Chapter 3: Recruitment
[Summary: Connie joins the Crystal Gems]
...
Steven ran down the stairs immediately once he heard the knocks.
"Hey, Steven!" Connie said when he opened the door. He hurried to put his hand on her mouth- checking the temple's door for Amethyst.
"Shh." he raised his finger against his lips and took his hand down.
Connie raised her eyebrow, waiting.
"Let's get outside... I need to tell you something."
...
Her reaction did not surprise him, although it did make him sigh; Connie laughed. She took her eyes off the view over Beach City and looked at Steven with clear amusement.
"Yeah, right."
"You promised you won't laugh!"
"I know, I know..." she forced herself to stop laughing. "Sorry, you've caught me by surprise! I thought you are about to share with me some embarrassing secret, not that I am the... what did you call it again?"
"The overlord Avatar-wizard of the Moon Goddess."
She chuckled again – trying hard to keep on a serious face. "That's a fancy title..." she held Steven's hand then, smiling. "But that's okay. You don't need to cheer me up like this. I'm fine – but I appreciate the thought."
"But I'm serious! We even had an emergency meeting about it this morning and everything!"
Connie seemed skeptic.
"An emergency meeting... about me... having superpowers?" she tried to confirm.
"Yes... apparently that Avatar thing is supposed to be a big deal. They said something about you being omnipotent and you being a Star and a prophecy and how you might want to destroy Earth..."
"What? Steven – what are you even talking about?"
Steven told her everything he remembered from the meeting in the morning – making Connie's emotional expressions alter between disbelief, amusement and confusion.
"What – but – Garnet was the one who said I have no powers in the first place. It makes no sense."
"I know – she said she didn't want to scare you..." Steven sighed. "I think she also did that because she thinks you're dangerous. They're... afraid of you."
"I don't know what to make of it, Steven." Connie focused on the view again. "It's too heavy to sound like you're still trying to make me feel better. You sound honest... but it's also... ridiculous." Connie shook her head. "If the Gems really think that about me, they're wrong. I have no powers. It's so stupid to even start thinking like that..."
Steven noticed how she gulped – she looked like she was struggling to keep calm.
"I mean – okay – so I am somewhat decent with using a sword. I probably have good hand-eye coordination. You know, from tennis lessons and all. So what? Do you know how many times I wished to have powers? How many times I wanted to fly, or own my own dog-copter, or at least a normal dog, or to convince my parents to take some days off work so we can be together? And before we met... do you have any idea how many years I prayed to make new friends? None of it ever happened..." tears appeared in her eyes – she hurried to wipe them off with her wrist. "Come on... me? Omnipotent? Really? There's nothing special about me – not even in human standards. The only magic-related things in my life happen when I see you and the Gems." she smiled then, although she still seemed a little sad. "That's how it is – and that's okay. I accept that."
Steven looked at his own feet, considering everything his human friend had just said.
"Okay. If that's how you feel... I dare you, Connie." he stood up and gave her his hand. "Maybe you believe it, but I don't buy it – I think you're all just talk. So prove it. Prove to me that you don't have powers."
"Uh... how exactly?.." she looked at him, troubled a little – she was about to take his hand, but hesitated.
"What's the matter? Scared?" he teased.
It worked. Connie snickered- and took his hand.
"Bring. It. On."
...
She followed Steven back to his house, and took a step back when Steven opened the freezer.
"Are you sure that's a good idea? It almost exploded yesterday!"
He bubbled the statue, and took it out. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure Garnet will come and stop us if she sees an explosion in her future-vision again."
"Okay..." she looked at Steven's bubble.
"Now... touch it... oh – you know what? I have powers. I will touch it first." Steven popped the statue out- holding it before Connie managed to protest.
"Steven, don't! It hurt Garnet and Pearl!"
"Oh, I'm sure I'll be..." he started saying nonchalantly, but then his face twisted from what seemed to be discomfort.
"Steven!" Connie covered her mouth.
But then Steven smiled – a short chill going through his body.
"It's freezing. But other than that, it's okay... like it usually is." he then handed her the statue. "It only changed after you touched it, after all."
Connie hesitated.
"I promise I will take the statue from you if anything happens... but Garnet said it only reacts to magic... then you should be safe, right?" he taunted again.
