Steven is alive and well, but why exactly is he on the moon base? And why does he seem...different?

...

The silence inside the moon base was deafening. No one dared move or speak for a few seconds as everything that was occurring was still being processed, mostly by the Crystal Gems. After a couple moments, it was Steven who had broken the silence.

"Hey guys, been awhile huh?" He says as he went and sent away the bubbled Peridot. "I'll admit, I wasn't quite expecting to run into you all so soon."

Having been broken of their trance, it was Amethyst who had begun an investigation into exactly what was happening.

"Awhile?! Dude, you've been gone for months with no clue as to where or why. You dropped off the face of the Earth and didn't even tell anyone. And now you just show up out of the blue with a wardrobe change attacking those Peridots!?

It was difficult to ignore the change of attire on the boy. Rather than wearing his signature star shirt and pink varsity jacket with jeans, it had been swapped out for what appeared to be a dark grey armor, thin enough it seemed to allow for decent mobility. The armor covered everything his normal clothing would, the only differences being that his feet were also covered, to which the Gems silently noted as odd since the boy rarely ever wore shoes that fully covered his feet, and that his gem was on full display as the armor circled perfectly around the outline of the now black gem, which was noted as a red flag by each of the Gems that they would attempt to figure out sooner rather than later. Alongside the armor was a piece of jewelry slightly above his sternum. Although at first glance it seemed like a necklace, upon a closer inspection, it seemed it was more an addition to the armor as it seemed attached to it rather than something that was placed over it. In the middle of said jewelry were three red dots with the middle one being noticeably larger.

"Yeah, sorry about that. It wasn't exactly my choice when I was taken, but it couldn't be helped. As for the new clothes, the old ones got ruined. That, and I've taken a liking to these ones."

Noting his vague answer, Pearl elected to attempt to mother the boy, hoping that would give them better results.

"Steven, we've all been worried sick. Your father, the other gems,...Connie...they all miss you."

"I know and again, I'm sorry. I'd like to see them all, really I would. But for now, I can't come home...not yet."

Before the trio could ask for more details on exactly what he meant or ask further questions, the center red dot on Steven's chest began flickering on and off.

Steven sighed, "Shards, didn't think that much time had passed." Reaching for his ear, he spoke quietly, the Gems only hearing a few things from his conversation. "Hey...yeah, sorry...distracted. Yeah, it...them. You guys...the Peridots? Alright, let...diamond know I'll...shortly. Thanks".

Lowering his hand and turning his attention back to his family. "Sorry guys, but I gotta get going. I'm expected elsewhere and I'd rather not keep them waiting."

He began walking towards the stairs only to be cut off by the trio, halting his movement.

"Sorry dude, but we can't let you leave. Something happened to you and we're gonna figure out just what that is", declared Amethyst.

"Guys, I'd really rather avoid doing this with you, so I'm asking you to step aside". The last bit seemed more like a command than anything.

"Steven, we just want to help. We can't just let you go, not after you've been gone for so long. We'd prefer not to have to bring you back by force, but we are not leaving without you" Garnet proclaimed.

Becoming visibly annoyed, Steven continued moving towards the stairs. "If you guys won't move, than I'll go around. I really don't have time for this right now." With that statement, he disappeared in the blink of an eye. Looking around, the Gems soon found he was already on the second floor. Chasing after him only led to the same thing happening once they were near, making it to where Steven had descended to the first floor in record time. He continued in the direction of the warp pad and was nearly upon it when the Gems got to the bottom floor. Realizing how close they were to losing Steven again, Garnet acted on the situation and spoke to the other two.

"Quick, destroy the warp pad. We can't let him leave."

Humming in agreement, the two joined the fusion in summoning their weapons and launching a long range attack. The attack neared the warp pad and had made contact. However, when the dust settled, the warp pad was still intact, as a transparent grey bubble had been formed between the attack and its intended target.

Now on the warp pad, Steven looked back at the gems. "Sorry guys. You'll know what's happening soon enough. Until then though, I'd appreciate if you didn't interfere anymore. Say hi to everyone for me won't you." And with that statement, Steven had warped away, leaving the Gems wondering exactly what had happened to him.

...

And just like that, the Gems are left with more questions than what they had arrived with. As for Steven, well, we'll get there soon enough.

Not gonna lie though, this chapter took me sometime to get by. I had the idea of what I wanted to happen, but I kept finding that I wasn't quite satisfied with it. Probably ended up rewriting at least 3 times, but glad I was able to get it out all the same.

Also, if anyone is wondering about an update schedule...I don't have one. I've literally just been in a writing mood lately. Never meant to have 4 chapters out in the first week of posting the fic, but whatever, still glad to be doing it regardless. I won't promise that everyday there'll be a chapter, but at the same time, I'd like to keep going while the details are fresh sooo we'll see.

Fallen Angel by Three Days Grace