Hi again! Here is another chapter! Aley I'm glad you felt some emotion when reading the first chapter, it makes me feel good inside to know I can get reactions like that out of people.

Steven Universe and its characters are owned by Rebecca Sugar.
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Chapter Four: Faces Go By

Pearls form was buzzing with delight. Sitting right next to her in the chopper was none other than her baby boy, all grown up. She just wanted to constantly be touching him, either hugging him, leaning against him, holding his hand. It's been so long since she thought he was gone for good, the days she spent sitting by his and Roses gem, waiting for either to return still stung fresh in her mind.

"Pearl tone down a little." Garnets voice came through the headset on her head.

"yeah! He just got back, don't suffocate him." Amethyst was tapping her foot, obviously annoyed that she had him all to herself at the moment.

"I am not suffocating him!" Pearl spoke back, her hand brushing lightly through Stevens hair. How she missed playing with his hair, the curly locks tangling around her fingers. He was older now, at least by the look of his form, he was eighteen. Fitting, for the amount of time he has been missing from the world.

"hey I'm not complaining" Steven shifted beneath the blanket she had given him, his headset getting in the way slightly of her time with him. He had a smile on his lips.

"Duude. If you say that she won't let you go." Amethyst blew a raspberry. "I mean you should of seen her when you came back to earth." The sent a shock up Pearls form, it was far too soon to be talking about such traumatic things.

"Amethyst!" she shot her a look. Now wasn't the time to be letting things slip out at the wrong time, couldn't she just leave it be for the time being.

"wait… so I came back to earth in my Gem?" Steven leaned up from his position, his warmth leaving Pearls lap. 'see what you did now'

"yes, you did…" Garnets voice trembled just slightly. "but we can talk about that when we get back to base."

"yes, quite right. we can get you nice and fed, clothed, well once we get you past everyone that misses you." Pearl noticed the glint appear in his eyes, he was hopeful, hopeful that people he knew would be there.

'oh dear, oh Steven' it hurt to know that not everyone will be there to greet him, to hug him, to say hello. There will been plenty of new faces, both human and gem that he will be able to make friends with, it's just a lot of old ones will be.

Gone.

Pearl crossed her hands into her lap, he will be devastated. It's no telling what will happen to Steven after he finds out.

"Pearl." Pearl pooled her attention towards Garnet, her reflective visor showing her own saddened eyes.

"yes." She couldn't help the creak in her voice. Steven was too busy humming away to himself, looking at the stars through the window. "what is it?"

"Stevens home. Smile, for him"

"hmm?" Steven pulled his attention away from the window. "you okay Pearl?"

"ah yes, fine. Completely fine! Just concerned about what to get you to wear." She tightened her fists.

"as long as it has a Star on it I'm fine with anything!" he beamed a smile back at her.

"that's Steven for you HA!" Amethyst kicked her foot against the floor. "to bad your old shirts aren't gonna fit stud."

"aww Hotdogs." Steven had stuck his tongue out at her.

Garnet was right. She had to smile, for Stevens sake. Right now, this time in flight would be the only time they could get before it all comes out. The state of the war, what Stevens role will be, what he will have to do. It will be a heavy load on the boy, one that will surely test him.

"well I guess, dads just going to have to buy me new ones." he giggled to himself. It nearly crushed pearl.

"y-yeah! Exactly right. Greg is gonna freak when he's seen how you've reformed! R-right Garnet?" Pearl could feel the tension rise considerably. She could see Amethyst was uncomfortable, she had a right to be.

"yes." Garnet turned towards the window. The three of them weren't looking forward to this part of the reunion, not one bit.

"five minutes to touchdown." Cassandras voice passed over the coms alerting everyone. Pearl moved to unbuckle herself, releasing her form from the confines of the seat. She moved all the way over to the door while Cassandra switched off the lights in the cabin, sending it the darkness.

"whats going on?" Stevens concerned voice overcame the roar of the engine over head.

