There was a half a second pause as Melanite summoned her weapon.

It wasn't the breaking point, Steven didn't think at first, because it didn't look like the weapon that Bismuth had presented to him so long ago. It was a scythe. She held it almost carelessly, casually at first, then lifted and hefted it up, and Steven found himself stepping back without his own permission. The handle was curved outwards toward the blade - which curved downwards to a perfect, thin point like a claw - and the shorter blade, on the other side, was more like the end of a spear, another sharp point that made the hybrid recoil just looking at it. He also noticed a chain hooked onto the blade, winding around the handle of the scythe, and dangling from it swung an upside down triangle, not unlike the black gem glittering coldly on Melanite's chest.

He kneaded his own scythe in his hands, startled by the sudden rush of fear that had engulfed him, but also the absolute thrill that suddenly shot through him at the promise of a fight. The conflicting emotions didn't make for a good combination - but even so, when she lunged at him, he found himself grinning for just a split second before he managed to swing his own scythe up, a more defensive motion than offensive, to block the attack. She didn't slash down at him with the blade yet; instead, she spun it around and swung the bottom of the scythe at him, and he caught a glimpse of another sharp spear-like blade on the bottom as he summoned his shield.

The blade slammed into it, and he barely managed to jump back as it broke almost at once. He heard the gems yell out, the familiar shimmer of them summoning their weapons, but he kept his focus pinned on Melanite as she spun the scythe again and lifted it up to slash down at him.

He breathed in, steadied himself, and met the attack dead on. He slammed the blade of his scythe up against the handle of her own and twisted sharply to deliver a harsh kick to the stomach, sending her slamming back into the ramp of the ship she'd crashed into his house. To her credit, she didn't quite lose her balance; she stayed upright and on her feet, and her grin only seemed to widen further as she pushed herself forward and readied herself to attack again.

The others came out of nowhere.

He heard the gems rushing to come to his aid, although he didn't quite need it at the moment. He saw a blur of pink as Spinel lunged, scythe in the air, and Melanite was quick to shift her focus to the other gem seemingly out of necessity to block her attack. Steven stepped forward, watching warily as they fought for a moment, but he was caught off guard when another gem suddenly launched themselves at him, too quick for him to know what was happening, much less dodge. It wasn't long before the handle of a weapon was pressed against his throat and he was pinned back against the wall, staring up wide-eyed into the familiar face of Angel Quartz.

"Hey there, meatball," she crooned, pressing the weapon harder against his throat, and the hybrid choked in a gasp, fighting for as much air as he could get. "Remember me, sweetheart? Because I sure as shards remember you." She forced his chin up and Steven cringed, frozen for a second, fingers grappling for a better hold on his scythe, until the pressure suddenly relieved.

Amethyst, whips in hand, turned and slung Angel Quartz back and away from the hybrid, finally letting Steven catch a proper glimpse of the chaos raging around them. In just a few minutes, the house had become a battlefield; horrified, Steven could only stare, watching as rebels and the Crystal Gems clashed. He recognized some of the gems fighting on Melanite's side - some of them were rebels he'd fought in the last moments just before Homeworld had retreated. Some of them, like Angel Quartz, were ones he'd fought personally. Gems he'd poofed. Gem's he'd seen on Homeworld again, after they'd been rejuvenated. Gems he'd trained on Homeworld. His mind spun as he struggled to make sense of it, make sense of why they were fighting for Melanite again now, why they were here. They'd been reset. He'd seen them when…

His heart sank for a second, looking around. They hadn't been prepared for this at all.

They'd been training for so long, trying so hard to prepare - and nobody had seen this coming.

A rebel lunged for him - Candy Cane, he recognized immediately. He'd never forget those markings. He stepped back and slammed the blunt end of his scythe forward against her stomach, then spun it again and slashed the blade up at her throat. They fought for a second, dodging and deflecting each other's blows until Steven finally managed to poof her, kicking her back into the wall he'd just been pinned again and slashing his scythe through her stomach.

He bubbled the gem without a moment's pause, battle instincts in full gear, and turned. He could see Melanite, still near the ship, fighting Spinel and Clementine now. Every instinct screamed at him to rush in and help them, but his focus shifted back to the others. They were struggling; Amethyst and Angel Quartz were blow for blow, Lemon Lime was doing his best to fight while trying to keep a hold of Berry's gem, and he didn't even know where Aqua and the Rutile twins gems were either. Bismuth was fighting through the crowd, seemingly with the intent of getting closer to Melanite, but there were too many. The thought struck something painful in his chest.

