Tomorrow was a very special day.

For more than one person.

It was for two.

Steven and Connie to be exact, as the Gems and her parents had agreed to let them meet up at the hospital to talk, hang-out, and do whatever they wanted to make them both happy.

Connie needed it because Priyanka was starting to get afraid that one day she might actually manage to successfully escape from the hospital. Steven needed it because this was the only time he had gotten out of the house in two weeks, not counting his little escape to Homeworld yesterday. But the Gems were finally willing to go easy on all their rules. After a brief realization that maybe keeping Steven in what pretty much amounted to a cage was not the best of ideas, they all decided to let him have some time off with Connie. Which he, of course, was extremely grateful for. He even went to bed early the night before, when they told him where he was going the next day.

Of course, the Gems knew just how big a risk they were taking. Mirror could have been (definitely was) listening in, so they had to choose their words carefully. They had taken Steven to the Forge to give him this announcement and reminded him to not speak it aloud anywhere else. And when they got to the hospital, they could only talk in one room, which Peridot would have to wipe clean of nanobots beforehand with a device she created. She called it the "nanobot destroyed", a name which everyone chided for how unimaginative it was. It sent out miniature heating lasers like a microwave all throughout a room, targeting the bots and vaporizing them. It took her fifteen full hours to complete it, and this was only because it was constructed entirely out of Homeworld tech. Not a single piece of human or old Gem technology was put into it. When Amethyst asked her how she managed to make it, since she was unable to even see the nanobots before because of how small they were, Peridot launched into a lengthy explanation on how she didn't need to see them to make the device work, and how the device could track the extremely small amount of radiation they put out and then-

That was as far as Peridot got before Amethyst left, clearly disappointed with the explanation she had been given. Of course, Peridot didn't realize this until she was already finished with her half-hour expansion, and she didn't even seem to notice.

But long story short, she had made a way for them to be free of Mirror's little gadgets. Which was a necessity, because if they had been listening in, then they simply could have possessed Steven and forced him to explode again. And doing that at the hospital…

Well, that was a situation the Gems very much wanted to avoid. But all in all, Peridot's machine provided them freedom from one danger.

However, there were still other dangers to attend to. One of which was the possibility that Steven might go pink and let go on his own, as he had many times before. (The pink part, not the letting go part, but that was still enough for them to take it into consideration.) So they had to come up with a way to counter this before taking him. Pearl suggested they just transfer everyone in the hospital to another hospital. Bismuth suggested having an evacuation order at the ready. And Garnet didn't make any suggestions at all, due to her going straight into the burning room and "locking" herself in the second they got back from Homeworld without warning.

Much to everyone else's extreme irritation.

But more on that later. For now, Pearl and Bismuth explained their suggestions to Priyanka, who simply shook her head and explained how she would need to explain to the higher-ups about why they would need any of those things to happen, which would involve explaining why Steven was a living bomb at the moment, which would result in him never being allowed to visit Connie, and Priyanka possibly losing her job at even suggesting that they allow him in in the first place.

So, after that and many more explanations, they came up with something that was extremely risky but might work out in the end.

They would just do nothing.

That's right, nothing. Apart from Peridot's machine, they would just send Steven to meet up with Connie and go with that. No special barriers. No precautions. This was just a risk they were going to take. Of course, they did have a few contingency plans, as Steven had given Bismuth permission to open the nearest window and throw him as hard as she could towards the woods if he suddenly started glowing. (The original plan was the ocean, until Lapis mentioned that that might create a tidal wave so catastrophic that even she might not be able to stop it fully in time.)

And that was pretty much all they had in the contingency department. Crude, but effective. But if there was anything they all agreed with, it was that their plan would have probably gone better if Garnet had helped them make it.

And now on to that.

As said before, the second they got home Garnet turned around and walked right into the Temple, letting it shut behind her. Nobody did anything at first, assuming she was just going in for a few minutes, but after a few hours had passed it was pretty clear that she wasn't coming out anytime soon. Amethyst went in and tried to get into the boiling room by using one of her water pools, only to find it blocked off by something. So then she tried to use the pipes to get in, only to find that those had been blocked off by something invisible as well. Garnet had effectively trapped herself in the Burning room, and once Amethyst informed the others of this they were not happy.

