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Chapter Text

Garnet: We...

Pearl and Amethyst: Are the Crystal...

Garnet, Pearl, Amethyst, Moonstone, Steven: Gems!

Garnet, Pearl, Amethyst, Moonstone, Steven: We'll always save the day!

Steven: And if you think we can't...

Garnet, Pearl, Amethyst, Moonstone, Steven: We'll..always find a way!

Garnet: That's why the people (Pearl, Amethyst, Moonstone, Steven: Of this world!) of this world! Believe in...

Moonstone: Moonstone!

Garnet: Garnet!

Amethyst: Amethyst!

Pearl: And Pearl!

Steven: And Steven!

Gem Glow

In a place that looks and feels like paradise resides a bright, beautiful place known as Beach City. A city by the seaside where residents could soak up the sun, sand, and sea and enjoy living in the peaceful surroundings around them.

In the town, there was a giant donut shop called Big Donut, which had a gigantic chocolate glazed donut sign on top to signify its bakery presence, its letters in bold white letters, a pink-and-blue striped roof, and a pink donut painted on the side of the wall. All appeared quiet and relaxing, where nothing could go wrong-

"Nooooooo," a loud voice exclaimed in shock/horror with enough strength to make it feel like the Earth was shaking.

Inside Big Donut, a little 13 year-old-boy with a thick, stocky build, fair skin, curly dark brown hair, dark brown eyebrows, and full black irises in his eyes, who was wearing a salmon-pink T-shirt with a gold star in the center, cuffed blue jeans and salmon-pink flip-flop sandals was looking through the window of an empty store box with sadness, commenting, "This can't be happening! This has to be a dream"!

At the store counter, a tall, skinny who wore tunnels in his stretched earlobes, had curly, orange-brown hair styled into a sort of mohawk, wore mint and dark-green high-top sneakers, a violet T-shirt with a half-eaten donut design on it worn over a pale cream long-sleeved shirt (which appeared to be his work uniform) was opening a box while a girl with fair skin and curly shoulder-length blonde hair, who wore a periwinkle polo underneath a purple shirt, which displays the Big Donut logo (an image of a half-eaten donut that resembles the letters "B' and 'D') (the store uniform), black leggings and pink-red shoes, was watching him open the box to take out whatever was inside.

Just then, the skinny man felt the little boy hug him tightly around the waist while he wailed, "Lars! Lars! Please tell me I'm dreaming"!

Lars, the now-identified man, retorted bluntly, "Get off me, man. I'm stocking here," and walked away while carrying the box, the force of his walking making the little boy let go and drop to the floor face-first.

"I'm sorry, Steven, I guess they stopped making them," the girl commented sadly, feeling bad for the now-identified little boy.

"Stopped making them," Steven commented while standing up, saying to the girl, "Why in the world would they stop making Cookie Cats? They are only the most scrumptious and delicious ice cream sandwiches ever made"!

"Don't they have laws for this," Steven cried out in almost a begging fashion while on his knees.

"Tough bits, man. Nobody buys them anymore," Lars bluntly stated while taking out a bag of chips to put away in a nearby shelf, adding on, "I guess they couldn't compete with Lion Lickers."

In the freezer along the walls was another ice cream brand called Lion Lickers with a billboard lion sign that was licking its lips.

Steven groaned, stating in frustration, "Not Lion Lickers! Nobody likes them! They don't even look like lions," as the lion ice creams inside looked like cute smudged lions, but that didn't appease to Steven, who stated, "Kids these days - I'll tell you what"!

Lars then mentioned while standing back up onto his feet, "Well, if you miss your wimpy ice cream so much, why don't you make some with your magic belly button"?

Steven did not appreciate that remark, shouting as Lars left, "That's not how it works, Lars," before lifting up his shirt and looking at his belly button, which had a pink diamond in its place, and asking himself, feeling doubtful, "Right"?

He squeezed his stomach a bit before pulling his shirt back down and looking at the empty Cookie Cat ice cream box, saying with a sad sigh, "Oh, sweet Cookie Cats, with your crunchy cookie outside, your icy creamy insides, you were too good for this world," while making a little steam drawing of a cat on its window.

He gave the picture a kiss, much to the confusion of the girl at the counter, who asked Steven, "Uh...Steven"?

Steven was hugging the freezer box tightly as the girl then asked him while Lars leaned over with a weirded-out expression on his face, "Do you want to take the freezer with you"?

With wide sad eyes, Steven could only nod "Yes" in response.

Outside the store later, Steven, with the freezer box tied to his back so he could carry it without trouble, was humming a tune while running somewhere. He jogged across the sandy shores of the beach before scaling up a small path that led to a wooden beach house that was built right into this really tall mountain, where a lighthouse resided on top, and the facing side of the mountain had a large carving statue of a mysterious figure, who was missing three hands, but still had one intact on its top left arm, and the figure had moss growing on its shoulder and torso.

Steven pushed the door open, declaring to whoever was inside, "Hey, guys! You won't believe this-,"

Suddenly, before he could finish talking, a large dark green bug-like creature with large mandibles, a light green EYE in its MOUTH, a grass green-and-faded green stripped underbelly jumped up, growling at Steven and dripping slimy ooze from its mouth, making Stven scream in fright, especially when it tackled him to the floor while the boy tried to pry it off of him.

Suddenly, a dark purple whip with purple gem pieces on it wrapped around the creature, pulling it away from Steven.

The owner of the whip, and the one who was using it at the moment, was none other than a gutsy Amethyst, who was a few inches taller than Steven and had bright lilac skin, dark indigo eyes, thick, messy, pale lavender hair that went down to her ankles, with a large bang that obscured her left eye, plump lips, and a small, upturned nose. Her amethyst gemstone was seen on her chest, the bottom half of it covered by the shirt she was wearing. Speaking of clothing, she was wearing a mauve, oversized, off-shoulder tank top with a black bra underneath, black leggings with star-shaped cutouts on the knees, with a tear above the left star, and small, pointed white boots.

As she was tugging on her whip, she called out to Stven in greeting, "'Sup, Steven," before pulling the bug creature away from him, making it go up before it fell back and crashed somewhere else.

By a shiny circular pad, an elegant Pearl, who was tall and had a slender, thin build, an ivory complexion, light cyan eyes, a pointed nose, and thin lips. light peach-colored hair that resembled a pixie cut in the front, while in the back, her hair lead to a point, and her gemstone could be seen in the middle of her forehead and had no facets, and wore a sleeveless sky blue top that had a yellow star, and a translucent chest and transferred into a transparent silk ballet skirt around her waist, short salmon pink-colored leggings, light-green socks, and slip-on ballet flats to match.

She appeared to be moving around in a sort-of "dance" while swinging her staff around to fend off the bug creatures that crawled towards her, with one of them being sent flying.

The one that was sent flying landed in the big gigantic fist-like hands, with gold star symbols on them, of a powerful Garnet, who had medium red skin and black hair styled into a cube-shaped afro, who wore triangular futuristic, translucent peach-tinted shades, which covered her eyes, a black and crimson bodysuit with cubic shoulder pads (the right one being brink pink, the left one being crimson), and a pale pink star with a brink pink outline on her chest, as well as long, elbow-length black gloves that covered her middle fingers.

She caught the flying bug critter and slammed her knee into its back before throwing it away at another bug creature as she used her giant fists to punch the other bug creatures away. One of them landed on her head, which she easily grabbed and stretched far enough that it became split into two, making it poof away in an instant.