"its's okay Steven, just landing procedure." Garnet was trying to soothe him. Pearl pulled the door open and the cold air came rushing in, they were dangerously close to the cliffside of a mountain. She lit her gem and pointed across the vast gap, lighting up its all.

"pull forward by three metres descend by to the count of three." Pearls light passed over the sheer cliff face, Cassandra followed her orders.

"one" the pilot pulled forward and lowered.

"two" Pearls light bounced against a receiver and a panel shot forth from the vines.

"three!" the wheels touched down on the large panel acting as a sort of floating landing pad.

"woah, that is so cool. Are we floating?" Pearl quickly jumped from the chopper and onto the pad as it began to move, pulling them all into them into the cliff face, the vines parted way to not get tangled in the in the rotor blades.

"it's a bit of work between Peridot and I. Based on the old Gem tec-"

"yeah yeah move out of the way people to see." Amethyst rudely interrupted her as she jumped from the chopper onto the pad. Garnet helped Steven from the chopper, making sure that blanket wrapped around him didn't go falling off.

"Steven, welcome to Headquarters for the gem rebels" Pearl watched as his eyes lit up, they were almost though the wall.

"it's him! its Steven Universe!"

"Stevens back!"

"to the leader of the Rebellion!" there was a crowd in the hangar, about forty or so, all here to welcome home Steven, it was such a wonderful and welcome sight to see them cheering and all. Pearl could see it in his eyes, the happiness, the excitement.

"well I hope they didn't leave stations unattended." She remarked. It would be troublesome if enemy forces got through the scanners.

"wow! Hi! Hello! how is everyone!?" when the pad docked Pearl moved to hold Steven back, but her hand barely touched him before he leapt from the pad and into the crowd.

"Steven come back." The blanket around his shoulders clumped to the ground around her feet.

"Pearl." Garnets grasped onto hers "its fine. Let him say hello." Pearl bit her lip, she needed to be beside him, he could get sick running around in that piece of fabric. He bounded up to a short girl with white hair.

"Sadie!"

"Steven! We've missed you!" the girl that worked at the Stevens old confectionary shop walked up and hugged him, along with many others from the boardwalk. The boys with white hair, one of the Pizza shop girls, that man who constantly had a smile on his face despite his many conflicting emotions, they all greeted him.

"welcome back commander." Dandy walked up to Garnet, her commanding officer, still tapping away at her holo-screen. Pearl liked Dandy, she was always to the point, never dawdles and always keeps her language clean. The only problem she had was the lack of emotions, Pearl could never tell what she was feeling.

"that the finished debrief?" Garnet spoke to her subordinate.

"yes mam. Scape Goat is currently stationing herself at outpost three, with Recon unit one, the defector isn't with them neither is the data drive pertaining to the research in empire city. Any further information regarding our inside operative is also unknown." Dandy tapped several symbols into her screen and closed it.

"we have the data drive. Recall the unit, we still have to debrief Steven about his escape." Dandy nodded and left, her yellow sundress puling behind her.

"damn!" Pearl flinched at Amethysts reaction, the short purple gem had her hands clenched. "Lanky better be okay, Cornelians going be bummed after she hears that."

"Amethyst. I'm sure she's fine" Pearl spoke calmly, it wasn't a lie to say she was fine. Well not a big one. "right now, we need to focus on Steven." Amethyst glared at her in reply.

"break it up, Steven is going to need us soon." Garnet stood between the two, separating the intense stare off.

"how bad is it going to be?" Pearls expression grew grim.

"bad" this was going to be hard for them. they just got Steven back and they don't know how being in his own gem has affected him. what if there was some unknown change besides the age jump, he still seemed like Steven.

"okay. We can do this" amethyst reached her hand forward towards Pearl offering an apology. Pearl didn't accept.

With a huff she jumped from the pad and into the crowd, Stevens laughing could be heard as Mr Smiley was playfully rubbing his hair.

"you've grown Steven! I mean damn! Where you work out at son hahaha."