("We can't retreat! We're so close!"

"There's too many of them.")

There were too many now. They'd been completely unprepared for this, and four gems were already out of commission. The hybrid gritted his teeth and scowled, turning as another rebel lunged at him, and was quicker to poof them before he threw himself right back into the fight.

He made his way to Garnet. Garnet was the leader. Garnet was the one Amethyst and Pearl took commands from. He'd admit that, at first, he sought out Berry - he'd take her orders in a heartbeat - but she wasn't there. He might not have fought beside the fusion in his first battle, but they were fighting together now. And he'd fought corrupted gems with her. He trusted her. He needed to trust her with this. He needed to trust her to know what they needed to do here. So he fought his way to her, through the rebels, and slammed the blade of his scythe into the back of the rebel she'd been fighting, right between the shoulderblades. He caught the gem without pause and looked up, ignoring the startled look on Garnet's face. "We need to retreat."

Garnet turned her head toward the warp pad and nodded at him, fists clenched.

He turned away as she called out to the gems, seeking Clementine and Spinel out. He knew the Jasper wasn't going to want to run, not now, not when they finally had Melanite right there. Amethyst paused her fighting with Angel Quartz, but only for a second, but it was long enough to give Angel Quartz the opening she needed to lunge. She swung her pickaxe down, and Steven sucked in a gasp that came out in a scream, a warning, because she was aiming for the gem. Images of purple gem shards flooded his mind, and he lunged toward them, desperate.

Pearl was quicker. The pale gem was as graceful as ever, putting herself between Amethyst and Angel Quartz just before the pickaxe struck. Steven saw Amethyst's pupils shrink, a look of shock rapidly flitting across her face before it turned to alarm, and then horror as Pearl poofed, and she fumbled to catch the gem before it could hit the ground. Steven froze for a second, equally stunned, then made a direct beeline for Angel Quartz before she could take advantage of the fact that Amethyst was distracted again. He spun his scythe and held it by both ends for a second, pressing the handle against the blue gem's chest and shoving her backwards, propelling himself forward with her and twisting to shove her back into another one of the rebels.

"Stars!" Angel Quartz huffed out a laugh as he slammed her back further, knocking both rebels off their feet. They both scrambled to get up, though Angel Quartz did so with less urgency, and she looked more amused as her gaze flitted over the hybrid. "Oh, did I make the meatball mad?" She stood, pickaxe in hand, and Steven readied himself to lunge again. "You mad, little Rose?"

Steven sneered back in response and lunged, lashing out at her again. She blocked him easily, and the amount of rage that flushed through him damn near clouded all his other senses.

She lashed out and the blade slashed across his shoulder, down to his chest. He froze for a second, biting his tongue to keep back a yell that escaped anyway. He jerked back, away from her, as the pain tore straight through him, causing his entire body to rock back instinctively. His breathing hitched as his teeth clenched, stomach rolling with waves of nausea as he struggled to compose himself. He swung and lashed out a little blindly when Angel Quartz lunged at him, silently berating himself for even allowing her to get a proper hit on him in the first place. Maybe he'd been unprepared for this, but he shouldn't be so far off his game. He'd poofed her before. He scowled, deflecting another attack and stepping back. He waited, watching, and slashed-

His scythe connected with the side of her neck and she froze, staring down at him.

Now he was getting somewhere.

He reached out to catch the gem as she poofed, and his hand connected with someone else's; his pupils shrank for a second as he looked up, his gaze locking with Cherry Quartz's. His eyes darkened at once, lips curling back in a snarl as he lunged for her. She skipped backwards, leaning back to dodge his attack, and offered a sweet smile before jumping back and taking off.

For a moment, he almost followed, forgetting that they were supposed to be retreating until someone grabbed him by the arm. He turned to lash out, but froze when he saw it was Spinel. Her other hand was locked tightly around Clementine's arm as she tugged them to the warp pad, past Garnet, Amethyst, Candy and Bismuth, who were fighting to hold the others off. Lemon Lime, Rhodonite and Poppy were already on the warp pad, and the poofed gems were nowhere to be seen. Steven twisted to look back as they stepped up onto it, and his eyes widened slightly as he took another quick look around and realized someone else was missing.

