It had been a few weeks after the Elven Revenge Crisis. Deciding to take some time to themselves, the four groups of the Hero Alliance went their separate ways. However, Steven invited Team Chronicle and The Shining Hope Squad to spend some time in his world.
As far as the two teams were concerned, neither of them had been to Steven's World at all. Seeing this as an opportunity to learn more about the boy, the two teams accepted the offer.
As of now, the groups are just about to arrive in Beach City, home of the Crystal Gems…
Beach City, an hour after landing and parking the Beacon and the Missionary, the ship of Team Chronicle…
"Oh, wow! Now this is a town that screams ``Beach Vacation!" Ibuki said looking over the town.
"Well, with a name like Beach City, you'd expect something like that." Mark pointed out over the comms. "Still, we appreciate the invite, Steven." he said.
"Uh, Steven's not there, Mark." Hope said. "Remember? He told us to meet him at his house."
"He said something about introducing us to someone or whatever." Metmista said.
"O-Oh, right. Well, in that case, let's not keep them waiting." Mark replied as he made his way to the beach.
The groups then made their way to Steven's house. It was a secluded beach home all the way at the edge of the city underneath a large cliff. Supporting it was what seemed to be large stone statue resembling some sort of woman.
Heading inside, the group saw steven and Amethyst chatting.
"And then, we go into the tricks." Steven explained.
"Alright, but I really think we should save the Dog-Walker for next time." Amethyst replied.
"Its our first impression, we gotta go big." Steven insisted. "And we should go soon because the others are here, and I think Garnet and Pearl are getting suspicious."
Steven was referring to Garnet and Pearl, who were making a pie.
"Those two are acting really suspicious." Pearl noticed. "Should we ask them what's going on?"
"I can't." Garnet said.
Even the others were confused.
"Any idea what Steven and Amethyst are up to?" Hope asked.
"No, they didn't say anything except that they wanted to introduce us to someone." Frisk said. "Although...I don't see anyone else here besides the Gems."
"Weird." Eddy said. "Ah well, we'll figure it out. Hey guys!" he greeted the Gems.
"Hey, everyone!" Steven waved back. "Great to see you made it!"
"So, mind telling us what you meant when you wanted to introduce someone to us?" Hope asked.
"Sure!" Steven said. "So, you guys know that before we had the UFT, me and Amethyst had an epic showdown with Jasper."
"And you know that we beat Jasper." Amethyst said.
"But do you know… who beat Jasper?" the both of them asked.
"You two?" Pearl asked.
"Peridot." Garnet said plainly.
"It didn't land…" Amethyst groaned.
"Pick it back up, pick it back up!" Steven pressed.
Amethyst cleared her throat. "We have someone we'd like you all to meet."
"Well, what're you guys waiting for?" Glimmer asked.
"Yeah, let's meet 'em!" Undyne added.
With that, Steven and Amethyst grasped hands and there was a flash of light. In their place was a smoky black individual with Steven and Amethyst's clothes, and wild hair.
"Heya! I'm Smoky Quartz, nice ta meetcha!" the individual said summoning Amethyst's whip and Steven's shield. Needless to say…everyone was shocked.
"OOOOOOOH-WHAAAAAAAT?!" Pearl Gawked.
"OH MY GOD!" ZS yelled, almost falling over before catching himself. "Just...holy crap! That's a heck of an intro!"
"What the...how'd they…" Scarlet stuttered in confused shock.
"Well, this is a surprise." Archer said calmly. "To think they had something like this hidden away all this time."
"Don't bother putting your socks back on." Smoky Quartz said fusing the two weapons she had together to make a Yo-Yo. "Cuz I'm about to knock em off again!"
Garnet and Pearl were dumbfounded with joy or shock.
"Now, you guys can see exactly how I beat Jasper." Smoky said before winding her yo-yo up. "This is a little trick I like to call...walk the dog!" she said launching it.
"Whoa!" Hope said as it crashed nearby.
"Wait! Explain EVERYTHING!" Pearl said as Garnet shook her.
"This ones called…JOG THE DOG!" Smoky said, pulling out another yo-yo and slinging it.
"Look out!" Kendo called, evading one of the yo-yos as Smoky's slinging smashed a lot of things around.
"Uh, Smokey? You wanna take it down a notch?" Emo asked.
"I don't think she wants to!" Bow said as the latest yo-yo hit Steven's TV.