Connie groaned and took the statue – for a second, closing her eyes a little from worry- but nothing happened.
She smiled as she realized that.
"Ha! See? Nothing." she said, victorious – Steven seemed disappointed.
"Don't say that yet! Give it time!"
They waited for a while, but still – nothing happened.
"Whelp." she shrugged, handing Steven the statue back. "So much for being the Avatar of the Moon..."
And suddenly, it glowed again – light white tint engulfed it.
"...Goddess." she finished, looking at the statue – amazed.
"Ah, Connie! Say 'moon' again!" Steven demanded – amused and excited as much as she was shocked at that moment.
"Uh... moon?.."
Immediately, the glow around the statue disappeared.
"Whoa..." they both said as one – and then Connie stuck the statue onto Steven.
"Your turn."
"Okay. Moon!" Steven took it and said – he giggled from Connie's reaction – since nothing happened.
"You try again." he gave it back to her.
"Okay... moon!" she said – the statue reacted immediately again.
Once again, she handed him the glowing statue – but all he needed was to lightly touch it, before he took his hand back.
"It's hot."
"No, it's not." Connie said – she then rolled her eyes. "Steven, are you just pretending? Is this all just a prank?"
"No – I swear!" he protested.
Connie frowned at him, with clear disbelief in her eyes.
Steven sighed.
"Oh, the things I do in the name of friendship." he shut his jaw tightly and touched the statue with the tip of his finger – closing his eyes.
"Ow, ow, ow, ow ow – okay, that's it!" he took his finger back and looked at it. "See?"
"Ouch!" Connie cringed when he showed her his finger – it had a small, nasty-looking burning mark on it. "Are you okay?"
He put his finger inside his mouth – and when he took it out, they were both relieved to see it was healed.
They exchanged looks – before they both sat down on the sofa and stared at the glowing statue – it turned purple.
"I can't believe that it's actually a thing I can do!" Connie smiled.
Then, out of the gem the figurine held, a strange ball of light came out – turning darker and changing colors, something started to form in it...
"Wow..." they both admired it together. "Cool..."
The sphere started to be filled with small dots of light.
"It's such a pretty projection..."
They sat there, fascinated, as what seemed like countless of stars started to form in the ball – shrinking then into a tiny galaxy- and slowly, near that galaxy, another one appeared...
The warp-pad glowed, and Garnet and Pearl appeared then – hurrying over to stand in front of them.
"Connie, listen to me-!" Pearl started to say – and Connie and Steven stood up immediately.
"Garnet! Pearl! It's not what it looks like!" Steven called.
"Yeah – I know how to stop it! It's not going to explode, I promise!"
"Yes, but Connie, just –" Pearl said again- and a second before Connie was about to speak again, Garnet knew it was too late – she palmed her own face then and sighed.
"See – moon."
The statue stopped glowing, and the sphere disappeared – it made Pearl slap a sudden wide, unnatural smile on her face.
"Oh... you've made it disappear. Well!" she laughed nervously.
"See? Like she said. No explosion." Steven said, with a soothing voice. "Everything's alright."
"Yes. It's perfectly fine. Right, Garnet? Because it's gone. All of it. Just like that. As if it was nothing. Forever!"
"At least nothing exploded." Garnet approached them. "Give me the statue, Connie."
"Yeah – sure." Connie bowed her head as she handed it over to her.
"A good rule of thumb: it's better not to use things without knowing what they do first."
"Yes – you're absolutely right. Sorry." Connie said again – Steven nodded quickly, seeing how Garnet meant business.
"Be right back." she said then – and stepped into the temple.
Once the three were alone, Pearl turned her back on them and hummed silently to herself – ignoring them.
"Uh... is it just me or is the atmosphere here a little... tense?" Connie whispered to Steven.
"I told you that they think you're the Avatar." he replied.
"Oh... the Prophecy..." Connie's face turned grim. "Me being on the Diamonds' side and all... right."
"Don't worry. I know you're not like that." Steven held on her hand. After a few moments, Connie seemed to calm down – looking much more resolved.
She smiled, nodded – and stood up. Steven smiled as well once he understood her intent, and they walked to the seemingly-absentminded Gem.
"Pearl?.."
