Mythos 3: Courageous Gem

Not once did Howlite think a day like this would ever come again.

A day in which he would be truly happy. Smiling like a loon. Doing what he wanted freely, without fear of retribution or punishment. Truly being himself. Surrounded by people who were genuinely nice and kind, and who didn't have dark thoughts or intentions in their hearts. To Howlite, this was rarer than any kind of treasure...and the most invaluable. He had no idea Earth-or rather, a small part of it-was so pleasant, so peaceful, so...welcoming. True, he assumed that there were way more humans on Earth than the ones he met at Beach City, so there had to be more he didn't know about. But the humans he did meet were the best people he could ever met, and he only knew them for about a week at the very most.

Blue sky. A bright sun warming his skin. Joyful, merry smiles on everyone's faces. Beautiful music playing on an old vinyl record, whatever that was. People being nice to each other. Howlite had thought such beautiful things were extinct, or at least squashed by the oppressive life he had on Homeworld. Why couldn't Homeworld be like this? Had both worlds changed? How long had his gem been broken? Furthermore, how did his gem get fixed? There were so many questions lingering in his mind. He certainly didn't remember a house being on the cliff the last time he was there, and there certainly weren't people like Steven, Connie, and Greg many millennia ago. Regardless, he'd rather have questions in his mind than those awful memories, and at this point, he could ask them questions at another time.

Steven and Connie were the best thing that ever happened to him. He couldn't believe how genuinely nice they were. Never before had he met people like them. Sweet kids who went out of their way to not only teach him about Earth, the things they liked and disliked, and didn't have evil intentions, but wanted him to be a part of their lives. They didn't force him to do anything he didn't want to. They gave him space. They let him come around at his own time. They helped him out of the kindness of their hearts, and they didn't have to.

Where had people like that been all his life?

Best of all...he got to hear her voice again. Her lofty voice. What a lovely sound it still had after all those years! Too bad Steven wouldn't let him talk with her, but then again, he had his reasons, and they weren't bad.

Now, he, Connie, and Steven were singing to their heart's content while Greg watched. Once again, they were singing the Cookie Cat commercial jingle, complete with microphones. This time, they all had a part in it.

Steven: He's a frozen treat with an all new taste!

Connie: 'cause he came to this planet from outer space!

Howlite: A refugee of an interstellar war!

SCH: But now he's at your local grocery store! Cookie Cat!

Steven: He's a pet for your tummy!

SCH: Cookie Cat!

Connie: He's super duper yummy!

SCH: Cookie Cat!

Howlite: He left his family behind!

SCH: Cookie Caaaaaat!

Steven: Now available…

Connie: ...at Gurgins...

Howlite: ...off Rt. 109!

A goofy smile tickled Greg's face as he gave them a round of applause. "Woohoo! That was great, kids!" His big hands clapped for them for quite a while. "You should totally enter the world of show business!"

Steven and Connie burst into merry laughter, like any kid would do. Howlite just ignored Greg and peered into his van. The van was just loaded with all kinds of weird junk. The grey Gem had to wonder how Greg could live in his own vehicle. Shirts, pants, CDs, shoes, picture frames, sunglasses, sun block, beach chairs, along with other odds and ends Howlite couldn't put a name to. But there were some things in the van that caught Howlite's attention. Particularly swatches of brown, white, and pale pink cloth. Just like Cookie Cat's colors. Silently, he pulled them out of the junk pile and examined them closely.

"Has Howlite met the Gems yet?" Greg asked, scratching his oval shaped goatee.

Steven shook his head. "No. We're gonna wait on that. I don't want them thinking he's their enemy," He answered, tapping the street beneath him with his sandal.

"But you can't hide him from the Gems forever," Greg reminded him. "They're gonna find out sooner or later. You should be honest with them. I'm sure they'll understand that Howlite's not their enemy."

Flashing a forced smile, Steven asked, "You think that'll work, Dad?"