"Uh, you guys have insurance, right?" Zephyr asked.
"Uh..." Pearl said.
"Whoops!" Smoky chuckled. "This ones called…"Dog Walking, Just my Day Job, till i finally get that Callback"!" she pulled a THIRD Yo-Yo out and launched all three at once.
"Would somebody stop her?! This is getting crazy!" Glimmer said.
"Garnet, a little help?" Pear said to Garnet.
Merely seconds after Pearl asked Garnet for help, three hands caught the yo-yos as another new Gem was in the room. This one was much larger than Smoky, about 20 ft tall with four arms and eyes, and was crimson red dressed in a show host outfit.
"Another one?" Hope asked.
"Sardonyx!" Smoky recognized the new Gem almost instantly.
"Sardonyx?" Mark repeated.
"You know the rules about weapons in the house. Mostly allowed, really. But with some exceptions." Sardonyx said to Smoky Quartz. " Oh, what a pleasure it is to meet you all! You've made quite the impression already. In fact, there's one on the wall over there, and there…"
"Sorry, guess I got a bit carried away." Smoky said.
"A bit?" Hope asked. "For a Fusion, you're not very subtle."
"I agree." Piccolo said. "It's like a whirlwind came through here."
"Your acts are tremendous, but the stage is too small." Sardonyx said. "We need some space to get to know each other. Somewhere a bit more…infinite."
Sardonyx led them over to a door that led into a deeper part of the house, two dots on the door shining as the door opened like a curtain.
"You have a room, in the Temple?" Smoky Quartz asked.
"It exists as long as I exist." Sardonyx answered, before squeezing herself inside. "And here...I..AM! Come now, don't be shy!"
"Guess we're going in." Hope said entering.
"Something tells me I'm gonna regret this…but what the heck?" Emo said as he followed behind.
Inside Sardonyx's room…
"I can't see nothin' in here." Smoky Quartz said.
"You cannot see anything my darling….Because the show hasn't started yet!" Sardonyx said.
"Show…?" Smoky asked before a drumroll played
"Live, from a metaphysical room deep in the temple, it's "Sardonyx Tonight"!" Sardonyx introduced.
Lights then flashed on as everyone found themselves on a talkshow set, seated next to a desk.
"Oh no…are we on a Talk Show?" Peni asked.
"It looks that way." Shirou answered.
"This is actually exactly what I expected." Mark said.
"Goooood evening everybody!" Sardonyx bowed. "Today, we have with us a new fusion and two group members of the famous Hero Alliance! I'm so excited, i could just shatter!"
"Well, I guess we're doing this now…" Zephyr said.
"Please welcome, Smoky Quartz, the Shining Hope Squadron, and Team Chronicle!" Sardonyx presented as everyone heard an applause track. "So tell me literally everything there is to know about yourselves, and please don't skip out on any of the juicy parts!"
"Well, uh… if we're talking history, I guess I'm the most experienced here." Hope said. "My name is Jonah Ginova, though I go by Hope the Victor, and I'm the leader of the Shining Hope Squad. I've been doing hero work for about a few years now, and...there've been a few rough spots, but I'm glad to be a part of the Hero Alliance. And meeting many friends and saving worlds, that's the best part."
"Okay, um...I'm next." Mark spoke up. "My name is Marcus Anarchy, and I'm the leader of Team Chronicle. The team's been part of the alliance for about...two years now and we've seen quite a lot of crazy things. Personally, I enjoy learning all about the Multiverse and training...and I have a problem with being on the edge most of the time."
"And me, uh…" Smoky said. "Well, I like long walks on the Kindergarden. Uh, actually that's where I sort of- pow- became me. And, uh, pow!- Beat Jasper."
"Oh, that Jasper! Always running 'round Kindergartens and causing trouble! Boy, that didn't quite work out for her. Guess she should go back to preschool, am I right, folks!?" Sardonyx asked as the crowd laughed.
"Yeah. She lost her mind in a corrupted fusion." Smoky said,
"Uh, that's not entirely true. She's still very much around, as a member of the New Universal Villans." Hope said. "And she's not corrupted, for some reason she's still herself."
"Huh? But I thought…" Smoky started.
"Oh, that's right. You weren't around during the UFT, right?" Kazuichi asked. "Don't worry, we can get you up to speed."
