Learning to Fly Again

Chapter 3

"…and that was when you called. I guess you know the rest."

Sitting on the old couch, Connie looked at Steven as he finished talking, her eyes wide.

"Wow…" she breathed out, her mind still trying to process everything she just heard.

"Yeah," Steven chuckled faintly, "pretty crazy, huh?"

'Crazy' was putting it mildly as far as Connie was concerned. The past two hours felt like they passed in a blur as Steven recounted everything that happened yesterday. Yet now that Steven was finished and Connie was trying to process all of it, it felt like it had been so much longer. So many life-changing things happened yesterday… no wonder Steven barely had been able to speak on the phone.

His story started out the way she might have expected - a massive alien ship suddenly appearing in the sky over Beach City, the ominous sense of dread that it brought, how everyone had been convinced to evacuate and the Gems sending Steven away with his father so he'd be safe.

Of course, Steven wasn't going to have any of that. Connie remembered smiling as Steven told her about jumping out of Greg's van (or rather, being accidentally ejected from the van via airbag) and riding back to Beach City on Lion to help the Gems. That was the Steven she knew - never abandoning those in need, especially his family.

But then he described what happened when he got there - the massive ship shrugging off everything the Gems threw at it without so much as a scratch and the way its weapons nearly blew them all away, would have blown them away had it not been for Steven and his Shield. And then there were the Gems that were on the ship.

Steven had already told her about Peridot, the strange green Gem from the Gem Homeworld that tried to come to Earth with lots of little sphere robots. And of course there was Lapis. Steven hadn't taken his eyes off the blue Gemstone resting on the table as he told Connie about how… scared she had looked.

But then there was the third Gem, the leader of this invasion, someone Steven had never seen before, a massive, hulking Gem, bigger than Garnet, named Jasper.

Steven's hands were trembling as he told Connie about her - how she kept calling him 'Rose', his mother's name, how she apparently knew Rose during the rebellion, how Jasper even seemed to think he was Rose.

How she stabbed Garnet with some gem weapon that split her in half.

How she beat Pearl and Amethyst with ease.

How she had been the one to give Steven that black eye.

At this point Connie grabbed Steven's trembling arm, and placed her other hand on his shoulder.

Steven fell silent for a moment after that. When he finally spoke, it was very soft.

"She was scary Connie. I don't know why, but… she scared me."

After that, Steven continued the recounting - how he'd been knocked unconscious only to wake up in a cell on the Gem spaceship. He described how he was somehow able to push through the barrier that was supposed to keep him trapped. That alone had gotten Connie's attention. Was this some new ability of his? Or maybe the fact that he was half human disrupted Homeworld Gem technology. This could be really important.

But any thoughts on that stopped when Steven told her about two new Gems he met that were also being held captive on the ship, two Gems named Ruby and Sapphire. Only he had met them before.

Ruby and Sapphire were the two halves of Garnet.

Garnet was a fusion.

Steven's face lit up with the closest thing to a true, honest smile Connie had seen him make that day when he described their reunion. How Ruby and Sapphire were just so happy to see each other again. The first thing they did was pull each other into a deep embrace, showering each other with kisses, Ruby twirling Sapphire around as they laughed and cried until finally their bodies glowed and melted together to form the woman that Steven and Connie knew.

Steven's happiness had been infectious. Connie couldn't help sporting a huge smile as Steven explained what Garnet told him afterwards. Ruby and Sapphire were two Gems who loved each other so much that they preferred to stay fused all the time.

Connie was no stranger to fusion herself of course. She'd been half of a fusion with Steven. And those few hours they'd spent together as Stevonnie was easily the most amazing experience of her entire life. It wasn't like she might've expected it, such as her controlling one part and Steven controlling the other part like they were piloting some giant robot. Instead, it hadn't just been their bodies that were blended together. It was their minds as well - into something that was familiar, but also entirely new. There was no line dividing her thoughts from Steven's, no point where she ended and Steven began. In truth, there wasn't any Connie or Steven, only… Stevonnie.

