Hey everyone! I wanna say... YAY! A new chapter already! Milo F Waters and I are on a ROLL!
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kevinbellmore: Uh... thanks again? OMAC001: Maybe, maybe not... you'll have to read further and find out. It'll be slower than in the show though, I'll tell you that.

Chapter 21: Blue and Orange Morality

"Alright," Peridot said as she, Bismuth, Lapis, Pearl, Amethyst, Garnet, Jasper, and Steven were sitting in the middle of Garnet's burning room in the Temple, safe from the prying eyes of Red Diamond's surveillance vessel. Peridot herself was next to a blackboard, chalk in hand, "We have to proceed carefully in order to best take advantage of this intelligence. We know that Red Diamond is unpredictable, so it's possible we shouldn't rule out that there could be multiple espionage devices in orbit."

She drew a circle around a photograph of the satellite in question that Steven got from Ronaldo. "Thanks to Steven's friend, we at least have a firm grasp of where this device is and I can easily locate its relative position using the GPS on my tablet."

"And?" asked Jasper, "Get to the point, where is it?!"

"In short, it's currently observing Beach City and the surrounding area. If I had to guess at this point, a radius of a few hundred miles judging from its distance from the ground and from my knowledge of similar equipment Homeworld uses." She then scribbled a map-like illustration on the blackboard before continuing, "Thus, the location of this device is somewhere…. Here!"

"Okay, that's great," said Lapis, "But how do we get rid of it?"

"Well see, that's not the only point. This device, if it is truly based on the similar monitoring equipment as I theorize, is not made for long-distance space travel."

"And if that's the case," thought Pearl, "Then there must be a sort of station or outpost that's dispatching it."

"Exactly, and that's where a certain proposal has come in. Rather than dispose of the device and make Red Diamond more suspicious, we lull her into a false sense of security so that we can eliminate this station and produce a real setback for her."

"You mean a trap?" asked Bismuth. When Peridot nodded, she felt a bit wary, "And how do we do that?"

"That's what we need to figure out," said Garnet, "So far, Red Diamond has had us outnumbered and on edge. We have to be careful or else she'll see through everything and I doubt even with all the Crystal Gems we could win a full-scale battle with all her forces."

"Um, didn't we kick major butt at the Human Zoo?" said Amethyst, "There was dozens of them there and we sent most of them packing!"

"Thanks to Blue Diamond and, again, better strategy. True, we might have fusions to turn the table, but who's to say Red Diamond wouldn't have something to counter that."

Lapis nodded to that statement. Then Bismuth spoke up, "Okay, so… what if we do some kind of sneak attack on the base right? Get on board and sabotage the systems there?"

"Again, that's a possibility, but we'd need something to keep her distracted," said Peridot, "If she's watching the whole town, she'd probably notice you launching a forward attack. Assuming you plan on using the ship that human Lars commandeered from Homeworld as a fugitive, Red Diamond is going to notice you taking off."

"So that's where the distraction comes in," said Jasper, much to the displeasure of Peridot being interrupted.

"Yes, I was getting to that… And fortunately, we have an ideal setup for one."

"And that is?" asked Pearl.

"Me," said Steven, finally speaking up, "I'll be live bait while you guys go in and shut the place down."

Everyone immediately, everyone's eyes widened in shock with the exception of Jasper who was rather surprised at Steven's sudden statement.

Lapis was the first to speak, "WHAT!?"

Pearl was next, "Absolutely not!" And the others all followed.

"That's preposterous!"

"Dude, no way! That's nuts!"

"I thought you didn't wanna be her lab rat!"

"Steven," finished Garnet, "Think about what you're saying. You'd be putting yourself in immense danger for this."

"Yeah, I get that," said the boy, "But that's what I've been doing for a long time now! I'm not the same little kid who ran away from monsters."

"As impressive as the results of your training seem," said Pearl, "I'm wholly uncomfortable with you throwing yourself to the lions like that. Besides, even if we all agreed to this, what sort of spectacle could you make to get Red's attention."

