Disclaimer: I don't own Steven Universe.
Greg's phone alarm rang. The man dismissed it with a flick of his finger. He was already up, dressed, and ready for another day... At four in the morning. Today was the second day of summer. Which meant that another flow of people needing to get their car washed would come in. Yesterday, he had actually had five people show up! Five! It was an all-new record for the car wash. It seemed that the summer mindset was persuading people to go out and do summer things! Like getting their car washed.
Business booming meant that he wasn't going to have much time for his other hobbies. He had to be up and ready for when the rush came in that day. Of course, that might not be for another five or so hours, but he still had to be ready. Mentally prepare himself for all the cars he would have to wash. He'd come up with slogans and great bargains on car wax, and everything that a car owner might need!
It was still dark though. He couldn't get his breakfast and then open early either. No place was open at that time. The only twenty-four hour grocery store had been in Ocean Town. At least, what little remained of it. But even he didn't dare take the treacherous journey to the hellscape that was Ocean Town. Just thinking about it made him shudder.
Greg realized that he could use all the spare time he had on his current hobby: Beach combing. Ronaldo had gotten him into it a while back. While the kid preferred to search for weird things in the sand, Greg just looked for anything of interest or value. Once he found a whole beer bottle, that had turned entirely into beach glass! It got him twenty bucks at the local pawn shop! There was occasionally change buried within the sand as well. Especially underneath the boardwalk near Fun Land.
Readying his beach combing equipment, the man locked up his van and headed towards the beach. It may as well have been night time as he walked down the deserted streets of Beach City. It was still dark out, and the stars stuck brightly in the sky. Even the seagulls, ever the noisy, had settled down for the night. The only sound was the ever-present crashing of the waves against the land.
When he reached the sand, Greg slipped off his shoes. The man wriggled his toes in the cool sand before continuing onwards. His puppy metal-detector gave the occasional quiet yip, but he had learned the hard way that it was just the town's water system. Luckily Mayor Dewy had been willing to drop the fines once he promised to give him free promotion and car washes for the rest of eternity.
Greg scanned the beach in a section that he had not been to before. He was getting closer and closer to where the fence had once been. No one knew what lay on the other side of the fence that had been there before. Just out of nowhere, it was taken down for some reason. No one knew whether it was private property or filled with quicksand when the tide went out, they just ignored it. Kinda' like him in a way.
The metal-detector remained silent. It was strange, as Greg would have expected that some of the posts from the fence might still be buried in the ground. He only hesitated a moment before stepping across the invisible boundary line. Greg looked back at the farther away town. There was still no sign of life from it. No one knew that he was here.
The tide was low, leaving a smooth, wet, sand pit across the beach. Which didn't quite make sense to Greg. The tide was supposed to be high right now. Why was the water so strangely low in this area? The sand was still wet beneath his feet. Every step he took left a little hollow of water in it's place. Greg treaded more carefully here. This was the perfect condition for quicksand to form in. It was always less sand than water. And it was the pressure from struggling that trapped people and left them to their doom.
There was no need to remind himself that no one knew he was here. No one had ever cared about his whereabouts. He always had to watch his back, especially when he was always on his own. But that was what being the town weirdo did to a person. It made people treat you just as strangely. The point being, staying out alone on the beach could be dangerous.
Despite what he already knew about the potential dangers of the beach, Greg strolled farther out, getting closer to the water. Here his feet began to sink fully into the sand. It became more difficult to take each step, as the suction kept pulling against him. It wasn't too hard for him to walk though. And besides, the closer he got to the water, the more things there were on the beach.
It looked like a storm had passed through the place. Countless pebbles were scattered everywhere. They glinted deceptively at him, and Greg felt tempted to pick some of them up. But he knew better than to try. There was never anything of value mixed in with the rainbow of tiny stones. By the water's edge, different types of seaweed rested in the sand, and there were bits of drift wood tangled within them. There was also an alarming number of tiny fish and jelly fish that had washed up on the beach. Jellyfish were nothing new though, and they were all the harmless kind. The fish on the other hand, those were strange. They only washed up when a storm had passed through. Nothing of the sort had happened though. What was going on with this beach?
