Bet most of you were hyped up for this one :)
Spinel took a few minutes to stare at her work; after pulling out the old, aged dirt out of the old patches, she had replaced it with new, fresher dirt. All that she needs is to finish the other side of the garden, then add fertilizer-
Her phone rang. Sighing, Spinel picked it up.
"Hello-"
"SPINEL!" The shrill panic in Pearl's voice scared her, but she caught her phone before she dropped it.
"W-What?! What?!" She asked.
"It's an emergency!"
Spinel stared at the giant green hand in the sky. Even though it was miles and miles away, she already felt dread crawling up her back.
"No..." She whispered, "This can't be happening..."
"Well, it is." said Garnet.
Pearl walked over to them, "The light cannons are ready."
"Guys!" Steven called out, he and Greg ran over to them. Steven saw the horror in the pink gem's eyes and pulled on her dress, "Spinel? What is that thing?"
"It's a ship," Pearl answered, knowing Spinel was too frightened to speak, "We can only assume it's Peridot."
"Lapis told us she'll be coming," Garnet explained, "With advanced weapons and reinforcements."
Spinel clasped her head, ignoring the Gems' conversation. In her head, the images of her fellow rebels fighting against the Homeworld Gems played, seeing large, black and white Gem hold down a purple blur. Instantly, an orange and beige shape appeared in front of her, blurred and spoke in a series of grunts, its tone furious and mocking, a helmet summoned and ready to attack...
"Spinel!" Amethyst shook Spinel out of her thoughts, "We're gonna try to take down the ship. And... you doing okay?"
Seeing the purple Gem's concerned expression, Spinel caught her breath, "I-I'm fine. Let's do it."
"Ready the light cannons!" ordered Garnet.
Pearl pulled a remote lever, the Quartzine cannons lining up under the deck of the beach house, along with Amethyst pushing one onto the porch. Spinel stood by Pearl and Greg, trembling.
Garnet looked to the boy, "Steven, light 'em up!"
Nodding his head, Steven talked through a walkie-talkie, "If every porkchop were perfect, we wouldn't have hotdogs."
The cannons activated and fired four beams of light at the hand. Unfortunately, the hand formed a palm and the beams had no effect on it. Then the hand descended to pointing its index finger.
Garnet looked through the telescope, "No effect."
"WHAT?!" screeched Spinel, grabbing her pigtails in distress, "HOW DID THAT NOT WORK?! This is it! This is it- We're gonna die. We are going to die!" She kept repeating the words over and over again, falling to her knees and hyperventilating.
"S-Spinel! Spinel!" Steven yelled, rushing over to her side and embracing her. She didn't even respond.
Pearl's worry grew, "Oh Spinel... Garnet, what are we going to do?"
"We must take them head-on. But we can't allow any citizen of Beach City to be in the middle of it. They have to evacuate."
As Steven and Amethyst kept trying to calm Spinel down, Greg got his phone out and called the mayor.
Hours later, as Mayor Dewey was telling everyone they needed to leave Beach City, Steven kept his phone out as the Gems were stuffing the van with luggage. Spinel was still not over what was happening.
"Why... Why is everything going wrong?" She whispered to herself, "Everything was so perfect before that... gremlin showed up..."
"Spinel?"
Spinel looked up, meeting the boy's gaze, "I... I have to go with Greg... Garnet says I can't stay."
The pink Gem held her breath, "Then I'm coming with you. I can't stand to-"
"No." Garnet made her stop, "You need to stay and help us hold back that hand. We need all the strength you can give us."
"But Garnet I-"
"Spinel. I know you're scared. But we need you. You've done everything you can for Steven, and sacrificing for him will be worth it."
Spinel stared at Garnet in horror, but slowly complied. Turning to Steven, she crouched down, kissed his forehead, and held his cheeks up to gaze at him.
"Please be okay..." Steven whispered, the light dancing in his eyes.
"I will," Spinel mumbled back, nuzzling his head, "I love you so much..."
"Love you too…" Steven replied softly, slowly letting go and walked backwards to the van. Spinel stood up and stared after him with a heavy heart. After the other Gems said their goodbyes to the boy, Steven got into the van with his father. She could see that Steven was leaning against the window as they drove off, and his face nearly made her break into tears.
