Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Today was the day. He was finally going to do it. He was going to walk out of the temple, walk into the Big Donut, and buy the last Cookie Cat ice cream sandwich. His dad had given him the money three days ago, but he was constantly getting sidetracked. 

Steven did his morning stretches before hopping out of bed, since he would always walk up sore head-to-toe. After getting his stretches out, he climbed out of bed and moved to his mile-high pile of clothes. He rustled through the disorganized mess, pulling out a black t-shirt with a yellow star on it and a nice pair of jeans. After throwing his PJs off, he took his clean clothes and slid them on, trying his damndest to avoid tearing anything on his rock chunks. 

“Room!” He yelled out. “Can you turn all the lights on?” 

The room began to shake; the walls of glass filling with lava, illuminating the room with a dim orange glow. The walls and floor were made of black stone, warmed by the lava all around. His bed stood high above the rest of the room, with a large stone staircase leading downward. He stepped down to the ground floor. The ground floor was a mess. Purple crystals lined the floor, surrounded by piles of junk. A thin layer of water had covered the room, only stopping at the door, but Steven didn’t mind. The water was nice and warm, almost calming and tranquil for him. He had a table, a kitchen with a refrigerator, a TV and game console by his bed, and a couch surrounded by a ring of fire. The ceiling was up high, so high that it was covered in ice. Small black bubbles floated around the ice crystals. 

Steven moved to the bathroom door, stepping inside a very plain looking room. It looked like a standard human bathroom; with a shower, toilet, sink, and a very clear mirror. 

He hopped up onto the sink, taking a look at himself. His skin was a charred black, his eyes a crimson red. Reddish-pink lines traveled like cracks across his body. His knees, shoulders, and elbows had jagged black rocks sticking out of them. His hair was large and poofy, with bits of red and blue crystals stuck in it. He took a moment to look at the gems stuck to him, making sure everyone was accounted for. There was one on his belly, one on his chest, two in each palm, and one on his forehead. Had them since birth. 

“Okay, let’s do this!” He confidently said, moving back to the door. Before he could leave, he felt a falling sensation, as the cracks changed into a reddish-purple. 

“No-no-no, I can’t go out into town looking this lame,” Smoky said to himself, staring in confusion at the jeans Steven had put on him. He began to gripped the fabric, tearing open holes on the knees; before ripping the sleeves off his shirt. “There, much better.”

Today was the day. Smoky was going out and buying the last Cookie Cat for Steven, then spending the rest of the day lying face down on the couch. Sure this was the third t-shirt he had ripped up and Stephen was tired of buying more clothes, but he was going to make it up to Steven; he always taked about how much he loved Cookie Cats.

Smoky kicked the bathroom door open, rushing past the piles of junk and to the stone temple door. The door opened itself, letting him step outside and run over the warp pad. He stopped in his tracks, turning back to grab his sandals, which he had left outside by the door.

Smokey took one look at the beautiful sun kissed beach and decided to spend at least a few minutes playing in the sand. So he did; running around and doing cartwheeling in the warm morning sand. 

As he laughed and played,  his eyes were slowly drawn back to the Temple. His feet became stuck in place, he felt paralyzed just by looking at it. He looked down, trying not to think about it, but to no avail. “Hi… Mom...” He whispered, as his cracks turned a reddish-white. 

Stephen looked around, confused where he was, before recognizing some familiar landmarks; the Temple, Beach City, and the Sea Hands in the distance. Confusion faded, as anger grew, seeing that Smokey had ripped up another good pair of clothes. He took a deep breath, calming his momentary rage. The gem on his forehead started to glow, as Stephen pulled his notebook out. He rapidly flipped through each page, lined with detailed notes on gem culture and a day-by-day schedule for the next few months, until he found the schedule for today. 

Today was the day. Stephen was going to help Steven summon his shield. The first time it appeared, Steven was eating a Cookie Cat, so Stephen wanted to repeat that event. After heading to the Big Donut and buying one, he would start working on the raft, and then spend the rest of the day at the library. After all that was said and done, he would take a shower and go to bed.

He stashed his notebook back inside his gem, before slowly walking to the Big Donut. The boardwalk was rather empty, so there weren’t going to be any annoying tourists. Every time he went into town, he was followed by the sounds of fearful whispers and flash photography. As soon as he opened the store door and stepped inside, the cracks turned a deep red. 

Sara’s eyes dash about, trying to figure out where she was. It was light out and she was standing in a store. There was a woman behind the counter, who had a concerned look on her face. She held her head, trying to remember her name. I think it was Sadie? Yeah, Lars and Sadie, they run the… Then it all clicked.