Greg came to some rocks, which he steered around. Nothing would prepare him for what he found on the other side of them. There was a boy washed up face-first on the beach! The man dropped all of his things and ran towards the boy. Greg turned him over and instantly recognized the boy. He had broken his leg, and Vidalia had asked him to set it, no questions asked. Greg only knew how to make a cast for a broken leg for a stunt he had done during one of his concerts.
Why they needed him and how he had broken his leg didn't matter though. What did matter was that he was laying on the beach, unconscious and alone. The sand around him was stained a chilling crimson colour. Greg checked for a pulse. The boy's skin was still cold, and wet, but he could still sense a slight throbbing. His breathing looked really bad though. It was laboured, and too short to be normal.
"Ohmygod! What do I do?! Who do I call?!"
Panic started to overtake his mind. This kid needed medical attention! But what if they didn't come on time?! He'd have to carry him towards the town before anyone could take him to the hospital! Wait! He had training for this! The memory was slightly rusty, but Greg was certain he still remembered how to revive someone with water in their lungs.
Keeping the boy flat on his back, the man opened his mouth slightly. Then, he place his hands right underneath his stomach. Oh boy...
"Please don't die!"
Taking a deep breath, he started the mouth-to-mouth process. Filling the boy's lungs with air, he then pressed down underneath his ribs. Greg took another breath.
"Please don't die!"
Greg repeated it a few more times before he got any result. The boy started to cough, a good sign. Then he spat up one of the tiny fish. After an agonizing pause, the boy let out a groan.
"W-what?"
"Are you ok?!" Greg frantically interrupted. "What happened to you?"
"L-Lapis." He choked. "I-I thought we w-were f-friends."
"Hang on kiddo. Nine-one-one will be here soon."
Whipping out his cell phone, Greg dialed the dispatcher.
"C'mon, c'mon! Pick up"
"You've reached Sheriff Blubs and Deputy Durland's office. We can't take your call right now because we're currently on a vacation in Gravity F-"
The recorded message stopped before the man could even finish the sentence. Greg threw his cell phone down to the ground in frustration.
"What kind of a dispatcher does this town have?!"
The boy let out another groan of pain, drawing Greg's attention back to him. The man shook the boy's shoulders again, in an attempt to keep him conscious.
"Don't worry kid, I'll get some help!"
Against the protest of his back, Greg lifted the boy up into his arms. Greg wobbled in place, his feet sticking even more into the sand. He caught his balance, and started the long walk back to the dry land. The sun was starting to peek out on the horizon now, making a thin band of orange against the water.
Greg knew that no one in town out listen to him if he asked for help. The only choice he had was to take the boy back to his van. He unlocked it, and then set the boy down on his mattress. For a moment, he lamented over the fact that he had left his metal-detector on the beach, but that feeling left quickly. He had more important things to be worrying about.
A quick search through his an allowed the man to find a few towels. He dried the boy off as best he could with his clothes still on. The man bent over to start towelling off the boy's curly, black hair. That was when he dazedly opened his eyes, a haze of confusion clouding them. For a moment, Greg was stricken with a sense of familiarity. He didn't know why that was though.
"W-what're y-you doing?" He asked.
"Drying off your hair. It's soaked!"
Greg stopped for a moment. The kid couldn't stay in his wet clothing, it wasn't healthy. Now, didn't he have some old clothes somewhere in his van? Greg did a short scan of the back of his van. He found a worn-out pair of shorts that could fit him, and a t-shirt from his band days. But that was an extra, extra large. It wouldn't fit the kid. It was then that his eyes rested upon the framed Mr. Universe t-shirt on the van wall. Well, desperate times called for desperate measures. He pulled it off the wall and popped the still-new shirt out of the frame.
"Here, take off your wet stuff and put these on."
The boy looked too daze to argue with him. Greg turned around as he got changed. He didn't look until the boy told him that he was dressed.
