Connie groaned, her eyes opening to a dark room. She looked around, seeing Jasper and Greg stirring beside her. What was this place?
"Guys?" she called out, vaguely hearing the Crystal Gems fighting in the distance, but her voice echoed eerily in the large room. She looked around and gasped, seeing a large statue-like figure of Steven, gray and lifeless, with a small pink glow standing on top.
"What's going on?" Greg asked, looking at his hands, which were transparent. "Are we dead?"
Connie shook her head. She recounted Steven's retelling of the situation to her, how each of his friends' consciousnesses stood on top of their unmoving physical forms. This had to be the same thing. "No. It's a classic psychological ghost situation," Connie said. "Steven did it when the Diamonds first arrived on Earth."
"What's a ghost?" Jasper questioned. "And why am I here?"
Connie looked at her, eyeing the green spots. "Maybe because you've been corrupted too?" she guessed, shrugging. "It doesn't matter. We have to get to Steven," she said, pointing at the pink glow. "Maybe we can help from here."
The three nodded, though Jasper begrudgingly, and watched Connie propel herself forward by swimming through the air. Greg raced after her and Jasper came up the rear, her face uneasy.
As they neared the height of the statue, the three stopped. Steven was indeed there, but it wasn't quite him either. Iridescent horns shone in his forehead, though the right one was cracked and broken, his left eye was blackened and his iris was pink and pointed, like a diamond. Deep pink blotches were all over his face, hands. and neck, covered by a pale pink aura.
And the stare, unseeing and unfeeling. She shuddered at it. Connie remembered that blank face well.
"Steven?" she called out, her voice echoing. He didn't look at her, his eyes still staring fixed at something Connie could not see.
"Shtuu-ball?" Greg tried, floating closer to his son and reaching out his arm, despite still being a good distance away. "Can you hear us, buddy?" His voice shook as he looked at his son, barely recognizable under the influence of corruption.
"HEY!" Jasper said, angrily pounding her fists against the air when Steven didn't react. "Stop ignoring us and let us out oh here!"
Pink Steven slowly turned and stared at her. Nothing changed in his face. Not even a stir of recognition.
"Yeah, that's right!" Jasper said, smirking to herself. "Show us some res...huh?"
Steven turned back to stare in front of him again before she finished talking.
"STOP THAT!" Jasper yelled. "Look at me!"
"Stay back," Steven said, his voice distant and emotionless.
Jasper growled, her fists clenched and helmet appearing on her ghost-like body. "I don't take orders from you," she growled. "You are not my Diamond!"
Steven's neck snapped over to look at her. "No, I'm not," he said. "Stay back."
Jasper pushed herself forward. "Make me," she goaded.
A sickly smile grew on Steven's face. Connie and Greg drew back slightly from it; the horns protruding from temples, the coldness in his eyes and the sickening amusement in his grin. The slow growth of a dark mark on his neck as he stared at the gem in front of him.
A pink aura burst from the teen, coming in waves and striking Jasper. She yelled, violently forced back, her hands clutching her head.
"STOP!" Connie yelled, watching Jasper wither. "Please!"
Steven glanced her at for the first time and the smile dropped from his face.
"Hmm," he said. The pink attack stopped and he looked ahead of him again, ignoring the group once more.
"Are you okay?" Greg asked, cautiously approaching Jasper.
She pushed him away with a huff. "It will take more than that to stop me," she grumbled, though the bravado from her voice was long gone.
"We need to get through to him," Connie said.
Jasper chuckled. "Good luck."
"What do you mean?" Greg asked.
"That's not the Steven you know,' Jasper said, pointing. "That is a monster."
Greg angrily grabbed Jasper by the arm. "That's not a monster!" he yelled. "That's my son!"
Jasper gave him a look. "I've been a monster my entire life," she said. "I know one when I see one. Wait, what is she doing?"
Greg turned to see Connie rushing forward to the corrupted teen.
"Connie, wait!" he said, but this time Jasper held him back. "Let me go!"
She didn't; she forced him to just watch Connie approach his son. Steven glanced at Connie through the corner of his eyes, his face furrowing slightly in annoyance.
"Steven, please," she said, stopping just feet from the boy. "I know you're still in there. Let us help you."
Steven was still facing straight ahead, though his eyes were pinned to Connie.
"You know me, remember?" Connie said. "I saw you like this before. In White Diamond's head. I helped you then, let me help you now."
"You can't," Steven said, still watching her closely. "Stay back."
"No!" Connie said, "I won't. You're my friend, Steven. More than that. Please."
Steven sighed and turned to face her. Connie was almost relieved to see he looked more annoyed than amused.
"Please, Steven, just take my hand. We can fix this," she said, slowly getting closer to him.
Steven pursed his lips and shook his head. He looked at her hand, just a mere foot from him. If he wanted to, he could take it. His face softened and morphed as if fighting to remain neutral.
