There have been tales passed down generations of a great war that once consumed a small planet, populated by a young species that was growing into dominance of the planet.
The world was visited by strangers who sought to exploit it resources for their own benefit but a small group resisted and fought for the freedom of the planet. In the end the strangers were repelled and the victors were reduced to a small handful that remained on the planet, watching its people grow through the ages. They thought they were the last of the rebels that had fought for the world's freedom but unknown to them someone had survived and had lived among the humans in secret.
Waiting.
Watching.
Looking to the stars for signs of the enemy returning to conquer this lone planet once again and waiting to reveal themselves to the world.
That time had now come.
Xxx
We are the Crystal Gems
We'll always find a way
And if you think we can't
We'll always find a way
That's why the people of this world believe in
Garnet
Amethyst
And Pearl
And Steven!
Xxx
Angel's Gem
A single bus stopped at the sign saying 'Welcome to Beach City' and a single young man wearing a dark coat and summer cap exited the bus after paying the driver. "Thank you! Have a good day!"
He waved as the bus door closed and the bus drove off to drop off more passengers.
The man looked at the city that was now in walking distance. "Beach City…Nice place to hang back and kick up my feet for a while."
He carried a single bag over his shoulder as he started walking towards the city, looking to night sky and looking at the stars.
"…They have been here and have been causing trouble all right." The man sighed. "Crystal Gems, they just can't stay out of trouble."
Xxx
The clean-up of the Gem spaceship was taking a while and though Steven wanted to help the Gems asked him to simply enjoy the day while they cleaned up. Steven had more than earned it for saving them from the Homeworld Gems, Jasper and Peridot.
"They came from the sky on a giant hand. It landed on our beach and kicked up a lot of sand. And out of it came two mean Gems and the other was a friend. They beat us to the ground and it looked like it was the end. But I got free and helped free one Gem and then two." Steven Universe sang, playing his guitar. "Garnet, she was once two but she is one which was a stun. She helped free the other two and we landed back on the planet Earth."
The image of Lapis appeared in Steven's head.
"Then the bigger mean Gem tried to fuse with my water friend and she turned into an even bigger Gem. We thought it was over but then my water friend saved us in the end." Steven ended the song with a high note and sighed.
He felt bad for Lapis being at the bottom of the ocean, all alone with only a mean Gem like Jasper for company. Too bad he couldn't go down and help Lapis but the ocean was too big for him to dive down and actually find her.
"Lapis, I don't know if you can hear me but I hope you'll be free again someday. You might not be able to go home again but I think you'd like Earth if you gave it a chance. The people here are nice and I'm sure you and the Crystal Gems can get along. You're not so different when you think about it." Steven said, looking out across the ocean from the end of the dock. "I'll be back to say hi again, Lapis. Don't give up."
Steven turned and walked away, putting his guitar back into his back-pack.
Xxx
The young man whistled as he walked down the pier of the small town, looking at the few stores and a single arcade. He stopped when he saw the beach, seeing the multiple green pieces scattered across the beach.
"So they did come here." The young man commented with a sigh. "Better late than never, I guess."
He continued walking, stepping onto the beach and looking at the pieces of the Gem ship that had crashed onto the beach. He stopped when he saw a van parked near a beach house on a giant cliff that resembled a four armed woman.
"Apparently they don't know the meaning of the word 'subtle'." The man sighed before looking at the van and chuckled. "That's his van. After all these years he's still living in that old broken down rust bucket."
A small light pulsed on his chest, making him look down at it. The light shined through his dark shirt and circular shaped, glowing a bright mix of green and silver.
"I understand." The man closed his eyes. "I'll be careful…I know how they'll react. They've never been to ask questions before resorting to bashing and slicing."
The stone flashed again.
"I'll be gentle." The man said a chuckle. "I honestly will."
Xxx
The sun slowly rose up over Beach City but people were still in the process of reopening their businesses after evacuating the city following the Gem attack.
"RE-OPENING IS GOOD! RE-OPENING IS GOOD!" Mayor Dewey drove through the small town in his van, speaking through his microphone.
It was already a week since Peridot's ship had crashed and by now the beach had been thoroughly cleaned and things were returning to normal. Right now Steven was walking on the dock with Lion and Amethyst towards the Beach Citywalk Fries.
"So what are Pearl and Garnet doing?" Steven asked as they walked up to the counter.
"Who knows? Maybe they're just lounging around." Amethyst shrugged and rolled her eyes.
