Please note that this chapter has a spoiler or two about Garnet's eyes, and some other stuff probably. Enjoy!

Saying that Garnet was confused was an understatement.

It was such an understatement that the underground temple they were headed to would say such that. She was confused in the way that kept her stunned for more than a moment, but for minutes they walked. She was confused in the way that a snake bites a person, but the person lives.

She was utterly confused because she had, only minutes ago, told Steven everything.

She went to decent sized lengths as to stop walking, sit Steven down, and tell him what had happened on the much burnt soil he sat on. She didn't want him to have to go through the strain of walking while her words would weigh down his shoulders. So she placed him down, took a moment to figure out where to start, and then told him.

Her story was like a puzzle. If she had told one part of it, she would've had to say many other parts of her story in order for it to make sense. She knew Pearl was right about him being too young to be hearing such things, but the moment was just so right. Plus, he wasn't an ordinary kid, he was a Crystal Gem. His life would be filled with hurt like this. Saving the day was never cheap.

But she had told him about Rose taking her in as a child, she had told him about her, and Pearl, and Baby Amethyst. She told him about Rose's teachings, her kindness, and her biggest mistake. She told him about how Rose and the other girls fled on a boat to the new world.

She told him everything, and yet, all Steven did was nod and smile, stand up, and proceeded to keep walking.

Garnet stayed in her place for a moment, dumbfounded. The black dirt casting a dark crimson color on her shades.

She was not expecting that reaction. Garnet, the Gem blessed with a third eye that allows her to see things others can't, didn't expect that. She eventually stood up on her feet again, and walked alongside Steven. She eyed him for a little while, half trying to figure out what to say, and half wondering what Steven is thinking. So far, he seems nearly unfazed. He was looking around curiously like he normally would, the only difference being was that he was quiet.

Garnet eventually couldn't take the quiet anymore (surprisingly), and decided to say something.

"Steven?"

The boy looked up at her.

"Yeah?"

She hesitated.

"May I ask you something?"

"Sure thing. Let it rip." He smiled lightly.

"Are you okay?"

He looked down for a moment, and then answered.

"If it's about the story you told, yeah I'm fine. If it's about anything else, I think there's a pebble in my sandal." He jokingly grinned.

"I only ask because you had a very unusual reaction to it." Garnet pointed out. She looked ahead to see how close they were getting, and she concluded it wouldn't be too long until they reached their destination. Steven rubbed his chin in thought.

"Wellll...I suppose I just figured that Mom only did what she did because she really cared about you guys, and I guess I can see that because I care about you guys, and so I guess I can see where she was coming from. I can't really be upset if she did it out of care." He explained.

Garnet stared at him while he was talking. He really is her child.

Steven looked up at Garnet, and immediately figured she was staring because she was mad at him for taking the story so lightly.

"I mean…! I mean yeah it was bad all those people died, but if I personally had to go through that situation, I mean...er...Because I really care about you and Pearl, and Amethyst, I suppose I'd try to save you guys too...no matter what."

Garnet continued to stare, and while Steven couldn't see her eyes, he could feel her gaze on him.

"I guess i'm saying that I -"

Garnet stopped him, and knelt down to be closer to his short level.

"Steven, I completely understand. You don't have to struggle for an explanation."

She paused, and gave him a small smile. "You truly are like your mother. In so many ways."

Steven smiled at this. Garnet always saw Rose in him. Even as a baby. He never cried, always giggled, whenever danger reared its ugly head, he treated it with love before violence. Many times, he never laid a finger on anything. He always thinks of others before himself, like when he had kept the glow ring Connie lost for over a year only to give it back to her. Garnet could never remember a time when she was as kind as this child when she herself was young. She remembered feeling so hateful towards everyone. She didn't even think Pearl could vouch for being this respectful at his age. Garnet smiled at him.

But her smile dropped as she felt a shock of electricity zap through the dirt. The shock came from the cave - like hole in the earth. A low grumble came from there, and it made Steven take a few steps back in fear. Garnet stood back up in case she needed to be prepared for whatever came, and she was right to do so. At least three Electric Skulls jumped out of the ground, screeching and gathering electricity through chunks of it's hair.