Today was the day. Sara was supposed to go to the Big Donut and buy something for Steven, though she couldn’t remember what that something was. 

“Hey Steven,” Sadie interjected, spooking Sara a little. “Or was it Stephen?” She asked under her breath, but was still audible to Sara.

“No-no, It’s Sara,” She nervously said, as she slowly walked up to the counter. “Steven asked me to buy him something.” She gripped her head tighter, feeling a massive headache hit her. “I-I can’t. Remember...” 

Her knees hit the floor hard, as Sadie rushed to her side. “Are you okay?”

The cracks turned a deep purple, as she stood up like nothing happened. She looked Sadie in the eyes, her face cold and emotionless, her red eyes causing a shiver down her spine.

“Fine,” Sophie exclaimed, before pointing at an empty food display. “Today was the day that I was supposed to buy the last Cookie Cat for Steven, but it looks like they're already gone.”

“Yeah. Sorry, I know you-I mean-he said he wanted to grab the last shipment, but they kinda melted during the power outage,” Sadie explained, visibly shaken by her.

Sophie shook her head. “Such is fate.” Before she could turn to leave, an unholy screech echoed through the store, as a large centipede-like being crashed through a window. It was a sickly green, with acid dripping from its oversized mandibles. It thrashed about, destroying the display.

Luckily, Sadie had already fled into the back room, so Sophie had a chance to let loose. The gem in the palm of her hand started to glow, as she summoned a torch, topped with a blue flame. She took a deep breath in, then exhaled, sending a large burst of freezing flame over the monster. It became frozen in a chunk of ice, only able to make small twitching motions. 

Sadie and Lars peaked their heads out, trying to see if it was over. The torch disappeared, as the cracks turned back to reddish-pink. 

Steven looked around, only to let out a small scream when he saw the monster trapped in ice. A nervous sweat began to flow, as panic filled him. Should I run? Should I poof it? I don’t have a weapon yet so… 

A loud hiss was heard, as the monster began to pump acid out, quickly melting the ice trapping it. It spayed a hose of green acid at the defenseless humans. Without hesitation, Steven jumped in front of the attack. Mere seconds before it hit him, his shield materialized on his arm. He managed to block all the acid with it, landing on his feet as the attack stopped. The shield was transparent, with a beautiful reddish-pink hue and with a spiral pattern of flames. 

Before Steven could react to finally summoning it, a spray of pink flame shot from his shield, poofing the monster in seconds. His shield disappeared, as he ran into the fire and pulled the monster’s gem out. The fire didn’t hurt him, he just didn’t want the monster to reform. He put it inside a black bubble, then sent it back to the Temple. 

He let out a sigh of exhaustion. With a wave of his hand, all fire vanished from the store, not even leaving any scorch marks behind. He ran out the door and rushed back home, without even checking if Sadie and Lars were okay. 

Today was the day. Steven had finally summoned his shield. After that, he just wanted to go back to sleep. He sat on the couch, staring up at the ceiling, watching the bubbles float about. I must be a disaster magnet. He reached into his pocket, pulling out a tape recorder and hitting the record button. 

“Was mom as unlucky as I am?” He said into the recorder, before ending the recording early. “What happened? Why was I born like this?!” He cried out, throwing the recorder at the wall. It broke in half, before floating in the thin water layer. “Why was I born at all?!” He screamed out, expecting some miracle to come and answer his questions. 

But nothing happened.

He laid on the couch, his tears evaporating as they left his eyes. He was half-human, but everyone was scared of him. He was half-gem, but he didn’t know anything about the gems. He was just one of five monsters.

Tomorrow was the day. He was going to build that raft, travel to the Sea Hands, and find something close to an answer.

Chapter Text

Stephen had a huge problem on his hands. He already collected some of the junk that Smoky hoards, planning on using it to craft the raft. He had even called his dad for help in crafting it, but now he had a new problem. It was this massive eye in the sky, with a red and orange color palette, slowly approaching the Temple. It was too far away for Sophie’s torch, so he needed a plan. 

He pulled out a tape recorder and hit the record button. “Stephen: emergency recording!” He said into it. “A large unidentified flying object is on a collision course with Beach City. I am powerless to stop it, but Sara’s arrows might be able to destroy it if it gets close enough.”

“Hey Ste-What is that?!” 

Stephen jolted back, almost dropping the recorder. It was his dad, Greg Universe. Greg ran the local car wash, and he would visit the Temple from time to time. 

“Dad, It’s not safe, get out of here!” Stephen demanded, pointing at the van Greg parked nearby. “You said ‘keep me out of Crystal Gem stuff’, remember!?”

