Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Twoie sighed into Steven’s pillow for the 5^th time that hour. His hands were dangling off the foot of Steven’s bed, as he barely paid attention to his character on the TV screen. Steven didn’t seem to notice Twoie’s lack of effort in the fighting game they were playing as his sigh went unnoticed. Don’t misunderstand; he loves hanging out with Steven, but the two have been playing Lonely Blade for hours now, and he was bored.

The Gems were off doing stars knows what. Originally, Twoie planned on going to the library to research anything Gem related in the hopes of finding another way to get home, but then Steven had asked if he wanted to hang out for the day. One look at the puppy eyes the boy made and Twoie knew he couldn’t say no.

“Woohoo!” Steven flopped backward on the bed; the controller raised in the air in victory. Twoie dropped his controller to the ground and mustered the strength to push himself up from where he was lying on Steven’s bed.

“Steven, can we do something else now? I don’t think my eyes can take looking at a screen any longer.” He rubbed his eyes with his palms. How on earth had he been able to stand that for hours as a kid? Is it weird that he feels so old now? Steven sits up, face slightly frowning while he sets his controller down on the bed.

“Sorry, I didn’t realize we’d been playing so long. We could make lunch and have a picnic? Or go to Fryman’s and eat fry bits?” Stars lit up in his eyes, and he lunged forward, grabbing Twoie’s face in his hands. “I know! Let’s go to Fish Stew Pizza! I have enough VIPizza cards from them to get us both free pizzas!”

Twoie smiled and rolled his eyes as he gently pulled Steven's hands from his face. “Alright. Let’s go then.” He headed downstairs to put his jacket on while Steven gathered the cards from his bedside drawer. Once the two were ready, they began their trek into town.

It didn’t take long for them to reach Fish Stew Pizza. The line wasn’t long, but Twoie did not want to wait in line to talk to Kiki. He decided to grab a table while Steven ordered for them. It was pretty awkward for him to talk to the residents of Beach City. People would become confused and awkward every time Twoie was introduced as Steven’s older brother, who was visiting from Ocean Town. It was easier not to interact with them as often instead. Steven finally made his way to their table and sat down.“What should we do after we’re done eating? We could go to the arcade or the movie theater?”

Twoie hummed in contemplation at Steven’s question. He really didn’t want to go to the arcade or the theater. Both would probably involve him staring at a screen again. ‘I just wish there was something I could do every day that is more long-term. I’m getting sick of doing nothing but games and TV in my spare time.’ Steven frowned slightly at Twoie’s lack of a response.

“I could always text Connie and see if she wants to hang out with us at Funland?” Steven went to pull out his phone, but Twoie shook his head before he could. “Connie has that big test tomorrow, remember? Maybe when she’s done with school for the week.”

Steven sighed and propped his head on his hand. “Oh, yeah. I forgot.” He closed his eyes for a second before chuckling. “Do you remember when we tried to make our own school? Pearl helped us gather all the stuff Connie said schools have, and we met Lapis!” His smile turned sad. “I wonder how she’s doing trapped under the ocean.”

Twoie sighed as he remembered how much it hurt knowing Lapis was stuck under the ocean as Malachite. He needed to find some way to cheer Steven up, but how to do it without more electronics? That’s when it hit him. A grin formed on his face, and he tried to act nonchalant, “You know… I used to be a teacher.” That was all he had to say for Steven to smile at him with stars in his eyes. “You were a teacher? What did you teach? Did your students like you? Who did you teach?”

At that moment, Kiki came out with their order. “Hey, Steven! Hey, Twoie! Here’s your order, one pepperoni, and one cheese pizza.” She set the pizzas down in front of them. “Anything else I can get you two?”

Twoie and Steven thanked her as they shook their heads. Kiki smiled and went back to work. “Okay, Steven. I can’t say too much, but I can tell you that the Gems and I were able to reverse corruption eventually. Afterward, the gems needed to learn how to live on earth, so I started a school for them.”

Steven couldn’t contain his excitement. “You mean we’ll be able to save everyone in the future?! That’s awesome! Why did you stop?” Twoie flinched at the question. He looked down at his plate to avoid the confused and, now, concerned look on Steven’s face at his response.

“I-uh… I realized I didn’t-um. I just didn’t like graduation.” Twoie tried to hide his discomfort, but Steven could tell it was bothering him. “A-anyways, ha-ha, I just brought that up because I could always homeschool you. You know… if you want me too.”

Steven’s frown flipped like a switch. He immediately stood on his chair and leaned over the table in awe. “You want to homeschool me? That would be awesome!” He flopped back into his chair and stuffed a slice of pizza into his mouth. “We could find all the stuff again for a classroom! You’ll be Professor Universe!”

Twoie choked on his pizza. “P-Professor Universe? Steven, professors, are people who teach at colleges. You don’t have to call me anything different.” He couldn’t keep the big grin off his face, though. His younger self was so adorable at times. If he were to teach, though, he would need to go to the library and get some books. He’d also need to test Steven to see what he already knows.

“Tell you what, after we finish eating, let’s go to the library. I need to get some books for you, and then we can go home and make sure we have everything we need for class. Then, if we still have time, we can go to the arcade or the theater. Sound good?” Steven nodded and rushed to finish his pizza. He couldn’t wait to get started.

Chapter Text

The only noise that could be heard in the temple was the soft snores of Steven, and the crinkle of paper as Twoie turned the page in the book he was reading. He’d been reading the book for hours, A Guide to Homeschooling, ever since Steven went to bed. The kid was so tired after all the excitement and had promptly passed out on the couch when they got home. Twoie snorted as he thought of the moment. He’d had to carry his younger self to bed, tucking him in like he remembered Garnet doing for him.

The book was a useful reference, at least. Twoie already knew he’d have to test Steven to see where he was academically, but the book came with a good comprehensive test. Twoie had printed out a copy of each test while they were at the library, the stack of papers sat neatly stapled next to him. His focus now was on catching himself up with the subjects he would have to teach Steven and coming up with a schedule.

Twoie bit the end of the pencil he was writing with as he looked at the subjects he’d have to teach: Biology, English, History, Math, and Physical Education. He could do all five subjects for an hour like traditional school, but what if the Gems needed them on a mission? Besides, wouldn’t that take five hours, not including lunch? Maybe it’d be better to make it four hours instead. Two subjects a day for two hours each. He’d just alternate the other two subjects and count PE as Gem missions or training.

He’d just finished writing down more notes about the type of workbooks/textbooks he could use when he heard rustling upstairs. Twoie rubbed his eyes with his hands before turning in his chair to look behind him. Steven was sitting up in his bed, eyes wide as he stared forward. He lightly smacked his face a couple of times with his hands before he noticed the light shining dimly in the kitchen.

“Twoie? Are you still up?” He blinked a couple of times before fully focusing on his older self. Twoie softly smiled at him and gave a little wave. “Yeah, still awake. What woke you up?”

Steven trudged down the steps, making his way over to stand in front of Twoie. “…I had a nightmare. About Malachite.” Twoie frowned at him. It was pretty traumatic, and no one ever really talked to him about it afterward. He sighed, gesturing to the chair next to him. “Do you wanna talk about it?”

Steven shook his head. He paused for a moment, then climbed into the seat next to Twoie. “Not right now. It’s really late Twoie, are you gonna go to bed soon?” The older boy hummed as he turned his phone on. 1:34 am. “Whoa. It really is late. I’ll head to bed in a minute. I wanna finish this section first.” He went back to writing notes on the book again as Steven laid his head down on the table. The two sat in silence for several minutes. Steven was still feeling down; he really wanted some company, but he didn’t want to bother Twoie. He opened his mouth a couple of times, to say something, but couldn’t bring himself to say anything.

Steven bit his lip and mustered the courage to scooch his chair over a little closer to Twoie. If he heard the noise or noticed the movement, Twoie didn’t show it. Steven looked up at him again before scooching even closer. He leaned over until he was resting against Twoie’s side. The older boy looked at him for a second in surprise, but his expression quickly turned into a fond smile. He moved his arm around Steven so he could hold him and brush his fingers softly through the kid’s hair as he continued reading.  It didn’t take long for Steven to fall back asleep.

Once Twoie finished the chapter he was on, he gathered his notes into a pile, closed the book, and carefully picked the slumbering child up. He tucked Steven into bed again, then gathered some blankets to sleep on the couch. He wanted to be nearby in case Steven woke up again.

Chapter Text

“TIME TO GET UP! IT’S THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!” Steven leaped onto Twoie, who was soundly asleep on the couch. “Oof!” Even though Twoie was used to taking harder hits from gems, he still curled up in shock and pain from Steven landing on his stomach.

“Augh! Steven! Get off!” He pushed the boy off of him so he could curl up on his side. Steven paid no notice to Twoie’s plight. “I set up the classroom while you were sleeping! You went to bed so late last night that I figured I’d wait until I was done to wake you up. Now come on! It’s time for school!”

As he was running around the room, cheering, the temple door opened up. Pearl stepped daintily out of her room, staring in confusion at the ruckus. “Why are you running around the room, Steven? And where’s Twoie?” She startled at the pained groan that greeted her from the couch. “Goodness, Twoie? Are you alright? What has gotten into you two this morning?”

She walked over to the couch and helped Twoie sit up, letting him lean into her hands. Steven ran over to her, ecstatically jumping up and down. “Twoie is going to start homeschooling me today! Isn’t that great, Pearl?” Pearl stiffened, letting go of Twoie in the process. Twoie’s eyes widened right as she let go. He went crashing to the ground.

Pearl rounded on him. “H-homeschooling? You’re not teaching Steven about Homeworld, are you? How could you? Don’t you know how dangerous that place is? How do you even know about it?” 

Twoie mumbled something under his breath as he propped himself up against the floor. “You know Pearl; maybe you should stop making assumptions about things you don’t know. Homeschooling is a human thing, not a gem thing.”

Pearl’s face blushed in anger. “Don’t talk to me like that, young man. You may be Steven from the future, but I know what’s best for my Steven. I don’t want you talking about any of that with him. Do you understand me?”

Twoie took a deep breath to calm himself down. He flashed her an irritated glare as he stood up and faced her. “Pearl, I get why you’re concerned, but you shouldn’t yell at me when you’re the one in the wrong. Homeschool is when kids are taught subjects like math and science from home instead of from an educational institution run by the county. We both have a lot of free time right now, so I thought having lessons with Steven would be a good idea.” He wiped the look of irritation off his face while spinning on his heel to face Steven. “Come on Steven, I’ll make us breakfast.”

Twoie ushered Steven away from Pearl, not giving her a chance to respond, and started looking through the cupboards. “Pancakes, okay?” Steven turned to look at Pearl. Her face was scrunched up in annoyance, and she walked away in a huff. She grumbled something about Peridot before the front door slammed shut behind her. He turned back to Twoie, who was rummaging through the fridge for more ingredients. “O-okay. Pancakes sound good.”

Steven pulled out a flat pan, a bowl, and a whisk for Twoie while Twoie grabbed the measuring cups. “How good are you with fractions?” Twoie questioned. He noticed that cooking would probably be a good application of fractions in real life.

“I’m okay with fractions. I know the basics, but that’s about it.” Twoie hummed thoughtfully. “Remind me to go over fractions more often with you when we cook, or the next time we’re at Fish Stew Pizza. Anyways, let me tell you what I have planned for today.” Pancake flour, milk, and two eggs went into the bowl.

“I printed out that comprehensive test for you while we were at the library. I’m going to have you take one for every subject just to see what level you’re at.” Steven melted some butter in the pan, and Twoie poured some batter onto it. “Every time you finish a test, we’ll take a break. I want you to finish all of the tests today so that we can actually start lessons tomorrow.” Twoie stacked some pancakes on a plate and set it down on the bar counter. Steven dug into his pancakes with gusto.  

Breakfast was a little awkward. Twoie furrowed his brows at his now empty plate. He didn’t mean to snap at Pearl, but it was hard when the gems were still treating him like a stranger. It’s not like he wasn’t weirded out as well. He just wanted to forget their argument ever happened. He picked up both plates and went over to the sink.

“Okay, Steven! I’ll wash up everything from breakfast.” Twoie looked over at the ‘classroom’ that Steven had set up. There was a desk and a chalkboard set up by the couch. How did he not notice that when he woke up? There was also a stack of books by the chalkboard, and multiple pencils, markers, and notebooks surrounding the desk. “Do we need all this? I was just going to have you work on the couch?”

Steven smiled, all tension leaving his body. “Absolutely! This is our first day! Hold on!” He ran up and down the stairs as fast as he could. “I also got you this!” The light shined off the black rectangular glasses that Steven held in the air. “Lots of teachers wear glasses on TV. So I got you these glasses and popped the lenses out!”

Twoie chuckled. “Okay, fine. I’ll wear them just for today, okay?” He set the last clean dish in the dish rack and put the glasses on. Next, he grabbed the packets from the counter, ushering Steven to sit in his desk.

“I thought we’d start with the easiest one first. I don’t think you’ll struggle too much with English since you read a lot with Connie. After, we’ll test Math, History, and end the tests with Science. I want you to do your best and don’t worry if you can’t answer a question. This test is to figure out what you already know, not what you should know, okay?” Steven nodded in determination. “I’m ready for this!”

He was not ready for this. After each test was completed, Twoie could see confusion and stress marring his expression. Twoie was reading the completed packets on the couch, still wearing the glasses, while Steven marked his answer for the last question. The second it was filled in, Steven dropped his head on his desk. “Done… Finally…”

Twoie held back a laugh. “Alright, Steven. I need to finish looking over these for tomorrow. Why don’t you go rest or see if the gems want a break from their search?” That made Steven look up in excitement.

“Yeah, that’s a great idea!” He ran off towards the temple doors. Twoie wrote more notes down in his notebook.

Steven had done pretty well in the English test; his reading ability scored a bit higher than his actual grade level. His writing definitely needed work, though.

He had done alright in Math; arithmetic was fine, multiplication was fine, any word problem involving friends or sharing the kid had aced. The issue seemed to be symbols. He had no idea how to work with any of the symbols used in algebra. He also struggled with trigonometry.

He sighed as he looked over Steven’s history packet. The kid knew a lot about gem history but human history? That was something they would need to work on. He knew about Beach City’s history but barely any of world history or US history. ‘I’m definitely looking up how far the Smithsonians are from here. That’ll be both a fun field trip and a good learning experience for history and science.’

The sound of the temple door made Twoie look up from his work. Amethyst stepped out of the temple, flashing a grin at Steven as they started walking towards the door. “Amethyst and I are going to go hang out at the boardwalk! Do you want us to bring you home anything?”

Twoie shook his head. “Thanks for asking, but I’m fine. Have fun!” He grabbed Steven’s science packet and started looking over the answers. He heard the door thud closed. “Okay, Twoie. All I have left is this packet, and then I can get started researching everything I need to know for tomorrow’s lessons.” He muttered to himself.

This was another subject that Steven struggled with. He knew the basics about animals, plants, and the weather, but that was it. “Okay, the museum is the first field trip I’ll take him on once I get permission from Dad to borrow the van for the day. Maybe, I’ll schedule that in two weeks so I can use it to test him on things he’s already learned.” He gathered the packets up and started organizing his lesson plans for the next day.

Chapter Text

Twoie looked over his notes one last time before he turned to face Steven, who was sitting in his desk with his notebook open to the first page. He pretended not to notice the starry-eyed look the kid was giving him. So maybe he accidentally put the glasses on again without realizing, give him a break. They were comfortable, okay?

“Okay, so today we will be learning about math. You did really well when it came to arithmetic and multiplication, but I want to work on your fractions and percentages more.” Twoie took a piece of chalk and started writing on the board. He wrote out the rules of fractions, making sure that Steven understood the terms for the nominator and denominator, then moved onto the comparison between fractions, division, and percentages.

Steven took the lesson in stride, quickly being able to answer most questions by working it on paper but had a harder time solving the problems without it. “Do I have to be able to figure these problems out without using paper?” Steven whined.

“It would help to learn how to do it without. This is useful when you’re shopping or eating out. Like noticing if you’ve been charged too much, calculating discounts, or figuring out how much to tip at restaurants.” Twoie took an eraser and cleared off the board. “Don’t worry about it if you can’t do it right now. You’ll get it down eventually. Let’s move on to angles! These can be great to know for games.”

Steven gasped in excitement. “Really?!” What followed was a lengthy discussion on the use of angles in billiards and mini-golf, including drawings. Sometime during the discussion, Pearl and Amethyst had walked into the room. Pearl joined in by conjuring holographic images that detailed whatever scenario the group talked about. Amethyst was on board for shapeshifting to test the situations out in real life.  Just as Twoie was about to wrap up their math lesson and move onto history, Garnet appeared from the temple.

“Sorry to cut your lesson short, Twoie, but I have a mission for us.” Everyone quickly gathered in front of her. “There is a corrupted gem causing havoc in the Strawberry fields. It is going to be tough to catch, so we need everyone to contribute. Steven. Twoie. That means you as well.” Steven jumped up and cheered.

“Also, nice glasses, Twoie. They look good on you.” Twoie blushed as he had forgotten he was wearing the glasses. He embarrassedly took them off and put them on the shelf by the couch. “T-thanks, Garnet.”

The warp pad barely fit everyone as Steven warped them to the fields. Upon arrival, they could already see the damage done to several large strawberries. Jagged lines were carved into the ground and through several berries, scattering juice all over. They began walking through the fields, looking for any sign of the corrupted gem. “What kind of gem is this, Garnet?” Pearl’s question was interrupted when the ground rumbled violently.

“Everyone in the air!” Garnet yelled. She went to grab Steven, but Twoie called out, “Steven! Happy place!” Twoie jumped into the air, floating above the gems, and Steven quickly did the same.

The young kid had a huge grin on his face as he floated. “Awesome! It worked!” Pearl jumped up and grabbed Twoie’s hands, which he had extended for her. Amethyst quickly turned into a large falcon and hoisted Garnet into the air. The ground where they were standing was encased promptly in electricity. It sparked along the path, creating gouges in the dirt as it passed. “It’s a corrupted Pietersite! We’ve got to bubble it before it electrocutes us!” Garnet informed them.  

As Steven and Twoie were still floating higher, Twoie looked around for the gem. “I can’t see it from here, Garnet. We should follow the sparks back to their origin.” As he was looking around, he noticed that the gouges looked like half a circle with lines cutting through. “Steven!” Everyone looked at Twoie. “If I were to land at the little triangle underneath me, what fraction of the half-circle am I in?” Steven looked around, catching onto what Twoie was referring to.

“Are you seriously doing that right now?” Pearl was ignored as Steven responded, “1/8! There are eight gouges, and we’re landing in one of the eight!” Amethyst scoffed as they all landed back on the ground.

“Augh, Twoie, you’re as bad as Pearl! I can’t believe you’re turning the mission into a math lesson. So lame.” Pearl glared at Amethyst. Even though she was the first to object, she would not allow Amethyst to insult learning. “Excuse me? I think it’s commendable that Twoie has found a way to include education in the mission.” Amethyst rolled her eyes at her obvious change in tune. “Whatever. I’m going on without you guys.”

Everyone followed along towards the center of the discharge, all the while Twoie continued testing Steven on math. “If I cut that strawberry into ten pieces and gave twenty percent to Garnet, how much of the strawberry would I have left?” Steven mouthed words to himself while counting on his hands. “Eight! You gave two pieces to Garnet!”

Twoie patted Steven on the head. “Good job, Sunshine! You got it right!” Steven froze at the nickname. He went starry-eyed and squealed in delight! “That’s such a cute nickname! Is that my nickname?” Now, it was time for Twoie to freeze. “I-uh, I mean, I-guess? Sorry, I didn’t mean to call you that.” He started walking again. “I-I mean, I can if you’re okay with it, that is.” There was a large blush on Twoie’s face.

Steven cheered at his response and rushed forward to grab hold of Twoie’s hand. “I love it! Now I need to think of a nickname for you!” Twoie stammered out, “N-no! That’s okay. You don’t have to! When you think about it, Twoie is already a nickname, right?” Steven frowned but let it go for now.

The ground started to rumble again. “It looks like another discharge is coming! Back in the air!” Garnet called out! Everyone performed the same maneuver from earlier, as more electricity passed them.

“Look! There’s the gem!” Steven pointed at the massive brown and golden beast up ahead. From their vantage point, they could see the multiple spikes protruding at all angles from its body. It kinda looked like a spikey golden-brown cotton ball creature. It lumbered through the fields in the direction of the warp.

“Amethyst, try to keep it in one place. Pearl, use your spear as a long-range weapon. Steven, Twoie, throw your shields at it, and Twoie, make sure Steven doesn’t get hit by any electricity! I do not know if the electricity can go through your bubbles, and I don’t want to test it.”

Amethyst summoned her whip and wrapped it around the beast. She slammed the end into the ground before summoning another one. She kept this up until she had three whips holding it in place. Little sparks of electricity jolted down the whips but ended at the handles staked into the ground. Pearl summoned several spears, throwing them at the beast. Two were knocked away, and the other three only managed to scratch it. The creature’s spikes were too sturdy for the spears to cut through.

Twoie picked Steven up as the monster discharged, hopping into the sky again. He scanned the situation. “Steven! Summon your shield and aim at a forty-five-degree angle!” Steven grinned, lining up the shot. The throw was perfect. The shield slammed into the beast’s back, forcing it to the ground. “I’ve got an idea! Summon another one and hold on with both hands! I’ll tell you when to let go!” Twoie shouted, landing back on the ground. Steven prepared himself, summoning another shield.

“Everyone get out of the way!” Steven called out. The Gems stared in shock as Twoie grabbed Steven by the legs and started spinning quickly. Steven clenched the shield tighter as the pace picked up.

“Move!” Garnet shouted. The beast was pushing itself back into a standing position, but Steven and Twoie were ready for it. “Now!” Steven let go of the shield. It shot forward with such force that it cut straight through the gem. The resulting poof was met with momentary silence.

“Yeah! Woo! We did it, Twoie!” Twoie flipped Steven around and sat him down on the ground. Garnet, Pearl, Amethyst were staring at the two in astonishment. Steven bubbled the gem before returning to Twoie, happily gushing about their combination move.

“I never even thought of that…” Amethyst whispered. Pearl started shaking. “That was extremely dangerous! What if Twoie swung him too hard? Or tripped? Or let go of Steven? What if his timing was off and Steven missed or hit one of us instead? That was very reckless of him! Garnet, we need to do something about this.”

Garnet placed her fingers on her visor. “Twoie and Steven placed a lot of trust in each other with that move. I am impressed at their display of teamwork. They must be getting pretty close.” Pearl crossed her arms over her chest. “I don’t like it. He hasn’t been very cooperative with our search for Peridot, and I’m still worried he’s telling Steven things he shouldn’t know about Homeworld.”

Amethyst scoffed at her. “There’s nothing wrong with Twoie, Pearl. He probably hasn’t told us anything because he doesn’t want to change the future too much or because it doesn’t need to be changed yet.” Pearl turned her nose up at Amethyst. “Just because you’re not worried doesn’t mean I shouldn’t be.” Amethyst placed her hands on her hips. “You shouldn’t be! Twoie’s a nice guy! Steven was telling me yesterday that Twoie became a teacher because we were able to cure the corrupted gems, so they needed someone to teach them about earth. Do you really think a bad guy would do that?”

Her words were met with flinches. “W-we cured c-corruption? How? Rose couldn’t even do that, and she was the only one of us with healing powers!” Pearl cried out. Garnet clenched her fists tightly. “We have tried everything to cure corruption. I don’t think anyone but a Diamond could manage it.” Amethyst tried to play her worry off. “M-maybe we just didn’t look hard enough and-“

“What if Twoie is a traitor?” Pearl whispered. Amethyst stared at Pearl. “No, what? There’s no way! Twoie is Steven, remember? He would never turn traitor!”  Pearl rounded on Amethyst. “Just think about it! Twoie arrived in the past just after Homeworld started involving itself in the earth again! What if this is planned?”

Garnet's mind was racing at the suggestion. “It’s possible between our timeline and Twoie’s that he could end up working alongside Homeworld. His arrival has caused a ripple in the time stream that opened up thousands of new possible futures. We have already had an incident where my future vision was obstructed due to unknown information.” Pearl looked away in shame. A bark of laughter dragged all of their attention back to Twoie and Steven.

The older boy was laughing at something his younger self had said. The child grabbed his arm and started dragging him towards something, probably whatever they were talking about. The thought of Steven being manipulated by Homeworld left knots in Garnet’s stomach.

“Keep on eye on Twoie and Steven. I want to trust him, but in light of this new information, we can’t afford to be careless. If Steven really is manipulated into aiding Homeworld, Twoie will most likely guide him to that path.” Pearl and Amethyst looked at each other in worry. “The Crystal Gems are the protectors of the earth. No matter who or what threatens its safety.”

Chapter Text

Twoie was thankful that Pearl had taken Steven with her for Connie’s sword training. It made it so much easier to research everything he would need for next week’s museum trip. He didn’t have to worry about Steven walking in at any second while his phone screen was open to the web page for the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. It also meant Twoie didn’t have to hide his stress. Now that Garnet and Pearl were getting along again, Steven was much happier. Twoie was trying his hardest not to jeopardize the kid’s good mood.

He was lucky that the museum had free admission, and that the two would be packing a lunch. Twoie was anxiously tugging at his hair as he analyzed the possible costs of gas and dinner for the trip. Even though they were only a couple of hours from the museum, Twoie figured that they wouldn’t be getting home until late at night. It’d be nice to take Steven to a place he hasn’t tried before anyway. The problem was Twoie could see the dollar signs adding up, as he planned this trip. He didn’t want to borrow money from his dad since he wasn’t rich yet, so what else could he do to get some money?

“That’s it! I could teach Steven how to tend to a garden! We could sell some of the flowers for more money, and I can teach Steven some of the science regarding plants and ecosystems! I’ve been wondering how to show Steven a more hands-on approach to science anyway.” He opened the weather app on his phone to make sure it wouldn’t rain while they would be out.

The app showed nice weather for the next couple of days. Twoie tucked his phone into his pocket. Now all he had to do was check-in with Garnet about next Tuesday and ask his dad if he could borrow the van. They could make the garden after he made sure the field trip would occur. Right as he finished his thought, the temple door opened, and Garnet stepped out.

“Garnet! Perfect timing! Can you use your future vision to tell me if Steven and I will be needed next Tuesday?”

She adjusted her glasses. “Hmm. What are you planning to do that day?” Twoie gestured for her to come closer. He pulled his phone out and showed her the web page.

“I want to take Steven on a field trip to the Natural History Museum. It’s a couple of hours from here, so I want to make sure we don’t have any missions that day.” He set the phone down and showed her the notes he was taking. “They have a butterfly pavilion that I know Steven is going to want to see, and lots of exhibits on history and science. I also have to ask Dad if I could borrow the van, so I need to make sure the date would work.” Twoie shut the book and put his phone away. “Please don’t tell Steven that I’m planning this. I want it to be a fun surprise.”

Garnet hummed in acknowledgment. “From what I can see, Tuesday should require no missions and nice weather.  Also, I’d get going if I were you. Steven, Connie, and Pearl should be finishing up their training right now. If you want to talk to Greg, you should leave before they arrive.”

Twoie shoved his notebook into his bag, jotted down a quick note to Steven that he was heading out, and raced out the door. “Thanks-Garnet-I-owe-you-one-bye!” Twoie released the breath he was holding when he heard the warp go off, right as he reached the bottom of the steps. He kept running through the beach until he was sure Steven couldn’t see him.

It was rare that he got time to himself these days. Especially when it came to walking down the boardwalk on his own. It was odd seeing everything in the past and knowing that everything was so different in the future. So different… Twoie shook his head to clear his thoughts. He was not going to go down that road.

The young man picked up the pace, not stopping until he reached the car wash on the edge of town. The van was parked in the driveway, but he couldn’t tell if his Dad was inside. “Dad?” He knocked on the back doors to the van. He waited a couple of seconds. No response. “Must be inside the car wash then.” As he walked up to the entrance into the building, he could hear music playing softly inside. He opened the door and saw his dad lying on the ground, half-way inside the control box. “Hey, Dad!”

The man crawled out, brushing dust off his pants as he stood up. His eyes lit up when he noticed who his visitor was, arms spreading out in an invitation for a hug. “Twoie! I haven’t seen you in a while. How are you?”

Twoie hugged him. Even though the man wasn’t technically his father, he was still the same caring man he looked up to. It was nice to have some semblance of normalcy in the past. “I’m doing well, thanks! I’ve been pretty busy between homeschooling Steven and going on missions, so it’s nice to have a little ‘me’ time to come visit you.”

Greg chuckled. “I know I’ll never say no to spending time with you. Are you sure you don’t mind hanging out with your old man in your free time, though? Well, I guess it’s your younger-old man to you! Sounds like you’ve been pretty busy lately.”

Twoie snorted at the joke. “Dad, it’s always nice to spend time with you. How’s your business been?” The two made their way outside to sit in the van.

Greg popped open the doors and pushed them all the way to the end. “Pretty slow today. I don’t think anyone else will be coming by today since it’s a couple of hours till closing. I’m hoping to drum up some more business tomorrow. I was working on tuning up some of the wires in the control panel since it’s so quiet.”

Twoie smirked at Greg. “Don’t worry about it too much. Something will happen next summer that will make you rich.” Greg choked on his saliva. “Wait, what?” Twoie started laughing. His dad lightly punched him in the arm. “You can’t drop something like that on me, kiddo.” He slung an arm around his son with a big grin on his face. Twoie chuckled as Greg made it obvious he wanted him to continue. “I can’t say too much, but let’s say a certain song of yours is pretty famous.”

The two continued to chat for a while. Twoie hadn’t realized how late it was until the sun had fully set. The back of the van was illuminated only by the soft glow of moonlight. “Shoot! I was supposed to meet up with Steven an hour ago for dinner. Sorry, Dad. I have to head back to the temple now.” Twoie grabbed his bag and hopped out of the van. “Oh, before I forget. Could I borrow the van next Tuesday? I want to take Steven to the Smithsonian Museum as a field trip.”

Greg nodded. “Of course! Will you be back that night, or should I spend the night in the temple?”

It would be nice to have Dad go straight to the temple, in case they got home really late. Actually, Steven would probably appreciate Greg spending the night in general so he could talk about the trip with him in the morning. “Why don’t you spend the night at the temple? We’re only going for the day, but I know Steven will want to talk to you about the trip first thing in the morning. It’ll be nice to have you over anyway.”

“Sounds like a plan, Schtu-ball. Goodnight! Love you, kiddo!” Twoie hugged his Dad. At least this part of his Dad will never change. Warmth spread through him at hearing the fondness in his Dad’s voice. He had really missed him. “Love you too, Dad. I’ll come by again soon.”

Chapter Text

“What do you mean we don't have a lesson today!”

Twoie doubled over in laughter at the sheer disappointment in Steven’s voice. “Ha, D-do you, ha-ha! Do you really like school that much?” Steven deflated on the desk. “Of course! You make it really fun! I was talking to Connie last night, and she told me that her school isn’t nearly as fun as ours.”

That made Twoie blush. “Well, I’m glad to hear that! I guess we could have lessons instead of what I planned for us to do instead.” Twoie tried not to let his amusement show. “Okay, we don’t have to create our own garden today. I can just start on the next section of our science course.”

“No!” The chair scraped against the floor, and Twoie had a bundle of excitement in his arms. “You didn’t say we were going to make a garden! That sounds like so much fun! Please don’t change your plan!” Twoie was struck with another bout of laughter at Steven’s 1-80 response. Amethyst collapsed against the kitchen counter laughing, and even Pearl and Garnet were sporting amused smiles at Steven’s shenanigans.

“Why don’t I join you two today?” Pearl stepped forward.  She summoned a pair of garden gloves, a basket, a trowel, and a sunhat from her gem. “I have never performed the act of gardening, but I did read about it a couple of hundred years ago. It’d be nice to put the words to practice.”

'That would be nice. I haven’t spent a lot of time with Pearl since I arrived, and I think she could use a break from searching for Peridot. She’s been really tense lately.’ Twoie thought to himself. “That’d be awesome!” Twoie laid out several supplies on the table by the couch. “These are yours, Sunshine.” The gloves were a simple green, and the sunhat had a simple brown ribbon tied into a tiny bow on the side. Twoie put on similar-looking gloves and sunhat. He went over to the door where he picked up two milk gallons filled with water. “Are you okay with going now, Pearl? It’ll probably take a while to get it all done.”

Pearl clapped her hands in joy. “Of course! It’s always best to get an early start on the day.”  The group bade farewell to Amethyst and Garnet before heading out the door. “Alright, Twoie. Where do you want to have a garden?” Pearl questioned as they walked across the beach.

He had contemplated that for a while on his way home from the Car Wash last night. He was stuck between having it at the lighthouse above the temple or in the forest on the edge of Beach City. He had decided on the forest in the end because he was pretty sure he remembered a pretty glade that wasn’t far from the road. It would provide some shade if Steven got tired but still had enough sunlight for the flowers.

“Yeah, it’s in the forest. You’re going to love it!”

Pearl originally tagged along on their garden trip just to keep an eye on Twoie. There’s no way he would try anything with her around. However, the grove that Twoie had brought them to was breath-taking. The sunlight gave the grove an ethereal glow. Butterflies fluttered nearby, and birds chirped harmoniously in the trees. “I must admit you were right! I do love it!”

Twoie smirked at the admission. He pulled out several packs of seeds from his pocket and handed them to Steven. “I’ve got tiger lilies, daffodils, morning glories, and dandelions.”

Pearl held out some seeds from her basket. “I also have tulips and violets!” Steven looked back and forth between all of the seeds. “Let’s plant… All of them!” Twoie and Pearl blinked in surprise. They shared a look before they broke out into laughter.

“I don’t even know why we asked.” Pearl teased. The group set their seed packets into the basket. Twoie pulled out two cultivators. “Pearl and I can start cultivating the ground. If you want, you can start burying the seeds.”

Steven pulled out a little plastic cup that Pearl had included in the basket. He poured a small number of seeds from every bag into the cup. He swirled the seeds around a couple times to make sure they were all mixed in and then started randomly planting them.

A couple of hours passed with the group none the wiser. The warm glow of the afternoon sun brightly lit the grove they were working in. Twoie was pouring water into a watering can, and Pearl was leaning against a tree as Steven finished planting the last of the seeds. “Okay, you guys! I’m done!” Steven placed the cup back in the basket.

Twoie motioned Steven to come over. “I thought it’d be nice if we could sell these out in town today, so I thought you could add some spit to the watering can.”

“Isn’t that just going to bring them to life? Like with Watermelon Steven?” Steven frowned as he recalled how much trouble the watermelons caused. Twoie couldn’t blame him for worrying about it. That day was an absolute mess.

“It doesn’t seem to work that way with flowers. I always healed flowers after I picked them, and I grew some from dead soil before using my spit.” That was enough to soothe Steven’s worry. He wiped his hands clean on his shirt and dipped a spit covered finger into the water in the can. The whole garden was shimmering after Steven watered it. They watched as the stems grew out of the ground, and the flowers blossomed.

“Wow! They’re so pretty!” Steven’s idea to plant the seeds randomly produced a gorgeous multi-colored garden of flowers.

Twoie held out some scissors. “Now it’s time to cut some to make bouquets! After we finish, we can water them one more time so that the flowers look like this again.” Everyone grabbed a pair of scissors and picked a spot to start cutting flowers.

It was much easier to cut the flowers than it was to plant them all. The group had finished their task fairly quickly, and one more round of magic-infused water had the garden in full bloom again. Some butterflies had come out due to the flowers and were fluttering beside them.

As they were making their way back to town, Steven rifled through the basket of flowers he was holding. He picked up a tulip and gestured for Pearl to bend down.“Little pretty butterflies kiss the tulips,” Pearl smiled as Steven tucked the tulip behind her ear. “And the sun is like a toy balloon. There are get up in the morning glories in the golden afternoon!” Twoie smiled as Steven bounced forward and happily floated back down.

Pearl twirled to the song before gesturing to the lighthouse on the hill in the distance. “There are dizzy daffodils in the hillside. Strings of violets all in tune.” She took a violet out of Steven’s basket and placed it in his hair. He laughed in delight as she continued her verse.

“Tiger lilies love the dandy lions. In the golden afternoon.”  She gestured to the trees, where they could see birds singing. “There are birds and caterpillars and the copper centipede.” She motioned Steven to come over. They peered at a caterpillar crawling on a leaf, then turned to watch a centipede dig into the ground.

“Where the lazy daisies love the peaceful life they lead…”  Steven pulled a daisy out of the basket and tugged on Twoie’s shirt. Twoie knelt down for Steven to place the daisy behind his ear. As Steven pulled away, Twoie quickly took the basket from him, grabbed the boy around the waist, and hoisted him onto his shoulders.

Steven leaned on Twoie’s head as the trio finally made it back into town. The young boy sighed in contentment as he finished his song.“You can learn a lot of things from the flowers, words, and feelings you attune. There’s so much joy and love you can spread out in the golden afternoon!”

Pearl smiled fondly as Steven finished his song. “I’m sure you’ll spread a lot of joy today when we sell these flowers at the boardwalk.”

When they reached the edge of the boardwalk, Twoie set Steven down. Pearl summoned the supplies they needed to wrap the flowers into bouquets. She arranged every bouquet beautifully. Twoie wrapped them in a bow, and Steven went around the boardwalk with the flowers. He gave Steven a small portion of their earnings and saved the rest in a sandwich bag for the trip. All-in-all, it was a pretty successful day.

Chapter Text

If you asked Twoie if he could wake up at 5 am in the morning without waking the sleeping kid upstairs, the answer would be yes. Barely.

It was hard enough trying to figure out a way to program the alarm function on his phone so that it wouldn’t make noise. It was even harder to sneak up the stairs and steal Steven’s cheeseburger backpack. Luckily, he had managed to perform both tasks.

There was a reason he was up so much earlier than usual. Today was the big day! The field trip to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History! The young man quietly placed the cheeseburger backpack on the counter. It was easy to pack up Steven’s notebooks and pens since the kid left them on his desk after classes were over. Now, the next step was to make them a sack lunch.

Twoie prided himself on his homemade lunch for the two of them. He’d made them sandwiches, packed some Chaaps, juice, water, and an apple. Let it be known he would not have Steven eating a bunch of junk food on this trip. Both lunches were in paper bags that Twoie had labeled with their names and a drawing. A smiling sun for Steven and a simple star wearing glasses for Twoie. Each lunch was tucked into their respective bags.

Everything had been packed up and set by the door at 6 am. Now it was time for the easiest part. Twoie quietly jumped off the porch. It was time to go get the van.

Steven had a feeling that today was going to be different. The first thing he noticed was that he woke up earlier than usual. Cookie cat’s LED eyes glowed 6:32 am. The next was how quiet the room had become. Twoie normally preferred sleeping in the temple, since they didn’t have enough beds, but lately, he’d been sleeping on the couch. The blanket and pillow he usually used were folded neatly on the couch. “Hmmm. Something is very different today…”

Steven crept out of bed. Silence permeated the house. “Maybe he decided to sleep in the temple after all?” The pink gem glowed on the temple door, opening up into Rose’s room. He frowned at the empty room. “Twoie?” He called out. No answer. He stepped back into the living room. There was no note on the table or in the kitchen. He checked his phone. No messages.

There was no way Twoie had gone back to the future. The gems had placed the task of finding the adhesive on pause in light of Peridot’s whereabouts being unknown. So where was Twoie? Steven decided he didn’t like how dark and empty the house felt in Twoie’s absence. It made him feel cold. Lonely.

“M-maybe he’s outside?” It wasn’t until he grabbed the door handle that Steven finally noticed the two bags by the door. “Huh? What’s my cheeseburger backpack and Twoie’s briefcase doing by the door?” He opened up his backpack and saw the lunch bag.

“Aww! That’s so cute! I guess we’re going somewhere today?” He put the lunch away and stepped outside. When he peeked over the porch’s rails, he saw the van driving towards him. “Dad’s here? This morning is so strange!” Steven ran down the stairs to wait for the van. His eyes went starry when he realized who was driving.

Twoie pulled up about a couple of feet from where Steven was waiting. “Morning, Sunshine! I didn’t expect you to wake up until seven! I guess the surprise is slightly blown.”

Steven couldn’t stop staring at him in awe. “You’re driving the van!” He breathlessly whispered.

Twoie graced the response with an undignified snort. “Better get used to it because I’m taking us on a field trip today! You saw your bag by the door, right?” He started walking up the stairs. A second later, Steven was following along.

“Yeah, I did! Where are we going? What are we doing? Are we spending the night?” The bombardment of questions stopped when Twoie held the door open for him. “Grab your bag, Steven. It’s a surprise!”

“This. Is. Amazing!”

The Smithsonian Museum of Natural History loomed before them. Twoie guided Steven through the doors, where they got their tickets for the Butterfly Pavilion and their maps of the museum. “Okay, our tickets for the Pavilion are after lunch, so why don’t we look at some exhibits? Are there any you want to see first?”

Steven scanned the map with a slight hum. “Oh! Let’s go look at the giant elephant!” He grabbed Twoie’s hand and dragged him in the direction of the exhibit.

The day passed quickly. Whenever the two ended up in an exhibit that featured something from their lessons, Twoie would quiz Steven on the topic. For the most part, Twoie let Steven ramble happily about every display or info board that caught his fancy. Steven had also taken multiple pictures of them and the displays, which he was constantly sending to Connie, his dad, and the Gems.

The kid’s energy was so contagious that even Twoie kind of felt like a kid again. He had never visited the museum before. It was just as much his first time at the museum as it was Steven’s. Twoie had taken a couple of selfies at the exhibits, but most of his pictures were of the younger boy. He’d managed a great shot of Steven holding a tarantula at the Insect Zoo. Another fun one was of him trying not to move as several butterflies were resting on his arms, shoulders, and hair.

Funnily enough, Twoie had been stopped on multiple occasions by employees and friendly parents in regards to Steven. Every time was filled with compliments on him taking such great care of his younger brother and admiration when they found out he was homeschooling him. The experience left him reeling in embarrassment and joy.

Sadly, the day had to come to an end. After the museum closed, they tried a cute little restaurant by the docks and headed home. Twoie took a sip from a cup of coffee he got sometime after they’d left Washington DC. It wasn’t his beverage of choice, but it was past 10pm, and they had only just arrived in Beach City. He needed the extra caffeine. The radio was playing music softly while he drove. Steven had tried his best to keep a conversation going, the kid couldn't stop gushing about everything they saw, but he’d fallen asleep halfway through their drive. It gave Twoie a moment to just appreciate his new life.

He finally felt like he was doing something right for the first time in a long time. Maybe he hadn’t been able to fix some of the past events, like Pearl’s and Garnet’s fight, but he was making a difference to his younger self just by being there for Steven. It felt… really good to be needed. He sighed. One day though, the gems will fix the hourglass, and he could go home… Back to where he wasn’t needed anymore…

‘Do I even want to go back?’ Twoie bit his lip as the thought flickered in his mind. At least here he was helping. It was like he found his purpose again. Twoie scolded himself in his mind. ‘No, don’t even joke about it, Steven. One day the gems will fix the hourglass. Then, you will go home.’

He turned off the city road onto the beach. Until that day came, he would make the most of his time here. This whole situation was funny. All his life, he’d never thought about what’d it be like to have a younger sibling, but Steven fit that role quite nicely. ‘I think I like having a younger brother.’ The temple lights were still on.

“Steven? Steven, wake up. We’re home.” He parked the car. The younger boy groaned, blearily rubbing his eyes. “We’re home?” Steven unbuckled his seatbelt and tiredly stepped out of the van. Twoie was already carrying their bags. “Come on, Sunshine. Once we get into the house, you can go back to sleep.” Steven slumped against Twoie, eyes already closed.

“Carry me?” He mumbled. Twoie rolled his eyes as he hefted both bags to one arm. “Fine.” He knelt down and pulled Steven into a one-armed princess carry. Instead of climbing up all the stairs, he decided it’d be easier to just float up to the porch. Greg held the door open for them.

“I thought I heard the van pull up. How’d it go? I guess Schtu-ball was really tuckered out, huh.” Twoie plopped their bags down by the door and shifted Steven, so he was propped against his hip, and his chin was resting on his shoulder.

“The trip was great! I knew we wouldn’t be able to see every exhibit since the museum is huge, but I just let him pick whatever he wanted to do. Thanks for letting me borrow the van, Dad.” Greg watched as Twoie gently laid his son down on the couch. He promptly walked upstairs, searched through a drawer for some PJs, and floated back down.

“Alright, Sunshine. I let you sleep this long, but now you have to get up. You gotta get ready for bed.” He pulled Steven into a sitting position. The kid let out a soft noise of protest but stayed sitting up, though his eyes were still closed. Twoie chuckled. “Okay! I guess we’ll do this the hard way.” He ruffled Steven’s hair with both hands until the kid swatted them away.

“I’m awake! Yawn. I’m awake.” The kid sleepily took the pajamas from Twoie’s hands before disappearing into the bathroom. Twoie shook his head in amusement and headed down to the kitchen. Greg settled down on the couch beside his pillow and blanket.

“You know, you handle Steven like he’s your little brother.” Twoie’s face flushed red, stammering unintelligibly with his hands up. “It’s really cute, Twoie. Steven never had the chance to have siblings because of… you know.” The young man just stared at him. “I think you’re a great older brother for him. I know I’m not always around, and neither are the gems. I’ve always worried about him feeling lonely, but that has changed since you arrived. He seems happier than ever.”

Greg smiled fondly at his oldest son. Twoie had a contemplative look on his face as he pulled a glass from a cupboard and filled it with cold water. Steven walked out of the bathroom, eyes half-closed, with his phone in one hand, and dirty clothes under his arm. “Sunshine. Water.” Twoie called out.

Steven diverted from his path to grab the glass from Twoie’s hand. “Tha-yawn you.” Greg couldn’t help laughing as Steven made his way to his bed. “Ha! That’s-haha exactly what I’m, snort, talking about!”

Twoie pretended to glare at him, but he couldn’t keep the smile off his face. “Please, you’re not the only one who told me that today. I still can’t believe how many times I was stopped today at the museum by people complimenting me on how cute we were.” He leaned against the counter, looking at the upstairs bedroom. “It’s been… really nice, honestly. I like having a little brother.” Steven had already fallen asleep, blanket clutched around him. Twoie tsked and pushed himself off the counter. Greg watched in amusement as Twoie went back upstairs.

“Figures he’d forget to plug his phone in the charger.” The phone vibrated right as he picked it up.

Connie: That’s really sweet! I’m glad you had a fun trip with your brother! Tell me…

Twoie blinked happy tears out of his eyes. ‘I guess Steven feels the same way I do.’ He plugged the phone in. He smiled at his little brother before heading back downstairs. With a wave goodnight to his dad, Twoie went to bed in the temple.

Chapter Text

“Look, I promise you guys. I’ll tell you about Peridot when the time is right. I’m sorry, but I don’t want to mess with the future. If I mess with this aspect of the past too much, things could be disastrous.”

Pearl turned her nose up in annoyance. “Fine! If you’re not going to help us find Peridot, then I would rather be searching instead of wasting my time talking to you.” Garnet and Amethyst watched her storm off.

That signaled the end of yet another meeting between the Crystal Gems and Twoie about the future. Meeting would be putting it lightly. It was more like a randomly scheduled interrogation, with Twoie worrying about how much to reveal and the gems pressuring him to reveal all of it. Usually, it was held in the Burning Room, but with Steven hanging out at Connie’s house, the gems held their meeting in the living room.

“She has a point, Twoie.” Twoie turned to face Garnet. “You have a better understanding of the future than we do. Right now, the threat of Homeworld is looming over us. Have you thought that by delaying our search like this, you have changed the future already?” Twoie avoided looking her in the eyes. “If you really don’t want to prepare us for the future or ease our concerns, then you are wasting our time. Come on, Amethyst.” Garnet walked away from him to the warp pad. Amethyst mouthed ‘Sorry, dude’ to him before tagging alongside Garnet. The two disappeared into the warp stream.

Twoie sighed. He wished he knew how to explain it to them. There was a lot of pressure in being able to change the future. Garnet should know that already, so why does he have to explain himself? A gem could crack under all that pressure. The memory of Yellow Diamond’s words rang in his mind. Twoie took a deep breath and banished the thought. ‘Stop it, Steven. Get it together.’ The young man snatched his briefcase from its spot by the couch.

Work always helped! He sat down at the counter, pulling his binder of notes and some textbooks out of the bag. Steven had been progressing very well in his studies. The garden and the museum gave him some much needed real-world application of the things he was learning. Maybe he could plan out another trip soon? The zoo could be fun… His planning was interrupted by the 64-bit Cookie Cat Theme Song.

“Huh, done already?” He pressed the answer button on the phone and brought it up to his ear. “Hey, Steven! You ready to come home?”

“Twoie! I’m so glad you answered! Okay, so Connie and I were practicing with Mom’s sword, and Mrs. Maheswaran took it! Can you help us get it back?”

Oh, no. The hospital! Twoie worriedly bit his lip. Oh, this was bad. “Okay, I’m on my way. Do not leave, got it?”

“Okay! See you in a bit, bro!” Steven hung up. Twoie tucked his phone into his pocket and ran out the door. ‘Please work!’

“LION! I NEED YOU!” Twoie shouted as he jumped down to the sand. The tinkling of a portal rang throughout the quiet beach. Lion skidded across the sand and looked at him in expectation. “Oh, thank stars that worked.” He scratched Lion’s neck in appreciation. “Okay, bud. I need you to take me to Connie and Steven, okay?” The pink beast snuffed. He opened a portal, and the two charged in together.

Steven and Connie were waiting outside for them. “Twoie!” Steven ran up to him and hugged him. Twoie chuckled as he hugged his little brother back. Connie approached the two with a smile. “Hello, Twoie! It’s nice to see you!”

The young man pulled away from the hug. “Nice to see you as well, Connie. Okay, so if I remember correctly, Mrs. Maheswaran got called away to the hospital, right?” The two kids nodded. Twoie let out a stressed sigh. “Okay. I need to warn you about what’s going to happen.” They stared in rapt attention.

“There are gem mutants in the hospital.” Connie and Steven flinched. “G-gem mutants?! Oh, man! Mrs. Maheswaran is in danger! We gotta save her!”

Connie was trying not to panic at Steven’s remark. “O-okay. How do we save my mom, Twoie? Please tell me we save my mom?”

Twoie knelt down and patted both of their heads. “Calm down. She’ll be fine. We need to leave now, though. We’re going to sneak into the hospital and Connie? You need to tell her the truth.”

Connie looked at him in fear. “But she won’t understand! She never has! She’s going to freak out, and then I’ll never be able to hang out with Steven again!”

Twoie pulled her into a hug. “My Connie snuck in with me to the hospital with the intent of stealing the sword back. You two were caught, and you tried to argue with her, but it didn’t work. You two had to protect her from the gem mutants before she realized how controlling she was being. Trust me, okay? Things will get better.” Connie nodded, though she still had some doubts in her mind. She believed Twoie, though.

He stood back up and turned to Lion. “Sorry, bud, but can you take us to the hospital?” Lion nodded. He knelt down for the kids to climb onto his back. Once his passengers were settled, he and Twoie hopped through another portal.

The hospital parking lot was completely empty. The kids climbed down from Lion to stand next to Twoie. “Thanks for the help, big guy.” Lion let out another snuff before walking off. The group head into the hospital with Twoie leading the way. They came upon the lone room with the lights on. Everyone crawled under the window and peeked into the room.

Dr. Maheswaran was giving her stethoscope an irritated glare.

“Duck,” Twoie whispered. The group ducked just in time as Dr. Maheswaran walked out of the room and disappeared around a corner. Twoie got up and ushered the kids inside. “Connie. Don’t take the whole bag, just grab the sword. Steven, get ready to protect Connie. And both of you, keep away from the gurney.” The kids did as told. Dr, Maheswaran walked back into the room and clutched her chest in fear upon her realization that she’s not alone.

“My goodness! What are you all doing here?” Her eyes fixed on Connie. “Connie? What is going on here?” Twoie raised his hands in submission. “Dr. Maheswaran, I know you’re confused. I’m Twoie, Steven’s older brother. I came here with Connie and Steven because they want the sword back.”

Dr. Maheswaran finally noticed that Connie was holding the sword.
“Connie! Give that back this instant! I made a rule, no swords under any circumstances! And you!” She rounded on Twoie. “You call yourself his older brother? Why are you letting children play with swords?”
The two kids shared a look.

Twoie tried to placate her. “Connie has something she needs to tell you, but first, can you stay here while the rest of us step into the hallway? Things are going to go wrong in about 2 seconds.” As he finished his statement, a guttural noise sounded in the hallway.

“And that’s our cue…” Twoie smacked his face with his hand. Dr. Maheswaran quickly opened the door and stepped into the hallway. There was a shadowy figure standing alone.

“Sir? Ma’am? Dr. West?” Twoie slipped into a battle stance. Seeing the forced fusion of shattered gems still hurt as much as it did in the past. He didn’t notice the slight pink glow across his cheeks as he exchanged a determined look with Connie and Steven. Connie slipped the sheath on and drew the sword. Steven summoned his shield. Twoie placed a hand on Dr. Maheswaran’s shoulder.

“That’s not a human, Dr. Maheswaran. Please, let us handle this.” The whole moment felt like something out of a horror movie. Twoie stepped in front of her, protectively holding his arm out. Dr. Maheswaran flashed her light on it. The gem mutant charged. Connie held her sword out to the side as Steven took the full blow of the charge against his shield. She ran out from behind him and cut through the mutant’s side. The gem clattered to the ground.

Dr. Maheswaran stared in shock at the scene. Her daughter wielded the sword as though it was made for her. “One more to go! Connie, Steven, back up! When the gem rushes out of the room, I want Connie’s sword going through it before it can even charge.” Twoie grabbed Dr. Maheswaran’s arm and pulled her along. The kids move back a couple of feet, watching the door for their cue. Twoie focused on keeping himself and Connie’s mom out of the way.

“Wait a second! Why are you letting them fight? How does she know what to do? Why are they attacking us?” Her questions are lost as they heard another roar, and the gem appeared in the doorway. The moment it forced itself out the door, Steven had his shield out, using it to vault Connie into the air. Another swing had the last gem mutant poofed. Twoie let out a sigh of relief. Thank stars, the hardest part was over, and all they had left was the conversation. The glow faded from his cheeks.

Danger now passed, Connie braced herself for her conversation with her mom. Twoie leaned against the hallway wall. He gestured for Steven to join him after the boy bubbled the gem.

Connie took a deep breath. She looked at her mother in the eyes. “Mom?” Her gaze flicked over to Twoie and Steven. Both boys smiled in support. “I’m a swordfighter. I’ve been taking classes to learn how to wield a sword. We weren’t playing with it back at the house. I was practicing.”

Dr. Maheswaran’s face twisted in anger. “This joke is over! I know you! I know what you are doing every second of the day. All your activities, all your internets, I know you’re not some sword fighting hooligan!”

Connie glared at her mom. “You don’t know me at all! You still haven’t even noticed my glasses!”

Her mom frowned with worry. “What’s wrong with your glasses?”

Twoie put a hand on Steven’s shoulder as the boy moved to help his friend. Connie growled, “They don’t have lenses anymore. I haven’t needed actual glasses for almost a year!”

Dr. Maheswaran looked exasperated. “What? You’re eyesight just got magically better?”

“Yes!” Her mother paused in surprise. Connie threw her glasses on the floor. “I’ve been dealing with magic and monsters and things like those creatures since I met Steven! That’s why I need you to believe me when I say I know what I’m doing.”

“I-but-…” She thought about everything she saw. Her daughter wielded the sword she had sheathed behind her like a pro. Steven had conjured shields out of nowhere. Twoie seemed to know her daughter better than she did! Who supported her… better than she did. “This is, really what you’ve been doing? Training to fight these monsters?”

Connie sighed, shoulders drooping in shame. “I’m sorry I lied to you. It started off as a small secret, but then it felt like if I didn’t hide it, you wouldn’t let me see Steven again. Twoie had to convince me to tell you because he knows how scared I am to lose my best friend.”

Dr. Maheswaran looked at the brothers. Steven was watching her in worry, but Twoie? He didn’t look at her in fear or judgment. Just weariness, as though he’d faced this before. She faced her daughter again. “Is that how you feel? Are we too controlling?”

Connie nodded. “Maybe.”

“I just wanted to be a good mother… I just wanted to protect you.” Connie shook her head. “

I can protect myself now.” Her mom sighed. Her daughter was right. That whole fight, she had been in control. Her friend’s older brother trusted them to take care of themselves but herself? She had to be protected.

“Okay. We’ll pull back on the rules. And I’ll try to keep an open mind about this.” She knelt in front of Connie and lightly held her by the shoulders. “It scares me that you can’t talk to me. I need to know what’s happening in your life and step in when you're in over your head. Can you just promise me you’ll stop all this lying?”

Connie chuckled. “That is a rule.”

Her mom pulled her into a hug. “I love you, Connie.”

Twoie nudged Steven, and the two approached. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but it’s pretty late. You two should probably head home. We can go by Lion if you want?”

Dr. Maheswaran was surprised. “Lion? Ah, no. I drove here.”

Twoie rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. “You said you’d keep an open mind, right? It’s best just to show you.”

A pink lion. A pink lion. A pink lion. Dr. Maheswaran was shaking. The lion walked up to her kids and butted its head against them. “It’s okay, ma’am. Lion is very friendly. He’s our pet and has practically adopted Steven and Connie as his cubs.” That made her feel a little better. The two adults continued to watch the kids play with and pet the lion. She could feel herself relaxing just from the calm aura of the young man beside her. She could see the fond look in his eyes as he watched the kids play.

“Call me, Priyanka. Thank you for convincing Connie to talk to me. You know, I’m glad to know that she has someone like you watching over her.” Twoie’s eyes widened, and his face flushed instantly. He looked at her in bewilderment. “I met Steven’s guardians a while ago over dinner. They seemed fine, but I feel like you understand him better.”

Twoie couldn’t keep a sad and wistful look off his face. “They try their best, and I love them for that. There are just some things I’m more aware of in regards to caring for Steven.” He could remember all the lonely nights, the misunderstandings, the arguments. They never really noticed how much some missions bothered him.

Priyanka laughed. “Don’t I know it. It’s not like there’s a manual for parenting. You can only hope that what you’re doing is enough.” She crossed her arms in front of herself. “I used to be able to hold Connie in both of my hands. She’s grown so much since then.”

Twoie sighed. “I know it's hard to watch them move on without you. To know that they changed without you even noticing.” He thought about the Off Colors, Lars, Sadie, and Shep. Dr. Maheswaran hummed in agreement.

“They really do grow up so fast.” Priyanka looked at the young adult beside her. He had such a worn and sad look on his face; she could see the stress in his eyes. She made up her mind. “Twoie?”

“Yeah?” She placed a hand on his shoulder. “If you or Steven ever need someone, even for something as simple as an ear to talk to, please feel free to call me.” Twoie startled. She’d never offered that to him before. “You look tired. It can’t be easy raising your brother, and homeschooling him, let alone your situation with magic and monsters. Your care of your brother is admirable, but don’t turn yourself into Atlas, okay?”

He pulled her into a hug. “Thank you, Priyanka.”

She smiled and broke off the hug. “Alright. I’ve kept enough of your time tonight. Here’s my number if you ever need me.” She programmed it into his phone. “Connie! Time to go! Say goodnight to your friends.” Connie pulled Steven into a hug, then ran over to Twoie to do the same. They watched the Maheswarans drive off before they headed home with Lion.

The living room was dark. Twoie’s items were still left out on the counter. ‘I’ll clean that up tomorrow. Today was exhausting.’ The two quickly got ready for bed. Twoie prepped the couch but didn’t think he could sleep after dealing with the gem mutants. Even though he’d already lived through it, they were still traumatizing to deal with. “Hey, Sunshine. Do you want to talk about it?” Steven quietly replied. “Yeah. Yeah, I do.” Twoie made his way up the stairs to Steven’s bedroom. Steven was sitting in bed, clenching his bed sheets tightly. Twoie sat down beside him and pulled him into a side hug.

“Whenever you’re ready, Sunshine.”

Chapter Text

“I’m scared.” The two words were quietly uttered, making Steven sound even younger than he looked. The two were sitting together on Steven’s bed, with Steven nestled against his older brother’s side.

Moonlight illuminated the room. “About what?” Twoie asked softly. He carded his fingers through his little brother’s hair.

“About everything. The gem mutants really scared me. I don’t like knowing that there are gems out there that are suffering and can’t be helped.” Tears welled up in Steven’s eyes as he continued. “At least we’ll be able to help the corrupted gems, but the shattered gems won’t ever be fixed. They’ll just suffer. Forever.”

He shoved his face into his older brother’s chest, clenching his shirt with trembling hands. “And then there’s Malachite! In my dreams, I’ve been seeing Lapis struggle to control Malachite. She’s suffering too! I just wish I could do something.” Twoie let Steven cry. He remembered all the times he’d pushed down his emotions, or stayed awake for hours after waking from a Homeworld-induced nightmare.

“Sunshine. It’s okay to be scared. And sometimes, you just can’t do anything.” He looked out the window. It was a clear night. Stars glittered in the vast sky, amidst the pale moonlight and the shades of dark blue. “You’re putting too much pressure on yourself. I know you love helping people, but remember that you need to help yourself too. There’s more to life than helping others. Remember what Dad said when we were pretending to build rockets?”

Steven nodded. “Sometimes, you just gotta know when to bail.”

“Yup. If it hurts you to help someone, Sunshine, then you have to bail. Find someone who can help, like you did with me earlier at the hospital. Can you do that for me, Steven?” Steven hummed in agreement. The two sat together in comfortable silence for a while.

This gave Steven the chance to reflect on their talk. Not once did Twoie tell him he was overreacting, or that anything he felt was wrong. He just let him talk and offered advice when he needed it. He could feel tears welling up in his eyes again. Twoie seemed to notice his change in demeanor. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

Steven wiped his eyes with his hands. “Can I talk to you about some other things too?”

His older brother hummed. “Of course, Sunshine. It’s fine to not be fine, so what else do you want to talk about?”

Steven twisted some of the blankets in his hands. “Do you remember when Amethyst turned into Mom?” Twoie stiffened at the memory. He could feel his cheeks light up pink, but a deep breath had it fading a second later. “Yeah. I remember.”

Steven continued to fiddle with the blanket’s edge. “It really hurt that she did that.” His voice cracked. “A-and… that was probably the c-closest I’d ever be to seeing what M-mom was like. She made Dad uncomfortable, she made me uncomfortable, and she never even apologized for it!” Steven sobbed. Twoie held him close, letting him get everything off his chest.

“And then there was Pearl! I tried not to think about it, but she was going to let me fall. I just wanted to help.” Steven bit his lip. “I know I don’t know Mom. I know I’ll never know Mom. I didn’t need to be reminded that she’s gone because of me.” He clutched his shirt where his gem was. “I know that Pearl sometimes wishes Mom were here instead of me. She told me, back at the Strawberry Fields, that I sound like her at times. She told me that she wonders if I ever had any of her memories or if Mom could see her through my gem. And then when she was training Connie, she called me Rose.” The kid buried his face in his blanket, muffling his voice. “I feel like I have to be her. The perfect Crystal Gem.”

Twoie sighed as he recalled every moment Steven brought up. “It’s not right that Amethyst and Pearl never apologized for their actions. The way they made you feel is wrong. You are not Rose, and you don’t need to be her. I know you get compared to Rose a lot. I know you think you should be more like the gems. But you aren’t. And that’s fine.” Twoie pulled away so that he could place his hands on Steven’s shoulders and look him in the eyes. “Because you are Steven Universe. And Steven Universe is a kid who loves his family and friends. Who loves to sing and dance, and learn. Who will one day save the galaxy because he doesn’t want to fight; he wants peace and love.”

 Steven chuckled as more tears welled up in his eyes. “I’ll save the galaxy one day?”

Twoie laughed as well. “That’s what you picked up on? Yeah, Sunshine. You will. This isn’t Rose’s gem anymore; it’s yours. You’re not Rose Quartz.” Twoie and Steven looked over to the portrait of Rose hanging on the wall. “I always thought I had some magical destiny that I had to fulfill, but the truth is we don’t. You can make a difference, not because you have to, or because you’re expected to, but because you want to.” Steven smiled as he started crying again.

“You have a special kind of magic inside of you, Sunshine.” Twoie turned back to his little brother. “You have more love and compassion in your heart than anyone I’ve ever met. And that magic is what the universe needs.” He wiped the tears from Steven’s eyes.

Steven smiled and scooted back over to his brother. He hugged him again. “Wow. This is nice. This is really nice!” Twoie held him closer. Steven laughed softly. This whole conversation had been so relieving. “It feels good to talk about this. Sometimes, I feel like the gems think I’m overreacting when I’m upset.”

Ah. Twoie knew that feeling. Like he could never talk to the gems about his problems. He could remember several occasions where the gems had brushed him off or misunderstood him, and he’d never gone to his dad about a lot of his issues because he didn’t like getting involved in gem stuff. But now, Steven had him. Someone who wouldn’t judge him. Someone who would listen, offer advice, and just provide comfort. Now, they had Dr. Maheswaran too.

“You’ve dealt with so much, Steven. I want you to know that anytime something is bothering you, you can come to me. No matter how trivial you think it is, if you want to talk about it, I’ll always be willing to listen.” Steven hummed in reply. He shifted slightly so that he could look at the stars too. Twoie took a deep breath.

“I’m here to help you as you go,” Steven stilled. Was Twoie really? “Tell you it’s fine to not be fine. There’s more to life than gems and woes,”

Steven thought about everything Twoie had said to him. He didn’t need to be Rose. Stars, how many times he felt like everything would be better with her around? But that way of thinking was wrong. He didn’t need to be someone else. Steven continued the song.

“And now I feel my stars align.” He was enough. “For I had believed what I was sold,” All the times he’d heard the gems wishing for Rose to be with them. How she would’ve solved their problems. How it hurt to feel like he wasn’t wanted.

“I did all the things that I was told,” All the times he’d struggled to get his mom’s-no, his powers under control so that he could feel included. So he could be a Crystal Gem. “But all that has changed, and now I’m bold.” Look at all the things he’s done now because of Twoie. Because Twoie believed in him and took the time to work with him.

“Cause I know, I don’t need to be perfect.” Many more moments flashed across his mind. The starry sky disappeared, replaced with memories of his past adventures. “I make mistakes from time to time.” The sea spire, the mirror, the island.

“Who cares what they expect?” No more trying to be Rose. “I’ll put my heart out on the line” Just be Steven. “And let the magic in my heart stay true, oh-oh-oh-oh. And let the magic in my heart stay true, oh-oh-oh-oh.” He turned to Twoie, the best brother he could’ve ever asked for, and booped him on the nose. “Just like the magic inside of you.” Twoie laughed at the action.

Steven encased himself in his pink bubble, dismissing it as fast as he’d summoned it. Then he summoned his shield. The light glinted off the pink glow. Every gem seemed to be defined by their colors in some way: Garnet’s magenta, Pearl’s light blue, Amethyst’s purple, Mom’s pink. Steven wouldn’t let that define him. “And now I see my colors right before my eyes.” He dismissed the shield.

“I hear my voice so clearly, and I know that it is right.” He jumped off the bed and floated to the first floor. “I thought I was weak, but I am strong. I had to be her, but I was wrong.” He glanced at the picture of her. He no longer felt the constricting pressure that he had to be like her. He burst out the door, with Twoie following, and stood on the railing. He felt like he was on top of the world!

“I don’t need to be to still belong.” One fist was clenched against his chest with the other at his side. He looked across the beach, the waves calmly lapped against the sand. He smiled. “Cause I know, I don’t need to be perfect!” He jumped from the porch, waiting until the last second to activate his floating powers.

“I make mistakes from time to time!” Twoie stared in awe as Steven danced across the sand. This moment was something that had taken White Diamond pulling his gem out for him to finally achieve. Steven was breaking free from their mother’s shadow.

“Who cares what they expect? I’ll put my heart out on the line!” Steven dashed feet deep into the water. He sang at the moon. “And let the magic in my heart stay true, oh-oh-oh-oh. And let the magic in my heart stay true, oh-oh-oh-oh.” Twoie walked up beside him. Steven held onto his hand as they stared out into the horizon.

“Just like the magic inside of you.” Today. Right here. Right now.

“Just like the magic inside of you.” Steven finally felt found.

Chapter Text

Twoie stepped out of the temple with a tired sigh. Finally, he was done with yet another meeting/interrogation. They were starting to become more frequent. Pearl especially kept pushing him to reveal where Peridot was. Maybe he really should tell them more, but he didn’t want to jeopardize Peridot’s chance to become a Crystal Gem. She was a vital part of the future that eventually led to Era 3. His regret would be everlasting if he accidentally prevented that future from happening.

He pushed the stress down. After Peridot was captured, he’d tell them more about the future. He walked over to the fridge and pulled out a box of juice. The room was really quiet, even with Steven asleep. That’s odd… Normally, there was the sound of snoring. He looked up at Steven’s bed.

He choked on his drink. The blankets were strewn about, and the bed was empty. “Steven?!” He called out as he gazed wildly around the room. No answer. “Stars, was that tonight?” He ran back into the burning room. All three gems stopped their discussion as he entered the room. “I think Peridot just kidnapped Steven!”

Garnet wiped her visor off her face. Everyone flinched at her harsh glare. She strode forward, grabbing him roughly by the collar of his shirt. “Why didn’t you say anything? We just had a meeting about this!”

Twoie stammered in shock and fear. “I-I didn’t know when it was actually going to happen! Besides, it had to happen! Peridot isn’t going to hurt him, I promise. She actually-“

Garnet shoved him backward as she let him go. Twoie stumbled but managed to catch himself before he tripped. “Where is he? Where did Peridot take him?”

He couldn’t hold back his shiver at her icy tone. “The G-galaxy warp.”

“Let’s go.” Garnet gestured to the rest of the gems to follow her. They ignored him as they exited the temple. Twoie followed them to the warp pad but was halted from stepping onto it by Garnet’s stern glare. “Not you. You’ve done enough. We will be talking about this when we return.” They left him standing alone in the dark, empty room.

Twoie felt like his heart was breaking.

Steven looked away from the robotic foot he was holding. He was sure that what Peridot wanted to tell him was important, but Garnet had dismissed him when he tried to ask about it earlier. He had also tried to ask her why Twoie wasn’t with them. That had been scary. She curtly replied that Twoie had allowed him to be kidnapped, and was not to be trusted. She wouldn’t even allow him to defend his brother.

When everyone arrived back at the temple, Twoie was nowhere to be found. The gems were already stressed by Peridot, but his absence left them panicking. Garnet immediately took charge, directing the gems to locations to search for Twoie. Garnet went to the Kindergarten, Amethyst went to the car wash, and Pearl went to the garden. That was about half an hour ago.

“I wish I could ask Twoie why he didn’t say anything.” The pink gem on the temple door lit up and morphed into the entrance to Rose’s room. Steven’s eyes widened as he realized he could hear Twoie.

“-ike this? I get that it’s frustrating, but stars do I hate how little everyone listens to me! First Pearl, now Garnet? At least Pearl, let me explain!” Gusts of wind buffeted Steven as he stepped inside, the door disappearing behind him. He gasped.

The room was a dark orangish-red. The normally pink, fluffy clouds were grey and swirling, just like a storm. Twoie was pacing back and forth while a pretty older lady was watching him. Her short dark hair was pulled back, and she was wearing a white button-up blouse with jean capris. She looked like she could be Connie’s older sister. As the thought crossed his mind, the lady flickered. She morphed into his Connie, still standing and watching Twoie as he paced. She flickered back into the other lady again. Twoie must not have noticed him come in nor the flickering Connie(?) because he continued pacing. As he ranted, he switched between throwing his hands around and tugging at his hair.

“I don’t understand how I ever put up with this? This is just like the time with Lapis and the mirror! And the Palanquin! I try to talk to them, and they shut me down! You wanted answers? Well, I’m trying to give you some! Just because I’m trying to be careful about saying too much doesn’t mean I don’t want to help! I didn’t mean to let Steven get kidnapped, but he wasn’t in any danger! At least let me explain, but nooo, she’s too high and mighty to do so!”

“T-twoie?” Steven stepped forward, holding the cybernetic tighter in fear. His brother got annoyed sometimes, but Steven had never seen him this angry. Twoie didn’t hear him over his rant. Steven gasped as Twoie’s hands turned pink, the odd glow slowly increasing until his whole body was glowing. “T-twoie?”

“I just want to fix things, Connie! I want things to be okay again! I want to be okay again! It’s hard reliving my past because there’s more pressure on me to fix everything! I couldn’t fix the argument between Garnet and Pearl. I failed at preventing Garnet from falling apart. I just stood by and let Steven get kidnapped because I’m too scared of making things worse to fix anything.”

Steven stared as the lady, who was apparently older Connie, stabilized at his realization. Connie met his gaze and shook her head. He stayed where he was.

“Because whenever I try to fix something, I just make it worse. It happened with GHEM, it happened with Volleyball, it happened with Little Graduation! And now it’s happening here! The Gems don’t even trust me! I JUST KEEP SCREWING UP!” Twoie stomped his foot in rage. Wind billowed out from his action, blowing Cloud Connie apart due to its pressure. The shockwave raged with such force that Steven was harshly knocked to the ground.

