AN: If you're the kind of person who can't enjoy something unless you completely understand it, there's like two-thousand words worth of explanatory (and more than slightly spoilery) author's notes at the end of chapter four that you can skip to.

On the other hand, if you'd rather try to figure out what's going on as you read and then compare your interpretation to the author's notes at the end, then that's fine, too. Whatever works best for you.

The Return

Steven's fist descended in slow motion towards a countertop. "Gimme the—"

Peedee pushed a bag of frybits towards Steven, and Greg who was standing beside him.

"Oh," said Steven. "Thanks."

"Eh," said Peedee with a shrug. "I saw you guys comin'."

Greg looked around the booth, seeing that it was empty. "Are you closing up all by yourself?" he asked.

"Yeah," Peedee agreed, "it's just me tonight."

"Wow," said Greg, impressed. "That's a lot of responsibility for a kid your age. Your dad must really trust you."

Peedee returned Greg's friendly smile with the flattest stare he could muster. "Don't patronize me, sir," he said.

Conversation effectively killed, the Universes left, Steven throwing a cheerful, "See you, Peedee!" over his shoulder as they walked away.

"So, like I was saying," said Steven, "Pearl's been sending all these holograms here from space, and, when you stab them, they explode into glitter!"

"That sounds… fun?" said Greg, with a worried expression, not really sure what to say. "You know, Steven, I'm not sure if—do you ever feel like this Gem stuff is too much for you?"

"What do you—" Steven began, before the ground shook beneath him, causing him to fall over. "Oof."

All over Beach City, windows shattered from the force the quake, if indeed it had been an earthquake in the first place. Kiki, who'd been working her shift at Fish Stew Pizza, gripped the counter to steady herself. Peedee, who'd been taking out the trash, shielded his eyes as the storefront broke and glass shards went flying. Over on the dunes, Carrie and Jasmine staggered, trying to keep their balance.

"What the hey was that?" asked Greg, straightening up to look around. "Steven?" he asked, seeing his son's attention fixed on something in the distance. Greg turned to look as well, and, indeed, there was an easily recognizable shape visible... but there was absolutely no reason for such a thing to be up in the sky like it was.

"Is that…" asked Steven, "a hand?"

On the beach Axinite and Rhyolite stood beside a telescope. Axinite was taller than most humans, but he could probably have passed as one, if not for his glossy skin tone. He wore plug earrings, and kept his hair short most of the time. His form was tall and lanky.

Rhyolite was about three fifths as tall as the statue of the temple Fusion. They had had two thighs and two arms, but each of these branched out at the joint, giving them a total of four forearms and four legs. Their hair was loose, wild, shoulder-length, and, while their skin tone was more subdued than Axinite's, their outfit could have given the painted desert a run for its money. They wore cargo pants with zippers around mid-shin, an unzipped hoodie, and all four of their arms were encased in the long sleeves of their jacket. Their gem appeared to be more like a piece of tiling than anything with facets, and was situated in the place where a right ear would normally be. Rhyolite also had gems where a normal person had eyes, but these were perpetually hidden behind their pair of wrap-around sunglasses.

"The Light Cannons should be ready," said Rhyolite, looking down at Axinite, trying to appear confident.

"Guys!" called Steven, running into view, Greg right behind him. "Did you see that thing in the sky?"

"That's a ship," said Rhyolite, grimly. "Betcha five bucks it's Pearl."

"Amethyst said she'd be coming with Homeworld Gems," said Axinite, "and that they'd have all the latest in weapons-tech."

"It's happening," said Greg to himself.

"I want to see," said Steven, not looking nearly as worried as he probably should have been.

Through the telescope, the pink hand looked larger, more threatening, somehow. "Whoa," said Steven.

"Ready," Axinite was saying. "Aim..."

Rhyolite threw a switch, and the Crystalline Trio slid out from under the deck. Next, Rhyolite carefully placed the Light Cannon from Greg's storage locker alongside them.