Steven, having already thought of an idea, pointed up to one of the many bubbles containing gems floating above them. When they followed his finger, they all saw a black gem.

"Onyx?!"

"Why not?" asked Steven, "I 'accidentally' let her out, she tries to attack me, I fight her off and let Red watch like it's a game while the rest of you go off to mess around with her equipment."

Everyone looked either shocked or impressed by his idea. "Steven," Pearl said, "That's… that's pretty risky…"

"Yeah and you could seriously get mangled by that thing!" Amethyst added, remembering what she was told about Onyx.

"Oh, would you all get over it?!" shouted Jasper, "The runt's actually got a good idea and you're all just gonna ignore it because you don't want him hurt?! What happened to being rebels and all that junk?"

"As hard as this may be for you to grasp," said Garnet as she stood up and walked towards the horned gem, "We are not just Steven's teammates, but his family. It's been our job for almost 15 years now to keep him safe. If he were to ever get hurt…"

"Yeah, yeah, you'd all want to save him, yippee… But you all need to get it through your heads he's not some pebble like he was before."

"Thanks... " said Steven in a rare moment of sarcasm, "But she's right! I can fight off Onyx long enough to let you all do your job!"

Garnet looked deep in thought. Bismuth looked at Steven for a second, eyeing his form. She then said, "Maybe you should at least take someone with you. Just in case."

Steven frowned at this, but then decided mentally to agree with this to ease their worry, "Alright… Jasper can go with me."

"NO!" shouted Lapis, "I can't believe you're all even considering this! Now you're gonna put Steven in danger and trust Jasper to protect him?! Have you all forgotten she tried to kidnap him AND was the one who made Malachite go berserk on him and most of you?!"

"Yeah, sure, throw all that on me," scoffed Jasper, "I'm violent. I know that and I like it. At least I don't cry and run away from all my problems!"

The other gems all looked uncomfortable at that, and it only got worse as Lapis got up from her spot and marched over to Jasper. "You know, I've got a better idea. Maybe I just throw you into that satellite! Your head's thick enough for it!"

"Guys, maybe we should calm down?" Steven tried to interrupt, but Jasper wasn't having it.

"Oh yeah? How about you, the gem who can control the entire ocean, could try contributing something instead of your whining!"

"Jasper, settle down," said Pearl, "This is getting off-topic!"

"It's not about power, you clod!" screamed Lapis, "We need to actually be smart and think about this! Maybe if you thought some more, you wouldn't have fused with a corrupted gem and turned into a freak!"

This struck a nerve in Jasper who then turned to Lapis with a look of spite on her face, "Listen here, you pathetic-"

Her potential remark was cut short as a pink, honeycomb-like wall appeared between the two. Steven looked at the two with an angry face, "GUYS! I know you have some issues to work out, but that's NO excuse to just explode into an all out brawl. And now is DEFINITELY not the time nor the place. GOT IT!?" He glowed pink for a few seconds, but only a few seconds, causing the two gems to deflate before him, Lapis more so than Jasper.

"Jasper, it might be for the best that you leave," said Garnet. The former Homeworld soldier wanted to storm out of the room, but the fusion stopped her.

"But thank you. Your idea was a good one." That seemed to lower the tension a bit as Jasper walked out instead. Lapis, however, still looked angry.

"Seriously?! Garnet, you can't be doing this! You're gonna listen to her? She-"

"-Has done regrettable things, yes. Lapis, we all get your problem with her, but letting it interfere with a vital mission like this is not acceptable. I think you should leave as well."

Now Lapis looked ready to explode. Before she could, though, she simply turned around and looked at Steven.

"What's gotten into you?! Why do you want to be friends with her?! She's a terrible person! Why… don't you just give up on her?" She said that last question in a much lower tone. Steven thought a moment before responding.

"Lapis, I don't give up because I want Jasper to be better. Isn't that enough for you?"

"No, but-!"

"And I didn't give up on you, did I?"