Greg put a hand on his son's shoulder. "It's better to tell the honest truth than a kind lie. Trust me. I've been there myself," It was here that he glanced at Howlite, who kept on staring at the fabric in his hands. "Oh! I've had those for years, but never got to put'em to use!"

"They're…pretty…" Howlite whispered in his usual low voice.

"You can keep them if you want."

Could he really? Was he really willing to part with something just like that? Howlite flipped his head up and locked eyes with Greg. "But...aren't these yours?" He asked.

"It's okay. I have enough junk in my van already," Greg told him with a forced chuckle, pointing to the mountain of junk taking up almost ninety percent of his van. "You're actually doing me a big favor, so don't be shy. Take them."

The Gem's cheeks turned a darker shade of grey as he held the cloths to his chest. His first gift from a human being. Just holding these gifts in his arms made his heart grow warm. Howlite's lips curled upward in gratitude as he shuffled his feet. "Th-Th-Thank you...Greg…"

"Don't mention it!"

All Greg did was simply put a hand on Howlite's shoulder. As soon as they made contact, an uncomfortable shiver went down Howlite's spine, and his eyes widened as though he had seen something horrible, like a murder. Greg didn't notice, as his eyes were closed when he did it, but for a brief moment, Howlite's chest grew tight, like someone had clasped a large hand around it. A bodiless yellow hand had bruised his skin many times before. It was a wonder that the marks had finally disappeared after all this time. Surely, Greg was only trying to be affectionate. He would never hit Howlite the way the yellow hand did, he told himself.

No. That couldn't be true. He had known these people for a short time, but that was enough to convince him that they weren't like Homeworld. Oppressive, totalitarian, barbaric Homeworld. A flash of yellow reappeared in his mind. Curls of long, blonde hair cascaded downward like an octopus wanting to eat its prey. An evil smile loomed over him. Howlite shook his head to dispel those awful memories from his mind. Now was the time to be happy, to have fun, to not worry about that stuff. For all he knew, they could be dead, and if they were alive, they would never find him here.

There was nothing to worry about. Absolutely nothing.

The grey gem looked down to try and take his mind off of things. A fluffy purple cat sat in front of him, with big, lofty eyes staring right up at him, accompanied by a friendly, if somewhat mischievous cat smile. The cat's fluffy tail flopped back and forth, and its long ears twitched a few times. Resting on its chest was what appeared to be a round, plum purple gemstone. A warm smile creeped back onto Howlite's face. What was this creature? He had to admit, it sure was cute. He slowly extended one of his hands out to pet it…

Only for the cat to hold a paw to its mouth, gesturing for him to be quiet. The cat suddenly glowed in a purple light, shrinking in size. Howlite almost fell on his rear had he not managed to keep his balance. When he looked down, he saw that the cat had turned into a pair of glasses. Glasses without any lens. The only thing different about them was the purple gem right in the middle.

"Hmm?" Connie looked down, noticing the glasses. She bent down to pick them up, examining them with her eyes. "I wonder if someone dropped these."

All of a sudden, the lens of the glasses turned white with black dots on them. They almost resembled eyes. A mouth formed at the base of the glasses. Glasses didn't have mouths or eyes. "Connie! I am your glasses!"

"Gyah!" Connie's eyes grew so wide, they looked like saucers, and she took two steps back after suddenly dropping the glasses to the ground. Before they could hit the ground and break, it morphed into purple light.

Once the purple light dissipated, out came a pudgy, dumpy woman about a foot taller than the two kids, just two feet shorter than Greg. The purple skinned woman had scraggly, pale violet hair cascading all the way down to her ankles, just like Greg's, with black eyes gleaming like those of a little kid dying to pull a prank on someone. Resting on her chest was a round, purple gemstone, covered by a sleeveless black shirt. She was also wearing grey pants with black stars on the knees and white boots. As soon as she reformed, she rolled on the floor in merry laughter.

