Chapter Text
Chapter 1: The Children from Nowhere (Part 1)
Steven knew his target was in his house when he heard the whoosh of the Warp Pad in the living room. He tensed in his perch on the ceiling beam that he made his perch, readying himself to strike.
“Steven! You know I can sense you.”
Steven said nothing. Instead, he bent his knees, squinting at the floor beneath him.
“Come on out, Steven.” He heard the footsteps of his target approaching the room.
“Steven” A patch of black came out from beneath him.
“Stevenbomb!” Steven sprang out from his perch, letting gravity pull him down to body slam his kill….
Only to bounce of the puffy block of black hair that belonged to his guardian. She stopped walking and tilted her head up, staring up at the boy smiling down on her.
“Got you again, Garnet!” Steven chimed, beaming with pride at his accomplishment.
A half smile formed on Garnet’s face. “Yeah, you got me” she said, affection in her voice.
Steven laughed as Garnet picked him up and set him on the ground in front of her.
“So…did you find them?”
The smile on Garnet’s face faded. “No, Steven. We searched everywhere in that part of the ocean, but any trace of Lapis, Jasper, or Malecite on our mission.”
Steven blinked as his face fell. “Oh…” he sighed. “It’s been more than four months… how much longer do you think they can stay like…that…”
“Normally, four months is nothing to a Gem, especially a fusion. But with a fusion as unstable as theirs…I’m not sure what this amount of time is going to do…” Garnet stopped, noticing the expression on Steven’s face, and smiled again. “Don’t worry, Steven. Lapis is a strong Gem. I’m sure she can take whatever Jasper can throw at her.”
The expression on Steven’s face didn’t change, but he said, “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
“Cheer up, Steven!” Amethyst chimed as she and Pearl walked into the room. “Jasper was wreaked when she fused with Lapis, so there’s no way she could take control of that fusion!”
“Well…” Pearl said, with a finger resting on her chin. “Technically speaking, Lapis was also hurt after Peridot’s ship crashed. She was also likely depraved of rest during her imprisonment in Homeworld, so there’s no guarantee that…”
“Pearl…” Amethyst hissed, through gritted teeth.
Pearl blinked and looked at Steven, as if just noticing that he was there. “O-o-oh! S-s-s-s-Steven” she stammered sheepishly, shaking her hands at Steven profusely. “Well, it probably wouldn’t make that big of a difference Steven! I’m sure Lapis fine, you know? Thousands of feet under the ocean, trapped in an unstable fusion with a violent, enraged Homeworld Gem who’s out for the shards of our gems, who might just…split apart…at… any…moment…” Pearl stopped talking when she released that the rest of the Crystal Gems were staring at her.
Garnet coughed into hand to get everyone’s attention “Steven…Isn’t Connie going to be here soon?”
The light in Steven’s eyes reappeared immediately upon hearing his best friend’s name. “Oh, yeah!” he exclaimed, grinning as he ran across the room to grab his cheeseburger shaped backpack from the wall. “Thanks for reminding, Garnet!” he said as he jumped up to give his guardian the fiercest hug to her torso he could muster in two seconds. Garnet lightly circled arms around him before he broke away and did the same for Amethyst and Pearl.
“See you guys later!” Steven shouted behind him as he ran out the door. The second it closed, Pearl gave a relived sigh and Garnet pinched the bridge of her nose, as if annoyed by something.
“Smooth, Pearl.” Amethyst deadpanned.
“Thank you, Amethyst.” Pearl replied, without the slightest bit of irony in her voice.
….
Much to Steven’s surprise, Connie was a few minutes late for their get together. Usually, Connie made sure to arrive a few minutes early to make sure she wasn’t late for her appointments.
Steven smiled in his seat on the hand of the Gem Temple, his ukulele resting on the thumb next to him. Connie’s caution and insistence on being punctual was always something that endeared her to him. Much like everything else in her life, she threw her absolute best effort in being on time for her friends. Maybe it was this drive for perfection that drew him to Connie to begin with…
The clatter of footsteps shook Steven from his thoughts, along with the advancing sounds of huffing and puffing from a running body. He turned his head behind him, only to come face to face with a pair of dark brown eyes on a dark face.