Garnet grabbed Steven and jumped out of the way of the large gush of lightning that came. Some of the electricity zapped Garnet's foot, but she hardly noticed. She placed Steven down on the dirt again, told him to stay put, and then forced her gauntlets out.

She lunged at the skulls, and managed to punch one skull out of the air. It hit the ground, and shattered into a large burst of electricity. Garnet managed to protect the majority of herself with her gauntlets, but some of the energy hit her thigh. She buckled slightly, but stayed on her toes. She dodged another blow from a remaining skull, but the other managed to grab her with its hair. She tried to rip its locks out, but the skull screeched and shot lightning through it, and hit her head on. She grit her teeth and tried banging her fists on its head. She cracked its head open, and it let go of her, screaming in agony while doing so. She stood up, but stumbled from the painful numbness in her torso. The skull with the cracked head exploded right next to her, recoiling her backward near Steven.

The last skull floated towards them, and charged for another attack. It gave a loud, high pitched laugh as it shot electricity at the two of them.

Its attack was unsuccessful, however. Because Steven managed to summon his shield for protection. Garnet sat up, mind slightly dizzy, but still able to function clearly due to her third eye, and she jumped at the skull. She kneed it in the teeth, and punched the emerald colored gem on its forehead.

The gem shattered, and she was projectile backwards from its sudden explosion. The shock coursed through her body, but it eventually faded. She figured if she had the body of a Pearl Gem, then the shock would cause more damage, but because of her inherited build, she was able to recover much faster. She got on her knees, and looked over at Steven. He seemed okay, but was clutching his arm.

Garnet immediately took his hand in her own, and examined what happened. A dark purple bruise was forming on his upper arm. Damnit, some of the electricity must have hit him.

"Does it hurt?" Garnet asked him. He bit his lip, but shook his head.

"Maybe a little, but it's no biggy. I'll be fine."

Garnet looked at the cave, and back down at Steven.

"Maybe we should wait for Pearl and Amethyst to show up."

"No!" Steven exclaimed. "We don't need to wait, I'm fine! Honest!"

"Steven, the last thing I would want is for you to get hurt because I couldn't be patient. Besides, I sense that they will be here soon."

She looked around the land, seeing if she could spy them coming at all. She couldn't see them, but she did notice the sun was going down already. Had they really been here the entire day?

After a little bit more of concentration, she figured it might be at least an hour until Pearl and Amethyst got here. She wasn't even sure if they knew where they were going, but she did know that Pearl had decent sensory of her own. But judging by how hysterical she was earlier, her own judgment might be skewed.

Garnet was slightly concerned about Steven being here at night. She didn't want him to be afraid, but she did want him to be on alert. She got up on her feet, feeling out how much damage she took to her legs, and then decided to walk around some. She looked around for a place Steven could feel safe to rest up against, and settled for a burnt dead tree a few blocks away from the cave.

She walked over to Steven, and helped him on his feet. She told him they could wait near this tree until the others came, and he complied. He held his arm, and walked with her over to it. He then sat down against the tree, and held his arm close to his body, trying to stop the pain. His shield must not have absorbed all of the blow. Those electric skulls were powerful monstrosities, and the Diamond Gems were even more monstrous. Although Garnet did not feel it fair of her to say that, considering she has never even met one, but Rose would never lie. If she said they were evil, then they might as well put on a fancy cape and bare an evil laugh, because they are evil.

Garnet looked at Steven's arm again, and it hasn't changed much from before.

"Once Pearl gets here, she'll be able to tend to your arm. She's got that magic touch." Garnet told him. He nodded.

"Alright, cool. How long are we going to have to wait?" He asked.

"It may be a while. Just try to relax. I'll go see if I can find some firewood, or at least something for you to do." She said, and then walked off. Steven stayed put, but was on high alert.

Garnet walked past the cave, trying to see if she could find any broken wood. She then felt something make a crunching sound under her. She looked down, and noticed the pieces of the emerald crystal that one skull had still remained. She looked down at it, and then that day flashed before her eyes. The images of that one Emerald Gem lying lifeless on the ground from her anger, and Geoda yelling at her before being killed by her gauntlets stabbed her brain. She took a step back, and shook her head to clear it. She then realized how different she was, is, then Steven or his mother.