Lion sniffed the air and walked away from the two and towards the end of the dock where someone in a dark coat was standing, staring out across the ocean. Lion stopped just behind him and sniffed the back of his head.
"Hm?" The stranger turned and faced Lion. "GAH!"
He jumped back in shock at seeing the large pink lion and fell into the water.
"Huh?" Steven and Amethyst turned around and saw Lion at the end of the dock. "Hey! Lion!"
Lion remained still as Steven ran up to him, staring down at the water.
"Lion? What's wrong?" Steven asked, standing next to Lion and saw he was looking down at the water. "Is there something in the water?"
Just as Steven asked that question the stranger Lion had frightened popped his head out of the water, gasping for a breath.
"Ah! There's a guy in the water!" Steven gasped. "Hey! Why are you in the water?"
"Huh?" The man looked up at Steven with confused silver eyes.
"It's nice to be in but if you stay in the water how do you sleep? Unless…can you breathe underwater?" Steven asked.
"Huh?" The guy was now thoroughly confused. "I'm not living in the water. I fell in after a big lion snuck up behind me."
"Oh that's just Lion. He's harmless." Steven patted Lion on the back while Lion simply stared at the man.
"Well…Good to know." The man shivered as he swam over to a ladder and climbed up back onto the dock.
"Hey. What's going on?" Amethyst asked as she walked down to the end of the dock. "Who's this guy?"
Steven looked at the man and didn't recognize him. "Hey! I haven't seen you before."
"I haven't seen any of you before either." The man took his dripping coat off and shook his head, sending water flying out of his…
Dark green hair?
"You have green hair!" Steven gasped.
"Yeah, last I checked." The man said, stepping back as Lion walked up to him and sniffed him. "He is friendly, right?"
"Aw, yeah. He's nice." Steven said with a smile.
The stranger watched as Lion sniffed his chest with an apprehensive look on his angular face. "Well he hasn't bitten me yet." Lion suddenly growled and the man stepped back. "On second thought…"
"What is it, Lion?" Steven asked. "What's wrong?"
"Maybe he smells something on him." Amethyst suggested with a shrug.
"I don't have anything he would want." The man took another step back and raised both hands in a harmless faction as Lion growled again.
"Lion, why are you being so mean?" Steven asked, starting to get upset.
This seemed to cause Lion to back down as he stepped back from the man but still glaring suspiciously at him.
"Whoa! I was afraid I was about to be this guy's lunch." The man sighed in relief, putting a hand to his chest. "Thanks, kid."
"I'm Steven and this is Amethyst." Steven gestured to Amethyst who simply waved and then to Lion. "And this is Lion."
"You named a lion Lion?" The man raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah." Steven nodded. "He liked it."
"…Meh, I can live with that." The man shrugged.
"What's your name?" Steven asked.
"Oh right, I forgot about that. My name is Seph." The man introduced himself with a smile; despite his was still soaked head to toe.
"Seph?" Steven asked, tilting his head slightly.
"Yeah, Seph." The man nodded. "And I think a trip back to the inn I'm staying for some dry clothes is in order."
"Are you new here, Seph?" Steven asked.
"Yeah, I'm staying for a bit. You'll probably see me around. This isn't a big place…Why do they call it a city?" Seph asked as he looked around.
"I…I don't know." Steven asked, not really understanding Seph's confusion. "Maybe it looks like a city."
"Looks more a beach village but I'm not going to judge. It was nice meeting you, Steven." Seph said, stepping back. "I'll see you around."
"Okay, bye Seph!" Steven waved good bye.
Lion growled again which caused Steven and Amethyst to look at him.
"Lion, what's the matter with you?" Steven asked, becoming saddened and confused.
"Maybe there's something wrong with that guy." Amethyst offered.
"He seemed nice to me." Steven pointed out.
"Meh." Amethyst shrugged, not really caring. "Can we get some fires now?"
"Okay!" Steven said, grinning happily at the mention of fries.
As the two walked back towards Beach Citywalk Fries Lion cast one look in the direction Seph had walked off in and discreetly followed him.
Xxx
"First day on the job and I end up walking back as a wet rag." Seph sighed as he left his wet clothes in the bathroom and now wore a grey T-shirt with 'Beach City Rules' on it and black shorts. "Not the best way to make an impression but no one told me about the lion!"
The gem on his chest flashed.
"Oh come on. How was I supposed to know about it?" Seph retorted. "It's not like she left me a brochure on everything that happens here!"
