Chapter 1 - Gem Glow

A/N: I do not own the Steven Universe Franchise.

I do however own OC Aquamarine, who is an Era One Aquamarine, in case people complain that she doesn't look like the Aquamarine in the actual show.

WARNING: Contains depression, mental self-torment. The rest is fluffy lesbian love, so if you don't like that, this DEFINTELY isn't the story for you.

Each chapter is one episode of the Steven Universe cartoon, rewritten with my OC involved.

I hope you enjoy the story!

In the middle of America, there was a small community known as Beach City, where people lived in harmony with one another in a peaceful, restful environment on the edge of a beautiful expanse of ocean. Of course, not everyone in this sleepy little town had a relaxing morning.

"NOOOOOO!"

In an establishment known as the Big Donut, a boy with black curly hair and a star t-shirt stood at a counter, staring at a small pink freezer with nothing but ice inside. "This can't be happening!" He spun away from the freezer to look at the other two people in the building, two teenagers, one with blonde hair and another with red. "This has to be a dream!"

The young pre-teen rushed over to the taller male with red hair and tackled him from behind. "Lars, Lars! Please tell me I'm dreaming!"

"Get off me man!" Lars, as he was known, snapped irritably, stepping away from the boy without even watching as he fell face-first onto the floor. "I'm stocking here!"

The blonde woman, known as Sadie, looked over the counter at the young boy who didn't move at first. "I'm sorry Steven..." She said, a sympathetic frown on her lips. "I guess they stopped making them."

"'Stopped making them?'" Steven exclaimed, surprising Sadie when he suddenly stood up, glancing at her over his shoulder. "Why in the world would they stop making Cookie Cats?! They're only the most scrumptious and delicious ice-cream sandwich ever made!" He dropped to his knees, raising his hands as if praying to a diety. "Don't they have laws for this?!"

Lars sighed, crouching down beside the pink freezer with a box of tasty treats. "Tough bits man, nobody buys them anymore." He said, looking at another freezer on the far side of the shop. "I guess they couldn't compete with Lion Lickers!"

"Ugh..." Steven whined sharply, walking over to the large fridge filled with rather inedible looking ice-cream sandwiches shaped like lions' faces. "Not Lion Lickers! Nobody likes them, they don't even look like lions!" He shook his head and placed his fists on his hips with a huff. "Kids these days, I'll tell you what-"

However he didn't get to finish his sentense as Lars stood and continued on. "Well, if you miss your wimpy ice-cream so much, why don't you make some with your 'magic bellybutton!'" He jeered, laughing as he went behind the counter to collect more boxes.

"That's not how it works, Lars!" Steven defended, only to pause and lift his shirt slightly, revealing a pink gem. "Right?" He jigged his stomach to see if it'd activate the crystal inside, but all it did was move with his belly.

With a sigh, the depressed young boy walked back over to the freezer and stared at the cat symbol on the top. "Oh sweet Cookie Cats...With your crunchy cookie outside, Your icy, creamy insides..." He drew a cat's face onto the glass using the condensation. "You were too good for this world."

The others watched with discomfort and slightly disturbed expressions as he kissed the glass and hugged the freezer tightly. "Uh, Steven?" Sadie spoke, trying to break the odd atmosphere, with little response from the one who caused it. "Do you want to take the freezer with you?"

Steven nodded sadly, it was all that was left of his beloved treat.

~WND~

Though his day had not started well, Steven ran back to his home with a pink freezer strapped to his back and a smile on his lips as he hummed a cheerful tune. He couldn't wait to show the others his new treasure, they were sure to love it just as much as he did.

Steeling his expression, he burst through the door and spoke without really taking in his surroundings. "Hey guys, you won't believe this-" The poor boy didn't get a chance to finish his sentense as a centipede-like creature dove onto him, some strange green substance dripping from it's pincer-like jaws.