Three more of the bug creatures were running up to Garnet before suddenly, a purple light was seen going right through them. The creatures remained still before spoofing away, as the purple light was revealed to have come from someone who was using a lightsaber, the figure being none other than Moonstone. Moonstone was taller than Amethyst and Steven but shorter than Pearl by 4 inches, and she had light blue skin, a crystal moonstone on her head with little blue dots that went around it, making it resemble a bindi, purple eyes with blue eyeshadow, long white hair with two long strands in the front held by dark teal scrunchies while the rest of her hair in the back was tied back in a lower ponytail by a green scrunchy. She was wearing a magenta crop top with a dark magenta rim, cobalt-blue sweatpants with a purple string tie and decorated with pink, purple, and greenish-teal pixel patterns, greenish-blue sandals on her feet, and grey fingerless gloves on both of her hands, each glove had a gold star pattern on them.

All over the house, the gems were working hard to try and get rid of all of these strange bug creatures that roamed in the house.

Steven, however, looked impressed by what he was seeing, asking in awe, "Awesome! What are these things"?

Moonstone swiped her lightsaber at a bug creature who was carrying a pillow in its mouth, chasing it away, as she replied while picking the pillow up and placing it on the table, "They're centipeetles, and quite a troublesome group of them."

Pearl had picked one of the centipeetles up, saying to Steven, "Ugh! Sorry, Steven. We'll get these centipeetles out of your room."

The centipeetle roared loudly and struggled in her grip while Pearl explained, "We think they were trying to get into the temple."

Steven approached Pearl, saying as he looked at the centipeetle, "Aw, you don't have to get rid of them. They are really cool"!

Suddenly, the centipeetle spat acid on the floor near where Steven was standing, making a hole melt through the floor, one that Steven and Pearl looked at in shock.

"Note: It wouldn't really be as cool to have these things shooting acid on all your stuff, though, wouldn't it," Moonstone clarified while slicing through another centipeetle with her lightsaber, making it disappear.

By where Pearl was earlier, Amethyst had used her whip to catch another centipeetle and poofed it before she commented in confusion, "Um, you guys? These things don't have gems."

"That means there must be a mother somewhere nearby," Garnet theorized while standing by Steven and Pearl before punching away a centipeetle that tried to sneak up on her.

"It would explain why these centipeetles are easy to poof without the gems appearing once they vanish," Moonstone replied while putting her lightsaber away.

"We should probably find it before anyone gets hurt," Pearl suggested while the centipeetle she was holding still struggled in her arms.

The idea of an adventure excited Steven, who asked eagerly, "Ooh! Ooh! Can I come? Can I? Can I"?

"Note: It might not be wise for you risk facing these creatures without your gem power being unlocked yet," Moonstone commented in concern.

Steven, not wanting to be deterred too easily, replied back, "I'll be really careful! I'll promise"!

Unfortunately for him, Pearl responded by telling him as she twisted the head of the centipeetle and made it disappear, "Steven, until you learn to control the powers in your gem, we'll take care of protecting humanity, okay"?

"Aw, man," Steven replied sadly, feeling disappointed that he wasn't gonna be able to join the gems on the mission.

However, the sound of clattering got his attention and made him look up, seeing that a centipeetle was ransacking the fridge, which he shouted at while chasing it away, "Hey! Get out of there! Go on! Shoo! Shoo"!

All that was left of the centipeetle's mess was a stolen can of strawberry yogurt and a spilled carton of milk, as Steven examined the contents inside the fridge, saying, "Aw! They got into everything"!

The centipeetle tried to get away, but it was stopped by Garnet, who punched it away and made it poof while Steven shouted at it, "Not cool"!

Then, he looked up in the freezer and noticed a particular set of packed treats inside; the packed treats all had pink wrappings and a picture of a black smiley cat, with half its eye and teeth being white and the other half being pink. This was no ordinary ice cream treat; this was...Cookie Cat!

Steven was so surprised; he almost couldn't believe it himself, exclaiming while his eyes widened in awe, his pupils becoming stars, "No way! I-It can't be"!

Steven took one of the ice cream packs out and looked at it happily, asking Pearl, who came by and closed the freezer door, "What- where did you get these?! I thought they stopped making them"!

"Well, we heard that, too, and since they are your favorite..." Pearl started to explain.

"We went out and stole a bunch," Amethyst shouted out while sitting on the kitchen counter as Garnet and Moonstone walked over to where Steven was.

"I went back and paid for them," Pearl, a bit annoyed, clarified.

"Note: we figured it'd make you happy to have your favorite treat," Moonstone commented while resting her arms behind her head.

"The whole thing was my idea," Garnet added on.

"It was everyone's idea," Amethyst pointed out, while Garnet replied, "Not really."

Moonstone rolled her eyes playfully in response while Pearl stated, "All that matters is that Steven is happy."

And indeed, Steven WAS happy! His favorite ice cream treat, inside his house! It felt like all was good in the world!

Moonstone noticed the happy look on Steven's face and the way he was looking at the ice cream pack as she commented with a giggle, "Here comes the song."

And on cue, Steven started to deliver a fun rap in front of the gems.

Steven: Ahhhhhh! He's a frozen treat with an all-new taste!

'Cause he came to this planet from outer space!

A refugee of an interstellar war!

But now he is at your local grocery store!

Cookie Cat!

He's a pet for your tummy!

Cookie Cat!

He's super duper yummy!

Cookie Cat!

He left his family behind!

Cookie C-a-a-a-a-a-t!

"Now available at Gergins off Route 109," Steven added in a muffled, commercial-like voice since the rap had originally come from a commercial about Cookie Cats.

The gems all broke into laughter while applauding Steven for the fun "performance" he gave.

Steven then looked at the ice cream pack in his hands, saying to the gems, "I can't believe you did this! I'm gonna save these forever...right after I eat this one," before opening the pack he had and taking the ice cream treat out.

The treat was an ice cream sandwich with fluffy chocolate bread and a mix of vanilla and strawberry ice cream, all while in the shape of a cat, with two holes for its eyes.

"Hello, old friend," Steven said to the ice cream sandwich before eating one of its ears off, commenting as he chewed, "So good! I like to eat the ears first."

Suddenly, while Steven was eating, his gem appeared to glow from under his shirt, which was a surprising sight for the gems.

"Uh, Steven," Amethyst spoke up, alerting Steven of what was happening.

Steven looked down at his shirt and saw that his gem was glowing through it, commenting as he lifted his shirt up, "My gem"!

"Note: your power might be activating now," Moonstone commented in excitement.

"Quick! Try and summon your weapon," Amethyst suggested.

"I don't know how," Steven replied, unsure of what to do or how to do it.

Then, the glow started to fade, which made Steven panic and cry out, "Aah! It's fading! How do I make it come back"?!

Pearl tried to help Steven relax by telling him calmly, "Calm down, Steven. Breathe. Don't force it."

"Yeah. And try not to poop yourself, either," Amethyst added in.

"Ew, Amethyst," Moonstone cringed while shooting a "Really?" glare at her, while Amethyst snickered in response.

"Please, don't," Garnet added in.

Then, the glow in Steven's gem faded away, and his gem was back to begin dormant again, much to the disappointment of the gems, who all let out sad sighs.

Steven slid down into a sitting position, commenting sadly, "Aw! I was really close that time"!

Moonstone pulled out a light purple notepad and wrote something in it with a purple pen, saying at the same time, "Note: compared to the previous times your gem has reacted before, this time has been the closest since your power first started to emerge."

"You'll get it soon, Steven; you just need a little more practice," Garnet added reassuringly.

Still feeling a little doubtful, Steven placed the ice cream treat back into its wrapping before he asked the gems, "Can one of you just explain how to summon a weapon"?

Pearl eagerly raised her hand, answering excitedly in a sing-songy voice, "Oh! I'll go first"!

"No surprise there," Moonstone commented with a snicker.

Out in a grassy field, under a tall, beautiful tree with flowing pink petals and leaves, Steven was sitting and paying close attention to Pearl, who advised the boy, "Pay attention to these petals, Steven."

