'Chapter 1'

'It was a sunny day at the town of Beach City, Connie and Azurite stood on the beach house porch while Lion was resting next to them. The young human girl had her hair tied up in a ponytail along with a backpack hanging over her shoulders.

The dual-colored Gem smiled down at the girl and patted her head, "I like what you did with your hair, Connie." he said.

"Thanks. I felt like changing it up a bit for a while now." she said, with a small blush on her face. She shook the blush off and brought her attention back to the inside of the house. "Steven, come on!" Connie called out to her half-Gem friend.

The young half-Gem walked out of the house while holding a package with a pink bow. "Sorry. I just had to make sure I had everything." he said before grabbing a teddy bear. "I bet Lars will really appreciate this package his parents put together for him. And MC Bear Bear! To hug if he gets scared." he said then placed them in the girl's backpack.

"I'm so excited we're finally going to have a space adventure together. Steven, Connie, and Azurite in space!" Connie excitedly said as she closed up the backpack.

"Well, I've been to space before, so I'm not too excited." the dual-colored Gem said, smiling sadly at the girl.

"I'm not so sure this is gonna be an adventure. Last time I saw Lars, he was huddled up in a dark cave with some other Homeworld fugitives." the young half-Gem shrugged.

Oh yeah." the young girl said, some of her excitement dwindling. "Well, I'm ready for anything." she said, placing the backpack over he shoulders once more.

The young half-Gem then got Lion's attention followed by the pink creature to sit up before rolling over onto his back and purring. The two children and Gem laced their hands on their faces and looked at the scene with big eyes. "Aww." they gushed.

The two children and Gem then stared at each other with seriousness, "We have to stay on task." the half-Gem said with Connie and Azurite grunting in agreement before they headed into Lion's mane.

The three friends then found themselves overlooking a field, with the half-Gem and human holding their breathes, and at a lone tree in front of them and nodded towards each other.


Transition

The three friends suddenly fall out of Lar's hair as it glows pink. The pink human stared at the three in surprise, the teenage Gem having reverted to his child-like form so as to fit through.

"Steven?" Lars said.

"Lars?" Steven said in confusion, both in the location they were in and at the teen's attire which consisted of a cape. The boy took notice of the rest of the Gems in the room and before he could question his friend any further a Gem came into view on the ship's screen. She had green skin along with spiky hair and what seemed to be a gold diadem on her forehead with her gem being where her right eye would be.

"It's over! I've got you now, you miserable Off Colors!" the Gem yelled at the crew in anger.

"You'll never take us alive, Emerald!" Lars said with confidence, standing up from the chair and pointing at the Gem with his cape flowing.

"W-What is going on?" Steven asked.

"Captain, I'm having a vision. We're about to be discovered...By Emerald." Padparadscha warned the captain as she sat on the left side of the control console.

"Wait! Captain!?" the three children said with stars in their eyes.

"Thanks Padparadscha." Lars nodded to the small Gem. "Fluorite, how are the engines looking?" he asked, looking towards the staircase on the ship.

"Leeeett meeee chheecckk…." the multiple fusion Gem said before descending down the stairs towards the engine room.

"Twins, fire up the nova thrusters." Lars said as he pointed towards the Rutile Twins, who sat in the middle of the control console.

"Yes, captain/Right away, captain." the twins replied.

"No! No! Those are my nova thrusters! That is my ship!" Emerald argued against the idea.

"Rhodonite, everything clear up ahead?" the pink human asked the fused Gem.

"For now." the fused Gem replied with a hint of worry.

"It was a minor inconvenience when you stole my personal shuttle and crashed it on Upsilon 9. It was an insult when you impersonated imperial officers during a cosmic jubilee. But to steal my Sun Incinerator is unacceptable!" Emerald cried out while some of the Off-Colors giggle and Lars looking smug.