"How're you doing?" Greg asked.
"I feel like..." A nauseous look crossed his face. "Sick."
"Wait! Not in the van!"
Luckily, there was a bucket that had conveniently left out from the previous day's washing. He placed it in the boy's lap just before he could empty his stomach contents all over his van. Greg patted the boy's back until he had stopped retching
"Do you need some water?"
Right away, he realized that the question was bad taste. The kid did not seem to mind. If he did, he was too injured to do anything about it. He feebly nodded, gripping the edges of the bucket as he did so. Greg got him a cup of water from the car wash bathroom. A little more colour returned to his face after he had taken a few sips of water. Greg emptied out the bucket in the meantime.
"So, do you have a name?"
The boy seemed a little hesitant to speak up at first.
"I'm Steven."
"Well Steven, I'm Greg. But you can call me Mister Universe."
Greg held out a hand to the boy. Steven gave him a strange look, as if he didn't understand what his hand was there for. Greg figured that Steven just thought shaking hands with him would be weird. Or contagious, like a lot of people seemed to think. For a moment, Greg wondered if the kid was still in shock from his near-death experience. He was too quiet and calm for someone who had nearly drowned.
"You hungry at all?"
Steven nodded.
"I don't have much." Greg mused. "There are a few granola bars here, some instant ramen, and chips..."
"I like chips."
"Chips it is then!"
Greg grabbed the bad of chips and handed it to the boy. It was a medium-sized package of regular flavour. Even though the air in Beach City was always salty, he still had a craving for regular chips. Greg had no idea why that could be. It was just one of those weird food cravings that couldn't be explained. Steven started to eat, looking around the van as he did so.
Just then, the sound of people was heard. Greg could hear angry voices and screams. Then, the familiar chant of the mayor's election slogan began. Getting out of the van, Greg saw the mayor's van approaching, and he was followed by an angry mob of people.
"Greg Universe!" Mayor Dewy called. "Come out with your hands up!"
"I'm already out here." He said. "What's going on?"
"I'm only going to say this one more time: Put your hands up! You have the right to remain silent!"
Greg stuck his hands in the air, not sure what was going on.
"I still really don't get what's going on."
The mayor got out of his van, megaphone in hand. The angry mob remained by the truck, but the mayor walked towards him. They all cheered as the mayor strode up to Greg, his normally pink face even more flushed than usual.
"Take a look at the ocean!"
Greg looked over at the beach. He couldn't quiet believe his eyes for a moment. It just didn't make sense. But somehow, all of the water was gone. How could that even be possible?! Water didn't just up and vanish like that! The mayor and citizens were much less shocked than Greg on the matter
"That's right. Now it's just a desert! No one wants to take a vacation to Desert City!" He sobbed. "We're going to loose all of our summer business!"
"What does this have to do with me?"
The mayor immediately stopped crying.
"I've been mayor of this own long enough to know that this has something to do with you."
"Wait, what?!"
The mayor glanced at the crowd before leaning towards Greg.
"Sorry Greg, but I need a scapegoat. Otherwise the citizens will all turn on me instead. Besides, no one likes you, so no one gets hurt!" The mayor raised his voice again. "And that's exactly what I, the very tough and heroic mayor, will do to you if the ocean doesn't get back here!"
The angry mob behind him cheered.
"Look, I can't just bring back-"
"TIP THE VAN!"
The crowd rushed forwards, eager to knock over his van. But before they could tip it over, Steven climbed out of the van.
"Stop!"
All of them stopped, curiously looking at Steven. The boy took a deep breath, looking over at Greg before speaking.
"It's not Mister Universe's fault!"
"Then who's is it?!" Someone challenged.
"Mine! I made the ocean go away, and I'll get it back!"
"How do you plan on-"
The mob was suddenly silenced, only a few gasps escaping them. The citizens all parted as the Crystal Gems arrived, not wanting to get in the way of the dangerous, magical, ladies. Steven's stomach instantly plummeted when he saw them. None of the gems looked in his direction, but he knew they had seen him there
"We'll be getting back the ocean together." The pearl declared. "Steven, let's go."