Lapis froze upon that statement. She knew immediately that he was right. Steven let her out of the mirror. He refused to fight her, he healed her so she can make it back to homeworld. He was there to comfort her when she tried to run away. Then it was the thought of HIM that encouraged her to go back and essentially join the Crystal Gems. She stammered for a bit before her eyes welled up with tears and she bolted out of the room as well. Steven was saddened to see her go, but he knew like the others this had to stop. He then let out a large yawn.

"You okay, dude?" asked Amethyst.

"Yeah, just really tired all of the sudden. Maybe that sparring took a lot out of me…"

"It's alright, Steven," said Pearl, "We'll finish up here and let you know when you get up. Plus, it is past your bedtime…"

The teen just chuckled as he headed out of the room and upstairs while the five remaining Crystal Gems continued. Peridot in particular was jumping at the bit to get back to her chalkboard…

As the night dragged on and Steven snoozed away in his bed, the other five felt they had a solid foundation for a plan. While they still had some finer details to work out, they now felt more confident in the whole diversion plan. The bigger risk was now going to be defusing the bomb that Lapis Lazuli had become. All of them wanted to talk to her, but Pearl and Garnet felt like they would have the best chances at sorting the issue out. Amethyst outright admitted she was not the best with heart-to-hearts and Peri and Bismuth both agreed their time was better spent working. The former wanted to refine her plan while the latter went to work resizing Steven's sword so that it fit his larger body.

Lapis was currently on the hand of the temple that still served as the house's laundry room, gazing out over the ocean. While the sea was once a calming sight, she had never viewed it the same since a certain incident happened. She wanted to fly away somewhere else, but what would that accomplish? As much as it pained her, Jasper had a point that her default solution was running away. She looked up at the stars and half-moon above her and almost wondered if Red Diamond was laughing at her.

"Are you alright?" Lapis turned around in shock to see Pearl standing near her and Garnet right behind her.

"What do you think?" she replied sardonically.

"I think you need to curb this attitude before it gets worse," said Garnet, "And we want to help you do it."

"...I'm fine." Lapis said cynically, "She's the problem."

"Listen, I don't disagree that Jasper is something of a problem child, but you're not exactly innocent either."

The flying gem was about to rebut, but she could not muster up anything. She just slumped in her seat. "I… I don't get it. How can he just let these things go?"

Garnet moved next to her and sat to Lapis' right as she spoke. "Because Steven's an optimist. It's turned against him a few times, but he always wants to see the bright side. I bet even now, he'd rather talk things out with Red Diamond than fight her."

A slight smile graced her lips, knowing Garnet had a point. Pearl sat down to her other side and continued her point.

"Did you know that Bismuth was on bad terms with Steven too? She… got a little overzealous about being a Crystal Gem and that made them fight."

"Really?" asked Lapis, "Bismuth seems pretty loud, but she doesn't strike me as that crazy."

"Then you didn't see her in the old days," informed Garnet, "She once made a weapon called the Breaking Point, designed to instantly shatter any gemstone it hit."

"Yeesh…"

"Rose hated the idea so much she was forced to bubble Bismuth when she refused to back down. Now we know she had… ulterior motives, but her point still stands. Bismuth was taking her grudge with Homeworld too far."

The two gems noticed Pearl tense slightly at that. "Something on your mind?" asked Lapis.

"It's just… There was a time where I felt the same way. I was a bit fanatical about Rose and sometimes I thought… Why not just take it to that level?"

"Pearl…" said Garnet, a tad unnerved by her comrade's words.

"It's nothing… Lapis, just know that I've done some regrettable things too. And I've also done my best to fix things."

"I guess…" muttered the blue gem, but something still felt wrong. That was when Garnet spoke up.

"I think one of your problems is you just keep holding in how you feel. Then when you blow up, you're so angry that all you can do is blame Jasper."

"So? You say that like it's a bad thing…"

"It is bad, Lapis. Holding onto this grudge won't help anyone in the end. Try actually talking about it."

Lapis half-considered flying away, but the other half knew it would not solve anything. As much as she did not want to, Garnet was right and she needed to confront this head-on.

