It was quiet for a few more weeks, slow and steady. Steven adjusted quickly to their new routine, as the gems made sure he balanced battle training with his basic human necessities. He pushed forward, rising up under the pressure instead of letting himself crumble, and he watched the others do the same. Spinel proved to be dangerously skilled with a scythe, a natural at it as he had been. Poppy and Aqua, with their mace and pickaxe respectively, were forces to be reckoned with when they were fighting side by side. The Rutile twins had a two-part chakram, one half for each of them that they could combine into one if they needed. Rhodonite had a machete, interestingly enough; Steven and Berry took their time fawning over both weapons for a while before they went back to training and working respectively. As for Fluorite and Padparadscha, admittedly, they weren't too good on the field; Padparadscha's slow adjustment to everything going on around her and Fluorite's severe lack of speed made it difficult for them to fight, but Greg was content to keep them company while the others trained.
Within the first week, Berry finished Spinel's scythe and presented it to her during a training session. It was roughly the same size as Steven's, and had several different shades of pink across it. The blades on either side were curled; one end, the larger blade, only curved downward somewhat, but the other end curled close enough to and up pointing back upward toward the blade itself. Hanging from the smaller one, from some sort of string, a perfect, smaller copy of Spinel's gem hung; there were also three more of those, one at the base of the scythe, at the very bottom, and two more clasped into place where the scythe met the blades. As he fawned over it with Spinel, he couldn't help but grin at all the hearts littered across it; there were several little white ones leading down to where the base was. The design in itself…
… it was absolutely gorgeous.
"And now the training can really begin," Berry told them, arms crossed as she stepped back. Spinel moved back a little too, starry eyes fixed on the scythe, then abruptly lifted it up to spin it around her. It wasn't something he was unfamiliar with - he found him doing the same thing, somewhat, whenever he was bored enough, and she tended to do it quite a lot during training. She lifted it up, twirling it above her like a helicopter blade for a moment before turning and slashing out toward Steven without warning; he managed to summon his shield in time to block the attack, and wasted absolutely no time in summoning his scythe at once to swing back at her.
He couldn't help but smile to himself, watching the way the fake gem hanging from the scythe dangled and swung whenever she lashed out, but he was quick to shift his focus to the fight.
"That looks amazing, Berry!" He heard Poppy gush, and he couldn't help but smirk as he deflected another swing from Spinel and slashed sideways at her, managing to snag her shoulder with the scythe. She twisted and jerked away from him, looking one arm around to snatch the top part of his scythe and yank it away from both of them to slash down again.
As he blocked it with his shield and stepped back to avoid getting hit when the shield broke in response, he heard Berry's uncharacteristically quiet mumble of, "yeah, I know…" before the Ruby quickly excused herself to where Lemon Lime and Peridot were currently sparring.
He didn't have to look to know that she was blushing, and he wasn't going to risk doing so.
So he simply smirked at Spinel, jerking sharply and twisting to sling her back toward the stairs before she had a proper chance to let go of his scythe again, and lunged without waiting for her to get back to her feet when she crashed backwards. Her… stretching abilities made fighting with her a lot more interesting, if he was being completely honest; she could do things others couldn't, shift her body to accommodate to the fight and find any weaknesses or drop in defense. She managed to spring up and out of the way, bouncing high into the air, and Steven stopped just as swiftly to launch himself up after her. His floating abilities were something he was trying to experiment with; Berry had mentioned, off-hand, a few days ago that he could probably use a mixture of his floating abilities and his shield to create something of a hoverboard, like how Peridot had started doing using the metal trash can lids with her powers.
Steven smirked and summoned his shield under him before he had the chance to stop falling, and managed to level it midair, frozen for a moment, before diving back downwards as Spinel fell. He was still a little shaky; he didn't know how to completely control it just yet. He could move up and down, but turning and stopping was an issue for him when he started speeding up. It was also an issue when Spinel didn't give him a chance to reach her before she stretched her arms up, grabbed the edges of his shield, and started swinging it around. He got off pretty quick.
(It was actually one of the reasons he liked sparring with her so much, though, because she challenged him. Without Tangerine there and with Berry mostly being busy working or training with Peridot and Lemon Lime, nobody else could quite match him in a fight the way they could. But Spinel was with him every step of the way, blow for blow; it was exciting, it was interesting.
It was fun.)
He landed, skidding back across the floor of the arena on his feet, and Spinel let his shield drop again with a smug smirk while the hybrid simply summoned another one. "What'sa matter, Steven?" She called, and he grinned, twirling his scythe as he readied himself to attack again. "You're letting me kick your butt pretty hard." The pink gem snickered, adjusting her grip on the scythe and hefting it up over her shoulder to swing, and Steven paused to glance her over, thinking for a moment, before lunging. This time, when she stepped back to dodge and slash, he was quicker to deflect the blow with his shield and lashed straight out for her without pause.
