Creation began on 10-20-14
Creation ended on 11-10-14
Steven Universe
The Healing Return
A/N: After looking at Mirror Gem, Ocean Gem and Space Race, this came to mind.
Within the Burning Room of the Crystal Temple, where all the bubbles containing the various gem remnants of corrupted Gems, a lone figure appeared in front of the lava pit. It was a man, dressed in blue khakis and an oversized shawl in various shades of orange. He looked up at the bubbled gems and then raised his arms, which were covered in wristbands that looked spiked and made of pure silver and emerald.
"Gems of the past, buried in corruption," he uttered, and his voice attracted the energies of the Temple's uncorrupted residents, "let the healing light of the future shine brightest in the darkness. Surrender your feelings of despair and retribution, retake the power of redemption and atonement, and let the cosmic energies flow through you with renewed purpose."
A light appeared behind him, in the shape of a door, and three women, a lion and a little boy came in.
"Collect your senses," the man continued, "gather your bearings, shake off the impurities within you with your limbs! I command you, lost Gems, return to life!"
The bubbled gems began to glow in various colors of the rainbow, breaking free of their containers, and flying around the room.
"Whoa!" The boy, Steven Quartz Universe, gasped, and was held onto by the the woman with a gem on her forehead.
The tallest woman then summoned a pair of gauntlets around her arms and leaped at the stranger.
He turned to face her, raised his left arm against her…and stopped her from assaulting him by sending her, harmlessly, to the ground, even removing her gauntlets.
"Garnet!" The shortest woman gasped, summoning a whip from her chest.
The man then turned his attention to her and raised his arm toward her, removing her whip.
"Stop!" He told them. "I am not here to fight anyone!"
The glowing gems then stopped flying around and lowered to the ground, generating constructs of light that took the shape of humanoids. When the glowing ceased with a giant flash, the Gems were stunned with the sight in front of them.
"Garnet? Pearl?" A voice called out.
"Amethyst?" Another voice called out.
In between the stranger and the Gems, several women stood, somewhat shaky, disoriented, but looking like they were stable. There were gemstones situated on various areas on their person, like the other Gems, on their heads, arms or backs.
"Amber?" Pearl asked one of them, looking at a Gem with an arrowhead-shaped amber gem on her left hand. "Is it really you?"
"Emerald?" Amethyst addressed a Gem with an upside-down triangle-shaped emerald gem on her chest, dressed similar to herself, but without the stars and a skort.
"Diamond," went Garnet to a Gem that was dressed like a knight, with diamond-shaped diamond gems on the backside of both her hands.
"We're back," went the Gem Garnet addressed, Diamond, examining her arms and the other Gems around her. "I remember being in a sea of lost emotions and despair."
"But then, this man, this former mortal, brought us back," went the Gem Pearl addressed as Amber, pointing to the man that remained silent, not wanting to fight the Gems.
Steven looked at the man, and immediately recognized him from an earlier time.
"That's the guy I saw at the Lunar Sea Spire!" He pointed to him.
The man sat down beside the lava pit and gestured for the Gems to sit down with him.
"Yes," he uttered, "I was there that day at the Lunar Sea Spire. Steven had forgotten the statue needed to restore the temple, so I was there to ensure that the statue was delivered to restore the oasis."
"But you're not a Gem," Garnet revealed; she couldn't detect any Gem-based energies emanating from him. "Who or what are you?"
"I have gone by many names, assumed many identities, lived many different lives," he spoke in riddles, but was getting to the point. "My name is Brother Correction. I used to be mortal, from a time long forgotten…until I was tasked to watch over two lost souls that couldn't be saved. Now, I exist to undo mistakes that never should've happened."
"Steven not bringing the Moon Goddess Statue was a mistake?" Pearl asked him.
"A small one, but one that needed to be undone to ensure that the temple was restored," he explained.
"And the Gems that became corrupted?" Amethyst questioned.