"When I was Malachite… It was awful. Me and Jasper just kept yelling and arguing nonstop. All I kept telling myself was that I didn't want her to hurt anyone. If I unfused, she'd just hunt you all down."

"We understand that," said Pearl, "And that takes a lot of strength. Lapis, you're much stronger than you realize."

Rather than be touched, the gem just laughed bitterly. "Strong? I don't feel like it. I gave in…"

"Anyone would get worn down by that situation-"

"Because I wanted to."

Garnet and Pearl both stared at her for a moment. She stood up and walked away as she spoke with her back to them.

"As Malachite, I did feel powerful. I felt powerful enough to finally get back at Homeworld… And you. I… did like that feeling. Not being anyone's prisoner. And one day, I just let it all go. I screamed and yelled for I don't know how long. And for a second, I looked at Jasper. She was… afraid of me."

Lapis turned to face them both. "I liked making her afraid of me… I finally felt like I accomplished something. What… What's wrong with me? Do… Do I still miss that? I…"

"Lapis…" Pearl said, gently placing her hand on the distraught Gem's shoulder, "It's okay…"

"No, it's not okay! I'm pretty sure that wanting to hurt someone is a bad thing! I enjoyed hurting Jasper and wanted to hurt everyone else! It makes me just like her and I HATE IT!"

"And you were able to overcome that," Garnet said, "Steven told us about the fishing trip Jasper crashed."

"You stood up to Jasper once," assured Pearl, "She handed you that opportunity again and you didn't take it."

"And then during my wedding, you showed up when we needed you the most. Blue Diamond would have beaten all of us if it weren't for you."

"And it didn't stop there! Then you flew straight to Homeworld with the others to help us when the whole situation with White Diamond went out of control!"

"G-guys…" Lapis sobbed, "I… that may be true but-"

"As hard as it may be to believe, you've grown a lot and Jasper's doing the same thing. She may never admit it, but you know that she wouldn't have helped Steven before."

"Give her time," said Garnet, "I'm not asking you to forget everything. But you do need to accept that it happened and that you're not the same either."

"Thanks," said Lapis. In a rare move, she actually hugged the both of them as she revealed her wings. "I think I feel better. Jasper, though, she's still someone I'd keep an eye on."

"We know," said Pearl, "And believe me, if she does step out of line we'll all make her regret it."

Meanwhile, near the shores of the beach, Bismuth was currently stepping out of the house with some spare materials to take with her to the forge. The trek would have taken slightly longer due to the fact that the Warp Pad for the temple was being tweaked to allow a second one to be built, when she saw Jasper nearby. The brawler was clearly steaming from her latest spat with Lapis and was taking out her aggression on some rocks, pulverizing them with her fists.

"Hey now!" said Bismuth half-kiddingly, "What did those rocks ever do to you?"

Jasper did not appreciate the joke and broke one of the stones in half. "Beat it."

"Technically, this is our house, so I've got every right to tell you not to break our stuff."

Jasper simply gave her a look, then turned around and said, "Whatever…" She then picked up one of the larger rocks, "I'll just take these back with me."

Bismuth took a look at her and sighed. "Look, I get it, you're not exactly a friend but I don't want you sulking all by yourself."

"You got a better idea?"

Bismuth grinned and started walking away. "Come with me and find out."

The two headed to the newer warp pad added outdoors and soon both were teleported to a volcanic chamber that made Jasper legitimately curious. Bismuth simply stood in front of a wall and pressed her hand to it before a black square opening appeared and revealed her forge.

Jasper looked around, her rough expression unchanging, even as Bismuth activated the lava flow and let herself be soaked by the molten liquid. She then stepped up feeling completely refreshed; she always did like a good lava dip.

"What are you doing?" Jasper asked, "Besides wasting my time."

"My second-favorite way to relax! Try it some time, you might actually crack a smile."

While Jasper just scoffed, Bismuth set down all her materials, meaning different types of ore, next to one of the lava pools and got to work.

"That's it? You make weapons?" asked the ex-Homeworld soldier.

"Yep! Nothing better to unwind after a long day than to just lose yourself in this."