He watched the falling petals while Pearl explained, "The petals' dance seems improvised, but it is being calculated in real-time, based on the physical properties of this planet. With hard work and dedication, you can master the magical properties of your gem and perform your own dance"!

To demonstrate, Pearl cupped her hands around her gemstone and summoned her weapon: her signature glowing scaffold staff, which she grabbed and spun it around, making it extend to her height, before adding in as she caught a flower petal, "Like so."

Steven looked very confused by this as he scooped up some flower petals, wondering if he could try it out in the same way as Pearl did.

Later on, outside the Big Donut, Steven was trying to recreate Pearl's dance, throwing the flower petals he collected up into the air.

"Did Pearl tell you the petal thing," Amethyst, who was holding a doughnut, asked him?

"Yeah," Steven replied while explaining, "I need to practice really hard so I can dance like a tree... I think."

Amethyst approached him, telling Steven, "Listen, Steven. All that practice stuff is no fun."

She took a bite of her doughnut before adding on, saying while her mouth was full, "Whenever I need to summon my weapon, it just happens"!

To demonstrate, Amethyst reached for the gemstone on her chest, which glowed, and she pulled out her trusty whip, which she then used to slice right down the middle of a dumpster.

"See? Didn't try at all," Amethyst replied proudly.

Steven still looked confused about what to do, but his thoughts got interrupted when he heard LArs shout in shock while he dropped the bag of garbage he was gonna dump out, "Again"?!

Up on the hill a while later, Steven was sitting with Garnet, asking her, "So, I'm supposed to work really hard and not try at all at the same time"?

"Yes," Garnet replied, straight and simple.

An awkward silence fell upon them as Steven looked perplexed as ever before Garnet elaborated, "Or...," before explaining while doing some hand motions, "You can link your mind with the energy of all existing matter, channeling the collective power of the universe through your gem, which results in..."

After doing the vogue-like hand motions, her giant metallic fists formed, as Garnet replied, "At least that's my way of doing it."

Steven, on the other hand, did not understand ANY of it! It felt like his brain was lost in this lesson!

On the beach, Steven was sitting on a rock and watching Moonstone, who explained, "Note: summoning your weapon is like the flow of the ocean waves. It's a feeling; a feeling that you just have to let flow through your mind and body."

Moonstone walked over to the edge of the shore, where a small wave greeted her and covered her feet in ocean water, as Moonstone closed her eyes, saying, "Drown out all distractions and negative thoughts; anything that can trouble your mind and heart. Then, when you're in a calm state, you just breathe, and.."

On cue, her moonstone gem glowed, and a light shot out from it before Moonstone leaped up into the air and grabbed what got shot out, the light transforming into the handle of her lightsaber, which was silver with dark grey diamond designs on it, and on top, it had a grey rim that matched the color of her fingerless gloves, with little yellow light-up dots on it. When Moonstone landed back on the ground, the purple laser light appeared on her lightsaber, glowing and just as powerful as before.

"Woah," Steven uttered in surprise.

"Pretty impressive, I know," Moonstone commented while waving her lightsaber around, adding, "It just takes practice, and-,"

Just then, her lightsaber had cut right through a flying frisbee, cutting it right in half, much to her surprise. She then heard a little boy's voice shout from a distance, "Hey, you broke my frisbee, blue lady"!

Moonstone had a sheepish grin before saying to Steven, "And focus."

After the lessons, Steven decided to try an idea he came up with that just might work.

In the kitchen, Steven explained to the gems, "I think my best bet is to re-create what happened the last time my gem glowed."

"So... Garnet and Amethyst were here," Steven mentioned as Amethyst sat back on the counter and Garnet stood in the same spot she stood earlier.

"Pearl was next to the fridge, and Moonstone was standing next to you," Steven explained as Pearl and Moonstone stood by where Steven told them to.

Steven looked back and forth, trying to see if everything was exactly like it was when his gem had glowed earlier. He then suggested to Amethyst, "Amethyst, I think your arms were crossed."

"Okay, your majesty," Amethyst answered jokingly while crossing her arms.

"Moonstone, your arms were behind your head like this," Steven told her while demonstrating.

Moonstone placed her arms back behind her head while saying, "Understood, although I fail to see the logic in this."

"And, Pearl, your foot was like this," Steven told Pearl while adjusting her foot.

Pearl, however, was feeling very skeptical about what Steven had in mind, commenting in confusion, "I don't think it works this way, Steven."

"And, Garnet... uh... uh... yeah," Steven said while having Garnet positioned standing upright.

He then opened the freezer and took out the Cookie Cat he was eating earlier, saying, "Then I took a bite of this Cookie Cat. Oh! Wait! I sang the song first"!

"Uh, he's a frozen treat... all new taste... interstellar war... and now available at Gergins," he rushed through the rap before commenting sadly, "Aw! It was funnier last time"!

He looked down at his gem sadly, stating, "Maybe I'm not a real Crystal Gem."

"Don't be silly, Steven. Of course you are," Pearl told Steven reassuringly.

"And you're fun to have around, even if your gem IS useless," Amethyst replied, her comment earning a stone-cold look from Pearl and a raised eyebrow from Moonstone, which made the female purple gem recoup her words and state, "I mean... you're one of us, Steven. We're not the crystal gems without you."

"Yeah, no matter if you have a weapon or not, you're always gonna be a Crystal Gem," Moonstone mentioned happily while Garnet nodded in agreement.

The words of encouragement from his friends seemed to be helping Steven feel better, as he replied with a smile, "Yeah. Even if I don't have powers, I've still got... Cookie Cat"!

He closed his eyes and took another bite of his ice cream treat, commenting happily, "So good"!

Just then, to everyone's surprise, Steven's gem started to glow again, but this time, the light did not fade; instead, it glowed brighter and brighter, in a bright flash of light, it formed a beautiful pink shield with a light pink swirl that grew from the gem center of the shield and a blue rim around the shield.

It looked absolutely gorgeous, like nothing no one had ever seen before! Garnet and Amethyst gasped in awe, Moonstone grinned excitedly while writing down what was happening in her notepad, and Pearl commented happily, "Steven, it's a shield"!

Pearl's comment made Steven open his eyes and see the shield first-hand, which made him comment in shock/surprise, "Oh! What?! I get a shield?! Oh, yeah"!

However, in his excited outburst, he accidentally launched the shield, which then bounced around all over the house before crashing into the TV, breaking the television.

"Oh my," Moonstone commented in shock while Amethyst laughed at how hilarious it was to see the shield cause such mayhem. Pearl, on the other hand, couldn't help but facepalm in response to what had happened.

Steven looked at the ice cream treat he still was holding, and it all seemed to click to him; apparently, the power seem to come out whenever he was eating ice cream, so perhaps...that was how he could activate it! The idea set in his mind, he declared, "Oh! Cookie Cat! I summon my weapon by eating ice cream"!

"What's in these things," Pearl asked while looking at the wrapper that was on the floor.

"Sugar, lactose, chocolate syrup; standard human ingredients, but nothing out of the ordinary that would cause one's gem powers to emerge like how Steven has," Moonstone answered while looking at the wrapper afterward.

Suddenly, the moment got disrupted when the house started to shake, and a loud rumbling could be heard from outside. The gems all looked to see what, or who, could be causing such a ruckus and outside the door, the silhouettes of a bunch of centipeetles, including one very large centipeetle, could be seen scaling to the top.

The large one seemed to stand out the most, with Steven asking while the shield in the TV faded away, "What was that"?

Garnet, Pearl, Amethyst, and Moonstone ran outside to look, and they found a gigantic centipeetle with white hair on top of the cliffside, and judging by the looks of it, that only meant one thing!

"It's the mother," Garnet called out before she leaped up to meet it face-to-face.

Pearl warned Steven, "Stay in the house, Steven," as she didn't want Steven to get hurt from having to fight this beast.

However, Steven really wanted to help, as he shouted while running inside, "No way! I'm coming too"!

