Work Text:
The weather was fair that day in Beach City: the sky was clear, the air was crisp with a hint of salty air from the cool Atlantic, and the waves were small and gentle. The trees from the nearby forest blew in the wind, their brown and red leaves skittering across the barren boardwalk. Tourist season had died down as winter drew near, and at first glance, life was calm and quiet in the beachside town.
Perhaps... too quiet.
In reality, this peace was a hollow one, for a dark shadow had fallen over Beach City. In the wake of several missing person cases, much of the town's inhabitants were frightened. In a normal city, no one would bat an eye if a few people went missing, but in a small town like Beach City, where everyone knew their neighbors' names and even made friends with the mailman, the sudden absence of three or four people had a profound and shocking effect.
Not only that, but the mystery behind the disappearances added to the quiet dread slowly filling up the souls of Beach City. No one saw the kidnappings take place, not a sound or a peep was heard. One minute, you could be walking to Funland safe and sound, and then the next, poof, gone into thin air! It was frightening enough to keep most people locked away in their houses, and only the bravest or most foolhardy of souls still walked through the streets of Beach City now.
One such soul was Steven Univesre. The young Gem hybrid was walking down the boardwalk with his best friend, Connie Maheswaran, in search of the missing people.
They walked silently, hand in hand, keeping their eyes peeled for any sign of Jamie, Sadie, or Onion.
If Steven was honest with himself, he was more than a little anxious. Where could his friends be? Was this another scheme cooked by Homeworld to mess with the Earth? And who this new Gem in town, the short blue Gem who wore a cute business dress and bow? When Steven met her for the first time, she went on and on about finding her dad, even though Gems weren't even born that way. Was she involved somehow?
This mystery was enough to make Steven's head spin, but thankfully he wasn't alone. As fear gripped Steven's heart, he felt Connie gently squeeze his hand. He turned to her, giving her a small smile. She smiled back, and although he also saw a touch of fear dancing in her eyes, Steven knew they were in this together.
“Thanks for helping with the search, Connie. I really appreciate it,” Steven said, his smile widening as his stress evaporated away. He squeezed her hand back, and together they felt warm and safe.
Connie nodded her head, her curly black hair bobbing in the wind.
“It's no problem, Steven, really! I might not know Jamie or Onion so well, but I don't want anyone to get hurt,” Connie said. She blushed a little and adjusted the pink broadsword strapped to her back. The sword was heavy as ever on the twelve year old girl, but there was something reassuring about its weight. It gave her the confidence that if they should encounter any corrupted Gems or Homeworld Gems along the way, she could defend herself.
Besides, Connie was privately happy to join Steven on another Gem mission. Things had been quiet lately, and while she was worried for Sadie and everyone else, she was itching to join another adventure.
Together, the two young teenagers soon arrived at the forest neighboring Beach City. When they reached a clearing with a tree stump in the center, they spread out with Steven checking nearby bushes while Connie searched the treeline.
“Onion? Jamie? You guys aren't playing some game together, are you?” Steven said, putting a hand over his mouth. He looked high and low, desperately hoping to spot a familiar splash of white and blue clothes among the bushes and trees in the clearing. This clearing was Onion's favorite spot outside his bedroom, but there was no sign of him.
“Mmm, I hope he's okay,” Steven said, a small frown crossing his face. He sat down on a nearby log, which was partly covered in green moss. Sighing, Steven kicked his legs back and forth in the air. “Maybe we're looking in the wrong way? If Onion and everyone else really were t-taken... where would a Homeworld Gem hide them?”
While Steven pondered this question, Connie kept up her search. Pushing some branches out of her way, Connie trekked through a small grove of oak trees. She drew in a deep breath, then cupped her hands around her mouth.
“Onion? You out there?” Connie cried out. She paused and waited for a response, any response, but all she heard was the gentle buzz of insects and other creatures throughout the forest. She sighed, shaking her head at the silence.
“Is anyone out there?” Connie shouted, louder this time. “Hello? Anyone at all!”
