Note: This takes place Between "Log Date 7 15 2" and "Super Watermelon Island".

Today was one of the more stressful days that Steven had experienced lately, He walked in single file, all four of the Gems ahead of him, in a dark tunnel. Both Pearl and Peridot were at the front and had powerful beams of light illuminating from their gems. The twin lights were strong enough that, despite both Gems keeping their heads facing forward, they still managed to light up most of the area around them. This is how Steven noted a couple odd things about the tunnel. Like for example, the walls were very smooth, without a single chip or overlooked bump to break up its pristine flatness. Similarly, the ground was still just a dirt trail, but it was almost completely even save for a few times when it would dip into an incline to lead the group further down. These details plus a few more the youngest Crystal Gem had missed, had led Peridot to confirm what Steven had already thought about. Namely that this tunnel wasn't naturally occurring. Something or someone had carved it into the earth. But even that didn't really perturb him.

"Are you okay, Steven?" Connie asked. She had been several steps behind him but now was right beside him. This was the part of the day that had Steven stressing out. A few days prior, Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl had decided that, in addition to bringing along Peridot on the latest mission, they were also going to bring along Connie. Garnet had explained that, while Connie's martial might grew with every training session with Pearl, she still needed to be tested in other ways. Like working as part of a larger team and being able to follow instructions and orders, even in the heat of the moment. And while at the time Steven had been totally calm and even a little excited to go on a mission with his best friend, now all he felt was his stomach twisted into knots. Not that Steven doubted Connie could handle herself, but this still felt different. This was Connie's first official mission and he didn't want anything to go wrong.

"Steven?" Connie pressed, bringing Steven's attention to the present.

"Yeah, I'm alright, Connie." Steven responded, trying to force a small smile.

"You sure?" Connie asked, wearing an actual small smile.

Steven nodded and then responded, "Yeah. Just a little… nervous I guess."

"I know what you mean. Between the nervous feelings and my mom hovering over me, it took a while to get ready this morning." She indicated to the training uniform that she was wearing, as well as her braided hair and short sword hanging from her belt. "Though, trying to get past my mom with as few question as possible did help to distract me a little." Connie chuckled a little and Steven did as well in return.

"Is everything okay back there?" It was Garnet's level, monotone voice that called from in front of the pair.

"No, everything's fine, Garnet." Connie returned.

"Then we need silence." The Gems leader said simply. "We don't know what's at the end of this tunnel."

Connie blushed with embarrassment as she spoke again. "R-right. Sorry." Garnet said nothing more in response, so neither did Connie, who now only glared at the ground in front of her. Steven wanted to say something to try and cheer her up, but no doubt Garnet's wish for silence pertained to him as well. As they continued in silence broken only by the sound of their footsteps, the nervous, knotted feeling returned in Steven's gut.

After several minutes silently shuffling down the tunnel, a soft whisper made it's way down the row to the two youngsters. "Hold on, everyone." It was Pearl, the higher of the two beams of light in front of them moved to the side, indicating that the lithe Gem had turned her head. "Connie, will come up here?" Connie froze momentarily at this request before she began to make her way to the front of the group, Steven following behind her. As the two approached they could see just a few feet away that the tunnel ended. At the end was what Steven imagined a bank's vault door would look like. It was large, each of its four corners touched one of the tunnel's corners. Its shiny metal surface reflected back the light that Peridot still shone on it and it also had one of those spinney handles that never failed to remind Steven of the steering wheel on a pirate ship.

"Okay, Connie. This will be the first part of your test." Pearl explained, her voice still a whisper. "As you can see, there's a door at the end of the tunnel." Her eyes darted to the small figure beside her. "Peridot?"

The green Gem seemed to be caught a bit off guard by the sound of her own name, however, she quickly recovered. After clearing her throat, she began: "Right, yes. Well, um… Connie." Peridot eyed Connie up and down as she spoke as if she expected the young girl to burst into flames at any moment. She continued at a shaky pace, "It is very probable that there is no power… uh, connecting to the door. However, the interior room could very well still have… um…"

"Defenses?" Amethyst supplied, clearly tired of waiting for Peridot to finish.