"If this ship means so much to you, maybe you shouldn't have left it unguarded in the docking bay of Klavius 7." Lars said with the smug look still on his face.

"There were 67 elite Citrines guarding it!" Emerald yelled at him.

"Oh. I didn't see them. No, wait. I did. They didn't see us." the pink human said.

"Oh, I'll get you! I'll get you myself! I'll do it right now. I'll blow you up to smithereens!" Emerald chuckled madly, either not noticing or caring that a gemling was on the ship.

"Good luck catching us. We stole your fastest ship!" Lars said.

"The engines are aall sseetttt." Fluorite informed the crew.

"Twins, hyperspeed us out of here." Lars ordered the twins.

"Right." the Rutile twins nodded.

"You will not go at hyperspeed! Emerald shouted.

"Bingo-Bingo" Lars smirked as he did finger-guns at the green Gem.

"Off-Colors!" Emerald cried out before the screen cut off.

"Man, she's been on my tail since sector four. That's like three sectors ago. Get over it, right?" Lars said then smiled down at the young half-Gem before both gave each other a hug.

"Lars! I have so many questions! Uh, where'd you get this ship? And more importantly, where'd you get that cape?" Steven asked.

"Stole 'em." Lars said, chuckling.

"Stteevveen. Is thhhhaaaat another human frriieenndd?" Fluorite asked the young half-Gem as she popped put of the engine room.

"Yeah, I'm Connie. Happy to be aboard." the young girl said with a smile and giving her a salute. " You must all be Lars' crew." she said.

"They're more than that." Lars said, chuckling. "Without them, I'd still be stuck in a cave on the Gem Homeworld. They were able to figure out a way off that lame old planet." he said but widened his eyes at noticing the dual-colored gemling. "No offense." he said giving him a nervous smile.

The gemling then puffed out his cheeks and gave the pink human a mock glare before a light engulfed him and he shifted his body back to his teenage form.

"Well, we never would have been able to steal a ship without Lars. He can slip past all the scanners undetected." Rhodonite said.

"Her name is Connie." Padparadscha said, using her past-vision again.

"And now a few stolen ships and a couple of space crimes later, we're finally on a course toward Earth." Lars informed the two children and Gem.

"Hey, you know, speaking of Earth, your parents put this together for you." Connie said as she handed the package that was stored in her backpack to him.

"Oh, finally! Clean jeans! Oh, man! And my skull gauges! These are perfect!" the pink human said, but sighed as he thought more about it and looking at the teddy bear Steven included in the package. "They didn't have to do all this. I'll be back on Earth soon." he said.

"We are excited about your Beach City. I look forward to a planet of sand and water." the Gem twins said excitedly.

"Yeah!" Lars agreed. "And my house. And my trampoline. The Big Donut! And Sadie...How is Sadie." Lars asked the Steven as a concerned looke formed on his face.

"Oh, really, really good!" Steven replied.

"Oh. Yeah?" the pink human asked, surprised.

"Now she's Sadie Killer and the Suspects. Her band is awesome." Steven said as he handed Lars his phone.

"She looks really happy...without me." Lars said, an upset tone in his voice.

Suddenly an alarm blares through the ship as warnings flash around it as well. "What's going on?" Connie asked in worry while Steven calls out Lar's name. However, the pink human was too focused on the images of Sadie.

"Captain Lars, a huge battleship is approaching fast. It'll be here in just five quads. What are your orders?" Rhodonite asked as she and the other Off-Colors became concerned.

"I don't believe this. How is she having such a good time without me?! Does she even know I died out here?!" Lars said, angrily.

"Of course she does! She's been worried sick!" Steven told him while Azurite was conflicted wondering if the human was feeling that Sadie forgot about him or if he felt jealous of her.

"Already three quads away." Rhodonite said.

"What should we do?" Connie asked as she went beside the fusion.

"We could drop out of warp and ambush them, but that might be too risky. Or maybe we find a nearby planet to hide on? I'm not sure!" the fusion told the human girl.

