Steven was fine for a few nights. One, two, three, even four nights passed with relatively peaceful slumber. But then, one night when he fell asleep…
He saw Spinel.
She was at the barn and her back was to him. He tried to approach, to try and get her to turn around. But as soon as he laid a hand on her shoulder, she crumbled away to nothingness, her voice echoing in his mind.
"Why didn't you help me?"
Steven awoke with a start, his first sensation being the wet spot on his pillow. He wiped his eyes and turn over onto his side.
He didn't tell the Gems about the nightmares. He didn't even tell Connie. They would tell him that it wasn't his fault, that they did everything they could, that Spinel was already so scarred by her life.
But Steven knew better.
The nightmares were his punishment-for not being good enough or strong enough, for not being more able to help someone who desperately needed it. So he accepted the nightmares and vowed to use them as the motivation to become better.
Steven closed his eyes and let sleep slowly overtake him again.
"What does that even mean?!"
"Exactly as it sounds. What's done is done."
Sapphire just stood there, in that infuriating way that she could. As much as Ruby loved her with every ounce of her being, no person could so easily get under her gem like Sapphire could.
"Sapphire, you literally see into the future! How can you just take such a… an… uncaring attitude?"
"I do care, Ruby. You know that," Sapphire replied easily. "But dwelling on what has happened will do no good."
"No good? How can you say that? After everything that's happened, how can you just assume that there's nothing left to look at?"
"Because… Because I saw the look Stevonnie gave us. After Spinel shattered herself." Sapphire looked at her gem, before closing her hand into a fist. "I've never seen them give anyone or anything a look like that… Like we're a monster…"
"Sapphire…" Ruby walked over to her and could see that she had begun to cry. Ruby tried to put her arm around her, but Sapphire shrugged her off.
"No, don't," she sobbed. "I… I can see Steven, spiraling away in so many different directions, each one destroying him. I hurt him. So badly. I don't know if he'll ever forgive me."
Ruby grimaced at the ground, before gritting her teeth and saying,. "It's not your fault, Sapphire. You… We did what was best. What we thought was best. And you tell me all the time that's all we can do." She looked away. "Even when we mess up."
"Ruby?"
"Yeah, Sapphire?"
"Can you… can you hold me? And just tell me it'll be better?"
"I thought you hated it when I did that."
"I do. But I just really want to be close to you right now…"
So Ruby did, wrapping one of her strong arms around Sapphire and bringing her close.
"It'll be okay, Sapphire. I promise."
Sapphire laid her head against Ruby's shoulder as they both stood there in heavy silence.
"Garnet? Are you alright? You haven't moved in hours."
Garnet blinked at Pearl's question.
"Yes. I'm fine Pearl. Just… thinking."
Connie lay on her back, on the grass out front of her family's apartment. She was sweating and panting, unable to get up and reach for her water bottle.
Steven would be here soon, and he'd ask what had happened. And then she'd say that she was doing some chores and had overexerted herself.
But that was a lie.
In truth, she had been practicing routines she had learned from Pearl. She had been for most of the day, not even stopping for lunch. But now she was paying the price for that. But she was doing this for a reason, for a purpose.
To ensure that there would never be another Spinel.
To ensure that her family was never put so directly into harm's way again.
But most of all, to ensure that Steven would never have to go through something like this again.
"I'm the jam, you're the biscuit."
Just saying that filled Connie with just a little bit of reserved strength. She grabbed her water bottle and Rose's sword and began walking back to her apartment's front door.
Steven would be there to pick her up soon. Connie hoped she had enough time to freshen up before he arrived.
The ceremony was brief.
In the end, there just wasn't much to say. But there was much to feel. And to consider.
They all gathered around a large tree that was just a ways away from the barn. Steven, Connie, and the Gems all stood there in heavy, emotional silence.
A hole had been dug and Pearl had even found a suitable stone. She had carved the message into it herself, saying that it was her contribution to this, since she had been little help before. Everyone had told her that it wasn't true, that it wasn't her fault. But Steven suspected that she felt the same as he did about his nightmares.
During the whole thing, Steven had held onto the storage cube. Tightly, as if afraid that it were going to fall apart if he didn't. And when the time came, Steven slowly marched over to the small hole, gently placing the cube in it. He pulled the mound of dirt over as he saw tears beginning to to hit against the dirt.
"I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I'm sorry…"
He felt a pair of arms hold him and heard Connie's ragged breathing next to his ear. He grabbed one of her hands and squeezed it tightly. After a moment, the two of them began to slowly rise together. But as he turned and started to walk back to the Gems, he looked at the stone and its message one last time.
Here lies Spinel
May she never be forgotten again
Want more mind altering goodness with Spinel? Check out Dragon Elexus's incredible spin-off, Forget Me Not.