Steven let out a scream in terror, which was short lived as a purple whip encrusted with jewels shot out of nowhere and wrapped around the creature, the person holding the other end of the whip saluting him with short purple fingers, her name Amethyst. "'Sup Steven!" She said casually, before tossing the beast across the room and over the head of another person.

Said woman, Pearl, was stood on a crystal platform, holding a strange spear with an elegant spiral blade, her movements resembling a dance, like a graceful ballerina as she took out several more of the insect monsters before she hit one hard enough to send it flying into the kitchen, where another woman, wearing a pair of triangular shades, known as Garnet, awaited it's arrival.

She reached up with gauntlet covered hands and grasped the centipede mid flight, breaking it's back and tossing it into another before punching several more. When one dove on her square shaped head, another person shouted out from the raised platform where Steven's bed resided. The fourth person's slitted teal eyes watching the creature's movements. "Keep still, Garnet!" Aquamarine said, pulling back an ice arrow, before shooting the monster with perfect precision, watching it poof from existence.

"Awesome!" Steven cried out excitedly as he placed the freezer down and looked at the centipedes. "What are these things?"

Pearl grunted as she tried to pull one of the creatures from under Steven's coffee table, holding it like a child would a teddy bear, since it squirmed a lot. "Sorry Steven, we'll get these Centipeedles out of your room." She looked down at the thrashing beast as Aquamarine jumped down from the boy's room to stand at the slimmer woman's side. "We think they were trying to get into the temple."

"Aww, you don't have to get rid of them!" Steven said, looking up at Aquamarine as she placed a hand on his head. "They're really cool!"

However his words were contradicted when the Centipeedle spewed acid all over his floor, burning a massive hole into it, to which they all grimaced in response.

"That's why we're removing them." The taller, blue woman said, ruffling his hair with a smirk. "Otherwise you're not going to have a home left, Stevie."

"Awh, okay..."

Amethyst tossed another one at the wall and watched as it poofed out of existence, noticing something rather important. "Uh, you guys!" She called out, picking her nose as she looked back at them. "These things don't have gems!"

Garnet, who had finished with the ones in the kitchen, stepped over to Steven. "That means there must be a mother somewhere nearby..." She said, not even flinching when one of the creatures hissed in her ear, opting to punch it hard in the face instead.

"Nice." Aquamarine commented.

Pearl hummed with agreement before looking away in thought. "We should probably find it before anyone gets hurt..."

"Ooh, ooh, ooh!" The pre-teen they spoke with exclaimed excitedly, getting all their attentions. "Can I come? Can I, can I?!"

"Steven..." The sensible ballerina-like gem chimed in softly, looking at him with gentle concern, placing her hands on the top of the Centipeedle's head, calming it. "Until you learn to control the powers in your gem, We'll take care of protecting humanity." She then snapped it's neck, not budging an inch as it poofed. "Okay?"

"Awh man..." He looked down with a pout, he wished they'd let him come with them.

"Don't pout, Steven." Aquamarine told him, patting his back supportively. "You'll get your chance to come with us soon, I guarantee it!"

"You really think so?"

"Mmhm~"

Steven gave the blue gem a warm, relieved smile, before his attention was taken away by a rustling in the kitchen. "Hey!" He snapped as he noticed that one of the beasts was raiding his fridge. "Get outta there! Go on, shoo, shoo!" He ran over and the creature scurried off with a can of fruit gripped between it's black pincers.

The growing boy turned and sighed glumly. "Awh, he got into everything..." He whined as Garnet cracked her knuckles. "Not cool!" He yelled out, turning just in time to see the little trouble-maker fly across the room and poof away.

Of course, this didn't keep his attention long as he noticed something odd in his freezer. Glancing back, his eyes widened and gleamed like stars when he recognised a familiar packaging. "No way..." He breathed, taking one out while Pearl closed the fridge, the others swarming around him. "Wh-where did you get these? I thought they stopped making them!"