“I am so sorry I’m late, Steven!” Connie managed to exhale, struggling to catch her breath as she did so. “I got a B- on last Friday’s Pre-Algebra quiz. Mom and Dad made me go over flash cards for twenty minutes before they let me go to bed!”
Steven blinked. “The abacus has that punishment on there?”
Connie sighed. “Yeah. Normally, I don’t get any less than an A on those simple quizzes, but I guess since I’ve been training with Pearl…”
“You…still haven’t told your mom?”
“No… I’m not sure if I can, Steven. If this is how she’s going to react to a simple B- on a Pre-Algebra quiz that doesn’t even matter, do you really think she’s going to take me training with swords well?”
“Well, you’ve gotta tell her some time!” Steven exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air and putting them down just as quickly. “What if she finds out you’ve been doing this stuff behind her back? She might never let me see you again!”
“I know, Steven….” Connie sighed, eyes looking down sullenly. “I’ll tell her…eventually. But I can’t guarantee that she won’t try to stop me if I do that….
“Connie…”
Connie looked back up at Steven, with a sudden smile on her face. “Let’s not worry about that now. What about you? What’s going in your universe?
Steven sighed and looked down at the ocean below him. “Well…not much. The gems haven’t exactly been home lately…”
Connie frowned. “Are…they still looking for Lapis Lazuli?”
“Yeah… They still haven’t seen a trace of her or Malecite.”
“Well…it’s a big ocean, Steven. I’m sure Lapis is down there somewhere… It’s only a matter of time.”
Steven looked at his best friend through the corner of his eyes. Connie was smiling at him, trying to make the statement seem genuine. Yet…Steven couldn’t help but recall Garnet’s tone voice when she had told her that. The words and smile seemed right, but the tone of voice… was like when his father had tried to calm him down when he was small. Or when Pearl got nervous when he asked about the war. It was clear to him that Connie didn’t really know that it was a matter of time, but was just telling Steven that so he would feel better…
With that in mind, Steven smiled back and said, “Yeah…I guess you’re right.” He reached behind him and pulled his ukulele into his lap. “Sooooo…. What do you say we get this jam session started?”
Connie placed the case she was carrying on the ground and pulled out her violin. “Hold on. Let me tone this thing.” As Connie fiddled around with the pegs and tuners on her instrument, Steven turned his head to face the ocean once again. The sky above was cloudless, allowing the dawn to shine down in its complete colorful radiance. The water below was calm, save for the occasional tiny wave that churned its way around the rocks by the shore. The ocean was like a giant slab of aquamarine (the gemstone, not the Gem sub species. Not that Steven had ever meet one in person anyway.), with the foam from the tiny waves making white streaks on the surface, and the light of the sun reflecting off the water in golden and orange sparkles.
It’s such a beautiful day, Steven thought as Connie finished tuning her violin. Steven took a deep breath, inhaling the prickly scent of sea salt, and felt the warm wind caress his face. He looked back down at the ocean, and, when he heard Connie place the bow on her violin, he knew exactly what he wanted to sing about.
Steven placed his guitar in the ready position and started to strum. He spent eight measures just strumming the string, processing the thoughts in his head into music, with Connie playing her violin with his tempo, then sang:
Oh, waves across the great big shining sea!
Can you reveal all your secrets here to me?
Can you remember all the miles that you crossed?
Can you recover all the things that you have lost?
Oh, sea, you’ve been here since the ancient past!
But lately the good times don’t seem to last!
Like all the smiles on the one’s that I know
Oh, the time just seems to flow
Before you and your waves brought so much joy.
But I’m just no longer a boy
And your joys fade into the mist
Over the ones that everyone’s missed!
So, waves across the great big shining sea!
Can you reveal all your secrets here to me?
Can you remember all the miles that you crossed?
Can you recover all the things that we have lost?
Steven took a little breath when he finished and closed his eyes. When he opened them, he noticed that Connie was staring at him.
“That was…good.” She said. “Though uncharacteristically sad for you.”
Steven slumped his shoulders. “Sorry, Connie.”
Connie immediately backtracked, shaking her hands in denial. “Not that that’s a bad thing, Steven! Music is for expressing yourself after all!”
