Archive of Our Own ^beta

Here I am in the future.

Here I am in the future, and it’s bright.

Nothing to fear, no one to fight.

I see

The light

As dark takes flight

Happily ever after, after all.

Steven hummed along to the familiar tune, the words forever in his mind. He smiled at the new reprise to them, however, knowing that, at long last, it was true. His happily ever after had finally arrived, long overdue in everyone’s opinion, and he was grateful for that. Months on the road and even longer in therapy had really turned him around, and so many new possibilities opened to him every single day that it was hard to keep track! He knew that his work was never really done, but for now, for at least a few more months, it finally could be.

Nervously, he pulled his phone out of his pocket. 12:28 PM. She’d be here any minute now. 

Steven quickly surveyed the table: a nice checkered picnic blanket, a plastic vase with a small bouquet of fake, color flowers poking out of it, two plates, two cups, and two sets of utensils. The food was on the way, as it was her turn to bring it this time. All Steven had to do was wait impatiently for her to arrive.

To pass the time, he had already written out a full version of that reprise on paper, and proofed it. He didn’t usually write songs down, but it had been something his therapist recommended. Songs were sung from the heart, especially improvised songs like he usually sang, and so writing their lyrics down was a good way to keep track of his state of mind. As songs and tunes came to him, he’d constantly been writing them down, even buying blank music sheet books for when a new vibe struck him. Turns out, it was filling up pretty quickly. He had five new original songs written down now, even though he just got the book three weeks ago. He needed a piano or a guitar of some kind to really test them out, but he was happy with his music so far.

Maybe that was something he could persue. His father had done it, Sadie did it, the Cool Kids did it. Oftentimes, people would tell Steven that he has a unique ear for music few other people have; the ability to just come up with songs on the spot wasn’t that common, and people who could do it usually weren’t nearly as good at it as he was. Besides, he liked singing, a lot, and was really good at it. He had ways of getting his name out there, and an experienced background, if that was truly what he wanted to do. 

Sadie and Shep would be coming through, soon. Maybe he could stay in Mackinac until they arrived? It’d be cool to talk to them anyways, maybe get some advise. Maybe he could tag along with them for a while? So many possibilities!

He’d also discovered that he liked writing in general. He’d never really done any writing before, but putting down his lyrics was proving to be a lot of fun. Poetry would be another easy thing for him to do if he wanted, and as he went through state after state, a few story ideas had popped into his mind. He could base an entire novel on his rather lengthy stay in Charm City, and a few other one-offs with people have given him a fair share of inspiration.

He’d also found he liked photography. His phone was filled to the brim of beautiful sunsets, rich green forests, overshadowed mountains, unique cloud formations, and colorful lakes reflecting the sunset (come to think of it, he had a LOT of sunset photos). Animals of all shapes and sizes sneaked into his gallery, among them being birds caught mid-flight, a family of deer in the forest, a colony of bunnies chilling out in a plain, and a picture he was really proud of that featured a salmon leaping out of a river over a small waterfall no more than four inches tall; too small to be a torrent, but just big enough to still look cool. 

Cooking was something else he enjoyed from before, but he’s yet to explore the topic more on the road yet. Maybe he could get a job for a few weeks at a restaurant? He wasn’t sure; meats were a human favorite, but not really his thing. Maybe cooking meats would be okay, but he wasn’t going to eat what he made afterward, which so far, had steered him away from the idea altogether. But, you never know until you try, right? Maybe one of these days…

The teen was pulled out of his thoughts as he heard a portal opening behind him. Turning, he saw a familiar pink lion leap through, materializing out of nowhere. His near-white mane flowed majestically out behind him, tail streaming, as he made his entrance. He skidded along the dirt, feeling the grass under his paws as he slowed down. The creature looked up at Steven, chuffing a friendly hello.

Steven’s heart swelled when another face appeared, poking up from behind Lion’s mane. Her medium-short brown hair fell over her shoulders, framing her equally dark eyes. Today, she wore a nice button-up, purple T-shirt and jean shorts; nice and simple. She smiled, and gave a small wave.

“Hey, Steven!”

“Connie!” Steven stood up from the table, careful not to knock it around too much, before walking over to her. Connie dismounted off of Lion’s back, turned around, and the two embraced. They each gave a light squeeze before pulling away, their hands unmoving however as they looked at each other. Steven smiled. “How’ve you been?”

Connie shrugged a bit. “Same old same old. Mom is really getting on my case about scholarships these days.”

“Oh, boy,” Steven grumbled dramatically. 

Connie rolled her eyes, turning back to Lion to grab something still positioned on his back. “I know. I’m applying for some every week these days, but she’s still just gotta be sure. I’m pretty sure I got it, Mom.”

“Eh, you’ll get plenty. I wouldn’t worry too much about it,” Steven supplied, shrugging. “Those colleges are gonna be fighting over you, you know.”

“Steven!” Connie frowned at him jokingly. “You, endorsing fighting? That’s a new one.” She pulled the basket over, gripping the handle with a free hand. The other found Steven’s, and the two started walking back to the picnic table Steven had set up. “Besides, it’s only gonna get worse. No matter how many I apply for, Mom’s still going to be on my back about getting more.”

“She just wants to make sure you can get into a good school without paying too much.”

“I know, I know, but still.” Connie placed the basket on the table, getting a good look at the arrangement. “Wow, you’ve really outdone yourself this time. What’s the occasion?”

Steven grinned. “Nothing too much, I just… wanted to talk about some things I’ve had on my mind. Get your opinion on a few things, maybe chat for a little longer than usual, y’know.” He rubbed the back of his neck nervously, realizing how suspicious he must sound. “I mostly just wanted to make it look nice.”

Curious, Connie cocked an eyebrow. “Okay… well, we can do that later. For now, sandwiches.” She opened the lid to the basket and pulled out two sandwiches, one with bacon and the other without. Each was wrapped in a plastic zip-up bag, and cut in two across the corners. “Tada! LTs for two, with a side order of B on mine.”

Steven laughed. “‘LTs’?”

“I thought it was a good name for it,” Connie shrugged, setting Steven’s down on the closet plate. “Fitting, at least.”

“Well, thanks! I’m sure I will enjoy this ‘LT’ very much.” Steven sat down, swinging his legs under the table. Connie did the same, sitting across from him with her sandwich. She reached into the basket again and pulled out a half gallon of brand lemonade, freshly bought. She broke the seal, pouring some into her own cup before passing it to Steven.

“So, how have things been with you recently? How’s that songbook idea coming along?”

Steven’s grin widened. “That’s actually what I wanted to talk with you about.” He poured his glass near full, then set the lemonade jug in the center of the table. “I’m really liking it. I haven’t gotten the chance to work out the notes on an actual instrument yet, but from how they sound in my head, they’re pretty good.”

Connie giggled. “If you say so. But, didn’t you bring a guitar with you?”

“Just because I have it doesn’t mean I’ve played it.”

“You shock me, Universe,” Connie near deadpanned, trying and failing to hide her amused smile. 

“Hey, there’s been a lot to do out here! I haven’t had a whole lot of time to really sit down and play!” Steven’s smile could not falter. He playfully shook his head before looking up. He swept an arm around, gesturing to the scenery. “I’m thinking about staying here in Mackinac for a while more. It’s really pretty and quiet out here, and everyone has been really nice. The locals say that winter gets pretty extreme, so I want to come back for that and see how it is, but this place is pretty high up on my list of possible places to stay.” 

Connie took a second to look around. This state did seem really nice. It was mostly forest, with a bunch of lakes scattered around here and there. The main thing that made this one stand out, though, was the water formations around it. The whole thing was a peninsula, two more accurately, and it was known for its crazy weather. But from the pictures she’d seen online of this place, Connie knew that beauty was the best features of Mackinac. Fall oranges, to summer greens, to pure white winters, the whole color palette was absolutely gorgeous. 

Here, they were sitting in a clearing with the freeway nearby. There were a few miscellaneous picnic tables scattered around, and a tree line not too far away. The sky was a vibrant blue, with a few fluffy clouds dotting it, and the breeze made the trees in the back rustle softly. The chatter of birds could be heard loud and clear, as well as a few other nature sounds. Cars driving by competed for loudest noise, but they were quick to fade away.

Connie nodded. “It is beautiful here.”

Steven picked up a fork, fidgeting with it for a second. “I mean, I like the big cities. There aren’t a whole lot of those out here, and they’re all downstate, but I don’t think I could live there. The noise was never ending, and the air was thicker than it is out here.” He took in the surrounding scenery as well. “No one said I couldn’t visit there, anyways. Empire will always be a few states away, as will Beach City.” 

Connie blinked. “You thinking about staying here?”

“Not forever. Not yet.” Steven’s gaze returned to her. “I just want to stop here for a little bit longer. I’ve been staying in a small town not too far from here, and I want to maybe just rest up for a while? I want to wait for Sadie and Shep to get here so I can talk music stuff with them. They’re going to be playing in Landing soon, and after that, Cherry City.”

“Your dad will be here soon too, then,” Connie added, nodding in understanding.

Steven smiled lightly. “Yeah. Him too.”

“You’ve got a whole staff of music advise coming for you,” Connie chuckled. Smirking, she added; “You might want to take notes.”

“Not a bad idea,” Steven hummed to himself in thought. “Maybe I could-“ he stopped, realizing what she said. “Ohh, sharp as ever, Ms. Maheswaran.”

“It took you a second to catch on to that one,” Connie grinned. She leaned back, crossing her arms. “I’d say you fell a little flat.” 

“You treble-maker! You better watch out before I settle into a rhythm. No one can beat me!”

Connie turned her head away dramatically. “I offer no quarter.”

The two laughed, their cheery voices carrying through the mid-summer air. Lion rolled his eyes, shifting his head so he was facing away from them, but other than that remained in the same place on the sun-warmed ground. He let out a breath, and resumed his nap.

As the two’s laughter resided, Steven started fidgeting again. Connie read the nervous expression on his face, smile fading a bit. “Is there something else on your mind, Steven”

In response, he tapped his finger on his plate a few times. “Yeah, I just… don’t want it to come out the wrong way.”

“Whatever it is, I’ll let you fully explain before I say anything, okay?” Connie reached across the table and took his hand, stopping him from tapping his finger anymore. “As long as whatever you say isn’t going to make me run for the hills, I’m listening.” She gave a small nod of encouragement.

Steven gave a soft chuckle. He knew she wouldn’t run, but anxiety still messed with his head anyways. He closed his eyes, and taking a deep breath, braced himself for whatever reaction she would have. 

“I… wanted to know if you liked it here? Or any of the places I’ve been? I don’t want to pick the spot just for myself…” He trailed off, embarrassed. When Connie didn’t say anything or react too strongly either way, he continued. “I wanted to make sure that you would be happy wherever I want to settle down, too. I know that it’s not time yet, and you’re going to be off in college, but I still wanted to be sure. I don’t wanna move around a whole lot once I’m done. W-we can if we want to,” he backpedalled, “but I don’t want to have to move around every two years or anything crazy.”

Connie’s eyebrows were raised, but that was the most reaction she’d had so far. Now that it seemed like he was done, she relaxed, smiling to herself. Oh, Steven. Of course he’d be thinking of her the whole time he was out here. 

“That’s really sweet,” Connie started, choosing her words carefully. “Thanks for thinking of me. I agree about not moving around a whole lot once things are said and done- I did enough of that before we landed in Beach City- but it’s still a long ways out. You don’t have to worry about that for a long time yet, Steven.”

“Well, do you have any preferences? Or anything?”

Connie thought for a moment. “…Not really. As long as it isn’t a big city. Although, maybe not too hot either, but I don’t want to rule out endless summer just yet,” she grinned. “It’s up to you. Really. Where you want to be.” She stood up, walking over by his side and sitting down next to him on his side of the table. She rested her hand on top of his, the other on his shoulder. “I’ll support whatever decision you make, you know. Besides, I’m going to be at Jayhawk for at least two years, maybe more, and that’s still a year out. You can live wherever you want until then. Don’t let me stop you from being focused on now. Okay?”

The tension left Steven’s body as he let out a sigh of relief. “Okay. Thanks, Connie.”

“Anytime, Biscuit.”

Lunch went by rather quickly after that. The two finished eating, and after a few more minutes of just aimless chatter and banter, Connie packed up her basket and went on her way. She waved as Lion leapt through another portal, headed back to Beach city. Steven waved after her, genuinely happy and thankful to know her. She had been there for him through thick and thin, and just knowing that she wanted to be with him was an incredible feeling that made his heart swell every time he thought about it. 

After she was gone, Steven hung around the clearing for a few more minutes to just enjoy the air before packing everything back up in the back of the Dondai. Cars continued to yell at each other as they blared their way down the nearby road, but they were far enough away that the roars of their engines were faint, and soon dissolved into background noise. 

It would only take about twenty minutes to reach the town he had been staying in, Ausable Lake, from here, so he decided that, instead of heading back out on the road, he wanted to explore a bit more. The whole forest waited for him nearby, the leaves dancing and flashing and waving at him to join. He sighed contentedly, made sure his keys were in his pocket, and began walking over.

Golden shafts of sunlight cut through the foliage above, the dancing leaves making the forest floor below sparkle. Moss crawled up tree trunks, ferns and bushes completely covering up the dirt patches below. Bugs upon bugs roamed free, confident in their surroundings. Blue jays and robins sang out to each other, while squirrels and chipmunks chattered quietly amongst themselves. A hummingbird approached the teen, hovering in front of him for a moment before rushing off to find the nearest flower. Steven closed his eyes, taking in a breath. This was nice. This was something he could get used to.

He pulled out his phone, tapped the camera icon, and after a few beats of just adjusting the focus, he began taking more pictures. A moss-covered rock with a caterpillar on it, dappled in golden sunshine. The underside of a leaf that was lit up like a lamp as the sun peaked out from behind it. Another small creek nearby, dipping and ducking under ferns that hung over almost protectively. He even took a video, practicing keeping his hand steady as he panned around, taking in each beautiful scene for what it was. Rewatching it, he could hear the birdsong, the cicadas, the rustle of the leaves, and the gurgle of softly running water.

He hummed to himself in thought. Maybe he should try camping out while he was here at some point. Waking up to this scene seemed like one of those things that could never get old.

He hung out in the forest for a little while longer before heading out. The sun had made significant progress across the sky by then, and the lighting was starting to shift. Still about forty-five minutes to an hour before sunset yet, but it was enough. The clouds were starting to warm up in hue, and before long, Steven would have to resist adding more sunset photos to his gallery.

Steven got in his car and drove off, reconvening on the freeway to head back to the little motel he had been staying in for the past few days. He turned up the radio, listening to Sour Cream’s channel, and heartily began singing along as “Can’t Hold Me” began to play. He allowed himself to groove to the music, too, having done so enough times to have the confidence that he wasn’t going to veer off the road as he swayed his body to the rhythm. 

As the car pulled out of the clearing and drove off, a singular eye in the shadows blinked. It had been watching him since just after Connie arrived about three, maybe three and a half hours ago, but its owner hadn’t made a move yet. The time was not right. They had to be smart about this. If they messed up, everything would be in jeopardy.