"Well~ We heard that too." The sensible gem said brightly, as Aquamarine stood at her side, Garnet near Amethyst who sat on the counter. "And since they're your favourite-"

"We went out and stole a bunch!" Amethyst interrupted proudly, earning a growl from Pearl.

"I went back and paid for them!"

Aquamarine laughed and the memory, a grin on her lips. "That was an amusing argument to witness." She said, jerking back slightly when Pearl elbowed her with very little force. She wouldn't have felt it anyway, she just felt like giving the pale white gem the benefit of the doubt.

"The whole thing was my idea..." Garnet explained as she made her gauntlets vanish.

"It was everyone's idea." Amethyst corrected.

"Not really."

The opague white gem rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "All that matters is that Steven is happy." She said, the blue gem at her side agreeing wholeheartedly.

However the conversation was stopped when Steven suddenly burst into song. "Oooooh! He's a frozen treat with an all new taste, 'cause he came from this planet from outer-space! A refugee from an interstellar war, and now he's at your local grocery store! Cookie Cat, he's a pet for your tummy! Cookie Cat, he's super-duper yummy! Cookie Cat, he left his family behind! Cookie Cat~!" The boy slowed his song to a stop and ended with a joke. "Now available at Gurvins on Route 109."

The four adults around him burst into cheers and laughter, applauding Steven on his humour and entertainment. "I can't believe this!" He said, holding the treat with delicate love. "I'm going to save these forever!"

Pearl's disgrundled expression at his words made Aquamarine laugh, imagining what the slender gem was thinking. If they went bad, she would have a fit.

"Right after I eat this one." The teen finished, ripping open the packaging before he took out a large, cat-shaped, ice-cream sandwich. "Hello, old friend..." Then he bit into the ear, humming contently. "So good!" He looked at Amethyst and Garnet, unaware that the gem embedded into his stomach was reacting to the action, shining brightly. "I like to eat the ears first!"

The grown-up warriors looked at one another with confusion and concern. "Steven..." Aquamarine started, causing the boy to become aware of the glow, looking down at his gem with surprise as he lifted his shirt to see it illuminating the room.

"My gem!"

"Quick, try and summon your weapon!" Amethyst said excitedly.

"I don't know how!" He panicked, freaking out further when the gem's glow softened. "Ah! It's fading, how do I make it come back?!"

Pearl raised her hands and gestured for Steven to tone down the terror. "Calm down Steven, breathe. Don't force it."

"Yeah, and try not to poop yourself either!" Amethyst teased, earning a grimace from everyone else.

"Please, don't." Garnet added, with a nod from Aquamarine.

"I will not clean it up if you do." She added.

The half-gem's glow faded completely and everyone relaxed into dissapointed slumps. "Awww..." Steven whined, clenching his fists. "I was really close that time!" He put the rest of his frozen desert back into it's wrapper, no longer in the mood to eat. "Can one of you just explain how to summon a weapon?"

Pearl leapt onto the opportunity like Steven did the Cookie Cats. "Oh! I'll go first~"

~WND~

It took about twenty minutes for Pearl to lead Steven to a special spot she held dear to her, standing beneath a cherry blossom tree with the boy sat before her, listening intently. "Pay attention to these petals Steven..." She started, gesturing to the blossoms floating down from the tree. "The petal's dance seems improvised, but it is being calculated in real time based on the physical properties of this planet..."

Her expression turned strong. "With hard work and dedication, you can master the magical properties of your gem and perform your own dance!" She stepped back and raised her hands to her gem, causing it to glow a vivid white.

Thrusting her arms into the air, the gem's light concentrated and a strange, curved weapon appeared in the air above her. She snatched it and pointed it downwards, causing it to snap open, revealing that it was a spear. She spun it elegantly above her head and slammed it down on the ground by her foot, catching one of the petals it kicked up on impact.

"Like so."

Poor Steven looked so confused as he picked up some of the petals and inspected them thoroughly.