Their first thought, of course, was to assume that she did it to avoid telling Steven how she lied to everyone for weeks. Which led to Pearl having to tell him. He was understandably shocked, but not as much as they expected him to be. It was like he was shocked for a brief moment, but then realized that, "Wait, I saw this coming". This reaction left the Gems baffled, and a second later he went back to asking about his visit with Connie, their original topic.

But in reality? The emotions he had been hiding at that moment?

Steven was furious.

The second Pearl has revealed the truth, he was dumbfounded that he didn't go pink or just flat-out explode right then and there. Two whole weeks of his life...spent imprisoned in his own house, with no almost outside contact, hardly anything to keep him entertained, and a cautious glare anytime someone came in the room, had been revealed to be pointless. He had been theorizing all along that this was part of "Garnet's plan", something he had thought she came up with to save him and prevent a similar explosion like the one Mirror caused from ever happening again.

And now it was revealed that it was something he had imagined. Garnet had no plan. She was, quite frankly, making this shit up from the start. And while Steven realized that they probably would have done something similar with him anyway, whether or not Garnet intervened and took center stage, it still left him fuming.

Because he had been lied to again. Another secret kept from him and the others. Another secret that threatened to destroy their trust in one another. Another secret that...ah, you get the idea! Steven was almost too mad to even think straight at that moment.

But he tried. He really did. He did his best to mask this anger as nothing but surprise, and that is probably what saved him. He didn't go pink. He didn't explode. He stayed calm, or at least appeared to be such towards everyone else, and moved back to Connie to further calm himself.

And it worked, for a while. But after everyone left, he walked up to his room, and using all his strength, he let out a cry and punched the plywood sheet that Bismuth had set up in front of his window. It shattered like a pane of glass, exploding outward into the night, the pieces of it scattering across the beach. He still wasn't pink, so his scream hadn't done anything, but it was loud enough that it echoed across the cliffs and into Beach City, no doubt waking quite a few people.

He then stood, panting, seething, gritting his teeth as the last few chunks of plywood fell to the ground and the wind from the night blew in. He stepped out onto the balcony next, without fear of being caught leaving. After Garnet's lie was revealed, all the cameras and audio jacks were swiftly removed, almost like the other Gems had been waiting for them to be gotten rid of.

The wind blew right into his face, making his hair rustle in the breeze. For the first time in what felt like forever, he breathed in the outside Earth air. It was all coming back to him. The dryness. The smell of smoke from someone's barbecue halfway across town. The sound of a faint car in the distance. The lights of Beach City over the hill, easily visible from where he was standing.

And then without any further hesitation, he leaped into the air and then landed on the soft sand below. Again, another faintly familiar feeling. Even through the anger, he almost cried because of it. At this time, this one specific moment, he felt free. Free to do whatever he wanted. Free to go wherever he wanted. The Gems had all left for Little Homeworld, so as long as he didn't go there, no one was going to interrupt him. Finally, he could leave.

So leave he did. Steven started walking along the beach, the reflected moonlight from the ocean casting a shine on his face. The waves pounded against the sand and surf softly, the highest of them no more than half a foot tall. For a moment, he desired to sit down and simply watch...but he knew that he could do that later. For now, he wanted to go back to the town.

His town.

And soon it came into view. There was the Big Donut, lights still on, former Mayor Dewey inside looking like he was getting everything ready to pack up for the night. Steven had no money and no intention of buying a donut even if he did, but he wanted to see Dewey anyway. It would be, after all, his first real interaction with a human in two weeks besides his dad.

So Steven walked up to the building and pushed the door open, the bell ringing and alerting Dewey that someone had entered. He cursed under his breath before turning around, clearly peeved that someone had decided to come in right before he left. But once he saw it was Steven, his frown turned into a smile, and he dropped the bag that was in his hands and stepped out from behind the counter.

"Steven?" He said in surprise, rubbing his eyes. "Is that really you?"

"Yeah," Steven replied, nodding. "It's...it's me."

"...Jeez, I...where have you been?" Dewey asked, clearly unsure of how to properly respond. "You usually come here every morning, but after that explosion, you stopped showing up and I was worried that you had gotten hurt or worse and-"

"It's okay, Dewey, calm down," Steven said. "Uhh...yeah. Sorry about that. There were some circumstances with that blast that kinda forced me to stay in the house for a while...but I think I'm okay now. I'll try to show up more often."