"Yes, right. Thank you." Peridot responded, her cheeks glowing slightly.

Peridot's shaking, stuttering explanation struck Steven as kind of weird. Peridot never spoke this uncertainty, especially when it involved machines and other gadgets and gizmos that Peridot was well versed in. But then again, this was Peridot's first mission as well. Maybe she was just nervous as well.

"Connie." Garnet said, taking a step towards the girl. "With what Peridot said in mind, how would you proceed?"

Connie's eyes widened in surprise as she tried to decide her answer. "Oh, well…" she paused and looked towards the ground. After a moment, her gaze returned to Garnet. "I guess I would have two Gems at the door and everyone else hold back."

"Alright, then." Pearl nodded. "We're ready for your orders."

The wide-eyed look of surprise sprang from Connie's face once more. "Orders? I-I'm not the leader here." She up towards Garnet, who remained as unflappable as ever.

"This is all part of your test." Pearl explained. "What if you and Steven were somehow separated from the rest of us in a hostile environment? Even though it's not a comforting thought, you must always be ready to lead."

Connie, however, was still hesitant. "But I-"

But before she could finish, Steven took a step closer to her and laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It's okay, Connie. I know you can do it."

Steven's simple words of encouragement seemed to help Connie regain her confidence, as a calmer look overtook her face. "Alright, then." The young girl inhaled and held it for a moment before exhaling. And as if a switch had been pulled, Connie began to give her orders to the Gems. "Garnet: Stand at the side of the door. Pearl: I want you opposite of her. Peridot and Amethyst: Stay back and cover Pearl and Garnet." Connie inhaled deeply as if everything she had just said had been a literal weight on her chest. "And Steven," she said before letting her breath go, "you stand a few feet in front of the door next to me with your shield. If anything comes this way" she blushed as she finished speaking "you'll just have to protect us."

Silence hung in the air for a moment before Garnet broke it. "You all heard her. Everyone get in position." The Gems quickly moved to where Connie had ordered them to, with Steven and Connie maintaining their position about three feet from the door. The Gems, plus Steven and Connie, all drew their weapons and held them at the ready. Garnet turned her head towards Connie. "On your command."

Connie nodded solemnly. "Okay, go."

In a flurry of movement and a single well-placed punch, Garnet opened the door by sending it launching inside the room. Garnet then ducked quickly into the room, Pearl following close behind her. Meanwhile, Steven, Connie, Amethyst, and Peridot all held their positions for several minutes before Pearl called out from inside the room. "All clear." With that, the four made their way to the rooms doorway, dismissing and sheathing their weapons save for Peridot who never summoned one. Connie entered first, followed closely by Steven, Amethyst and finally Peridot. Now in the room proper, Steven could see what had warranted so much hiding and security. The room was fairly small, dimly lit and about has big Steven's house. Inside the room were several machines in various states of disrepair. One looked like a cube about as tall as Garnet with what looked like several light bulbs sticking out. Another was what looked like a hollow pyramid-like structure made of blue glass. Steven spotted what he thought was a door on it and it looked large enough for only two people to get in. But what caught his attention the most was a huge machine that covered the entire back wall. It was fairly nondescript, a single screen on it was lit up and a console was placed just bellow it. The entire rest of the machine was a dark gray metal that glinted in the twin lights of Pearl and Peridot.

"Hmm. Some kind of archival room." Pearl said looking around the area before turning around to face the four who had just entered. "Connie? Any orders?"

This time, Connie didn't miss a beat. "Peridot." She said to the Gem on her right. "Do you think you can access the computer?"

"Of course." Peridot began walking towards the console before even finishing her response.

As Peridot began typing away at the console's keyboard, Steven asked, "Anything else, Connie?"

Connie thought a moment before answering. "Um… Well, I guess just look around and see if there's anything of note around here."

"Good idea. Everyone spread out and search the area." Pearl said as everyone dispersed around the room.