He went into the kitchen and got a bunch of Cookie Cat ice cream sandwiches and a portable outlet to bring the freezer with him.

Back outside, Garnet had leaped up into the air and kicked the mother centipeetle in the head, but it didn't seem like it did anything to it other than aggravate it. It chased Garnet down to the bottom of the ground as Pearl, Amethyst, and Moonstone leaped down from the house to join Garnet in the fight.

The centipeetle let out a large roar before spewing a large blob of acid at them, which the gems all jumped away to dodge. They took cover behind a gigantic statue hand that was big enough to hide them and gave them a moment to catch their breaths, but the centipeetle spewed more acid at the rock, making it slowly start to melt and wither away.

"We could really use Steven's shield right about now," Amethyst commented to the other gems while the rock was slowly becoming mush.

Just then, a loud "Hey," got the centipeetle's attention, making it turn his head to see who called out.

It turned out to be Steven, who was carrying the freezer, which was plugged into a long chain of portable plug-in cords. He placed the freezer down and shouted at the centipeetle, "Leave them alone"!

"Steven! No," all the gems shouted in concern, worried Steven was gonna get hurt, especially since his powers were still new and they were unsure if his powers were gonna activate again.

Steven didn't look afraid, as he had a game plan: to eat a Cookie Cat and activate his shield again to protect his friends so they could fight that centipeetle and save the day! Completely fool-proof and without fail, right?

"Cookie cat crystal-combo powers, activate," Steven declared, ready to power up, taking a big bite from a Cookie Cat, thinking it would help trigger his shield to emerge again, as he watched the centipeetle approach him and lifted his shirt up, waiting for his gem to glow and do its thing again.

However, this time, there was no shield; there wasn't even a glow. It just...didn't emerge.

Steven noticed this, and he realized that his plan wasn't working this time, and not only that, but the centipeetle was getting very close to him with its acid-pouring jaws. In a panic, he grabbed the freezer and ran for his life, screaming in fear while the centipeetle chased after him.

"We need to save Steven," Pearl shouted, worried about Steven getting hurt.

However, her comment got the centipeetle's attention, as it clamped its jaws and tried to grab the gems but only crushed the melted rock.

"Can we save ourselves first," Amethyst commented as the gems ducked to avoid the acid-pouring jaws.

"What we need right now is a plan, and a good one," Moonstone commented.

Back with Steven, he had opened up all of the Cookie Cat ice cream sandwiches, telling the treats, "Goodbye, my friends," before he started to eat them, thinking eating more Cookie Cats would help.

However, instead of a gem glow or a shield, all he got in response was a tummy rumble, one that left Steven panicking, "Why isn't it working"?!

He had to jump out of the way to avoid another acid blast from the centipeetle.

Garnet peeled out from behind the rock, calling out to Steven, "Steven-," but as quick as lightning, the centipeetle's tail jaws reached down to clamp around Garnet. Garnet was able to stop them from closing but struggled to keep the jaws pried open so they wouldn't close on her.

Steven got up, worried for his friends' safety, but then, he turned his head and saw that the Cookie Cat freezer was broken dn sparking with electricity, almost as melted as the ice cream sandwiches he ate.

"Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no," Steven panicked when he saw the melted freezer, trying to see if there was some way to save it. But it was no use; it was almost...gone.

Looking at the shattered window, Steven then, to the gem's confusion while they tried to avoid getting hit by the acid spews, started to rap the chorus line of the Cookie Cat commercial slowly, "Cookie Cat, he's a pet for your tummy. Cookie Cat, he's superduper yummy"!

With renewed vigor, Steven grabbed the cord of the broken freezer, shouting, "Cookie Cat! He left his family behind"!

He spun it around and with a mighty declaration, "Cookie C-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-t," he threw the broken freezer at the centipeetle's back, giving it such a powerful electric shock that stunned it dearly.

"Now available...nowhere," Steven commented softly while dropping to his knees, seeing the last bit of Cookie Cat vanish in helping to save his friends.

The gems were surprised to see how Steven was able to neutralize the centipeetle, and in such an odd but unique fashion too.

"Well, that is one way to paralyze an enemy," Moonstone commented in surprise while Pearl was jaw-dropped by what she was witnessing Steven do.

"Yes," Amethyst cheered.

"Gems, weapons," Garnet told the three.

With a strong blast of energy, the remainder of the rock they were hiding behind was blasted away, and all 4 gems, with their weapons at hand; Pearl with her staff, amethyst with her whip, Garnet with her metallic fists, and Moonston with her lightsaber, were ready to fight, with Garnet declaring, "Let's do it."

In a powerful rush, the 4 gems rushed towards the centipeetle, who soon recovered from the electric shock, but got a full taste of the weapons hitting it, creating a powerful blast of smoke.

When the smoke died down, all that remained of the former centipeetle was a glowing green eyeball-like gem that fell to the ground, rolling right up to Garnet's foot, which caught it. She touched the top of the gem, encasing it in a pink bubble, before tapping the bubble and sending it off somewhere to be stored away so that the centipeetle could no longer do any harm.

Once that was finished, all seemed peaceful and calm again, except for one pressing matter.

The gems turned their heads and saw Steven, who was burying the last Cookie Cat wrapper in the ground and placing a leaf on top of the dirt pile while saying sadly to it while tears built up around his eyes, "Farewell, sweet Cookie Cats. I'll always remember the time we spent together."

Steven felt his stomach rumbling as he shushed his stomach, saying, "Shh. Hush now."

"Are you crying," Amethyst asked Steven out of curiosity?

"Only a little," Steven exclaimed.

Moonstone commented as she approached Steven and knelt down, saying, "Note: I never imagined this would be how Cookie Cats would want to be buried: up on a hill with its number 1 fan."

Garnet and Pearl joined up with Steven as Amethyst pointed out, "Well, I guess your powers don't come from ice cream."

"Of course, they don't come from ice cream," Pearl clarified, but seeing that it didn't seem to make Steven feel a lot better, she knelt down and told him reassuringly, "Don't worry, Steven. I'm sure someday you'll figure out how to activate your gem."

"It may be tricky, but I know you'll be able to figure it out," Moonstone happily added on.

"Yes. In your own Steveny way," Garnet added on.

Steven looked up at his friends and smiled, saying, "I'm okay, guys! I just...," but then, he got interrupted when his stomach rumbled again, making him add, "I-I think I ate too many Cookie Cats."

"Just so long as you aren't lactose intolerant," Moonstone added jokingly.

Everyone broke into laughter together, while Steven too was laughing, before he felt his stomach rumble eerily again and leaned over to vomit off-screen.

Chapter Text

Garnet: We...

Pearl and Amethyst: Are the Crystal...

Garnet, Pearl, Amethyst, Moonstone, Steven: Gems!

Garnet, Pearl, Amethyst, Moonstone, Steven: We'll always save the day!

Steven: And if you think we can't...

Garnet, Pearl, Amethyst, Moonstone, Steven: We'll..always find a way!

Garnet: That's why the people (Pearl, Amethyst, Moonstone, Steven: Of this world!) of this world! Believe in...

Moonstone: Moonstone!

Garnet: Garnet!

Amethyst: Amethyst!

Pearl: And Pearl!

Steven: And Steven!

Cheeseburger Backpack

In the morning, as the sun was rising high into the sky, Steven was seen sitting on a rock just outside of the beach house, waiting patiently in front of a white mailbox. As he was waiting, Steven was also singing a little ditty, "Hey, mister postman, bring me a post Bring me the post that I love the most."

On cue, a male delivery boy with brown hair, who was wearing a light turquoise short-sleeved shirt, dark aqua shorts, red sneakers, a white delivery safari hat, and carrying a tan satchel full of mail, turned the corner and approached Steven and the mailbox.

