A/N: Despite the lack of reviews on the last chapter, it got a good amount of views so I guess I should update. I don't think I'll ever have the same amount of views that I'd get when I was at my peak last year, but I'll at least have SOMEONE viewing my work so that's good enough for me. I just wish I was at my peak again...
Steven ran back to his house in a rush. He couldn't handle it anymore. All this time he's wasted on investigating. All this time he's been stuck in his house doing nothing more then sitting on his bed searching for any clues about her whereabouts while Cassiterite has been in the city the whole time. That's it. He had to find her. Now.
"Wait. Calm down Steven. If she was still in the city, she would have caught the attention of more people, and for the most part I haven't heard anyone getting a life threatening injury or even getting killed in a while." He had to respond to the situation with a clear head. Having a panic attack after what he just heard wouldn't help anyone.
"First, I have to inform Connie. I don't want her to be completely in the dark on this." With that, Steven got out his phone and texted Connie.
Steven: Connie, I just found out that Cassiterite is -or was- in the city. So now we absolutely need to check the Kindgergarten for more clues.
Steven after a full minute if waiting Connie responded.
Connie: Are you serious?! All this time we've been investigating where she is and your telling me that she's been in the same city I'm living in? That seems a bit, I don't know, stupid? Judging by what you've told me about her I don't think she's that dumb enough to stay so close to where we live.
Before he could reply, she sent another text.
Connie: I've finished my work so I should be at your house in a few minutes. I can't stay up too late seeing as how I have school tomorrow but we should just get what we can find from the Kindergarten and go.
Steven: I honestly don't know what her motive is, but she's definitely plotting something. And tbh, I think she's the one who has been stalking me for some time now and I'm starting to wonder if she knows what we're up to.
Connie: Wait, what do you mean stalked? You never told me that.
Steven didn't respond after that. Maybe he shouldn't have said that.
Connie: Steven, answer me. Why didn't you tell me this before? This is really serious and I think we should get the Crystal Gems involved now.
Steven: I'm sorry, I just didn't want you to worry about me. I have enough of that at home already.
Connie: I have to worry about you Steven. Your my best friend.
Steven: No, you don't. You don't have to worry about me. Worry about yourself Connie. I'll be fine.
Steven knew it was harsh but he couldn't be nice with her anymore. He had to be serious in order to be taken seriously in this kind of world he lived in.
Connie: I can't believe you just said that! I don't know what's gotten into you but the Steven I know would never say something like that. Plus, he'd never keep a secret that big from his friends.
Steven: Look Connie, I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. But some secrets are just that. Secrets.
Connie: Oh come on Steven, you know that's not true. Not all secrets have to be kept from people.
Steven: Okay?...As if I wouldn't tell you a huge secret. This one is only minor.
Connie: It doesn't matter! You know what? We can talk about this later. I'm on my way to your house.
And with that, Steven put his phone back in his pocket. Maybe he should have gone easier on her. He felt as if he was taking his new serious attitude a bit too far.
He waited for about 30 minutes and he soon heard a knock on his. He opened it, and in came Connie.
Connie looked at him with a blank expression, as if she was studying him.
"Nice outfit." Connie stated blandly.
"T-thanks." Now he didn't know if she actually meant the complement or if she was just being sarcastic.
There was an awkward silence for a moment, but then Steven broke it.
"C'mon, I think I know where to look when we go to the Kindergarten." Steven turned around, his back to Connie.
He approached the warp pad somewhat slowly. Connie silently sighed as she followed him.
Steven closed his eyes and concentrated. He raised his arms upward and began to warp him and Connie to the Kindergarten.
The warp to the Kindergarten was silent. Too silent for Steven's liking.
He wanted to say something, but he didn't excatly know what to say.
Once they made it to their destination, Steven slowly walked among the Kindergarten's hard ground. He could hear Connie closely following him from behind.
Steven decided to apologize. "...I'm sorry...for what I said earlier in the phone. I should have never kept it a secret from you and I'm really sorry..."
Connie stayed silent a moment, but then soon afterwards replied. "I'm sorry too. I was the one making it such a big deal...But, can you at least tell me how long ago was it?"
Steven stopped in his tracks and turned to Connie.
"A few weeks ago, I think. It was around the time when I found out about the Replica. I just have this feeling that she was the one stalking me because everything that's happened so far all points to her. It could be someone entirely different, but I highly doubt it." Steven explained, getting chills down his spine as he went through the memories of waking up and seeing someone at his window.