~WND~

Amethyst watched the young hybrid Gem with an arched brow and a doughnut in hand as he tossed the same petals into the air above him. "Did Pearl tell you the petal thing?" She asked, remembering that conversation from when she was being trained as a Crystal Gem.

"Yeah." Steven sighed, looking up at the falling petals. "I need to practice really hard so I can dance like a tree...I think." He didn't really understand it himself.

"Listen Steven." She said, pointing her doughnut at the young gem rookie. "All that practice stuff is no fun!" She took a large bite of the snack, speaking with her mouth full. "Whenever I need to summon my weapon it just happens!"

To prove this, the purple gem on her chest lit up and she reached into it, grabbing her whip and yanking it out, only to use it to slice the dumpster nearby in half. "See? Didn't try at all~"

Steven rubbed his head with confusion, he didn't know what to do.

Suddenly however, his thoughts were broken by Lars' startled scream. The poor older teen ran out with a trash bag in hand, staring down at the torn trash holder. "Again?!"

-WND-

"So I'm supposed to work really hard, and not try at all at the same time?"

The poor young gem had reached his wits end, he needed advice he could understand from a source he knew would explain it perfectly. Now he was stood at the top of the cliff face where the temple statue stood, staring out at the ocean, speaking with Garnet who stood by the light house adorning the rocky surface.

"Yes." She answered simply, the wind picking up around her. "Or...!" The maroon coloured woman lifted both her hands, her gems shining brightly as she showed Steven the inner workings of her mind. "You can link your mind with the energy of all existing matter, channelling the collective power of the universe through your gem! Which results in..."

She moved her arms in very strong, sharp motions and her gauntlets appeared on both hands. "At least that's my way of doing it."

Steven was now utterly and completely lost, he only had one person left to ask, hopefully she would make better sense.

~WND~

"Hm? You want me to teach you how I summon my weapon?" Aquamarine asked from the foot of Steven's bed, a gaming controller in her hands as she tried to beat his new golfing game. "It's not that easy Steven, you sure about this?"

"I've asked everyone else." He whined, on his knees beside her, all but begging at this point. "I can't figure it out, and you're the only one left to teach me!"

The blue tinted woman sighed and rolled her eyes with a smirk, he was such a curious child. "Alright, alright." She paused the game and stood up, her grin widening further when she saw the bright gleam in Steven's eyes. "Come on, let's go to the beach, it'd be better if we went there, my weapon needs the water to be of use."

"Really?!" He asked, excitedly running after her as she walked down the steps and out the front door. "What kind of weapon is it, a spear, a whip, gauntlets?!"

"Those are all the other gems' weapons, Steven!"

"I know, but maybe your's is some super cool, water based version or something!"

Aquamarine laughed as they wandered down the slope and onto the beach, stopping by the tides. "Well to summon my weapon, I need to be in complete control of my mind and body." She said, sitting down on the sand, patting the space beside her. "Join me."

Steven silently sat down beside her and crossed his legs, mimicking her position as she closed her eyes and rested her hands in her lap. "When I meditate, I gain complete control of my mind, body and senses..." She took a deep breath and slowly lost focus of the world.

"Aqua?" The boy said after a minute of silence. "Aqua?!" He looked around for anything he could do to bring her back to reality, when her eyes snapped open and she stood, placing her hand by her ear, where her small, blue, square-cut gem glowed strongly.

With a flick of the arm, she yanked a large, sea green bow from the depths of her jewel and used her other hand to pull some water from the ocean, causing Steven to gasp in shock and excitement. She could manipulate water?!

With eyes fueled by concentration, her slitted pupils more menacing than ever, she moved the water until it was mere inches from her. She then warped the liquid until it formed the shape of a wobbly arrow, and snatched it from thin air.

Steven made a noise of shock and awe as the water within Aquamarine's palms froze quickly, the rather feeble arrow now hard as the strongest steel with jagged, clear edges around it. She then moved her bow into position and pulled the black wire back, the arrow poised between her fingers, and with quick digits, she let go of the ammunition and the string, sending the crystaline arrow flying through the air and out of sight over the horizon.