And then Peridot was there, fighting her way through the crowd with her ninja stars hovering around her and Pumpkin cradled in her arms, and the moment she jumped up onto the warp pad with them, it activated. The stream rushed up around them, effectively blocking out the sight of the battlefield the beach house had become, and Steven's breathing hitched for a second as he stared at it. The others were still there, four gems against all of those rebels. Too many.

"Why," Lemon Lime breathed, swallowing, "why are they here? What do they want with you?"

Steven shook his head, appalled, and looked back at him. "I don't know…" Lemon Lime bit his lip, silent for a moment, then summoned a bubble from his gem holding Berry and Pearl's gems; that explained why they hadn't reformed yet. Of course he'd bubbled them to keep them safe. He gazed at Berry's gem for a moment, concerned. He'd never seen her poof… he trailed his gaze toward Pearl's gem, resting carefully beside Berry's, and the Peridot immediately shifted his grip and popped the bubble to hand the gem over to Steven. He diminished his scythe, albeit reluctantly, to take it just as they landed on the warp pad again. He didn't need to look to know that they were at the barn, but he glanced up anyway, silent as he took in the sight of it. Greg was pacing just outside, hands gripping his hair; he whipped around when the warp pad activated, and his pupils shrank for a second, frozen, before he rushed over to where they were.

Steven stepped down, stumbling slightly. His heart was racing, leftover adrenaline pumping through him, but now there was nothing to direct it to. He held Pearl's gem close as Greg ran over to them. "Steven! Oh my god, are you- are you okay?! Is that Pearl?! What happened?!"

"I'm-" Steven's reassurance cut off as the warp pad activated, and he whipped his head around, expecting the rebels. Instead, he was relieved to see Garnet, Amethyst, and Candy, but he realized with a jolt that Bismuth wasn't with them. He tightened his grip on Pearl's gem reflexively even as Amethyst made her way over to him to check on both of them, looking worried, and shifted his complete focus to Garnet for the time being. "Where's Bismuth?"

"She went to get the Sun Incinerator." Garnet's lips pressed into a thin line, but he couldn't tell whether it was disapproving or simply concerned. "Fluorite and Padparadscha are still inside."

Rhodonite let out a quiet groan and ducked her head, holding the Rutile twins' bubble close.

Steven continued to stare until Amethyst's hands cupped around his face, effectively tearing his attention back to the purple gem. His wide eyes sought out the smaller Quartz's concerned, somewhat wild gaze as she searched his face, hands shaking. "Are you okay? Are you okay?" The urgency in her voice shocked him into responding, nodding before he could think about it. The wound across his shoulder and chest throbbed in response, and he bit back a grunt, clenching his teeth over the side of his tongue and pulling Pearl's gem away to look down. Amethyst took it from him at once, holding it carefully in one hand, and she sucked in a shaky breath when she saw the torn, blood-stained fabric of his shirt, and the scar beneath it. "Steven…" The purple Quartz faltered, reaching out, to brush her fingers over the wound briefly.

Greg's breath shuddered slightly, resting a hand on Steven's shoulder and turning him slightly to get a better look. Steven let him, patiently allowing them to fuss over him for a moment. He knew how bad it was - and he figured it looked a little worse than it felt, too - and he wasn't going to try to reassure them that he was okay when he knew that it would fall upon deaf ears. So he simply waited for a moment, until Greg pulled his hand back with a worried frown and a quiet "oh, kiddo", before he stuck a finger in his mouth and reached down to run it over the wound. He winced a little initially, biting his lip, but relaxed again once the scar began to heal.

His father pulled him into his arms at once and Steven found himself sinking against him before he could really process what was going on, turning and burying his face into Greg's shoulder. He remembered how horrible the battle had been, how he'd wanted nothing more afterwards to just curl up and cry. Shards, he had. How he'd broken down the moment he was in the Room. The hybrid couldn't help but feel like that now; they hadn't seen any of this coming, hadn't even suspected that the rebels would be a threat to them here. They'd thought the Diamonds would be the first ones they faced again, the ones who came to Earth in search of them. As angry as he was with Melanite, now that they weren't face to face, the fear that engulfed him was stifling.

He'd seen Bismuth's terror when she'd heard the other gem's voice, seen Pearl and Garnet tense when she'd exited the ship. She'd shattered Mandarin, she'd attacked Homeworld, she was dangerous and capable of things Steven knew very well he didn't even know the extent of, and now they were all getting front row seats. And why was she here? Why wasn't she back on Homeworld, with the Diamonds? Had she lost? … had they lost? The thought made him wince.

