduced, just send them straight to me!”

 

  “That’s great,” Steven said, a little bit reassured, “But, how do your powers work?”

 

  “Ah, well, I’ll show you,” Yellow offered. She turned to the two gems on the table, “Spinel and Emerald dear? May I?”

 

  “Of course!” they both chirped, leaping down off the table. They both scampered in front of the group for them to see. The tip of Yellow’s fingers began glowing as she tapped the jester’s head. Immediately, Spinel’s noodle arms became buff, like the strongest Quartz in an army. She tapped Emerald’s head and the beryl gem and her entire body began to grow to the size of four soldiers. The pair of gems started giggling wildly at their new appearances. The Crystal Gems also started laughing at the display, except for Steven.

 

  “Can we focus on my problem now?” he practically yelled. Everyone paused and looked at him.

 

  Yellow Diamond tapped the two transformed gems, turning them back to their normal state, and gave an unamused expression, “You have the floor, Steven.”

 

  “If you’re able to put gems together again, then you could also help fix my gem as well. It’s been causing a lot of issues. It’s been shooting lightning and it got worse before getting here,” Steven said.

 

  “It depends, do you have the broken piece with you?” Yellow Diamond asked. Steven scrunched up his face and held out Puka Shell to her. The gemlin gave a confused growl. “Oh, this is certainly new,” Yellow quipped, clearing her throat, “Well, I’ll see what I can do.”

 

  Leaning forwards, the diamond reached forwards with her thumb and index finger towards the pink gemlin. Puka Shell growled at the digits, short fur coating his body sticking up, and suddenly inflated. Everyone in the room yelped in surprise as the giant, pink beach ball with stubby paws bounced on the floor from Steven dropping him in surprise. Yellow recoiled her fingers away from it, sitting back down. “Well, I’m afraid I’ve done all I can,” she explained.

 

  “What?” The Crystal Gems and Steven shouted.

 

  “It appears this, uh, creature doesn’t want to be poofed. Besides, it already has a physical form. If you two were to fuse, it would likely result in…an interesting form. Similar to a puzzle with extra pieces,” Yellow explained.

 

  This did nothing to soothe Steven whatsoever. Puka Shell began deflating, releasing air from his mouth, until he returned to its standard form. Steven began yelling, “But, how will I be fixed! How will I be able to help when my gem is broken!? I just want to be WHOLE AGAIN!!” He angrily stomped on the ground, creating a crater that shook the whole room. He yelled in pain as another lightning bolt shot out of his gem, nearly hitting Yellow Diamond. He collapsed on the ground in pain. Emerald began shaking at the lightning nearly grazing her form. Spinel noticed and wrapped her limbs around the green gem in reassurance.

 

  “Steven!” the Crystal Gems yelled, rushing in the crater. Puka Shell also slid down, nudging his arm as he started propping himself up. Gripping his gem’s area, he lifted the fabric of his shirt, revealing another horrid sight. Another crack formed on the other side.

 

  “Steven! You need to calm down. Any aggression could cause your gem to get worse!” Garnet concernedly yelled.

 

  “I’m very sorry I didn’t give proper help. But, if you need help with calming down, I suggest seeing Blue,” Yellow Diamond recommended.

 

++++++++++++++++++++

 

  The group entered Blue Diamond’s room. It mainly resembled a large greenhouse, coated with blue clouds. She was absolutely delighted to see Steven and the group. After they explained the situation to her, she became more concerned than glad.

 

  “Oh dear, all of that sounds very troubling. I’m glad Yellow sent you all here, because I might have the ability to help ease your worries,” the large diamond said in a calm tone.

 

  “How do you know this’ll work?” Steven asked, raising an eyebrow.

 

  Spinel leaned in, “From first hand experience, oh yeah, this will work.”

 

  “That’s what everyone thought with Yellow,” Steven whispered to himself.

 

  “Back before you came into my life, Steven, I wanted everyone to feel the pain I felt. I realized I must make up for my awful behavior by bringing joy to others. In that moment, my tears vaporized into these clouds, bringing pure joy to all those who came into contact with them,” Blue said, laying on her own cloud.

 

  Amethyst was the first one to make a move, walking up to a cloud and smacking her face into one. Her giggles were muffled by the cloud, until she raised up her head with a relaxed grin. “Oh yeeaaaah, this is the stuff,” she said, falling into the cloud and floating upwards. Garnet and Pearl climbed onto their own personal clouds, flying upwards and smiling all the while. Steven watched as everyone in the group flew up around Blue Diamond. Even the Shard Back, while usually angry, was purring contently.

 

  Spinel and Ems’ cloud floated beside Steven. “C’mon, join in the fun!” Spinel said, before flying up. Steven stared hesitantly at the cloud that floated in front of him. He winced in uncertainty. stepping a foot backwards when Puka Shell headbutted his leg, causing him to trip forwards into the cloud. He got his face out of the cloud, now smiling widely. Puka Shell hopped on next to him as it floated upwards to join the others.

 

Cold palace walls and endless empty halls

Haunted by echoes of laughter

 

You gave a pull and suddenly they're full

You've thrown the gates open after you

 

And swept in with the throng

Comes this wonderful song!

 

My little reason why

I'll never make you cry

Oh, I have got the sweetest things to tell you every day

 

My little reason why

You make me want to try

Loving you~

 

  As Blue’s song came to an end, so did Steven’s joy. His face twisted into unsurety again and his skin started flickering pink. “No, no, no, this isn’t right,” he said. The cloud beneath him dispersed, sending him and Puka Shell tumbling down. Thankfully, Spinel managed to grab them both, using her legs as a propeller.

 

  “Hang in there, Sunshines,” Spinel said, carefully setting them both down on the floor. The other gems floated down on their clouds to check on Steven.

 

  “Steven, you alright there, man?” Amethyst asked.

 

  The teen growled in irritation, “Blue, you can’t just magically make me feel better!”

 

  “But, I can. That’s literally my new power,” Blue said, smiling.

 

  “No no, it’s not that. Nothing about this is making me be better!” Steven explained.