"Bahahahaha! You should've seen your face, Connie!" The purple woman bellowed through her laughter.

"Ha ha! Very funny, Amethyst!" Connie snapped back, her surprise morphing into casual anger. Steven and Greg turned to look at the laughing purple woman, their eyes wide with confusion. A smirk tickled Connie's face. "Hey, Amethyst!" She pointed to her chest. "There's a stinkbug on your chest!"

"Wha-huh?"

As soon as Amethyst looked down at her chest, Connie's finger swished upward, flicking the purple woman's nose, making it vibrate. Soon, Connie was the one laughing. "Now we're even!"

"You're gonna get it now!" Amethyst let out a pretend roar as she held her hands in the air, shaping them like claws, and began chasing Connie all around the van. Both girls laughed merrily as they ran around, chasing each other. All Howlite did was stand in his usual position in silent, frightened awe.

"Amethyst!" Steven exclaimed, eyes wide with bewilderment. "When did you get here?"

The purple woman stopped in her tracks, allowing Connie to get away. "Just now, Ste-Man," Amethyst replied like the question was the most normal thing in the world. It took a little while for her to finally notice Howlite standing before her. He continued to stand there, shivering, clutching the fabric in his hand. Amethyst stared at him with her purple eyes, tilting her head to one side in confusion.

"Who's this dude?" Amethyst asked.

Steven and Connie exchanged frightened glances. Amethyst doesn't know who Howlite is. Howlite didn't move, not even an inch. The purple woman's eyes widened, her smile morphing into an angry frown.

"Hey! You must be one of Peridot's cronies!" Amethyst exclaimed.

"Amethyst!" Steven cried. "He's not-" The purple woman gave him no time to clear up the situation. She had already pulled a black whip out from the gem on her chest. Howlite was too frightened to move, frozen like a deer caught in headlights. It wasn't like Amethyst gave him much time to react anyway, as she had already coiled her whip all around him like a snake would trap its prey.

The grey gem tried to walk, but he couldn't walk two steps as his legs were being tightly squeezed by the whip. All of a sudden, Amethyst used both of her pudgy arms to pick him up and hold him like he was a log before scurrying off into the distance.

"Amethyst! Waaaaait!" Steven gave chase. All sorts of worries ran through his mind. What if the gems would hurt him? Amethyst already thinks he's working for Peridot. He had to stop her and help him.

"Thanks for having me over, Mr. Universe!" Connie told Greg before running after Steven. Greg was left alone to tend to his van.


Pearl and another, much taller gem walked across the sandy beach, their minds focused on the blue sky above, unmarred by any clouds. The large gem had a pitch black, cube shaped afro, her cerise skin pink like a garnet stone, and light pink visors covered her eyes. Her shoulders were covered by orchid, oval shaped shoulder pads, with her torso bearing a light pink and purplish pink star symbol on it, and her pants were two different colors: deep blue and deep maroonish pink, split in half, showing off her large hips.

"Do you really think we should tell Steven more about the war, Garnet?" Pearl asked, her voice peppered with worry. "I mean, he's still so young."

"Steven's stronger than you give him credit for," Garnet replied in a soft, yet somewhat insouciant voice. There was still a twinge of warmth in there, though. "We can't hide these things from him."

"Yooooooo!" Amethyst's husky voice echoed across the ocean breeze. Garnet and Pearl turned in the direction that led to the Big Donut, watching as a purple dot ran right toward them. "Garnet! Pearl! Look what I gooooot!"

"Amethyst, please!" Steven cried as he and Connie gave chase, their legs burning from all the running they had to do just to keep up with her.

Pearl and Garnet found themselves dumbfounded, wondering just what was going on. Then they saw that Amethyst was holding something. At first, it looked like a large pipe covered in purple and black thorns. Their expectations were proven wrong upon seeing a pair of sandals, feet, eyes, and grey hair. The mass that Amethyst was excitedly carrying over to them looked almost...Gem-like.