Just a few more hours, and everything would start to move in their favor again. All they had to do was be patient, not lose track of him, and follow him to whatever place he was currently staying at.

There were no gems around this time. He was right where they wanted him. The owner of that eye chuckled lightly at the thought. They had the upper hand. And he had no idea they were even there…

The road trip back to the motel was uneventful, as was the resulting dinner. Steven elected to eat outside, sitting on top of his car munching on salad as he watched the sun dip down below the trees. The sky went from blue, to yellow, to vibrant red, to finally navy blue, and watching it all play out was relaxing. He didn’t have a large meal, just a small salad, and after that was gone, he jumped down, headed back inside, and turned on the TV for a bit. Of course, the TV was blaring at first (why were TVs always so loud whenever you first turned them on, and why was that only ever the case at motels?), but after quickly turning it down to five, he flipped through the channels. Not much was on, although there were reruns of Falling Gravity on Cartoon DX. He settled on that, having heard good things about the show but never actually taking the time to watch it.

The room itself wasn’t too big, just large enough for a twin-sized bed, which was positioned by the door next to the window. The nightstand was on its other side, a small lamp sitting atop. The TV was on a small table with mini cabinets across the way from the door, the large 80’s-style box illuminating the room with its soft glow as cartoon characters ran this way and that, getting into all kinds of shenanigans together. The walls were a nice tan color, with an oak trim finish. The carpet was a dark grey color, with splashes of the same tans and oak browns intermixed within. Aesthetically, the room was very warm.

Temperature-wise, though, it was cool. Steven didn’t mind, though, as it made the blankets all the warmer. The bed was soft, surprisingly, though still not as much as his old bed had been. That was okay, though, and he found he really didn’t mind. As long as he could sleep comfortably enough. The pillow was extra fluffy, which was a bonus. 

Today had been a good day. He’d snoozed until nine, had cereal for breakfast, and then had spent the day just driving around town. There weren’t a whole lot of people here- though there were more than Beach City- which made it feel familiar, and warm. Folks had been nice enough, and everyone seemed to at least have curtesy if nothing else. Though driving was hard. It seemed like all the slow drivers were here, and always up front leading a pack of five other cars. That was okay, though; it meant Steven could enjoy the scenery more.

Then the picnic with Connie happened, and the hours spent in the woods, and then the drive back here. Good, fun, relaxing times. 

It was polar opposite to the cities, where nothing ever slept. He sometimes didn’t, either, making sure to keep really busy during the day so he could be tired enough to ignore the endless honking of car horns outside his window. Plus everything was always so much more expensive. Cities were fun, but not someplace he’d want to stay for more than a few weeks at a time, that much he was sure about.

As time went by, his eyes started to close. It had been a relaxing, good day, one of many in a row- six day streak!- and so he wasn’t overly tired, but just ready to settle down for the night. He got up, grabbing his yellow pajama shirt and blue-striped pants out of a suitcase, and headed into the bathroom to change. His toothbrush was already out, so after he was done in the bathroom, it was quick to give his smile a quick scrub before heading back to bed.

He got lucky with this motel; not only was it cheaper than other places he’d bunked out in, but it also had one of the better mattresses he’d slept on. It was soft, and warm, and although kind of stiff, still squishy enough to be comfortable, which was better than most motels he stayed at. Maybe that had something to do with why he was suddenly so tired. 

He woke himself up just enough to remember to plug in his phone, then tucked himself back in under the covers. He laid on his side, absently watching the TV as his eyelids became heavier and heavier. One of the two main characters- Maple, he thought- had just said something in a high, sing-song voice, to which a laugh track played. An older man- Ley, maybe- squinted at her, then looked into the camera, unamused.

It wasn’t long before the little cartoon girl’s jokes landed on deaf ears as the sweet serene of sleep washed over the teen and darkness overtook his vision.

When he wasn’t super tired, Steven was a light sleeper. The same was true for tonight. It was peaceful, the room was just the right temperature, the TV had turned to white static a while back ago, and the noise continued to lull him to sleep. 

It was a full moon tonight, if Steven had been awake to see it. Its brilliant light made everything in the nighttime world brighter, and tinted just the lightest shade of silvery blue. The same was true for the figure that soared up out of the trees, confident now that every human in the area was sound asleep. Their figure rose up, becoming a dark blot on the moon, before gently lowering back down to the ground, right in front of Steven’s motel room window.

The cold, menacing, singular eye watched him from behind. They had their hands on the top lip of the window, and a grin spread across their face. They gripped the strap of their nap sack tightly, holding back from just bursting into the room and just taking it. But, an awake Steven was a thousand times more dangerous than a sleeping Steven, so they refrained. For now. 

Quietly as they could, the small figure moved to climb in, only to brush their fingers across some kind of… metal shield? It was very flimsy, and made up of tiny strings of metal woven together. What on earth was it? Why was it here?

The figure stared at the near-invisible iron blockade for a second more before reaching up to where their other eye should have been. Two gems began to glow, one with a round shape, cut like a square in the center, and the other nice and round, resembling a teardrop. From the light of the square one, the handle of a weapon appeared. The gem grasped it, and slowly brought the rest of the light weapon out, revealing a cutlass. She smiled, feeling its weight in her hands.

She knew she had to be quiet- humans could apparently wake up to “loud noises”- but because she wasn’t sure what noises were loud enough to qualify, she decided to make as little noise as possible. Gently, she pushed the tip of the sword into the barrier, and the satisfying rip of metal greeted her, as well as the soft thud of the blade hitting the glass. Swiping down a little too fast, she cut a hole in the shape of a slash mark into the shield, then again the other direction, making an X formation. 

Now for the easier part. The cutlass dissolved from the figure’s hand, retreating back into her gems. Once it was gone, she reached down, gripping the bottom part of the window frame, and pulled up. It slid, wood rubbing against wood in a soft dragging sound.

Steven groaned from the noise and tensed up. The figure did the same, not moving an inch. Steven sighed, then relaxed, now grabbing at his blanket a bit tighter. The figure heaved a (quiet) sigh of relief, and slowly clambered through. Moving four legs, the rest of her, and her magnificent wings into the small space without making too much noise was exceedingly hard, but she managed.

As soon as her whole self was in the room, she lifted into the air. Softly, she fluttered down next to Steven’s bed. Now looking him in the face, the fusion could feel her hatred for him growing. He looked so peaceful, as if he didn’t completely ruin their lives in more ways than one. It was almost sad, if it hadn’t been so funny. Ironic, really, that the gems he hurt would come back to hurt him, too. Justice, really. The gem bit back the urge to chuckle at the thought, having to remind herself that noises wake humans. And an awake Steven was a thousand times more threatening than a sleeping Steven.

They had to be quick, and precise. The whole galaxy’s fate rested on this moment. Or, maybe, the whole universe’s fate rested on this moment? The fusion bit back another laugh. Jokes could be saved for later, when they didn’t have important work to do.

Gently as she could, the gem grasped the edge of his blanket and lifted it up. She then used her other hand to reach forward towards Steven’s midsection, feeling the familiar hardness of a gem under his shirt. She grinned. She had found her prize. She moved her hand down, about to grab the hem of his shirt, when the annoying human groaned and rolled over. The figure quickly dropped the blanket as Steven shifted, now laying face-down (and, by extension, belly-down) on the bed.

She huffed. This is why she hated him, reason 396.

Well, she couldn’t just move Steven back over, that would awaken him for sure. She hummed in thought. If she could only get him to roll back over…

Fortunately, she didn’t have to wait long as Steven shifted again. Pushing up with his arms, he flopped back over onto his side, facing the window now.

Great. Just great.

The figure groaned. He was annoying even without trying to be!

The fusion thought back to that day, about a year ago, when she had come to Steven’s house and pretended to be his friend. He had been hesitant, but the others welcomed her with open arms. It still shocked her that they all knew her identity and were nice to her anyway. Fools. She was grateful, however, for their company, as staying with them for only a few measly hours had taught her so much about Steven’s life, and humans in general. His precious My Dad had been particularly helpful in this sense, teaching her about sleep and things humans ate, along with a few other fun facts.

Fun facts like the nervous system, and the activity of “tickling.”

Nervously, the fusion moved to touch his neck. When he didn’t really react one way of the other, she tried to mimic what My Dad had told her- quick and soft movements. It worked like a charm, but instead of laughing like My Dad said humans did, he just rolled back over, doing a 180 this time. Now, his back was pressed against the wall, and he was facing her again.

The fusion grinned. She lifted off the ground and set down next to him again, once again moving to lift up the blanket.

It was easier now, as the weight had shifted from just dangling off the bed to being on top of it, and to free her hand, she set it back down on top of him. Both hands free, she used her right to grasp the hem of his shirt and lift while the left reached for the gem. It was a brilliant pink color, glistening coldly to the light coming from the window. If you looked closely, you could tell that the gem wasn’t completely opaque, and the light bounced around inside the piece of glorified jewelry, illuminating it ever so slightly.

Once she touched it, a pink bubble formed around it. The gem let out an “eep!” and let go, dropping the shirt and moving backwards on instinct. The bubble vanished. The figure blinked, then mentally slapped herself (twice) for reacting the way she did. Of COURSE the gem part of him would still be awake. It’s a gem! It doesn’t need sleep! 

New plan. 

Reaching into the nap sack she had with her, the gem pulled out what best described to be an advanced marshmallow stick. It forked about midway up the handle, curving up into two prongs. Upon turning the weapon on, a yellow ball of electricity formed between the tips, creating a soft buzzing sound. But in the confines of this small room, it sounded like a horde of angry hornets. Loud hornets.

It was no surprise that Steven Universe’s eyes cracked open at the noise. His eyes were glossed over, not really registering anything. That meant his brain hadn’t woken up yet. She was running out of time!

Without a second left to lose, the gem shoved the weapon forward. The two prongs made contact with the skin of Steven’s belly, both tips equidistant from the gem at his navel, and the energy shot forward into him. His eyes shot open, pupils dilating to small pinpricks in shock and pain. His entire body stiffened, and little veins of yellow began to spread outward from the weapon’s touch.

And he screamed. The fusion almost felt sorry for him, for how painful that sounded, but their hatred overruled any sympathy she could have had. He deserved this. For ruining their lives, and for discarding everything they were programmed to believe. He wasn’t a Diamond at all, now was he? Look at him! After he completely shattered the Empire, he just ran away on some lousy trip! He couldn’t even stay committed! The absolute disrespect of that alone was enough to make the gem smile maliciously at his cries. Finally, sweet, sweet justice.

She couldn’t enjoy it for long, though. After giving it a few seconds to be sure that his Diamond would be out of it, Bluebird Azurite then threw the weapon to the floor. It clanked loudly, electric shocks still encircling the prongs with pure energy.

This time, when Bluebird grabbed at his gem, it didn’t react. She grinned. Wrapping both hands around it, she began to pull.

Steven’s hyperventilating filled her mind, the rapid rise and fall of his chest making this harder than it needed to be. Bluebird growled. “Stop breathing! You’re making this ‘arder than it needs to be,” she spat.

At once, Steven’s eyes widened even more with recognition. He opened his mouth to say something, but decided against it. Instead, he started squirming around, trying to free his hands, not aware that he accidentally wrapped himself up in a cocoon in his sleep. He realized the blanket was exposed in front, and shifted accordingly, allowing his right arm to free itself and shove Bluebird away.

The gem caught herself in mid-air, flapping her wings angrily. 

A door slammed open from somewhere, and the parking lot outside was suddenly lit up from the lights of some of the other rooms in the motel. Curses! Of course Steven’s scream would wake everyone! Loud noises wake up humans! Footsteps began running closer. She really was running out of time!

Steven quickly rolled out of bed, coming to stand up in a battle-ready stance. He held up an arm out in front of him, and his shield materialized. It was shaped like a circle, with a hexagonal pattern in the center of it, along with Diamond imagery- his own unique shield. Bluebird only got to see it for a second, though, before it started glitching. It fazed in and out of existence, before finally popping like a bubble.

Steven’s form stiffened. “What?” he breathed, clearly shocked. He tried again, with the shield appearing, glitching, and disappearing again.

Bluebird grinned. The destabilized had worked. “Awww, whasamatta, Steven Universe,” Bluebird cooed, her Cockney accent as heavy as ever. “Is your little shield not behaving right?”

Steven’s gaze travelled to her, first scared, then angry. “What did you do?” he growled.

The fusion giggled. “Oh, nothing you ‘aven’t experienced before, love! You got over it.”

She reached up towards her glowing gems and once again brought her arm down, holding the handle of a cutlass. “DIE!”

Steven had to duck down as Bluebird made to slice him in half. She rushed forward, sword cutting into the mattress instead. Diving onto the floor, Steven made a reach for the destabilizer, but only succeeded in shoving further away from him as his fingers knocked against the tip of the handle, sending it spinning. Bluebird came down hard on his arm, pushing down on it with two out of four of her legs. She grinned from ear to ear, raising her cutlass above her head.

Steven pulled his arm back, unbalancing the roach as he stumbled backward and back onto his feet. He used the nightstand to push himself back up, but thudded too hard against it, sending the lamp on top crashing to the floor. Broken glass littered the area now, reflecting the moonlight. Barefoot, Steven made a note not to step on any of it. 

Bluebird quickly caught herself, and lifted up into the air. She glared at the boy. Even without weapons, he was still beating her! How? It wasn’t fair!

Steven’s whole body flashed pink. He squeezed his eyes shut, concentrating, but instead of settling down one way or the other, he continued to flicker like a light bulb. Seems his gem was still out of it. He huffed, staring Bluebird down.

She grinned. “Nowhere left to go, Steven!” She shot forward, blade held over her opposite shoulder as she prepared to slice through him. 

Steven saw this coming. He quickly reached over, grasped the table with one hand, and brought it up in front of him. Bluebird’s sword hit the side, lodging itself into the wood. The rest of her slammed into the material, shoving Steven against the wall. He hit his head, but stayed upright.

Bluebird couldn’t hide the excited glint in her eye. “Wouldja look at that! The great Steven Universe is completely defenseless without his precious gem protecting him! What a shame.”

“Hey! What’s going on in there!” Someone rapped on his door, pounding on it sure and strong. The man’s voice was deeper, and strong, despite having that twinge of sleepiness still hanging on.

Steven’s eyes widened. He turned to the door, trying to decide what to tell this gentleman.

Bluebird saw her opening. She dislodged her blade from the table and thwacked it across Steven’s head with the flat side with a satisfying DONG! sound, knocking him to the floor. She had managed to cut his ear a bit, too, though nothing too extreme. 

“AHCH! Oww,” he breathed, reaching a hand up to the injury.

He didn’t have time for any further reaction as Bluebird threw herself down, tossing the table away like it was nothing, and reached for his gem once again. The bubble appeared, but glitched away, giving her free access. She expected Steven to try and shove her off, but glancing at him, it appeared as though he were looking at something else just past her. His eyes were glossed over in fear, and the pink glow began to return, though still flickering like a light with the switch flipped halfway between on and off.