Of course, they hadn't been able to keep it up forever. Eventually they simply split apart, specifically when she, or rather they had that anxiety attack at that party. Pearl explained to her afterwards that fusion was the product of participating Gems synchronizing their thoughts and feelings with each other, allowing them to work as one. That was why the Gems would always dance together to perform fusion, to get their thoughts and actions on the same wavelength. And, as Pearl explained, Fusion couldn't last forever. Generally encountering something that created major conflicting thoughts between the component minds would cause catastrophic desynchronization, which in turn would cause the Fusion to fall apart.

However, it wasn't just major conflicting thoughts. After a while, the two component minds would simply fall out of sync and begin creating conflicting thoughts naturally. Eventually, the conflicting thoughts built up until the fusion simply couldn't hold itself together. Pearl had specifically compared the effect to Mechanical Resonance and seemed quite happy when Connie understood the comparison. Pearl seemed to be close to tears when Connie suggested 'Cognitive Oscillation' as a term for the phenomenon. From there, the conversation had somewhat deviated into a discussion on human psychology and the terminology for various phenomena, at least until Amethyst passed through and chimed in with "NEEEERRRRDD!" The point had been made however. Fusions had a time limit. There simply was only so long that two Gems could remain merged together. That applied to all fusions.

All fusions except Garnet.

And the reason Garnet didn't have a time limit was because Ruby and Sapphire wanted to stay fused. More than anything, they wanted to stay together because, more than anything, they loved each other, and loved being with each other. They were, literally, soulmates. Garnet was practically the physical manifestation of Ruby's and Sapphire's love for one another.

Being the huge fantasy novel geek that she was, Connie couldn't help but squee at the thought of what seemed like the ultimate fairy-tale romance come to life.

But then Steven continued the story, and his smile fell.

Garnet had fought Jasper while Steven went to free Pearl and Amethyst, and together the three of them took control of the ship from Peridot. They were able to briefly capture Peridot, but the green Gem managed to slip away and get to an escape pod. Pearl was able to get control and managed to start dropping the ship out of orbit. But apparently, Garnet's fight with Jasper did a number on the ship, smashing up the engines and other important systems. By the time the fusion had beaten Jasper and managed to find them, the ship was in free-fall and nearly breaking apart.

If it hadn't been for Steven's bubble-shield, they probably wouldn't have survived the landing.

Connie remembered walking down the beach, seeing it littered with debris. There really wasn't anything recognizable left of the ship. If she hadn't known what it looked like from Steven, she never would have been able to guess. She knew first-hand that Steven's bubble was tough, but to have protected them through a crashing, exploding spaceship…

After Lion dug them out of the debris they were buried under, it seemed like everything was over.

And that was when Jasper pulled herself out of the debris.

Not only had she survived her fight with Garnet, the massive Gem survived an exploding spaceship. Jasper seemed practically unstoppable then, ranting about how Garnet only won because she was a fusion.

She may have looked pretty banged up herself, but the same could be said of Steven and the Gems.

And then Lapis appeared, pulling herself free of her own pile of wreckage.

Steven had mentioned earlier how he'd seen Lapis on the ship before they escaped, how she was in a cell just like the rest of them. It was obvious Lapis hadn't come on this mission by choice. And just like before, she was scared. Really scared. She even refused Steven's help to get her out of the cell. Lapis told Steven that there was no way they could win. She said their only chance was to stop fighting and accept their fate. When it seemed like Lapis wouldn't budge, Steven promised her he'd come back once he freed the other Gems.

Only he wasn't able to keep that promise. By the time Steven, Amethyst, Pearl and Garnet were all back together, the ship was already coming apart. They didn't have time to get Lapis.

So when Lapis pulled herself out the wreckage, Steven was happy. He had been afraid that she… wasn't okay.

But then, when the blue Gem tried to fly away, Jasper grabbed her.

Steven's hands began trembling again as he described the things Jasper said - how she demanded that Lapis fuse with her and how they could crush the Crystal Gems. Jasper kept talking about power and revenge.

