There were thorns. They dug into his mind, tearing holes in them. Each thorn made a sound, a sound of fear, or sadness, or anger.

The thorns were attached to rose stems. Each rose held a different memory of emotion. A flicker of a large blue hand reaching for him from the sky. A feeling of drowning as his best friend loses air. Hundreds of fingers zooming past him as the world filled with a bright light.

The stems of the roses were long. They connected to his mind.

His mind grew many roses. The roses grew many thorns. The thorns tore many holes in his mind.

As he stood up from the blurry image of a shattered home, he swept his gaze over the ocean, slowly losing its familiarity and becoming just another prop in the background. He barely glanced behind him, noticing dozens of tiny buildings not far. He roared, though he wasn't sure why. Was he angry? Was he sad? Who was he?

Another hole ripped through, and he forgot the fearful thought instantly.

He was no longer afraid. He was angry.

How dare they live happily?! He had fixed every single broken piece of their problems, mending together shattered families, building friendships with enemies, stopping an entire war. And not a single one of them granted the same help to him.

How dare they be happy without him? Well, well! Since he was the one to bring them happiness, he surely had a right to take it away didn't he?!

An image of a giant drill filled with pink liquid, and the surrounding mountain dying, filled his vision. A smirking pink gem glared at him, swinging a glowing scythe around her body.

He roared in anger and fear. That mountain needed to be destroyed!

The monster clawed the mountain, pink goo and green grass filling his vision. He was saving everyone! That'll prove he wasn't a fraud! Everyone will love him and need him again!

He set his gaze on the town, watching humans and gems alike scream in terror. Aren't they proud of him? He looked on in confusion, rumbling.

Hands clamped onto his eyes and his neck. Something was attacking him! He tried to scratch them away but they wouldn't budge. He panicked, trying to breath but it felt like he couldn't. He flailed his hands trying to hit the entity. He could hear a crash but he still couldn't see.

He threw his head back in a last attempt. He felt something on his back squish and then it was gone. He blinked his eyes, happy to see the blue sky and fluffy clouds.

The sky suddenly began to change shape. The blue and white swirled together, becoming an intense gray and green. He looked around wildly, seeing nothing but flashes of blue hands reaching for him. The fingers brushed his horns, and he jerked his head to look at them. The hands were moving away from him as fast as possible, over to the ocean.

"Sorry Steven!"

What was that?! Who was apologizing?! It should be the hand apologizing, they tried to hurt his friends!

Don't worry! I got this!

He crouched on all fours, bracing himself to take the hand down. He leaped, but his heart sank as he fell back down to the ground. He gritted his teeth as he leapt again. It still wasn't enough but at least the hand was closer. It flickered, and he thought he saw someone familiar. Did the hand take his friends?!

He would not stand for this. Filled with anger he jumped for the hand. He felt adrenaline course through him as the hand screamed in fear. He was about to take it down!

Suddenly, chains reached from the water and snapped around his body. The sky darkened into an almost black green background. He fell to the ground, his eyes widening as he saw a familiar blue gem nearby. Lapis?!

He struggled to break the chains, blinking rapidly as a shape grew in front of him. It was Malachite! Jasper fused with Lapis and they were back for revenge! He had to save everyone, and then he could make them suffer in return.

The monster roared, stretching his limbs in an effort to break the chains. Where did his friends go? He needed them! Help! Malachite got me!

He saw something white fall slowly from the sky. Reaching for him. He squinted, his surroundings brightening to a dull white and gray. Black nails glitter distantly.

Pink. Pain. Connie holding him-Someone holding him. What happened? He feels like a piece of him is missing.

He flinched out of the memory. He leaned back and forth, his mouth open in a silent scream.

Lightning suddenly flashed before him, and he could feel his head growing small. He growled, resisting the power as it fell apart in front of him. He would not be controlled anymore!

A blue cloud drifted gently toward him. He glanced at it curiously, deciding to get rid of it. He had no idea what purpose it served, blowing it away easily with a gentle breath.

Was it to distract him, he suddenly thought. He didn't notice a white figure had creeped up on him as he watched the cloud fade away. He turned to the figure as the world suddenly changed colors rapidly. He was afraid and he twisted and growled in fear. He thought he could feel thorns poking him inside his head.

The figure in front of him collapsed as it's black claws flailed in front of him. Reaching for him. Reaching for his gem. Holding his gem.

