Chapter 2: A Day at the Barn
"Have fun at the Barn Steven!"- said Pearl to Steven, who was riding Lion in front of the house. Pearl was standing near the wooden staircase.
"Don't worry, I will!"- said Steven in a exhausted tone, without turning to her. He couldn't sleep well for the past few weeks, so he felt a little drowsy. The only thing keeping him awake was the excitement of seeing Lapis and Peridot again. Maybe Uncle Andy would show up, but Steven didn't mind if his uncle had more fun travelling around the world on a plane, then chatting with two aliens about a teen drama show. All these thoughts were in his mind, he could finally enjoy himself. He just looked forward on the sandy road and the ocean in front of him. He just looked forward.
Just forward.
Lion roared and out of his mouth emerged a colorful portal. Pearl was waving at them and looked as they both disappeared into the light. After a couple of seconds, the portal closed. Pearl was just staring at the scenery in front of her as she felt a slight breeze. Her smile was replaced by a frown. As she was about to shed a tear, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to her right, only to see Garnet by her side.
"Garnet!"- Pearl jumped- "I didn't hear you come back! How did the mission go?"
"Quick."- replied Garnet- "It turns out the corrupted Gem, we just caught, likes rocks. Like Amethyst."- Pearl chuckled. She knew that Garnet was trying to cheer her up after…
"Why would Steven act like that?"- She thought to herself.
"He was just stressed out."- said Garnet. Pearl looked at her with a shocked expression on her face. Was she reading her mind?- "Future Vision."- said Garnet. Pearl turned her look from her, and continued staring at the ocean. Garnet was looking at the ocean as well.
"Where is Amethyst?"- asked Pearl, not turning her head away from the sight.
"Probably at her usual spot."- Garnet replied. She didn't look at Pearl, but she knew she was sad so she tried to help her- "Look, don't worry about Steven."- she said, still gazing at the ocean, not looking at Pearl- "It's ok. It's over now.". Pearl clenched her fist, then angrily turned to Garnet.
"But what if that happens again!?"- Pearl yelled- "What if his rage overcomes him the next time!? He is barely getting any sleep these past few weeks since our fight… He wasn't suppose to find out this way!"
"But he would have found out eventually!"- said Garnet- "We knew this day would come sooner or later. I just hoped it would be later."- Garnet sighed while looking at the ground. Pearl glared at the ground as well. There was a long silence.
"So what now?"- asked Pearl, ending the silence.
"Now, we just wait and see."
Meanwhile at the Barn
The colorful portal appeared a couple of yards away from the Barn. Steven dismounted of Lion, which, upon immediate contact with the ground, fell asleep. He patted him and left him alone to enjoy his slumber. Steven looked at the clear blue sky, no clouds today, just the shinning sun He looked at the corn field next to him. This reminded him of the time he created Pumpkin and met Uncle Andy. He felt so happy, when he got his dad and uncle to reunite. At least some good came from his previous adventures, unlike that one with Bismuth or Jasper or the one on the moon base… No, no, no. It was time to look forward. As Steven walked to the Barn, he heard a noise. Something was broken. The sound emerged from the vast corn field. He started running towards it. For some reason he felt fear. But something just broke, why did that scare him? He passed through the corn fields, he heard the noise again. The shattering sound struck fear within him. What is it? What's happening? He passed through the corn field, sweating, only to see Lapis and Peridot staring at two broken things that looked like machines. There was also a third one, lying on a tree next to them.
"Nice job, great mechanic."- Lapis said sarcastically.
"Ha ha, you're very funny."- Peridot answered annoyed. She then sighed- "Well, now there's only one left"- she pointed to the third machine. Lapis then turned to see Steven staring at them.
"Hey."- said Steven awkwardly, waving.
"STEVEN!"- both of them yelled in excitement. They then ran towards him and gave him a hug.
"So, what are you two up to?"- Steven asked curiously, trying to hide his fear from before.
"Peri's making new machines."- Lapis answered- "I think you already know how that's going."- she said while looking at the two broken machines.
"I don't know why they keep breaking!"- Peridot exclaimed- "I found a lot of good material for building them. Some of your uncle's old airplane parts, the drills and other, not worth mentioning, parts from the machines of the Prime and Beta Kindergartens…"
"Wait!"- Steven interrupted her- "You went back to the Kindergartens alone! Peri, that's dangerous, you know there are still corrupted and mutant Gems on the loose!"
"Don't worry, I had Lazuli as my escort. And I have metal powers."- Peridot said that with a lot of confidence. But she had a reason. Her metal bending powers have improved quite a lot. Too bad the same can't be said for her mechanic abilities.
"What are you gonna' do with that one?"- Steven asked, pointing at the third machine.