"So, what was going on was that Team Chronicle was participating in an Interdimensional fighting tournament. The winner of that tournament could then have their wish granted by the Dragon Balls… or wait, are they Super Dragon Balls now?" Hope asked Mark.
"They were the Super Dragon Balls." Mark replied. "Techno was going to try and steal them, but then Galeem happened and...well, that's a long story. The important part is that, apparently, Techno managed to un-corrupt Jasper somehow. How, I can't say."
"I would certainly say that Techno has made much more progress on his line of Villans than he did in that gastly tournament." Sardonyx said. "Two of his candidate didn't even feel like cooperating."
"I'll say! Tirek was only in it for himself!" Rainbow-2 siad.
"And then Baby took over Steven's body, and that got a little outta hand." Gohan added.
"Baby? Like an actual one?" Smoky asked.
"No no, Baby is a creation of this alien race called the Tuffles. I heard he was a type of parasite, right?" Hope asked.
"Correct. He had the ability to enter a person's body through wounds and take control of their body, turning them into a sort of suit. It's a good thing Steven was able to get him out before things got even worse." Piccolo said.
"But before Team Chronicle even existed, you were all separate on your own paths." Sardonyx said. "Was that because you all didn't know what you were trying to accomplish? Or something more?"
"Well...we were kinda new to the whole Multiverse thing." Eddy answered. "I mean, one day you're the scammer kid on the block and, next thing you know, BAM! You're seeing actual gods, traveling through dimensions, and running straight into trouble. It's hard to know what you wanna do with all that to take it, ya know?"
"Really? I thought it was because your brother came back for revenge and tried to kill you." Sardonyx said making her created audience gasp.
"That's kinda a touchy subject, Sardonyx." Hope said. "It mostly is for when you have family like that. I should know, since I was born to be a son of a mafia family."
"Ouch…" Bow said. "Definitely see why you don't talk about your family."
"But our past is what makes us who we are." Hope said. "Its what decides our paths. We all got here from different beginnings."
"But what is it that makes us that way? What gives people that sort of impression about a person?" Sardonyx asked. "Many people think differently about others, some in a not so good way. Like you for instance, Mr. Emo."
"Oh no. You ain't dragging me into this." Emo said.
"But the audience wants to know more about you!" Sardonyx said. "Where you come from, why you rub off on people. What makes you so… yourself."
"...You really want to know why I'm like this?" Emo said, his voice close to a whisper. "Well, picture this: imagine that you have to live everyday like walking a tightrope. You get too excited, too scared, too happy, too angry...you fall. Game over. So, you gotta keep acting like you don't give a damn about anything."
"Uh, Emo?" Alkal said nervously as Emo continued, his voice growing louder.
"But the problem is...you're made to feel things. So you start caring about people: not too many, just one, two people. Then the number starts to grow. Then one day, one of the people you care about just...up and dies. You watch him...them die. And you start to lose your balance. You start to fall...but hey! I'm used to it, so I just straighten myself back up again! Not like I care!" Emo said, practically shouting as he stood up.
"Emo, you can stop now…!" CP started, looking more than a little worried.
"And now, I gotta keep balancing on that tightrope while I follow these guys around, knowing that one day, any of 'em could die, and I get close to falling again! That's what it's like to be me, guys! That's what-!" Emo said before he was slapped by Hope. "OW! Son of a… why'd you do that?!"
"You were getting a little outta control. Remind me never to ask about your past again. Now I see why you don't show your emotions all the time." Hope said.
"...God, I almost lost it again, didn't I?" Emo muttered before he composed himself. "...Forget you heard that."
"Well then, let's focus on some others, shall we?" Sardonyx asked. "How about our newest arrivals, the princess alliance? What brought you to join this little squadron?"
"Well, to be honest, with Catra and Scorpia joining The New Universal villains and making that alliance with the Horde, we had to. We also wanted to see more of what the world had in store. And we did owe the others a huge favor after they helped save Etheria." Glimmer said.
"So then, what shall be next for the hero alliance? Do you know?" Sardonyx asked.
"Honestly, we don't know very much. I mean, there are a lot of things we're wondering about for the future, but…" Hope said. "As much as I want to know what the future holds, I still believe that the future comes when it comes." Hope said. "And I'm okay with that."
As the group continued speaking with Sardonyx and Smoky, the day continued. But little did the others know that this simple excursion would turn out to be more than just a simple vacation.