With Steven still recovering from his recent monster sized breakdown he attempted to recover and return to a normal life with his friends and family. After all, with everything he'd been through up until now, it couldn't possibly get worst...right?

...

It had been two weeks since his breakdown. Two weeks since he came to the conclusion that he was a monster. Although now he knows that isn't true, it still hurts to think about, that he had gotten that close to rock bottom. Since his realization that his claim was false, Steven had attempted to take his friends and family's advice and strive towards a successful recovery, both physically from his transformation and mentally. Physically, he turned out alright, a little sore here and there sure, but overall back to normal, aside from the literal glow of his emotions, which he had managed to thankfully get somewhat under control to where it only happens in times of actual need or higher stress. Mentally though, he knew was where the hurdle would be. Everyone knew that it wouldn't be easy. Some things were still difficult to convey, like a good portion of his childhood trauma. It isn't that he didn't want to talk about it, but rather he couldn't. Whenever he attempted to do so, he found himself hitting a metaphorical wall, stopping him dead in his attempt. Because of this, and everything else that was wrong with him up until now, his family still believed that a therapist would be beneficial to him. Although they continued to bring the topic up as they were all smart enough to know that this wasn't their area to handle in a professional, long term manner, he still tossed the idea around, with some days making the idea seem more welcoming than before. For now though, he would focus on what he could do for a path to recovery. He was beginning to see people and gems alike again, something he had struggled to do for the first week as he was afraid of what their reactions would be to his outburst. Once he felt he was ready though, he began his attempts to see others while he was away from home. Alongside this, he had tried on several occasions to make a transition towards 'normal' or at least what counted for normal in his life (which these days, didn't seem like much compared to other people's lives) so that he could stay on his path to recovery. He would admit though, he still had off days. He'd honestly consider it weird if he didn't have them, considering the events of his life up until now. Unfortunately, while his off days were expected and manageable, there were some days where even considering it 'off' was an understatement. Though they didn't happen nearly as often as his normal off days, when they did occur, it usually meant something wasn't going to go right in any sense.

He had awoken that morning with a hesitant feeling, almost like the world was saying "Don't do it Steven. Today is not the day. Stay in bed, or at the very least, stay at home". He wasn't sure why he was feeling the way he was. Setting the feeling aside, Steven threw himself out of bed and moved towards the main area downstairs. Once on the ground level of the house, he noticed the area was empty. Thankful for the silence as he didn't want the gems to throw themselves at him first thing, he gazed out the front window towards the ocean. It was nice to admire the view without having to feel the breeze anymore. Up until roughly a week ago, the house had a giant hole in the front of it, a stern reminder of his transformation. Although Bismuth wouldn't admit it, it took her longer to repair the home then she would have wanted. Between working around the Gem's schedule while still making appearances to Little Homeworld, she got delayed in her time of repairing the dwelling by a bit more than she would have liked. In the end though, the house seemed good as new, almost like nothing ever happened. After enjoying the view for a bit longer, he made his way to the bathroom to do his daily tasks of self care. Once he was done, he found that Pearl was around and now present in the kitchen.

"Morning Pearl".

"Good morning Steven" She seemed like she was occupied, likely making breakfast for him and probably Amethyst as well. Judging by the smell the area was giving off, he was guessing eggs. "Any plans for today?"

"Yeah, I'm meeting up with Centi later to hang out for a bit. We're gonna take a drive through the countryside for awhile."

"Sounds like fun. It's good to see you both getting around. I haven't seen her leave Little Homeworld much aside for when she and her crew leave Earth for their travels in space."

"Yeah, I figured it'd be good for both of us to explore and unwind some."

