Chapter Twenty: Just a Nightmare

Steven was sitting on the floor, holding Spinel close to his chest as she lay in his arms in silence. He wasn't sure what caused this, but he couldn't help panicking. Why did it always seem the moment they were happy, something went wrong? And why was it always Spinel that had to suffer?

"Steven, that Sodalite Gem had the same eyes. They were all blacked out. She might be the one doing this." Lars suggested. "You should try and find her. If you fix her Gem, maybe this will stop. I can stay and look after Spinel," he offered, sure that Steven wouldn't want to leave her alone.

Steven tightened his hold on Spinel gently, staring down at her dark eyes. Leaving her with Lars wasn't going to hurt her, but he didn't want to let her go. "…I…what if something happens while I'm gone? I don't even know what's happening to her."

"Well we can't fix it unless you heal that other Gem. I'm positive this is because of her," replied Lars, kneeling down so they were at level with each other. "Here, we can lay her down on the couch."

"NO!" Steven shouted as he hugged her close. He was scared. As if he left her, something terrible would happen and he wouldn't be able to help her. "J-just give me a minute!"

Lars groaned quietly, unsure how to convince Steven to leave her and help the other Gem. Why weren't Pearl or Amethyst home? He could really use their help right now. As he was trying to figure out what to do, he started to notice the room getting darker. Was this Sodalite's doing too? "Steven, give me Spinel!" Lars demanded. If Sodalite was really closing in like this darkness was, it would be harder for Steven to handle her while Spinel was unconscious.

When Steven saw Lars reaching over to pull Spinel away from him, he found himself smacking his hands away before he could stop himself. He knew Lars was just trying to help them, but something inside of him was fogging over any rational thought. "Don't touch her!" snapped Steven.

"Steven…your eye…" Lars began, staring in panicked concern at Stevens face. One of Steven's eyes had been blacked out. Was that the reason he was getting so emotional? This alarmed Lars even further. Steven was supposed to be the rational one. Finally, Lars took a deep breath to calm himself down. If this thing was affecting Steven now, he'd have to handle this as best he could. He led the off colors through space; it appeared he'd have to take the lead once again.

Steven could feel his body getting heavy and weak, finding it difficult to hold onto Spinel. He looked up at Lars and began to panic when he saw his mother, Rose Quartz, standing next to his friend.
"M-Mom?!" Steven exclaimed in shock.

His mother and Lars turned to face Steven at the same time.
"What did you say?" asked Lars, though his voice sounded muffled and far away.

"You didn't protect her," his mother began irately. "Look what you did!"

Steven felt a terrible rush of fear as he glanced back down at Spinel slowly. Somehow, he body was gone and all he held in his hands now were the shattered pieces of her Gem. His heart stopped and for a moment he felt like he couldn't breathe. "N…NO! This isn't real!" Steven shouted as he closed his eyes tight so he wouldn't have to see the shards or his mother's cold stare. "I know this isn't real! You're gone…and Spinel…she was just here…" He spoke aloud, doing his best to remind himself that he was just seeing things. He had to break from these delusions. If he was having visions, Spinel probably was too.

Lars was confused. Steven was yelling at someone that he clearly couldn't see. Was it because of his eye? "Steven," Lars began, kneeling down in front of him to place his hands at his shoulders in an attempt to focus his attention. "You need to focus," he demanded, "Spinel needs your help! Remember, it's okay to be afraid, you just have to keep going!"

As Lars called out to him, Steven could hear his voice getting clearer and clearer. He kept his eyes closed so he could focus on his own thoughts, rather than the visions that threatened him. Lars was right, Spinel needed his help. He couldn't let himself give in to this fear. He told Spinel that they could get through anything together; he just had to think of the things that made him the happiest. Thinking of his friends, his family, his body was already starting to feel lighter. The last thing he remembered was Spinel's smile. He had a lot of memories of her cheerful face and he couldn't help but smile as he recalled her joyful expression. Though he felt much better, he still opened his eyes cautiously, worried he might still have those shards in his hands. When he finally opened his eyes however, he saw Lars staring back at him with a relieved smile.

"Your eye is back to normal!" Lars exclaimed happily.