"…Fire," finished Axinite.

Steven raised the walky-talky that Axinite had handed him. "Heart, Soul, and Rock 'n Roll," he recited.

Passcode spoken, the four cannons charged and fired, forming a helix of white light, which spun and spiraled its way up towards the ship.

The hand ship changed conformation and position, so that the light blasts were absorbed harmlessly by the surface of its palm. When this was accomplished, it promptly resumed its rest position of three curled fingers and one outstretched.

"Nothing," said Rhyolite, who'd picked up the telescope and was holding it up to their own eye to observe the results of their attack. The large astronomy telescope looked like nothing more than a toy in comparison with the massive Gem.

"What now?" asked Greg.

"We fight," said Axinite, miserably. "There's nothing else we can do."

"Then I'd better make a call," said Steven, pulling out his phone.

"Hello?" said Mayor Dewey, who was sitting wearily at his desk, stealing furtive glances out of his office window every few minutes.

"Mayor Dewey, it's me. Steven Universe!"

"Universe," said the Mayor, relieved. At least he'd get to talk with him one last time. "We've spotted what we presume to be a Homeworld Ship. The militaries of Earth are mobilized and standing by. Are you sure that you still want to go through with this?"

"We're pretty sure that they're only after the Crystal Gems," said Steven. "It wouldn't be right to drag the rest of the Earth into this, not if we can avoid it."

"If you're certain." said the Mayor. "Then good luck, Steven. We've already begun preparations to get the civilians off-planet, or at least out of the city."

"E-va-cu-ate, E-va-cu-ate," droned the Mayor's campaign van as it rolled through the streets of Beach City, coming to a stop on the boardwalk just outside the arcade.

People gathered around the car, as Mayor Dewey climbed onto the roof. Among the crowd were Koffee and his daughters, Mr. Smiley, Jasmine, Carrie and Sadie, along with Peedee and his dad.

"People," Mayor Dewey began, "I need everyone to consider: evacuation. Evacuation is something we all depend on..."

Not too far away, Rhyolite was stacking bags onto the bed of Greg's truck while Steven watched the Mayor's speech. He glanced back as Axinite and Greg ran up. "Oh, hey," said Steven, "That's a great idea, Dad. You should leave with the rest of—" he paused, seeing his backpack on the ground next to them. "Is that my luggage?"

Greg and Axinite were both obviously distraught as they exchanged a glance.

"Uh," they said.

"Who wants to tell him?" asked Greg.

"Don't look at me," said Axinite, running to hide behind the truck, peeking out from behind the vehicle to observe what would happen next.

Rhyolite sighed, heavily, upon seeing that the buck had been passed to them. "Steven..." they began, "We know you think we never take things seriously. We know that, most times, we treat everything like a big joke. But the truth is, we care about this planet. A lot. And, more importantly, we care about you." They handed Steven his megaphone. He glanced down at it, before returning his attention to Rhyolite.

"You represent everything good about Earth, and every day we spend with you shows us, over and over again, all the reasons why we promised to protect it," Rhyolite continued. "You always remind of us of what's really important… and now, you need to do the same for them." They turned him, gently, to face the boardwalk, and Steven saw the chaos going on as everyone scrambled to evacuate.

"If anything goes wrong, you need to be there to protect them," they said, "like your mom once did."

Rhyolite scooped him up into their palms, gazing down at him. "Think you can handle it?" they asked.

Steven nodded. "I won't disappoint you."

"We know," said Rhyolite, with a fond smile.

The door to Greg's truck slammed, and they were off.

The Crystal Gems waved goodbye as the truck drove off. After it was out of sight, their masks slipped and both wore worried expressions. Axinite held one hand over his heart and gripped Rhyolite's leg for support.

"We did everything we could," said Rhyolite. Their face started to distort a bit, before they caught themselves and shook their head. "All right. Keep it together!" they continued, stomping off to do some last-minute preparations.