The gem flashed again.
"Yeah I know the lion might have sniffed me out. Still I'm grateful it didn't maul me to death." Seph walked to the door leading to the deck stepped out- "Wouldn't surprise me if he was somewhere around here"
-And found his face buried in pink fur.
"GAH!" Seph jumped back and saw Lion was on the deck. "Oh no, not again!"
Lion didn't attack Seph which he was thankful for but he did sniff the stranger again.
"You know what I am or at least what we are don't you?" Seph asked, becoming strangely calm and held out a hand. "Peace, great protector. I mean you, the Gems, and your charge no harm."
Lion sniffed the hand as the gem on Seph's chest again and Lion's eyes widened.
"I know. Amongst the people you have encountered I am different, even from the Gems. I am here because I have work to do just as you do but I promise I will never try to endanger your charge." Seph said, sounding completely honest.
Lion stared at the gem that was flashing beneath Seph's shirt and stepped back, nodding and then jumped off the deck and onto the ground.
Seph watched as Lion ran off, most likely back towards the Gem Temple. "Well, I have to get started."
He turned back into the room and closed the door.
Xxx
"Geez, how many of these pieces are there!" Amethyst complained.
In front of her and the other Gems was the pile of debris from the Gem ship that attacked Beach City almost two weeks ago.
"We have to make sure that's all collected and destroyed." Garnet answered.
"We should also keep an eye on the warp pads. Peridot escaped the ship in an escape pod and landed somewhere on Earth. She might try to repair the warp pads to escape back to the home world." Pearl said in agreement. "We'll need to monitor the warp pads for any signs of her."
"So what we just go to all the warp pads and check them over and over again?" Amethyst groaned.
"We'll leave some kind of alarm system at each warp pad that will alert us if Peridot is spotted." Pearl suggested.
Xxx
"Thanks for helping me out today, Steven." Steven's dad, Greg Universe said. "I know it must have been pretty boring with no one needing their car washed today."
"Aw, it's no big deal, dad." Steven said with a smile.
Steven was hurrying back to the temple as the sun started to set, having spent the entire day with his dad and wanted to be back before missing his curfew. He walked down the beach towards the temple, humming happily with a smile on his face. Just as the temple came into sight a dark figure in the corner of Steven's mission made him turn and he saw someone standing on the beach right in front of the ocean.
"Is that…" Steven squinted to get a better look. "Seph?"
Seph didn't seem to notice Steven standing a few yards away as the gem on his chest glowed bright green and Seph opened his eyes, now glowing bright silver.
"Seph?" Greg stopped and looked at where Steven was looking, his eyes widening in shock when he saw the dark green hair. "Holy hot dogs!"
"What is it, dad?" Steven looked at his dad. "What's wrong?"
Before Greg could answer Seph stretched out with his hand and out of the index finger shot a burst of invisible energy that shot through the ocean, sending water flying up and allowing anyone was watching to see the bottom, literally splitting the ocean in half.
"WHOA!" Steven gasped in shock and awe.
"Stay back, Steven!" Greg put his hands on Steven's shoulders.
Up at the beach house the Crystal Gems rushed onto the deck to see the ocean being split open.
"What's going on?!" Pearl exclaimed in shock. "Why's the ocean being split apart?!" T
The last time this had happened it was because of Lapis Lazuli who stole the entire ocean the next day.
She looked down at the beach and saw Steven with his dad. "STEVEN!"
Seeing the young Gem down on the beach the three Crystal Gems rushed down onto the beach, spotting someone standing in front of the large opening.
"What happened?" Garnet asked once they were with Steven and made sure he was all right.
"Seph split up the ocean!" Steven exclaimed.
"Seph?" Garnet questioned.
"That guy Lion scared this morning? How could he do that? Isn't he human?" Amethyst skeptically asked.
"A human?" Pearl asked, spotting Seph who was still staring at the opening he made into the ocean.
"That's not an ordinary human." Greg said, earning their attention.
Seph's ears perked up and he looked over his shoulder. "Greg? Greg Universe?"
"He-he-hey there." Greg nervously chuckled.
Seph blinked. "Good lord man, you've let yourself go. I know you're not getting any younger but it's important to keep exercising and try to stay in shape. I exercise plenty and I'm in pretty decent shape for an old fossil."
"Hey! I stay in good shape!" Greg protested a wining tone.