 

  “Well, if this is something about how you see yourself, then I don’t know if I can fully help with that. Luckily, White has something that just might be the thing you’re looking for,” Blue suggested.

 

  “Greeeaaat,” Steven sarcastically said.

 

++++++++++++++++++++

 

  He really did not want to see White. But, if she did have something to help with his gem, then it would be worth it. There wasn’t a lot of confidence that it would help. Everyone was standing in front of the door with equally nervous faces. The diamond shaped doors slid open in front of them. Without another word, they slowly stepped in. White diamond was in the middle of the room, sitting with her legs crossed.

 

  “What perfect timing, Steven and friends! I’ve just gotten back from my latest charitable escapade. I’ve been going from planet to planet, giving voice to the little gem,” she explained.

 

  “White Diamond’s powers work in reverse now!” Spinel told Steven.

 

  “What does that mean?” Steven pondered.

 

  White Diamond began to stand up to her full height, “Why don’t I show you? May I, Spinel?”

 

  The pink gem began giggling and shaking her wrists with anticipation before calming down, “Yes, please.” Emerald was practically bouncing with anticipation as well. Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, and the Shard Pack braced themselves for what might happen. White’s closed her eyes in concentration and outstretched her arms. The room started flashing with multicolored lights as Spinel also stood perfectly still. The color dispersed, as Spinel’s voice began speaking. Through White Diamond.

 

  “Guess who!” The now magenta diamond said. The gems witnessing yelped in surprise. “Isn’t it great? Instead of taking control of other gems, now she can channel our thoughts into her body. So, we can control her instead!” Spinel Diamond cheered, “Watch this!” The giant gem began performing an energetic dance, shaking the entire room. Everyone tried to find proper footing to no avail. At last, Spinel finished her dance, noticing Steven’s conflicted expression. “You don’t like it?” she asked.

 

  “I-It’s fine,” he said, waving it off.

 

  White Diamond returned back to her original color, smiling contently. Emerald ran up to Spinel and gave her a huge hug, swinging the jester around with joy. “What fun. Now, I hope the rest of you don’t mind, but I would like to converse alone with Steven,” White Diamond asked.

 

  Steven looked behind at the leaving gems. Garnet gently placed a hand on his shoulder. “If you need anything, we’ll be waiting outside the room. Be careful, Steven,” Garnet said, following the other gems. As soon as the fusion walked out, the door closed, leaving Steven, Puka Shell, and White Diamond alone in the same room.

 

  “Now, what is it you need?” White Diamond asked. The hybrid teen turned around to the matriarch, fidgeting with the fabric on his shirt. Puka Shell gave a small yap to snap him out of his thoughts.

 

  “I-It’s my gem,” Steven began, lifting his shirt to reveal the split. White Diamond’s face showed immediate concern. “I’ve gone to Yellow, I’ve gone to Blue, but whatever help they’ve done hasn’t worked at all. My powers have done nothing, but hurt people since it got chipped off. Nothing’s helped me improve myself. It makes me feel like…like I’m a burden.” He gripped the sleeves of his jacket. He felt something gently rub against his leg, glancing down, the pink gemlin was whining and rubbing his head on his jeans in reassurance.

 

  “Oh Steven, you are not a burden. You are unique. A new experience unseen by any other human or gem. There is no one else in the universe who can know what you may be going through. Perhaps if you talk to yourself, you would find the answers to why you feel this way,” White said, gesturing her giant nail to his gem. He grimaced and pushed the finger away from the area. “Would you like to try?” White asked.

 

  He stared up at her, contemplating if he wanted to try it. He glanced over at the gemlin. Puka Shell just stared at him and slowly flicked his tail from side to side. Unsatisfied with the lack of a response, he turned to the larger diamond. “Okay,” he hesitantly said.

 

  White Diamond stood back up and concentrated. The room began glowing the same glow from before. The room shone a bright pink before the light dissipated. Steven looked down at his gem, which was shining. He looked back up towards White, who was now pink and mimicking his expression. Steven looked at the mimicking matriarch in amazement, looking around. “Woah. This is…so weird. I’m…I’m…” The realization slowly set in. “I’m a Diamond.”

 

  His face grimaced in disgust. “This is the last thing I need to see! I don’t want to be you! I don’t want to be anything like you!” Steven shouted at the now-pink diamond. “Why won’t you just go away?!” He inadvertently waved his fist, causing the mimicking gem to hit the pillar next to them. Pieces broke off and flew everywhere in the room. Puka Shell barked and ran away from a boulder. Steven fell on the floor, raising his forearm as a shield.

 

  “Don’t hurt me!” he yelled. He began to remember what’s happening. “She can’t hurt me. I’m controlling her. So, why am I so afraid?” Memories started flashing in his mind. What happened two years ago, the feeling of fear, the struggle for escape, the pressure closing in on his gem and the pain he felt as it was removed!

 

  “She’s the one who should be afraid.”

 

  The room was suddenly filled with darkness. Opening his eyes, Steven looked around at the landscape. The area was vacant, the ground felt as hard as concrete, dark clouds with magenta hues spiraled around. Puka Shell and White Diamond were nowhere to be found. Looking down at his hands, they were pure white, with no ounce of pigment on them. The same was to be said about his jacket, jeans, and shirt. Wondering if his gem also turned that color, he lifted up his shirt. His eyes widened with panic at its absence. His other hand reached to grip his hair in worry, when he felt his fingers lightly grazed a flat, hard surface. Confused, he looked up, just barely seeing the facets of a gem. Her gem.

 

  A gust of wind blew on his back. Bundling up in his jacket, he turned around and was startled by what he saw. It was him. But, much larger. There was a shadow over his eyes, masking the look in his eyes, but the frown showed obvious displeasure. “What’s going on?” he asked no one in particular. The larger him raised an arm, causing his own arm to also raise. “What?” The larger Steven raised both arms, making the other limply wobble. Fear began to surge through him. “No, stop it! I don’t like this!” he yelled.