"aw you know Mr. smiley. Just, growth spurts" Steven replied in his own goofy way.

"now now. That's enough" parting the crowd, Pearl stepped towards the young gem. "you can all see Steven later, right now we have very important business to attend too." With a clap of her hands Gem and Human began to remove themselves from the hangar, all of them waving to the new addition to the war effort.

"did you see that, Sadie got slimmer and Mr Smiley has a grey moustache. There was a Citrine too and so many new gems. "

"I mean wow, two years and people change so much. Anyway, where is dad and Connie?" Pearl sagged at his words, her form growing heavy from being the bearer of terrible news.

"Steven. Connie's fine, she is currently on a mission. But… Greg…" she couldn't look him in the eyes. Not those big beautiful eyes, she was barely struggling to hold her own tears. As she turned away a hand touched her shoulder.

"c'mon Steven. We will go see Greg." Garnet looked at Pearl through her visor, she knew she couldn't do this alone, it would kill her.

"oh, cool lead the way!" even though Pearl didn't need to breathe, she took in a shuddering breath. She was going to hold it.

All the way through this.

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'I have a bad feeling about this.' Steven shuddered as they walked down a steel hallway, passing many doors and fellow Crystal gems and humans. He would wave and say hello, to which they would pleasantly say hello back. It was so nice to see the ranks of the Crystal gems swell, it made his efforts before the war seem so small. He couldn't wait to know many of the new faces as they passed him by. He was glad to know Connie was safe and leading missions and Peridot too by what Pearl said on the sci-fi pad.

"this place is cool, is it an old gem base?" He had to quell the tension he felt in his chest, they weren't telling him something and that something obviously had to do with dad. Amethyst turned around a meek smile on her face. Her smiles seem to never change, even with time.

"this is an old Colony ship that crashed into the mountain. It's like crazy old school, but Pearl and Peridot built it up into what it is."

"yeah, we did" Pearl had a distant look in her eyes as they moved further down the hall. Passing by an opal gracefully avoiding the overhanging lights, she was a bit too tall for the hall.

"oh sorry Excuse me." She danced around them and gave amethyst a wave, Garnet gave them a thumbs up as they passed.

"woah, another Opal!" the Opal moved further on, a slight blush on her cheeks from being pointed out.

"that was Trip and Dip. A Pearl and Amethyst we rescued from re-education facility. They can barely move around on the own because they're so clumsy, but man… when their fused their more graceful then me and Pearl!" Amethyst was happily walking backwards.

"uh I have another question." Steven raised his hand as if he was in a classroom. He was extremely curious about how all these gems came together.

"yes, the student in the back" Amethyst morphed a pair of glasses onto her face and her hair into a ponytail.

"ah how did so many gems come to gather here?" Amethyst had a smile on her face.

"Garnet can handle this one." She turned away her ponytail fading back into her mane.

"when the diamonds attacked earth, many gems came from other planets to help with the colonization, there was one gem, you will meet later, that helped with the effort, Lars can introduce you when they get back." the group moved around a sign Steven didn't read what it said.

"Lars! Is he okay? Last I saw of him was on Home world before everything turned black." The group Stopped and turned towards Steven, Pearl was visibly shaking. 'did I say something wrong?'

"w-what did I say something wrong?" Garnet leaned down and gently cupped his cheeks. Her visor serious sheen had given away to reveal her eyes. She looked deep into his own, the tingly sensation that scratched away at his chest began to build. She looked scared.

"were you scared?" she spoke first.

"no… I wasn't. Just tired, I don't even know how it happened." She tugged gently at his cheeks before letting go.

"okay then, we'll talk later about that… right now. Pearl." Pearl, on que, stepped off to the side and opened a door.

"Steven, inside please." Her tone was quiet almost neutral, it was frightening.

"is dad in there?" she nodded her head only once before casting her eyes into the room.

Without Hesitation Steven planted a smile on his face. No matter what resided on the other side of the door whether it was good or bad he would be ready. He couldn't let down his father.