Greg ignored his son’s demand, giving him a huge hug. “I know… But it’s been a month since I’ve seen you.” Stephen wrestled himself from his dad’s grip, stumbling backwards. “I wanted to help you with the raft, I just didn’t notice-” He looked up at the giant object, now closer than earlier and just a few feet above the ocean waves. “That… What do you plan to do?”

“I don’t plan on doing anything,” He explained, taking a seat on the beach sand. “I’m going to wait for Sara to come out. She’ll shoot it down, then we can start working on the raft.” Greg took a seat right next to him, as they both watched the approaching red eye. 

Greg had raised him for most of his early years, which was a little messy considering the van he lived in. Stephen moves into the Temple when he was seven, being the one to raise his alters; Greg admitted that he didn’t know how to raise a kid like him. As the only members of the Crystal Gems, Stephen had to make sure they were ready for anything. 

The story behind his birth was a mystery to him. Greg says that his mother was a gem named Rose Quartz. Despite this, he said he didn’t know what happened, since he wasn’t there when he was born. Greg did mention other members of the Crystal Gems, but he didn’t share many details.

Their impending doom had gotten much closer, as Greg nervously looked at Stephen with anticipation. “So… Can Sara hurry it up a bit? It’s getting kinda close.”

“Gaaah!” Stephen screamed, stomping the ground. “Come out already!”

“Can’t you do something about this?” Greg asked. “You’re magic, too.”

He groaned, as he turned to face his dad. “No! I’m the manager! Everyone else does the fighting! I’m just a weak mess!” His rage boiled, causing the water around him to boil, before erupting into a geyser. He summoned his weapon from his gem; a bladed fan, with pink and white rose patterns lining it. “All I can do is boil water a-and summon this!” He felt his knees give out, as the sky turned an ominous red. “I’m useless.”

Greg put a hand on his shoulder, causing him to look back up. “What makes you think so? I might not know much about this, but I know that all of the guys and girls in there had that same feeling, they told me. But we’re all still here, so clearly they’re not weak.” He gave him a tap on the head. “Remember what I told you. If every porkchop were perfect-”

Stephen stood up, feeling a burst of confidence rush through him. “We wouldn’t have hotdogs.” He kicked his sandals off and, with his fan in hand, charged towards the red eye.

“Go get em rockstar!”

Stephen jumped onto the ocean wave, boiling the water to create a massive geyser that launched him high into the air. He lifted his fan high into the air, before slicing down onto the red eye. Stephen hit the water hard, but not before he saw the red eye split in half. It exploded into a rain of scrap and shrapnel, with one chunk colliding with Stephen underwater. It pinned him to the ocean floor, with him unable to push it off. I refuse to die after doing something so cool!

Under the waves, something caught his eye. The Sea Hands, which you could only see the very top of during high tide, were now clearly visible. Massive, sickly green, metal hands sticking out of the ocean floor. As his vision began to fade, Stephen saw something crawl out of a gash the metal.

Smoky woke with a start, spitting water vapor from his lungs. Greg was sitting over him, on the verge of tears. As soon as Smokey sat up, his dad gave him a huge hug. “Stephen! I was so scared!”

“Wh-What happened?” Smoky asked, looking around the van in confusion. Greg backed up, realizing that he wasn’t talking to the same person from before.

“Oh-um, Stephen almost drowned, but he was thrown out of the ocean by something. He had cut this giant eye in half.” He explained, eyeing Smoky up and down, trying to remember which one he was. 

Smoky held his head, rocked by something he didn’t even witness, before sighing in disappointment. “Damn, that would’ve been cool to see.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out his tape recorder, only to see that it was water damaged. “Hey Greg, I need a new recorder.”

“This is the third one this week,” He pointed out. “Your old man isn’t made of money, you need to stop breaking them.”

“I promise to not break the next one, or whatever,” Smoky promised, before breaking out into a coughing fit. He quickly crawled out of the van and onto the pavement, coughing up a pile of sea salt. Greg peaked out, looking very concerned. Smoky stood up, cleared his throat, and kicked the salt away. The two of them spent the rest of the day laughing about it.

Chapter Text

Steven kept hitting play and rewind on his recorder, over and over again. “Walk up to her, say hi, then say your name.” Why was this so hard? He peeked around the corner, looking at the dark skinned girl reading on the beach. She was super close to the Temple entrance, but she didn’t seem to notice the giant multi-armed statue of a giant woman. Her book must’ve been a damn good one. Or maybe she didn’t care.