Steven looked at Mr. Universe, and then back at the gems. He had to go back now. They were going to make him find Lapis, and then they were both going to be prisoners again. He was going to be stuck on this miserable planet forever! They wanted to bubble him, and then he would truly be in trouble.
Hanging his head in defeat, he slowly walked towards the gems. His cast had been mostly torn off by the water. The stuff it was made of wasn't supposed to get as wet as it had been. His leg seemed to be fine for the most part though. The dead weight that had plagued him for so long didn't seem to be a problem anymore.
"Wait!"
They all turned around to look at Mr. Universe.
"I'm coming as well." He declared. "There's no way you guys can walk until you find the ocean."
"Oh please." The pearl scoffed. "We're gems, we can handle a little walking."
"But he can't." Greg said, pointing to Steven. "I'll drive you guys to wherever you need to go."
The Crystal Gems all looked at each other, silently debating what they should say. Eventually, the pearl nodded. The group all piled into his van. Steven found himself squished between the ruby and the sapphire. Amethyst sat in the front seat with Greg, while the pearl remained outside of the van. She was riding on Lion. (Rosie was a stupid name for a lion! Especially a male one!)
Once they were all settled, the man started to drive towards the beach. Steven wasn't able to see much outside with his view so obscured by the van's multiple occupants. But what he could make out was not pretty. The ocean floor was a mixture of muddy browns and grey. The van stirred up clouds of dust as they went, adding to the eerie feeling of desertion.
Steven shuddered slightly. It was almost like the kindergarten... Surreal and deserted. Nothing like the rest of the Earth. This planet's ocean was supposed to be filled with life. So much so that not everything in it had been discovered yet. How was it that one gem had managed to drain all the life away from it? This was wrong. All of this was wrong.
Steven's discomfort would only grow. One side of him was freezing, while the other was frying. Neither gem he was sitting between looked at him or said anything. It didn't help that just hours before, they had been arguing over the best way to hurt him enough so that he'd go back to his gem. But he wasn't going to retreat back there, no matter how much his body hurt. Even though he felt like one gigantic bruise from head-to-toe, and desperately needed some sleep! He wouldn't let himself be poofed. No again. Not after all that he had forced his gem through already.
As luck would have it, Steven was not the only person who was made uncomfortable by the gems. Greg remembered Amethyst as Vidalia's friend, after she had reminded him of a few times back when he was a teenager. The problem was that she kept reminding him about all the things he had done as a teenager. Which involved quite a few embarrassing stories that he didn't want to be reminded about.
Finally, he grabbed a random CD and shoved it into the CD player.
"This was one of Vidalia's favourites!" He blurted, for lack of something better to say.
Amethyst only lasted ten verses into the song. The radical beats and excellent guitar shredding were too much for the gem to handle. She covered her ear and shook her head.
"No! Make it stop!"
To everyone's surprise, she jumped out of the car window, and onto Lion and the pearl. They both helped in surprise, not expecting the sudden hitchhiker. After some arguing and yelling, the pearl took the front seat in the van while Amethyst rode on Lion. At least it got her to be quiet. Steven still had to deal with the quietly feuding gems between him.
The pearl finally seemed to take pity on him.
"Steven, I think you should sit in the front."
The boy was all too happy to climb into the front of the car. Meanwhile, Ruby and Sapphire helped Pearl into the back of the car. By chance, Pearl happened to look down at Sapphire's palm as she did so. Pearl gasped when she saw her gem.
"Sapphire! What happened to your gem?"
Sapphire remained collected despite her outburst. She held up her gem, displaying the yellow-green lines creeping through and around her gem.
"I'm fine."
"We've been like that since the warp pad incident." Ruby said, holding up her gem.
"There's nothing wrong with yours."
"What?!"
Sapphire grabbed her partner's hand, inspecting every inch of it. There was no trace of the yellow patterns they had both received from destroying the warp pad. They had both left them hidden from the other gems, not wanting them to freak out over the strength of the team and their well-being.
