Yes, I rewrited this again. Only this time, I think you'll REALLY enjoy the changes to the chapter.
And I promise that this is the last update for this chapter.

...

*SMASH*

There went another window as Mike sent his hand through it.
It only hurt slightly, and the glass shards kept blood from pooring out.

The Gem turned back to the young boy behind him.

"Alright, Steven." Mike started. "Now this time, I want you to imagine that this is fatal, and your healing is the only way to save me. Got it?"

Steven gazed down at the cut-up hand uneasily.
The pieces of glass in his hand was an unnerving sight, to say the least.

The way they made his hand twitch uncontrollably didn't help, either.

Mike seemed to notice his discomfort.

"...Look, I know this might be freaking you out, but if you're going out there fighting corrupts and Homeworld Gems,
then you're going to have to get used to seeing stuff like this."

Steven tried to keep his eyes off the damaged limb, rubbing his shoulder. "Yeah, but... I don't feel comfortable with you hurting yourself just to help me..." He said.

Mike lowered his hand. "Hey, don't worry about me. I've had WAAAY worse things than a little glass, y'know.
I'm not just some human. I'm a Gem." He said, picking some glass out of his hand. "...Maybe you could use a little... inspiration?"

"Well, I dunno, maybe-

"DO IT!" Mike suddenly yelled, freaking the boy out.

"Huh?!" Steven asked in confusion.

"JUST DO IT!" Mike shouted again.

Steven stared bewildered at the bigger Gem. Was this supposed to be motivation?

"Some people dream of success, while you're gonna wake up, and work HARD at it. NOTHING is impossible!"

The Gem paused for a moment.

"You should get to the point, where anyone else would quit, and you're not gonna stop there!"

"Mike... you're kinda freaking me out."

"No, what are you waiting for?!" He pointed at his glassed hand. "DO IT! Just... DO IT!"

Steven looked at the hand again. "Mike, I... I've tried a lot already. I don't think I can..."

"YES YOU CAN! Just do it!"

Another pause.

"...If you're tired of starting over... stop. giving. up."

"...Why did you have to yell all that?" Steven questioned.

Mike shrugged his shoulders. "I dunno. Isn't that how people here inspire each other?"

"I don't think so. You have to do more than just telling them to do something over and over."

"...Huh. Oh well." Mike replied. "...I guess we'll have to get your powers back another way..."

"Can it wait?" Steven asked. "There's something important I want to ask you..."

Mike began picking the glass shards out of his hand again. "Sure, Steven. Anything."

Steven thought about his question for a moment. He almost thought twice about it, wondering if he should even ask it.
But at the same time, he was curious. And he felt like it was something he should know.

Mike noticed Steven's hesitation.

"Steven... you know there's anything you can ask me. You can trust me." He assured, placing his normal hand over the disfigured one to heal it.

"Okay, but... I don't know if you'll want to answer it. It's something kind of... well, bad." The boy said, rubbing his arm unassuredly.

"Bad...?... Look Steven, if it's about me, I don't mind. You can ask anything, and I'll answer it. Promise." Mike replied,
having fully healed his hand.

Steven slowly nodded. "Well... okay. Here it is. See, when you first came here, and we met, I thought you were really cool.
I mean, I still do, but... it's different now. You're really nice, and you care about me and Lapis and Earth and all that.
But... you didn't tell me about Hematite. You told me he's really dangerous and mean and all that, but you didn't tell me about him."

Mike nervously swallowed. "I... didn't think I would get angry enough for him to come out. With the whole destabilizer thing though..."

"No, I understand that. You probably just didn't want me to worry, and that was nice. But... that's not what I'm asking."

Mike nervously waited for him to continue. He wasn't really sure he wanted to hear the question anymore.

"...What I'm asking is... have you ever... you know... killed?"

Mike was silent. The Gem disconnected his eye contact with the Gem child.

"W-w...why are you asking that...?" He asked, trying to sound normal, but his voice came out rushed and nervous.
He didn't expect this question. He didn't expect Steven to ask him this.

Out of all the questions Steven could have asked, that could've been the worst option.

"I'm not trying to sound mean, but... I need to know. Did you hurt someone when you came to Beach City?"

Mike still didn't make eye contact, and was also now twirling his thumbs. "Why would you assume I would do something like that...?"