All he needed to do was walk up to her, say hi, then say his name. He felt like he was paralyzed, lacking any of the confidence he had before. Walk up to her?! When I look like this?! Am I supposed to start a conversation with “hi”?! She’ll run away when she sees me,wo-

Oh it’s that girl, I remember her! Smoky thought to himself, before stumbling backwards and landing flat on his butt. The girl looked over, only catching a quick glimpse of him, before he ran behind the corner again.

Sara began to bite her nails, already on the verge of freaking out. We blew it! She’ll never look at us again!

“Excuse me?” A voice beside her asked, causing her to jump back in a panic. It was the girl. “Are you okay? You look-” She took a moment to look at Sara. “-A bit burned.” 

“No-n-no-no, I’m fine,” Sara explained, trying to back away as the girl walked closer. She tripped on herself, falling back onto her butt. “Don’t get close to me!” She shouted.

The girl flinched, before tripping back herself. The two of them took a moment to stare at each other. The sand beneath them began to quake, rocks dislodging from the fragile cliffside. 

Working off of instinct, Sara summoned her flying arrows, creating a hailstorm that redirected any falling ruble. As Sara got to her feet, the girl looked on in amazement. Once the dust settled, she offered her a hand and helped her up.

Steven swapped in, blushing at the girl suddenly standing in front of him. “Hi, my name’s Steven.” He blurted out in a panic. 

“Are you some kind of magic demigod?!” She asked, with diamonds in her eyes. “That’s so cool!” In the span of a few seconds, she pulled her phone out of her bag. “I need to take a picture!” 

“Yeah, I’m magic. I fight monsters and stuff,” Steven jokingly bragged, though he wasn’t lying.

She stopped before taking the pic. “You changed color, what’s up with that?”

“Oh… That’s a long story… Basically, I have multiple alters and each one is color coded,” He explained.

“Oh, I'm sorry,” She said, almost dropping her phone. “I didn’t mean to be rude. I ju-”

“No it’s okay,” He reassured, reaching into his pocket. “Truth be told, you’re the first person to not treat me like a freak.” He pulled out a familiar glow stick ring and handed it to her. It took a second for her to recognize it, looking back at him. “You dropped this.”

“Um… Thanks,” She said, stashing the ring in her purse. “It’s nice to meet you.” She held her hand out for a handshake. “I’m Connie.” 

Steven reached his hand out. We didn’t blow it! A surge of nausea swept over him, causing him to fall to his knees and clutch his stomach. I thought too soon! Connie ran to his side, thinking he was about to throw up. Heat built up in his throat, before spitting out a large glob of molten metal onto the beach. The metal rapidly cooled, as it morphed into a reddish-pink clamor; the sand turning to glass around it, leaving it stuck in the ground, hilt up. 

The two sat there, completely dumbfounded with their jaws agape. Steven was the first to approach, with Connie snapping a quick picture. The air around the sword felt cool and dry, like the inside of a refrigerator. As soon as he touched the hilt, he felt the comforting heat of the black steel. He tried to pull it out, but it was like trying to lift an anvil nailed to the floor. 

“Here,” Connie said, Steven stepping aside to let her try. Amazingly, she managed to pull it out with little resistance. She two-hand lifted it high into the air. It felt heavy, but paradoxically, light as a feather at the same time. As she lifted it above her head, it began to glow brighter than before, only to be pulled back down into the glass ground. 

“Is this a common thing?” She asked a confused Steven.

“No, I’ve never seen this and none of my alters have mentioned this,” He answered, shaking his head. The sound of Connie’s phone buzzing stopped him from saying anything else.

“Ah, I have to go, um,” Connie said, well she pulled out a small piece of paper. “It’s my phone number, I’ve wanted to give it to someone. Text me if anything changes about this sword.”

Steven took the piece of paper and waved as Connie ran off. He held it tightly in his hand, smiling to himself. We did it! His happiness turned to worry, as new thoughts surfaced. I should keep her out of the Temple, it’s a mess. What if a monster attacks? 

Smoky swapped in, noticing the paper in his hand. Hmm, cool. He did it. He looked over at the sword in the sand. How’d that get there? He stuffed it into his pocket, before walking back to the Temple. For some reason, he was feeling extremely hungry. 

Chapter Text

Sophie sat on the cool morning sand, staring at the sword Steven threw up. She pushed the play button on her recorder. “Steven here. I texted Connie last night, she wanted to know if the sword did anything. So please keep an eye on it.” There was a short pause. “Thanks, love you.” 

There were two things that Sophie planned on doing today; investigating the source of the quakes and studying the sword. Clearly the sword had some kind of special purpose, given how Connie was the only one who could lift it. Before she could sit up and get to work, her phone started buzzing. With a sigh, Sophie picked it up. 

