The three crystal gems were battered and exhausted, but they pressed on. They had to subdue him. Any damage they did, the fountain would fix.
Pearl's spear jabbed into Steven's side, but it was a pinprick compared to his size. She jumped away before his foot could crush her.
Steven, she thought, watching the monster ignore Garnet as she pummeled the side of his head. His eyes were on White and Blue, who were still locked in combat not far from them. The sky lit up with blue and white, telling the gems all they needed to know about the state of the scuffle.
Garnet landed on the spikes that jutted out from Steven's jaw and yelled out Pearl, who jumped out of the way just in time as his tail lashed out toward her. The fusion watched Steven's gemstone bathe them all in pink light and felt the anger coursing in her veins. Her Ruby-side screamed and bashed her fist into Steven's cheek, enraged at the thought of her friend suffering at her hands. The Sapphire in her reminded her to hold on when Steven whipped his head to the side, trying to dislodge her.
Amethyst was jumping and using her whip to propel herself unnoticed up Steven's back. The rage her chest was different: Steven had always been there for her and she neglected to be there for him. She should've have pushed him more the other night when she noticed how crestfallen he looked. But she didn't. And now, it was her fault. She had to fix this.
The purple gem reached the top of Steven's head and looked at Garnet in warning before she whipped her weapon right into Steven's left eye.
The monster roared in agony, stumbling to the side and nearly missing Pearl, who was dancing between his feet. The white flashes from the Diamonds' battle that colored the sky seized and Steven violently bucked his head back, dislodging both Garnet and Amethyst.
Amethyst lashed out her whip and it wound itself around the spike on his jaw before she fell. She held on for dear life as Steven shook his head, trying to clear out the tears forming in his irritated eye.
Garnet fell to the earth, leaping off his side spikes and rolling. She turned and watched Amethyst get thrown around like a cat toy.
Steven lowered his eyes to them, one red and watery, not seeing the gem under his cheek. His eyes glowed pink and a beam of light flew out of them. They both jumped away, now dodging more than fighting.
Amethyst, still unseen, climbed and stood on the bridge of Steven's nose. When she got there, the assault of pink light stopped and he looked at her, crosseyed and glaring.
"Hey dude," she said, snapping her whip back and aiming at his eye again. "Sorry about this."
Behind them, Blue was given a moment of reprieve as White froze, her stance animated like she was about to fire another volley of attacks. Blue knocked the white gem down, watching as she fell, unmoving, like a statue, to the ground.
Blue took a few deep breaths, eyeing her closely, but the gem matriarch didn't move. Blue looked to Steven, who was completely focused on the Crystal Gems now and understood. They were no more than pebbles to him, but they still fought and hurt him enough to distract him from White.
The only remaining Diamond braced herself before stepping over the rubble around her and toward the fight. The pink aura enveloped her and rage flared in her chest, fueled by her sorrow of hurting her family.
"This ends now," she said, her teeth gritted and hands curled into fists.
Steven whipped around to face her, his foot rising to slam down onto Amethyst, who was flung off Steven's head moments ago and dazed.
"Pearl!" Garnet shouted.
Pearl threw her spear with deadly accuracy and it embedded itself in the sole of Steven's front right foot. Steven yelled out in pain, his foot retracting and slamming onto the ground just feet next to Amethyst.
Pearl helped her to her feet and together, the two of them became climbing Steven's scales again. Garnet wasn't far behind them. Together, they all leaped in the air, hands coming together with the intention of fusing and using their momentum to knock Steven to the ground.
But Steven watched them carefully, his eyes following Amethyst's gem. He lowered his head, his horn glinting as the fires of Little Homeworld continued to rage on behind them.
Blue ran in and grabbed his horns before he could lunge forward and shatter Amethyst.
Alexandrite was back. She slammed her fists against Steven's head and he nearly lost his balance as he stumbled sideways. Blue raised her fist, which glowed with her power, to meet the underside of his jaw.
Steven took a step back, shaking the tears out of his eyes. The gems barely had time to register the pink glow in his eyes before they all braced themselves. They were thrown back at his inhuman scream; the ground beneath them burst open and the lighthouse in the distance crumbled the moment the wave of destruction hit. The ocean rippled and water was forced into the air, spraying the gems, who struggled to stay fused.
Blue's foot fell into one of the crevices and she nearly tumbled in, but Alexandrite grabbed her arm and heaved her forward.
"We have to stop him!" she yelled at Blue when the pink light receded back into Steven's gem. "He'll destroy the city."
"I don't know how," she said, voice strained. "Pink was never like this."
Steven's head snapped down to Blue and before Alexandrite knew what was happening, Blue was being thrown into the air. Steven had charged at her and his broken horn grazed against her gemstone and scratched against the surface.
Blue yelled out in pain, her cry echoing against the barren field. Her hand dropped from her gem. It was scuffed, but not cracked.
Then, Steven stopped. He looked at Blue and something flashed in his eyes. He lifted his head and took a step away from her.
"Steven?" Blue whispered cautiously. Steven blinked and took another step back, fear spreading across his face. It suddenly became very clear that Steven knew exactly who was talking to him.
Blue held out her hand to him and ignored how it shook slightly. "Let us help you."
His eyes dropped her hand and he lowered his head slightly as if submitting.
Out of nowhere, the very ground beneath them shook violently. They all turned just in time to see a hand appear from the horizon. One made of multicolored muscles and tendons. A limb that towered over them all and blocked out the faint light of the rising sun.
