Chapter Text
Steven Universe had been on the road for several months.
He'd been all over the country, exploring human places and doing human things. There was so much he wanted to do that it was often hard to move on.
The last city he'd visited had been so busy that he could hardly move around without bumping into someone. He found it very exciting to be around so many people, especially since Beach City was pretty small.
But Steven had been in many big cities and it was starting to get to him. He figured he'd take a break from the bright lights and visit the grand redwood forests of Oregon.
Nature always held a special place in Steven's heart, likely due to his chlorokinesis. Seeing all these massive trees only heighted his love for Earth's wilderness.
Steven had also made it a goal to use his abilities as few times as he could.
So far, he'd only used his powers four times - he doesn't count the accidental uses, of which there are many.
The first was when his phone broke. He'd dropped it down the Grand Canyon and it had smashed into a billion pieces.
The second time was when he floated down to get it.
The third time was when he accidentally drove into some poor old man's flowers. He felt so bad he couldn't help but bring them back, even if it went against his rule. (The man was actually very nice, Steven remembers.)
Now, Steven was driving through the woods of Oregon. He'd been behind the wheel for a few hours and the sun was starting to set.
He looked down at his phone and checked Boogle Maps. Apparently there was a small town just up ahead called Gravity Falls. Steven smiled at the name.
He marked it on his map and checked the distance. It didn't seem too far, maybe he'd-
THUMP!
Startled, Steven dropped his phone and slammed on the brakes. The Dondai skid to a halt and the boy jumped out of the car immediately.
"Oh my stars, please be a rock or something." As he came around the front of the car, he saw that he had not hit a rock "or something".
Actually, he wasn't sure what he'd hit.
What looked to be tiny man in a pointy hat lay on its side, blood beginning to pool around it's stomach. Steven gasped at the sight.
"Oh no!" He exclaimed, getting down onto his knees. Steven turned the man over and he groaned. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry. I-I can help!"
The fourth time he used his powers were when he straight up licked a very small man he'd hit with his car.
The man shuddered and, suddenly very aware of what was happened, jumped back. "Woah, hey, that's disgust-!" He cut himself off as the pain in his chest disappeared faster than it arrived.
Steven opened his mouth to apologize again when the man's eyes widened in realization and he ran off with a shriek.
"W-wait, I-!" Steven let his sentence die after the man left his line of sight. He stood up after a while, shakily making his way to the car and wiping away semi-formed tears before they could bring the forest to life.
Steven took a deep breath and let his eyes flutter closed. He just hit someone with his car because he was looking at his phone.
That someone probably lived in Gravity Falls, which was where Steven was about to go.
He looked out his window at where the man had run into the woods. He wondered if he'd see the man there. Probably.
Steven came to a decision. He started up his car, carefully maneuvered the vehicle around, and began the drive back in the direction where he'd come from. Albeit much, much slower this time.
After a few minutes of driving as carefully as he had when he first started driving, his car came to an abrupt stop, even though the wheels were still turning.
Horrified, his immediate thought was that he'd hit something again. This was quickly proven wrong since there was nothing he could have hit. He'd not looked away from the road for a second.
Steven pressed the gas pedal a little harder, only for nothing more to happen. He let the car slow to a halt by itself and got out again.
There was nothing there.
He walked forwards to check the front just in case, only to bump into something and stumble backwards. Steven rubbed his nose.
A strange, almost indiscernible rainbow rippled across the air in front of him, spreading out from where he'd just been. His gaze followed the ripple upwards until it got too high for him to see.
"What in the . . ."
Steven put both of his hands up and slowly moved them forwards. They quickly met some kind of invisible wall. Another ripple spread out from where his hands met its textureless surface.
He pushed on it, gently at first, but he put more force into the action when he met unbelievable resistance. He pushed hard, hard enough to crush a car, and then he pushed harder. Nothing.
Steven pulled back his hands in surprise. The surpise quickly turned to fear. How far did this go up?
Willing to ignore the breaking of his no-powers rule, Steven jumped up with inhuman power, the tips of his fingers dragging along the wall as he went. As he rose above the trees, he quickly realised the wall curved inwards and froze in the air just before he could smash his head against it. He followed the ripples towards the center, spying a town tucked away in an abnormally circular valley.
Gravity Falls.
He was willing to bet the barrier made a bubble around the whole town.
As he floated down, he began to think. Were all these people stuck here? Was he stuck because he was a Gem? Maybe there was some weird Gem tech lying around that was keeping him and/or these people inside.
Would he ever see his family again?
Steven landed with practiced grace, his mind made up.
He had to get out.
He looked around nervously, as if worried someone would see, before grounding his feet and placing his hands back onto the barrier.
He took a deep breath and he pushed, harder than he'd ever pushed before. He pushed so hard his feet dug into the ground and sweat beaded his forehead. He hadn't tried this hard since Spinel's drill, and even then it wasn't nearly as strenuous.
The barrier bent under his strength. Steven felt it begin to give under his hands. He pushed so hard the rainbow ripples became less like ripples and more like waves, sharp and violent. They shone brighter with every second.
He heard an almost otherworldly crack before he gave in from the strain, letting his hands fall with a gasp. He fell backwards onto his behind, breathing heavily.
"W-wow . . ." Steven rubbed his shaking hands together.
Several thin, luminescent fissures erupted from where Steven's hands had just been. The crack sparked with light like an exposed electrical wire and Steven scooted backwards.
He got up unsteadily and made his way to the car to chug his half-empty water bottle.
His breath officially having been caught, Steven figured it would break after a few more tries. However, as he looked back at the barrier, the fissure seemed to be shrinking. It was repairing itself.
He couldn't do that again, not for a while, at least. Pushing like that drained him more than he'd ever been drained before. Steven felt like he could sleep for a thousand years and the crack was mocking him by simply undoing all his hard work.
He groaned and sat down in the driver's seat with a huff. He watched though the windshield as the closing of the groove slowed to a stop at the point where his hands met the barrier, leaving two shimmering, jagged handprints in the air. Steven could compare the sight to Peridot's old screens, only harder to see and without a projector. It looked like it was able to mend all the smaller breaks, but it didn't seem to be able to fix the immediate ones.
Steven fell back in his seat, looking up at the Dondai's ceiling. It was covered in custom glow in the dark stars and planets. If he checked, he would find Homeworld had fallen off again. He looked away, a grimace on his face.
Steven grabbed his phone off the seat next to him and called Connie.