They both stepped back – Steven shocked, Connie terrified; Pearl turned to them instantly, and pulled a spear out of her gem – assuming a defensive stance and glaring daggers at Connie.
It took her a while to regain her composure – once she noticed their expression.
"Wh – yes?" hiding the spear behind her back – she blushed.
"Um... Steven told me about the... prophecy thing."
"Prophecy? What Prophecy?" she asked, badly faking an attempt to look ignorant.
"The Avatar's Prophecy. About how you think I want to destroy Earth along with, uh..." Connie avoided Pearl's eyes – uncomfortable. "You Crystal Gems."
"Oh, that one... right."
"Yeah – so –" Connie glanced at Steven- it gave her courage again. "I... I want to become a fully-pledged Crystal Gem!" she said then, determined.
For a moment the room was silent, as they waited for Pearl's reaction.
"Uh... I don't know..."
"Okay – hear me out – I can't possibly wish to destroy the ones opposing the Diamonds, if I am one of them, right?" Connie asked, excited. "I mean – that's the last thing I'd want to do! Does it make sense... somehow?"
Pearl shook her head. The temple's door opened – Garnet, holding on Amethyst with one hand, joined them.
"Connie – you are not static. And you're the Avatar – you have a purpose. You can change your mind at any given moment."
"Just like any of us. And she's already made her choice." Steven embraced Connie for a semi-hug. "She can choose to be whoever she wants to be! Aren't we Crystal Gems all about that?"
"Yeah!" Connie continued. "I want to be able to help you guys. My home is here. My friends are here. And your Homeworld has plenty of stars they can use instead of Earth! The stupid Diamonds can shine all they want or whatever, as long as they do it far away from here!"
The tension in the room started to fade; Pearl chuckled silently, Garnet smirked, still holding Amethyst – who laughed loudly.
"Told you she'd be alright." Amethyst cheerfully said. "Hey, Moon-Girl, what'd you call your precious Diamonds?"
"Stupid."
"Hey. Say 'I am the Avatar, and the Diamonds ain't got nothing on the Crystal Gems!'"
"I can do even better: I am the Avatar, and the Diamonds can bite us!" Connie exclaimed – laughing along with the others.
"Call them something else. Call them something else!" Amethyst demanded, and Connie tried to think.
"Uh... the Diamonds are... losers?" she was hesitant, but gained confidence when Amethyst laughed again – although she was the only one. The others politely waited for it to end. "Dumb. Shiny like – a bald guy's head!" she continued, since Amethyst kept on encouraging her. "Nasty – mega ugly – rocks! The perfect – at being – sons of-"
"– Connie." Garnet warned. She dropped Amethyst then. "Language."
"Oh – sorry!" Connie turned red. Amethyst was still giggling and snorting on the floor.
"Still, I am not certain about how you can help, or what we can actually teach you." Pearl said then, "And although you did just create and then destroyed a few miniature galaxies, using the statue of the Goddess... I don't think it would help you in an actual combat." Pearl considered, resting her fingers on her chin.
"Wait – what?!" Connie trembled – she turned a little pale. "Back then with the statue – I – I did what?"
"Don't worry about it." Garnet said, her voice reassuring. "Anyway, Pearl, you said it yourself: she became an expert using a sword in no time. Now Connie, I know that you're a smart kid," Garnet went and pet Connie's head, then she put another hand on Steven, "That you have the best supporter in the universe," Steven giggled. "And that you also have the best teacher you could have ever wished for, but, Pearl does think your progress was unnaturally fast."
"Yes... your grasp, your intuition and reflexes improved significantly in such a short time..." Pearl mumbled, flattered from the compliment she had just received. "Much faster than one would expect from a human, or a even a Gem, with no prior experience..."
"So we think you've improved mainly because of your powers." Garnet finished. "And if that's true, that means we can teach you how to do everything we can do."
"Wow, really?! Wait, does it mean even I can teach Connie new stuff?" Steven smiled – shaking Connie back and forth- she was not completely snapped out of what she'd heard about the statue. "Yay! I get to be your teacher! Isn't that great?!"
"Huh... yes," Connie said- she started to get back to her senses a little, and almost smiled.