And off in the distance, a procession of cars made its way out of Beach City, headed for safer pastures.

About half the residents of Beach City had chosen to evacuate via Warp Pad and get off planet altogether. The other half had been unwilling to leave their cars and other possessions in what would likely be ground zero for whatever attack was coming, and were heading out to the Warp Port with everything they could cram into their cars, in order to wait and see what would happen.

Greg used a button to adjust the sideview mirror to check on the hand ship. It had gotten closer and appeared larger. This worried him, for the split second of time he had to process it before his thoughts were interrupted.

"Maybe when Pearl gets to Earth, she'll see how nice all the people are and she won't want to hurt anyone," said Steven, watching the telephone lines snake up and down beside them as they drove down the highway.

Greg smiled. "You're just like your mom," he said.

"Yeah?" said Steven.

"Yeah," Greg agreed. "But these other Gems aren't like your mother," he added, once again looking worried. "They're not like Rhyolite or Axinite. They're not going to start caring about people now. They didn't the first time they—" He broke off.

"They first time they what?" asked Steven, in curiosity.

Greg gripped the wheel tighter.

"I mean, it was thousands of years ago—it's, it's not like I was there."

Steven tore his gaze away from the window and instead stared at his father in interest.

"The Gems should be telling you all this stuff," said Greg, unconsciously scratching his head. "But, I get it, I mean—they've been trying to put it all behind them—"

"Put what behind them?" asked Steven.

Greg flinched, realizing he'd said too much.

"Dad!" said Steven, urgently, "Put what behind them?"

"The invasion, Steven!" exclaimed Greg. "The Gem invasion of Earth!"

"What?" asked Steven, taken aback.

Greg shrugged helplessly. "All they do is try to forget it ever happened, but… they just can't forgive themselves. Do you understand?

"Look, they were doing something awful to the planet and… your mother couldn't stand it anymore," he continued, hastily, not giving Steven a chance to respond. Steven's mind flashed to when Amethyst had shown him the Kindergarten, and Axinite had told him war stories. "She told me that's why she had to turn on her own kind. She gave up everything just to stop what they started here, and drive the rest of the Gems off of Earth."

"So, s-she saved the world—that's good!" Steven stammered.

"Uh, no such thing as a good war, kiddo," said Greg, shaking his head. "Gems were destroyed, and people too. In the end, your mother could only save a handful of her closest friends. If it weren't for her Mirror, man, I don't know..."

He caught Steven's distraught expression and scrambled to recover. "B-but, hey, let's look on the bright side! We're gonna drive by that waffle place in a couple miles..."

"We gotta go back," Steven realized. "Turn the car around!"

"No way," said Greg, "the Gems don't want you going back!"

"I know they're just trying to protect me," said Steven, "but, I have to protect them. I have mom's Mirror. They need me!"

"I need you, too!" exclaimed Greg.

Please, dad," Steven pleaded, "what if they get hurt?"

Greg twitched in stress, but he kept his eyes on the road.

"Dad, turn around," said Steven.

Greg did not.

"Dad!"

Steven scowled. "Turn the car around—please!" That last word was punctuated with a punch to the dashboard, which, unfortunately, set off the passenger's side airbag.

Steven instinctively put up his bubble, and was forced out the window and onto the ground, where the bubble popped, leaving Steven lying on the dirt.

Greg's car skidded sideways to a halt and he ran out to check on his son. "Steven!" Greg exclaimed.

"Dad," said Steven, weakly.

"Yo, Greg," called Mr. Fryman, "Are you and your kid okay?"

The citizens of Beach City were visible up on the road, peering worriedly down at the pair of them.

"Yeah, yeah! We're fine, we're fine!" said Greg, placing an arm around Steven and helping him to stand.

"Dad, please, I have to go back," said Steven, tearing up, "I have to. They don't have my Mirror. Do, do you understand?"

"Yeah, okay," said Greg, smiling sadly as he wiped the tear tracks from Steven's face, "Just be careful, alright? Or I'm gonna run fresh out of family."