“Augh!”

Twoie stiffened. No… He whipped around to see his little brother lying on his side. The cybernetic he was holding had been flung a couple of feet away. Steven slowly propped himself up on his elbow with a wince. He looked fine, but that wasn’t enough to assuage Twoie’s fears. He stepped forward, intent on checking him over, but the action made Steven flinch.

“S-steven?” The boy’s eyes were awash with fear. He could see tears in the corners of his eyes. Twoie collapsed where he stood. ‘I’m doing it all over again. It’s just like Volleyball.’  Flutter.

“Steven, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know you were here! Are you okay?” Steven sat up slowly. He nodded, though he couldn’t hide his trembling.

“Twoie? What was that? What’s wrong?” His older brother flinched. Of course, Steven was going to think of him first. He always put others before himself. That’s just who Steven was. Flutter, flutter.  Twoie’s mouth felt dry. He felt like his throat had clogged up. He could feel the sting of tears in his eyes. The blood rushing in his ears. He crumpled in on himself.

Steven could feel tears prickling in the corner of his eyes. “How long have you been feeling like this? How long have you been sad?” No reply. The younger crawled over to his older self. Twoie scooted backward every time Steven got closer. “Twoie, please! I want to know what’s wrong! I want to help you!”

Twoie shook his head in shame. “You can’t…”

Steven’s eyes widened in surprise. “What?”

Twoie ducked his head, hair covering his eyes. “You can’t, Steven. This is something that I was working on back home. I haven’t been able to control it. I don’t want to hurt you more than I already have.”

Steven didn’t notice the tears now streaming down his cheeks. “Twoie… It’s okay. ‘It’s fine to not be fine,’ remember?” Twoie clenched his fists.

“It’s not fine for me, Steven. You’re lucky the only thing I did was knock you down!” Steven crawled closer. This time, Twoie didn’t retreat. Steven could see that his brother was trying not to cry. Flutter, flutter, flutter. “I don’t want to talk about this. I don’t want to make you deal with another problem. Trust me when I say I’m fine.”

Steven tightly hugged Twoie. “But you’re not fine! You’re hurting! You’ve been hurting this whole time, but I don’t want you to be! You’re my big brother, and I care so much about you. You’ve already helped me so much! If I can help you, I want to.” Twoie closed his eyes and brushed his hand through Steven’s hair.

“You help by being around, Sunshine. I’m fine. I promise.” Steven knew Twoie was lying to him.

“Why won’t you let me help you? You’ve done so much for me. I’m actually learning things I’ve never known before. I feel less lonely. I feel like there’s someone I can talk to about anything.” He pulled away from Twoie. He tried to look him in the eyes, but the older boy kept his gaze glued to the ground. The soft sound of fluttering wings echoed in the background.

He held Twoie’s face with both hands. “I love you, Twoie. You’re the best big brother in the universe. If you don't really don't want to talk, I'll let it go for now, okay?” Twoie clenched his eyes in pain. He fought back a sob as he pulled his brother into another tight hug. He knew his little brother was trying to comfort him, but he couldn’t hear him over the dark thoughts that were screaming in his mind.

You scared him! You’re still scaring him! You were too angry to notice him! You were pink! You hurt him! You’re still hurting him! You’re lucky you didn’t kill him! You’re just like her!

Movement from above caught his eye. He looked up, and his eyes dilated in horror. Hundreds of butterflies were swirling above them. The fluttering of their wings softly echoed throughout the room. Twoie felt his heart in his throat. He needed to pull himself together. For Steven. He willed the room to dissipate the butterflies. “Okay.” They sat in silence for a moment.

“Do you want to go listen to what Peridot has to say? I know it’s bothering you.” Steven shook his head. “Can we just stay like this? For a little longer?” Steven couldn’t see him as Twoie bit his lip. As Twoie clenched his eyes shut in anger and grief at knowing how much he hurt his little brother by not noticing him come in. By being too consumed in his rage. He added a tick to his mental scoreboard. Yet, another screw-up.

“Sure, Sunshine.”

Chapter Text

Steven didn’t want to break off their hug, but he knew it was only a matter of time before the gems returned. He wanted to talk to Peridot before they had a chance to talk him out of it. “Room? I want to go to the basement. The real basement.”

Both boys rose to their feet as a pink crystal vein appeared. “Thank you!” Steven grabbed Twoie’s hand and dragged him over to the vein.

“Steven.” The boy turned to look at his older self. “Remember that Peridot is going to be scared of us. I’ll protect you if anything goes wrong, but all you need to do is be yourself.”

That calmed Steven’s nerves a bit. “Right! I’ll put my heart out on the line.” Twoie smiled lightly at the reference. The two brothers slid down the vein into the Burning room. Normally, this ride would be fun for him, but after Twoie’s outburst, he couldn’t bring himself to enjoy it.

The moment they landed in the burning room, Steven scanned all of the floating bubbles for the green triangle he knew was Peridot. “Hmm. There we go!” He floated up and grabbed it, waiting until he was standing on the ground again to pop it.

The gem shined and rose into the air the second it was freed. Peridot reemerged with a shout, waving her arm around as though she was wearing her limb enhancers. “-cluster, you insufferable half-formed crater mega clods!” She froze as she noticed Steven’s presence. She whipped around in fear as she noticed Twoie as well.

“Oh my gosh. You’re so cute!” Steven’s worries faded from his mind. She was so small! He walked around her, smushing his cheeks in awe.

Peridot inspected herself. “My limb enhancers! Where are my limb enhancers?!” Twoie smiled weakly. This moment was pretty cute. “Aww! You’re like, an angry little slice of pie!”

That offended her even more. “Stop talking! I demand to know where this place is and where are my-“ She finally noticed the multitude of bubbled gems above her. “Oh, my stars… You’re going to harvest me?!”

Okay, it’s not cute anymore. “Peridot, wait.” Twoie held his hands up in a placating way. “We’re not going to harvest-“ Steven made the error of getting to close to her. She smacked him in the face.

“Oww!” He rubbed his cheek. “That hurt!”

Peridot looked at her hands in amazement. “It did?” Twoie watched the exchange go back and forth.

“Yeah, a lot.” She went to smack him again. This time Twoie intervened.

“That’s enough, Peri. You don’t need to keep hitting him.” He gently pulled her away from his little brother. She started beating her hands against his stomach instead. It didn’t hurt, so Twoie felt content to let her continue.

“Feel my unbridled rage!” He waited another couple of seconds. “You done?” She paused, then asked, “That doesn’t hurt?”

He shook his head. “No, it just seems like it makes you feel better. You can keep going if you need to.”

Peridot bristled in anger and continued smacking him. “You smashed me into a limbless cloud, trapped me in a bubble dungeon, and you called me cute!”

Steven threw his hands up in exasperation. “We didn’t poof you; we freed you!” Peridot retreated to curl up in a sitting position on the floor. She regarded them with calculating eyes. “Why would you make such a miscalculation?”

Steven frowned and took a step forward. “Back at the warp pad. What were you trying to say? What do you know?”

Peridot uncurled slightly. “What do I know? Everything there is to know about the Cluster you pebble!” Steven approached her again, looking at her questioningly. “The Cluster?”

“My mission. The reason why I’m on this sad rock in the first place!” She exclaimed. “I was to check progress on the Cluster!” She kept waving her arms around as she talked. ”Just in-and-out before it hatches. I wasn’t supposed to get stuck here! But now, it’s going to emerge, and nothing can stop it, and we’ll all get shattered!” She freaked out, thinking about how wrong this whole mission went.

“Okay, wait. Slow down! Now, from the top!” Steven sat down in front of her. Twoie walked over and sat down as well, subtly blocking the temple door. “Emerging. Hatching. Clusters.”

“You wanna know?”

“Yes.” He scooted closer.

“You really wanna know?”

“Yes!” Peridot leaned in. Twoie reacted, catching her wrist before she could slap Steven. She growled and headbutted Twoie instead. “Ow!” He clutched at his nose. She didn’t hit him hard enough to bleed, but it stung. “Hey, wait!” Steven called out after her.

Peridot ran out of the temple. “Freedom is mine!” Her triumph was short-lived. The Gems stared at her in shock and horror. Twoie and Steven appeared from the temple and noticed they were back. “Oh, no.“ Twoie quickly grabbed Peridot around the shoulders and pulled her back.

The Gems were furious. They swiftly shifted into battle stances and summoned their weapons. “Get her!”

Peridot screamed as they charged her. Twoie quickly encased them in a bubble, making the gems pause. “What are you doing?” Pearl spat. She pointed her spear at him. “You let her go, didn’t you! You traitor!”

Steven flinched. “He’s not a traitor! He’s trying to help us!” Twoie shook his head; it was futile to argue with them.

He backed up, so the bubble was directly touching the temple door. “Peridot. The second the door behind us opens, I want you to run inside. Steven or I will come to get you once they’ve calmed down, okay?”

Garnet stepped forward. “Twoie, if you help her escape, then we’ll have no choice but to deem you as a threat to Steven’s safety and an enemy of the Crystal Gems.” Pearl and Amethyst nodded as they prepared to attack from beside her.

Steven clung to Twoie’s side. He couldn't understand why the gems were acting so aggresively. “Guys, why are you acting like this?! Just let us explain!”

Peridot nodded in fear. She scooted to the edge of the bubble and waited with bated breath as Twoie stuck three fingers out.

3. The pink gem lit up on the door. The gems noticed Twoie’s hand signals.

2. The door opened up to Rose’s room. Garnet clenched her fists in anger.

1. The bubbled dropped. Garnet lunged.

Peridot ran into the room, just in time for Twoie to raise his shield to block Garnet’s punch. The door closed. Amethyst used her whip to pull Steven to her. “Amethyst, wait! You guys, you’re gonna hurt him!”

Pearl ignored Steven as she stepped forward. “You are protecting her! You have betrayed the Crystal Gems.” Amethyst pushed Steven behind her and moved into a protective stance. Twoie dismissed his shield, holding his hands up in surrender.

“Look, I know this looks bad, but Steven needed to be the one to talk to Peridot. She never would’ve trusted you guys enough to tell you about the Cluster without him.” Twoie was hoping that he could de-escalate the situation, but it seemed like the new info only made the gems angrier.

Garnet stepped closer. “And what is the Cluster? No more withholding information about Homeworld!”

Twoie rubbed his arm in discomfort. “A geo-weapon created by Yellow Diamond to destroy the earth…”

If he thought the gems were mad before, they were incensed now. “You neglected to tell us about a geo-weapon?” Twoie flinched. Garnet swung an arm out to the side. “That’s it! You are telling us everything! Now!” Steven managed to sneak far enough away from Amethyst and ran in front of Twoie.

“You’re overreacting! Twoie is one of us! Right now, you’re the one’s betraying him!” He gestured to Twoie with one arm and held the other up to his chest.

That’s when Pearl noticed a dark splotch on his outstretched arm. “Steven! Who did that to you?”

He paused. “What?” Pearl rushed over to inspect his arm. There was a large bruise on it. It stung when she touched it. “Ow! I didn’t even notice. That must’ve happened by accident when Twoie was mad.”

Pearl’s pupils shrank. Garnet tensed. Amethyst covered her mouth with her hand. “Twoie hurt you?” Garnet whispered.

Steven realized how it sounded. “N-no! Wait-!” It was too late. Pearl picked him up and jumped out of the way as Amethyst flung her whip at Twoie.

“I actually believed in you!” Once it wrapped around him, she used her strength to hurl him through the front door. “But not anymore!”

“Amethyst! What are you doing?!” Steven cried out. He wriggled out of Pearl’s hold and ran out to the porch, looking over the guard rail. Twoie groaned in pain as he sat up in a crater of sand.

Amethyst wrapped Steven in a whip, tying it to the rail. “Sorry dude. This is for your own good. I don’t want you running in front of him again.” Steven struggled in the whip’s hold as Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl jumped off the porch.

“No, wait! Don’t do this!” Steven screamed as he struggled to get the whip off. He could only watch helplessly as they landed with their weapons aimed at Twoie.

The young man stared at the past versions of his family. His heart shattered as he saw the anger in their gazes. “Garnet… Pearl… Amethyst… Please…”

“I don’t care who you are.” Garnet's face twisted in rage. Twoie barely raised a bubble in time to block Garnet’s rocket arms. It popped under the force.

“You do not hurt Steven!” The young man cried out as Garnet punched him in the stomach. He doubled over, leaving him open for an attack. Pearl launched herself forward, sweeping her spear under his legs. As Twoie fell backward, Amethyst wrapped him in her whip again and spun, releasing him after she’d built enough momentum to fling him against the cliff. He slammed into the cliffside, landing heavily on his hands and knees. His head was throbbing from the impact.

The Crystal Gems stalked forward. “Where is the geo-weapon?” Garnet demanded.

“It’s in the earth’s core, several thousand feet under the barn! You can’t reach it without Peridot’s help!” Twoie wrapped an arm around his stomach. He could feel the bruises forming already. Pearl and Amethyst stood behind Garnet, weapons at the ready. 

“You’ve been here all this time and never thought to mention that?” The leader continued her interrogation. Twoie stood up. That was it! He was sick of the gems acting like he was the bad guy.

“I didn’t mention it because you would’ve overreacted!” He shouted at them in anger. “You were already fighting with each other over Pearl’s actions with the tower, and you were already stressing out about Peridot! I wasn’t going to add to that by bringing up a problem you can’t actually address yet! You can’t work on stopping the Cluster until Steven befriended Peridot! You can’t have Steven befriend Peridot without getting kidnapped. He can’t get kidnapped if you guys catch her before she could kidnap him!” Pink erupted all over him as he continued.

“I told you every time we had a stupid meeting that I would tell you when the time was right. Every single time you were mad at me and pressured me to tell you anyway! I’m trying to make things better, but you keep fighting me because you’re too concerned with yourselves to LISTEN TO ME!” A shockwave resounded with his scream. Cracks traveled along the sandy beach and up the cliffside. The rumble knocked the gems down where they stood.

Steven knew he had to get down there. He had to stop this. He quit struggling in the whips hold and focused on summoning his bubble. It pushed against the whip, but eventually, his power forced the whip to break.

Twoie covered his mouth in horror. He hadn’t meant to do that. The others were staring at him in shock. “I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to lose control. I’m so sorry.” Twoie backed himself against the cliff in an attempt to put as much distance between them as possible. The Crystal Gems got back on their feet.

“Twoie…” Whatever Garnet was about to say was interrupted by Steven landing in-between them. He looked furious.

“What is wrong with you guys?! We’ve both been trying to tell you the truth this whole time, but none of you are willing to listen!” Amethyst looked uncertainly at Garnet. She let her whip fade away.

Pearl still looked mad. “We gave him many chances to talk to us, Steven. And look at what happened? You got kidnapped, and he hurt you! He’s most likely working with Homeworld, and we don’t have Rose to help us if we get into another war!” Steven glared at her.

“You’re still not listening! I’m not a dumb kid who doesn’t understand what’s going on, Pearl. I know you’re scared of a war starting again, but I don’t need you to remind me that Mom is gone!” He pointed at himself. “I’m here now, so stop wishing for her to be here instead!” Pearl was stunned. She lowered her spear in shock as he continued. “He’s not working with Homeworld. Where did you even come up with that? He’s trying to be careful because messing with the future is dangerous! You showed me that Garnet!”

Garnet had the decency to look ashamed. Steven clenched his fists in anger. He needed them to understand why they were in the wrong. “Twoie was upset that you guys didn’t trust him. Yeah, he hurt me accidentally, but it’s my fault too. He was in Mom’s room since he knew he was upset, and I walked-in without getting his attention. He didn’t know I was in the room with him! Stop acting so paranoid about everything. For once in my life, would you just listen to me?!”

The silence was palpable. Garnet looked from Steven, still in his protective stance, to Twoie. The young man was staring at Steven in amazement. She sighed. “Okay, Steven. Let’s take this to the couch, and we’ll listen. We won’t interrupt, we won’t judge, we’ll let him explain.”

Steven sighed in relief. He turned to his brother. “Twoie, did you hear that? It’s okay now.”

Twoie collapsed in a sitting position. Exhaustion was prominent in the way he was slumped against the cliffside. Two outbursts and an emotionally charged fight with his past family would do that to anyone. Steven pulled him into a hug. “Come on.” He whispered. “Everything will be fine. I promise.” Twoie nodded his head. Just as he was about to stand, a rumble shook the beach. He looked up to see a large edge of the cliff break off above them.

“Garnet, catch!” Shimmer. Thud-crack-boom-thunk.

The beach was veiled in a cloud of sand.

Chapter Text

Steven coughed as the cloud of sand veiled the beach. “Two-cough, hack. Twoie! Answer me!” He strained against the arms holding him. He hadn’t even noticed the cliff breaking apart. But Twoie had. And he’d thrown him out of the way.

The dust was finally settling. There was a sound of twinkling before the rocks shifted and sunk in further. Garnet’s hold slackened enough for him to wriggle out of her grip. The young boy darted across the sand to the pile of rocks. “Twoie, please!” He analyzed the pile and picked up a boulder that wouldn’t shift it. He tossed it aside.

Steven threw another rock out of the way, revealing part of his brother’s jacket. “Don’t just stand there, help me!” Steven panicked. Garnet snapped out of her shock and rushed over to pick up a large chunk that Steven couldn’t reach. Pearl and Amethyst made their way over as well. With the other three helping him, Twoie was uncovered in seconds.

Steven rolled him over. His brother’s eyes were closed. He was bleeding from the back of his head and from several scratches where the rocks had torn through his clothing. Steven licked his hand and gently touched his older brother’s face. The healing spit worked its magic, erasing any trace of his injuries. But Twoie still didn’t wake up.

“He should only be sleeping now. Probably due to how much energy he expended. We should get him into the house.” Garnet leaned forward to pick him up, but Steven scooped him up before she could. He carried his brother up the stairs without waiting for the gems.

“Man, he’s really mad at us.” Amethyst murmured. She nervously rubbed her arm as she contemplated what to do next.

Garnet sighed. “He has every right to be. We were so blinded by our fear and hatred of Homeworld, that we injured someone he cared immensely about.”

Amethyst scoffed at her. “You mean, someone we should’ve cared about. I told you guys from the beginning that Twoie is still Steven.” Her voice became meek as she muttered, “I just can’t believe I hurt him, anyway.”

Garnet brushed a hand through her hair. “You’re right. I kept seeing him as someone else, unrelated to our Steven and our timeline, but he is Steven.”

Pearl shakily wiped tears from her face.”T-this is all m-my fault. I’m the one who freaked out over his knowledge of Homeworld and the corrupted gems. I came up with the thought of him working with Homeworld. I was so obsessed w-with finding Peridot that I kept pushing him to tell us about the future.”

Garnet placed a hand on Pearl’s shoulder. “It’s also my fault. I’m the one who kept pressuring him to tell us the future. I kept making meetings so I could demand answers from him.”

Amethyst rubbed her arm in discomfort. “We should’ve listened when they tried to explain earlier. What do we do now?”

Garnet made her way towards the house. “We listen to Steven, we apologize to Twoie when he wakes up, we let them explain, and we give Peridot a chance.”

When the gems re-entered the house, they found Steven sitting upstairs with Twoie lying in his bed. The young boy scowled as he turned his back to them. He didn’t even want to look at them right now. He was so tired of the gems never listening to him. After the robinoids, he’d really thought they would take him more seriously, but this stupid fight proved him wrong.

Amethyst quietly walked up the stairs. “Hey, Steven. I brought you a glass of water.” Steven took the glass from her without looking at her.

“Thanks.”

Okay, she deserved that. She awkwardly stood there for a moment, trying to see if she could get Steven to talk to her. “Do you need anything?”

Steven scowled, but kept his gaze on his brother.  “I need you to leave us alone right now.”

She winced. “Alright.” She headed downstairs, where Garnet and Pearl were somberly waiting by the temple's warp pad. “I’m going to go regret everything in my room. Come get me if you need me.”

Pearl nodded. “I think I’ll head to my room too since Steven wants some time to himself.”

Garnet gestured to the home phone in the living room. “I’m going to inform Greg of what happened before I do. Twoie is his son. He’s not going to be happy when he hears about this.” The other gems agreed and left for their rooms. Garnet walked back into the living room and dialed Greg's number. She could feel the guilt churning in her stomach as the phone rang.

The shrill noise of his ringtone woke Greg from his slumber. “Huh, what? What is it?” He blearily rubbed his eyes with one hand while trying to find his phone with the other. Once it was in his hand, he hit the answer button.

“Hello, this is Greg speaking.” His eyes started adjusting to the dim light inside the van. What time was it?

Garnet’s voice ran out from the phone. “Greg, you need to come to the temple.” That startled him to alertness. The older man rigidly sat up as he tried to clamp down on his rising panic.

“What’s wrong? Oh, no. Did something happen to Steven or Twoie?” He searched his pockets for his keys to the van. Found them! He clambered into the front seat and started the van.

“Twoie and Steven are fine now, but we had an… incident earlier. We misjudged Twoie, and I’m ashamed to say we fought.”

Greg tore out of the driveway. “Garnet, I swear if you mean fought as in physically, I’ll poof you with my bare hands.” The voice on the other side was quiet. “Darn it! I can’t believe you guys!”

Garnet sighed into the phone’s speaker. “I know. We’re sorry. We’ve already been lectured by Steven about this as well.” The van flew across the boardwalk and onto the beach.

“I’m almost to the house. You better be gone before I come in. I don’t even want to see you guys while I’m there.” There was a noise of acknowledgment before Garnet hung up. It took him several minutes before he arrived at the temple.

Greg parked out front and gaped at the destruction in front of him. There was a crater by his van, and part of the edge of the cliffside had broken apart. “Twoie! Steven!” He called out as he ran up the steps into the house. His eyes scanned the interior the moment he burst into through the front door. The living room was mostly dark, illuminated slightly by Steven’s bedroom lights shining from the second floor. Only one person on the bed responded to his call. “Dad?”

Steven turned to face the doorway. Greg could see the dried tear tracks on his son’s cheeks. “Oh, no. What happened?” The kid broke into sobs. Their father quickly made his way up the stairs. “Shh, it’s okay, Steven. I’m here. Everything will be okay.” Steven hugged him tightly as Greg sat next to him on the bed. The father held his youngest son while he inspected his oldest.

The young man didn’t look injured, but exhaustion probably couldn’t begin to describe him. He had dark bags under his eyes and looked sickly pale. There wasn’t even a response to all of the noise they were currently making. “Oh, Twoie. What did they do to you?” His youngest son furrowed his brows into a glare and pulled away from his dad.

“The gems were upset that Twoie didn’t want to say much about the future, and then I got kidnapped by Peridot, so they thought he wanted that to happen. And then, Twoie and I released Peridot from her bubble because she has important information for us and she never intended to hurt me in the first place, but the gems were really angry at him for doing that. Since Twoie told me to let her out, the gems thought he was a traitor and fought him.” He wiped at his eyes again as he looked at his older brother. “He saved me from getting hurt but he got hurt instead.”

Greg brushed his hand through Steven’s hair. “How’s he doing now? He doesn’t look injured.” Steven shook his head.

“I healed him with my healing spit, but he was still exhausted from everything that happened. Garnet said he’s just sleeping now.” That was relieving to hear. Steven jolted as he remembered that Peridot was still waiting in Rose’s room. “Dad! Watch over Twoie for a second! I have to tell Peridot it’s okay to come out now!” He didn’t give his dad a chance to respond as he jumped down to the 1^st floor and ran over to the temple.

The door opened up, revealing Peridot pacing back in forth with her foot enhancer in her hands. “Oh, thank stars, you’re back! I was worried you two had tricked me, and I’d be stuck in this room.” She noticed it was just him. “What happened to the taller one?” Steven gestured for her to follow him out.

When they walked into the living room, Peridot could see Twoie asleep in bed. She set the enhancer down on the living room table. “Twoie got hurt defending you. He’s okay now, but he’s sleeping so don’t wake him.”

Peridot walked up the steps in confusion. “What’s ‘sleeping’?”

Greg chuckled. “Sleeping is when humans and animals close their eyes and rest for a couple of hours. We do this mainly to conserve and regain energy. We’re not responsive during this time, but you can get our attention if you’re really loud.” Peridot studied Twoie’s slumbering form.

“Interesting. I’m going to have to perform more research on the behavioral mechanisms of earth creatures in the future.” Steven brightened up at her words.

“You should join me in homeschool!” She raised a brow at him. “Homeschool?” Steven nodded and sat down next to Twoie. “Yeah! Twoie teaches me about stuff like earth’s history and how living things work. You could ask him about joining us once he’s awake if you want to know more about earth stuff.” Peridot walked around the foot of the bed and sat down. She stared at Twoie intently.

“You okay, Peridot?” She didn’t look at the kid as she replied. “If he was damaged, then that means he fought those clods. He really fought them… for me?” Greg exchanged a look with Steven.

Steven smiled sadly at her. “Yeah. Twoie fought the others to keep you safe. He really cares about you.” Peridot growled, tugging at her hair in a mix of annoyance and confusion.

“But why! I don’t understand. There was no benefit in aiding my escape from the Crystal Clods.” Steven put a hand on her arm to get her to stop.

“Earth is different from Homeworld. It’s a place where you can be you. Helping others is pretty common here.” The room was silent. Peridot was contemplating the new information she received from the humans.

“I will have to reflect on your reasoning further. Is there a room that I can stay in for now? I’m not comfortable knowing that those clods can enter at any moment.” She made a face as she added, “And please don’t put me back in the pink room. I don’t want to rely on you every time I want to leave.”

Steven hummed. As he looked around the house, his eyes landed on the bathroom. “You can stay in the bathroom? Dad, can you grab me a spare blanket?” He led Peridot to the bathroom and flicked the light switch.

“Huh, some kind of archaic think-chamber. Very nice. It even has a fresh scent of earth citrus.” Steven chuckled lightly. Peridot started exploring every nook-and-cranny of the bathroom. Greg walked in and handed the blanket over to Steven, who laid it out in the bathtub.

“Peridot don’t touch these knobs, okay? It turns the water on in the tub, and you’ll get yourself and the blanket wet. If you want to relax, you can lay down or sit on the blanket.” She hummed and went back to examining herself in the mirror. Steven yawned and headed out of the bathroom. “I’m going to bed. If you need me, I’ll be upstairs. Turn the metal piece on the doorknob to lock the door. The gems won’t be able to enter if you do that.” He heard the lock click in place after he walked out.

Greg placed a hand on Steven’s shoulder. “Do you want me to spend the night? I could close up the wash tomorrow.”

His son shook his head. “We’ll be fine, Dad. The gems know what they did was wrong, Twoie should wake up in the morning, and Peridot isn’t a threat anymore. You can head back to the shop now. I’m going to bed.” He hugged his dad. “Thank you for coming to check on us.”

Greg held him close. “Of course, Schtu-ball. I’ll always be here when you need me. Make sure you let Twoie know that as well when he wakes up! If you guys ever need to get away, we can stay in the van like old times. Night, I love you.””

Steven laughed as his father gave him a gentle noogie. “Love you too.”

Steven waved at his dad as he walked out of the house. Once he could no longer see the van, the kid made his way back to bed and crawled in. “I’m sorry I couldn’t stop the gems.” He whispered as he nestled against his brother’s side. Twoie shifted in his sleep to curl his arm around him. A tear slipped down Steven’s face. Even in his sleep, Twoie was always protecting him. “Love you, bro.” He whispered. Hopefully, tomorrow would be better.

Chapter Text

Peridot quietly cracked open the door of the bathroom. No Crystal Clods in sight. Good! She stepped fully out into the living room. The house was dark even though it was morning. She peered out the window to see droplets of some kind of liquid falling from the grey sky. “Very interesting. I’ll have to ask Steven what this strange phenomenon is.”

It didn’t take her long to reach the top of the stairs, but her next course of action was debatable. Steven and Twoie were asleep in bed. Now, she could either choose to wake Steven or wake Twoie. “What did the human say last night? Loud noises wake humans?” She approached Twoie’s side of the bed and took a deep breath. “WAKE UP TWOIE!”

Twoie screeched, bubbling himself and Steven out of instinct while the younger jolted awake in surprise. Steven scrambled into a sitting position as he pieced together the situation. He didn't summon the pink dome around him which meant-! “Twoie!”

The kid lunged forward and joyfully hugged his older brother as Twoie dispersed the bubble. Twoie threw an arm around him while he took a deep breath to calm down. “Stars, Peri. You almost gave me a heart attack!”

Peridot scrunched her face in indignance. “Excuse me? My name is Peridot, not Peri. Also, blame the other human. He’s the one who told me humans wake up this way.”

The young man looked questioningly at Steven. “Dad came over last night to check on you, but you were asleep. How are you feeling?”

Twoie could see the worry in his younger brother’s eyes. “I’m fine now. I must’ve been exhausted after yesterday if I slept this long. How are you doing? That must’ve been scary to see.”

Steven hugged him tighter. “I-I was so scared! The gems h-hurt you, and I couldn’t get them to stop! And t-then you saved me! I had to dig you out from the rocks, and I was so scared!" Twoie gently rubbed the back of his head as Steven sobbed against him. Peridot looked uncomfortable, pretending to be interested in Steven’s action figures as she waited for them to finish.

Twoie let Steven cry. Once the cries faded into sniffles, Twoie broke the hug. “I’m sorry.” Steven looked at him, incredulously. “I should’ve told the gems more about the future. They only attacked me because they were scared that I would hurt you, and because I wasn’t clear enough about why I kept withholding information.”

Little hands started lightly beating against his chest. “No! It’s not your fault, and I don’t want to hear you blaming yourself.” The younger brother puffed his cheeks in annoyance as he continued his lecture. “You always think it's your fault. The gems were wrong, though. They could’ve cleared up this whole misunderstanding if they just stopped pressuring you and told you about their worries, but they chose not to. You had good reasons for not telling them, so I don’t want to hear you blame yourself again, you got that?”

Twoie was surprised that his younger brother felt so strongly about this. He knew it was his fault, but he didn’t want to keep arguing with Steven. “Okay, Sunshine. Where are the gems anyway? I would’ve thought they’d be hovering around for the chance to talk. Are they on a mission?” Steven huffed in annoyance.

“I told them to leave us alone for a while. I still don’t trust them to behave right now.” The young man winced at his tone. It was weird hearing the normally happy and trusting kid sounded so angry.

“Are you done yet? I woke you up for a reason.” Peridot interrupted. The green gem was standing at the side of the bed again.

Twoie faced her with a look of confusion. “Sorry, what’s up?” She cleared her throat.

“I heard about the incident that occurred last night after you sent me into the pink room. I would like to… express my gratitude to you for protecting me from the Crystal Clods at your expense.” Her cheeks lit up with a blush when the young man started chuckling. Stars, how he had missed her. “Ngh. Stop laughing at me! I want to know right now the reason you are mocking me.”

Twoie held his hands up in a placating manner. “I’m sorry, Peridot. I’m not laughing at you. I’m just happy you’re okay.”

She blinked in surprise before looking away. “O-of course I’m okay. The Crystal Clods are no match against my superior intellect. Steven showed me the Think Chamber last night, and I kept myself locked in, so I wouldn’t have to worry about those clods trying to poof me again.”

Both boys smiled at her name for the bathroom. “I’m glad you like the bathroom. Just know that Steven and I will have to go in there sometimes. Only for a couple of minutes, though.”

Peridot raised a brow at him. “For what?”

Steven chuckled as he waited for his pot of soup to heat up on the stove. He snuck a glance behind him to see Twoie still pouting as Peridot ranted about how disgusting ‘organic life-forms’ were. That was a conversation he decided was more suited to Twoie’s skills than his own and had promptly excused himself, leaving Twoie to answer Peridot’s question. As he was turning back to check on his soup, he noticed that it was pouring outside. “Wow, it’s really coming down.”

Peridot and Twoie both looked outside when suddenly, a clap of thunder echoed throughout the house. Peridot bowled Twoie over, knocking the breath out of him. She grabbed the collar of his shirt while standing on his chest. “It’s happening!”

“What? What’s happening?” Steven called out from downstairs.

She hopped off of the disoriented and coughing Twoie, and ran down the stairs. “The Cluster!”

Steven flinched, looking wildly between Peridot and Twoie. “Really?!” Twoie sat up with a groan at Steven's shout while Peridot continued explaining.

“What else could be making that horrible- augh!” She tried to shield herself with her arms as the thunder boomed again. “It’s mounting on the earth from the inside!” She ducked behind him. “This is it. This is the end of the world.” She whimpered.

Steven stared as it dawned on him that she didn’t know what thunder was. Alright! This was his chance to be like Twoie! “Oh, that’s just thunder.”

Peridot stared at him in confusion. “What?” Twoie smiled as he finally got his breath back. He crawled out of bed and made his way to the couch so he could watch Steven explain.

“Everything is fine! Thunder is just a sound that is created when the air around lightning gets really warm, and lightning is when an electrical charge travels through the clouds. Lightning can strike things, but it rarely hurts people, and it definitely can’t hurt gems, so don’t worry about it. This is just something that can happen when it rains.” Twoie was proud that Steven remembered everything from that lesson.

Peridot shifted uncomfortably. “Okay… What about ‘rain’?”

Steven frowned, “You don’t know about rain?”

Peridot mumbled uncomfortably, “I don’t know anything without my screen.” Steven gestured to the covered pot of soup. Water had already condensed onto the inside of the lid. 

“It’s okay. Here, pretend this soup is the ocean. When the sun warms it up, the water evaporates into clouds.” He took the lid off, and the steam billowed into the air. “Like this steam. When the clouds get really heavy, it rains!”

Peridot narrowed her eyes at the pot. “So, scalding liquid pours down from the sky?” Steven shook his head. “No, no. It’s just water. It can’t hurt you… Here, why don’t I just show you?” The kid quickly turned the stove off and ran out into the rain.

Peridot called out after him, but Steven just whooped as he ran down the stairs. Twoie chuckled, getting up from the couch to stand next to Peridot. “Look, I’m okay! It’s just water! This is just something that happens on earth. Isn’t it cool?” Steven began to dance around in the rain. Twoie doubled over in laughter when Steven slipped in the mud.

Peridot looked at him in surprise until she heard Steven laugh as well. “It’s okay, Peridot. Steven and I won’t let anything happen to you. Would it help if I go out too?” She nodded, so Twoie also stepped out into the rain.

“Bro! Come join me!” The younger lobbed a ball of mud at him. He recoiled as the ball nailed him on his shirt’s star. Twoie's eye twitched as he wiped the mud off his shirt.

“Alright, you asked for it!” He shouted and hopped down from the porch. Steven shrieked in delight and tore away from Twoie as the young man packed a handful of mud into a ball.

Peridot raised a trembling hand out to the doorframe, flinching when the first droplets of rain landed on her fingertips. Assured that it really was just water, she gathered her courage and stepped out into the rain. “Yeah! You did it!” Steven cheered.

Twoie gave her a thumbs up. “I’m proud of you!” She looked back at Steven as he shouted, “What do you think? Isn’t it cool?” He yelped as Twoie tackled him to the ground. “Gotcha, Sunshine!”

The two continued wrestling in the mud as Peridot watched on in awe. “Cool.”

It didn’t take long for Steven and Twoie to shower after their mud fight. Peridot was already pacing in front of Steven when Twoie stepped out of the bathroom. “Hmm. Ah, Twoie, you’re done. Good.” She placed her hands against each other. “Steven, Twoie, I’m going to say something. Thank you.”

Steven tilted his head questioningly. “What for?”

Peridot gestured to the window. “For explaining this ‘thunder’ and ‘rain’ business to me.”

Twoie smiled. “It was mostly Steven, honestly. He did a good job of explaining it too!”

Steven blushed and rubbed the back of his neck. “No problem! I just told her what I remembered from our lessons.”

The green gem clapped her hands together. “That reminds me! Steven told me that you ‘homeschool’ him about the functions of the earth. Do you think I could join you at a later period? I’d like to know more about this planet once we stop the Cluster.”

Steven looked surprised. “Wait, does that mean you’re going to tell us about the Cluster?”

Peridot looked away from them as she scratched the side of her face in embarrassment. “You’re both much more intelligent creatures than I initially thought. Much more useful than those clods. So I have decided to share some information with the two of you about the Cluster.”

Steven turned to face Twoie. “I know we haven’t talked with them yet, but should I go get the gems?”

Before he could answer, Peridot interrupted them. “No! I don’t want to talk to them! I could show you now, but I have nothing! My arm attachments, my fingers, my screen, my log… It’s all gone!” She knelt with her hands in a begging position. “But all of my logs up to date 652 still exist. Back up at the facet 5 of the Prime Kindergarten!”

The kid looked unsure. “You want us to take you to the Kindergarten? I don’t know. Is it okay to go?” Steven checked in with Twoie. The young man frowned.

“Steven, Twoie, don’t you want to know about the Cluster?” Peridot pouted pleadingly at the older brother. When Steven joined in, Twoie sighed in defeat.

“Okay. We should be fine. Especially since I’m coming along.” Peridot hopped to her feet. “Yes!”

“Buuut!” Steven held up his pointer finger.

She groaned in exasperation at Steven’s interruption. “No! A catch… Fine… What are your demands?” Steven smiled cheerfully as he stuck his hand out to her. “You’re gonna have to hold my hand the whole time.”  

Chapter Text

“Well, here we are!” Steven gestured to the Kindergarten with his free hand.

Peridot gripped Steven's hand tighter in anticipation. “Okay, great! Let’s go!” She took off, dragging Steven with her.

Twoie’s eyes widened as Peridot started walking towards the edge of the cliff. “Whoa, whoa, whoa!” He quickly grabbed them both around their waists.

“What’s the big idea?” Peridot shouted as she tried to squirm out of his hold. Twoie jumped from the warp and floated down to the ground.

“Sorry, Peridot. You were about to walk right off the cliff.” Peridot huffed in embarrassment but grumbled out a 'thanks' at his quick reaction. Once they landed safely, Twoie let Peridot lead the way.

As the trio trekked through the cliffs, they passed the time with some small talk. “This place just gets worse every time I come here,” Steven remarked while looking around.

Peridot’s shoulders slumped slightly in agreement. “I know. It’s been so poorly managed. It must’ve been in way better shape when you first emerged.”

Steven tilted his head, questioningly at her. “Emerged?”

She nodded. “Yeah, you and Twoie must be some kind of quartz, right? You both must’ve been made here.” Twoie coughed lightly.

“Peridot. Steven and I are not like other gems. We are also half-human. You know, organic?”

She raised her eyebrows at them. “You’re some sort of hybrid? How is that possible?”

Steven was surprised to see how uncomfortable Twoie seemed. “W-well,” Steven quickly interjected. “The answer for that is a story I like to call the Ballad of Rose and Greg.” Twoie sighed in relief as Peridot announced her lack of interest, and they all continued to the control room.

“Are you sure this is safe? Last time I was here, there were a bunch of fusion monsters…” Peridot’s eyes lit up when she saw the entrance to the control hub. “Yes. I was checking their progress.” Steven and Peridot slid down first. Twoie decided to wait a couple of seconds so that they could move out of the way. He could hear Peridot’s voice echoing through the tunnel. “When it became clear that earth was-.“ Once it was too faint to hear, Twoie slid down the entrance as well. He looked around at the various green wires as he went. It had been so long since he’d last been here. He felt strange being back. “-riments. A gem geo-weapon.” Peridot started walking again when she saw Twoie had arrived.

“Did you help?” Steven looked at her nervously. He really hoped she didn't. He sighed in relief when she shook her head.

“Negative. I wasn’t lucky enough to be around for that, but I read over a few hundred years of reports! Nyeh-heh-heh.” Twoie sighed as he followed them. He forgot how much Peridot valued Homeworld’s plans for the colonization of the earth. Hearing her disappointment at her lack of involvement sent a shiver down his spine.

“This is where you need to be, right?” Steven asked as he looked around.

The room was dark, but the greenish glow from the computer and the wires illuminated it enough to see. “Yes. I’m going to have to remove this panel and do a bit of work to restore power to this room so… Can I have my hand back now?”

His grip loosened, and Peridot slipped her hand out. “Okay, but stay where we can see you.” Steven light-heartedly reminded her.

Peridot wordlessly pressed an invisible switch that formed into a panel. She tugged on it experimentally before taking a deep breath and turning to Twoie. “Alright! Even if you are only a half-quartz, this shouldn’t exceed the limitations of your strength. I am in need of your assistance. Please lift the cover off so I can access the wires.”

Twoie couldn’t decide whether he should be offended or not, so he just stepped forward and pulled the cover off in one quick motion. Peridot crowed in delight as she moved one wire, and the room became illuminated. “It’s not perfect, but it’ll do for now.”

Everyone made their way over to the control stand. Peridot placed her hands on the top of the stand but scowled when she realized she was too short. “Twoie, I require your assistance again. Please adjust your position so that you are propped up on your hands and knees perpendicular to the stand.”

Twoie raised a brow at her suggestion. “Can’t I just carry you?”

She pouted. “That's satisfactory as well, I guess. Whatever it’s only for a moment so I can adjust the stand’s height.” Twoie lifted her long enough for her to place her hand on the panel. It shrunk down to a comfortable height. Peridot stepped up to it and pulled up many pictures of gems on the screen. “These are the early attempts at artificial fusion.”

Steven looked at the many images with a trace of fear. “That’s a lot of gem shards.”

The green gem input several commands, changing the images to a geographic 3D image of the earth. “We were growing them here at this very sight, but these were just prototypes for the final product. A singular, giant artificial fusion comprised of millions of gem shards. The Cluster.”

Steven shifted close to Twoie and clung to his side in apprehension. “You’re saying there’s a giant mutant gem the size of the earth under us right now?” Twoie laid his hand on Steven’s hair in the hopes of comforting him.

Peridot dashed any chance of that with her lack of tact. “Oh, no. When it forms, it’ll be much much bigger than the earth. Right now, it lies dormant incubating in the earth’s core, but when it emerges and takes its physical form, it will destroy the planet.”

Steven squeaked when the image of the earth burst into several pieces. “It’s alright, Steven. Peridot knows how to stop it, and she’s gonna help us. The earth isn’t going to be destroyed.” Steven’s grip didn’t relax, nor did the tension in his body.

“Exactly. The prototypes are already emerging. The Cluster is next, and if we can’t get off this planet, we’ve got to stop the Cluster. I thought it’d be impossible, but now we have a chance.” Peridot looked proudly at the screen. There was no way the plan would fail. Her incredible intellect would assure their victory as long as everyone involved followed her orders precisely.

Steven’s voice rose in pitch. “What is it?”

She flashed them a determined grin. “It’s you two!” She ran back to the entrance of the control room. Twoie pried Steven’s fingers from his shirt even though Steven whimpered in protest. The young man immediately hefted Steven onto his back once he was free from the scared kid. A quick glance at Steven let him know the kid was calming down as Twoie followed Peridot back to the entrance. Since Steven was being piggybacked, he picked Peridot up and managed to float all of them out of the control room and back to the Kindergarten.

They began their trek back to the warp, with Steven still riding on Twoie’s back. The youngest had a contemplative frown on his face as Peridot spoke up again. “Now that you two are filled in, we can get to work!”

Steven held a hand up. “Uuh. How are we supposed to help?”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Between the two of you, you have all of the information we need about the earth and its erratic behavior. Put that together with my knowledge of the Cluster, and we might just be able to stop it.”

Steven patted Twoie twice on the shoulder to get him to stop walking. He jumped off of Twoie’s back and ran over to Peridot. “No, Peridot. You don’t get it! Just because I know how clouds work doesn’t mean I know how to stop a giant mutant in the center of the earth. Besides, the main reason I know most of those things about clouds and rain is that my dad told me. Twoie just elaborated on it.”

She paused before turning to face the brothers. “What do you mean by that?”

Steven stared at the ground. “I used to be really scared on thunderstorms, just like you. Then Dad explained how rain and all that stuff works, then I wasn’t scared of rain anymore…” He nervously rubbed his arm.

A small glimpse at her expression was all he needed to see that she had simply brushed his concern off. “Well, I’m sure you have other knowledge about how this planet works. You told me yourself that Twoie is your instructor.”

Okay, she had a point, but still! Even if he didn’t want to, he knew that they would need the Crystal Gems’ help if they were to stop the Cluster. “Sure, but none of its going to help us. If we wanna stop this Cluster thing, then we need help from the Crystal Gems.” No one noticed Twoie flinch at his words.

Peridot scowled at him. “I said I don’t need them!” Twoie stepped between them with his hands out. She interjected before he could say anything. “Let’s just warp me back to the bathroom or whatever you called it, and we can take care of this. If it looks really bad, then we can just ask this ‘Dad’ for help, right?”

A loud piercing shriek halted Steven’s retort. Peridot jumped and ran behind Steven for protection. “What was that?”

Twoie and Steven spotted the gem mutants at the same time. “There!” Steven bubbled himself and Peridot while Twoie summoned his shield. When the beast landed in front of them, Twoie rammed against it, shoving it back several feet. The mutant quickly recovered and grabbed the edges of the shield. Twoie strained to keep it in place as more mutants landed beside them.

“Do something!” Peridot screamed as they were quickly surrounded by the remaining mutants. Twoie summoned another shield and flung it at a mutant that was getting too close to the bubble, making it move back.

Steven knew he was panicking. His eyes darted to each mutant, and he frantically thought of what to do next. “I am doing something!” He saw a humanoid one raise its fists at them. He barely backed up in time to dodge the blow.

“Something useful!” The mutant recoiled when a pink shield struck it on the side of its head.

Both turned to see Twoie had knocked down the other large gem and had bubbled his fists. He shoved another mutant out of the way to make a path for Steven and Peridot. “Run!”

Steven dropped the bubble to fling a shield at a small mutant consisting of a hand and foot. “No way! I’m not leaving you alone! You just got hurt protecting me; I won’t let you do it again!” He had to raise the bubble again as two gems came at them from the sides. The resulting thud against the bubble rang in his ears, but he expanded the bubble and threw them off.

Twoie bit his lip. He didn’t want to risk Steven’s safety, but he couldn’t afford to-. His thought process cut off as the large multi-armed mutant grabbed him, pinning his arms against his side.

“Twoie!” Peridot and Steven shouted as the monster tightened its hold on him. The kid encased them in another bubble and pulled Peridot along as he charged the creature. “Let go of my brother!”

They slammed into the mutant’s side, sending Twoie to the ground and poofing the mutant. “Thanks!” The young man quickly got to his feet.

“Steven, Twoie!” Their eyes widened in surprise as the Crystal Gems appeared suddenly and joined the fight. Pearl quickly poofed two of the small mutants with her spear, while Amethyst handled a third by constricting it. Garnet finished off the humanoid one with a well-timed lightning fist. “Are you dudes, okay?” Amethyst raced over to them and started circling the group while scanning for injuries. Twoie shifted uncomfortably as the other two gems made their way over as well.

“We’re fine, Amethyst. I’m glad you guys showed up!” Steven exclaimed tiredly. Even though he was still annoyed at the gems, he was relieved that they had arrived to help. Peridot eyed them warily as their eyes turned to her.

“I’m glad to see you are fine as well, Peridot,” Garnet spoke softly. She knew they did not have her trust, and the fusion willed herself to not do anything that would scare her in front of Twoie or Steven. No matter how much she distrusted the Homeworld gem.

The green gem only looked more suspicious at her words. “I told you, Peridot. We need their help.” Her eyes flickered between her companions and the Gems. No one looked threatening to her.

She summoned up her courage and stepped forward. If any of the Gems saw Twoie and Steven tense, they didn’t mention it. “I am grateful for your assistance. While I am sure we could’ve handled it ourselves, it was…  thoughtful of you to assist anyway.”

Amethyst folded her arms behind her head. “Thanks! And uh, sorry about all that stuff from before.” Peridot blinked at her apology. Maybe she could trust them after all. The technician took a deep breath.

“I’ve made up my mind. I have something to tell you about the Cluster.”

Chapter Text

Twoie couldn’t bring himself to look at the gems during the trip back to the house. He knew they should probably discuss the fight, but honestly, that was the last thing Twoie wanted to do. He didn’t think he could bear the gems telling him how much he messed everything up. It was easier to just ignore it.

The gems had tried chatting a little with Steven, but only Amethyst seemed to get a response, although it was terse. Guess he was still mad as well. At least they were pretty close to the warp. Twoie offered a hand to Peridot, who took it without question, and the two brothers hopped back up to the warp. They didn’t wait for the gems to catch up since the warp wouldn’t fit everyone anyway.

Peridot immediately asked for a cardboard box the moment they arrived. Steven ran off to get one while Twoie waited for her to continue. Neither paid attention to the gems when they arrived. Instead, Peridot turned and asked him for a pointer and some drawing utensils. He nodded and collected both from his teaching supplies. The gems watched as Peridot and Steven set up a display for them. Twoie sat on the couch behind them so he could help if needed.

“As it seems I have no other options, I have conceded to reveal some important information to you Crystal Gems about the Cluster.” Peridot turned from her finished drawing so she could give her presentation. Garnet and Pearl were doing their best to keep any negativity from showing while Amethyst looked on in amusement. She was already laughing in her mind at how serious Peridot was while Steven was walking around underneath a box.

Peridot snapped her fingers, and Steven edged closer. The first face of the box had a drawing of the earth. “This!” She smacked the tip of the stick against it. “Is the earth. At the very center of the planet’s core lies the Cluster. Rotate.” Steven turned in place so that a drawing of a rock formation in what looked like the inside of the earth was visible. “This is the Cluster.” She pointed at the center of the drawing. “A massive artificial fusion composed of millions of gem shards.” The gems exchanged a look with each other, already horrified at the idea.

“It has laid dormant for thousands of years within this planet’s crust. When this gem activates and takes its form, the result will be catastrophic!” Steven turned back to the drawing of the earth. She smacked the box again with her pointer. “Now.” Twoie chuckled as Steven made whirring noises, while constantly bending his knees so the box moved up and down. The subject matter was serious, but leave it to his little brother to enthusiastically play his role in the presentation.

“Bwaah!” A green monster sock puppet burst through the picture. The gems gasped in horror, but Peridot stared at the box in annoyance. “Bwah, bwah, bwah!” Steven continued as he moved the sock puppet around.

“What is that?!” Peridot stared aghast at the little green sock puppet.

“It’s the Cluster.” The puppet's mouth moved with his words. Peridot smacked her hand over its face. Twoie held in a snort of laughter at their antics.

“It does not look like that.” She sighed as she turned back to her audience. “But it is real, and it can activate at any moment!”

Steven turned the puppet to face the audience. “Bwaaah…” Twoie snickered but froze when he got a glare from Pearl and Garnet. He looked away.

Garnet rose from her position and stood before the rest of the Crystal Gems. “That abomination must be stopped.”

Pearl contemplated her words. “But how? We’ll need to build some sort of machine to take us to the center of the earth. It’ll have to be-“ Pearl recoiled as the tip of the pointer appeared in front of her face.

“I wasn’t finished!” Peridot growled. She cleared her throat. “What we need is some sort of machine to take us to the center of the earth. It’ll need to withstand up to 360 gigapascals of pressure and temperatures of up to 9,800 degrees.”

Pearl couldn’t keep her annoyance from showing as Peridot essentially reiterated what she was going to say. “Well, we need to start finding parts for this machine immediately.”

The green gem nodded in agreement. “Yes, obviously.”

Twoie’s eyes widened and he stood up. “We’ll start by dismantling all devices inside the dwelling.” The young man grabbed her by the waist before she could run into the kitchen. Steven had pulled the cardboard box off in worry but slumped in relief when he noticed Peridot in his brother’s grasp.”Hey! Put me down. It’s a small sacrifice to pay to save the planet!” She struggled in his hold.

“I know where we can go to find parts without you destroying the house.” Twoie set her down once he was sure she wouldn't destroy any of their appliances.

Amethyst chuckled. “Ah, good one, Twoie.”

He smiled at the compliment and walked out the door. “Who’s up for a trip to the barn?”

“Alright. What we have here in the barn should be adequate enough for us to get started.” Pearl showed Peridot the cluttered inside of the barn. As they inspected the materials, Twoie felt a hand tap his arm.

He turned to see Amethyst awkwardly scuffing her foot on the ground. “Hey, Steven. Do you think we could talk for a second?” He startled at the use of his actual name. A quick scan showed that Pearl was busy with Peridot and Steven, and Garnet was sitting by the fence.

Guess he couldn’t put it off forever. “Okay, can we go where everyone else can’t hear us? I’m guessing this is about yesterday.” She nodded, and they walked over to the silo.

Once they were far enough away from the others, she took a deep breath. “I’m sorry.” He blinked at her in surprise. “When Pearl first brought up her suspicions of you, I thought she was being ridiculous. I told her that to her face. But when Garnet agreed, I didn’t really try to defend you.” She brushed a hand through her hair.

“After that point, I didn’t agree, but I didn’t try to talk them out of it. Even when Steven was kidnapped, I didn’t think you deserved the way they treated you, but then we found out that you accidentally hurt Steven.” She ducked to hide the tears prickling at the corners of her eyes. “At that moment, I was really angry. I thought, ‘Steven’s hurt because you didn’t want to believe that Pearl and Garnet were right about Twoie.’ So, I took my anger out on you, and that was wrong. I’m sorry, Steven.”

Twoie started chuckling. Tears welled in his eyes, causing Amethyst to wave her hands in front of him in a panic. “I’m okay, Amethyst. I’m just happy. I wouldn’t have been mad if you blamed me for all of this, but I can tell that you really thought about everything that happened. It’s really nice to know you put so much thought into this.”

She laid down on the ground and patted the spot next to her. He joined her as he wiped tears from his face with his sleeve. “Hey, man. Hate to break it to you, but I’m the one who’s supposed to be getting emotional.” She smiled when she heard him laugh.

They stared at the clouds for a moment before Twoie spoke up again. “We’re actually pretty close in the future.” Her eyes widened in surprise as he elaborated. “I think you and Steven have always had a kinship in that Garnet and Pearl have high expectations of you but don’t understand why their image of you is different from who you are. I want you guys to be at least as close as I am with my Amethyst because you’ve always been the Crystal Gem I go to when I need advice.”

She turned her head to stare at him incredulously. “Seriously? Not Garnet or Pearl?”

He shook his head. “I’ve come to them for things in the past and they weren’t always taken seriously or they fell apart from learning about the issue. The worst thing you’ve really done to me was turn into Rose.”

She fiddled with her hair in embarrassment.  “Yeah, that was a crappy thing to do. I’m sorry about that. I know I didn’t want to admit it back then, but I should’ve. I’ll apologize to Steven as well for that. And for my part in hurting you. That had to be awful to see.” Twoie laughed and patted her shoulder.

“Look at you! Not only are you the first to apologize, but taking Steven’s feelings into account? You’re starting to become the most mature Crystal Gem.”

She stared at him in astonishment before lightly facepalming and pouting. “Not cool, man. I have a reputation to uphold as the fun gem. I’ll get to the maturity part later.” He laughed as they stood up together. “We cool?” She held her hand out to him.

He grabbed it and pulled her into a quick one-armed hug. “We’re cool. Come on, let's go see how the others are doing with their robot competition.”

She paused, “I thought they were building a machine for the Cluster?” She tagged along with Twoie and chuckled when she saw Garnet and Steven watching Pearl and Peridot from the Barn’s entrance.

“Twoie! Amethyst!” Steven waved as they joined the two at the door. His younger brother gave him a questioning look, which he answered with a nod and a smile. Amethyst took a deep breath before she stepped forward and hugged Steven. She muttered something to him that Twoie couldn't hear. The younger looked surprised, but the change in his facial expression told him all he needed to know. Steven hugged her tightly before pulling away with a smile. Amethyst was relieved that she had fixed everything between her and the brothers.

No longer feeling burdened by her role in the fiasco, she felt comfortable being herself again around them. "So, uh, what's going on here?"

Twoie watched as Pearl and Peridot rushed around the barn. “Robot competition?”

Steven’s eyes shown with stars. “Robot competition.” 

He chuckled at the younger’s excitement. “This'll be good.” Loud whirring sounded over him as he spoke.

“What’d you say?!” Amethyst shouted as everyone covered their ears.

He waited for the ringing to stop. “I said-!” Pearl drove her robot gracefully into the yard with spin to finish her entrance.

“Giant robot!” Steven cheered as they others looked on in awe. Twoie forgot how well her robot operated. It was even more impressive now that he understood Pearl’s original role in Homeworld.

“Hah! Pathetic.” Peridot’s bot stomped out of the barn. “Now, behold my vision of ultimate power!” “Nya-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!” She glanced up at Pearl’s bot. “Hey!”

Pearl raised her bot’s arm and smugly stated, “My bot’s taller, I win.”

Steven hummed as he looked at the two robots. “We need events and a way to keep score.”

Twoie cracked his fingers and walked over to the chalkboard. “I’ll keep score if you want to be the announcer and come up with the events.”

Steven smiled and addressed everyone. “Alright! I have an idea!”

Chapter Text

“Ladies and gentle gems, welcome to the first annual robolympics!” Steven walked out of the barn, wearing a pair of aviators and holding an old microphone that Twoie had found in one of the junk piles in the barn. Steven had also found a whistle, which was currently around his neck.

Garnet and Amethyst cheered from the sidelines. “Woo!” “Popcorn!”

Steven stepped forward as he continued to address the audience. “This competition will test our Robo-engineers’ skills, Robo-construction, and Robo-piloting. Whoever wins will be in charge of building the Cluster drill machine thing.” He raised his free hand and swiped it down. “Let the gaaames begin!”

Twoie ran over to a bunch of cardboard slides and grabbed one labeled Balance. “Hey, Steven. What part of the human body is necessary for balance?”

Steven hummed then touched both of his ears. “It’s our inner ears!”

The young boy laughed as he got a thumbs up from Twoie. “Correct! That was a hard one too! Remind me to treat you to the Big Donut for that.” He held it up for Steven and their audience to read.

Steven whooped then turned to face the others so he could announce the event. “Alright! Whoever’s robot can balance on one limb and stay up the longest wins! Ready? Go!”

Pearl stood on one wheel of her robot. Although it was a little shaky, she managed to keep the bot in one place. Peridot’s bot, however, was unable to stay standing on its hand. She spun it around wildly in an attempt to show off but ended up slamming into the ground. Steven blew the whistle, ending the first round. “Pearl, one. Peridot, zero.” Twoie called out as he held up the next board for Steven.

“The next event is Crushing! There are many boulders in this area! Whoever’s robot can crush the boulders the easiest wins the next round!”  Steven gestured to a pile of rocks that were lying nearby. Peridot gripped one rock in each claw and crushed them with ease. Pearl’s bot showed difficulty with lifting the rock in the first place. She barely managed to get it above her. While trying to crush it in her hands, the boulder slipped, clunking her in the head and bringing the bot down.

Twoie tsked as Peridot laughed raucously. “That looks like it hurt. What do you think, Steven?”

His younger brother winced as he watched the boulder roll off of Pearl. “Yeah, but she’s getting back up. Pearl’s tough!” Steven blew the whistle again, while his older brother marked Peridot as the winner of the round.

Twoie glanced at the next board, frowning slightly at the word Ballet written on it. “Hey, Sunshine… Don’t you think this is a little unfair?”

Steven blew the whistle for a time out and ran over to Twoie. “What do you mean?”

Twoie scratched the back of his neck. “I don’t think Peridot knows what ballet is. This event is a bit biased in Pearl’s favor. Why don’t we just make a category for precision instead? That’d probably be fairer to both.”

Steven hummed, trying to think of exactly what they could do for Precision. He nods for Twoie to rewrite the event and ran back to the center of the group. “Okay, the next event is going to be Precision! Each contestant must maneuver their robot through a small obstacle course that Twoie and I are going to build right now. The robot that gets through without damaging the course and without knocking into any part of the course will win this round.”

The two brothers ran back into the barn and set up a crude obstacle course of parts. Twoie stuck several poles in the ground, fairly spaced, for the bots to go through. Steven set some large pieces of junk on the ground to be crossed over, and then they set up an A-Frame out of two metal sheets that they had Garnet melt together.

“On your mark,” Steven called out. Garnet was standing in front of the two, holding two flags in the air. “Get set!” Pearl and Peridot leaned into their controls. “Go!” She whipped both flags down, getting buffeted by the wind Pearl’s bot made as she sped past him. Peridot’s bot lumbered after her, stumbling through the first obstacle. Pearl had made it back first without touching or damaging a single obstacle. The whistle blew, signaling Pearl as the winner.

The robolympics continued with several more events, including jumping, racing, and rock-paper-scissors,  until the final score was 30 Peridot, 30 Pearl, and 1 Tree. On occasion, Twoie would quiz Steven about something relating to the event, or they would banter like commentators at a sports game. Now that the final event had ended, Twoie was relaxing against the barn while Steven declared the results. “You both get to lead the project together!”

He flopped to the ground as Peridot started ranting about a tie-breaker. “Hey, Sunshine, come here.” Steven looked in surprise but made his way over.

“Do you have an idea about a tie-breaker?” Twoie shook his head. He lightly placed a hand in front of his younger brother and moved them both back a couple of steps.

“They’re about to settle it themselves.” Steven turned around curiously, just in time to see Pearl kick Peridot. Everyone gasped.

“You wanna fight? Good, we should’ve done this from the beginning!” The green gem launched herself at Pearl.

Twoie held Steven’s hand to prevent him from running out into the fray. “Stop! Giant robots shouldn’t fight!”

Amethyst didn't care. She was enamored with the idea of a good fight. The purple gem had stars in her eyes as she cheered, “Fight, fight, fight, fight!”

Twoie stood slightly in front of Steven. “One, that’s the premise of so many movies, it’s pretty much expected of giant robots. Two, The barn is the safe zone. If I remember correctly, they don’t ever get this close. You need to stay over here.”

Garnet and Amethyst dodged as Peridot slammed Pearl into the spot they were standing at, knocking back the chalkboard. “Don’t worry, guys; I’ve got this!” Pearl continued her fight. Steven didn’t like seeing them fight like this. He didn’t want anyone getting hurt. Twoie quickly covered the kid's eyes right before Peridot slammed her bot around by the foot.

He let him go once the fight was over. “Victory is mine! Now I’m the one in charge. Praise me! Praise me!” But no one paid attention to Peridot as they ran over to Pearl.

“Pearl, are you okay?” Steven helped her up. Amethyst hugged her and called her hard-core.

Peridot stood there, confused as to why everyone was paying more attention to the ‘servant’ instead of her. “Why aren’t any of you listening to me? I won! I’m the natural leader here! She’s just a common Pearl!”

Steven glared at her. “You’re wrong! If Pearls are really like you say they are, then Pearl isn’t common at all! She trained herself to fight. She learned how to build things. And she works hard every day to be greater than she already is! That’s not common, that’s amazing!” They all turned together, sans Twoie, and went to clean up the mess from the competition. Twoie made his way over to Peridot, who was staring in a mixture of annoyance and disbelief.

“I know you’re new to earth, Peridot, but you need to understand that the status and hierarchy you had on Homeworld don’t apply here.” He pointed to the others, all chatting and laughing with the others. “We work together because we want to; the loyalty we share isn’t because one of our gems is rarer or has a stronger ability. We trust each other and have learned to work to our strengths. Garnet is strong and makes the most sound decisions, Pearl is highly skilled at fighting and is observant, and Amethyst is great for muscle and thinking outside the box. Steven is great for defense and keeping up morale.”

Peridot still looked mad. “I still proved that I’m the better gem! You all saw that my robot performed the best!” She glowered at him as he shot her a disappointed look.

“You didn’t prove yourself better in this competition, Peridot. You proved you were both equals and that you're petty.” Twoie's eyes narrowed, and he frowned at her in disappointment.

She blushed in anger and rounded on him. “I'm not petty! I’m well within my rights to demand a tie-breaker!” Peridot wasn't sure why, but it hurt that he was disappointed in her. She didn't like it.

Twoie gave her a stern look. “You wanted a tie-breaker because you didn’t want to admit that she’s equal to you. I say that’s a good example of pettiness.” He sighed as he brushed a hand through his hair. “Besides, this fight was not one of the events Steven declared. You antagonized Pearl, and even though she started the fight, you had no qualms using the fight to prove who’s bot was better. Even though you beat Pearl’s bot, the victory doesn’t count towards the competition, so you both are still tied.” He knelt and placed an arm on her shoulder. “Why don’t you just work together? Isn’t it going to be a lot easier to have someone who understands earth technology helping you build the drill? I bet it’ll be nice too to have someone to talk tech with as well.”

He walked away from Peridot so he could help the others clean up. Peridot watched them work together, and when she saw Pearl off to the side, she decided to approach her. “I have to admit it’s remarkable that a Pearl such as yourself could become such a knowledgeable technician.” Pearl narrowed her eyes at her. The green gem awkwardly held up the drill. “Let’s get started.”

Pearl knelt, smiling, and took the drill. “You’re holding it upside down.” She rotated it to its proper position for Peridot to see, then handed it back.

The technician cleared her throat. “Yes, of course. Those round appendages on your machine could be useful for something.”

“They’re called wheels.” Pearl chuckled as she and Peridot walked over to the chalkboard.

Steven smiled as he watched them chat about the drill. Twoie walked up to him. “Looks like we’re well on our way to stopping the Cluster.” He scrunched his face in surprise when his younger brother shoved the sock puppet from earlier in his face.

“You think you can stop me?” Steven growled as he moved the puppet’s mouth in sync with his voice. He tackled his older brother to the ground.

“Ahh-ha-ha! No! Ha-ha-ha, Steven!” He laughed as Steven tickled him while maneuvering the puppet to attack his hair. “Grwah-wah-wah-wah!” “Ah, we’re doomed!” Twoie cried before he went limp. “Goodbye, cruel world.”

Steven laughed as Twoie stuck his tongue out and played dead. “Yes! I have bested you! Now onto the rest of the earth.” Steven shrieked as he felt himself get thrown into the air.

Twoie caught him and hugged him tightly. “I have caught you, Cluster! Now you have to get ready for dinner and go to bed! No destroying the earth for you.” They laughed together, as Twoie carried him into the barn. Things were finally getting better for everyone.

Chapter Text

“Why do I feel like I’m working with children?” Twoie’s eye twitched in annoyance as Garnet tied Peridot to the fence.

Steven shifted his worried gaze from his older brother to the Crystal Gem’s leader as she walked back up to them. He meekly asked, “Did you really have to do that?”

She swiped her hands together. “Her running around freely made me incredibly uncomfortable.” She raised a brow as Twoie huffed and walked towards the fence, where Peridot was struggling with the leash.

“I just scolded Peridot about being petty last night, and now here you are acting the same way. Seriously, Garnet, I know what she said upset you, but this isn’t cool.” Man, it was tied really well. He scowled as the rope wrapped around his finger and he had to untangle himself.

“Twoie, leave her be. I’ll untie her when I trust her on her own.” Twoie stood up and faced her. He radiated annoyance as he gestured to Peridot.

“I understand that you want to be cautious but acting like this? It’s only going to reinforce the idea that we can’t be trusted.” Peridot awkwardly watched him as he went back to untying the knot.

Pearl rolled her eyes but didn’t make a move to stop him. “I don’t know if you’ve forgotten, but she’s the one who needs to earn our trust. Just because we’re willing to work with her, doesn’t mean we trust her.”

Twoie mumbled under his breath, “Isn’t that the truth…” He felt guilty when he noticed Steven flinch. Dang it, he didn’t mean for anyone to hear that. “Look, I’ll take responsibility for her, okay? I won’t leave her alone while you’re still uncertain.” He didn’t wait for their reply as he finally managed to untie the leash and pull it off of Peridot. Garnet shook her head and walked away, with Pearl following along.

Amethyst, Peridot, and the two brothers watched them walk back to the barn before Peridot sniffed and turned away from them. “Do you understand now, Twoie?” They all stared questioningly at Peridot. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “This is why I didn’t want to work with those clods.” She sat down, pushing the microwave over to get better access to the cover. “Can you hand me the leverage optimizer, Amethyst?” She stuck her hand out and beckoned impatiently.

The purple gem began to laugh, annoying Peridot. “You mean you want a screwdriver?” “That’s what I said!” Steven handed it to her as Amethyst continued to laugh. “Hey, what do you call this?”

Peridot gestured to her nose. “A sense sponge.” Twoie groaned as Steven watched them go back and forth in confusion. Amethyst framed her eye with her fingers. “And this?” “A vision sphere.”

Steven made to talk, but Amethyst shook her head. “Wait, wait. These?” She wriggled her fingers.

Peridot narrowed her eyes in annoyance. “Touch stumps.”

Amethyst pointed at her foot, voice becoming increasingly high-pitched. “This?” “Gravity-connectors.” Peridot ground her teeth together as Amethyst pointed to her butt. “This?”

The green gem was fed up with Amtheyst’s mockery of her. “THAT’S YOUR BUTT!” Amethyst keeled over in laughter. Even Steven and Twoie were laughing at the scene.

“Man, Peridot, you’re killing me!” Steven bent over and held his gut as he laughed. Peridot held both hands up in surrender.

She fretted, “No, I’m not! That would violate our truce agreement!”

Amethyst waved her concern off. “No, no, no! You’re funny!” That made her pause.

“Funny?” She was prevented from saying anything else as Pearl walked over.

“Peridot, if you can get the magnetron from the microwave, we’ll have everything we need. Well, everything except the drill head.” Twoie stretched and held a hand out for Peridot. He helped her to her feet before facing Pearl.

“Sounds good. We’ll go to the Kindergarten and get a drill head from one of the injectors.” Pearl hummed as she contemplated the idea.

“Yes, I suppose that’ll do. I’ll go check with Garnet to make sure you’re okay to do so. If she says yes, Amethyst, Steven, can you go with them?” Steven saw the look of hurt flash across Twoie’s face. He narrowed his eyes at Pearl.

He had a feeling he knew why she wanted them to go along. “Why? Twoie’s strong enough to carry the drill head by himself, and Peridot can help him find the right one.”

Twoie shook his head and started walking back to town. “It’s fine, Steven. Let’s get going.” He didn’t wait for them as he led Peridot to the warp at the edge of the farm. Steven and Amethyst shot her a glare as they ran to catch up.

Pearl frowned as she worriedly called after them, “But I didn’t check with Garnet yet!”

No one said anything as they warped into the Kindergarten. The others kept flashing looks of concern at Twoie as he quietly led them towards the nearest damaged injector. “Does this drill head look operable?” Peridot shuffled forward and examined it. The injector itself was in shambles, but the drill head was in decent condition.

“Yes. This is a satisfactory drill head. Would you be willing to remove the head for me?” She turned to Steven and Amethyst. “You two are probably suited to the task as well if you want to help him.” The two exchanged shrugs and walked over to the injector. Twoie dragged it out so that the injector was now lying completely on its side. Steven hopped on top and caught a rock that Amethyst tossed up to him. After. the purple gem started kicking the injector. Twoie bubbled his fists and started punching the area near the drill head.

Confident that the others would be able to disengage the head from the injector, pulled out her tape recorder, and lounged against the injector. “Log date, 7112. The Twoie, the Amethyst, and the Steven have volunteered to help me dismantle this Era 1 drill. How stylistically displeasing. The newer ones have a nicer finish.”

Twoie rolled his eyes, but Amethyst chuckled. “You making more nerd notes?” Peridot sent her a look of confusion.

“What is nerd? Can you use it in a sentence?” Amethyst held in her laughter as she replied, “Nerd. You are a nerd.”

Twoie sighed and sent her a stern look. “Amethyst.” Steven hopped down from the drill to scold her as well.

Peridot scowled and held her recorder closer to her. “As you can see, this planet is annoying, and everything is annoying. Amongst its transgressions, is the need for the Amethyst to ask permission from the permafusion.”

Twoie flinched, but no one noticed as Amethyst continued joking around. “Is that what you call Garnet?”

Steven was trying to hold in his laughs, and Peridot was fueled by their behavior to keep going. “I could call her lots of things. I could call her two things. Two clods! Walking around like she’s one clod! Nyeh-hehe-hehe!”

Twoie stepped in between everybody. “Okay, that’s enough. Amethyst, stop messing with Peridot. Peridot, stop insulting Garnet. Steven, stop encouraging them.”

Steven stared at the ground as he apologized, but the others were annoyed at being lectured. “Come on, Twoie. I’m just trying to have a little fun here. Don’t be such a sad sack.” Amethyst crossed her arms behind her head as she chided him.

Peridot giggled as the insult. “Sad sack, nyeh-hehe-hehe! That’s an interesting description for the hybrid abomination.” Amethyst snorted at the phrase, uncaring that it made Twoie more annoyed.

“Amethyst, Peridot, I told you to stop. You’re laughing at the expense of others. It may seem funny now, but it’s going to hurt when the tables turn and people are laughing at your expense.”

Amethyst waved him off. “Puh-lease. It’s not like they’re around to hear it and I won’t tell them what she said.”

Steven shook his head. “I think you should listen to him, Amethyst. He’s right. We are being mean to Garnet. If she finds out, she’ll end up trusting Peridot even less.”

Peridot couldn’t take it anymore. She broke out into full-blown laughter, causing the argument to stop. “ I don’t get why you think you have to listen to them?!” Twoie bit his lip as she continued. “You’re the one who should be in charge!”

