Note: Any references that this story makes aside from the universe that this takes place in belongs to their respective owners and should be as such.

Warning: Language, Violence

Ch.16: Note part 2

Now that Emerald's real location has been found Steven and his group made their way to town square until-

"Stop right where you are Universe!"

Going into a complete halt Steven saw Emerald slowly appearing from behind the fountain with Connie, one hand grasped both of her arms behind her and the other hovering over her windpipe.

"Well you got me, now what bitch?"

"...I've underestimated you...twice."

"And you got your ass kicked the second time."

"SHUT UP!"

Emerald clenched their hand, their claw like extension on the tip of their glove reached Connie's neck, tiny droplets of blood dripping down. Connie's breathing was rapid, she never thought that she would feel overwhelming fear since she not only trained with Pearl she also went through the intense training herself at the academy. The fact that she can't move a finger for some reason was really troubling to her.

"Steven, provoking Emerald will only make things worse."

"(Shit!)"

"That's it, listen to your programmed dog."

Steven got rid of his tension so he wouldn't be the cause of Connie's death, just wait til they put their guard down.

"You know something Universe? I really hate you and your pussy proxy that follows you around while kissing your ass. You're not even a goddamn Diamond yet you look like you are living the best life."

Pearl's eye twitched a bit. How Emerald was talking even with that mask on resurfaced some memories that she didn't want to look back on. Those feelings were getting worse and worse as they kept flapping their gums.

"Here."

Unexpectedly Emerald shoved Connie towards Steven, who caught before she fell over. Out of sheer relief Connie clinged onto him. Steven however couldn't relax since Emerald could still do something underhanded.

"...What's your game Emerald? Why did you give Connie back so easily?"

"Hmhm so I can kill you both easier."

"Huh?"

"STEVEN!"

That was Amethyst's voice just now. It was coming from nearby.

"Above you!"

Heeding Amethyst's warning Steven looked up just in time to see the entire barn falling towards the ground. In shock there was barely any time to react so Steven did the first thing he could think of.

"Pearl! Take her!"

Time seemed to slow down from Steven's perspective as he threw Connie towards Pearl. Without skipping a beat he shoulder tackled Lapis far away enough so she and Pearl wouldn't get crushed along with him.

"STE-"

Pearl couldn't get the words out as the giant barn crashed onto Steven with the impact of a bomb, it's shockwave blew away Lapis and Pearl. She held Connie tightly in her arms as if her life depended on her.

As the cloud of dust settled Emerald's maniacle, metallic laughter roared through the sky. At that time Garnet and Peridot powered on through the dust cloud to meet up with Amethyst. Surprisingly she stood her ground even when the shockwave hit her to.

"THE BARN...AGAIN! NOOOOOO YOU SON OF A BASTARD!"

Peridot got on her knees, pounding her fist against the ground in devastation. The home that meant everything to her and Lapis especially when Peridot spent all her elbow grease rebuilding, reshaping, and decking her crib a few months ago with all the technological shizz that she was proud of. Once again it was completely destro- now that Peridot thought about it she didn't pay Lapis back for taking the barn and crashing on Blue Diamond's head all those years ago.

She had the perfect plan in mind to but that would have to be left for later. Right now the bastard who did was getting all proud about themself destroying her baby.

"Pathetic, pathetic, pathetic! You had the drop on me before! Now what Universe?!"

"We're going to kick your ass, that's what."

"Ah!"

Garnet appeared next to Emerald, striking their face with a hard right. The hit produced a tiny crater under her and once again cracking their mask while knocking them off their feet. Emerald managed to recover rather quickly in midair and landed with little to no damage. They then felt an overwhelming malice behind them.

This time it was Pearl who angrily swung her sword at Emerald but they dodged the quick swipe. Following that up with a kick to the chin Emerald tumbled back a bit. Again they recieved no noticeable damage from that attack. The fools had no clue who they were now dealing with?

Emerald rose to their feet for a counter attack yet for some reason when they did they couldn't move. Emerald looked down to see their torso and arms bound by a purple, spiked out whip provided by Amethyst. Struggle as they might Amethyst wasn't going to let them off so easily as she grabbed with both hands and began spinning around in a circle.

The pissed purple gem spun faster and faster at inhuman speeds until she rose Emerald high into the air and strongly jerked her whip to send them crashing down to the Earth. Waiting below them was Garnet, preparing for another swing at them. Her gauntlet was glowing orange that radiated heat that could probably melt diamonds...probably.

Over these last two years after the while Spinel incident relaxing was no longer an option for defending the Earth. Each of the Crystal gems (except for Peridot) trained themselves to push the limits of their very being. Garnet found that fusions like herself can push a single step further that not many has figured out.

The dividend soul is what she called it and it had to do with using the maximum output of one half of a fusion's "pieces" in short bursts in utilization with the fusion's current capabilities. That meant she could use the full power of Ruby or Sapphire without breaking apart the synchro rate.

With that being said Garnet drove her fist into Emerald's gut. A few seconds after the impact an explosive torrent of flames shot out from her gauntlet like TNT, sending Emerald flying towards the beach.