The scythe sliced her diagonally, from her shoulder to her side, just barely missing the gem. He held his breath for a moment, seeing that, but allowed himself a quiet sigh of relief when she simply started giggling just before she poofed, her gem unharmed and intact. He'd been through the routine with her only two other times, having only managed to poof her twice before when they fought; he caught the gem before it could fall and was quick to set it down, backing away.
She reformed still laughing, eyes alight with excitement, and he smirked. Only to pause, catching a glimpse of a star at the base of one of her pigtails, where a hairband would be.
"Hey!" He diminished his scythe and shield at once, shuffling over. Spinel just beamed at him and turned her head, pigtails swinging, to better show off the new addition to her form. The star was white, not too big, but it definitely stood out against the dark pink pigtails. It was only the one, as well, he noted as he circled around her and grinned. "That star suits you, Spinel."
Spinel blinked and smiled at him, nothing but warmth in her gaze. It was a surprisingly soft expression, lacking all of her usual excitement and hyperactivity, but her gaze wasn't dull or sad or too serene, just… soft, and gentle, and calm. "Well, I figure I'm one-a you Crystal Gems now." She chuckled and shook her head, and Steven smiled as he raised a hand to run his fingers through his hair, briefly taking a moment to check on his earrings and make sure his ponytail hadn't come loose before he dropped his hands again. "And the star is your branding thing."
"Branding-" Steven couldn't help but snicker.
Spinel only giggled, then smirked. "How's about round two?"
"You're on."
The next two weeks went by almost cautiously; time moved, and yet stayed frozen at the same time. They continued to train. Steven spent less time in the beach house, taking his meals with him to the training arena when he had to eat. He didn't quite distance himself from his father, but he didn't see him as often anymore unless Greg came down to watch them every now and then. ("It's okay, kiddo. I understand," the man had assured him once, ruffling his hair as the hybrid prepared himself to head back down to the arena with Spinel. "I know this is what you gotta do.") He was grateful, of course, but he still couldn't help but feel a little guilty. He knew he should be taking the time to relax and enjoy being back home, but he didn't feel like he could. If anything, as the days went by, he found himself growing more and more anxious by the second. Once again, he brought up these concerns to the gems; Garnet admitted she couldn't see anything in the near future, but she also admitted her future vision had been fritzy since Steven had given himself up to Homeworld, so they all simply decided to keep their eyes open for now.
Each day, he asked Clementine if there were any updates on Agate, Sage and Tangerine yet, wondering if they'd even thought about trying to get into contact with them yet or whether they simply didn't consider the idea. Each day Clementine would shrug and frown and mumble, "haven't heard anything" before she went back to training with a worried look on her face. Steven wished he could say something, anything, to try to reassure her, but he didn't know what he could say. At the very least, he didn't know what he could say that would convince him, too. So he just kept his mouth shut and pushed forward, shifting his focus to the off-colors' training.
They were doing pretty well; Poppy had gotten a few good hits on him, and Aqua - though they seemed nervous about actually hurting him - was pretty skilled with that pickaxe of theirs too.
The third week came and went. On Saturday, Amethyst finally suggested they all took a break. Steven had reluctantly agreed, but only because almost everyone else had first. Taking the weekend off wasn't too bad, but he still couldn't shake that feeling in the pit of his stomach. But he still put his scythe away and agreed to at least try and relax a little with them; they watched movies, played video games. Even Peridot eventually joined in, and although it was with some great reluctance, Steven thought she started to enjoy herself a little when she and Lemon Lime locked themselves in a video game war. Steven had to admit, for just a moment, as he watched, he briefly forgot about everything else. It was nice to just relax with them, to just… exist with all of them for a moment, without having to worry about anything, but he knew it wouldn't last long.
His point was only further proven when the house started rumbling.
It was subtle at first, so subtle that Steven didn't notice it. Berry was the one who lifted her head, an alarmed look rapidly flitting across her face, and that was what snapped Steven to attention. Everything else happened very quickly after that; the rumbling got louder and harder until the entire house was shaking, shuddering, and Peridot and Lemon Lime were quick to drop their controllers and summon their weapons. Steven heaved himself up, gem pulsing as he summoned his scythe, but he froze with his eyes locked on the window as a shadow passed over the porch and the beach, the familiar whir of a ship reaching his ears as the house shook.
His breathing hitched on an inhale while Berry jumped to her feet. "Weapons," she ordered sharply, and Candy and Clementine wasted no time in obeying as they stood up. "Get ready."