Amethyst let out another snort of laughter. “That’s your best joke yet.”

“No, really. Pearl is a pearl. Garnet is a fusion. I don’t even know what these two are supposed to be! You’re the only Crystal Gem that’s actually a gem!” Peridot gestured to those present as she talked.

Amethyst and Steven stared at her uncomfortably. “Okay, I think I understand now…” The purple gem gave Twoie a sheepish smile.

Peridot didn’t notice their discomfort. “You’re not like the others on your team. They should be listening to you! You’re a strong, singular, fully functioning soldier, despite the fact that your-“

“That’s enough!” She jumped as Twoie glared at her. Amethyst and Steven winced as they saw the pink glow across his cheeks.

Twoie bubbled a fist and punched through the injector, causing the drill head to detach and slam against the ground. “There. We have the drill head. Let’s get back to the barn.”

As Twoie was picking it up, Amethyst turned back to Peridot. “Wait a second. Despite what?”

Twoie quickly spun on his heel. “You don’t want to hear it.”

She glared at him. “No, I think I do. Despite what Peridot?”

The green gem was confused but decided to ignore Twoie. “You know, despite being defective.”

Twoie paled as Steven gasped in shock, and Amethyst’s expression turned somber. “Defective?”

“Well, sure! You’re small.” Peridot laughed and pinched her fingers together.

Amethyst glared at her. “So?”

The technican tossed her head back with a laugh. “You’re not supposed to be!”

Peridot ran over to a small hole nearby. “Let me guess. This is the whole you came out of! Too small, too low, the exit marks look about 500 years newer than every other hole. This place must’ve been empty when you came out. No wonder you have no idea what you’re supposed to look like!” Steven walked up to Amethyst in concern. The normally playful gem looked sick as Peridot perfectly guessed everything about her past.

“Peridot, you’re upsetting Amethyst.” Twoie confronted her but was stopped by Amethyst placing a hand on his arm.

“No, I need to know. What was I supposed to look like?” Peridot guffawed and pointed at Twoie.

“At the very least, you were supposed to look like him!” The young man flinched as Peridot ran over to him. “You’re both quartz which means you should be huge loyal soldiers. Twoie is also a little shorter than quartzes should be but not like you are! You should be twice your size!” She made him set the drill head down and pointed at his shoulders. “He’s also broad-shouldered, intimidating… For being a hybrid, you’re still like a quartz.” She shrugged as she faced Amethyst. “But you simply stayed in the ground too long!”

Amethyst clenched her fists tightly. “Are you saying I’m wrong?”

Peridot laughed, “Gemetically speaking, yes. When you think about it, it’s all so funny!” Steven put a hand on Amethyst’s shoulder.

She patted his hand before turning and lifting the drill into the air. “Let’s go back.” She quietly began walking back to the warp. Peridot cackled as she ran ahead of her.

“See? You can do everything a normal quartz can do! Hurry up you guys! I wanna shove this thing in Pearl’s face.” Twoie and Steven caught up as Amethyst continued forward, carrying the drill head with ease.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t stop her, Amethyst.” Twoie spoke quietly to her.

She paused. “Why are you apologizing? You told me already I wasn’t gonna like being on the receiving end, and you were right.”

Twoie sighed and brushed a hand through his hair. “I’m in charge of her right now. I should’ve stopped her from hurting your feelings. And just because I warned you about it, doesn’t mean I wanted you to experience it.”

She shrugged. “Sure, man, whatever you say. You’re the quartz.” Steven and Twoie exchanged a worried look.

“Amethyst-.“ She ignored him as she picked up the pace.

Chapter Text

No matter what Peridot did, Amethyst wouldn’t pay her any attention. She tried naming earth items again, she tried waving, she tried smiling. Nothing worked. Even Twoie was more distant with her. When she talked to him, he gave minimal responses and then went back to whatever task she had set him on. Peridot was impressed when they arrived back, and she had discovered that he knew some basics of technological engineering. Apparently, a friend of his taught him how to do some electrical wiring and some other basics when he hung out with her. But when she praised him for being a quartz with brains, he had looked pained and didn’t respond.

Pearl had called Twoie over for something, leaving the green gem alone with Steven. “I don’t get it. Twoie is barely talking to me, and Amethyst won’t even look at me. It’s making me feel… smaller.”

Steven stopped sorting nails into cans. “You feel bad! That’s how you made them feel!”

Peridot scoffed and crossed her hands. “Who cares about how they feel. Who cares about any of you? You’re all just rocks, muddy clumps beneath my gravity connectors.” She stomped her feet into the ground.

Steven narrowed his eyes at her. “I get it if you still don’t trust the gems, but you can’t say that about Twoie and Amethyst. They’re both doing their best to get along with you. Especially Twoie! He’s done a lot for you, Peridot, and a lot of that got him hurt and distrusted by the gems.”

He looked to see Pearl remark something to the others, which only got her a terse reply from Amethyst and a poorly hidden look of hurt from Twoie. “He cares about you. Probably the most out of all of us. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?” Peridot glowered as she stormed over to the drill head. Steven followed along and waited in silence for Twoie to return.

When the young man returned, waving as Pearl and Garnet walked off somewhere, he chatted quietly with Steven about farms and agriculture. Peridot huffed as she worked on the drill, grumbling when it wouldn’t work the way she wanted it to. “Uh, are you okay up there?” Steven could tell that she was on a short fuse.

“It’s fine. There’s nothing wrong. Everything’s fine.” Right as she said that, the drill started up. “No! No, no, no, no, no, no, stop!” She was flung from the control seat and thrown into Twoie. They both let out a groan when they hit the ground. The drill began spinning in place.

“The panel!” She coughed as Twoie helped her up. Steven timed his jump and managed to grab hold of the edge, but it was spinning too quickly for him to get into the seat. “Wait!” Peridot and Twoie started chasing after him.

Although the gem was too slow to catch up, Twoie managed to grab the edge and pull Steven and himself into the pilot’s seat. He kept a tight grip on Steven and the chair. “Pull out the panel, Steven!” Twoie shouted.

“I’m gonna be sick!” Steven screamed as the drill spun right on course towards Amethyst, who had just turned the corner of the barn.

“AMETHYST!” Peridot slammed into her side, shoving them both out of the way as Steven pulled the whole control pad apart from the drill. The drill head came to a complete stop, and both Steven and Twoie looked green.

Steven dizzily shouted, “It’s okay, everything’s okay. It was just a drill! Ha-ha-ha-ugh.” The two both slumped over the edge of the drill head.

“I d-don’t think… I’ll ever get used to spinning...” Twoie tried to take deep breaths to calm his queasiness. They slowly made their way back to the ground. The youngest was kneeling, and he chuckled as Twoie face-planted on the dirt. Twoie was unashamed to admit that he was content just lying there.

“Go check on them without me, Sunshine. I need some time to get reacquainted with the earth.” Steven looked over at Peridot and Amethyst.

“-an accident, I swear!” Steven walked over to them.

“Hey, don’t worry about it! We know you didn’t mean to start the drill.” She looked away in embarrassment.

“Uh, yeah. That was an accident too.” She cleared her throat and shuffled away, intent on fixing up the damage to the drill head.

When Pearl and Garnet came back, from who knows where they went, Pearl was understandably freaked out from the damage. “We leave for one second, and everything goes off the rails!” Garnet looked around her. The moment they returned, Twoie had asked if he could take a breather. The young man then disappeared somewhere, but she expected he’d return soon.

Steven had wanted to go along, but his older brother had said he wanted "time alone to think." He was working with Amethyst instead. Both were cleaning up the debris the drill head had left behind. “I blame the cows.” Garnet watched in slight amusement as Pearl ranted about adding seatbelts to the drill.

Steven felt concerned as Amethyst moodily pulled a unicycle out of the dirt. “Hey, are you alright? That was a close one. It was a good thing Peridot was there to save you.” She narrowed her eyes at the gem’s name. The aforementioned gem walked up to them a moment later.

“Yes, it is a good thing.” She noticed Amethyst was refusing to look at her. “Listen. I -uh.”

The other gem glared at her. “Just spit it out.” Peridot brought out her recorder.

“Log date. 7112. This entire planet is backwards. There hasn’t been one instance of correct behavior being exhibited by any one of these Crystal Gems. I have concluded that they are all defective. But I am no better. I failed my mission, and now I am working with the enemy, and I can’t even get that right. I have apparently hurt Amethyst’s feelings, which was not my intent. If I damaged my standing with one of the best gems here, then I’ve made a serious mistake. I’m still learning. I hope you understand. I want to understand. I’m sorry. Peridot. Facet 5. End log.”

Steven smushed his cheeks and aww'ed in pride. The purple gem blinked in surprise at the apology. She wasn't expecting it, but it meant a lot to her. “Hey, -uhh, Peridot. Thanks.” Amethyst smiled at her. “But you’re still a nerd.” She waved to them as she walked off.

Peridot pouted, “I’ll be sure to add that to my notes…” She sighed and looked around from where she was standing. She couldn’t see Twoie anywhere, so he must not be back yet.

She fiddled with the tape in her hands. “How do you feel?” Steven gave her an encouraging smile.

Peridot smiled softly, as well. “Big.” She turned to face Steven. “Do you know where Twoie is? I have a recording for him too.”

The youngest frowned and shook his head. “I think today was really hard on him. He left for a walk a while ago and still hasn’t come back.” He sighed as he went back to shoveling dirt into the gouges caused by the drill. “I’m worried about him.”

Peridot raised a brow. “Why? He’s a tough quartz. He’s the most sensible of you, Crystal Gems, besides Amethyst.”

Steven half-heartedly pushed some dirt around. “You know how Twoie got hurt protecting you?” Peridot nodded. “Well, only Amethyst has apologized. I think the others still don’t trust him. That’s why Pearl asked Amethyst and me to go with you guys. And I’m pretty sure he’s aware of it.”

He dropped the shovel to the ground. “That’s why he was so quiet and upset at the Kindergarten. It’s also why he didn’t like it when you compared Amethyst to him. It kinda felt like you were starting trouble, and the last thing he wants is Amethyst not liking him again.” They headed back towards the barn. “This whole situation is pretty stressful and I think he’s pretending it’s not bothering him because he believes that stopping the Cluster is more important than his feelings.”

Peridot hummed as they stopped right out of Pearl and Garnet’s hearing range. “I suspected that there was some tension between him and the other two clods. Why doesn't he just demand they apologize for their transgressions?”

The youngest rubbed his opposite arm. “I told him not to blame himself, but I’m positive he still does. He's not going to ask them if he believes it's not their fault. And I don’t want to tell Garnet and Pearl to apologize because I want them to figure it out on their own.”

Peridot scowled at his reasoning. It made sense to her, even though it was troublesome for everyone. She may not understand humans yet, but there always seemed to be a tenseness in the half-quartz when he was around those two. “I understand your frustration. I’ll be sure to keep this between us.” And as Steven walked into the barn, Peridot wondered how she came to understand this form of correct behavior before the Pearl and the permafusion.

Twoie had originally planned on just taking a walk through the fields around the barn. He wasn’t sure how he ended up in the forest outside of Beach City or how long he had been staring at their garden. The flowers swayed in the light breeze as the first stars of the night appeared in the sky. He propped himself against a nearby tree and stared up into the sky.  

“I wonder what you guys are doing? Have you noticed that I’m gone? Do you know what happened?" He wished there was a way to know what was going on back in his timeline. At least it would keep the sad thoughts at bay. "I wonder if life is better for you guys now that I’m not messing everything up. I wonder if the gems are happy in Little Homeschool now that I haven’t been teaching for a while.” He listened to the rustle of the leaves. “Connie, what would you say if I told you that I keep messing up here as well? I hid so much about the future that the gems didn’t trust me. They still don’t trust me. Only Amethyst does.”

He could feel the stress and exhaustion eating away at him. “You’d probably go confront them and make them apologize. But it’s my fault that they’re acting like this. I also failed to stop Peridot from hurting Amethyst’s feelings." He laughed bitterly. "Ha… A Quartz. Not like I could correct her since everyone would flip if they knew the truth. I wish you could give me some advice. I don’t know what to do…” He laid there for a while longer, until the sun was no longer out. That’s when he realized Steven was probably worried about him. ‘Shoot… One thing after another, right?’ He pushed himself to his feet and started the trek back to the barn.

It didn’t take him too long to arrive back at their temporary home. The gems were all outside talking about the drill, but he couldn’t see Steven. Must be inside the barn. Garnet was the first to notice his return. She waved, which alerted the others that he as back. Amethyst ran up to him and gently punched him in the arm. “Dude, where you’ve been? Little man was worried about you.”

Twoie brushed away her concern. “I just needed a walk. I didn’t mean to be gone so long. Where is he anyway?” Pearl gestured to the loft.

“He fell asleep waiting for you to come back. I tucked him in on the couch though so he could rest.” He nodded and mumbled his thanks. He’ll apologize to Steven in the morning for worrying him.

Peridot cleared her throat as she stepped out from the sidelines. “Could I speak with you for a moment?” When he nodded, she led him away from the group. The full moon provided enough light that they didn’t need a lamp to see their surroundings. “I already made up with Amethyst, but I want to… Well… Just listen to this.” She pressed the play button on her recorder.

“Log date. 7112. I have stated this previously in my log for the Amethyst, but I had no intent on hurting Amethyst’s feelings. I also had no intent on hurting Twoie’s feelings. The Twoie has fought the Crystal Gems on my behalf and continues to vouch for me in regards to my ability to assist the enemy in stopping the Cluster, as well as my ability to be trusted. I feel that without him, I would still be poofed in a bubble.” Peridot blushed as she shifted her gaze from Twoie as the recording continued.

“I am indebted to the Twoie for saving me from the gems, and giving me the chance to prevent my shattering at the hands of the Cluster, now that I am trapped here on earth. He is performing as my guide to earth customs and behavior, which I am heavily in need of. I apologize for comparing Amethyst to him and possibly damaging not only my standing with one of the best gems here but also his standing with Amethyst. I’m still learning. I hope you understand. I want to understand. Peridot. Facet 5. End Log.” He smiled at the sincerity of her apology. He knelt and pulled her into a hug.

“What are you doing?” She panicked. “Are you trying to poof me with your strength? I am sorry if you are that upset with me! I really didn’t mean it!” Twoie chuckled and he hugged her tighter.

“This is called a hug, Peridot. Humans hug each other when they want to show affection. It means a lot to me that you apologized.” Peridot blushed as she awkwardly tried to mimic him.

She wrapped her arms around his back. “Like this?”

He nodded. “Yeah. Like that. Thank you, Peridot. I’m glad you’re my friend.”

She smiled. “Yeah. I guess we are friends.” He broke the hug and stood up. Twoie looked at the Crystal Gems, working on the drill under the light of a lamp, then turned back to Peridot.

“I’ve got an idea.” She stared at him questioningly as he led the way back to the barn. “Why don’t we set up power in the barn? That way, you guys can work on the drill at night without using a lamp. I could show you how some earth appliances work as well!”

She broke into a wide smile. “What are we waiting for? Come on! I bet we can get it done by morning if we start now!” She grabbed his hand and tugged him into the barn.

Twoie chuckled at her enthusiasm. “If you’re this excited to start, then I can’t wait to see your reaction when I show you how a TV works. I have a feeling you’re gonna love this show called ‘Camp Pining Hearts.’”

Chapter Text

Peridot curiously peered at Twoie as he hung streamers around the barn. The gems were decorating it for something that Twoie called a ‘birthday party,’ but she didn’t understand why they had to be so quiet about it? The sun had just risen, but everyone was already up and running about. Garnet left to grab the food, Pearl was placing hats and plates on a picnic table, and Amethyst was tying balloons to the table and sides of the barn. She turned at the sound of crackling rocks to see a van and a grey sedan pull into the yard. “Wow. Are birthday parties always this busy?”

Twoie smiled as he floated back down to the ground. A banner stating Happy Birthday! now hung over the entrance to the barn. “Pretty much. It’s an important anniversary for humans. We are basically celebrating the day we were born and the fact that we’re another year older. Steven will be fourteen today!”

She hummed. “Speaking of Steven, can I go wake him now? This is the time you two are usually done with sleeping, correct?” He nodded, watching as Peridot grinned and ran inside.

“Happy birthday, Twoie!” The young man turned around to see his dad walking towards him with his arms outstretched. They hugged each other before his dad pulled away. “Look at you! How old are you now, Schtu-two?”

“Technically, I’m eighteen years old today.” Twoie rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment as his dad ruffled his hair.

Greg's eyes shone with pride and tears. “My little boy is all grown up.”

“Happy birthday, Twoie!” At the call of his name, Twoie turned to see Connie and Dr. Maheswaran walking towards them. A loud shriek, followed by maniacal cackling, made every one pause. Twoie started laughing hysterically while the others peered inside.

“L-looks like- hahaha, looks like Peridot woke Steven up!” Everyone else joined in the laughter, especially when Peridot reappeared from the barn, grinning like a cat that caught the canary.

Once everyone calmed down, Dr. Maheswaran introduced herself to his dad, before returning her attention to Twoie. “I see we came overdressed!” Priyanka laughed as she hugged Twoie. Both had dressed nicely for the party. Connie was wearing a simple red sundress with a sunhat, and Dr. Maheswaran was wearing a white blouse with some black slacks.

Twoie had insisted on inviting the doctor to the party this time around. They had become good friends during the hospital fiasco two months prior. The first Sunday after their talk, Dr. Maheswaran had invited him to a café that she liked in her town. It eventually evolved into biweekly hangouts between the two, as Steven and Connie had gotten bored sitting around in the café during the first outing. “Do you have a place to put presents? I can go grab ours from the car if you do.” Dr. Maheswaran looked around to see if there was an established gift area.

Twoie held his hands up. “What? No, you guys didn’t have to bring gifts.”

The mother brushed him off. “It’s a birthday party. Of course, I’m going to bring you something.” They heard Connie cheer and noticed that Steven had finally come outside.

“Happy birthday, Steven!” Everyone called out together. Steven went around hugging his family and friends, while Dr. Maheswaran grabbed the gifts from the car and set them on the ground beside the picnic table.

Peridot was asking Connie a multitude of questions about humans, and judging by the starry look in Connie’s eyes, she was just as vocal with her own questions about gems. Dad pulled out a familiar-looking cape and crown, cheerfully handing them to Steven. The boy came bouncing over to him. “Twoie! Do you want to wear the cape or the crown? We only have one birthday suit, so I thought we could share it?” Twoie chuckled as he grabbed the cape and velcroed it around his neck. It was short on him, but it felt really nice to wear it again. He hadn’t worn it for his birthday for a couple of years.

Dr. Maheswaran walked back over to him, smiling as Steven waved at her before running back to Connie and Peridot. Twoie was content simply watching the others interact. The birthday boy had started a conversation between Dad, Connie, and the gems. He figured it was about the robot competition since Steven was animatedly waving his arms around.

“I brought a couple of things for Connie to spend the weekend. She couldn’t stop talking about this; she was so excited.” Priyanka fondly rolled her eyes. “I swear you two are all my daughter ever talks about.”

Twoie flashed her a toothy grin. “With the life we lead, I’m not too surprised. Steven’s been excited about the sleepover as well. Speaking of life, boy, do I have a lot to tell you about.” Twoie pointed at the green gem, who was pouting at something while the others laughed. “We finally made friends with Peridot, and now we are working together to save the earth from a monstrous version of the gem mutants that attacked the hospital.” He pointed at Steven, who was now twirling around while Pearl blushed.

“We also had a robot competition several days ago, and that was pretty chaotic too. Pearl and Peridot built these robots while Steven came up with a bunch of events for them to do.”

Priyanka laughed into her hand. “Your family sure is exciting. The only thing I’ve been busy with is work. You wouldn’t believe the incident that happened the other day.” She told him a story about a patient that went missing when his nurse went to check on her. Turned out, the receptionist forgot to tell the patient’s nurse that the patient had gone for a walk, and the hospital had sent out an alert. The two laughed together at the ending before continuing on with another work story.

His dad joined them soon after, and the three animatedly swapped work stories. Although she had only been there for a couple of hours, Dr. Maheswaran noticed that Greg and Twoie spent a lot of their morning avoiding being alone with the gems. Greg rarely talked to them without Steven or Connie present, and Twoie never left her side.

She hummed thoughtfully to herself as Steven asked if they could open their gifts. Connie had told her how much Steven admired his older brother, so instead of the pink button-up they had originally planned to get him, they opted for a pink hoodie to match his brother’s pink varsity jacket.

As he excitedly pulled it over his head, Twoie opened his gift from them. During one of their talks, Twoie offhandedly mentioned that his breakfast consisted of a protein drink. She had promptly scolded him for not taking better care of himself and promised that if he didn’t start eating a proper breakfast, she would visit the house every day to make him one. The young man had laughed himself hoarse because he knew she would do it. That’s why she understood why he was now guffawing at the two vegetarian cookbooks she had bought him.

“I can take a hint.” Priyanka felt a warm feeling of fondness bubble inside her as he excitedly flipped through the pages, telling Steven about recipes he wanted to try. The longer she knew him, the more she felt the urge to mother him. His excitement over the gift only made that feeling stronger.

The two opened the rest of their gifts before everyone separated to set up some party games. Although Twoie was smiling, Dr. Maheswaran realized she could also see a tinge of sadness in his expression. He was watching as Peridot made a snide remark about something to Pearl, running away as the taller gem gave chase. Greg was standing near Garnet, but his body language held some tension. “You know you can join them? You spent this whole party so far with me. Is something the matter?”

The young man hadn’t said anything at their last café meet-up nor called her about any serious matters. Twoie’s smile turned somber as he sighed. “Is it really that obvious?”

Dr. Maheswaran frowned. “I think it’s because I’m good at reading body language. I can tell you’re stressed and upset about something.” The older woman twisted as she searched for a secluded area. “There. Over by the silo. Do you want to go talk while the others are busy?”

The birthday boy contemplated her offer. “Yeah. I think I need to talk to someone who wasn’t involved in the whole mess.”

Twoie had found a log and dragged it against the side of the silo, right in the shade. Dr. Maheswaran sat down while Twoie paced in front of her. “I guess I should start from the beginning. So, I’ve told you already about the gems and their reason for being on earth, right?” Priyanka raised a brow in amusement. “Yes. They are aliens from space that fought to protect the earth from a war that occurred thousands of years ago. I’m guessing this is another ‘keep an open mind’ moment, isn’t it?”

Twoie nodded and took a deep breath. “I’m not actually Steven’s older brother.”

She sat up straight. “But then, why do you look so much like him?” He bit his lip.

“That’s because I am Steven. I’m from the future…” She stared at him.

“The future…” He smiled sheepishly at her as he waved his hands.

“Surprise…” She blinked a couple of times. “Okay. Okay! Time travel. If magical space ladies fighting monsters and other magical space ladies are real, then I can believe time travel is probably real as well.” Twoie chuckled in relief at her reaction. She had freaked out when he told her about the gems being aliens and why Lion was pink.

“You handled that a lot better than I thought you would.” She snorted at his tone.

“Please. You have a pink lion that can create portals and guardians that can fuse into other people. I’ve come to expect the unexpected from you and your family.” She crossed her legs and propped herself against the wall of the silo. “How have you been faring? You have been here for a while, right?”

He nodded. “The timepiece that sent me here broke after it was used. I can’t go back to my time until it’s fixed. With the whole ‘saving the earth’ thing, we haven’t had the time to find the materials needed to fix it.”

She frowned. Priyanka thought back to her earlier observations with her hand on her chin. “That doesn’t explain the tension between your father and your guardians, though.” Her frown deepened when he winced.

“Yeah. So, maybe a couple of days after our last meet-up, Steven was kidnapped by Peridot.” She stood up quickly.

“What? Why is she here then? Are the kids in danger?” Twoie shook his head.

“She’s helping us now. They’re fine. That isn’t the issue.” She watched him as he started pacing again. “The gems knew from the beginning that I was from the future, but they had a hard time… trusting me because I kept a lot of things a secret from them.”

Dr. Maheswaran narrowed her eyes. “This better not be going where I think this is going.” Twoie flinched at the anger in her tone.

“It was my fault.” He tried placating her rising fury. “I didn’t tell them about the kidnapping, and then I helped release Peridot after they captured her because she had important information about the giant gem mutant. Of course, they didn’t trust me after that, so when we fought-“

She jumped to her feet and started checking him over. “You guys fought?! Are you okay? Why didn’t you call me?”

He shushed her, looking over to the party to make sure no one had heard her exclamation. “I’m fine now. I promise I’m fine-“

She hugged him tightly, and his eyes widened in surprise. “It’s not fine. You’re not fine, Twoie. Please stop pretending. It’s not healthy to blame yourself and pretend you’re okay with your family hurting you. You might be fine physically, but mentally is a different story.” He slowly brought his arms up and hugged her back. Ever since his arrival in the past, he’d been trying to hide his negative feelings. Especially after the fight, he’d been trying to pretend that he was fine, but something about the older woman prevented him from keeping up the mask.

She genuinely cared about him. Not because he was Steven Quartz Universe, Savior of the Universe, or because he was Rose Quartz/Pink Diamond. She cared about him because he was Twoie, her friend, and the older brother of Steven. “It still hurts. I don’t like being alone with them right now. Amethyst is okay, but I’m still scared of Garnet and Pearl. Is that wrong of me?”

Priyanka patted his back soothingly. “No, it isn’t. You have a reason to be afraid of them. Don’t force yourself to be around them if you’re not comfortable, okay?”  She could feel Twoie nod his head. “Thank you for confiding in me, Twoie. I know it can be hard to rely on others for help. I want you to know that I’ll always be here if you need me.” The young man hugged her tighter. “Is there anything else you want to talk about?”

Twoie stared off into the distance as she held him. “Yeah. Yeah, there is.”

Chapter Text

Steven was enjoying his party with everyone. It was nice of Twoie to arrange it as a surprise party for him, even though it was for both of them. The whole morning was already so much fun, and now they were deciding on some games to play! The group was setting up a game of pin-the-tail when they noticed that Twoie and Dr. Maheswaran weren’t with them. Connie hummed in thought as she noticed she couldn’t see them anywhere nearby.“I guess they’re having a private conversation.”

She knew that her mom cared about Twoie and Steven a lot. After the hospital fiasco, her mom had channeled part of her overprotectiveness to the two brothers. She knew they were fine and suggested they play without them. It wasn’t until an hour later, when Greg was ready to serve lunch, that they noticed they were still gone.

“I’ll go find them! You guys can go ahead and get everything set up!” Steven chimed in before running off into the direction of the silo. He figured if they had gone somewhere to talk privately, they’d be at the silo or in the field. Just as he was about to call out, he heard Dr. Maheswaran’s voice. “-such a cute nickname. I think it’s very fitting for him.” He paused. ’Fitting for who?’ “Yeah. That’s what I thought when I started calling him that.” He crept up to the corner of the silo, feeling slightly guilty for eavesdropping.

“He’s bright, cheerful, eager to help, and cares about everyone. He smiles and laughs, and you think, ‘already my day has gotten better.’” He heard Twoie sigh. “Steven just shines like the sun. I want to protect that, you know?” The younger raised his brows in surprise. ‘Why are they talking about me?’

“You make it sound like you’re not the same person.” Steven cautiously peered over the corner of the silo. Thankfully, Dr. Maheswaran and Twoie had their backs to him. “We aren’t.” Steven saw his stance shift and ducked right as Twoie spun on his heel to face his friend. “Steven makes everything better! I just make everything worse.” Steven bit his lip. He should’ve known that their discussion wasn’t enough. Twoie still blamed himself for the stupid fight.

“Back home, I kept hurting the people around me. Rose left me with so many problems after I was born, and I’m still trying to fix everything. She hurt so many people, and lately, I’ve been doing the same! And then, if that wasn’t bad enough, I felt trapped because everyone back home was changing and leaving me behind!” He could hear Twoie’s voice rising in pitch the longer he ranted. “I was raised by the gems because I have her gem, and so I was pretty secluded from everyone. The gems were rarely home, and I didn’t go to school, so the only time I wasn’t by myself was when Dad visited, or I left the house! And, I did anything the gems asked of me if it meant I could spend time with them.”

Steven clenched his fists tightly. He used to be the same way, but Twoie’s arrival had changed that. He wasn’t lonely anymore because Twoie always kept him company. “And then, once I was finally getting the hang of my powers, I was thrown into many situations where I almost died. Just because everyone thought I was my mom! Now that everything is peaceful, I don’t know what to do! My whole life, all I’ve done is help others. I couldn’t think about my future because, honestly, I wasn’t sure if I was going to last long enough to have one!”

It felt like his heart was in his throat. Steven covered his mouth with shaky hands. There was so much wrong with what Twoie just said that Steven couldn’t get control of his thoughts.  

“When I was little, I didn’t realize that gem stuff was that dangerous. I never thought that one day I could die in battle. My life was simple. I had my mom’s gem, and, after the arrival of the Homeworld gems, I helped protect the earth. That was my purpose, you know? The reason why I’m alive.”

Realization dawned on him as he recalled Twoie’s advice. The conviction in his voice about not having a magical destiny. To find someone who could help if helping someone meant hurting himself. This is where his advice stemmed from. ‘Twoie got hurt helping others.’ Steven could feel a sob rising in his throat.

“That’s why I started teaching Steven. I want him to have a future. I want him to be different from me. Our powers are emotion-based, and all of my stress and anger has manifested into a power that I can’t control. If Steven is sunshine, then I’m the darkness. I don’t want him ending up like me, always scared of hurting the people he loves.” Twoie’s voice was shaky and pained. “I don’t want him to hate himself.”

Everything felt frozen in time. As the blood thundered in his ears, and his body shook in horror, all he could think about was how broken Twoie sounded. All this time, Twoie had been dealing with so much, yet he always did everything to help him. Steven just wished he’d noticed his pain sooner. Maybe he could’ve helped Twoie in return. “Sweetheart, please don’t hate yourself. You shouldn’t tear yourself apart because of an accident. Take a couple of deep breaths for me, okay? I don’t want you to have a panic attack.” The sound of her gentle shushing snapped Steven out of his own increasing state of panic.

“Just because you accidentally hurt someone, doesn’t make you a monster. Everyone has negative thoughts, and we just have to work through it. I can help you get an idea of what you may want to do with your future at a later date, but you really need to talk to someone! Bottling your emotions is not a healthy coping mechanism for all the trauma you’ve suffered.”

Steven poked his head out again. He could see Dr. Maheswaran holding his older brother’s hand. When he turned his attention to his brother, he held back a gasp at how exhausted he looked. Twoie avoided looking at her. “I talked to Connie about it a couple of times, but she’s so busy with studying for college, I didn’t want to keep bothering her.”

The older woman rubbed her eyes with her hands. “Although I’m glad my daughter helps you with this in the future, I meant someone qualified to help you with your mental trauma. Have you talked to a therapist?” Twoie went pink. “A what?” Steven flinched as he could see him trembling. “A therapist. Someone who can help you come to terms with everything you’ve dealt with and help you find a better way to cope.”

The young man shook his head as the glow faded away. She cupped Twoie’s face with her hands. “I’ll talk to you about that later as well. How did you express your feelings in the past? Did you have any kind of outlet for dealing with stress?” Steven hummed as he thought about the question himself. The only thing he could really think of was- “Singing...” Dr. Maheswaran chuckled at Twoie’s response.

Steven’s eyes widened as Twoie glowered at the ground. His brother only sang around him once, the entire time he’d been there, and it was only for a verse. He was just now realizing that Twoie never joined in any song that he or the gems sang.

“Ah, yes. Connie has told me about how often you and your family sing. She said it’s akin to ‘being in a musical.’” Twoie gently removed her hands. “I haven’t felt the desire to sing in so long… I don’t know if it’ll work, but I guess I can try it…” She watched him sadly as he walked over to the corner of the silo. Steven ducked, crawling around to the opposite side so he wouldn’t get seen. “I guess… It used to be so simple. It was a world I understood.”

Twoie smiled wistfully as he watched the gems laughing at something with Connie and Dad. “I didn’t know what I didn’t know, and life seemed pretty good.” He gripped his shirt at the spot his gem was at. “But now the darkness rises, from somewhere deep inside of me.”

Steven watched as Twoie’s cheeks glowed pink, even more vibrant in the shade of the silo. Twoie flinched and concentrated on making the power fade. Dr. Maheswaran held her arm out, but Twoie backed away in fear. After a couple of breaths, the pink faded completely. Tears prickled at the edges of his eyes. “This power overtakes me. How can I keep this darkness from getting free?”

He stepped out of the shadows and into the sunlight. There was a wide smile on his face, and the sun shone on him, and a slight breeze ruffled his jacket. “If I can stay with the light, I know I’ll be free.” He spun to face his friend with his hands in front of his chest. “I can start to feel fine, I can start to be me!” His expression became sorrowful. Twoie hugged himself as he retreated back into the shadows. “But instead, I am struggling with all that I see.” Dr. Maheswaran wrapped her arms around him. “And I can’t…” He clenched his eyes tight to stop himself from crying.

“Let them see the darkness in me. Can’t let it get free.” He collapsed, kneeling over the dried grass now gripped tightly in his hands. “They mustn’t see the darkness in… me.” As Priyanka moved to comfort Twoie, she heard a soft sob from behind her. Steven had no time to duck behind the silo. She noticed the concern in his watery eyes and knew that he had heard a good amount of their conversation.

As quietly as she could, she brought a finger to her lips and motioned for him to go back to the party. Once the younger boy was out of sight, she knelt down next to Twoie. “Everything will be okay, sweetheart. I promise you’ll get through this. You have family and friends that love you and care about you.” She brushed her hands through his hair. And as she sat there with the young man who carried the weight of the universe on his shoulders, she hoped she eased some of it.

Steven retreated as silently as he could back to the party. The others knew something was wrong by the redness of his eyes and the fact that he had not returned with the others. “What’s wrong? Did something happen to them?” Connie got up to go search for them, but Steven motioned for her to sit down. “Twoie and your mom are having an important conversation. I’d rather not interrupt more than I already have.”

Pearl and Garnet exchanged a look. “Well, alright, then. Shall we get started without them? We’ll save  some for when they have finished.” Steven nodded. The rest of them continued the party without Twoie and Dr. Maheswaran. When they eventually returned, no one commented on how exhausted Twoie looked.

The party wrapped up fairly quickly once the sun started setting. Dad had hugged both of his sons one last time before heading home. Connie and Steven already said goodnight to Dr. Maheswaran and were at the loft, while Peridot left to work on the drill with the gems.

“Thanks for inviting me, Twoie. It’s always nice to see you. Don’t forget, we’re still meeting up on Sunday for coffee. We’ll bring the kids with us since I’ll be picking up Connie in the morning.” Twoie held her car door open for her. “Sounds like a plan. Thank you, Priyanka. For everything.”

She smiled at him. “You’re such a polite young man. Remember to call me if anything bothers you.” Right before she took off, she unrolled her window. “And if I hear from Connie or Steven that you’re still only drinking protein shakes for breakfast, I’ll drive down here and ground you. You need to eat more, sweetheart.” He chuckled as she backed out. “I’m working on that!”

When Twoie turned to head back into the barn, he was surprised to see Pearl waiting for him by the entrance. “Can I talk to you? It’s about earlier.” He groaned and ran a hand through his hair. “Is it an emergency or can it wait for tomorrow? I kinda just want to go to bed.” She stared at him for a moment before shaking her head. “I’ll be fast. It’s about Steven.” He became more alert at the mention of his little brother. “Did something happen?”

She hummed in concern. “Well, while you and Dr. Maheswaran were talking, he left to get you two for lunch. When he came back without you, he was noticeably upset. I’m pretty sure he had cried before he came back since his eyes were red.” Pearl didn’t notice as Twoie paled at her words. “I understand he interrupted an important conversation, but please keep better control of yourself. You shouldn’t have scolded him so harshly.” His fear and worry quickly morphed into anger. “Why do you always think the worst of me? Did you think that maybe I never knew he was there and he overheard something he wasn’t supposed to? That he eavesdropped on something extremely personal and got upset about what he heard?”

He tugged at his hair as anxiety shot through him. “Great. Just great. I should’ve known talking about it would just make everything worse. Now I’ve gotta deal with whatever he overheard.” Pearl shifted uncomfortably. “I’m sorry, you’re right. I shouldn’t have assumed that you yelled at him.” Twoie brushed her words away. “Stop. I know you still don’t trust me. I’m going to bed.” He walked past her into the barn. He could see Connie and Steven watching TV together.

“Twoie!” Steven chimed nervously as he entered the loft. “Do you want to watch TV with us? Or we could tell stories? Or read a book?” Twoie pressed the palm of his hands into his eyes. There was no point in addressing it right now. At this point, he was so tired and anxious that he’d yell at him. “I’m pretty tired, Steven. You guys have fun without me. I’m going to bed.” He dragged his sleeping bag to a dark corner, laid in it on his side, and stared at the wall for hours.

Chapter Text

Twoie avoided being alone with Steven for the remainder of the weekend. If he wasn’t with Steven and Connie, he was working with Peridot on the drill. Steven knew now that his older brother was aware he overheard his conversation. There was no other explanation for the cold shoulder. After Connie had gone home, he’d noticed that Twoie kept staring at his phone. He wanted to peek at what his older brother kept going back to, but he didn’t want to make him angrier than he already was.

Steven sighed for what felt like the gazillionth time that day. At least everyone was taking it easy. The gems were watching the sunset, and Steven relaxed against Lion, strumming his ukulele with his eyes closed. “Steven.” He opened them to see Peridot staring at him with an annoyed frown. “Why did we stop working on the drill? Why are they just sitting there looking at nothing?”

Steven tried to smile at Twoie, but his brother looked away. Guess he still didn’t want to talk about it. He’ll corner him later. “We worked hard, and we deserve to take it easy for a little bit.” He strummed the ukulele some more, hoping the music would make Twoie more amiable. “Look at the view! It’s beautiful!”

Twoie looked up and relaxed a little. “It is, isn’t it.” He sat down by Steven and brushed his hand through Lion’s fur. The big cat purred in contentment.

Peridot groaned loudly. She stamped her foot against the ground while gesturing at the view. “It’s going to be blown to oblivion by the Cluster if we don’t get back to work!”

Twoie motioned for her to sit down, and she did so begrudgingly. “Working hard is important, but feeling good is important too. Right, Steven?”

The younger nodded. Peridot gripped her hair tightly. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!” The drill in her hand buzzed.

Steven perked up at the sound. “Hey, bzzzz, is that a C?” The kid plucked the corresponding note on his ukelele.

Twoie closed his eyes and leaned back against Lion. “Yeah. Sounds like it.”

Peridot stared at them in confusion. “The drill?”

Steven jumped to his feet. “Yeah! Now it’s music!” That only confused her further.

“You should show her, Steven.” His brother piped up from behind him.

Steven strummed a couple of notes. “Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do.”

“Do Mi So Do?” She huffed as Steven continued without clarifying.

“Isn’t it pretty?” He closed his eyes while he strummed his ukelele.

Peridot rolled her eyes. “That’s exceedingly simple. Do Mi So Ti…”

Twoie chuckled as she analyzed the music. “You’re making music.”

She watched the younger brother dance around her. “What’s the point? We’re not making anything.”

Smiles graced both of the brothers’ faces. “If it’s not anything, then why does it sound so good?” The youngest challenged her.

“I suppose it’s just interest, Do Mi So Do. Devoid of substance or purpose, a hypothetical pattern! Do Mi So Ti.” She paused as Twoie interjected, “For the satisfaction of bringing it to completion.” She snapped her fingers. “Exactly! Do Mi So Ti. Interests without meaning, solutions without problems…” She looked up at Steven as he held his hand out to her.

He helped her to her feet. “And then you just add words. Here’s what I’ve been working on.” Steven cleared his throat. “Life and death and love and birth and peace and war on the planet earth. Is there anything that’s worth more than peace and love of the planet earth. Whoaa. Come on and sing it with me!”

Peridot looked uncomfortable as she replied, “Sing?”

Twoie caught her attention by waving his hand. “The words relate to the key.”

She pulled a key out of nowhere. “Key?”

Steven snickered as she gazed at it in confusion. “If it’s a pattern, if it’s a pattern, then just repeat after me!” Steven danced over to Twoie. The young man cracked open an eye at the sound of the music getting louder.

“Life and death and love and birth,”  Steven waited for her to continue.

“Life and death and-“ She fumed and stomped her foot. “Hey! If I have to do it, so do you!” She jabbed her finger into Twoie’s side. The pain snapped him awake.

He batted her hand away as he rubbed the spot with his hand. “Fine, fine.” Steven had scrunched his mouth in an attempt to hold back his laughs.

“Life and death and love and birth.” They sang together.

Steven paused so he could instruct her on the next verse. “Now you sing Mi Fa Mi, Mi Fa Mi Ti La.”

Although she still looked salty, Peridot relaxed more at the help. “And peace and war on the planet earth.”

Twoie patted them both on the head, though his hand was smacked away by the green gem. “See, that wasn’t so bad.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “That’s so easy.”

Steven popped into her eyesight. “But that’s what’s so fun about it! You should write something. You should write a song!”

She glowered at him. “About what?”

Steven exchanged a look with Twoie, then shrugged. “Whatever your thinking!”

She hummed in contemplation. “Give me some time, and I guess I can come up with something.”

Twoie pushed himself to his feet. “Come on, Steven. Let’s give her some time to think. You can help me set up the campfire for dinner.” Steven felt a rush of fear and joy at the invitation. As his brother walked over to the barn, Steven followed along while planning out what he wanted to say in his head. “You’re thoughts are deafening.” He startled at the amusement in Twoie’s voice.

Steven looked at him with hope in his eyes. “So, does that mean you know I’m sorry?” Twoie’s shoulders slumped with stress.

“I figured. Sorry for avoiding you for so long. I didn’t want to talk while I was angry.” Steven flinched at the knowledge that it had taken this long for him to calm down.

“I really didn’t mean to eavesdrop. I came to get you guys, but then I heard you talking about my nickname and… I couldn’t help it. I’m sorry.” Steven sighed as Twoie said nothing. His older brother placed several logs of wood and some kindling in the fire pit.

Twoie didn't reply, though, because he was trying to pinpoint how much Steven had overheard. 'Okay, that meant he still heard a good amount of the conversation. Just great…’

Steven picked up some leaves and added them to the pile. “I know you don’t want to talk about it, and I’m not going to push. Mostly because I’m just happy you talked about it with someone.”

Twoie’s eyes widened. Someone not forcing him to talk? That was a first. Steven grabbed his older brother’s hand. “I appreciate everything you’ve done to keep me safe and happy, Twoie. Just please take your own advice. If it hurts you to help me, I want you to bail. Okay?”

That made him look away. There was no way he’d ever promise that. If he was going to be in the past, he was going to try to make things better. Even if he’d barely succeeded at it so far. “Can you grab the food from the fridge? I’m gonna light the kindling.”

Steven didn’t move. “Promise me, Twoie.” He ignored him, focusing on lighting the match for the fire. He heard his younger brother sigh.

Twoie didn't look at him as he said, “I can’t, Steven.” The kindling caught fire.

“You can! What if something happens to you? What if you get really hurt! What if you-!” Steven choked up. He couldn’t bring himself to say it. “I love you, Twoie. You’re my big brother, and you need to care about yourself as well. Besides, you still have to get home!”

Twoie scoffed. “First, there’s no way I’m going to die. I’ve lived through everything, and no one dies. I just want to make sure that you don’t experience more near-deaths than you already have. Second, you know that’s not true. I’m not needed at home anymore.” He watched as the embers of the fire grew larger. “It might actually be better this way. I’ve thought about not returning home in the past, and every time the idea sounds better and better. I was a burden to everyone, even the gems. They probably like the future better without me.” Smack! He stared at Steven in shock while rubbing at the stinging spot on his arm. Even though there were tears in the kid’s eyes, he was angry.

“There’s no way that’s true! Of course, they need you. Maybe they don’t need you to solve their problems, but you’re still family! Once we get the chance to fix the hourglass, you’ll be able to go home.” Steven wiped his angry tears from his eyes. “Even though I’m going to really miss you, I’ll be okay without you. I’m happy that you accidentally came here. I’m so happy that I met you. But you need to go home eventually.”

Twoie laughed bitterly. “It doesn’t matter anyway because if the adhesive is off-planet, we won’t be getting it for a long time.” He stood up and headed to the barn, pausing right outside the entrance. “I’ll grab the food. Please tell the gems to come back for dinner.”

Steven's eyes widened in panic. “But-!” Twoie shook his head.

“I’m not promising anything, Steven. End of story.” Twoie bee-lined for the fridge and pulled out a packet of hotdogs. He also grabbed some marshmallows from a cupboard before slamming the door shut. From his spot inside the barn, he could see Steven walking towards the others; shoulders slumped in sadness. He sighed as he brought the items to the fire. Twoie hadn’t wanted to upset him, but it couldn’t be avoided.

He had already decided he’d protect Steven as best he could. Even if that meant sacrificing himself for him. The sadistic laughter of a tiny blue gem echoed in thoughts. The pain that bloomed in his chest as he watched his friend die because of him. Long, black, piercing nails-! Twoie shook his head to rid himself of the image. It was better for both of them if he decided to stay in this timeline. Because he needed to be needed. And he was needed here.

Chapter Text

It had been several days since Twoie and Steven’s conversation. The air was still awkward between them, and the gems had taken notice. Pearl had tried talking to both of them on separate occasions. Her talk with Twoie had been brief, with the young man stating that he was fine and that nothing was wrong. She was worried, though, after she talked to Steven.

“I’m telling you, Garnet. I think everything wrong between them is because of us. And I don’t know how to fix this.” She flipped the face shield on her protective headgear up. Peridot surreptitiously eavesdropped on their conversation as she went over her checklist. “I asked Steven what was wrong, and he told me that Twoie doesn’t think he’s as important as Steven. Said that he believed he keeps making things worse and that he is desperate to find any way to help us in this time.”

Garnet sighed as she fixed her glasses. “It sounds like this was a problem that Twoie has been dealing with before he arrived here. We just became the easiest solution to his insecurities.”

Amethyst stepped forward. “But that’s just it! If Twoie feels like he’s not enough back home, where life is peaceful, then did we make him that way? Was it a bad idea letting him become a Crystal Gem?” Silence permeated the night as the group contemplated her words. The purple gem rubbed her arm in discomfort. “We’ve never really known what we’re doing with Steven. Twoie has pretty much shown us that we suck.”

Pearl ripped her headgear off as she glared at the purple gem. “Excuse me? We’ve done our best for Steven! I don’t appreciate what you’re insinuating!” Garnet placed a hand on her shoulder to calm her.

“You’re talking about the change in Steven’s confidence and abilities, aren’t you...”

Amethyst nodded. “Ever since Twoie arrived in the past, Steven has been a lot happier. He’s more confident. He’s learned more about his powers than we’ve ever managed to teach him. And if you haven’t noticed, he’s healthier.” She kicked a small rock away from herself. “I’ve tagged along with Twoie on one of his grocery runs… We’ve never shopped like he does. There’s some junk food or pre-made food, but a lot of it Twoie cooks for them. The only one who ever really made decent food was Pearl.”

The others shifted uncomfortably. Pearl put her hand on her chin as she thought about Twoie's and Steven's relationship. “I’ve tried doing ‘school’ with Steven once, but gave up and never actually learned more about it. Twoie said it’s an important aspect of human life in determining options for their future. Apparently, they start at the age of five and continue until they’re eighteen." She blinked away tears. "Twoie has been working hard to make sure Steven is caught up academically with children his age. We really have been failing him…” She sniffed, moving her hands to anxiously wring her ribbon.

Garnet stared at the barn. Steven was working on an assignment that his older brother had given him. Twoie sat next to him, writing up lesson plans. Normally, the two would be chatting as they worked, but that didn’t seem to be the case this time. “We knew Steven was different. We knew he had human needs, but we never thought to look into the proper lifestyle of humans.” She turned back to her family. “Greg helped us as much as he could, but we should’ve done more. It wasn’t fair of us to put so much responsibility on him when he was learning as well.”

“So, what are you going to do about it now?” All heads turned to Peridot. The green gem regarded them with a look of disdain. “I told Steven I wasn’t going to comment on your tense relationship with Twoie, but I don’t believe you’re going to figure it out on your own.” That got her a couple of glares. “Amethyst has been the only one of you, Crystal Gems, to apologize to the Twoie about that fight several weeks ago.” She finished up the last item on her checklist before continuing. “That fight has continued to not only strain his relationship with you clods, but also his relationship with Steven.” Peridot adjusted her visor. “He even blames himself for the fight occurring.”

The others straightened up at the admission. “What? But that was clearly our fault!” Pearl started pacing. “Why would he blame himself after all this time? He knows we were in the wrong. We admitted it!”

Amethyst rounded on her. “Because you never apologized!” She fixed Pearl and Garnet with a cold look. “I apologized after a couple of days. I wanted him to know how much I regretted that stupid fight, but you two never did! And Pearl, you practically told Twoie that you didn’t trust him to his face!”

Pearl looked at her incredulously. “When did I do that? I trust Twoie!”

Her friend’s glare hardened. “’ Amethyst, Steven, can you go with them?’”

Pearl blushed as she recalled saying that when she asked them to go to the Kindergarten. “Is that why he thought I didn’t trust him a couple of days ago? I truly meant no harm by that. At the time, you and Steven were getting along the best with him and Peridot. After our blatant show of distrust causing the fight, I thought it’d be a good idea to keep you all together." The prim gem awkwardly rubbed her shoulder. "Twoie has seemed upset lately, so I thought the company of friends would cheer him up. I also hoped having you tag along would show we were truly making an effort at befriending Peridot.”

Peridot’s eyes widened in surprise. The thought was nice, even though the execution was horrendous. Pearl bit her nails in anxiety. “I never even thought he’d perceive it as a show of distrust. Oh, he must hate me.”

Amethyst sighed as she placed a hand on Pearl’s arm. “Although I’m relieved to know that’s not what happened, you should know that we all thought you didn’t trust Twoie. Tough luck, P.”

Garnet brushed a hand through her hair. “Looks like we’ve got a misunderstanding we’ll have to clear up later. Right now, stopping the Cluster is of utmost importance, and it seems like the drill is just about complete. Right, Peridot?”

Peridot went over the checklist again. “We really did it, huh… Wait!” They watched her hop inside the drill. She pressed several buttons on the control pad before peering down at them from the edge of the machine. “Coordinates! We still need the Cluster’s exact coordinates in order to drill!”

Pearl hummed in thought. “There’s a diamond base that may hold that information, but getting there is going to be difficult.”

Peridot hopped down to the group. “How difficult?”

The second-in-command of the Crystal Gems lifted her gaze to the sky. “Because it’s not accessible by warp pad. And it’s on the moon.”

Amethyst groaned. “Augh, that’ll be a pain. How do we even get up there?”

Garnet smiled as she started walking towards the barn. “Luckily, we know someone who’s been up there before.”

“Lion!” Twoie called out as he approached. The pink cat regarded him with a look before closing his eyes again.

“Can you make us a special super warp to the moon?” Steven asked while scratching him under his chin. Lion purred but made no effort to get up.

“Lion, no more earth means no more naps.” Twoie piped up from behind Steven. That woke him right up. Lion’s eyes glowed, and he motioned for Steven to get on. 

“Peridot, Steven, and I can ride from Lion’s mane if the rest of you want to ride on his back.”

Peridot peaked out from behind Amethyst. “You can go inside that creature’s mane? Is that normal for all ‘lions’?”

Steven chuckled and shook his head. “No. Lion is magic, so he’s different. Only Twoie and I can go inside Lion’s mane, but if we’re holding things, we can bring them inside with us!”

She looked weary but grabbed ahold of Steven’s outstretched hand and stepped inside Lion’s mane so that only her head was poking out. Steven and Twoie did the same while the gems piled onto Lion’s back. “Alright, Lion! To the moon!” Lion charged forward, hopping through the portal he roared.

The force of speeding through the portal was disorienting for everyone. They reappeared on the moon, sliding hard into the wall. Twoie pulled Peridot out with him while Steven checked on Lion. “Ah, you’ve earned your naps for the rest of the week.” Steven comforted his exhausted friend with sam pats.

As Amethyst made her way to the door, Twoie grabbed her arm. “Careful, opening that door could launch us into space.”

She nodded and made her way back to the others. “So, what now?” Amethyst asked as she peered around the room they were in.

Pearl and Garnet lit up their gems like flashlights and started looking around. “Ha-ha-ha-ha! I’m a moon boy!” Steven hopped up and cheered in delight when he floated away from the change in gravity.

“I wanna be a moon boy!” Amethyst tried to float too but immediately flopped onto her stomach when she jumped. “Hey, why can’t I be a moon boy…”

Peridot laughed at her misunderstanding. “Cause we’re gems? We’re a spacefaring race designed to conquer other worlds. Our physical forms adjust to the gravity of any planetoid.”

Amethyst groaned. “Lame.”

“Steven, careful you’ll-!” Twoie warning came too late as Steven slammed against the wall. He looked up from the floor at a mural of a blue lady. “Hey, Peridot. Who is this supposed to be?”

She gasped and came running over. “It’s Blue Diamond. Wait, are they all here?” Twoie facepalmed as she ran off to the side. “Ah, yes. There she is!” He forgot about this…

“Who?” Steven followed along as she stared at a mural of a yellow lady.

“Behold, Yellow Diamond! Isn’t she magnificent?” The young boy stared in awe of the figure.

“The Diamonds are the rulers of Homeworld,” Twoie mentioned as he walked up behind them. “The leader of the Diamonds is White Diamond. Next are Yellow Diamond and Blue Diamond. They are equals in the hierarchy. And the lowest ranking member was… Pink Diamond.” Steven frowned as Twoie said Pink’s name with a hint of distaste. He was distracted from his observation by Peridot interrupting.

“Not just Homeworld. The Great Diamond Authority form a Matriarchy that governs Homeworld and all the outlying colonies! We live to serve them.” Garnet cleared her throat as she approached with a stern look. Peridot chuckled nervously. “I-I mean, we were all made to serve them even though some of us don’t anymore.” Twoie sighed as Peridot quickly changed the subject and ran over to a section of the floor.

“I think this is right. The material is different from the surrounding stone. I think if I just do this!” The panel lit up and formed a set of stairs. Peridot cackled in delight as they all made their way up the steps. “This is so incredible! Only the most elite of the elite can enter these sanctums. We are literally walking in the footsteps of the diamonds!”

Steven hopped onto each of the steps as they reached the top. “They must really like stairs.” Twoie snorted as they all stepped into the observation room. “What’s this room for?”

Garnet continued onward without stopping. “Not important. Let’s keep moving.”

Twoie whispered in his ear as he walked past, “I’ll tell you later.” That was enough for Steven to keep moving along. Finally, they reached the control room.

Amethyst and Steven stared in amazement as they could see the moon’s surface as well as the earth. “We really are on the moon," Steven whispered in awe.

Twoie stared at the earth with an odd expression on his face. He shook his head to clear his thoughts as everyone gathered around the control panel. He noticed Steven sit down in Pink Diamond’s chair and motioned for him to touch the handprint symbol. He smiled at his older brother and pressed his hand to it, turning on the machine. Peridot jumped as the screens appeared and shrieked in horror at Steven. “You can’t sit there! That chair is only for the most elite gems!”

Steven flashed her a grin as he patted the spot next to him. “They aren’t here now, right?” She paused. The temptation to sit in the chair became too much, and she quickly hopped onto the spot beside him.

In a matter of minutes, she had the coordinates of the cluster pulled up in front of them. “That’s it then! Mission accomplished!” Pearl cheered as they all walked back towards the stairs.

Steven kept staring at the screen. “Wait, hold on. Does this thing have any games on it?” His green companion looked scandalized at the question.

“This wasn’t used for games.” Peridot started messing with the controls. “It was used for planning the colony. Look!” The noise from the device brought the gems’ attention back to the screen. No one noticed Twoie clench his fists tightly. He subtly kept his attention on Peridot.

She flipped through several gem structures on earth before bringing up the plans for the colonization of the planet. Everyone stared in horror at the image of what the earth could’ve looked like. “Tada! A finished earth colony. Wow, look at this!” Her smile grew larger as she took in the hologram. “Eighty-nine kindergartens. Sixty-seven spires. A galaxy warp at each facet. Efficient use of all available materials!” Twoie motioned for her to stop talking, but she didn’t notice. “What were you thinking shutting this operation down? It could’ve been great!”

“NO! You’re wrong!” All heads turned to Garnet. Her hands were shaking as she stared at the destruction on the screen.

Peridot looked at her in confusion. “What do you mean?” Steven cringed as she turned her gaze to each person present. “It’s perfect. Look at it.”

Pearl narrowed her eyes in disapproval. “We are looking at it.” Peridot couldn’t comprehend why everyone hated it as Amethyst complained about it as well. “Completing this colony would’ve meant the extinction of all life on earth.”

With no one explaining to her just why her opinion was so hated, she could feel anger stir up inside her. “But think of the good it would’ve done! The gems that would’ve been made. Our empire expanded!” Steven met her gaze with a look of disappointment. She glanced at Twoie and felt a pang of hurt when he gave her the same look.

“Rose Quartz believed all life was precious and worth protecting.” Before Peridot could interrupt Pearl, Twoie placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Can you guys give me a minute with Peridot? I’m gonna explain this to her.” He gently led her away from the control panel back to the chair.

“Oh, yeah? We’ll she did a lousy job!” She shouted over her shoulder.

Twoie glared at her. “Peridot, stop.” Her eyes widened, and she flinched at his tone. The Crystal Gems stepped towards with fierce glares at her words. Twoie turned to them next. “We’re done here. I know she upset you, but let me deal with this. Please wait for me with Lion, okay?”

Garnet met his eyes as she contemplated her next course of action. In the end, she summoned one of her gauntlets, smashed the panel, and walked away. The young man let out the breath he was holding as the others followed along. Steven looked back to see Twoie give him an encouraging smile. He frowned at his older brother. “Please be safe.” The youngest turned away from Twoie before the eldest could reply, and made his way down the stairs.

Twoie could feel guilt eating away at him as he knew his brother was thinking about their argument. He vowed to address it later as he faced the pouting gem in the chair. “Peridot. You need to understand that the gems fought for the earth because the earth is a place where you can be yourself. Pearl isn’t a servant; she’s a leader who’s capable of building technology and doing whatever she wants. Garnet can live as a fusion, a combination of two gems who love each other, without fear of execution. Amethyst can have fun and not worry about being insulted for being different. It’s their home.”

They both looked at the earth. “They fought a war and just barely won because the diamonds decided the earth wasn’t worth the effort. Garnet and Pearl lost most of their friends in the last attack by the diamonds. The only reason they survived the attack was because of Rose. Telling them that everything they fought for and sacrificed was wrong, and insulting Rose was probably one of the most hurtful things you could’ve done.”

Peridot closed her eyes and sighed. Maybe he really was getting through to her. “If I started insulting Homeworld and the Diamonds, you would be upset, right?”

She jumped up and glared at him. “Of course, I would be!” Then it dawned on her. “I see why they were upset. They didn’t care about the betterment of the empire. They just cared about preserving the earth because it’s their home and what their leader wanted.”

Twoie rubbed his face with his hands. “Closer, but not quite. It’s fine if you don’t understand completely, but please don’t bring it up again. As you saw already, they were pretty mad about it.” She frowned but nodded in agreement. “Come on then. Let’s head back to the others.” As he turned away, she glanced at the communicator beside her. Peridot checked that Twoie couldn't see her, then placed her hand over it. “You’re bringing the Diamond communicator with you, aren’t you.”

She flinched and snatched her hand away. “N-no, no, no!” She nervously laughed as she pushed herself off the chair. Twoie stopped walking but didn’t turn around. “I’d rather you don’t take it, but if you want to, I won’t stop you.”

Her eyes widened in shock. “But if you know what it is, then you know what I want it for! Why aren’t you going to stop me?” 

He finally glanced behind himself. She saw the resigned look in his eyes. “Because this is something you need to decide on your own. Are you still going to help save the earth now that you have a way to contact the diamonds? Are you still loyal to the diamonds? You need to decide who you are, Peridot. I’m not going to stop you from figuring it out. I can only hope that you’ll make the right choice.” She glowered at the device, sitting in its spot on the armrest. One hand hovered over it.

When Twoie resumed walking for the stairs, he did not comment as she followed slightly behind him. He hoped with every fiber of his being that letting her keep the communicator was the right choice.

Chapter Text

Steven trusted Twoie. Out of everyone, he trusted Twoie the most. That’s why he didn’t immediately say anything when he noticed the communicator in Peridot's hand as the two returned from their talk. Once they were back home, Twoie pulled his brother aside. “Did you still want to know about that other room?”

His younger brother shook his head. “Later. Did you see that Peridot took the diamond thing from the base?”

The young man sighed as he leaned in close. “Yeah. I was hoping she wouldn’t, but I guess she’s still too loyal to the diamonds.” They both turned to look at her. “You can get her to tell you why if you don’t outright ask her about it. This event is really important, so I’m going to do my best not to interfere.”

Steven stared at him, questioningly. “Does everything turn out okay?” At his brother’s nod, Steven steeled his expression and made his way over to Peridot.

The green gem’s back was to him as she stared at something he couldn’t see. “Peridot.” She jumped, quickly turning to face him while hiding something behind her back. “I need to talk to you.”

She chuckled nervously, “Yeah! Sure!” She followed him into the truck and looked around nervously. “Why are we in this broken down vehicle?” Steven took a deep breath to prepare himself.

“I wanted to ask you…” She didn’t notice when he shifted his attention from her to the arm behind her back. “About the Diamonds.” She perked up immediately.

“Oh! I don’t know what the others have told you, but there’s a reason they’re in charge!” Peridot leaned forward in excitement. “They’re objectively better than us. Every gem has their strengths and weaknesses, but not them. They’re absolutely, totally, completely, flawless beings! Especially my Diamond! Yellow Diamond.” Steven knew at this point that the thing she snuck down from the moon was bad. He only knows a little bit about the Diamonds from the gems, but it was enough to know they are bad news. “The most perfect, the most reasonable rational efficient decider to ever exist in the known universe!”

He was hoping that Twoie had gotten through to her, but it was obvious that he hadn’t. He frowned as he realized something. “You’re really loyal to her, aren’t you?”

She stared at him, incredulously. “How can I not be? We might have our little truce, but I’ll never forsake the gem I was made for!”

That was all he needed to know. Steven pointed behind her. “That’s good! Because she’s right behind you.” The second Peridot turned around to look, Steven snatched the diamond thing out of her hand. As fast as he could, he jumped out of the car, locked it, and shut the door. Peridot had barely managed to turn around by the time he trapped her inside.

“What did you do?” She shrieked as she pulled at the door handle.

Steven held the crystal out while angrily glaring at her. “Save your strength! You’re up against one of the earth’s greatest trapping technologies. The child safety lock!”

Panic overtook her as she collapsed against the seat. “How could you do this to me? The great and loveable Peridot? I thought we were finally friends like you wanted?” She wailed as she pressed her hands against the window.

Steven huffed as he held up the diamond. “I saw you sneak this off the moon base while no one was looking! What does it do? Tell me!”

She glared at him. “Why don’t you ask Twoie? He knew I was going to take it and he let me! He knows I want to use it to contact the Diamonds!” He gasped. Twoie did what?

“So it’s a communicator? And you’re still trying to contact Homeworld?” He turned it over in his hands. It stung that Twoie willingly let Peridot take something that could contact the Diamonds, but they could trust her not to, right?

Peridot looked manic as he explained herself. “Of course! I figured it out. You lot keep trying to protect the earth, but you can’t do anything right. I let myself get carried away too, laughing, singing, building our little machine…” Steven eyes widened in horror as he realized how close he and Twoie had come to letting her contact Homeworld. They trusted her too much. “All that matters is that I’m of use to Yellow Diamond. This planet can be of use to Yellow Diamond! I must contact her, to reveal what I’ve discovered!”

Steven felt angry and ashamed. Why was he always so trusting? “The Diamonds are bad! They don’t want to help out the earth; they wanted to hollow it out and blow it up with the Cluster!” He narrowed his eyes at her when she agreed. “What’s the point? Why do I keep sticking my neck out for you? Why does Twoie? You’re never gonna be on our side. I don’t know why Twoie thinks you will be, but I can’t trust you anymore.”

He ran out of the barn calling for the gems. They stopped their discussion about the drill when he approached. Pearl’s eyes widened when she saw the device in Steven’s hand. “She took a direct line to the Diamonds! From the moon base?” Amethyst stared at the communicator with a look of betrayal.

Garnet shifted her gaze from the communicator to Twoie, who was walking over to them. “You need to explain yourself. Did you see her take this from the  base?”

Twoie guiltily nodded. “In my time, she used it to contact Yellow but ended up becoming a Crystal Gem afterward, when she realized the Diamonds aren’t these supreme perfect beings. I was hoping she wouldn’t in this timeline since she seemed more receptive about the earth, but I’m not surprised she took it.”

Garnet took a deep breath to calm her rage. “Things like this are why we didn’t trust you when you first arrived.” He flinched at the underlying rage he detected in her voice. “You should’ve told us before we went to the moon that this would happen. We could’ve planned out a mode of action. Instead, you left us in the dark and put us all in danger.”

Steven looked conflicted as he stared at the ground. She was right. He should’ve told them ahead of time. They both knew the stupid fight between Twoie and the gems was caused by a lack of communication. At the same time, he understood that Twoie wanted to keep his friend. His eyes hardened in anger. They could’ve found other ways for Peridot to become a Crystal Gem without letting her take the communicator. At least one that didn’t put the earth and the gems at risk.

“You’re right. I’m sorry.” Twoie rubbed his arm in guilt as he looked away. He could see the look of disappointment and betrayal in the gems’ eyes.

Horn blaring interrupted their conversation. “I see she figured out how to use the horn,” Steven grumbled. He pulled his hood up and tightened it around his head to muffle the noise.

Garnet sent one more glare to Twoie before she knelt down to comfort Steven. “You offered her a lot of your trust.”

His eyes became glossy with tears. “I did! And it blew up in my face. You guys have been protecting the earth for thousands of years. She could’ve destroyed all of that!”

Twoie placed a hand on Steven’s shoulder. “I’ve lived through all of this before, Steven. Trust me when I say that everything will turn out alright.”

He jumped when Steven smacked his hand away. “How do you know that? Things are different now that you’re here. You could’ve ruined everything by letting her take the communicator!”

Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl surrounded him. “You. Did. What?” Pearl seethed.

Twoie put his hands up in surrender as they cornered him. “I-I mean, yeah, I l-let her take the communicator, but that-“  He yelped as Pearl manifested a spear, only to snap it in half over her knee.

“I can’t believe you! And after we trusted you about Peridot! Maybe you should think more about the consequences your actions can have. I know you aren’t working with Homeworld, but you sure don’t seem to be fighting them either.” The prim gem spun on her heel and stormed away from the group.

Amethyst looked at him with tears in her eyes. “I trusted you, man. I hope for all our sakes that you’re right and nothing bad happens from this.” She walked away, as well. Twoie was left alone with Garnet and Steven.

Garnet brushed a hand through Steven’s hair. The young boy looked up at her as she comforted him. “Like your mother, you seem to have a little more patience than the rest of us. But the truth is,” she looked Twoie in the eyes. “Not everyone deserves your patience.” Twoie focused his attention on a rock by his foot. “Twoie, I know you had good intentions, but this is not the Peridot you knew. You put too much trust in her, and you put us in jeopardy. That’s not okay.” She sighed as she faced Steven again. “At least you were able to get this away from her before she did any real damage.”

Right as Garnet finished her sentence, the side of the barn exploded. Steven covered his head while Twoie protected them with a shield. Bits of debris clanked against it. When the dust cleared, Steven looked over to where the destruction occurred. “Oh, no!”

Peridot cackled maniacally as she maneuvered her robot through the hole she made. “Free! Free! Nye-he-he-he-he!”

Chapter Text

“How did she escape?” Steven cried out as Peridot danced in victory. She sneered at him, reaching her claw arm into the barn to grab the rest of the truck.

“Fools! Your invisible rotary shield was no match for me; once I applied logic! Now, to do this RIGHT!” The truck sailed through the air. Garnet wrapped a hand around Steven’s waist and jumped out of the way. Steven gasped in horror as he noticed that Twoie just stood there watching Peridot. He had to snap him out of it.

“Twoie!”  The young man jumped, eyes widening as he finally saw the danger. He lunged out of the way just in time for the truck to land where he was initially standing. 

“Are you all okay?” Pearl shouted as she and Amethyst ran up to Garnet and Steven. Peridot noticed the communicator in her hands. She ran forward and extended a robotic arm at her, making Pearl flinch. She raised her hands to shield herself.

That was all Peridot needed to snatch the communicator from her hand. “See? None of you know what you’re doing!” She took off into the open fields. Pearl stared at her hands in horror at the realization she had essentially handed over the communicator.

“This is all your fault!” She rounded on Twoie. “If you hadn’t let her take the communicator, then she wouldn’t be getting away with it right now! She’s going to contact the Diamonds! We’re doomed!” Twoie clenched his fists and turned his head away.

Amethyst ignored them and shape-shifted into a helicopter. “Not yet, P! Everyone, get in!” Pearl and Garnet stepped into the aircraft, but Steven didn’t notice as he scolded himself. “Stupid Peridot. Stupid giant robot! Why, oh, why did I encourage her?”

“It’s not your fault, Steven. It’s mine.” Twoie narrowed his eyes in the direction that Peridot had run off in.

The younger boy glared at him. “Why didn’t you stop me from having the robot competition? She wouldn’t have been able to get the communicator without it! Why did you let her bring it back from the moon? Why didn’t you warn us that she would use the robot?” He brushed his hands through his hair. “I stuck up for you when the gems started that stupid fight. I told them they should’ve talked to you. But now, it’s you who should’ve talked to us!”

Twoie felt his cheeks flush pink. Steven didn’t back off, though. The young man clenched his fists. “You’re right! I should’ve given you more warning! There’s a lot I should’ve done, and I’m sorry! I’m trying my hardest to make things better without changing too much, but did you ever think that maybe I don’t talk to you guys for a reason?” Surprise flickered across Steven’s face. Before he could try to get Twoie to clarify, Garnet's hand wrapped around them and dragged them into the helicopter.

“Argue later! We need to stop Peridot from contacting the Diamonds. Step on it, Amethyst!” The purple gem grinned as jetted into the sky. It was easy for her to track down the giant green robot. She bee-lined for it as quickly as she could. The inside of the helicopter was crowded, with all four of them trying to fit. Twoie was standing with his feet pressed against the bench and his back to the exterior.

“What did you mean by that? Why don’t you want to talk to us?” Steven quietly asked him. The gems stared at the older brother in a mix of curiosity and anger. Twoie gritted his teeth. Of course, they would blame him for this. They always blamed him without ever getting the full story.

“Maybe because the last time I tried to talk to you guys, I was thrown through the front door? Because every time I tried to talk to you guys, I got yelled at and condescended, and I’m sick of it?” His cheeks glowed even brighter as he continued. “Maybe because I am still scared to be around you because I have this stupid fear that you’re going to attack me again. Because you two,” he pointed at Garnet and Pearl, “still don’t trust me!”

Pink encompassed Twoie’s entire body. “So maybe you should tell me why I should tell you anything when I don’t even know if I can!” Angry tears prickled at the corner of Twoie’s eyes. Silenced reigned inside the helicopter.

Steven could feel his anger leaving him, replaced by guilt at taking his anger out on his older brother. “Twoie…”

Twoie silenced him by raising his hand. “I don’t want to hear it.” Pearl and Garnet exchanged guilty looks but stayed quiet.

Amethyst finally caught up to Peridot and lowered herself, so her passengers were face to face with the green gem. “What’s up, Peri-snot!” Garnet summoned her gauntlets and fired several rockets at her robot. Steven and Pearl couldn’t help but notice Twoie flinch as the missiles shot out. That made their guilt stronger. The missiles did their job, though, and Peridot went careening off the road. The communicator landed against the ground and bounced away.

Twoie launched himself from the helicopter and slammed into the ground by the communicator, launching it several feet away from them, and forcing Peridot back inside her cockpit. “Dogpile!” Amethyst shouted as she transformed back into herself. Steven clung onto Garnet as the gems landed on top of the robot. When the gems summoned their weapons, Twoie felt a spike of fear stab his heart. His pink powers faded as he backed away from them while they battered the robot. The whip cut through his skin from the pressure of the constriction. The gauntlets dug into his stomach and smashed him into the cliff. The spear clanged against his shield with a loud piercing ting.

Peridot noticed that she could sneak out through the claw. She giggled, creeping through the tubing until she was free. Steven saw her crawl out of the arm and jumped off of Garnet’s back. “You’re not getting away with this!” He pounced on her, right as she picked up the communicator. “I trusted you! Twoie trusted you! Amethyst trusted you! We spent all that time bonding and hoping and caring about you!” He wrestled her to the ground.

“You don’t get it either! This is your whole,” she wriggled her other hand free, “problem!” Before she could turn the communicator on, Steven reached out with his hand to grab it. He knew he’d never be able to reach it in time and looked around. He saw Twoie standing back, watching the gems.

“Twoie! Help me!” His older brother jumped in surprise. When he saw the two, he ran over and snagged the communicator from Peridot’s hand.