“Mr. Universe! I’m coming in!” The voice announced from outside. There was the sure jangling of keys as he fumbled to get the right one.

Bluebird frowned in determination. Giving one last, sure pull, the resistance of his gem fell. It broke away, leaving Steven’s torso and now rested in Bluebird’s hand. She grinned maniacally.

All light in Steven’s eyes died. His breathing hitched, then he went limp, eyes half-lidded. Surprisingly, there was no blood, other than the stream from his ear, to which Bluebird was… grateful? Disappointed? Even she wasn’t sure. Either way, she turned away from him and held up his translucent gem to the light of the moon, watching as the light filtered through it. She turned it, watching it glisten.

Suddenly, the door burst open. A dark-skinned human stomped in, a primitive human weapon in his hand. “What’s happ-“ the sentence caught in his throat as he saw the scene. The mattress had a huge slash down the side of it, the lamp lay in shards, the table was on the other side of the room, upside-down with a broken leg, and the kid was lying on the ground, unmoving. A weird, blue creature with wings stood over him, holding up an impressive-looking diamond to the moonlight filtering through his open window (with the screen cut through). He nearly dropped his gun in shock. “STEVEN?!”

“Ah, ‘ello there! Nice night tonight!” The pixie-like creature with one eye dressed in a business suit declared cheerily. She brought her prize down, and suddenly, what the man could only describe as a spontaneous blue bubble appeared around it. She grinned a megawatt grin at him, clearly proud of herself. “T’day just keeps on giving, eh!”

“YOU! Who are you! What have you done?!” The man widened his stance, pointing the weapon at the… whatever it was he was looking at. One of those “gem” things he’d head about on the news? Maybe that was it- she looked like she had one on her eye. And what he’d thought was a tear now looked more like rock the more he thought about it.

The “gem” giggled, her Cockney accent riddled with a false innocence. “Oh, nothin’ too much! I jus’ saved the galaxy- the universe, I guess you could say- from itself! Isn’t it great!”

The man lowered his gun ever-so-slightly in confusion. “But you- you hurt him!” His arms tensed again, once more bringing up the weapon. “What did you do?!”

Bluebird giggled again. “Humans. So annoying.”

And with that, she lifted up into the air and ducked out the window with her prize, her laughter echoing across the parking lot and bouncing through the nearby tree line.

The man spun around, watching her go, debating wether or not to pull the trigger. He was almost about to when he heard the sure sound of a pained groan behind him. Turning again, he saw Steven shifting weakly, an arm trying to lift off the ground.

Dropping the weapon, he raced over to the kid’s side. Oh, God, what did that “gem” do to him? “Steven? STEVEN? A-are you okay?”

He barely got any kind of response. The kid was out like a dying flame on its last embers. His eyes cracked open, mouth opening and closing softly as he tried to say something. The man realized that he was repeating himself, and leaned in closer to hear.

“Connie,” he murmured. “Connie…”

He followed the kid’s gaze, turning around to see his phone dangling from a power outlet. He wanted to call someone.

Quickly, he made a dash for it, yanking the devise from the charger and returning it to the boy. “Okay, I have your phone. Who do you want me to call, ‘Connie’?”

Again, the teen barely realized what he’d said. He lifted an arm up weakly, trying to reach the phone. He placed a thumb on the home button, pressing once to turn it on, then holding it there as it scanned his fingerprint. The screen shifted from the standard nature background of the lock screen to a home page filled with games, note-taking apps, and various other pre-installed applications.

The man quickly brought the phone closer to his own face, wincing at the brightness, and began looking for the contacts. Once found, he quickly scrolled through, looking for “Connie.” He saw her name, tapped the call icon, and brought it to his ear.

It continued to ring. Both men sat there, anxiously waiting for someone to pick up. 

In the meanwhile, the older of the two reached down and felt the younger’s forehead. Oh, god, he felt hot. Like, take-me-to-the-hospital levels of hot. There were bags under his eyes, and a dullness to his eyes that had been so bright two days ago when he’d first come and rented a room at the motel. The manager was honestly shell shocked to witness such a drastic change in such a short amount of time. Steven was growing pale, which implied he was cold, but no, he was burning, sickeningly hot!

“‘Ello? Steven? It’s three in the morning…” Connie’s voice slurred through the speaker, tired. “‘Re you okay?” She yawned.

Both of them startled at the sound of her voice, the man then sighing with relief. “Hello, ‘Connie,’ was it? My name is Bradly, I run the motel your friend is staying at. He…” He took a deep breath. “Your friend here is in trouble. He’s hurt real bad.” He glanced over at Steven, watching the rise and fall of his chest. It was so slow, so weak…

“What?” Instantly, the girl on the other end was more awake. “What happened?”

“I-I don’t know. I heard a scream coming from his room, and when I got here, he… I’m not sure. He was attacked by someone, and then she flew out the window all smiles and giggles and-“ he cut himself off, taking a second to breathe. “He looks weak and pale, but there’s no blood or anything. Err, no,” he cringed, “there’s a cut on his ear.”

“Hang on, I’ll be right there.”

The line went silent as Connie hung up on her end. Bradly turned back to Steven, eyebrows creased with worry. “Hold on there, kid, your friend’s coming soon,” he murmured softly. “I don’t know what’s going on, but it sounds like she does.”

Bradly couldn’t wrap his brain around what he’d seen. Was that a “gem?” He’d thought they were a myth. What was a gem doing all the way out here? Why go after Steven? What was that diamond she was holding? What did she do to this poor kid to make him so… well, like this?

Steven managed a soft smile, thankful, but not much else. His stomach hurt. Oh, stars, it hurt. It was gone. He was gone. His gem was gone. He needed that. He needed that to live. And it was gone. Bluebird took it, pulled it out. She flew up into the sky with it. With him. A piece of him. Who knows what she was planning to do with it. Shatter him? Keep him as a trophy? Sell him on a gem black market??

Something roared, and a pink-white portal appeared in the room. Lion leaped into the space, skidding to a stop as Connie quickly leaped off his back. She was still in her pajamas, which were a nice navy blue color. Brad jumped, letting out a yelp of surprise, but moved out of the way as the determined girl ran over to Steven’s side. Immediately, she went for his gem, feeling for it, and quickly realized that it was gone. Her eyes traveled to the open window, out the night sky, and she pieced together what must have happened.

“Steven, your gem…!” She blinked rapidly, searching his face for anything. Any sign that he was okay, that this was a dream, that he had managed to unfuse on his own and was pulling a prank on her right now, but no. All she found was fear, and a numbness. Connie placed her hand on his cheek. “Who did this to you?”

“Bl… Bluebird…” he managed to say between gasps for air. His voice was tiny, almost impossible to hear. He turned his head slightly, looking out the window in the direction she fled to. “She… bubbled… window… I…”

“Shhhh,” Connie turned his head back towards her, her eyes starting to brim with tears. “It’s okay. We’re going to find her, and your gem, okay? She can’t do much with it, anyways, and she’s not going to make it very far with those little wings of hers.” She wiped a tear off Steven’s cheek and pulled him into a soft hug. “We’re going to fix this.”

“O… Okay…” Steven’s limbs felt like cinder blocks, but he managed to move an arm up to return the hug. He felt safe in her grasp, but his mind flashed back to White’s head for the second time that night. She had held him just like this the last time, when everything hurt and he wasn’t sure he would live, watching as his gem half blew apart the ship with a single scream-

“I’m sorry, Connie, but can you please tell me what’s going on here? Was that a gem?” Bradly placed a hand gently on her shoulder, meeting her eyes with worry. His entire body was ridged, tensed as he wanted to help but wasn’t sure how.

Connie broke away from Steven, turning to the man sitting next to her. “Yeah. I don’t know how much you know about gems, but she’s a bit crazy, to put it lightly.” She growled the last part, hands clenching into fists. Brad couldn’t help but gulp in fear. Whoever this woman was, she seemed like the kind of person to avoid getting on her bad side at all costs. And this “Bluebird” person just did. He almost felt sorry for her, if she hadn’t just severely hurt one of the nicest people Brad knew.

He blinked. “Wh-what’s going to happen to him? Will he be okay?”

Connie stiffened. She looked back at Steven, another tear falling from his eye. The lost look in his eyes made her heart break in half. She wiped away her own tears, pulling him into one more quick hug before standing. “He won’t be if we stand here and do nothing,” she announced. “We need more help.”

“I-I’ll call the hospital,” Brad suggested. “We can-“

“No. Too slow. They won’t be able to help him anyways.” Connie strode quickly back over to Lion, hopping aboard and grabbing his mane like the reigns of a horse. “I’m getting more help. Stay here and keep an eye on him.”

Without another word, the pink lion let out a roar and disappeared through a magic pinkish-white portal, taking Connie with him. Brad blinked, unsure of what exactly was happening, but a groan from the injured teen brought him back to reality. He could worry about witchcraft later; right now, it looked like this boy was dying.

Garnet was sitting in the living room, looking outside at the stars. She always had liked how calm they looked from such a distance away, creating patterns without even knowing it and dancing about like they owned the sky. In a sense, they did. Their twinkling light was what made stargazing worth it at all. She breathed in a sigh of contentment, happy that things had worked out the way they had.

Amethyst and Pearl were inside the Temple, each off doing their own things. Amethyst was probably playing video games, and maybe that’s what Pearl was doing, too? It was either that, or she was in her room, doing any number of things, like playing piano, organizing her weapons for the fiftieth time this year, strumming Steven’s ukulele, maybe texting one of her humans friends, calling Bismuth…

Garnet smiled at that thought. She had known that Pearl and Bismuth were close, but when the two had told her that they were together now, she couldn’t contain her excitement. Looking back, Garnet had realized that the signs were there, all pointing to both of them at least somewhat crushing on each other. The fusion smiled to herself, settling on the possibility they were chatting together tonight. It was the cutest possible reality at this late hour.

The silence was cut short when a portal opened up. Lion sprung into the room, a fresh-out-of-bed Connie riding on his back. She was off him in a flash and running up to Garnet, eyes wide in panic.

Garnet stood. “Connie, it’s late. What’s the problem?”

“It’s Steven!” She ran up to the larger being, grasping one of her hands in worry. “Bluebird pulled out his gem and flew off with it!”

Garnet’s three eyes widened, though hidden behind her visor. “But… that’s not possible,” she murmured half to herself. “Steven was trying to get away from gem activity. How did she find him?”

Connie shook her head. “I don’t know, but he’s dying. We need all hands on deck, fast!”

“Right.” Garnet started running for the Temple, head turned to face Connie as she went. “Stay here. I’ll get Pearl and Amethyst.”

“What about Greg?” Connie reached for her phone, hoping to call him. “He needs to know, too.”

Garnet’s future vision swam. Greg might not be awake to take a phone call right now, and even if he did manage to answer, there wasn’t anything he could do right now. So she shook her head. “We can call him after we get this sorted out.” She thought for a second. “Call Peridot. We may need her help.”

Connie blinked, taking in this information. She knew it was wrong to leave Greg in the dark, but there must have been a reason Garnet didn’t want her calling him. Stress, maybe? She’d call him later. Instead, Connie scrolled through her contacts, past “G,” and landed in the “P”s. Patricia, Pearl, Peridot! She hit call, and quickly pulled the devise up to her ear.

Garnet, meanwhile, ran into the Temple. She went through her door, landing in the Burning Room, and jumped up through the top to the Crystal Heart. There were three doors here, and she chose the left, bolting for Amethyst’s room.

She burst through from a puddle, looking around. Sure enough, the purple quartz was playing video games, and fortunately for Garnet, Pearl was sitting next to her, trying to get a handle on the controls.

“So, you just gotta click R2 twice, then X, then C three times really fast. It’s easy.”

Pearl just looked confused, still trying to remember which buttons were which. She turned the controller over on her hand, looking down on the top, trying to remember which R was 2.

Both gems looked up as they saw Garnet running towards them. The mood shifted as they realized something was wrong. Pearl stood, then reached a hand down to help Amethyst up as well, who took it half-heartedly.

“Garnet? What’s-“

“Steven’s in trouble,” she explained in a rush. “We have to go. Now.”

“WHAT???” Peridot’s shrill voice cut through the speaker of Connie’s phone, making her hold the phone out a ways so as not to blow out her eardrums. “WHAT HAPPENED? I-IS HE OKAY??”

“We don’t know,” Connie answered back. “Just please come over here. We’re going out on Lion to the motel, but I think we’re going to bring him back to the beach house after we get him.”

“I’ll bring some equipment,” Peridot announced. “If I could just find some 9GXQ batteries and a few light stabilizers, I think I could make something to make up for his gem’s… absence.”

Connie nodded. “Sounds good. See you soon.”

“Take care of him, please. I’ll be there shortly.”

Connie hung up, sighing. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Steven had gone out there to get away from Gem stuff, and now two of his greatest enemies rolled into one had found him again. What did she want that was so important? Why couldn’t he just be happy?

She thought back to White’s head, that day about three years ago, and how the matriarch had also ripped out his gem. At this point, it was common knowledge that the event had transpired, as Steven had opened up to them about it a few months ago, but to see it happen again, and for everyone to be involved this time… Connie shook her head, trying to banish the memory. But it wouldn’t go away. His human half, dying on the ground, as his gem half had screamed at White with a force no one had seen from the small child before. The crater in the ground. After that, Steven’s weight as she struggled to pick him up and carry him to his other half, to fix him. His gem must have known what to do. The two halves walking towards each other, only for the gem to constantly be attacked from all sides, White trying to control him, too, the force of the knockback as he pushed them away with his shields, the-

“Connie! We’re here!” 

The girl was yanked back to reality as Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl raced out of the Temple in a frenzy. Pearl had her phone out and was texting someone, while Amethyst made a beeline for Lion.“There!” Pearl announced, putting the phone back in her gem. “I’ve finished informing Bismuth of what’s going on. She, Lapis, and Peridot should be available to help once we’ve figured out what’s going on.”

“That’s great, P. Now GET OVER HERE SO WE CAN LEAVE!” Amethyst shouted at her, anxiety making the gem much angrier. The purple quartz leaped onto Lion’s back, followed quickly by Connie. Garnet and Pearl also climbed aboard, Lion letting out a low growl from the weight on his back, but allowed everyone to stay on.

“Take us to Steven!” Connie commanded, placing her hands in his mane. She felt Amethyst’s hands wrap around her, too, and the other gems did the same.

Lion roared, and a portal opened up before him. The feline bounded through, and at once, all four of them had arrived in the motel room again. 

Connie instantly leapt off his back and dashed over to Steven. Brad had placed and ice pack on the teen’s forehead, and had put him back on the ripped bed, but other than that, the situation was just how she had left it. She sprinted to his side, placing the back of her hand against his cheeks. He did feel hot, an unnatural level that, alone, would be enough cause for worry.

“Steven? We’re back.” Connie felt her eyes tearing up again.

“Connie?” Steven’s voice wavered, scared and in pain.

