Short one-off I wrote in like two hours. Don't expect a sequel or anything. This takes place post Chille Tid. Prepare yourself folks.
Thanks to zerowing21 for beta-reading.
Beach City seemed like the perfect vacation spot in July. Everybody is a fan of the beach, and heck, this place was named after them! But, it was never that easy in Beach City. Trouble always seemed to be drawn to the beach, thanks to the Crystal Gems. Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl were alien gemstones who lived in a temple on the beach. Nobody is really sure why they're there, and most people are still iffy on what they're purpose is, but it was just common knowledge that they existed. There was another Gem who stood out above the other three.
Steven Quartz Universe just seemed like your normal, everyday child. He was an avid fan of the Cookie Cat mascot and donuts. He hung out with a lot more people than you'd think. He even had a pet...Lion? That last one is still up for debate. He was mostly seen either with his father, a retired rocker named Greg, playing with his best friend Connie, or with the Crystal Gems. But he was special.
Rose Quartz used to be the leader of the Crystal Gems, but when she met the aforementioned Greg Universe, life for the Gems changed forever. In order for the happy couple that was Greg and Rose to have a child, Rose had to give up her physical Gem form. And she did. And that is why Steven is special. He is, like Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl, a Crystal Gem, with his mother's Rose Quartz Gem in his human bellybutton. He was half-human, half-Gem. With the other Crystal Gems, Steven helped protect this popular paradise.
However, on this particular day, Beach City did not seem like a popular vacation spot. The skies were green, which wasn't as odd as a person would think. The sky was green on a different day when three Gems from the alien planet that is home to the Gems, dubbed the Home world, came to attack the Crystal Gems. That ended, of course, with a victory for the Crystal Gems, the Gem Peridot escaping, and the Gems Lapis Lazuli and Jasper fused together to form Malachite, who pulled herself into the ocean. The very ocean that was pulsating on this particular day. Of course, the Gems were already on the case.
Garnet, the fusion between Gems Ruby and Sapphire, stood on the beach with Pearl and Amethyst, all staring at the ocean. They had been looking for the fusion Malachite for a while, but to no avail. Steven appeared out from the Temple where the Gems lived. He was carrying a round, blue action figure as he ran up to the Crystal Gems.
"Garnet, Garnet, Garnet, Garnet!" The boy chanted as he arrived at the Gems. "What's happening now!?"
"Stay back, Steven." Garnet told the boy in a calm and soothing voice. "The ocean's waves are growing."
"We think it might be Malachite." Pearl added to Garnet's statement. "She's probably unfused."
"As if!" Amethyst cried out, "Do you really think tiny little Lapis can make the ocean look like it's throwing a house party?"
"She does have control over water." Garnet would say. Steven giggled as Amethyst scoffed in response. "But I agree with Amethyst."
"R-Really?" the purple colored Gem asked, both happy and shocked at what Garnet said.
"Lapis is probably causing such a ruckus in the ocean to get away from Jasper." Pearl told the group.
"Malachite had control over water too." Garnet continued. "She pulled herself into the water with chains made of water. She's probably looking for us."
"W-Well..." Pearl opened her mouth again, but then quickly closed her mouth and turned away, deciding against speaking.
"Whatever, we'll just kick her butt." Amethyst laughed as she pounded a fist into her palm.
"But what about Lapis?" Steven asked. He considered himself to be friends with the blue gem since he helped her from her mirror prison a few months ago.
"She's not Lapis anymore!" Amethyst said in a booming voice. Her Gem on her chest would glow as she pulled her signature whip from it.
"Amethyst, you should go with Steven to tell the Mayor to close off the beach." Garnet directed her teammate, who would sigh in defeat.
"Fine." she grunted. She began to walk off, dragging Steven along with her.
"She never lets me do anything fun." Amethyst complained loudly as she and Steven sat inside the Big Donut. Sadie, one of Steven's friends and an employee at the Big Donut, gave the two a box of donuts they ordered earlier. She would quickly walk back to the counter to converse with Lars, her co-worker. Steven would gobble down a donut and sigh.
"Amethyst." the boy said through a full mouth. "We're supposed to be telling Mayor Dewey to close off the beach."
"Garnet can do it." Amethyst barked. She would eat one donut in a single gulp. "I'm done with letting her tell me what to do!"
"B-But, she knows what to do..." Steven muttered.
"DOES SHE!?" Amethyst screamed. Lars and Sadie both looked over at the two.
"Are you ok?" Sadie asked, concern hidden in her voice.
"Probably not." Lars laughed. "She's probably just being Steven-weird. She's probably the reason the sky is green aga-OOFMP!" He was cut off when Sadie punched the boy in his crotch to shut him up.
"Forget it." Amethyst growled before storming out of the store, leaving Steven along with Sadie and Lars, who was now whining on the floor.