She was met with more silence. But then, after a short pause, Connie heard a soft voice come from somewhere overhead, somewhere in the treetops.
"Are you Mydad?"
Before Connie could say a word, a dark figure descended from the sky. They landed on a tree branch with a wooden thunk, which wobbled beneath their feet. The figure straightened up and looked down at Connie.
It was a blue Gem, the same Gem Steven had met earlier that day. The Gem had a tear-shaped gem under her left eye, a round head with a sensible bowl cut, dark blue eyes, and a cute bow on her head. She wore a business casual dress with white gloves, white stockings, and sharp blue shoes.
If Connie was brutally honest, the blue Gem looked like a cross between an owl preparing for an important business meeting, a faiy child, and a garden gnome. She wasn't nearly as monstrous as the corrupted Gems Connie had seen, or as intimidating as Jasper, so even if she was a Homeworld Gem, Connie wasn't exactly on edge. Heck, based on her height, the Gem probably didn't even come up to Connie's shoulder.
She did, however, match Steven's description to a tee, and she was just a few feet away from Connie. The human girl slowly approached the tree that the blue Gem stood on, just in case if she frightened this Gem away. The Gem just stared at Connie quizzically and tilted her head to the side.
“Hello?” The blue Gem said. “You heard me, correct? I said, are you Mydad? I'm looking for Mydad.”
“No, I'm not anyone's dad! I'm Connie!” Connie said, pointing to herself. “Are you alright? People are going missing around here, and it might not be the safest place.”
Connie smiled and held out her arms, encouraging the Gem to jump into her arms. “Come on, it's okay! I'll catch you!”
“You're Connie?” A wide smile split across the blue Gem's face. “Finally, a Connie! We've been looking for one of you for positively ages!”
With a high-pitched giggle, the blue Gem hopped off the tree. She fell just within inches of Connie's waiting arms before a pair of wings formed behind her back. The wings were just as tall as the blue Gem, made of water, and were shaped like butterfly wings. When she flapped her wings, she flew directly over Connie's head and above the forest canopy, dripping some water droplets onto Connie's chocolate brown face.
Cupping a hand over her mouth, the blue Gem called out. “Oh, Topaz! Come here! I've found one, I've found us a Connie!”
Connie knitted her eyebrows together, a small frown crossing her face. "Huh? You've been looking for–?
Before Connie could utter another word, she was cut off by a sudden rumbling sound. The ground shook beneath Connie's feet, and nearby stones danced on the forest floor. There was the sharp snap of branches breaking, and the dull groan of trees bending and breaking underneath incredible force.
Deep in the forest, something was moving. Something big. Connie struggled to remain on her feet as the rumbling grew stronger, and her heart skipped a beat when a dark shadow appeared beyond the oak grove.
From out of the shadows emerged a hand, a great yellow hand with short fingers and wrists wider than Connie's whole torso. When the hand grasped at an oak tree, the bark immediately split like eggshells, and with just the slightest push, the hand tore the rest of the tree out of the ground like it was made of wet tissue paper. The hundred year old tree fell to the ground like it was naught but ash compared to the far more ancient figure stepping out into the clearing.
The giant hand belonged to a giant Gem, a yellow Gem who stood well over eight feet tall. She was built like a tank with a chest as broad as a barn, with meat muscles bristling throughout her wide arms. Two gemstones were placed over her ears, and she wore a orange-tinted visor over her cold, steely eyes. A yellow diamond was printed across her chest, symbolizing her devotion to Yellow Diamond.
Just the sight of this giant Gem made Connie's blood run cold, and she instinctively fumbled for the broadsword strapped across her back as this Topaz stared Connie down. The blue Gem floated behind the Topaz, watching the two intently.
“Wh-whoa...” Connie took a step back, then another. Her hands damp with sweat, Connie found it harder to grip the sword, but after a few tries she finally unsheathed it and held it out in a defensive position. Both Gems looked at the pink broadsword for a moment before the blue Gem barked a laugh.