He couldn't take it anymore. He stretched his limbs again, roaring in satisfaction as he could feel the chains shifting and losing power.

An idea came to him. He crouched in on himself, hoping to lower the enemies' guard down as he bowed in submission. His spikes glew, and his eyes brighten. This will surely show them!

He roared, louder than he had ever done before. His enemies fell before him, crying out in pain. The chains lashed out as they finally broke apart and the ocean in front of him parted. He had done it! He knocked them all down!

The water suddenly slapped in front of his eyes obscuring his vision. He suddenly couldn't breath, holding his mouth shut as he thought he heard his friend gurgling as she lost air.

He blinked as the water fell away, revealing the mountain and his fallen opponents. He finally had an opportunity to take them down once and for all!

Are you proud of me?

Pearl?

Garnet?

Amethyst?

...Guys?

There was no reply.

He shook his head, growling. The enemy probably took them all and hid them somewhere. He could still get them back!

He stood taller, stretching himself one last time, getting ready for the big fight. It was almost over, and then he could go home and rest.

He started running, letting out a roar to let them know their time was up. The water splashed onto his legs, slowing him down, but he kept going.

Suddenly, a large hand grabbed on to him. His heart stopped. Was it the same hand that took his friends?

This hand was a different color, and he could sense it wasn't just one entity. It held him back, trying to drag him away from the beach where his enemies-his friends-his enemies lay on the ground and back to the ocean.

Growling as he struggled to get out of the giant hand's grip, his energy weakening slightly. He refused to surrender. If he could take down one, he could take down another. But the hand wouldn't budge, and he found himself relaxing despite himself. He roared, forcing himself to toughen up. He wouldn't be so easily swayed!

He snarled, the thorns digging deeper. The cluster-hand held on tighter.

Finally, he got both claws securely on the hand. With all of his strength, he ripped it off of him and threw it to the ground. He turned his attention back to the beach, growling with relief and anger. His mission wasn't quite finished yet, he still had many foe to get rid of. He could deal with the hand later.

With a final glance at the defeated hand, he began to run again. There was no longer anything to hold him back from finishing off the enemy.

Something blue flickered at the far corners of his vision, but he paid it no attention. As long as he didn't get distracted, everything would be fine. Everything would be-

A large wave crashed upon him. He roared in shock and pain, the water stuck in his eyes as he held his face.

"Steven!"

What? Did they just yell a name? Was that supposed to be his name? He didn't think he deserved one, let alone had one. He turned his head, rumbling.

Many gems splashed through the waters loudly, all of them yelling the same word. He couldn't tell if they were familiar because they were his enemies, or if they were familiar for some other reason.

He winced at the thorns suddenly falling forward inside of his mind shredding it apart. He squinted at the gems until they were too blurry to make out past the water. He saw no other choice but to kill them all.

He looked up as a shadow fell on him. His eyes widened in fear as a large gem suddenly crashed on him. It pushed him back, and he fought it away. He needed to get away!

It clung it's hands to his back, holding him as still as possible. He roared in agony as the thorns slashed at his mind, the roses suddenly growing.

"Steven, when I fell apart you were there for me. I want to be there for you now."

What.. what was happening?

The monster struggled, growling and trying to snap at the other gem's head. Why was the gem holding him? What was the purpose of the attack? Was she trying to poof him?

"I'm here Steven."

And that word again. That name. He paused in his struggle, breathing in for another vocal attack.

"I'm here."

Why did those words sound so familiar? His pupils widened, his muscles relaxing despite his feral fury still burning.

"Is it working? Steven!" A faint voice somewhere to his left. He didn't have enough time to turn, because he could feel the weight of someone smaller holding him too.

And then there were two other giant gems, a blue and yellow one, holding him too. Were… they hugging him? He didn't need their pity! He needed to help-hurt them! Why were they doing this?

Another gem, larger than the other two, came to hug him as well. Something was familiar in her sorrowful look.

A flash of white fingers with black claws reaching out for him flickered in his mind. The thorns cut him before they fell away.

He gasped at the weak memory. He couldn't find it in himself to struggle, the thorns in his head relaxing their grip and giving him momentary relief.

Tiny figures jumped at his body, but all they did was hold him as best they could. A long pink band wrapped around them all.

"I'm here, shtu-ball! Whatever you need, I'll make it happen! You hear me?!"

He whimpered. He couldn't understand the growing misery inside him, threatening to come out.