"Is it Homeworld?" Pearl gasped, pushing herself up and summoning her spear. Bismuth was on her feet at once, hands shifted into pickaxes. Amethyst followed suit with her whips, pressing close to Pearl with a scowl on her face as she stared at the door. Garnet was slower to move, a somewhat trapped expression on her face as she heaved herself up from the couch, frowning.
"No…" Garnet froze, and the whirring grew louder.
Steven stared in silence, watching the shadow stop moving across the beach. Everything froze for a moment; time stood still as they waited for the ship to lower. It wasn't Blue Diamond's ship, but that granted him very little relief. Especially once the shadow shifted and seemed to turn, and then abruptly started moving back toward the house, at a much quicker pace than before. Garnet was quicker to move then, grabbing Greg's arm and yanking him toward the warp pad. "We need to get out of here," the fusion yelled. "Amethyst, get Greg to safety-"
"What about Steven?!" Greg exclaimed, and Steven froze for a second, glancing back.
"I'll be-"
"Incoming!"
Steven snapped his gaze up, pupils shrinking, and barely managed to encompass himself and the gems around him - Amethyst, Pearl, Lemon Lime and Candy - in a bubble in time. He heard the warp pad activate at once, looking back in time to see Greg's form disappearing behind the warp stream, but Garnet managed to get herself out, forcing herself through the stream before it had the chance to lift her up and carry her away as well, just as the ship crashed into the house.
The window shattered, glass flying, everything went numb for a second as Steven felt the ground disappear from underneath the bubble as they went flying backwards. He heard screaming, sounds of surprise and horror and fear and pain, but he couldn't see anything but blurs and motion now as the bubble rolled and bounced, smacking back against the far end of the temple. He flattened himself back against it before it suddenly popped on its own accord, leaving him and the other gems to crash to the ground. Bits of wood and other debris fell around them, hanging from the ceiling; in just a split second, the house had been demolished. The ship, large and sharpened to a point in the front and only inches away from where Steven was now, rested completely still in the middle of the wreckage, not even rumbling. The hybrid stared at it for a moment in shock before snapping his gaze around in search of the others, heart sinking.
Then Lemon Lime screamed - a horrible, terrifying, gut-wrenching, unintelligible sound - and heaved himself up to lunge forward. Steven's protests caught in his throat, which clamped shut tight on him almost immediately, the second his eyes rested on what, exactly, he was going for. Among the debris, pieces of the wrecked house, Berry's gem glittered. His head spun, trying to wrap his mind around what had just happened while Lemon Lime dug through pieces of wood until he could wrap his mechanical fingers around Berry's gem, holding it close to him. "Berry!"
"Is everyone else alright?" Pearl called out shakily as Candy made her way to Lemon Lime, a horrified look in her eyes. Steven heaved himself up after a moment, every part of him shaking, and stumbled after the pink Pearl. He couldn't even focus on the ship; his gaze locked on Berry.
"Is she cracked?" He choked out as he reached them, and Lemon Lime shook his head.
"No." The Peridot swallowed, tears in his eyes, then sucked in a shaky gasp. "Peridot-!"
"I'm alive," Peridot's voice groaned, faint and somewhat muffled. A piece of wood moved, trapped under part of the wall, and Peridot managed to poke her head out, looking dazed. Steven rushed over at once to help her out, and Amethyst followed quickly, wrapping her whips around the part of the wall so that Steven could lift most of the wood up for her to crawl out.
After a second, Clementine's voice called out, "we- we're okay-!"
"Poppy?" Garnet called. "Aqua?"
"Spinel?" Steven yelled, breath hitching slightly.
"Alive!" Spinel yelled. Then a pause, and some shuffling, "oh… oh no… Aqua poofed…"
There was a short burst of flames and Poppy shoved herself out from under a pile of debris, glaring daggers toward the ship for a moment as she shook herself free. "Is everyone okay?"
"We think so," Amethyst mumbled, turning back to Peridot. "Yo, you good?"
Pearl suddenly shrieked. "Bismuth! Where's Bismuth?!"
"Right here!" Bismuth yelled back, coming into view briefly before disappearing around the side of the ship. A moment later, something slammed against the side of it, and there was a sharp, loud screeching sound, like something sharp scraping against metal. Steven cringed despite himself, clenching his fists tightly for a moment before managing to summon his scythe again. "Get out here, you pebbles!" The rainbow-haired gem yelled, and there was another sharp clang; this time, the ship rocked on its side a little, just briefly. "So we can put you in a bubble!"
Slowly, one by one, everyone else began to group back together. Poppy stalked over to Lemon Lime, looking at Berry's gem worriedly. Spinel was quick to follow, Aqua's gem cradled in her hands. Pearl and Garnet came up behind them, and Clementine and Rhodonite weren't far behind. Steven couldn't see the Rutile twins, but Rhodonite had her hands, shaking, cupped tightly around something he couldn't quite see, and he realized, heart sinking, it was their gem.