Steven, noticing this, became easily excited, his eyes glistening with star-shaped pupils as he happily exclaimed, "My song came true"!

He got down from the rock he was sitting on, asking the approaching delivery boy, "Do you have a package for me today"?

"Hold on. Let me see what I've got here," the delivery boy replied while looking into his satchel of mail, asking Steven while showing him a loaf of bread with stamps on it, "Did you order a loaf of bread with a stamp on it"?

"No," Steven replied

"Did you order a jury summons for R.J. Finkle," the delivery boy asked while holding an envelope.

"That's not me - I'm Steven," Steven clarified.

Thinking clearly again, the delivery boy responded before looking back into his satchel, "Oh, right, right, right, Steven," before pulling out a brown package, saying, "Here it is: Steven Universe."

Steven was very happy to see that his package had arrived safely, as he commented giddily, "Ha! This thing is gonna help me save the world"!

"Really? It says it's from Wacky Sacks supply company," the delivery boy pointed out while reading the labeling on the package.

Steven replied, explaining, "Garnet, Amethyst, Moonstone, and Pearl think I shouldn't go on magic adventures because I don't know how to use my gem powers."

"That seems reasonable," the delivery boy commented in agreement with the gems' thoughts on Steven's safety.

"But there are other ways I can help," Steven then pointed out.

"With a wacky sack," the delivery boy asked curiously.

"Exactly," Steven replied with the most affirmation in his little 13-year-old body that he could possess.

The delivery boy smiled before asking, "You know how you can save my world," before showing Steven a grey electronic pad, asking him, "Sign here, please."

Steven saw where the pen was and easily signed his name, adding little drawings of stars by his name for fun, as the delivery boy mentioned, "Barb yells at me if I don't get signatures."

"That's awful," Steven replied while placing the pen back in its holder on the pad.

Suddenly, there was the sound of something whimsical and bright light that shone from the inside of the house, which got noticed by Steven and the delivery boy.

Steven knew right away what that meant, as he gasped happily and shouted, "Garnet, Amethyst, Moonstone, and Pearl are back"!

He grabbed his package from the delivery boy and ran right inside the house, not hearing when the delivery boy called out, "W-wait! Steven! What is a wacky sack," which left the question unanswered...for now.

Steven pushed the door open, excited to greet the gems and show them hat he had ordered, but he was in for a surprise the moment that the door swung open, leaving him with a confused facial expression and a "Huh," escaping from his mouth as if to silently ask what the heck was going on.

Garnet, whose head was covered in white feathers, was the first to speak, saying, "Hello, Steven," to Steven.

Moonstone, who was plucking feathers that were stuck to her shoes, spoke next, saying to herself while pulling each feather, "Note: remind me never to wear sandals when dealing with avian monsters."

Pearl, who was holding a grey statue with blue hair and a white diamond in its hands, appeared to be talking to Amethyst off-screen, telling her with strictness, "Amethyst, we do not need that. It's not going to fit in the fridge."

Amethyst, who was seen holding a gigantic egg that was white and had blue star patterns on it, and eyeing the currently open fridge, trying to figure out how to fit the egg inside of it, replied back, "What? I got this."

She carefully pulled out the top tray, which had a carton of milk and a bag full of bagels, before dumping it onto the floor, which cleared a lot of space for the egg to fit. As Amethyst placed it easily inside, like a proud display, she commented happily, "Look! It fits," and slammed the door shut, oblivious to the sounds of the egg cracking inside.

"Oh, man, we could make a big omelet or a quiche or big sunny-side-ups," Amethyst suggested, thinking of tasty food options to do with the egg.

"Amethyst, do you think about anything other than your stomach," Moonstone asked while placing the feathers into a nearby waste bin.

Amethyst crossed her arms and said with a proud grin, "Of course I do. Right now, I'm thinking of what other fun dishes we could make with this bad boy! Maybe a giant deviled egg, or. bake it, or boil it into a giant hard boiled egg, or..."

While Amethyst was continuing to list the different dish options she was thinking of, Pearl, who was listening with an "annoyed/awkward" facial expression, then faced Steven and told him, just to answer the question she knew he'd ask, "We fought a giant bird. We're only here for a second. We've got to go back out."

"What? Why," Steven asked out of curiosity.

Pearl explained while showing Steven the statue, "We have to place this Moon Goddess statue on the top of the lunar sea spire before midnight. Without it, the whole place will fall apart"!

"Hey, Moon! Why arent YOU on the spire instead of the statue," Amethyst joked towards Moonstone, making her break into laughter Moonstone rolled her eyes in response but smiled in appreciation of the joke, as she commented in playful sarcasm, "Oh, referencing my name as a joke in relation to the statue. Where have I heard that before"?

Meanwhile, while Pearl was explaining about the spire to Steven, her pearl started to glow and show an image of what the spire looked like as she elaborated on its rich history, saying, "Oh, Steven, you should have seen the spire in its heyday. It was an oasis for Gems on Earth."

The holographic image ended as she added, "It's abandoned now, but we can still save it with this statue," as Garnet, Amethyst, and Moonstone came up and stood behind Pearl.

Steven was definitely surprised by all of this information before he suddenly got an idea, saying as his eyes gleamed with excitement and hope again, "Wha... That's perfect"!

"What? Why," Pearl asked in confusion.

Steven replied happily, "Because I can help carry it for you... in this," before placing his package on the floor and starting to open it in front of the gems. As an added effect on the excitement, he pretended to make revealing background noises as from the package, he pulled out a giant backpack that looked like a standard cheeseburger, but just as he raised the backpack over his head, he heard what sounded like classical music playing, more specifically, the beginning of "Also Sprach Zarathustra" which prompted him to look around and see where the music was coming from.

Garnet turned her head and saw Moonstone turning a dial on the radio that was on the coffee table. When Moonstone saw that she was being seen, she turned the dial all the way to "off" and commented while scratching her cheek with her finger, "Sorry. Just thought that Steven's reveal of the contents inside his parcel could use some more riveting reveal music," and joined back up with the other gems.

The Crystal Gems looked visibly confused by the backpack, with Pearl asking Steven, "A... hamburger"?

"It's a novelty backpack shaped like a cheeseburger," Steven happily explained before he realized that he ruined the surprise of the guess, commenting to himself, "Aw, I blew it."

He then added as he placed the backpack on his back, "I was just gonna wear it one day, and you guys would be like "Dang, Steven, that's so cool!" But this is obviously important Gem business."

"Note: I'm pretty sure that our reactions wouldn't be exactly as you portray it," Moonstone commented while stifling a giggle.

Pearl then spoke up, saying to Steven, "But yes, it is important gem business, so you should let us take care of it."

Her response made Steven feel a little disappointed as he pointed out, "What? I'm a Gem," and pulled up his shirt, revealing his gem to demonstrate his point.

"But you've still got a lot to learn," Pearl mentioned.

Amethyst suddenly chimed in, suggesting, "So let him come. It'll be educational."

"Note: Amethyst makes a good point; perhaps if he tags along, he could learn some things from us," Moonstone replied, adding to Amethyst's suggestion.

Pearl took the suggestion into mind, and she too found herself agreeing with the idea of Steven gaining some valuable knowledge and learning tips if he tagged along with them on this mission. So, with affirmation, she agreed to the idea, saying to Steven, "Hmm. All right. You can carry it in your hamburger," and gave Steven the statue.

Steven was in awe that he was gonna be entrusted with something very precious and get to help the gems on their mission at the same time. He received the statue and bent down, starting to unzip the backpack, opening it to place the statue inside. However, he noticed something interesting about his backpack, saying, "Check this out; everything's a pocket! Even the cheese is a pocket"!

He looked deeper into his backpack, saying while analyzing all the pockets, "I can fit a lot more stuff in here."

Deciding to pack some items up, he grabbed his backpack and told the gem before running to pack up, "Give me a minute. I'll pack extra supplies."