"coming in." he stepped passed the solid door, looking forward to seeing his father after all these years. Was he aged? Did he have less hair now or missing teeth, was his eternal tan lines gone. What was it that had the other so on edge? Was he injured!?

"Dad!" a sudden wave of emotion passed over him as he stepped into the candle lit room, it was not what he expected. There was no hospital bed, no flashing lights of a machine. Just a room, lined with photos, of smiling and happy faces, of one person or whole families. Their eyes spoke volumes of their happiness.

"what is this place, where is dad?" he stepped forward, was he somewhere in the room? "okay dad you can come out now. Dad?" A hand touched his shoulder, its grip tremble. Steven didn't resist as his body was turned around, he was waiting for Greg to jump out at any moment.

"Steven." Amethyst had her head bowed, her mane covering her features. Her grip tightened as a choked sob passed her lips.

"Amethyst? What's wrong? Garnet, Pearl?" Pearl stood at the door, keeping her head bowed and Garnet was silently watching on. Stevens heart began to tighten, something was wrong, terribly wrong. Why did they look so sad?

"dude. Greg is…" Amethyst started choking up, her form shaking as tears flowed from her eyes. She raised an arm and pointed towards the centre of the room, a picture frame stood upon an engraved stone.

"Greg is!"

"what are you saying Amethyst? I don't understand."

"Steven. Come here." Garnet had walked past and placed herself next to the stone, she beckoned him over. The thoughts in Stevens head were screaming to not approach, to not get any close to that stone, if it wasn't for Garnet telling him to come over, he would of ran out the door.

"Garnet do you know what's wrong with Amethyst? Why Pearl won't come inside?" with shaking steps he approached, the eyes of many pictures were upon him, watching him from their spots upon the wall, why did everything seem so dismal, so wrong.

"Garnet?" she didn't reply, she only held out a picture that stood upon the stone.

"your father did an amazing thing, Steven. Without him, there would be many more pictures upon this wall." He reached for the photo, trying his best not to understand the meaning of those sad words.

"this is a picture of Mom and Dad, why is this here?" the Fusion patted him on the head before walking past, arms wrapped around herself, the stone before him was now no longer obstructed. His eyes passed over it, the text sending his heart into a spiral.

"in loving…. In loving memory of" he couldn't believe it; his eyes began to read over the text again and again each line driving a dagger into his heart.

"in loving memory of those" he clenched the picture against his chest, the already fractured glass gaining more lines in its already shattered frame. This couldn't be true.

"in loving memory of those who have lost their lives to the war." Pearls voice called out over his own, filling in the words he couldn't say, no, didn't want to say. It only cemented the reality of those words into his mine.

Dad was gone.

Pain, that was the first thing to register, an absolute terrifying pain, as a piece of his heart shattered into a million un-gatherable pieces.

"d… dad? Is… no… dad.. dad!... DAADDD!" he fell to his knees, tears streaming from his eyes. His eyes were clouded by tears, sending all the smileing and happy faces around him into a whirl of sadness and confusion, the eyes on the wall, all seemed to die.

"Steven. Oh no, what have we done."

"DAADDDD! NNNNOOOOOO!" he screamed again and the frame in his hands shattered, sending glass to the floor, blood splayed from the cuts in his hands, he didn't care. This pain was only temporary, the one in his heart however.

Was permanent.

"Steven, Steven stop!" he didn't feel Pearls slim arms as they wrapped around his shoulders grasping for the shards in his hands. He didn't feel Amethyst, as she clung to his arm crying tears of her own, he didn't feel Garnet as she pulled them all into an embrace. All he could feel was his own pain as the memories of his father began to tear away at his heart.

His father was gone.

"Steven please let go of the glass. Steven!" Pearl franticly tried to restrain his hands, attempting to remove the glass from his bleeding fingers.

"let GO! don't touch me!" Steven struggled as the arms around him tightened.

"Steven." Garnet held tight as Steven pulled forward almost dragging them with him.