"U-Uh, um, why does Mayor Dewey need to close the beach?" Sadie asked, clearly trying to forget Lars being rude.
"Garnet thinks a powerful Gem is here to destroy us." Steven said like it was a normal, everyday experience. He sighed again before getting up from his chair. "I'll go tell him myself."
"Wait, Steven!" Sadie cried as Steven walked out. She looked down to Lars on the floor before hopping the counter and following Steven. "Wait up!"
"Go back to Lars, Sadie." Steven said lifeless.
"I don't want you to be alone." the blond haired girl smiled. "Lars is a jerk, and I apologize on his behalf... Something I do way too often."
"I'm a big kid, Sadie!" Steven cried, puffin his cheeks out. "I can do this by myself." Sadie would stop in her tracks as Steven continued to the Mayor's house.
"S-Steven?" Sadie asked again. At this moment, Steven's best friend Connie appeared from around the corner.
"Steven!" she cried out, getting to Sadie's location before stopping. Steven would stop and turn around before his eyes grew.
"Connie!" he cried, running back to the girl. "You have to go home!"
"What?" the black-skinned girl questioned. "Why would I do that? I brought my sword. I left it in the sand at the beach, and Pearl told me you were out here anyways."
"There's trouble, I think." Sadie shrugged before gesturing to the mucky, green sky.
"Remember when the Gems talked about Malachite?" Steven asked Connie, who would nod positively. "They think she's back. But Amethyst is mad that Garnet told her what to do, and now I don't know where she is."
"I can help you find her." Connie said.
"No, you have to go home so you're safe!" Steven cried. Connie placed a hand on Steven's shoulder.
"I want to help." she repeated. Sadie nodded in agreement.
"I want to help you too, Steven." she smiled. Steven would look at the two girls before nodding, realizing their help would be good.
"Can you two split up and look for Amethyst?" he asked them.
"Of course!" the girls would say in unison.
"Good!" the half-Gem cheered. "Go do that... And I'll go to Mayor Dewey!"
"We're on it, Steven!" Connie grinned before running off. Sadie would run off in the opposite direction. Steven would also run off, but in the direction of Mayor Dewey's house.
"It's always you guys." Mayor Dewey would growl in Steven's face. The Mayor was outside with his son, Buck, when Steven ran up to tell them the warning.
"Garnet to-" Steven started before we was cut off.
"The last time the sky was green, a giant hand almost destroyed our city!" Mayor Dewey whined. "You Gems are lucky it all landed on that beach."
"The beach, you should close!" Steven cried.
"Give the little man what he wants." Buck said in a tone like Garnet's.
"Start the Dewey-mobile." Mayor Dewey sighed. Buck would snap and then walk off to get the van. "You Gems are gonna make Beach City collapse like Ocean Town."
As Buck drove a van with annoying speakers that screamed; "MAYOR DEWEY!" to Steven and his father, the earth below them began to vigorously shake. The sounds of waves crashing could be heard from the Dewey's House. The shaking suddenly stopped, but the sounds of roaring and clashing metal began to vibrate through the sky. Greg Universe would peel up to Mayor Dewey's house in his van, which he lived in. Connie was in the passenger's seat, and Greg was in such a hurry, he wasn't even wearing his seatbelt.
"Dad!" Steven cried at the sight of his father. "I need to get to the beach!"
"Hop in the back, Steven." Greg said, unsure of what else to do. Steven would run back behind his dad's van, where he would open up the doors to reveal Sadie and Lars sitting in the back. Lars avoided eye contact and speaking as Steven climbed inside. Greg peeled out once again, leaving Mayor Dewey and the Dewey-mobile in the dust.
"Where's Amethyst?" Steven asked the girls.
"Neither of us could find her." Connie sighed. The Dewey-mobile's speakers could be faintly heard, now chanting; "EVACUATE!"
"Dad, take me to the beach." Steven said once again. "Then take Connie home. And then take Sadie and Lars with you out of the city."
"I can't believe we're doing this again." Greg sighed as he rushed towards the beach. "Promise me your mother's shield will keep you safe."
"I did last time, didn't it?" Steven laughed. Greg chuckled as well, but there was no time for laughs as they pulled up to the beach.
"Steven!" Greg yelled from the front seat as Steven crawled out.
"Yeah?" The boy looked back to his father.
"I love you, son."
"I love you too, dad." Steven smiled. "Now go!"
"On it!" Greg cried before peeling out again, this time taking himself along with Connie, Sadie, and Lars away from the beach.