 

  The shadow on the larger Steven’s eyes faded enough to see his open eyes. Pink diamonds replaced the pupils. “Too bad,” he said. Behind the white Steven, a lightning bolt shot down behind him. He craned his head backwards to see what happened. He gasped when he saw a pillar, large, thorny vines grew around it.

 

  The larger began piloting his puppet to turn around and walk over to it. “Let me go!” he pleaded, unwillingly placing both hands on the other side of the pilar. The vines growing on the sides began slithering to his arms, keeping him in place. “Please! You’re scaring me!” he said as a final plea.

 

  “This is for everything you put me through!” The larger diamond yelled. The pupils of his eyes started seeping black, causing them to spread on the sclera, much like a drop of ink staining paper. The white diamond’s head leaned backwards. Steven attempted to muster all of his strength to not have his forehead bash into the pillar to no avail. Flying forwards, thunder drowned out the supposed sound of the collision.

 

  Steven fell backwards, clutching his nose in pain. He was back in the standard room, broken pillar and with Puka Shell barking wildly. Laying down, he removed his hand to his face, looking at any potential damage. The sudden wetness was no coincidence. There was blood on his hand. Gasping, he ran a finger across the bridge of his nose, feeling the large cut across it. Looking back up, White Diamond was back to her normal color, but she was leaning backwards in fear. “What was that?!” she yelled.

 

  “I-I…” he was about to reply, when another surge of pain flowed through him, causing him to yell out. The lightning that shot out of his gem hit the non-broken pillar next to White. The matriarch recoiled as the bolt created a large dent in it. He groaned and held onto his stomach. Feeling the same wetness from the cut, his blood ran cold. Hesitantly, gripping his shirt, he slowly raised it to reveal his gem. His whole body turned to ice. The cracks were on his skin now, leaving lightning shaped scars, which bled profusely. Looking back up, adrenaline took over and he ran out of the room with Puka Shell trailing behind.

 

  White Diamond called out for him to come back. The doors slid open, Steven ran past the gems waiting outside. “Steven?” Pearl yelled, quickly taking note of his condition. The entire group began running after them, The Crystal Gems, the two Homeworld gems, and White Diamond had exited the room to follow. Yellow and Blue Diamond were making their way to them, when Steven ran past. His head was pounding and his entire body felt sore. Despite this, he kept running.

 

  The Crystal Gems sped up until they were right besides him. “Steven!” Garnet yelled. He glanced over at the fusion.

 

  “What happened, man?” Amethyst said next.

 

  “Please, talk to us!” Pearl exclaimed. Shutting his eyes, his skin flickered pink again. Puka Shell grabbed onto the back of his jacket as he ran with superspeed past the pleading gems. Making it through the doorway, his body jolted again, causing him to lose his footing. Exclaiming with pain and fear, he started tumbling all the way down the stairs, leaving streaks of blood from his open wounds. He fell to the floor with a thud, one of his sandals had fallen off during the fall. Quickly getting up, even with his body protesting, he limped his way over to the Warp Pad. The pink gemlin whined in concern at his appearance.

 

  “Steven!” Spinel yelled, standing by the threshold. The other gems also arrived, standing next to the pink gem. Everyone showed expressions of concern.

 

  “Let us help you!” Yellow Diamond said.

 

  “We’re your family!” Blue Diamond cried out.

 

  “P-please..don’t follow me!” The wounded teen yelled to them. Turning around, the pad started glowing, and a stream of light enveloped him and the pink shard. And then, they were gone.

Chapter 7: Shocking turn of events

Notes:

This chapter contains the following:
- Blood and injury
- Electrocution
If you aren't comfortable with these topics, feel free to skim over the chapter

It's time it's time it's time it's time!

  It was dead silent when the warp stream reached its destination. The beam of light faded, leaving behind a battered, panting Steven and a concerned Puka Shell. The sun was just barely rising. Slowly, he trudged to the frame of the observatory, leaning on the side to catch his breath. By now, the blood seeping from his nose wound trickled down to his mouth. He spit to the side to get it out of his mouth. Puka Shell turned in front of him and started whining while stamping a back leg. Steven glanced down and grunted, slowly walking past the noisy gemlin. Briefly looking behind, he raised a hand, creating a hexagon wall in front of the door. It was just made out of a single hexagon, but it was large enough to keep the gems out.

 

  Suddenly, there was a buzzing in his pocket. He yelped in surprise and calmed down when he recognized the ringtone. Pulling his phone out of his pocket, Steven checked the caller ID to see Connie. He looked nervously to the side before accepting the call. “H-hey, Connie, what’s up?” he hesitantly said.

 

  “Steven! Good, you finally picked up!” Connie said on the other line, “I can’t believe we haven’t spoken since the hospital! How are you?”

 

  “I’m great! Never been better!” he said, which was a lie, but he didn’t want to worry her with “gem business.”

 

  “Really? Have you had any more issues with swelling and glowing pink?” she asked.

 

  “N-no! I haven’t had any more of…those problems,” which was partially true.

 

  “What do you mean by that?”

 

  “Mean by what?”

 

  “You said “any more of those problems." Are there new ones?” Connie asked in a more concerned tone.

 

  “Oh, did I word it like that?” he hesitantly said to try and play it off as a misuse of words. There was a small jolt of electricity that surged through him. He closed his lips tightly to muffle his groan of pain.

 

  “Steven, what was that? Are you alright?” Connie said, more concerned than before.

 

  “Y-yeah! I just got a-a splinter! I’ll take care of it! Okay, bye!” Steven quickly said, pressing the end call button in time for a larger jolt to surge through him, causing him to lean back against the hexagon wall and drop his phone. Puka Shell began wildly barking at him again and gripped his jeans. Groaning in annoyance, he started walking down the stairs, getting his jeans free from the maw of the gemlin.

 

  Walking down further, he opened the door to his room, stepping in. Sighing, he kicked off his remaining sandal and turned to go down the other stairs. “I should really get myself cleaned up. I don’t really want any more blood to get on anyth-” Steven cut himself off with another yell. This electrical shock caused him to lose his footing again and tumble down the stairs once again. Trying to get his footing on the landing, he missed the second flight all together and ended up falling directly into the floor.