Bismuth stepped back toward them, tense, as something in the ship clicked and whirred. Steven tried to stare through the windshield, heart pounding against his chest so hard that it hurt, but he couldn't see who was inside. Not until there was a sharp hiss and the door started to open, and an unfamiliar voice called out, soft and sickeningly sweet, "is that any way to greet a friend?"
He watched Bismuth freeze, and Pearl's entire body shudder in surprise as she jerked back.
Clementine sucked in a breath that didn't come back out.
Garnet growled and murmured something, a low grumble Steven didn't catch.
(He didn't think he needed to.)
Lemon Lime stepped back, Berry's gem in his hands still, as the ship opened completely. The gem that stepped out wasn't really like any gem Steven had ever seen. Her gem glittered on her chest, black and triangle-shaped. Her hair was fluffy, and black, curved upwards into three distinct points that somewhat reminded him of a helmet. A dark grey cape flounced around her as she moved, not long enough to reach the ground, but toward the bottom of her knees, where a pair of light grey boots met her pants. She also wore a pair of black gloves, which she fiddled with as she made her way forward, only pausing when she reached the bottom of the ramp that had opened to let her exit, and she smiled at them, sharp and cold enough to make him freeze.
"Well, well, so many of you in one place." The gem paused, grinning. "Oh, did I crash a party?"
"Melanite," Pearl said quietly.
"You," Clementine snarled, moving forward. Candy stopped her quickly, putting a hand on the Jasper's shoulder, but Clementine didn't move her gaze from Melanite, who merely smiled.
"Pearl, Garnet," she greeted, only sparing a glance toward Clementine before rooting her gaze back to the others. Garnet lowered her chin, visor flashing, and Pearl's hands curled into fists, held tightly at her sides. "It's so lovely to see you again! It's rather funny, isn't it? I assumed you'd died. But no, you've been here this whole time. And you." She rounded on Bismuth then, and Steven was surprised, just for a moment, when the rainbow-haired gem seemed to flinch. "Well, I do have to say I'm surprised to see you alive and well. But isn't this fun? A wonderful little reunion. Ah, but, I'm not here just for you." Melanite paused and turned her head, and Steven's breath caught again, anger and wariness churning in his gut, as she stared at him. The corners of her lips twitched, tugging upwards, and she lifted her chin. "If it isn't Rose Quartz."
Steven stared at her for a moment, stomach twisting, but the rest of his fear rapidly dissolved into fury. This was the gem that had shattered Mandarin. This was the leader of the rebels, the gems that he'd been sent into war to fight against, the gems that had attacked Homeworld directly, and the gem that had the audacity to come to Earth. The rage that engulfed him was enough of a courage boost to make him step forward, ignoring the other gems' warnings, so that he could get a better look at the gem in front of him. His grip on his scythe tightened, just briefly.
This was the gem that had attacked his planet. His home.
(Both of his homes.)
"It isn't," he snapped. "I am Steven Universe."
Melanite's lips twitched, an amused expression crossing her face. "It's quite a pleasure."
Steven stared at her for a moment, regarding her silently, then replied quietly, "it won't be."
"Oh, goodness, I've made the wrong impression, haven't I?" Melanite laughed, glancing back at her ship briefly, and Steven narrowed his eyes. "Put your weapon away, darling, I'm not looking for a fight yet. No." She turned back to him, still smiling. "No, I'm here to make you a deal."
Despite himself, he scoffed, while Clementine hissed, "you're not in a position to make deals."
Once again, Melanite ignored her. Her focus was all for Steven, and the hybrid couldn't take his gaze off of the gem in response. "Come back to Homeworld with me," she declared after a moment. Steven's eyes narrowed further, fingers curling tighter around his scythe, until his knuckles turned white. Melanite stepped forward, but Steven didn't retreat; he met her gaze as she approached him, until they were face to face. "And I'll leave everyone else here alone."
He remembered a time, so long ago, he'd been faced with this same kind of dilemma. Except the choice hadn't been offered to him, he'd come up with it himself, a last-ditch effort to save his friends and family. He'd done so willingly, unprompted; now he stood here faced with the same choice. Different circumstances, different gem, but the same choice. And maybe, almost a year ago… no, not maybe. Almost a year ago, he'd have replied immediately. He'd be talking to her, trying to reason with her. Or he'd simply go along with her, hoping he could change her mind before any damage could really be done. He'd do whatever he could to diffuse the situation. But now he simply gazed at her, feeling nothing but contempt, because Clementine was right. She was in no position to make deals. She didn't get to come to his planet and demand anything from him after what she'd done.
The hybrid managed a smile, calm and cold. "No thanks."
"Oh…" Melanite tilted her head and grinned, showing her teeth. "I was hoping you'd say that."