"When did you last work out and how long was it?" Seph asked in a deadpanned tone as he crossed his arms.
"A month ago and it was for…two days." Greg rubbed the back of his sheepishly. "But I made some progress."
"Dad, you know Seph?" Steven asked.
"Yeah but his name is not Seph. At least it wasn't the last time he was here." Greg answered, staring at Seph. "Why are you here now?"
"Just correcting a wrong." Seph said simply with a smile.
"Who are you?" Garnet stepped forward. "How did you do that? A human doesn't have the power to split the ocean apart."
"You're right, Garnet. An ordinary human does not have the power to split oceans in half." Seph nodded. "But I'm not what you call an ordinary human. I would have preferred doing this without being discovered but time is short."
"Seraph, what's going on?" Greg asked.
"Seraph?" Steven asked. "Is that his real name?"
"It is the name I used the last time I was here." Seph or rather Seraph explained.
"You were in Beach City before?" Steven turned back to face Seph. "When was this?"
"Before you were born. Now…" Seph turned to walk into the opening he made into the ocean. "I have to move before it's too late."
"Hold it!" Amethyst pulled out her whip at Seph as he started walking.
Seph spun around and easily caught the whip much to shock of Amethyst and the other Crystal Gems before tugging it and pulling Amethyst forward off her feet and into the sandy ground.
"I know you have a lot of questions right now but I don't have time for this." Seph looked at the Gems with a frown. "Don't interfere."
"You're not going anywhere until you've answered our questions." Pearl said as she summoned her spear.
Seph sighed. "I should have known this would happen."
That was when everyone saw the glowing light on his chest as he tugged at his shirt to reveal…
"A Gem?!" Pearl gasped while everyone except Greg looked shock.
It was a green circular shaped gem embedded into the man's chest where the heart was with a large scar around the gem. It was colored green with a hint of silver that flashed brightly.
"He's a Gem?!" Steven gasped.
"No, I'm not a Gem. At least I am not a Gem like you and the others, Steven." Seph let go of his dark shirt. "I am a human."
"A human…Gem?" Steven asked, his jaw metaphorically dropping to the ground.
"Impossible!" Pearl exclaimed. "A human can't become a Gem!"
"How do you know Steven?" Garnet asked, summoning her gauntlets.
"I know his name the same way I know your names Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl." Seph said, glancing at each Gem. "And I know that Steven is the son of Rose Quartz."
"How?" Garnet questioned, narrowing her three eyes.
"Because he came here when Rose and I were dating and he met and told us about himself." Greg spoke up, earning everyone's attention. "He's been alive since that whole Gem war thing centuries ago but the Gem in his chest has kept him alive all this time. He called himself Seraph but his real name or at least his Gem name is…Seraphinite."
[To be continued]
Xxx
Seraphinite Gemstone: Seraphinite is the trade name given to a variety of clinochlore, which belongs to the chlorite group. The name seraphinite comes from the Greek word "seraphim", which refers to a celestial being with three pairs of wings. This could be due to the silvery feather-likechatoyantfibres that can be seen in seraphinite. These fibres are a result of mica inclusions. Seraphinite is typically dark-green to grey, with contrasting silver feathery fibres that shimmer as the stone is turned in the light. Seraphinite lacks the hardness required of a jewellery gemstone, so it is mainly a collector's stone.
In 1789, clinochlore was given the name "chlorite" by German geologist, Abraham Gottlob Werner. This name came from the Greek word, "chloros" meaning "green", in reference to its colour. In 1851, it was more specifically named "clinochlore", (from "chloros") due to its green hue and the oblique optic axes of the crystals (from the Greek word, "klino", meaning "incline").
Seraphinite is sometimes referred to as "the angel stone" or "angel's wing stone" and is said to possess a great deal of spiritual energy that brings the physical self into harmony with the emotional self. Many years ago, seraphinite was worn as an amulet to prevent snake bites. Seraphinite is thought to encourage the flow of energy in the body and release blockages. It is also considered to be helpful in encouraging positive energy, harmony and balance. Physically, seraphinite is associated with healthy cells and is beneficial for the blood, heart and lungs. Additionally, some believe that seraphinite aids detoxification, stimulates the metabolism, encourages weight loss and releases muscular tension. In traditional Hindu belief systems, seraphinite is linked to Anahata or the heart chakra, which governs decision making, the emotions and love. In feng shui, seraphinite is believed to bring wood energy, which is associated with new developments, health and vitality.