(Why would she be here, after all, if she hadn't completed her goal?)

He breathed in slowly through his teeth, fingers gripping his father's shirt, and struggled to swallow back the rest of the fear coursing through him. It wasn't over, just on pause. They couldn't hide out here forever and hope Melanite wouldn't find them or search for them. And they definitely couldn't leave her out there, so close to Beach City. If anything happened to-

Steven gasped, jerking his head back and whirling around toward the others. Greg's grip tightened for a second, looking alarmed, but the hybrid didn't pull back. "The town, guys, we-"

"Oh, god." Amethyst's pupils shrank slightly, glancing back. "We need to get them outta there."

Garnet curled her hands into fists for a second, visor flashing. "I'll let Nanafua know to evacuate immediately." She turned and Steven watched as she propelled herself forward, dashing and leaping away, disappearing into the sky. He stared up after her, tightening his grip further on Greg's shirt before twisting to pull away from him again. Greg hesitated, hands hovering over the hybrid's shoulders, but he allowed Steven to pull away from him without much protest. Peridot stared at the barn, an unreadable look on her face, and put Pumpkin down with a frown.

"Steven," she began, and the hybrid turned toward her at once. "You should call Connie." The hybrid's mouth went dry for a second at that. Connie. Stars, she was going to want to fight, too. But she needed to know the threat they were facing, even if - especially if - that was the case.

The hybrid took a deep breath, summoning his phone from his gem. Poppy started pacing suddenly, popping Aqua's bubble to hold their gem in her hands, and let out a low snarl. "Who the shards do those pebbles think they are? First Homeworld, now Earth. That Melanite really just thinks she can come and do whatever she wants, doesn't she?" She whirled around, flames flickering through her hair, and Steven - for just a second - thought Berry would be more smitten with the other Ruby than she was with Garnet, if only for a moment. He shook the thought off quickly, frowning to himself as he unlocked the phone and pulled his contacts up to search through his contacts for Connie's number. She was right. Melanite really did have some nerve.

Anger renewed, if only slightly, he pressed Connie's contact with shaking fingers and looked back up toward the others. "She's about to learn the hard way that she can't," he mumbled.

Poppy growled in response, meeting his gaze. "Oh, you're darn right."

"I'm going to destroy her," Clementine seethed, pacing. "Oh, I wish Tangy was here…"

"Me too," Steven mumbled. He wished they were all here. Tangerine, Agate, Sage…

… he hoped they were okay… whatever had happened on Homeworld, for whatever reason Melanite had decided to come to Earth instead, he hoped they were okay. He bit the inside of his cheek, swallowing hard and ducking his head as he struggled to breathe in again. His chest and stomach twisted, his mind unable to decide whether he was afraid or angry, and the feeling that engulfed him was such a horrible mixture of both that he felt like he was gonna be sick. He ran his fingers through his hair, holding the phone to his ear until the ringing stopped and Connie's voice came from the other line, a rather cheerful greeting of, "hey Steven, what's up?"

"Connie," the hybrid began quickly, taking another breath and rushing back in, bluntly, "we're under attack. It's the rebels. They showed up and- and crashed into the house, and Melanite's here, and we had to retreat. We're at the barn right now, and, um…" He stopped, swallowing. "Uh, we're trying to get everyone to evacuate Beach City because the rebels are still there. It's… it's pretty bad, Connie." He waited a moment, holding his breath, but there was no reply.

He understood, however, after a second. And almost immediately after he realized it, a thundering roar split through the air, a flash of pink and a portal splitting open, and Connie and Lion jumped through, skidding across the ground briefly. Lion turned with a growl, claws digging into the ground, and Connie wasted no time in jumping down and rushing over to them at once, her sword gripped tightly in one hand. Steven took a deep breath and let it out a little shakily, happy to see her but worried by what this meant, especially as she held her sword at the ready. "The rebels are here?" She asked at once, looking appalled. "Steven, why would they come-"

"We don't know," Steven breathed, despair briefly trickling through the fury he was feeling, but it melted away again after a moment, replaced with concern. "She said she wanted me to go to Homeworld with her, and she'd leave everyone here alone. I'm not going to," he added quickly when Connie's expression shifted, and Greg inhaled sharply, both of them looking alarmed for a second. "I'm not going to. She…" He gritted his teeth, fury returning. "She has no right to come here and demand anything from any of us after what she did. I'm staying here and fighting. But…" He faltered for a moment, glancing toward Amethyst and Pearl's gem, then Berry's, and then the Rutile twins and Aqua's. "We just weren't expecting… none of us were prepared, and Berry and Aqua and the twins were poofed so quickly, and then Mom…" He shook his head.