It may have been painful, but they were already in a weak spot as it was. Any more distractions could cause problems. Sapphire knew that something about these scars was causing her and Ruby to be at odd ends with each other, but there was nothing that they could do about it.
"Were you destabilized?" A quiet voice asked.
The trio all turned to look at Steven. He shifted uncomfortably under their stares, but continued nevertheless.
"A modern weapon we have now can force you back to your gem without a fight. No matter how strong you are. If you get hit with a weak destabilizer, it'll leave a scar like that."
"We only broke this weird warp pad." Ruby said.
"The energy from warps is similar."
"But how did you heal yourself?" Pearl wondered. "What's happened to your gem lately?"
"Well, I tried to punch the ocean, I tried to burn the ocean, I tried to melt the ocean. And... Steven licked my hand."
Instantly, their attention was focused back on Steven.
"Of course!" Pearl said. "He must have Rose's healing powers! Just... In his spit instead."
"How do we know it's in his spit?" Ruby asked.
"Simple." Pearl said. "Steven, could you try healing Sapphire's gem?"
The boy looked at them like they were crazy.
"No! You guys tried to bubble me! You destroyed my only way to get home!"
He did bring up a valid point there.
"Could you try healing something small then? Do you have a scar or something you could try it on?"
He reluctantly did as he was asked. Licking his thumb, Steven pressed it against a tiny scar he had on his arm. To everyone's amazement. It vanished. Pearl gave an excited squeal, grabbing onto Steven's shoulders.
"You have healing powers!"
Steven wearily smiled. If the circumstances had been different, he might have been excited to discover that he had unlocked even more of his powers. Instead of that, he simply felt tired. He just wanted all of this to be over already. He needed some time to sit and think things out.
"Uh, I don't want to interrupt." Mr. Universe said. "But I think we found the ocean."
All of the gems immediately fought to look outside. A gigantic, cylindrical column twisted and turned above them. It was a bright, glowing blue. It only grew larger as they approached the pillar of water that was the ocean. As they grew closer, thing became visible in the water. All sorts of different sea creatures swam around in the water, going about their lives as if nothing was wrong.
"Whoa..."
"This'll make a great album cover." The man whispered.
The van stopped, and all of them minus Greg got out of it. The man knew better than to interfere with whatever was going on between these magical space-ladies and Steven. He couldn't do anything to help, and it would just be better if he didn't become a liability for the group. Greg started to head back towards Beach City, leaving the gems alone with the ocean
Steven walked ahead of the gems. With each step he took across the ocean floor, a cloud of dust and sand rose up. He limped towards the tower of water. He gradually tilted his head upwards as he did so, searching for where the top of the tower was. It seemed to stretch on endlessly into the clouds. The surface of the water was clear and calm, almost solid looking. It was like a window that let one see inside the lives of the sea creatures that swam around.
Then, the surface of the water began to ripple. The creatures inside of the water were helplessly tossed around by the current. A watery version of Lapis' face emerged from the pillar, staring all of them down.
"Go away." She commanded.
The recent memory of being swept up by the ocean crossed his mind, but Steven held his resolve.
"No. I'm not leaving until we talk."
The face remained impassive. More figures began to emerge from the pillar. Mirror-matches of the Crystal Gems and Steven formed. They all pulled out their weapons and glared at the group. Just like the real Crystal Gems had done. Steven held his ground, still staring unflinchingly at Lapis' head.
"I don't want to fight you." She said.
"I don't want to fight either." Steven countered.
"Leave."
The water version of himself raised his hand. A floating ball of water materialized in his palm. Steam curled off of it, as the water began to boil.
"Don't do it."
Slowly, the mirror-match started to pull his arm back, preparing to throw the ball at him. Steven took a step towards the tower, continuing his stare-down with the face. The water within the pillar swirled around more violently, twisting into a whirlpool. She was doing everything in her power to threaten him, but Steven was not going to stand for any of it.
