*breathes heavily* MUST. WRITE. THIS.
Age: Ehhh…we'll say his current age in the show. 10 or 11 –ish years old.
AU in which Steven is found as a rogue gem.
Reunited
His eyes beaded from side to side, puffs of haggard breaths stifled through the palms of the young boys hands. His back planted firmly to the back of the jagged wall, knees up to his chest and head tucked in. An almost pitiful attempt at feeling secure. Red shirt torn at the side from a close swipe of a spear, jeans faded and ripped from the sharp spikes of a whip, hair plastered with mud and grime.
"Be cautious," a voice rumbled from the darkness of the cave, only a few feet away from the boy. "It can be anywhere. Don't let your guard down."
He was weak –and plenty aware. There was an unmistakable throb at his side, indicating that he apparently hadn't dodged the thrown spear as well as he had thought. His legs and arms were covered in aches at where the diamond whip had grasped him, bruises soon to be revealed the following day. His chest burned from where the gauntlet had struck, which had sent him reeling and tumbling backwards into the cave in the first place.
Putting it simply, the boy was exhausted and terrified out of his mind. Panicked adrenaline being the only thing to keep him awake at this point.
"Garnet," a new voice whispered, sending jolts of electricity at the close proximity of himself to it. "Look, I think I found its tracks." The sickening excitement was evident in her tone, a light being summoned to observe her finding better –also unintentionally revealing the appearances of themselves to the terrified boy.
An unnaturally pale toned skin color, skinny figure, hair a light shade of crimson, sharply pointed nose, light being projected from the gem atop her head. Of course, none of these features mattered to the boy. The only thing that he had his eyes trained on was the spear she was grasping tightly with one hand, the other trailing over his footstep.
"Ooooo, lemmie see Pearl!" The boy could almost feel the vibration of the ground as another Gem ran over to the kneeling Pearl, pressing herself against the back of her comrade and leaning to get a better look at the footsteps. "Wooow. You're riiight. Now all we have to do is follow them." She said it with an obnoxious tone, as if well aware that he could hear her words.
And right they were. He could hardly contain his trembles as the light trailed over his footsteps, increasingly advancing towards his hiding spot. He felt the sinking dread of his heart seeming to have dropped into his stomach as the blinding light finally obscured his vision.
"Gotch'ya," was the smug response of the tallest Gem, her feet now rapidly approaching his small hiding whole. "C'mon out," she ordered, the light now being blocked be her figure as she bent down. "It'll be easier for the both of us."
Deep breathes, he told himself in a feeble attempt to calm down. His whole body threatened to be overcome with sobs at the thought of what was to become of him. Perhaps shattered? Buried alive? Trapped and caged as the monster they viewed him as?
"N-no…" he whimpered. "I don't…wanna."
The cave became hushed, not a rustle or even drip of water to be heard. His stomach clenched in fright. He squeezed his eyes tightly shut, not being able to suppress a spine-racking sob from his lips. The cry soon turned into a yell when a giant gauntlet shot into his hiding place unexpectedly, grabbing at his leg with a cold touch and yanking him out roughly.
"No!" he screamed, clawing madly at the sandy floor. He found himself soon to be lifted from the floor, blood rushing to his head as he was suspended upside down from his foot. He punched at the air, ignoring the screaming pain of his ribs. "Let go!"
His demands were ignored, or so he assumed as he was raised higher into the air. Soon, he found himself face to face with his captor, visage remaining expressionless as he stared back in a mixture of awe and fear.
"No," she simply responded. "You are a danger to this world and must be eradicated."
He found himself on the verge of blubbering at her words, trying unsuccessfully to aim a hit at her accursed stoic expression. From all his struggling however, the hem of his shirt happened to roll upwards, revealing a glimpse of the pink gem underneath.
"If…if you don't let go of me I'll…I'll knock you out!" he threw an empty punch. "Blow you back to moon!" another unaffected strike. "You'll be sorry you ever messed with me!" a pointless kick.
Without warning, he was flipped into the air, barely able to give even a peep of surprise as he plunged back downwards and was caught in the outstretched arms of his captor. Slowly, she lowered him down onto the sandy floor and stared inquisitively at him.
"Pearl. Amethyst," she could hardly hide the quaver in her voice. "Come here. Now."
The boy finally got over his surprise when he felt a hand brush his shirt upwards, exposing his Gem yet again. The pink quartz hardly had time to even glitter in the shone light from the Pearl. Blushing, he quickly pushed his shirt back down and attempted to scramble backwards, only to be stopped by a pair of firm, thin hands.
"It's –it can't…I saw it. I saw her!" Slim fingers hoisted him up with extreme precaution, as if the boy would shatter then and there. Carefully, she set him back down on his backside, facing him to herself and the other Gems while switching off her light and allowing the faint natural light from outside the cave to guide her movements.
As his eyes adjusted to the limited light, he looked down at the pale fingers that were holding him painfully by the shoulder, then up at her bewildered expression. "Can you leave loosen your fingers?" he asked quietly.
I –of course," her fingers slackened their hold completely, only to slide down to the bottom border of his shirt and begin to lift it.
"Stop it!" he cried, brushing her hands away. "Why do you all want to see my Gem so…m-much…"
That's when everything clicked in. There could only be one reasonable excuse to his captors wanting to see his Gem. The tallest one had uttered it from her own lips herself.
Eradication.
To be shattered.
"W-wait –don't-," strong hands pinned his arms behind his back. Tears began to form at the side of his eyes, shaking his head from side to side as he pleaded to them. "Please…please d-don't!"
"Check his gem Pearl," the Amethyst hissed near his ears, a hint of desperation in her voice. "Is it hers? Is this…him?"
He struggled by kicking his legs out, only to have them pushed and held firmly down to the ground by the tallest of them. "Do it Pearl," she said with a nod.
The boy glance fearfully up at the leaning pale form, her wide pupils searching over him almost hungrily. As if her gaze had the ability to devour his secrets, his life, his memories. Her eyes wandered down to his stomach, hand slithering to the bottom of his shirt for the second time. With a swift motion, she had lifted it, exposing the crimson colored gem.
His hands and legs were freed almost immediately.
"It's her," she choked out, a shiver forming at his spine as she began to trace his gem with a gentle finger. "It's…"she looked directly at him, eyes pooling with emotion as she cupped his face gently into the palms of her hands.
"…Steven."
Sorry, short one. I just...*begins breathing heavily again*...NEEDED...TO...WRITE THIS.
Background plot for better understanding: Rose supposingly gave birth to Steven earlier than expected. Meaning, she happened to be doing a mission on her own or something and did the whole magical sparkly transformation to Steven by herself. Once the Gems got to the crime scene…*gasp*… the babe was'a gone . How? I dunno. Imagination is key.
Next- Part 2: School
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