"We're not letting them get away again!"

Pearl announced as she and the group except for Peridot and Connie headed towards the beach.

"Steven?...Steven?...God no...God no."

"He's still alive."

Connie's devastation was replaced with slight disbelief and curiosity to Peridot's claim just now. What did she mean by "He's still alive." and with that much confidence at that to.

"Have a little more faith, he's still kicking."

"What makes you say that?"

"Heh did you clods actually think I would be spending my days just lazing around in my room with Lapis next door, eating cheetos puffs, and playing Persona 5 for 5 fricken days until I got to the very end after 30 tries to beat that asshole Yaldabaoth?!"

"Who?"

Connie's question fell on deaf ears as Peridot continued.

"No! That would be counterproductive as a longtime member of the Crystal Gems. Ahem, no...I was able to unlock a new power within me that was connected to my metal powers and it was so cool!"

"Uhh."

"Well if you must know it's called Electrokinesis...prototype phase. I know, awesome am I right? Ah anyway the point to that is from hard practice and dedication I am able to use my feet to sense where a person is and their condition. Hmhm I gotta congratulate myself sometimes for the effort."

Despite what Peridot just said to reassure Connie she knows that this event that humanity is going through was getting way out of hand, just like Spinel's case. The problem is that Spinel was able to change and reflect for what she did, therefore being saved by Steven. Emerald was already desperate to destroy gem kind and when Steven tried to stop them it only got worse from there.

She can think that since while she was held hostage a few minutes ago she heard Emerald mumble to themself. Although Connie was unable to pick up everything she was able to hear that Emerald was having a conversation with themself at the time.

By god, Connie couldn't even imagine what Emerald has been through? Right now however she had to be hopeful that Steven was alright and not dead. What's the point? Her fighting skills wouldn't be able to stop them and she knew it greatly.

"It's strange though?"

"What's strange?"

"The new barn I rebuilt was made from a synthetic copper alloy molded and shaped to have the appearance texture of wood, reinforced with an exterior coating of steel."

"And that's strange...how?"

"Well before they THREW THE FUCKING BARN, I did notice it floating from the library window. I kept seeing this green static that surrounded the entirety of it. The strange to me was how Emerald was able to move it so easily?"

"Could they have Ferrokinesis like you have?"

Peridot walked over to the destroyed barn and rummaged through a little of the wrecked home until she pulled out the thing that she was looking for, a blown out yellow electrical device. It looked like it could've been attached to a wall unit.

"That was my first guess, but what Bismuth said to me hours ago helped me connect some pieces together.

A couple hours ago at Bismuth's workshop.

"Okay, let me get this straight? You're saying that the Jade Emperor armor does more then change the users body and others into plasma?"

"Sigh shit I feel like a goddamn idiot for not mentioning this after the 'don't get the armor exposed to fire' bit. It's what happens after the fire is implemented that I was worried about. Boosted everything would be the least of Steven's worries."

"I don't like the sound of that at all."

All this time Bismuth wasn't looking at Peridot. But the sound of cracked metal indicated the emotiin she was feeling right now.

"You shouldn't...The amplification causes the armor to act like a EMP, the one that can cancel gems from using their powers if they so choose in a 55 mile radius. Finally there's the-"

"The complete mastery of electricity. There are times when I wonder how the hell Bismuth didn't destroy a planet by now with her capability to create weapons that can slice through titanium like butter?"

"I've wondered that for a while myself."

"Anyway the thing that puzzled me was why didn't Emerald use this kind of power before to get rid of us in seconds? Even I noticed how this whole day didn't make sense."

Connie tried to understand what Peridot meant by that until it hit her.

"Emerald themself right?"

"Right on the nose. All this time Emerald had plenty of opportunity to take over the world yet all they did was taunt us rather than just shatter us right on the spot."

"Steven mentioned how they were just right out in the open when you guys first encountered them, with a city full of gems that can fight through an armada. Heck even the beetle couple has the strength to lift 200x their own body weight."

If only they knew what the deal with all this is? It felt like all this was somehow staged in a way. Can't be...it sounded too ridiculous for that conclusion to be true.

"All I'm saying is that all this crap feels like...an act. Their introduction, Steven meeting them at the arena? It's like Emerald planned this ahead of time."

"And we're at the climax or something?"

What Connie just said struck a dose of realization to Peridot. Her eyes grew wide with shock.

"Ho..ly shit we gotta go and warn them!"

"But what about St-"

"Listen, Steven's alive but he won't be if there is no Earth to be alive on. Believe in him like we always have and will for the rest of our lives!"

Though Connie didn't feel right leaving Steven like this but if the Earth was more at risk than it is now then she has to do whatever she can to help. So she nodded her head and followed Peridot towards the beach where the others were at this very moment

...What..just happened? A couple of moments ago Steven threw Connie out of the way and bumped Lapis to a safe distance. The next thing he knew the barn smashed into him.

"...ugh ahh."

Steven groaned from the slight throbbing of his head. Luckily for him he was able to move his everything which was kinda odd since he should've been trapped under the rubble. That would leave him immobolized obviously yet he had room to sit up.

