Then what can you be a part of?
By: Element of One
A beam of light came down upon the warp pad, and now standing there, was Amethyst, Pearl and Steven. "Where were you two!?" Garnet asked angrily, as she stood before them with her arms folded. Pearl nervously responded, "They were at kindergarten…" Garnet's mouth dropped as she heard Pearl's words. "Does Steven know?" Garnet asked as she focused her attention on Amethyst. "Yes, he knows now…" Pearl exclaimed for her. Garnet took in a deep breathe, then sighed, as she said to Steven, "Go to bed Steven, its late…" Steven didn't object, as he was filled with exhaustion, so he immediately stepped off the warp pad and walked up the stairs towards his bedroom.
Garnet waited for Steven to lay down and fall asleep. When he did, she glared down at Amethyst and said, "You and I are going to have a talk right now!" She immediately grabbed Amethyst by her arm, and began marching towards the gem door. "Wait!" Pearl whispered. "It's okay! Steven understands now and he doesn't care! He accepts us for who we are! Please don't lose your temper!" But Garnet ignored her words, as she continued to focus her attention on Amethyst. She took off her visors, and while staring at Amethyst she said, "You don't understand the implications of what you have done!" Garnet forced herself to whisper and remain calm as she continued, "Steven wasn't ready to be exposed to this! He wasn't ready to be exposed to the horrors that is gem culture!"
Amethyst gave no response, and tears began flowing from her eyes. The door to the temple opened, as Garnet and Amethyst both disappeared into the room. Pearl held onto Amethyst's other arm, and she too was beginning to cry as she prayed silently, "Please guide us Rose!...Don't let us be divided!" The door to the temple closed, and all three were gone.
Steven began to toss and turn in his sleep, as he started to dream…..
The Nightmare
Steven opened his eyes and found that he was lying face down on the beach. As he began to push himself up, he looked forward and saw that there was a pair of legs standing before him. As he looked at the legs, he began to notice that they were massive and solid green. When he lifted his head up further, his eyes began to observe the being that was before him in its entirety. "Peridot?" Steven asked as he stared at her face. He picked himself up off the ground and began to wipe the sand from his clothing. Steven remembered back to that evening when he was having trouble sleeping. He recalls how the gems took him to the central warp pad, how they did this to ease his mind, and it was there that he first caught glimpse of Peridot, the gem that was now standing before him.
"You're Peridot? Aren't you?" Steven asked nervously. "You must be the offspring of Rose Quartz," she replied. Steven could sense that there was no kindness in her voice, so he responded reluctantly, "Ummm, yes. Rose is my Mom… Pearl, Garnet and Amethyst are my…." But she interrupted him as she said, "The Crystal Gems…." Steven had a bewildered look in his eyes as he asked, "How do you know who we are?" Peridot turned her attention towards the tide. She stared out into the distance where the ocean met the sky, then said, "I know all about the Crystal Gems, and your Mother….."
She looked down at Steven and said, "They fled our planet and settled here on earth." Steven looked up at her, and forced a slight smile on his face as he said, "That's right! That's what my Mom and the gems did!" Steven waited for a response, as Peridot continued to stare down at him. "They didn't do a very good job of keeping this world a secret," She exclaimed. Steven's heart sank as he heard her words, then she continued, "Now we're all coming…" He looked at her and asked, "What do you mean all of you? Who else is coming?"
Suddenly Peridot looked out towards the ocean again, and as she did, thousands of gem machines game down from the clouds. Steven's mouth dropped, as he observed how several of the gem machines looked just like the ones that Amethyst had shown him at her birth place. As Steven was about to say something, another machine came down from the clouds, and landed into the ocean. The machine was so massive, that when it hit the ocean, it sent a title wave towards them. Peridot instantly grabbed Steven, and summoned a shield that enveloped their entire bodies. Steven watched as the force of the water began pounding the shield, but Peridot stood and kept her composure.
When the water had subsided, the shield disappeared, and Peridot set Steven down onto the ground. Steven looked at her anxiously and asked, "What was that!? What's happening!?" She gave no response as she continued to look out towards the machine. By now several of the smaller gem machines, which had a spider like appearance to them, began to fly off into different directions of the sky. Steven observed the massive machine that was standing out in the ocean, how it too took the appearance of a massive Spider. Once again he looked up at Peridot and asked, "What is that!? Can you please tell me what's going on!? I'm scared!"
Peridot stared down at him, and said, "That's the World Machine, we're rebuilding our Planet…" Steven's mouth dropped as he heard her words. He continued to look up at her and was searching her eyes for any ounce of compassion that he could find, but there was none. He now realized that Peridot was not a friend, and he began to cry as The Crystal Gems were nowhere in sight. Steven looked back out towards the water, and watched as a burst of energy came down from underneath the machine, as it hit the ocean. When it did, Steven was knocked off his feet, as a gust wind hit the shore.
When he opened his eyes, he looked up towards the sky and saw that it was now completely grey, with no cloud insight. He frantically got to his feet and began to stare at the tide, he observed how it was "blood red" in appearance. As he looked around him, he saw that there were no trees, no vegetation, or any signs of life. He observed, off into the distance, that the temple was now destroyed and lying in ruins. Steven began to sob, and when he did, Peridot began to talk.
"Rose came to earth with her companions, with one goal in mind, to live amongst the population…."
"In doing so, she put a whole group of species at risk. Our planet was ravaged by war and genocide…."
"But now we're forced to rebuild, earth's atmosphere is a suitable environment…"
Steven looked up at her, with tears in his eyes and asked, "If the gem home world is rebuilt, what happens to earth?"
Peridot responded, "Earth's resources are accommodating, and gem culture will rebuild itself, but the planet will not be able to sustain both Species…"
Suddenly Steven's body began to sink, and when he looked down at the ground, he saw that there were "human bones" surrounding his legs. As he continued to sink, he looked up at her and said pleadingly,
"Please! Peridot! This isn't right! This is my home! I can't be a part of this!"
She stared down at him with a callous look in her eyes, as she asked,
"Then what can you be a part of?"
Steven continued to sink, and when his head came underneath the surface, he woke up in his bedroom screaming,
"NOOOOOOO!"
Suddenly the door to the temple opened, and as Steven was looking up towards the ceiling, he heard the sound of someone racing up the stairs.
"Steven! Are you Okay!?" Pearl shouted…