 

  He felt completely immobilized laying down. His ears started ringing, his bones felt fried and even more fractured than before. Groaning, he started lifting himself up, barely registering the Warp Pad in the living room light up. “Steven!” he heard a chorus of voices yell. Looking up, he saw Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl looking down at him. The Shard Pack was ducked behind Garnet’s leg. Even though they didn’t have visible eyes, they were also worried.

 

  “Steven, please, you have to talk to us about this!” Garnet said in an authoritative tone.

 

  Now fully standing, Steven told her, “What is there to tell? I already explained everything!”

 

  “Well, not everything,” Amethyst said, crossing her arms, “Because, you look totally janked up right now.”

 

  “As much as I don’t agree with her language, I agree. Let us help, please,” Pearl begged. Around that moment, Puka Shell scampered down the stairs holding the phone in his mouth. Soon after, a spiral portal appeared in the kitchen. Out jumped Lion, with Connie and a terrified Greg, holding on for dear life. The giant feline slid to a halt in front of the door.

 

  The dark-skinned girl leaped off the beast, brandishing her sword in a battle position, “I’m here, Steven! I got your message and-” Connie lowered her sword and gasped in shock. Steven was looking back equally shocked. He looked completely disheveled, one side of his jacket shoulders was down, he had bruises covering his body, and blood was seeping in through his black clothing, leaving a big enough patch to cover the bottom part of the star.

 

  “S-son?” Greg said above a whisper, he ghosted a hand above his mouth in shock.

 

  “What happened to you?!” Connie yelled, already close to tears.

 

  “Wh…how..did you know to come here?” the gem hybrid slowly asked.

 

  “What do you mean, Steven?” Connie said, somewhat flabbergasted. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. “You sent me a text to come here.” Steven felt a slight tugging at the bottom of his jeans. Glancing down, he saw Puka Shell with the phone in his mouth. It was turned on and showed the latest text message from him to her. It read “ Help. Get Dad.”

 

  Steven was a bit surprised that the gemlin knew about texting or the English language. All coherent thoughts were interrupted by pain. His entire body lit up with electrical sparks. Screaming, the sparks from the boy triggered the lights in the kitchen to turn on. The lights grew brighter, until the light bulbs exploded from an overload. Puka Shell ran more towards Lion and ducked in between his paws. Steven fell on his hands and knees, smoke rising from his body, and scenting like burnt strawberries. He coughed hard, sending bits of blood and spittle on the floor.

 

  “We need to get you back to the hospital right now!” Connie demanded.

 

  “Hospital?!” both Amethyst and Pearl yelled.

 

  “When were you in the hospital?” Pearl asked. Regaining his footing, Steven slowly stood up, slightly wobbling. Staring at nothing in particular, back towards the gems, he had a vacant, tired expression on his face. His brow furled in irritation at the gems’ question.

 

“Why are you asking me that now?” he growled.

 

  Around that moment, the Warp Pad activated. Everyone, even Steven, turned around to see who just interrupted the intense moment. The light stream dispersed, leaving Spinel and Emerald standing there, facing the Temple Door. “Heyyo! Steven!” Ems called out, waving around the sandal he left behind.

 

  “You left your foot-thong-thingy back there and we wanted to returrrrrr-” Both gems slowly turned around to everyone staring back at her. They both fully turned around, embarrassed at what they were in the middle of witnessing. “Are weeee interrupting something?” Spinel awkwardly chuckled, “Because, we can come back aft-”

 

  “No no, you can stay,” Steven said in a low tone of voice, “You’re gonna wanna hear this.” Now facing the gems, he let out his emotions. “Where were you guys? Where were you when I needed you? Now and back then? I’ve spent hours alone, wondering if I was ever good enough to be one of you! And back then, did you ever think about my emotions?? What I felt?? No. You were all too focused on your own issues, regarding “Rose Quartz” to even consider how her own son felt! Do you think pushing those issues on a kid who didn't even know her was the best idea?!"

 

  “S-Steven…listen. We-” Pearl tried to speak, but was quickly shut down.

 

  “ You’re one to talk! But, I’m not even skin deep yet. Back at the hospital, I found out about what your “missions” and “tests” had done to me. From Day 1, this has been piling up! And, after the proposal went south, you guys left! Even Garnet knew! Did your future vision even predict this happening? Dad was the only one who even took care of me! And he isn’t even fully involved with my life!!!”

 

  Steven gestured back towards Greg. The older man glanced shamefully to the side. Maybe he had put too much trust in the gems, if this is how he felt about him. The teen let out an angry chuckle.

 

  “The reality is…I'm worse. I'm worse than anything mom's ever done. Yes, she led a rebellion against herself, but not once did she resort to…shattering someone. She even locked someone away for insisting she should, she faked her own. While I…" he glanced up towards the Shard Pack in a defensive stance. The conclusion settled in. "I'm a fraud." Getting down on his knees and staring blankly into the ground, he gave a shaky sigh.

 

  "I'm a fraud…"

 

  "I'm a monster!"

 

  The room exploded with light.

Chapter 8: Electric Eel

Summary:

No big warnings, just a small cut with no big injury

KAIJU TIME!!!

  A bright, sunny morning at Little Homeworld was interrupted by an unprecedented blanket of dark clouds. Lapis Lazuli was preparing her paint pallet as Angel Aura Quartz and Little Larimar prepared to get into the position they were gonna be painted as. Lapis slightly adjusted the canvas before taking out a tube of blue paint. Uncaping it, she was about to squeeze a small glob into the pallet, when a tremor shook the tower. The shock of the shaking caused the blue gem to squeeze a majority of paint in the tube onto the pallet. There was another tremor, causing the posing gems to fall over. Realizing that this was no standard earthquake, Lapis turned around to scout out any signs on what might have caused them. It didn’t take long for her to figure out what.