As Bismuth settled into a familiar rhythm, she continued to work while still talking. "I can't tell you how many times I looked forward to this in the old days. Days of nonstop fighting, but once I got in here none of that mattered. I just hunkered down and got to work making new weapons for the Crystal Gems."

As she hammered out the superheated ore into a round shape, her mind drifted to some of the not so pleasant old days. "I mean… It wasn't easy. All that time on battlefields, watching my friends risk their lives, trying to patch up their weapons on the fly so they can all go out and throw themselves at enemies over and over again…"

"That's just how war is," said Jasper, "Is there a point to all this?"

"Yes! It might sound weird… But I was in the same boat as you once. I spent every day fighting and frankly, I loved it. Every moment I wasn't working in this forge, I was duking it out with Homeworld's forces."

"So you were a soldier," Jasper said.

"Yeah, and it was hard on all of us who were fighting… And then I made the dumbest decision of my life."

She took the piece she was working on and blew out the flames surrounding it to reveal a sword very similar to Steven's old blade but much larger. Satisfied with her work, she set it down as she reminisced further.

"One day, I thought of trying to make a completely new weapon. I holed myself up in here for weeks designing it, constructing it, even testing it. I thought I finally had a way to truly stop all this fighting! I hoped that Rose would take it and finally blow that Pink Diamond back to Homeworld where she belonged!"

"But they're the same gem…" Jasper said, still uncomfortable with the idea of it.

"Yeah, to say she didn't take it well is like saying you're a little bit of a jerk."

"Do you want me to punch you?"

"NO! I want you to know that you're not the only one who's gone overboard!"

Jasper stared at her for a minute before asking, "'Overboard?' With what?"

"You're kidding, right?" Bismuth said, genuinely confused, "No one told you?"

Jasper had a confused look on her face that said all Bismuth needed to know. Bismuth then sighed, "Well I suppose I'll just tell you…"

And with that the blacksmith launched into a full explanation of how she built the Breaking Point and how Rose did NOT like the idea of using it. Then she went to how she was poofed by Rose, only to be freed by Steven. She messed that up in an angry rage though and chose to let him poof her… only to be set free again and be informed of Rose's true identity.

After a long pause, Jasper finally reacted… "Wait… So the idea to fake her own shattering… Pink Diamond got that from YOU!?"

"What?! I don't know, maybe!" Bismuth tried to explain but Jasper was long past her boiling point.

"You think we're anything alike?! I'm nothing like you! I've done nothing but serve Homeworld since the moment I was created on this stupid planet! I've followed every mission I was on and did it perfectly!"

"W-Well…" Bismuth began to think frantically for a response then a lightbulb went off, "Not exactly from what I heard!"

"Excuse me!?"

"The moment you thought Rose was still around you went on this crazed vendetta against her. Your job was just to grab the Crystal Gems, but as soon as Steven showed up with Rose's shield, you didn't care! You knocked him out, tried to drag him along and instead your ship was blown up and that started the whole problem with Malachite…"

"Shut up! I was desperate!"

"Really? From what I've heard, you got a real kick out of being fused. You even tried to beg Lapis to join you again."

"How'd you learn about that?!"

"Steven told the others. And then, instead of finding some way off Earth, you try attacking again and when that doesn't work you try capturing all those corrupted gems to make some little army."

"You better stop talking right now or I swear I'm gonna break you in half!"

"And that's your problem! You never shut up and actually think about your issues! It's always someone else's fault and somehow that means you get to keep being a colossal jerk your whole life!"

That was the tipping point for Jasper to lash out at Bismuth, summoning her crash helmet and trying to send her into a wall. Unfortunately for her, Bismuth was more than capable of defending herself and knew the layout of the room like the back of her hand. With one quick grab, she held Jasper's fists and then threw her into the main lava chamber before quickly jumping on top of her and holding her face down in the scalding liquid rock.

"Don't you get it yet?!" shouted Bismuth over her struggling, "How long have you been doing this?! How long have you been obsessed with fighting? For some great soldier, you've done nothing on this planet but fail and blame everyone else for it! When are you finally going to get a grip before you end up ruining your life I did!"