Steven walked over to the blue pyramid and tried to look inside. It was hard to see inside, though, because of the dark blue tinting the pyramid's glass had And the dim lighting in the room didn't help either. Amethyst joined after him, saying as she came, "Wow. Homeworld sure can make some weird stuff, huh?"

"You don't know what it is?" Steven asked, still trying to peer inside.

The purple Gem now leaned against the pyramid. "Why would I know?" she shrugged dismissively. "Even Peri doesn't know what either of these things do."

Steven unstuck his face from the glass looked quizzically at Amethyst. "When did you ask Peridot about these things?"

Amethyst jumped with surprise, her eyes mimicking Connie's from earlier. "Uh, well I didn't, of course." she said hastily as her eyes darted from place to place as if the answer to Steven's question was written on a wall somewhere. "I mean just…. ya know. I'm assuming she doesn't know what they are."

"Is something wrong, Amethyst?" Steven asked genuinely. "You seem kind of on edge."

"Ah, you know how it is." Amethyst responded, waving Steven's question off. "Just, ya know. Nervous about Connie's test."

"Oh." Steven nodded with understanding. "Yeah, I get it." He turned back towards the pyramid to continue his investigation.

"Ya know," Amethyst began, changing the conversation. "There's a door right here." She pointed at the rectangular door between the two of them. "If you want to see what's inside, just go inside."

Steven once again took his face away from the glass. "Oh! That's a great idea, Amethyst." He turned and reached for the small handle on the door. It felt smooth and cold in his hand and Steven couldn't help but let a spark of excitement ignite inside of him. He opened the door carefully as he peeked around it to see inside and…!

"Aww. It's empty." Steven's face fell in disappointment as he beheld the empty pyramid. "I thought there would be something cool in it."

"Sorry, dude." Amethyst said, clapping Steven on the back. "For what's worth, I thought there would be something cool in it too." She grinned self-assuredly. "Because I didn't know what was in there."

Steven was about to ask Amethyst again if anything was wrong with her when he heard Pearl call behind him: "Alright, everyone! Gather around." Steven put his questions of Amethyst's state of mind behind him and made his way over to Pearl with Amethyst following behind him. When Steven got over to the lithe Gem, Garnet, Peridot, and Connie had already gathered. "Well, everyone." Pearl began once Steven and Amethyst had joined the group. "I think we've can officially call this mission a success."

"Phew." Amethyst exhaled, wiping her brow. "That's good. This charade was harder to keep up than I thought." The stout Gem grinned to herself for a second before realizing what she said. "Oh. Whoops."

"Amethyst…" Pearl groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"W-what?" Connie looked unsure as to what was happening. "What charade?"

Steven nodded his head. "Yeah, what's going on?"

"Oh, Steven. Connie." Pearl said, her expression being a mix of embarrassment and disappointment. "We weren't going to tell you quite yet. Not until SOMEONE-" she looked pointedly at Amethyst, "-couldn't keep it quite just a little longer."

The two kids said nothing. Garnet spoke next. "We… haven't been… completely truthful with the two of you."

Peridot scoffed. "That's a bit of an understatement."

Without even turning to look at her, Garnet replied, "Now's not the time Peridot."

"So…" Steven began uncertainly. "Has this mission been a lie?"

"That's not quite it, Steven…" Pearl said.

"It's rather simple." Peridot interjected, a smug look on her face. "Three days ago, I and the rest of the Gems discovered this storage facility and, over a matter of hours, methodically checked every inch of it in order-"

"That's enough, Peridot." Garnet cut off the small Gem. "But… yes, that's correct. We have already cleared this place."

"But… then why lie to us about it?" Connie asked, visibly upset by this trickery.

"It's not that we were trying to lie you." Pearl began to explain. "We did intend this as a test. We just… wanted to make sure there wasn't anything dangerous lurking around."

"Oh… Okay." Steven said slowly. "But why lie though?"

No one answered for several minutes, before Amethyst spoke, "You know how it is, dude. We didn't want you to think that we thought you couldn't handle a mission." The Gem rubbed the back of her neck. "But… we also didn't want to expose you two to any danger."