Steven shrugged. “I guess you’re right” he replied looking back into the ocean. He didn’t really know exactly what he had been thinking. He just played what he felt in his gut, like he usually did. He gave a little sigh, distracting himself with how the sunlight reflected off of the water, shining white and gold and blue and pink….
Wait….pink?
Steven blinked, rubbed his eyes, and then stared back out into the ocean.
“Steven…” Connie said, inquiry clear in her voice.
“There’s something pink in the water.”
Connie blinked. “What?”
“Out there!” Steven pointed. “Near the beach!”
Connie looked to where Steven was pointing, and sure enough, Connie saw a little splash of pink, swirling in the blue of the water. “What is that?” Connie said, squinting as she did so. “It’s way too small to be Lion, and he hates the ocean anyway.”
“I don’t know.” Steven said as the spot of pink was pushed to and fro, back and forth, with the movement of the waves. Slowly but surely, the pink was being pushed toward them, and it was clear that whatever it was, it was going to land on the beach soon.
“Let’s find out what it is!” Steven shouted, standing up as he did so.
…..
By the time Steven and Connie had gotten down to the beach, the pink object had washed onto the shore. As they ran towards it, Steven saw that the pink was only one small part of the object. The rest of the object was blue, with…a rainbow on one part? Steven was confused by that part, but the answer became clear as to why there were so many colors.
“It’s a person!” Steven shouted, shock clear in his voice.
“Oh, my god!” Connie replied. Both children immediately rushed down the person, still partially covered by the passing waves, and dragged them away from the water. Once that was done, Steven held the unconscious person while Connie checked for vitals.
“The heart is still beating, but… Steven, raise the head! I’m going to do CPR!”
Steven did as he was told, as Connie exhaled into the person’s mouth and did chest compressions. Thankfully, it only took a few compressions for the drowned person to start coughing up.
“Oh, thank God!” Connie said, relief apparent in her voice. Steven felt a weight lift from his chest, as the drowned person started breathing normally. Then, Steven felt a real weight on his chest, as the person pushed against it.
“Let me go” the person gasped out, the voice higher than Steven expected.
“But…you’re still…”
“I’m….fine!” the person gasped again. “Just…let me go!”
“Steven.” Connie said. “Do what she says.”
She? Steven let go, taking a step back to get a look at the one they rescued.
Now that Steven was looking closely, Steven saw that the person was indeed a girl, not much older than himself. She was quite a bit taller than he was, and had a lean and lanky build to her. She was dressed in sky blue hoodie that went down to her knees and pink boots that went up to her ankles. On her chest was a black badge of sorts, with a white mark that was in a shape that Steven didn’t recognize.
But what really got Steven’s attention were her hands and face. The girl didn’t have hair that was like any other human he had seen. No…her hair was…pink. Bright reddish pink hair that stuck out all over the place, and cut rather short. Steven hung around plenty humans with very strange hair, but not one with naturally pink hair. Furthermore, while the girl’s face looked normal at first glance, there something…different about her eyes. They were forest green, which wasn’t that unusual, but Steven couldn’t see any pupils, no matter how hard he looked.
Adding to the strangeness of the girl’s appearance was her ribbon of pastel yellow fabric, which was tied in a bow on the side of her head. Not that Steven minded such things, but it didn’t seem to match the general appearance of her outfit. Stranger still were the girl’s gloves, which were rainbow patterned and….glowed. Steven blinked, unsure of what he was looking at, but the gloves were actually glowing, the faint light swirling in the same rainbow pattern that was weaved into the gloves.
Steven looked at Connie, about to ask her something, but one look at his friend told him that she was just as confused as he was.
Steven turned his attention back to the strange girl, whose breathing had become ragged and uneven. “Are…you okay?”
“Where…am I?” the girl said. She tried to take a step toward them, but she stumbled. Steven caught her, pushing her by the shoulders to stand her up straight.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Steven said, doing his best to sound reassuring, as the girl leaned forward into him, head resting on his shoulders. “Take it easy! You’re going to be alright!”
But instead of a verbal response, Steven felt the full weight of the girl fall on him. He pushed her out slightly to see her face, only to see that her eyes had fallen shut.