Steven smiled in return. "Stay with everyone and keep them safe," he instructed. "I'll figure out some way to get back to Beach City," Steven said, just as a white paw set itself down on his hair, mushing it flat.

He turned to see Lion standing just behind him, his snowy coat and mane a welcome sight.

"Oh," said Steven, "This'll work!"

From atop Lion's back, Steven watch the landscape fly by. He pulled out his phone and dialed a number, listening to the phone on the other end ring.

"Come on," said Steven, "Pick up."

"You've reached the Maheswaran residence," said the answering machine. Steven groaned in disappointment. "Please leave a message after the beep. And keep it short."

"Hey, Lucy, it's Steven," he began. "Just seeing what you were up to. Uh, don't know if you knew, but there's some crazy stuff going on with a giant space hand and we all might die so, uh, I guess call me back when you get this and I'll talk to you soon, uh, bye!

As they came into sight of the lighthouse, Lion made a portal that brought them straight down to the beach in front of the temple. The ship had gotten so close that entire scene was bathed in pink light.

Steven climbed down off Lion's back to see that Rhyolite and Axinite had formed Granite in his absence. The gigantic Gem had pulled out their weapon and was batting laser balls up at the ship. The attack was considerably more powerful than the Light Cannons had been, but still had no effect on the ominous vessel.

"Stay here," Steven told Lion, remembering his father's words from earlier. "If something happens, Dad'll need a new son."

Then, final instructions dispensed, he ran over to join the Crystal Gem, just as the ship started its final descent towards the beach.

Granite sighed. "Well, we may be about to die… but at least Steven's safe."

"Hey guys!" said Steven.

With a cry of surprise, the Fusion split apart into Rhyolite and Axinite. "Steven!" said Rhyolite, "You came back!"

"What are you doing?!" screeched Axinite, "Get out of here!"

"It's too late," said Rhyolite, shifting their hulking form between Steven and the incoming ship. "Just stay behind us!"

The ship hovered above the water, sending out ripples as the whole vessel rolled over. Its fingers uncurled, landing on the beach and sending up a massive cloud of sand. As it cleared, they saw a pink sphere emerge from the center of the palm, and roll down to rest on one of the fingers, before opening to reveal four gems: Pearl, two slightly shorter gems, and behind them, looking down at the ground, was Amethyst.

"That's them, Ruby," said Pearl, giving the Crystal Gems a dirty look. "They're the ones that keep disrupting my holograms."

"This is it?" said the Gem on the left, the one wearing a headband. Presumably, she was Ruby.

"They certainly don't look like much of a threat," added the Gem on the right. She was floating in midair, her long legs crossed underneath her.

"Sapphire!" said Pearl. "They keep throwing my plans off schedule!"

Sapphire sighed. "Looks like another waste of our time."

"Hey," said Ruby, grabbing Amethyst by the arm, "Get over here, deserter."

Amethyst's eyes found Steven's.

"Amethyst," he said, softly.

"Is this their base?" Sapphire asked.

"Yeah," said Amethyst, reluctantly.

"That's right," said Axinite, manifesting his weapon, "It's our base. So the rest of you can step off!"

"Yeah, Earth forever!" proclaimed Rhyolite.

The four Homeworld Gems leapt down to the sand, Ruby dragging Amethyst down with them.

"Neither of you saw Selenite?" asked Sapphire, still floating in midair. "Oh, what a shame. I'd hoped to meet her. I was looking forward to beating her into the ground." This was said in a perfect monotone, causing Steven to flinch.

"But this is all that's left of her army?" Sapphire continued, "A flawed reject and this abomination?" Her eye fell upon Steven. "Hmm?" she said, "What's that?"

Steven hid back behind Rhyolite's leg.

"It calls itself, 'The Steven,'" Pearl explained.