"Check it oooooout!" Amethyst cried as she slammed the hapless grey Gem down on the sand like he was a sandbag. Howlite kept his mouth shut, too stunned to say anything. "I just owned one of Peridot's lackeys! Am I awesome or what?!" She boasted like she had won the lottery.

"He's not with Peridot!" Steven interrupted, miffed that the purple Gem wasn't listening to a thing he and Connie said.

Amethyst expected Pearl and Garnet to exalt her to high heaven. She had caught one of Peridot's lackeys, and didn't mess up for once! She thought she could see smiles and glee on their faces. However, instead there was...surprise. Pearl's hands covered her mouth, and not even Garnet could prevent the ungraceful dropping of her jaw. Both of them stared at the helpless grey Gem in surprised awe.

Namely, the gem on his ankle.

"P-P-P-Pearl!" Howlite choked out, flinging himself upward to try and stand up, but the whips coiling around his body prevented all movement. "G-G-Garnet!"

The two kids exchanged confused glances. Just what was going on?

"...Howlite?!" Both tall Gems yelped in perfect unison.

Now Amethyst was confused. "Uhhh...dude, what's-"

"Amethyst!" Pearl suddenly exclaimed in an authoritative voice, like a parent scolding a naughty child. The purple gem warrior had always been on the receiving end of Pearl's scoldings. Oddly enough, Pearl didn't sound angry. Her voice went up an octave, and there was a twinge of desperation in it. "Release him right this instant!"

"Why?"

"Steven is right," Garnet interjected. "He's not with Peridot."

Steven exhaled a sigh of relief, as did Connie. Good, they seemed to understand. But how? Amethyst rolled her eyes. "Fine," With that, the pudgy purple gem released the grey Gem from her whips, which disappeared as soon as they plopped on the sand.

Although his body felt squished and tight from being trapped in the whips, a smile split his face, showing intense relief. Much to Steven and Connie's surprise, waterfalls of tears were pouring out from both Howlite and Pearl's eyes. Garnet was smiling so big, her pearly white teeth were on full display for all of Beach City to see.

"Pearl!"

"Howlite!"

The grey gem threw himself right on top of Pearl, his skinny arms wrapping around her like a vicegrip. The two of them fell into laughing fits. Even Garnet joined in on the group hug, holding them close in both arms as Howlite's tears left dark smudges on her torso. Once again, Steven, Connie, and Amethyst were at a loss for words. Did they...know Howlite? They certainly talked as though they did. Garnet took Howlite into her arms and spun him around in the air like she was a mother playing airplane with her child, with the small grey Gem smiling and laughing like he had never done before.

Happiness was swirling all around them, like the oceans of Beach City had brought them together for a warm, sweet moment. There were still a myriad of unanswered questions running through their minds. Finally, Steven broke the ice. "Pearl. Garnet. Do you...know Howlite?"

"Oh my goodness, Howlite!" Pearl hugged him once more when Garnet put him down. "We thought you were dead or broken somewhere! Oh, this is a miracle!" The joy in Pearl's voice was bubbling all the way into her whole being. She wound up shaking her hands up and down at one point, not that anyone seemed to mind.

Once again, they were speechless. But Pearl's conversation with Howlite seemed to confirm it. They did know each other. Amethyst broke the ice once more. "Uhhh...are we missing something here?" She asked. "Who is this Gem anyway?"

Finally, Pearl and Garnet calmed down enough to give an explanation. "Oh, that's right! You weren't there!" Pearl began excitedly, her aqua green eyes, almost bordering on greenish turquoise, brimming with unbridled joy. "Howlite was one of many Crystal Gem allies that Rose, Garnet, and I recruited to defend Earth from Homeworld back in the day!"

Everyone's eyes widened in realization. They looked as though Pearl had lobsters crawling out of her ears. Howlite was one of Rose Quartz's allies? He fought in the Gem War alongside Pearl, Garnet, and possibly others? They had no idea. Howlite's cheeks turned a dark grey, embarrassed by Pearl's exaltion of him.