"MY LIFE'S ALREADY RUINED!"

Bismuth was shocked at this outburst but held her grip on Jasper nonetheless. Jasper however continued, "Do you have any idea how embarrassing it was on Homeworld? Me, the perfect soldier, coming from the only failed colony in the galaxy? From a defective Kindergarten?! Why do you think I worked so hard?! It was the only thing separating me from being another reject like those Amethysts all stuck at Pink's little zoo!"

There was a hint of pain in her voice as she continued to speak, "And you're right! I lived for my job just like every other gem on Homeworld! I knew the second I stopped being useful, they'd harvest my gemstone and use it to make someone better. And now… I don't know what to do. There's no more fighting, no missions… I can't even go back to Homeworld now because I look like this. And even if I did, what would I do? Talk about how great it is that the thing I was made to do is suddenly wrong?!"

Bismuth began to notice that Jasper's voice was cracking a bit and her tone was slowly getting less angry and more… sorrowful.

"I… Did love being Malachite. It's the only time since I've been here where I was… myself, but even better. I was stronger than ever, but now? I feel… weak. And if I'm weak…"

And then, to Bismuth's complete and utter shock, a few tears actually fell from Jasper's eyes and turned to steam in the lava. "What am I good for?"

Still shocked by this, Bismuth let her go. Even when she was free, Jasper slumped to the ground, her anger now replaced with sadness. After a long silence, the blacksmith finally spoke up.

"Do you know why I brought you here?" When Jasper did not answer, she did it herself.

"I thought you might like something like this. A big tough warrior in a forge surrounded by hand-made weapons? In fact…"

Bismuth then grabbed the helmet Jasper was still wearing and was surprised she did not even try to stop her. The helmet had a unique design with the bottom having two beetle-esque horns protruding forward on each side that Jasper seemed to have added herself.

"Hm…" Bismuth went, both still shocked at Jasper's willingness to hand over her weapon, but now also impressed that she was able to modify it so well. Even now, though, she imagined something to make it even better.

She took out several handfuls of dust from the different barrels she had along one wall of the forge and coated the helmet in it. She applied a light coating of lava to imbue the dust into the metal and then turned shapeshifted one of her hands into a chisel and the other a hammer. Once she finished making a design on front, she began lightly molding the helmet into a slightly different shape. When she finished, she found Jasper had not moved an inch from her spot. She smiled and looked at Jasper directly holding the helmet, then said "This might not be much, but I thought you should have something to remind you that things do get better eventually."

Jasper took hold of her altered helmet and immediately recognized the shape that formed its front: an upside-down version of Pink Diamond's gem. She also noticed that the coloring had changed so that now the undersides of the horns were now a darker pink shade. She gaped at it for a moment before looking up as Bismuth suspiciously.

"Why? Why do this?"

"Because if Steven wants to give you a chance, that's enough for me." Bismuth then held out a hand to help Jasper up. While she stood up on her own, the horned gem put the helmet on and then recalled it back to her gem.

"You're welcome. So, what are you gonna do now?"

Jasper began heading for the entrance before turning around. "I'm gonna get ready to put Red Diamond in her place."

Bismuth smiled as she headed out and warped back towards Beach City. Deciding that she still had plenty of midnight oil to burn, she got back to her work making some more tools and weapons. Even if they were never used, she figured it never hurt to have them around.

The next day…

Steven woke up with a deep yawn. He then looked at the sunrise and smiled. He not only felt refreshed, but confident that the others would have their plan for Red Diamond all figured out. Now it was just a matter of time for it to go off, but there were still other matters such as his wardrobe. The tank top from his father was nice, but he needed something else. (Starts the next scene with Steven entering town) He looked at his powerful frame in the mirror, and decided to go out and get some more clothes.

"I should get a new outfit…" he said, "I mean, I have a few hours left before the next mission at least."