She suddenly felt angry. She felt angry about everything. She was angry with Pearl for talking back. She felt angry with these damn Electric Skulls for inconveniencing her. She felt angry with the Diamond Gems for making them go through all of this. She was angry at Rose for knowing what would happen if she had a child, and leaving her son in the care of the three of them. Even though they, especially Garnet, had no idea how to manage such a loving boy.

The anger she felt was familiar, and almost comforting. She remembered the anger from when she was a child. It's what got her through, it's what helped her survive. She, just now, realized that it felt good to feel like this. Love made Steven feel better, anger made her feel better. She just noticed this.

She herself was not even close to being as loving as him. Sure, she makes herself seem like she understood, but she didn't. The only thing she understood, was what it felt like to be absolutely, and utterly, angry.

But she loves Steven, and that's never been a lie. She knew that he was just a victim in all this. She loves him for how strong he is for dealing with all of this. And that just made her even angrier at Rose for putting him in this situation. She clenched her teeth, summoned one of her gauntlets, and punched the ground under her feet. A large gust of black dust blew up around her as her strength created a decent sized crater in the ground. She hated this place.

"Garnet! What happened? Are you okay?" Steven exclaimed.

She turned around to find him looking up at her in nervously. He no longer was focusing on his arm, but at the hole she punched in. It took her a moment for her to finally realize what she was doing, and she dissolved her gauntlet.

"Steven...I'm sorry. It's nothing. Go back and rest." She told him. He didn't budge.

"But, you punched something, and I'm a Crystal Gem, so I need to be able to help you punch whatever it was...right?" He asked.

Garnet looked at him, and then realized what she was doing. She put a hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah, that's right. It was just...a spider. I had seen a spider, and I squished it. No need to worry."

Steven suddenly looked worried.

"What? You killed a spider? But…! It's outside, and it was probably minding it's own business! You could've asked me to take it, I would have placed it someplace safe." The boy sulked.

Oh yeah. This is definitely Rose's son.

"Garnet! Steven!" They heard a voice yell from a distance. They both looked over at Pearl running after them, and Amethyst a minute later.

"We're coming, you two! Hurry it up, Amethyst!" Pearl yelled behind herself.

"Cool your jets, Pearl, you know I have short legs!" Amethyst yelled back.

Once the two of them reached Garnet and Steven, Pearl immediately embraced the young boy.

"Oh, Steven! Are you okay? I want you to know that no matter what happened with your mother, I can assure you that none of it is even remotely related to you by an stretch of the-"

"Pearl. Steven is fine." Garnet mumbled.

"R-really? Steven, are you okay?" She quickly asked.

The boy chuckled. "Yeah, Pearl, I'm fine. I get what happened. I'm cool."

The Pearl Gem sighed. Amethyst heavily sighed too, but it was from trying to run so fast.

"Thank goodness. Is this the entrance to the Diamond temple?" Pearl asked when noticing the small cave.

"Yes. I and Steven wanted to wait until you two showed up before entering. I'm not entirely sure what lies inside, but I know it's dangerous."

"Good idea, are you sure...Oh my goodness, Steven your arm!" Pearl exclaimed. She noticed that his arm was badly bruised, and she immediately tended to it.

"Oh, we ran into some of those skull thingies. But it was no problem. Garnet took care of them." Steven grinned.

"Hey, uhh, guys? What's with that glow in the cave?" Amethyst asked.

They all turned their heads to look inside, and they too noticed the strange light. Garnet tried to sense the structure inside, but when she tried, the only thing that happened was that she heard a low wispy noise inside her head. She didn't quite understand, but she could feel some kind of supernatural presence within the cave. It didn't necessarily scare her, but made her quite uneasy.

"Can you tell what's going on inside, Garnet?" Pearl asked.

"I'm not entirely sure, but it feels...alarming."

"That's not much of a surprise considering the cave is glowing and it smells like a butchery." Amethyst grumbled while waving her hand in front of her face to push the smell away. Pearl began to feel sick. She was never really one that could stand such things. She preferred the not - so- messy outcome of things. She rubbed the back of her palm against her gem in order to keep herself from feeling light headed.