"Really?! I didn't know you knew my mom and the Gems!" Steven explained, his eyes sparkling like stars.

"I…" Howlite stammered, looking at the sand beneath his feet, averting everyone's gaze. "I...I saw a...picture of...Rose Quartz on your wall," He explained shyly. "I didn't believe it at first...but then I saw Pearl," He remembered that Pearl had come by to check on Steven, and the latter made him hide, thinking they didn't know him. "I had no idea...you were even still alive."

"Whoa! Why didn't you guys tell me about any of this?!" Amethyst yelled, balling her fists. Connie backed away a little, but Steven could tell the purple Gem wasn't angry. Just surprised, and probably curious for answers.

"We wanted to put the Gem War behind us," Garnet explained calmly, stroking Howlite's head with her large yet comforting hand. Connie could see that Howlite smiled sweetly, basking in the large Gem's touch. "We thought that he had perished, along with our other allies. Talking about them wouldn't change anything, nor would anything come out of it."

"Hey!" Steven raised his arms out, as though he wanted a hug. "One of your allies is alive and well!"

Connie's eyes sparkled like diamonds. "You should totally tell us all about your adventures!"

"Yeah!" Amethyst interjected, smiling like she was a tiger about to eat her prey. "Come on! Don't leave me outta the loop!" She held a hand out toward Howlite. "Oh, nice to meet'cha, dude!"

Like with Steven, Howlite simply hid behind Pearl. "Awww, come on! We should totally hang out!" Amethyst complained, putting her hands on her hips.

"Amethyst," Pearl held a hand out, which signaled that the purple Gem needed to back off a little. "Howlite's rather timid, so don't try to get in his personal space," She advised. Suddenly, Howlite's skinny grey arms coiled around her as the grey Gem buried his face onto her shoulder.

Wet tears dripped onto her shoulder. Soft sobbing sounds came out from the gem's eyes. Everyone found themselves speechless. Was Howlite crying? All Pearl did was put her hand on one of Howlite's, hopefully to reassure him that everything was alright. But the Gem could also sense...relief. She had to wonder how long Howlite had survived on this world without her, Garnet, and Rose.


Once Howlite calmed down, the Crystal Gems told Steven, Connie, and Amethyst more about Howlite, while telling the grey Gem about what's happened after he supposedly "perished." Joy had completely wrapped itself around the grey Gem. First he was on a new world, welcomed by new friends, and now he was reunited with his friends. For a moment, he thought he was dreaming, but the warm heat from the flames crackling in the fireplace told him that this was no dream. This was real.

His emotions were awhirl. Awhirl with nothing but absolute joy. Garnet and Pearl were here, and here they were, chatting with him, telling him about Steven, Beach City, and everything that's happened over the past few millennium. Just like old times. Beach City's ocean had been bathed in liquid orange by the time they finished, as the sun crossed over to another part of the world, letting the moon bring forth the night. Howlite felt as though he were in heaven. Finally, after so long, Garnet and Pearl were here again, especially Pearl.

"Whoa…" That was all Connie had to say.

"All of that really happened?" Steven asked, clutching his feet with his hands, eager to know more.

"So what happened to Howlite after that?" Amethyst asked. "Yo, Howlite!" She called in his direction. He sat on the couch next to Pearl, still clutching the fabric Greg generously gave him. "How'd you come to Earth anyway?"

"I remember you were kidnapped by a member of Yellow Diamond's court," Pearl interrupted. "Golden Beryl, was it?"

Howlite averted her gaze, looking down at the fabric in his hands. It was soft yet somewhat hollow, like it had holes in it that needed to be filled. "She...held me prisoner in her spaceship," Howlite began, his voice low, but still audible enough for everyone to hear. "I fought her off and...found an escape pod. I didn't know I was heading to Earth. When I got out, I just kept running and running."

