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Cracks began forming throughout the ceiling; ancient murals carved into the stone marred and broken beyond legibility. Connie and Steven looked across the dome shaped room in a panic. Their feet moved before they could think, their echoing screams soaring through the dusty air, muffled by the falling rubble. More were given by the Crystal Gem's, but their voices could no longer carry through the crumbling halls of the forgotten and soon to be buried temple. Amethyst and Pearl had been pulling out the rocks from the collapsed grand hall, Garnet having to pull them back before the intersecting room they stood in collapsed with the rest of the temple. They didn't have time to go back down and save them. Steven and Connie were utterly alone.
"Garnet! Garnet, listen to me! We can use Sardonyx's drill and dig-" Pearl pleaded.
"We'll only accelerate the collapse! Come on, move!" Garnet bellowed, tears already streaming from her left eye and rolling down her jawline.
"They'll die! We have to protect them!" Pearl let out in a terrible screech. It took all of Garnet's strength to pull her along and make their way out of the crumbling ruin.
The trio was soon running as fast as possible, once beautiful carvings and depictions of great gems turning into dust around them. Garnet's vision was clouded by only the worst possibilities, Amethyst's throat couldn't release a sound as she trudged on, and Pearl had covered her mouth with a hand to silence her wails. Soon they emerged from the exploding dust cloud and the blazing sun greeted them with a disgusting shine. The low rumble of the underground tunnels collapsing was deadened from the shifting sands, the trio left to wait for the temple to collapse into itself entirely. Garnet explained as best she could, having to dissipate her gauntlets to wipe away the tears and readjust herself.
"If Steven can bubble himself and Connie we can dig them out once everything stops shifting. If we try now, even with Alexandrite... We would only hurt them or ourselves." A silence fell after she spoke, only the explosions of dust filling the air with noise as they began the terrible wait.
A meaty thump resonated through the loud rumbling. Steven wasn't fast enough. Connie had tripped forward from the ground cracking, a stone hitting the back of her head and sending her sliding across the sandy rock to Steven's feet. She was out cold, a collapsed mass of human meat slowly being coated in sand and dust as the coffered dome ceiling suddenly caved in. Steven's instinct to reach down for her was overtaken by his need to protect.
"No! Connie!" he bellowed out, her name dragging from his throat as the bubble that formed around them cracked and began to give way. Connie's head laid against the sandstone between his feet, his legs steadily slipping apart as the weight grew heavier and heavier. Steven's mind raced as he thought of what to do. They had been on so many missions but this was seeming more hopeless by the moment. He had grown stronger along with Connie, but suddenly he felt weaker than ever. He had to hold on until the gems could help... If they could help.
"No! No! I'm not... Done!" he forced out, one hand keeping the bubble in place while he formed his shield. In one fluid motion he widened the shield and threw all his strength into the ceiling in desperation, the bubble shattering and all his strength being pushed to its utter limit. But it didn't help. The weight spread his feet further, his soles sinking into the rock and his muscles beginning to burn. He was definitely a Quartz, but this was insane. Without the bubble shielding all sides, the sand had begun to bury Connie's legs and stomach, her fingers twitching as she came to. Steven's blurry vision slowly moved down, his body shaking and gem glowing as he slowly fell into sorrow. He looked down at her, tears streaming down his cheeks and into his mouth, teeth grit painfully hard as he tried to pull more strength from his gem. Nothing came, and suddenly Steven faltered. His hands slipped from the shield and he was forced to catch it with his elbows, forearms pressed into its concave surface. He thrust his forehead into it, trying to use every inch of his body to protect her. His eyes slowly shut, tears pouring down his face as he began to apologize.
"I can't save us... I can't... I can’t shield us forever... It's too much! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" He screamed out, the pink glow of their doom chamber fading as he was forced down onto his right knee. He had to suddenly react and look down, making sure he didn't hit her head. It was so painful. Everything was so utterly painful. Looking down at her was so painful. His eyes shut again, struggling to even draw a breath as the dust slowly suffocated them. This would be the end.
"Steven... Steven! Steven!" Connie screamed, hair clinging to her sweat coated face and blood pouring down her neck from the wound on her head. Steven's eyes opened up wide, his teeth still grit together and frowning as he apologized again through his teeth.
"I'm here! I'm here for you!" she cried out, tears falling out of her eyes as she carefully pushed herself against him, sitting up on her knees as she pulled her legs from the slowly encroaching sand. Her arms raised and pushed on the shield with him, elbows touching as their forearms pushed together.
"I can't... Do it..." he whimpered, his head slipping to rest his forehead against hers. He couldn't stop the doubt that gripped his throat, choking his voice away along with the asphyxiating room.
"It's okay... I love you. I loved you... Forever." she spoke, her forehead rubbing against his as they pushed with all their might. Just when Steven had given up and thought there was nothing left to give him strength, she was there, holding up his shield. Even though she knew she was only human, she put all her strength into it and pushed. When he had no strength left, she'd be there to share her own.
The room flashed with more light than they could take, their bodies fusing together and the shield above growing larger until it began to cut into the rock around them. Stevonnie couldn't stop smiling as fresh, radiant tears rolled down their face. Despite having hardly any oxygen left, they began to laugh. Pink petals grew around their left foot as they stood up, forcing the sandstone and rubble upwards with their combined might. The bubble reformed and started to grow, their gem glowing as bright as ever as they held their hands up and released their shield. Their bubble continued to grow, spreading the sands above until it wouldn't stretch any further.
"You...Stay...THERE!" Stevonnie screamed out, their voice echoing from their pink interior. With a clenched right fist and tears staining their dust coated skin, they leaped straight up into the center of the convex surface.
An explosion unlike any other erupted from the sand, firing a mushroom cloud into the sky. The Crystal gems stood in awe for a second before running up the dunes in a wildly curious panic. The bubble had popped with all of the fusion's raw strength behind it, their form flying through the sky and out of the dust cloud before the gems could even finish the climb up the shifting dune. They yelled out for Steven and Connie as their fusion softly landed in the sand, turning to see them all running. It took a few moments to process, but before they could separate more tears rolled down. Stevonnie pushed their hands up into the tears and smeared them into their cheeks. The laughing started to mix with sorrow filled crying, the Gems surrounding the now 7'8” tall fusion. The entire group became a crying mess, the sand coated fusion suddenly splitting apart in the form of Steven and Connie embracing. They cried, kissed and above all else Steven touched over her head, finding no injury or blood left on Connie's head. The gems soon crowded around them, a tight group hug that grew all too warm in the desert sun.