Humming in agreeance, Pearl continued making breakfast while Steven went upstairs to get changed. Once he came back down, breakfast was ready and on a plate. After spending more time with his maternal figure, he finished breakfast and gave his good byes. Although he wasn't meeting Centi until sometime after lunch, he made sure he had plenty of time to get around as he was usually stopped by people and gems alike while in Little Homeworld. Although his physical change had left some emotional scars in the town, both for him and those attempting to avoid further conflict, the residents of the town had come together on their own, individual accords, making it a point to check in on the hybrid. After all, they all felt like it was the least they could do since he had broke the eons old cycle Homeworld was caught in a few years back. After spending some time in Little Homeworld and making his way around the area meeting and greeting many of the individual's who called it home, he eventually met up with Centi. Once together, the two hopped in the Dondai and began their trip to the countryside. The trip they planned was roughly an hour and a half or so. There was a spot Steven had found in the countryside along a wood line that he had found helped calm him down whenever he was in a funk. He wanted to share this spot with the now uncorrupted gems as many of them still had mental scars from their time spent as nothing more than wild animals trying to survive. Once they were at the spot, they both sat and chatted away, enjoying each other's company. Steven had been meaning to get with Centi for sometime now. He had always enjoyed her company, even before his breakdown. He knew she was struggling somewhat herself, though her struggles were far different then his in comparison. Centi had wanted to branch out a bit, see more of Earth on the ground level so that she could appreciate it's beauty more, but found that she didn't really know where to begin looking around at. Steven took this opportunity to kill two birds with one stone and give her a hand, something that she seemed to be appreciative of at the moment.

"You know, its odd. Even during my time with Homeworld before the war, I had seen several different planets and sceneries, yet somehow, none quite compare to this one. There's something about it that really makes this place feel like home"

Chuckling at her comment, Steven responded to the green gem. "I'm glad you like it Centi. I only found this spot about a week ago. It's really helped me relax and forget the stress of everything...especially recent events." Centi understood his meaning. Although her corruption wasn't self inflicted, she still felt the pains from her transformation from time to time. She had found that the first couple weeks of returning to normalcy once she was cured were the hardest. Each of the formerly corrupted gems understood this feeling. Thankfully, they all had an unspoken understanding for each other, each making an attempt to not bring up the idea of it so they might avoid any negative feelings, new or recurring. After Steven had been 'cured', each of those gems felt like it was their duty to do the same for him, to help him forget it happened at all, regardless of how difficult it was. The two had stayed and continued with minor conversation until the sun was nearing dusk. Wanting to return home to grab dinner and call it for the day, Steven elected it was time to leave. Centi chose to stay behind though as she had plans with her crew, who were on the way to pick her up. Giving their respective farewells and thanks, Steven texted Pearl that he was on his way back and drove off in the dondai, as the sun continued to set. It had been roughly half an hour that Steven was driving when he found himself having to come to a stop alongside the wood line as an animal carcass was currently blocking the road. Judging by the appearance of the animal, which had looked like it had bled out after being struck, it looked like a deer. Seeing the poor creature left Steven with a feeling of dread as he never enjoyed seeing a deceased form of any creature, organic or gem. Moving towards the creature, he had elected to attempt to revive the creature. Before he could though, a recent conversation crossed his mind, hearing Connie and Pearl's insistence that he have a thing of medical gloves in his car in case something like this were to happen. That was a talk he wasn't forgetting anytime soon. He could still hear word for word of the lengthy discussion on what might go wrong without proper equipment. With a thing of gloves, he moved to revive the creature, something he usually chose to think about beforehand as the 'gift' of a longer, potentially immortal life might not sit well with some. In cases such as this though, where it seemed like a creature was taken before their proper time, he would usually give them another chance. After using his trademark healing powers, the now pink creature began moving about. Looking back to Steven, seemingly thankful for the second chance, the deer ran off into the woods, leaving Steven alone once more.