"Whoa...!" The boy gasped excitedly, grinning and shaking his fists gleefully. "How did you do that?! Can you teach me?!"

"I thought you wanted to summon your weapon?" Aquamarine asked, shaking her head as she came back to reality, had she been in a trance that whole time? "Look, the water thing is only something Aquamarines and Lapis Lazullis can do..." She sighed when the boy's shoulders slumped sadly. "But if you meditate and get to a point where you think of nothing but your fight, maybe you can summon your weapon too."

"But...How do I do that?"

"Well I spend six hours a day sat perfectly still without moving, only thinking of the silence, peace and serenity surrounding me." She said, shrugging her shoulders simply. That was nothing to a gem, but she could tell by Steven's expression that it wasn't possible for him to do that. "Or...You could find your own way to summon your weapon."

~WND~

"I think my best bet is to recreate what happened the last time my gem glowed..." Steven mused as he and the gems all stood in the kitchen of his small house. "So...Garnet and Amethyst were here." He pointed to the kitchen counters were Amethyst sat comfortably, Garnet stood by her side. "Pearl was next to the fridge..." Pearl glanced at the fridge from where she stood, looking a little perplexed by his logic. "And Aqua was stood next to her." Aquamarine sighed and crossed her arms, she had a feeling this would take all day.

With a hum, the young teen looked around, trying to get everything perfect. "Amethyst, I think your arms were crossed...?"

The purple gem rolled her eyes and took her hands off the counter tops, crossing them over her chest with a sarcastic jeer. "Okay, Your Majesty."

"And Pearl, your foot was like this!" He went over to the pale white gem and turned her foot slightly to the left.

The gem herself frowned with discomfort. "I don't think it works this way, Steven."

However Steven didn't listen, he instead opted to position Garnet's face, and slouch Aquamarine's form before he was finally happy with how everything looked. "Pearl, just stop." Aquamarine said, not moving an inch, she was used to staying still for long periods of time, after all. "He won't give up until he's certain it won't work."

"I know, I'm just worried that-" However Pearl was interrupted when Steven opened the freezer, almost hitting her in the face in the process. If it weren't for Aquamarine's hand on her back, she'd have staggered and possibly tripped. "Thank you."

"No problem, now get back in position before Stevie throws a fit."

The ballerina-like woman chuckled with little humour in her tone as she did as she was told, making sure that everything was as it should be while Steven pulled a Cookie Cat from the icy compartment before turning to face them.

"Then I took a bite of this Cookie Cat!" He said, not aware of the small event that had just taken place, too stuck in his own head. "Oh wait, I sang the song first!" He looked off to the side as he remembered the lyrics and tried to shorten it to save time. "He's a frozen treat...All new taste...Interstellar war...Now available at Gurvins." Silence filled the room for a moment before the pre-teen slumped his shoulders sadly. "Aww, it was funnier last time."

Carefully he lifted his shirt enough to see the pink gem where he naval should have been, however it didn't even gleam, let alone glow. With a sigh, he tugged his shirt back down with defeat. "Maybe I'm not a real Crystal Gem."

"Don't be silly, Steven." Pearl said gently as she crouched down beside him, placing her hand on his shoulder comfortingly. "Of course you are!"

"Pearl's right." Aquamarine said, smirking at him with a thumb's up. "You're one of us, through and through."

"And you're fun to have around!" Amethyst chimed in with a smirk of her own, only her's was more mischievous than confident. "Even if your gem is useless!" A growl from Pearl set her words straight. "I mean...Like Aqua said, You're one of us, Steven. We're not the Crystal Gems without you!"

Garnet only nodded in agreement, but it was enough to comfort the boy. "Yeah!" He said, stars in his eyes. "Even if I don't have powers, I still have...Cookie Cats!" No one expected that answer as he took a bite of his frozen treat. "So good~!"