"What do you usually do?" Connie asked.

"Usually? Usually we just follow Captain Lars' orders!" Rhodonite said.

"Captain Lars has taken so many risks on our behalf. We need him!" the twins shouted.

"Oh, no! The warning alarm! We're in danger!" Padparadscha said.

"Do you hear that? Your crew needs you." Steven said.

"You don't get it, do you, Steven? It should be me." the pink human sniffled. "I'm the one that should be hanging out with the Cool Kids! She's getting back at me for everything I've done!" Lars said as he cried.

Suddenly, the dual-colored Gem clenched one of his hands and used his other hand to slap the pink human across the cheek. The result echoed through the ship stunning the children and the crew to silence.

"Because she can't stay miserable, Lars!" the teenage Gem said, gritting his teeth before it turned to a somber look. "I know how it feels when you lose someone close to you, but we have to keep moving forward and we can't let tragedies keep us down. But just because she's doing better now doesn't mean she doesn't miss you. Even when your stars across from each other you can still feel the spark you have with the ones you care about." the dual-colored Gem said before turning to look at Steven and Connie and giving them a warm smile which the two children smiled in returned.

The teenage Gem then turned back to Lars, "Lars, you're not doing any of this to hurt Sadie, are you?" he asked the pink human.

"No! I'm doing this because I have to. I'd never do this to hurt Sadie because..." Lars said, tears welling up in his eyes.

"Because!/Because!" Steven and Connie said then grasping each other's hand. "Because you're best friends!" they cried out as a bright light engulfed them and both children fused.

"And best friends wouldn't do anything to hurt each other." Stevonnie said.

The dual-colored Gem smiled widely with stars in his eyes before he sprouted his water wings and used them to fly towards the fusion and tackling her. "Stevonnie!" he said as he nuzzled his cheek against hers.

The fusion giggled and wrapped her arms around her mate, "Missed you too, sweatpea." she said.

The dual-colored Gem then formed a deadpan look on his face, "You know that Sadie and Lars might be more than friends, right?" he whispered to her.

"Yeah. But, I think they should figure that out for themselves." the fusion whispered.

"It's here. An imperial warship has just caught up to us." Rhodonite informed the crew.

"What?" Lars said in concern.

"An imperial warship?" Stevonnie spoke to herself, as she broke the embrace and stared towards the screen. The crew see their ship exit warp and a larger ship begin to charge it's weapons towards them.

"The Destiny Destroyer! Their main weapons are pointed right at us!" Rhodonite said in alarm.

The captain looks down at the picture of Sadie with a smile, "Hmm, pulling out the big guns just for us, huh?" he said before standing up from the chair and handing Steven's phone to Stevonnie. "With a ship like that, Emerald could wipe us out in an instant, if she really wanted to." he said.

"Of course she wants to!" Rhodonite yelled.

"Incoming message from the Destiny Destroyer." the Gem twins informed the captain.

"Onscreen." Lars said.

The captain of the Homeworld vessel then appeared on the screen, "Did you really think I wasn't going to be able to track my own ship? The Sun Incinerator's specialized nova thrusters give off an energy signature I could recognize from the other side of the galaxy. Now surrender to me or be destroyed!" she said madly.

"I'd never surrender to you!" Lars laughed her off and turned away from the screen. "Blow us into stardust like you've always dreamed of." he dared her.

The Gem commander stared at the pink human in surprise and for a brief moment was caught off guard on what to say to him but then found her voice back, "Very well. Prepare yourselves for destruction!" she said before the transmission cut off.

"Lars, what are you doing!?" Stevonnie asked angrily the pink human.

But, Lars ignored her and looked towards Rhodonite. "Drop the shields, Rhodonite." he ordered.

"But that would leave us open to their attack! We wouldn't stand a chance!" Rhodonite agued against the idea.