It hurt her to see him like this, again. His skin got paler, eyes not focusing on anything specific, and when they did, it was a clear struggle. His pupils dilated a few times, trying to adjust to Connie right in front of him. His whole body had gone slack, shaking. He’d been crying some more, tear tracks tracing back into his sideburns from having been lying down.

Pearl rushed next to Connie, almost pushing her out of the way. “STEVEN! Are you okay? Is your heart still beating? Can you see?”

“Pearl, calm down! You’re gonna freak him out!” Amethyst shoved her way between the two, pushing the lanky gem back a bit. The quartz’s hard gaze softened as she saw the pure panic on Pearl’s face, however, and she sighed. “We’re all worried, but screaming at him isn’t helping.

Pearl looked down and nodded. She approached again, slower this time, and moved the ice pack so she could feel his forehead herself.

Connie backed away, coming to stand next to Garnet. The girl looked up at her, searching for any confidence or sign that she knew what was going to happen to him. She found only a rigidness she’d never seen from the gem before.

“Garnet? Do you see any possible ways to help him?” The question was hard to get out, spoken softly.

The gem put a hand on her visor, checking alternate futures. “…Yes, but it isn’t going to be easy. There are so many unknown variables, I-I can’t tell. But I do know that the batteries Peridot needs are sitting in plain sight, and she’ll see them eventually. Once she does, Steven should be okay. For now.” 

Her voice shook. She had no clue that anyone even could find Steven, let alone that anyone would try something like this. There was no way Bluebird had just suddenly got smart enough to know that Steven was most vulnerable while asleep, nor that she had the resources to track him down. And how had she actually managed to pull the gem out? Steven would have defended himself, and the cockroach was no match for him. Had Steven been asleep the whole time? No, that wasn’t possible; the room was in shambles, indicating a fight. One that Steven had lost. Bluebird must have had help. But who, and why? 

Connie could see the tension on Garnet’s face from a mile away. She looked away, eyebrows creased with worry, and saw the man from earlier. He had backed away and was standing near the TV, which was still on for some reason. Brad was watching the scene play out before him, confused, horrified, and scared.

Connie took a deep breath, and walked over to him. “Hey.”

Bradly’s dark gaze shifted to hers, softening just a little. 

Connie managed a small smile. “Thanks for helping him. This must all be… pretty weird for you.”

The man blinked. “Uhh, no problem. I guess it is, but… I couldn’t just leave him like that, not when I knew I could try to help, y’know?”

“I know the feeling,” Connie murmured. 

She turned back to the gems, who were now trying to pick Steven up. Pearl had tried first, but she couldn’t get a good hold on him, so Garnet had to step forward. She carried Steven bridal style, saying something to him in a hushed tone. Steven stared off at something only he could see, and after a moment, Garnet sighed, clutching him tighter. His pajamas wrinkled under her touch, to which the teen’s eyes widened. Garnet loosened her grip, then moved back to Lion, who had kept his distance by the door this whole time, and mounted his back. Amethyst was quick to follow, Pearl right behind her once she had gotten some more clothes from Steven’s suitcase. 

“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” Connie turned back to Brad, shocked that he’d even think about asking that. “I mean, shouldn’t we call the hospital? If he’s dying, we should-“

“No.” Connie moved toward Lion again, coming to a stop next to the large, pink feline. “This is gem stuff. He needs his gem. Without it, there’s nothing we can do.”

“Well, c-can I at least-“

“You can help by staying out of it,” Connie shot back sternly. “We can take care of him, and we will. This has happened before. We fixed it before.”

Brad looked sheepishly to the ground, still unnerved that a girl as young as Connie could be so intimidating. “Good luck,” he stuttered.

Connie gave a quick, thankful nod before she mounted Lion’s back, sitting behind Pearl, and wrapped her arms around her. Pearl put a hand on hers reassuringly. She buried her face in Pearl’s jacket.

Lion roared, and leapt through the portal, back home in Steven’s living room.

The portal opened up in the living room, facing the kitchen. Lion leapt through, landing roughly from the excess weight on his back, and immediately flopped down. He huffed a sigh, exhausted.

Pearl jumped off Lion’s back first, racing for the stairway. Garnet was quick to follow suit, heading instead towards the couch, clutching her prize ever-so-carefully in her arms, followed by Amethyst. The quartz had never seen Steven like this before; unresponsive as he was, limp as a noodle, not even blinking. She knew that his gem was a huge part of who he was, even before he had explained what White Diamond did to him, and that removing it could potentially kill him, but to actually see it was something else entirely.

It was honestly terrifying. The usually energetic teen was always alive, even while he slept. Pearl had described it best while she used to watch him sleep; it was fascinating how humans always managed to live, even when they were lying perfectly still. From the rise and fall of their chests, to the little twitches their fingers did while dreaming, just down to the warmth of their skin. They were always alive.

But Steven, by that definition, was not alive right now. His chest barely rose at all with his breathing, he was pale, the bags under his eyes cut deep, and he was too hot. It was odd, though; typically, when humans looked like this, they became cold. Amethyst supposed Steven was just an oddity, always and forever, even when knocking on death’s door.

Garnet set him down on the couch as carefully as she could manage, kneeling down next to him. Amethyst walked around, coming to stand in front of him. She put a hand on his shoulder, gave a light squeeze, hoping that would do something. To no one’s surprise, Steven didn’t respond in the slightest.

Pearl rushed back down, splaying the three blankets she salvaged from Greg’s room on her boy as fast as she could. She and Garnet worked together to try and smooth them out, and as soon as the task was done, Pearl was off to grab ice while Garnet felt for a pulse.

Steven had since shut his eyes. Or maybe Garnet had shut them on the way in. It was almost cruel, how peaceful he looked. Garnet placed the back of her hand on Steven’s forehead, and Amethyst winced as the fusion pulled her hand away faster than she placed it down, like a human touching hot metal. But that was okay, right? This has happened before, and Steven was okay. This was going to be okay. They’d find Bluebird and make her pay. DEARLY. NO ONE hurts Steven like this and gets away with it. The quartz suddenly felt a rage at White Diamond that hadn’t been there before. Steven had been like this once before. And it was White Diamond’s fault.

She shook her head. No, no one was laying blame anywhere. Connie’s words from the beach almost a year ago cut into her mind. This isn’t the time to make this all about YOU! That is NOT HELPING! Besides, it was Bluebird anyways. White had absolutely nothing to do with this. Right…? Right. She adored the kid, even if she didn’t know how to show him without smothering him.

Amethyst turned away, leaving room for Pearl to come racing over, a small bag of ice in hand. The gem walked over to Connie, who was still sitting on Lion, watching the events unfold before her. She had a numbness in her eyes, having seen all of this before.

“Hey, Connie,” Amethyst spoke softly. 

The girl’s gaze shifted to her, suddenly much more attentive than she had been a second ago. The numb look faded.

Amethyst gave her a small smile, inwardly sighing in relief. “You… doing okay?”

Connie nodded unconvincingly. “I guess so. Why?”

“I wanted to ask you something.” Amethyst sat down on the floor, not wanting to put more weight on the exhausted lion. Connie seemed to understand, and slid down to sit next to her. Amethyst took in a breath. “It’s about White’s head.”

Connie’s eyebrows raised.

“I was just thinking… Steven told us about what happened, a few months ago by now, but it always seemed like an event that… didn’t happen? I’m not good at explaining this stuff, because it did happen and I know it did, I’m not saying it didn’t. But you were there, and we weren’t. I never- we never got your side of the story.” Amethyst pulled her knees up to her chest nervously. “How do you remember this going down last time?”

Connie looked away, back towards Steven. Amethyst followed her gaze. The kid was pale, but sweating, showing that he was still alive. His breathing was ragged and shallow, but other than that, he was peaceful. Amethyst frowned. He was in so much pain; how could he look at peace at a time like this?

“Steven’s story is probably going to be the same as mine from him waking up and on,” Connie started, “so I won’t start there.“ She took a deep breath. “It was scary, seeing him like that. After White picked him up and pulled out his gem, she dropped him. He landed on the ground a ways off, and didn’t move. I was so sure he was dead, I just-“ She paused, taking a moment to relax a bit. “Pearl was holding me, and I struggled out of her grasp. When I got there, he was acting a lot like he is now- barely conscious, hot, sick…”

Amethyst frowned. “That’s not what Steven told us…”

“I doubt he remembers.” Connie crossed her arms, brows furrowing as she thought about something. “He stayed like that until just before his gem reformed. Once it did, he was more aware of what was going on. He probably told you everything from there.”

Amethyst looked away, taking in that information. “That’s good then, right?” She turned back to Connie. “That means he won’t be like this for much longer.”

Connie shook her head. “Steven managed to tell me something about bubbles before he fell back into this state.”

“You think Bluebird bubbled his gem?”

“Could be. Only time will tell.”

“But, wait, does that mean Steven could be like this forever?” Amethyst moved back as if she had been burnt this time. “But, he just… he was-“

“I don’t know.” Connie leaned back, frowning. “But he’s strong. He’ll pull through. He did last time, and he will this time. He- I believe in him. He’s got this.”

Amethyst forced a grin. “Of COURSE he will! This is Steven we’re talking about! Nothing can take him out, not even giant dictators from outer space! If he could face them down and be okay, then I’m sure he could take on Bluebird. This is Bluebird! What harm can she really do? She’s more of a joke than anything!”

Connie chuckled lightly. “Yeah, I guess so.” Her eyes darkened. “I guess we’ll see what happens.”

Amethyst nodded in agreement. 

Connie reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone, scrolling through her contacts, pressed one, and stood up. She walked outside, and after a moment, sighed in relief. “Hey, Mr. Universe. Yeah, I’m fine. This is about Steven.”

Amethyst tuned her out, not wanting to hear the rest of that talk, and headed back over to Steven. He needed her right now.

The atmosphere was always rough to fly through. First it was cold, then freezing, then hot, hot, hotter, burning, my wings are evaporating can we even make it THE COLD OUTER REACHES OF SPACE ARE JUST PAST THIS WE CAN MAKE IT OWOWOWOWOWOW-

And then space was cold. 

Bluebird Azurite sighed in relief. Being part Ruby, she could take a little fire, but being part Aquamarine, she had a limit. And back there, whoo, she was sure she almost found it.

But she made it! She looked to her prize, the Pink Diamond gemstone still encased in her teal bubble, lifeless, formless. A job well done. She had thought about putting the package in her new satchel, but ultimately decided against it. Although that was the smarter choice, it wasn’t the more fun option. Besides, nothing would happen to it now. Not that Bluebird was protecting it; she just didn’t want it getting lost. And if it never left her hands, how lost could it get?

She spent a while flying, but soon, a shape started to stand out from the darkness. The closer she flew, the bigger it got, until finally, a large warship loomed over her, painted black over what used to be green and yellow. Only Bluebird knew how to find it, and she grinned happily as she flew closer.

A door opened from inside, the outer wall turning and opening like a sideways square. Yellow light filtered out from the geometric hole, but after the gem floated inside, space became dark again as the door shut.

Bluebird dusted herself off, even though she made sure to keep herself tidy. A job well done. Wonderful! She set the bubble down on the ground, then took off her satchel, draping the strap over the bubble so it didn’t float off, before unfusing.

Ruby reached down and picked up the satchel again, while Aquamarine took the bubble.

“Well, THAT’S over,” Aquamarine grinned. “I can’t believe we actually managed to pull that off!” She giggled.

“Did you see the look on his face? I don’t think Steven believed it, either,” Ruby laughed. 

“Honestly, that was too. Easy.” Aqua punctuated the phrase, smiling.

The ruby’s gaze drifted to the bubble. “Hey, could I hold it for a minute? We both got him.”

Aquamarine’s gaze hardened. “Uh, NO. You have the bag, I have the gem. It’s just fair that way.”

“Fine, then here’s the bag,” Ruby practically hit her with it. “Lemme have the gem.”

“No! I want it!”

“Why you-“

The two started yelling at each other, Ruby hitting while Aquamarine flew up higher, holding the bubble tauntingly. Ruby pulled her back down, and Aqua tried to smack her away.

While they were scuffling, another door slid open. A taller figure walked in, her white boots making deliberate clunking noises on the hard floor, eyeing the scene. She rolled her singular eye, grumbling about incompetent soldiers.

“WHEN YOU’VE FINISHED,” the newcomer shouted over them. Aqua and Ruby froze. “I’d like my bubble, please.”

The two broke apart instantly. Aquamarine threw her hands behind her back, giving an innocent look. “Of course, Emerald. I’ll grab it for you now.”

The bubble had floated higher now, out of Ruby’s reach. Ruby frowned, grabbing onto Aqua’s leg. “No, I’ll get it for you!”

“No! Me!”

The two started fighting again, hands slapping and wings flapping, each trying to get closer to the orb.

Emerald sighed. Why was it that she always, always, got landed with the most incompetent of gems? Just get the bubble. The task was NOT hard. She took a few steps forward, grabbing the bubble herself. Her long, slender fingers wrapped around it as if it were made for her, and in a way, it would be. She grinned, her unusually pointed teeth almost glintening in the soft yellow light of the entrance room.

The texture of the bubble was smooth in her hands. The green gem ran a hand along it, almost caressing it, as if she were a supervillain petting her loyal cat on one of those human TV shows Bluebird had told her about. The gem inside, although pink in color, was tinted green, tainting it entirely into a more brown shade. Perfect. It made Emerald’s smile wider. Pink was a stupid color, anyways. So light, so harsh, so off. Green was much better. Why couldn’t there have been a green Diamond? Made more sense for the color scheme, anyways. Or at the very least make it red. Pink was so dumb.

So… off-color.

Gosh, even just thinking the term made her tense. Those fools were probably off partying on a distant planet, spreading Steven’s message about love and acceptance to the farthest reaches of the Empire. Honestly, it was kind of disgusting. That little embarrassment couldn’t even have the decency to do that himself, insisting that he needed a break from what he called “gem stuff.” Well, a break he’d get! Without his own, gem stuff would seem farther away than ever. He should thank her next time he sees her. She did him a favor.

Upon seeing their superior with the bubble already, the scuffle halted. The two much smaller gems fell away from each other, Ruby landing on her feet, Aqua fluttering next to her.

Ruby pointed at the blue gem. “She started it.”

Aquamarine scowled at her companion, about to say something back, but was cut off.

“SILENCE!” Emerald glared at the both of them, fire in her eye. “I don’t care, it doesn’t matter! Honestly, I should throw you two back out into space where I found you!”

They both winced, casting glances at each other. Emerald didn’t threaten lightly, and she always followed through. They both knew from experience at this point.

Emerald’s glare lessened. She took in a deep breath, then returned her gaze to the bubble, her cruel smile returning. “Now that everyone’s gotten that out of their system, we have a guest.” She smirked, holding the bubble up to the light, watching as it lit the gem up with a glow. “What should we do with him first?”

“THROW HIM IN A GRINDER!” Ruby shouted, pumping both her fists.

“Drop him into a volcano!” Aquamarine grinned.

Emerald hummed, turning the bubble around in her outstretched hand. “Good suggestions I suppose, if we wanted to kill him.”