Steven was silent and still gazed at the Gems, his eyes showing his hurt feelings. Connie however, looked wistfully away from the group. "Connie. Steven." Garnet spoke as she kneeled down to eye level with the two. "Yes, we lied. And we shouldn't have done so." Steven and Connie were now both looking intently at the red Gem leader. "We… just wanted what was best for you. But clearly we were wrong. And we apologize. Right, Gems?"

"Yes, we do. I'm sorry Connie, Steven." Pearl apologized, her eyes reflecting the remorse all the Gems felt.

"Yeah, me too." Amethyst added as she kicked an errant rock on the ground. "It was a kinda jerky thing to do."

"Well, I wanted to tell you…" Peridot said, but then the three other Gems shot her a group look and she hastily added, "But I still didn't tell you. And that was wrong. So I apologize as well."

For awhile, neither Steven nor Connie said anything. Their eyes were cast downwards as they both thought about what just happened. It was Connie who broke the silence. "I would have been okay with the test even if I had known you had cleared it ahead of time." The Gems said nothing in response, only maintaining their soft gaze at the pair of kids.

Steven quietly asked, "No more lying from now on, okay?"

Smiles emerged on all four of the Gems faces. "Alright." Garnet said weightily. "No more lies."

Steven and Connie returned their smiles. "Group hug to make everyone feel better?" Steven asked. Without a word, Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, and Connie gathered around him and all embraced each other. However, Peridot still stood apart from the others. "Peridot." Steven said as best he could from his surrounded position. "Group hug means everyone joins in."

The green Gem looked at her feet and stammered her reply, "Well, I don't know about…" she trailed off.

"Come on, Peri." Amethyst said, poking her head out from the group. "It'll make you feel better."

Grumbling under her breath, Peridot slowly made her way to the group. As she approached, Steven and Amethyst unhooked their arms to allow Peridot in the group hug. The unsure Gem cautiously approached the opening in the hug before Amethyst used her shape-shifting talents to stretch her arm out and grab Peridot and bring into the hug. As soon as she was in, Steven and Amethyst locked arms again. And for a few minutes, Steven, Connie, and the Gems hugged each other with an uncomfortable Peridot caught in the middle.

The hug finished, the group now stood in the center of the room, save for Peridot, who stood off to the side, as if she were afraid another group hug could spontaneously happen and grab her again.

"So Peridot," Connie began, "did you find anything interesting about either of she machines?" She indicated towards the blue pyramid and the metal box.

"Why yes, actually. Quite a lot." Peridot said, the familiar hint of smugness returning to her voice.

"Like what?" Steven asked.

"Well for one, the metal box was used for-" Peridot stopped talking as Steven began to feel something. It took him a moment to realize what it was. The ground beneath his feet was rumbling.

"Guys?…" Steven asked. However, the only answer he received were the Gems all summoning their weapons. The three spread apart, each turning their heads as if to watch every corner of the room.

"Steven." said Connie. Her sword was drawn and she looked at her friend with a determined expression on her face. Steven nodded his understanding. He clenched his left hand into a fist and summoned his shield.

"Get ready, everyone." Garnet said. "It's going to come from this way." She, along with Pearl and Amethyst faced the doorway leading to the tunnel towards the surface. Steven and Connie took up positions next to each, Steven in the front with his shield at the ready and Connie close behind him with sword swaying slightly with her breathing.

For several long seconds, nothing happened, save for the continued rumbling and shaking of the cave. Steven was beginning to wonder if anything was going to happen when suddenly, a giant blue blur burst through the doorway, creating a new doorway that was more then three times the original size. Steven raised his shield so as to protect himself and Connie from the flying debris caused by the newcomer's explosive entrance. As the debris and dust settled, he lowered it and was able to get a look at their aggressor. It was clearly a corrupted Gem as Steven could see it's gem. The beast looked him like a giant, blue beetle. It had eight legs, four on each side, and it's back shell sputtered opened revealing it's huge wings. And at its forehead grew out a very painful looking horn that split into two separate points and in the crook of this split rested its gem. The beetle Gem waited after its entrance as it took in what now laid before it. After a moment, its gaze settled on the young pair of fighters.