 

  All the way at the Gem Temple, a large, reptilian-like head slowly reached up, huge horns curving backwards with a smaller horn on the tip of its nose. The giant beast itself was an amaranth color with a paler underbelly. The throat closely resembled a whale’s grooved underbelly. Three spikes trailed down its neck and three others trailed before the tail’s base, which was darker than its body and closely resembled an eel’s. It opened its sharp maw, letting out a massive roar that shook the tower more than before. Larimar and Angel Aura stared in horror at the beast, while Lapis leaped off the tower, flying with her water wings to the nearest Warp Pad. Diving down to the one in the center of the settlement, Peridot and Bismuth were also running towards it. With the understanding that everyone agreed they would be fighting in the supposed battle, they vanished in the warp stream.

 

  Arriving in the beach house warp, the three gems got into a battle position. “Reinforcements are-” Bismuth was about to announce, when she was stopped by the damage that happened. To the house and to the other beings laying down amongst the rubble. Wasting no time, the three began helping the gems, humans, felines, and gemlins scattered around. Bismuth immediately helped Connie sit up. The girl was dazed and confused, holding her head in pain, currently not noticing the large scar across her nose.

 

  “What the heck happened here?!” Peridot yelled, helping Greg up. The man had a small scar on his forehead which angled downwards to align with one on his cheek. From the rubble, Ruby slowly led Sapphire to the B Team.

 

  “S-Steven..” the prophet briefly stuttered.

 

  Lapis asked, “What about Steven? Where is he?” She started looking around, carrying Toro in her arms. Sapphire tilted her head downwards, clearly not wanting to answer that question. Ruby placed a hand on her shoulder, calming her. Slowly, the blue gem pointed her hand towards the gaping hole in the wall, directly at the kaiju.

 

  “Wait…WHAT!?!” Peridot gasped, nearly dropping Greg.

 

  “It’s…complicated,” Pearl said from the kitchen area. Amethyst, meanwhile, was untangling Ems from Spinel’s limbs. The green gem looked intensely shaken up from what happened. While Pearl was giving a brief explanation to the new arrivals, Connie hoisted herself up with the counter. She took a few breaths and turned to the missing wall. She trudged to the edge of the floor, she looked dumbstruck at what she experienced. Looking down, she was standing in front of the shattered pieces of the frog mug. There was a shred of pink poking out underneath. Leaning down, she moved away the shards of porcelain, revealing a strip of fleece from Steven’s varsity jacket.

 

  Quickly snatching it up. She held the piece as her hand started shaking. Biting her lip, Connie felt her eyes water from the amount of emotions surging through her. Disbelief at what she was involved in. Anger at the gems for not paying attention to Steven’s emotions when he was younger. Guilt for not doing enough to prevent this from happening. She heard a soft trill next to her. Quietly gasping in surprise, she turned to see the pink gemlin staring up at her. Connie turned her body to face more towards him. Leaning up, Puka Shell gave a small lick across her face. The scar on her nose started healing over slightly, but still left behind redness.

 

  After everyone got their barings, they all ran down towards the beach where Steven was. The beast let out another roar, shaking the ground once again. Turning towards the ledge, he placed a large claw on the side, he began scaling up the side, sending a large chunk plummeting to the ground. Luckily, it wasn’t anywhere near the group, but it still startled everyone. Now fully on the ledge, The magenta monster looked out at Beach City. Huffing, the horns on the beast started resonating with light. He closed his darker eyes tightly as jolts of lightning started zapping from spike to spike. The large pouch-like throat also seemed to be expanding.

  “TAKE COVER!!!” Sapphire panicked. Everyone headed the blue gem’s instructions, ducking behind the chunk of cliff that had fallen. A large wail emerged from the monster, raising his head to the sky, like he wanted the heavens to hear him. A massive pink shockwave erupted from him as lightning generated from his horns, electrifying it. The glass in the lighthouse immediately exploded from the surge. It flowed through the town, shattering the glass of every building, exploding all street lamps, and setting off car alarms. The awning of buildings blew away, walls cracking, with the occasional plant getting lit on fire. Little Homeworld wasn’t safe either. While further away, the shockwave still had an impact, windows and the greenhouse broke into pieces. The spinning propeller on top of the tower broke off, crashing into houses below.

 

  Everything was in ruins. The group looked around at the damage in shock. “We have to do something! We can’t let anything else get destroyed!” Amethyst told everyone.

 

  “I’m afraid we can’t,” Everyone turned to look at Sapphire, on the verge of tears. “After his gem broke, Garnet’s visions kept getting more and more undefinable. I keep looking through different paths of this happening. I can’t see any outcomes where people aren’t unscathed! We can’t do anything!” Her voice cracked more and more, until she flung herself into Ruby’s arms. Both gems were sobbing loudly in each other’s arms. The gems and humans looked away in despair.

 

  The Homeworld pair looked at the grieving group in shock at their helpless appearance. Emerald looked up at the growling kaiju. Hands shaking with uncertainty and mouth quivering, she turned to Spinel, gripping the pink gem's shoulders. "We have to do something, Spins!" she told her.

 

  "What? But, Ems, what about your-"

 

  "Yes, I know about my life before meeting you. But, this issue is far beyond my fears. I'm willing to push them aside to help others! Are you in?"

 

  Spinel was moved by the green gem's words. Nodding, she held out a hand. Ems smirked and grabbed her hand eagerly. In an instant, Spinel began spinning the gem around, gaining momentum. With a well aimed throw, Spinel launched Emerald towards him. In mid air, Ems put a hand over her gem, pulling out nunchucks and brandishing them.

 

  "Steven!!" she yelled. The monster huffed in surprise and turned around as the gem landed directly on his nose horn. The beast growled with anger, thrashing his head around to get the green gem to fall off. Emerald looped her weapon around the horn to get a better hold.

 

  "Hang on, Ems! I'm on my way!" Spinel called out! Stretching her arms in between two boulders that had also fallen, she slowly stepped back until there was strain on her arms. Leaping in place, she propelled her body forwards, like flinging a rubber band. The jester grabbed onto the horns on the top of his head, pulling back. "Easy now! Easy!" Spinel said in an attempt to halt the thrashing beast.