Confusion hit the smaller gems like a wave. 

Aquamarine squinted at her superior, suddenly suspicious of her motivations. “Buuuut, wasn’t that the point?”

“To shatter him?” Ruby shrugged, giving her a wide-eyed glare.

Emerald gasped with mock betrayal. “No! You wouldn’t hurt your Diamond like that, now would you? Besides, it’s illegal to shatter now.” She muttered the last line with a hint of disdain. “I don’t think he deserves it, anyways.” Her expression grew darker, shadows coming down over her eye. “He deserves something so much worse. Don’t you agree?”

Ruby’s grin couldn’t possibly get wider. “Of COURSE!”

“Then what are we waiting for?” Emerald straightened up, turning fully to her staff. “Have a cell readied for out guest. He’s going to be traveling with us for a while. I’m going to prepare some treatments as well. We want to make sure he’s well cared for, right?” A mischievous glint appeared in her eye.

“You got it, Emerald!” Ruby gave a thumbs-up.

“We’ll get on it right away!” Aqua supplied, her arms behind her as she leaned forward in excitement. Truly a pixie, that one, even without her wand.

Her underlings smiled and ran off towards the prisoner bay, placated for now from their constant, incessant bickering. Emerald smiled after them, but once they were out of sight, she slouched. She rolled her eye, dropping her smile, and let out a “yeesh,” before turning gleefully back to her precious bubble.

“Now as for you,” she spoke to it sweetly, “you and I have some catching up to do. I haven’t seen you in at least, oh, never! I never did get to meet you, Pink.” She cocked her head to the side. “Not you or your ‘mother.’ But that’s in the past.” She waved a hand up and down, as if shooing something away. “I’m sure we’ll catch up soon! Maybe even… become friends?” She laughed, the sound ringing down the vast hallways of her ship. “I’m sure we have much to learn from each other, and even more to gain.”

She tucked the bubble under her arm like a ball, and strode off down the hallway, cackling her villainous laughter all the way. She had killed Steven Universe, making her even more powerful than even the Diamonds themselves. 

The Empire had another thing coming if it thought she would just stop there.

By the time Connie had gotten off the phone with Greg, things had quieted down. Greg had told Connie to drop by again in 10 minutes to pink him up, and while everyone was waiting, a soft humming started from… somewhere. It progressively got louder, until finally, a green Roaming Eye landed on the beach outside. Amethyst practically stumbled out the front door to see what the fuss was about, Connie following close behind.

The door dropped open, revealing a small walkway down to the ground, and Lapis stepped out. She spotted Amethyst and Connie up by the railing, and raised her eyebrows a bit. She was in the air in a flash, water wings sprouting from her back, and landed on the wooded walkway next to the two.

“Where’s Steven?” The blue gem demanded.

“Inside,” Connie pointed a thumb over her shoulder towards the door.

Lapis wasted no time running to it, bursting through, and running over to the boy on the couch, shouting words of encouragement and reassurance to deaf ears.

Peridot walked out next, stepping backwards. She held her arms out in front of her, palms up, and repeatedly bent her fingers up, calling something forward. A cart was rolled out, Bismuth pushing it from behind. Peridot held up a hand for Bis to stop, and turned to the porch.

“IS STEVEN OKAAAAAAAY,” she yelled across the beach.

“NO, WHY,” Amethyst shouted back almost sarcastically.

“Amethyst,” Connie hissed, putting her hands on her hips. The quartz rolled her eyes.

Peridot stiffened, then turned back to the cart. She grabbed it now, pulling it along as she made for the stairs with Bismuth’s assistance. 

Sitting on top of it was a bunch of doodads and machinery that Amethyst didn’t recognize, a few belts, some screws, a screwdriver, a sticker book (???), and duct tape. There were a few other oddities, like a fork, but overall, it looked like Peridot had packed everything technology she could to help deal with Steven’s condition. She came fully prepared, and even had what appeared to be rolled-up blueprints tucked off to the side against the lip of the cart.

Once the two got to the bottom of the stairs, Peridot started trying to levitate the wheeled table with her metal powers. Bismuth ran up the stairs in front of it, guiding Peridot the same way she had guided Bismuth a moment ago. Being overly cautious, it took an agonizingly painful amount of time before the green gem set it down gently on the porch, where Amethyst and Connie took over, pushing it over to the door Bismuth now held open for them. Gosh, it was heavy. Amethyst grit her teeth, and shoved harder, barely reacting as it bounced violently over the lip of the door. 

Peridot shot in after them, shouting about how everything on the table was in a spot and there were fragile parts or things could bounce out and yada yada. Bismuth came in last, shutting the door behind her.

Lapis had since kneeled down next to Steven, grasping one of his hands. Garnet had placed a hand on her shoulder, not knowing how to comfort her. Pearl had perked up, watching as the group brought the equipment inside, and scurried over to inspect everything Peridot had brought.

“How is he?” Bismuth strode up to Pearl, grasping a hand. Her brows were creased with worry, lips pressed into a fine line.

Pearl looked at the equipment, determination starting to surface. She frowned. “We’ll know once we figure out what all Peridot brought here.”

“I’m glad you asked,” Peri smiled. She pulled her trash can lid out from a bottom shelf of the cart, using it to lift herself in the air a little higher than before. She reached over and picked up the rolled-up blueprints. “Since Steven is missing his gem, but his body functions almost like a gem in terms of light energy, I figured we’d just need to stimulate gem energetic pulses!” She unrolled the page in one sweep of her arm, showcasing what the purple gem could only describe as a really complicated generator condensed to the size of a small box. “I brought over a few things I thought could channel such things, including a few Gem components, and once we figure out how much energy Steven’s gem creates on a basic level, we should be able to give him back enough to get him moving again!” She pointed to a large, black, square panel, almost an inch think and easily eight inches across; an old CD player. “I have a few designs in mind, but I figured we could hook everything up inside this functionless old music containment mechanism and go from there.”

Pearl took in this information, nodding along. “A good way to stimulate Gem light energy is with specially made batteries that were created back in Era 1. They were almost like generators, and could power almost anything Gem technology.”

“You mean these?” Peridot picked up a tan bag, and upon opening it up, displayed two large, black batteries. Each one had a yellow line running across them, glowing softly.

Bismuth let out a sigh of relief. “So you think you can fix him, then?”

“Negative,” the technician replied, expression falling. “I can only keep him from dying, and even then, this is not a permanent solution. We still need his gem if he’s going to live.”

“So let’s go get his gem, then!” Amethyst burst out. “It’s up in space somewhere, and we’ve been to space before. We have the technology of the Roaming Eye, which has tracked his gem before! Bluebird can’t have gotten far!”

“But what if she HAS?” Connie rounded on the quartz. “What if Bluebird wasn’t acting alone? What if she got in a ship and warped off to who-knows-where, and we can’t find her!? Then we’d have wasted a BUNCH OF TIME trying to find his gem, while he dies on the couch, alone, because we were out searching for a half of him that WILL BE FINE ON HIS OWN FOR A WHILE!”

Silence hung over the room. Amethyst blinked a few times, shocked, while Connie took in what she just said. She let out a breath, relaxing and grabbing her forearm. 

“Look, I’m just worried, okay? But we need to have both Stevens alive in order for the fusion to work. Bluebird isn’t going to hurt him if she hasn’t already; she must have had a reason to steal him away. That means we have time.” She sighed, turning on her heel and walking back towards Steven. “We’re better off here for now, until we get his human side stable.” She flopped down next to Lapis, placing a hand on his forehead. After a second, she moved her hand to his hair, running her fingers through his curls slowly.

Garnet stepped forward, getting up from the other side of the couch where she was sitting. “Connie’s right,” she announced. All heads (except Connie’s) turned to her. “Bluebird is the kind of gem who likes to boast, so I feel it safe to assume that Steven’s gem is safe, for now. I don’t know what she’s going to do, or if her intention is even to shatter him, but if she does, she’ll either want an audience or want it to be dramatic. Just shattering him is not likely. We have time.”

“Good then.” Peridot crossed her arms. “If that’s settled, then let’s get to work! This stabilizer isn’t going to build itself. Pearl, come help me with this, if you would.”

The gem in question nodded, stepping forward. “Right.”

“Anything I can do to help?” Bismuth asked. 

Peri turned to her, thinking. “Actually, yes. I need you to take this adjustment strap-“ she pointed to a black band on the table- “and wrap it around Steven. We need to figure out how big his torso is so we can adjust accordingly.”

“Gotcha.” Bismuth picked the strap up and headed over to Steven, pulling back the covers.

Amethyst thought for a moment. They weren’t going to need her help, but she wanted to be useful. Standing here wasn’t getting anything done for anyone. So, she headed over to Lion.

“Hey, buddy,” she murmured to him, stroking his mane. Lion groaned, opening an eye to watch her. “I need you to take me to Greg. He’s in Chicago right now. Think you’re up for it?”

Lion closed his eye, frowning a bit, but after a second, he pulled himself to his paws. He stretched, tail curling in the air, then crouched down. Amethyst wasted no time getting on his back, and in return Lion let out a roar, opening a pinkish-white portal in front of them. He jumped through, and after a moment of traveling through what appeared to be a wormhole of some sort, they landed in a nice hotel room. 

Greg was sitting on the edge of his bed when the portal opened, and he got up as Lion landed. The man was shocked to see Amethyst riding him instead of Connie, but shook it off.

“Heya Greg.”

“Amethyst.” Greg pulled himself up onto the feline, admittedly pretty sloppy, but after a second of moving around, he was positioned behind the purple quartz, hands wrapped around her waist. “Okay, I’ve never done this before, so tell me how to-“

He was cut off as Lion let out one last roar, opening a portal and jumping through. Greg screamed as the trio rode through the wormhole, and when Lion’s paws hit the floor again, Greg fell off, pitching forward and landing on his back with a loud “OOF!”

Lion flopped down on the ground hard, panting. That was eleven portals in one day, eight all around the same time! From the four from picnic earlier (the beach house, Connie’s place, Connie’s place again, back to the beach house), to going to Connie’s house, to the motel, the beach house, the motel again, back to the beach house, and finally Chicago and back, it was no wonder he was so tired. He groaned, resting his head on his paws.

All heads turned to Greg, some in surprise, some in relief. Garnet strode over to him, helping him to his feet.

The man groaned, holding his head. “Where’s Steven?”

Garnet turned her head, and Greg followed her gaze. As soon as his eyes settled on his child, they widened. He was running over there in an instant, hopping onto the adjacent part of the couch (as Connie and Lapis left him no room on the floor) and held his son’s head. “Steven? Steven, can you hear me?” Tears brewed in the corners of his eyes seeing him like this. There was no response- oh stars, he was barely breathing!- and he was burning hot to the touch. 

“He’s out of it,” Connie told him, placing a hand comfortingly on his arm. “But he’s alive. Peridot and Pearl are gonna make him a fake gem that should keep him alive for now.” She smiled hopefully, knowing it didn’t reach her ears. “He’s going to be okay.”

Greg blinked back tears unsuccessfully as water began to travel down his face. He looked to his son again, how sick he was. He moved the ice pack, feeling his forehead. Cold, but it quickly warmed back up to an unnatural height. Greg replaced the bag, running a hand down the side of Steven’s face, resting it on his cheek. It was too warm. The father took in a breath, steadying himself. “Okay. I believe you. We’ll… get this sorted out.” A pained smile crossed his face. “He’s gonna be okay.”

Connie looked down, not responding to him. Greg frowned slightly. That wasn’t like her, not from what he knew. He watched her reach up to place her hand on Steven’s belly, right where his gem should have been, tensing up. She brought her hand back towards herself, then took one of the kid’s hands and just held it. Gripped it like that was the only thing keeping him from fading to oblivion.

Greg wiped his eyes, then moved a hand to Connie’s shoulder. She didn’t respond to his touch, either.

The tension hung thick in the air, with the murmurs and clinks of the gems working at Peridot’s table the only thing keeping things at least a little brighter. Those sounds meant hope.

Greg honed in on that, running a hand through Steven’s hair. It was going to be okay. It had to be. 

Emerald’s war ship was not exactly what Aquamarine would call “cozy.” While the pixie-like gem always preferred lighter spaces to dark ones, Emerald’s ship was too bright. Artificial lighting had always seemed too bright, causing the gem to set the lighting to a minimum on her own ship, as if challenging whoever installed the stupid lighting in the first place.

But, Aqua had no control to do that here. Emerald had her preferences, and Aqua would respect them. But, even the stupid Ruby agreed that the lighting was a bit much, but that was fine. That just meant that people couldn’t easily sneak around, and that was a good thing (especially considering the group of gems they were dealing with). That, coupled with the obnoxiously bright white walls of the interior was enough to make any bridge not worth it unless it was a fighting squad. The blue gem wondered how the ship was so dark on the outside, considering the brightness within. How did it not leak through the walls, becoming its own stars in the sky?

As of now, Aquamarine was alone, finally. She had left Ruby in charge of finishing getting the cell set up, and had gone to tell Emerald that it was ready. The ruby would be fine, hopefully. It wasn’t like she was going to set anything on fire in the ten minutes Aquamarine wasn’t there to put it out, right? Right? Aqua paused, realizing that she may have just made a serious mistake leaving the hazbin guard unattended, but in a spiteful move, decided that whatever chaos that fire pebble created, it was her fault, and her fault alone. Although Aqua took pride in being a leader, she only liked controlling competent gems, not low-level Ruby guards. How Emerald even put up with the red ball of fire was beyond her understanding.

Now, Aqua arrived at a large, white door. It was in the shape of Emerald’s gem, longer than taller, with a split vertically down the front. On the right-hand side was a panel. Upon placing her hand against it, the door slid open, revealing the darkness within.

Emerald was sitting at a desk, multiple computer screens thrown up before her, each one displaying something different. Aqua was too far away to make any of it out, but she didn’t try, either. She instead eyed the gem, which was still bubbled away. Emerald had set it down next to her, and placed a kind of transparent, green chain around it to keep it from lifting off anywhere. Next to it was the destabilizer Bluebird had used on Steven, though now turned off, and on Emerald’s other side were an array of different, small, melee blades.

As she had been made in Era 2, Emerald didn’t have any real powers, but she did get to steal massive amounts of gem tech from Homeworld and everywhere else across the galaxy, even before Steven Universe had banned weapons and the such. She had a plethora of tech, and if Aqua had learned anything about her, it was that Emerald was unafraid to use it. To see her boss surrounded with the tech was unnerving, to say the least. 

Aqua placed her hands behind her back. “Emerald,” she called out, hoping the green gem couldn’t hear the waver in her voice. “The cell is ready.”

Emerald turned around, looking to the gem with her one eye, located on the left side. “Oh, thank you, dear.” She smiled. “We’ll be right over.”

The pixie gem watched as Emerald quickly shut down everything she had been working on. On a separate screen, she pushed up a tab, causing the room’s brightness to increase back to the painfully bright of that the rest of the ship. Then she turned, pulling the bubble away from whatever mechanism was keeping it in place, and stood. The chain fizzed and dissolved into nothingness.