The Cluster slammed down on Steven's back, causing him to stumble forward. Steven whipped around to face a new threat. Alexandrite and Blue were forgotten. The giant hand threw a punch at Steven, who dodged and grabbed the Cluster around the wrist.
The Cluster yelled out, thousands of voices screaming in pain. It tore itself free and slammed all of its weight down. Buckling under the pressure, Steven collapsed to the ground, unable to stand.
The Crystal Gems unfused. Amethyst and Pearl looked confusedly at Garnet, who stepped forward. She remained silent as she watched Steven struggle against the Cluster like a cornered wild animal.
Bright light behind them told them of another gem's arrival on the warp.
"Yellow!" Blue yelled. The Diamond ran forward and met them, Spinel on her shoulder.
"Well, it looks like we got here just in time," Yellow said as Steven rammed his horns into the Cluster. They all cringed as it yelled in pain, but it didn't let up. She made to take a step closer to the fight.
"Wait," Garnet said, her arm outstretched.
Steven's struggles got more violent; he bucked, roared, clawed and tore at the Cluster. Its strength seemed to be failing, something not unnoticed by the pink monster. Steven turned suddenly, his stomach now facing the sky and he let out that terrible inhuman scream.
The Cluster took all of the pink blast as the arm slowly began to be enveloped in a rosy light. It withered, its form fizzling in and out of existence and its voices screaming in unison. Blue and Yellow both raised their hands, ready to fend off Steven once be broke free.
The Crystal Gems did not summer their weapons. They only watched as the Cluster formed a fist and brought it squarely down on Steven's stomach, right onto his gemstone. Its yells of pain turned into grunts of anger and desperation as the pink aura covered its entire form. Steven roared in pain, his eyes wide. The Cluster slammed it's elbow onto his tail, pinning him there. He twisted and fought, but the Cluster's fist always met its mark.
It slammed against his gem again, trying to stop the pain it was feeling by attacking the source.
Amethyst summed her whip and was about to run forward when Garnet's hand covered her own.
"But it's going to...!"
The horrible cracking sound of a diamond breaking met their ears. It was followed almost instantaneously by an indescribable scream of pain.
Unseen to the gems, Connie, Greg and Jasper all bolted upright, as if electrocuted. White Diamond pulled herself up, her hand on her forehead as the pink tint to her skin faded.
"Steven," she whispered, her hand falling to her heart as she stared at the corrupted teen with soft eyes. For a brief moment, his pain was hers. His fear of hurting his friends like his mother had, his shame at being associated with someone like Pink, his lost sense of self; she understood it all.
The Cluster went in for one more attack, but Yellow intervened, her power coursing through the giant hand like veins. It shrieked and retreated, the pink hue leaving its skin before it burrowed back into the center of the Earth.
Steven's form shuddered and shrank; his cracked gem unable to maintain such a monumental form. His bones cracked and reformed as they became more humanoid; the sound causing all of the gems to cringe in worry.
His hands clutched at his stomach as his form doubled over. He stopped shrinking by the time the Crystal Gems got to him. He was still more monster than human, barely smaller than Yellow and Blue.
He looked at them, face contorted in pain, rage, and recognition. The pink light that enveloped his body faded into his gemstone, which pulsed rapidly, only exacerbating the crack.
His eyes met Spinel, who jumped down from Yellow's shoulder and walked over to him.
"Wait," Pearl called out, but Garnet held her back.
"This is the only way," Garnet said, her teeth clenched and face strained.
Spinel walked over to Steven's gem. The gem was pulsing with pink light that threatened to overtake their friend's body again. She glanced up at Steven's face and saw the plea in his eyes.
"Sorry, Steven," she said, pulling out the rejuvenator. "I know I said I wouldn't do this to you."
Steven closed its eyes and let his head fall to the ground with a thud. His breath was labored as Spinel raised her weapon. She took one wild swing and brought her scythe down over his gem. Immediately, pink tendrils spread over Steven and he shuddered uncomfortably. The light in his gemstone went out and the cracks stopped forming.
Unable to hold the form any longer, Steven shrunk to his normal size and shape, unmoving. The scars of corruption covering his entire body, horns protruded from his head and one from his jaw, and small blood pools formed under him from his many wounds. Everyone was silent as they watched the teen. The only sign of life was the unsteady rise and fall of his chest.
Greg's shout broke the stunned silence.
"Steven!" Greg ran over, Connie at his heels. Garnet snapped out of her stupor and carefully picked Steven up, his broken gem facing the sky. He let out a small groan of pain and Garnet's arms shook with emotions she refused to succumb to.
"It's not over yet," she said shortly, before turning and walking to the Little Homeworld warp. "Come on."
"If this doesn't work," Blue started as her eyes dropped to the teen.
"It has too!" Pearl said, desperately.
"It will." They all looked up and saw White standing over them, her starry cloaked tattered from her fight with Blue. She looked down at Steven, her face soft. "I understand now," she said, not explaining anything more. "Come on, we haven't got all day."
She stepped aside and revealed the warp pad behind her. The Crystal Gems stepped on and vanished. The Diamonds followed shortly after.
Wordlessly, Blue, Yellow, and White stepped into Rose's Fountain and Garnet gently placed Steven in and let him go. He sunk below the surface and out of sight.