However the young half-gem didn't realise that at that moment, his rose coloured jewel began to glow once again, the power it dispersed lifting his shirt enough so the quartz was exposed. Suddenly a bright flash clouded their vision and before them, floating from Steven's naval gem, was a shield engraved with a rose and vines swirling around it.

Everyone fell into shock and awe over the sight they were met with. "Steven...!" Pearl gasped, her hand covering her mouth slightly. "It's a shield!"

Steven opened his eyes at her words and made a noise of surprise. "Oh, what? I get a shield?!" He asked ecstatically, curling up gleefully before he let out a noise of happiness and thrust his arms into the air with victory. Sadly, that little motion caused the holographic tether between his gem and the shield to snap, sending the protective weapon flying through the room before it crashed into the boy's TV, shattering the glass screen.

Aquamarine and Amethyst laughed hard as Pearl facepalmed and Garnet barely made a motion towards the action. Steven though, wasn't bothered by the damaged television, his attention directed to his icy treat instead. "Cookie Cat!" He raised it above his head excitedly. "I summon my weapon by eating ice-cream!"

The ever concerned Pearl crouched down and picked up the wrapper, reading the ingredients. "What's in these things?" She asked, looking to Aquamarine, who shrugged.

"How should I know, I only eat when I have to."

"We never have to."

"Steven gets lonely sometimes when he eats alone."

Steven nodded in response.

However the conversation was interrupted when a viscious tremor shook the house they stood in, and outside they saw a large centipede-like shadow crawl up the house, at least ten times the size of the Centipeedles they had faced earlier. "What was that?" The youngest gem asked.

None of the others answered as they shared looks of concern and ran from the house, Garnet directed her gaze up to see a giant Centipeedle with a white mane climbing up the statue of the temple. "It's the mother!" She said, as she and Aquamarine darted up the cliffface to fight it.

"Stay in the house, Steven!" Pearl said no room in her tone for discussion.

"No way!" Steven said stubbornly. "I'm coming too!" The boy rushed into the house, and began to prepare his ice-cream and freezer, while Aquamarine and Garnet were forced to jump back onto the beach to avoid being harmed, Amethyst and Pearl finally stepping out to assist them.

"Took you long enough!" The blue gem snapped, closing her eyes for a moment, one hand cupping the other as if she was meditating. The next moment, her eyes shot open and she pulled a bow from her ear, aiming to attack the beast. However before she could get a good shot, Garnet snatched her collar and dragged her behind a pillar, the others following behind to avoid a jet of acid that the creature spewed less than a moment later.

The Centipeedle mother spotted them rushing behind the stone hand sticking out of the sandy beach and sprayed another stream at them. "Oh, damn!" Aquamarine gasped, staggering back from the hand slightly when she saw the solid stone begin to turn to soup under the strong acidic spray.

"We could really use Steven's shield right about now!" Amethyst told them with a hint of panic in her voice, she didn't want to become purple stew.

Of course, Amethyst's little wish came true when the boy in question tossed a rock at the Centipeedle's head, stopping the dangerous substance coming from it's mouth, and forcing the eye inside said maw to turn and look directly at him. "Hey!" He called out as he slammed a pink freezer down in the sand next to him confidently. "Leave them alone!"

"Steven no!" They all cried out in panic as they peeked out from behind the hand, they couldn't get close enough to help him.

"Cookie Cat Crystal Combo Powers...Activate!" Steven shouted as he ripped a Cookie Cat from it's packaging and took a big bite. While he chewed, he lifted his shirt to reveal his gem, awaiting the moment it would glow and his shield would appear.

However nothing happened, and the boy just swallowed his ice-cream in fear. "Uh-oh..." With a shriek, he snatched up his freezer and just ran off in time to avoid being torn in half by the monster's pincers.

"We need to save Steven!" Pearl said strongly, only to blink and duck down when the back pincers on the creature nearly took off her head.