"Because... on the news the other day, when we met on the beach, the news guy was talking about another guy.
One that was... killed. They said he got stabbed in the eye... and then I saw you near the ocean... and I completely forgot about it when we started talking."

"...Yeah...?" Mike said, beckoning Steven to continue, despite how much he didn't want him to.

"I didn't think you could do something like that at first. You're too nice a Gem to want to hurt anybody.
But... when I was showing you around town, we passed by an alleyway with an ambulance truck and yellow tape and lots of people around. The way you looked over there, you're face looked... guilty of something."

Mike looked at the floor. He knew what he was talking about. That man that tried to rip his Gem out.
The guilt was flowing back to him like a dam had been broken in his mind, and it was all rushing back to him.
The plead for mercy, the knife, his screams... all of it.

"I didn't really think much of it then, because I just met you, and we had a pretty fun day together. And when I found out you were a Gem, I thought that made you even cooler... but... then I found out about Hematite..."

"Steven... where are you going with this?" Mike asked, despite already knowing what his answer would be.

"Mike... nobody in Beach City would ever do something like that to someone else. I'm great friends with everybody here,
and I know more than anything that they would never kill someone. Not any people, not the Gems, I don't even think Peridot would do that. But Hematite... he tried to kill me when I shoved him. And you said it yourself, that he's really mean and dangerous. So... did you kill that guy? I mean, did Hematite make you do it?"

Mike let out a big breath. The ashamed look on his face almost said it all. He almost didn't need Mike to vocally confirm it.

He had hoped no one would ever have to know about that. He had never done anything like that to a human before,
and he hated himself for it. Yes, Hematite was the one who plunged the knife, but it was his fault for overreacting and getting angry. Yeah, he tried to pull his Gem out of his chest, but he would have never actually done it.
Gems don't just rip out if a human tries it.

So it was just as much his fault as it was Hematite's.

"...Yeah. Yeah, Steven. I did it. I... I killed him." He replied to the boy, still avoiding eye contact with him.

But he could still tell how he felt. He could tell what his expression was, despite not seeing it.
Sadness. Worry. Confusion... and fear.

"And before you say anything... I didn't mean to. I just... he tried to assault me. For whatever reason, he wanted to take my Gem. I don't know why, but he tried pulling it out of my chest. So I... lost control. Hematite took over,
and then he... stabbed him in the eye."

Steven didn't know what to say to all this.

The idea of Mike switching personalities on a dime to something like Hematite was frightening.
Mike told him Hematite was dangerous, but he didn't think he'd actually kill someone else...

He only guessed that Hematite killed that man from the news, but he didn't want it to actually be true.
And what's worse... what if it could happen again?

The way that Hematite nearly strangled him for being shoved... it's scary.
If Mike could switch from being kind and considerate to mean and murderous so easily... what could that mean for him and everyone else in Beach City? What if he ends up hurting someone he cares about? Like his dad? Or Connie?

"He... made you watch it?" Steven asked.

He assumed that was the only way he could know he did it.

"...He only makes me watch sometimes. Most of the time I don't even see what he's doing. Whenever one of us takes control, we supress the other mentally for as long as we can. I keep him subdued until I'm angry... well,
before Peridot destabilized me. And he keeps me subdued until he eventually calms down.

But now... I can feel him constantly trying to take control. And he did it so easily, too. One minute I was talking to Peridot, the next I'm out here choking you? It's never been that easy before.
So... I know the only thing that can come from this is danger. Hematite his dangerous, and it's important that if and when he takes control again Steven, you just do your best to stay away from him. Either run, hide,
or if there's forced confrontation, then do NOT make him more angry. Do you understand?"

He recieved no answer.

Instead, he looked up to find Steven looking past him, with a shocked look on his face.

"Garnet?" He said surprised, the mention of the name making Mike's blood go ice cold.

The Gem spun his head around, and sure enough, the tall Gem was standing just a few feet away from the two.
And she did NOT look happy.

"You lied." She stated, anger noticabbly lining her voice.

Mike stood up. "Garnet... if you heard all that-

He was promptly cut off when the fusion violently jerked him up by the collar.

"You lied to me. You lied straight to my face after I gave you my trust. You're either incredibly bold or insane. And judging by what you said, I assume it to be the latter." She said calmly, but VERY clearly angry.