 

  The crowd below only watched in surprise as the two Homeworld gems were making an attempt to calm the beast down. Sapphire looked down with a reserved expression. “I’m sorry your attempts won’t have an impact,” she whispered to herself. The kaiju stopped thrashing and faced downwards, shutting his eyes. Spinel glanced at Emerald with a hopeful face that they had stopped him. Unfortunately, the horns started lighting up with electricity. There were two puffs of smoke where both gems were, followed by three falling objects shooting out of them. Lion, carrying Connie and Puka Shell, ran over to the areas they were falling. Reaching her hands up, Connie grabbed two of the objects. Bringing her hands down, she looked down at the heart-shaped and octagon gems in her hands. Immediately after, a blue headband with a ringed planet button fell on Puka’s head.

 

  Still glowing, the beast leapt down into the beach, sending a wave of sand at the group. Everyone coughed at the dense cloud. Connie spit out grains of sand, wiping her eyes in time to see the beast staring up at her, mouth slightly opened with a glowing bulb expanding inside. Widening her eyes at the implication, she ducked down. Instead of launching the beam at them, it aimed downwards. The lightning stream blasted the sand below him as he spun around, creating a massive cloud of sand. Immediately after, the magenta monster leapt through the cloud, plummeting into the ocean in a massive, yet graceful dive. The spiked on the tail briefly surfaced and quickly submerged. Only Connie witnessed it.

 

  A large shadow descended on the group. Everyone stopped coughing and wiping the sand out of their eyes to see the Diamond Ship landing, dispersing the cloud of sand. “Spinel! Emerald! You know better than to leave without telling us! Communication is key!” White Diamond’s voice boomed.

 

  “Really!? Right now!?” Amethyst yelled. The Diamond trio exited the ship to witness the stunned group and town in ruins. The largest of the three gave a grimace.

 

  “Why is it that everytime we visit, the whole thing is in disarray?” she complained, looking down at everyone.

 

  “And, where on Earth are Spinel and Emerald?” Yellow interjected. Everyone exchanged looks of discomfort. “Well?” the diamond asked impatiently. Connie glanced down at her hands. Pearl noticed the girl’s discomfort, walking up to her and opening her hands to accept the gem. Connie complied, carefully placing the two gems, Puka Shell placed the headband around one of the pale gem’s wrists, in her hands. Pearl hesitantly began walking forwards.

 

  The three matriarchs gasped in shock as she held out the gems. “W-what happened?” Blue slowly asked. While Pearl was explaining the situation, Connie slid off of Lion’s back, slowly walking away from the scene. The pink gemlin trailed close behind. Rounding the corner of the ledge, people were slowly walking through town, having just emerged from the emergency shelters, and stared in disbelief at the amount of damage. She could see Bill Dewey on his knees, sobbing dramatically at the fallen donut in front of his store. While unlike Spinel’s previous attempt to destroy the town, it was still pretty bad.

 

  She marched her way up to the ledge of the temple, staring out at the sea. The sunrise was just barely parting the clouds, shining down on her and Puka Shell. Looking down at the strip of pink fabric in her hand, she pulled back her hair, using it to tie it into a ponytail. Glancing upwards, she had a determined look on her face with fists clenched up. “Wherever you are, Steven, I’ll do anything and everything I can to find you. That’s a promise.”

Chapter 9: Aftermath

Notes:

Happy Halloween!!! Half of my family is sick! Luckily, I'm not. And, the current song stuck in my head is "Pet Semetary"

So, anyways, have you watched the FNAF Movie yet?

                  Buzz

 

            Buzz

 

      Buzz

 

  Connie’s alarm buzzed three times before she officially turned it off. Reaching over on the bedside drawer, she stared at the time, blinking a few times to adjust her eyes from the brightness. 7:00. Sighing, she set the phone down on the other side of the bed. Rolling over on her back, she stared at the ceiling, contemplating what she needed to do today. Besides her, there was a nudge on her shoulder. Slightly turning her head, she was face to face with Lion and Puka Shell. Connie finally got the message. She sat up and briefly petted Puka Shell’s fluffy head and Lion’s mane. She grabbed her phone and opened the Boogle Docs app. She started writing in a document labled “Steven Search (Not completed)/ Town reconstruction”

Day 3

Time: 7:02

 

-Woke up with Puka Shell and Lion. No dreams, like the past two nights. Spinel and Emerald-

 

 

  Connie looked over at the open drawer. Spinel and Emerald’s gems laid on a small blanket nest. Connie sighed and turned back to her phone.

 

-haven’t reformed yet. I should probably shower soon, but I have more important priorities than that. Steven’s still out there, hurting physically, mentally, and emotionally. I still wish I had been more attentive and didn’t brush off his dismisses so easily. What kind of knight am I?

 

  Puka Shell ran his head on his shoulder, snaking his way underneath her arm, and into her lap. Connie glanced upwards, shifting her body off of the bed, heading downstairs. Puka Shell and Lion trailed downstairs with her. The teen girl made a turn to the front door. It was not much of a door, still a gaping hole in front of the house. There was a huge, blue tarp covering the front, so unfurling the flap and walking through was kind of like a door. Emerging from the sheet, Connie looked downwards at the shore. She could see Greg's van parked in front of the house. Greg was also outside, talking with…

 

  "Mom?" Connie asked herself. Getting on Lion, the large feline walked down to the adults. Greg was nervously biting a finger as the doctor was speaking with a tone slightly under yelling. The scratch on his check and above his eye had small bandages on them, like how Connie currently has one across her nose. Dr. Maheswaran glanced over at her daughter entering.

 

  "Connie, you're up," she said, slightly surprised, "I was at least expecting you to get another hour of sleep."

 

  "How can I, Mom? When I know Steven is out there in distress?" the girl refuted. "Oh, sorry, Mr. Universe."

 

  Greg raised a hand and shamefully looked down, "No no, it's fine. I should be partially blamed as well."

 

  Priyanka turned back to look at the saddened man. "I was just talking to Greg about what needs to be done if Stev-"

 

  "When," Connie corrected.