As Emerald approached the smaller gem, Aquamarine took note- once again- of just how much larger this gem was compared to her. It never used to bother her before, but something about Emerald set the gem off. Not that she really minded the height difference, but something about the way the elite gem carried herself really bugged Aqua. A lot. But, it was no matter for her to address; Emerald was her superior, and she would respect her accordingly (even if it irked her).

“This way,” Aquamarine chimed, flying off back down the hallway. Emerald followed swiftly behind. The loud clinking of her heels was enough to keep the water gem on her toes, making sure to keep an even pace without turning back to look too much. It was just Era 1 etiquette: when in the presence of more important gems, do not speak unless you have a duty to, or are spoken to. If you’re performing a task, drop what you’re doing and assist them if need be. And most notable of all in this instance, try not to make eye contact unless you are engaged in a conversation with your superior, to which you then try not to break it at all. 

Maybe that was why that Ruby was so annoying; she did next to none of those. She acted like she and Aqua were equals. Yeah, right, and Aquamarine adored Steven Universe. She almost groaned aloud at the thought, but caught herself.

The winding halls of the warship, although exactly the same, were all fairly easy to memorize. Certain rooms always stayed in the same spot, and hallways could be told apart by how spaced out doorways and branching hallways were. Sometimes, one would come across lockers hanging out in the middle, or would run past a random cell bay (oftentimes close to important rooms, meant specifically for prisoners who had a way of escape and/or needed to be kept an eye on). Everything had a purpose and a place, and it made for an intricate web of order disguised as chaos. One just needed to simply memorize the patterns.

Steven’s gem, however, was to be kept in the regular, good-old prisoner bay, where rows upon rows of cells resided. All three of them had agreed quickly that it was for the best, after all- a display of power. And confidence. Keeping him far away meant that they trusted the mechanisms they had in place enough that they didn’t think he needed to be watched. It was meant to be an intimidation factor, or to make him underestimate them and think them dumb.

However, that was far from the truth. Rumors had spread, vast through the reaches of space, of the pure power this gemstone held. Some claimed that it was a healer, others said it could shatter gems just by yelling at them, while others yet insisted that the reason their home planet was split in half in the first place was because of the pure power this one gemstone contained. Not only that, but it had the ability to shapeshift into anything of any size or any level of strength, according to Little Homeschool graduates. There were eye witnesses of a horrid beast that had appeared on the beach of Beach City just a year ago, meaning Steven could do this, and they had him. So nothing could contain the gemstone, not really, if any of these were true. Ruby had seen with her own eye that “Rose Quartz” could create shields and wielded a massive sword, and Steven had created a near impenetrable bubble out in space that could create oxygen. Plus, both Aqua and Ruby had seen him glow pink and become highly powerful. So taking these rumors lightly would be a massive mistake, and one that would surely cost them dearly.

In light of this, Aquamarine (at Emerald’s request) had installed a security camera up in the corner of one of the cells, back far enough in the wall that you could barely notice it, even if you knew it was there. But it could see you. The entire cell was visible to the devise, even directly underneath the camera. Emerald had made it explicitly clear that she wanted no harm to befall the gem, but also that she wanted to keep it as close under wraps as she could. Steven was a healer, true, but he was two halves of a powerful whole. When the gem was left without the pathetic empathy of a human, who knows what it could do. 

Frankly, Aqua didn’t want to find out.

Thankfully, when they got back, there were no fires. Ruby stood stiffly by the opening, awaiting Emerald’s and Aquamarine’s return. She watched them approach, eyeing the bubbled gem again. Aquamarine noticed that she had to stiffen to keep herself from reaching out to touch the sphere, which was smart. At least the dummy had some common sense, then.

Emerald walked right into the cell. The smaller gems blinked in surprise, each leaning in to see what exactly she was doing. They watched as Emerald popped the bubble, letting Steven Quartz Universe’s gem fall to the ground! They gasped.

“Wait, what’re you DOING!” Ruby shouted in panic.

“We all know how powerful Steven is, even with his human half!” Aqua jumped in. She quickly flew forward, on instinct reaching out to bubble the gem again. “You’ve-“

“Got everything under control,” Emerald smirked, grabbing onto the pixie’s wings and halting her before she could complete her task. Aquamarine struggled for only a second to get free, then forced her self to calm down. How dare she go against Emerald’s orders, even if they WERE pebble-minded. 

Emerald let Aqua go, and both of them backed out of the cell. The green gem hit a panel off to the side, sending yellow electricity out of the top of the ceiling. Instantly, the room was alight as a cage formed, and every surface sans the floor was covered in yellow buzzing. The glowing panels were often used to contain gems, but they only ever blocked the way out to the main hallway. Aquamarine had never seen it covering every single wall before. She jumped back, startled. Emerald just stood there, placing her hands behind her back with a smile, waiting for her guest to fully arrive.

It had been a few hours or so after Greg got to the beach house, but it felt so much longer. The whole time, the father had stayed by his son’s side, whispering encouragement and hope to him, sure that somehow, Steven could hear. Connie stayed at his side, unmoving to the point that a few times, Greg thought she’d fallen asleep. But then, she’d tense even more than she already was. 

About five minutes into just sitting and waiting for Steven to awaken, Greg had suggested that Connie go home. It was late, and there wasn’t much she could do, but Connie refused. Greg wasn’t surprised, but insisted that she at least call home and tell her mom where she was. She wound up sending a text to the doctor, knowing she wouldn’t be awake. Priyanka was always more reliable with the phone than Doug was, apparently, according to Connie. Greg wasn’t about to question it. It made sense- that woman liked to stay on top of things.

Now, however, Greg had gotten up. He couldn’t sit still and do nothing anymore while the gems were all gathered around the table, making the CD player that could save his son, at least for a short while. He hovered nearby, watching them work and asking questions about the mechanism every now-and-then, most of which were eagerly answered by Peridot. Peri, for as much as Greg loved the gem, could not dumb things down from her usual talk as much as she tried, so pretty much everything she said went over the guy’s head. So he elected to stay quiet and watch them work.

“Now place this screw here, and shut the panel… THAT’S IT!” Peridot’s gleeful remark made everyone within a ten-foot radius jump. She held up the finished devise in the air with both hands, triumphantly showing the whole room their accomplishment. She brought her arms down again and practically shoved the black box in Pearl’s face. “Now turn it on and give it a try!”

Pearl moved her hands off her ears, not fully trusting that Peridot wouldn’t try to blow out her non-existent eardrums again, but did as the green gem asked and took the devise from her. She pushed “PLAY” on the CD player, set it down on the cart, and stepped back.

The whole thing had been completely transformed. Although it still held its basic shape, the player had been hollowed out of all the human tech inside of it and replaced with what Greg could only describe as “gem stuff,” as old as that phrase was started to get. Blinking light, shoots of electricity traveling down transparent wires, two black batteries, and a bunch of blockers. There were a few knobs sitting on top, though covered by the CD player’s lid. It honestly looked something like a breaker, or something straight out of a science fiction movie.

As Pearl hit the button, it whirred to life. Yellow lights started racing down wires faster than before, and the black batteries lit up a bit. A long, yellow line was etched into the side of each one, resembling what looked like a health bar from one of Steven’s old fighting games. The devise hummed, rattling a bit, components shaking and clashing against each other.

“Is it supposed to be making that noise?” Greg pointed at it lightly, turning his head to Pearl.

In response, the vibrations the thing was making increased. Peridot let out an “eep!” before quickly fumbling for the “STOP” button. The devise’s shaking began to decrescendo, finally coming to a rest. Greg let out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding in. 

Pearl picked it up, turning it over in her hands. “Now, let me see if I… Ah! Peridot, we forgot to add the final stabilizer on the back!” She handed the box to the gremlin next to her, who took it eagerly.

“Now how in stars did we manage to do THAT? That’s such a rook mistake!”

Greg blinked. “Do you mean ‘rookie’?”

“That is what I said, but less cute, because this is a very serious situation and we don’t have time to be cute!” She reached for what looked like a dial on a radio, positioned it a little too quickly on the bottom of the CD player, grabbed black duct tape, and strapped it onto the back of the mechanism. She held the box out in front of her, displaying her work on the inside once again. “Okay, try it now.”

Pearl pushed “PLAY,” and the CD player began to hum, but this time, is was kept at a mezzo. She, Peridot, and Greg sighed in relief.

“Now, for the ultimate test,” Pearl murmured to herself, turning.

Greg followed her gaze. His eyes rested on Steven, who was still on the couch. He hadn’t moved all night, and it was easily at least three hours since the “incident.” It was starting to really worry the older man, but he knew there was nothing he could do over there. Connie was still stationed by his side, as was Lapis to her right, so he was sure that they would say something if things went south. Garnet was currently in the kitchen, trying to cook breakfast, but quickly proved that she needed help. Amethyst was quick to assist, promising not to eat anything until the food was done. They had decided to make pancakes, maybe? Greg hadn’t been paying attention. Bismuth had gone back down to the forge in Little Homeschool, hoping to craft a few more weapons before they headed out. Everyone had their gem weapons, but she said it never hurt to be prepared. Besides, she had never made Steven a weapon (the Breaking Point didn’t count) and wanted to give it a try.

Pearl moved to walk over to Steven, but Peridot caught her arm. “Pearl, wait! He can’t wear that!” She snatched the sticker book off the table, and quickly started thumbing through the pages.

Pearl frowned. “Peridot-“

“AHA!” Peridot might have ripped a hole in the book with the amount of force the poked at it with. She tore out one of the stickers and moved towards the mechanism, slapping it onto the lid. Greg leaned over Pearl’s shoulder to look.

A little gold star with the words “GOOD JOB!” written on it in large text, large as they could be on such a small sticker.

Peridot gave a curt nod. “There. Now it’s ready to be worn by a Crystal Gem.”

Greg couldn’t help but shake his head. Not the time to be cute, ya little gremlin? he thought to himself, amused despite the situation.

Pearl opened her mouth as if to say something, but decided against it and instead sped over to the couch. Greg and Peri followed behind, eager to see this work.

 Pearl lifted up the blankets, revealing Steven’s yellow pajama shirt, then lifted that up. Underneath was what looked like a harness for mountain climbers. A belt ran across where his gem should be, with another one about two inches up. Both were connected by the overall-style straps looped around his arms. In the center, right above Steven’s navel, was the perfect place to plug in the CD player. Pearl moved to put the thing on, but hesitated.

Lapis frowned at her. “Well? What’s the holdup?”

“I-I…” Pearl looked to her, then back down at the player. “What if this doesn’t work?”

Practically everyone frowned at her. 

“It HAS to work!” Peridot spat. “We need it to! And I built it, so therefore, it WILL work! I’ve done all the calculations on the exact amount of output he needs to create an artifical source equivalent to his actual gem. Now put it on!”

Pearl blinked and shifted away like she’d been struck, shocked to hear the venom in her voice, but Greg could tell that she was more just trying to get reacquainted with reality before doing this again. Her face held fear more than anything else, and he couldn’t blame her. 

“Right, sorry. I don’t know what came over me.” She positioned the fake gem above its place in the strap, ready to attach it. “Here goes…”

She was about to put it on, when suddenly, Steven’s breathing hitched. He took in a deep breath, fingers twitching. His eyes scrunched up a bit, probably in response to the light. Greg gasped, and heard others do the same.

“Steven…?” Connie whispered out, leaning over him a bit. “A-are you waking up?”

He groaned in response, trying to open his eyes. “C… Connie…?”

“STEVEN!” The girl threw her arms around him. “You’re awake!”

Lapis was quick to join it as well. “We thought you’d never wake up!”

In a flash, it was Dogpile On Steven time. Greg leaped back into his spot on the couch from before, just above Steven’s head, and ran a hand across his cheek. Peridot came up between he and Connie, still standing on the floor, and placed a hand on his shoulder. Pearl dove forward, hugging his midsection, while Amethyst bounced in from the kitchen area.

“DON’T YOU EVER DO THAT AGAIN!” She yelled at him angrily, tears in her eyes. “We thought we LOST you, man!”

Steven blinked, seemingly confused. Greg could see the uncertainty in his movements, and the shakiness. Every part of him shivered, as if cold, but his cheeks were still hot (though not as much so as before, Greg realized with relief). He tried to sit up, moving an arm behind him, and pushed weakly. Connie realized what he was trying to do, and helped to push him up into a sitting position by shoving everyone else off of him. She climbed onto the couch behind him so he could lean back on her, to which he turned his head towards her gratefully. This placed Connie in between Steven and Greg, and the father felt himself reaching across her to tousle his son’s hair.

“Steven, I’m so glad you’re okay!” Greg exclaimed, tears brewing in his eyes again. “We were all so worried!”

Steven blinked again, just trying to understand what was happening. Greg could feel his son shaking now, the shivers much more violent than they had originally looked. He pulled away, looking to his boy again. “Do you need some more blankets? You’re shaking like a leaf.”

Steven didn’t answer. Instead, he reached an arm forward, past the blankets and towards his gem. His missing gem. His eyes widened as he realized, breathing starting to increase.

Based on what Greg knew of his son’s powers, he was sure he’d be glowing pink right now if not for… obvious reasons. The panic in Steven’s eyes increased, his body stiffening.

“Wh- where’s… my gem…?” He gasped out.

Connie hugged him from behind, shifting awkwardly to wrap both arms around his neck. “It’s gone, Steven. It got taken again.”

“Gone…?” Something flashed in Steven’s eyes that Greg couldn’t recognize. “But I… I was just…”

“Oh, the stabilizer!” Peridot shot up, pushing anyone who stood in her way as she snatched the thing from Pearl. She held it up in front of his face for him to see, though it was too close for Steven’s drowsy eyes to really pick up on what he was looking at. “See this? This is your gem for right now! It even has a star!”

Steven frowned, then cocked a brow. “What…?”

Peridot nodded enthusiastically. “Pearl and I put it together! This light energy stabilizer should sustain you for a while, until we can get your real gem back from Bluebird!”

Pearl stood up. “Okay, everyone back up for a second, just until we get this thing on him.”

Amethyst moved first, although hesitantly, followed by Lapis. Garnet headed back to the kitchen to finish the meal she had been working on, while Pearl and Peridot started pulling back covers. Greg stayed where he was, confident he was out of the way enough to not have to move. He ran a hand through his son’s curls again, comforting him in any way he could. 

“Okay Steven, this may be a bit cold at first,” Pearl stated, “but it will warm up once we-“

She was cut off as Peridot shoved the thing downward. It clicked into place on the harness, the small knob on the back placed directly on his navel. Steven shivered even more violently, to the point Greg was sure his eyes must have been bouncing around like pinballs there for a second.

“-turn it on.” Pearl grumbled the second half of her sentence under her breath. She glanced off to the side, crossing her arms at Peridot.

If the gremlin noticed his discomfort, she didn’t react. Instead, she rattled the box herself a few times, checking to be sure it was secure, then pushed “PLAY.” It rattled to life, quickly rising from a pianissimo to a mezzo again, the medium-loud humming noise stabilizing at a level that didn’t sound like it would just suddenly explode at any minute.