Connie held her breath, watching Steven slowly raise his hand, but he stalled, his fist curling just inches away from Connie's.
And then he laughed. Slow, quiet, unfeeling. Connie was thrown back, the force hitting her like a wall.
"I'm not your friend," Steven said. "Not anymore."
Her eyes filled with tears and she doubled over, Steven's rage boiling inside her to the point where that's all existed. She didn't hear Greg calling out to her and didn't feel his hand on her shoulder.
She watched the pink mark under Steven's left eye pulsate and grow, reaching up to his forehead as he watched her squirm.
"St-stop!" she yelled, but he didn't. The weight on her chest pushed into her skin. She felt a burning heat seep into her chest and wind its tendrils around her heart. She gasped out, curling into a ball, fists tightly pressed against her chest as the searing pain made it hard to breathe.
There was a coldness hidden in the burning. One that planted itself in the middle of her heart and throbbed dully with each beat. Connie tried to focus on it, to recognize what it was.
Then, it ended.
She opened her eyes, panting. She and Greg were far from Steven now, who was staring deadly at her. She met his gaze and flash of pain seemed to appear on Steven's face, but she blinked and it was gone.
"I won't give up on you, Steven!" she called.
The teen shrugged slightly and turned back, his finger raising to point at something they couldn't see. "Then you'll end up like them," he said, voice detached. The fight suddenly became louder and the Crystal Gem's screams rang oddly in the chamber. They called out for Steven, grunted in pain and called each other's name in warning.
"Pink was never like this!" They heard Blue Diamond yell as a brief flash of blue brightened the chamber.
"Pink," Steven grumbled, nearly inaudible. His pink hue burst from him and spread around him, tendrils lashing out like a violent shield. Blue's yell of pain caused them all to cover their ears before the sounds were deafened again.
The aura lashed out and struck all of them, causing them to yell in pain.
Connie felt the coldness again, more prominent this time, as it pierced through her body. It was shame. A terrible feeling that threatened to overtake her; she didn't deserve what she had. Everything that she managed to build was just a lie, a desperate attempt to mask the pain she caused in the past. To fix a problem that she started. A problem that she was now cursed with. Something she couldn't fix.
The more it grew, the less Connie felt like herself; the less certain she was about who she is.
Connie looked at her body, horrified to see a dark pink line where the tendril had hit her trembling hands.
Visions flashed briefly in front of her eyes, all of them too quick to figure out what was happening. A fake shattered gem. Lapis fighting to stay fused with Jasper. Pearl's crying face. Ruby and Sapphire split up. A pink injector. A black and white gemstone discarded on the pavement. A scared Volleyball, cowering and covering her cracked eye. A crack in a large white gemstone. A pink figure with curly hair, staring at him without remorse in a white chamber.
Connie looked over at Greg, who had raised his arms to shield himself. His eyes were wide as he stared at the damage and then back to his son.
"Steven," he whispered, voice cracking slightly.
Jasper slowly raised her head, her hand covering a large pink blotch on her chest that was left by the blow.
"So that's it," the gem whispered, hand pulling away from her chest. She turned to Greg and Connie. "You two," she growled. "Get ready."
Connie blinked. For what? Wasn't fighting this hopeless? Didn't they deserve to feel this way?
Jasper lunged forward at the unmoving Steven, who didn't notice her until her hand entered the pink aura. She was forced back with a grunt, the pink marks spreading across her body. She huffed painfully but lunged again. Steven slowly looked at her again, his face showing how done he was with her.
The gem was thrown back again, nursing her arm. But she kept trying.
Connie blinked again. Jasper? Fighting for Steven? And what was she, Connie, doing? Sitting here, shaking like a scared child instead of helping her closest friend. The cold's grip on her lessened.
She clenched her fists and grabbed Greg's arm. "Now's our chance!" she said, pushing him forward.
"Pathetic!" Jasper yelled, having Steven's full attention. "You don't want to be her, but look at you! Forcing others to feel like she did. Hurting them like she hurt me!"
Rage took over Steven's face. He yelled out, the scream high-pitched and barely human and a horn burst forth from his right cheek, a drop of blood running under it. Jasper was thrown back, her hand covering her gem. The pink tendrils touched the edges of it.
"You can't control me," Jasper yelled, pushing forward again. She spun, her body becoming a glowing yellow spiral and propelled herself toward Steven. He simply raised a hand and she crashed into the aura, just an inch from his outstretched hand.
Her spinning stopped and she gasped, being held in place, facing the unbridled rage on coming from the corrupted teen.
"You can't hurt me," Jasper spat at him. "I've felt this way before."
Steven's face fell slightly and his eyes landed on her gem, then to the scars left by corruption. His mouth became a thin, tight line and his eyes softened slightly. The deep purple blotch on his forehead grew as recognition appeared in his eyes.