“Hey Steven!” Connie said on the other end, excited to talk. “Has anything changed?”

“Sorry, it’s Sophie right now,” She coldly explained. “Call him later.” 

“Wait sorry,” Connie apologized, which stopped Sophie’s hand, who was about to hang up. “I hope it’s not too rude to ask, but I kinda want to know how…” There was an uncomfortably long pause. “I want to know more about all of you.” 

Sophie blushed for a moment, only to shake the blush away. “I could do that, since Steven and Stephen do want to be friends with you and it would help if you knew more.” 

“Cool,” Connie said, before bombarding Sophie with rapid fire questions. Sophie held the phone at arm's length, before pulling it closer and shouting into it. 

“One question at a time!” She screamed out, jumping to her feet. “Sorry, I lost my temper.” She apologized, her tone going cool once again.

There was silence for a few seconds. “Okay… Um… Can you tell me each of your names?”

“Five. There’s Steven, Smoky, Stephen, Sara, and Sophie.”

“Do you live in that huge statue?” 

Sophie looked up at the Temple. “Yes.”

“Do you go on-like-super fun magic adventures?!” She asked, audibly joyful to hear, like she was waiting her entire life to hear this.

“It’s mostly just fighting monsters,” Sophie explained, as she took a walk down the beach. “Sometimes we use the warp pad, but-”

“Warp pad? Like a teleporter?”

“Yes, it is a-” She stopped herself, seeing something unusual. Like the wind, she dashed over to take a closer look; Connie asking about what was happening. Sophie hung up on her, but did send her a quick text telling her to call her back in a minute.

It was a pile of dead fish and other sea creatures, lying on the edge of the shoreline. The smell was unbearable, so Sophie tried to avoid breathing through her nose. The pile was too high to be created naturally by the tides, someone gathered them up. Ignoring the awful smell in the dry air, Sophie picked up one of the fish. Its scales showed signs of electrical scaring, like it was cool by throwing it into a generator. It appeared that all the dead fish shared this scaring. What caused this? Who did this! Wh-

Sophie found her thoughts interrupted by the sight of an uncorrupted gem casually walking out of the ocean, causing her to hide behind the fish pile. She knew that her mother was a gem; she knew that the monsters they fight are gems; but she had never seen an uncorrupted gem before. 

She was odd looking, with gooey translucent skin that showed her blue insides. Her gemstone was clearly visible inside her head; it was a beautiful light blue hue. Hair-like tentacles were tied into a ponytail, letting her show off her single large eye. Out of everything, the hands-for-feet were definitely the strangest part. The only thing she was wearing were skin-tight rags, which extend slightly past her waist.

This gem was pacing back and forth, complaining to herself. “Two days! We said we’d be out for two days!” We. So there’s more of them. “We would go on a mission, well she fixed the water damage!” Water damage? Are they from the Sea Hands? “But apparently she can’t go five minutes without me! The specimens aren’t going to escape, we keep this zoo locked down!” 

Sophie had absolutely no idea what she was talking about, nor any idea of what she should do. On the one hand, she didn’t know if this gem was a threat. On the other hand, a gem would know more about gem-kind, so this might have been the perfect chance to learn more. On the hypothetical third hand, she did kill a ton of fish. So, Sophie decided to stay put for now.

Smoky slowly walked up to the venting gem, wanting to meet this uncorrupted gem, who was now sitting on the beachside. The gem didn’t seem to notice him, even when he stood right in front of her. He waved his hand in her face; still no reaction. 

His phone began to buzz in his pocket, causing the gem to jump to her hands and look around confused. Smoky made a hasty retreat and answered his phone, seeing that Connie was trying to call him. He turned back, only to see that the gem was gone.

“Sophie, are you okay? What happened?” Connie asked, clearly worried.

He thought for a moment before responding. “Monster attack, no biggy. It’s Smoky right now, by the way.”

“Oh, my bad,” She said, as Smoky started walking back to the Temple. “I’ve heard rumors about the monsters around Beach City; wasn’t there a monster attack that knocked out the power for a few days?”

“Yeah, that was me,” Smoky bragged. “Sucks that I couldn’t stop it before the power outage.”

“Sophie mentioned that you live in that statue. Does anyone else live there? Like your magic mom or dad?”

Smoky starred up at the Temple, looking his mother in the eyes. “No, my dad, Greg, lives at his car wash and my mom… My mom was some kind of guardian of Earth. Her name was Obsidian, and she died in childbirth, but...” Words escaped him, he felt like he was unable to speak or even breath.