"Garnet, wait!" Steven tried to step in.

"Stay out of this Steven." She snapped at the boy.

The Gem turned her attention back to the startled Homeworld Gem.

"You are a fool to think you could lie to me and get away with it. I used my future vision again, and what was the first thing I saw? You mercilessly strangling him!"

"Garnet, if you just let me explain...!" Mike cried, trying to pry off the fusion's hands, which worked as well as you would expect it to. Badly

"So I come out here to see what's going on, and then I hear you murdered that human a few nights ago!?"

Mike almost couldn't reply. He was too busy cowering at Garnet's anger. The last thing he wanted to do was make a Garnet fusion angry. He didn't need to see her eyes through her visor to know how angry she was right now.

"I-I'm sorry! But there was a reason!" He replied hastily.

"And what was that reason? You secretly murder living beings behind everyone's backs?!"

"Garnet, don't hurt him, please!" Steven pleaded, terrified at the sight of one friend on the verge of caving in another's face.

"Steven, go outside."

But...!"

"NOW." Garnet demanded through clenched teeth.

"Steven." Mike said, gaining his attention.

Steven looked at his friend, terrified.

"Just go. I'll be okay." He assured him, despite not being sure himself.

"But... I don't want you to get hurt! I don't want anyone to get hurt!"

"Steven, just... let me and Garnet talk about this. I'll still be fine when you come back. Please."

Without another word, the Gem child slowly made his way to the door. He was scared out of his mind.
He had never seen Garnet this angry before. Whenever she was mad, it was usually small things like him getting into trouble. But this was a different angry.

He was afraid of what Garnet was going to do now. Was she going to hurt Mike? Was she going to bubble him,
or break him, or worse? He prayed she didn't do anything violent.
If she did, he would have no other choice but to step in, whether she liked it or not.

The same thoughts were running through Mike's mind. He didn't know how to get out of this.
He didn't know if he even could. If Garnet knew what he did to Steven, then this could be it for him.

"He may instantly forgive you for what you did, but I can assure you I'm not that easy.
What you did is borderline unforgivable. You lied to us, and in doing so endangered Steven's life.
So if you don't explain to me in the next 10 seconds why you did what you did, you will NOT be walking away from this conversation with an intact Gem."

She dropped Mike to the ground.
The threat to his Gemstone sent a shiver up his spine.

"Ok,ok,ok, I'll tell you..." He started to explain, raising his hands up in defense. "I call him Hematite. After I took the name Mike, Hematite took the Gem name to differenciate ourselves."

"I'm not asking for names." Garnet growled, summoning a gauntlet on her left hand.

Mike flinched at the sight of it. "Alright, I'm sorry! Okay, so... alright Garnet... I don't know if you'll believe me, but... I have a split personality. Like I just said, his name is Hematite.
I'm telling you this because I didn't strangle Steven. Hematite did. He takes control over my mind whenever I get extremely angry, and he manifested as a result of my defectiveness.
I wanted to tell you, but if I did..."

"Enough." Garnet interrupted, raising a hand up.

She observed the former Homeworld Gem's body language carefully, taking in every small detail.
His arms were raised protectively, so he was probably worried about any physical contact.
He was sweating profusely and his speech was quick and he stuttered a bit, so he was clearly nervous.
And he couldn't maintain full eye contact with her.

It was the body language of a liar.

The Crystal Gem ominously began taking steps towards the smaller Gem, who in return nervously backed away.

"This is not a good time to lie to me more, Michael." She stated threatingly.

It was when Mike's back hit the wall that he responded.

"No no no, you don't understand Garnet, I can prove it! I can show you he's real!" He defended.

"Humor me." She replied with sarcasm lining her voice.

Despite the clear sarcasm, he felt a slight wave of relief he had a chance to prove his innocence.

Without wasting a second, he thought up the words in his head.

"Hematite!" He said. "Hematite, I need to talk to you."
Normally he would never ask Hematite for help, but at this point it was either that or being cracked, shattered or bubbled.

A moment passed before there was a response.

"...What?" Hematite finally replied. No insanity in his tone, nor anger. That might be a good thing.

"Oh, good... listen... I need to talk about something important. Right now." Mike said.