“Connie!” Steven yelled, turning to his friend. “We need to get her to the house!”
….
The Gems were rather shocked when Steven and Connie came running into the house, carrying an unconscious girl between them. Pearl’s immediate barrage of questions slowed them down a bit, and Amethyst trying to get in their way and see who they were carrying certainly didn’t help, but they eventually set the girl onto the couch, with her head resting on one of Steven’s pillows. Her breathe was still very ragged, even when they set her down entirely.
“Connie?” Steven asked, worried. “Is she going to be alright?”
Connie placed her head on the girl’s chest, placed her hand on her head, and then turned to Steven. “Her heart beat is fine…but she’s really hot, her breathing is really off, and she seems really exhausted. If she doesn’t come around soon, we should take her to the hospital.”
“How did this happen?” Pearl asked, louder than she intended, stress clear in the high pitch of her voice and hands on her cheeks.
“We don’t know!” Steven replied, shaking his head. “She just washed up on the beach unconscious. She woke up for a little bit, but she didn’t seem to know where she was, and then she fainted.”
“Huh.” Amethyst grunted, as she just watched something mildly amusing. “That’s weird. Why was she unconscious in the ocean? Shouldn’t she have drowned or something?”
“Probably.” Connie answered. “Though thankfully that didn’t happen.”
“I don’t think we will have to wait that long for answers.” The sound of Garnet’s voice drew everyone’s attention near the door, where the Crystal Gems’ leader stood, leaning against a wall.
Steven blinked. “Do…you see that in your future vision? Will she wake up soon?”
Garnet gave Steven a small smile, adjusting the glass on her face as she did so. “Why don’t you try using healing again, Steven? Let’s see what happens.”
“Really?” Steven hesitated, looking down at his feet and twiddling his thumbs in his hands. “But…. are you sure it’s going to work?”
“Believe me, Steven.” Garnet replied, the light from ceiling flashing across her glasses for a second. “I’m sure.”
Connie turned to Steven and said, “I think we should try it, Steven. I’m sure it will work too, and even if it doesn’t, no harm will be done.”
Steven blinked at her, and the expression on his face turned serious, “Okay. Let’s do it.”
“You can do it, Steven!” Amethyst chanted from her place from the backing of the couch, hanging above the girl.
Steven turned to the girl and closed his eyes, taking a moment to focus. His thoughts were derailed immediately when he heard Pearl say, “Now remember. Try to concentrate on the feelings that made your powers work the last time. I believe that’s the key to…”
“Pearl…” Garnet and Amethyst groaned, not even trying to hide their annoyance.
“Sorry! Sorry! Just…you can do it Steven!” Steven could practically hear the awkward thumbs up and goofy Pearl was giving him in her voice, and he giggled slightly at the image.
Steven open his eyes, and licked his hand, making sure to get a good coat of saliva over it. As he did so, he remembered the time that he fixed Connie’s eyesight, and when he fixed Lapis Lazuli’s cracked gem. True, his healing might not have worked since the incident with his father, but right now, someone needed his help, and even if Steven didn’t know this girl, she wanted her to be okay. He needed to make this girl well again. He opened his eyes, feeling everyone’s eyes upon him, tension from himself and his friends filling the room.
Once he coated his hand, Steven stepped forward, thinking “Please! Get well!” and pressed his hand against the girl’s head.
Nothing happened.
Steven wasn’t entirely shocked, but he still couldn’t help exhaling in disappointment, or noting the release of tension from his Gem guardians and Connie. “Aww…it didn’t work.”
Steven felt Connie’s hand on his shoulder, and turned to see Connie looking at him. “You did your best, Steven. That’s all we can ask for.”
Steven didn’t reply, turning his face back towards the girl’s and closed his eyes, not bothering to keep the storm of thoughts from roaring in his head. Come on! Please! Why won’t you work? Did I do something wrong? Please, I just want to help this person…so please….”
Then, out of nowhere, Steven felt a warm tingle in between his fingers. His eyes snapped open, and he saw his spit, covering his hand and pressing itself on the girl’s forehead, was glittering with blue and pinkish light. Steven’s eyes wide in shock. He almost didn’t hear Connie gasping in wonder beside him, or Garnet’s confident grunt that seemed to say What did I tell you? or Amethyst’s excited “Woah-ho-ho!”, or Pearl’s triumphant cry of “You did it!”