“Hah! Look, Topaz! This Connie has an itty-bitty sword! Do you think she wants to fight us?”
The blue Gem waggled a finger at Connie, a smug smile crossing her face.
“Now now, little human, put that silly thing away. We wouldn't want you to cut yourself with it.”
Connie gritted her teeth. At first glance, this blue Gem looked kinda cute in a childish sorta way, but she was growing meanier by the second. Connie didn't think if she could handle two Gems on her own, especially the Topaz.
Thankfully, she didn't have to. Before anyone made a move, Steven's voice called out through the clearing.
“Connie! Hold on!”
Rushing through the clearing and the bushes behind, Steven was at Connie's side in a flash. His pink shield was drawn and raised up to protect both him and Connie from the two Homeworld Gems.
“S-Sorry for leaving you on your own! I'm here now,” Steven said, sizing up the two Gems. Connie glanced at Steven and gave a small smile before turning back to the Topaz and blue Gem, bracing her resolve.
Sadly, the two Homeworld Gems looked less than perturbed by Steven's entrance. While the Topaz continued to stare down Connie and Steven with her rocky countance, the blue Gem flapped her wings and did a short cartwheel in the air.
“Oh my, the Connie has a playmate. You're that Steven I met in town earlier, if I'm not mistaken?” The blue Gem chuckled to herself. “Hah, don't answer that, I already know I'm never wrong. We don't need a Steven, so do us a favor and run along now.”
Steven shook his head and hoisted his shield higher.
“No! I-I don't know what you two Gems are doing here, b-but we don't wanna fight. Aren't you looking for your dad? We can help you if you let us.”
The blue Gem sighed and rolled her eyes.
“No, we don't need a Yourdad, we're looking for a Mydad. It's the only human we'll need after collecting this Connie.”
Steven blinked and looked at the blue Gem in bafflement. What did this Gem mean, they were looking for a Mydad? They were collecting humans? Did that mean they were responsible for the other disappearances?
“Wait...” Steven said, lowering his shield slightly. “What do you mean by that? D-Did you take Onion? And Sadie and Jamie too?”
The blue Gem just shook her head and sighed again. “Ugh, we don't have time for this! Zip your lip if you know what's good for you, Steven.”
Snapping her fingers, the blue Gem pointed at Connie. “Topaz, do your job and grab that Connie. Just don't touch that sword, it might sting a bit if cuts you.”
The Topaz wordlessly nodded her head. She didn't even utter the tiniest grunt as she approached the two humans. Although she was slow at first, the Topaz picked up speed fast like a boulder tumbling down a mountainside, and bringing a hand to one of her gems, she pulled out a double-sided crystal club as tall as she was. With her great speed, the Topaz swung the club straight at Connie's head, aiming for a single strike knock out.
“Connie, look out!” Steven shouted. In a burst of speed, Steven jumped in the air to block the Topaz's strike. When the crytal club struck Steven's shield, a loud ringing sound echoed through the clearing, and with the force behind the club, Steven was immediately flung through the air. He flew a short distance before hitting a nearby tree with enough force to splinter the wood, before slowly sinking to the forest floor with a soft groan.
His shield disappeared in a flash of sparkles, and Steven knew nothing else.
“Steven!” Connie said, staring at the fallen Steven. Before she could rush to his aid, however, Connie raised her sword to block another strike by the Topaz. Her knees bent underneath the force of the blow, but Connie stood her ground.
The human and Homeworld Gem locked their weapons together, Connie's arms shaking underneath the unyielding might of Topaz's strength. Based on the earlier destruction and the yellow Gem's indifferent expression, Connie knew that Topaz was holding back. These two Gems wanted to capture her alive for whatever reason, so Topaz couldn't just flatten Connie like a bug. While confused at their reasoning, this gave Connie the small hope that perhaps she could win after all.