 

  "Right. When Steven is found. For instance, the lack of medical history and what he experienced at a young age." That last sentence had a more authoritative tone and was obviously aimed at Greg. Greg uncomfortably rubbed the back of his neck. Priyanka pinched the bridge of her nose and turned to her daughter. "How is that scar?" she asked.

 

  "It's doing fine. I think Puka Shell's spit also helped speed up the healing process," the teen girl said looking down at the gemlin. Her mother looked slightly conflicted at the creature. She was still somewhat skeptical about the "magic stuff."

 

  "Alright then. But, I still want to see how it's healing, magic or not," Priyanka said walking up to her daughter. She carefully cupped one side of her face and used the other hand to slightly peel back the bandage. Her eyes slightly widened as she took the rest of the bandage off. "Impressive. It's already fully healed over. However, there's still gonna be a permanent mark. I'm sorry."

 

  "Mom, don't worry. One tiny scar isn't gonna change how I feel about you," Connie reassured. Priyanka smiled and the mother-daughter duo hugged. Greg looked at the pair, a pang of sorrow hit his heart.

 

  The doctor was the first one to pull away. "Now, Connie, be sure to take care of yourself when checking up on everyone," she said.

 

  "Don't worry, Mom. I got this." Connie slowly turned and walked off with the two, pink beings. Connie was making the turn and thought of something, looking up to see if her suspicions were right. She was. There was a blue blur sitting on top of the lighthouse. She knew it was Lapis. Ever since Steven’s getaway, the aquatic gem remained sitting on the tower, staring out at the sea he escaped in. Connie gave a worried glance at the gem, but continued walking forwards. Construction on the boardwalk was slow. Humans and gems alike were doing their best to help with reconstruction. Lion picked up his speed when they spotted Peridot in front of Fish Stew Pizza. She was pointing and giving directions to those working.

 

  The triangular gem turned to Connie, “Connie! Here to check up on our progress?” she asked.

 

  “Yeah, how has construction been on the town since-”

  “A bit slower than usual with Bismuth focusing more on Little Homeworld. I mean, have you seen my greenhouse!?” There was a sudden spark next to them, then the igniting of a flame. Peridot and Connie turned to see one of the shattered lamp posts catch fire. A freckled Lapis and Orange Spodumene looking at the pole in surprise. Both gems turned to Peridot, who face-planted. “Freckles, I told you not to put the fires out that way! Electricity is conducted by water!”

 

  “Sorry! I didn’t know you meant it literally!” As soon as Freckles finished her sentence, the rest of the lamps also sparked and burst into flames down the boardwalk. All of the humans around began screaming and quickly ran away from the poles.

  Peridot just looked in complete disbelief. “Wh-what do you mean by that?! And, isn’t the electricity supposed to be off? Didn’t I say to not turn them on until completing electrical repairs? Who jump started them?”

 

  A voice behind the pizzeria spoke, “That would be me! Sorry!”

 

  “Grape Agate! I told you to-” Peridot grumbled and stamped her feet in anger, before taking a deep breath with a now stoic face. “And now, we have a couple of setbacks. Connie, can you please alert Bismuth on what has happened?” The lime gem was on the verge of snapping, so Connie naturally agreed.

 

  Lion turned around and roared a portal. Connie turned her head around to Peridot. “Hey, is there any word of..”

 

  “Unfortunately, none so far.”

 

  Connie was dejected by the lack of news. The pink feline stepped through the portal, landing in the center of Little Homeworld. Gems around were as busy as bees. Collecting wood, stacking bricks, melting glass. Apparently, the propeller did more damage than expected. The girl looked around with no sign of the rainbow haired gem in sight. She hopped off Lion and started walking to the next place she’d be. Pulling out her phone, the teen started typing in her doc.

 

-Town construction has gained a few, somewhat large, setbacks. Peridot is trying her best to instruct everything. It looks like she’s about to crack. Her eye started twitching unnaturally fast. The new gems mean well, but…yeah. Crossing my fingers Bismuth isn’t too busy to help out.

 

  She leaned her head into the forge to see Bismuth hammering away at a metal rod. Her face had an intense look and she exclaimed with every swing. “Bismuth?” Connie said. The large gem stopped mid-swing, looking up at her with a stressed out look. The human recoiled a bit. Bismuth’s expression softened and sighed, her hammer hand returning to normal.

 

  “Connie, hey,” she greeted. Her voice wasn’t as warm as it normally was when welcoming others. “I’m guessing something happened with Peridot?”

 

  “Y-Yeah,” Connie admitted, rubbing the back of her head, “A lamp post caught on fire. Actually…all of them did.”

 

  Bismuth closed her eyes and shook her head. “Alright, I’ll be there in a few. Let me finish up this last pole,” she swore. Grabbing the pole with her hand, she dunked it into the water, causing a huge cloud of steam to rise up. “Now, I need someone to get this to the other repair team.” Bismuth turned around, “Pearl! The last one is ready!”

 

  Right on cue, Pearl walked in. Her eyes looked red and dry, her face was in a deep frown. This wasn’t the same gem who taught her how to defend herself. Bismuth set down the pole into the pile of others. She wrapped them in a sheet of leather, handing it to the pale gem. Bismuth's expression seemed to get sadder when Pearl turned around. Connie watched on the other side of the door as she exited. She began running after her mentor.

 

  "Hey, Pearl!" Connie called out. She slowed down to a walking pace when they were side by side.

 

  The pale gem glanced over at the human girl. "Hello, Connie." Her voice was deadpan as she turned her head around.

 

  "So, I guess you also don't have any leads?" Connie said, turning to face forward.

 

  "I've been busy delivering materials for reconstruction. It was an idea Bismuth had," she explained. Connie remembered how distraught the gem was the day after he vanished. Construction was just starting and all Pearl did was stand outside of the house. Maybe it was a good thing Bismuth suggested this to keep her occupied. But, it was obvious her mind was somewhere else.

 

  "Yeah. Well, I can't really talk to anyone about it. Since that announcement Mayor Nanefua gave out about keeping quiet about the monster," the girl said.