Steven gasped, tensing up as the box worked its magic. Light returned to his eyes, and his breathing finally, finally evened out. He took a few gulps of air, as if coming up from drowning, before relaxing. 

“Wha… where am…” He blinked, looking around the room. “…the Beach House?”

Greg nodded. “How’re you feeling, Steven?”

“Groggy,” he almost muttered. “But better.” He looked around, suddenly filled with a lot more life. “How did I get here? How long have I been out for? And…” he looked down, reaching for where his gem should be, but not quite touching the spot. “…where’s my gem? Did…?” He frowned, thinking hard for a second about something, before his eyes widened. “BLUEBIRD!” He made to swing his legs over the side of the couch. “She ripped out my gem! She destabilized me, and nearly cut me in half, and she-“

“STEVEN! Steven, lay back down!” Pearl demanded, shoving his chest back into the soft fabric of the sofa. “You are in no condition to be going anywhere, you hear me?!”

Steven opened his mouth to protest, but saw the tears streaming down her face. She was only worried about him, and honestly, rightfully so. Was that selfish? No- she cared about him. It made sense she’d react this way. There was no shame anywhere.

Instead of arguing, he nodded and moved to get more comfortable. “H-how did you all find me?”

“Your motel owner called me,” Connie replied, placing a hand on his heart softly. “You must have unlocked the phone, though, and told him to call me. He used your phone.”

Steven frowned. “…Huh.” He looked up at her, then behind her at his dad. “Who all knows?”

“Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, Peridot, Lapis, Bismuth, me, and Connie,” Greg replied. “Plus maybe Connie’s parents, when they get her text.”

“You didn’t just call them?”

Connie shook her head. “They’re probably still asleep, Steven.”

“Still asleep?” He frowned. “What time is it?”

“5:37,” Garnet supplied from the kitchen, raising her voice a bit to be heard.

Steven shook his head slowly in disbelief. “I’ve been out for a few hours, then.” His eyes widened as he realized what he just said. He shot back up. “I WAS OUT FOR A FEW HOURS? HOW?” His gaze travelled to the window, where the first traces of grey, dawn light were starting to paint the sky. His focus then returned to his own surroundings, his right hand yanking his shirt up, ready to show everyone that his gem was gone again, only to instead find himself looking at a repurposed, early-2000’s black CD player. “I- oh. Huh?” He reached down to touch it, running a hand across the surface and feeling the buzz of it run up his arm a ways. “What…?”

“That’s what woke you up!” Peridot announced proudly. “I mean, you were already awake before that, but you weren’t responding to anything. After we put that on you, you snapped back to it!”

Steven cocked a brow, eyes not leaving the box at his navel as he continued to feel it, how odd it felt against his skin, his skin where his gem should be. “What IS this, exactly?”

“Well, it’s a highly-advanced makeshift gem energy creator,” Pearl explained, taking on the tone of a school teacher. “It uses 9GXQ batteries to create an artificial gem output to match the light that you gem…” she trailed off upon seeing the lost look on the teen’s face. She huffed and crossed her arms, disheartened that she couldn’t explain to the degree that she wanted to. “It’s a makeshift generator.”

Steven looked back and forth from her to his “generator” a few times, thinking about how to respond, before landing on a “huh.”

Greg stood up, moving around Connie to kneel by his son’s head. “Bluebird has your gem right now, but Pearl and Peridot managed to make up for it being gone by building this.” He pointed to the player. “It’s supposed to mimic a gem. You know how they’re made of light?” Steven nodded. “Well, the working theory is that you have the same light inside you, too, running either in your veins, nervous system, or both. Maybe everywhere. Without your gem, you lost it, which is why you were so weak. But these two geniuses over here-“ he pointed a thumb over his shoulder at Pearl and Peridot- “managed to recreate it in this CD player.” He tilted his head to the side. “Does that explain it better?”

Steven nodded. “Yeah, that makes sense. Thanks, Dad.” He looked out the window again, wondering what direction the little pest had fled off to. He sighed, which quickly evolved into a groan. Bringing his hands up to his face, Steven rubbed his eyes with his palms. “So I got attacked last night and Bluebird has my gem. She flew off with it to who-knows-where, and the only reason I’m still here is because the motel owner showed up and called Connie. Somehow. And no one knows where she went?” He looked around, watching as heads shook. “Great. Juuuust great.”

Connie gently got up, allowing for Steven to lay back down. “Don’t stress over it. We can answer all your questions once we get your other half back.” Her eyes creased with worry. “You’re sure you didn’t see which way she went, right?”

Steven frowned in concentration. “Uhhh, no…? All I remember is her taking my gem out and bubbling it…”

Connie’s eyes widened. “So she did bubble your gem! But that means…” she smiled in relief. “Your other half is free now. You should be about to reform at any minute!”

Steven looked down, thinking about this. Then, his eyes lit up. “I think you’re right,” he breathed. “I’m back! I’m just really, really far away.”

“That’s okay though! We can get him back!” Amethyst crossed her arms, reentering the room from the kitchen. “We tracked you down through the far reaches of space once before, remember? We have the Roaming Eye technology! All we need to do is search for Gem energy signals, and we should find you no problem! Being a Diamond, you give off more that most gems do anyways. We’ll find you in a jiffy!”

Steven smiled gratefully. “Thanks, Amethyst.”

Connie knelt next to him on the floor, wrapping her hands around his forearm. “Can you see anything? Last time, you could see through both sets of eyes, right? You both could.”

Steven hummed in thought. “I could try. Hold on.” 

He shut his eyes, squeezing them in concentration, as he tried to connect with his other half, who was already miles upon miles away, somewhere, in the depths of space…

Steven reformed. The first thing he saw was yellow, and green. He turned. Three walls and a ceiling of yellow, with green behind. One wall with a hallway behind, but still yellow. Three gems stood outside- two watched him fearfully, the third watched confidently. Steven looked at her. He knew her.

“Hello, and welcome aboard my ship,” Emerald said. She held out her arms. “You’re going to be traveling with us for a while. Isn’t that just exciting?”

Steven said nothing. His gaze shifted to the smaller gems. He knew them. Aquamarine and Eyeball. Bluebird. Bluebird stole his gem. Bluebird brought him here. Steven locked eyes with Aquamarine, unblinking.

Aquamarine squeaked and rushed behind Emerald. Eyeball chuckled at her. Steven looked to Eyeball. Her expression turned to one of surprise, then anger.

“Hey, what’re you lookin’ at?”

“Eyeball.” Steven replied simply.

Eyeball growled. “Stop callin’ me that. My name is Ruby, an’ I’m the one who brought ya here! I could take you again!”

“Hey, no! WE brought him here!” Aquamarine yelled at Eyeball. Eyeball growled.

Emerald cleared her throat. The two stopped at once. They straightened out, and looked embarrassed.

“You’ll have to forgive them, Steven,” Emerald said. “They don’t seem to understand that you are our guest.” She turned to the two, glaring at each in turn.

They muttered apologies at the ground.

Emerald turned back to Steven. “Anyways, I do hope you’re comfortable?”

Steven said nothing.

Emerald waited for three and a half seconds before laughing. It was nervous. She was scared of him, too. Or at least unnerved.

Assessment: they are trying to establish a power to not feel scared.

Response: pending…

“Well, comfortable or not, you must agree that your confines are rather limiting,” Emerald spoke. “We wouldn’t want you running off on us, now would we?”

Steven said nothing.

Emerald frowned. “Say something.”

Steven said nothing.

Emerald rolled her eye. “Alright, cut the niceties. Here’s the plan: you are going to stay in this cell and not try to run. Because let me tell you, you’re at the bottom of my ship.” She grabbed a screen and tapped it. Something slid behind Steven. He turned. There was a window, and outside was space. He couldn’t see Earth, or any place familiar.

Assessment: far from home.

“If you try to escape, you’ll be blasted away where no one will ever find you.”

Response: “I need it.”

Emerald blinked. “I beg your pardon?”

“I need it.” Steven turned back to her. 

“What? Need what?”

“My other half.” Steven turned back to the window. 

Analyzing…

The window shut. Steven turned back to Emerald. She had the screen again, and tossed it to Aquamarine. She barely caught it, tossing it around in both hands before getting a good grip. “I trust you won’t be needing him anymore. Your human half is dead. Without you, that pathetic organic stands no chance.” She folded her arms. “Now, listen to me. You are going to stay here and not move. These walls will shock you if you touch them, so don’t expect to get out that way. And below you is space. There is no escape back to Earth from in there.”

Analyzing…

Condition assessment: trapped on Emerald’s ship. Human half is far away. Human half is alive. 

Conclusion: must get to him. Escape off ship.

Steven looked around at his confines. 

Analyzing…

There is a hidden camera in the top right corner. The window is blocked by the yellow force field. Force field completely surrounds everything except the floor. 

Scanning…

Force field comes from the roof. 

Conclusion: digging through the floor (but not too deeply) is no use.

Emerald waited for a response, but got none. She huffed. She walked away. “Ruby, Aqua, I want you to head on up to the engine room. Have the turbines ready for the jump into hyper speed. Make sure you shut the airlock on your way out. You’ll find me up in the captain’s quarters if you need anything.”

Aquamarine and Eyeball nodded. They followed behind.

Steven could not see where they went or when they split off from Emerald. A door shut from somewhere. 

Assessment: the force fields are the same as they were on Peridot’s ship.

Response: test to be sure he can’t leave.

Steven reached out to touch a barrier. It fizzed, sending out a spark. It hurt. Steven pulled his arm back. Yellow marks on his arm did not exist like they had before. 

Conclusion: Emerald wasn’t lying.

Assessment: being the gem half, he was now pure gem and followed gem rules.

Response: bend the rules.

Steven summoned a small, diamond-shaped shield. He cast it towards the wall. Upon making contact, it burst apart.

Conclusion: using powers will not help.

Steven sat down on the floor, staring out into the hallway, waiting for an idea to hit him or a gem to walk by.

He could see his organic half. Steven was sitting on the couch with Connie, Greg, Peridot, and Pearl. They were happy, but worried. Organic half was alive, and well. 

Assessment: he was living just fine without his gem.

Conclusion: he’d be here soon.

Being far away in space meant that the connection was hard to find. If Steven had his stupid gem, it would be so much easier! He knew just based on the difficulty of this one task that it’d be impossible to connect to anyone else other than himself as it were right now. His gem half was just right there, just out of reach. Steven knew he was there, and awake, but that was it.

Silence engulfed the room whilst Steven searched. The gems gave each other looks as they waited for a response. Connie rubbed his shoulder encouragingly, while Greg could only gaze on in hope. 

Steven focused, brows creased in concentration. It was right there…! Just a bit further, a bit harder, and suddenly, he could see… green. And yellow. It was hazy, and nothing really made sense, but after a few seconds, things started to clear up. There were three figures there with him, and it only took Steven a moment to recognize them. He gasped, holding his head as an ache set in, and deflated against Connie’s side. The vision vanished instantly, evaporating a lot faster than it came. 

“I can see him, but you’re not gonna like where he is,” Steven panted. He moved a hand up to cover his eyes, cursing inwardly. “He’s on a spaceship with Aquamarine, Eyeball, and Emerald.”

Amethyst, Pearl, and Greg stiffened. Lapis and Peridot exchanged a glance, knowing what at least two of those names meant. Greg subconsciously reached a hand up to run through his hair, glancing towards Pearl.

“Emerald?” Connie rested a finger on her chin, thinking about something. “I haven’t heard from her since… well, since the jungle moon. I kinda forgot she existed.” 

Steven chuckled lightly. “Yeah, me too.” 

“An Emerald has him?” Pearl stepped forward, looking at Steven with concern. “When have you met an Emerald before?”

“I haven’t.” Steven met her eyes, fidgeting with his hands. When Pearl continued to look at him with confusion, he sat back up with strain. Propping a hand behind him, he continued; “Lars did. When Connie and I visited him and got lost on a moon for a few weeks, it was because Emerald attacked him. She knew him, not us.”

Peridot clenched her hands by her side. “If that clod thinks she can mess with our Steven and get away with it…”

Garnet’s footsteps interrupted her train of thought. Eyes turned to see the larger gem striding confidently over to them from the kitchen, a plate of nine pancakes in hand. She placed the stack down on the coffee table next to the couch, looking at everyone’s faces. Having been in the kitchen, she was able to hear a good chunk of their conversation, but not all of it. “So, Aquamarine and Eyeball are there, too?”

Steven nodded. “They were split, though.”

“That makes sense,” Garnet spoke, crossing her arms. “Bluebird was a fusion built on hate for a singular, common enemy. Now that their enemy is defeated, they have no reason to stay fused.”

Steven’s heart skipped a beat. Defeated? He looked at his hands, noticing how his right instinctively traveled to where his gem was supposed to be. Was that true? Was he defeated without his gem? He felt his quivering begin to pick back up, and reached to huddle further in the blanket.

Connie noticed his shift in demeanor. “No, Steven, she didn’t mean- you’re not done yet!” She took his right hand, moving it off the CD player and holding it tight. Steven met her eyes, blinking a bit. “Garnet just meant that they think you’re out. As far as they know, you’re dead. B-but you’re not, and that’s what matters!” She frowned at him, fire alight in her eyes. “Bluebird can’t take you out! She’s Bluebird for crying out loud! Don’t you dare think for a second that she beat you.”

“But I need my gem-“

“Steven, you’re more than your stupid gem!” Connie suddenly shot up off the couch, throwing her arms out to her sides. She grasped both his shoulders and pulled him close. “Did your gem topple an entire empire by talking to it? No! Did your gem ever make a promise to a corrupted gem to heal her before everyone else? No! Did your gem have even a smidgen of emotion at all?”

Steven blinked rapidly, eyes wide. “N-“

“NO!” Connie shouted before he could answer. “To say you’re defeated because you don’t have your gem is not right. That’s just what Aquamarine and Eyeball believe, and probably what Emerald thinks, too! They’re GEMS who have never met the nice human side to you! Or if they have, they thought it was weak! But it ISN’T! So don’t think that!”

Steven looked wildly around while he waited for her to finish yelling at him. Once she looked like she was done, he shook his head, eyebrows creasing a bit in concern. “Connie, I wasn’t thinking that. I need my gem to live. I know that isn’t who I am.” He chuckled half-heartedly. “I left to be human, remember?”

Connie blushed in embarrassment. “Oh. Right. Sorry, I don’t know what…” she trailed off, taking to sit back behind Steven like she had been before.

An awkward silence hung over the group. Garnet eventually broke it by coughing lightly into her hand, then displaying the plate in her hands, put on her best smile. “Anyways. Anyone up for some pancakes?”

She had burnt the pancakes a little bit, but other than that, they looked pretty good. Greg and Amethyst nodded excitedly as she began to dish them out, putting two pancakes on each glass plate she’d brought before passing them off to Steven, Connie, and Greg. She also took one, while Amethyst had the rest. Peridot and Lapis moved to the couch to sit awkwardly.