She then slapped her hands together in exaggeration. "Okay, Gems! Let's go inside shall we? I think it would be beneficial if Amethyst went in first."

Amethyst turned to Pearl in an irritated way. "What? Why do I have to go in first? I think you should go in first, since you seem so eager to go inside."

"Oh please! I'd be more tempted to go in that hideous room of yours!"

"Guys, I think Garnet already went in." Steven quietly mentioned.

The bickering Gems turned to the cave and saw the figure of Garnet walking inside. Steven then took off after her. Pearl followed suit, but only too keep an eye on Steven for his safety. Amethyst followed after them.

Steven ran up beside Garnet, and looked straight ahead to see the light at the end growing brighter. But the smell of meat was also increasing. Steven was a tough child, but that didn't mean his mind didn't wonder. He began to feel nervous.

"H-hey Garnet…? What exactly is at the end of this cave?" He stuttered. His stomach felt sick.

"I don't know, Steven."

"Do you think it's going to be...gross?"

Garnet stopped abruptly, and Pearl ran into her. The skinny Gem quickly acted hysterical.

"What is it Garnet? Did you see something?" She quickly asked while getting back on her ballerina feet.

But Garnet never answered. Instead, she leaned down on one knee, and looked Steven in the eye.

"Steven, you and I both know that you are a Crystal Gem, and a Crystal Gem must endure many...harsh things. But that does not mean you have to be forced if not needed. You can wait outside the cave, Steven. I won't be mad." The strong Gem told the boy.

He looked at the bright light, squinted his eyes from the smell, and then looked back up at Garnet. He suddenly felt flustered. He wanted to ask her a few different things, but he needed to answer her question. He couldn't go in there, he just couldn't. He wanted to tell her this.

"I...I, uhh….Hey Garnet? I thought a little bit, and I think...If I ever was put in a situation where I ever had to choose between you and my Beach City friends and family…" Steven started to say before Pearl interrupted him.

"Steven, don't ever think such things! We would never allow you to ever fall into that -"

Garnet held up her large hand in order to hush Pearl.

"Be silent, Pearl. Continue, Steven."

Pearl's jaw dropped. "Garnet, for fuck's sake! Why are you doing this too him? He doesn't deserve going through this!"

Amethyst snickered a little at the fact that Pearl swore. Garnet looked straight at the spear wielder.

"He knows what he deserves. He knows I care about him, and he knows what he wants for himself. He's a strong Gem, Pearl. Stronger than any mistake in the world. Stronger than me." Steven jumped in at hearing this.

"What? Garnet, there's no way I'm stronger than you! I've seen you take a bunch of cars to the face and be fine!" He exclaimed. Garnet almost felt a smile come on. She looked him in the eyes again. But, of course, Steven couldn't tell.

"There are many forms of strength, Steven. I guarantee, if it was anybody else that had to hear and go through what you've been through, anybody else, they would've grown up hateful of everything. You are stronger than me, Steven."

Steven stared at her for a moment, then he felt his chest begin to swell with excitement. He gave a small, but meaningful smile. He hardly even noticed the smell or the light anymore, just garnet, and her incredibly awesome shades.

"Wow...uhh...thanks a lot. I'd like to go with you inside the cave." Steven proudly stated.

Pearl felt incredibly hesitant at this. But the confident look on the precious boy's face...She couldn't bare to take this moment of confidence away from him. Garnet got to her feet, and they headed down into the light.

Alright I finally updated! Sorry about the wait, I have been busy with a capital B.

But anyways, if this chapter feels like nothing really happened in it, my apologies. I just really wanted to give Steven the spotlight for once. He's soooo important to this story, and I've been, sadly, not putting enough of him in here. So this chapter was mostly to give Steven his time that he so rightfully deserves.

But, I digress...Who wants a review reply?

SpaceWonder368 - Oh goodness thank you! :)

WolfRenshin - Thank you very much! I knew I wanted the theme song In there somewhere considering its...well...the song of the show XD. But I hope this chapter reaches expectations, if only slightly!

Applebucker77 - Thank you very much! I'm glad you found humor in it XD!

Thank you all very much for reviewing and/or reading my fanfic! I always hope to reach the expectations of my readers! Have a grand ol' time now!