Steven then went about packing a bunch of times that he deemed would be useful for the trip: a pack of bagels that was lying on the floor, a sweater, a kite, an inflatable raft, and all sorts of things that he thought could be of great "use" on the mission.

When he was up in his room packing, he accidentally stepped on a toy doll that was turquoise, was wearing a crab bib and had its tongue sticking out, as the voice box inside it made a groaning sound when Steven stepped on it. Steven picked up the doll and shook it, laughing in enjoyment while the voice box in the doll said in a gruff male voice, "Kid, don't shake me."

"Mister Queasy," Steven easily identified the doll and laughed while shaking it again, the doll's eyes shaking as it was being shaken, with the doll's voice box adding on, "Ohh, I got a medical condition."

Steven thought that it'd be a good idea to pack Mr. Queasy up, saying as he tossed out a first aid kit to make room for the doll, "You're definitely gonna come in handy."

Before Steven could think of anything else to pack into his cheeseburger backpack, he heard Pearl call out, "Steven, let's go"!

"Uh, coming," Steven replied back as he scurried down the steps and out of his room, his backpack all packed up, and went to meet up with the other Crystal Gems.

When Steven made it onto the warp pad with the others, the gems noticed that Steven's backpack looked very full, with Pearl asking hm, almost sounding slightly annoyed, "Whoa, Steven, did you bring your whole room"?

"Back that thang up," Amethyst commented out of the blue, earning her a flick on the back of the head from Moonstone, who slightly scolded Amethyst, saying to her, "Amethyst, watch what you say around Steven."

"Sorry," Amethyst replied while rubbing the back of her head where Moonstone had flicked her.

"Let's warp," Garnet addressed as the warp pad under their feet started to glow. But when it did, the light didn't cover them entirely as Steven was somehow "blocking" the light, which was making it hard for there to be enough room for all of them to warp together.

"Suck it in, Steven," Amethyst shouted at Steven, pointing out what was happening.

In response, Steven took a deep breath in so the rest of the warp light could envelop him, which soon covered all the Crystal Gems, initiating warp travel.

"Do you remember how to do this," Pearl asked Steven, who began to float up a bit as the warp travel took effect?

Inside the warp, it felt like traveling through a wormhole, but with a lot of light, and it felt like zero gravity was around them as they traveled. Steven was experiencing zero gravity first-hand as he was floating in mid-air, flipping around like crazy, while the gems were able to remain standing.

As Steven floated closer to the edge of the warp, his head broke through the warp barrier, showing a black abyss outside that he was close to falling into, if not for Pearl grabbing Steven and pulling him back towards them while saying, "Keep your head in. Come on."

Soon, the Crystal Gems arrived at the location of the sea spire. The area was riddled with grey cliffs and rushing waterfalls that poured down from high above, and the crown of the area was the sea spire itself; a tall silver tower structure with spiral steps leading upward and dozens of windows/entrances to peek from.

Arriving on a nearby warp pad, the gems were greeted to the sight of the spire's current conditions, left in shock from how it appeared to look. Steven, who fell down to the ground after the warp light had disappeared, got to look up and see the sea spire, surprised by how it looked. He commented in awe, "Whoa! The sea spire"!

However, the Crystal Gems looked more worried by how the location appeared rather than in awe, the group commenting sadly, "Oh," in unison.

The spire itself looked very worn out, a chunk of the building crumbling off and falling down into the waters below.

"It wasn't like this a hundred years ago," Pearl commented while looking around and analyzing the current surroundings.

"I'm sensing structural instability," Garnet addressed while adjusting her glasses.

"Note: even the concrete of the tower's base appears to show signs of strenuous erosion and uncompatible stability upon it," Moonstone noted while writing down her observations in her notepad.

"Oh, yeah, that's never good," Steven commented, completely oblivious to the bit of ground that was beginning to crack underneath him.

However, it was noticed by Pearl, who panicked, shouting, "Gah! Steven," before picking him up just in time as the piece of ground crumbled and fell into the waters below.

"Phew, that was a close one," Moonstone stated while sighing a breath of relief that Steven was ok.

Pearl, deciding that this mission was WAY too risky for Steven to witness, held Steven up and hugged him close while declaring, "All right, hold on. We're taking Steven back"!

But when she squeezed him, it triggered something inside Steven's backpack that spoke out, "Ugh! My achin' stomach"!

While Pearl was startled by the voice and immediately dropped Steven in response, Steven was able to happily identify the voice and opened his backpack, pulling out his Mr. Queasy doll and hugged it, saying, "Oh, mister Queasy," while the doll's voice box spoke out as Steven shook it, "Kid, you're killing me."

Pearl was ready to have a gigantic hissy fit, shouting at first in frustration, "Steven! This place is your heritage"!

Moonstone approached Pearl, placing a hand on her shoulder and telling her, "Pearl, I can sense that you are developing a heavy amount of frustration due to your concerns and worries about Steven's safety."

"Of course I'm worried," Pearl responded abruptly, turning around and facing Moonstone as she vented, "We have very little time to get to the top of the spire and put the Moon Goddess statue on it to save this spire before it falls apart completely, and Steven isn't even taking it seriously! This mission has the risk of a place of his heritage and blood disappearing forever, and he thinks that this is one of those human "games" that he likes to play," while gesturing to Steven, who was continuing to shake his Mr. Queasy doll, laughing in enjoyment as it continued to make queasy-like sounds.

Moonstone then advised, "I understand, and we are all as concerned about Steven's safety as you, but now isn't the time to lose your cool about it. Perhaps you just need to implement the seriousness of this mission to him while also letting him still have the privilege of being able to be a part of this mission alongside us. Let him know that he just needs to have a focused mindset in an orderly but friendly manner. After all, while he is a developing 13-year-old male human, he is a kid, and you don't want to scare him into becoming afraid of doing these kinds of missions anymore, do you"?

Pearl knew that Moonstone was right, letting out a deep breath in an effort to calm her nerves before saying, "You raise a good point there, Moonstone."

Taking Moonstone's words into advice, she then turned to Steven, telling him, "Steven, listen. I want you to stay and help, but you've really got to take this seriously. Can you do that, Steven"?

Steven, who had placed his doll away back into his backpack prior to Pearl's talk with him, replied with an affirmative smile and a thumbs up, declaring, "You got it, dude," and playfully stuck his tongue out.

Pearl, unsure of what to make from Steven's answer, and self-doubting whether Steven really understood by what she said about taking the mission seriously, forced out an awkward "Yes," to try and reassure herself that he did understand.

Garnet then spoke up, addressing, "Enough; we have to move."

With that, the gems were on the move, heading over to the sea spire to get the statue up there before midnight.

However, when they reached the edge of the cliff that marked a wide distance between it and the entrance into the tower, Garnet had her hand up, signaling for the group to stop for a minute.

"What's the holdup? We can clear this easily," Amethyst asked, noting the seemingly easy distance to cover to get into the tower.

However, Garnet knew that there was something more to it, explaining, "No. The magic that sustains the whirlpool creates a vortex that will pull us below," while noting the power of the whirlpools in the water moat below.

"Note: the strength of the currents that commence the whirlpool's movements are strong enough to drag even the toughest of swimmers into the depths of the sea below," Moonstone pointed out while looking through a book she had about the sea spire.

And to add to the explanation, Garnet demonstrated by trying to throw a rock across, which hovered in mid-air when it got halfway through, before falling into the water.

"So we can't jump," Pearl asked Garnet, who nodded in response.

Suddenly, Steven got a great idea, saying, "Oh, wait," before pulling out some sweaters from his cheeseburger backpack.

"What are those for," Amethyst, who noticed what Steven was doing, asked out of curiosity.

Steven responded while tying the sweaters together, "They were for keeping warm, but check it out," before showing the chain of sweaters he made from tying them together.

