Steven's serious mission

Chapter 7: Garnet's return

"Amethyst, are you all right?" asked Pearl.

Amethyst still didn't respond to her.

Pearl got even more concerned.

"Steven? Are you alright?" she said.

"Yeah, I'm just tired from all the running I did." He said breathing heavily

Amethyst decided she wanted to drive Pearl crazy and she knew just how to do it.

"Hey Steven, that worked really good! Why don't we just pick another hall and go through it!" said Amethyst.

"WHAT?!" Said Pearl with wide eyes.

"Uhhh…I don't think that's not a good idea…." Said Steven.

"C'mon!" said Amethyst grabbing Steven by the hand and running to the hall.

"Amethyst! What are you doing! Stop! STOP RIGHT THIS INSTANT!" said Pearl running after them.

Grinning, Amethyst stopped before her foot crossed the edge.

Amethyst turned to see the look on her face and was satisfied at her look wide-eyed, stressed out and she was almost pulling out her apricot hair.

Pearl saw Amethyst's look and figured out she was planning some horrible joke, but she couldn't stop.

Her feet skid leaving behind a trail of dust.

"Woah!" said Amethyst as Pearl bumped into them and they fell into the hall.

Suddenly both ends of the hall closed magically with greyish black doors

The Gems gasped.

Pearl summoned her spear and began slicing and dicing but the walls were indestructible and just chipped her spear.

Amethyst ran and summoned her whip and whipped the wall on the other side multiple loud sounds echoed as the crystals in her whip hit the door and began to crack.

Amethyst looked back at Pearl running to her.

Pearl looked at her angrily.

"Look what you've done!" said Pearl.

"I-im sorry I didn't think you couldn't slow down!" said Amethyst.

Pearl was surprised Amethyst spoke but continued.

They argued and suddenly the room was engulfed in a bright light.

Steven winced.

All the walls and roof were the same dull greyish black color.

Magical sparkles filled the air.

The gems looked at each other, the room rumbled as the walls and roof closed in, in a diamond pattern.

They all gasped.

"We'll be crushed!" said Amethyst.

"Amethyst! We need to do something!" said Pearl.

"What do we do?!" said Steven growing more nervous as the walls and roof get closer.

'I- I don't know…I- is this it?" said Pearl covering her mouth as morbid thoughts crossed her mind.

"It?" said Steven unsure of what she meant.

"No!" said Amethyst.

The walls got closer.

Pearl summoned her spear and put it in between two really close edges but it snapped and dematerialized.

The Gems were forced to huddle together as space became limited.

"Steven." Said Pearl grabbing his cheeks and picking up his head.

"Steven, I-I think we're going to die." Said Pearl solemly and sadly.

Steven became down cast his eyes clouded by tears as morbid thoughts crossed his mind he hugged Pearl.

Amethyst was saddened by the sudden change in emotion of the usually happy boy.

"Amethyst, if this is it! I just want to say that no matter what I've said and no matter how I've acted towards you, I have always loved and respected you as a valued member of the team!" said Pearl with tears in her eyes.

Amethyst suddenly over flowed with emotion and hugged Pearl crying.

"If this is it then I just want to say that no matter how much ive said I hated your smartness and how much I've hated you I've always liked you like family!" said Amethyst.

Pearl smiled at Amethyst and then looked at Steven.

"Steven, if this is it I just want to say that No matter how much I miss your mother and wish she were here, I've always loved you!" said Pearl.

Steven stopped hugging and looked at her before hugging her even stronger and crying.

Pearl hugged back and Pearl put her other arm around Amethyst and they all hugged.

Steven buried his face in her chest he became terrified.

"Don't worry, I-I-it'll be over soon." said Pearl her voice cracking as she stroked Steven trying to make his death less horrifying for him.

Steven cried and he closed his eyes.

The walls were closing in Steven felt his legs being pushed by them and Amethyst felt her back being pushed.

They hugged tighter Steven emitted a whine.

Suddenly, the room became engulfed in bright light and the walls and doors disappeared in sparkles of magic.

Pearl expected to feel her body crushed until it poofed but all she could feel was Steven trembling in fear.

The lights of the halls edges turned off.

Pearl opened her eyes and looked around they weren't crushed, the crushers were gone.

"A-a-are w-w-we dead yet?" said Steven.

"N-no, we're not its all gone…." Said Pearl.

Steven looked up and noticed.

"We're Saved!" Said Steven pumping his fists into the air.

Amethyst looked up, surprised.

The gems were thankful they survived and Steven's mood suddenly became happier.

"But how did we make it?" said Pearl beginning to cry tears of joy as they hugged to celebrate their survival at the face of death.

Suddenly the ground rumbled as if something was punching it.

The gems stood up and walked to the final section of the hall where the sound was coming from with caution.

Suddenly the normally indestructible ground exploded into dust and fragments as Garnet flew out of it with her fist in the air another chunk of the indestructible ground tied with a blade of grass to her gauntlet.

She jumped out of the hole in front of them, smiling.