"Steven! Connie! Look out!" one of the Gems called out. Steven couldn't quite tell who because as they yelled out, the beetle charged the pair and on pure reflex, Steven surrounded himself and Connie in one of his pink, protective bubbles. Despite his quick reaction, however, both of them were still sent flying back before finally hitting something. The bubble dispersed as Steven rose to his feet and at first, he couldn't tell were he was as everything was shaded blue and eerily quite. However after a series of blinks to clear his head, Steven saw that the two of them were in the blue pyramid. Connie quickly strode over to the door and pushed against it. But it didn't open.

"Steven! Help me with this door." Connie called, still pushing fruitlessly against the door. Steven stepped over to her and pushed with all his might with Connie against the door. But it didn't open. It didn't even budge.

"Maybe it only opens from the outside." Steven suggested as the two as the two relieved themselves from their effort. He peered outside the dark blue glass to try and find help. It was hard to tell what he saw, but it looked like Amethyst and Pearl double teaming the beetle Gem, with Amethyst using her whip to grab one or more of its legs and Pearl was throwing spears while attempting to have one hit under the Gem beetle's shell. Garnet stood apart from, perhaps waiting for the right moment to strike.

"Garnet!" Steven called out while banging his fist against the glass. The Gem turned at her name. "The door won't open! Let us out.!" Steven explained, hoping Garnet could here him. Her gaze lingered on the two before she turned back around and ran towards the beetle Gem.

"Where's she going?" Connie asked. Steven didn't respond and instead only kept watching what was going on outside the pyramid. With Garnet now in the fray, Pearl and Amethyst ceased their attacks. Garnet then charge the beetle Gem and with all her might, she gave the corrupted Gem a powerful right hook. However what effect she had hoped her attack would have, Garnet must have been disappointed when the beetle Gem knocked her away with its horn. The beetle now seemed angry at its attackers. Its eyes lit up with a bright blue glow and was then Steven noticed that jolts of electricity were jumping between the two points on its horn. Pearl said something to Amethyst, who in turn said something while pointing towards the wall computer. The sparks the beetle Gem were forming were growing larger and brighter. With this increased brightness in the room, Steven found it hard to tell what was happening outside of the pyramid. He thought he could see Garnet join Pearl and Amethyst and there were some pointing and gesturing, but Steven couldn't really make out what was going on.

"Steven?"

It was Connie, breaking Steven out of his trance. "What did you say, Connie?"

"I asked if you heard a humming sound?" Connie repeated herself. Steven hadn't, but after she mentioned it, Steven did begin to hear a humming sound. It seemed to be coming from above them. Steven looked up and was slightly alarmed at what he saw. Above the two of them was an electric blue light that was steadily growing in size and brightness.

"I think the machine is activating!" Connie cried out. "Steven! We need to get out of here!"

Steven slammed himself against the door, but it still wouldn't open. He slammed against it again and again, but still to no avail. "It won't open! We're trapped…"

"Oh, Steven… What now?" Connie moaned, her face twisted with worry.

"Don't worry Connie." Steven said, moving to his friend's side. "Whatever happens, we're togeth-"

Light flashed, engulfing them.

For a long time, they felt nothing.

And then, everything.

The light began to recede as they fell to their hands and knees. They felt strange, like their insides, had been all scrambled together. It took all of their willpower to keep their eyes open, even though all they were looking at now was the blue glass bottom of the pyramid. They raised their head and could see figures approaching them. The door opened and they could the familiar feet and legs of the Crystal Gems. They tried to speak, to ask what had happened, but no words came out. The Gems were talking, but they couldn't here what was said. They coughed harshly and the last bits of strength drained out of them as they collapsed on the ground.

Pearl gasped. "Stevonnie!"

Stevonnie. What a nice name, they thought as the last strand of consciousnesses left them.