Steven smiled back and looked down at Spinel, though her eyes were still dark, she was in his arms, safe and sound. He hugged her close, noting how the darkness in the room was slowly starting to creep away. Was their fear what brought those shadows here?
"Spinel…" Steven began softly, placing his hand over her Gem tenderly. "…I know you can hear me. …I need you to wake up. You're not in this alone. Remember, we won't go through anything alone. I'm here." While he spoke, Spinel's gem and his own began to glow. In the blink of an eye, Steven was no longer in his home holding Spinel. Somehow, he was now in the Garden. Had he connected with Spinel's Gem? Is this what she was seeing?

"Spinel," Steven called out as he slowly scanned the area. At first it seemed like she was nowhere to be found, but then he heard the faint sound her sobs. He rushed towards her voice, finding her kneeling among some dead flowers as vines tangled her legs to the ground. "Spinel! I'm here!" Steven shouted, getting down onto the ground with her.

"Steven…?" Spinel started, slowly looking up at him with tears flooding her eyes. "…but you..."

"This is just a nightmare, Spinel," replied Steven softly, reaching over and pulling her into a gentle embrace. "It's not real. There will never be a time when I leave you alone…"

Spinel wanted to believe him. She didn't like being alone here without him, but if this wasn't real, was this another illusion? Was she being held in his arms only to be abandoned again after? It was then that she remembered what Steven told her before. If she was seeing something scary or she felt alone, she had to think of something that made her happy. That would be easy; there were so many things that made her happy. However, the thing she knew would work best was what always calmed her down. Closing her eyes, Spinel focused hard on the sweet sound of Steven's heartbeat. The gentle thumping of his heart against her ear, it became all she could hear and the awful feelings of dread faded away.

With a small smile, Spinel opened her eyes, finding herself staring up at Steven as he held her in his arms. The garden was gone and they were back inside the house. "Where…?" she began sleepily, not quite sure what had happened. Did she fall asleep?

Steven and Lars sighed in relief. The darkness had vanished from the room and from Spinel's eyes.
Without answering her question, Steven leaned down and planted a soft kiss against her lips. "Welcome back," he whispered with a smile.

Spinel blushed, glancing over at Lars who was sitting beside Steven. "Uh…Lars is right there…" she reminded Steven bashfully.

"What happened?" A distraught voice rang out, alarming the trio as they looked up to see Sodalite standing just a few feet away. She looked confused and upset. "It's not fair. …Why aren't you scared? Why am I the only one? I don't want to feel this way all alone! You should all feel just as terrible!"

The three got to their feet and Spinel reached out her hand with a cautious smile.
"…that's the thing; you don't have to be alone. We can help you…"

Sodalite stared at Spinel's hand apprehensively, afraid that this was some sort of trick. She couldn't feel as much fear or anxiety from these Gems, that didn't mean she trusted them. Those feelings could come back at any moment and hurt her again. She'd followed Lars when he ran off because she didn't feel anything terrible from him, but that just led her here with these other Gems. Still, they had somehow managed to stifle their bad feelings. Could they do that for her too?

Sodalite glanced at Lars and the pink skinned young man smiled at her, stepping forward and grabbing her hand. He knew that she wasn't afraid of him and she seemed so much calmer than before.
While Lars kept Soadlite's attention, Steven made his way over to them and licked his hand to place his palm over Sodalite's broken Gem at her shoulder.

With a light gasp, her Gem began to glow and the large crack down the center filled in, making her Gem whole once again. The darkness that covered Sodalite's eyes had vanished, revealing gentle, crystal blue hues. The Gem stared out in shock for a moment before she took a deep breath, "…Th-thank you…" she exhaled happily. Her whole body felt lighter than air once again now that all those collected dark feelings were gone. They had been so heavy.

"I know you just got better…" Steven began, "…but do you remember what you did with Ruby and Sapphire?"

"Oh! …yes but…won't they be angry with me? …I didn't mean to hurt anyone—I just …" Sodalite started anxiously. Though the collected negative feelings were gone, she was still nervous.

Steven shook his head, "Don't worry, it wasn't your fault. You're all better now."

Sodalite sighed softly and held out her hands to manifest the black bubbles that held the two Gems. Steven smiled and as the bubbles popped, he took the two Gems in his hands. Garnet would be back soon, they could heal Lapis safely now, and no more Gems would be seeing those terrible things. Finally, all the commotion over the last few days would calm down, right?