Remember what Pearl taught you, Connie thought to herself, sweat pouring off her brow. She locked eyes with Topaz and gave the yellow Gem a sharp glare. When facing an opponent unprepared, create distance and analyze the situation.
“Hah!” Connie said. In one swift movement, Connie unlocked her sword from Topaz's club and sidestepped to the left. With her remaining momentum, Topaz's club struck the ground with an earthy thud, creating a small crater. Before Topaz could recover, Connie raised her sword and swung down at the yellow Gem's bowed head.
“Mm,” Topaz said, raising her right arm to defend herself. The yellow Gem caught the flat side of the broadsword with her wrist, pushing it back enough that it harmlessly cut through the air behind Topaz's head. She then pulled the hand back and took a swipe at Connie's chest.
Before the swipe hit, Connie dodged backwards by a few steps, creating about five feet of difference between herself and Topaz. As the yellow Gem stood back to her full height, crystal club clenched in her left hand, Connie raised her sword up.
“Hah, hah.” Connie breathed heavily, her eyes narrowed. She studied Topaz closely, taking in the crystal club, the muscular arms, the broad torso, and her short but solid-looking legs. Topaz was a formidible looking foe, but if Connie's training with Pearl taught her anything, there was no such thing as an invincible foe: every fighter had some weakness to exploit, some chink in their armor. Connie just had to find it.
Topaz wasn't inclined to give Connie that chance. Raising her crystal club up and changing her grip, Topaz leaned back and, with no small amount of strength, chucked her club at Connie like a javelin. Eyes wide, Connie rolled to the side as the club soared through the air, narrowly dodging the weapon. When the club struck the nearest tree behind Connie, the club tore through it like a cannon. The trees behind the first one were also brutally cut down, and it was only by the eighth tree that the club came to a complete stop, its head wedged inside the base of the trunk by a good six inches.
Connie stared at the wreckage with her mouth agape. That... that attack came within inches of her. Oh, oh dear, she might actually die in this fight.
Thankfully, while Connie regained her nerves, Topaz was busy being chewed out by the blue Gem.
“Topaz! What on Homeworld was that?” the blue Gem said, glaring at Topaz with her hands on her hips. “Are you trying to kill our target? Don't you recall how hard it was to find a Connie?”
Landing on Topaz's head, the blue Gem stomped on Topaz's skull like she was trying to crush an insect beneath her heel. Topaz looked up at the tiny blue Gem but said nothing, completely unfazed by the Gem's pitifully weak kicks. It was like watching a shrew pick a fight with an elephant, there was simply no contest in strength here.
“Stupid, unpolished dullard! I am not spending another solar cycle on this backwater planet, I simply refuse!” the blue Gem said. With a huff, the blue Gem pointed at Connie. “Look, she's winded. Just take that stupid sword away from her and it'll be over. It's not exactly rocket science!”
Nodding slowly, Topaz started to sprint towards Connie, throwing the blue Gem off. She remained airborne with a flap of her wings, and as Topaz made her charge, the blue Gem called out again.
“Just remember, if you squash her flat and waste more of my time, I will put it in the report!”
Breathing heavily, Connie braced herself as Topaz charged at her like a locomotive train. If she was perfectly honest, Connie wasn't sure her plan would work. It relied on a lot of good timing and luck, but it was better than just waiting to be captured. She waited on the spot as Topaz drew closer, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
And... now! Connie thought, as Topaz was pratically on top of her.
In a burst of speed, Connie dashed towards Topaz. The yellow Gem lunged at her, but instead of lunging back, Connie ducked and skidded across the grass. With the Gem's great height, Connie skidded right between Topaz's legs, and with her broadsword dragging behind, Connie raised the sword and caught Topaz by the ankles.
The rest was simply physics: with her oversized chest and stubby legs, Topaz tripped on Connie's broadsword and fell forwards. When the yellow Gem hit the forest floor, there was a great thud like a tree falling, and the ground cracked beneath her. Topaz groaned softly as her face was buried in the dirt.