Throughout all of this, Steven begged Lapis not to do it, even as Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl held him in a protective grasp.

Then Lapis seemed to actually accept Jasper's demand. But somehow, Steven knew that Lapis wasn't going to fight them. She was tricking Jasper. She was going to take control of the fusion and use it to imprison both of them. And Steven also knew this was a bad idea, that this wasn't going to work, and Lapis was going to get hurt if she tried it.

So even as Jasper and Lapis started a fusion dance, Steven summoned his shield and hurled it right into Jasper's face.

Lapis yelled at him afterwards, saying that she could handle things, but that was enough to tip Jasper off that she was up to something.

The trembling of Steven's hands only increased as he continued.

Steven described how Jasper grabbed Lapis by the throat with one of her massive hands, hoisting her up as she ranted about them all being 'traitors'. But Lapis wasn't able to reply. She was too busy fighting to breathe. Steven described how Lapis's face contorted and scrunched, how her limbs had flailed as she desperately fought to get free.

With Jasper distracted, Pearl and Amethyst had time to fuse into Opal. The massive four-armed fusion proceeded to shoot Jasper full of arrows. That was finally more than the Gem could take and she was poofed back to her gemstone.

But not before she was able to crush Lapis's neck, poofing her as well.

Garnet bubbled Jasper's gem and Steven carefully collected Lapis's, placing her where it rested now.

Steven was still staring at it when Connie put a hand on his shoulder.

"Steven. Are you okay?"

When he turned to look at her, Connie nearly gasped. Steven's expressions were always so bright, so positive. Connie remembered how vibrant his expressions were, even when he was sad or uneasy.

The look he gave her now was devoid of all of that. His expression was dull, blank… lifeless.

When Steven spoke, it was barely audible.

"I don't know."

Silence fell over the both of them. Eventually Steven turned his head away to look at Lapis's gem on the table. Only, he didn't seem to be staring at the blue Gemstone. It was as if he was just staring off into nothingness.

For her part, Connie was at a complete and utter loss. She'd come here to check up on Steven, to make sure he was okay. But she realized now that part of her was expecting him to be okay. After all, he always seemed to bounce back after all kinds of crazy stuff she'd seen him go through. He had to be okay.

Except Steven wasn't okay. And Connie had absolutely no idea what to do.

After what felt like hours, Steven finally spoke.

"Connie… I think you should stop coming over."

"What? Steven, what do you mean?" Connie was already at such a loss, and now Steven was talking about her leaving?

"Everybody's told me Gem stuff is dangerous. I guess I didn't believe it until now. Dad always seemed so apprehensive about all this, and now he's really freaking out. I don't want that for you."

"Steven…" Connie's eyes widened as her friend continued.

"Everybody tells me life is precious on this planet. And that means you. I have to protect you. What if somehow you get hurt? I don't want that for you."

Connie was practically frozen.

"Connie, I think you're better off not worrying about me. You don't have to be a part of this. I… I don't think I want you to be. You don't need this. You don't need m-"

"STEVEN!"

Connie grabbed both of Steven's shoulders and wrenched him around to face her, looking him dead in the eyes for the first time since she'd first gotten there. His eyes were wide with confusion.

"Don't. Do this. Don't cut me out like this Steven! Don't push me away!"

"Connie… You don't have to worry-"

"Of course I have to worry! You think just because I'm not here means I'm not going to worry? That's only going to make me worry more! What kind of stupid logic is that?!"

Steven didn't have an answer for that. He just looked away, averting his eyes from hers.

"I just… I don't want you to get hurt…"

"And staying away from you is going to be any better? You told me these Gems want to destroy Earth. So I don't see how staying at home is going to be any safer. And what about you? Who's keeping you safe?"

Steven was obviously getting desperate. His voice started to crack.

"Connie, please. We can't be friends anym-"

"NO! Do you hear me? NO! You are not doing this! YOU ARE NOT GOING TO PUSH ME AWAY!"