Familiar sights and sounds returned. The burning hot sand seeping through his sandals. His slender legs screaming for him to stop running even after he seemed too tired to go on. The harsh wind blowing dust into his face. An image of a dark yellow hand attempting to grab him. A sharp object collided with his gem.

"...Before I knew it, my Gem was broken," Howlite finished. "I guess I just...stayed there. For all that time."

The memory of finding the broken rock was strong in Steven's mind. It had happened recently, so that was par for the course. Still, with the way Howlite kept looking away from everyone, the boy couldn't help but wonder if there was more that he wasn't telling them. But he didn't want to press the issue. Howlite had just reunited with the Gems. He felt he deserved to spend time with them spending whole millenia separated, thinking he had perished or was broken into pieces.

"Steven…" Pearl suddenly interjected. Steven could see the worry on her face. "How come you didn't tell us about Howlite when you first found him?"

Steven frowned, looking down at his sandals. "I was afraid you'd think he was an enemy or one of Peridot's group," Amethyst made a face before turning to look at the fireplace. "And after what happened with Lapis…"

"Please don't be mad," Connie reasoned. "He didn't want you to worry, that's all. He wanted to wait before introducing him to you. Of course," She crossed her arms. "As it turns out you already know him, so that's kinda moot at this point."

With a soft, kind smile, Pearl put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Oh, Steven...we wouldn't have gotten mad," Pearl told him in a low, gentle voice befitting of a mother. For a moment, Steven thought her voice sounded like Rose's from the video tape. "Howlite's one of our best friends. We're extremely happy to know that he's been alive all this time, and we have you to thank for giving him back to us."

Steven smiled again. Howlite followed suit. He had no idea Pearl thought so highly of him. The way she talked to Steven just exuded unbridled kindness and love. The grey Gem's heart began to pound within his chest.

Unfortunately, a rumbling sound that shook the entire house pushed away the warm, happy atmosphere. Connie was quick to clutch part of the couch to keep herself from falling. Amethyst wasn't so lucky, as she rolled right in front of Howlite like she was a stuffed animal knocked off of a shelf. Pearl was quick to trap Steven in a tight hug, and Howlite clung to Garnet as she stood up, her fists generating thick red gauntlets with yellow stars on them.

"What was that?!" Connie yelped, pushing her glasses back on her face. "Is it a Gem monster?"

Amethyst was quick to pull a whip from the gem on her chest. "Only one way to find out!"

The Crystal Gems-Steven, Connie, and Howlite included-raced out to the beach, wondering what caused that small earthquake. The ragtag group stopped in their tracks, looking right up at the new night sky. A large monster towered over all of the gems, reaching as tall as the stone statue that graced the face of the cliff. Its lower body resembled that of a lion, but with dark, coal grey fur with the tip of its tail resembling a pitchfork. Its haunting white mane was transparent, as one could see right through it, and its face resembled that of a human's, but the only facial features it had were a large mouth donning a set of sharp, white tiger's teeth and a round, deep silvery grey and white gemstone embedded on where its nose should be. Its blood red claws stretched far from its paws, looking about as long as Pearl's aqua green lance.

One could easily describe this monster as a dark manticore with a jewel on its face.

Garnet was the first to take action. With a majestic leap, she readied her gauntlets, intent on punching the snot out of the dark manticore. However, with every punch she launched, the dark manticore evaded every attack just by either doing a backflip or hopping in the opposite direction. Pearl threw two lances at the manticore, and although they managed to pierce its fur, it wasn't enough to make its physical form disappear. Amethyst wrapped two whips around one of its legs in an attempt to make it trip. However, the manticore lifted its paw up and threw the purple gem toward the cliff.

"Amethyst!" Both Steven and Connie cried as they saw their friend fly into a rock face. Howlite crawled back into the same spot where he hid when he first met the two kids. Wracked with fear, he curled into a ball and hid, his small body trembling.