They ate in silence for a moment, although Steven found that he really couldn’t. It wasn’t that the burnt pancakes didn’t look good, he just couldn’t eat. He sighed, setting the plate down. 

Lapis noticed his discomfort. She loudly cleared her throat, drawing attention to her. “So, what’s the plan?” she asked in an over enthusiastic tone.

“We split up,” Garnet announced. Heads turned to her, some curious, others more concerned. “Pearl, Peridot, and Greg should stay here to care for Steven’s human half, while the rest of us go after his gem.”

Steven fully sat up now, looking to her in shock. “Wha- no! If you’re going after my other half, I’m going, too!”

“Steven,” Garnet raised a hand.

The teen didn’t back down. “No, I’m going. It’ll be way better that way! When we find my other half, we can fuse a lot faster since I’ll be there. Plus, I have that connection to him.” He tapped the side of his head. “I can tell you where he is! By keeping me here, you’d just keep me split longer.”

“He has a point,” Connie spoke up. She stood up from her place on the couch, keeping a hand on Steven’s shoulder. “By leaving him here, we’d be doing no good. It would just weaken the strength of the team. And there’s the chance that we don’t make it back in time. Besides,” Connie looked off to the side for a moment, catching Greg’s eye, before turning back to Garnet, “I want to be here for Steven. Both of him. I don’t want to have to choose between staying behind and going with you guys.”

Greg took a stand now, though still comfortably from his spot on the couch. “Connie and I can watch after his human half while we’re on the way, but I agree it’d be easier to bring him along. If you’d have me, anyway,” he added sheepishly, looking away and rubbing the back of his neck.

Garnet held her position for a moment, but after a moment of weighing different possibilities in her head, she sighed. “Alright. He can come.”

Steven sighed in relief. “Thanks, Garnet.”

The gem nodded, then set her plate down. She motioned for Peridot to follow her, and walked back into the kitchen area.

Connie turned back to Steven. “Think you can you stand?”

“I don’t know,” he replied honestly. “Hold on.” He flexed the muscles in his legs, feeling the difference in them now. Although the CD player was doing its job for the moment, he still felt weaker than usual, and much, much more shaky. But it was worth a try. He pushed off of the couch, felt his weight shift to his heels, and nearly fell backward. Connie’s hand found its way to his back quickly, helping to steady him. He shot her a thankful look. He widened his stance a bit more, finding his center of gravity, and after a moment, was back on his own two feet. He smiled awkwardly. “Well, I can stand,” he announced, shrugging.

Connie kept her hand on his back, giving a little extra support as he lifted a leg. His center of gravity was all over the place, but with Connie’s help, he managed to stay upright. After a couple seconds, he was bringing his other leg forward, too. He could walk, though it was an awkward, unbalanced, slow, and very shaky.

After a minute, he stopped. “Whew,” he breathed. “Glad that’s going okay, at least.”

“Then let’s get going,” Garnet announced. She and Peridot were coming back from the kitchen, and the green gem looked like she was the only thing between doom and the fate of the world. Grim determination strained her features, although she still gave Steven a fond look of hope. She handed him what looked like a basket of various fruits and a few water bottles- between the three humans, it was enough for about two days before they’d need to restock. Hopefully that would be enough.

“Pearl, go get Bismuth,” Garnet commanded. “We’ll get everyone on board Peridot’s Roaming Eye.”

Pearl gave a stout nod, and in a flash of the warp pad, she was gone.

Lapis retrieved the spare outfit Pearl had snatched from his motel room, featuring his regular star shirt, jeans, and iconic pink jacket. Steven and Greg took the outfit to the bathroom, trying to get him dressed quickly (which was a bit awkward), and once they were done, they came back out. The teen was still barefoot, unfortunately, but it would work for now.

Connie had since folded the blanket and was working on the other two still sitting there while Amethyst emerged from upstairs with three pillows. Peridot was at her cart, making sure everything was present and accounted for, all while scrounging for more spare parts that might come in handy that may be laying around. Garnet came in from outside, handing her a small hammer that had fallen from the cart earlier that, fortunately, they hadn’t needed while constructing the CD player. 

Once it was agreed they had everything, the group headed out, with Connie and Greg helping Steven keep his feet underneath of him. Each step was more confident than the last, and soon, he was walking a steady pace. Everyone headed to board the craft on the beach. 

The Roaming Eye was your standard Ruby ship, except for the fact that it was owned by Peridot, who had made a few adjustments. Just little things, like the outside red color had been repainted Peridot green, the inside was light Lapis blue instead of yellow, the lights were green, the ship was recalibrated for Peridots, the gravity engines had been modified to almost 4,000 miles a second faster than before, and, of course, any and all Ruby imagery had been replaced with Peridot. The diamond symbols had been replaced with yellow stars, and there were two large containers of water on either side of the door.

Peridot rushed in, heading straight for the chair in the middle. On it sat a white sailor captain’s hat, and she quickly placed it on. Her hair had to flatten to allow it to fit, making the cap almost buoyant, but it stayed on. She turned around back to the door, throwing her arms out.

“Welcome to the S.S.Friendship! What used to be a Ruby ship is now a Peridot ship. Isn’t it great?” She turned excitedly to the controls. “I’ve been wanting to take it out for a test flight for a long time, but I just haven’t had the opportunity. This is the perfect chance to see what that engine can really do!” 

Steven blinked, trying to take it all in. “You did all this on your own?”

“Oh, of course not,” she replied simply, not turning to look at him. “I had Lapis and Bismuth help, too!” She sat down in the captain’s chair, tapping at the panels in front of her. “Lapis did the decorating, while I picked the colors! Bismuth had a few recommendations that we took into account as well, such as the water troughs by the door! With closed tops for convenient warping.”

“I really like what you’ve done to the place,” Connie grinned. “Those Rubies had no class.”

Steven shook his head, dramatically clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth in mock disappointment.

Connie took his hand, guiding him over to the wall nearby. The panels were all by the window up front, so most of the wall space was free to sit by. The two sat down, watching as the others filed into the room. Greg wandered a little, taking in the details. Steven could see his nervousness about the whole situation, and remembered that the last time he’d been on a Ruby ship was when they had to rescue him from the zoo. He seemed to be okay, though, and headed over to the other two humans leaning against the light-blue wall. He reached for the basket, and inspected the inside. 

“Nothing but fruit for a while, huh,” he observed. 

“This shouldn’t take too long,” Connie reassured, giving a half shrug. “We shouldn’t need to eat anything at all if this goes well.”

Greg frowned, sneaking a glance at the blankets she had taken the time to fold. He sighed, setting the basket aside. “Okay, if you’re sure…”

The tap of light footsteps called the three’s attention. Pearl bounded aboard the ship, excitedly headed in Steven’s direction. “Oh, Steven, wait ‘til you see! It’s beautiful! Bismuth made you a sword!”

“What?” Steven blinked, trying to stand, only to realize with relief he didn’t have to. Bismuth followed next, her heavier footsteps echoing in the small confines of the Peridot ship. In the rainbow gem’s hand was a sword, double-bladed with stars on the hilt. She’s also made a scabbard, colored salmon red with a white star in the center. The scabbard was slung over her shoulders, and she presented the blade to the teen with a wide smile.

“I know you don’t like fighting, and a sword’s not your style anyways,” she began, “but I figured that you might need a weapon for self-defense at least. It’s just like your mother’s; made only to poof, not to shatter.”

Steven, star-eyed, slowly took the blade from her. It felt heavy in his hands, or maybe that was just the weakness he felt. Either way, it still felt great. He looked at Connie, and could see the same look of pure awe on her face, too. 

He turned back to Bismuth, smiling from ear to ear. “It’s perfect.”

Bismuth winked, shooting him a finger gun. “Pleasure doin’ Bismuth with ya, as usual,” she grinned. She grabbed the scabbard, moving it off her shoulder before handing it to Steven. She gave him one last happy look before turning back around, heading over to talk to Pearl and Amethyst.

“Could I see it?” Connie breathed. Steven looked to her, watching with amusement as she gently ran a hand along the blade.

“What, did you forget yours at home or something?” he chuckled.

Connie froze. “Actually, yes, I did!” She leapt up, bolting out the door in a panic. 

“CONNIE! Where are you going?” Pearl called after her. The engine roared to life, just as Peridot spun around to look at the scene.

“We’re about to leave!” The captain called after her, throwing a hand out.

“I know, I left my sword at home! I’ll be right back.” She put her fingers to her mouth and whistled, the tone echoing across the beach. 

Nothing happened. Connie stood there for a moment more, waiting, before blowing with her fingers again. More nothing. With a huff, she started off across the beach, bolting up the beach house stairs and into the front room.

This couldn’t be happening. Lion was here, but he hadn’t moved. The poor feline had opened so many portals today, but he just needed to do it one or two more times, and then it would be done. He could rest until they got back, and probably after that! Why wasn’t he moving?

He had taken to lying on the floor, near where he had landed a few hours ago, and hadn’t moved a whole lot. He was fast asleep.

Connie rushed over to him, shaking his shoulder. “Lion, you gotta get up! I need my sword! It’s at my house, and I forgot it! Lion, I need it! Lion!”

The cat yawned, but other than that, remained motionless.

This couldn’t be happening. Steven was dying. Didn’t Lion know that? Of course he did. Why was he acting this way? Did he not care? No, that wasn’t true. Why wasn’t he acting like it? He’s tired. So? Steven’s in trouble, and he’s just lying here doing nothing! 

Connie grabbed at his fur, trying to get him to move. “Lion, we don’t have time for this! You gotta get up! I need that sword!”

Still, the lug didn’t move.

Letting out a huff, Connie moved to his front. She lifted the fur above his eye, forcing it to open. Lion blinked, giving her a blank look. 

“You HAVE to get up. Steven’s in trouble. You knew that before, why don’t you know that now?” She dropped it, letting his eye shut again, before trying to lift his head up. “I just need a portal to get my sword. C’mon! Just open the portal!”

Lion moved his head away, letting out a warning growl. Connie growled back. 

“Okay, you’re tired, I get it. I’m sorry to ask you to do this again, but Steven needs us! You can’t just be useless! You’ve gotta help!” She tried pushing him upwards, moving to his side and lifting up under an arm. 

Lion swatted her away, giving her a hard look. 

She was about to shout something at him again, but instead, took a deep breath. Take a moment to think of just flexibility, love and trust. This isn’t how we fall apart. “Look. I get it. We’ve asked a lot from you today. But please, we need to get my sword. I need to help protect Steven. He’s dying, and can’t defend himself. Err, well, he can, but not very well.” Frustrated tears started forming in her eyes. “So if you can just please move! We’re leaving, so this is the last favor we’re gonna ask of you for a while. I promise. Just please, please do something!”

Lion looked at her. He maintained his stare, seconds going by like hours, before he let out a chuff. He closed his eyes and lifted a paw. Before Connie knew what was happening, he had pulled her down on the floor with him, buried under the cat’s arm. He gave a soft growl, trying to tell her something, but it went in one ear, out the other.

Connie threw Lion’s paw off of her. “LION! What was THAT for?!” She face palmed, her entire body ridged with anger and frustration. “You know what? Fine. I’m going to go do something USEFUL. Stay here and do nothing for all I care! But when Steven dies and I couldn’t help save him, it’s on you.” She whipped around and raced out the door again, wiping the tears from her eyes. 

She couldn’t fall apart now. Not when Steven needed her. Besides, she could fight without her sword (although that made the task so much harder), or she could ask to borrow the one Steven had just been gifted. He didn’t really know how to use that thing, and Connie would be better at it than him, anyways. 

She got onboard, not looking at Steven as she flopped back down next to him.

He was silent for a minute, digging for words to say. “…No luck, huh?” he eventually observed, hoping he hadn’t said the wrong thing.

“No. Nothing.”

Connie maintained her staring contest with the ground, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw Steven looking for something to say. She was grateful when he didn’t say anything, instead offering a hand on her back. He didn’t have to make her feel better, and she didn’t want him to. That wasn’t his job, not anymore. And she’d keep it that way for as long as she could.

He deserved a break.

“Yo Peridot, what’s the status on the trackers?” Amethyst piped up, trying to make conversation. Connie only now realized how silent the room had become since she got back.

“Not well,” Peridot answered distractedly. “The scanners are supposed to be looking for the energy outputs of nearby gems. It can see us, and things nearby within a few miles, but after that, it all becomes distant scales. And all I can see right now is all the gems on Homeworld, or at least, in Homeworld’s direction.”

“Steven’s a diamond. Shouldn’t it give off a higher signal than normal gems?” Amethyst asked.

“Yes, that seems like a logical conclusion,” Peridot confirmed. “I don’t see it, though.”

“Could Emerald be hiding somehow?” Bismuth asked.

“That might be it,” Pearl confirmed, thinking about something. “Emeralds were just below most Homeworld elite gems, so she would have had access to this kind of technology and would understand its functions. This means that if she wanted to hide from us, all she would need to do is stay just out of range of the close-range scanners and stay in the direction of more gems.”

“And because Steven’s a Diamond, she’s using the other three on Homeworld to mask her location,” Garnet finished.

“Exactly,” Pearl snapped her fingers.

“White Diamond especially gives off high levels of light energy,” Peridot commented. “Rubies and other captains would use her like a beacon of sorts to navigate. She could very easily be overpowering the sensors, not picking up on Steven’s location at all.”

“So, she’s kind of like a Gem Northern Star?” Greg asked.

Garnet nodded. “That’s one way to describe it, sure.”

Peridot started clicking buttons on her panel, and the engine revved more. “Okay, I’m gonna need at least two co-pilots. I know you drove one of these things when you went to save Greg from the Zoomans, so if one of you could assist me in driving the ship, that would be a great help.”

Pearl and Garnet were quick to step forward. They each sat on either side of Peridot, spaced out by a good couple of feet from each other, and started tapping at the panels in front of them as well. 

The ship shook, then stopped, then shook again. The bottom of the thing lifted up off the ground, and the door closed, creating an airtight seal the instant the walkway made contact with the walls. An air conditioner kicked on from somewhere. 

Connie braced herself. She hadn’t been in one of these before, but had been on a ship during a bad takeoff. Not an experience she wanted to repeat, but if she had to, she’d grit her teeth and do it.

She felt a warmth touch her hand. She looked up and met Steven’s gaze, his hand resting on hers in reassurance. He must have seen her discomfort. Because of course he did. She managed a small smile back to him in thanks, and focused on his hand. This helped ground her to reality a bit more as the ship shuddered one last time, before zipping off into space.

Wasn’t as bad as the last takeoff she had been in, but it still jarred her all the same. 

Another space adventure, after everything was supposed to be over. Connie shut her eyes, leaning back against the now steady wall, and took a deep breath. Just one more time, and they could put it all behind them. They’d bubble Bluebird and Emerald, and whoever else was involved, send them to Zircon back on Homeworld, and have her decide their fates. Connie hoped it’d be 10,000 years of bubble encasement.

But that was in the future. She needed to focus on now. And right now, Steven needed her.

Subconsciously, her fingers wrapped around the hilt of his new sword. 

Steven needed her.