"Jas.." he whispered, but Connie's yell cut him off.
"Now!" Connie shouted. She surged forward, her hand grabbing onto Steven's shoulder. Greg grabbed his arm, the pair desperately trying to hang on as the aura grew in force, pushing and battering them, trying to knock them all away.
Jasper fell onto the statue's head with a huff as Steven's attention turned to the two humans. She saw the two struggle and forced her way around to them. She stood behind them and wrapped her arms around both of their backs and braced herself.
"Keep...pushing!" she groaned, taking the brunt of the force.
Connie and Greg looked at her, amazement on their face.
"Don't look at me!" Jasper yelled. "Fix him!"
They turned their attention back to Steven, who was looking at them over his shoulder, his face twisted in horror, rage, and pain.
"LEAVE!" He bellowed, the force enough to knock the wind out of them, but Jasper braced them. They still held on.
"Steven," Connie begged. "Please stop!"
"Come on, bud, let us help you," Greg said, his eyes tearing up at his son's actions.
The force behind the attack faded. But the coldness overcame them all. Connie fell to her knees, her hand falling off Steven, but Greg stayed standing. The pink tendrils on their bodies glowed fiercely. The ones on Jasper's face cut through her gem.
She fell to one knee, her eyes wide and hand covering her gem.
"You can't," Steven said again, his voice breaking, but he didn't look away from them. He watched Connie and Jasper cower, watched the tendrils on the gem's face form a crack-like shape around her eye. He turned away suddenly.
"It's my problem," Steven said, his face straining to remain neutral.
"But it's not," Connie gasped, lifting her hands. "It affects all of us."
Greg put his hands on his son's shoulders, noticing how the boy was unresponsive, though he felt his body shaking slightly.
"Steven, we made it through so much worse together. Remember when Jasper and Peridot first came to Earth? You risked your life to save your friends. You faced them head-on, despite not having the best control of your powers.
"Or when Aquamarine came here," he continued, his voice was gentle even though the chilling aura raged around him. "You sacrificed yourself to the Diamonds to save us."
Greg wrapped his arms around the boy from behind and held him, feeling him shake more violently.
"Stop," Steven whispered, his eyes staring deadly at the ground in front of him, but his voice wasn't cold or distant anymore. It was the voice they knew.
The battle outside was loud again, but it sounded different. Quieter. Blue was talking, but they couldn't hear her words.
The aura lessened around them and Connie and Jasper stood. Connie grabbed Steven's hand and held on, despite him trying to yank it away.
Greg felt a drop of moisture land on his arm.
"You faced danger time and time again," Greg continued. "You nearly got killed to save your friends."
Jasper laughed coldly. "That's something Pink would never do," she stated, crossing her arms. "Trust me, only you're dumb enough to do something like that," she stated.
Steven suddenly stumbled forward, as if something knocked into from behind. He looked back, staring through them, eyes wild. He yelled, an animalistic sound mixed with humanoid panic.
"Steven?" Connie said. She grasped his shoulders. "What's going on?"
He didn't answer, his fingers weaving into his hair as he continued to yell out, clearly fighting something they couldn't see.
An inhuman sound of thousands of voices melded into one being reached them. They couldn't make out what they were saying; it just sounded like screaming.
"Stop!" Steven yelled, the chamber blinking between pink and black as he struggled with something unseen. He shook violently, tears streaming down his face and eyes clenched tightly closed. The chamber glowed pink around them, but they felt nothing as it bathed them in its glow.
Greg pulled his son into a hug, not knowing what else he could do. "I got you," he said.
The chamber suddenly shook violently and threw them all forward. Steven landed on all fours, his breath ragged. Pink light showed through the cracks, some violent and deep, some light and calming.
Steven looked over to them, panic in his face. "Go," he whispered, his voice strained, but it was filled with emotion and recognizable.
Connie carefully took his hand in hers. "We're not going anywhere," she told him.
"No," Steven said, pushing himself away from his dad, his voice rushed and panicked. "You don't understand. You..." he screamed, a blast of pain hitting them all. It was like their insides were being torn apart, like they were breaking into pieces.
The chamber shuddered and dust fell around them. The cracks in the wall furthered, bathing them in the dual-tone pink light.
"Steven?" Connie said.
The teen looked up at her and Connie drew back in shock. His face. The pink aura surrounded it was cracking. Steven gasped out again, his hands covering his stomach.
Steven growled and an unseen force slammed into them, knocking them all away from him. He raised his hands toward them, face contorting in pain and effort as the crack in his pink aura continued to grow and splinter, covering his left side.
Pink waves came from his body, but they were different from before. Warmer. Shielding.
"GO!"
They were forced back and everything turned black as the chamber around them began to collapse.