"I said let go. p-please just… please... leave me alone" with a heavy sob, he bowed his head, the tears were burning against his cuts. They weren't healing at all, they just stung.

"Dude… Steven?" Steven didn't reply, he just kept crying. Why did he have to get taken to Homeworld, why did Homeworld have to come here, why restart a war they lost centuries ago? Was it just to take everything away from him? was it to hurt him and everyone he cared about. Why?

"it's okay Steven, we're here. we're all here for you." Garnet released pearl so she could tend to his hands, her free hand was now brushing away at his curls, soothing him.

"i.. why?... why.. mom should have… not me…" Stevens eyes began to droop as an overwhelming tiredness came over him. He needed to know, did his father die in pain.

"was… it… quick? Did… Dad… suffer" Garnet choked back a sob, she looked at Amethyst and her own fight to hold back more tears.

"No dude…. He… he didn't suffer. He did save a lot of people though… isn't- isn't that good?" Steven glanced towards her, his eyes heavy. He wanted to scream, shout, rage. How was any of this good, his father was dead. The eyes upon the wall looked back at him, their own eyes returning the happiness they had at the time they were taken. Garnet was right, there could have been more.

"yeah… that's good..." he closed his eyes. Amethyst didn't deserve to get shouted at, she did nothing wrong.

it's all the Diamonds fault.

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A darkened room with no windows. A hard bed, with only one pillow. A low ceiling or a bunk, Steven didn't know. The only thing he did know was the pain of losing someone. Someone close, someone you loved dearly.

"dad" he rolled out of the bed, his feet brushing against some clothes piled on the ground. He didn't bother to look at them, only caring to find a light. Lightly running his hand over the wall next to his bed he found a switch, he flicked it on.

"ugh, too bright." The light burned away at the darkness still hiding in his eyes. When they adjusted he finally found out that it was indeed a bunk above his bed. Meant for another person most likely, it lay empty.

"water." He moved over to a mirror and surprised himself with his own reflection. He looked older for sure, that much was clearer. A light stubble under his chin, more defined cheek bones and jawline. Gone was the baby fat of his earlier years, his curly hair now sat around his shoulders and neck, almost giving of the appearance of his mother's own curls. They just weren't pink.

"bleh…" he moved to turn on the tap, only at the last second did he hesitate. There were bandages wrapped around his right and left, holding back the wounds he accidently inflicted upon himself. A brief flash of the photo passed before his eyes and he slapped himself, hard.

"ow!" it wasn't a dream, it was real.

"oh no.. please no." Steven slumped to the floor as his legs gave way once more. All those faces and his fathers was among them, all those deaths and he was among them, all those lives taken.

And it was the diamonds that took them.

"Those Diamonds!" an unfamiliar rage took over as Steven gripped the sink, his hand was almost cracking the basin.

"they took everything!" he raised himself to he was looking straight into the mirror.

"they took my dad!" he slammed his hand, palm first against the wall.

"they took my home!" another hit.

"they took my planet!" another hard hit, a large dent was beginning to appear.

"I'm going to make them-" he stared at his own reflection once more. He wanted to cry.

"I'm going to-" he slumped forward over the basin, his chest heaving with heavy breaths.

"I'm going- to! Bleh!" Steven threw up, the intense emotions sending him into a sickening state. What could he possibly do to a Diamond? How could he even think about hurting someone that much, these gems friend or foe, they shouldn't be fighting, they should be looking for a peaceful way to end this.

"oh come on!" Steven couldn't believe what he was thinking. Peace, as if the option was still on the table. if they wanted peace, them wouldn't have been a war five thousand years ago.

"get a grip" He pulled himself back up off the basin, the entire contents of his stomach now purged. Who was he right now, what was he turning into? Yes, dad was gone and even the thought of it was about to send him into another crying fit, it also wanted to send him into a rage. What could he do about that, to fix it.

He couldn't do anything.