"Trust me, we'll be just fine. Now lower the shields." Lars said as he tried to reassure the fusion.

"But..." Rhodonite said, unsurely.

"The destroyer's weapons are charged at 90%. They're preparing to open fire!" the Rutile twins nervously informed the crew.

"Lower the shields! That's an order!" Lars yelled having the fusion do so albeit nervously as she shook. The larger ship fired as the shields were lowered but the energy from the weapons only grazed the ship having it shake while the crew cried out in alarm.

"Twins, what's our status?" Lars asked as he tried to shake off his own nervousness at the close hit.

"Our weapons and shields have been knocked offline, but...otherwise we're fine." the twins replied in surprise.

"We're still... alive! The lasers barely grazed us!" Rhodonite said surprised herself.

"Emerald is about to attack, but she's going to miss on purpose." Padparadscha said.

Lars chuckled at the outcome, "Bingo-Bongo" he said at the small victory.

Suddenly, Emerald appeared on the screen again with an outraged look on her face, "What do you think you're doing?!" she asked Lars.

The pink human's chuckle turned into full blown laughter, "You really do have a heart, don't you, Emerald?" Lars asked her.

"W-What!?" Emerald said taken aback. The pink human turned around and pointed at her, "You're not going to hurt this ship! You love this ship! It's your best friend. You'd much rather let it get away than destroy it." he said before giggling and doing a little pose along with a twinkle shining in his eye.

"Wow Lars, I missed you." Stevonnie said with her hands together and a small smile while Azurite stared at the pink human with his mouth slightly agape.

"You're right about that. I won't destroy my beautiful ship. But I will make it so you can't get away!" Emerald admitted to Lars before turning to her own crew. "Aim for their nova thrusters!" she ordered.

The smaller ship suddenly shuddered as it was fired upon, "Evasive maneuvers! If only our weapons and shields were online." Lars said.

"I think she has us this time." the Gem twins voiced their concerns.

"Unless we use that." Lars told them.

"That!?" Rhodonite cried out followed by Fluorite appearing on her monitor and arguing against the idea.

"What's that?" Stevonnie asked in confusion.

"The captain's experimental fighter jet that only he knows how to drive." Rhodonite told her. "It's too risky!" she told her captain.

"We're out of options." Lars told her as he sat back down in the captain's chair.

"But, Lars, your crew needs you here on the ship." Stevoonie told him.

"You got a better idea?" he asked her.

The fusion smirked as she gave him a salute, "Captain Lars, permission to go in your place. If it's anything like driving a car, I should be fine." she said.

The dual-colored Gem saluted to the captain as he stood next to the fusion, "And permission to aid her, captain." he said.

"Permission..." Lars said in surprise at the fusion's boldness. "...granted!" he told them. "Take out the enemy's main cannons while we get our weapons system and shield back online." he told them before he presses a button on the armrest of the chair and a green orb engulfed both Stevonnie and Azurite and sending them through the ship. For Stevonnie it sent her towards the fighter jet while the other sent Azurite out into space.

The dual-colored Gem sprouted his water wings and smiled as he saw the fighter jet shoot out if the ship and flew alongside it. Both dodged the blasts from the large green ship. While Stevonnie destroyed the large ships weapons with the fighter jet's own artillery, her mate used his own water wings to slice across the weapons that protruded from the ship.

The two then headed back to the ship when suddenly a barrage of missles where fired at them. The dual-colored Gem tried deflecting the missiles back with his wings but one of the missiles detonated in front of him, having him cry out and slam onto the front window of the fighter jet.

The teenage Gem opened his eyes, but instead of grey irises, Stevonnie was met with reflective eyes similar to how Lapis was when she was first freed from the mirror. The dual-colored Gem widened his eyes in alarm.

The sight had Stevonnie gasp in horror, but it also took her attention away from another missile that managed to hit the fighter jet. She cried out as both she and her mate spiraled down to the moon below.'