The dark manticore swiped at Pearl, who elegantly did a backflip before jumping in the air and slashing the beast's face with her sword. It wasn't enough to break through its furry hide, but the manticore let out a pained yelp.

The pearl on her head glowed in a white light as she stuck her hand inside it and pulled out a small sword. "Connie! Use this for now!" Pearl threw the sword at Connie, who grabbed it without a sinch. She and Steven exchanged glances before nodding.

Howlite grew more fearful as he saw the kids charge at the manticore. 'What?! Are they really going to fight that thing?! They'll die!' He screamed. He wanted to tell them to come back and let the other Gems handle it. No sound came out from his throat, nor would his body move on his command. His legs trembled, freezing in place, refusing to move. Even lifting his arms up made him feel as though he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.

How could two small humans fight a gem manticore? Connie managed to leap on top of the manticore's back and slash part of its mane. Translucent white hairs floated down to its paws as the manticore attempted to swipe at her, but the girl was quick to leap right off. The manticore gave chase and tried to slash her again, only for Steven to produce a round, glimmering pink shield with rose and thorn patterns, holding it off. Garnet took the chance to bash its head with both of her heavy gauntlets, not that it did much.

"Man, this thing's tough as nails!" Amethyst growled as she rolled toward it like an armadillo. She charged at the manticore with all her might, ramming into its abdomen. She managed to made it skid across the sand, but it wasn't enough to defeat it.

"Be careful! It's strong!" Garnet edicted, holding off one of its claws.

"Right!" Steven and Connie said in perfect unison.

All of a sudden, the dark manticore gained the upper hand. Using both paws, it lifted Garnet into the air and threw her into the ocean like she was a stone. "Garnet!" Everyone cried. Pearl held it off with her lance, but eventually, the manticore unleashed a piercing roar that emitted strange, grey sound waves. Steven and Connie's hands flew to their ears, unable to handle the screeching sound waves. Pearl found herself blown away, rolling on the sand.

"Pearl!" Howlite finally found his voice.

"Revenge!" Steven cried valiantly like a gladiator on a battlefield, raising his shield in the air.

"Revenge!" Connie did the same, only she held her sword up. The two of them charged at the manticore, weapons out and ready, screaming like warriors.

"Steven! Connie! No!" Howlite cried, extending his hand out. But they didn't hear him. Steven threw his shield at the manticore like a flying disc, hitting it right on the nose. While it was reeling from the pain, Connie managed to climb on its mane and reach his face, her sword ready to stab it. However, the manticore recovered quickly and swatted the girl off with a swipe of his paw.

"I got'cha!" Amethyst opened her arms out as Connie fell right on top of her. The weight of the fall caused the two of them to roll on the sand. Steven stood before them, encasing his friends in a rose pink bubble. The dark manticore used its claws to scratch at the bubble, letting out hungry howls.

"What are we going to do?!" Connie yelped.

"I don't know!" Steven exclaimed, his arms shaking.

"Well, I ain't givin' up here!" Amethyst yelled, still holding the girl in her arms.

Howlite found himself frozen. Garnet was in the ocean, Pearl was lying on a pile of rocks, and Steven, Connie, and Amethyst were in a pink bubble that's bound to pop if Steven used enough energy. Watching them fight...it was like Homeworld all over again. What could he do? His body refused to move, and even though he wished he could jump in there, memories flooded his mind. If his friends were to die here...he didn't know what he would do.

Someone had to do something. Someone had to help them. But how?

That was when it hit him. He wasn't on Homeworld anymore. No one could tell him what to do. His friends were in danger. He could save them without consequence. That was it. Finally, Howlite's body listened as he stood up on two feet. He couldn't let his friends die here. Not after he finally reunited with Garnet and Pearl after so long. Not after meeting Steven and Connie.

No more sitting around and crying. It was time to take action.