“No! Give me that! I thought you understood!” Peridot, kicked Steven hard in the gut, forcing him to let go. As Steven doubled over in pain, Peridot launched herself at Twoie, trying to snatch it out of his hand as he held it above her head. She looked at him through her triangle glasses, pleading with him. “Please, Twoie! You know how much this means to me!”

He lowered his hand slowly in confusion. Steven looked up to see Twoie’s eyes were glazed over. Peridot took advantage of his inattention to shove him backward. Light returned to his eyes, but it was too late. The communicator rolled out of his grasp, and Peridot was on it in an instant. Steven backed away as the communicator turned yellow. The Crystal Gems looked on in horror as the device rose higher into the air, taking cover behind the remains of the robot as it opened up into a yellow diamond screen. Garnet swiftly pulled Steven to her, hiding him from view. The kid stared in wide-eyed terror as Twoie remained frozen where he laid on the ground. “Twoie!” He reached his hands out to him, but Garnet’s firm grip prevented him from lunging out of their hiding place.

A gem appeared on the screen. It was a yellow pearl with a pinched expression of anger on her face. “This is the Yellow Diamond Control Room. Who authorized you to make this call?”

Peridot nervously curled in on herself at the pearl’s tone. “No one… B-b-but it’s an emergency!”

The pearl rebuked her, “That’s no excuse to use the Direct Diamond Communication channel.” Everyone flinched as a new voice interrupted the conversation.

“Pearl.”

The gem on-screen changed her expression from annoyed to a look of fear and respect. “Yes, my Diamond?”

“Why is there someone on the Diamond line?”

Peridot was sweating nervously at the sound of her Diamond’s voice. Twoie laid wide-eyed a couple of feet to the side of Peridot. So far, Yellow Pearl had not noticed him. Yellow’s annoyed tone brought back too many memories; he started shaking in fear. He couldn’t move. “I don’t know! I was just about to tell her that-!” A large hand lightly pushed Yellow Pearl out of the way and grabbed hold of the communicator. He held his breath as Yellow Diamond appeared. She was working on something off-screen, head turned away from the caller.

Peridot swiftly moved into her Diamond salute. “My Diamond. Peridot reporting in. Facet 2F5L Cut-5XG. I’m sorry to contact you this way, but all other forms of communication have been destroyed and-!”

Yellow Diamond silenced her with a raised hand. “This says you’re behind schedule on your mission to-.” She finally faced the screen. “How is the earth.” Her eyes narrowed in on Twoie. Her mouth pursed in disgust, and she glared at the human's shaking form. “Ugh, organic life. Why is that disgusting creature here?”

Peridot hadn’t noticed that Twoie was still nearby; she stiffened in fear. “I-uh, he’s -um, my servant!” She turned on Twoie and hissed at him to get up. Twoie didn’t acknowledge her as he blinked owlishly at the glaring Diamond. Peridot grabbed him by the arm and tried to pull him to his feet. He obeyed that time, but never took his eyes off the screen. Yellow Diamond apathetically watched the interaction. Peridot snapped her fingers in his face, startling him out of his daze. “You will stand in the presence of my lustrous and radiant Diamond!”

Yellow Diamond interrupted them. “And where is the Jasper I assigned you? And why aren’t you calling from the ship?”

The green gem nervously thought of what to say. “The ship was destroyed.” Yellow’s eyes shrank in anger. Twoie shivered, his instincts screaming danger as she coldly asked, “By whom?”

Peridot looked around anxiously. “I-it was destroyed by…” She caught a glance of the pleading look in Twoie’s eyes as he waited for her to continue. “No one. There was an accident while we were landing.”

Her Diamond narrowed her eyes at them before turning back to her control panel. “I’ll inform your manager of your incompetence. And what is the status of the Cluster?”

“The Cluster will emerge shortly.” Peridot stared at the ground.

“Good, we’ll finally get some use out of that miserable planet. Thank you for your report, Peridot." Yellow DIamond lazily waved her hand at the screen, focusing on something that seemed more important than the current conversation. "There’ll be a ship heading to your location to take you to your next assignment. And leave that there when it arrives.” She pointed at Twoie.

Her satisfaction at being congratulated was trampled by the implication that she was about to be dismissed. “Wait! I-I wouldn’t have called just to waste your time with a report.”

The Diamond set her piercing gaze on the technician. “You already have.”

Peridot shrank in on herself for a moment, but she steeled her nerves. “The reason I called. The real reason is I believe we should terminate the Cluster!”

Yellow Diamond’s eyes became cold like pricks of ice. “Why.”

Twoie could feel himself trembling at what was about to occur. Peridot nervously wrung her hands together as she presented her argument. “The organic ecosystem creates its resources unique to this world. We can’t sacrifice all that potential just for one geo-weapon! I’d like to tell you some plans I came up with to utilize the planet without disrupting the local-.”

“I’ve heard enough. I don’t care about potential and resources.” Shock erupted on Peridot’s face as she heard her Diamond disregard logic.

“What?” Yellow Diamond regarded her with a look of distaste.

“I want my Cluster, and I want that planet to die.” She stared at the trembling figure of Twoie as she said it. “Just make that happen.”

Peridot reeled back in horror. Her eyes flickered back and forth across the ground as she thought about how foolish her Diamond was being. She narrowed her eyes. “No!” Yellow Pearl gasped at her insolence.

“Are you questioning my authority?” Yellow Diamond enunciated in barely concealed anger. Peridot nudged Twoie to copy her as she performed the Diamond salute. He awkwardly mimicked her. “I’m questioning your objectivity, my Diamond.”

Yellow Diamond stood up and brought the device closer to her face. “You are out of line.”

Peridot flinched at the remark. “I just think-.”

Yellow cut her off. “I’m not interested in the puny thoughts of a Peridot.” She briefly set her glare on Twoie before refocusing on the technician. “At least your pathetic little creature knows his place.” The young man flinched, dropping the salute.

“But-!” Peridot's mouth snapped shut as Yellow’s glare became icy.

“You have disrespected this channel and my time with your presence, and you would do well to-.”

“But-!”

“SHUT YOUR MOUTH!” Peridot eeped as she defensively curled in on herself.

Twoie took a step back. Yellow loomed over him as she stood at full height. “She has to set an example, and we have to set an example! If we bend the rules for her, we have to bend the rules for everyone! Take them back to the tower now. Is that clear?!” She stepped even closer. Blue matched her glare. “I won’t do it! I can tell you with certainty that there are things on this planet worth protecting!” Peridot’s shout startled him out of the flashback.

Twoie could feel himself beginning to hyperventilate as Yellow Diamond glared at them. “What do you know about the earth?”

Peridot pointed at her, “Apparently more than you! YOU CLOD!” She shut down the communicator and stared at it in shock.

Steven and the others ran out of their hiding place, cheering and praising her. “That was amazing!” Steven hugged her.

“I can’t believe I just did that.” She mumbled.

“I was so wrong about being so wrong about you!” The kid let go of her and threw his hands in the air.

Peridot ignored him as she tried to come to terms with insulting her Diamond. “I can’t believe I just did that.”

Garnet placed a hand on her shoulder. “You thought you could change her mind.”

Amethyst butted in, “Yellow D got torn down by the Peridactyl!”

The green gem only sighed and handed the communicator to someone behind her. “Can one of you take this?”

Pearl grabbed it and started to inspect it. “Why?”

Peridot curled up on the ground. “Because it can be remotely detonated.” The communicator brightly lit up, becoming completely red.

Pearl shrieked, “How do we stop it!”

“Just get rid of it!” Garnet answered while summoning her gauntlets. Pearl tossed it to Amethyst, who squawked and threw it to Steven. He quickly bubbled it, and Garnet punched it into the sky.

The danger passed as it burst in the air. “I thought I could reason with her.” Peridot groaned.

Steven smiled as he came to a realization. “Do you know what this means?”

She whined as she curled up tighter. “That I’m a traitor to my Homeworld.”

Steven hugged her again. “You’re a Crystal Gem!” The others smiled as she slowly got to her feet. Pearl noticed that Twoie hadn’t joined them in praising Peridot.

“Twoie?” He hadn’t moved from his spot, so his back was still facing her. “I’m sorry for yelling at you earlier. I understand why you let her keep the communicator now.” She fiddled with the end of her ribbon. “I also apologize for starting that dumb fight with you and for making you think I didn’t trust you this whole time. I really didn’t mean to make it sound like I did back when you and Peridot went to the Kindergarten to get the drill head. I thought it’d be better to keep you guys together since you all got along, and we wanted Peridot to trust us.”

Garnet walked over as well. “I also apologize for not trusting you. My future vision hasn’t been working as well as it used to due to your presence. I was on edge because of that and because I was worried about Homeworld. I took that worry out on you when you were only trying to help.” She gestured to the others who were watching their discussion with wide, hopeful eyes. “This is a wonderful outcome. I should’ve tried to understand your decision better. You already know what would create the best future, so I need to remember that you have good reasons for allowing certain risks. I should’ve trusted you more.”

They gave him hopeful smiles, waiting for him to accept their apology so that things could go back to normal. “Heh. Heh-heh-heh. Ha-ha-ha-ha!” Everyone startled as Twoie burst into hysterical laughter. His eyes wide, but his pupils were shrunken. One hand gripped his hair while the other gripped his shirt where his gem was.

“Twoie? You’re scaring me. Are you okay?” Steven stepped forward.

“I can’t take it.” Steven paused as Twoie spun on his heel. Pearl and Garnet exchanged a worried look while Peridot backed into Amethyst. “I can’t take it anymore!” Twoie hunched over himself slightly, body shaking. “What do you want from me!” He lashed his hand out, swiping it to the side as he stepped towards them aggressively. Steven reached a hand out for Twoie but paused when his older brother glared at him.

“Every. Single. Time! I tell you that I need to wait before I can tell you something, and I get yelled at. Afterward, you always apologize for not listening to me. Then you yell at me when I do it again! I went through one hell already! I’m trying to spare you from going through the same thing. Is this how it’s going to be every time?” He glared at Garnet and Pearl. “Do you want him to become traumatized? Do you want him to be as broken as I am? To go through life needing to be needed and once no one needs you anymore, to realize that they’re better off without you?”

Garnet took a step forward. “Twoie, you need to calm down. We can talk about this. I don’t want him going through that, and I’m sorry that you did. That was never what we wanted for you when we decided to raise you.”

Twoie roughly brushed his hands through his hair. “Well, you did! All the nights I cried myself to sleep, all the times you left me alone in the house, all the times YOU DISREGARDED ME UNLESS I WAS ACTING LIKE YOU WANTED ME TOO!” Everyone took a step back. Pearl grabbed Steven and held him close. “WELL LOOK AT ME NOW! STEVEN UNIVERSE, SAVIOR OF THE GALAXY, AND LOSING HIS GODDAMN MIND OVER THE FACT THAT LIFE IS PEACEFUL AND EVERYONE’S FINALLY HAPPY!”

His breath came in ragged gasps as he gripped the area above his gem in pain. It felt like it was throbbing. “How funny is that.” He smiled, even though tears trickled down his face. “Life is great, and here I selfishly wish that it wasn’t. I have the chance to make things better in the past, and yet I only make everything worse. I guess it’s true what they really say. You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.”

Steven couldn’t hold back his tears any longer. “Twoie! Please, what’s wrong! What are you talking about? I want to help you!”

Twoie collapsed to his knees and gripped the grass harshly. He couldn’t handle it anymore. He couldn’t handle another failure. He couldn’t handle the gems’ flip-flopping behavior. He couldn’t handle living through all of this again! He couldn’t handle knowing that he made everything worse!  His mind was racing with every horrible experience he ever lived through. Garnet punching him into the cliffside. Pearl trying to stab him with her spear. Amethyst’s whip embedding itself in his skin. Jasper headbutting him unconscious. Aquamarine throwing him into a tree. “Twoie?” The coldness of warp space. Lars dying in front of him. White pulling out his gem. Bismuth fighting him in the forge. “Twoie, answer me!” Blue making them cry. Yellow poofing everyone in the trial. Eyeball trying to stab him. Yellow and Blue fighting over the bridge. “I think he’s having a panic attack! What do we do?”

It felt like his mind was falling apart at the seams.

Chapter Text

Peridot paced back and forth on the porch of the beach house. After Twoie had collapsed from his breakdown, the gems decided it was best to return to their home. She sighed as she looked at the primitive little tape recorder in her hand. Twoie had given it to her a little before they had gone to the moonbase. After a couple of moments of indecision, she pressed the record button.

“Log Date. 7 1 1 2. I can’t believe the events that have taken place!” She quickened her pacing and anxiously moved her free hand around in the air. “Not only did I disobey orders and go against Yellow Diamond’s wishes, thus becoming a traitorous clod, but the Twoie has also become stricken with what the Steven refers to as a ‘fever.’ Apparently, Steven and Twoie have never fallen susceptible to earthen sicknesses. As such, this situation is a cause for great concern.” The green gem sighed and peered into the house via the window. She could see the gems pacing in the living room.

“Fevers are characterized by an increase in body temperature, chills, sweating, a feeling of coldness, coughs, sneezes, exhaustion, pain in the nose and throat, and a loss in appetite. It is a mixture of disgusting and horrifying.” She returned to her pacing. “Why are humans so fragile? I don’t like knowing that the Twoie is capable of experiencing such a phenomenon. Steven doesn’t know much about it, and neither do the gems, but he assured me he knows someone who can help.” She scanned the beach for the clunky van that she remembered seeing in the past.

“Steven called his father in the hopes that the adult human could care for Twoie. Even though humans are familiar with the treatment of ‘fever,’ I am concerned about the ability of such a primitive species in regards to adequately caring for my… friend.” Peridot stared at the tape in disgust before she curled up outside the door and let out a frustrated scream. “I’m protecting a planet I was once trying to destroy! I used to follow every order. Every rule! Now I’m a traitor. A rebel! A Crystal Gem!” She slammed her fists against the wooden boards. “And one of the main reasons I betrayed my Diamond-. Why I betrayed Homeworld-! He is lying unconscious in a bed with a sickness that he shouldn’t have been able to contract, and who knows how it’s affecting him!”

She started giggling as she stared out into the sky. It was early morning, and the sun was still rising. Almost taunting her that she should be happy. But she couldn’t. Not right now. Peridot jumped as the door opened up behind her. Her worries increased as she saw the state of the young kid who stepped out. Steven looked absolutely horrible. His hair was messy, his eyes were red, and there were dark bags underneath them.

He was having a hard time dealing with the knowledge that Twoie was still having deprecating thoughts and struggling with the gems. The boy sat down next to her and rested his head on her shoulder. “Peridot, am I a bad friend?”

She turned to him, wide-eyed at his question. “Why would you think that? You and Twoie are the reason I betrayed everything for the earth. You two showed me that there are things I’ve never considered. Things that are worth protecting.”

Steven sniffled and clenched his eyes shut. “But I knew Twoie was struggling and I didn’t do anything. I tried getting him to talk to me once, and I knew he wasn’t okay, yet I never addressed it again. I didn’t tell anyone either. What kind of brother does that?”

Peridot watched as a van careened onto the sand and headed their way. “I think it’s okay to make mistakes.” She stood up and helped Steven stand up as well. “I made a lot of mistakes before I decided to betray my Diamond and Homeworld. Twoie forgave me every time. He’ll forgive you too.” The newest member of the Crystal Gems gave him a sad smile. “Let’s grab a notepad. I want to record the proper method of treating these ‘fevers.’”

“Greg has informed us of the correct methods of treatment for Twoie’s fever.” Peridot quietly spoke into her recorder, doing her best not to wake Steven. Greg had left to stock the beach house with food from the grocery store. The gems were inside the temple doing who knows what and Steven… He’d fallen asleep a little after Greg had laid a cool cloth on Twoie’s forehead and made sure he was comfortable. She wasn’t surprised, honestly. Steven had been awake since last night, watching over his older brother. Now that there wasn’t much he could do, he had finally succumbed to his exhaustion.

“As the only one in the bedroom, I have taken on the duty of caretaker for Twoie until such a time that Greg returns or Steven wakes up. I don’t expect either event to happen for a while, though. Thus, I will perform this role to the best of my ability.” She gently removed the washcloth from Twoie’s face and dipped it in the cold bowl of water at Steven’s bedside table. After wringing it out, she placed it back on his head.

“Twoie has yet to awaken since he became unconscious last night. Greg has informed me that he will call in outside help if he does not awaken sometime today.” Peridot pressed the stop button on the recorder. That was something she had not considered. What if Twoie did not wake up? Would that mean his condition was critical? Would he perish, like all of the other life forms that perished under the rule of the Diamond Authority? The technician had never questioned her Diamonds before. She was struck with horror at the thought of other life forms, possibly in her same position, watching as their friends' lives were extinguished by the empire.

She clutched the recorder tightly in her hand. If he died, was it her fault? Although Twoie was not with the gems or Steven when they first arrived on Earth, he had been around when she had trapped them in the old spaceship and when she kidnapped Steven. Did she contribute to his breakdown? Peridot growled and hurled the recorder at the wall. It clattered to the floor, and she flinched, quickly turning to Steven. The kid was still asleep. She sighed in relief.

Peridot scooped up the recorder and inspected it. Slight dent. The green gem set it down on the TV. If she had contributed to it, then at least she was making up for it now, right? Yes! She was caring for him in his time of need. That made her glare at the temple door. The gems contributed to his breakdown just as much, if not more so, than she did. What was he yelling when he collapsed? That they kept switching their attitudes with him? In that case, why were they secluding themselves in their rooms while Twoie needed them?

Mind made up, she quietly walked over to the temple door and knocked on it. “Amethyst, Garnet, Pearl. Why are you in there and not watching over the Twoie?” She whisper-yelled at them as she knocked again.

Finally, the door glowed, and Pearl stepped out. “Peridot? Do you need anything? Is Twoie alright?”

Peridot scowled at her and pointed at the young man in question. “Why are you all hiding when Twoie is sick? This weird back-and-forth act of caring is why he broke down in the first place!”

Pearl nervously twisted her ribbon in her hands. “I don’t know how to care for sick humans! I didn’t even know he could get sick! What use am I right now if Greg and Steven have the situation handled? Besides, I don’t even know if he wants to see me right now. He was so upset; I don’t want to make his condition worse by stressing him out when he wakes up.”

Peridot hummed in thought. “If Steven was mad at you but got sick, would you be waiting for him?”

Pearl raised a brow and stared at her. “Of course, I would! I’d want him to know… I… cared…” She frowned as her words tapered off. “You’re right. We should be out here waiting for him.” Pearl gave Peridot a grateful look. “Why don’t we go check on Twoie? I’m sure he’d enjoy the company.” Peridot cackled triumphantly as she led the way to Steven’s bed.

Garnet and Amethyst were quietly chatting downstairs with Greg in the light of the bright afternoon sun. Pearl, Steven, and Peridot were sitting around Twoie in Steven’s bedroom. “Pearl, why have you guys been treating Twoie so badly?”

Pearl flinched at Steven’s question. “W-well, the truth is… I guess I keep forgetting that he’s you from the future, and so I sometimes criticize him for doing things I think are dangerous to us.”

Peridot slammed her hands down on the bed. “WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE’S FROM THE FUTURE?”

Pearl covered her mouth with her hands. “I-I mean… Ah- actually-!”

Steven sighed and scooted closer to Peridot. “Keeping secrets is how we got here in the first place. Peridot, Twoie is actually me from the future. He came here by accident and got stuck here when the mystical gem artifact that brought him here broke. That’s why he always seems like he knows what to do. He’s lived this all before.”

She opened her mouth and shut it several times without saying a word. “That… explains a lot.” She began pacing beside the bed. “So if Twoie is older you from the future, and he arrived in this world, then that means he was aware that I would kidnap you. Then he was also aware that I wanted to try to trick you guys when we were in that room, which is why he tried to block me by sitting off to the side. And why he explained everything after the robot competition and set up the electricity in the barn! And tried to stop me at the kindergarten, and tried to talk to me about your reaction at the moonbase and got me hooked on Camp Pining Hearts! And- and let me keep the communicator! Because he was from the future this whole time, and so he changed things for a better timeline?”

Steven and Pearl exchanged a look as Peridot rambled about Twoie’s actions. “Yeah! He was trying to make everything better! Like befriending you earlier and helping you understand earth better.”

She whipped around and faced them. Her face had scrunched into a mix of anger and betrayal. “So he just used me then? He played with my feelings so that things would turn out the way he wanted them to?”

Steven shook his head. “I told you before Peridot, Twoie really cares about you. He told me before that you’re one of his best friends in the future. That’s why he wanted to help you earlier. He knew you’d have a hard time adjusting, and he hoped to make it easier for you.”

Peridot sagged in relief. “Okay! Okay.” She sat back down on the bed. “I don’t comprehend why he tried so hard to make me happy, but I respect his efforts. He’s done more for me than any gem has before. And sure, I consider you a ‘friend,’ Steven, but there’s something different about Twoie.” She thought about their late-night conversations when the gems were done building for the night, and Steven was asleep. Twoie usually stayed up later than his brother every night and often got up earlier. He’d help her with the drill or just teach her about the earth and earth customs. He seemed like he was on… a similar lightwave as her. Like he understood her.

Movement from the bed interrupted her chain of thoughts. Twoie had shifted slightly, and his eyelids were scrunched. “Twoie? Are you waking up?” Steven placed a hand on his brother’s arm and gently shook it.

The eldest brother’s eyes fluttered open, and he blinked in confusion at his surroundings. “W-where are-. Is this the house?”

Steven felt tears well up in his eyes as he threw himself at his brother. “Twoie! Thank goodness! You’ve been sleeping for hours, and you’re sick, and we were so worried!”

Steven’s shout alerted the rest of the family downstairs, and they hastened up the stairs. “Son! I’m so glad you’re awake! You really worried us!” Greg sighed in relief as he hugged his eldest son.

Twoie broke it as he slowly propped himself up and jumped slightly when the washcloth fell from his face to his lap. “What?”

Peridot stepped forward. “You had the fever, Twoie, so Greg advised us to keep the cold washcloth on your head.”

Twoie stared at her in confusion. “But I’ve never been sick before…”

Garnet took over the conversation. “We believe it was due to your exhaustion. You’ve been very busy helping us with the drill, and recent events have probably strained you further. We brought you back to the beach house because it is a more comfortable environment than the barn. In regards to gem missions, you’re to remain here until your health improves. Just focus on regaining your strength for now.”

Peridot watched as Twoie’s confusion morphed into poorly concealed annoyance. “Right. Well, thanks for bringing me back." He turned to his father with a more relaxed smile, but the irritation was still slightly present in his tone. "Thanks for coming over, dad, but I’m fine. I’m sure it was just exhaustion. I’m going to go back to bed.” He laid back down and turned so that his back faced everyone. Steven reached his hand out, but Greg shook his head.

“Alright, have a good rest, Twoie. If you need me, just call.” He bid goodbye to Steven and headed back for the van. Something about needing the earth currency? That would require more research in the future. Peridot sighed once she broke out of her thoughts, at the sad look on Steven’s face.

She looked around, though, as the gems made their way back downstairs. “Hey, Steven!” The boy in question turned to face her. “Why don’t you show me some of your schoolwork. Twoie said something about biology textbooks and worksheets? Maybe there’ll be something informative in there about human illnesses.” Steven smiled in excitement at her idea and jumped to the living room to grab his textbook. As he rifled through his school supplies, Peridot glanced back at Twoie. She noticed it while he was sitting up. It was probably from last night’s chase, but she was surprised it hadn’t healed. She couldn’t recall the word for it, though. It was on the tip of her tongue. Steven had referred to it awhile ago… “Steven, what was the word for the discoloration of the skin that occurs from an injury?”

Steven looked at her in surprise as he pulled out the correct book. “You mean a bruise? What made you think of that?”

Peridot balled one hand into a fist and lightly smacked it onto her palm. “That’s it! I noticed that Twoie had a bruise on his hand when he woke up, and I was surprised that it hadn't healed yet.”

Steven stiffened and ran to the side of the bed, book forgotten. Twoie was still sleeping on his side, but his right arm was outside of the blanket. There on the side of his wrist and partially hidden by the comforter was a dark purplish-pink splotch.

Chapter Text

When Priyanka didn’t hear from Twoie after a couple of days, she thought he was just busy. She already knew he and his family were working on building a drill to protect the earth from the ‘Cluster.’ Still, when he never replied to their usual morning greeting before meeting up at the café, she became worried. Thus, her stomach was already sinking when she went to the café, and he never showed. A quick trip back home ended with her and Connie strapped in the car and on their way to Beach City.

Truthfully, she was glad that she was already pulling into town when Steven’s ringtone sounded in the car. Connie had answered it, and from the fear in her daughter’s voice, she knew that nothing was okay.

“It seems like something bad happened last night. I guess Peridot tried to contact the Diamonds, and it led to another fight. After the gems apologized to Twoie for doubting him, he got really upset. Steven said he came down with a fever after having a panic attack, and now he’s been sleeping for most of the day, and there is a bruise on his hand that won’t go away with his gem powers.” Priyanka sighed as she steered onto the sand of the beach.

“I’m going to check over Twoie when we get there. If the situation is what I think it is, I want you to call your father and tell him to pack us an overnight bag, alright?” Connie nodded and quickly hopped out of the car the moment she parked. Priyanka grabbed her bag from the trunk before following along. Steven and Peridot greeted them at the door. She tried not to show her worry when she saw how panicked they were. Once inside, everyone watched her as the doctor climbed the stairs and set her bag down on the bed.

Twoie looked at her with apprehension in his eyes. “I’m so sorry, Priyanka! I didn’t even realize it was Sunday! I was sleeping for most of the day, and I just saw the missed messages and calls on my phone. I didn’t mean to flake on you like that, honest!”

Priyanka patted his hand and gently shushed him. “I know you didn’t. If you had shown up like this, I would’ve made you go straight back home anyway. Your health is much more important to me than our meetups. Now, tell me how you’re feeling?”

Twoie bit his lip as he covered his marked hand with the other. Priyanka noted his jitteriness while she waited for him. He quietly asked, “C-can, you ask the others to leave? I don’t want them hearing this.”

She nodded and stood up. “Doctor-patient confidentiality requires me to ask you all to leave the house for a moment while I talk with Twoie. You can either step out onto the porch or stay in the ‘temple?’” She turned back to see a nod from Twoie. “Right. I’ll come out to get you when I’m finished.” Steven made to protest, but Connie gently grabbed his hand in hers and led him to the front door.

The gems looked upset but complied as well, and once the room was clear, Twoie finally spoke. “I was fine yesterday. And I’m still fine! I just- it’s- I’m tired, you know? I’m tired of being the one who gets blamed for everything.”

She wrote down stress on a notepad. “Yes, Connie mentioned over the phone that there was another fight?”

Twoie nodded, bunching up the comforter in his hands. “Long story short, Peridot almost betrayed us but she realized that she likes the earth and has decided to stay. She’s officially a Crystal Gem now.” There was a touch of pride in his voice, but also an air of sadness.

Dr. Priyanka was pretty used to the gems second-guessing Twoie when it came to his decisions. “I’m guessing the gems fought with you when Peridot initially planned to betray you.”

He nodded. “It seems like every time I try to help, I get yelled at. It started a little after I arrived here after I took Steven to the museum. The gems started pestering me a little more about the future, and I kept telling them that it wasn’t a good time yet to say anything. They got increasingly annoyed with me, and eventually started pressuring me and yelling at me to tell them what I knew.” She frowned as she added ‘chronic’ to his stress diagnosis. She also added anxiety as he started brushing his hands nervously through his hair.

“After that moment, the gems were either really cold with me, or they acted like we were friends. But even that felt fake. There were several times I’d think they trusted me finally, and then they’d do something that shattered that notion.” His body quickly alighted in a pink glow. Twoie gasped and started taking a series of deep breaths until the glow went away. As the glow faded, a weird mark caught her eye, and Priyanka noted in concern that the dark bruise on Twoie’s wrist was… growing? That didn’t make any sense, though… Her eyes darted across his body as she searched for any more bruises. There was another on his left arm, and what looked like one on his neck.

“Okay. It seems to me that you have been stressed for a while now. You’ve mentioned the pink powers in the past, and it seems like it reacts whenever you’re stressed or upset. Have you noticed this pattern?” She pulled out a stethoscope from her bag and started taking his vitals.

He shivered at the cold metal and waited until she was putting it away to respond. “I never really thought of it like that before. Yeah, I guess you could say that.” She hummed in thought and wrote down ‘high heart rate.’

“Could you hold out your arm, please? I’m going to measure your blood pressure now.” He raised a brow but held his arm up.

“Like this?” She paused at his question. He should know how to do this by now. Unless…

“Please tell me you’ve been to the doctor before.” When Twoie only looked at her in confusion, she put her head in her hands. “I can’t believe your father has never taken you to the doctors before. I’m going to chew him out for that later. Okay!” She pulled out her next tool. “This is called a sphygmomanometer. It is a little cuff that goes around your arm, and when I pump it, it will cause the cuff to tighten.” She held the blood pressure cuff out as she pulled the Velcro apart. Priyanka wrapped it around his arm and then held the little bulb out so he could see it.

“This device is also known as a blood pressure cuff. By compressing the cuff around your arm, I can measure your blood pressure. Are you comfortable with my explanation? I won’t start if you don’t understand.” Twoie gestured for her to begin, so she started squeezing the bulb. His body reacted immediately, glowing pink, and his arm grew twice its size.

The two flinched as the cuff popped off and fell to the floor. “I’m so sorry! I don’t know what that was! I’ve never had that happen before!”

He was starting to panic again, so Priyanka scooped the device up and placed it back in her bag. “It’s fine, Steven. You’re okay!” Once he was calm, she pulled out her reflex hammer. “Okay, this is called a Reflex Hammer. It won’t hurt you. I need to use this to test something that is called a knee-jerk response. The point of this test is to tap a tendon in your knee. If your leg kicks in response to the tap, your central nervous system is working correctly. I promise you it won’t hurt; it’ll just feel funny. Are you comfortable with my explanation?”

Twoie nodded and shifted so that he was sitting on the edge of the bed. When she hit his knee with the hammer, a pink bubble appeared, trapping the hammer in place. Before he could even begin to apologize, Priyanka assured him that no apologies were necessary since it was just a reaction. Although, Twoie conceded, she could tell that his reactions were increasing his stress and nervousness. “The last thing I need to do is check your temperature. I wish I could do a full physical, but since this is an at-home visit, I’m limited to the tools I could bring. Why don’t you get comfortable again, and I’ll take your temperature with this thermometer.” She pulled out a little thermometer that goes in the mouth. Once Twoie was lying down again, she placed it in his mouth and went over her previous notes again.

Seems to have chronic stress, maybe anxiety as well. Should screen him for PTSD and anxiety at a later date. Has had a panic attack on one occasion. Struggling with a distrusting family. Struggling with his sense of self-worth. Fast heart rate. High blood pressure. 

The beep from the thermometer pulled her from his thoughts, and she checked the reading. 100F. “You still have a fever, so I’m going to suggest you stay on bed rest for the next couple of days until your temperature goes back to normal. You need to make sure you eat, okay? And drink plenty of fluids. I don’t want you going on any missions until you’re better.” Twoie watched her anxiously while she packed up her bag. “Also, I believe you’ve been dealing with chronic stress. I think your pink powers are a reaction to what you perceive to be stressful events that are occurring to you. Your body is trying to protect you by responding to minor threats with the same intensity as major threats. Have you contacted the therapist I texted you about a couple of weeks ago?”

When her friend shook his head, she couldn’t help the sigh that escaped her. “Twoie, I know it may seem scary, but you should really talk to one. They can help you deal with all of the trauma that led to the stress you've been dealing with. You are dealing with even more stress by being in the past, and it's not healthy. You’ve lost your support group by being here.” Priyanka hugged him and she felt relieved when he hugged her back. “Please consider making an appointment. You can always talk to me if you need to get something off your chest. I want what’s best for you, Steven. I’ll do whatever I can to help you.” She broke the hug, gently laying him back down in bed, and placed a washcloth on his forehead. “I’m going to stay here tonight to watch over you. If you need anything, let me know, okay?”

Twoie quickly sat back up again. “B-but, what about your other patients? What about Connie? A-and Mr. Maheswaran?” She gently pushed him back down and fixed the washcloth.

“I’ll text my husband to bring Connie and me an overnight bag. And I have the day off tomorrow. Before you start-!” She scolded him as he made to interrupt. “I want to be here. You’re my friend, and I want to make sure you get better. It’s the first time you’ve been sick. I know this will be scary for you and your family. Let me help you.”

He nodded and closed his eyes. “Thanks, Priyanka. You don’t know how much this means to me.”

She brushed a hand through his hair before standing so she could tell the others to come back in. “I’ll be here whenever you need me.”

Chapter Text

When Priyanka stepped back outside, she was surprised to see all heads turn to her at once. “How is he? Is he okay? Is it some stupid earth disease? Is he dying?” Peridot rapidly questioned her as the concerned mother found her arms full with two kids.

Steven looked like he was trying not to panic, and Connie looked anxious. “Well, mom? Is Twoie okay? We’re all really worried about him.” Dr. Maheswaran smiled as she brushed her hand through both of the kids’ hair.

“Twoie will be fine. I want him to sleep, so try not to disturb him, okay? He has a fever, but it’s not contagious. It’s from exhaustion, so I’m trusting you, Steven and Peridot, to keep him on strict bed rest.” The two who were mentioned nodded at her words. “Then you guys can go in. Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl? Can I speak with you for a minute out here?” The Crystal Gems looked surprised but waited as the kids and Peridot ran into the house.

Priyanka sat down on the porch chair. “Now, I wanted to talk to you about what triggered Twoie’s current condition. He has informed me about your gem missions as well as some things from his time that has me very concerned.”

Pearl stared at her in shock. “He told you about the future? But he has refused to tell us anything about it!”

Garnet fixed her shades and stepped forward. “You must tell us about what he said. This information could be essential to dealing with the new threat from Homeworld.” At that moment, it felt the gems were cornering her. Even Amethyst had stepped closer. If this was what they had done to Twoie, no wonder he was anxious about dealing with them again.

Dr. Maheswaran narrowed her eyes and stood up tall. “You know this very behavior is the reason that Twoie has told you so little. Do you really believe you can pressure me into breaking my Doctor’s Oath? Who are you to speak to me in this way?”

Amethyst shrugged from beside the others. “If Twoie told you everything, then you know we’re the protectors of Earth. Duh.”

Dr. Maheswaran snorted at her statement. “Please forgive me for not acknowledging that aliens from space are far superior to us lowly humans. Of course, I should tell you whatever you want without regard for the feelings of the people involved. That’s sure to endear me to you.”

Pearl bristled at the sarcasm in her voice. “Excuse me? I gave up so much to protect the Earth. I gave up so much to protect Steven! You have a child, so you should understand perfectly why he want to know about the future. We could be the only things stopping Homeworld from coming here and killing us all, your daughter included.”

Oh, that was it! Priyanka stepped forward until she was right in Pearl’s face. “First of all, you will not make any remarks about my daughter and me. That is none of your business. Secondly, what you gave up is of little concern to me when you are responsible for the suffering of two of the kids in that house.” She whipped her head around to stare at Garnet, finger raised and pointed in her direction. “As the leader of the Crystal Gems, it is your responsibility to make sure that Amethyst and Pearl are behaving in a manner that is not only reflective of your group’s morals but allows for a conducive environment for Steven. You have failed in this regard immensely.”

Garnet grit her teeth in anger. “Now, I believe that you are crossing into ‘none of your business’ territory. How I lead the gems is not your concern. And what do you mean by us contributing to their suffering? We have done our best to raise Steven, and he is doing fine.”

Priyanka raised a brow at her. “You mean that almost being killed once a month is fine? Having your feelings disregarded by your family is fine? I must’ve missed that in my Developmental Psychology class. I didn’t realize that neglecting your ward is the proper way to raise a child. Forgive me for the error!” The gems blinked at her rising fury.

Amethyst glared at her. “Yo lady, we didn’t neglect Steven! I think your prissy coat is too tight or something. There’s no way we would ever hurt Steven like that.”

Pearl crossed her hands angrily. “That’s right! I care very much for Steven. He’s all we have left of Rose, and I read multiple parenting books to ensure he grew up healthy.”

Priyanka slammed her hand down on the porch table. “What you did wasn’t enough! You may have tried your best to raise Steven, but that is not the issue! The issue is that not once has he ever been to the doctors before. Children are supposed to get check-ups at least yearly! Another issue is that you didn’t arrange for any form of schooling for Steven! Thank goodness, Twoie decided to take care of it because his future in the professional field would’ve been screwed without it! At least Steven will know enough to take a GED test when he’s older and be recognized as completing the equivalent of a high school education!” She could see that she was starting to get through to the gems, but that only increased her anger.

“That reminds me! Stop comparing Steven to Rose Quartz! You're going to make him think that the only reason you care about him is that he’s an extension of his mother. If you compare him to her often enough, he’s going to believe that the only way you will like him is if he’s acting exactly like her. That’s not a healthy mindset for children.” Pearl flinched at that. She was the one who compared Steven to her and brought her up the most. Garnet’s and Amethyst’s eyes were starting to widen as though they remembered something. Goodness, had they all done it as frequently as she was now beginning to believe?

“Twoie also informed me that you all left him alone fairly often while he was growing up. You can’t leave children alone for hours on end without supervision! Steven is a child, and he requires a lot of care from his guardians. Besides the fact that he’s too young to be cooking without adult supervision, if he hurt himself, he’d have no way of contacting you! On another note, humans are not like gems. We are social creatures! The harsh reality is that when you only spend time with a kid because you need something from them, they’re going to learn that something needs to be wrong for you to like them! Steven and Twoie check off all of the symptoms for something called the Atlas personality!” She brushed her hands through her hair. How had he stayed such a good kid under all of these conditions? Priyanka was starting to believe that Steven and Twoie were angels to have such kindness and generosity for others. “You forced them into thinking that they need to be helping you to be wanted. That level of stress and pressure messes with a child’s mentality. They’ll grow up thinking that if they aren’t useful, then there’s something wrong with them!”

Pearl covered her mouth with her hands in horror; Garnet clenched her fists tightly while Amethyst bit her nails. “Steven’s not like that! I know he’s not! We hang out with him all of the time. I was playing games with him the other day, and I know we watched TV together in the past. Steven’s taken us to the boardwalk once and showed us the arcade!”

Amethyst wanted to name more things, but Garnet put her hand out to stop her. “We only started doing a lot of that recently. It hurts to hear, but Dr. Maheswaran is right. There’s a lot we didn’t do for Steven that Twoie is doing now. Have you noticed that Twoie rarely leaves Steven alone? The only time he does is when Steven is asleep, or one of us is around.” The leader sighed as she turned to face her companions. “Steven’s been so much happier with Twoie around. When we were suspicious of him, we thought it was because Twoie was trying to get in Steven’s good graces. The truth is he was treating Steven the way we should’ve been treating him.”

Pearl waved her hands around wildly. “B-but, that means we hurt Steven! We must’ve hurt Steven so badly! What if he doesn’t forgive us? What if nothing we do can ever fix what we’ve done to him?”

Amethyst turned and yelled at her. “Dude, don’t say that! Of course, we can fix this! Besides, it’s mostly your guys’ fault. I’m the one that hung out with Steven the most before all of this started.” As the two started arguing with Garnet trying to break them up, Priyanka could feel her eye twitching. Did they always fight like this? Twoie told her about Amethyst’s and Pearl’s infamous fights before they finally worked things out. She could feel a headache coming on from the stress of this discussion.

“This right here is the problem! We were talking about Steven, and now all of you have made this about yourselves! This kind of behavior is not going to help anyone. I want you all to start thinking about Steven’s and Twoie’s needs more often now. Are we clear?” Silence permeated the air. The gems were staring at her in a mixture of shock and shame. Once Priyanka saw each one nod, she sighed and pressed her fingers against her forehead. “I’m sorry I yelled, but it was the only way I was going to get through to you. You’re not human, so I can’t expect you to know everything, but you should’ve been more prepared when you took in Steven. Your oversight has and will continue to cost you, but you can help Steven by being there for him now.” The gems nodded in agreement. “You’re free to go now. Just know that I’ll be spending the night to monitor Twoie’s condition. I’ll also be teaching you all how to handle a fever because I know you’ve never dealt with this before.”

The gems gave her a weary smile as they headed inside. She made to follow but stopped in confusion when Garnet held her hand out. “Sorry, but you’re going to have one more talk before you can come in to check on the kids.” She stared at the gem in confusion as she closed the door behind her. One more talk? That’s when a noise from the beach made her turn around. Priyanka could see a familiar van driving down the sand towards the beach house. “Right. I recall Twoie mentioning that she had future vision.” She sighed as she steeled herself for one more draining conversation.

Chapter Text

Priyanka sighed as she watched Greg run up the stairs. “Dr. Maheswaran! Steven called me while you were with Twoie. Is he okay? I figured it was just a cold or something.”

She held her hands out in a placating manner. “Everything is fine. I was called because Twoie had some unusual bruising on his hand that didn’t seem to go away. It looks like a normal bruise, but I don’t know what to make of it, so I’m going to keep an eye on him. His fever was from exhaustion and stress. I’ve already scolded the gems for their role in his condition, but you have some explaining yourself to do.”

Greg raised a brow in confusion. “Okay? Go ahead. I’ll answer the best I can, but any gem stuff is probably better waiting until you talk to the gems again.”

She blinked at his wording. “You mean you don’t keep up with everything your son does if it involves the gems?”

The worried father nodded. “Steven tells me about his adventures, but I’m generally not involved in them. I don’t understand any of that magic stuff, and I do my best to keep out of it. It’s why Steven lives with the gems. Since he’s half gem, I figured they would be able to help him with his powers.” The weary lady sat down on the porch chair again. Greg looked startled as she rubbed her eyes with her hand. “Uh, are you okay? You seem really stressed out.”

Priyanka just gestured to the empty chair across from her. “Why do you all have to be so difficult?” The man wasn’t sure what to make of her statement. With a deep sigh, Priyanka steeled herself for the headache-inducing discussion. “Okay. The first issue I want to talk with you about is Steven’s medical record.”

The dad smiled, “Oh, there must be a mistake. Steven’s never been to the doctors. I’m not sure who’s record you saw, but it wasn’t Steven’s.” He flinched when the doctor glared at him.

“That’s exactly the problem! Why have you never taken Steven to the doctors? Children need to be given check-ups, physicals, vaccinations! Necessary medical details that depict if Steven has allergies to any foods, medications, or supplies. Do you at least remember the hospital he was born in?” She was doing her best to reign in her anger. Unlike the gems, Greg knew about human health and should've known better.

Greg nervously rubbed his arm. “Uh, actually… Steven wasn’t born in a hospital.” He brushed a hand through his hair when he saw her hands clench into fists. “I couldn’t just take him to the doctors when his mom was an alien! Do you know how hard it would’ve been to explain the large glowing woman who disappeared and left behind a baby with a gem in his stomach? Who knows how they would’ve treated him?”

Priyanka wanted to yell at him, but she it was hard when she understood his thought process. Greg wanted to protect his son, so he did what he thought was right. “You could have brought Steven to the doctors as a baby who was born at home. They could’ve made sure he was healthy for a baby. You took a big risk, Greg. What if there had been any complications with being part gem? Or if he got sick because he’d never been vaccinated?” She froze, then facepalmed. A sudden realization made her even more stressed. “He doesn’t have a birth certificate… does he…” Her companion’s silence was only the confirmation she needed.

“Greg! This is serious! Your son is missing important documentation! He doesn’t have a social security number, no birth certificate, he won’t be able to get a license or get a job or anything without it!” She stood up and opened the door to the house. “Your son has a laptop. We are going inside right now, and you are going to fill out all of the necessary forms for him to get the documents he needs. And in the future, he will be getting seen regularly by me at the hospital I work at.” The man nodded and followed her inside.

When Priyanka entered the beach house, the first thing she did was check on Steven and Twoie. The older brother was still asleep while the younger was chatting quietly with Peridot and Connie. They all turned to face her when she climbed up the stairs. “Hi, Dr. Maheswaran!” Steven jumped off the bed so she could see Twoie better. She nodded a thank you to him as she gently placed the back of her hand on his head. Twoie was still a little warm, but it seemed like his fever was getting better.

“Has he gotten to a stage where he was warmer than he is right now?” Steven and Peridot shook their heads no. Priyanka sighed and looked worriedly at Twoie. “Sometimes, fevers can go down for a bit and then spike in temperature before finally going away. Hopefully, that won’t happen with Twoie, but I want to be prepared for the possibility.”

Peridot excitedly squealed from the bed. “Does that mean you’ll teach us the proper methods of treating fevers in humans?” Her excitement to learn made Priyanka smile.

“If you really want to learn, then, of course. If you’re that interested in medical techniques, have Twoie remind me later to bring over some of my old medical school textbooks. I’m sure those would be an interesting read for you.” When a smile bloomed across the green gem's face, Priyanka knew she would need to dig up her old books.

Peridot looked at the doctor with starry eyes. “That would be amazing!”

Priyanka then noticed the time on Steven’s Cookie Cat alarm clock. 12:46 pm. “Have you guys eaten yet? I hope I didn’t interrupt lunch for you.”

Steven shook his head. “Not yet. I actually didn’t realize it was lunchtime. I was too worried about Twoie.”

Priyanka nodded and stood up. “Well, then! How about I make something for us all? Do you kids want to help me?” She chuckled at Steven’s and Connie’s vigorous nods. The group headed down into the kitchen, where she could see Greg sitting at the couch, working on Twoie’s laptop, and the gems were quietly chatting at the counter.

Pearl perked up when she saw Steven walk into the kitchen. “Steven! Are you hungry? Do you want me to make you something?”

Steven smiled as he shook his head. “I’m going to help Dr. Maheswaran make us lunch! Thank you, though!”

Pearl smiled at his enthusiasm. “Twoie’s cookbook is still out if you want to make something from that.”

Priyanka looked at her in surprise. “How often does he use it?”

Garnet hummed in thought. “I’d say, Twoie uses it about three times a week. He’ll make a lot of leftovers, so Amethyst has something to raid the fridge for.”

The purple gem laughed in embarrassment. “Yeah, guilty as charged.”

Garnet shook her head at her fondly before continuing. “He switches out the cookbooks every week.”

The mother smiled at knowing how often Twoie used it. “Well, that’s nice to hear. I didn’t think he’d have time to use it since you guys have been at the barn for a while.” She pulled out a recipe for spaghetti and instructed the kids on what ingredients to get. 

While grabbing some cans from the pantry, Steven piped up, “Twoie often came back to the house early in the morning to make some meals. We have a fridge at the barn and a microwave, so all they had to do was reheat it.” Priyanka nodded as she began boiling a large pot of water.

“Hey, Dr. Maheswaran? I need your help with this for a sec.” She sighed as Greg called for her and looked at Steven and Connie.

“Can you guys watch the water for a moment? I’ll help Greg and come right back.” They nodded, and she went to assist Greg.

When she came back, she was surprised to see Steven had the noodles in the pot and was stirring the sauce while Connie read aloud the instructions. “Steven, you know how to cook?”

The kid looked at her with a big smile on his face. “Yeah! I used to cook for myself a lot before Twoie arrived. I don’t really cook by myself anymore, though. Usually, Twoie or Pearl cook, and I get to help them when I want to.” The gems flinched when Steven admitted why he learned how to cook.

Priyanka had to take a deep breath but gave none of her emotions away. She forgot Twoie had told her that. “You did a fine job, Steven. You too, Connie” The two glowed at her praise.

“Why don’t I grab the dishes and silverware then, and you two chefs can plate everything.” She grabbed out several bowls and forks and set them out on the counter. Connie added noodles to each plate before handing them to Steven for the sauce. Greg smiled when Steven brought him a bowl of pasta and ruffled his hair in affection. While they were passing out the food, Priyanka grabbed some leftover veggie noodle soup from the fridge and poured it into a bowl.

“How come you’re getting soup?” Priyanka set the bowl in the microwave and turned to Steven, who was staring at her curiously.

“Well, when people get sick, there are some foods that can make them feel worse. He needs something light since he probably doesn’t feel like eating.” She pulled out a glass and filled it with water. “The spaghetti is fine for us, but it’s probably a little too heavy for Twoie compared to veggie noodle soup. Soup broth also has a lot of vitamins in it that will help Twoie get better.” The microwave dinged, and Priyanka took the bowl of hot soup out. She brought it up to Twoie with a spoon and a cup of water. When Peridot saw her come up with the meal, she decided to take a break from watching Twoie and left to go finish her earlier conversation with Steven and Connie.

Twoie was still sleeping, so Priyanka set the water down on the bedside table and sat on the edge of the bed. “Twoie, time to wake up for a bit.” She shook his arm when he groaned and pulled the blanket over his head. “Lunchtime! You’ve gotta get up.” Twoie grumbled as he finally pulled the blanket back down and sat up. He drowsily stared at Priyanka and then at the bowl of soup as she passed it into his hands.

“Do I have to?” He slurred slightly while yawning.

The doctor chuckled. “Yes, sweetheart, you have to eat it. Once you’re done eating, though, you can go back to sleep, okay?” He mumbled something she couldn’t hear and then slowly started eating the soup.

Once he finished the bowl, she took it from him and helped him lay down in bed again. “Alright, Twoie. If you need me, I’ll be downstairs, okay?” Twoie closed his eyes and nestled into the warmth of the bed.

Priyanka brushed a hand through his hair before she stood up. “Thanks, mom.” Her eyes widened, and she turned to look back at Twoie, but he’d already fallen asleep again.

She smiled fondly at him. “You’re welcome, sweetheart.”

Chapter Text

Sunlight spilled into the living room, bathing its occupants in a warm glow. Priyanka was staring outside the front window with a cup of coffee in her hands. She was surprised this was the first time she had actually visited the Universe household. The view was amazing. A shining ocean with a gorgeous sunrise. After another couple of minutes enjoying the morning, Priyanka set her cup down on the counter. She grabbed several ingredients for a hearty breakfast and got to work.

Soon, she had set plates of banana pancakes, some bacon, scrambled eggs with veggies, and several slices of buttered toast on the table. One look at the clock showed it was 7:00 am. “Alright, time to wake everyone up.” She moved over to the couch where she and her daughter had spent the night. “Connie, time to get up. Go wash up for breakfast.”

Connie yawned and sleepily rubbed her eyes. “Morning, mom. I’m up.” Next, Priyanka walked up the stairs to Steven’s bedroom. She smiled at the sight that greeted her. Twoie was asleep in bed while hugging Steven close.

Peridot had been watching something quietly on the TV and turned to face the doctor as she walked up the stairs. She stood with a proud smirk. “Dr. Maheswaran, good morning. I would like to inform you that Twoie did not wake up during the night, and his fever did not increase.”

Priyanka smiled at her enthusiasm. “Good morning as well, Peridot. And thank you very much for watching over him last night.” She leaned over the bed and placed her hand over Twoie’s forehead. Little warm. She’d have to keep an eye on him in case it spiked, but it looked like Twoie would be fine in another day or so.

She gently shook Steven’s shoulder, then patted Twoie’s arm. “Morning, boys. Time to get up and start the day.”

Steven shifted and blinked a couple of times. “W-ha- yawn, what time is it?”

Priyanka tapped Twoie’s arm again. “It’s a little after seven. Now go wash up for the morning and then go eat breakfast. I’ll wake your brother.”

Steven became more alert as he realized that it was Dr. Maheswaran waking him up. “Oh, good morning, Dr. Maheswaran! I’ll go get ready!” He smiled as he hopped out of bed and headed downstairs. The mother turned her attention to the eldest, who was only now starting to wake.

“Come on, Twoie. I want to take your temperature properly. You also need to drink a glass of water and have some food before you decide whether you want to go back to sleep.”

Twoie finally sat up with a whine. “I’m up. Morning, Priyanka.” He stretched his arms out as Priyanka readied her thermometer.

“Open your mouth, please.” He let her pop the thermometer in his mouth and waited for it to beep. When she took it out, it read 99.6F. “Good, a little lower than before. How are you feeling.”

The young man smiled tiredly as he hefted himself out of bed. “Pretty good, actually. Still a little tired, but not like before. I think I’ll probably try to get some work done today. Maybe get a class done with Steven and Peridot. I kinda slacked on their schooling with the whole Cluster situation.” Priyanka nodded as they headed downstairs. Steven and Connie were already sitting on the couch and eating. As Twoie disappeared into the bathroom to get ready for the day, Priyanka sat down and served herself a plate of breakfast.

“This is really good, Dr. Maheswaran! Thanks for making breakfast!” Steven chirped before taking a bite out of a forkful of eggs. Connie hummed in agreement over a slice of toast.

“You’re welcome, Steven. It’s always good to start the day with a nice meal.” She looked around and noted how much quieter the house was. It was weird considering how many people were around just the night before. “Is the house always like this when you get up?”

Steven nodded. “Sometimes Pearl will get me up in the morning and make breakfast, but it depends on whether she’s on a mission or loses track of time. Since Twoie arrived, she’s been doing it less because Twoie generally wakes me up and makes breakfast.”

Speaking of Twoie, the young man in question finally stepped into the living room. “Wow, Priyanka, this looks amazing.” He smiled and sat beside her. He put a little bit of everything, except bacon, onto his plate and dug in.

Priyanka was happy to see that he seemed to have his appetite back. “I made plenty, so make sure you’re full. I actually thought your father would be joining us for breakfast. I saw the van outside still.”

Twoie and Steven both looked at her with a knowing smile. The eldest decided to fill her in. “He’s probably still sleeping then. He usually gets up whenever and then he’ll make something, or maybe he’ll come in to see if we’re already awake yet. He doesn’t use his alarm on the days he doesn’t have work.”

Priyanka raised a brow in confusion. “But what time do you normally get up then?”

Steven hummed in thought. “I don’t actually have a bedtime. I can just go to sleep when I’m tired and wake up at whatever time I want. I like to set the alarm, so I don’t sleep all day, but sometimes I’ll just sleep in after a long gem mission or if I stayed up late.”

Priyanka huffed in annoyance. “Honestly, kids should have a proper schedule for sleeping and waking up. What else do you have free reign over?”

Twoie cleared his throat in embarrassment. “Well, we’ve always been allowed to buy pretty much whatever we want. If a new game comes out and we have the money, we could get it. Or I could spend money on the boardwalk, or eat whatever. Dad and the gems generally do the grocery shopping.”

Steven clapped his hands together and added, “We also get to leave the house whenever we want. I’ll tell the gems I’m heading out if they’re in the room, but otherwise, I can do whatever I want. We know Dad doesn't make a lot of money from the car wash, so we usually just save our money until we need it.”

Connie looked at them in surprise. “I knew you really didn’t have house rules, but I never realized how much freedom you had.”

Priyanka looked at the front door with a scowl on her face. “Well, if you ask me, you’ve grown up with too much freedom. A stable household is a good thing for a child’s growth and development. Having too much freedom doesn’t give you the chance to develop good habits that will help you function better as an adult. Although it’s taught you to be independent, that can be harmful as well in excess.” She turned back to the brothers, who were now staring at her in confusion.

“Twoie, I’m going to devise a set of rules for you and Steven. I want you to start following them whenever you can. It’s fine, though, if you have to break some due to a mission.” When the mother saw them nod, she stood up and went to grab a sheet of paper. After writing out several things, she headed back to the table and presented the brothers with their new house rules.

1. Wake up no later than 8 am in the morning. Don’t go to bed later than 11 pm.
2. Wash up, eat breakfast, and get dressed for the day. Even if you aren’t going anywhere, don’t spend all day in your pajamas.
3. Don’t play video games for more than an hour without a break. Don’t play video games for more than 2 hours total in your day.
   
4. Don’t watch tv for more than an hour without a break. Don’t watch tv for more than 2 hours total in your day.
5. Don't spend more than 3 hours on electronics a day. This means total hours of TV and Video Games.
6. Study for an hour minimum every day of the weekend. Follow Twoie’s instructions otherwise for school.
7. Go outside and play or exercise for at least an hour every day.
8. Don’t eat a lot of junk food. Make sure to snack on fruits and vegetables. Eat more homemade food than fast food.
9. Save up your allowance. Don’t just spend your money on whatever you want.
10. Clean up after yourself whenever you make a mess. Don’t just leave the cleaning to Pearl because she enjoys it.

Twoie and Steven smiled at the list. Most of these rules they did anyway, like sleeping and making breakfast, since Twoie wanted to add a little structure to the house. It felt nice to have a little more routine to their days now. “Alright, we’ll do our best to follow these rules.”

Steven blinked at the allowance rule. “We don’t get an allowance. Dad and the gems will just give us money randomly. I'll still save it, though.” Priyanka sighed and rubbed her eyes with her hand.An allowance was a great way to teach children financial responsibility.

“I’ll talk to your father about it. He had to have taught you some form of using money wisely, so I’ll see about getting an allowance made for you two.” The group finished up the rest of their breakfast, and everyone helped with the cleanup. Now that breakfast was out of the way, Twoie decided to start Steven and Peridot on their next lesson. Even though Connie had the day off from school, she joined in because she wanted to see how Twoie taught.

Priyanka watched for the sidelines as Steven grabbed Twoie’s teaching glasses for him. At the same time, Peridot and Connie set up the desk and grabbed the books. Twoie was flipping through his binder for his lesson plans and writing things out on the chalkboard. She could feel pride well up in her chest as she watched them all interact. Even with all of the problems Twoie and Steven had faced, they had grown into good kids. Priyanka wanted to make sure they were happy. She slipped out the front door as the group focused on their work. She needed to have another talk with Greg.

Chapter Text

Greg startled awake when he heard the knocks on his van door. He shoved his blankets aside to open up the door. “Oh, Dr. Maheswaran! Good morning! What can I do for you?” Dr. Maheswaran sighed as she gestured to a spot in the van.

“Good morning as well. Can I sit? I have something that I need to address with you.” Greg looked worried but moved out of the way for her. She sat on the edge and looked out at the beach, as though formulating a conversation in her thoughts. “I have an issue with your parenting style of Steven and Twoie. I think you give them too much freedom.” Greg looked at her with raised brows.

“That was a little out of nowhere, don’t you think? I’m not really sure I feel comfortable discussing this with you.” Although Greg was polite, he was also a little annoyed. It wasn’t like she knew why he chose to raise Steven the way he did, and besides, Steven seemed to be doing fine. The woman cupped her hands together and rested them on her lap.

“I know I probably sound rude. The thing is, children need to have rules and guidance as they grow up. It helps them learn how life and society function. It also gives them more security to know that someone is willing to enforce rules that are meant to help them, even if they disagree at times.” Priyanka gestured to herself. She had only recently gone through her own changes in parenting style. “I am a strict parent. In fact, I was too strict. I realized that my parenting style was hurting Connie, though, so I am doing my best to change it.”

Greg let out a snort. “Believe me, I know a thing or two about strict parents. Growing up in my house was like living in prison. Everything I loved was off-limits, and I was always being forced to do things I wasn’t interested in.” He sighed as he watched the rolling waves of the ocean. “It’s why I wanted a different life for Steven. I want him to grow up with the freedom to be or do whatever he wanted.”

Dr. Maheswaran smiled as she turned to face Greg. “It seems like we both tried our best to raise our kids by going to the extreme. I was too controlling, and you were too relaxed.” Greg chuckled and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. Dr. Maheswaran had contemplated whether she should tell Greg about Twoie's private thoughts. Hopefully, he would forgive her for speaking about this. She took a deep breath, “I’ve talked to Twoie about this before, and he admitted that he’s dreamed of growing up similarly to a standard family.”

Greg looked at her in surprise. “Twoie told you that? He’s never mentioned that to me before, and I’ve always told him and Steven that they could talk to me about anything.” He furrowed his brows in thought. It was weird for him to think that Twoie or Steven would purposefully not tell him about something that bothered them.

“It’s because Steven doesn’t know how to articulate his desire to you while Twoie thinks it would make him bothersome. At this point, it’d be hard to ever get the family life-style he wants, so he ignores it instead. And Steven has been trying to make it happen by doing whatever the gems ask of him in the hopes that they’ll be around more often.” The woman sighed as she leaned back against the wall of the van. “They’re both going to go through some hard times in the future. And having the security of a lifestyle to get back to when everything is over would really help.”

Greg stared at her in surprise. “I never really thought of it like that." He sighed and looked out at the sparkling ocean. He wanted the best for his sons, but if he was accidentally hurting them... "I really have screwed up, haven’t I?”

Priyanka snorted and rolled her eyes. “No book could ever truly prepare you for parenting. It’s trial and error with a strong emphasis on the errors.” Greg laughed at her description, and soon, they were both laughing together.

Greg smiled as his laughs died down. “Maybe I’ll wait till we’re alone later and I’ll tell them about my life growing up. I’ve never told them much of anything about my family. And I’ll try to set some ground rules. Do you think you could help? I’d probably be too easy with any rules I come up with.”

Priyanka started laughing again. “I may have already created a list of rules for Steven and Twoie to follow. I'm sorry if that was overstepping any boundaries for your family. I couldn’t help myself. I care a lot about those boys, so I just reacted when I realized they didn’t really have house rules to follow.”

That brought a smile to Greg’s face as he hopped out of the van and looked up at the beach house. “Why don’t we go see how they’re doing then? I think I could use some family time right now, and I’m sure you could too.”

Dr. Maheswaran blinked at Greg as she stepped out of the van as well. “Family time?” She watched Greg close up the van. Once he was finished, they headed up the pathway to the beach house.

“Yeah. You really care about Steven and Twoie, and I know Twoie thinks the world of you. My boys don’t have much family, just me and the gems. It’d be nice to add a little more to the group if you and your husband are okay with that.” Greg and Priyanka stopped right outside the front door. Priyanka thought about it.

It’d be weird to just start thinking of the Universes as her honorary family. At the same time, wasn’t she already treating Steven and Twoie as though they were her kids? “I’d like to have a couple of family-friend dinners first. This time without the Crystal Gems fusing together as one person. However, I think it would be lovely to be able to call each other family in the future. Maybe I can learn to be more relaxed by being around you.”

Greg snickered at that. “And maybe I can learn to be stricter from you and your husband.” He opened the door, and the two were exchanged a look of surprise when they entered the house.

“-ing fine. I’m not straining myself. I’m just standing and talking.” Twoie narrowed his eyes in annoyance at Pearl. She was holding Twoie’s arm and looked as though she was trying to guide him to the couch. Garnet and Amethyst were also in the room, watching Pearl as she fussed. “Can you please just let me finish the lesson? I know how to take care of myself.”

Pearl looked frustrated as she tugged him along. “I know you do, but you are just starting to get better. What if you get sick again? Or it worsens? You should just sit down for now, and I’ll go make you some tea. You like the fruity ones, right?” Twoie huffed as he gave up and let Pearl force him to sit on the couch. Peridot and Connie were already sitting on the couch but scooted out of the way when Pearl dragged him over.

Garnet turned to look at them when they entered. “Good morning, you two. I hope you slept well last night.”

Amethyst spun around at her greeting and cheered when she saw them. “Greg, Dr. M! We were just getting ready to go on a mission. Garnet says there are some more mutants in the Kindergarten that we need to take care of. Do you want anything before we go?”

Pearl set a mug down on the counter and poured some hot water in it. “Would either of you like a cup of tea? I’ve made one for Twoie with a little honey and lemon for his illness, but I’d be happy to prepare some for you if you’d like!” The two humans shook their heads no.

“Thanks, Pearl, but I’m not a fan of tea,” Greg said nervously. He had no idea what he just walked into, and he’d rather not be involved. Priyanka was looking at her with a frown.

“No, thank you, Pearl. Are you going to be taking the others with you while you go on your mission?” She watched as Connie and Steven perked up. They were looking at Garnet with stars in their eyes, hoping to go on the mission with them.

“Well, if you’re okay with Connie joining us, then yes. Otherwise, she can stay behind with you two.” Connie turned from the permafusion to give her mom puppy-dog eyes.

“Please, mom? Can I go? I have my sword, and we won’t be long.” Priyanka sighed and nodded. The two kids cheered and hopped off the couch. They raced over to Garnet and Amethyst.

In the commotion, Peridot huffed and crossed her arms. “Well, I’m staying here. I’d much rather continue learning from the Twoie than go on a fighting mission.” She picked up the book she was reading and started rearranging her workspace.

Pearl set the mug down in front of a pouting Twoie. “I’m sorry, Peridot, but Twoie needs his rest. He’s still combating the illness he got earlier. Why don’t you two relax upstairs so that Twoie can be comfortable if he falls asleep again.” Twoie propped his chin against one of his hands.

He watched them go back and forth as they talked about him like he wasn’t there. The young man's eye twitched in annoyance. “You know what, I think I will go back to bed. I’m obviously not going to get anything else done today, so if you need me, I’ll be sitting on the bed watching TV.” The young man pushed himself to his feet, took the mug of tea, and walked away.

Greg could tell that Twoie was annoyed with Pearl being overprotective. “Hey, Pearl… Maybe you should back off a little. I think you’re exaggerating it a bit.”

Pearl waved his concern off. “I’m just making sure that Twoie is alright. He’ll thank me later when all this rest pays off, and he’s back to teaching and going on missions.” She walked over to the others, and they made their way to the warp pad. "Please keep an eye on Twoie for me while we are gone!" Pearl called out with a wave. Connie and Steven also waved goodbye as the group warped away.

“Hopefully, they don’t smother him while trying to show how much they care.” Dr. Maheswaran sighed as she walked around the room. Peridot had gone upstairs with Twoie, and the two were watching Camp Pining Hearts. Priyanka decided now would be a good time to start packing up their things. Depending on when Connie got back, they’d probably be leaving, so they could make it back home before dinner. Her husband had promised to make dinner for them since he knew they would be tired from taking care of Twoie.

She grabbed their bags and set them by the door. “Are you getting ready to leave?” Greg asked he went into the kitchen to have a late breakfast. Priyanka nodded.

Twoie had overheard his father’s question and muted the show.“Wait, you’re leaving already?”

Priyanka, sensing the sadness in Twoie’s voice, made her way up the stairs. “Well, I have to go home eventually. I’ve got work in the morning, and Connie has school. I figured we’d leave a little after lunch, or when Connie gets back. Whatever ends up being later.”

Twoie slumped a little in disappointment. “Oh.”

Priyanka patted Twoie on the back as Peridot commandeered the remote from Twoie. “Everything will be fine. You can always call or text me if you need something, and we have one more Sunday meet-up before we have to move.” Twoie’s expression became almost panicked.

“Wait, you’re moving?” Priyanka tilted her head at him in confusion.

“I’ve told you that Doug is going to be working at another beach in a couple of weeks, right? We’re getting ready to move out there for the next couple of months.” She patted his back as he looked at her sadly.

“Right. I forgot.” He sighed and turned away so that he was facing the TV again. Peridot had found the closed caption button and had turned it on. Twoie watched as the caption read sad music as something happened on the show. Priyanka was a little worried about his reaction, but if Twoie didn’t want to talk about it right now, she wasn’t going to force him.

“Alright.” She stood up. “I’ll let you watch your show. Don’t worry about making lunch today. Greg and I can take care of it.” Twoie only nodded as he watched her head back downstairs to chat with his dad. Suddenly, the show had lost its appeal. Only one thought was going through his head. ‘She’s leaving too.’

Chapter Text

It had been a little over a week since Priyanka’s and Connie’s visit. Twoie had recovered from his sickness, but he was still benched from the two missions that occurred during that time. Part of the reason they waited so long after was because of the mysterious bruises Steven had told them about. Twoie laughed their concern off, saying it must’ve been from the fight and when he collapsed. When the bruises disappeared a couple of days later, they begrudgingly agreed that he was healthy enough to be on the team again.

Twoie took a deep breath of fresh air as he lounged on a blanket covering the ground. Their group had moved back to the barn in preparation for dealing with the Cluster. The young man had to admit, being able to get out again and enjoy the nature around him was nice. It was peaceful. So peaceful, that Steven had fallen asleep beside him while relaxing. Everyone was outside of the barn, enjoying the nice day. Twoie smiled as Peridot waved her arms around while gesturing to the chalkboard by the barn door. The main purpose of the meeting was to discuss their plan to drill the Cluster. But Twoie couldn’t focus today. There was a feeling of dread in the back of his mind. The idea that something was about to happen. The young man had learned to trust this instinct of his; it saved his life a couple of times. “Guys?”

Peridot paused her story. The others all turned to face him with curious looks. “Yo, Twoie. What’s up? You okay?” Amethyst furrowed her brows a bit in concern. Before Twoie could answer her, Steven woke with a startled gasp. At the same time, a rumble shook the earth beneath them.

“Did you feel that?” Peridot looked around her wildly. Amethyst flicked her gaze from Peridot to Twoie to Steven, and then back to Peridot. “Feel what, Peri?” The technician started pacing in front of the chalkboard.

“The ground shook! This could be the start of the emergence of the Cluster!” She hopped onto a cardboard box that was next to the board and pointed at one of her text boxes. “Stage 1: Slight tremors every quarter-hour. Stage 2: Full-scale earthquakes.” Everyone looked at her with wide eyes as she continued. “Stage 3: The earth is destroyed!” She rotated the board so that everyone could see the drawing she made of the earth in shattered pieces. “We’re running out of time. We need to drill right now!”

Steven stood up. “No, it’s Malachite!” The others gasped while Twoie nodded his head.

He could see Steven looking at him as though wanting his future self to confirm his statement. “Steven is right. This tremor right now is from Malachite. You astral-projected to Mask Island?” At his younger brother’s nod, Twoie continued. “Then it’s definitely Malachite. However, Peridot is also correct.” Everyone stared at him in fear. "In my version, the Cluster emerges right after the gems beat Malachite. Peridot and I went to deal with the Cluster by ourselves.”

Pearl grabbed Twoie by the shoulders and got in his face. “You and Peridot went without us? How did you survive? Are you okay? Are you mentally scarred? Are you physically scarred?” Twoie felt dizzy as Pearl shook him hard with each question.

Amethyst placed her hand on Pearl’s arm and stopped her. “Ya gotta stop, P. You’re gonna make him so dizzy he'll vomit.” Pearl blushed as she halted her actions.  

She realized that Twoie looked dazed once she let go of his shoulders. “I’m so sorry, Twoie! I didn’t mean to shake you that hard. Are you still dizzy? You should sit down.” Twoie slurred out “yes” while he waited for the world to stop spinning.

Garnet walked over and picked him up, tucking him under her arm. “Lapis Lazuli is losing control. Soon Jasper will overpower her, and Malachite will be loose.”

Pearl looked at Garnet as the leader adjusted her hold on the half-gem. “Who knows how much destruction an unstable gem like her could cause.” As the Crystal Gems continued discussing Malachite, Peridot was silently fuming in the background. Garnet nodded to herself as she walked forward and turned so that she was facing everyone.

“Alright, Amethyst, Pearl, Twoie, and I will head to Mask Island to fight Malachite. Having Twoie with us may give us enough time to come back before Peridot and Steven have no choice but to use the drill. Twoie, do you have any tips for Steven just in case?” The oldest brother blinked a couple of times, trying to get his bearings.

When he saw Steven staring at him with fear in his eyes, he put on a smile. “You’ll do just fine, Steven. In case we don’t get back in time, you and Peridot will drill into the earth. It’s gonna be several hours till you reach the Cluster. When you do, you’ll start to hear the voices of the gems in your mind. It’s scary, but I’m hoping that knowing what you’re going to face will ease some of that fear. Just be you, convince them to help each other. That’ll be enough to stop the Cluster.” Steven walked up to Twoie, who was still tucked under Garnet’s arm, and hugged his head. Twoie chuckled and patted Steven’s head.

“Thanks, Twoie!” Steven backed away and watched as the others ran to the nearest warp. “Be careful!” Once, the group warped away, Peridot tapped Steven’s shoulder.

The green gem huffed, “Can you explain to me who Malachite is?”

Finding Malachite was easy. Twoie took over the head of the team as he led them to the area he remembered the watermelon ritual took place. Malachite was already struggling against Lapis’ water chains when they arrived. Luckily, they had the element of surprise. “Alright, let’s finish this. Twoie, cover us.” Garnet commanded them. Pearl and Amethyst nodded and ran to form a triangle with Garnet. Twoie, realizing they were forming Alexandrite, backed away so they could fuse. He couldn’t help the slight sting at the thought that he wasn’t useful enough to do more than cover for them. Sure, Malachite was huge, so Alexandrite was the logical fusion to use. She was the one who fought Malachite in his time as well. But this time, Twoie was with them. And they still excluded him.

Twoie tried to hide his hurt expression. He felt his body become pink and channeled his feelings into that. When Malachite broke free from the water chains and turned to face Alexandrite, Twoie was ready. He narrowed his gaze and summoned his shield, except Malachite found a geodesic dome encasing her instead. “What?” She growled and slammed against it. Twoie gasped at her strength as he felt the power his new shield absorbed. It was overwhelming, cracking the dome at the spot she had hit. Malachite roared in fury as she slammed a fist into the newly formed crack. Twoie gasped and collapsed to his knee when the dome shattered.  

Alexandrite was confused. They never knew Twoie had powers that Steven hadn’t discovered yet. For the moment, it didn’t matter. They could explore his powers after Malachite and the Cluster were dealt with. Alexandrite was happy to take advantage of Twoie’s distraction to land a hit on Malachite.