"I don't want to fight." He repeated. "All I want to do is talk."
"You lied to me."
"I didn't mean to hide anything from you! I wasn't supposed to tell anyone! Every time I do tell people, the just freak out, and they're mean to me." The boy pressed a hand to his gem. "They make me feel like I'm nothing, like I shouldn't exist."
A hand emerged from the water, and it pointed at the Crystal Gems.
"How do I know you're not allies with them?"
"I'm not!" Steven insisted. "Home World is my home too! How could I make up what the planet's like right now? How could I make up a big dumb lie about everything on Home World now. It doesn't make sense!"
"Prove it."
"How do I do that?"
"If you really care about Home World, you'll help me fight them."
The hand made of water suddenly grabbed him by the wrist. It picked him up, and dragged Steven uncomfortably close to her face. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Amethyst jump towards him before the pearl pulled her back.
"STEVEN!"
"Unhand him!" The pearl yelled.
Another hand materialized, forcing Steven to stare into her eyes.
"Steven, listen. Fight against them with me."
"W-what?"
"Those three knew I was in there." She hissed. "And they didn't do anything!"
"B-but-"
"Don't you know anything Steven?! They don't really care about other Gems. All they care about is the Earth! But I never believed in this place... This is our chance to take revenge!"
"That's a lie!" Amethyst yelled.
"Don't listen to them." Lapis said.
"She'll hurt innocent people!"
"They don't matter."
"Steven please!"
Steven was torn, looking between the two sides as they fought over him. The water-hands' grip on him became suffocating. She was gradually squeezing the life out of him as he was brought closer and closer to the face.
"I-I-"
"Come on! Just say yes."
"NO!"
A sudden surge of power erased the feeling of helplessness. Before Steven knew what he was doing, he had summoned his shield. The gem threw his shield, and it sliced between the two hands. Steven was dropped to the ground, and the water started to ripple again. Then, all of the water figures fell apart.
Steven picked himself up off the ground, catching his shield as it flew back in his direction. The weapon vanished back to where it had come from in a burst of pink light. The gems behind him gasped, but Steven didn't look back at him. Instead, the boy walked the rest of the short distance to the tower, until he was face-to-face with the surface of it.
"I'm not fighting anyone!" Steven yelled. "I'm not here to pick a side! I just want to talk! Why is it that no one ever wants to talk about things?! You guys just keep going and doing violent things without thinking, or just sitting down to discuss instead of hurting each other! Fighting doesn't solve anything! It just causes more problems. And people get hurt. I don't want anyone to get hurt..."
None of the gems said anything. Steven decided to continue speaking.
"I mean, we fought an entire war over one planet. And the war wasn't even about here! It was about the way Home World worked, and how we treated others! The Earth has nothing to do with who or what I am! It's just... It's just something that got caught in the middle. The people here are just trying to survive. But how are they supposed to do that when the entire ocean is gone?!"
A new hand formed from the water. This one didn't attack. It lay flat on the ground. Steven looked up at the tower, and back at the Crystal Gems. Then, he stepped onto the palm of the hand.
"I'm going up."
The hand started to rise. Slowly at first, but then gradually gaining speed. Steven's ears popped, and the air around him began to turn cold. Steven closed his eyes, not wanting to think about the ground beneath him, and how very high up in the sky he now was. A heavier pressure started to weigh against him as the altitude continued to climb. It made him feel sluggish and confused.
Just as he thought that he could go no higher before reaching space, the ride upwards stopped. Steven opened his eyes and got to his feet. He may have not been in space, but it certainly did look like it. All around him, he could see the stars in all of their multi-coloured brilliance. The top of the tower was glassy, but solid. When he stepped, the surface rippled, as if it were a shallow puddle.
Then, Steven heard the first sniffle. He turned around to face the source of the noise. It was Lapis. She had her back to him, leaving her cracked gem exposed. She was sitting on the ground, her knees and arms shielding her face from the world. Steven took a cautious step closer to her.
"Lapis?"