“Smoky? I-If you don’t want to talk about it, then don’t.”

Connie’s words knocked him out of his trance. “Do you want to hang out later?” He asked, changing the subject.

“Sure, but you’ll have to wait until this weekend,” She explained. “What name would you prefer I refer to you as a whole?”

“What do you mean?”

“Just calling you Smoky or Steven is a little inaccurate.”

Smoky thought for about two seconds before answering. “Obstevenian. Call us Obstevenian.”

A giggle came out of the other end of the phone. “Okay ‘Obstevenian’. I’ll see you later.”

The call ended, leaving Smoky alone on the beach. He needed to get to the bottom of this before this weekend. That gem might hurt Connie, and he couldn’t live with himself if she got hurt.

Chapter Text

Smoky felt like a genius. Earlier that day, she had requested that Sophie create a huge ball of ice around her. After she did that, Smoky began to roll the heavy ice ball across the ocean floor. In his eyes, this was the perfect way to investigate the Sea Hands. The drawback was that he could barely see through the thick ice, kinda leaving him blindly rolling about inside a cold dark hamster-ball. Luckly, it was a relatively straight line to the Sea Hands. Before he knew it, all light disappeared as he entered through a gash in the metal. 

Okay, now what? He asked himself. He was inside, but he couldn’t see anything from inside the ball. If he busted out, he would surely drown. Darn, I didn’t think this though. He sat on the cold floor, pondering to himself. Maybe I should buy scuba gear?

Suddenly, there was a light seeping through the ice, followed by the ball being flung upwards. Smoky collided with the ceiling, tumbling around inside his own spin cycle. The ball came to a sudden stop, causing Smoky to smash into the side, which creates small cracks in the ice. 

“Oi, Pebbles!” Shouted a voice from outside, slightly muffled by the ice. “Look at what I found by the entrance!” Smoky froze in place, trying to avoid detection. 

“I can’t look, you clod,” Commented another voice. “Blind, remember?”

“Oh… Where’s Little H?”

“Couldn’t tell you, he’s probably out looking for more subjects for our zoo,” the second voice answered, before knocking their hand against the ball. “Hm… It’s a very cold rock.”

“No, it's ice. You know, frozen water? How have you never felt ice?” Smoky was having some trouble breathing at this point.

“All rocks are the same to me,” There was a short pause. “Well… With some exceptions.” The voices erupted into mad giggling. 

Suddenly, a blinding light pierced through the ice, but faded as fast as it appeared. Needing to act before he is suffocated, Smoky shoots a jet of fire from his mouth, which sliced through the ice like a knife on hot butter. He scrambled out of the icy prison, taking several deep breaths before he could stand and look around. 

It was so alien inside the Sea Hands. Every surface was a strange sickly green, seemingly glowing. The metal walls were worn, with large rips in the old steel. There was a pool of seawater leading outside, created in a hole in the floor. 

Smoky’s attention turned to the large figure laying by the doorway. It was this golem-like being, who was easily three times his size. Bigger than any human, but appeared to still be able to walk around the corridors. It’s skin was a stone brown, with a rough texture to match. It’s arms were large and pillar-like, ending with ten-fingered hands. It’s legs were a similar case. There were three dark holes where it’s eyes and mouth should have been. 

It wasn’t moving, so Smoky just walked slowly out the door, before sprinting down the corridors. The halls became less worn down as he went. He stopped for a moment to catch his breath. 

I’m in over my head! Sara or Sophie should be doing this! He shook those thoughts away. No! I have to prove myself! I’m not just some lazy slob, I’m a serious rebel! A real rockstar! 

His self motivation was interrupted by the sounds of nearby screeching. As he stepped closer, he entered a large curricular room, with multiple cells on two floors. Each cell had glass separating inside from outside, each one housing a monster. There were labels for each cell, written in an unknown language.

Each monster was actually a corrupted gem. Smoky felt a connection with these kinds of people; since he was also a destructive force that everyone feared. They were both lost and confused, completely alien to humanity. The difference between them was clear; well the corrupted gems hurt people accidentally, Smoky does everything in his power to not hurt anyone. 

He noticed something off. The centipede monster that Steven bubbled was in one of the cells, only it was smaller than before. A bunch of the other corrupted gems they had beaten and bubbled were now trapped in here. 

Smoky, feeling a wave of determination wash over him, summoned his weapon; an over-sized yo-yo. He used it to smash open the cell holding the centipede monster prisoner. It back into the corner, spitting and gurgling acid. Smoky extended a hand, showing that he didn’t mean any harm. 