Twoie could feel himself panicking. He never knew he could create a barrier like that. Pink Steven summoned a barrier that deflected White Diamond’s possession beam. Twoie shook the flashback off. He couldn’t lose himself in his thoughts right now. Not when the gems needed him. This was a legitimate threat. Not a stress reaction. Not an overreaction. A real threat. And he was messing it up again by standing there and doing nothing. Rustles in the bushes made him flinch. Twoie spun around in surprise to see a watermelon Steven peering out at him. “Steven?” The shock of seeing the watermelon Steven, made him snap out of his pink state. Before Steven could reply, a rage-filled shout resounded through the island.

Both boys whipped around to see Malachite flinging fists of water at Alexandrite. When the magenta fusion was grabbed after a couple of dodges, Twoie glared and manifested a large shield. He threw it at Malachite’s water arm, slicing through it and freeing the fusion. “Steven! You need to get out of here! Go get the other Watermelon Stevens to fight with us! Malachite is going to overpower Alexandrite in a minute, and there’s only so much I can do to help!” Without checking to see if Steven obeyed, Twoie summoned several more giant shields and flung them at Malachite. Two hit an ice wall that the turquoise gem had created, but the third hit her directly in the face as she flew out from behind her cover. As the gem went crashing down, Alexandrite shot several energy arrows at the fusion, getting multiple good hits in.

But Malachite brushed the attack off. She used her water wings to launch herself into the air and spin-dashed into Alexandrite. Twoie raised a shield as the two fusions slammed into the ground. When the shockwave passed, Twoie noted that he didn’t see Steven in the vicinity. Good. The time traveler could feel anger coursing through his body at witnessing the fusion of the Crystal Gems getting taken down. Pink encompassed him again, and this time he concentrated on recreating the barrier.

Malachite laughed as she pushed Alexandrite further into the ground. Twoie charged towards them with his super-speed and, once standing right by Alexandrite’s head, focused on shoving the turquoise fusion away as his speed returned to normal. A large panel of pink crystals manifested in the air, pushing against Malachite. It wasn’t strong enough to force her away, but it startled her enough to loosen her hold on Alexandrite. The magenta fusion shoved her opponent off of her and stood back up. Twoie could feel himself becoming exhausted as he pushed himself and his pink powers to the limit. He was also pushing his luck.

Malachite side-eyed the little human. Jasper recognized the shield, but not the other powers the halfling was using. Still, Rose Quartz was a crafty one. She must’ve changed her appearance again to confuse her. Well, it wouldn’t work this time! Malachite pushed Alexandrite into the cliff and used the distraction to turn towards Twoie. “You thought you could fool me again, Rose?” Malachite cruelly smiled as she pulled her fist back. Twoie blanched, materializing a barrier and a shield in the hopes that it would be enough to block her attack. “Think again.”

Chapter Text

Steven led the Watermelon villagers down the cliff as the battle raged on. He watched Alexandrite get tossed into the ocean by Malachite. The other watermelon Stevens were close behind as they breached the cover of trees. Shell raised in the air, Steven blew into the end, signaling for the others to attack. Malachite turned around as arrows assaulted her from behind. She laughed, looking around at all of the watermelons that fought against her. Steven was undeterred by her mocking them. Another sound of the horn signaled the catapults and the air raid. Several watermelon Stevens’ landed on the turquoise fusion’s face and punched her in the eye. She stumbled back and tripped over a rope trap held taut by more living watermelons.

Malachite recovered quickly from their assault. As Alexandrite freed herself from her ice prison in the ocean, Malachite swatted watermelons away with her hands. Steven gazed around in horror as more and more watermelons were battered and smashed apart. Before Malachite could smash the watermelon that Steven was possessing, Alexandrite used her gauntlet whip to pull Malachite towards her. The magenta fusion punched her in the gut and then hit her into the air with her hammer.

“You two should spend some time apart.” Alexandrite summoned her bow and charged an energy arrow. It spliced through Malachite, defusing Lapis and Jasper from each other. Alexandrite gently caught the unconscious forms of Lapis and Jasper, setting them down on the beach before unfusing as well. Steven ran up to the exhausted Crystal Gems with a smile on his face. The gems won! They defeated Malachite and saved Lapis! He hugged Pearl while Garnet helped Amethyst up.

“Steven! Is that you in there?” At Steven’s nod, Pearl let out a sigh of relief. “At least you’re safe. Did you happen to see Twoie?” Steven froze at her question. He shook his head rapidly and turned to Garnet, frantically rambling questions. Although they couldn’t understand what Steven was saying, Garnet knew the gist of it.

“During our fight, Malachite managed to stun us long enough to attack Twoie. We didn’t see exactly where he went, and we couldn’t go after him. We were hoping that he was staying out of the way or that you had seen him.” Garnet scoured the beach with her eyes. “The fact that he isn’t here is troubling.” She turned to the group of Watermelon Stevens and bowed. “Thank you, all of you. We couldn’t have done this without your help. I’m sorry to ask more of you, but have you seen a human? His name is Twoie, and we got separated during the battle.”

The watermelons conversed amongst each other, but no one had seen him. Suddenly, the ground shook beneath them. Everyone tried to keep their balance as the earth cracked beneath their feet, and the island bobbed in the ocean. Steven clung to Garnet’s leg as the section of the island they were standing on tilted over. Lapis and Jasper started sliding down, but Amethyst grabbed Lapis in time. Jasper slid down into the crack in the earth and disappeared.

“It must be the Cluster! We need to start drilling, but we still don’t know where Twoie is!” Garnet looked down at Steven. “It’s up to you! We need to find Twoie, so we won’t make it to the barn in time to join you.” Steven shook his head. He needed to know that Twoie was okay. What if something terrible had happened to him? Steven wouldn’t be able to astral-project again if they were drilling. Garnet bent down and held his face in her hands. “We’ll find Twoie and bring him home. Remember what he told you. The earth needs you right now. You have to stop the Cluster.” Steven looked at each of the gems with teary eyes. They all gave him encouraging smiles. The kid felt sick to his stomach with worry, but he nodded. They were right. He needed to stop the Cluster. Steven closed his eyes, and the watermelon Steven he was inhabiting fell into Garnet's arms.

The Crystal Gems jumped across the growing chasm with Lapis and the now unconscious Watermelon Steven. The other villagers took their friend while Amethyst held onto Lapis. “I wish we were able to start looking for him before the earthquake,” Amethyst commented as she looked around at all the cracks in the ground. “Probably would’ve made it easier to look for him.”

Garnet looked around. Their battle caused a lot of destruction to the surrounding forest. It could take them a while to find Twoie. She felt fear grip her heart as she noticed a section of forest with broken tree trunks at an odd angle. “Come on, I think I found something.” Pearl and Amethyst nodded. Some watermelon Stevens went back to the village, hoping to tend to the damaged or see their family again. The remaining went with the gems to look for Twoie.

Pearl frowned as she walked past damaged branches and knocked over trees. “The angle of damage certainly looks like something crashed through here. I’m really worried about him. Damage to this extent means he’s most likely injured.” As she looked further down the line of broken trees, something stuck out to her. Up ahead was a dip in the ground, a very circular divet. “Garnet, this way!”

The group ran over to the weird mark on the ground. Amethyst squatted and brushed a hand through the mark. It was very smooth. “I think you’re right, P. This definitely looks like something Twoie’s bubble could make.” She stood back up. “We need to hurry!” Now certain they were following the right path, they ran through the forest. After passing by a couple more of the compact bubble marks in the ground, one of the Watermelon Stevens called out from up ahead.

The Crystal Gems burst out from some bushes and gasped. A hand was sticking out from underneath the leaves of a broken tree. The sleeve of a pink varsity jacket left no doubt in the gem’s mind about who was underneath. “Twoie!” Pearl shrieked as she ran over. She started pulling at branches and cried in relief when she found that the tree was toppled over in a way that it was covering Twoie instead of crushing him. Before they could do anything else, another tremor shook the earth. Pearl protectively curled herself around Twoie while Garnet and Amethyst kept an eye on the surrounding foliage. If anything fell over, they could knock it out of the way. As quick as it came, the tremor passed, and the gems could work on freeing Twoie.

Amethyst watched as Garnet lifted the tree at the top while Pearl dragged him out from underneath. Twoie was covered in scratches, probably from the tree branches, but the most worrying injures were Twoie’s head and his arms. It looked like both arms were broken, and the young man had a gash that was sluggishly bleeding on the back of his head.

Garnet lifted him in a princess carry and turned to the Watermelon Stevens. “Thank you for helping us find him. It is of utmost importance that we get to the warp immediately.” Pearl and Amethyst hovered anxiously as the living plants conversed amongst themselves before nodding and running in a specific direction.

Pearl couldn’t help but continuously check on Twoie as they ran. She silently vowed to be more watchful of him after he was healed. It was their inattention as Alexandrite that led to his current state. Amethyst was also thinking along the same lines. She decided she would try hanging out with Twoie more. See if she could get him to relax a little with how much stress the guy had been going through. No doubt, he was going to be stuck on bed rest again after this.

Garnet was berating herself internally. As the leader of the Crystal Gems, she was responsible for all of her teammates' well-being. And she had failed. She had failed to notice that Malachite was going after Twoie until she had already attacked him. She was going to be a lot more cautious about her decisions. She would not let this happen again.

When the group finally reached the clearing where the warp was, the gems sighed in relief. They thanked their allies and warped away. Another tremor started up as they arrived at Rose’s fountain. Garnet clutched Twoie close while they waited for it to pass. Once it ended, they walked over to the fountain. Pearl huffed, “I hope Steven and Peridot are alright. I hate that we had to let them go on their own.”

Garnet was about to reply when she felt Twoie shift in her arms. “Twoie?” Pearl and Amethyst quickly turned to stare at him. Twoie’s eyes fluttered open, and he clenched them shut as the bright sun blinded him. “Augh, where… What happened?” Garnet walked into the fountain, making sure to keep Twoie’s head above the water as the magic fountain healed him.

“You were hurt pretty badly when Malachite attacked you. We’re at Rose’s Fountain right now.” Twoie looked at her, stunned. He wildly looked around and realized that Amethyst was carrying Lapis on her shoulder, and Steven was nowhere to be found.

“Where’s Steven? Is Lapis okay? How long was I out?” He gently pushed himself out of Garnet’s hold and swam to the edge. Pearl held out her hand, helping him step out.

“It’s been about a half-hour since the fight. Steven was able to recruit the other Watermelon Stevens to help us fight Malachite. After the battle, we realized that you weren’t around. That’s when the tremors started.” Pearl summoned a towel from her gem, handing it to Twoie. He gave her a weak smile and began drying himself off. “We were able to save Lapis, but Jasper fell into a crack caused by the shift in the earth. We told Steven to use the drill without us since we needed to search for you.”

Twoie froze. If it wasn’t for him getting hurt, Steven would’ve had the gems and himself to support him when he spoke to the Cluster. It was a terrifying experience, all those voices in his head. Yelling, panicking, crying, about their suffering, and the fact they just wanted to be whole again. Now, Steven would go through that alone, all because Twoie was too weak to protect himself. He gritted his teeth together and handed the towel back to Pearl.

The gem frowned in concern at the angry look Twoie had but decided against asking him about it. Not when she spotted some odd discoloration on her white towel. There were pale brown smears on several sections of the towel. She touched it with her finger, staring at the marking on her finger that was a couple of shades tanner than her own skin. Pearl narrowed her eyes and turned to look at Twoie. The young man was being scolded by Amethyst about not being careful. She wasn’t paying attention to what the purple gem was saying, though. She was more concerned about the tiny purplish-pink mark that was now slightly visible on Twoie’s neck and hand.

Amethyst looked at Pearl in surprise when she interrupted her to stare closely at Twoie. “Uh, P? Whatcha doing?” Pearl didn’t say anything as she grabbed Twoie’s right hand and pulled the sleeve up. There on his wrist was the same bruise mark from last week. Amethyst and Garnet gasped at her revelation. Twoie yanked his hand out of Pearl’s hands.

“I can’t believe you! You never healed from those bruises, did you? You just covered it up, so we would think you did!” Pearl was pissed. She glared at Twoie as she lunged forward and wiped at his neck with her hand. More of the tan paint smeared onto her skin as she uncovered another one of Twoie’s bruises. Twoie backed up from the angry gem, only to flinch when he backed into Garnet.

He looked up to see that she was glaring at him as well. “This is serious, Twoie. You weren’t well enough to go on this mission. We still don’t understand where these bruises are coming from, and now you got yourself hurt. I am benching you again until we know for sure what these markings are.” Garnet picked him up and tucked him under her arm. Everyone was quiet as the gems walked back to the warp pad. Twoie struggled to break himself out of her hold, but he went limp when he saw that even Amethyst was angry.

“This is why I didn’t say anything!” Twoie growled as he crossed his arms. They warped back to the barn so that they would be there when Steven and Peridot returned. Garnet set Twoie down, and the gems herded him back to the blanket that was still sitting out.

Amethyst pursed her lips in annoyance as the other started checking Twoie all over. She set Lapis down inside the barn and walked back over to him. “Why? You didn’t want us worrying about you?” Twoie whipped around to glare at her.

“I didn’t want you guys treating me like a kid!” He huffed as he stepped back a couple of steps to get Garnet and Pearl to stop. “So I don’t know what the markings are. I feel fine, though. Whatever is going on hasn’t messed with my powers, and I don't feel sick anymore. Yet you guys keep treating me like I’m fragile! I’m fine!”

Garnet held her hand out just as Pearl was about to argue back. “You may feel fine, Twoie, but that does not mean you are fine. I am not rescinding my order. You will remain benched on all gem missions until we know for sure what is going on with you. We’re worried about you, Twoie.”

The time traveler glowered at the ground. They weren’t going to listen to him no matter what he said. He nodded his head and sat down. It didn’t make sense, but Twoie suddenly felt drained. He was tired, his mouth was starting to ache a little, and his head still felt sore. He sat down on the blanket and pulled his bag over to himself. If he was going to be stuck here, then he could at least be productive.

The gems left him alone when they accepted that he didn’t want to talk. They formed a little group over by the chalkboard and were chatting amongst themselves. That was fine with him. Twoie didn’t want to hear more about how weak he was. He was upset that missions were always brought up when he wasn’t feeling well. They brought it up when he was sick, when they saw the bruises the first time around, and now when he was injured and bruised again. It was all missions, missions, missions.

Twoie sighed as the ache in his head got a little stronger. It was bothering him. He brushed his hands through his hair. His hands hit something hard. “Huh?” Twoie pulled his hands back, and his eyes widened in surprise as a little blood came back with them. He quickly wiped it away on his black shirt, hoping the dark color would hide the red color. As inconspicuously as possible, Twoie brought his hands back up to his head and felt for the hard things again. The hard nubs were on both sides of his head, pointed at the top, and broader at the base. They felt like… horns? Twoie wiped more blood off on his shirt and pressed a healing kiss to his hand. The ache faded away, but Twoie was hyper-aware of the fact he could still feel the ‘horns.’ What was happening to him?

Chapter Text

When Steven first saw the phantoms of the shattered gems, he was terrified. He kept feeling heat flashes, and the strain on his mind and ears was painful. Once Steven realized it was the gems, like Twoie warned him, it wasn’t as scary anymore. Peridot was freaked out for a moment until she remembered, and then she watched over him until he woke up. He and Peridot were so thankful that his big brother warned him about the experience.

The climb back up took about the same amount of time as it did to drill. Peridot let Steven sleep for most of the way back, exhausted from helping the Cluster bubble itself and his anxiety over his brother’s unknown condition. She had assured him throughout their trip that Twoie would be fine, but nothing could calm his fears about his brother. When the green gem woke Steven up, about a half-hour before they breached the surface, she hoped that the gems and Twoie would be there to greet them.

It was to her great relief when the top of the drill opened, and Twoie and the gems were waiting for them. Steven didn’t hesitate to jump out of the drill and throw himself at his older brother. He had the biggest smile on his face, but when he pulled back, he spotted the marks on Twoie’s neck. “Twoie! What happened? Where were you? Are you okay? How are the bruises back? How long have you been waiting for us?” Twoie ruffled Steven's hair with a laugh.

“Breath, Steven! Everything’s fine. I see you guys were able to help the Cluster!” His smile turned somber. “I’m sorry we weren't able to join you. I know how scary it was to see the Cluster like that.” Steven puffed his cheeks out, ready to chastise him, but was interrupted by the Crystal Gems before he could.

Pearl ran over and hugged Steven. “I’m so glad you guys made it back! Did you destroy the Cluster?” The kid smiled and shook his head.

“No, I talked to it!” Amethyst huffed but smiled fondly at his statement. Pearl had her brow raised, horribly confused, while Garnet watched with a small smile. Peridot walked up to them with a smirk on her face. Steven turned, so he was facing the gems. “It doesn’t want to destroy the earth, it just wants company! And it’s got it now. It’s like a bajillion people. They’ll have lots of time to get to know each other, now that they’re in a bubble.”

Pearl stared at him. Everyone watched as she silently stared at him for a couple of seconds. Then, “How on earth did you bubble that whole thing?” Steven chuckled at her.

“We had a little help.” Steven turned back to face Twoie, who was quietly watching everyone else talk. “So, what happened after I left? I was so worried about you! And you still never told me why the bruises are back?” Steven frowned at the annoyed look that flashed across Twoie’s face. He looked behind him at the others to see they were worried. The kid returned his focus to his older brother.

Twoie rubbed the back of his neck as he tried to get his thoughts together. Garnet sighed and stepped forward. “Twoie got hurt when he was attacked by Malachite. Once we found him, we brought him to Rose’s Fountain.” Steven knew the fountain would’ve healed all of his injuries, so why were the bruises still there? The kid hugged his brother’s arm as Garnet continued her explanation. “He must’ve used make-up or something akin to that to cover up the markings on his skin. It washed away in the water, which is how we discovered that he lied about his condition. As of now, I’m going to ask that you do not do anything too strenuous with Twoie. That means no training and no missions.” Steven looked up at Twoie. He felt Twoie’s hand clench into a fist, and there was a flash of something in his eyes that Steven couldn’t place.

“Are you okay, Twoie?” Steven frowned when Twoie nodded. He was sure that Twoie was lying to him. Maybe when they went back home, they could talk about this. Steven just wanted Twoie to be okay. Speaking of okay… “Oh, what about Lapis? Where is she?”

Amethyst smiled and gestured to the barn. “She’s fine. I put her in the barn when we got back. Once she wakes up, we’ll see how she feels and what she wants to do next!” Peridot hummed as she stepped forward.

“You guys! We still have to tell you about everything that happened!” The gems grinned in amusement as Peridot launched into an exaggerated story about her and Steven’s adventure to defeat the Cluster. She waved her arms around, made her hands look like blasters, and teased Steven about passing out on her. Steven took over for his part in talking with the Cluster. Once their story ended, the gems clapped for them. Peridot placed her hands on her hips and took a deep breath. “You know, I’m glad we were able to stop the Cluster. I like it here! In fact, I think I know what I want to do now that I’m living on earth.”

The others looked at her curiously. “I’m going to remain here at the barn and use my brilliant mind to create new things! I want to learn all about Earth technology, and then come up with my own technology that will be vastly superior! Nyeh-hehe!”  Steven squealed in joy at how happy Peridot was. However, Twoie looked resigned at her decision.

“Well, at least the barn already has electricity. I’m… glad you found a place to call home, Peridot.” Twoie pushed himself to his feet and started walking away. Everyone stared at him in confusion.

“Twoie, wait! Where are you going?” Steven called out after him. Twoie plastered a weak smile on his face and gestured to the barn.

“I’m going to go check on Lapis. She is supposed to wake up tonight, but who knows?” The young man continued unhindered. Once inside the barn, Twoie listened to make sure he wasn’t followed. Hearing no footsteps or voices, Twoie slid down against the barn wall until he was sitting on the floor. He buried his head in his arms and cried.

Quiet voices woke Twoie up that night. He blearily opened his eyes and noticed that Steven was no longer asleep in the loft with him. Without making a sound, the young man peered over the edge of the loft. In the center of the barn were Lapis and Steven. They were talking for a couple of minutes before the blue gem took off into the sky. He quickly slid back into his sleeping bag and pretended to sleep when Steven climbed back into the loft. “Psst. Twoie?” Twoie mustered all of his control to not respond. After a pause, he heard Steven sigh and climb back his own sleeping bag. “I wish you would talk to me.”

Twoie snapped his eyes open. Suddenly, all feeling of exhaustion was wiped away at Steven’s wistful tone. He took a deep breath and focused on not reacting as Steven continued. “I know you’re lying to me. You’re hurting, and I want to help you, but I don’t know how. I’ve tried talking to you like you did with me, but it seems like I can never say the right thing to help you open up. It’s frustrating because you’re my brother, and it hurts to see you so upset.” Twoie bit his lip. He was hoping he’d fool Steven, but the kid was just too perceptive. “I wish I had the courage to tell you this while you were awake. Maybe you would stop blaming yourself for everything that goes wrong.” Twoie must’ve been biting too hard because his teeth started aching, and suddenly he could taste copper in his mouth. He held back a wince of pain. The last thing he wanted was to cause Steven even more grief. “I’ll find a way to help you. I promise. Love you, Twoie.”

Twoie laid there, stewing in his own guilt while waiting for Steven to fall asleep. Once the kid’s breathing evened out, Twoie made his way outside the barn. He couldn’t keep doing this. It seemed like everything worsened as time went on. Peridot was leaving now, but this time he knew it was coming. And who was he to selfishly ask her to stay at the house? Peridot needed to be her own person. She found her home on the earth at the barn. There was no way he could ever imagine trying to stop her.

And now he was hurting Steven, But what could he do? He couldn’t just unload all of his problems and feelings on Steven. That’s why he was behaving this way in the first place. He couldn’t talk to his gems. He couldn’t talk to his Connie or friends, and Priyanka was really busy with work. He would only bother her by making her worry while she was cities away. Twoie was fine. He was fine! If he told himself that often enough, then he’d have to believe it, and it would be true, right?

The time traveler sat outside, leaning against the barn for hours, just him and his thoughts. The moon slowly started to fade as the sun began to rise. As he was about to head inside to make some coffee, he paused. A figure flew across the sky and alighted on top of the silo. Huh. He always wondered how long Lapis had spent sitting on top of the silo. Twoie smiled and headed inside to make the coffee.

He walked back out with two mugs of hot coffee in his hands. It would be cool enough to drink in a couple of minutes due to the chilly morning air. Twoie floated up from the base of the silo and sat down next to Lapis. She was staring at him in confusion. “Uh, who are you? And why do you look so much like Steven?”

Twoie chuckled. “My name is Twoie. I’m Steven but from the future. It’s nice to see you again, Lapis!”

Her eyes widened. “Did you say future?”

He nodded. “About three years into the future. Here, this is called coffee.” Twoie held out the mug to her. She grabbed it and sighed at the warm feeling of the drink in her hands. Her companion took a drink, so she copied him. It was strange. Bitter. She took another sip. “It takes a little time to get used to the bitterness, but it’s good once you do. It’s nice and warm, and sometimes I feel like it’s the only thing that helps me get through the day." He froze once he realized what he just said. "Don't tell anyone I said that! I'll be put on house arrest if Steven or the gems found out.”

Lapis rolled her eyes.. “Trust me. I know what it's like to be trapped against your will." The blue gem tilted her head as she scrutinized him. "Are you sure you’re Steven from the Future? You sound really pessimistic for such a happy person.”

Twoie laughed at her. “I’m sure. Beach Summer Fun Buddies, remember?” Lapis snickered, bringing her palm to her mouth and making a plbtt sound. The two laughed together and watched the sunrise.

Lapis continued to take little sips from the cooling mug in her hands. It was soothing, the bitter drink warmed her hands comfortably, and the taste was oddly refreshing. Like she was somehow ready to tackle the world now. Maybe that was because of her buddy, though, instead of the drink. “How long do you think you’ll be here, Twoie?”

“I don’t know. The artifact that brought me here broke. I can’t go home unless the gems can find a way to glue it together, and the only thing that can do that is off-world. I’m stuck here, at least for now. What about you?” She glanced at him. “I thought you were leaving for Homeworld.”

She frowned and looked back into the sky. “I was going to. But once I was in the atmosphere, I realized that I couldn’t. Homeworld is so different now, and with what happened with Jasper, who knows what they’d do to me if I returned. I’ve got nowhere to go.” She narrowed her eyes suddenly and turned to face Twoie. “You know what? You’re a lot like me. Can’t go home and stuck in a world you weren’t supposed to be in.” She snorted as she realized that she sounded negative now. “I guess we’re the Pessimist Summer Fun Buddies.”  

Twoie laughed at their new title. “There is a difference between us, though.” He looked across the horizon, at the trees changing colors and the sparkling ocean. “I think you’re where you’re meant to be. You can live here on earth. You can live how you want to. Fly in the sky, tour the world, play on the beach! Whatever you want to do, Lapis, you can do that here.” Lapis smiled.

“That’s the Steven Universe I remember.” She stood up and brushed the dirt from her dress. “Alright then, Twoie. I’ll think about it.” Twoie jumped off the silo and floated to the ground. Lapis landed beside him.

“Great! I know someone who can help.” He gestured for the aquatic gem to follow him as he led the way back into the barn.

Chapter Text

When Dad came with the van, Twoie insisted on waiting at the barn until Steven returned with Lapis. The gems and his dad drove back home while he spent one last day with Peridot. They had started fixing the hole in the barn but became distracted when the new episode of Camp Pining Hearts came on. They were still watching the show when Lapis and Steven returned. Twoie smiled and waved at them from their place in the loft. “Hey, guys! Welcome back! Wanna join us? We’re watching a Camp Pining Hearts Marathon.”

Lapis couldn’t speak. There, sitting next to Twoie, was Peridot. “You? What are you doing here?” Peridot smiled, unaware of the anger in the other gem's voice, and waved at her.

“Lapis! Nice to see you again! Welcome to the barn. I live here now! Do you want to watch this show with us? It’s getting to the really good part!” Steven nervously looked between the two. Lapis turned on her heel and grabbed Steven by the shoulders.

“You said I could stay here, though! This is supposed to be my home.” Peridot, now realizing that Lapis was upset, muted the show. Twoie sighed, and the two climbed down, so everyone was on the same floor. Lapis glared at Peridot when they walked up to her. Twoie gestured to Peridot and met her glare.

“Lapis, Peridot was already living here before you decided to stay here as well. You have a lot in common, and I think you’ll make great roommates.” Before Lapis could interject, Twoie held a hand up. “Remember how Steven said everything changes on earth? Well, Peridot has changed from what you remember her as. She wants to live here on earth. You two actually have a lot in common. Neither of you can go back to Homeworld because you’d be branded as traitors, and both of you want to experience what earth has to offer.”

Lapis narrowed her eyes at Twoie. “I don’t care how similar we are. I can’t stand the thought of living with her every day. She’s the one who dragged me back to earth.”

Peridot got defensive. “Hey, it wasn’t my idea! I was headed to earth, and I needed an informant. It was supposed to be a simple mission. I’m sorry that you got tangled up in that giant mess with Jasper, but everything worked out, didn’t it? Now, you get to live on earth with Steven and Twoie. You can explore and make new friends! We can be friends!” Peridot became really excited and started hopping up and down. “I have so much I want to show you! I gotta show you Camp Pining Hearts! Oh, and how to use the lights in this place, and the rain! And we can watch the sunrise and sunset together! This’ll be so much fun!”

Lapis crossed her arms. “I don’t want to be friends. You used me. Just like everyone else.” Twoie put a hand on her shoulder. Lapis shrugged him off, feeling slightly betrayed that Twoie didn’t tell her about Peridot when they were talking earlier.

He sighed, “Lapis, she didn’t, though. Yes, she’s part of the reason you were brought to earth, but she didn’t use you. Jasper, the gems, and Homeworld used you without asking. Peridot was commanded to bring you. Even then, the only thing she did was ask about the earth. Jasper hurt you emotionally. She threatened you. Homeworld and the gems abandoned you when you were no longer useful. You can’t compare them.”

She could feel her resolve lessen. But it didn’t change the fact that she was still mad. She wanted to be mad at someone, and Peridot was right here.

Peridot stepped forward with her hand out. “I’m sorry.” Lapis looked at her incredulously. “It’s different now. I’m different now. I sabotaged my own mission. I helped save the earth! I even yelled at Yellow Diamond! She might even be sending a fleet to shatter me right now! I’m a big anti-Homeworld deal.” The green gem realized her voice was getting higher and higher. She cleared her throat with an embarrassed blush. “A-anyway. If you really don’t want to live here with me, then that’s fine. Twoie and Steven have taught me a lot about the ability to chose. But I’d really enjoy the company. I want you to understand that things are different now. We’re the same! We can’t return to Homeworld, but you don’t have to be alone. Tell me whatever you want me to do to make this place feel like home, and I’ll do it.”

Silence. Absolute silence. Lapis stared at Peridot, as though contemplating what to say. Twoie and Steven waited on the sidelines. Lapis spoke quietly, but it was filled with annoyance. “I don’t care if you’ve changed. I don’t want you here.” Peridot looked at her sadly.

“Okay. If that’ll make this place feel like home.” She walked out of the barn. Steven watched her leave, struggling to come up with a way to fix things.

“Why did you do that?” Steven turned to see Twoie glaring at Lapis.

She looked surprised at his anger. “Wha-.”

“Why did you force her to leave? Are you really so upset about having no control that the second you have the power, you forced her into the same position? Peridot was trying her best to make you feel comfortable, but you wanted to hold onto your grudge so much that you refused to listen to her.” Steven reached a hand out to Twoie, but the gesture went ignored as the young man walked out the bar door. “I hope it was worth it.” Twoie flashed Lapis a disappointed look before he ran after Peridot.

The blue gem was left alone with Steven. She could feel the guilt starting to eat at her. Twoie was right, though. She just wanted to be angry. “Lapis, why are you being so mean to her? You should’ve at least gotten to know her before deciding you don’t like her. She gave up her home for you. Does that sound like someone who wants to hurt you?”

Lapis glowered at the door. “Why do you trust her? Why do you both trust her so much?” Steven also looked at the door.

He sighed, “Because I’ve gotten to know her. You could’ve too, but now she’s never coming back again.” They froze when they could hear Peridot screaming from outside. Steven’s eyes widened in surprise. “Oh, she’s coming back again.” The two ran out of the barn and saw Twoie and Peridot running towards them.

“Twoie! What’s going on?” Twoie gently nudged the two back into the barn and shut the door behind them. He herded the group into the right corner of the barn, hoping they’d be out of sight of the ship.

“It’s a Homeworld Ship. I’d use my powers to knock it away, but I’m worried they’ll take it as a rebel gem still on earth.” Twoie whispered. He could hear the ship hovering around outside. Twoie had one arm in front of Steven and the other in front of Peridot, protectively pressing them against the wooden wall. The yellow light of the scanner illuminated the inside of the barn. It shined through the giant hole in the wall. Where they were tucked away, the light reached the tips of their feet. Lapis watched as Steven and Peridot shivered in fear. She could see the worry and anger in Twoie’s determined glare as he kept his gaze on the Roaming Eye.

At that moment, Lapis narrowed her eyes and stepped out. Twoie reached a hand out for her but stayed where he was to protect the others. The terraformer extended her hand to a bucket of water, sitting in the corner, and called the water to her. She formed a small fist that steadily grew larger as she pulled more water from the air around her. It wasn’t as big as she wanted it to be, but she was able to smack the ship sideways, away from the barn. She opened the door, and everyone went running after her as she slammed her water hand into the ship, and it became embedded into the dirt. “Steven! Twoie! Peridot!”

The aforementioned turned to see the Crystal Gems running towards them from the direction of the warp. Twoie didn’t drop his protective stance as he returned his gaze to the ship. Pearl hugged Steven before she started checking him over. “Are you guys, okay? We were worried when we saw the ship!” The kid smiled as he returned the hug.

“We’re fine! Lapis saved us. But it looks like Homeworld really has it out for Peridot.” They turned their attention over to Lapis, who was watching the ship with indifference. She sighed and dropped her defensive stance. Peridot started backing away slowly.

The blue gem never turned her gaze away from the ship. “Peridot.” Peridot froze. Her fear turned to relief when Lapis faced her. “Are you okay?” The green gem nodded with the biggest smile on her face. Lapis, seeing her elation, blushed and looked away. She wasn’t used to making people happy. The only ones she was comfortable with were Twoie and Steven. She looked over at Twoie, who was smiling at her as well. That made her blush harder and stare at the ground. Guess he wasn’t mad at her anymore.

Peridot pulled her recorder out of her pocket. “I have to log this! I made a new friend, and she’s super strong!” Before she could start recording, though, the ship opened up. All eyes turned to face the ship as several rubies climbed out of the hatch. Steven grabbed Twoie, and everyone went running into the barn to hide.

Twoie flinched when Steven grabbed him but allowed himself to be pulled along. Once they were in the barn, he whispered, “You didn’t have to grab me, Steven.”

Steven looked frantic as he stopped staring at the rubies to look at his brother. “You froze when we did this with Yellow Diamond, I just wanted to make sure you hid with us this time.”

Twoie looked embarrassed when Steven brought that up. “Because that was Yellow Diamond!” He sighed and brushed his hands through his hair. “It’s fine, I’ll just go send them away.” Steven, Peridot, and the Crystal Gems grabbed Twoie from behind and pulled him further into the barn.

Peridot let go so she could gesture towards the outside. “You can’t go out there! They’ll attack you! I don’t want you to get hurt for me. Haven’t I caused you enough trouble?” Twoie pushed the other hands off of himself.

He placed a hand on Peridot’s shoulder, giving her an encouraging smile. “I’m from the future, remember? They’re here for Jasper. All I have to do is tell them that Jasper’s on a different planet and they’ll go away!”

Peridot went from anxious to disappointed. “Wait, they’re not here to shatter me for disobeying Yellow Diamond’s direct orders and calling her a clod to her face?” Twoie chuckled and shook his head. He looked at the others and motioned for them to stay in place. Then, after taking a deep breath, he walked out of the barn.

The rubies were standing together, being briefed on their mission by the leader of the rubies. Twoie walked over and just stood next to the ruby with her gem in her belly. The name Navy popped into his head. Their names started coming back to him once he got a good look at them—Doc, Navy, Army, Leggy, and-. Twoie looked over at the ruby with her gem in her eye. Eyeball. The one who tried to shatter him in space, testified against him in the trial, and fused with Aquamarine to become Bluebird Azurite. Who laughed as she pointed her chisel knife at his dad. He took a deep breath to calm himself.

As Doc finished her mission briefing, she looked down at all of the rubies and noticed Twoie standing among them. “Hey! What do you think you’re doing, Human?” The other rubies, realizing he was standing there, turned to face him.

Twoie just grinned and gave them a wave. “Hi! I’m Twoie. I saw you guys here and wanted to say hello.” Navy and Leggy smiled, but Doc, Army, and Eyeball looked suspicious.

“How much did you hear?” Doc pursed her lips. This was a critical mission. She would not get in trouble for having enemies find out their plan.

“I only came by at the end. You’re looking for someone? Maybe I can help?” Twoie hoped they wouldn’t question how a human supposedly knew what happened to a gem. But he remembered that these rubies were fairly easy to fool.

Navy nodded her head. “We’re looking for Commander Jasper. She’s a big gem that was supposed to lead a mission to earth, but she lost contact after her arrival. Yellow Diamond wants us to bring her back. Also, I like your spots! And your fangs. Do all humans have those?”

Doc jumped down from her place on top of the Roaming Eye. “Don’t tell the Human about our mission! That’s important and classified information!” Navy’s eyes widened as she realized what she said. She squeaked out an “oops” and looked away. Twoie did his best not to wince at the remark about the weird coloring on his skin. And fangs? What was she talking about? He’d worry about that later.

“Oh, Jasper?” All eyes turned to Twoie. The young man kept his composure under all of their surprised gazes. “She’s a really tall orange gem, right? With her gem on her face?” Doc’s eyes narrowed, and she lunged at Twoie. She gripped the collar of his jacket tightly, with her feet propped onto his chest.

“You know where she is? Tell us!” The other rubies gathered around him. Twoie nodded and pointed into the sky.

“I overheard Jasper say that she was heading to Neptune. She’s probably there by now.” Doc hopped off of Twoie and faced the other rubies. “Alright, let’s head over to Neptune! Thanks, Human!” The other rubies ran back to the ship and climbed back into the Roaming Eye. Twoie shivered when Eyeball gave him one last withering look, before disappearing inside. The ship quickly took off.

The others came running out of the barn, once the ship was out of sight. “Twoie! I’m so glad that worked! I was so worried when that one Ruby jumped on you, but you handled that wonderfully! Good job on getting rid of them!” Pearl chimed as she patted him on the shoulder. Twoie smiled at her, then sighed as he noticed that it was starting to get pretty dark out. It was already afternoon when Steven came back with Lapis, and dealing with everything else had taken up the rest of the day. It was already almost sunset. “Thanks. I think it’s about time we head back home now. Is dad still at the house?”

Garnet nodded. “He wanted to stick around tonight since we told him about the marks. If we leave now, we’ll make it back in time for Greg to get home with pizza.” Twoie frowned. He didn’t mean to make his dad worried. Peridot and Lapis smiled and hugged Twoie and Steven goodbye.

“Thanks, Twoie, for helping us with the rubies and for helping me with Lapis. Feel free to visit whenever you want to!” Peridot exclaimed happily.

Lapis snorted at her excitement. “Yeah. It’s going to take some time to get used to, but I think I'll be okay at being roommates with her. Sorry, you know, for being mean.” The last part Lapis directed at Peridot.

Peridot started rambling excitedly about something to Lapis as they headed back into the barn. Twoie, Steven, and the Crystal Gems walked to the warp and arrived back in the house. “Home sweet home!” Steven cried out as he flopped onto the couch. “I’ve missed you.”

Twoie chuckled at his dramatics and headed into the bathroom. He wanted to check on that thing Navy mentioned. He locked the door behind him and looked at himself in the mirror. Wow… He had light bags under his eyes, his hair looked messy, and he had a new bruise mark on the back of his neck that extended under his chin, as well as a small one appearing on his right temple. He opened his mouth and flinched. What? Twoie grinned at the mirror and could see that his four canines had sharpened into fangs.

The young man could feel his heart pounding in fear. He poked one with his finger and winced at how sharp the fangs were. That’s when Twoie remembered the weird things protruding from his head. He parted his hair out of the way to see a little horn sticking out. It seemed like it was a very light purple color, and it was also pretty sharp looking at the tip.

“Why do these things always happen to me? Am I shapeshifting? Is this a new power? What’s going on? Why can’t I just be normal for once?” Twoie glared at his reflection. At least the horns were hidden, and you couldn’t see the fangs if he didn’t grin, but what would he do if he continued to change like this? The gems were being annoying enough about the markings, who knew how much things would escalate if they found out about everything else? He decided right then and there that he would not bring it up or tell the gems anything. Everything would be fine!

The sound of the front door opening snapped him out of his thoughts. “Steven! Nice to see ya, bud! I got pizza!” His dad was home. Twoie took a deep breath and headed out of the bathroom. His dad turned his head as he set the box down on the coffee table. “Twoie!” Dad’s smile turned into a grimace. “Yikes, the gems weren’t kidding about the bruises. You okay, son?” Twoie smiled and grabbed a slice of pizza.

“I’m fine, Dad. I heard you’re spending the night. You can have the couch if you want.” Twoie bit into the slice while his dad held his hands up.

The father didn’t want to kick his son off of his usual bed. “I’ve got the van in front of the house. I don’t want you to give up your bed for me.”

Twoie shook his head. “It’s fine, Dad. It’s probably more comfortable than the mattress in your van, and I could just share the bed with Steven.” Steven’s eyes lit up.

The young kid shoved the rest of his slice into his mouth so he could have his hands free. “We coulf haf a slumfer parfy!” Twoie stared at Steven.

“Sunshine, don’t talk with your mouth full.” Steven swallowed the rest of his food and started running around the house. He grabbed a bunch of different things like an extra blanket and some pillows for his dad while taking a couple of snacks and drinks upstairs. The gems smiled at Steven’s antics.

“Remember the house rules, Steven, Twoie. Don’t go to bed too late.” Greg reminded them as he helped himself to another slice. His sons nodded. Twoie ate one more slice before helping Steven get the room set up.

Greg sleepily rubbed his eyes as he woke up from the couch. It was still dark in the house, which meant it was probably way too early to be up. But something had woken him up, so Greg hefted himself off of the couch and tried to pinpoint the reason. There was a small amount of light in the room. Greg looked up and could see the light coming from the TV in Steven’s bedroom.

The father quietly made his way up the stairs. He could see that Steven and Twoie were asleep, with the younger cuddled against the older. He smiled at how cute they looked and turned back to the TV. They must’ve fallen asleep while watching something. As he was about to turn the TV off-, “Sunshine! Connie! Dinner’s ready!” He paused and looked at the screen.

Twoie was on the screen. The young man was at the base of some stairs, calling up to the second floor. The room looked familiar, but he couldn’t place it. Then Steven came running down the stairs with Connie. “We’re coming!” The kids jumped the last two steps, narrowly avoiding crashing right into Twoie.

“Why are you guys running?” Twoie laughed. “Dinner’s not going to get cold in the next five seconds.” The other two chuckled and dashed into the kitchen. Twoie smiled as he walked into the dining room. Doug Maheswaran was sitting at the head of the table with a newspaper.

Doug smiled as Twoie walked in. “Twoie! Thanks for setting the table. Could you ask your mom and Cons if they need any help bringing the food out?” The young man nodded and headed into the kitchen. Steven and Connie were standing next to Priyanka and an older version of Connie, who was watching the stove.

“Guys, I told you. Twoie’s gonna help me bring the food out. You two go sit at the table and wait.” Priyanka scolded the kids and gently pushed them towards the dining room. That’s when she noticed Twoie in the room. “Sweetheart! Thank goodness, could you help Connie with the food? I already put the soup out, but if you could grab the salad while she gets the chicken, that would be lovely. Then we can start eating.” Priyanka thanked him when he nodded and herded the children into the other room.

Twoie smiled as he walked up to older Connie. “Hey, Strawberry.” He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

She laughed as she used her tongs to pull the chicken off the pan. “Hey, Biscuit. The salad’s in the fridge.” Twoie grabbed the salad, and the two walked into the dining room. They all sat together as a family and just enjoyed each other’s company.

Greg could feel an ache in his chest as he watched the scene. He didn’t understand. Was this a new power? Was this Twoie’s dream? He looked over at his eldest son. The young man had a peaceful smile on his face that mirrored the one on Dream Twoie. It hurt. It really hurt to see Twoie dreaming about this. Did he feel like they weren’t a family? Maybe he really wasn’t around enough. Greg felt something drip down his face. Oh, he was crying. He wiped the tears away. Greg felt like he was losing his family all over again. Priyanka’s words about Twoie wanting a more normal family dynamic popped into his head. He could try to do that. And an excellent way to start would be to finally tell Steven and Twoie more about himself. The father pressed the power button on the TV, plunging the room into darkness. Tomorrow. Tomorrow he would tell his sons about himself.

Chapter Text

Let it be known that Gregory Universe was a determined man. He woke up early that morning and prepared breakfast for his sons. This was going to be a long and complicated conversation that he was determined to make a good one. Greg finished setting the table when he heard his sons wake up. Twoie was the first one down. The older man winced at how worn his eldest looked. It was as if he slept for an hour instead of a full eight. His youngest bounded down the steps a minute after, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.

“Morning, Twoie! Morning, Dad!” Steven chimed as he ran over to the table. The kid glanced at all the food with stars in his eyes. “You didn’t have to make breakfast. But it looks amazing!” Twoie chuckled and rubbed Steven’s head as he walked by him.

The young man patted his dad on the shoulder, and blearily grabbed a mug. “Morning Dad, and Steven. Did you already serve yourself some coffee?” He poured himself a cup and took a big gulp. Greg laughed and held up his own mug.

“Yeah, I did. Thanks for asking.” The father waited until both of his sons had sat down and served themselves before taking a deep breath. “Look, kiddoes. I-uh…” Twoie and Steven swapped a look of concern as Greg awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s just…” Greg steeled his nerves. “I think it’s time I told you more about myself.” Twoie choked on the pancake he was eating. Steven’s eyes widened as he looked at his dad in wonder. “Oh, boy…” Greg nervously smiled at their completely opposing reactions.

“Are you going to tell us more about your life as a Rockstar before you met mom? Are you going to tell us more about mom? Are you going to tell us that you actually grew up as the son of world-famous singers and were tragically separated while on tour, and now you have a clue as to your parentage and you’ll be going on an adventure to find them?” Steven rambled in excitement as he stood on his chair and leaned over the table. Twoie softly snorted at his younger brother’s last question and their dad’s confused expression.

“I’m pretty sure that’s the plot of a movie, Schtu-ball.” Greg cut another slice from his pancake and ate it. “I’ve lived in the van for decades. A couple of months after I decided to live life on the road, I met Marty, and he became my manager. I already told you that story, Steven.”

Twoie raised a brow in confusion. “Was that after you stopped talking to Uncle Andy?” Steven’s head whipped to face him as he mouthed, “Uncle Andy…” Greg, on the other hand, was perplexed.

“Uncle Andy? You mean, my cousin Andy?” Twoie nodded. Greg brushed his hand through his hair. “When did you meet my cousin? I stopped talking to the rest of the family a long time ago.” Steven looked back and forth between them, eyes widening further at the thought of more family.

“Yeah, Steven will meet him pretty soon. Sometime after Lapis and Peridot move into the barn, Uncle Andy shows up and tries to make them leave. I had to call you to explain the situation and man, was he not happy about a lot of the decisions you made. But he came around to it after we carried out the old DeMayo tradition of a family dinner at the barn. I still talk to him, and he sometimes visits.” Andy was the only family Twoie had besides the gems and his dad. He was very fond of the older man and was happy that they were able to keep in touch over the years. His dad seemed like he got along with him as well, which was why the annoyed glare he was now sporting stunned him.

Greg rolled his eyes as he glowered at his food. “Ugh, the traditions. The DeMayos were all about tradition.”

Steven frowned, gaze flicking back and forth between the two of them. “Wait, DeMayo? What’s that?” Twoie gestured to their dad.

Greg let out a long sigh. “My original last name was DeMayo, but when I moved out, I got it legally changed once I was old enough to change it.”

Steven pouted and sat back down. “DeMayo is such a cool name. Much cooler than Universe.” Twoie laughed and patted Steven’s back.

“I thought that too, when I first heard it. But it just means that we’re Steven Quartz Cutie Pie D-.” Twoie froze as his mind caught up to his mouth. “DeMayo Universe.” He laughed off the look the other two gave him.

Greg hummed as he ate the last of his breakfast. Steven frowned and looked back at his father. “But why did you change your name? Why did you stop talking to the rest of your family? I didn’t even know we had other family.” He pushed the food around on his plate.

Their father sighed and picked up his plate. He headed over to the sink and washed his dishes, putting them in the dish rack once he was done. “I never told you guys about my family because I grew up in a prison.” He sat down at the table again. “My parents were very strict. Anything I liked was off-limits, and I had to do every little thing they told me to do, or they would throw a fit. So one day, I decided I wasn’t going to live like that anymore. I took to the road and truly began my music career!” Greg smiled as he imagined that amazing night where he took his future into his own hands. That was when he heard that song. He accidentally left that at home, didn’t he? “You know what? Get dressed, boys! We’re going on a family road trip!”

Twoie and Steven startled at his excitement. The timing was a little odd, but family road trips were things people usually did, right? Twoie's dream flashed in his mind for a moment. It’d be nice to be a normal human for once.

The Universes bundled up into the van and took off on their family road trip. Although the van didn’t have a back seat, Greg had jerry-rigged a back seat and seatbelt for Steven along the wall of the van behind the driver’s seat. Steven and Twoie had dressed for the occasion as it was a fairly warm summer day. There wasn’t much traffic heading out of Beach City, and Steven had his face pressed against the window. The kid was rambling about all of the new sights and towns they were passing by. The group stopped at a burger place for lunch and eventually arrived in a neighborhood at sunset. Greg scanned the rows of cookie-cutter houses. Once he found the right one, he pulled over and parked along the sidewalk. There was no car in the driveway, and Greg didn’t expect there to be one. “Good, they’re not home.”

Twoie and Steven stared at Greg in surprise as he unbuckled his seatbelt and stepped out of the car. “Wait, Dad? What do you mean by that? Where are you going?” Twoie quickly unbuckled his own seatbelt and rushed out of the car, Steven following him a second later. The two shared a look of panic as Greg climbed over the fence. They hopped over the fence and floated up to the window their dad had opened.

“Dad! You’re breaking and entering!” Steven whisper-yelled as they also climbed inside. Their dad was rifling through several boxes in a simple blue room. Twoie walked out of the room with the intent of leaving a note while Steven stayed and tried pulling on his dad’s arm. “You can’t just go into people’s houses and take their things! I thought you said we were going to get something you needed?” Steven lectured him. The kid started putting items back into boxes that Greg left out and hoped that he put things in the right places.

“I just need one thing, and then we can leave. Believe me, I wouldn’t have come here if I could avoid it. I hate being in my parents’ house.” Steven froze. He opened his mouth but couldn’t say anything as he looked around his dad’s old room.

“This… was your room?” Steven would’ve said more, but Twoie called out from the hallway, sprinting into the room.

“This is your house?” Twoie smiled and began looking around the room once Steven confirmed it. “This place is beautiful! I thought you said it was a prison?” Steven tilted his head curiously and went to go explore the hallway and the living room. Twoie snorted as he heard the echoed exclamation of wonder from Steven somewhere in the house a moment later.

Greg scoffed as he continued digging through boxes. “I did! I told you that this morning. You have no idea what it was like curfew, chaperones, meatloaf!” Steven walked back into the room.

“You didn’t like meatloaf?” He questioned as he looked around the room. His eyes lit up, and he knelt down at the box in front of him and Twoie.

“Not every Thursday for twenty years.” Twoie smiled at his dad and knelt down beside Steven. He watched his dad push the box away and grab another one.

Twoie glanced down into the box, watching as Steven carefully moved the items inside around. “It can’t have been that bad." He chuckled as Steven pulled out a wrestling trophy and excitedly shoved it in his face.

“Twoie, it was horrible. Do you know how old I was the first time I had a taco?” Greg sighed and stared off into the distance. “Too old…” Steven pulled the trophy back. He frowned at his dad but brushed it off to hold up the trophy again.

“Dad, I didn’t know you wrestled! Amethyst and I used to be underground wrestlers. You could’ve taught me some things!” Steven was so excited to learn all these new things about his dad.

He had grandparents, an Uncle Andy, his dad used to wrestle, but then Steven’s joy dimmed when he heard his dad practically growl, “Not by choice.”

He didn’t get the chance to reflect on it for long as Twoie pulled out a middle school yearbook. The young man squealed in joy as he found their dad’s photo. “Steven, look! He had braces!” Steven laughed at Twoie’s excitement. His brother had been really upset lately with everything going on. It was nice to see him so happy. He watched his older brother take a photo of the picture. Twoie’s face became wistful as he looked at it. “You look just like us, only… more human.” Steven raised a brow in confusion but didn't voice his concern. He wasn't sure what Twoie meant by that, but it seemed to make him sad.

They flipped through the book together until they reached the end, where friends could write notes. “Wow, so many people signed this! Tim says he wants you to have a great summer and… Who is Lauren Hett?” Steven giggled at the way Twoie said it. “She sure wrote a lot.” Twoie was almost sing-songy as he teased their father.

Greg wasn’t phased by any of it, though. He just sighed and continued rummaging through his old boxes. “We were in mathletes together. It’s just one of the million things my parents made me do.”

Steven frowned as he realized that his dad was upset. It didn’t seem like Twoie noticed, though. The youngest coughed and hoped to steer the attention away from his dad. “Where are your parents, anyway?” And Twoie ruined that plan. Steven looked worriedly back and forth between his two family members.

“They're probably in Empire City. Every summer, they take a trip to Empire City to watch a couple shows, visit the art museum, and eat at fancy restaurants. They would only do things that were “refined” and “tasteful.” And every single winter of every single year, they go to their timeshare on Florida Island. They threw a fit the first time I refused to go with them.” Greg huffed. “I’m okay with traditions when they’re fun, but DeMayo traditions were always so restrictive.”

Okay, Steven needed to make a distraction. The kid stood up and walked over to his father. “What are you looking for anyway? Maybe I can help?”

Before Greg could reply, Twoie chimed in, “Ooh, your hair, it’s so short!” Steven sighed as their dad facepalmed.

“Oh, no. Is that my graduation photo? They made me cut it.” Steven frowned as Greg glared at the box. “And it was right before a gig. I told you that everything music was off-limits, which is why I had to…” Greg looked up at the vent of his room. “Hide my stuff!” The older man pushed a chair against the wall so he could unlatch the vent and pull a small box out. “Yes, this is it! We can finally get out of here!”

Steven sighed in relief. Although he was happy to learn about his dad's family, he would love to go home now. He didn’t like seeing his dad upset or annoyed. And it seemed like the older man was both whiles inside this house. Their dad headed over to the window again, but Twoie convinced him to use the front door instead. Once they were back in the van, Greg started down the road and back towards Beach City. Twoie held the box in his lap while his dad drove. “What’s inside here anyway. This was the whole reason you brought us there, right?”

Greg grinned as he steered the car onto the highway. “When I was little Gregory DeMayo, I was just going through the motions. Doing what everybody else wanted me to do. Why don’t you open that box?” Steven peered over the side of his dad’s seat just in time to see his older brother pull a CD out of the wooden box. “One day, my buddy in social studies snuck me that. That is the CD with the song that made me who I am! Put that in the CD player and play Track 4.”

Steven giggled as Twoie did as instructed. “You like that song so much you have the track number memorized?” Steven laughed at the thought of his dad playing one song over and over again.

Greg grinned as the song loaded. “You know it! Hold on to your butts, kiddoes!” Steven leaned back into his seat as the song started playing.

“Looking for your place in the universe. Don’t you know the universe is looking too? Looking for its place in you. And now it’s coming through.”

Twoie thought the song was fine, but he felt a little awkward sitting in the car without talking. This song was important to his dad, though, so he was happy they got it. And it meant they got to learn more about him then he’d ever told them before. His father, back in his original timeline, had never told him much about himself. It felt funny being closer to his past dad than his future dad, but it really meant a lot to him. Everything had been so confusing lately with all of the gem stuff going on and his weird sickness thing. This little family road trip felt… normal. Like being human instead of a gem. “Hey…”

Twoie didn’t get to finish thanking his dad for opening up to them because his dad immediately stopped him. “Hang on, this is the best part!” Twoie blinked in surprise but stayed quiet as his dad started singing along. “Welcome to the party, Mr. Universe. We’re so glad we are a part of you. Meet the rocks and flowers. The seconds and the hours.” Twoie sighed and just watched the scenery outside the window as his dad continued. Steven was smiling in the back, swaying back and forth to the rhythm.

“The splinters, winters, apples, chapels, teardrops, temples, cats, and castles. Anything that you can be, the things you see and cannot see, are Mr. Universe. Mr. Universe.” Though Greg and Steven were enjoying themselves, Twoie’s eyes widened in realization and slight horror. It seemed ridiculous, but hearing the phrase, ‘Mr. Universe’ multiple times in his dad’s favorite song…

“Dad? Is this where our name comes from?” Please say no, please say no. Twoie looked over at his dad and grimaced when his dad sat up straighter, as though proud of picking his name from a song.

“Yes! Yes, exactly!” Steven smiled from his seat and was about to chime in about how cool that was when he caught sight of the angry expression on Twoie’s face.

“You took it from a song?!” Twoie gritted his teeth. He couldn’t believe it! His dad renounced his family name for a dumb song lyric? There was no familial or special meaning? No history? Here he was, wishing and dreaming, for something that didn’t involve gem stuff. He wanted to be a normal human being. Because normal humans wouldn’t have had to deal with intergalactic dictators and having to fix all of Pink’s mistakes. And he could've had that! But his dad gave it all up.

Steven could see Twoie getting even angrier at their dad’s nonchalant attitude. “I think it’s pretty neat. Dad wasn’t happy at home, and so he went out and did what made him happy! Isn’t that what matters in the end, Twoie?” He didn’t know why Twoie was so upset. Steven mentally berated himself for not working harder at getting Twoie to open up to him. Maybe then he would've understood why his older brother was upset. Maybe he’d be able to calm him down, say the right thing for once. But it seemed like he only made Twoie angrier.

And Greg didn’t notice any of this. “Once I heard this, everything changed. I suddenly realized there was so much out there I hadn’t even thought to dream about! The whole world, the whole universe! I wanted to get out and see all of it!” Greg took a hand off of the wheel and gestured to the van. “So, I took this van on this road, and I never looked back!”

Twoie’s eyes widened. Pearl began to draw the sword, but Pink stopped her. “Wait.” Pearl set the sword and scabbard down. “There is one last thing I need to do. No one can ever find out we did this. I never want to look back.”

“Twoie?” Twoie blinked a couple of times as he snapped to attention. His dad had a brow raised and was looking at him with slight concern.

He decided not to acknowledge his sudden flashback. “What did you say, Dad?”

His dad shrugged it off. “I said, Mr. Universe was exactly what I needed. I know you’ve been having a hard time being here in the past, and with whatever weird gem things have been going on. And you’ve been dealing with those weird bruise things that have been showing up. I told you two about myself because I wanted you to know that I’m here for you. For whatever you need.”

Twoie clenched his fists. “What I need? I need what you had!” Twoie glared at his dad. Steven flinched as his brother raised his voice. “I wish I could’ve grown up in a house like that!” Steven tried to interject, but Greg beat him to it.

“No, you don’t!” Greg said incredulously. He knew that Twoie wanted a normal lifestyle, but his parents were suffocating. That wasn’t the lifestyle Twoie, and Steven wanted.

“Maybe your parents weren’t so bad! Maybe they gave curfews, a-and chaperones, and meatloaf for-for a reason!” Twoie’s cheeks lit up the faintest of pink.

Steven watched the argument spiral and quickly spoke up from the back. “Twoie, wait- just-!”

Greg interrupted him. “Twoie, you don’t know what they were like!”

Steven called out again from the back. “Dad, you should explain-!”

Twoie’s cheeks glowed even brighter. “They can’t be worse than Mom’s family!” Steven froze. Wasn’t Mom’s family the gems? What did Twoie mean by that? “I went halfway across the galaxy for them, and this was right here?” What was Twoie talking about?

Steven was scared. He’d never heard Twoie speak with so much venom in his voice. D-did, did he hate the gems? Even Greg was startled. He was trying to keep his eyes on the road but kept flashing concerned glances at his eldest son whenever he could. “Twoie. I couldn’t do anything growing up. Everything I liked, or wore, or wanted was wrong! I know you dream about living like a normal family, and maybe you would’ve been happier with more rules growing up, but the truth is, you’re still better off than I was.”  

Better off? Better off? Sure! Having to fix every single mistake that Pink Diamond made, fighting another intergalactic war, almost dying on multiple occasions, was better off?! Maybe his dad’s family wasn’t what he had expected, but that can’t have been horrible people! The Diamonds were horrible people! His mom was a horrible person! And his dad just ran away? Just like-! “I can’t believe I never realized… You’re just like Mom!” Twoie’s body became encased in pink. Steven knew this was bad, but Greg didn’t understand.

“You grew up with actual freedom!” Greg was trying to understand why Twoie was so upset. It didn’t make sense to him.

“I GREW UP IN A VAN!” Twoie shouted. Steven flinched and curled into himself. He covered his ears and shut his eyes, trying to block out the infuriated shouts of his older brother. Was he really going to grow up to be this angry? “I never went to school. I never even went to the doctors! The closest I’ve gotten was Priyanka coming by the house!”

Greg unknowingly raised his voice in response to Twoie. Soon both Universes were yelling at each other. “Steven! You’re a gem! You’re not like other kids!”

“WHAT IF I WANTED TO BE!” Greg flinched. “WHAT IF I WANTED TO BE LIKE OTHER KIDS! WHAT IF BEING LIKE OTHER KIDS WOULD’VE STOPPED ME FROM ALMOST DYING ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS?! WHAT IF BEING LIKE OTHER HUMANS WOULD’VE SAVED ME ALL OF THE NIGHTMARES AND FLASHBACKS THAT I GET FROM BEING ON THE FRONTLINES OF A SECOND INTERGALACTIC WAR? WHAT IF BEING LIKE OTHER HUMANS MEANT I DIDN’T HAVE TO LIVE THE REST OF MY LIFE FIXING AND MAKING UP FOR ALL OF PINK DIAMOND’S MISTAKES?” Twoie’s rage resounded through the whole van. “THE PROBLEM ISN’T THAT I’M A GEM! THE PROBLEM IS THAT I’M A UNIVERSE!”

In his fury, Twoie slammed his pink fists into the dashboard of the car. The whole console caved in, smashing the windows, and making Greg swerve as he slammed the brakes. The van drove off onto the side of the highway, leaving tire tracks in its wake. Finally, the van stopped several feet away, in the dirt and grass. Everyone sat in silence. Twoie, now hit by the gravity of his actions, lost his pink glow and stared in horror at the damage he caused the van. It felt like slow motion as he turned to see his dad, staring wide-eyed in front of him, both hands gripping the steering wheel like a life-line. Breaths heaving as he tried to calm himself down. He turned his gaze to Steven in the back. Thankfully, the kid was still in his seat. But he was curled up in fear. Legs tucked tightly to himself, and arms covering his head. He was whimpering quietly.

“Everyone, okay?” Greg called out worriedly. The man eased his grip on the wheel and twisted in the chair to check on Steven. Steven uncurled himself and tearily nodded at his dad. Twoie unbuckled his seatbelt and stepped outside of the car. “Twoie, wait! Where are you going?” The young man said nothing. He walked over to a small bush on the side of the road and vomited.

His dad and Steven rushed out of the van in concern. Twoie tried to calm his frayed nerves as he realized that he almost made his dad crash the car. He almost hurt Steven and his dad. It would’ve been all his fault.

Steven hugged him in the hopes of calming Twoie down. It just made him feel worse. Greg knelt down beside them and put a hand on Twoie’s shoulder. “You okay?”

Twoie looked at him in horror. “Dad, I’m so sorry! I-!” Greg gently shushed him.

“It’s okay. The van’s been through worse a-and we’ll get through this!” He looked at the van, and then to his eldest son again. “Look… I-…” Greg knew Twoie was upset about not growing up like other kids. He couldn’t bring himself to be mad at his son. Twoie was upset and wanted to express himself. That was something he’d never been able to do with his parents. “I’m proud of you.”

Steven and Twoie looked at him in surprise. “What?” Twoie exclaimed as he gently pushed Steven off of him.

Greg nodded and smiled at Twoie. “You know, I never had the guts to tell my old man off like that.” He sat down on the grass and looked up at the sky. “I’m glad you can tell me anything.” Twoie felt something cold inside. He felt numb. He couldn’t believe that he had done something so- so horrible! And yet his dad wasn’t going to scold him for any of it? Twoie pulled his phone out and looked at the picture of his dad’s yearbook photo. Maybe his life wouldn't have been so terrible if his dad had just decided not to run away. Maybe he wouldn't be such a horrible person if he had the chance to be more human. Twoie's eyes narrowed. Maybe he wasn't meant to be human. All of his hopes and dreams were just that. Hopes, and dreams.

Steven watched as Twoie’s expression grew more and more alarming to him. His anger had put them in danger, and now, as their dad rambled about things they could do back home to make him feel better, Steven saw Twoie narrow his eyes at the photo he took earlier. His eyes widened when he heard Twoie delete it. Steven was done. He was done letting Twoie keep his feelings to himself. He was done with staying quiet because Twoie didn’t want to talk. Twoie needed to talk. And he already knew what he wanted to ask. “Twoie?” His older brother’s tired, annoyed gaze shifted from the phone to Steven. “What did you mean when you said Mom's family was bad? Why did you have to go halfway across the galaxy for them? And why do you believe you have to fix Pink Diamond’s mistakes?”

Chapter Text

The world became deafening to Twoie. As he stared into the angry yet worried eyes of his little brother, all he could hear was the thunderous sound of his pulse in his ears. Anxiety clawed at his throat, choking him. He could barely breathe. Pink Diamond. PiNk dIAmONd. PINK DIAMOND.

“Twoie!” Twoie jumped at Steven’s shout. “See? This is exactly what I’m talking about! You keep having these moments where you panic about something that I don’t understand!” Steven took a deep breath. “I know you don’t want to talk about your problems. I know you don’t want to tell me. But you’re getting worse every time something new happens! I know you’ve been talking to Dr. Maheswaran, but you need more help than she can give you. Please. Just talk to me.” Steven knew it was a dirty trick, but desperate times called for desperate measures. He flashed Twoie the most heart-wrenching puppy dog eyes he could muster.

Twoie saw the look and averted his gaze. But the sad look on his dad’s face made him look back to Steven. “Son. Is everything okay? You can talk to me. I didn’t realize you were hurting so badly.” It was starting to feel like too much. He kept looking back between his brother and his dad. Both of them felt like they were too close. Like they were pressuring him to talk. He glared at both of them.

“Why can’t you guys just leave me alone? I don’t want to talk about it, and I’m sick of being interrogated! You’re just like the gems, turning on me when I’m not doing what you want.” Twoie stood up and walked away from the others. Steven glared and walked up behind him.

“I’m not turning on you! And I know you hate feeling like you’re being interrogated because the gems did it to you a lot. But you leave me with no other choice! Do you think I want to be standing on the side of the road, yelling at my older brother because he bottles all of his emotions inside himself? Because I don’t!” Greg, seeing that both of his sons were yelling at each other, quickly stood up and tried to calm everyone down.

He stood beside them with one hand on Twoie’s shoulder and the other on Steven’s head. “Alright. I think you two need a deep breath before we continue. We can have a discussion without yelling.” He turned to Twoie. “You need to stop yelling at him. He’s worried about you and just trying to help.” Then, he turned to Steven. “I know you’re frustrated. You’ve been trying to help him for what sounds like a while now, but you can’t push people to talk. Forcing him to talk about his problems will only make things worse.”

Twoie glowered at the ground. Everything was so frustrating right now. They saved the cluster, helped Lapis and Peridot become friends, got rid of the Rubies, but he felt awful. He felt tired and achy. And the one thing he thought would help, made everything worse. This whole family road trip turned out to be anything but normal. He had more family! Family that wasn’t dictators who almost killed him on multiple occasions before they decided to be good. Family that was human. And his dad just couldn’t understand why he was so upset that he hid that from them. Twoie really wanted to just go home and sleep.

Steven stared at the stars. Everything was so frustrating right now. Their family road trip was supposed to be fun, but it turned into a bad trip for everyone. His dad was upset to go home, Twoie was upset that dad had hidden even more family from them, and Steven found himself in two different fights. He was tired and worried and wanted to be there for Twoie like Twoie was there for him. But Dad was right. He shouldn’t be trying to force Twoie to talk. Steven really just wanted his older brother to be happy.

Steven took a deep breath and hugged his older brother from behind. “I’m sorry, Starbright.”

“Starbright?” Twoie broke the hug so he could face his younger brother.

Steven laughed at Twoie’s shocked expression. “Yeah. You call me Sunshine, and I’ve been trying to come up with a nickname for you for a long time. I know you picked Sunshine for me because you think I make everything brighter.” He smiled and threw his hands in the air. “And you’re even better than I thought I’d be when I grew up. You’re strong, you’re tall, you’re smart. You can cook, and you teach!” Steven’s smiled softly. “I know you don’t always think so, but you’re amazing. You’re everything I wished I would be as a grown-up. So, I thought Starbright fit you perfectly!” Steven looked up at the stars twinkling in the night sky. “You remember the nursery rhyme dad taught us, right?"  Twoie's eyes widened. He did remember. "Starlight, star bright. First star I see tonight.” Steven recited. “I wish I may. I wish I might. Have this wish, I wish tonight.” Twoie felt tears well up in his eyes.

Greg and Steven both wrapped Twoie in a group hug. “So, do you think you could let us help you? Can you grant me that wish, Starbright?” Steven quietly asked.

And though all of his senses were screaming at him not to say anything, Twoie felt his resolve break. He was tired of carrying this burden of a secret. He hadn’t been able to fix much of anything in the past, but he could fix this. He had to. Just say it. Blurt it out, so there’s no going back!

“There’s a gem in Lion’s mane!” And that wasn’t even what he meant to say. Steven and Greg shared a look of confusion. Twoie groaned, plopped down on the ground, and let himself fall back, so he was lying down. Steven shrugged at the maneuver, and the other two Universes sat down on opposite sides of Twoie. Steven took over the conversation since it looked like Twoie was regretting the situation.

“Okay… That doesn’t answer anything I asked you about earlier, but you’re talking! And that’s progress. Why didn’t you put her with the other gems if you knew? You can get inside Lion’s mane still.” The older half-gem mumbled some words into the back of his hand. “What?” Twoie moved the hand, so it covered his eyes instead.

“Because something bad will happen if I don’t handle it right.” Twoie brought his hand down and looked Steven in the eyes. “Because it’s going to challenge what you think of mom and what the gems think of her.” He glared and sat up. “Because mom wasn’t a good person and I have to fix everything she’s messed up so that everyone can be happy. But not me? Because I’m going to scream if I hear one more comparison of mom and me or one more reason about why she was so great!”

Greg placed a hand on Twoie’s shoulder. “What do you mean by fixing her mistakes? And earlier in the van, you said something about a second war? Is that why you’re upset with her?” The young man narrowed his eyes at the ground.

Steven scooted forward so he could catch Twoie’s gaze. “I thought you had to fix Pink Diamond’s mistakes? You had to fix Mom’s as well? What’s going on, Twoie?” Twoie’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Okay, so you know the story about Rose Quartz and Pink Diamond?” Steven nodded. Their dad was a bit confused, though.

“You’re going to have to fill me in a bit, Twoie. I’m getting older, and my memory’s not what it used to be.” Steven and Twoie exchanged a look before Twoie decided to tell him.

“Rose Quartz fought a rebellion against these gems called Diamonds, to protect the earth. That was the Rebellion. The event that escalated the war, though, was the death or shattering of Pink Diamond.” Twoie took a deep breath. “Except Pink Diamond was never shattered.”

Steven’s eyes widened in surprise. “What do you mean she was never shattered?”

Twoie pulled out of the hug so he could look Steven right in the eyes.

“Mom was Pink Diamond.”

After a lengthy discussion about Pink Diamond, Rose Quartz, and the Diamond Authority, Steven felt like his world had shattered. His mom was a war criminal who faked her own death to fight against her family. Who were tyrants of a space empire. Now the family thing made sense. “So, is that what you meant when you said she wasn’t a great person?” Steven had a hard time believing it, even though it made sense. Wouldn’t the gems have known? And why did Pearl never say anything about it? He felt sick and hoped that Twoie was just hard on her. “But she changed her mind! She thought the earth was something worth protecting, even if she was originally going to destroy it!”

Twoie shook his head. Steven still didn’t get it. “She wasn’t a great person because she ran away from her problems. She started a war, which led to so many gems being shattered and corrupted on both sides. She let her family believe she was dead for thousands of years. She forced Pearl to never talk about it, so even now, she can’t say anything! She left a gem alone and abandoned for thousands of years, in a deserted garden, where no one knew where she was! She traumatized her friend by hurting her so badly that her injury stayed a part of her light form, even after she was healed! She even poofed and bubbled her own teammate for disagreeing with her plans during the rebellion, instead of making her understand why it was wrong!” Twoie felt his anger rising again. He hated reminding himself of all of the horrible things his mom did. Greg placed a hand on Twoie’s shoulder, startling him into looking up and noticing the horrified look on Steven’s face. “No, Steven. Wait… I-I didn’t mean to say it like that.”

But Steven shook his head. “That’s… the gem in Lion’s mane. Isn’t it…” Twoie frowned and looked at the ground in shame.

“Yes, but I shouldn’t have said it like that. You didn’t deserve to hear me say that so bluntly. I’m sorry.” Steven somberly nodded. It was hard to hear Twoie talk about her like that. But he could understand why. Those were awful things that his mom did. And those were awful things that continued to bother not only Twoie but the people that were involved.

Greg sighed and rubbed Twoie’s shoulder. “I’m sorry you had to deal with all of that. I know being in the past puts a lot of pressure on you to keep secrets, and if we can relieve even a tiny bit of that pressure, we want to. I’m glad you told us.” Twoie looked up at him and then back to the ground again.

“I really shouldn’t have. You guys found out so much earlier than you did in my time. What if that messes up the future too much? You would’ve learned eventually.” Twoie rubbed his tired eyes with the palms of his hands.

Their dad smiled. “Then we’ll deal with that bridge when we cross it.” Greg took his phone out to check the time. “My goodness! It’s really late, and we still need to drive home. How about we finish this discussion while I drive?”

Steven and Twoie nodded. “I’ll tell Pearl that we know in the morning. Maybe she can help us find a way to tell the others. Garnet didn’t take it well when she found out, and we’re going to need everyone’s help if we want to change what happened with Bismuth.” Steven raised a brow at the name.

“Is that the name of the gem that Mom poofed?” He had never heard of that gem before.

Twoie hummed in affirmation. “I’m hoping that’ll be enough to keep her around this time.”