Steven saw that the girl’s breathing became steadier and that she was no longer sweating. Then, the girl gave a content sigh, and a smile formed on her lips.
When the glitter in his hands faded, there was no trace of the spit on the girl’s forehead or Steven’s hand. The warmth was gone. Connie gave Steven a little nudge, and he stepped to the side. Connie put her hand on the girl’s chest and placed her head on her chest. Then, she turned to face Steven and the Gems, with a big grin on her face.
“The fever’s gone!” she exclaimed. “And her breathing is back to normal!”
Steven heard Amethyst and Pearl cheer for him, and found himself laughing when Amethyst picked him and threw him up and down a few times in celebration. When Pearl made Amethyst set him down, he saw Garnet walk over the group, beam at him behind her glasses.
“I knew you could do it.” Garnet said, ruffling Steven’s hair as she did so.
“Well…thank you for believing in me, everyone!” Steven replied, feeling the stars form in his eyes as the joy ran through his being.
Garnet smiled at him one last time before turning to face the sleeping girl. “She’ll wake up in a little bit. Then, you can see what you can find out about her.”
...
Steven went into the kitchen to make some sandwiches for Connie, himself, and the girl, when she woke up. After that stressful few minutes, they deserved some snacks.
Steven hummed to himself as he placed the peanut butter and jelly on the slices of bread in front him. He was happy. His healing spit had finally worked. That power hadn’t worked since his father had pretended that his powers hadn’t worked on his broken leg. Maybe he really was getting the hang of his own powers. If he could keep this up, then maybe he could become as good as his mother…
Steven continued humming as he put up the strawberry jelly and peanut butter away on the counter above him. I’ll have to tell Dad that I’ve gotten my powers back. He’ll be so happy! And he won’t feel guilty about faking being hurt anymore! I mean, it wasn’t good for him to do that and I lost my powers over it, but hey! No permanent harm done! And he only did it because he wanted to spend time with me! It’s not his fault that we don’t hang out as often…
Steven grabbed the plate of sandwiches and went back into the living room. There, he saw Connie sitting on the cushion next where their mysterious girl was laying down.
“Sandwiches!” Steven chimed.
“Oh!” Connie turned to face Steven, who had placed the plate in front of Connie and sat down on the floor. “Thank you! I did not realize how hungry I was until we came inside!” Connie sprang from her sat, came down into the floor next to Steven, and grabbed two sandwiches. Steven did the same, and was just about start stuffing his face, when he heard a moan erupt from the couch.
Steven and Connie turned, and sure enough, the pink-haired girl was starting to stir. She pressed the back of her hand onto her forehead, as she opened her (still without pupils, Steven noticed) eyes. “Where…. Where am I?”
“You’re awake!” Steven exclaimed, a huge, goofy grin appearing on his face.
“I…can see that” the girl managed to groan out. “But where am I?”
“You’re in my house! Connie and I found you washed up on the beach, so we took you to my house!”
“How are you feeling….well, what’s your name?” Connie asked. She gave a smile, trying to be reassuring, but she couldn’t keep the concern out of her voice.
“Name?” The girl sat up in her seat, still holding her head.
“Yeah!” Steven chimed. “We never got your name when we were on the beach with you! What is it?”
“My…name…” The girl looked down at them, as if confused by the word.
“Yeah, your name!”
“I…don’t… I don’t know…”
“You don’t know?” Steven gasped.
“Ohhhh no….” Connie groaned. “Okay then, do remember how you ended up in the ocean then?”
“Nn…no” the girl replied, placing her hands onto her temples.
“Do remember where you were before you feel into the ocean?”
“No”
“Do you remember anyone that you know? I’m sure that they’re probably worried about you…”
“No”
Steven blinked, worry forming in his belly. “Do you…remember anything?”
The girl turned to look at him. “No.”
…….
There was a mild uproar in the house after that little statement. Connie rushed to find the nearest phone before Steven could remind her that the Crystal Gems didn’t have a house phone. For her trouble, Connie ran face first into Garnet, who had just entered the room with the other Crystal Gems. After a moment of rubbing her head and briefly telling the Gems about the strange girl’s loss of memory, Connie grabbed Steven’s cell phone and walked into the kitchen to call the hospital (AKA: her mother).