“I’ll set ya lose, don’t worry,” He explained, before the centipede bolted under his legs and out of the cell. It started to chew on random objects around the room. Smoky stepped out of the cell, only to have his attention stolen by one monster in particular. He over to take a closer look, with diamonds in his eyes. 

It was this beautiful pink lion, with a large fluffy mane. I have to set you lose! He smashed the glass, causing the lion to pounce him and pin him to the ground. Regret! Regret! Smoky tried to wrestle free, only to have the lion lay right on top of him. 

“Get off of me!” He yelled, trying to lift the lion off of him. The large cat started to lick Smoky’s own mane, purring the entire time. “Um… Please get off of me?”

The lion obliged, biting his collar and throwing Smoky onto his back. He began to run, letting out a magic roar that created a portal in midair. Before the beast jumped through, the centipede latched it’s jaws onto its tail. 

Smoky, Lion, and the centipede came crashing into the face of the Temple. The three fell to the sand below, relatively unharmed. 

Smoky slowly stood up, taking a moment to brush the sand off of his dark skin. He didn’t know what to think; he went in there to investigate, but all he came out with was two animal friends. There were a few things he learned. One, there’s about three or four gems in there. Two, they’re gathering up corrupted gems. Three, they are stealing our bubbles. I should record this. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his tape recorder. Before he could hit record, the centipede jumped up and stanched it in its acidic mandibles. Smoky just sighed and fell onto his back. You know what, I’ll just take a nap for now.

Chapter Text

Sara really didn’t want to do this, but she was the first to wake up, so she had to. So she threw on a lovely summer dress and went out onto the beach. The two monsters that Smoky grabbed were out by the Temple door. Lion was sleeping peacefully, since the sun only started to rise. Centi was leashed to a rock, because Stephen didn’t want it running around. She was still hissing and spitting acid, so Sara kept her distance. Let’s start with the big kitty.  

Sara nervously pressed her hand against Lion’s mane. It was soft beyond words, warming her heart in an instant. He awoke, purring gently.

Suddenly, she had a great idea. She rushed back into the Temple, threw the refrigerator door open, and grabbed some leftover food. There was a lovely steak from a recent barbecue, which Lion happily divorced. Next, she tossed a donut in Centi’s direction, who gobbled it up in an instant. Suddenly,  a new idea popped into her head. She untied the leash, and tossed a donut across the beach, which Centi happily chased. Afterwards, she ran back to Sara, who was happy to throw another one.

There was a sudden buzz from her dress pocket, so she dropped the box of donuts and pulled out her phone. It was Connie. 

“Hey Connie,” Sara nervously said. “Umm… How’s it going?”

“Hey Obstevenian,” She greeted back. “My parents are driving me over soon and I wanted to ask if you could meet us at the car wash?”

“Oh uh sure,” She answered, completely forgetting what day it was. As she talked, her eye was drawn to the massive lump in the sand that was traveling down the beach. “Can I call you back?” 

“Sure.”

She tossed her phone back in her pocket. The lump was moving towards Centi, who was neck deep in the box of donuts. A pair of large ten-fingered hands popped out of the sand and dragged her under the sand, Centi screeching out in shock. After grabbing her, the lump started gunning it for Sara, who was momentarily paralyzed with fear.

As the hands reached for her, Sara regained her movement and jumped upwards to avoid it. She summoned her arrows, standing on two of them to keep herself off the ground. To counterattack, she sent a rain of arrows at her unseen attacker. After unleashing her arrows, a sudden burst of lightning erupted from the ground, which Sara managed to narrowly avoid.

Using her arrows, she lifted her higher to avoid the lightning jumping about. She needed a few seconds to reload the arrows she had used, so she circled around the lump. It started to quickly retreat, moving towards the sea. Before Sara could do anything, it completely disappeared under the tides. 

She was speechless, as she stared out at the ocean. That must’ve been the gem Smoky saw. Oh boy, he’s not going to like this. As she looked out at the sea, she noticed something standing on top of the sea hands. The green figure quickly dived into the water and out of sight. 

But now wasn’t the time to dwell on it. She was going to recuse Centi and all the other gems; who knows what those gems will do with an army of monsters. But she had a date today and she didn’t want to miss it. So she flew back to the Temple to get ready for the day. 

Chapter Text

Steven’s blushing could be seen from space. Why didn’t Sara change out of this summer dress?  

“I don’t why you would be embarrassed by this,” Connie said, wearing a similar summer dress. “I think you look nice.”

He blushed harder, as he turned away. “So what do you want to do?” He asked.

“I wanna see inside the Temple!” She excitedly answered, her eyes growing wide with diamonds inside them. “I wanna see all your magic weapons and stuff.”