 

  "I get her intentions. So far, the only people who know about their identity are your parents and her. But, that won't really stop people from discussing it," Pearl explained.

 

  "The more I think about it, the more I'm convinced it's only aimed at Ronaldo," Connie pondered. She just knew he was thinking up some crackpot theory about it.

 

  The two arrived at the construction site. Pearl laid the bundle of poles onto a nearby workbench. Zebra Jasper quickly snatched it up for use. “But,” Pearl began, “I’m glad that the Diamonds are also aiding the search. But, It’s been three days and there hasn’t been any sign of him.” The pale gem placed a hand on her head in worry. “Maybe if I had told him sooner about Pink, then this wouldn’t have happened.” Her eyes brimmed with tears.

 

  “Pearl, you couldn’t have predicted this would happen. Even Garnet couldn’t! The best thing we can do now is have hope that we’ll find him,” Connie reassured, placing a hand on the gem’s shoulder.

 

  Pearl wiped her eyes and turned to the teen. For once, there was a slimmer of hope. “I really hope so. Speaking of Garnet, has she-?

 

  “Sapphire and Ruby haven’t left their room since the first day. Amethyst hasn’t returned from searching today.”

 

Pearl sighed in disappointment. “Things would be better if we had her future vision to help us search.”

 

  Connie couldn’t really disagree with that. She just silently nodded in agreement. If Garnet couldn’t see anything, then what guarantees that they’ll find him in their current situation? Even with their cards scattered, Connie knew she wouldn’t give up or lose hope, even if the search gets called off, which she doubts will be.

 

  The sun eventually set and everyone settled down for the night. Connie walked through the tarp covering the house. Disregarding the emptiness in her stomach, the teen made a beeline directly towards the stairs. Three steps up and the Warp Pad activated. Connie turned around to see Amethyst land on its surface. Her hair was even more messy than it already was and eyes were tired. Connie said nothing. The purple gem said nothing and walked directly over to the fridge. She opened the fridge door, grabbing a carton of milk, before ripping the top off with her teeth, spitting it out, and chugging the whole thing. Amethyst began walking back to the Warp Pad while shoving the rest of the carton in her mouth. The Warp Pad activated and she vanished. Sighing, Connie continued back up the stairs.

 

  Walking further upstairs, she face planted in Steven’s bed. The girl reached into her pocket and took out her phone, immediately going to the photo album. It was neatly organized by family pictures, college items, and one specifically titled “My Berry” with a strawberry emoji beside it. She clicked on it and rows of pictures with her and Steven showed up. She pressed the latest one, a selfie of them both at the roller rink. Steven was the one taking the picture with Connie resting her head on his shoulders. Both of them were smiling contently, like they were the only people in the world. She continued scrolling down the memories of both of them together, some of just him, wondering if he was also struggling with what he was yelling at the gems about. She held back a sob and wiped away a forming tear.

 

  There was a sudden weight on the bed. Connie shifted her body more upright to see what it was. Lion and Puka Shell were sitting by her feet. Lion was holding a container of cream cheese and a butter knife. Puka Shell was holding a bag of bagels. Only two were in the bag. Connie huffed in amusement. Apparently, they knew better than to allow her to skip meals. The gemlin waddled up to the girl, crawling in between her phone and face, dropping the bag in front of her. The corner of her mouth curled upward and she reached a hand over to give head scratches of thanks.

 

  The pink creatures made sure she ate all of the bagels. She had finished one and was three-fourths done with the second one before feeling full. The girl lifted the quarter bagel to Lion as an offering, only for it to be snatched up by Puka Shell leaping to grab it. He gave small trills as he chewed and swallowed. Connie huffed with humor, noting that gemlins are able to eat. Laying down, she gave a sigh. Another day of Steven still being missing. Exhaustion gave way and she closed her eyes, letting the subtle numbness take over.

 

++++++++++++++++++++

 

“I don’t know if I can do it this time.”

 

“I know you can!”

 

“That was before I knew that would happen.”

“We didn’t know that would happen!”

 

“Now, I do.”

 

“Ems?”

 

“Spins?”

 

“Together. Let’s do this.”

“Are you sure?”

 

“I’m willing. Are you?”

 

“...Okay.”

 

++++++++++++++++++++

 

 11:43 pm

 

  The two gemstones on the bedside drawer began glowing. Puka Shell and Lion were awake at the time. Both pink beings turned around at the glowing gems. They both floated upward as light wrapped around both of them. Suddenly, they zipped down the stairs. Both creatures quickly, but carefully to not wake up Connie, followed down to the light. They stopped at the landing to see the mass of light get bigger and take shape. Two pairs of arms jutted out. Two legs extended outward. A giant mass of hair puffed out wards. The light dissipated, revealing a fusion of the two Homeworld gems.

 

  Lion started growling. The fusion whipped their head around, her three eyes looking in surprise. Her top left arm stretched out towards the feline, placing an index finger in his face, stopping the growling. “Shhh. I’m going out to look for him. Watch out for the others.” They watched as the fusion stretched a leg to the surface of the Warp Pad. The fusion slung her body forward, using the other leg as stability when they landed. Their right lower hand reached towards the heart shaped gem, now glowing. A handle materialized from the heart and she grabbed it. Pulling on it, the chain attached grew longer and longer, until it ended with a large scythe-like blade, which her upper left hand caught. The fusion turned around back to the pink creatures, smirking and giving a two finger salute with her free hand. The Warp Pad activated and she disappeared.

 

  With nothing else to do, the pink mammals glanced at each other and climbed back up the stairs. Lion carefully climbed up on the foot of the bed, circling in place before laying down. Puka Shell carefully slithered his way underneath Connie’s arm. Her arm slightly tightened around the gemlin, much like a child holding onto their stuffed toy for security. He instinctively snuggled closer to the girl. Being fully gem, it didn’t require sleep. But, possibly from being from someone who required sleep, he went for it anyway. He closed his eyes as consciousness slowly slipped away.

Notes:

Comments are appreciated!

Remember to check out @suaufissured on Tumblr! And my main at @bellabooberry (I just do whatever there)