Steven continued walking as Connie walked along side him. "Do you think we should get Gems involved. If she really is stalking you, I don't know I would feel if the person we're trying to catch is THAT close to where you live."
"I'll be fine Connie. Trust me." And with that, Connie decided not to press the matter anymore.
Soon, they found a somewhat square shaped hole in the ground. Finally.
"Okay, so once we get in there, we have to find out what Peridot has been keeping in here. Information about Homeworld, her planes, and everything else, okay?"
Connie gave a firm nod. "Right."
Steven then began to slide down the somewhat tilted wall, and soon Connie joined him. If he was anxious before, he was REALLY anxious now.
Once they stopped sliding and jumped on to a small bridge, they found themselves looking at the unfunctional monitor that was once used by Peridot, along with the tubes that had once held the cluster gems.
Steven gulped in worry. There could be more cluster gems, so he had to be on the look out.
Once they had got off the bridge and found themselves right in front of the monitor, they decided they should look around.
"Whoa...this is actually pretty cool. How many times have you guys been here." Connie asked in awe as she examined the huge monitor.
"Two times. The first time was when we first confronted Peridot. The second time was when we ran into the first few gem mutants. So yeah, a lot of major things have happened in this certain room." Steven explained, examining the walls to see if he could find anything.
Out of curiosity, Steven began to poke the wall. Connie noticed this and raised an eyebrow.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm pretty sure that seeing as how Peridot was here, she would have to use her weird fingers to tap something in order for something to work." Steven then began to poking all around the wall to see if something would activate. "Uh, Connie? Try poking the left wall while I do this one." Connie nodded and did as told.
It didn't take long to activate something as Steven managed to poke the right area. Suddenly, a metallic like square appeared to have formed on the wall. Steven narrowed his eyes.
He began to pull on it. Apparently it was covering something. Luckily it was easy to take off, because as soon as he started to pull, it did.
Steven turned around and looked at Connie on the far side of the room.
"Connie, come look at this." Steven exclaimed. Connie soon came over and examined Steven's discovery.
"Looks like a bunch of wires. I don't exactly know how to activate them." Steven breathed in, looking at how many wires there was. It was starting to give him a headache, and at this point, he was sick of them.
"Hmm, maybe one of the Gems could maybe tamper with this stuff? Other than that, I don't know what to do in this situation. I'm smart, but not THAT smart." Connie suggested while scratching her head.
"I don't think any of them would know, even Pearl. This is modern day Homeworld technology, so I think we should get someone who know-..." Steven cut himself off.
"Peridot! She's the only one who knows about this kind of stuff! We have to find her, before the Crystal Gems do. If they capture her, or worse, we won't have anyone else to rely on to get this kind of information."
"Now hold on a second Steven. You guys have been searching for her for how long? A few months now? How are we suppose to even find out where she is?" Connie was now getting a bit paranoid of being in the room right now. She didn't want to make too much noise down there while they're gem mutants right above them.
"I think I have an idea. The last time I saw Peridot, she came out of this room. Plus, when I was on her ship, she said something about a Cluster and that she needed to check on it. She knows something! Before she spotted me as she was coming out of hole we came in from she even said something about the cluster! So maybe we should wait until she comes back to this place to check on this cluster she's talking about."
"Well, it wouldn't hurt to try. But let's not get in over our heads. If she's been here before then yeah, she most likely will come back, but who's to say she hasn't already checked on it? I don't mean to have such a negative mindset, but I'm just looking at all the possible scenarios here." Connie was now fully of aware of the situation they were getting themselves into.
"We're just gonna have to take our chances. You have to trust me on this one, okay?" Steven was now fully determined to find Peridot and Cassiterite in order to find out what's going on.
"O-okay." Connie sighed,
"Thanks." Steven thanked with a smile.
"Now let's get out of here. I'm kinda getting paranoid." Connie laughed, wondering why she didn't bring her sword.
"This place is pretty creepy." Steven stated as he started climbing up the tilted wall.
Once they were back up, both of them made there ways towards the warp pad.
As Steven and Connie were talking amongst themselves, Steven couldn't help but notice something on the ground. He looked down to get a better look.
"What is it?" Connie questioned, wondering what Steven was looking at.
"It's a syringe I think. Gross." Steven then began walking away with Connie, but he couldn't help but think it was important to some degree.
And with that, they were gone.
A/N: I hope you all enjoyed. Reviews are always appreciated as well! :)