Part 1
It's been a year since the incident happened and Steven was alone the last standing Crystal Gem, or at least the last one still standing for earth protection. He had no choice but to mature and he knew what he had to do, he needed to be like his mom and find other gems to help him. But he didn't know where to start, he couldn't ask anyone with all of the Crystal Gems gone.
It was dark Stevonnie couldn't see anything besides what the gems light could reach which wasn't much only about ten feet. Stevonnie only walked for ten minutes but what felt like eternity before they seen Pearl standing by the door to Amethyst room. When their eyes finally adjusted to the light they noticed Amethyst laying on the ground in front of pearl, no signs of movement from either of them. Suddenly Amethyst head jerked towards them and said one last thing.
"RUN STEVEN!" You could hear the pain and fear in her voice.
That's when it happened the thing Steven would never forget. Pearl summoned her Sword and plunged it into Amethyst Gem. Her body lurched forward eyes wide still staring in Stevonnie's direction before a puff of purple, glittering smoke which hid pearl and the now shattered gem that was once Amethyst. Without even thinking a rose colored bubble appeared around Stevonnie. They couldn't bring themselves to move, they were stuck there as if being chained to the floor by some ominous force. The smoke cleared and what they saw might just be the thing that allowed them to move. Pearl was no longer standing by the door to the rooms she was standing in front of Stevonnie Sword drawn back she made no noise in her movement even with the squeaking floor boards. Reflex told Stevonnie to increase the size of the bubble before popping it causing Peal to be blown back from the shock while pulling Roses sword from their gem, they did just that. Pearl was almost disarmed from the sight of it but that didn't last very long. Stevonnie knew if they were no match for Pearl but they had to try. Pearl came at them fast Stevonnie went for a thrust it barely grazed Pearl's left shoulder causing nothing more than a flesh wound. Pearl took the chance and went for a direct strike to the gem. For Stevonnie time seemed to freeze and they began to glow, they felt their thoughts and emotions begin to separate both almost the same but still similar. Suddenly it happened Steven and Connie were separated, Steven was forced backwards and Connie didn't seem to move from where Stevonnie was standing looking at Steven with what seemed like a smile then she mouthed something that he wouldn't register till later. Almost all at once Steven realized what was happening but it was too late as he hit the ground it felt like he was in the air forever. Connie's eyes widened and she inhaled sharply as her head flew back. Steven jerked awake in a cold sweat, and gasping for breath, these dreams haven't stopped since it all happened each night it was something different from the last but they still remained the same. He was scared but he knew that he had to be brave and fight the fear. He leaned back and there the words lied carved into his ceiling the words that he lived by.
"Strong in the real way"
His eyes filled with tears.
"Am I really strong?" He asked himself this everyday.
"If i were they would all still be here. Amethyst, Ruby, Dad, Conn-" he was cut short by a lump that formed in his throat. He almost resented himself for not being able to stop them, for not being able to move, for being weak. He tried to push these thoughts away but they rested in the back of his mind, they never actually went away just wasn't as potent. He continued with his training almost the same way pearl showed him only instead of holograms he had made plant people like the watermelon people that helped Alexandrite. The same plant people he used to guard the island even though it was almost completely deserted. Steven tried to convince himself they were for security but he knew it was only because he didn't want to feel lonely like before. He had his top plant people stand guard closer to the temple. They were stronger and more durable than the rest he called these one the Crystal Fruits they each had traits from the Crystal Gems and cared for him just as much. Steven walked around the whole island daily looking for anything new, it was quiet and empty as usual besides from the buildings of hiding people. Beach City always seemed to be cold no matter how much the sun hit it the temperature never got looked around the broken island and couldn't help but to remember the good times he had only about a year ago. He thought about his time on the teacups that made him motion sick that made him remember .
"He sure did keep that promise of us not being allowed in Funland after we broke that ride." Steven chuckled to himself. Memories like these are what kept Steven from snapping after what happened. He tried his best not to think about it as much as possible.