"Nah, we'll leave that one alone."- Peridot answered- "Come on, let's go catch up on stuff!"- she said enthusiastically. The three left the machine and entered the Barn. Pumpkin was sleeping on a blanket, not far from the entrance. Steven looked at him and hoped that Pumpkin got over the "carving" scenario. Of course, Lapis's and Peridot's collection of Meep Morphs stayed the same as they did in his last visit.
"So, is there anything new you did in these past couple of weeks?"- Steven asked.
"Well…"- Peridot started- "We saw most of the episodes of Camp Pinning Hearts Season 4 and…"
"It' s terrible."- Lapis interrupted her with no emotion while speaking.
"Ok."- Peridot continued- "It's not as good as Season 3…"
"The Best Season."- Lapis interrupted again.
"But it might get better."- Peridot hoped.
"There are only five episodes left."- Lapis said- "Only good writing can save the season now. And it doesn't have it… so… Yeah."
"Wow, Lapis learned how to criticize a show."- Steven thought to himself.
"So, what's going on with you?"- Peridot asked in a polite manner.
Steven froze. He didn't know what or how to tell them. What was he going to say? Suddenly everything became black. He felt alone, but he didn't care. He just stared into the nothingness of the black abyss that converged around him. He couldn't hear anything, but his own thoughts fighting for dominance over the valuable prize which was his opinion.
"Hey guys, my mom shattered one of the Diamonds and Jasper and one of the Rubies tried to kill me for it. She also bubbled her closest friend because she was against shattering. But if she was against shattering, why would she do it? Because she is a HYPOCRIT! SHE DOESN'T CARE ABOUT LIFE! ALL OF IT WAS A LIE! GARNET AND PEARL KNOW THAT, BUT ARE TOO AFRAID TO ADMIT IT…"- while he was thinking that to himself, betrayal and sadness, combined into a manifesto of rage that flew through his body. His love and his hatred combated each other. It intoxicated him. All those nightmares from the past couple of weeks came back to him. He started to shake and clench his fists.
"Steven!"- a voice was heard, cutting the darkness. Steven could see again, he wasn't in the dark anymore, he was in the barn with Lapis and Peridot by his side. He touched his face to see if any of this is real or is he dreaming. He felt warm tears on his face. He then felt being bumped into. It was Pumpkin, cuddling him. Steven felt relieved. He then hugged Pumpkin.
"Thank you."- he said quietly. Pumpkin only smiled and barked a little- "What happened?"- he asked Lapis and Peridot who stared at him with concern in their eyes. After a couple of minutes of silence, Peridot spoke up:
"Well, I asked you how were you doing. You didn't answer, you just stared at the wall. But then you changed your expression. You looked scared and angry. Then you began to cry."
Steven looked discouraged and hung his head down.
"Steven, what's wrong?"- Lapis asked him, putting her hands on his shoulders. He then looked up at her.
"It's alright. You can tell us."- Peridot said in a quiet, calming voice, reassuring Steven that everything's alright.
Steven nodded and began to tell them everything. As he was telling them about Bismuth, Jasper's corruption, revelation at the moon base and his near-death experience with Eyeball, he felt like he lifted a heavy rock from his heart and threw it away, setting his heart free. Lapis and Peridot listened to his story with intrigue and understanding.
"I heard about the story of Pink Diamond's shattering"- said Peridot- "but I didn't know that your mom was the one who did it."
"Why would her Rose Quartz do that?"- Lapis said to herself.
"HER Rose Quartz?"- Steven asked.
"I met Pink Diamond myself. She and Rose were like you and the Crystal Gems."
Steven was shocked at this revelation.
"How did you meet Pink Diamond?"- Peridot asked.
"I don't really want to talk about it."- Lapis said, shrugging her off- "But that's not the point. Steven, your mom was kind Gem, she did care for all life. I don't know what happened that day, but I know she would never hurt anyone."
"And how could you possibly know that?"- Steven asked in disbelief.
"Because of you."- Lapis replied. Steven didn't say anything, he only went to hug her.
"Wow, that was deep!"- Peridot said, surprised.
"Did you expect less of me, clod."- Lapis said mockingly- "Come here."- she then pulled Peridot into the hug. Pumpkin jumped in as well.
"What a nice group hug!"- Steven exhailed and the four of them laughed.
"Thank you guys!"- Steven said silently.
Ok, a little update. First of all, I am sorry that the second chapter took so long. I promise the third will come out soon (somewhere in June, I hope). Also the third chapter will take place after the Zoo arc, and it's not going to revolve around Steven and Rose.
Thank you all for being patient and for the reviews. More would be appreciated. (Just kidding, if you don't want to review it's ok.)
See you all next time.