"Steven! You never gave up on me for a reason I still don't understand! I'll do the same for you!"

"St-Steven! We don't have to do this anymore! I'm s-sorry! I don't care about the show, and I definitely don't care about leaving you!"

Did… they actually care about him?

They shouldn't, they really shouldn't. He didn't deserve their-

"I know you feel bad! Believe me, I get it- Sometimes it feels like you're never gonna like yourself but- It's possible, man!"

They don't need to do this for him- Why can't they understand that he doesn't deserve-!

"Steven, I know how hard it feels to keep a part of yourself secret! You shouldn't have to hide anything from me!"

He gave a weak cry, struggling to keep control of the rising monster inside of him. The monster was gentler than the one outside. All it wanted was to hold everyone close. But didn't it understand that wasn't possible?! They shouldn't have to do this for him, he's the one that's supposed to make everyone feel better!

The cluster held his hand.

Something opened up in front of him. A pink lion burst out with a familiar rider on it's back. The girl jumped off the lion, giving a mighty yell as she landed on his snout.

He crossed his eyes to get a closer look at the girl, suddenly feeling a burst of sadness and rage explode inside of him.

"Steven…"

Oh. Oh no please don't-

"You must've been so afraid to show us this side of yourself. But we're all here now. We're all gonna take care of you the same way you took care of us."

Flashes of memories sprung before his eyes, obscuring his vision of the girl. Both of them standing together as a giant worm crumbled in front of them. Both of them standing together to protect themselves and each other in front of a familiar friend. Both of them glowing pink and suddenly together as one.

Both of them standing opposing each other as a glowing bracelet was held by his fingers.

"You know what? I don't have your powers, but-"

The thorns gave way.

The rosepetals danced their way down, the stems folding into themselves as they wilted and fell from the center of him.

They fell from his eyes, falling into the water below, tainting it pink. His pain-his fury- and all of his emotions wept from his eyes as he whimpered.

All of them… All of his friends were holding him for him. Garnet, Pearl, Amethyst, Greg, and… and Connie.

He couldn't hold himself back anymore. He was sure that, if he hadn't been held up by his family, he would've fallen to his knees in despair. He tried to keep his crying out of his mouth, but the weak sobs came through anyways.

Images of his family sitting together, on a familiar hill looking over a familiar town. His friends waved to him, and Garnet pat his head, smiling at him. Images of him and Connie holding each other as they spun around by his father's car, glowing pink with joy.

Memories flashed of him being cuddled by Blue Diamond as even Yellow Diamond wept tears of relief. Him and White Diamond finally being able to look and smile at each other without being reminded of the "Incident". Him looking at Spinel with fondness as she realized the error of her ways and helped him restore his family to their previous state.

He felt so overwhelmed with all of this happiness sweeping over him, his vision blurring to white.

And then there were clouds gently drifting above him. The sky didn't change at all, his chest tight with fear and relief. He heard crying, and he wondered for a moment who it could be.

He looked around, seeing the relieved expressions of everyone's faces. His cheeks felt wet, and so was the blanket covering him. He quickly realised it was his crying.

Steven looked at his hands, the image of them pink with twitching claws flashed in his mind and for a split second, he thought he could still see the sharp tips of them lingering on his fingers.

"Wha-Did… Did I-?" His voice croaked. His throat felt worn out from all the roaring he did, but that experience was quickly turning fuzzy in his mind. But that didn't matter, of course. What mattered is that, if he hurt someone-!

"I'm-" Steven tried to say an apology. Anything to beg for his friend's forgiveness, but he knew he didn't deserve it for what he'd done.

Crashing his dad's car...

Shattering his friend…

Almost shattering White Diamond…

Ruining everyone's lives… He really was a criminal, wasn't he?

But before he could say anything more, Lion's face perked up in his vision, obscuring everyone else. His usual blank stare expressed nothing but calm content. Lion licked his face, and despite himself, chuckled at the absurdity.

He kept giggling, and couldn't stop. His giggles turned into tears of joy and grief, his recent experience as a corruption leaving him feeling stressed and tired. But he kept laughing, sobbing at the same time as Lion held him close, his horns tapping his friend's muzzle.

Horns?!

Sure enough, as he reached a shaky hand to touch his forehead, he felt a sharp horn part his hair and it was definitely noticeable.

Lion distracted him by licking his face again, and Steven gave up trying to touch his head. He leaned to give Lion a big hug, finally breaking down into happy sobs.