Meanwhile, the Steven and the rest of Gems were keeping the girl company in the living room, with Steven and Amethyst sitting on either side of her on the couch, and Garnet and Pearl remaining standing, looking contemplative.
Amethyst seemed particularly interested in the new girl. She kept asking the girl questions, usually related to something she was wear or where she was from. Seeing as the girl had amnesia, this went as well as one would think.
“So…. where did you get those shiny rainbow gloves?” Amethyst asked, pointing to the girl’s gloves.
“I don’t know.” The girl replied,
“What’s the thing on that plastic on your chest?” Amethyst asked, pointing her the black badge.
“I don’t know.” The girl replied, irritation slipping into her voice.
“Who did your hair?
“Who…what?” The girl pinched the bridge of her nose, head lowering like she was in pain.
“Amethyst…” Steven warned.
“Well…” Amethyst tried to backtrack. “I only meant that someone had to do it. How else could your hair be that color?”
“The color was always like this.” The girl replied, looking down while stroking a curl of her pink hair. “I think.”
“But….”Amethyst stared at the girl blankly. “You’re a human. They don’t have hair colors like that.” Amethyst looked at Steven and the other two gems, as if asking for confirmation.
“Amethyst…” Pearl groaned, as Connie walked back into the living room. “Can you please stop interrogating the human with no memories?”
“What? I’m just trying to get to know her better.”
“I can understand that.” Steven said. “But it’s kind of hard to get to know someone when they don’t know anything about themselves.”
“That sounds like something off a fortune cookie.” The pink-haired girl said, and then blinked.
“Oh!” Steven chimed, with stars in his eyes. “You remember something.”
“Oh, joy!” The girl replied sarcastically. “I recalled the existence of a glutton filled junk food! That’s super helpful!”
“Calm down.” Garnet said, walking towards the crowd by the couch. “Connie, what did your mother say?”
Connie cleared her throat before speaking. “Well, after spending the first five minutes congratulating me for giving proper CPR, mom said we should send her to the hospital ASAP. The doctor would probably check for head trauma and see if she can remember anything significant. If she could, we would notify her next of kin. If she didn’t…well, do you have any identification on you…?”
The girl shrugged and said, “No.”
“No ID? No credit card?”
“Credit…Card?” the girl replied, cocking her head to the side.
Connie groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Of course not. That’d be too easy. If that’s the case, then….”
“Uhh!” The girl shouted in pain and slammed her hands onto the side of her head.
“What’s wrong?” Connie yelled.
“Headache…” The girl groaned. “Really sudden, painful headache. And your shouting is not helping me….”
“Headache? What…?”
Before Connie could finish her thought, suddenly Steven felt the ground beneath him shake, and he fell against Garnet. Before he could register what was happening, both Connie and the strange girl feel against the couch and the other Gems were struggling to stay on their feet.
“E-e-e-e-e-e-e-earthquake!” Steven managed to force out, though he could barely hear himself over the rumble of the earth. He pressed his face against Garnet’s chest, as the rumbling continued.
Over the quake, Steven heard Garnet yell to Pearl and Amethyst, “Get the kids!” and felt Garnet carry him out the door. His breath hitched as Garnet leaped up and landed on the beach below his house.
However, just as suddenly as the quake began, it stopped. As Steven regained his breath, he heard Pearl and Amethyst land next to Garnet and Pearl exclaim, “What on Earth was that?”
“What on Earth indeed….” Garnet replied, as she set Steven down at the same time Amethyst and Pearl put down their children.
“Do....earthquakes happen often?” the girl asked.
“No…” Connie said. “Not unless something magical is happening.”
“True.” Pearl said, with a finger on her chin in thought. “But those tremors came from deep in the Earth. If I didn’t know any better, I would say it was a natural earthquake. But that can’t be right. Beach City isn’t located near a tectonic plate.”
“Then the cause couldn’t have been natural.” Garnet concluded. “But what could make an earthquake so deep…” The glasses on Garnet’s eyes flashed a bit, and Steven knew right then she had thought of something. “Wait…do you guys sense that?”