He recieved a scoff in response. "Really? That's too bad, I was busy thinking about all the reasons you're the worst person I've ever known in my life. Maybe you should try again later..."

"No! No, Hematite, seriously, I NEED to talk. Can you be serious for one minute?"

Another pause.

"...Whatever." He replied bluntly.

Obviously he was in no mood to speak right now. His tone made it sound like he wanted to punch Mike in the face, which, if he did that, he'd be punching himself in the face, so of course he couldn't.

"Alright, good. So, here's the thing... Garnet knows about you killing that human.
And strangling Steven. She saw that with her future vision, and she's this close to snapping my neck because of it."

"Ha... so I assume she thinks you're the one who did it? That's hysterical..." He replied rudely.
Oddly, his tone had absolutely no energy in it. Just quiet and calm.

"Yeah. So that's why I'm talking to you. She doesn't believe me when I say you exist. She thinks I did these things all on my own. So I need you to speak to her and prove I'm not lying, so she doesn't kill me!"

Despite being in his mind, and therefore no bodies or faces to see, he could tell Hematite was unamused.
"So basically, you're throwing me under the bus to save yourself...?" He asked.

"It's not like that. I wasn't responsible for those things. YOU were, so I don't think it's exactly fair that I get imprisoned or killed because you felt like drawing blood!" Mike replied, voice raised.

"And what happens then, Mike? Is she gonna suddenly forgive you because you're not the one who "pulled the trigger," so to speak? Did you forget that YOU decided you didn't want to tell her or the other Crystal C***s about me? It seems like this is all on you." He mocked

"Don't call them that! Yeah, you're right, I could have and should have told them about you before,
but... I was scared of what they would all do! I'd rather ease into it, let them trust me first before I tell them, which would have worked out if YOU didn't vicously attack Steven just because he shoved you!"

"I'll call them whatever I want to call them. I'm not the one who cares about them. And I'll do whatever I want, and that DOESN'T include helping you in any way. You get yourself out of this, Mike."

"...Hematite. Please... I need you right now. Your the only one who can help me in this situation.
I'm doomed if you don't help me... please. This is not just for me. It's for me, it's for you, and it's for Steven.
I don't want to die, you don't want to die, and he doesn't want us to die."

Silence. Hematite seemed like he pondered the decision for a brief moment.

"...Nice try. He doesn't want YOU to die. He doesn't even know me. I don't care if he cares about you, or you care about him. You're on your own, Mike.

You and Steven can go burn."

Mike waited for him to say something else... he didn't.

"Hematite? Don't go. I need you..."

Dead silence. He was gone.

Hematite's voice had vanished, and just like that, Mike was alone with his thoughts.

"Enough of this, Michael."

The former Homeworld Gem nearly jumped out of his skin at the voice of Garnet making itself relevant.
His blood was ice cold now, as he looked up to meet the visor-clad eyes of the fusion, her patience weared completely thin.

Hematite wasn't going to help him. Steven couldn't help him. He couldn't help himself. It seemed like no one could.

"Michael, when I told you to "prove" yourself true about this "alter ego" of yours, that didn't mean just sit there and sweat like a pig."

For a second time, the Crystal Gem hoisted him up by the collar of his shirt.
This could be it for him, Mike thought to himself. No one around to help him as the fusion Gem likely prepared to permanately knock his lights out.

"It's clear you're just stalling, and it's clear you're just lying. You betrayed my trust, killed a human and nearly killed Steven too, and then pathetically attempt to cover your tracks."

She summoned a gauntlet.

"It's clear to me now that you're a danger to us, this city, not to mention this planet. And while you betrayed Yellow Diamond and Homeworld, you're clearly mentally unstable, so I have no other choice..."

She raised her fist up. The gauntlet shined in the light of the afternoon sun, as it readied for a crash course for his Gemstone.

Mike shut his eyes tight and looked away. He didn't want to see this. The fact that this was happening to him right now, he couldn't believe. In the span of a few minutes, he had gone from being trusted by the leader of rebel Earth Gems, to about to being on the recieving end of her deadly gauntlet, which would utterly shatter his Gem with one swift strike.

"Goodbye, Michael." Garnet bid, a second away from striking the Gem, and sending him off the face of this universe...

"...Wait."

...

Boom, better ending, better cliffhanger. I wonder who spoke up? Find out, in the next chapter!