He headed out into town on the search for some new clothes, still flustered as he walked by several women of varying ages clearly appreciating the view. While the tank top was much less revealing than his old shirt, he could not help but blush and walk a little bit faster whenever he saw someone leering at him. This made him walk a bit faster until he tripped for a split-second and bumped into someone.

"Oof, sorry about that!" he said, looking down and paling when he saw who it was.

"Oh, it's alright, mister, I-" Connie stopped mid-sentence as she got up and only then realized who she was looking at. "Steven… is… is that you…?"

"Connie?! Oh, uh, hi! I-It's been a little while, hasn't it?"

"Not really! What the heck have you been eating?"

Steven only stammered as Connie started walking around him, inspecting him from every angle and only caused his mortification to grow. "Did I miss another monster attack? Did you get poofed again?!"

"Connie, what's all the noise for?" asked Doug Mahesweran as he came in with a grocery bag on his arm from across the street. "Did you not find those books you were looking for?"

"Dad, it's nothing… I think…"

"Hey," he then said, eyeing Steven, "Who's this?"

That alone created an awkward pause. That is until Connie said, "Um… Dad… I don't know how to say this… but that's Steven."

"What? That's preposterous! This man's more than twice his height! I'm pretty sure I'd know if you were hanging around someone twice your age!"

"DAD!"

"Mr. Maheswaran, I can explain!" assured Steven, but that only seemed to raise the father's suspicion.

"And how exactly do you know my name? You haven't been… watching my daughter, have you?"

"NO! I am Steven Universe!"

"Prove it."

Steven then recounted a certain, very bizarre dinner that happened between the Mahesweran family, himself, his father and a highly uncomfortable six-armed alien woman with a serious case of mood swings. Hearing that story again, and knowing he never told another soul about that night, Doug knew this really was his daughter's best friend.

"Oh my goodness… It really is you…!" He said, almost completely speechless.

"Heheh, yeah!" Steven said sheepishly.

"But… but how did you get so… so ripped!?" he asked, still in shock.

"Well, I don't mean to brag, but I have done a lot of training recently," he said proudly, flexing one of his bazooka biceps as he did so.

Connie blushed a bit upon seeing this. Something Steven noticed, causing him to blush as well. Doug was not lost on their mutual embarrassment. "You know, maybe we should go. We still have quite a few errands to run before Priyanka gets home from work, and-"

"W-Wait!" Steven said, "M-Maybe I can help!"

"Oh, that's alright," assured Connie, "I'm guessing you've got some stuff to do for yourself and I wouldn't want us to slow you down."

"Steven, that's very kind of you," said Doug, "But we're on a tight schedule as it is. It's nice to see you, though, and I apologize for the misunderstanding."

Before he could say anything else, the father and daughter shunted off towards another store. Steven watched as Connie seemed to hold her head forward and try not to look back at him. Steven eventually brought himself into a clothing store and after some time silently combing through racks and shelves, he paid for his clothes with his saved-up allowances and left before running back to the temple at super speed.

He immediately zipped up to his room, still blushing at Connie's reaction upon seeing him. "Okay, that was… awkward…" he said to himself. He then reached into the shopping bag he had with him. Among them is something he seemed to have bought out of haste. It was a pink jacket similar to a letterman jacket. It seemed a bit too small on his huge frame, but there was something about it… He shrugged and simply placed it aside. He then opted to dig through the rest of the objects he bought. He was much bigger than most people so he had to find the largest things he could. They didn't look big enough, but he knew these would last.

First he was able to find a t-shirt. It was midnight blue which looked nice to him. He also found some khakis and sandals. Once he donned both of them, he put on the shirt and was quite pleased by his reflection. True it didn't fit them perfectly, there were a few inches of midriff exposed, but he looked pretty nice, smirking at his reflection, "Yup, this'll do." He then looked at the clock, seeing that it was nearly noon, and wondered what to do next until Garnet came up to his room.

"Nice outfit," she said.

"Thanks! What's going on, though?"

"We're about ready to get the mission underway. Peridot has the Sun Incinerator already so we'll be meeting there in a few minutes."