Chapter Text

Pearl anxiously paced in the living room. Greg had told them that he would be taking Twoie and Steven on a road trip, nothing strenuous, but it was well over the time they were supposed to be back. It was very early morning of the next day, for crying out loud! Garnet sat watching her friend pace, while Amethyst lounged lazily about.

“Yo, P. You’re going to wear out the wood. I think I can see a dip forming from the line you’ve been pacing for the past several hours.” Amethyst teased. She was initially worried, but once they heard back from Greg that they were on their way home and got caught up in a discussion, she figured everything was fine. She stuck around just to watch Pearl act frantic.

Pearl didn’t pause, but she did grab her ribbon in her hands and fidgeted with it. “It’s just so late, and who knows what could’ve happened on their way home? I was worried when Greg asked us if he could take them out on a trip this morning. We still don’t understand Twoie’s condition, and what if this made him worse? They said they had to deal with something unexpected!” She rushed over to the window, checking for car lights, before returning back to her pacing. Amethyst rolled her eyes.

After another couple of minutes of pacing, Pearl perked up at the sound of a car pulling up. She quickly ran back over to the window and sighed in relief when she saw the van parked in front of the house. She opened up the door and meet the tired group at the stairs. “Twoie, Steven! Oh, thank the stars, you’re back!” She scanned Twoie over as he got out in case anything had changed. Nothing stood out to her, which relieved some of her worries. But Twoie looked exhausted. He had dark bags under his eyes and looked as though he was just barely staying awake.

Twoie gave her a nod in greeting as he stepped out of the van. He walked over to the back, Pearl following nervously. She hadn’t seen Steven yet, and her paranoia wouldn’t rest until she knew they were both okay. She let out a relieved sigh when she saw Greg unbuckling a sleeping Steven from his chair. The older man gently passed him over to Twoie before grabbing their bags and locking up the van. “How was the trip? You look so tired, Twoie.” Pearl whispered quietly as they all walked up the stairs together.

The young man only shook his head. “I’ll tell you about it in the morning, I’m way too tired to talk about it, and there’s a lot to talk about. I’m gonna put him to bed, okay?” He opened the front door, waved to Garnet and Amethyst, and headed up to Steven’s bedroom. Greg followed along and gathered Steven’s PJs, so he could dress him for bed. Twoie, now relieved of caring for Steven, headed back down the stairs and plopped down tiredly on the couch.

Amethyst and Garnet exchanged a look of concern at his exhaustion. “Are you okay, dude? You look like a raccoon.” Twoie groaned in response. Pearl walked over to the group from where she was standing by the front door.

“He said he would explain what happened in the morning. Apparently, something major did happen. The ensuing discussion is going to be draining.” She fretted at the implications. The pale gem knew something had gone wrong. And the confirmation only made her paranoid about the upcoming discussion.

Garnet hummed in contemplation. Something that occurred on the road trip was serious, but not severe enough to be immediately discussed. Her future vision still didn’t work with Twoie, so she couldn’t figure out exactly what they would be discussing. It seemed like it’d be something pretty serious from the little she could glean from her power. All she could see was a shouting match, which did not bode well. “Are you sure there is nothing you could tell us now?” Twoie shook his head.

“Trust me. You’ll want me awake enough, so I don't say anything stupid.” He mumbled softly. Pearl gently guided him, so he was lying down on the couch cushions. Thankfully, the couch was pretty long, so Twoie could lay down on the part that stuck out while Greg could sleep on the opposite side of the couch. After she laid him down, Pearl took one of the blankets, leftover from the previous night, and laid it over the half-asleep teen. A soft noise of gratitude sounded from Twoie, and soon, he was fast asleep.

The Crystal Gems moved off the couch when Greg came back down. “I’m gonna go to bed, too. We’re all pretty exhausted. Wake us in a couple of hours?” Amethyst gave him a thumbs up. She would give them several hours, though. Otherwise, Steven would be the only one well-rested.

When Twoie woke up, he was not expecting to see Pearl watching him. She stopped doing so a long time ago when he told her he didn’t like it, and as far as he was aware, she had stopped. So, when he saw her staring as she stood over him, he was embarrassed to say she startled him, right off the couch. Amethyst snorted at the loud thud. Pearl immediately helped him, rambling apologies as she did so. “You were just so tired when you guys came back, and I couldn’t help but worry. I didn’t mean to startle you, I’m so sorry!”

Twoie waved her off. It was too early, and he was too tired for it to bother him. He made his way straight to the coffee pot and poured some out into a mug. He looked around as the coffee worked its magic. Amethyst and Garnet were all sitting around the counter. His dad had stepped out somewhere, and Steven was awake and sitting on the window seat by the front door.

“Good morning, Twoie! I didn’t want to start without you. Besides, you know more about what we talked about than I do.” Steven sheepishly shrugged. The gems had practically jumped him when he had woken up that morning. As the only one who slept during the drive back, Steven was the first to get up. However, the events of the previous night were best told by Twoie, so the gems had begrudgingly waited for the older boy to wake.

Twoie pinched the bridge of his nose with a sigh. “Right. Okay, then, I guess I should start with Pearl.” The gem in question straightened up at the sound of her name. She was surprised to be called out. “This should work…” Before she could question what he meant, Twoie spoke again. “I know Mom’s biggest secret.” She flinched. Garnet and Amethyst looked at her quizzingly as she paled in fear. “Before I can say it, though…” He turned to Garnet. “You have to promise not to freak out or leave until after the story is done. There’s a lot we need to talk about, and you need to be here for it. Okay?”

Garnet felt a sense of foreboding. Her vision from last night popped into her head, and she nodded at Twoie. Hopefully, they could avoid that situation. Twoie tensed as he addressed them. “One last thing, you can’t get mad at Pearl for this. She was ordered not to tell you. It was an order she physically can’t break herself. But I can break it.” Pearl held her hand out to Twoie, but both hands whipped straight to her mouth in a strangled yelp. Everyone’s eyes widened at the motion, now aware of what Twoie meant.

“Rose Quartz was not who she said she was. She was the leader of the rebellion against the Diamond Authority, and she cared about the earth. But she was not actually a quartz soldier.” Twoie took a deep breath. “Rose Quartz was actually Pink Diamond.” Silence reigned through the house.

Pearl’s eyes welled with tears as she shakily pulled her hands away. She turned to face Steven. “I’m so sorry.” She whispered while wiping away her tears. “I wanted to tell you for so long, but I couldn’t go against her order. My final command was that no one should know. Now that Twoie knows, I can tell you all everything!” Garnet looked back and forth between her and Twoie. Amethyst was staring at him, slack-jawed in surprise and confusion.

“Let me get this straight. Rose Quartz, Leader of the Crystal Gems, Steven’s mom-!” Steven nervously rubbed the back of his neck. He was worried about this, and Twoie mentioned they would freak out. Amethyst brushed her hands through her hair as she continued her rant. “Was actually Pink Diamond?” She hopped off the stool and started pacing the floor. “Oh my stars, so we were being led by a Diamond the entire time? I’m freaking out, man!”

Twoie rubbed his eyes with his palms as Pearl took over the explanation. “She faked her own shattering so that she could reform as Rose Quartz and stay Rose Quartz. She may have been a Diamond, but she cared immensely about her cause.” It took all of his control to bit his tongue and refrain from adding a biting comment as Pearl talked about her. The last thing he wanted was to give them a bigger reason to freak out. The gems handled it well enough in his time, except for Garnet. Being too negative would only make her reaction worse.

Amethyst narrowed her eyes at her. “That makes sense. I mean, pink Lion, pink sword, and now Pink Diamond? At this point, you could tell me she invented cotton candy, and I’d believe it! Man, that’s gotta suck, having to pretend for so long to be something you’re not.”

Pearl shook her head with a fond smile. “That’s the thing Amethyst, she had to pretend around the Diamonds, not us. With the Crystal Gems, she could be who she really wanted to be.” Twoie relaxed a little as he saw Pearl and Amethyst handling the news well, but then his gaze landed on Garnet.

The leader had her fists clenched tightly as she trembled slightly. “You’re wrong.” All eyes turned to Garnet. “She did pretend with us. This entire time she pretended that she was never a Diamond. That she never had anything to do with the Diamond Authority. She pretended to only be a quartz. And we never questioned her.” And just as Twoie feared, Garnet’s form glowed white and shifted into two light forms. Ruby and Sapphire.

Ruby held her hands out placatingly to Sapphire. Sapphire’s rage, however, could not be quelled. “She lied to us!” Steven quickly hopped off the window bench and ran over to stand beside Twoie. He stopped from getting to close by Twoie putting a hand out. “She lied about everything!” Ice formed and spread across the floor as Sapphire yelled. Pearl and Amethyst jumped at the suddenness as ice lightly encased their feet. Thanks to Twoie’s quick reaction, Steven was fine, but Twoie found himself trapped in place as ice encased his feet as well. “She looked us right in the eyes, and told us to never question who we are as Garnet! We never questioned ourselves, or her!”

Ruby took a step forward and held her hand out. “Sapphire, wait! We couldn’t have known!” Although it didn’t show, Sapphire glared at Ruby.

“No! You couldn’t have known. You never know what’s going on!” Ruby flinched at the hurtful words. “That’s what I’m for! I’m supposed to know the future. I’m supposed to guide us along the right path. But I never looked into her. I trusted her! I let her make fools of us all!” Sapphire gripped her dress and lifted it up enough for her to run for the warp pad.

“Sapphire, wait!” Ruby called out as she tried to follow her. Twoie narrowed his eyes in anger. She promised she’d wait. He needed her, needed them both! But she was going to leave again, even after she promised.

 He raised his hand and shouted, “Stop!” Pink fractals formed in her path and cut her off from the warp pad. She banged her fists on the shield, then rounded on him.

“Twoie! Drop this wall! Now!” Ruby ran up to her and took her hands in her own. Twoie didn’t realize he could form the wall but concentrated on keeping it up. It was his only chance to stop her from leaving.

“Sapphire, please! We promised as Garnet that we’d hear everything out. Can’t we stay c-calm and talk about this? Let’s just talk!” She tried pulling Sapphire back towards the others, but the little gem stubbornly held her ground.

“Talk? Talk about what?” Tears cascaded down the side of her face. “Talk about how our relationship was based on a lie?” More ice formed out of nowhere, cause little spikes to form and jut out from the ground. Ruby quickly backed away. The little gem stared at her in heartbreak. Sapphire ignored her pained expression and turned back to Twoie. “I told you to drop it!” But Twoie had had enough of her. Had enough of her selfishness. Pink alighted on his cheeks.

“Sapphire, stop taking your anger out on Ruby! She’s trying to support you, and here you are lashing out! Do you think Ruby deserves the way you’re treating her? And another thing, you already promised that you’d listen to the full story. You need to shut up and let us tell you everything!” Everyone flinched at Twoie’s harsh tone. Sapphire became incensed at the disrespect.

“You’re just as bad as her! You came here from the future, with all this information that could be helpful to us, and yet you always wait until the last second to tell us something useful! If it wasn’t for you, my future vision would be working, and I wouldn’t have to rely on you to know how to handle things! This was a huge thing to keep from us! What else are you pretending to not know? You pretend that everything is okay, and then drop these bombshells out of nowhere. You’re just lying to us. Lies of omission are still lies.” As the little blue gem yelled, her ice grew more and more jagged. Steven backed up as ice covered the floor, and Twoie flinched at the numbing cold as it inched past his ankles. The jagged edges of the ice pricked painfully at his skin. Safe from the ice by her fire powers, Ruby covered her mouth in horror as Sapphire’s words echoed in the living room. Her shoulders shook as sobbed quietly.

Twoie clenched his fists in anger. He glared at the little blue gem as pink encompassed his body. “Don’t compare me to her! I have spent years trying to fix her mistakes, and back home, I’m still fixing them! You think this is about you? Well, it’s not! Pink Diamond made a bunch of mistakes. Maybe she should’ve told you a long time ago, but you’re not the only person she hurt! So, stop acting like it!” Sapphire flinched as the ice along the floorboards cracked and shattered into pieces.

The house settled into silence. Only the sound of Twoie’s ragged breathing could be heard as he tried to calm his anger. Steven was staring at them with wide, horrified eyes. He knew Garnet would take it hard, but he didn’t expect them to split, or for Sapphire to take her to hurt out on Ruby. He didn’t expect her to yell at Twoie either.

Sapphire gripped her head in her hands, pushing up her hair enough to see the pain in her single eye. “Of course, she hurt others. She was Pink Diamond! But why did she have to drag us into it? Why couldn’t she have stopped the colonization herself?” Pearl lightly cleared her throat.

All eyes turned to her. “She tried, Sapphire. When Pink told the other Diamonds that she didn’t want to go through with the colony, they told her to finish what she started. When she told the other Diamonds that she wanted to preserve life on earth, they created the Zoo and threw a handful of humans in. She did everything she could as Pink Diamond, but her status meant nothing to Blue and Yellow.” Pearl hung her head and looked away. It was hard for her to remember how unhappy Rose was with the Diamonds. How much they hurt her. “So, she decided to make a stand. As someone they couldn’t ignore. She was going to scare every gem off the planet.”

Amethyst was staring at Pearl in awe. She knew some of the stories of Rose, but a lot of info they didn’t tell her because they thought she was too young or too immature to know. And even though she had her flaws, there were still things to admire about Pink’s actions. And she did it as a quartz. It made her feel a little prouder to be an amethyst.

Pearl looked back to Sapphire and then smiled encouragingly at Ruby. “But everything changed when she saw your fusion. She admired you so much. That was the first time we tried to fuse. It almost worked, but then we remembered you, and we were too worried to try again. And then we reencountered you.” She thought of the memory fondly. She missed Rose so much, but she could reminisce about the good times later. She needed to help get Garnet back. “Before Garnet, Rose was only fighting for the earth. But Garnet changed everything! Rose wanted to fight for her. She wanted to fight for gems!”

Sapphire stood there, contemplatively. So, Rose really wasn’t using them. She really did care about the earth and about gems. She really did care about Garnet. “This whole time, I thought we were following her, but she was… following us.” Sapphire smiled. “How could she not after you swept her off her feet.” Pearl flushed in embarrassment. “That’s how I felt when I came here with Ruby.” She turned to face Ruby and swept her into a big hug. “Ruby! I’m so sorry! Twoie was right. I did take my anger out on you, and you didn’t deserve that in the slightest. Can you forgive me?”

Ruby looked at her with a smile. She wiped her tears off her face as she pulled away from the hug. “Of course, Sapphy! I’ll always forgive you.” The two hugged again, and in a ball of light, re-formed into Garnet.

The perma-fusion used her fire to melt the jagged ice from the floor and free everyone trapped in the ice. “Thank you, Twoie, Pearl, for helping me understand the truth. And I’m sorry about Sapphire losing control and encasing you all in ice.” Although Pearl and Amethyst wholeheartedly accepted her apology, Twoie stared at her. She apologized for the ice, but not for her verbal attack. And now, she was acting like it never happened. Like they could all just move past the awful words that were said. Twoie’s nails dug into his palm. And if he did bring it up, he’d probably sound spiteful. Twoie gritted his teeth and held his tongue. No point in starting another argument. Instead, he focused on the next thing they needed to discuss. He plastered a fake smile on his face.

“Now, that you all know about Pink Diamond, there’s something we can do.” All eyes turned to him. “How would you like to reunite with an old friend?”

Chapter Text

“An old friend?” Pearl questioned as she tried to think of who Twoie was referring to. All of their friends had been corrupted or shattered.

The young man nodded his head. “Yup! I’m sure you remember Bismuth, right?” Garnet and Pearl gasped in shock.

Amethyst raised a brow in confusion at their behavior. “Nope! Never heard of her. Sure looks like you guys do, though. Why don’t you share with the rest of us?” Amethyst rolled her eyes as the two quickly got in Twoie’s face, asking all sorts of questions about Bismuth.

Pearl’s voice rose over Garnet’s. “Rose said she lost track of her after the Battle of the Ziggurat? How did you find her?”

Twoie held his hands out as he backed up. “Too close! Okay, The truth is, Rose never lost track of Bismuth.” Pearl and Garnet shared a look of confusion. “Bismuth was bubbled after she attacked Rose.”

Pearl let out a strangled noise of shock while Garnet clenched her fists in disbelief. There had to be some kind of mistake. The permafusion just couldn’t believe it. “Bismuth was one of the original Crystal Gems. There is no way she would have attacked Rose. You must have misunderstood.”

Twoie sadly shook his head. “She would if she thought Rose wasn’t doing enough for the cause.” The two looked at her in horror and disbelief. “Bismuth had created a new weapon called the Breaking Point. She brought Rose down to the forge one day and demonstrated it using some statues. It could shatter any gem, and she wanted to use it to shatter Pink Diamond.” Pearl’s hands flew up to her mouth. Garnet dematerialized her glasses in horror. Her three eyes scanned Twoie for any indication of a lie, but she couldn’t find anything. He was telling the truth. “Rose disagreed with her; she thought shattering any gem was wrong. So, Bismuth fought her and lost. Rose decided to bubble her away, where no one would ever find her. I’m guessing she came up with that lie for you guys once you noticed she was gone.”

Sometime during his story, Pearl had started crying silently. Garnet had turned away to stare at the ground. Although Steven and Amethyst didn’t know Bismuth, both were looking away in discomfort. The discussion was as difficult as Twoie remembered it being when he had to bubble Bismuth. But it was a talk that needed to happen.

Garnet, back still turned to Twoie, widened her eyes as she realized something. “How did this turn out in your timeline.” Twoie stayed quiet for a moment. He didn’t like talking about what happened, especially because Bismuth was in a bad state of mind at the time. When Twoie didn’t answer, Garnet turned to face him with her eyes narrowed. “You told us about Pink Diamond as an intervention. So that we could understand what happened before you brought Bismuth out. This means you’re trying to prevent something from occurring. We need to know what could happen.” The young man stiffened, cheeks glowing pink ever so slightly.

Garnet was insistent, but Twoie absolutely did not want to further influence their opinion of Bismuth. She was one of his best friends in his timeline, and he knew how much it hurt the gems to keep her bubbled after Bismuth attacked him. The large gem loomed over him. Eyes narrowed in anger and betrayal as Twoie refused to use the Breaking Point.  That’s what he was trying to prevent. And they were already hurt by learning of her fight with Rose. “She thought I was Rose and was pretending to not remember anything. She eventually realized that I was my own person, and we became friends.” Although it wasn’t everything that happened, everything he said was true. Twoie felt guilt clutch his heart as Sapphire’s words about lies rang in his head. This wasn’t a lie of omission, though; it was a modified truth.

Steven observed Twoie as he spoke. He was beginning to learn when Twoie was lying or understating something. His voice shifted higher very slightly, he’d sometimes fake a smile, or he would glow pink. Just like he was doing now. “Twoie, I know you’re not telling us everything. Should I call Connie and ask if you could talk to Dr. Maheswaran? She always seems to know how to help.” Before Twoie could reply, Steven had pulled his phone out and turned it on. Instead of showing his home page with his apps, it opened up into a video of himself. “What?” Twoie raised a brow in confusion at Steven’s exclamation and walked over to see the screen. The other gems also gathered around Steven to see what surprised him.

When Twoie peered over Steven’s shoulder, he flinched as he recognized the lower level of Bismuth’s old forge. The phone was playing a video of Steven throwing the Breaking Point to the ground. “-you’re lying about this new form, just like you lied to the others about me!” Bismuth grabbed him by the front of his shirt and lifted him into the air. “But I didn’t just disappear, did I? YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO ME!”

But Steven hadn’t encountered Bismuth yet, so how-? That’s when he realized the phone was somehow playing Twoie’s memory of the events. The young man tried to swipe the phone away from Steven, but Garnet quickly grabbed Twoie’s wrists and stopped him. “Wait! That’s my memory! Don’t watch that! Steven, turn it off!” The permafusion knew it was wrong, but she needed to know what to expect. There was something that Twoie was brushing aside, and she knew in her gut that it was vital for them to know. She held the struggling teen back so he wouldn’t take the phone away. Twoie froze and focused on the video again as he heard a strangled gasp come from Pearl. Bismuth slammed her hammer arm into the ground, right where Steven was just standing. The kid landed heavily on his back but quickly got up and hid behind one of the statues in the room. Garnet watched in horror as Bismuth’s arm shifted from a hammer to a wide blade. Steven flinched when he saw himself barely manage to duck in time as the blade cut through the statue like butter.

This felt like Twoie was vividly reliving a nightmare. The young man stood frozen in horror as he saw the attack. He could remember the terror that had filled him when he saw the blade coming towards him. As he summoned his shield, only for Bismuth to break it with one powerful hit. The force from the hit pushed him to the ground, and he could feel the floor burning his skin through his jeans. The fight escalated as Steven pushed Bismuth back with a bubble, and Bismuth retaliated by slamming her hammer into the ground. Steven squeaked in fear when he saw his sandal fall into the lava. He turned to Twoie, and his worry increased. Twoie was pale, except for his glowing pink cheeks, as though all of the blood had drained from him. It reminded him a lot when he froze up at the sight of Yellow Diamond. Amethyst’s whispered “no” brought his attention back to the screen. The screen had gone black for a brief moment, and then Steven’s eyes opened as he strained to lift the statue that had been thrown at him. He raised it above his head, pushed off from the wall, and launched it at Bismuth. “BISMUTH, WATCH OUT!”

Pearl managed a weak smile at the fact that Steven warned her about the attack, even though the gem was trying to kill him. Her smile immediately faded when Bismuth directed the weapon that Steven was now holding to her gem. “Just DO IT!” She hoped this meant things were over because Steven would never hurt someone intentionally. Steven’s eyes filled with tears, and he blinked enough away to see Bismuth’s face. “No! Even if we don’t agree, nobody deserves this!”

And as Twoie saw the look of surprise morph into rage, tears slipped down his cheeks. Because he knew what would happen next. He recalled that Bismuth grabbed the Breaking Point and yanked it out of his hands. The force sent him stumbling backward. He tripped over Rose’s sword, that was lying on the ground, and as Bismuth raised the Breaking Point in the air, with all intent of using it on him, he grabbed the sword out of fear. Twoie panicked, clenching his eyes shut and hoping he'd live. He could feel the moment his sword connected with her. See the surprise and pain in her eyes as she stood with the sword going through her. As she lowered the weapon, knowing that she had lost again. “You should’ve shattered me back then. At least if I was in pieces, I wouldn’t have to know how little I mattered to you. You didn’t even tell ‘em.” Twoie’s vision blurred as more tears welled up in his eyes. “You bubbled me away and didn’t even tell your friends! My friends…”

He let out a strangled sob at the grief in her eyes. Maybe his mom was happy with hiding it, but Twoie wasn’t. He couldn’t even fathom pretending this had never happened. “I’m going to tell them! I’m going to tell them everything.” Bismuth’s eyes widened in shock, and then she chuckled. “Then you really are better than her.”Her form disappeared, leaving only a gem and the weapon behind. Twoie quickly bubbled her and then kicked the weapon into the lava. Bismuth didn’t deserve what happened to her, and no gem deserved to be shattered. He picked up the sword and sheathed it. He needed to find the gems.

The feeling of hands gently tugging on his jacket snapped him out of his flashback. He blinked the vision away to see Steven’s tearful, concerned expression as he stood in front of him. The kid hugged his older brother tightly once he knew Twoie had returned to awareness. Twoie wrapped one hand around Steven’s shaking shoulders and brushed the other through Steven’s hair out of reflex. He looked up to see pitied gazes from the gems. “I’m so sorry you had to go through that, Twoie,” Pearl whispered. She wiped tears from her eyes as she gently placed a hand on his shoulder in comfort.

Garnet nodded in agreement. “I’m glad that we know what happened, though. We’ll do our best to make sure this does not happen again. We’ll also have to monitor this new power of yours. I don’t recall Rose ever having the ability to project her thoughts and memories to technology.” Twoie just nodded and looked away. He felt drained of all energy with this recent flashback. He almost wanted to put off releasing Bismuth, but she didn’t deserve to stay bubbled because he was tired. She had spent thousands of years hidden away. And he wasn’t going to let her wait a moment longer.

Amethyst strolled over to him and lightly punched his arm. “Dude, if she even tries to do something like that, I’ll send her flying out the front door. We got you, Twoie.” He smiled. Things would be different this time. He gently pulled Steven away from him and wiped his tears away.

After, he motioned for the gems and Steven to step back. Steven flashed him a concerned look. “Are you sure you want to do this now? We could wait for a bit and do this later?” Twoie shook his head. Waiting meant free time, which led to thinking. He didn’t want to dwell on the fact that Steven and the gems had accidentally seen his memories. And he didn’t want to remember how much Rose hurt Bismuth. He just wanted to fix it.

Once there was enough space, he called out for Lion. It took a couple of seconds for the familiar pink portal to show up in the living room. Lion bounded out of it and immediately honed in on Twoie. With a chuff, the fluffy cat greeted the time traveler with a lick to the face and a rumbling purr. “Nice to see you too, Lion.” Twoie chuckled and gave him a couple of pats. “I need to go inside your mane for a second.” The creature snuffed and laid down on the ground. Twoie turned back to the gems. “I’m going to bring her bubble out first, and then I’ll unbubble her. We’ll have to explain everything to her. Hopefully, this will be enough to make her realize that Steven and Rose are two different people.” The others nodded in agreement, so Twoie took a deep breath and stepped into Lion’s mane.

A moment later, he stepped back out, with a pink bubble in his hands. The other watched with bated breath as Twoie popped the bubble and set the gem down on the ground. The gem glowed white, and suddenly, Bismuth was standing in the living room, arms raised in defense.

Chapter Text

Pearl couldn’t believe her eyes. Here she was. Bismuth. She couldn’t believe it had been over 5000 years. Tears came to Pearl’s eyes, and she shakily wiped them away. The broad-shouldered gem stared at them in astonishment. “Garnet? Pearl?” The prim and proper gem wanted so much to jump into her arms. Still, for one second, Bismuth’s unbelieving smile morphed into a twisted snarl. A blink later and Bismuth’s smile was a huge grin. Pearl mentally shook off the vision. She wouldn’t let that happen. Not this time.

“I can’t believe it’s true. You’re back, and yet you were here the whole time!” Pearl sniffed as more tears poured down her cheeks. Bismuth’s elation shifted into suspicious confusion. She looked around the base, waving at the few new faces, and then turned to Garnet.

“Here the whole-? Are you aware-? Where’s Rose?” The blacksmith looked frantic as she stepped closer to Garnet. She was trying not to blurt out everything, in case her friends weren’t actually aware of her imprisonment.

Garnet placed a hand on her shoulder in comfort. “Rose is gone. You don’t have to worry about her putting you in a bubble again.”

Bismuth’s eyes widened. Gone? “She’s… been shattered?”

Pearl placed a hand on Bismuth’s other shoulder. There was a mix of guilt, relief, and horror in the broad-shouldered gem's eyes. Hopefully, that meant that they had already changed the timeline enough that Twoie’s version would not come to pass. “Not shattered, but she is gone. We have a lot to tell you, now that you’re back.” Pearl led her old friend to sit on the couch. The somber mood had left little room for the jokes that Twoie remembered Bismuth cracking when she first arrived. It felt awkward, and he didn’t like it.

The young man stepped forward, worrying the others in the room. Amethyst tried to grab his arm to hold him back, but Twoie was already in front of the multi-colored gem. She looked up at him curiously, greeting his smile with one of her own. He held out a hand to her. “Hello, Bismuth! My name is Twoie Universe.” She blinked in surprise but gave him a firm and friendly handshake.

Her smile got a little bigger when he also had a firm handshake. “It’s nice to meet you, Twoie. You already know my name, but let me say that I’m looking forward to hearing about all of the things I’ve Bis-muthed.” There was a groan from Pearl and Garnet, but Twoie snorted, and Steven laughed into his hands. Tension eased out of the room.

“Stars, have I bismuthed you, and you’re jokes.” Twoie plopped down in the seat next to her. She looked at him in bemusement, but Twoie quickly waved Steven over. His younger brother walked over and shyly waved. “This is my younger brother, Steven Universe.” Bismuth smiled and held her hand out, as well. Steven felt more confident at her friendliness.

“Hi! You were in my lion, and now you’re in my house!” He shook her hand, then stepped closer to Twoie. He was still a little nervous, but he liked her already. She was friendly, and she made jokes!

“Well, thanks for having me.” She shifted her gaze to Amethyst, standing by the counter, and waved. “Are you a new recruit? Welcome aboard! We could always use more amethysts.” Amethyst scoffed and looked away. Twoie sent her a stern look, and she sighed.

“Hi, I’m Amethyst. I’m not a new recruit, though.” The purple gem didn’t want to befriend her right now. Not after what she did. Or could do. She would keep a watchful eye on her, and then maybe if everything went well, she’d be okay with being friends.

The blacksmith shrugged off the rudeness and turned to face Pearl and Garnet. “Alright. Obviously, I’ve missed some stuff, so why don’t we start from the beginning? How long was I gone?” Pearl stepped forward, hands twisting her ribbon.

“You were gone for 5,300 years.” Silence permeated through the room. Bismuth stared at her in shock. How could that be when it felt like just yesterday she was arguing with Rose about what to do next? Wait-!

“What about the war? What happened?” Bismuth stood up and ran outside. The earth didn’t look destroyed or taken over by Homeworld. There was a beach and grass and birds. So did they win? Twoie walked over to stand beside her on the porch.

The young man placed a hand on her shoulder. “The Crystal Gems won the war. It’s been over for a long time, but it still caused a lot of problems. One of which was you being bubbled. The others are aware that Rose did that to you.” So many emotions flitted through Bismuth’s eyes at the revelation, but she stayed quiet, waiting for him to continue. “You were right to question her methods. Not shattering anyone was a good decision, but I’m sure she made a lot of weird ones regarding the Diamonds. That’s because Rose Quartz was Pink Diamond.” That was where she couldn’t handle it anymore. Her mind was racing. There were so many things she had questioned, and this one secret was the reason why. Bismuth needed to vent. She needed to scream. The gray gem smiled at him.

“Excuse me for a second.” She jumped over the porch fence and walked into the ocean. The others watched her curiously until they could hear muffled, gurgled screaming coming from the water. Her head breached the waves. “Oh my stars, it all makes sense now!” The gem ran up the stairs to the group again. “So the leader of the war this whole time was Pink Diamond? We were led by the very tyrant we were trying to defeat?”

Pearl glared at Bismuth. “She wasn’t a tyrant! When Rose realized that gem colonization was hurting the earth, she wanted to stop it. It’s why she became the leader of the rebellion. She wanted gems to have the freedom to decide their future and the ability to make those choices. She believed in everything that the Crystal Gems stood for.” Bismuth took a deep breath. She could tell that Pearl felt very strongly about this matter, and it would do no good to argue with her friends after being gone for over five thousand years.

The gem fixated on the sparkling ocean water instead. She needed confirmation, though. “How do you know that for sure?” She turned her gaze back to the group. Twoie cleared his throat and gestured to the world around them.

“Because the war is over. Yes, she wronged you by keeping you in a bubble, but the Crystal Gems won. Do you think she would’ve let that happen if she was working for Homeworld?” She sighed and nodded. It made sense. If she had found out during the war, she probably would’ve treated her like the other diamonds. But that didn’t mean all of her actions were forgiven. Five thousand years. Lost. That wasn’t forgivable.

“Alright, you got me there. Hard to believe the war ended while I wasn’t around to see it…” She sighed. She was one of the original Crystal Gems. Bismuth had fought so long and hard, spoken about their ideals, and yet she hadn’t been around to see the end.  “Speaking of being gone, if Rose is gone, how’d you find out about me? When did she tell you? And why are you so sure she’s not coming back?” Twoie looked sheepish as he nervously rubbed the back of his neck.

“That would be me.” She raised a brow at him. “I know I said my name was Twoie, but it’s actually Steven. I’m from the future, so the others gave me a nickname to distinguish me from my younger self.” Bismuth looked back and forth between the two half-humans. They looked kinda similar if you ignored all of the pinkish splotches on the taller one. Are the spots part of a human thing? She wasn't sure, but she disregarded the thought. Bismuth had bigger questions to ask. Like, time-travel? Really? She knew it was possible, but actually witnessing it was something else entirely. Her jaw hung open in shock, and she couldn’t gather her thoughts together to actually say anything. “And they know about you because I told them about you.” Twoie brushed his hands through his hair. “In my time, I found you by accident. So I told the gems about what happened and freed you.”

“So, Rose never told them anything…” Bismuth muttered angrily. Such cowardice and betrayal were befitting of a diamond. Even if she was better than the others, it hurt to know that Rose cared so little about her.

“And Rose isn’t coming back because she had a kid.” At the other gem’s confusion, he decided to explain further. “Rose fell in love with a human and wanted to have a kid. You know, offspring? So, to have a kid, she needed to give up a part of herself. But gems are only light made from their gem. So Rose wiped all of her memories so that a new being could be made from her gem.” Twoie pulled Steven into a side hug. The older brother lifted his own shirt to reveal a splotchy stomach with an embedded shiny pink gem. A Rose Quartz gem. “Steven and I inherited Rose’s gem but none of her memories, so we’re not Rose Quartz. She’s gone.”

It was a weird explanation, but Bismuth felt like she understood most of what she- no, he said. So Rose’s memories were wiped, which meant she was gone… Yet… There was something about Twoie that made her hesitant to believe him. It almost seemed too perfect of a story. Rose had a kid, so she wiped her memory, and now, after so much time had passed, that same kid comes back from the future and releases her after telling the gems everything Rose did? She looked him over. He had those weird purplish-pink splotches all over, sharp fangs, and were his eyes a really dark pinkish-black, or were they brown? His jacket looked slightly puffed out in the back, as though something was holding it out slightly. And he looked like he was hiding something.

If there was one thing, Bismuth had learned from the battlefield. It was how to read other gems. How to tell when someone looked ready to fight or was lying to her. Twoie was stiff. He was nervous. But he was playing it off with a smile. He was hiding something from her. It had to be something worse than the reveal of Pink Diamond because why else would he hide it? Unless… Twoie’s words from earlier rang in her head. How much I bismuthed you… “Rose really is something else…” At the two confused stares she got, she laughed. “I mean, look at you two! She really is something else! Ha, everything’s changing!” Bismuth gestured to the beach house. “And you guys are building bases out of wood now? Who’s terrible idea was that?” She laughed at the exasperated look that her friends flashed her before inviting her back inside to talk more.

As they all walked back to the living room, she kept her eyes on Rose. She would wait for the right moment to confront her about what she did. And why she was still keeping secrets.

Chapter Text

Bismuth liked how the inside of the little base looked. As the group gathered in the living room, she could see brightly colored trinkets lining the shelves. It gave their headquarters, she guessed that’s what this place was, a really relaxing feeling. But she noticed, from running outside and coming back in, that it was only them and the pink lion. “Where is everybody else, anyway?” She saw the temple, with the warp pad in the center. Maybe this was just the headquarters for the area they were at?

“Everybody else?” She heard Steven question. The blacksmith hummed in affirmation as she turned to face the group. Guess she was right. Maybe this was the base for Steven since he was human, and the others were at a different base. Figures Rose would release her with only a small group present. Probably thought it’d be more believable this way.

“Yeah, the rest of the Crystal Gems! Ol’ Crazy Legs. Biggs. Snowflake! Surely, you’ve met them?” Her smile dropped when she noticed Pearl looking nervously between ‘Twoie’ and Garnet. “Uh, guys? Is something the matter?” Bismuth could feel her dread getting stronger when Pearl shook her head. The graceful gem motioned for her to follow as she led the way to the warp pad in the temple. “You were talking just a second ago; maybe you could try that again? I don’t like you all being quiet like this.” She tried to chuckle, but it sounded forced even to herself. The mood became somber the second she asked about the others, so something had to have happened. Bismuth stopped trying to lighten the mood and stepped onto the warp. She never would’ve expected where they went.

Strawberries. Giant strawberries as far as the eye could see. Bismuth gasped at the sight. “No. No way!” She recognized these battlegrounds. She had fought Homeworld on these grounds with the others. But all that was left were broken weapons and regret. “I knew I was gone for a while, but…” She couldn’t see everything due to the overgrowth, but she wondered how far the weapons went. Which ones belonged to her friends and which ones belonged to her foes. And if the strawberries covered their shattered remains.

“We, the Crystal Gems, were able to save the earth…” Pearl became choked up. Bismuth didn’t need her to finish her sentence. She knew, the moment she saw the battleground, what their win had cost.

“We’re all that’s left of the rebellion.” That was why the base was so small. Why no one else was around. She looked down at Pearl, who had tears streaming down her face. “Oh, come on, Pearl. You know I can’t take it when you cry like that.” Bismuth could feel her own tears on her cheeks. Garnet walked up to them, putting her hand in Bismuth’s while Bismuth wrapped an arm around Pearl.

“Homeworld’s final attack on earth wiped out all of the Crystal Gems.” The multi-colored gem took a deep breath to calm her nerves. As she stepped forward amongst the fallen, she heard Garnet remark about Rose protecting them. Regardless of what she thought of Rose, at least she was able to save them.

She gripped the handle of an old ax and pulled it out of the ground. “I knew those Homeworld Elites were twisted. How many of us did they shatter? Crazy Legs? Biggs? Snowflake?” Anger burned through her gem. “If I was there, I COULD’VE STOPPED IT!” She slammed the ax into the ground.

“It’s not like that was enough.” Bismuth turned around. Garnet had her hands on her hips, looking down at the ground. “Homeworld still has its eyes on this planet.”

Pearl held her hands close to her chest. “We still continue to thwart their plans over and over.”

The others ran over to join Pearl and Garnet. Steven chimed in from behind Garnet’s leg. “And they just keep coming back!” Amethyst nodded along. Twoie placed a hand on top of Steven’s head.

“We’ve been lucky, though. We’ve gained some new allies from the Homeworld attack. Gems that have rebelled against them and are helping us protect the earth instead. We’ll have to introduce you later.” Bismuth smiled at that. She’d never say no to more recruits. Rebellious gems were the very foundation of the Crystal Gems.

“I’d love to meet them later. For now, I’m glad to have another chance to show those Homeworld Upper Crusts who’s boss! They’re gonna regret messing with the Crystal Gems!” She strode forward until she was standing in front of the others. Garnet stepped forward to meet her.

“The gems on Homeworld outnumber us by a huge amount.” Pearl stepped forward as well. She added to Garnet’s warning, “And their technology far surpasses anything we have available on earth.”

The blacksmith pulled them into a hug with a laugh. “What else is new?” She started telling them old stories that she remembered, battles they had fought, and won, even with the odds stacked against them. She saw the fiery spark of determination return to Pearl’s eyes and a proud grin appear on Garnet’s face. Her enthusiasm was even affecting Twoie, Steven, and Amethyst. The three listened from the sidelines, smiles gracing them as they were filled with encouragement. “Let’s pick up where we left off! To the forge!”

Everyone but Bismuth stiffened. The broad-shouldered gem looked around in confusion at their reaction. Did something happen to it? The others were all looking at Twoie as though asking permission for something. When 'Twoie' forced a smile and agreed, the others only relaxed slightly. That was another thing she was hiding from her then. But everyone seemed to be in on this except for her. Bismuth pretended not to notice as she led the way. There’d be a time for her to get her answers, but not right now.

The forge was exactly how she remembered it. She could hear her voice echo as she welcomed the group to her beloved forge. The warm air felt refreshing, and the first thing she wanted to do was take a nice lava bath. “It feels like an oven in here,” Steven remarked as he looked around. Weapons lined the walls, hanging from chains and hooks. Surprisingly, the gems stayed close together. Bismuth was expecting them to spread out and look around. 'Twoie' was holding Steven’s hand as the younger boy pulled them towards her ore chips.

“You think it’s hot now?” She laughed. Steven’s energy and curiosity were a delight. It reminded her of her friends when they were exploring the earth during the few quiet moments between battles. She snorted when he repeated himself. “Well, it’s about to get waaay hotter!” Her hand shifted into a hammer, and she slammed it against the button at the end of the room. Lava poured into the chambers around the room, spilling down over her. Stars, had she missed that!

Bismuth sighed in relief as she wiped the lava out of her hair. “Nothing like a hot lava bath to get into a working mood.” She walked over to them, pretending not to notice them tense when she brushed past Twoie’s arm while grabbing some ore from each of the three containers they were standing next to. She brought it over to the lavafall.

Steven poked his head into one of the urns she just collected ore from. “Uhh, what exactly do you do here?” Twoie chuckled lightly when Steven sneezed from getting dust in his face. Bismuth waved them over, noticing how the other gems quickly gathered by them again.

“Homeworld used us bismuths to erect spires and temples for the gems’ elites to enjoy.” She stuck her hand into the lava and pulled it out again after a couple of seconds. Everyone followed her as she made her way over to her anvil, dropping the newly shaped metal onto the flat surface. “But Rose taught me that my life was my own. That I-!” She shaped her hands into twin hammers and began pounding out the hot metal. “Could do-! Whatever I want!” She changed her hands again and dipped the formed sword into a vat of lava. “So, I chose this.” Fire coated the metal, making it look like a flaming sword. She blew on it, revealing a gleaming silver sword.

Steven’s eyes were starry as he watched her work. “Bismuth, you make weapons?” Bismuth’s eyes widened slightly when she saw 'Twoie' flinch. She grinned. “That’s right! I outfitted the entire rebellion. Every material weapon used by the Crystal Gems was made right here in this forge.” She froze. ‘That’s right! I made those before I showed Rose the Breaking Point!’ “Are they still here?” Bismuth turned and ran over to a chest on the far side of the room. Popping open the top revealed several upgrades she had made for the Crystal Gems before her imprisonment. “Ah-ha! Yes!” Bismuth pulled out two brass knuckles and threw them to Garnet.

The permafusion grinned in delight as she summoned her gauntlets, and the upgrade fused with her weapon. She also tossed what looked like two horns to Pearl. Her friend looked at the upgrade in awe as she attached it to her spear, forming a trident. “Thank you, Bismuth!”

Bismuth flashed a toothy smile. “I was working on them before…” She trailed off as she noticed the gems tense. “Well, might as well give them to you now!” She looked over at Amethyst. She didn’t know the purple gem very well, but she could tell the gem had spunk. She was pretty protective of 'Twoie' and Steven, probably because Bismuth was someone new, and the blacksmith admired that. Bismuth tried to listen in on what they were talking about. Amethyst was glaring off to the side as she spoke. “-ne ever mentioned her to me? I mean. I get why Rose never said anything, but Pearl and Garnet never mentioned her. We’re supposed to be friends, a team, and yet they kept this from me for so long…” Steven and 'Twoie' quietly chimed in that she should ask them about it later, leaving the gem to nod silently.

Bismuth decided now was a good time to interject. Maybe she could cheer her up with a new weapon upgrade? “Hey, Deep-Cut! Don’t think I forgot about you. Whatcha packing?”

The purple gem summoned her whip and held it out. “What, this old thing?” She mumbled.

Bismuth walked over and bent down slightly to analyze the weapon. “Oh, wow! Not every quartz could make a whip like this. Mind if I take a look?” Amethyst shrugged, so Bismuth took it and gestured for them to follow. “I’ve got an idea!” She grabbed some spike balls from the chest and attached it to the ends of the whip before handing it back to Amethyst. “Here, with this, you could really do some damage.”

Amethyst grinned when the spikes on the balls elongated when she cracked her whip on the floor. “Ah, yeah, baby!” Twoie and Steven chuckled as Amethyst started messing around with the new attachment. Bismuth patted her hands on her apron.

“Well, why don’t we head back to the base and get started on training? I want to see those new weapons in action.” She turned to look at Steven. “You have the same shield as Rose?” The kid nodded. “Then I’m sorry to say I don’t have an upgrade for you right now. That’s why I made her that sword since I couldn’t do much for her shield.” Steven wilted slightly in disappointment but quickly straightened up in excitement.

“You guys are going to show off your new weapons?” He tugged on Twoie’s hand as he babbled about the cool new upgrades and the possible ways the gems could fight now. Twoie smiled and listened as the group made their way out of the forge and back to the warp. It didn’t cross his mind that Bismuth never inquired about his fighting style or offered him a weapon.

Chapter Text

Garnet, Pearl, and Amethyst were all excited to test their new weapons, so the group had assembled on the beach to spar. Excited at seeing the gems try out their new weapons, Steven had brought out his folding chair and a soda to watch while Twoie observed with him. When Twoie moved Steven's chair further back, the kid thought his older brother was being overprotective. That was before the fighting started.

Steven flinched lightly as Bismuth cracked a rock apart with her hammer arms. Twoie sat beside him with a tenseness that hadn’t left since the gems began sparring. The young kid winced again as Bismuth loudly yelled encouragement at the others. She seemed so nice, but all he could think of was how scary she looked when she charged at Twoie in the memory. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. This Bismuth never hurt his brother, so he needed to stop thinking about her as though she did.

“Steven! Come down and show me what you’re made of!” Steven, caught off guard by her comment, choked on his soda. Pearl immediately stammered out some kind of excuse about why Steven couldn’t spar to Bismuth, while Twoie patted the kid’s back.

“Sorry, Bismuth. You guys are sparring pretty intensely for Steven. We’re also half-human, you know?” Twoie chuckled nervously. Steven finally stopped coughing and looked up at Bismuth.

The blacksmith smiled as she dragged Garnet and Pearl into side hugs. “But it’s a ritual for the Crystal Gems to spar before battle.”

Pearl laughed nervously as she patted Bismuth’s arm. “Well, that’s true, but things have changed since then. Besides, nothing is going to happen for a while anyway, right, Twoie?” Twoie blinked at Pearl’s question. He closed his eyes and thought about all the things that happened after Malachite was stopped.

“No, I don’t think anything Homeworld related is going to happen for a long time. Not until Jasper comes back, but that won’t be for a while, either.” The gems nodded in relief at Twoie’s statement. Bismuth frowned as she saw the others agree with him.

Steven hummed in thought. “Why don’t we show you some of our rituals? It’ll be fun!” He ran up to Pearl with an excited grin. “We could show her badminton! Please?” Pearl smiled and summoned the net and some tools from her gem. She turned to look at Bismuth with a smile.

Bismuth saw the hopeful look on everyone’s faces and sighed with a smile. “Alright, then. Why don’t you show me these new Crystal Gem rituals?”

For the next couple of hours of everyone had fun together playing activities. For the first activity, Twoie volunteered to referee the badminton game due to an odd amount of players. Afterward, everyone played several rounds of cards, and they made several pizzas in the kitchen. The group finally ended the day with a movie in Steven's bedroom.

Amethyst relaxed against Twoie as the movie reached its climax. Bismuth, Pearl, and Garnet were lounging on Steven’s bed while Steven, Twoie, and Amethyst sat cross-legged on the floor. The samurai dude had obtained the ultimate weapon, and now his eyes were all glowy as he prepared to use it. “No, Lonely Blade! Don’t use it!” Steven leaned in closer to the tv as Lonely Blade became consumed with power.

“What? If that thing has infinite power, then, of course, Lonely Blade should use it. It just makes sense.” The purple gem froze when she felt Twoie tense at Bismuth's words. Amethyst was worried about how Twoie was dealing with everything, and it showed that the time traveler was still bothered by his past.

“Yo, Bismuth. It’s because the sword is hella cursed. Even though it makes you super powerful, you end up becoming as bad as the villains by using it.” Amethyst lazily glanced back at Bismuth as she explained. Bismuth was staring at her in confusion. Pearl leaned over and whispered something in her ear, and the multi-colored gem dropped the conversation.

When the movie was over, Twoie excused himself with a yawn and headed to the bathroom to get ready for bed. Steven helped Pearl and Bismuth clean up their dinner. “Hey, Bismuth. Did you have fun today?” The young kid asked as they headed downstairs to the kitchen.

Bismuth hummed in agreement while setting their plates into the sink. “Yeah. I really like these new Crystal Gem rituals.” Steven laughed and threw a bunch of used napkins into the trash.

He paused and looked around. Garnet, Pearl, and Amethyst were all laughing together about something that happened in the movie. “I’m really glad you’re here.” Bismuth smiled fondly at the group.

“Me too.” She put the dishes into the dishrack and watched Steven say goodnight to the other Crystal Gems. Twoie walked out of the bathroom in a hoodie and sweats, jacket slung around one shoulder, and also said goodnight as he headed up the stairs. He paused and looked back at Bismuth.

“Hey, Bismuth. Steven and I are going to bed. You’re welcome to try sleeping! Amethyst can explain it to you, and you’re also free to use the couch. Good night!” Bismuth smiled and said goodnight to Twoie. She turned to head to look for Amethyst when the purple gem stepped in her path.

“Hey, man. Can we talk to you about something?” Bismuth’s eyes widened in surprise, and she looked around to see Garnet and Pearl gesturing for her to follow them. Hiding her concern, she followed the group into Pearl’s room. The beautiful platforms with glistening waterfalls was a contrasting serenity to the anxiety that was starting to build up in the gems.

Pearl nervously wrung her ribbon as she stepped forward. “Bismuth, we wanted to talk with you about…. the Breaking Point.” Bismuth smiled widely and clapped her hands together.

“So Rose did tell you about the Breaking Point? I had it stashed away before Rose bubbled me, but now that I’m back, not only can I get it for you guys, but I can make sure all of us are equipped with one. No way Homeworld will be able to beat us!” Bismuth grinned as she smacked her hands together.

Garnet stepped forward while adjusting her glasses. “The truth is, Bismuth, we want you to destroy the Breaking Point.” The blacksmith’s eyes widened in shock.

“Excuse me? The Breaking Point is our best chance of smashing those Upper Crusts into dust. I thought you guys would be with me on this?” She turned her questioning gaze to each of the gems, face falling as no one agreed with her.

Pearl sighed at the disappointment evident on her friend’s face. “Bismuth, shattering gems is wrong.”

Garnet nodded, “It would make us as bad as the Diamonds. Crystal Gems do not shatter.”

Amethyst crossed her arms over her chest. “Yeah. No one is using the Breaking Point. It’s not right.”

Bismuth’s eyes were shadowed as she stared at the ground. Her fists clenched tightly. It was all Rose’s fault. She had made sure that her friends would turn on her for wanting to use the Breaking Point. That was why she had released her now. Because now, no one would stand with her. But she had to try. “That’s exactly what she said.” She growled as furrowed her brows in anger. “Why do you agree with her? The Breaking Point is our best advantage. Look at how many of us are left!” The others winced at her implication. “Rose tried her way, and it failed. So let’s try my way! We’d be shattering them to protect our home, our allies, to free all gems from Homeworld’s tyranny!”

Garnet glared at her old friend. “But we wouldn’t be! How many of the gems we shatter could be potential allies? Could be freed from Homeworld because we bubbled them instead of shattering them? How many of our allies were just like the other Homeworld gems before they joined our cause? You’d be as bad as Blue Diamond.” Bismuth reared back as though she had been struck. Her friend’s words had torn deeply into her.

The grief burned brightly, and Bismuth gritted her teeth together as she saw the slight fear in her friends’ eyes. They didn’t trust her anymore. “This is all her fault. I was beginning to doubt Rose because she was a leader who didn’t want to give her team the best advantage. And now she’s poisoned you all into agreeing with her. She’s turned you all against me, and you don’t even see it!”

“It wasn’t her fault.” All heads turned to the new voice that had interrupted their conversation. Twoie was standing behind the Crystal Gems, hands tucked into his hoodie pockets. “I told them about the Breaking Point.”

Chapter Text

This was the last thing Amethyst wanted. As she turned around to see Twoie, standing a couple of feet behind her, she felt panic claw at her gem. “Twoie? What are you doing here?” From the quick glances she got of Garnet’s and Pearl’s shocked expressions, she knew her friends were thinking the same thing.

Twoie didn’t take his eyes off of Bismuth as he spoke. “I was pretty sure this conversation wasn’t going to go well. You saw my memory of how this happened. She was adamant that the Breaking Point was a good idea. So, I figured you’d probably need me if we’re going to change her mind.”

Bismuth’s fists clenched even tighter as she glared at the half-gem. “So you do admit it! You really are Rose, aren’t you? How dare you turn them against me!” Everyone startled at her revelation.

“What? No! I already told you, I’m not Rose Quartz!” Twoie growled as his cheeks lit up in a pink glow at the comparison.

Bismuth snorted sarcastically. “You can drop the act. You used time travel as an excuse to hide what you knew under the pretense of ‘finding out in the future.’” The blacksmith took a step forward. “You shape-shifted to look like Steven, so I’d buy into the idea that you were different, but your build is too similar to Rose. And those weird features of yours are something only gems are capable of.” As she took another step forward, Amethyst summoned her whip and brandished it threateningly. Pearl and Garnet exchanged a look of fear before standing beside Amethyst to form a wall between their old friend and their ward. Bismuth ignored her friends, continuing to close the gap between her and 'Twoie.' “And you just admitted to showing them a memory about the Breaking Point. A memory you wouldn’t have if you weren’t Rose Quartz.” Bismuth stopped right in front of the Crystal Gems, her towering figure allowing her to look over Amethyst to meet 'Twoie’s' eyes. “Admit it! The only reason you let me out of the bubble is that you know you can’t beat Homeworld without me. But you wanted to make sure my friends would never want to use the Breaking Point like I did, so you waited until you knew they would be against the idea before releasing me. And to make yourself look better, you hid until you could come back and pretend to be from the future. Because you knew your actions were wrong. And you would be despised if they found out.”

Twoie’s fists clenched in anger. He thought he had escaped this scenario with his explanation, but it seemed like he only fueled her misunderstanding. Why did he always make things worse? “Bismuth, I have been nothing but nice to you. I really am from the future, and I released you because you didn’t deserve to be bubbled for mom’s mistake.” Twoie’s cheeks glowed even brighter when Bismuth scoffed at him. “I told them about the Breaking Point because I wasn’t going to take any chances of you going after Steven. In my time, you tried to kill me for disagreeing with you. You thought I was Rose just like you do now, and it led to you being bubbled away again! I want to change that, but I can’t if you refuse to listen to us!” He swung his arm out in anger.

Bismuth took another step forward and, instantly, her arms pinned to her side as Amethyst wrapped her in her whip. She barely batted an eyelash at the action. “Well, now I know how you swayed them to your side! I’d never do anything to hurt the little meatball. What a sick tactic to get them to believe you.” Pearl and Garnet flanked Bismuth, holding her back so she wouldn’t get closer to 'Twoie.' “I never wanted to fight you back then, but you left me with no choice! And you know what? You can’t expect me to believe you now after you lied to me about everything? You’re lying to all of us about your form and what I ‘did’ in your timeline.” The time traveler flinched and took a step back. Bismuth chuckled coldly as 'Twoie’s' body became encased in a pink glow. “See? You really were pretending. You may look like an older version of Steven, but you can’t hide who you really are. You know what I see? I see a liar.” He hugged himself tightly. “I see a manipulator.” Twoie tensed as Bismuth’s voice became deeper. “I see Pink Diamond.”

Twoie felt his heart stop. He paled at her words, staggering back slightly as the glow faded away. He was too horror-struck to speak, mouth moving but no sounds forming. Bismuth grinned smugly at Twoie’s slowly retreating figure. “Just shut up!” Amethyst shoved Bismuth backward. “You don’t understand anything, so stop acting like you’ve figured out this huge scheme! You sound crazy right now!” The purple gem was frightened at how defeated her friend looked. At first, she was too horrified by Bismuth’s monologue to say anything, but Twoie’s sudden change in demeanor snapped her out of her stupor.

Bismuth finally shifted her gaze from Twoie to Amethyst. “Why do you continue to defend her? Can’t you see from her reaction that I’m right?”

Pearl shook her head. “Bismuth, please! You couldn’t be further from the truth! We all saw Rose leave us for good. She’s not here anymore. You’re the one trying to convince us of something that isn’t true!”

Bismuth turned to Garnet, hoping that maybe she had gotten through to at least one of her friends. But the permafusion glared at her as she held her ground. “You need to stand down, or we’ll be forced to bubble you away.”

That was the final straw. The blacksmith knew she wouldn’t be able to convince her friends unless they saw for themselves that Rose was lying. “Then, I’m sorry it has come to this.” Before the gems could reply, Bismuth flexed her arms against her constraints. The whip snapped apart, allowing her to break free, and she pushed her friends away from her. Twoie didn’t have time to process what had happened as Bismuth charged him with one of her hands morphed into a hammer. She punched him hard in the stomach. The momentum of her punch carried them over the edge of the platform, and into one of the waterfalls.

Amethyst was quick to get her bearings and wasted no time in helping the others up. “Come on! We gotta-!” An agonized scream faintly echoed through the room. Amethyst didn’t even bother to finish her statement as she lunged for the waterfall she thought she saw them fall into. She wasn’t prepared for what met her in the Burning Room.

A couple of feet away, Twoie was lying on his side with his back to her. The back of his hoodie was shredded, and tiny spiny things poked through the tattered remains. Little shards of light purple were scattered around her feet. Nearby, Bismuth was staring at all of the bubbled gems floating in the air around them. Pearl and Garnet landed right behind her as the white noise in Amethyst’s head cleared enough for her to hear what Bismuth was saying. “Beryl? Serpentine?” Bismuth turned to face Twoie, twisted in rage and horror. "I never thought you'd stoop so low!” She finally noticed the others in the room. “I can’t believe you guys let her bubble everyone away! How could you?” Bismuth jumped into the air and grabbed the bubble containing a corrupted gem.

Amethyst decided that Bismuth could handle herself and ran over to Twoie’s side instead. She didn’t bat an eyelash at the ‘pop’ that sounded in the room, nor the confusion in Bismuth’s voice as she realized something was wrong. Twoie was far more important. The young man was curled in on himself, bunching his hoodie with both hands at the spot near his gem as he whimpered in pain. His eyes cracked open when he felt her kneel next to him. “A-amethy-!” He hissed in pain. The small gem’s hands fluttered around him in panic.

“Okay, Twoie, you gotta tell me what’s wrong.” The sounds of growling and a fight started up in the background. She brushed a hand through his hair to comfort him but reared back when her hand touched something hard. She parted his hair to see a light purple horn protruding from his skull. “Dude? What’s happening to you?” A poof resounded in the room, and everything went silent.

Amethyst didn’t know what to do. She growled angrily as she watched Twoie’s skin grow paler. Dark bags were beginning to form under his eyes. She felt truly helpless. At the sound of footsteps, she looked up. Garnet and Pearl had rushed over and were now kneeling around Twoie as well. “What are these things?” Pearl asked as she poked the spikes sticking out of Twoie’s back. She flinched at how sharp it was.

Amethyst frowned as she looked Twoie over. “ I don’t know. He has them on his head too, just can’t see it because of his hair.” She combed her hands through her own hair in frustration. ”I don’t know what’s wrong with him! He won’t tell me anything, but he’s obviously in pain.”

Garnet grasped the young man’s hands and gently pried them off his hoodie. “I think it’s his gem.” Pearl’s and Amethyst’s eyes widened. The purple gem pulled the hoodie up, gasping in horror at what she revealed. A big crack spiderwebbed through the center of Twoie's pink gem.

“Stars, no…” Pearl whispered. Amethyst’s face pinched in rage.

The short gem stood up and turned to face Bismuth, who was staring at the ground in shock. “YOU DID THIS!” Bismuth turned to face her at her exclamation. She was sent stumbling back as the Amethyst lunged for her and punched her in the face.

“Amethyst!” Garnet shouted at her. Pearl wasn’t paying attention as she moved Twoie’s head to her lap and started whispering words of comfort and encouragement to him. Amethyst disregarded her to stare down Bismuth.

“No, Garnet! I’m gonna bubble her for this, and there’s nothing you can do to stop me!” Amethyst summoned her whip and prepared to launch herself into another attack.

“TWOIE NEEDS YOU RIGHT NOW!” She paused, turning to face Garnet. The normally stoic gem had dissipated her glasses and narrowed her eyes at her. No one commented at the tears gathering in the corner of her eyes. “Amethyst, Twoie is cracked badly. We can’t move him, or else the cracks will get worse. I don’ have a vial of Rose’s tears on me, and neither does Pearl. You need to go into the house and bring Steven here. Now.”

Amethyst growled as she looked back at Bismuth. “Fine. But you better keep an eye on her.” She turned and ran out of the temple door.

Garnet directed her attention back to Twoie as he started coughing. She flinched when she saw a small amount of blood drip from his mouth. “Do gems bleed, Bismuth?”

The gem in question looked at her in surprise. “Is that some kind of trick question? Of course not. Gems are made of light.”

The permafusion turned her steely gaze back to the blacksmith. “Then, I hope this is enough to finally prove to you that Twoie is not Rose. He is bleeding because of you.” Bismuth stepped forward so she could get a better look at Twoie. Regardless of whether she was Rose or not, Bismuth never meant to crack her gem. Rose looked sickly; the dark red trailing down her mouth was a stark contrast to the paleness of her-, no, his skin. Her eyes widened as she came to a sickening epiphany. Twoie really was half-human. He really wasn’t Rose Quartz. She had cracked an innocent gem, all because she was too consumed with getting vengeance. Bismuth backed up, hands covering her mouth as the gravity of the situation settled heavily upon her.

The sound of the door opening rang throughout the room as Steven and Amethyst rushed inside. “Twoie!” Steven screamed in horror as he ran over to his brother. When Twoie didn’t respond, his younger brother realized that he’d passed out from the pain. Steven licked his hand and gently pressed it on the cracked gem. Everyone sighed in relief as the gem sparkled, and the spit healed the crack.

Now assured that Twoie would be okay, Steven rounded on Bismuth. “I trusted you!” She startled at the degree of anger in his voice. “I was happy you were here because you made the others really happy! You were the first gem I met that didn’t try to kill me before wanting to be friends. But Twoie is my older brother, and you hurt him!” Bismuth rubbed her arm in shame and looked away. “How could you? He never did anything to hurt you! So, why did you hurt him?”

The blacksmith sighed. “You’re right. He was kind to me, but I thought it was just a trick to get me to lower my guard. But it wasn’t. He’s nothing like Rose.” Steven stiffened. He knew how much his brother hated being compared to his mom. Although Steven didn’t fully understand why, he knew how much that would’ve hurt his older brother.

“I don’t want you here anymore.” The room was quiet. Bismuth nodded quietly and walked over to the door. She paused in front of it.

“I don’t think I can ever make up for my actions today. But I want to try, once you’re more comfortable being around me. If that time comes or if you ever need me, I’ll be at the forge.” She turned back to look at the group. Twoie was finally waking up, looking around in confusion as he tried to piece together what was happening. She met his bewildered gaze with a somber smile. “I’m sorry. For everything.” The door opened, and Bismuth was gone.

Chapter Text

Silence reigned throughout the room. Steven finally turned away from the door to look at Twoie. The young man was sitting up, tired eyes staring at his folded hands on his lap. Steven quietly walked up to him. He didn’t know what to say to Twoie. He was hurt. After everything, they’d seen... Knowing that Bismuth had hurt Twoie in the past, his older brother still snuck out of bed to confront her. And Steven never noticed. He had slept peacefully, unaware of the suffering his brother was experiencing. “Why…” He clenched his fists tightly. Twoie didn’t look up at him. Instead, he curled in further on himself. Amethyst’s eyes widened as Steven’s eyes narrowed in anger. “Why did you do that?! Why did you go after Bismuth instead of letting Garnet, Pearl, and Amethyst handle it?!”

Pearl raised her hand out towards her ward. “Steven…” But the youngest stomped his foot on the ground.

“Do you know how scared I was?” Steven’s voice cracked with unshed tears. “I was terrified when Amethyst woke me up! I thought you were asleep, but she ran into the house screaming that you were cracked, and Bismuth did it, and I needed to come heal you because you were bleeding!” He lunged forward, wrapping his arms around his older brother. “Ow!” The young kid flinched and jumped back. Something had jabbed into his hands when he hugged him.

Pearl rushed over to Steven, and they checked his arms over. He was fine, just had a couple of small indents on his skin. When Steven looked up, his brother’s eyes were wide with horror. Amethyst patted Twoie’s shoulder. “Yeah, that’s something we gotta talk about.”

Steven rubbed his arms to make the pain fade away, then tilted his head questioningly at her. “What do you mean? What was that?” Amethyst sighed and stood. She brushed Twoie’s hair aside, so the two horns were visible. “Twoie? Are those… horns?” The purple gem lifted Twoie’s hand up. She had checked him over earlier, and Amethyst was pretty sure the time traveler’s hands were not claw-like then. But they were now.

“Not just horns. Yo, Twoie. How long have you been hiding this? I know that I didn’t see this earlier.” She waved his clawed hand around by the wrist. “And none of us saw the horns or your back spines. Just the spots.” Garnet gently pushed Twoie’s shirt back up, so his gem was fully visible. It was glowing faintly but didn’t look out of the ordinary.

She hummed and walked towards the gem she had bubbled minutes earlier. “Garnet? Where are you going?” Pearl called out for her. Her brows furrowed in worry as Garnet walked back with a corrupted gem in hand. She brought it close to Twoie’s stomach.

“I’m not sure what’s going on with Twoie. I thought maybe it was related to his gem, but it looks healthy.” Everyone stared wide-eyed at Garnet. Pearl tugged at her hair with her hands.

“Wait, you thought Twoie was corrupting?” Garnet pushed the bubble into the air, and it floated up a couple of inches. She turned back to Pearl.

“You and I fought the corrupted gem that Bismuth unbubbled.” Everyone winced when Twoie flinched at Bismuth’s name. “The gem she freed was one of the corrupted quartzes. Do you recall the horns on her head and the claws? She even had discolorations all over her body.”

Steven stepped up to Twoie again as Pearl continued to argue with Garnet. “But those were quartzes! Twoie is a diamond! Besides, we all saw that his gem is fine!” Twoie met his gaze and then looked away shamefully. “We would’ve seen corruption marks on his gem if he was corrupting. It’s probably something else! I haven’t finished going through all of the books detailing human illnesses. Maybe it’s something like that affecting his powers accidentally?” Steven could see the spines growing out from his brother’s back now.

He clenched his fists in anger. “How long have you been hiding this?”

Twoie grunted slightly as he pushed himself to his feet. “I’m fine, Steven. Don’t worry about me. You healed me, so you know that I’m fine now.” Pearl and Garnet stopped to watch Twoie in surprise as he started walking towards the door.

Steven narrowed his eyes and ran forward, cutting him off. “No! I’m not letting you brush it off again. You did that with Bismuth, and the van, and Yellow Diamond! You keep telling me that I should talk about my feelings, but you’re a hypocrite!” Pearl covered her mouth in shock. Amethyst kept looking between Steven, Twoie, and Garnet, as though trying to figure out whether someone should intervene.

The young man opened his mouth to argue but sighed. He was tired; he was stressed, and he didn’t want to talk about it anymore. But he knew Steven wouldn’t drop it until he told the truth. “Since Malachite…” The Crystal Gems strode forward, so they all stood beside Steven.

Pearl wrung her ribbon in frustration. “But Twoie, that was several weeks ago! You’ve been keeping this from us for that long?” Garnet sighed. It was evident that she wouldn’t be able to trust Twoie by himself. Not when he’d gone to such great lengths to hide this from them.

“You are grounded, Twoie.” Several heads whipped around to face Garnet. Twoie especially looked surprised at her decision. “Until we know what’s going on and how to fix you, you will remain in the beach house. You can only leave to go into town if one of us accompanies you.” She stepped forward and removed her glasses. All three eyes were narrowed in disappointment. “You will also let one of us know if something changes. I don’t care if something goes away, or you get another feature. You will inform one of us.” Twoie glared at her, but she wouldn’t drop the staring match. He finally looked away and curtly nodded.

“But Garnet-!” Steven was interrupted by Pearl.

“I’m sorry, Steven, but I agree with Garnet. We need to keep an eye on Twoie. We also need to figure out why his form is changing like this. Until then, it’s best to make sure he doesn’t use his powers. For all we know, they could advance his current condition.” Steven frowned and looked at Twoie. His older brother looked tired and miserable. The young man was scowling at the ground, just waiting for the discussion to end so he could leave. Eventually, he was tired of waiting.

“I’m going to bed now.” Twoie walked around them and out of the temple. Garnet and Pearl exchanged a look. With a sigh, Pearl muttered something about taking the first watch and walked out of the temple as well. Steven worriedly watched them go. He didn’t look away when he felt Garnet place a hand on his shoulder.

“I’m sorry, Steven, but it’s for the best. I’m relying on you as well.” Steven looked up at her with downcast eyes. “Twoie talks to you and trusts you the most out of everyone, besides your father and Dr. Maheswaran. If he tells you about any new changes, or if he has an idea of what’s causing this, then you need to tell one of us.”

Steven’s eyes widened. “Wait, so if he tells me something in private, you want me to tell you anyway? But that’s wrong!” Garnet sighed. She knew he would react badly, but with no knowledge of what was causing Twoie’s condition…

“I know it is wrong, Steven. I don’t like it any more than you do. But Twoie has already shown his capability in keeping things from us. This might hurt him now, but it will help him in the long run.” Garnet gently pushed Steven forward. “It’s late. You should go to bed as well.” Steven frowned, but nodded. Once he left, Garnet turned to Amethyst. The small gem had been silent for most of their discussion. Arms crossed around each other, eyes burning holes into the floor; it was apparent the gem was caught up in her thoughts. “What about you, Amethyst?” The gem in question jumped slightly.

She looked behind her, eyes locking in on the drying puddle of blood on the ground. Her teeth clenched. “I’m going to my room.” Amethyst strode through the temple door and into her room. She walked past piles and piles of junk until she reached the heart of her sanctuary.

Now in private, she vented her torrent of thoughts. “I had her.” She summoned her whip from her gem. “I had her, and yet I let her get the best of me!” She cracked her whip fiercely against a nearby junk pile. Items went soaring through the air, clanking loudly against the floor or other junk piles when they landed. “It’s my fault Twoie was cracked!” Another pile fell apart as her whip tore through it. “I was weak! I couldn’t hold her back! I couldn’t stop her!” She wrapped her whip around a washing machine and hurled it into the ground. It smashed apart, raining shrapnel throughout her room.

As she went to throw something else, she noticed a puddle next to her. Amethyst glared at her reflection. Dropping her whip, she tied back her hair into a ponytail, then picked her whip back up. Gone were the warm eyes of the fun-loving quartz, replaced with icy eyes filled with rage. “This is the last time I fail to protect someone I care about. Watch out Homeworld. This half-cooked gem is going to pound you.”  

Chapter Text

It had been a few days since the gems had discovered Twoie’s condition. And they had been insufferable. Twoie couldn’t even breathe without Pearl or Garnet asking him if he felt fine or had something to say. His only reprieve had been Steven. His younger brother was doing his best to treat Twoie normally. Homeschooling had taken a backseat during all of their recent gem missions, but now that Twoie was stuck at home, he had thrown himself into forming lesson plans. School was back in session for Steven, who was honestly happy with the semblance of normalcy it brought.

Their dad had started visiting more often once he found out about what happened the next morning. He stopped by every evening and usually stayed for a couple of hours before sleeping in the van. It was still fairly awkward between Twoie and his father, but it was remedied slightly by the fact that the gems were always around.

However, there was one person who was starting to worry him the most. Most days, Twoie saw neither hide nor hair of Amethyst. The few times he did see her were met with terse greetings before she disappeared via the warp pad. He had wracked his brain for reasons for her behavior and couldn’t figure it out. They hadn’t fought Jasper yet, Pearl and Amethyst already talked things out, and so had Peridot and Amethyst. What was he missing?  It was stressing him out that she was withdrawing, and Twoie couldn’t figure out why. Twoie rubbed his eyes as he laid back against the couch.

“Are you alright, Twoie?” Pearl chimed from the kitchen. The prim gem had set out to make dinner for the night. She had been reading about lots of different medicinal dishes and was trying out some kind of curry. Throughout her task, she periodically checked on him.

“Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just… do you think Amethyst has been acting weird?” Twoie hoped he wasn't the only one who noticed. It'd be easier to talk to her if one of the other gems knew why she was leaving or what she was doing.

Pearl hummed in though at his question. “I don’t think so? She has been gone a little more often, but that’s not entirely unusual for her. And we don’t have any important gem missions right now, so I don’t mind her going off to train in her free time.” Twoie’s eyes widened, and he sat up straight. She was training?

“Whoa, hold on. Every time Amethyst leaves, it’s to go train? But she’s gone all of the time?” He knew she sometimes left before he woke up, and often was still gone when he went to bed. Twoie had been doing his best to follow the house rules Priyanka had given them, but now he wished he didn’t follow them as strictly. Constant danger had made him a light sleeper, and he never woke up during the night to the sound of the warp pad, so how often did she stay out?

Pearl stirred the curry on the stove. “No need to worry about it. I’m sure she’s not training all of the time. Amethyst always does things on her own, and stressing about her isn’t good for your health. Go rest in bed, and I’ll bring this to you when it’s ready.” Twoie sighed and walked back over to his bed. He knew that something was up with Amethyst. But he wasn’t going to be able to find out with Pearl watching him. He’d just have to wait for the right moment to ask her in private.