With his chain in handy, he tossed the sweater chain over one of the window arches and had it hooked on tight, and with a look of determination, he readied to jump.

The gems, realizing what he was gonna do, gasped and shouted in concern, "Steven"!

When Steven ran and made the leap of faith, it first looked like the magic of the whirlpool was gonna suck him in, with Pearl shouting, "He's getting sucked down"!

"Steven," The gems called out to him in concern.

But Steven was able to get his footing on the side of the building and then used the sweater chain to run-climb up, shouting while he did so, "Cheeesebur-r-r-r-r-ger"!

Successfully, he made it inside the building, perfectly in balance, catching his breath, and most likely very terrified by the ordeal of what almost happened, while Pearl and Garnet, whose jaws were dropped in shock/surprise, an Amethyst and Moonstone were amazed by how Steven was able to make it across and luckily not fall into the whirlpool below.

"Woohoo! Yay," Moonstone cheered happily while Amethyst commented to Steven in praise, "Steven, way to go"!

Now, all that was left was for the gems to get across, and based on Steven's clever action, Amethyst had an idea of how they could do that, saying to the others, "Come on, guys"!

She summoned her whip and launched it, having it wrap around the same area that Steven's sweater chain was tied onto, and she grabbed Pearl, Garnet, and Moonstone, hugging hem close, before saying in a sing-songy voice, "Steven-style," and made the jump, swinging the rest of the Crystal Gems into the tower just like how Steven entered.

"Note: that was..." Moonstone commented, sounding soft and terrified at first, before declaring in utter excitement, "AWWWWWWWWEEEEEEESOOOOOOOMMMMMMMME"!

"Did you get that idea from that book about the human that was named after Indiana that I lent you yesterday," Moonstone excitedly asked Steven, who then asked her while smiling, "What's Indiana"?

Pearl, however, looked like she had just seen her life flash before her eyes, shouting to Steven at first while trying to recover mentally, "Don't ever do that again"!

"Sorry," Steven replied with a sheepish smile as Garnet, who walked by him, tousled his hair as her way of praising Steven for his quick thinking. Amethyst passed by him next while giving him a playful shoulder bump as her way of telling Steven that he did a great job. Moonstone walked by him next as she gently poked Steven in the ribs while giving him a wink as her way of telling him he did good work.

As Steven was about to join up with them, Pearl, who had calmed down, told Steven in praise, "But... it was pretty great," before she and Steven went to join up with the others.

Inside, the Crystal Gems began to make their way toward the spire while also inspecting the damage that the building has suffered. The inside was nothing like how the outside looked; it looked FAR WORSE, like everything could just disappear in the snap of someone's fingers. There was sea moss on the floor, puddles of water, crumbled pillars, statues, and almost any other forms of damage you could think of.

While most of the team was unfazed by the damage since they were focused on getting upstairs, Pearl, who was eyeing all the damages on the inside, felt her "neat-freak" instincts kick in, commenting in worry about the interior's appearance, "Oh, no, no, no. This is even worse than the outside."

She began to list off all the things that looked off/broken/wrong while the Crystal Gems made their way up the stairs to get to the top, saying, "Ugh, that's - oh. Oh, this didn't use to be so... Oh, and the water damage...This pillar...Oh, and this had a head."

"Geesh, neat-freak much, Pearl," Amethyst commented out loud, her joke making herself and Moonstone both snicker quietly.

Pearl shot an annoyed look at Amethyst and ignored the snickers, focusing more on the hope of the spire retaining back to its original beauty once the Moon Goddess statue was put into its place.

What no one saw at first was that behind one particular statue were two little unknown creatures that were light turquoise and had white spines on their backs, as Pearl told Steven, "Oh, Steven, once the statue's in place, it will restore all of this to its former glory..." but then, she noticed the two creatures that came up from behind the statue and got frightened, screaming before she summoned her spear and sliced the statue, sending it and the creatures into the water below.

Steven, who watched this, asked, "What was that goober"?

"Crystal shrimp," Pearl replied.

Moonstone shuddered, saying as she headed up the stairs first, beginning to enter the next floor, "I hate crystal shrimp; they give me the creeps. But we should be fine as long as we continue upward and get as far away from those crystal-Woah-oh," before she stopped as she retracted her foot, almost inches away from stepping on a crystal shrimp that was just below her foot.

"I...I came so close to-Ahhh," Moonstone commented while stepping back nervously before she jumped back when she saw another crystal shrimp that she barely grazed by.

Suddenly, while standing near the top step, she saw something that made her gasp in shock/concern while her eyes widened in disbelief.

"Moon? You good, girl," Amethyst asked her as she and Garnet came up the stairs to see what Moonstone had spotted, both Garnet and Amethyst gasping when they noticed what Moonstone saw.

When they got a look at what Moonstone had seen, Amethyst called out to Steven and Pearl, telling them, "You guys, we got a problem."

That prompted Steven and Pearl to come upstairs and see what was going on.

It turned out that the entire floor was covered by a large quantity of grouping crystal shrimp that were everywhere, almost making it too hard to pass through the floor.

"It's an infestation! And we have to pass through there to get to the top," Pearl commented while analyzing the formations of the shrimp.

Steven approached one of the shrimps and asked, "Can't you just squish 'em"?

Just before he could touch one, Pearl quickly pulled him back, shouting in concern, "Don't touch that! Their shards are deadly"!

"Note: there's so many of them," Moonstone commented while pointing to the many shrimp that were around.

Pearl pushed Steven aside and started to formulate a plan, saying, "We need to clear a path."

She then used her pearl to summon a hologram of Amethyst, instructing Amethyst, "Amethyst, if you go around to the side and disturb them with a spin attack..."

Then, she summoned a hologram of Moonstone in the far corner of the room, adding, "And Moonstone, you jump onto this side and create a slight disturbance by manipulating the rays of moonlight being shone through the windows in front of the shrimps..."

Then, she summoned a hologram of Garnet up on the ceiling with a marked X, describing, "And, Garnet, if you move to the ceiling and strike this exact spot..."

Pearl then summoned a hologram of herself, starting to explain, "Then I can advance with my-,"

But just before she could explain the rest of her plan, Steven, who had pulled out a bagel sandwich from his cheeseburger backpack, waved it in front of the shrimp and shouted, "Bagel sandwich," before throwing it, and then throwing another one, at the crystal shrimps. And, low and behold, the shrimps all crawled over to the sandwiches, making an open, clear path to the route to the top of the tower.

"Brilliant," Garnet commented, impressed by how the idea had worked.

"Steven, you loveable genius," Moonstone added on in praise.

"Oh, hey, what do you know," Amethyst mentioned, happy that there was now an easy path.

The use of the bagel sandwiches making the shrimps move left a surprised Pearl to ask Steven once she made her hologram vanish, "How did you know that would work"?

"Well, if I were s shrimp, that's what I would do," Steven happily answered.

"You are a shrimp," Amethyst commented as she, Garnet, and Moonstone began to make their way up the path.

Steven happily followed them as Pearl trudged behind, addressing, "I just want everyone to know; my plan would have also worked."

As the team made it up the stairway, Garnet suddenly sensed something and held her arms up to protect the rest of the team, saying, "Watch out"!

By the side of the wall in the room that they would've just entered, a cracked arch-shaped wall began to burst and break apart, expelling a large gushing stream of water that flowed through the crack between them and the other side.

"Note: that's one rushing river," Moonstone commented, pointing out the power of the river's flow.

"What are we gonna do," Amethyst asked, the gems curious to figure out an idea on how to solve this crisis. But this time, they all looked at Steven curiously, with Steven looking up and seeing the gems were waiting for HIM to have an answer, as he asked, "What? Me"?

"What have you got," Garnet asked encouragingly.