“I’d rather not, it’s not exactly the safest place,” He immediately responded.

“But don’t you live there?”

“I’m immune to lava.”

“Oh… Oh okay,” Connie said, looking a little bummed out. 

“Don’t worry, there’s something magic I can show you.”

“Ta da!” He said, as the warp pad finished. Connie stood there in amazement; half at what was in front of her, and half at being teleported for the first time. 

It was incredible. They were no longer on the beaches of Beach City. Instead, they were now on a very small rocky island, with stairs leading to a strange building. The clouds above were thick and grey, and the air gave Connie a dry chill. 

“Oh my gosh, this is incredible! I wish I could take a warp pad to—like—school or something! It’s awesome!”

“Heh, I know right,” He cheekily said, before offering her a hand, which she took. His skin was so warm; it felt nicer than the air around her. “Let’s get inside before it starts raining.” 

The two of them quickly ran up the stairs and into the building, holding hands to avoid slipping on anything. It was like a beautiful cavern inside, with tiny glowing mushrooms lighting up the inside. At one end, there was this large control console. Slightly below that, at the other end, there was a square-tiled platform with a figure standing motionless in the center.

It was multicolored, with different patterns moving like fluid across its body. It didn’t look all there, like it was fading into static around its edges.

“What is this place?” Connie asked, eyes practically igniting out of excitement. 

“It’s an archive,” He explained, stepping up to the control console. “I’m not exactly sure how it works, but it can do some cool things.” He stuck his hand into a little slot under the console, which produced a loud beep. Suddenly, the figure changed into Steven; Connie stepped closer for a better look. “Hold on.” Steven pressed the large green button, causing his copy to rapidly move and shift. “This baby can replay any moment in your life.” 

“So this place is just one big tape player?”

“It’s why I like this place.”

He hit the large red button, causing his copy to freeze in place. After hitting the pink button, his copy began to move around at normal speeds. “No it’s okay.” It said, as it reached into its pocket. “Truth be told, you’re the first person to not treat me like a freak.” It pulled out the glow ring and handed it to nobody. “You dropped this.”

Connie walked back over to the real Steven, as he put the copy on pause. “That’s amazing! Can we see you as a baby?”

He eyed the console, staring at the brown button, which was constantly pressed down. “Sure, I guess.” Connie pressed down on the green button, making the copy rapidly lose size. “Actually, lets not do that!” He said, as his copy reached his infancy. 

“Why not?”

Her answer came in the form of a sudden growth of the copy. It smashed through the ceiling, towering above everything else. It’s skin was a charred black, just like Obstevenian, but it had multiple arms and three mouths. Steven and Connie immediately ran back, as the giant began swinging around, trying to attack something just as big as it. 

As it rampaged, it smashed the building to pieces. Steven summoned his shield to block the falling rubble. It blew the console apart, causing it to rapidly change into several different things of various sizes. The entire ceiling collapsed, the shield acting as an umbrella, that blocked the rocky rain.

Connie had an idea. She dashed out of the rubble, grabbing a piece of the console; the glow brown button. She pressed it, causing the recording to return to its neutral state.

Steven couldn’t believe it. “How did you know that would work.” He asked, looking around for any bruises on either of them. 

“Well, I wanted to do something,” She explained, brushing herself off. “So I took a gamble. And it worked.”

As the two started laughing about this, mostly out of shock, the figure suddenly moved on its own. It looked around the destroyed building. 

“I- I can think?” It- no not it- they said, with their voice sounding like it was coming from a speaker. Steven and Connie slowly turned to face them, the two wide-eyed with surprise. “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-”

“What did we just do?” Steven asked, as the two covered their ears. 

“I think we accidentally made life,” Connie said back, slowly approaching the screaming figure. “Excuse me, sir. Can you stop screaming?!” She yelled.

“Um- Yes I can do that,” they said, as rain started to trickle down. “I can do that now, I’ve got free will.” They slowly approach Connie, walking slowly and carefully. “You’re a strange looking gem. And kinda small too.” As they stepped closer, they suddenly shrunk down to her size and shifted to look like her. 

“Um… Thanks?” Connie didn’t know what they were talking about. Plus, it was really weird looking at yourself in this way.

“I guess I owe my sentience to ya,” They said, not in Connie’s voice, but in their own voice. “Thanks ya so much: Connie, Steven, Smoky, Stephen, Sara, and Sophie! I don’t think I like existing, but I don’t have a choice in the matter.”

As the rain came down hard, Steven thought to himself. Not how this day was supposed to go, but at least Connie is unharmed.