"Howdy." She said.

"Where have you been!" said Steven.

"It's a looooong story but I destroyed the power supply of all the traps except for one." Said Garnet unusually happy.

"Except for one?" said Pearl.

"All will be clear soon." Said Garnet pulling down her shades and winking.

"That means…..you saved us! Thanks Garnet! You're Awesome!" said Steven hugging Garnet's leg.

Garnet put her hand on Stevens back.

"I did?" said Garnet smiling seeing the happy boy again.

"We were almost crushed" said Pearl.

Garnet lost her smile.

"Well then, looks like I came just in time." She said solemnly.

"Why do you have some of that wall tied to your fist?" said Steven looking up at Garnet.

"Well, It seems that you can break this stuff with itself." Said Garnet before the dying blade of grass snapped and the piece hit the ground, breaking.

"What happened?" asked Steven curiously.

"Well." Began Garnet.

"Flashback"

Magical torches activated lighting the room Garnet was trapped in with the light of at least 20 flickering flames.

'Hmm…" said Garnet lifting her shades and using her future vision.

She walked carefully across the rectangular chamber there didn't seem to be a way out, but what good would that do? Gems don't need to breath, eat, drink and if it was a simple room trap there would be other Gems here trapped for thousands of years but the chamber was empty.

She stepped close to a wall and suddenly a triangle shape appeared and a door materialized revealing a lit hall.

She walked in and suddenly a bulge materialized in the roof making a laser weapon that shot her.

Garnet looked up and was suddenly shot in the head.

She gasped before poofing, two forms cried out and fell with a thud.

The blue and red forms of light became dimmer and formed into the chosen looks of Ruby and Sapphire.

They laid on the ground, Ruby's Gem was its usual red color only a little darker due to the dim light with its square pattern with multiple edges one of which reflected the dim orange flicker of the torches, Sapphire was covered in dust as she landed on a some dust that seemed to have drained from the roof her Gem was darker blue due to the lighting and was also orange on one side, though covered in dust.

Ruby groaned.

Sapphire got up and levitated dusting herself off, her levitation pushing surrounding dust away in a small vortex that dissipated.

"Are you alright?" said Sapphire in her calm demeanor looking over to Ruby with unseen concern in her face due to her eye being covered by her hair.

"Yeah, you?" said Ruby getting up.

"Im ok." Said Sapphire.

Ruby's temper flared.

"GRRR! Stupid…thing…gun!" she said clutching her fists tightly.

Sapphire put her gloved hand on Ruby's back.

"Calm down, we're ok lets just re-fuse." She said knowing Ruby's temper like the triangular pattern on her Gem.

Ruby agreed and they hugged their gems glowing as their forms combined into one shared by two Gems the Red and Blue gems became pinkish red and Garnet's form took shape.

Garnet's look appeared on the pinkish red form of light but she was suddenly shot again and split. Again.

They fell on the ground again and Ruby gave that gun a stare.

They fused again and as Garnet's shape began to form she was shot, again.

Ruby growled even louder and they fused again, as their forms began to combine they were shot.

Ruby growled even louder and took Sapphire's hand as their bodies began to glow they were shot and went flying in two directions.

"Ruby!" yelled Sapphire," Are you.." she began before being interrupted.

Ruby growled like a mad dog, stood up and went up in flames.

"AHHH!" She yelled summoning her glove-gauntlet, which was also flaming on her left hand and then grabbed her arm and launched it at the gun, jerking back from the recoil, which resulted in a large explosion.

The weapon was unharmed and returned to the ceiling.

"It seems it's purpose is to split fusion" said Sapphire.

"GAAAAHHH! ITS NOT FAIR!" said Ruby furious, regenerating her hand.

"At least it isn't shooting us" said Sapphire using her cooling abilities to put out Ruby's flames.

"Yeah, I guess it isn't." Said Ruby," Yet." She added.

"I promise you it wont." Said Sapphire looking into the future.

"Well my Sapphy is never wrong so I believe you." Said Ruby calmly looking at Sapphire and kissing her.

Sapphire blushed and smiled at Ruby.

They held hands.

"Lets do this!" said Ruby courageously.

Suddenly the weapon appeared and fired at their interlocked hands.

They separated their hands before the beam hit them.

"WE CANT EVEN! GAHH!" said Ruby summoning her mini-gauntlets.

Ruby jumped up to punch it but it disappeared into the wall and she missed, plummeting.

She fell with a thud.

Ruby got up and dematerialized her gauntlets.

"Lets just go Ruby", said Sapphire putting her hand on Ruby.

"Ok" said Ruby calming herself.

They walked and walked, they wondered why this trap was so empty.

"Looks like we were the only Crystal Gems stupid enough to fall for this…." Said Ruby angrily.

Suddenly they couldn't have been more wrong reaching a large dungeon type room Sapphire stopped ruby before they crossed a white line.

And what they saw was the gem equivalent of a massacre.