"He's human," said Amethyst, hurriedly, "Nothin' to worry about. I-if you destroy the others, it'll probably just run away, and—"

"We know what a human is," Ruby assured her, before turning to her fellow Homeworld Gem.

"Pearl, you overreacted. Again," she said. "This bunch is nothing that you can't handle with the weapons on the ship." The red Gem stomped back to face the water, her limb-enhancers leaving deep footprints in the sand.

"But I—but they—oh fine," said Pearl, annoyed, her eyes overlaying with numbers as she assumed control over the ship's weapon's systems.

"Steven!" said Rhyolite, sensing that things were about to go very south very quickly. "Get out of here!"

"No!" protested Steven.

"You don't need to die for our mistakes!" said Rhyolite.

"But this is my home," said Steven, "and you're both my family!" The two Gems looked touched, but still very much afraid.

"Firing," said Pearl, and a beam of light shot towards them.

"I'm—I'm a Crystal Gem too!" said Steven, as he ran forward to place himself between the blast and the other two Gems, the gem on his wrist glowing as he did so.

When the dust cleared, there stood a Mirror that easily redirected the laser back into the ship which had fired it, protecting Steven and the two Gems from the weapon, and dealing serious damage to the enemy vessel.

Sapphire, upon seeing a large section of her ship explode, turned back to observe the aftermath, her eye going wide in recognition.

"That Mirror," she said.

"That symbol," said Ruby.

"You," said Sapphire, "You're Selenite."

"What was that about 'overestimating my enemy' again?" asked Pearl, obviously feeling vindicated.

"Fire a barrage," ordered Ruby, ignoring her, "Widespread."

Pearl nodded, and a laser raked the beach, missing the Crystal Gems as they dodged, but destroying the landscape.

"Selenite," said Sapphire, mildly shocked and disgusted, "Why do you look like that? What did you do to yourself?"

"Don't hurt him!" said Amethyst.

"You," said Ruby. "You knew about this!"

"So?" said Amethyst. "I did what you told me to do! I played my part in the mission!"

"Forget about the mission," Sapphire cut in.

"What?!" said Pearl, outraged.

"Rose Quartz needs to see this… thing," Sapphire continued, which mollified Pearl a great deal.

"Uh, Uhh…" Steven stammered.

Behind him, Rhyolite emerged from the sand where they'd fallen, after knocking Steven out of the path of the laser. The expression on their face was absolutely enraged. They drew themselves up to their full height and took a menacing step towards Sapphire.

"Not so fast," said Ruby, stepping in front of Sapphire and manifesting her weapon, which appeared to be some sort of gauntlet. She blocked Rhyolite's first attack, deflecting it harmlessly off into the sand.

"Steven, run!" said Rhyolite, manifesting their nunchucks as they readied themselves to rush at the Homeworld Gems once more.

"Prime the Gem Destabilizer," Sapphire ordered. Ruby nodded and pulled out a weapon that made Pearl and Amethyst both flinch back unconsciously.

Rhyolite, tired of beating about the bush, raised two massive feet, using the others for balance, and brought them down square on Ruby and Sapphire like a falling chair.

The instant their foot touched the weapon in Ruby's hand, however, their entire body glowed with a sickly yellow light. Rhyolite stepped back, and then began to, quite literally, fall to pieces on the sand.

Axinite was retching in disgust and horror, and Steven could only watch as Rhyolite poofed and three gems fell to the sandy beach.

Sapphire, having dodged the attack, floated over to a trembling Steven. "I was there, you know," she said, "at the first war for this cracked and crumbling planet. I viewed you as a rival. I studied your tactics. But this?" She picked Steven up by his shirt. "…is just sick."

"Let him go!" said Axinite, rushing over, weapon drawn.

"I can't see what you're planning, Selenite," said Sapphire, as Steven continued to struggle. "You damaged our ship, that much is true… but look. Your base is taken. Your armies are ruined. You have failed."

She dropped Steven.

Ruby's barehanded punch caught him on the way down to the ground, and everything went dark.