Steven blinked… and immediately knew what Garnet was talking about. The air around them was buzzing, like someone had tied guitar strings onto his gem and started wailing away at them.
Apparently the other Gems felt it too, because they started looking around themselves, confused by the change.
“Uhhh….” A familiar groaning turned Steven’s attention back to the strange girl, who was rubbing the temple of her head with her fingers. “What’s this pressure?”
Garnet looked at the girl. “You can feel it too?”
“Yeah. Whatever it is it’s giving me one hell of a headache.”
“I…don’t feel anything.” Connie said, looking between all of them for clarification.
“How bizarre.” Pearl said, ignoring Connie. “It’s magic. I haven’t felt magic like this since….”
At whatever thought Pearl was thinking, her eyes widened in panic, and she hastily turned her head to her leader. “Garnet…you don’t think…”
“I know, Pearl.” Garnet replied, adjusting her glasses. “I haven’t felt this sort of energy since before Amethyst emerged. Since…”
“What are you guys talking about?” Connie asked, concern in her voice.
Garnet and Pearl looked at each other. From their expressions, Steven could tell that they really wanted to keep something hidden from him….again. He groaned in his head. He was getting tired of not knowing important details. He was tired of not knowing because “he wasn’t ready.” Especially because whatever this thing they were feeling was, Garnet and Pearl were scared of it. If that was the case, then the situation was going to be trouble for everyone involved.
“Guys…” Steven said. Whatever this thing was, Steven didn’t want the Gems leaving him in the dark again. Even if the Gems thought they were protecting him….he didn’t want them to face danger alone.
“Steven….”Garnet begin. “Do you remember the story about Mt. Ebott?”
“Uhhh….” Steven looked down at the sand, trying to recall that old fairytale.
“If I remember right…” Connie finished for him. “A long time ago, before humans started recording their history in writing, we lived alongside with another race.”
“Another race?” Steven asked. “You mean…besides Gems?”
Connie nodded. “Humans had a lot of names for this race. The Fair Folk. The Other Crowd. The Good Neighbors. Fairies. Monsters…. Regardless of what we called them, they were blessed with powerful magic.”
“Really?” Steven exclaimed, stars forming in his eyes. “That’s so cool! Why haven’t we heard of them?”
“Because we humans wiped them out.” Connie replied grimly, wiping the smile clean off of Steven’s face. “The ones we didn’t kill, we sealed drove into the caves under Mt. Ebott. There, seven wizards sealed the entrance of the mountain with a magic spell.”
“But… but…” Steven blubbered, looking down at the sand and holding his head in his hands. He couldn’t believe it. Why would humans do such a thing? What did the monster do for the humans to do that? He looked back up at Connie when he realized he had said his thought out loud.
“Steven…we were afraid of them.” Connie said. “We didn’t live with the Gems at the time, so we weren’t used to magic. And if the legends are true…then these creatures had powers unlike anything we’ve seen.”
“But what does that have to do with now?” the girl demanded, straightening up her back and looking at the Gems.
Pearl looked down at ground, fingers resting in her mouth, before taking a deep breath. “That energy we were feeling….it was magic unlike anything we’ve seen in a long time. The last time we’ve felt it was when the monsters were sealed away.”
“Wait…” Connie stepped forward, hand on her head. “So the legends were true?”
Garnet nodded. “Believe us. We were there when the monsters got sealed away. All of their magic was sealed underground. Nothing we knew could escape the wizards’ seal. So if we’re feeling their magic…”
“Then the seal is broken.” Steven finished.
Garnet nodded in conformation.
“Then that’s a good thing!” Steven exclaimed. “They’re free after so long! And we’ll have a huge group of friends with magic like us!”
The fearful look that Pearl gave him immediately derailed his hopes, as she got down on her knees and placed her hands on his shoulders. “I would like to think that, Steven. The monsters we knew were kindhearted and noble. They didn’t deserve to be sealed away. But that was thousands of years ago. During that time, the monsters we knew might be gone, and the new monsters might not like humans for sealing them away for so long. And even though humans are used to magic because of us Gems, they might still hate monsters because of their differences. If the monsters are actually free now…”
“There might be bloodshed.” Garnet finished, what little Steven could see of her face grim.