"Can we save ourselves, first?!" Amethyst snapped.

Steven panicked and tore two more Cookie Cats out of their wrappers. "Goodbye, my friends." He said, before eating them both whole. Sadly, that too didn't work, and the only strange thing that came from his stomach, was a gurgling which he knew was a bad sign. "Why isn't it working?!"

He didn't get time to find an answer to that question as the Centipeedle raised it's head once again and shot another stream of green corosive liquid at the young teen, who barely had time to jump out of the way, abandonning his freezer in the process.

Garnet lifted her head and cupped her mouth with her hands. "Steven-!" She called out, preparing to give him instructions on how to escape, however the Centipeedle wasn't having it, using it's back pincers to stop the smart gem's words as she was forced to stand there, holding them in place so she wouldn't be sliced in half.

Steven slowly managed to raise his head as the creature became distracted with the maroon coloured gem's struggles, and froze in shock when he saw his beloved new appliance, melted and sparking with unkept electricity. "No...Oh no, no, no, no!" He cried out, running over and crouching down beside it. Carefully, he raised his finger to the machine, only to flinch back when sparks almost touched him.

"Cookie Cat...He's a pet for your tummy..." He breathed, closing his eyes to mourn. "Cookie Cat...He's super, duper yummy!" Snapping them open, he turned to the monster with a viscious snarl and picked up the cable, dragging the ruined freezer over to the Centipeedle without hesitation. "Cookie Cat! He left his family behind!" With all the force the young half gem could muster, he swung the freezer over his head a few times. "Cookie Cat!" And finally, he tossed it at the large, green insect, causing it to let out a sharp scream as it was engulfed with electricity and shocked severely.

"Now available..." Steven started, dropping to his knees. "Nowhere."

"Yes!" Amethyst cheered, while Aquamarine gave Steven a thumbs up and a grin, even from behind the obstructing rock.

"Gems, weapons!" Garnet told them, before the creature could recover and stop the shocks. They all nodded once and a sharp glow came from behind the stone hand, which exploded at the force of the gems' powers combined. Stood there, now unhindered by the obstacle, the four gems held onto their individual weapons, giving the Centipeedle a menacing glare.

"Let's do it!" The tallest of the gems said strongly, Amethyst, Aquamarine and Pearl all nodding in agreement before they rushed in and attacked the beast all at once, resulting in a large scale poof and a single, green gem falling from the sky onto the sand where the monster once stood. Garnet stopped the gem from rolling with her foot and bubbled it, before sending it off to the temple with a tap of her fingertips on top of the film surface. Turning back, she watched as Steven buried a single Cookie Cat wrapper.

"Farewell sweet Cookie Cats..." He said, tears filling his eyes as he placed a leaf on the top of the small, makeshift grave and closed his glassy orbs. "I'll always remember the time we spent together..." His stomach complained again and he just shushed it in response.

"Are you crying?" Amethyst asked as she crouched down beside him.

"Only a little!"

Aquamarine chuckled and placed a hand on his head. "I must admit, I'm glad your powers don't come from ice-cream." She let out a bold laugh and rubbed her nose with her thumb slightly. "That'd be a little too unique, even for you, Stevie~"

"Of course they don't come from ice-cream." Pearl said with a tone that told them to stop playing around as she crouched down and placed a hand on Steven's shoulder. "Don't worry Steven, I'm sure someday you'll figure out how to activate your gem."

"Yes." Garnet agreed, and they all looked up to the largest gem stood over the youngest gem. "In your own 'Steveny' way."

The teenager felt warmth fill his heart at the sight of all his closest friends giving him such comforting words. "I'm okay guys, I just-" His words were cut off when his stomach complained again and he had to stop himself from vomiting. "I think I ate too many Cookie Cats..."

The Crystal Gems all shared a laugh at the odd way that conversation ended and Steven joined in, until finally his gut couldn't take it anymore and he vomited in front of the ice-cream grave he'd made.

Oh how wonderful.