Once he was sure the animal was gone, he had begun to move back towards the car. Suddenly though, something stopped him. There he stood, alongside the road and wood line, alone, yet for some reason, an ominous feeling had crossed him, as if he were being watched from a distance. He couldn't hear anything nearby. In fact, he couldn't hear anything at all, as nothing was making noise, which was odd. Although the time of dusk and the nighttime that followed was usually followed by a silence, it was never dead silent, as usually some bugs and bats would make some kind of noise. However, as he stood there, he noticed that any noise had come to a stop, as if time itself stood still. With his feeling, his suspicions were raised more when he heard a nearby twig snap, causing him to turn pink. He was thankful for the timing of the power, but he was also mentally cursing it. Although he now had a light source for the ever growing darkness of night, he was also a literal glowing target that could be seen from some distance away. Before he could continue his thoughts though, a rustling in the woods caught his attention. 'I-its probably nothing Steven. Probably just Bluebird trying to scare you again'. He would admit though, if this was tiny fusion, then her air of menace had improved greatly, something that she desperately needed to improve. Before he could ponder any further though, he was hit by something, sending him flying towards the dondai. Crashing into the small metal car, confirming the collision with a load metal 'dink', he struggled to get his bearings as he had only seen a quick flicker of movement before being struck. 'Ow...yep, that settles it...not Bluebird'. For once, he'd have to say he was disappointed it wasn't her. Before he could gather himself and prepare some kind of defense or counterattack, Steven found himself being grabbed and pinned to the car. Thanks to his pink glow, he could see the thin shape of the figure, though he couldn't make out exactly who was attacking him as they wore a hood around their face. They also wore a thin dark gray thing of what looked to be armor, which was covering the individual from the neck down.

"Who are you?" he asked.

Rather than receiving an answer, the only thing he received was a blow to the gut, just barely missing his gem. Afterwards, the figure elected to drop the boy to the ground. Still processing the pain from the blow, Steven attempted to figure out exactly what to do. Looking up at the figure, he saw them reach for what he could only assume to be their ear. Once their hand was still, they began to speak aloud, almost as if they were speaking into an ear piece or something similar.

"My diamond, are you sure this is the one? I was expecting this to be interesting from what your description told, yet this is a cakewalk so far". Their voice was somewhat similar to that of Volleyball's, though her's wasn't nearly as calm or menacing as the figure's that stood above the boy.

'My diamond!?. Was this a gem sent by one of the diamonds? It couldn't be, they were getting along well with Era 3 and had come to love him. But then who...'. Before he could finish his thought, the figure had finished the chat with 'their diamond' and grabbed Steven once again. Once at eye level for the second time, they made a move for another blow, a knockout if his currently in pain gut was to be believed. Before they could though, he acted on instinct and created a bubble, separating the two. Once apart, he dropped the bubble and moved to retreat, believing that to be his best option. He'd rather avoid any kind of confrontation with the figure, especially in the setting he was currently in. The figure was quicker and stronger than what their build would have him initially believe. It was also difficult to detect them unless they were up close, as the armor they were wearing had blended in well with the dark environment. Before he could activate other powers or begin a proper retreat though, the figure moved to intercept. Losing the battle of speed, the distance was closed quickly and another hit had sent him flying towards the woods and through a few trees. Once he had settled in the dirt, he looked up to find that his attacker was standing in front of him once more.

"You know for the savior of the galaxy or whatever, this is kinda dull, but I suppose that's what happens when you get ambushed…takes the fun right out of it. No time to really settle on a plan, much less anything else. Pretty boring for the attacker too, I mean, it's an ambush...and against a single person too. Doesn't really take much thought to execute one of those. Oh well, hopefully my diamond will give me another shot once he's through with you. I'd love to have a chance to go up against you at your best rather than with you at several disadvantages."

Before Steven could even ask what that was supposed to mean, the figure made a final blow to his head, ending the fight and knocking him out, leaving him at the mercy of the figure. Now knealing down over the boy, they moved their hands towards the unconscious hybrid and bubbled him to allow more convenience in carrying him. Once Steven was secure in the bubble, the thin figure began moving deeper into the woods, leaving the area as quiet as it had been before, with the only evidence that anything had happened being the dondai, a few broken trees, and a small human boy sized hole in the dirt.

...

Just when you think Steven might actually get a break, the universe decides that the boy needs some more action in his life, though this time might be a bit too much for the either him or the Gems to handle. Tune in for more on that and where this story is going.

Thanks for the read guys. Let me know what y'all think. See you all in chapter 2.