"this isn't good. That's not you!" he scowled at himself in the mirror. He's aged, does that mean other things have as well?

"where is the happy Steven. The always smiling Steven, the Steven that went on crazy gem adventures and made amazing new friends? What happened to me?" the flashes of memories burned into his mind came to life, showing himself as he progressed in life, powering through all its challenges with his family.

"okay, okay!" he pulled away from the mirror and ripped the bandages from his hands, they still bleed easily enough. "I'm fixing this. I'm going to end it." And iron taste filled his mouth as he dragged his tongue across his hand, it took a moment, but it healed. Steven repeated the process on the other one quickly repairing the damage done.

"nnnnngh!" he spat the excess blood into the sink and washed it away with water. He couldn't stop, he couldn't let his mind wander to those horrible feelings of pain and heartbreak, he needed to be strong. The Crystal Gems are counting on him to do something he can only do.

"be Steven. Be me!" he found a door to his left, leading to a small bathroom and toilet. Quickly he showered and washed the stains away from himself, tears and blood stained the floor as he washed himself clean. This was going to be harder than he thought.

Finally pulling his tired body from the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his waist, he searched for clothes. It didn't take long, one quick glance on the table revealed a red singlet, a black leather vest with a yellow star on the back, and a pair of army boots with light brown cargo shorts, boxers to match.

"I guess the red shirts were the first to go." he slipped on the boxers than the pants, he paused for a moment to check the definition of his stomach, the fat really was gone.

"cool, if donuts still exist, I can eat a couple more" he patted his stomach and slipped on the singlet, it snuggly fit around his shoulders. Picking up the boots he moved to the bed, he found a pair of socks in one of them. a small note was attached to the side.

"Steven… it's time for a new look. You need to be as badass as possible on the battlefield. Scarin gems back into their holes. Amethyst…" he placed the note on the bed. "I don't think i can handle scaring gems" he pulled on the socks then the boots, they were a little too tight but that didn't matter. He left the laces untied.

"okay, smile Steven. Got to smile." he knew it was a bad idea, he knew bottling it up will turn into something terrible, it was just a matter of time. right now though, it's the only thing he can think of.

"finally." He lifted the black jacket of the table and flipped it around, revealing the yellow star on the back, his yellow star. He could hear his father's words repeat in the back of his mind.

"look pretty cool there stu- ball"

"thanks dad." He pulled it over his head and let it fall down his arms, the leather was soft to the touch, he could feel a tag on the left side. Opening it up revealed a sown-on patch.

Amethyst
Connie
Garnet
Greg
Lapis
Pearl
Peridot
Rose

We are the crystal gems and we will always be with you.

"guys" it was a heartfelt gesture to say the least, as the patch hung over his heart. Maybe now was a good time to go see Peridot, to see how she and Lapis have been holding up. Letting go of his jacket Steven moved to leave the room and almost tripped as the bandages he left on the floor tangled themselves around his leg.

"oh, messy me got to keep clean or Pearl will go crazy." He picked them up and tossed them in the bin, they gave a heavy thud as they hit the bottom.

"we, are the Crystal Gems." He pulled a handle on the door and it automatically pulled to the side.

"we will always save the day." He stepped out and turned around to pull the door closed.

"and if you think we can't" he pulled the lever and it swung slid the door shut.

He didn't acknowledge the shadow standing in his room, his big bearded face smiling at him as he waved goodbye.

"we'll always find away." Steven walked away. He couldn't afford to cry again. The smiling face of his father was stuck in his mind.

well not right now anyway.

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Well it is a war. Can't have Steven coming back to the same family and just add the war on top of it. It wouldn't be fair to the reality of war. I'm sorry if people don't like that fact Greg is gone too. But its how things are, he did do something amazing that saved a lot of people. But I will touch on that later. Now I hope people like the base. Its basically that ship that Peridot used to trap the Crystal gems, it was slanted against a cliff. Speaking of we will see her in the next chapter.

Anyway done for now, so. Avernacus out.