A couple of days later, Twoie still hadn’t found a moment to talk to Amethyst alone. He was hoping that the weekend would mean Amethyst would relax a bit, but he hadn’t seen her at all. Since Amethyst was busy, Pearl and Garnet had taken to watching over him. They switched out with each other daily, which meant today was Pearl’s turn to supervise. Instead of trying to deal with getting permission to leave the house, Twoie decided to just waste the day away in front of the tv. He only noticed it was night time when he started nodding off. Worry crossed his mind for a second when he realized that Steven was still out, but figured he was probably spending the night in the van.

Twoie had just turned the TV off so he could go to bed when Steven and their dad ran into the house. “Twoie! Is this what you were talking about last year?” His dad called out to him while waving a slip of paper in the air. Twoie raised a brow in confusion as they ran up the stairs, and Greg showed it to him. It was a check for ten million dollars.

“Oh, was that today?” Twoie blinked when Steven got in his face.

“So, Dad’s song really did become famous?!” The kid grinned with starry eyes. Twoie winced as Steven practically shouted in his ear. Noticing his eldest's discomfort, their dad grabbed Steven around the waist and pulled him back a bit.

“Woah, Steven. Let’s respect Twoie’s personal space. Also, we’re right here, buddy. No need to shout.” Steven apologized and sat where he was, leaning forward slightly.

Twoie chuckled at their excitement. “Yeah, Marty sold your song to a burger chain. Did he tell you the name of it? I forgot what it’s called.” Greg scoffed.

“That’s more than what Marty told me. I guess I’ll have to turn on the TV and watch through a couple of commercials until I find the right one. If it really made me this rich, then it’s probably still being aired.” The time-traveler wracked his brain for the memory of watching the commercial. It was mostly overshadowed by the trip they went on later that day.

“I think we’ll see it tomorrow morning on the van’s TV.” Greg nodded and tucked the check into his wallet.

“That settles it, then. I guess I’ll look for the commercial in the morning. Speaking of morning, why don’t I let you two get ready for bed?” Their dad ruffled Steven’s hair. “You should probably take a bath for being such a hard-working roadie!” His younger brother nodded and ran off. Twoie felt a little awkward now that they were alone. He hadn’t really spent time with his dad since the… van incident. “And how have you been, Twoie?” His dad looked at him in concern.

Twoie furrowed his brows a little. “I’m fine. It’s just gem stuff, so don’t worry about it.”

Greg looked at him sadly. “Twoie, do you really think I wouldn’t care about your problems because you’re going through something gem related? I’m worried about you, son. I don’t understand why you have these horns and spikes, but I can tell it’s bothering you.” His dad put a hand on his shoulder. Twoie sighed and flopped back on the bed. He murmured quietly since he didn’t want Pearl to hear him. The gem was currently sitting at the kitchen counter, reading through a stack of books on human physiology and diseases.

“I don’t know why, either. I keep telling the gems that, but they just think I’m hiding something from them. I’m so sick of it.” Twoie felt himself sink into the bed a little. Greg looked around. The gems had told him of their plan to monitor Twoie, and he had told them it wasn’t a good idea. But he went with it since he didn’t know much about gems. Now, he wished he had questioned it a little more.

Greg matched his son’s volume. “Have you told them that?” If Twoie needed help convincing the gems to step back, he’d be happy to help. Although Greg wasn’t against monitoring Twoie, he could tell the gems’ extreme methods were stressing him out.

“No, I haven’t. I’ve told them about things that bothered me in the past, and they usually ignore it anyway, so I figured ‘why would this time be any different?’” Twoie sighed and closed his eyes, resigned to his punishment. Greg, however, was becoming increasingly worried about his oldest son.

He whisper-yelled, “Twoie, that’s not okay! If the gems are ignoring your concerns, then you need to make them listen, or you need to tell me, and I’ll handle it.”

The young man huffed. He opened his eyes to scowl at his dad. “It’s fine, dad. I don’t want you to talk to the gems about it. I’ll just deal with it like I always do.” Greg frowned. It didn’t look like Twoie was going to change his mind tonight, and Greg didn’t want to push him. Maybe he should start staying around the house a little more often so he could support his son better. With his newfound wealth, he could afford to reduce his hours at the car wash.

“Alright, Twoie. Just think about it. Your feelings matter, so if you’re not happy with their decision, you have to say something. I’m gonna spend the night here, so maybe the gems will let up a little on the supervision.” Twoie just stared at the ceiling. His dad sighed and patted his son’s shoulder. “You know that you can tell me anything, right?”

The half-gem looked at his dad. He knew he could, but the truth was he didn’t want to. He still felt betrayed by his dad, and he knew his father wouldn’t understand anyway. His problems were all gem-related. “Yeah. I know.” His dad wished him a good night and then went to fashion the couch into a temporary bed. A couple of minutes later, Steven had returned and started chatting with him about his day with their dad and Sour Cream, but Twoie was only half-listening.  Your feelings matter. That phrase bothered him. He knew that was true, but his feelings were always minor compared to the situation. Who cared if he was upset when Garnet’s thousands of years old relationship was at stake? Or when he had to work on reforming the Diamond Authority? Or when he needed to help Volleyball because his mom had traumatically cracked her in the past? In fact, his emotions made that last one even worse. But even as he and Steven went to bed, Twoie found himself contemplating it throughout the night. Your feelings matter.

Chapter Text

Twoie rubbed the sleep from his eyes at the sound of the door slamming downstairs. Right, today was the day. He stretched and slowly made his way downstairs for a cup of coffee. “Good morning, Twoie. Did they wake you? I hope not; I told them you needed to sleep.” He sighed as Pearl worriedly checked him over. The claws on his hands and feet hadn’t changed since the day he’d been… But his horns on his head and back had grown slightly, and the tips of his horns poked out between the curls of his hair.

“I’m fine. I was already waking up.” He poured a hot mug of coffee and felt the familiar burn on his palms. “You should go check on them. I bet Steven wants you to see the commercial too.” Pearl shifted her gaze from him to the front door several times.

“Well, Steven did ask me to come down with them, but I didn’t want to leave you unsupervised.” Twoie hummed and took a sip of his scalding drink. It felt so soothing to him.

He leaned back against the kitchen counter and gestured at the kitchen. “Well, you guys have made it clear that I’m not allowed to go anywhere. And you’ll only be going down to the beach. I’ll be fine. Garnet’s in her room if anything happens. Just go see how Steven’s doing." Twoie saw the hesitation on her face. "It’d make him really happy. It'll only be a couple of minutes.”

Pearl thought about it for a moment longer before huffing and heading out of the room. “Alright, but just for a few minutes. I’ll be right back if you need me.” She walked outside, and Twoie let out a sigh of relief. This was the first time he’d been left alone since that night. He refilled his mug and headed back upstairs.

‘Today is an important day,’ Twoie thought as he tossed Steven’s hotdog duffle onto their bed. He had already packed several of Steven’s things when he heard the door open up. He watched Pearl walk towards the living room, grumbling something under her breath. She angrily grabbed the blankets on the couch and folded them before throwing them back onto the couch. “You okay, Pearl?” The graceful gem jumped slightly but waved him off.

“Don’t mind me, Twoie. I’m fine! Do you need anything?” At Twoie’s ‘no,’ she walked towards the kitchen. As she passed the front door, it slammed open. She jumped again as Steven and Greg burst into the house. Pearl frowned when she saw Greg start gathering up the things he’d brought to spend the night.

“We don’t need money, but it could be funny.” Steven ran up the stairs and smiled when Twoie held the duffle bag out for him. “Let’s go today, just point me the way!” He hugged his older brother when he noticed the bag was mostly packed. As Steven looked down into the living room, he saw their dad was mostly packed as well. He ran back downstairs with his duffle and put his bag down next to his dad. “To Empire City!” That’s when he noticed Pearl nearby. She had seemed upset earlier, so Steven had a great idea. “And let’s bring Pearl.”

“What?” Greg looked at his son in surprise.

Pearl also looked surprised, but she quickly grimaced and went back to folding the blankets that Greg had messed up. “No, thank you. Past experiences have shown me that three’s a crowd. Besides, I’m busy watching over Twoie.”

Steven laughed and looked at his older brother. “Oh, Twoie is coming, too! We’re gonna have a family road trip, so there’ll actually be four of us.”

At that, Twoie chimed in from upstairs. “Actually Steven, why don’t you guys go without me? I don’t really want to go to Empire City. But it’ll be good for you, Dad, and Pearl to go. You know, time stuff.” Pearl sputtered at Twoie’s insistence that she go along.

She met his gaze with a stern glare, but the time-traveler didn’t back down. “Time stuff. And are you going to explain what this ‘time stuff’ is?” Pearl questioned with her hands on her hips. Twoie shook his head, which only served to increase Pearl’s ire.

He really needed her to go on this trip, so Twoie tried to placate her. “I promise it doesn’t involve dangerous situations, but it really is important for the future that you go with them. I promise that everything will be fine here, while you guys are gone. I won’t leave the house unless I have to.” She really didn’t want to go, but at Twoie’s insistence and promise, she finally sighed and gave in. It wouldn’t hurt to get out of the house for a little bit. Besides, she was only doing this for Steven and Twoie. She couldn’t hold back her annoyed look as she agreed.

“Fine, I guess I could watch over Steven for a change, but you can’t be here alone. Let me see if I can find-.“ As she was speaking, the warp pad lit up, and Amethyst warped into the room. “Perfect timing, Amethyst! Could you please watch over Twoie for the day?”

Amethyst looked at her in surprise. “You’re willingly not watching over Twoie? Is something wrong?”

Pearl glowered as she gestured to Greg and Steven. Amethyst tensely waved at them before focusing on Pearl again. “Steven’s going on a trip for the day and has requested that I tag along. Twoie insists it’s a good idea for me to join him, so I’ll be gone for just the day. It’s not something dangerous, apparently, so no need to worry about us.”

Amethyst narrowed her eyes and started walking to the temple door. “In that case, sorry, P, but I’m busy. Ask Garnet to watch him.” Pearl cleared her throat, making the purple gem groan in annoyance as she halted.

“I would, but Garnet is busy already. She’s meditating right now to see if she can find the cause of Twoie’s condition or a way to cure it in one of the timelines. Since she’s analyzing them thoroughly, I expect her to take a couple of hours to do it. Garnet can come to relieve you then, okay? I can’t leave him alone.” Amethyst let out a long sigh, but turned around and walked back into the room. Pearl’s eyes lit up, and she turned around to Steven and Greg. “Alright, let’s get going then.”

The group quickly finished packing and headed out of the room. Twoie took a deep breath. It was finally just him and Amethyst. Now was his chance to see what was bothering her. He looked downstairs from his bed to see Amethyst checking something on her phone. “Hey, Amethyst, I haven’t seen you in a while. What have you been up to?”

She tapped her phone and looked up at him. “Same old, same old. Going out to train for a little, walking around Beach City, adding to my collection of stuff.”

Twoie walked downstairs and sat at the couch. She hadn’t really given him anything to work with. “Training? How has that been going for you? I’m not used to you training unless it’s part of group training.” That made Amethyst tense. Her eyes narrowed a little, and she looked away. Bingo. Twoie was glad that he got a reaction out of her.

“Fine. Figured I could start training early since we have a break from Homeworld stuff.” Her replies were stiff and brief.

She sat up straighter, and Twoie knew she was beginning to feel uncomfortable. “Well, as long as you don’t spend all of your time training. Relaxing is good for you, and it’s not like anything will be happening anytime soon.”

Amethyst scoffed at him. “Uh, just because it’s not happening anytime soon, doesn’t mean something can’t happen before then. I’ll relax when everything is done.” Her eyes widened in shock as her brain caught up to her mouth. She said too much.

“Amethyst, tell me the truth. You’re not relaxing at all, are you…” When she stayed silent, Twoie continued. “I get it. You want to be stronger, but you can’t push yourself this hard. You’re just going to make yourself exhausted and then blame yourself when you mess up in training because you're exhausted!”

Amethyst tucked her phone away and pushed herself off the stool. “Why don’t you stop telling me what to do? If you’ve noticed, you haven’t been following your own advice. How many times did you go to bed really late because you were working on school for Steven, or trying to remember what happens next in the timeline?” Twoie blinked at her sudden rage, and Amethyst walked forward until she was standing in front of him. “At the barn, you stayed up late countless times to help us with the drill or reform Peridot. You even butted into our discussion with Bismuth, even though we had it handled! And look how well that went! You overwork yourself all of the time, so don’t try to give me your high and mighty advice when you’re not even following it yourself!” Amethyst was panting by the time she finished her rant. Twoie was staring at her with wide eyes. She felt a little guilty and was about to apologize when Twoie stood up. His brows furrowed in anger.

Your feelings matter. Twoie clenched his fists. “That’s because I needed to! I’m the only one who knows what happens in the future, and everyone relies on me to try to find the best way of dealing with situations. I get it! I’m a hypocrite, thanks for reminding me, but I’ll be one a thousand times over if it means you guys get a better timeline than I did!” Twoie almost kept his thoughts bottled up, but that one phrase popped to the forefront of his mind.

Amethyst rolled her eyes. She was getting really tired of his ‘martyr’ schtick. “That’s another thing. You bring up these time shenanigans all of the time, but the truth is you wouldn’t be the only one who knows about what will happen in the future if you just trusted us more!”

Now Twoie was the one rolling his eyes. “That’s rich coming from you. You and the others didn’t trust me until I was unconscious and bleeding after saving Steven from the damaged cliff! At least I’m being careful about messing with the timeline too much! If I change everything, I won’t be able to predict the outcome anymore! Everything in my time turned out good except for me!” Twoie snarled as he gestured to himself.

Amethyst raised both of her arms in exasperation. She could feel her anger rising and before she knew it, she was shouting back at Twoie. “We said we were sorry! At least we could admit we were in the wrong. You could have help when dealing with time stuff at any time if you just asked Garnet. We’d be careful about changing anything, but instead, you make it harder for everyone! And what are you even talking about?” She poked Twoie in the chest as she got in his face. “I don’t get why you think you turned out bad when you’re the strongest of all of us! You’re the one who keeps getting us through every single mission! Every time something goes wrong, you’re the one who ends up fixing it! So why are you standing here, telling me that you’re the one bad thing that comes out of all of this?” She angrily ruffled her hair, messing up the ponytail slightly. “If anything, I’m the one who probably makes everything harder for you. I always thought that Steven was the worst on the team, and recently, I felt like crap for thinking it because that’s such an awful thing to be happy about! But now that I know he’ll be as strong as you, I feel even worse! I’m the weakest link on the team. I goof around too much or don’t pay enough attention in battle, and then you have to go and fix it! Just look at Bismuth! I had her, and she broke away from me. That was the only reason you got cracked!” She didn’t miss Twoie flinch at the word, and that only fueled her rage and despair. “See? You can’t even hear the word without reacting badly to it! That’s my fault, too, so don’t even stand here and tell me that you’re the bad one on the team. I’ve known for a while that’s it’s me.” She glared at him, as though challenging him to dispute her. Before Twoie could even try, Garnet walked out of the temple.

Chapter Text

“My future vision warned me that you two would be arguing about something. Amethyst.” Amethyst raised a brow at her leader, though she was still glaring. Garnet walked up to them, forming a triangle between herself, Amethyst, and Twoie. “I don’t know what you two are arguing about, but it needs to stop. Twoie is not capable of dealing with such stress right now. He needs a calming environment to prevent his condition from worsening.” Amethyst sagged in shame at the implication, all of her anger draining out of her in an instant. She never meant to make it worse. She just wished Twoie wouldn’t shoulder everything. But he had frustrated her, and she lost control. Amethyst guiltily lowered her head, mentally berating herself for failing to protect Twoie again.

Twoie, however, glared at Garnet. He was trying to get Amethyst to recognize that she was important. That trying to be strong wasn’t the same as pushing yourself to the brink of exhaustion. That she was hurting herself by giving up who she was and focusing on being someone she wasn’t. But like usual, Garnet came in without knowing the full situation and made assumptions on everyone’s behalf. And he was sick of it! “You know what, Garnet? You’re the one who’s stressing me out!” Everyone turned to him in surprise. “I’m the only one who noticed that Amethyst was acting weird. I’m the only one who noticed that she’s been pushing herself too hard, and when I finally get the chance to talk to her, to try to help her, you come in and ruin it all!” His cheeks lit up pink. Garnet and Amethyst gasped as the horns on his head sparkled and grew another couple of centimeters. They became more pointed and angled. Twoie let out a strangled gasp and doubled over.

“Twoie!” Amethyst and Garnet tried to check on him, but the young man pushed their hands away. As he straightened up, they could see two light purple spikes had grown out near the edges of his mouth. Small rivulets of blood dripped down his chin, dotting the floorboards and the coffee table. Twoie winced as he stood back up with his hands lightly touching his aching cheeks.

Amethyst and Garnet turned to each other, realizing that it was Twoie’s negative emotions that were contributing to his state. Garnet held her hands out, gesturing for him to settle down. “Twoie, wait! You need to calm down an-!”

“No!” They flinched at Twoie’s shout. The pain was still there, but Twoie lowered his hands back to his sides. “I’m sick and tired of letting you guys tell me how I should feel! When I told you guys the truth about Pink Diamond, Sapphire insulted me, and none of you stood up for me!” Garnet’s and Amethyst’s eyes widened as they realized it was true. “Sapphire apologized to Ruby for yelling at her, and the rest of us for accidentally using her ice.” Twoie’s new horns grew another couple of centimeters. “But she never apologized for yelling at me, and you all acted like it never happened, so I didn’t say anything!” The time traveler angrily brushed his hands through his hair.

The two gems felt their guilt increase the more Twoie yelled at them. Because he was right. No one had stuck up for him then, and they brushed it off once Garnet was together again. Garnet and Amethyst shared a look, vowing to address any other issues when Greg, Pearl, and Steven returned from their trip. For now, they needed to focus on Twoie’s emotional state. Neither understood what was happening with the horns and claws, just that Twoie’s emotions were worsening the effects. Garnet held her hand out to Twoie, intent on comforting him, but Twoie growled at her. “Every time you guys do something that hurts me, I stay quiet, but I’m done! My feelings matter! I can’t stand this stupid house arrest you’ve put me on! I can’t do anything without one of you guys guarding me like I can’t be trusted to take care of myself! And I can’t go anywhere or do anything without you guys berating me for it!” He let out a pained groan and quickly covered his right eye with one hand.

“Twoie!” They shouted in fear. Twoie’s eye had suddenly started burning and itching, but when the pain subsided, seconds later, Twoie uncovered it. The white part of his eye was now black, and his pupil was now pink. Garnet felt panic shoot through her. She needed to get Twoie to calm down, or else he’d continue to get worse. “This has to stop now. Whatever it is that you’re going through, we’ll fix it together, us and you. Just like we’ve always done.”

But Twoie glared at her. He knew the only reason she was even trying to fix this now was that he called her out. She still hadn’t apologized, and yet she was trying to get him to stop? “No, this has to stop now. This thing where you think that you’ve been my friend and don’t even hear how you condescend, the way you’ve always done!”

Amethyst held her hand out to Twoie. “No, Twoie, listen.” He glared at her, waiting for her to plead her case. “I swear that isn't true.”

He scoffed and looked away from her. “Isn’t it?”

Amethyst winced at his bitter tone. She understood that it felt that way to Twoie, but none of the gems ever meant to hurt him or make him feel like they didn’t care. She took a step closer, only for Twoie to back away from her. She realized he probably felt cornered since he was stuck between herself, Garnet, and the coffee table. Amethyst motioned for Garnet to back up a little, and then the purple gem also backed up a couple of steps. “Just look into my eyes now. I know you feel it, too.”

Twoie watched her try to make him feel more at ease. Maybe they really did care but just showed it the wrong way. They hurt him so much. It didn’t excuse what they did, but if they were willing to make up for it… “Perhaps I do.”

“Please, Twoie, listen.” Amethyst brought her hands to her chest. “I swear it’s not too late.” They could fix this. She could fix this, but she needed to convince Twoie that they could make things better. Or else he would continue to get worse. “So before another line gets crossed, and everything we’ve had is lost, just wait.”

“Wait?” Twoie shifted his gaze from Amethyst to Garnet. Both looked at him pleadingly. He could tell that they wanted him to listen to their apologies and take them back with open arms. But he narrowed his brows. “You want me to wait?” He clenched his fists tightly. “Well, I did wait. I waited thirteen years for you all to spend time with me. I waited thirteen years for you all to acknowledge me as a Crystal Gem. After you guys attacked me, I waited weeks for you to apologize! I waited for you to show me you cared.” Twoie mentally yelled at himself as he started to tear up. He was so angry, but hearing himself admit his desperation for the gems to care about him felt like a stab in the chest. “No, I won’t wait! I shouldn’t have had to wait! I should’ve drawn the line a long time ago!” Twoie couldn’t bring himself to trust them anymore. He didn’t want to keep living like this, waiting for the next shoe to drop. Waiting for some event to happen, just to be blamed for it. But he wasn’t going to wait for the gems to fix it this time. He was going to take matters into his own hands.

The young man stormed past Garnet and headed upstairs. Amethyst and Garnet only followed him to the base of the stairs. They didn’t understand what he was doing, but they didn’t want to upset him further by asking. Grabbing his briefcase from its spot by the bedside drawer, Twoie threw it onto the bed. “There’s a line between the winners and the losers.” The time traveler grabbed several things like his laptop, a blanket, and a couple of pictures and stuffed them into his bag. He had his back to the gems as he packed up his things. “There’s a line between the leaders and the rest. And I’ve done the best I could, but I’ve always known just where we stood.” He turned slightly to glare down at them. “You with the protectors. Me with the suspect.” The gems shared a look of worry while Twoie turned back to his bag. He made sure to take out everything regarding his lesson plans and school work for Steven. No point in bringing them along when Steven could still benefit from it.

“And that line between the beggars and the choosers is a line you never let me quite ignore.” Twoie remembered how his feelings were often ignored, even before his incident with the mother centipeedle. It was why he had that talk with Steven. “How I’ve tried to jump that great divide, but you never even noticed how you hurt me.” He sighed and pulled the bag onto his shoulder. He didn’t acknowledge the gems as he walked downstairs and into the kitchen. “You don’t know how much I took in stride. Well, I’m not staying quiet anymore.”

Twoie dumped his bag onto the counter and grabbed several snacks and water bottles from the cupboards. “I’m drawing the line! And I’m done being hurt! Feeling lower than dirt, just for you!” He glared at them for a second before he packed everything into his bag, barely managing to fit it all. He slung the bag onto his shoulder again. Amethyst and Garnet were still watching him, but it looked like Garnet had finally caught on to his plan as she was standing between the front door and the kitchen. Twoie walked the long way around the counter, so he was in front of her. “I’m drawing the line. So get out of my way. There’s no way I will stay ‘cause I’m through.”  Amethyst’s eyes widened. Twoie was leaving the beach house. She made to block the entrance as well, but she gasped when several pink fractals formed a wall out of nowhere beside Garnet. “Yes, I’m drawing the line.” The wall pushed against Garnet until she was standing beside Amethyst at the base of the stairs. Both gems pounded on the wall, but it didn’t let up. Tears welled in Twoie’s eyes as he saw them try to break through his barrier. But he couldn’t stay here any longer. He couldn’t continue to let them hurt him, even if it hurt him to leave them. Maybe one day, he’d feel okay enough to return.

“And for now, if we’re over, that’s fine.” Twoie opened the front door and took one last look back. More fractals had formed along the wall until there were no openings for the gems to get through. Garnet and Amethyst had given up on trying to get through the wall. They were shouting at him to reconsider, that they could fix things, make everything better, but Twoie knew the truth. It’d be better for a little bit, and then everything would go back to normal. And he couldn’t handle getting his hopes up again. He had to leave, to figure himself out. To figure out why his powers were acting up. And to get away from the gems that made him feel tense and stressed every day. “I’m drawing the line.” Twoie’s pink powers activated, and, seconds later, he was gone.

Chapter Text

When the van pulled onto the beach, Greg and Pearl sighed in relief. Going to Empire City was fun, but nothing would ever beat the comfort of the small town of Beach City. Steven had fallen asleep during the drive home since it was still night when they left, and the sun was only just rising when they entered the town. While Greg grabbed their bags, Pearl gently shook Steven awake. “Oh, Steven, we’re home! Time to wake up!”

Steven mumbled softly before he slowly opened his eyes. “We’re home?” He muttered with a yawn. At Pearl’s hum of affirmation, he crawled out of the backseat, leaning heavily against the van as he struggled to rub the sleep from his eyes.

His dad laughed at him as he closed up the back of the van. “We sure are, Schtu-ball! You can go back to sleep once we’re inside, okay?” His son tiredly nodded and followed the two adults as they led the way up the hill and to the stairs.

“I’m glad Twoie convinced me to join you two on this trip.” Pearl chuckled as they climbed the stairs. “I was so worried about leaving him alone, but we really needed to have that heart-to-heart.” She paused outside the front door. During the drive, Greg had confided in her about Twoie’s feelings regarding her restrictive behavior. “And I promise that I won’t be as smothering as I have been with Twoie. I had no idea that he felt that way.”

Greg was about to respond when panicked yelling sounded from inside the house. Everyone was now alert, and they quickly ran into the house. No one expected the sight that greeted their return.

Amethyst was trying to calm a frantically pacing Ruby and a panicking Sapphire. “-erywhere! My future vision is absolutely useless, and the others will be arriving any second! Where did he go?” The tiny blue gem froze when she noticed Greg, Steven, and Pearl. “Oh, no. This is bad…”

“What’s bad? What’s going on? Where did who go?” Pearl gestured at Ruby and Sapphire with a look of horror on her face. “And why are you two unfused? I have so many concerns right now!”

While Pearl was yelling at the other gems, Steven looked around and noticed a mess of papers on his bed. He quickly ran up to the stairs, and everyone became silent as he read through them. “These are Twoie’s lesson plans! He never leaves these out!” He looked back at the gems. “Where’s Twoie? This isn’t like him at all!”

Sapphire started crying at his question. Ruby quickly went to comfort her beloved, so Amethyst sighed and stepped forward. “It’s my fault. Twoie noticed that I was upset after the incident with Bismuth and confronted me after you guys left. I was mad that I couldn’t protect him, so when he kept pushing me to tell him how I felt, I… kinda got angry and yelled at him.” Steven paled as she told her story.

Sapphire sobbed loudly. “No! It’s my fault! He was rightfully upset that I never apologized for insulting him after he told us the truth about Pink Diamond. And for making assumptions based on my future vision. He’s right, I do assume that I understand situations that I’ve observed with my powers. But my vision only tells me the most probable timeline, not what’s actually happening!” She clutched Ruby’s arm tightly to her chest as she sobbed. The small red gem gently shushed her, trying to calm her down.

Steven’s face screwed up in annoyance. “You guys are avoiding the question! Where’s Twoie?”

Ruby looked up at him. “We don’t know! Twoie got really upset and packed a bunch of his stuff. We tried to stop him from leaving, but he used that new barrier power to prevent us from leaving the house. We searched everywhere we thought he would go. Sapphy and I even unfused so we could cover more ground, but we never found him.” Ruby’s eyes filled with frustrated tears. Greg and Steven were staring at her in horror, while Pearl covered her mouth with her hands.

“He… left?” Steven whispered as he sank to the ground. Greg ran up the stairs and gently placed a hand on his shoulder.

“It’s okay, Steven. He probably just wanted to spend some time away from the gems. Why don’t you try calling him?” Steven shakily nodded as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. The kid was trying to hold back tears as he clicked Twoie’s name and waited for the call. On the second ring, the call disconnected. Steven lowered his phone into his lap and stared at it. Twoie had denied his call. Greg brushed his hand through his son’s hair, hoping to bring him some form of comfort.

“That’s not the worse thing.” Greg and Pearl glared at Amethyst as she spoke. The purple gem was rubbing her arm in discomfort. “We found out that Twoie’s form is changing because of his emotions. During his argument with Garnet, he got a couple more horns, and one of his eyes changed colors.”

Pearl gasped in horror at the revelation. “So the reason he looks like that… is because he’s angry and stressed?” Sapphire and Ruby nodded. Greg looked down at Steven when he heard his son’s phone chime. Steven also perked up at the noise.

Twoie: Sorry, I can’t answer the phone right now. I’m guessing you guys are home now. Please don’t try to look for me. I’m fine. I just had to get away from the gems for a while. Love you, Steven.

Steven hurriedly texted him back.

Steven: I’m glad you’re okay! Why can’t you call? Can I at least come to see you? Are you nearby? Where did you go?

He didn’t have to wait long for Twoie to reply back.

Twoie: I don’t want you to see me like this. We can text, but I don’t want to talk since it will give away where I am. I’m sorry.

The youngest Universe sent a quick text saying okay and love you too, before tucking his phone away. “He said he doesn’t want me to see him…” It hurt to know that Twoie was so upset about his appearance. Steven clenched his fists in anger. If Twoie’s appearance was because of his emotions, then Twoie was feeling bad because of everything the gems had put him through. He rounded on the gems. “This is all your fault!” They flinched at his accusation. Greg tried to hug his son to calm him, but Steven just pushed his hands away. “If you guys weren’t so mean to Twoie, he wouldn’t have left me! Twoie was the only one who kept me company, and you guys made him leave!” Greg pulled Steven into a hug. This time, Steven didn’t fight him and sobbed as his dad hugged him tightly. The gems were quiet, stewing in the guilt of knowing that they were the reason that Twoie ran away.

Pearl climbed the steps and knelt beside the father and son. She gently brushed her hand through Steven’s hair. “You’re right. We tried to make changes, but it’s clear to me now that we didn’t do enough. We never tried to understand why he was upset by our actions.” She turned back to the others in the living room. “Twoie pointed out a long time ago that we didn’t understand how to raise Steven. And yet, we allowed Twoie to bear the brunt of the work of caring for him, instead of learning about it ourselves.” Steven sniffled, finally looking at Pearl. She smiled sadly at him. “I hope you can forgive us one day for all of the problems we’ve caused you. We love you very much, Steven, even though we aren’t the best at showing it.” Pearl stood up and made her way downstairs. “Right now, we have to make a change. We should still look for Twoie, but we need to make a few rules for ourselves.” Amethyst, Ruby, and Sapphire nodded determinedly. Pearl raised her hand into the air. “Number one! No more spending the majority of the day inside the temple. We spend too little time with Steven, and he’s told us already that it makes him feel like we only spend time with him when we need him.”

Sapphire shakily smiled and held up two fingers. “Number two. We apologize every time we say or do something that hurts someone else. We’ve only done so on occasion, but humans apologize every time to show that they care. We’ve made Steven and Twoie feel like we don’t care because we didn’t apologize for hurting them.” Ruby linked hands with Sapphire, proud that she owned up to her mistakes and was willing to better herself. Sapphire smiled at Ruby, and the two lit up brightly, fusing back into Garnet.

Amethyst held up three fingers. “Number three! No more pushing Steven or Twoie to talk when they don’t want to. I know I hate it, so I should’ve realized that trying to push him to tell us more about the future was a bad idea.” The gems all smiled as they thought about their new rules. They loved Twoie, and they wanted him to know how much they cared.

“Can I add a rule?” The gems all turned to look at Steven. The kid was still crying lightly, but he looked calmer than earlier. “You guys need to stop making some of the problems that come up about yourselves.” They blinked at him, so he continued. “In a lot of our arguments, you end up deciding that you know how we feel, or you turn around what we’re saying so that it becomes about you guys. It’s really frustrating.” The gems nodded in agreement.

Garnet stepped forward, gaining everyone’s attention. “I’m sorry that you had to come home to this, Greg, Steven. I’m glad you’re here, though. We have tried looking for Twoie at the Strawberry Battlefield, the desert, Beach City, and the Barn. Peridot checked the Kindergarten, and Lapis checked the Galaxy Warp. None of us have been able to find Twoie so far. Do you have any ideas where he might have gone?”

Pearl hummed in thought. She turned to Steven. “Do you think he could’ve gone to the garden?”

Steven’s eyes lit up with hope. “Maybe! We should check the garden, and if he’s not there, I’ll call Dr. Maheswaran! I haven’t gotten any texts from Connie, although he may have asked them to keep it a secret. It could still check, just in case. And there’s also the Moonbase!” Greg stood up and helped his son get to his feet. They made their way downstairs as well, so the group was standing together in the living room.

Garnet smiled as their group. “Then Pearl, Greg, and Steven can check the garden while Amethyst and I check the Moonbase. We aren’t going to force Twoie to return home, we just want him to know that we are sorry and that he will be welcomed back whenever he wants to return.” Everyone nodded and separated into their assigned groups. Steven’s group headed off to the forest while Amethyst and Garnet called for Lion. They could only hope that they’d find Twoie at one of the two locations.

Heavy rain pounded outside as Twoie tucked his phone back into the pocket of his shorts. He sighed in relief that his phone had not been ruined in the downpour. Who knows how worried Steven would’ve been if Twoie didn’t respond to his call? Even texting him had been hard, but there was no way Twoie was going back. Not right now, anyway. He paced back and forth outside the home of the person he hoped would be willing to help him. Twoie had wandered around for a while before mustering up the courage to come here. When it began to rain, Twoie was forced to stand at the door, as it provided his only form of shelter. He had been waiting there ever since.

The young man took another deep breath. It had already been a couple of hours, and the rain showed no signs of stopping. It was either wait here and freeze or go inside. He finally made his decision. No more waiting. Twoie knocked on the door. A moment later, the two halves of the stone door slid open, revealing the confused expression of his former friend. Twoie sheepishly grinned and waved at her in greeting.

“Hey, Bismuth.”

Chapter Text

Bismuth had never felt this lonely in her life. After she left the temple, she had returned to the only home she had left, the forge. The blacksmith had thought returning to her forge would make her feel better, but the silence was deafening. Bismuth had spent the first day stress-building weapons to deal with the guilt of cracking Twoie. Then, she had thrown the Breaking Point into the lava. Even with the relief that had provided, it was hard to be in the forge by herself. She could still hear the echoes of laughter from memories long past. In an attempt to quell her grief, Bismuth had thrown herself into researching humans. She had discovered something called a “library” and had stocked up on books about humans. Stars, was she glad that she did. Bismuth turned the page on the book she was reading. The multi-colored gem sat comfortably by the lavafall, using its light to illuminate the words. She could hear the pattering of the storm outside and was grateful for the warmth of her home. Suddenly, loud knocking interrupted her quiet leisure. “Huh? I didn’t expect anyone to be coming by?” Bismuth set her book down and walked over to the giant stone door. It opened at her command, and the sight that greeted her was the last thing she had expected.

Twoie gave her a sheepish smile and waved at her in greeting. “Hey, Bismuth.”

She blinked a couple of times. “Oh, my stars! Twoie? What happened to you?” She was horrified by how different he looked compared to a couple of weeks ago. Then she noticed that his hair and clothes were plastered to his body by the rain. “Hold on; we've got to get you inside!” She ushered Twoie into the forge and gestured for him to sit on a stone bench she had made by the lava fall.

The warmth of the forge was both a blessing and a curse. Although Twoie could already feel his hair and clothes drying, the heat burned his icy skin. He did not complain, though, as he sat down. He forgot that the stone absorbed heat and set his hands down. Twoie winced at the pain from touching the hot stone, pulling his hands onto his lap instead. Bismuth flashed him a look of concern as she sat back down at her previous spot. Seeing that he was fine, she focused on a different concern of hers. “Hopefully, you’ll dry off fast enough in here that you won’t get sick.” Twoie’s eyes widened in surprise at Bismuth’s concern.

“Oh, I don’t get sick since I’m part gem, but I’m surprised you know that humans could.” The young man shrugged his jacket off and squeezed the water out of it. The droplets evaporated quickly upon touching the floor.

Bismuth chuckled in embarrassment as she held out the book she was reading earlier. “Yeah, after everything that happened,  I figured I should verse myself in all of the things that have changed while I was bubbled. And then, I wanted to see how humans work compared to gems. I mean, I know you’re part gem, but after I…” She winced at the uncomfortable look on Twoie’s face. “After I accidentally did... that… I realized I should know what made you different.” She set the book down on her work table. “And stars, are humans different from gems.”

Twoie relaxed a little at her exclamation. “So, you don’t still think I’m Rose?”

The blacksmith shook her head. “No, I know now that you aren’t.” She smiled at him. “So, what brings you by the forge? I thought I’d see the others before I saw you, or at least one of them with you.” Her happy mood fell when Twoie looked away. “Hey, what’s wrong, Twoie?”

The time-traveler worriedly rubbed his arm. “C-can I stay here with you? Just for now?” At Bismuth’s surprised look, he hurriedly continued. “I got in a fight with the gems. Not an actual fight, just an argument. They haven’t been the nicest to me since I arrived here, and I ended up leaving the house. This was the one place I figured they wouldn’t think to look.”

Bismuth grimaced at him. “Oh, boy. That sounds like a real mess you’ve gotten into. And uh…” She gestured to his horns and claws. “I’m guessing this is tied into that too?” Twoie nodded, which made Bismuth sigh stressfully. “I don’t really know what to do. I’d be delighted to have you stay with me, but I know the forge is way too warm for you." She rubbed the back of her neck in disappointment. "Steven made a comment about it when he was here, and one of the books I read said that humans could die if they’re too warm.” The blacksmith could see he was beginning to sweat, slightly. The heat of the lava was getting to him already. She could always try to bring in some furniture, but anything not made of stone or metal would most likely deteriorate pretty quickly. And she could tell that the stone bench was too hot for him as well. “I’m sorry, Twoie. You’re welcome to stay while it’s raining, but I don’t think I can safely offer my home to you.”

Twoie sighed. It hurt to be rejected, but he knew she was right. This was the only place he could go, though. “Okay, Bismuth. I’m sorry that I bothered you.”

Bismuth furrowed her brows in concern. “No need to apologize to me! I’m happy you felt comfortable enough to ask me for help. I’m just sorry that I can’t do more for you.” She didn’t expect the rain to let up for another couple of hours, which meant she had a couple of hours to try to cheer Twoie up. She picked up a little notebook she had on her worktable. “I’m really happy you’re here. I told you how I was learning about humans, right?” At his nod, she continued. “So I’ve been writing down some things that confused me. Would you mind helping me out?”

Twoie blinked in surprise, then smiled. “Of course! I can’t promise that I’ll be able to answer everything, but I’ll do my best.” Bismuth mentally cheered as Twoie already looked happier with the distraction.

She sat down next to him on the bench and held the notebook in a way where they could both see it. “Great! So I was curious about this thing called a ‘radio’…”

Steven felt like he was about to cry again as he and his group returned home. Twoie was not in their garden, nor that part of the woods in general. After searching the woods for an hour, he finally decided to call Dr. Maheswaran. The doctor had been frantic with worry after finding out Twoie was missing and promptly told him that she was on her way over. Although Steven hadn’t meant to worry her, he was relieved to know that she was coming to help. If anyone could help Twoie, it would be her. But that didn’t alleviate the pain in his chest about the great lengths Twoie had taken to remain hidden. The kid looked up at his dad and Pearl. They were quietly sitting beside him on the couch. Everyone was disheartened by their failure to locate their missing family member. Hopefully, Amethyst and Garnet found Twoie at the moonbase.

Just as Steven finished that thought, the warp pad lit up, and Amethyst and Garnet appeared. One look was enough to know that they hadn’t found Twoie either. Both looked hopefully at the group on the couch before their expressions wilted. “What do we do now? We searched everywhere for Twoie, and we have no leads for where he is!” Amethyst brushed her hand through her hair in frustration.

Garnet placed a hand on Amethyst’s shoulder. “I think we should take a break. This is very stressful for everyone, and pushing ourselves to find him will only make things worse.” The smaller gem wiped her eyes and nodded. She walked over to the couch and flopped onto it, next to Steven.

“Dr. Maheswaran will be here probably by tomorrow. She said she wanted to help us look for Twoie, and she wanted to talk to him about everything that happened.” Steven softly informed Garnet and Amethyst.

The permafusion nodded and sat down at the kitchen counter. “That’s going to be a great help. I’ve been thinking about the cause of Twoie’s condition, and I believe I have come to the most plausible theory.” Everyone sat up straight at her announcement. Garnet dissipated her glasses and met their gazes with her fear-filled eyes. “I know we dismissed this previously, but I think he’s corrupting.”

Pearl gasped in horror. “But we saw his gem! It doesn’t have the corruption marks like the corrupted gems do, and even then, corruption has been cured in his time. How could he possibly be corrupted?”

Garnet sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. The thought was tearing her apart, but it made the most sense. And that’s what made it so terrible. “Amethyst and I saw that Twoie’s condition worsened when he became angry.” She turned to Steven. “Do you remember when I told you that corruption is similar to tearing the fabric of your mind?” At Steven's nod, she continued. “Well, if one was to become very distressed, their mind could be in such disarray that it would be akin to tearing itself apart. Twoie has been through a lot of traumatic experiences. And he has gone through even more by being sent into the past.” Garnet realized the others were coming to the same conclusion she had. Their eyes widened in horror, and Greg hugged his son close, needing assurance that his youngest son was okay. Steven was beginning to shake in fear, but Garnet knew she had to tell them her theory. If she was correct, then they needed to find Twoie immediately. “I believe that Twoie is emotionally corrupting himself. It would explain why he does not have the corruption marks on his gem while the rest of his condition mimics what we have seen in corrupted gems. And why his condition has only worsened in recency. Everything would’ve started right around-…”

Amethyst sank further into the couch. “Right after the call with Yellow Diamond.” Everyone sat quietly at the revelation. Twoie had been suffering for months, and none of them had noticed, besides Steven. Steven hugged his dad tighter. He wished he had pushed his brother a little harder to talk. The kid knew Twoie was blaming himself for a lot of problems and had many others that Steven knew he refused to talk about. Steven couldn’t help wondering if he had been better, then maybe Twoie wouldn’t be like this anymore. He shook his head. Twoie had told him that he couldn’t help everyone. Steven had tried, but Twoie needed more than what Steven could do. That didn’t stop the feeling of guilt, but it lessened it a little. He shut his eyes tightly. It wasn’t nighttime anymore, and he wasn’t looking at any stars, but maybe thinking of Twoie would be enough for it to work. ‘Starlight, star bright, first star I see tonight. I wish I may, I wish I might have this wish, I wish tonight. Please help me find my older brother. I miss him, and I’m really scared that he’s alone and hurting. I need to find him.’ Steven felt a little childish doing it, but the nursery rhyme made him feel a little better. Twoie always made things better for Steven. As the kid opened his eyes again, a bright light filled the room. Everyone turned to the warp pad in shock.

“Hey! I hope you don’t mind me showing up uninvited, but I really wanted to talk to you guys about something important.” Before Steven knew what was happening, Amethyst had jumped up and was standing defensively in front of Steven. Pearl and Garnet were also in defensive positions as they regarded the newcomer. Bismuth stepped off the warp pad with a wave and an awkward smile.

Chapter Text

“Why are you here, Bismuth? You know you are supposed to wait for us to deem you as someone safe to be around Steven and Twoie." Garnet stalked forward, so she was blocking Steven from view.

Bismuth awkwardly rubbed the back of her neck at the show of hostility from her old friend. She knew it was probably going to be a while before she gained the trust of her friends back, but it still hurt. Speaking of friends, her expression morphed into one of concern. “Yeah, I know, but I just wanted to ask about Twoie. He looks so different now!” Everyone else perked up in surprise and confusion. Bismuth didn’t notice as she rambled on about Twoie. “I mean, he looked different from normal humans when I met him, but man, he’s changed since then. Oh, and another thing, he also mentioned something about you guys getting in an argument?” Steven’s eyes widened in realization while the gems exchanged horrified looks. “It must be some kind of misunderstanding, right?” She chuckled as she looked at the gems. “I mean, you guys fought me to protect him. There’s no way whatever actually happened was so bad that he ran away. So, what’s really going on? I want to help him.” At their silence, Bismuth’s smile dropped. “Guys? You’re worrying me. What happened between you all and Twoie?”

Steven pushed his way past Garnet and Amethyst, running forward to stand in front of Bismuth. Garnet reacted quickly though, grabbing Steven's wrist as he passed. "Steven, wait. We don't know if she knows you're not Rose."

The blacksmith cleared her throat. "Actually, I do know they're different people. While I was staying in the forge, I did some reading up on humans." She faced Steven, clear sincerity in her eyes. "I'm sorry, I didn't understand before. I know I really hurt Twoie and you, since you had to see him that way. I already apologized to him."

That was enough for Garnet to loosen her grip, and Steven pulled his hand out of hers. “You talked with Twoie? Did he visit you?” Bismuth knelt and placed a hand on Steven’s head. Ignoring Amethyst's quiet growl, she brushed her hand through his hair in an attempt to soothe him.

She could see that he was about to start crying, and Bismuth didn’t think she could bear to see the little meatball upset. “Yeah. He came to the forge, asking for a place to stay, but I had to tell Twoie that he couldn’t since the forge is too warm for humans. I could tell he was upset about something, so I didn’t press him about whatever caused it.” She looked over at the gems. Her eyes narrowed slightly in her worry for Twoie. “Now, I think that I should’ve.” She stood up while keeping her hand comfortingly on Steven’s hair. “I really want to know what happened? I want to help.” Pearl looked over at Amethyst and Garnet since they were around for what started it.

The two gems retold all of the events that led to Twoie’s abrupt decision to leave the house. Bismuth listened quietly, but the longer the story went on, the more her face pinched in anger. Once the story finished, Bismuth took a deep breath. "And I just let him go. Man, I knew something was wrong. I just knew it, but I thought I'd hurt him if I tried to ask." The blacksmith glanced at Steven in concern. She could see the red eyes with the shadow of bags underneath them. The kid looked exhausted, and Bismuth knew it was because he was stressed and worried. Steven didn't need anything else to weigh on him. Bismuth knelt next to Steven again. “Hey, buddy, why don't you go for a walk? I want to talk to the others about this corruption theory of theirs, and I have a feeling that you've been through enough stress today.”

Steven blinked, surprised that Bismuth was giving him the opportunity to leave before the talk became heavy. “O-okay. That does sound nice. I’m gonna go back to the garden, actually. I just want some time to myself.” He turned to his dad and the gems. “I have my phone, so call me if you need me, okay?” Once they nodded, Steven grabbed his pink hoodie and walked out the door.

As Steven walked down the steps, he could hear Bismuth asking about some of her old friends. Although the gems had talked about some of their old comrades in the past, they never talked about them in-depth. Steven was glad that he didn’t have to be around for that conversation. The gems were probably going to have a really stressful discussion and that always seemed to end badly for him or Twoie. With a sigh, the kid made his way through town and headed towards the forest.

When the rain had finally stopped, Twoie knew it was best to leave. He was already starting to get a little dizzy from the heat of the forge, and he didn’t want to outstay his welcome. The young man wasn’t really lying when he assured Bismuth that he had somewhere else he could go. The garden was a place he could go to, but he knew she meant a place to stay. He didn’t need her worrying about him, though. It wasn’t hard for Twoie to trigger his pink powers, not with the turmoil in his mind. Although, he still didn’t have the control to make his super-speed work for long which Twoie was reminded of when his power faded at the edge of the mountains. He angrily huffed as he began walking.

“At least I’m by Beach City. Thanks, stupid powers. You never work the way I want you to.” He grumbled as he shoved his way past trees and bushes. Twoie sighed as he trekked to the garden. It was pretty dark in the forest, even with dapples of sunlight filtering through the leaves. Even weirder was the silence that reigned through the area. He strained his ears for any sound of rustling or chirping and was met with only the sound of his sandals crunching dirt and leaves. Twoie picked up the pace. He had seen enough movies to know that this was usually some sort of bad omen. It was as though the woods were waiting with bated breath for something to happen.

Twoie shifted into a jog and then a sprint until he burst into the clearing for the garden. The sunlight illuminated the grove, and Twoie sat down to catch his breath. “Ha, I’ve probably watched too many movies.” He looked back through the leaves. The forest was still quiet and dark, making the garden seem like an oasis. “I’m sure there’s a perfectly good reason for the quiet. There’s nothing to fear. You’re all alone in the forest, Twoie.” Alone. Twoie frowned and looked around. That’s right. He was alone. Twoie didn’t like being alone, but he was finding himself alone a lot more often now.

“Maybe that’s why bad things happen to my friends when I’m around.” He thought about how everyone was already leaving him back in his time, and how everyone was leaving him here too. Bismuth had the forge, and Peridot and Lapis had the barn. Priyanka had her own family, Steven had their dad and the gems, and the gems only kept him company because he was sick. “Maybe I’m supposed to be alone.” Twoie had been alone for so long before Homeworld became a problem. And then, after he saved the universe, his family went back to doing other things. The gems were always busy working at the school, and his dad was busy with Sadie’s band. His friends were all moving away, and Connie was too. He’d be alone in Beach City, just like he was as a kid. Everything was changing, but not for him.

“Guess by now, I oughta know my place.” Twoie pushed himself to his feet. He put on a fake smile and stood like a butler. “Waiting to be helpful with a smile on my face.” The young man sighed as he walked over to the flowers and picked one of the daisies. That was his life before he could use his powers. Staying at home and never being sought unless someone had a problem. And that was his life again after finally ending the war with Homeworld. “The gems know how much I love them. But they’re always doing other things. And I’m left waiting in the wings.” He held the flower out on his palms, and a slight breeze carried it away. The flower disappeared amongst the trees.

“I gave so much, and yet I kept on waiting.” As a kid, Twoie had tried so many different ways to get Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl to spend time with him. After stopping the diamonds, he thought he’d never worry about being alone again. He thought the gems' actions after that crazy snow day confirmed that. Then he quit working at Little Homeschool, and suddenly he felt just like a kid again. The gems were always too busy to spend time with him. And he was so lonely.“One glance, one touch, that’s why I kept on waiting.” Even Peridot, Lapis, and Bismuth were too busy to hang out. Twoie only spent time with them when it seemed like they needed his help for something, which was rarely. Twoie had always had to work hard to get his family to spend time with him; he didn’t want to do that with his friends too.

“And when it came, it came with strings.” Twoie glanced down at his clawed hands. Why did everything always happen to him? His mom was the one who started a war, but he had to fix all of her problems. He had to end the war. And sadly, that was the reason the gems spent so much time with him. There was nothing to fix in his time, but now he was back in the war. It was even worse in the past since the only one that stayed with Twoie was Steven. After everything was over, Twoie would go back home to where he wasn’t needed. And then it would just be him, alone in that house. Waiting. “I’m back to waiting in the wings.” Quiet sobs echoed in the forest, but no one was around to hear it.

Chapter Text

Steven sighed in relief when he finally reached the forest at the edge of Beach City. Lots of people were out and about, and he’d been stopped several times by his friends. They could see how exhausted the kid looked, and most just wanted to check on him. After reassuring them that he was fine, and he was just tired from going on a trip, they relented. It was nice of them, but he just wanted to be alone. Steven shivered as he slowly walked along the path to the grove. It was weird, the forest seemed darker than usual, and it seemed quieter too. No birds were chirping, and as he continued walking along, he noticed that there were no squirrels or other little critters around that he was used to seeing on his walks. He frowned and continued along. Twoie had told him once, in one of their biology lessons, that animals had a sort of sixth sense for danger. Walking through the quiet forest gave him a heavy sense of foreboding. He shook his head and continued forward. “You’re just imagining it, Steven. Everything is fine. There’s nothing scary about this forest.” The kid continued walking through the woods, though he was unable to shake his uneasy feeling. Finally, Steven made it to the glade that housed the garden.

The sunlight that streamed into the garden was a stark contrast from the darkness of the forest. It shone so brightly that it illuminated the pink varsity jacket huddled at the very edge of the garden. Steven’s eyes widened as he realized his brother was here. Twoie’s knees were pulled up to his body, and his head was tucked in between his legs, arms, and chest, covering his face from view. “Twoie?” His older brother’s body stiffened before he quickly stood up. Twoie smiled widely with his eyes closed while he waved at his younger brother. Steven walked a little closer. He could see what Bismuth meant when she said he looked different. The horns on his head really stuck out, as did the spines on his back and his clawed hands.  “I know you didn’t want me to see you like this, but I’m not scared of you. I’m really worried about you, though. Are you okay?”

Twoie opened his eyes, keeping the grin on his face. Steven couldn’t hold back his gasp of shock. The young man’s right eye was pitch black with a pink diamond pupil. Before Steven could apologize for his reaction, Twoie chuckled. “Oh, Steven! I’m fine! I didn’t think anyone would be here. Can I help you with something?”

It was kinda freaky to the kid. He backed up a step. “Oh, no, I’m okay. I was worried about you because the gems told me about what happened. And then you didn’t want me to see you or visit you. It really worried me.” Steven nervously picked at the corner of his hoodie as he spoke. Twoie grinned widely at Steven.

“Ah, no need to worry about me. I’m fine here. If you don’t need me to help you with anything, then I’m just gonna go.” The young man started backing up into the forest. Steven panicked as his brother tried to run. He cried out for him to wait, lunging forward just in time to grab his wrist. “Let go!” Pink light flashed in the clearing, and pink fractals appeared in the air. Steven quickly let go of his brother’s wrist in fear as the facets made a barrier between them. Twoie covered his mouth in horror. “I-I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean for that-! It’s just that-!” He didn’t finish, turning and darting through the woods instead.

“Twoie! Wait! Don’t go!” Although he wasn’t as fast as his older brother, Twoie was wildly running through the trees, leaving broken branches and trampled dirt in his path. Steven was able to follow his trail to a new clearing he’d never seen before. It was a grassy clearing with a large boulder on the edge of a cliff. Twoie was standing in the middle of the clearing with his back to him. “Stop running, Starbright! Please!” The time traveler froze at the nickname. “I understand. You’ve been hurting for a long time, and now you're getting these new powers that you can’t control, and it’s scary. I know how you feel!” Steven walked closer until he was only a couple of feet away. “It’s fine to not be fine, remember? You helped me understand that my feelings mattered when we had that talk after dealing with the mutant gems.”

“You don’t understand!” Twoie rounded on Steven. The young boy took a step back in surprise. “I’ve hurt you before with my powers, and I almost hurt you again! I wanted you to stick up for yourself, to know that you didn’t have to wait for the gems’ approval to be happy!" The elder Universe growled, revealing sharp fangs. "Because I don’t want you to understand how I feel. If you understand me, then that means you’ll end up just like me!”  Steven's eyes widened in shock as Twoie gestured to himself.  “I don’t want you to be like me! Everyone I’m close to gets hurt because of me. It’s not safe to be around me, Steven." Twoie took a breath as he looked away sadly. "I know I said I was going to return to the house when I felt better, but now I know I can’t. It’s best for everyone if I stay away. Especially now that I look like a- a monster.” He clenched his claws in painfully tight, nails biting into his skin. The young man turned and started walking away.

But Steven wasn’t going to stand by and let him. He knew how much it hurt to be alone. And he knew that his brother didn’t actually want to be by himself. Twoie just thought it was the only way. “Twoie, please! We can fix this, but you have to stop running away!” His brother tensed at the words. “Please don’t shut me out again! Please, don’t slam the door. You don’t have to keep your distance anymore.” Steven took the opportunity to get closer to his brother. He held his hands to his chest as he walked forward until he was a foot behind Twoie. “Although I know you don’t believe me, I truly understand. Though, I know you don’t believe me, we can fix this hand in hand! We can work on your powers together. You don’t have to live in fear! Although I know you don’t believe me, I will be right here.” Steven held his hand out in the hopes that Twoie would take it. But his older brother simply turned to face him.

Twoie looked exhausted. He backed away from the younger while gesturing to the path back to Beach City. “Steven. Please go back home. Your life awaits. I fixed things here so you won’t share my fate.” Steven tried to interrupt, but Twoie ignored him. ”I know, you mean well, but don’t you see?” Twoie gestured to the little clearing they were in. “Yes, I’m alone, but I am meant to be. So, stay away, and you’ll be safe from me.”

Steven stared at him in confusion. That wasn’t true… That’s why they needed to find Twoie in the first place. Realization dawned on Steven. Twoie didn’t know he was corrupting. “Twoie… Do you know why you’re changing?” His older brother looked at the ground in shame.

“Because I can’t control my powers.” Twoie didn’t notice as Steven’s eyes widened in horror. It pained the young man to admit that he was too weak to use his powers properly.

His little brother gulped before mustering the courage to speak. “Twoie... It’s because you’re corrupting.”

The Time traveler’s eyes widened. Corruption? He was corrupting? But that couldn’t be! His gem didn’t have corruption marks on it. That didn’t even matter! Twoie had never fused with a corrupted gem, and the Diamonds' attack occurred long before he was born. There was no way he could be corrupted. “This isn’t a funny joke, Steven!" Twoie glared at his younger brother. "I’m not corrupting! I can’t be corrupting!” But Steven shook his head.

“Remember how Garnet said that corruption is like the fabric of your mind tearing apart? You have been really stressed and conflicted with everything that’s been happening." Steven gently gripped his gem through his shirt. "Garnet thinks you’re corrupting yourself because our powers are tied to our emotions. That’s why you don’t have the marks on your gem, but you still look like a partially corrupted gem.” Twoie felt his heart start to pound in his chest. His ears were ringing, and he was just barely able to hear Steven over the noise.  

His younger brother looked scared and reached out to him again, but Twoie stepped out of reach.  “Don’t come near me!” Steven looked hurt when Twoie shouted at him but continued to plead with him. The ringing died down a little as Twoie worked to keep his distance. “If I’m corrupting, then you need to run! Now!” Steven stared at him in shock. He could hear the horror and desperation in his older brother's voice. “Corruption can’t be cured without the essences of all four diamonds! I can’t be cured, and I’ll probably be the strongest corrupted gem you’ll ever encounter since I’m half diamond! You need to leave right now!”

Steven gasped at the info but shakily smiled at him in the hopes of calming him down. “That was for the corruption caused by the diamonds. I’m sure we can find another way to cure you! I know we can!" Steven held his hands close to his chest. He just needed to calm Twoie down, then they could go back home and fix everything. "Although I know you don’t believe me, you don’t have to be alone. We can work this out together! Change the doubts that have been sown.”

But as Steven pushed Twoie to believe him, to change his mind, Twoie could feel himself worsening. He looked at his hands and saw that his corruption marks were beginning to crawl up and completely encompass his arm. “Oh, I’m such a fool, I can’t be free!” Twoie placed a hand on his cheek when he felt his face heat up with his pink powers while clutching the other to his chest. “Can’t escape the darkness inside of me.” He continued backing up as Steven pressed forward. “I can’t control my curse!” Twoie flinched when he backed into the boulder. He hadn’t realized it was there in his panic to prevent Steven from getting to close. Twoie faced his younger brother, frightened at how close he had gotten. “Steven, please, you’ll only make it worse!”

“Don’t panic, cause starting with tonight!” Steven smiled softly at his brother as he inched forward. The glow on the elder Universe's face expanded until his whole body was a mix of pink and purple.

Twoie’s panic grew when his pink power whipped up a strong wind around them. He could see the wind buffeting Steven, causing him to cover his face for a second with his hand. “There’s so much fear! You’re not safe here!” Stuck between his brother and the boulder, Twoie’s heart raced as Steven tried to hug him. 

“We can face this thing together. We can change this thing together! And everything will be alright.” But Twoie knew Steven’s words weren’t true. They couldn’t fix corruption. Not now. Not yet. And so Twoie would just become even worse than the other rampaging corrupted gems. He’d be out of control, unpoofable, stronger than any corrupted gem they have ever faced.

Twoie felt like everything was caving in around him. The ringing in his ears was violent, and all he could see was the increasing corruption on his arms. Steven couldn’t fix this. Twoie couldn’t fix this. And the insistence that he could was aggravating. “I CAN’T!” His scream reverberated through the whole forest. It smashed the ground beneath his feet, broke apart the cave behind him, and blew down all of the trees on the edge of the clearing. The young man panted heavily from expelling so much power at once. He looked up and froze.

Steven had been standing in front of him when he lost control. And the kid was now lying limply against one of the downed trees, yards across from him. Stars, how strong was that attack? “Steven?!” He ran towards his younger brother, hopping over broken branches until he was kneeling beside the unconscious kid. The back of Steven’s head was bleeding sluggishly, most likely from colliding at full speed against the tree. “Steven! Steven, wake up!” Tears welled in Twoie’s eyes as he pressed his fingers to the kid’s wrist, checking his pulse. He shakily sighed in relief when he found it. As Twoie’s tears dripped onto him, Steven sparkled. In seconds, he was healed from the damage caused by Twoie’s outburst. “I’m so sorry! I could’ve killed you…” He began backing away from his younger brother. Clawed hands covered his mouth in horror. “Stars, I almost killed you…”

“I’m a monster.”

Steven woke up to the sound of screaming. His eyes snapped open as he pushed himself into a sitting position. The last thing he remembered was Twoie losing control. The kid’s eyes widened in horror as he looked up and saw his brother. Twoie was kneeling in the middle of the clearing, glowing pink while hugging himself, as his body grew larger and larger. Pained screaming shifted into animalistic shrieks. Limbs became claws, skin morphed into pink scales, and every horn and spine enlarged until it was impossible to tell that the creature before him had ever been human. “Twoie!” Steven cried out for his brother, but he couldn’t approach due to the forceful winds created by the gem’s roars. Finally, the glowing stopped, and the corrupted gem was fully formed.

The monster swung his massive head around, analyzing the environment that he towered over. Steven couldn’t speak. He collapsed to the ground as the gem’s eyes alighted onto his tiny form. After a moment, Steven was able to catch his breath. “Twoie, it’s me! It’s Steven! You’ve gotta recognize me!” The gem stared at him intensely. Steven shakily smiled, hoping that the momentary pause meant Twoie wasn’t all gone. That moment was lost when the beast glared at him. Steven scrambled backward as the monster’s head dipped close. His hot breath rolled over him, causing the kid to cringe in fear. Eyes closed, he waited with bated breath. Steven was sure his brother was so close that he could reach out and touch his snout. Everything was still around them. A moment later, the creature pulled back. He turned around and started lumbering away on all fours. The creature jumped off the cliff, causing several cracks to form where he landed.

The earth shook with each step, causing Steven to open his eyes in shock. From his vantage point on the cliff, Steven could see that the gem monster was heading towards Beach City. “This is so bad! I gotta call the gems!” The kid reached into his pocket for his phone. His fingers touched cloth. “Oh, no! Where’s my phone!” Steven whirled around to face the debris of the destroyed trees. “I have to find it!” He shoved branches and leaves out of his path, desperate to find his phone, so he could alert his family of the danger heading towards them.

Pearl paced as Greg’s phone reached Steven’s voicemail for the third time in a row. “Steven should’ve answered his phone by now! I’m telling you, we need to head over to the garden right now!” Greg turned his phone off and tucked it into his pocket.

“I agree. This isn’t like Steven. I think something happened.” The concerned father stood up and started walking towards the door. Bismuth nodded at Greg from where she was leaning against the kitchen counter. Amethyst turned to face Garnet, who was strangely quiet the whole time.

“Yo, Garnet? Are you coming with?” Garnet didn’t respond, too engrossed in whatever had her attention. Suddenly, a powerful force caused the house to shake. Everyone looked around in surprise. “Since when does Beach City get earthquakes?” Amethyst brushed her hands through her hair in frustration.

Greg covered his head with his hands as he pushed himself against the wall. “It doesn’t! The occasional flooding, sure, but not earthquakes!” Garnet gasped and darted out of the house. The others blinked in surprise and quickly followed suit. Everyone gathered on the porch, and they all cried out in terror at the sight of the huge pink beast that was on the outskirts of the town.

Bismuth picked up Greg and hopped the porch fence. The others landed on the sand beside her, and she sat Greg down beside his van. “What in the world is that thing!” Bismuth shouted as she turned to face the Crystal Gems.

“I don’t know, but we have to evacuate the city! Greg, I want you and Pearl to alert everyone of what’s happening and help them leave. The rest of us will distract the corrupted gem and try to lead it away from the city.” Pearl nodded and hopped into the van with Greg. While the car took off towards the boardwalk, the gems ran towards the forest to confront the monster, hoping to buy them time. As they got closer, they could see how the gem towered over them.

“Dude, how do we even fight her?” Amethyst doubted her whip would do enough damage to hurt the corrupted gem, let alone poof her. Bismuth shaped her hands into hammers, while Garnet summoned her gauntlets.

“I don’t know, but we have to try.” Garnet took a deep breath then charged at the corrupted gem. She slammed her fists against the creature’s leg. The beast swiveled its long neck around to see who was attacking him. Bismuth let out a mighty battle roar and swung her hammers against his claws. He shrieked in pain and swiped his claws at her. Bismuth barely managed to dodge the attack in time, but she was buffeted back by the air pressure of the attack. The beast glared at his attackers before slamming one of his front paws into the ground. The earth cracked around the Crystal Gems, spiderwebbing fissures for miles. Bismuth struggled to keep her footing and cried out as a fissure opened up beneath her.

“I got you!” Amethyst screamed as she summoned her whip and twirled it around Bismuth’s waist. She pulled the multi-colored gem out of the crack.

“Thanks, Amethyst!” Bismuth called out as she switched her hammers to blades. “Alright, let’s see how you like it when I get serious.” She charged forward with Garnet and Amethyst beside her, each gem attacking with all their strength. A high-pitched shriek tore through the air, causing the gems to cover their ears in pain. Distracted, they didn’t see the tail swinging towards them until it was too late. It slammed heavily into them, and they were flung away at high speed. Garnet clenched her eyes shut. She knew the moment she landed, she would be poofed, and Beach City would be doomed.

Water swirled in the air and formed a cushion around the three gems. Garnet opened her eyes with a smile as the water lowered her to the ground safely alongside Amethyst and Bismuth. “Thank you for your help, Lapis.” The blue gem flew into view. Lapis was carrying Peridot in her arms and set the green gem down.

“We were alerted to the danger when that abomination roared. Any idea what it is?” Peridot peered up at the corrupted gem. She had never seen anything like it before. It was nothing like the Cluster or the gem mutation experiments. Whatever it was, it was horrifying.

Garnet shook her head. “All we know is that it’s a corrupted gem. We need to poof her so we can bubble her for safekeeping, but she’s stronger than any gem we’ve ever faced.” The bushes rustled, and everyone turned to see Pearl and Greg running towards them.

“The whole town has been evacuated. No one saw Steven in town, and we didn’t see him either. He must still be in the woods!” Pearl shouted in a panic. Lapis and Peridot gasped.

“Steven’s in here somewhere? What if the corrupted gem hurt him?” Peridot frantically started spewing off probabilities of what could’ve happened and where he could be in the forest.

Lapis placed a hand on her shoulder. “Not the time. You’re just gonna freak us out more. I’m sure he’s fine. He probably got lost trying to avoid this thing. For now, let’s focus on defeating her.” Bismuth nodded in agreement. Lapis and Peridot looked curiously at her. "And who are you? A new friend of Steven's?" The blacksmith smiled kindly as she gave them a slight wave.

“The name’s Bismuth. We’ll have to save the proper introductions for later, though.” She noticed the beast was advancing again. It had disregarded them entirely in favor of continuing its route towards the town. “We’ve got a corrupted gem to poof.” The gems quickly got into formation, ready to attack the monster with everything they had.

“WAIT!” They all turned as Steven burst out of the bushes.

“Steven!” Everyone shouted in relief. Pearl and Greg immediately scooped the kid into a hug.

The prim gem backed up a bit so she could look at him. “We were so worried! Why didn’t you answer your phone?” Steven wiggled out of their hold and pulled out his phone. The screen was severely cracked.

“I found Twoie out in the garden, and tried to calm him down.” The kid shook slightly as he looked at the corrupted gem. He sniffled as he tried to hold back his tears. “Instead, I accidentally made everything worse.”

The Crystal Gems and Greg shared a worried look. “Wait, do you mean…?” Pearl whispered in horror.

Steven nodded. “That’s Twoie.”

Chapter Text

Everyone watched in horror as the beast continued on his path towards Beach City. Those that had seen the most recent of Twoie’s changes now recognized the large horns and spines on the corrupted gem. Greg gripped his shirt above his heart. “That’s my son?” He fell to his knees.

“Dad!” Steven ran up to him.

His father was staring at Twoie while he tried to control his increasing panic. “What do we do?” Greg couldn’t look away from the monster. He knew his son wasn’t doing well, and now he was corrupted. Pearl had explained it as they evacuated the town. The knowledge that his son’s mind had fractured so much was heart-breaking.

Garnet walked over to the two and kneeled in front of them. She placed a hand on Steven’s head and her other hand on Greg’s shoulder. “We’ll find a way to heal him. I promise. But first, we need to stop him from destroying the town.” Greg and Steven nodded. Garnet turned back to the rest of the Crystal Gems. “Peridot.” The green gem jumped to attention. “I have a plan. Can you build a destabilizer barrier?”

Peridot hummed and held her chin in thought. “Well, I could probably do it in combination with some of the materials in the barn. However, there are several metal pieces that I would need to complete the amount of destabilizing rods necessary to create a barrier with a large circumference.”

Bismuth smiled and smacked Peridot on the back. The technician yelped as she was thrown forward slightly from the force of the playful hit. “I got you. I have plenty of ores back at the forge and the ability to shape them into whatever you need.”

Peridot glowered at her for a second before her mind registered Bismuth’s words. “You have a forge here? What are we waiting for? Come on!” She grabbed the broad-shouldered gem by the hand and ran off. Bismuth faltered in surprise as she tried to keep up with the excited technician.

“Meet us at the Galaxy Warp when you’re done!” Garnet called out after them. She turned back to Pearl, Amethyst, and Lapis. “Lapis. You have the most important job. It’s going to be very taxing. Are you up to it?”

Lapis met her with a determined gaze. “Twoie’s done a lot for me. Tell me what you need me to do.”

“The rest of us are going to lead Twoie away from Beach City, and to the ocean. When we get there, you will need to use your powers to keep him on the path to the Galaxy Warp. If Peridot and Bismuth aren’t ready yet by the time you get there, you’ll need to do your best to keep Twoie in place until they’re ready.” Garnet knew there would be outrage once the others figured out her plan, but she honestly believed it was the best solution. And she didn’t need future vision to predict that.

Amethyst proved her right when she threw her hands out in anger. “Wait, so we’re just going to trap him?! Lock him up like the humans do with animals?!”

Lapis flinched, her eyes widening in fear. “Wait, there is no way I’m going to trap Twoie! When I was trapped in that mirror, I hated it! I can’t make him go through that too!” She clutched at her chest, trying to contain the overwhelming fear and panic that was consuming her. Steven, seeing her reaction, walked over and grabbed her hand. She jumped slightly at his touch but gripped his hand. It helped remind her that she wasn’t in that infernal mirror.

Garnet dematerialized her glasses and looked at them. They could see she was struggling with her own plan. “I don’t want to do this anymore than you do, but Twoie is half-human. He can’t be safely poofed and bubbled like we normally do with corrupted gems. And if we let him roam free, he’s going to accidentally do something he’ll regret, or the humans will try to step in to solve the problem.” The last thing she wanted was for Twoie to get hurt, but there was no way he wouldn’t be hurt in this situation. Thus, she was forced to come up with a plan that would cause him the least amount of pain. “Both scenarios are going to have untold ramifications. However, if we keep him contained, it will buy us time to find a way to heal him. It’s the best option we have.”

Everyone else flinched. They had even thought about the possibility of other humans getting involved. They could make everything worse. “Fine. But I’m not going to like it.” Lapis muttered as she glowered at Garnet. 

“Then let’s get started.” The permafusion summoned her gauntlets and led them towards the town.

It didn’t take long for them to catch up to Twoie. Although he was walking, his colossal size allowed him to travel vast distances in minutes. Lapis flew Greg over to where he had parked his van and then waited by the beach for the signal. Steven had tagged along with his dad and was standing on top of the vehicle with his shield out. Twoie was close to the town, and Steven was waiting to signal his dad to floor it.

While they were waiting, the gems were provoking Twoie into following them around the edge of the town. They took turns attacking his feet and sides, where his scales were too strong to be hurt by their attacks. Twoie roared in anger as Pearl’s spear bounced off his leg again. The creature charged forward, and the gems dispersed quickly to avoid him. “Just a little further!” Amethyst shouted at her companions. They were just at the edge of the forest. One more attack made Twoie charge again, and he broke the clearing of trees onto the boardwalk. “Now!” She screamed at Steven.

The young kid nodded and smacked the top of the van twice. Greg switched into drive and took off towards the end of the boardwalk. “Hey, Twoie! Follow me!” Steven called out. He used his shield to reflect light into Twoie’s eyes. The beast roared in surprise and immediately pursued the van. “Whoa!” The whole van bounced off the road as the corrupted half-gem’s steps shook the ground. Steven landed on the van’s roof on his stomach, gripping the edge of the van as best he could. Although the van was fast, Twoie was faster, and he quickly gained on them. “Dad! You gotta go faster!”

Greg was sweating as he tried to maneuver the car without throwing his son off. “I’m trying, Steven. This is as fast as I can go!” Another bounce sent the van careening off the boardwalk and landing onto the sand. “I’m not gonna make it!”

A shadow covered the van, and Steven looked up to see Twoie’s giant paw right above them. “TWOIE, DON’T!” Steven shut his eyes and quickly summoned a bubble around him and the van. He opened them seconds later when nothing pressed against his bubble. “Huh?” He popped his bubble as he looked up to see Twoie staring at them in confusion as the van slowed down enough to turn the corner. “Twoie?”