Before Topaz could recover, Connie was on her: climbing atop the giant Gem with sword in hand, Connie crawled up to Topaz's lower back. Connie was never one for violence, and she certainly didn't want to kill Topaz, but she wasn't afraid to poof Gems either. Standing up to her feet, Connie raised the pink broadsword aloft, pointed it at Topaz's exposed back, then thrust it downwards with all her might...
... only to stop inches before the final blow. Connie's eyes widened as she felt her whole body freeze in place, trapped in a baby blue force field. From behind her, Connie heard the blue Gem speak in a tone most smug and vile.
“Tsk tsk tsk, Topaz! I honestly expected... well, not better of you, but certainly more than this,” the blue Gem said. She sighed rather dramatically and clicked her tongue. “As always, it falls to the Aquamarine to finish a job right.”
“Grr, aaah,” Connie said, struggling to escape Aquamarine's force field. The force field was strong and perfectly countoured to Connie's body, leaving her muscles virtually no room to wiggle around in. She couldn't open her mouth, and it was honestly difficult to breath. “Let eee go.”
“Oh, I think not,” said the blue Gem, Aquamarine. Floating closer to Connie, the Aquamarine pinched Connie's cheek and tugged it rather sharply with a shit-eating grin on her face. In her left hand was a small black wand that glowed the same blue as the force field. “You've caused us much too trouble to let go now. I'm almost impressed, really: I never expected a human to bring down a Gem like that.”
Aquamarine patted Connie on the head like one pats a good dog. “Connies must be humans bred for combat, yes? Perhaps you lack a Gem's raw strength or various abilities, but you're almost clever in a pinch. Almost.”
“Now then, I do believe its time we got moving! Topaz, please do something useful for once and carry the Connie back to the ship,” Aquamarine said, sharply floating up. Waving her wand in the air, Aquamarine lifted the still-frozen Connie off Topaz and onto the ground.
Now free of her unwelcome rider, Topaz groaned softly and slowly picked herself off the ground. Rubbing dirt and grass off her face, Topaz bent over and picked up the frozen Connie with a mildly annoyed frown. With a faint electical zap, Aquamarine turned off her force field wand, freeing Connie from its grip even as Topaz gripped the human girl in her giant, meaty hand. Connie's broadsword fell from her grasp and onto the forest floor, her arms forced to her sides.
“Mmm, mmm! Let me go!” Connie said, wiggling in Topaz's gentle, but firm grasp. She kicked her feet weakly in defiance. “Y-You won't get away with this! You cannot just kidnap people whenever you feel like it!”
“Oh really?” Aquamarine said, floating over and sitting on Topaz's head like a chair. Aquamarine crossed her legs and gave Connie a cheeky grin. “Then tell me, whose gonna stop us, hm? You don't think you're the first human we've caught, do you?”
Connie gritted her teeth and glared at the blue Gem.
“S-So you were the ones stealing people from town! Give them back.”
“Sorry, no can do!” Aquamarine shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. “For some reason, the Diamonds have ordered the construction of a second Earth Zoo, right on Homeworld. We're gonna need humans for this Zoo, and we cannot spare a single one of our collection.”
Aquamarine clicked her tongue as she continued. “We're just the first wave, mind you, to test the waters of human collection. This Zoo will be much bigger than the original, so we're gonna need many more humans to fill it.”
"W-Wait...” Connie said, blinking thoughtfully. A frown slowly crossed her face. “M-More of you are coming... h-how many people are you going to take?”
Aquamarine shrugged and rolled her eyes. “Ugh, I don't know! And I don't care to know. Honestly, I'd rather be on a mission to a planet that rains glass than on this mud rock.”
With a huff, Aquamarine tapped her shoe on the side of Topaz's head, where it clinked softly against one of Topaz's gems. “Now come along, Topaz. We still have to find a Mydad before the day is out.”
“Mm,” said Topaz.
With Connie in hand, Topaz started to move out of forest, slowly making her way back to Beach City. She had just reached the edge of the clearly when they heard a weak and bruised voice.