Steven blinked, and looked at the water ocean. Another war between humans and these monsters? Just when the monsters just came out? But…humans were different now. Sure, some of them were jerks, but most of them, like his father and everyone else in Beach City were such good people. They always adapted to change, if they had the chance. If the monsters were free, then surely they could get along with humans…. Could they?
Steven looked down at gut and place his hand on his belly. There, he felt his mother’s rose quartz gem underneath his shirt. If there really was a war between them, you wouldn’t just let it happen again, would you? He thought. You said that there was beauty in everything, even in things where people didn’t see it. If that’s true, then that would be true for these monsters right? If I could see for myself…
Steven gripped the gem tighter. He knew what he wanted to do. He looked up at Garnet and smiled. “Well? Let’s get going!”
…..
The five of them ran back into the house, with the strange girl lagging a little behind. By the time they were up the stairs, the girl was gasping for breath, leaning on the door for support.
“Wait…” She gasped. “Slow down…”
“You’re still not feeling well, are you?” Connie asked, as Steven got his backpack and went to the refrigerator to get supplies.
“Uhh… I still have a headache.” The girl replied. “Whatever that magic is, it hurts.”
“Weird. I don’t feel anything.”
“What’s so weird about that?”
“Steven and the Gems are… well, Gems. They’re magical beings by nature, so it makes sense that they would feel it. You’re a human, so why are you…”
“Whatever the case is, she’s staying here.” Garnet said, with a tone of finality.
“Wait, what?” the girl said, pushing Connie aside and marching up to Garnet. “Why?”
“You’re an untrained human with no memory and you’re weak.” Garnet said simply.
“There are monsters coming from the mountains and you want me to stay put?” the girl yelled.
“You’ll be safe here.” Steven said. He walked up the girl and put his hand on her shoulder. “Don’t worry. As soon as we talk to the monsters, we’ll come back and get you. We’ll get to the hospital and find you a home. Just don’t worry, okay?”
Steven gave the biggest, most reassuring smile he could, and, though she seemed to hesitate at first, the pink haired girl gave a small smile back. “O…okay…”
“Good!” Pearl piped up. “Connie, do you have your sword in case things go south?”
“Yeah…” Connie replied nervously, as she holstered the training cutlass over her shoulder.
Steven looked her, raising an eyebrow. Connie sighed and looked down at the floor. “I…really don’t want to use this… Not on things that can think…”
“If you don’t want to go, then you don’t have to.” Steven replied as sympathetically as possible. Using the swords on Holo-Pearls was one thing, but putting Connie in a situation where she had to use them on creatures that were like people, where she had a great chance of getting hurt…
Connie shock her head and looked Steven in the eyes, her eyes full of determination. “No, Steven. These are people that haven’t been seen in thousands of years. I can’t just stand by while Earth’s future is going to change. And if they mean to harm the Earth…” Connie tightened the grip on her sword before continuing. “Then, what have I been training for, ya know? I’ll fight to protect my home.”
Steven didn’t like the fact that Connie was joining them, or that she would be willing to hurt other people, but the look in Connie’s eyes told him there was no arguing.
“Hopefully, you won’t have to, Connie.” Garnet said, looking at her as warmly as she could through her glasses. Then, just quickly as the look came, it left, leaving an emotionless expression. “Let’s go, team.”
“Right!” Everyone chanted at the same time as they ran to the Warp Pad at the back of the room, leaving the girl by the couch. Once they were all on the circle of crystal, Garnet said “Pearl, do the honors.”
Steven nodded, looked to the girl, and waved to the girl. “Bye! Have a great day!”
The girl looked at him as the pad hummed, signaling its activation. Then, without warning, the expression on her face hardened, her tiny smile turning to fierce glare, like a tiger that had just seen its prey.
As quick as a flash, the girl ran to the Warp Pad as it started to glow. The girl shouted, “Screw you guys! I’m going with you!” as she jumped and landed on the pad.
“Wait, stop!” Steven exclaimed. But it was too late. The Pad flashed with white light, warping the Crystal Gems and the strange girl into the unknown.