Spinel placed her hand on her upside-down gem as Pearl wrapped her arms around her from behind. Garnet and Amethyst shared their grief of Steven leaving. Spinel held the pale Gem's arms.
I never got the chance to say how he was like my own son...
"Alright." Garnet started, "Let's pull it together."
The Crystal Gems turned their attention back to the giant hand and knew what they had to do. Pearl and Spinel both fused in their embrace while Garnet and Amethyst grabbed each-other's hands and fused.
When both Sugilite and Peach Moonstone formed, they glanced at each-other and nodded wordlessly, preparing their weapons.
Peach Moonstone threw her four spears towards the warship, leaving no effects. Sugilite swung her flail at it, only to have the same results.
"Are you serious?!" Sugilite exclaimed in frustration.
"And that was actually a really good throw too!" Peach Moonstone shouted in agreement.
The warship picked up speed, heading towards them with its finger pointed. All the two fusions could do was stand and watch.
"... At least Steven's safe…" Spinel's voice was heard over Peach Moonstone's.
"Hey guys!"
The fusions froze and saw Steven running towards them. Out of shock, they both unfused and Spinel ran up to Steven.
"Steven!" She screamed, unsure out of joy or fear, "You shouldn't be here!"
"You came back!" Amethyst shouted.
Pearl stood up after recovering from the separation, "Get out of here!"
"It's too late!" Garnet screamed, seeing the hand approaching closer. Spinel clutched Steven as if her life depended on it.
The giant hand landing on the sand forced the Gems to stance and back away. The clouds of dust and sand forced Steven to shield his eyes. From the palm of the hand, a bubble appeared and floated over to the index finger, causing it to lower and the bubble faded, revealing three gems.
Atop the finger, Peridot appeared, "That's them, all right. They're the ones who keep breaking my machines."
A larger gem also appeared, staring at the Crystal Gems, "This is it?" Her voice was deep and gruff. Spinel instantly recognized her and hugged Steven tighter.
"Jasper!" Peridot complained, "They keep interfering with my work!"
Jasper sighed and stepped forward, "Looks like another waste of my time… Hey, get over here!" She then turned around and dragged another Gem out. The gem broke out of the larger gem's grasp and gasped when she saw the group.
"Lapis!" Steven and Spinel whispered.
"This is their base?" Jasper inquired.
Lapis looked away in guilt, "Yes…"
"You need to leave immediately!" Garnet yelled.
"Yeah!" Amethyst joined in, "Step off!"
Spinel shielded Steven in her arms, "You two don't belong here!"
"This is not a Gem-controlled planet!" Pearl cried.
Ignoring their demands, the newcomers and Lapis leapt down from the finger and onto the beach.
Jasper glared and crossed her arms at Peridot, "And neither of you saw Rose Quartz? Oh, what a shame. I hoped to meet her. I was looking forward to beating her to the ground!"
Spinel tensed and Steven snuggled closer to her.
"But this is all that's left of her army? Some lost defective Pearl, a puny overcooked runt, this shameless display, and a little, pink coward? Hm..." Jasper stared hard at Steven, "What is that?"
"He's something I won't let you hurt!" Spinel angrily responded.
Peridot scowled, "It calls itself 'the Steven'."
"He's just a human!" Lapis defended, "He isn't a threat at all! He-He's not one of them!"
"I know what a human is," grunted Jasper, "You don't need me for this. Just blast them with the ship."
As she slowly walked back to the ship, Peridot complied and pulled up a screen, "Ugh, fine."
The giant, mechanical hand floated upwards and the finger pointed right at them, the tip of it beginning to glow and create energy, ready to fire.
"Steven!" Garnet shouted, "Get out of here!"
"NO!" Steven retorted, trying to move out of Spinel's arms, his gemstone shining, "You're all my family!"
Spinel kept hugging him tighter, "I won't let you die!"
"Firing." Peridot calmly spoke as the beam shot towards them.
Steven broke out of Spinel's grasp and ran out in front of the gems, "I'M A CRYSTAL GEM TOO!"