Connie felt herself shaking, her own voice cracking and her eyes becoming damp.

Intellectually, she knew what was going on. She'd read enough fantasy novels to recognize the whole 'Hero gets hurt and tries to distance himself from friends and loved ones' trope. And there was no way she was going along with it.

Connie remembered the fear she had, that one day she might wake up to discover all this magic and wonder might be gone. She did not want to leave, no matter how dangerous it might be. But not because of the magic, the wonder or the adventure. Not even because of the Gems.

No. More than any of that, she didn't want to leave Steven.

Before Steven, she had been that shy bookworm hiding behind the big glasses and always off in the corner, the one who spent all her free time reading books and watching movies because she had no one to talk to. No friends. NOBODY. And then she met Steven, the boy who broke her out of that bubble she'd been hiding in all her life. Who showed her all of these amazing things she'd never imagined and gave her the confidence to do things she'd never dreamed, while asking for nothing, but to be a friend.

And Steven was her friend. Her best friend.

That's why she was not going to leave. She was not going back to the scared little girl she was before, and she was not going to leave Steven in the state he was in right now.

"…If you really think that. If you really don't want to be friends…"

Connie struggled to keep her voice straight. She could feel the tears starting to roll down her cheeks. Even though Steven's head was lowered, she still mustered the biggest glare she could.

"…Then you better say it to my FACE!"

They were both still for a few moments, then Steven raised his head to meet Connie's gaze.

His face was drenched in his tears.

"I… I still… w-want to be friends!" he could barely speak through his chokes and sobs.

"Oh… Steven…"

Part of Connie really wanted to slug Steven for being such an idiot.

But she was tired from all this, so she pulled him into a hug instead.

"Steven… Please don't push me away like that."

She rested her chin on his shoulder.

"I want to be a part of this. I want to be here for you."

She felt his arms encircle her in turn.

"I want to be a part of your Universe."

She felt the dampness on the side of her head, and heard the chokes and sobs.

Connie knew she didn't need to say anything else. She just needed to hold on tight for as long as Steven needed.

She didn't know how long they stayed like that, just holding on to each other.

Eventually, Steven's sobbing petered out, and his grip loosened a little. Connie relaxed her grip too and drew back, getting a good look at Steven's face again.

"Feel better?"

He looked like a mess. His hair was messier than usual, His eyes were red and still watery. There were tear streaks all over his face…

And he was smiling.

It was a small smile, but unlike before, it was more than a simple upturning of his lips. She could see that little gleam to his eyes again. For the first time today, this was a Steven smile.

"Yeah… Thanks." He reached up to wipe his eyes with his sleeve. "Sorry about… all that." He looked at her sheepishly.

"Eh," Connie shrugged, "It's not that bad. I think all Magical Destiny people do it at some point."

"Really? Heh, I guess now I understand what Lisa was going through after all that stuff at the High Temple," he replied with a chuckle.

"Yeah," Connie chuckled back. It actually was just like… wait.

"Steven, I thought you were on Book Five?"

They stared at each other blankly for a moment.

Then Steven slapped his forehead.

"Ah man! I read them in the wrong order again didn't I? I really thought I had it…" Steven trailed off as he noticed something.

Connie was giggling. That giggling quickly turned to laughter.

And soon he was laughing too.

Both of them laughed long and hard. After everything that happened, here they were, talking about Connie's fantasy novels again. At lost last, something that was… normal. For them at least.

Soon the laughter died down, and this time both were left with big smiles on their faces.

"You know," Connie started, "maybe next time we should read those books together. Just so you know you're going in the right order."

"Yeah," Steven answered, "that sounds like a good idea."

Both children smiled at each other. It was only then that Connie realized they were holding hands. A year ago, she might have jerked back, thinking how awkward that was. Now, she just enjoyed it. Right now, there was absolutely no place she'd rather be.

"So, would you like to stay for din-?" Steven spoke, but was cut off.

By the sudden bright blue glow coming from the Gem before them.