"S-Steven, I'm sorry." She whispered. "S-so, so sorry."
"For nearly drowning me? Or the whole stealing-the-ocean thing?"
"All of it. I-I never meant to..."
Steven sat down next to the gem.
"Being in the mirror must've been awful."
"I-it was." She said. "I-I don't even feel like the same person anymore. I'm not who I used to be."
"Staying locked up all the time can do that to a person." He quietly said.
The gem let out a long, tired sigh. She raised her head up to look at the stars with haunted eyes.
"I just want to go home."
"But why are you building this crazy water tower?"
"I'm only using the ocean because my gem is cracked. If I just stretch it far enough..." She sighed again, and hung her head. "This is never going to work."
"Wait! I have healing powers! I can fix your gem!"
"You do?"
"I know right?" He grinned. "I found out on the way here!"
"Oh uh, what should I do?"
"This may be a little weird..."
Steven licked his hand. Then he placed his palm against Lapis' gem. She shuddered in disgust. Then, her gem started to glow. The cracks in it sealed back together. A pair of wings made from water sprouted from her gem. Flapping them, Lapis got back up to her feet. For the first time in thousands of years, she was finally able to smile.
"Thank-you Steven!"
Lapis looked like she was going to take off for a moment, but she stopped herself. Steven knew what she was going to ask even before she said it.
"I'll be fine for now." He promised. "Just, try to raise the alarm as soon as possible once you get back."
"Right." She nodded. "Well uh, bye."
She took off into the air with a single leap. Steven watched as Lapis flew off towards a distant cluster of stars until she was little more than a speck in the sky. Then, the not-so solid ground beneath him began to shake. The tower of water began to crumble, and Steven was sent falling through the air. Everything began to rush before his eyes, and the pressure he was being put under began to lessen.
"Grab my hand!"
A pink and white blur flashed across his vision. Steven did as he was told, reaching out towards the figure that was free-falling with him. Pearl caught Steven's wrist, and pulled him on to the lion. They were transported safely to the ground. For the most part. They came to a sudden stop.
Steven was ready suffering from a head rush, and this caused him to go flying off of the lion's back. Luckily, Sapphire was there with the other gems to catch him. The gem had her arms outstretched, already prepared for what she had seen in the imminent future. Naturally, Steven landed in her arms, exactly as planned.
What none of them had been expecting was for Sapphire to pinch a nerve in his neck. Steven's eyes comically went wide for a moment, and then he poofed back to his gem. Sapphire, ever-omnipotent bubbled the gem and sent him back to the temple before the other three could attack her.
Deep inside of the temple, one of the rooms it up as a new gem appeared. This one surrounded in a blue bubble. As luck would have it, the new gem nudged another bubble close to it slightly. The small push was all she needed to use her built-up power to escape from the bubble. She had been waiting an eternity for this chance. And the pink one had pulled through. She was free... She could escape... She was sprouting extra arms and had a pincer for a mouth and tail... Her rational thought process was not faring so well either.
But she... Free... No more bubbles. The pink one had been close enough to knock her out of it this time. Feeling his presence was enough... Escape... Needed... Pink... The pink one. It was high though. She was short. Weak. Had to reach the pink. Jumping didn't work. No. A wave of intelligent thought washed over her. Oh come on! She was so close she could spit on it if she wanted to!
Spit... That was it. She spat in the direction of the bubble. It landed squarely on it, and dissolved the surface with a hiss. The centipeetle caught Steven's gem before it could hit the floor. She was careful to not get any of her acidic salvia on his gem as she picked it up with her pincers.
The corrupted gem triumphantly trotted throughout the temple, following the trails of the other gems, and the scent of fresh air. In no time, she had found outside. The centipeetle stepped onto the warp pad. It took a few tries to let her gem thoughts work the warp pad. It was hard when she wanted to run around and destroy things now that she was free. So much destruction... Havoc... Pain... Blood... She was hungry...
Still, the centipeetle successfully managed to warp away with the pink one in her jaws.
Escape was just too easy!