The beach was completely soaked. The waves had clearly reached the beginning of the sand where Steven stood. Before his eyes, Steven watched as Garnet and Pearl fought off against the huge, the giant, Malachite. The green tinted fusion was dripping wet. She had obviously just pulled herself out of the ocean, and it seemed like neither Lapis nor Jasper had control. It was all Malachite. The fusion Gem punched Pearl, who was leaping at the monster. Pearl was flung all the way back to Steven's location, and only landed safely because a weird pink bubble that appeared around her. When she landed, it popped, and Steven forced a smile.
"STEVEN!" Pearl cried. "GET OUT OF HERE RIGHT NOW!"
"Pearl, I'm here to help!" Steven said triumphantly. Garnet would suddenly be knocked back to the other two, landing on her two feet.
"Where's Amethyst?" Garnet simply asked.
"She ran off complaining that she was tired of being told what to do." Steven explained.
"AT A TIME LIKE THIS!?" Pearl continued to scream.
"Steven, it's too dangerous." Garnet said, reforming her gauntlets. "You must go."
"No!" Steven cried. "I want to help."
"There you are." a distorted, female sounding voice boomed over the three. Malachite was staring right at them.
"STEVEN!" Pearl screamed once again, pulling out her spear. "GET GOING!" Pearl hurled her spear at Malachite, piercing her in the eye. Garnet took this chance to jump up and smash her gauntlets into the fusion's head. Steven would engulf himself in a bubble as Malachite grabbed onto Garnet's gauntlets and flung her into the Crystal Temple.
"Remember me, Steven?" Malachite asked the boy in her distorted voice. "We're Malachite now."
"La-Lapis!" Steven cried out.
"She doesn't exist anymore." Malachite chuckled. The fusion Gem plucked Steven's bubble from the ground, triggering Pearl to have a panic attack. "Yellow Diamond still needs to see you."
"Lapis, I know you're in there!" Steven cried. Pearl's spear pierced Steven's bubble popping it and letting him plummet to the sand.
"How dare you!" Malachite growled before a stream of water shot out of the ocean. The stream of water snatched up Pearl, also throwing her at the Temple. Garnet was already on her way to smash Malachite again when Pearl smacked the Temple. At this moment, Pearl retreated into her Gem in order to heal herself from the damage she received.
"Pearl!?" Steven cried as he sat up after falling to the sand. The pearl had rolled feet away from him. As he stood up to go get the Gem, a large purple figure shot out of the sky and right into Malachite's face. It was Amethyst, shape-shifted into her wrestling persona, the Purple Puma.
"Don't even try to hurt Steven, bub!" Amethyst laughed.
"Where did you go!?" Steven asked loudly, forgetting about Pearl's Gem.
"For a walk." Amethyst said as she pulled out her whip and attacked Malachite again.
"Amethyst, careful!" Garnet cried before one of Malachite's legs kicked her, making her smack into the stone the Crystal Temple is made of. She collided with the wrist of the statue of the Temple, causing the platform the washing machine was on to crumble. At this time, Garnet would also retreat into her Gem, but two Gems would fall from Garnet's location. A ruby and a sapphire.
"Tell me if you're strong when your friends are gone." Malachite cackled before stepping on Pearl's Gem and barely avoiding crushing Steven. When Malachite moved her foot, the pearl that was lying on the beach was shattered into pieces. Amethyst would be knocked down to Steven, where she would see the destroy pieces.
"P-Pearl?" Amethyst asked, turning into her normal form and whipping back a tear.
"Eat this." Malachite boomed, slamming her fist on top of Amethyst and, again, narrowly avoiding Steven. When her hand was removed, a shattered amethyst Gem laid in the sand.
"W-What?" Steven asked himself. He knew what this meant. Their gemstones were destroyed. They wouldn't be able to regenerate now. He held back a tear before putting bubbles around the pearl shards and then the amethyst shards. He looked over to the ruby and sapphire, but Malachite already got to them. Shattered. Steven bubbled them as well. He ran over to the newest bubbles and grabbed onto them before running back to the other bubbles. He put himself in a bigger bubble, trapping himself in with the four bubbles that held his friends. Malachite would punt this shield, sending Steven flying off over Beach City.
He just looked at them. His friends. His family. They were in pieces. At this moment, Steven would begin to burst into tears. This must be the Gem equivalent of dying. He had no idea what to do. He looked to the sky.
"Mom?" he asked between sobs. "Why?" He couldn't ask any more questions without his sobs overcoming his voice. He just thought as his bubble hurdled through the air. His dad would tell him to sing if he was sad. So he did.
"We... Are the Crystal Gems." Steven sung, snot running out of his nose and sobs breaking up his syllables. "We'll... always save... the day... That's why the people of this world... believe in..." He looked to the bubbles with the ruby and sapphire shards. "Garnet." He looked to the bubble with the amethyst shards. "Amethyst." He looked to the bubble with the pearl shards. "And Pearl..." Steven poked his gem. "And Steven..."