Before he knew it, Howlite found himself charging right at the manticore, shouting, "LEAVE THEM ALONE!" in the highest, most intimidating voice he could muster. The gem on his ankle glowed in a brilliant white light as he pulled it out, split the light into two, and out came two large windmill shuriken. The large shuriken were grey in color, just like his skin, and looked too heavy for him to carry. But to him, they were light as a feather.

The manticore roared at him, hoping to scare him off. But a flame of courage blazed from within Howlite. Nobody was going to hurt his friends! Not on his watch! With his eyes blazing with determination, Howlite threw both of his windmill shuriken. They came so fast, the dark manticore wasn't able to dodge them in time. The manticore found itself pinned to a rock face. Howlite took the chance to charge at the helpless manticore.

"You will not hurt my friends!" With that, Howlite pulled out one of the windmill shuriken from its tail and shoved it in his face. With a pained roar, the manticore disappeared into a cloud of dust. The round gem on its face fell on the sand.

The rose pink bubble vanished. Steven and Connie raced over to Howlite, their eyes gleaming, as Amethyst went to get Garnet out from the water. Pearl helped herself up, using her lance to keep her upright like it was a cane.

"I'll bubble it!" Steven interjected as he stood before Howlite, forming a bubble around the cat's eye gem. Just like that, it disappeared. Howlite pulled the windmill shuriken off of the rock face. "Howlite, that was awesome!" Steven's eyes sparkled like stars.

"You really showed that manticore!" Connie exclaimed.

Howlite's cheeks turned grey. "I...I'm sorry I couldn't help earlier," He scratched his hair with one hand, averting their gaze. "I...don't like fighting."

With a serene smile, Garnet put a hand on his shoulder. "It's alright. You did great. Thanks."

Amethyst interrupted the conversation with a laugh. "Yeah, and to think I thought you were a spineless wimp!"

"Amethyst!" Pearl scolded. How could she talk to Howlite like that? Nobody else seemed offended, though. Howlite didn't bat an eyelash, as he was staring at Pearl. Connie looked up, seeing the yearning expression on his face. She was sure she could see hearts fluttering around him. He kept staring at Pearl with a...lovestruck expression.

Her vibrating cell phone pulled her out of her reverie. It was a text from her mother. "Aww man. I gotta get going," Connie said.

"That's okay! We can hang out again tomorrow!" Steven exclaimed. "Here's hoping a random gem monster doesn't try to kill us in the meantime."

Connie nodded before darting off into the distance, disappearing as she turned the corner. Howlite didn't even see her depart. He just continued to stare at Pearl as she scolded Amethyst for making that remark.

"Pearl…" He whispered to himself, making his voice so low it was almost inaudible to everyone else.


Yeah...sorry for the sudden hiatus. Writer's block, college, graduation, life, job hunting, family, and my Pokemon fan fic taking priority. But I finally got my inspiration back, so expect new chapters in the near future! For those wondering, the story takes place BEFORE the episode Cry For Help so as to prevent confusion for future chapters. But the episode The Answer torpedoed some ideas I had for later on, so I'm making some changes. Look forward to new chapters! Nine more to go!

And sorry for the sucky fight scene. I stink at fight scenes.

But there is another reason I'm working on this fic again. I recently heard about the whole Zamii debacle where certain people (Not the entire SU fandom. Just one group of people in particular) kept harassing her to the point where she attempted suicide. That kind of behavior is absolutely disgusting, and I honestly have no idea why anyone would take their dislike of someone's art as far as that. If you don't like someone or their work, just walk away and go about your life! It's that easy! There's no need to make your dislike of something and turn it into a huge spectacle and outright attack someone for their work and make up slanderous lies about them, whether it offends you or not! There is absolutely no excuse for driving someone to suicide. No one, ABSOLUTELY NO ONE, deserves to be treated in such a manner, especially over something as trivial as someone's artwork or stories or creations. How would you like it if someone else tried to do that with you? You wouldn't like that, now would you? I didn't think so.