"Aw yeah! I can teach you stuff too!" Amethyst shape-shifted, turning into Pearl. "Prepare for a lot of hard work, dedication, and tons of boring lectures!"
"Amethyst..!" Pearl aggressively growled. It made Steven let out a snort – which put Pearl off guard. Embarrassed by her own reaction, she looked much more forgiving – and blue.
The human Avatar laughed in relief then – along with everyone else.
...
It was already past midnight. Connie had already left, and Steven and Amethyst were fast asleep.
Garnet was sitting in her room, deep in meditation.
However, even with her face turned to the wall – she noticed the Gem who entered.
"Pearl." she said.
"...expected me already, I see..." Pearl acknowledged. She was hesitant for a few seconds before she talked again.
"Garnet... do you think we're doing the right thing?.. Connie does sound sincere... and she personally had never given us any actual reason not to trust her... but..."
Pearl's gem glowed then, and projected the text they'd seen, not too long ago, in the Halls of the Stars.
"...then again, there it is... clear as day..." she read the text on the projection out loud.
"Fools are the ones who seek no atonement and take the Avatar's benevolence for granted; let it be known that once She decides our fate, the Diamonds alone would have Her grace, for they are the only ones who deserve it in the eyes of the Stars. The universe would be wise to fear the Diamonds, should the Avatar choose to favor darkness; for darkness knows no mercy, and no mercy is known to those who fall to darkness."
The projection disappeared. Pearl bowed her head.
"This... along with what she did to those galaxies, and what she's done yesterday... all of these... warning signs... I'd like to think none of this means anything."
"You and I both, Pearl." Garnet replied, and then calmly added, "In either case, it's better that Connie's joined us. It's worth a try. We can keep an eye on her. We can help her make the right choice. We can even help Steven this way... if we need to."
"You mean, if the Prophecy talks about our Steven Universe... do you really think we should take this part so... literally?" she went to sit by Garnet. "What would darkness even mean here, if they are talking about Steven?"
"Some Gems say it's eternal doom. Eternal inanity... death."
"So pretty much like the actual universe, then..." Pearl covered her face with her hands. "Garnet... the more we learn, the worse it looks... Homeworld would not spare any of us if we surrender. I doubt Earth would be safe even if we did... what are we supposed to do now?"
"The Prophecy says to refer to the moon closest to the Avatar for guidance; after one moon cycle since the Avatar's revelation, the Avatar would face the choice. By the next cycle, the choice would have already been made." Garnet was completely still. "Going by Earth's moon cycle, that gives us at least a month. And we still have a very long way to go in the Halls of the Stars. It's guarding a secret. There must be something in there that will help us... some prophecies can be changed."
"And maybe... if we can't find anything..." Pearl silently added, "I already know from our training that Connie is vulnerable..." she was pained by her own words. "And... assuming that she's mortal... we could always..."
She couldn't bring herself to finish her sentence, and Garnet did not respond.
They were both sitting there in complete, depressing silence.
"You know... it's funny..." Pearl made a weak, bitter smile then. "The thought of anything harming Steven scares me much more than the thought of the whole universe falling into darkness." she stood up – letting her arms dangle to the sides of her body. "I... I think I will go watch Steven sleep for now."
"Wait – we can't." the fusion then said immediately, her voice was surprisingly sharp.
Pearl's eyes widened, alerted, as Garnet stood up as well.
"We must go to the Halls and investigate. Right now. We must be safe – we can't afford to delay for long."
"...is something wrong?" Pearl asked then – following Garnet out.
Garnet put her fingers on her shades, and slowly shook her head – as if she was trying to get something off her mind.
"My future-vision... I thought I just needed some rest... but it may be damaged... disrupted by something... I hope."
"You hope?"
Garnet nodded. They both silently walked to the warp-pad – trying not to wake Steven up.
It activated, and they were off on their way.
"Garnet, please talk to me." Pearl begged. "What are you talking about?"
"...I can see, but barely..." Garnet gazed upwards – at where they were moving. "Most of it is blurry... and in some of my visions..."
She tried to keep her voice calm, taking a second before she finished with,
"Everything is completely pitch-black."
...
And out there
nobody was around.
Nobody visited without invitation,
and nobody was greeted with an agonized hail.
And hence,
nobody was ready for the days to come.