"...Okay how am I not suffocating? Shit this hurts."

Getting his bearings together Steven found that above him the barn's impact actually caused him to break through the cemented ground of the plaza. Would've been worse if the barn went down with him. When he looked down he saw a tiny puddle of blood.

"Blood?"

Steven touched the top of his head, the slightly sticky and slight stinging confirmed that it was coming from him. The blood was running down past his cheek. He wasn't all that surprised or shocked, afterall he knows that he wasn't invincible. What surprised him was how tough his body became to survive that?

Doesn't matter, right now he had to find a way out of...wherever he was before Emerald ups the ante even more. Taking a look around Steven's eyes adjusted to the large, lightly dimmed metallic room with two connecting hallways, one to his left and another straight ahead.

Steven's first instinct was to walk down the left pathway. But first he licked his thumb and dabbed it on the top of his head, the pain subsiding. After walking for a few seconds he stopped in front of a green steel door. Without a second thought he opened it.

The moment he took a step inside the room lit up. It was really empty except for an old wooden table that looks like a writer's workstation with a ceramic cup filled with pens (not feathered) and an inkwell next to it for some reason...Steven didn't even know why he bothered looking in there if there wasn't going to anything of interest. That is until he spotted a light green notebook sitting on top of it.

"Hmm?"

Approaching the table Steven carefully picked up the notebook as to not damage it by accident. For some reason Steven felt compelled to see what was inside it out of curiosity though it would be invading someone's privacy but considering the fact he doesn't know who it belongs to, he decides to do it anyway.

As he opens the book to the first page his face tensed up a bit from what he was reading. Turning to the next page his eyes widened with shock the more he read onward.

"Ahhgh!"

At the beach Emerald took a deadly uppercut from Garnet, lifting them off the ground. Pearl jumped off from Garnet's shoulders to follow up the attack by lifting her leg over her head and slamming it down on Emerald's face, crashing into the sand below that kicked upward from the impact.

While still in midair Pearl shot out a multitude of accurate energy shots from her spear below her. Even while they were fighting Emerald Garnet has had this feeling of uneasiness. They looked like they were winning but that feeling wasn't going away.

"Hold it!"

Pearl heard Garnet and stopped her destructive volkey as she landed gracefully on her feet. The sand dust settled only for Emerald to walk out of it still unharmed.

"Are you shitting me?! All that and this prick didn't recieve any damage? It's like this chump was messing with us before when we arrived to save Steven."

"No...That's not it Amethyst."

Though Emerald just stood there, tanking the hits and waiting for either one of them to strike without attacking themself Garnet and the others kept their guard up.

"Well I hope you don't mind giving us some clarification then."

"That's what I was going to do in the first place. Back when we first met Emerald I felt that we would've won. The next was the same thing even when they changed the appearance of their armor with the fire, now?...I keep feeling these blaring warning signals in my head."

What Garnet was feeling was completely different from before. She didn't know how but Emerald's presence was way different than the first encounter.

"You should listen to your so called friend Pearl. At least they have the sense for looking out for their friends."

"Shut up!"

"Hmm how odd. With this douche's mask cracked I can hear their voice clearly...so odd that it sounds like there are two of you."

"Quiet Amethyst!"

"Geez, what pissed in your yogurt?"

Pearl responded angrily to Emerald. To be this mad made no sense. Sure she would be reasonably angry that an invader came to the home of The Crystal Gems and all it's inhabitants. But the thing is Pearl already knows who Emerald is and yet she's seething as if Emerald was her mortal enemy that just caused a massacre to those she loved. Emerald smirked through the crack of their mask.

"Now how hard is it to beat me? To think that the mighty gems that prevented armageddon from three of the diamonds can't even beat a single invader."

"Really, you ffffff haah phew. At least we don't steal other's abilities to be strong!"

"...You're right."

"Pardon?"

Emerald started to take off the armor that they've been using this entire time starting with the hat, removing it from the top of their head and throwing it aside. Then they tapped their index finger on the five buttons going down on the front. After that a bunch of clicking sounds occured all while steam erupted from the crevaces of the shoulder, sides and around the knees.

"It would be more fair if I-"

The armor then fell apart piece by piece, removing itself from Emerald's body. It was first the shoulders that lodged itself into the sand, next the back and front "plates", and finally the bottom. With the pieces gone a form that Pearl didn't expect to see again after 6000 years was right in front of her along with the others. They were more shocked than their Pearl was.

Amethyst was the one to break the silence and say what was on everyone's mind.

"What...the...fuck?"

Emerald was no more...They didn't need that shell anymore. They no longer have anything holding them back. Shaking their head from side to side to fix their slightly messed up green curled hair the one who was Emerald also rolled their neck around in circles due to how the armor was actually straining them. That quivering, malicious smirk that was covered by the mask was in full view.

The one who was Emerald couldn't help but chuckle in their real voice. There was no reason for Pearl to doubt it anymore. The ghost of her past has come back to haunt her and all of gem-kind.

"...Green Pearl."

End of Ch.16