Thousands of glittering Gem shards reflecting their own colors and the flames of the torches the shards were a horrifying rainbow of color light green, magenta, dark orange, bright Yellow, dark violet, orange red, dead Gems everywhere, Dead CRYSTAL Gems everywhere.

Sapphire cupped her hands around her mouth.

Ruby was filled with rage and grief tears flowed down her face.

She clutched her fists and feel on her knees.

"Ruby" said Sapphire, her voice cracking.

"Those SAVAGES!" Said Ruby.

"That homeworld is just corrupt! Heartless! Violent!" said Ruby sobbing.

She could recognize some of the shards they were Gems that they felt for, Gems that when ordered by a commanding officer to gain intel on the beacon were filled with obvious fear from the rumors that shook the rebellion, but they did it….for Earth.

"We never saw them again…." Said Sapphire solemly, "Until now…" she said a stream of tears going down her lips which she wiped.

"It's Ok, these Gems gave their lives to protect the beauty of this world they were ready to die if it meant this world would be safe, lets just honor them with the Human custom of a moment of silence." Said Sapphire trying to comfort Ruby.

"Okay." Said Ruby solemly.

They were silent but suddenly Ruby spoke.

"WHY DON'T WE AVENGE THEM!" Ruby suddenly shouted and crossed the line, causing two large spiky wheels to materialize and lower ready to ground her form and Gem to dust.

"RUBY!" said Sapphire her Eye widened under her bangs, reaching out.

Doors materialized separated her from Ruby.

Ruby came ablaze and fired her gauntlet into the center of those wheels and it was ground to dust however, the flames melted some of the spikes causing the massive wheels to malfunction.

They creaked and groaned and they cracked and fell apart raining peices everywhere.

Ruby smirked.

The doors turned to dust.

Sapphire floated up to her at great speed and slapped her.

"Don't ever do that again you beautiful fool!" she said kissing Ruby.

Ruby smiled.

But her smile diminished as she looked at the shards she walked up to a pile and fell on her knees once more holding several in her hands and clutching them even if they were sharp and kind of hurt and scraped across her gem.

Sapphire looked at them, silently paying respect.

Tears fell.

Suddenly she noticed a multicolored glow in-between her fingers.

"Ruby drop them!" said Sapphire suddenly.

She did so as the glow went though the room, their arrival took off dust that kept them from reforming and disturbed them.

The Gems glowed and forms materialized around them, colored balls of energy which took the shape of hands and feet which wiggled and grasped before gaining the colors of their Gems shards and becoming physical hands and feet.

They crawled around and hopped around and grabbed Ruby's legs and Sapphire's dress.

The rainbow of disembodied limbs horrified them the shadows of long dead Gems that revealed their qualities muscular, skinny, large a variety , Ruby summoned her mini-gauntlet and punched them poofing them to and fro.

"Get your..." Ruby said before thinking she couldn't say hands and feet that's all they were.

"….Selves, off my SAPPHY!" She said poofing all the ones around Sapphire, then she punched the ground causing a shock wave to make them all fly in the air in a wave and fall on the ground poofing blinding them with multicolored smoke.

"Is it over?" said Ruby dematerializing her gauntlets

"I think so." Said Sapphire.

"L-lets get them all." Said Ruby as they began to collect handfuls of shards and bubble them in red and dark blue bubbles.

After finishing the large task they looked and saw no way of going forward they didn't die, but they didn't find a way out either.

"What do we do?" said Ruby.

Ruby noticed a large construction paper sized chunk of the wall fell out that was lying to their left she then looked to a dying blade of grass that foolishly made its way in here through a crack.

"I have an Idea lets fuse!" said Ruby.

Sapphire agreed and they hugged barely needing any effort to fuse their love was all they needed and they became Garnet once again.

Garnet walked up to the wall, no other doors formed she got close and then heard something, listening in she heard the sound of gears clanking.

She looked to the piece of wall and the blade of grass she tied them to her fist and formed her armored crystal Gauntlet.

She punched the wall several times forming cracks on the plane wall and broke it into pieces a large chamber only accessible by a Warp pad was hidden behind the wall it has several metal gears cranking away they weren't connected to anything and rotated around the glowing crystals that were connected to the walls, they generated power to crystal coils which connected to crystal wires that went into the walls to every trap.

Garnet knew what she had to do she shattered crystals one by one when the Crystals broke magic dispelled and the gears were subject to the force of gravity falling and clanging.

Half way through she noticed a directory that told which gear powered what and saw that one powered the ice trap and left that one intact while destroying the others finishing with a crusher trap that was active.

She then heard sounds on the roof and jumped up punching threw until she broke it and found herself on the floor of the crusher trap with the rest of her team in front of her, glad they could hold their own and glad she saw them again.

"flashback over"

"Lucky" said Steven, downcast-processing his thoughts his eyes moving slightly.

"Are you okay?" said Garnet-expressing concern over the boy's emotional wellbeing.

"Yeah", said Steven smiling at her.

How extreme will things get? How long will the chapters get?