Connie's eyes widened, looking back for a moment. He watched her expression shift, taking in the gems. The look that flitted across her face was unreadable, and then determined. She turned back to him, sword lowering as Lion made his way over to them as well. "What can I do?"

Steven shook his head again, looking at the sword dejectedly. She was just a kid. Younger than him. And these were… dangerous gems, gems that could kill her. "You shouldn't have to…"

"Neither should you," Connie insisted firmly.

Steven faltered again for a second. She was right, he knew that. But… he did. He did have to. This was his home. And it was her home, too, but it was different, wasn't it? He was a child, but he was a soldier, too. If nothing else, Blue Diamond had made sure of that. "I know. But I do," he replied hesitantly, quietly, then took a deep breath. "But you don't have to be a part of this."

Connie was silent for a moment. "... well, I want to."

"... I know." Steven's eyes shut for a second without his permission. "You could be hurt…"

"So could you."

"You could be killed."

"So could you," Connie retorted. He opened his eyes again as she stepped forward, closer to him, and didn't move as she put the sword down and reached out to grab his hands. He stayed still, gazing down as she laced their fingers together and continued, "but I still want to do this. Steven, this is why I started training! To learn how to fight. To fight with you, to fight for Earth."

He remembered facing her, concerned, determined. ("Someday soon, we may be fighting some really bad guys, and when that day comes, I want to fight with you, together! So please…")

Steven softened for a second, meeting her determined gaze, and managed a tired smile. He had promised her they'd fight together, hadn't he? If he couldn't stop her, convince her that she shouldn't be a part of it, then he could at least fight beside her like he'd said he was going to. The hybrid sighed and closed his eyes again, swallowing past the lump that had risen to his throat, and nodded. She understood the risk, he'd told her enough for her to know what they were dealing with - at least a sliver of it, as much as Steven knew without the actual experience. He took a deep breath and sighed, looking down at their hands for a moment. "You're stubborn."

Connie giggled and smirked at him. "Thanks. I get it from my mom."

"I don't doubt it." Steven looked back up at her, biting his lip for a moment, then glanced in the direction Garnet went in. "We're not fighting right now. What we're worried about is getting everyone to safety. Maybe Empire City…" He trailed off. It was far away enough, wasn't it? As long as they stayed in Beach City, they could make sure the rebels didn't get that far. Steven wasn't going to let anyone get hurt. "Garnet went to tell Nanafua to evacuate. Dad-" He turned toward his father. "You need to go, too." Greg, for a second, looked like he was about to protest.

Amethyst didn't give him a chance. "He's right, dude. You'd be better off out there helping everyone to safety," the purple Quartz admitted, holding Pearl's gem close. Greg faltered, biting his lip for a moment, and Steven took a deep breath and rolled his shoulders back, looking up.

"Connie, can you and Lion take him into town to help?" He paused. "And… get Lars."

"Of course." Connie offered a faint smile, pulling away from him and climbing back onto Lion. The pink beast ducked his head briefly to nuzzle Steven, then turned away. "We'll be back."

Greg hesitated, and Steven moved forward to hug him. The man knelt down at once to embrace him, wrapping his arms around the hybrid tightly and kissing his forehead, and he leaned into the touch with a quiet sigh. "You be careful, okay? Call or- or text when you can." Steven only nodded, holding on for a moment before letting go, and Greg turned a surprisingly serious gaze toward Amethyst, who met his eyes steadily as he added, "don't let anything happen to him."

Amethyst glanced at Steven before rooting her gaze back to Greg. "I'll protect him with my life."

Greg softened a little at that. "... be careful, Amethyst."

Amethyst smiled tiredly, rubbing her thumb over Pearl's gem, and didn't respond. Greg took a deep breath and climbed onto Lion along with Connie, looking uncertain as he wrapped his arms around the pink animal, and Steven stepped back, sending his phone back to his gem. Lion turned, ducking his head low enough to press his nose against Pumpkin's head - and the orange creature reared up as much as she could to press her face into his mane - before turning away completely and roaring another portal, jumping through with Connie and Greg without a moment's hesitation. Steven stared until it closed shut behind them, holding his chest.

"Now what?" Rhodonite asked nervously.

Candy frowned, looking down at Berry's gem for a moment. "Now we wait."