"Once I became aware that Lapis Lazuli had left the Earth and that Steven tried to help Pearl achieve the same feat, I came here to restore clarity to the Gems you preserved. Also, I came to return someone that is precious to people. She's right behind you."
A hand suddenly appeared right atop Steven's left shoulder, and he turned to look up at a woman that he had seen only in pictures and as a statue, with beautiful hair and a rose quartz gemstone where her navel should've been, just like his.
"Rose?" Pearl gasped.
"Hello, everyone," Rose Quartz greeted them.
"Mom?" Steven gasped, not believing his eyes or the storm growing in his heart at the thought of being in the same room as his mother.
-x-
The sun would be rising in a few minutes, and the beach waves were colder than usual to Brother Correction, as he stood on the sand, feeling the water rush in between his feet.
"What an evening," he sighed.
"What a deed you did to ensure stability in the future," a female voice said to him.
It was Rose Quartz, accompanied by Pearl, Amethyst and Garnet.
"Where's Steven?" He asked them.
"Sleeping," Rose answered him. "He thought he was dreaming when he saw me."
"Eh-heh-heh. He'll be amazed when he wakes up and realizes that you're no dream."
"You're incredible, sir," went Pearl, referring to his ability to restore the corrupted Gems.
"Only when I do good, when I help those in need of my services for a noble or beneficial cause," he explained. "But thank you for your compliment."
"What now for you?" Garnet asked him.
"Wherever I'm needed," he told her, and then turned back to the ocean. "Watch the sunrise. You will enjoy this."
Seconds later, the sun began to appear beyond the ocean, illuminating the land around the Crystal Temple, and as its rays hit the structure, the temple began to brighten. The missing limbs regenerated where the stumps were and the stone representations of different gems adorning the figure that represented the temple were replaced with actual gems, each one representing the ones on Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl and Rose. Patches of moss that grew around the structure were rearranged to form a sort of cloak or toga, covering the figure. When the sun rose completely, the stone eyes on the face and mask were replaced with shining versions, similar to glittery quartz.
"Oh, my!" Pearl gasped.
"Now, that's incredible!" Amethyst cheered.
Brother Correction then began to fade away.
"See you around, Crystal Gems," he told them. "Don't be strangers, should you ever find your way to my domain."
And when he was gone, a van was seen driving toward the temple and the Gems.
It was Greg Universe's van, meaning it was Greg driving toward the temple. This was quite a surprise for the Gems, and it would be quite a surprise for Greg when he sees Rose back.
-x-
Watching through a small fountain that reflected his face, Brother Correction saw the closest thing to a family gathering between Greg, Rose and Steven, who was getting to know his mother better from her directly. He had never seen the boy, from a distance, this happy at the sight of his mother's presence in his life.
"Eh-heh-heh… All you wanna do…is see me turn into…" Rose expressed.
"A giant woman!" Steven cheered, laughing.
Then he pulled away from the fountain and walked over to an empty space in his lair where he kept the various items he had taken from other universes to ensure that they couldn't be misused or harm any innocent lives, where he installed a warp pad from the atmospheric particulates in the air, which would allow the Crystal Gems to access his domain, should they find the way to his domain once they discover that their Galaxy Warp on Earth was now working properly.
"I believe Lapis Lazuli should be about halfway to her home by now," he told himself, wondering if that particular Gem had gotten closer to her destination. "What to do next? It's only a matter of time before some form of darkness gets my attention. I could travel to that dimension and undo that darkness in the sky around the Earth, allowing plants and animals to reclaim the land taken by machines to aid in there being balance between humans and machines. Or maybe journey to that universe and save the Mikage girl and her friends and family from her darkest legacy and the legacies of those like her. Only time will tell and I will have to answer those matters of imbalance."
End
A/N: And there you have it. Another Steven Universe tale to feature Brother Correction, and another series of many great things being done by him. This may be the last one to be based in the Steven Universe realm, but Brother Correction will be within future stories. Read and review, please. Peace!