“W-Wait... don't take... my Connie.”
Topaz stopped in her tracks and slowly turned around. In the middle of the clearing, leaning on the stump for support, was Steven Universe.
Steven had definitely seen better days: he was bruised from Topaz's earlier attack with his shirt torn in several spaces. He gripped his left side tenderly; even with healing spit to repair the broken ribs he'd been given, the pain was still fresh in his mind.
Forming a shield at his side, Steven frowned at Topaz and Aquamarine.
“Give, give her back.”
“Steven!?” Connie shouted again, looking over to her best friend. “A-Are you okay?”
“I-I'm alright. I've fought Jasper before, this isn't anything I cannot handle.”
Topaz gripped her left fist tightly, then raised it to one of her gems. She started to pull out another crystal club, but when Aquamarine cleared her throat quite deliberately, the yellow Gem immediately withdrew her hand and weapon.
“Hmph. As much as I would love to see Topaz beat you into a fine red paste, Steven,” Aquamarine said, bobbing her black wand in the air thoughtfully. “I would rather not get any of your human 'blood' on my clothes. So do be a dear and die for me here and now, okay?”
Then, with a flick of her wand, Aquamarine shot a beam of blue light straight at Steven. Steven threw his shield at the light beam, which immediately froze in mid-air, but the beam simply wrapped around the shield and kept going. Steven barely had time to flinch when the light beam struck him in the chest and froze him in place.
Aquamarine barked a laugh when she caught Steven in her force field beam. Pointing her wand up to the sky, she lifted Steven in the air, then twirling it in a semi-circle, she flipped Steven upside down.
“Haha! You're making this too easy!” Aquamarine said. With a small smirk, Aquamarine raised Steven higher in the air before throwing her wand down like a hammer. Steven was dropped head first onto the stump, making a loud cracking sound.
Steven gasped from shock as his head collided with the wooden stump. It felt like cold fire was injected straight into his veins, making his whole head and upper body burn like a forest fire. As a gem Hybrid, Steven had always had a higher threshold for pain than most humans, and he'd be dealt harder blows before, but this attack still hurt quite a bit.
“Aaaah!” Steven cried out, gritting his teeth tightly. His pain just made Aquamarine giggle louder, and with a twirl of her wand, she bashed Steven against the stump two more times, first slamming him on his back before throwing him on his chest. The final blow knocked the wind right out of Steven, making him gasp for air.
“Pathetic, simply pathetic!” Aquamarine said. “The Connie put up much more of a fight. And to think, you were so brave a second ago. What happened to that?”
With another laugh, Aquamarine waved her wand in a horizontal line, throwing Steven into some nearby bushes. He grunted as the soft leaves and brittle branches caught him, and when Aquamarine freed him at last, Steven took in deep breathes even as his body ached all over.
With the world growing dark at the corners of his vision, Steven looked up as Aquamarine floated above him. The blue Gem waggled her finger at him like a disappointed school marm.
“Let this be a lesson, little Steven: do not mess with our mission. If you interfere again, I won't go so easy on you.”
Spinning like a ballerina in the air, Aquamarine flew back to the waiting Topaz and alighted on her flat head like a bluebird landing in her nest. She snapped her fingers, and as wordless as ever, Topaz slowly walked out of the forst.
“Ta-ta for now! Our next target, Mydad!”
Steven groaned as the two Homeworld Gems disappeared from his vision. From beyond the veil of darkness steadily consuming his mind, he heard Connie call out to him, her voice frightened.
“Steven!”
“C-Connie!” Steven said, his voice weak and coarse. The young boy tried to pick himself up, to stand and protect his best friend, but his body wouldn't listen to him: his arms and legs felt numb and lifeless, like they were filled with cold sand. Even his head felt like it was full of rocks, and try as he might to pick it up, Steven couldn't lift the great weight.
His head falling back into the bushes, Steven moaned as the dark swallowed him and he knew no more.