For a moment, it looked like the laser blasted at them, but much to Jasper's shock, sees that Steven had summoned Rose's shield, protecting them from the blast.
"That shield! That symbol!" Jasper yelled.
Steven groaned a bit, dispelling the shield and fell, Spinel quickly catching him. The pink gem cradled Steven close and the other Gems were still surprised.
Jasper immediately recognized who the shield belonged to, "You! You have the power of Rose Quartz!"
"Now do you believe I needed an escort?" Peridot sarcastically asked.
"Fire a barrage!" Jasper ordered, "Widespread!"
Peridot did as she was told, firing the laser blasted a line through the beach, the explosion separating Spinel and Steven from Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl. As the smoke cleared, Spinel lifted her head and growled, clutching Steven tighter as Jasper approached.
"Rose." Jasper snarled, "Why do you look like that?"
"He's not Rose!" Spinel screamed furiously, "He's Steven! Get that through your thick head!"
Lapis ran up to Jasper, "Don't hurt them!"
"You knew about this!"
"It wasn't relevant to the mission!"
"Forget the mission!"
Peridot looked up, shocked, "What?!"
Jasper turned her attention on the Crystal Gems, "Yellow Diamond needs to see-"
"THE-GEM-ABOUT-TO-GET-PUNCHED-IN-THE-FACE-SAYS-WHAT!"
Jasper blinked, perplexed, "What?"
She was met with a gloved fist striking her in the face, knocking her backwards and shocking Peridot and Lapis. Spinel got up to her feet and approached them, her expression warped into a frightening scowl, "If you want him, you'll have to get through ME first!"
Jasper got up, recovering from the attack and glared at the pink gem, "Oh please! You're a Spinel! You don't have the-"
The large gem was cut off as Spinel's enlarged hands grabbed her and pulled her close to their owner. Spinel gave her the most threatening glower she could muster, catching Jasper off-guard before she began to spin.
Steven, the Crystal Gems, Peridot, and Lapis watched with wide eyes and mouths agape as Spinel tossed Jasper at the hand, the impact of the larger gem hitting it created a dent on the finger tip and she fell to the sand. Jasper coughed and attempted to stand up.
Peridot panicked, trying to fire the laser once more, but the energy crackled and sparked, revealing it to be unavailable to work.
"Want some more?!" Spinel mocked, "Cause I'm just full of surprises!"
Growling, Jasper summoned her helmet and charged towards the pink gem, "OUTTA MY WAY!" She roared.
Spinel held her fists up, blocking her face as Jasper collided into her. The pink gem kept on her feet, only slightly moved back until she was close to Steven.
"Steven, run! Now!" Spinel turned her head around and yelled, panting. Steven didn't move, only breathing heavily.
Suddenly, Jasper grabbed Spinel by the throat and held her up, "You're good."
"Spinel!" Pearl wailed, before she, Garnet, and Amethyst all ran over to try to help. Spinel struggled in her grasp, eyes wide with terror.
"But not good enough." Jasper whispered and slammed her helmet down onto Spinel's head, causing her to poof and her gem landed on the sand.
"NOOO!" Steven wailed, reaching out for her gem, "Mo-"
Jasper grabbed him by the shirt and lifted him up, grinning victoriously, "The least I can say is that she has improved since our first encounter. I was there with her. At the first war on this garbage planet! And you know what? I fought against your armies! I respected your tactics. But this? This is sick!"
As the three Crystal Gems ran over with their weapons, Peridot was able to hold them off with the lasers in her limb-enhancers.
"I don't know what you're planning, Rose," Jasper continued, pulling out a Gem Destabilizer, "But look! Your base is taken! Your armies are ruined! YOU HAVE FAILED!"
Before Steven could do anything else, Jasper dispelled her helmet and head-butted the boy, knocking him into silent darkness...
So Spinel throwing Jasper on one of the fingers was strong enough to crack the wall of it and even break the lazer inside it...
... But the Quartzine Cannons, Peach Moonstone's spears, and not even Sugilite's flail couldn't at least leave a dent?
LOGIC!