Amethyst started to chant for fun, "Cheeseburger backpack! Cheeseburger backpack," as Steven began to look through his backpack.

"Moon, get in on this," Amethyst called out to Moonstone.

Moonstone chuckled, saying, "Well, as the humans say, "When in Rome..,"

Both girls then started to chant, "Cheeseburger backpack! Cheeseburger backpack"!

Amethyst then looked up at Pearl and told her, "Pearl, come on"!

While reluctant, given how Steven's backpack had saved them all twice so far, she was willing to see if it would work a third time as well, admittingly wanting to see what Steven would pull out next. So, she let her guard down and commented, "Ohh, all right."

Amethyst, Moonstone, and Pearl then started to chant together, "Cheeseburger backpack! Cheeseburger backpack! Cheeseburger backpack," while Steven looked through his backpack to see what could be of use in this situation.

Luckily for him, he had just the right item; he pulled out an inflatable raft while declaring, "A raft"!

He pulled on the orange cord and inflated it, the raft expanding so it'd be big enough to hold all of them. Garnet, Moonstone, and Amethyst were amazed, while Pearl happily commented, "Steven, that's so sensible"!

Now came the time to put the raft into action as Steven threw the raft onto the water...which ultimately led to the river pulling the raft away from them and going down a gigantic waterfall.

Steven, Pearl, and Amethyst watched in worry, becoming concerned that now there would be no way to cross the river. But Garnet and Moonstone had another idea up their sleeve involving one of the pillars of the building. Garnet kicked the base of the pillar while Moonstone jumped up high and sliced the top base of the pillar off with her lightsaber. Then, with a mighty elbow bump from Garnet, the pillar fell over, with Moonstone shouting, "Timber," as it fell over and landed safely on the other side, making a steady bridge to cross.

"Good idea, anyway, Steven," Garnet said to Steven as she crossed the pillar bridge first.

As the other Crystal Gems followed with crossing the bridge, Amethyst commented, "Yeah, they can't all be winners," which earned her another flick on the back of the head by Moonstone as the group made their way up the stairs.

The Crystal Gems made their way up the long flight of stairs before finally reaching the top of the tower, where the spire rested, and the spot for the Moon Goddess statue to rest on. Up on top, you could see possibly everything from beyond, and the pedestal glimmered under the light, the shelf shimmering with a sense of glorification.

"This is it; the Moon Goddess pedestal," Pearl commented before pointing out the moon's position, where it was almost overhead, saying, "And the moon is almost overhead"!

"Going by its angular position, I say we have at least 2 minutes top," Moonstone pointed out while measuring with her fingers.

"It's not too late to save this piece of history," Pearl commented happily, the Crystal Gems ready to place the statue on the pedestal.

Garnet turned her head towards Steven and told him, "Steven, the statue."

Steven swung his backpack over and began to fish through it to grab the statue, only to come across a frightening discovery: it wasn't in his backpack! His cheeseburger backpack had everything else he packed...except the statue! He dug into every possible pocket and came up empty! It truly wasn't there!

"Steven? Is everything ok? I sense troubled emotions brewing in your conscience," Moonstone commented to Steven.

"What's the holdup," Amethyst asked him

The horrified look on Steven's face was enough to make the gems worried, but when Steven frighteningly admitted, "I don't have it," they gasped in shock, with Pearl exclaiming, "What"!?

"I must have left it on the bed," Steven replied while panicking.

"This is bad! Without the statue..." Moonstone started to say before the gems looked up, seeing the moon almost in position, Pearl adding as she covered her mouth in concern, "There's... there's no time"!

Suddenly, when Steven looked through his backpack, he came across something that could possibly work as an alternative. He shouted, "Wait! I have an idea," and pulled out his Mr. Queasy doll.

"Could that work," Amethyst asked in suggestion to give it a try.

"The logic behind it actually possessing some stellar ability to keep the spire intact leaves very uncertain possibilities! The statistics alone are 99.99999999% it not working to 0.000000001% that it'd actually would work," Moonstone pointed out while panicking as she tried to calculate the odds in her notepad.

Pearl, Amethyst, and Moonstone looked up at Garnet, who gave an unsure shrug in response.

Steven, however, felt that the risk was worth taking and approached the pedestal, placing his doll on it, as it fell over, the voice box said, "Ugh, kid, don't shake me."

Suddenly, the pedestal began to glow, expelling a light that went straight up to the moon, which was in perfect alignment with the doll. The doll began to hover and go upward towards the moon, with the Crystal Gems all watching silently in shock, wondering if this was actually gonna work.

Suddenly, halfway through its hovering, the doll stopped, hovering in mid-air, and began to shake before it exploded in fabric and stuffing, much to the shock of the group.

Just then, the sea spire began to shake, rumbling that felt like a massive earthquake that struck the gems, who all tried to keep their balance as the spire began to become surrounded by the ocean.

"Everyone, keep steady," Garnet warned before Amethyst fell on top of her.

Moonstone fumbled on top of the cracking floor before she fell over, gripping onto the edge of the floor, trying to pull herself up.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no," Steven panicked as he tried to get to Pearl, but fell backwards on a piece of crumbling floor, before all of the gems felt the waves of the ocean envelop them, bringing down what was left of the sea spire with it.

The ocean soon calmed itself and remained still, an eerie silence emitted through the air in the thick of night.

Suddenly, a small circle of air bubbles was seen forming before Steven emerged, floating on top of the water, gasping for air. Behind him, Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl emerged from the water, gasping for air as well.

Suddenly, Steven noticed that someone was missing and asked worryingly, "Wait, where's Moonstone"?!

The group then heard a shrill whistle and looked up, spotting Moonstone, who was using her hands to control some moonlight and made herself a standing platform that was floating above them. Moonstone grinned, shouting, "Geronimo," before making the light platform vanish as she dove into the ocean, soaking Garnet with a huge splash of water before swimming back up to the surface of the water, saying, "Sorry, I couldn't resist a proper sea dive."

Garnet smiled and playfully pushed Moonstone in response, the Moonstone gem backstroking as a result.

Steven, however, still felt bad that he wasn't able to save the sea spire in time, saying while looking down in guilt, "This is all my fault. I broke it."

However, Pearl reassured Steven by telling him, "No, Steven, the spire was falling apart when we got here. You handled everything well under pressure. You did great"!

"Pearl's right; you handled the obstacles we faced, while albeit not as any professional would've done it, brilliantly," Moonstone added on.

"Yeah, 2 out of 4 of your ideas worked - that's 50%," Amethyst pointed out.

"Since when are you a math whiz, Amethyst," Moonstone playfully remarked to Amethyst with a smug smirk.

Amethyst groaned from the wiser gem's comment and splashed Moonstone in response.

Steven, taking his friends' words to heart, began to feel better, saying, "Yeah, I guess you're right - they can't all be winners."

Suddenly, the group noticed something begin to bubble from under the water, and the mysterious object that was forming the bubbles was none other than the inflatable raft, which had floated all the way up to them, and gave them a clear ride home. Steven couldn't help but cheer in response as the group began to climb onto the raft while Amethyst, Pearl, and Moonstone started up the chant again, saying in unison, "Cheeseburger backpack! Cheeseburger backpack! Cheeseburger backpack"!

"It's a three-hour paddle home," Garnet bluntly addressed, which silenced the mood quickly.

Moonstone stretched her arms up, saying, "Well, I might as well get my swimming exercise out of it," and dove back into the water, beginning to help Garnet with the paddling by pushing the raft from behind as she kicked her legs, which functioned similarly to a motor engine on a boat.

Steven pulled out a wet bagel from his backpack, offering, "Anyone want a wet bagel," as they began to make their way across the sea back home.

Steven Universe - Zach Callison

Pearl - Deedee Magno

Garnet - Estella

Amethyst - Michaela Dietz

Moonstone - Anita Kalathara