The monster shook its head. The bright pink diamond pupils had widened for a fraction of a second at Steven’s yell before shrinking into pinpricks of light. He lifted his paws into the air, and the rose quartz-like gem was fully visible on his stomach. Twoie slammed his paws into the ground, causing shockwaves throughout the ground and a cascade of debris. The sand lifted like a tidal wave, and Steven barely had time to cover his face with a shield as the ground rose up beneath the van. The van was thrown to the side, knocking Steven off the top, and faceplanting him into the sand.

Steven spat the grit out of his mouth. With a pained groan, he rubbed his head, then the moment caught up to him. “Dad!” He turned to see the smoking van on its side and ran towards it. The kid sighed in relief when he saw his dad’s hand appear from the window and grab the window frame.

“I’m okay!” Greg’s head appeared as he heaved himself out of the van. As Greg dropped to the sand, Twoie towered over them. Steven grabbed his dad’s hand and started running. “Wait! I’m not a good runner!” Greg shouted as he rushed to keep up with his youngest son.

“LAPIS, NOW!” Steven cried out while they ran towards the beach house. Water spouted out from the ocean, forming large chainlinks. Twoie grunted in surprise as the chains latched around his neck and body, and began to drag him into the water.

Lapis hovered above the ocean, straining to get the monster into the ocean. “Come on, Twoie! You’re making this harder than it needs to be!” Twoie dug his paws into the ground and roared, causing the chains to dissipate. Lapis huffed in annoyance as she summoned the chains again and wrapped them around him. “I need help over here! He’s too strong!” Steven and the gems reconvened in front of the beach house.

“Amethyst, turn into a bird and try to get Twoie to follow you. Pearl and I won’t be able to follow you. We’re depending on you and Lapis to guide him to the Galaxy Warp.” Amethyst nodded and turned into a falcon. Steven watched her fly off towards Twoie, then looked back at the ocean. He hummed in thought before snapping his fingers.

“I got it!” Greg, Pearl, and Garnet looked at him in surprise as Steven ran a couple of feet away. “LION!” Steven smiled when the familiar portal opened up, and his pink furry companion lunged out onto the sand. Lion immediately glared at Twoie, baring his teeth at the threat in front of him. Steven ran up and started petting his mane. “No, Lion. That’s Twoie! We have to help him!” Lion calmed down, looking at the monster in surprise. The intelligent animal shook it off, though, and knelt for Steven to hop on.

“Wait, Steven, what are you doing?” Greg placed a hand on his son’s shoulder. Steven looked at him with a determined expression.

“Lion can walk on water, remember? I’ll help Lapis and Amethyst guide Twoie to the Galaxy Warp. When I yelled at Twoie earlier, it looked like he was aware for a moment. I might be able to get him to follow me. The rest of you guys should check on Peri and Bismuth, then meet us at the warp.” Steven hopped onto Lion’s back.

Greg took a deep breath then nodded in agreement. “Alright, son. Stay safe.”

Steven smiled at his dad and the gems. Lion took that as a signal to leave, and the two made their way across the ocean. Lion quickly caught up to Lapis and Amethyst. Amethyst was struggling to stay out of the way of Twoie claws. He snapped at her as she flew past, and she barely managed to corkscrew out of the way. Lapis summoned another chain of water and wrapped it around Twoie’s mouth, only for it to break as the monster roared again. “I don’t know how much longer I can do this!” Lapis cried out as she reformed her chains. Lion darted forward, so they were in front of Twoie.

“Okay, Lion. We need to head to the Galaxy Warp. You know where that is, right?” The pink beast chuffed in response and started running. Steven swiveled in place so he could face the corrupted gem. “TWOIE! IT’S ME! STEVEN!” The monster perked up, setting its gaze onto the moving figure of Steven and Lion. Amethyst and Lapis stared in shock as Twoie lunged after them.

“Whoa!” The chains broke again, but with Twoie chasing after Steven, Lapis didn’t need to summon them again. The water gem flew down, so she was next to Steven as Lion picked up the pace. “Steven, are you sure this is a good idea?”

Steven nodded at her, then gestured to Twoie, who was now swimming as the ocean floor dropped. “Twoie is going to be slower now that he has to swim. He’ll follow me, so you can take a break. Do you think you could fly up ahead and see if they’re almost ready? It’ll take us a while to get there, so I don’t think we’ll have to slow down.” Lapis nodded and flew ahead.

Once she left, Amethyst replaced her. “Hey, Steven! I’ll play distraction if Twoie looks like he’s getting too close to you, okay?” Steven flashed her a thumbs-up, and she took off into the sky again. Lion slowed his pace a little to make sure Twoie could keep up. The corrupted half-gem’s massive paws churned through the ocean water, sending waves in all directions. Lion did his best to keep up far enough ahead to not be affected, although the pink beast had to jump on occasion to avoid getting splashed.

After several hours of running along the water, the group finally made it to the Tunguska Sea. Steven could see that the gems were waiting for them. They were standing on several tiny islands that surrounded the warp, placing metal rods into the rocky ground. “Follow me!” Lapis called out to him as she flew in front of Lion. Amethyst flew towards the side while Lapis guided Steven onto the Galaxy Warp and to the opposite side. Twoie followed them, stepping onto the platform area just as Steven and Lion cleared the little islands.

“NOW!” Garnet signaled, and Peridot slammed her hand down on a remote in her other hand. The metal rods placed on each of the surrounding islands sparked to life. The barrier formed in an arch, connecting all rods together in the shape of a dome with the top being several feet above the corrupted half-gem's head. Twoie rammed into the electrostatic field and let out an ear-piercing shriek of pain. Everyone covered their ears as the sound continued when Twoie backed away from the barrier, only to bump into it again. Twoie turned around on the platform, just barely fitting on it, and roared. He attacked the barrier with his claws, he tried to ram it, he tried to blast it with a highly charged energy blast from his mouth, but nothing worked. It either burned him on contact or dissipated against the barrier. Everyone watched sadly as Twoie glared at them from his confines. He wailed as he turned around and saw he was surrounded. Steven clamped his hands over his ears, not wanting to hear his brother’s distressed cries.

The Crystal Gems met up on an outlying island, just outside the barrier. Lapis couldn’t bear to look at Twoie, so she kept her back turned to the warp pad. Peridot stood beside her with a hand on her arm while Bismuth stood on Lapis’s opposite side. The blacksmith had a hand on the blue gem’s shoulder and an arm around Steven. The young kid was watching his older brother with heartbreak in his eyes. Pearl and Amethyst were also having a hard time, choosing to focus on Garnet instead of looking at Twoie. Garnet looked around at everyone gathered in front of her. “This will give us some time to find a way to help Twoie. Someone will need to stay here at all times to guard him while the rest of us figure something out.” Everyone nodded at Garnet’s orders.

“I’ll take first watch,” Pearl stated as she raised her hand slightly. Lapis sighed in relief. Garnet quietly thanked Pearl as the others gathered around Lion.

Amethyst looked back at Pearl, sadly watching Twoie, and her expression morphed into a determined one. “I’ll stay here with her.” Pearl blinked at Amethyst in surprise. The smaller gem lightly punched her in the arm. “Better than being alone, right?”

Pearl snorted at her. “You’re always good company, Amethyst.” Both gems smiled and turned to face the rest of the group. Everyone else waved goodbye as Lion roared and opened a portal back to Beach City.

“Thank you, Pearl and Amethyst. You both have your phones to contact us should anything happen?” At their nods in affirmation, Garnet turned back to Lion. “Alright, then. We’ve got some planning to do.”

The remaining gems stepped through the portal and back to Beach City. Lion and Steven were the last ones through, and the portal closed behind them. Greg came running out of the beach house once he heard them arrive. “Hey, guys! Did it work?” Lapis quietly walked around him and headed into the house. Greg stared in confusion as Peridot and Bismuth apologized to him while they chased after the blue gem.

“It worked. Twoie is stuck in a destabilizer barrier. Although he won’t poof, it’ll prevent him from leaving since the feeling of destabilizing is really uncomfortable.” Steven informed his dad as he awkwardly rubbed his arm.

Greg smiled sadly and pulled his youngest son into a hug. “It’s hard Schtu-ball, but we’ll get through this. We’ll save him. I promise.” Steven nodded against his dad’s chest as he broke out into sobs. He could only hope that they’d save him soon.

Chapter Text

Greg held his son a moment longer before pulling back and wiping his son’s eyes. “Hey, while you guys were gone, Dr. Maheswaran arrived. Why don’t you go say hi?” Steven looked at him in surprise. He had forgotten that she was coming in the chaos. The kid rubbed his eyes to mask the remaining tears. Sure enough, when he stood up and looked around, he could see the familiar sedan parked beside his dad’s overturned van. “She only got here about half an hour ago. I explained the situation to her as best as I could, but I don’t know everything that happened.” Greg looked back up at the house with a look of worry. “I hope the others didn’t disturb her phone call with Connie.”

Steven’s eyes widened in surprise. “Connie’s not here?”

His father dusted the sand off of his shorts as he stood up. “Dr. Maheswaran said she didn’t want her daughter to come since she didn’t know how long the search would take. After I explained to her what happened after you called her, she was relieved that she didn’t bring Connie along.”

Garnet nodded to herself and headed for the stairs. “She’s not going to be happy.” Greg and Steven exchanged a concerned look before following. Hopefully, that wasn’t a prediction that the mother would be angry. The last thing they wanted was another shouting match. They could already hear the worried mother’s voice as they walked through the front door.

“-at something happened, which made him transform into a large creature? Greg actually used the word corrupted, which is something I didn’t really understand.” Priyanka asked Bismuth, Lapis, and Peridot. She turned to face them when they walked into the house. Her eyes lit up when she saw Steven. “Steven! I’m so glad to see you’re alright. I was worried when you called me.” She nodded in greeting to Garnet and Greg as well before focusing on the kid again. “Your father did his best to explain, but I understand that he only knows part of the story as well. I’d like to know what’s going on, but first, how are you doing?” She knelt in front of him with a concerned frown. “I know you deal with a lot of stressful situations on a normal basis, but that doesn’t make it hurt any less when awful situations involve your family.”

Steven blinked in surprise, and almost felt like crying again. Dr. Maheswaran was so nice to him. He knew she was worried about his brother too, but she still asked about his well-being. “I will be okay. Once we save Twoie.” He gestured to the living couch. “We can explain everything, but it’s a long story.” The mother nodded and sat down at the couch. Steven sat beside her, Greg sat on the open end of the sleeper couch, and everyone else scattered around the kitchen counter.

The story was a long one, starting with Twoie’s fight with Greg, which the gems were surprised to hear. Bismuth apologized when they reached her part of the story and explained that she had already learned from her mistakes. The part that was the most horrifying to Dr. Maheswaran was the explanation about corruption. Her face paled as Garnet explained the differences between Twoie’s corruption and the corrupted gems.

When the whole discussion was over, Dr. Maheswaran had to take a deep breath to collect herself. “Why didn’t he just talk to me? I would’ve dropped everything to check on him if he’d asked.” Priyanka sighed and leaned back against the couch. “Well, I can’t dwell on the past. Do you know what the trigger was for his transformation?” The others looked around in confusion.

“The trigger?” Bismuth asked her in concern. “Do you mean what caused Twoie to corrupt?”

Priyanka nodded and stood. She walked over to the shelf and grabbed one of Twoie’s notebooks along with a pen before going back to her seat. “From what you all have told me, Twoie began corrupting due to high amounts of stress. The rest of what I’m about to tell you is normally classified due to doctor-patient confidentially. Still, I am allowed to break that oath if my patient is in danger, and that information is necessary to help them.” She started jotting down several words in the notebook. “Twoie’s stress was triggered by several things. The first was the loss of his support system. By coming to the past, most of the people he could talk to when he was upset were gone. He made a new support system here, which I believe consisted of Greg, Steven, and myself.” Priyanka turned the notebook over so everyone could see. She had written down support group, distrust, self-worth, and Rose Quartz.

Greg’s eyes widened at the mention of his love. “Wait, Rose caused stress for Twoie?” Steven looked away, guiltily at that. “Steven, you don’t feel that way about your mom, right?” The older man turned to his son but realized that Steven was avoiding his gaze.

“Actually… I kinda don’t know what to think of Mom.” He rubbed his arm awkwardly. “I never really told you how I felt because you’ve always loved her and talked highly about her. And the gems compared me to her a lot and made me feel like I needed to be just like her. I even thought about dying my hair pink once. Funny, right?” Steven let out a nervous chuckle. He finally looked at his dad. The single father looked dismayed at the revelation.

“Steven… I’ve always wanted you to be able to talk to me about anything. If you don’t know how to feel about Rose, then that’s fine.” He scooted over and pulled his son into a hug. “And I didn’t know that the gems made you feel like that. It’s not okay. You are Steven, not Rose.”

Steven wetly laughed as he hugged his dad. “You sounded like Twoie at the end. The gems don’t do it anymore, and Twoie helped me a lot with that.” He wiped his eyes and looked at his dad. “I know he doesn’t like being compared to Mom, partially because of the same reason that I have, but also because mom did a lot of bad things.”

Greg brushed his hand through his son’s hair with a sigh. “That’ll be a conversation for another day. But thank you for telling me, Schtu-ball.”

Throughout the father’s and son’s conversation, Priyanka had been scribbling something down in the notebook.  Her eyes widened as she realized something. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but I think I have an idea of what happened.” All eyes turned back to her. She gestured to her points again. “Twoie experienced a lot of distrust from being compared to Rose, who he felt betrayed him with her actions and lies, his fight with Greg, and the arguments with his guardians.” She pointed to self-worth on the list. “Which affected his own sense of self-worth. He already thought his only purpose was to help others, and when the war with Homeworld ended in his time, he no longer had any sense of purpose. People drifted away from him, and it made him feel like he didn’t matter anymore. This is exactly what started happening here as well. The fight with the gems, running away, not talking about his feelings with anyone, and his obsession with making things better in this time.” She held out a finger to count each of her points.

There was a pause in the discussion as everyone thought about Priyanka’s theory. Lapis sorrowfully looked away. She knew what it felt like to war with your feelings. She wished she was more aware of what Twoie had been going through. Instead, Twoie and Steven had helped her with her feelings. Bismuth and Peridot were feeling the same way. They wished they could’ve done more for the young halfling that had helped them.

Priyanka carried on after the momentary silence. “I believe that all of these issues affected his self-image. It got worse after Bismuth compared him to Rose and when Twoie yelled at the gems before running away. He wanted to be alone at that point. Not because it would make him happy, but because he thought drowning in loneliness was better than hurting those he loved. When he hurt Steven, that must’ve proved what he thought, and that’s why he corrupted.” Dr. Maheswaran sighed sadly as she set the notebook down on the coffee table. “He told me once that he hated himself because he kept hurting the people around him.” Gasps sounded throughout the room. “I informed him that accidentally hurting someone wouldn't make him a monster…” She glowered at the notebook. “Now, I know that he didn’t believe me.” Silence reigned throughout the house.

It hurt, but it made sense. There were so many signs. Signs that had been missed or ignored because Twoie was just grown-up Steven, right? And Steven was sunshine incarnate. Thus, few really noticed the changes that Twoie was going through. They could’ve helped him before it got this bad. And that was what made it so much worse.

“What do we do now?” Bismuth quietly asked everyone.

Steven stood up, brows furrowed in determination. “When Twoie was chasing Lion and me, there were moments where it looked like Twoie recognized me.” He looked around the room. Everyone here had been helped by Twoie in some way. And everyone cared about him. “If we can make Twoie realize that he's wrong about himself, then he'll uncorrupt!" Everyone else smiled. They could still save Twoie. Everyone matched Steven's determined gaze with their own as the kid continued speaking. "We need to go back to the Galaxy Warp and remind Twoie of all of the good things that he has done. We have to show Twoie how much we care about him."

Chapter Text

It didn’t know what was going on. It could not recall anything before seeing the trees surrounding It. Movement alerted It to the presence of something below. This something was tiny, much smaller than It was. And the tiny thing had strangely colored fur. Tiny Thing had a short red pelt on the top half of its body and a short blue pelt on the lower half of its body, with black fur on the top of its (his?) head. He made loud noises, unintelligible to It, so It decided to move in closer. Tiny Thing flinched when It leaned Its head down to get a closer look at Tiny Thing. “I’m a monster.”  The noises flashed in his thoughts. They were odd to It, but they were familiar. Monster shook the thought off and continued its (his?) inspection of Tiny Thing. Tiny Thing smelled very familiar, like comfort and sadness. He smelled like his pack, but Tiny Thing seemed scared of Monster. Monster wanted to comfort him, so he decided to leave Tiny Thing alone. Besides, that smell had reminded Monster of something.

Three creatures gathered outside the dead tree den on the sand. There was a tall one with a light peach fur and a light blue pelt covering another light blue pelt, a small one with purple fur and a tattered black pelt, and another tall one, but with black fur and a weird multi-color pelt. They were smiling and laughing about something that Monster could not recall. The night sky was illuminated by many tiny lights, and a red-orange light on small dead trees was between them and Monster.

Monster turned around. Past the cliff he was on, was the endless water. And the sand was always by the endless water. The memory called him to head towards the dead tree den, so Monster jumped from the cliff. The dead tree den (house?) was warm and cozy. But it also reminded Monster of pain. He remembered Blue Pelt yelling at him. Remembered Blue Pelt, Purple Pelt, and Red Blue Pelt attacking Monster on the sand. He remembered yelling, pain from rocks landing on top of Monster. He remembered protecting Tiny Thing from the rocks. Monster felt confused by these memories. Were they his? Of a time before he awoke in the clearing? As Monster continued walking to the sand place, he debated whether Blue Pelt, Purple Pelt, and Red Blue Pelt were pack-members or pack-enemies.

Suddenly, something smacked against his leg. Monster looked down to see Red Blue Pelt by his paw. Before he could act, another creature roared and slammed against his other paw. Monster let out a mighty bellow of pain as he saw a many colored furred creature dodge his swipe. Many Fur went flying in the wake of his attack, and before the other creatures could attack again, Monster raised one paw and slammed it onto the ground.  He knew now that Red Blue Pelt and Purple Pelt were pack-enemies. Monster watched them scramble to get back up when Many Fur morphed its (her?) paws into sharp flat things. Many Fur quickly lunged at him, and the sharp flat things bit into his scales. Monster shrieked in pain, flinging his tail out to push back the pack-enemies.

He turned to face his pack-enemies. They had been joined by two more, a blue creature that seemed to be controlling water and a green creature that blended in a bit with the environment. Although the group outnumbered him, Monster knew that they could not beat him. The call to head towards the sand place (beach?) and the house was even stronger now, so Monster disregarded the weird twoleg creatures and continued his journey to the beach.

Monster did not get far before the twolegs had caught up to him and began attacking him again. He noted that Water Bird, Leaf Pelt, and Many Fur were nowhere to be seen, and Blue Pelt had joined the other twolegs in their attack. It didn’t matter that their attacks were not hurting him, Monster was angry that they kept impeding his goal. He roared and charged forward, making the twolegs scatter. When he breached the tree-line and into the twoleg territory, a light flashed in his eyes and momentarily blinded him. He growled in surprise and turned to find where the light had come from. Betrayal welled up inside him when he saw Tiny Thing on top of a shiny moving beast (van?). The van sped up, but Monster was not going to let Tiny Thing get away with this. He lunged after the van, which was no much for his own speed. Monster had Tiny Thing right where he wanted him, paw poised to crush him, when he heard Tiny Thing shout “TWOIE, DON’T!” The paw halted feet above Tiny Thing. ‘Twoie?’

“Twoie!” Leaf Pelt and Tiny Thing screamed as the monster that Monster was fighting tightened its hold around him. Monster struggled to break free from it. He had to protect them, he couldn’t let them get hurt. “ Let go of my brother!” Suddenly a pink bubble rammed into the monster, freeing Monster from its grasp. The monster disappeared in a cloud, leaving a chunk of several different colored rocks fused together.

Monster didn’t understand. What were these memories? Why did Monster look different in them? Why was Tiny Thing with the pack-enemies? The pain and confusion were tearing him apart. Monster roared furiously, rising into the air and slamming his paws onto the ground.  The massive shockwave tore through the beach. Sand shrouded the area, and when it cleared, Monster saw that the van was turned over. Tiny Thing popped out of the sand, and a new twoleg crawled out of the van. The twoleg was bigger than Tiny Thing, and he had long fur on his face. Tiny Thing ran over to Long Fur, and they started running away from him. Before he could follow, water wrapped around him and started dragging him towards the endless water. He swiveled his head around and saw Water Bird flying nearby. She was the one who was trapping him.

“Come on, Twoie! You’re making this harder than it needs to be!” Monster dug his paws into the ground and roared, causing the water to break apart. He growled in annoyance as more water took its place. Water Bird continued yelling things that Monster could not understand. “I need help over here! He’s too strong!”

Purple Pelt responded to Water Bird’s call, morphing into a small bird and flying in front of him. He swiped at her as she dove at him, but Purple Pelt barreled out of the way. Monster was sick of the pack-enemies targeting him. He glared at Red Blue Pelt and Purple Pelt. “I’m sick and tired of letting you guys tell me how I should feel! When I told you guys the truth about Pink Diamond, Sapphire Insulted me, and none of you stood up for me!” Monster watched realization dawn in their eyes. That they had hurt him more than anyone ever had.

Monster struck out at Purple Pelt every time she swooped at him. In frustration, he snapped at her, almost grazing a tailfeather as she corkscrewed out of his way. Pink flashed in Monster’s vision, and he perked up when he saw Tiny Thing riding on a pink creature. “TWOIE! IT’S ME! STEVEN!” Steven… Monster knew that sound. That sound meant comfort, fun, happiness, pain, guilt, regret, horror… Monster didn’t like these feelings. He didn’t like these memories. Everything hurt. But Tiny Thing kept bringing up things long forgotten. So as Tiny Thing ran off above the endless water, Monster decided he would follow him if only to hopefully learn why everything hurt. Once he felt the land sink far below his paws, Monster began swimming towards Tiny Thing and Pink Beast. He would not lose them. No matter how far they went.

Several hours passed. Monster was tired of swimming. He didn’t want to lose sight of Tiny Thing, but as he looked around, all he saw was endless water. There were no places to rest. But, whenever Monster thought of turning around and heading back to the sand place, his instincts would scream at him to continue following. So, Monster followed.

As Monster started questioning his instincts again, he saw little rocks up ahead. It seemed like Tiny Thing was heading for the rocks, and Monster was glad to be able to rest somewhere. Confusion swarmed him when he saw the pack-enemies on the rocks. They had not followed Tiny Thing like he had, so why were they here? He was even more confused when Tiny Thing and Pink Beast did not stop on the rocks. They ran past them. Huffing at the realization that they were not resting, Monster charged after them. If he could catch them, he could force them to rest.

Just as Monster was about to lunge from the rock, he heard Red Blue Pelt roar out, “Now!” Light walls formed in front of him. He slammed into the light walls, and he arched at the buzzing that coursed through his veins. He shrieked in shock, backpedaling away from the wall, only to shriek again when his back hit another light wall. He narrowed his eyes at Tiny Thing. He did this. Tiny Thing led him here, to the tiny rock surrounded by the walls of pain. Tiny Thing betrayed him. Overcome with grief and anger, he wailed his betrayal to the heavens, clawing and headbutting the walls. He attacked them with everything he had, but the pain of the buzzing was too much, and he finally relented. Fine. He would watch the pack-enemies for an opening. There had to be a way to escape, but for now, he was tired.

There was not much space on the little rock, and the odd pebbles were uncomfortable to stand on. He tried to scrabble at them, but his leg hit the light wall, and he gave up. He looked over at the group again and noticed there were only two pack-enemies now. Monster turned his back to them and focused on the small parts of the endless water that were in the trap with him. He was hungry, and the endless water was full of fish. His keen eyes scoured the water for movement. Monster lazily swayed his tail around in the water, focusing on the depths below. There. A fish was following his tail. He swished it again, and when the fish was close enough to the surface… Splash! He speared it with his claws. It tasted good but was not nearly enough to satiate him. Monster ignored the curious noises the two pack-enemies made. Whether they were curious about his meal or his method, Monster would not share any of his prey. He kept his back to them as he continued fishing.  They could starve.

Chapter Text

Monster had figured out a way to curl up on the tiny rock. It was comfortable enough, and it allowed him to watch Purple Pelt and Blue Pelt while he was resting. The two twolegs kept making noises at each other, gesturing wildly at him and the surrounding area. It felt familiar, and soon, he started nodding off as his exhaustion caught up to him. Monster tensed a bit as he heard one of the pack-enemies move closer. She had hopped over to another tiny rock that was near the barrier. “See, P? I’m telling you, I think we messed up. Just look at him!” The corrupted half-gem kept his eyes closed. He waited for Purple Pelt to get a little closer. “I’ve never seen a corrupted gem sleep before. And he was really chill earlier.” He opened his eyes and narrowed them at her, just as she turned to face him again. “Gyahh!” Purple Pelt shrieked and fell back on her rump. Blue Pelt rushed over to help, but Monster laughed with a loud chuff.

“D-did he just… laugh at you?” Blue Pelt was looking at him curiously now. Purple Pelt was also staring at him, and Monster could feel annoyance bubble up. He wasn’t something to be stared at. Monster sucked in a deep breath and blew it out at them. The air penetrated the wall of pain and buffeted the two. For good measure, he huffed at them with a glare afterward. Blue Pelt and Purple Pelt shared and look before Blue Pelt pulled a tiny shiny thing out of her pelt. “Okay, I’m calling Steven. Twoie is obviously more aware of himself than most of the corrupted gems are.”

But suddenly, there was a buzzing in the air. Monster lifted his head and stared at where the feeling was coming from, a patch of space at the tiny rock that Blue Pelt and Purple Pelt had initially been on. Blue Pelt and Purple Pelt followed his gaze, though he could sense their confusion at his action. The air whirled, and a pink thing showed up. Pink Beast appeared out of it, with Tiny Thing and several other twolegs. “Steven! Why are you all back so soon?” Blue Pelt and Purple Pelt ran over to them. Monster laid his head back down on his paws. All of the twolegs were back. He saw Tiny Thing, Long Fur, Many Fur, Water Bird, Leaf Pelt, Red Blue Pelt, and then-. He froze, raising his head and staring at the new twoleg. She had long dark fur and a blue pelt. Although she looked like the others, there was something different about her. She smelled like his pack. Monster tilted his head in confusion and rumbled a soft noise of concern. The twolegs all turned to him. Dark Fur was looking at him in horror, and he couldn’t stop the feeling of guilt that swept over him. She was worried about him.

Tiny Thing helped Dark Fur get to the closest tiny rock. Monster’s eyes followed them. “Twoie? Do you remember me? I’m your friend, Priyanka. We used to meet up at a café for coffee, and we would talk for hours.” Monster couldn’t understand her, but she kept making that noise. ‘Twoie.’ Everyone kept making that noise. What was its importance? He tilted his head at her again. Dark Fur sighed and looked at Tiny Thing. “His memory loss is severe. I don’t think he even recognizes his name, let alone what I’m saying.”

Tiny Thing worriedly looked between Monster and Dark Fur. “How can you tell?” Seeing that they were focused on each other, Monster could feel his drowsiness returning. He laid his head back down on his paws and watched them tiredly as Dark Fur put her paw on her face.

“Twoie.” Monster tilted his head at her. “See? He is confused by that name. He knows what I am saying because he responds to it, but he doesn’t know what it means.” Dark Fur looked at him sadly. Monster felt bad. He didn’t want to upset Dark Fur, and to make matters worse, Tiny Thing was looking at him sadly. He could smell the sadness and guilt coming from the kit, and it bothered him. It didn’t matter that Tiny Thing had betrayed him. He still regarded him as a pack-member, and it hurt to know he was upset. Monster let out a soft, comforting purr. He really wanted to cheer them up. Tiny Thing looked over at Leaf Pelt. “Can you turn the barrier off? I don’t think Twoie is going to attack us. He’s not like the others. And it was wrong of us to trap him like this.” Leaf Pelt nodded and pressed something on a little thing in her hand.

Monster jumped when the walls flickered and disappeared. He tentatively stretched a paw out, and when he felt no sting, laid back down and extended his neck out. His snout hovered right above Tiny Thing and Dark Fur. He heard the other twolegs shout at them, but Tiny Thing shouted back. Monster didn’t pay them any attention. Now that he could calmly inspect his pack-members, he knew for sure that there was something special about Tiny Thing and Dark Fur. He settled his attention on Tiny Thing first. He could smell the familiarity of his own scent intertwined with the kit’s scent. Tiny Thing was his pack-sibling. He then directed his attention to Dark Fur. She smelled of warmth, like the comforting hold of a mother on a stormy night. Safe and protective. He knew right then and there that she was his Mother.

He rumbled another purr as he nuzzled the two. Tiny Thing left out a bark of laughter, and even Mother snorted at his actions. Good. He hoped that would cheer them up. “Twoie, stop it! That tickles!” Tiny Thing laughed as he pushed his snout away. “And your breath smells like fish!” Monster flicked his tail and licked his pack-sibling. “Eww, gross, Twoie!”

Monster snorted and looked over at the other twolegs. They no longer smelled of fear and distrust. Instead, they were smiling, and Monster decided that he was wrong about them. He still didn’t trust them, but he knew they weren’t pack-enemies now. They were just protective of Tiny Thing like he was. “I know I said that I wanted us to show Twoie how much we care, but can we take him home first?” Tiny Thing asked the others. "I don't want to keep him trapped here."

Blue Pelt hummed in thought and turned to Red Blue Pelt. “Well, if his corruption is based on his emotions, and he can’t turn back without his memories, then it would be better to be in a familiar setting. Being at home should make it easier for him to remember.” Monster perked up at the mention of home. He wanted to go back home. He didn’t like being stuck on the tiny rock and surrounded by the endless water. He wanted the warm sand and the rolling waves of the beach.

“How do we get him back? Will he have to swim all the way back to town?” Mother piped up. Tiny Thing ran over to Pink Beast.

“Can you try to make a portal big enough for Twoie to cross through?” Pink Beast curiously looked over at Monster. He padded over and raised his snout to sniff him. Monster lowered his head, so Pink Beast could get close, and then chuffed when Pink Beast rubbed his head against Monster’s muzzle. “Aww, so you do recognize Twoie!” Pink Beast stepped away from them, took a huge breath, and roared. He kept the roar going as long as he could, but the pink thing only slightly increased in size. Tiny Thing sighed. “I guess Twoie will have to swim back. Lapis, Dr. Mahewsaran, do you two want to come with me?” Water Bird and Warmth Bringer nodded. Monster watched as Tiny Thing led the other two over to him. “We’re going home. Can you follow Lapis back?” Monster purred happily. He knew the way back home. He crossed over the tiny rocks, ignoring the group's exclamations of surprise as he settled into the water.  Once he was comfortable, Monster lowered his snout onto the tiny rock so his pack could climb onto his head.

“I think that is a ‘yes.’” Mother smiled as she gently climbed up. She sat down next to his horn, lightly holding onto it for support as Tiny Thing floated onto Monster’s head.

“The rest of us will go home with Lion and let the residents of Beach City know that it is safe to return to their homes.” Red Blue Pelt smiled warmly at them. Monster decided that he was tired of waiting and started swimming where his instincts told him to go. Tiny Thing and Mother called out to the others as they swam away, and soon, it was just them and Water Bird.

“Sorry about helping the others trap you, Twoie. I know how much I hated being trapped in the mirror. I should’ve fought them more on the issue.” Water Bird turned to face him as she flew beside him. Monster could sense the guilt in her heart and knew she was apologizing. Monster smiled and playfully splashed water at her with his paw. “Hey!” She laughed and flicked a little water back at him. “I’ll get you back for that when you’re human again.”

“We should tell stories about Twoie while we’re waiting. We’re trying to get him to remember who he is, so talking about him should help, right?” Tiny Thing piped up.

“That is certainly possible. Why don’t you start then, Steven?” Monster could hear the fondness in Mother’s voice as she chatted with Tiny Thing. The kit began talking animatedly about things that Monster could not understand, but that didn’t matter to him. It was nice being with his pack again. And he couldn’t wait to get home.

Chapter Text

It had been a couple of days since Twoie had returned to Beach City. A hard couple of days spent telling stories and trying to remind Twoie of who he really was, but nothing worked. The stress was beginning to get to everyone. Priyanka was still on emergency leave and had taken to sleeping on the couch. Well, when she was sleeping. Steven sighed as he quietly tiptoed through the house. His dad was still asleep in his room, but Steven wasn’t sure what had woken him up this early. He crept down the stairs, noting silently that the couch was empty. He had a feeling he knew where she was. Twoie, although being a corrupted gem, still needed to eat and sleep. The problem was, Twoie was much too large to stay inside the Beach House. Thus, it was with little surprise that Steven found Dr. Maheswaran outside with Twoie.

Twoie was curled up on the sand, head resting on his paws, and facing Dr. Maheswaran. The stressed mother was sitting on the sand and quietly talking with him. From the porch, Steven could tell she was trying to hold back her frustration. They were all struggling with the encroaching hopelessness that Twoie would never return to normal. The kid sighed as he hopped over the railing and landed softly on the sand. “Good morning, Dr. Maheswaran.”

She whipped around and looked at him in surprise. “Oh, Steven! What are you doing awake?” Twoie perked up as he got close.

Steven placed a hand on his brother’s snout and laughed when Twoie gently nuzzled him. “Something woke me up, and then I couldn’t go back to sleep.” The mother sighed and patted the spot next to her.

“Yes, that’s the same reason why I’m here.” Steven sat down next to her. He was surprised when she wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him into a side hug. “I’ve tried everything I could think of. I was showing him some photos I had on my phone, but so far, nothing has worked.”

Steven leaned against her. What was it that they were missing? Why wasn’t anything working? “I don’t know what we can do anymore. I thought for sure we were connecting with him. He’s happy being back here, and we’ve told him everything. Why isn’t he back yet? I just want my brother back.” Steven’s face flushed as he couldn’t hold back a sob. Dr. Maheswaran turned to face the kid and gently wiped the tears from his eyes. Twoie crooned comfortingly at him. He got up and curled around the two like a cat, tail hugging them close.

Priyanka chuckled at the action. “Part of your brother is still here, but I know what you mean.” She brushed her hand through his hair. “I think highly of you and your brother, Steven. I’ve known since you saved me at the hospital that you two have had it rougher than I could’ve ever imagined.” Steven looked at her curiously, though his eyes were still slightly watery. She turned to face Twoie’s concerned gaze and patted his scales. “That’s why I wanted to be someone you two could rely on. Someone you two can continue to rely on." She smiled at Steven. "We’ll get him back, I promise.”

The kid hugged her. “I’ve never really had a mom. I think Twoie and I both think of you as a good mom.” Priyanka laughed wetly and hugged him closer.

“Now that’s high praise. I'm proud that you two think of me that way.” She laughed harder when Twoie nuzzled them both. “Yes, yes. I didn’t forget you. These are happy tears, mister.” She scratched Twoie’s scales, causing him to purr loudly. Steven smiled and they sat together, enjoying the stars and the waves. 

Priyanka was used to late nights and early mornings due to her job, but Steven was still young. His necessity for sleep got a hold of him about an hour later when he bumped against her shoulder while nodding off. Steven startled awake, and she chuckled lightly at him. “I think you’re ready for bed again.”

Steven tiredly shook his head. “I’m not sleepy, though.” He yawned as he leaned against her. “I want to stay out here with you guys.”

Priyanka smiled at him. “I know that’s a lie, but if you want to stay out here, I won’t stop you.” She brushed her hand through Steven’s hair again, and the kid could feel his drowsiness return full force.

As he began nodding off again, he heard her hum. “What song are you humming?”

She smiled and leaned back against Twoie. Of course, Steven would pick up on anything music-related. “There’s this song I really like. My husband always plays it for me when I’m feeling sad or stressed. I guess I started humming it subconsciously.”

Steven made a noise of wonder. “What kind of music do you like? I’ve never actually heard you listen to any.”

Priyanka laughed lightly and thought to herself. She looked over at Twoie and smiled when it seemed like he was interested in her music choice too. “I’m a bit old-fashioned myself. Acoustic and orchestra. Those are my favorite songs to listen to.” She looked out at the waves. “Have you ever heard of ‘Hey There, Delilah?’” Steven nodded his head. That was an old song he remembered hearing on the radio a couple of times. “Well, Doug has always been very charming. I was having a bad day, medical school was very stressful, and I had just completed a test that I thought, for sure, I had failed.” She giggled at the thought. “Doug came to my apartment with a bouquet of roses and a radio. I thought he was silly as he played the instrumental track to ‘Hey There, Delilah.’” She couldn’t hold back her laughter. “Imagine my surprise when he changed the name from ‘Delilah’ to ‘Priyanka’ as he sang it.” Steven watched her with stars in his eyes. “That goof really cheered me up that day.”

Steven felt warm as he closed his eyes. It was such a cute story, and it meant so much to him that she decided to share that fond moment. “Do you think you could sing it? I don’t remember how it goes.”

Priyanka blushed but decided it wouldn’t be that embarrassing. “Okay, just this once, though. I don’t make a habit of singing.” She thought of the words for a moment before taking a deep breath. “Hey there, Priyanka, what’s it like in Empire City. I’m a thousand miles away, but girl, tonight you look so pretty as you do. Time Square can’t shine as bright as you, I swear it’s true.” She smiled as Steven relaxed. Priyanka didn’t notice Twoie straighten up and stare at her. “Hey there, Priyanka, don’t you worry about the distance. I’m right there if you get lonely; give this song another listen. Close your eyes. Listen to my voice it’s my disguise, I’m by your side.” Steven’s breathing began to even out, and Dr. Maheswaran knew he was falling asleep. She looked back up and almost jumped when she saw how intently Twoie was staring at her. Huh. That was odd. Was it the… singing?

She watched him intently as she continued. “Oh, it’s what you do to me.” Twoie made a low rumble in his throat. “Oh, it’s what you do to me.” His eyes widened, and the pink diamonds became pinpricks of light. “Oh, it’s what you do to me.” The corrupted half-gem whined, and his claws gripped the sand. “oh, it’s what you do to me.” Priyanka gasped as Twoie quietly tried to croon out the melody she was singing. That was it! She didn’t even think when she shook Steven awake.

The poor kid jumped in surprise. “What? What’s going on? What’s happening?” Steven blinked at the look his mom gave him.

She was smiling, even though tears were beginning to stream down her eyes. She laughed happily as Twoie tried to trill out the melody again. Steven’s eyes widened as Priyanka pulled him into a hug. “Singing! That’s the one thing we haven’t tried!”

Chapter Text

Monster watched as Mother and Tiny Thing ran into the house, yelling with excitement. It was to his great confusion when they returned moments later with the other pack members. Was there something important going on? He blinked as they conversed amongst themselves.

“Greg, are there any songs that you’ve shared with Steven that may have sentimental value to Twoie?” He watched curiously as Mother spoke with Long Fur. The male was holding some odd wood thing in his paws.

“There’s a couple, so l guess I’ll give it my best shot.” Pretty sounds came from the wood thing, and Monster sat up straight. The noises sounded really familiar. “Bright sunny day, don’t cost nothing. Light summer breeze, don’t cost nothing.” Monster remembered smiling and laughing as his father strummed a guitar on the beach. “What do I do with all this money when the only thing I want is you.” They dashed into the house and met up with Blue Pelt, heading to the city. He discovered how much Blue Pelt missed her. That Pink had accidentally divided his family. How he had to fix it. He always had to fix things. “Palling around, don’t cost nothing. Singing a song, don’t cost nothing. How do I spend all this money? I’d rather just spend time with you.” He watched Tiny Thing, Father, and Blue Pelt walk out of the house, not realizing that he wouldn’t see them for a bit later on. Monster’s heart ached as he saw Red Blue Pelt and Purple Pelt banging on a pink wall as he ran out of the house.

Monster growled and shook his head. The memory flooded his mind, filling him with a mix of joy and sorrow. He didn’t like this. Whatever they were doing, he wanted them to stop. He bared his teeth at his pack. His father flinched as the corrupted half-gem arched his back, hissing furiously. “What’s going on? Why did that happen?” Father watched him with concern.

“I don’t know. Maybe it brought up a bad memory? What happened the day you sang that?” Mother tried to step forward, but Monster growled at her. She kept her distance as Tiny Thing turned to her.

“That was the day that Pearl, Dad, and I went to Empire City. Twoie insisted on staying home, and during the trip, we found out how much Pearl missed mom, and how she couldn’t get over her choosing my dad.” Blue Pelt winced as Tiny Thing rambled. “In the end, Pearl and Dad made up. When we came home the next morning, that was when we found out Twoie ran away.”

Mother hummed in thought. “That day would definitely have bad memories then. We need a different song. Steven, do you have any songs that made you happy?” She knelt by his pack-sibling, placing her paw on his shoulder.

Tiny Thing shook his head. Mother looked at him sadly, as he explained. “When we sing songs, it’s usually about something going on at the time. I think all of the songs I know have something bad that happened later on or were because of something that hurt us.” Tiny Thing looked up at Monster. “Twoie, especially, never sang unless he was feeling really emotional. I don’t think there is anything that won’t bring up at least some bad memories.”

The corrupted half-gem didn’t like this at all. All they were talking about was pain and suffering. They were making him remember things that hurt. Things that he wished had stayed forgotten. He didn’t like knowing how much his pack had hurt him. When Tiny Thing approached, Monster backed up a step. He remembered Tiny Thing smiling sadly at him as he stepped closer. Wind buffeted his brother, and Monster was overwhelmed by the feeling of fear. His brother wouldn’t stay away, no matter what Monster told him. He gripped his head tightly. It felt like everything was caving in around him. He no longer saw his brother as a pink glow filled his vision. As the world blurred around him, heat burning through his veins until it coursed through his whole body. Until he could no longer contain it. Monster howled as he collapsed to the ground. He clawed at his head in the hopes that he could tear the memories right out of himself. The pink lashed out, and when his vision finally cleared, Tiny Thing was unconscious amongst several destroyed trees. Because he was a monster.

“Twoie! Twoie, stop! Please!” Several members of his pack rushed forward at Tiny Thing’s shout. Monster just barely registered their attempts at trying to snap him out of his haze. He shrieked loudly and threw himself backward. Monster would only hurt them like he hurt his brother. He was dangerous. He was a monster. Monster blinked in surprise as tears welled in his eyes. Why did everything always hurt him? Why was nothing he did ever enough? He just wanted to lay on the sand and enjoy being with his pack. Was that too much to wish for?

He spun on his paws, intending to run, but froze when Mother stood in his path. “You can’t keep running, Twoie!” She held her paws out in the air, even though she knew he could easily step over her. “I’m trying to help you! That’s the only thing that we want! We want to help you!” Every fiber of Monster’s being told him to run. That staying would end in more suffering. But Monster was tired of running. He was tired of the confusion. He wanted to know what was really going on. Who he really was. “I can tell that you regained some of your memories. And I bet it’s confusing, and it hurts, but that’s okay because we can help you get through it. We love you, Twoie. We want to help you remember.”

Monster stared at her. He looked back at the rest of his family, fearfully waiting for his decision. He was scared, but Monster needed to know. The corrupted half-gem crooned sadly before turning back to Mother. She paused, as though making sure he wasn’t going to run away. “Okay, Twoie. I need you to trust me. You have to believe me.” She turned to Tiny Thing. “You said that you guys only sing when you’re feeling strongly?” Tiny Thing nodded at her. “Please let this work…” Mother sighed but stood tall. “I know a boy from the future. He hides his pain in a shroud.”  She stepped closer to the corrupted half-gem, holding her hands to her chest. “He bears the world on his shoulders. He makes his whole family proud.”

Monster’s eyes widened. They were… proud of him? But he had caused so much trouble for his family. He had been a burden to all of them. That’s why they left him. He flinched when Mother motioned for him to lower himself. Monster reluctantly laid down; he didn’t trust himself not to hurt her or one of the others accidentally. She smiled and walked up to his snout. “Sometimes, the world seems against you. The journey may leave a scar, but scars can heal and reveal just who you are.” Mother gently placed her hand on his muzzle. He made a soft noise of concern since she was so close to him, but she ignored it. He blinked in surprise as the others appeared in front of him. He realized they had walked up behind Mother while he was distracted. Monster made another noise of worry. They were too close. He could hurt all of them like this. The corrupted half-gem made to pull away but stopped when Mother hugged his muzzle. “The people you love will change you. The things you have learned will guide you.” She broke away and smiled as she stepped back. Monster saw a little white butterfly land on his mother. More butterflies appeared, landing on each of his family members. “And nothing you’ve faced can silence, that quiet voice still inside you.”

And he could hear it. What he thought was part of his instincts, telling him to go home, to follow Tiny Thing, to comfort his family, was now telling him that he was dangerous. That he needed to protect his family by leaving. More butterflies appeared, swarming around him. He could see so many different memories in their wings. “And when that voice starts to whisper, ‘Twoie, you’ve gone too far.’” Mother’s eyes narrowed at him in a glare. “I want you to think about every good thing you’ve ever done. I want you to remember how many people you’ve helped. How much you’ve sacrificed and how much you care about others. I want you to tell that voice to stop lying to you.” She gestured to the rest of his family. “You’ve done so much for all of us. You’re a hero, Twoie. Not a monster.” Mother stared at him pleadingly. “I hope you hear me. Remember who you are.”

Twoie. Monster sat up. That’s right. His name wasn’t Monster; it was Twoie. Tiny Thing had given him that name, but something was still missing. It wasn’t enough to know what he was; Twoie needed to know who he was. He warbled questioningly at them. Mother turned to the others before facing him again. ”You are the boy who loves Beach City.” No, wait. Mother wasn’t her name. It was Priyanka.

Tiny Thing, no, Steven smiled as he walked up beside her. “Who loves his friends and family.”

Twoie could feel something stir in his heart. ‘It calls me.’

One by one, the rest of his family joined Steven and Priyanka, standing side by side. Pearl tearfully smiled at him as she placed her hand on Steven’s shoulder. “You do not need to hide yourself from us.”

His father walked over, holding his hands over his chest as he looked at Twoie pleadingly. “Your family loves you, no matter what.”

Peridot burst into tears as she stared at him. “You showed me how to be myself.”

And the feeling blossomed into a mixture of heartache and love. He had made many mistakes. They had made many mistakes, but he loved his family. And they were doing their best to fix what they’d done. ‘They call me.’

Garnet smiled as she took her glasses off. Twoie could see the love and pain in her eyes as she wiped a tear off her face. “You are always there when we need you.”

Amethyst grinned while dragging Peridot and Steven into a group side hug. “You helped me love myself.”

Bismuth and Lapis gestured to themselves. “And you helped us change our points of view.”

Twoie could feel tears well up in his eyes. They really cared about him. They really would’ve missed him if he just disappeared one day. He never wanted to be alone, but he would’ve done anything if it meant his family would be safe. Yet here they were, doing whatever it took to make sure he was okay. And that meant everything to him. That voice inside his mind was screaming at him now. Pleading for him to concentrate. To focus. To remember everything. ‘Yes, it calls me!’

He closed his eyes and thought back to that one day, years ago, when Garnet taught him about meditation. He needed to find his balance. To see his feelings clearly. Twoie took a deep breath and opened his eyes.

When he entered his mindscape, the corrupted half-gem expected to see the usual weirdly bright yet dark blue colored environment. What greeted him was a fragmented and shattered room. He was frightened by the cracks in the sky, the fissures covering the ground, and the darkness of the room. As he scoured the memories represented in the wings of the room’s butterflies, he caught movement at his peripheral. He whipped around quickly, gasping in fright at the other version of himself that was somehow there with him. This Twoie resembled the human him, though.”I see that you are confused.” Twoie arched his spine in fear as the other version of him spoke. Its voice buzzed, screaming yet whispering. “I am the person that you wanted to be. I am Steven.”

Twoie tried to speak, tried to ask questions, but only a growl sounded from himself. “You can’t talk here. You are still a corrupted gem beast.” Other Steven smiled sadly at Twoie. “I never thought I’d see you become this. You wanted the gems’ attention so badly that you became dependent on it. And now that there was no other way to get it, you had to make them give it to you.” Twoie growled. He didn’t make the gems do anything! They all made their own decisions. Decisions that hurt him. “If that was the case, why did you drag it out for so long? Why didn’t you say anything sooner?” Twoie tilted his head in confusion. Other Steven chuckled as he motioned for Twoie to sit. “This is your mindscape, Twoie. I know what you are saying because you want me to know. I am the version of you that you wanted to be.”

Other Steven waved his hand, and a giant pink fractal appeared in the air. Then, an image became visible on the fractal. It was of Twoie, smiling and laughing with his father and the gems. It was a memory from when they were rebuilding the town after defeating Spinel. “This is what you wanted your whole life.” Twoie flinched as the image reformed into a new one of him working with the gems at Little Homeschool. More images appeared alongside it, of him hanging out with his Dad during a tour of him asking Connie on a date, getting Jasper to leave the cave. “You could’ve had this if you had stopped being so selfish. If you had realized earlier that you were only hurting the people around you when you were trying to help.” The images turned back to when he ignored Amethyst about GHEM, when he yelled at Pearl and Volleyball, and when Bluebird attacked his dad. “Instead, you tried to help in all of these situations because you selfishly wanted their attention.” Twoie growled at Other Steven, baring his teeth as he smashed his claw through the fractal. He had never meant for those events to happen. And he never did them for attention. His mistake with GHEM was because he wanted to make things easier for the corrupted gems that were new to Earth. Scaring Volleyball was an accident because he was mad that he had to fix his mom’s mistakes. And the last one wasn’t even his fault! Twoie had more than made up for those mistakes, so how could Other Steven sit there and try to blame him for them?

“Then why do you blame yourself so harshly?” Other Steven glared, and butterflies started swarming around them. Twoie tried backing away, only to turn when several butterflies broke away and flew at him. He ducked underneath their attack. “Why do you hold yourself to such an impossible standard? You need to understand that part of the reason you corrupted was that you put that pressure on yourself.” Twoie froze. He was right. Anyone else, and Twoie would’ve made excuse after excuse to comfort them for those mistakes. But Twoie blamed himself for every action he made. “Yes, your family hurt you. I know that it’s hard to stand up for yourself, Twoie. However, you only hurt yourself further by blaming yourself for every bad thing that happened. You even admitted that it wasn’t always your fault.”

Other Steven smiled kindly at him. “I’m sorry that I sounded so harsh, but you needed to realize that on your own. You can ask for help when things get hard. It’s not selfish to ask for help. And honestly, you probably should be a little more selfish. You sacrifice so much of yourself for everyone else. It’s time to change that.” Twoie eye’s widened. Change. That was what started all of this. Things were changing back home, and Twoie was scared of being left behind. But change was also a good thing. If the gems hadn’t changed, they would still be suffering under the Empire. If his mom hadn’t changed, the Earth would be a gem colony, and all life would’ve been wiped out. After changing the Gem Empire, he thought he had changed for the worst. In reality, he had just made a couple of mistakes.

He wasn’t a monster. He was Twoie, older brother of Steven Universe. He was Steven Universe, Savior of the Galaxy, and a member of the Crystal Gems. He was half-gem and half-human, and he didn’t need to be ashamed of it. His body glowed brightly. Scales dissipated to reveal skin, horns and spines receded, and his body shrunk until he was his normal size again. Twoie knew who he was. “And the person I wanted to be, he’s inside me! And though things change, that will not end my story.” Other Steven flashed him a happy grin as he and the butterflies disappeared. As the mindscape began to repair itself, Twoie thought back to his family, waiting for him on the beach. “Together, the memories we make will remind me. That come what may, I know the way!” He knew now what he needed to do. And his family would be there to help him. The area finally fixed itself, and he looked down at a puddle that was next to him. He no longer had horns or spots. He looked human. And as he glowed again, signaling his mind’s return to the real world, he grinned at his reflection. “I am Steven!”

Chapter Text

Soft. Warm. When awareness returned to Twoie, everything felt extremely comfortable. He burrowed further into the softness, tightening his hold on the warm being next to him. Wait… Twoie opened his eyes. He was lying in bed, and it must’ve been pretty late in the day if the darkness of the room was anything to go by. So, what was he holding? He looked down and realized Steven was hugging him in his sleep. The older boy gently pried Steven off of him, so he could sit up, which was officially a bad idea. Twoie hissed quietly as his body ached from the movement. As he tried to prop himself up slowly, his hand slipped on his sheet, and he fell back to the bed with a soft grunt of pain.

Steven jumped awake at the sound. He looked around for a second before his gaze alighted on his brother. “Twoie?” His eyes widened as Twoie smiled weakly at him. Twoie was back. His older brother was finally back! Steven’s face scrunched slightly as he tried to hold back tears. “Twoie! You’re awake!” The kid broke out into loud sobs as he hugged his brother. “I’m so sorry! I should’ve stood up for you more when the others were being mean to you!”

Twoie ignored the ache in his muscles so that he could wrap his arms around him. “It’s not your fault, Steven. None of this was your fault, okay?” Bits and pieces were beginning to return to him. He… He had corrupted, hadn’t he… The chime of the temple door interrupted his chain of thought, and the brothers looked over to see the gems step out. The Crystal Gems walked into the living room, pausing when they spotted Steven and Twoie sitting up. Twoie awkwardly waved at them.

“Twoie!” Pearl, Peridot, Amethyst, and Lapis all shouted in unison, rushing up the steps and throwing themselves into a group hug with Steven and Twoie. Twoie winced at the force of their hug but let them sob out apologies. Garnet and Bismuth followed along after, joining the hug once he made it upstairs.

Their shouting woke Priyanka, who was downstairs asleep on the couch, and Greg, who was sleeping on the cushioned window bench. “Is Twoie okay?” They called out to them in concern.

Amethyst wiped her eyes and smiled. “He’s awake, you guys!” The half-gem winced in pain as Amethyst practically shouted in his ear. Twoie was still tired, and all of the noise and people were starting to get to him. The two humans rushed up the steps. Greg was already crying again at seeing his son safe, but Priyanka narrowed her eyes. Twoie was smiling, but it was stiff, and his body was tense.

The doctor walked over and started tapping the gems on their shoulders. “Alright, I know you’re happy to see him, but he needs some space. He’s tense, and that’s not good for his health.” Upon her words, the gems backed away with no protest. Once it was just Twoie and Steven on the bed, she smiled. “I’m so happy to see you’re okay. I’m going to have to give you a check-up. Are you okay with everyone being present?” At his nod, Priyanka quickly ran back downstairs and grabbed her medical bag before beginning her check-up. “No more discoloration present on your skin.” She checked his hair and back. “You have faded scar tissue on the places where you had those spines. I’m not sure if they will ever disappear.” Twoie pushed down on his rising panic. That answered his question about whether that actually happened. It had just seemed like a crazy dream, but dreams don’t leave physical scars. Priyanka turned her attention to Twoie's fingers, then made him open his mouth. “Your nails are stronger than usual; it must be a side effect of having claws. You also kept your sharper canines." Twoie closed his mouth so he could brush his tongue over his teeth. He felt the sharpness of his fangs. "Overall, you look like a healthy human again.” Look human again… The young man flinched.

Priyanka noticed his reaction and paused. “Do you… remember what happened?”

Twoie looked away. “I thought it was a dream, but yeah. I remember bits and pieces. I remember hurting Steven accidentally and then turning into that monster. I remember attacking you guys in the forest and chasing you guys across town.” The young man gritted his teeth. He couldn’t believe he had attacked his family. It didn’t matter that he wasn’t in his right mind; Twoie had allowed himself to be corrupted. He paused and took a deep breath. That… that wasn’t right, though. Twoie never would’ve purposefully corrupted. It was an accident. It wasn’t his fault. “Besides that, I also remember parts of the Galaxy warp and singing. I think the singing is what snapped me out of it.” He blinked and looked up at his family. “That happened too, right? You were all singing about the things Steven and I did?”

They nodded. Greg walked up to the bed and pulled both of his sons into a hug. “We realized that you corrupted because we didn’t help you, even when you helped us. I’m so sorry for everything. I never realized how much you and Steven were suffering because I didn’t want to get involved in gem stuff.” He pulled back and smiled at Twoie. “But you’re both half-gem, and gem stuff is always going to be a part of who you two are. I promise I’m going to be more active in your's and Steven’s lives.”

Twoie felt tears well up in his eyes. He sniffed, trying to hold them back. “I’m sorry that I yelled at you when we went to your old house. I was just upset because all I wanted growing up was stability. I should’ve let you explain yourself, though, because not listening was one of the main ways I kept getting hurt.”

Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl smiled sadly at that. Garnet stepped forward and placed a comforting hand on Twoie’s shoulder. “We’re all very sorry for not listening to you. After your visit, Bismuth came by and told us how she was learning about human things to understand you better. As your guardians, we should’ve done the same thing. We let our misunderstandings become a burden to you.” Pearl and Amethyst walked up to them, and they all pulled Twoie into a hug. “Pearl, Amethyst, and I have decided that we will be spending more time trying to learn about humans. I promise you that we will be better guardians to you and Steven.”

Twoie’s breath hitched. They were really going to do that much, just for him? Even though they didn’t treat him like that anymore, Twoie still felt like they’d spend more time with him if he acted more like his mom. But they were doing this, so they could learn to accept Twoie for who he was. Part-gem and part-human. They finally saw him as Twoie. “Y-you guys-!” His dad joined their hug, and Twoie broke down, sobbing on his father’s shirt. Steven crawled over and burrowed into his brother’s side. Everyone gathered around a hugged him.

Priyanka soothingly brushed her hand through Twoie’s hair. “It’s okay, sweetheart. Everything’s going to be okay. You went through so much, but the worst of it is over.” She continued to comfort him until Twoie’s sobs died down. He couldn’t help but wonder if his actual mom would’ve comforted him like that. It didn’t matter in the end. He couldn’t ask for a better mom than Priyanka. Twoie slumped against his father once he couldn’t cry anymore. He was already tired when he first woke up, but now he was absolutely drained. His family broke off the hug and helped Twoie lay down comfortably again. It was a tiring day for everyone, and Twoie smiled when he felt Steven lay down next to him. If anything, his younger brother was probably going to be very clingy for a while.

Garnet smiled as she noticed that Twoie was nodding off. “We love you, Twoie. And we’ll do our best to help you with whatever you need, okay?” The young man nodded at Garnet. Greg gently pulled the blanket over Twoie and Steven, knowing his sons' needed more rest. The older brother pulled Steven close and closed his eyes.

Everyone quietly headed downstairs to let the brothers rest. They chatted amongst themselves for a few minutes until they could hear slight snoring. Bismuth sighed as she looked back upstairs. “I’m so glad Twoie is back. He’s gonna need a lot of rest and care before he’ll feel normal again.” The blacksmith frowned as she turned to face the others again. “I’m curious, though. A lot of his problems were worsened by accidentally being sent into the past. Between Peridot and I, I’m pretty sure we can fix the timepiece that brought him here.” Everyone looked away at the thought. They had all become very fond of Twoie. To send him back would be like losing a part of their family. But Twoie didn’t belong in the past. He was only going to continue reliving past traumas by being here.

“We’ve been keeping the hourglass in a bubble in the Burning Room. I’ll go get it for you, and then, if you can get it working, we’ll leave the decision up to Twoie.” Garnet didn’t want to send him home, she enjoyed having Twoie around, but if they could fix the hourglass, it needed to be done. With dampened spirits, everyone dispersed for the night. What no one realized was that Steven and Twoie had both been listening from upstairs. Steven quietly sniffled at the thought of his brother leaving and buried his face into Twoie’s chest. His older brother gently rubbed Steven’s back while thinking about his life in the future.

The truth was, Twoie felt really conflicted about returning home. He’d come to care about his family in the past, and they still needed him. The young man wanted to look after his brother and help the gems with Homeworld. He still wanted to prevent some of the things he knew would happen. And then… there was Priyanka. He had no idea how his effect on the past would carry over to the future. Would they remember everything? Would his future even exist? Or would it be as though nothing ever happened? Thinking about it only served to make his head and heart hurt. He was still exhausted, so Twoie decided not to think about it for now. He’d cross that bridge when he got to it.

Chapter Text

The next several days were hard for Twoie. The ache in his muscles slowly went away, but Twoie had another problem that persisted. His scars. The young man was happy that most of his scars were on his back or covered by his hair, where he couldn’t see them. However, he still had the two faded spike scars that looked almost like faint cartoony blushes on his cheeks. Steven had to help him out of a panic attack after he first saw them in the bathroom mirror. Which brought up something that his mom had wanted him to do before he’d corrupted. After their talk on his birthday, Priyanka had given him the contact information of a therapist that she was friends with. Twoie had saved the number but never made the call. He finally mustered the courage to schedule an appointment after waking up three nights in a row from nightmares. The guilt of waking Steven every time and making him cry that third night was enough for him to promise he’d call the next morning.

Twoie was happy to admit that it really did help. Dr. Tilly was a sweet woman who actually listened to him. She didn’t act like he was bothering her, and she believed him when he told her how he felt. And Dr. Tilly didn’t even look at him oddly because of his scars. It was nice. It was really nice. He felt like she cared, even though it was only his first session with her. They had decided that he should keep a journal where he could write about his feelings. ‘Expressive writing’ was what Twoie believed she called it. They had booked several appointments for the next couple of weeks, but the half-gem wasn’t sure if he’d actually make it to all of them. Bismuth and Peridot had been making significant progress with fixing the hourglass. If they completed it soon, he might have to cancel some of them. Twoie sighed as he stepped out of the therapist’s office. Steven perked up in the lobby’s waiting room at the sound of the door.

When he realized Twoie was done, the kid ran up to him with a smile and grabbed his hand. “How’d it go?” Steven asked as they walked out of the building and into town.

Twoie held up the white journal Dr. Tilly had given him. His younger brother made a face at how plain it was. “She gave me this journal to write in. You’ll probably get one when you see her tomorrow.” Twoie let Steven inspect it. “She said she liked the completely plain ones because it gives her patients the ability to decorate the journal themselves. I have to write in it for several minutes a day about whatever is bothering me. It’s supposed to help me come to terms with what I’ve dealt with, as well as help identify my triggers.”

“Oh, that’s so cool! I hope I get one tomorrow too!” Steven handed it back to him, and Twoie tucked it into his jacket. Once his hands were free, Steven immediately grabbed it again. The young man smiled fondly as they headed back to the Beach House. That was another thing Twoie was dealing with. The following morning after Twoie woke, the gems had informed them both about Bismuth’s and Peridot’s idea to work on the hourglass. ‘No more secrets,’ Garnet told them. Steven had been inseparable from him ever since. It would’ve been adorable if the underlying reason wasn’t a fear of never seeing Twoie again. Honestly, Twoie didn’t mind it. Steven was one of the few people who always took him seriously and tried to help him without prompting from someone else. He truly loved his little brother. That’s why he was so conflicted about going back home. Back home, everyone had their own things to do. Things had changed considerably, and Twoie understood now that change was always going to happen. But Twoie still had no idea what his purpose could be. Even though he loved homeschooling Steven, he didn’t feel like teaching was something he wanted to keep doing. He couldn’t handle watching his students move on without him. So, what else could he do?

“Mom said she was going to help us with today’s lesson, right?” Twoie blinked as Steven broke him out of his thoughts. Oh, yeah. Priyanka was on sick leave so she could help Twoie and Steven while they started therapy. She was helping out around the house and offered to help Twoie with some of his homeschooling lessons. Their mom said that she had an anatomical model of the human skeleton that she could borrow from the hospital for them to study. When the gems heard, they all wanted to sit in on the lesson to learn more about human anatomy. Twoie chuckled under his breath. This was going to be chaotically fun.

“Yeah, she’s setting it up right now. We’ll start the lesson once we get home. I think the gems are on their way as well.” Both boys’ eyes lit up when they caught sight of the beach house. The van and the sedan were parked out front, which meant their Dad had stopped by for lunch. “I’m glad Dad is visiting more often.” Twoie smiled wistfully. “He still doesn’t visit that often in my time.” Steven frowned and tightened his hold on his brother’s hand.

The young kid didn’t like it when Twoie spoke about his time. It sounded so lonely and hard for him. It was also a harsh reminder that his older brother would be leaving soon. “You’re the reason I have all of this.” He stopped walking, making Twoie stop as well.

His older brother looked at Steven in surprise. “Hey, Sunshine. What’s wrong?” Steven wouldn’t meet his gaze, so Twoie knelt in front of him. “Steven?”

“It’s not fair!” Twoie’s eyes widened in surprise. Steven clenched his fists as angry tears welled in his eyes. “You went through so much, and even though you changed it here, it’s not fair that you still had to go through it!” Twoie pulled his younger brother into a hug, and the kid weakly gripped Twoie’s shirt. “And I’m so grateful that you fixed things here. You helped the gems realize they were hurting me. You made my dad start visiting more. You even helped me find a mom in Dr. Maheswaran!” Twoie brushed his hand through Steven’s hair to comfort him. “I’ve always wanted to feel more like we were a family, and that never would’ve happened without you. You’re my family too, but you’ll be leaving soon! And I don’t want you to go, Starbright!”

“Steven…” Twoie sighed, hugging Steven tightly as the kid began crying. “I think of you all as my family too. And it’s not fair, but that’s just how life is. You could be the nicest person in the world, and bad things will happen to you anyway.” He wiped the tears away from his younger brother’s eyes. “I wasn’t really happy before I arrived here, Steven. I was struggling, but even though bad things happened to me, I found another family here. And you guys helped me be happy again. I may not know when I’ll be able to go home or what will happen when I do, but I want you to remember,” Twoie gave Steven a noogie, making the kid laugh. “I love you guys so much. And I always will.” The young man hefted his younger brother into the air. “You’re my favorite little brother.”

Steven laughed harder as Twoie maneuvered him, so the kid was now sitting on his shoulders. “I’m your only little brother.” Steven leaned over and gently bopped his brother on the nose. ”I love you too, Twoie.” The young kid held on to Twoie’s hair. “Now come on! We’ve got a lesson to get to!” Twoie chuckled as he began walking to the house again, ignoring the anxiety stirring in his heart at the idea of leaving.

The day passed by quickly. The lesson was as chaotic as Twoie had predicted, with Peridot asking weird questions and Amethyst trying to prove them right. Pearl and Greg took the opportunity to share embarrassing stories of the brothers, which ended with Twoie and Steven lunging to quiet them and breaking the coffee table. Priyanka had doubled over from laughing so hard, and they had eventually ended the lesson a couple of hours later.

As the sun began to set, Twoie and Steven were surprised to see the warp pad light up again. They paused the video game they were playing to see who was visiting. Bismuth and Peridot cautiously stepped into the living room, looking anxious. “Bismuth? Peridot? Did you forget something when you were here earlier?” Twoie started walking downstairs when he noticed Bismuth hiding something behind her back. The two jumped slightly when he addressed them.

“Twoie!” Peridot burst into tears as she darted forward and threw herself at him. Twoie went down with a startled yelp, and Steven would’ve laughed if Peridot wasn’t so upset.

Bismuth sighed sadly while picking the young man up and setting him down on his feet.“Hey, Twoie. Sorry to barge in like this, but I thought you should know that…” Twoie felt his heart sink into his stomach as Bismuth revealed the object she was hiding. It was the timepiece. The janky hourglass looked even better than it did previously, and Twoie did not doubt that it would work. That was the problem. “We finished the hourglass, and theoretically, it should take you back to your timeline as long as you think about it when you turn it over. Now, it’s up to you to decide when to use it.”

The blacksmith held the hourglass out, but Twoie backed away from it. “Sorry, just-! C-can you just set it down on the shelf behind the couch? I don’t want to touch it until I know I’m ready to go back. There are things I still need to do first.” Twoie hugged Peridot in discomfort as Bismuth set it down on the shelf. Peridot was still clinging to him, and the half-gem didn’t have the heart to peel her off of him.

“Alright, Twoie. If you’re not going to use it right now, then I’ll let you think about what you need to do. Just let us know before you leave, okay?” Bismuth pulled Twoie and Peridot into a hug. “You’re a great friend, Twoie. Thank you for everything you’ve done for me.” She wiped a tear from her eye as she gestured to Peridot. “Oh, and for helping me meet Peri and Lapis. They’re the best, and I’ve loved getting to know them. We make a pretty good team.”

Twoie chuckled as he hugged back. “Yeah, you guys are best friends in my time. I’m glad you got the chance to become friends even sooner.”

Peridot finally looked up at him with watery eyes. She stifled her sobs so she could talk. “Twoie! Bismuth is incredibly intelligent, and she’s so nice! Lapis, Bismuth, and I chatted a lot when we took breaks while working on the hourglass, and I can’t believe how amazing everything is!” The technician let go of Twoie so she could pace around the living room. “As an era 2 peridot, I never would’ve imagined my life the way it is on earth. I’m so ecstatic that you helped us become friends, but I’m gonna miss you, Twoie!” She turned to face him with wide watery eyes. “You were my first friend, and I loved hanging out with you and Steven. I promise that I’ll continue visiting Steven, but I’m going to miss you so much!”

Twoie couldn’t stop his own tears from brimming in his eyes. His breath hitched slightly as he flashed her a bright smile. “Thanks, Peri. That means a lot to me. You’re one of my best friends, and I’m going to miss you too. I’m not leaving yet, though. I need to figure some things out regarding events with Homeworld that haven’t happened yet.”

Peridot sniffed, wiping her eyes away. She blushed as she realized he wasn’t actually leaving yet. “Y-yes, but still!” She looked away in embarrassment. “I just wanted you to know that anyway.”

Twoie laughed and turned to joke about it with Steven, except Steven wasn’t in the room. He blinked and started looking around. Steven wasn’t anywhere in the house, and the front door was slightly open. Twoie turned and thanked Bismuth and Peridot for their help, waving as they bid their goodbyes before disappearing into the warp. Once they were gone, he walked outside to look for Steven. He knew his younger brother was struggling with the idea that Twoie would be leaving, but even Twoie didn’t think it’d be this soon. The gems were out with Priyanka and Greg, getting to know each other better, so regardless, Twoie wasn’t leaving that night. He’d have time to decide how to instruct Steven and the gems about dealing with stuff in the future. Steven was his priority.

Stars were already appearing in the sky when Twoie came across Steven, sitting at the edge of the shore. The kid was sitting, hands holding his legs tucked together. Twoie sighed when Steven continued staring at the waves as he sat beside him. They watched the waves together for a couple of moments.

“Am I bad for wishing you didn’t have to leave? Is that selfish of me?” Steven quietly asked, still looking at the ocean.

Twoie pulled Steven into a side hug, and the kid leaned into his hold. “No, Steven. You’re not a bad kid for wishing that someone you care about could stay. And if it is selfish, you’re allowed to be a little selfish.” Twoie took a deep breath of salty ocean air. “We’ve been through a lot, huh.” Steven nodded against him. “Honestly, I want to stay too. It’s just hard to say it out loud. I’m worried about what will happen to you when I’m gone. Things will only get worse, and while you have more people you can rely on than I did, I’m worried about how things will turn out.” The young man sighed and let himself fall back onto the sand. He could see the glittering stars and felt a small amount of comfort in their presence.

Steven laid down beside him. “How much worse will they be?” Steven felt nervous at Twoie’s silence. “Twoie? That bad?”

His older brother sighed. “Yeah. It’s gonna be even tougher than what you’ve been through. And I don’t know if any instructions I leave for you will be enough to help. Things have changed for you, and that means certain events could be better or worse.” They laid in the cool sand and just took comfort in each other’s company. Neither could think of something to say. There was no way they could give each other any assurance that things would be better. Steven scooted closer so he could hug Twoie’s arm. Twoie smiled fondly at Steven’s clinginess, shifting so he could wrap his arm around the kid instead. It was sweet, and Twoie wasn’t going to object since Steven’s constant presence was its own comfort. He didn’t like being alone, something his little brother seemed determined to prevent. Soon, Steven began to nod off. He was tired from worrying about his brother, and the warmth of his brother staving off the cool ocean breeze made him feel secure.

“Look to the stars, my favorite little bro.” Steven smiled at the sound of his brother’s voice. He snuggled a little closer; his eyes cracked open to stare at the sky. “Life is strange and vast. Full of wonder and woe.” Twoie brushed a hand through his younger brother’s hair. The young man remembered how easily he fell asleep when their dad would sing to him in the van. It did not surprise him that Steven could still be lulled to sleep this way. “Face each new sun with eyes clear and true. Unafraid of the unknown, because I’ll face it all with you.”

Steven’s eyes snapped wide open. He shot up into a sitting position and stared at Twoie. “Wait, do you-… Do you mean it?”

Twoie smiled as he sat up. “Yeah, I do. I think I’ll stick around for a while longer. Now that the hourglass is fixed, I can go home whenever I want to. I want to make sure everything ends up okay here before I do.”

Steven lunged at Twoie, knocking him down onto the sand. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” Steven’s eyes shown with stars as he scrambled off of his brother and pulled on his arm. “Come on! We’ve gotta go tell the others! And this calls for a together dinner! And dessert!” Twoie laughed as Steven dragged him back towards the house. He missed his family and friends, but they were living in a peaceful world. There was no threat of shattering or death by Homeworld. There was no oppression by the Diamond Authority. However, this world did have those dangers. And with the uncertainty of the future due to the changes he’d made, Twoie would make sure Steven and the rest of their family would be okay. He would go home eventually, but not right now. He wanted to be there for Steven.