"Ah, good!" Dewey said. "I really missed you! Some days you were one of my only customers! Or...only customer." He chuckled, before that died down and his smile turned back into a frown. "But enough of that! How are you? How have...things been…" He sighed. "I'm sorry, I'm terrible at making small talk sometimes."

"No, it's okay." Steven chuckled. "And I guess I've been okay as well. It's been kinda boring being trapped in my house all day, but I managed. Worst part was, I couldn't just sleep the day away, because even I would just be plagued by night...stuff." He explained, narrowly avoiding saying "mares", something that Dewey didn't seem to notice. "But I think it's more than what I can say for most of the people in Beach City. Since I haven't been out that much, how are things going here? How is...the town in general?"

"Not doing so hot," Dewey said. "We had to get like twenty trucks to come here two weeks ago to replace all the glass in town, because there wasn't a single pane left unbroken. The mayor paid for it all, although I suspect your father helped...you did mention once that he was a multi-millionaire."

"Not at this rate," Steven mumbled. "If he paid for all of that...yeesh, dad. Let's hope that money lasts until next month."

"I'm sure it will. He always seemed to know what he was doing. Or at least that's my opinion." Dewey yawned. "As for everything else, it's been...not so good. The glass caused a bunch of injuries, and we had to ferry a lot of people to the hospital. None of them are hurt too badly, thankfully, except for one person. Or I think one person. I did hear a rumor going around that somebody was hit in the head with glass, and they're still in the hospital." He sighed. "But for the life of me, I don't know who it is. I just hope they're getting better."

Steven gulped at this little comment, shifting nervously in place as he contemplated whether he should tell Dewey about Connie or not. Eventually, he came to the conclusion that it would be better for everyone if he just kept quiet for now, and so he quickly came up with an excuse to move past that.

"Yeah. Me too." He said. "But...how has working at the donut shop been?"

"Oh, it's been great!" Dewey said enthusiastically. "Even though, again, I don't have many customers at times, it's still nice to work here. Sure, the salary could have something added to it, and there's something called "the incident" that nobody will tell me information about, but other than that I'm very content with working here!" He then grabbed his bag off the floor before flipping a nearby light switch, which caused the lights in the back to go off. "But listen. I'd love to talk more, but I have to get home. I've got some pet fish, and if I don't feed them at the right time each night, they can get...cranky."

"How do fish get cranky?" Steven asked.

"Let's just say they have an unpleasant habit to throw water in my face."

"Oh…" Steven laughed, internally giggling at this image. "Well, it's okay. I think I was going to leave anyway. First time outside in two weeks, again, there's a lot of people I want to see. Like Buck...or that one Lapis...or a few tourists coming to visit…"

"Why would you want to meet tourists?"

"Um, just to greet them into the city," Steven said quickly.

"Hm. Well, alright!" Dewey said. "Now can you back up, Universe? I'd rather not lock you inside."

"Oh yeah, of course," Steven said, swiftly exiting the store. Dewey followed him a second later, flipping the final light switch before shutting the door behind him and locking it. He then waved goodbye to Steven and started to walk to his car, but stopped about halfway there and slowly turned around.

"Steven…" He said. "About that explosion. Do you know what caused it?"

"..."

"..."

"No." Steven finally said. "I was there at the time, but me nor anyone else still don't know what happened. We think a gas line may have blown underneath Little Homeworld."

"Gas line? Yeesh." Dewey said. "Well, I hope that's fixed soon. But goodnight, Universe! I hope to see you at the Big Donut first thing tomorrow!"

"I'll try to be there," Steven said, and with that, Dewey entered his car, turned it on, and then drove off, leaving Steven in the dust. He watched the former mayor's car disappear into the dark of night, and then he sighed again and turned back to the town.

"Where to go next…" He mumbled, before deciding to just walk in the direction of the boardwalk. Most of the shops were closed up for the night, although there were still one or two that had some lights on. The Fry shop was one of them, and Steven wasted no time in walking up to it and looking through the window. There he could see Ronaldo putting several things away, getting ready to close the shop like Dewey had been. Steven rapped on the window twice in a row, and Ronaldo's eyes grew as big as saucers when he saw who was there.

"Steven!" He said, shoving the window open and leaning uncomfortably close. "I can't believe it! You're still alive!"

"Uhh...yeah," Steven said. "I'm still alive, Ronaldo. Before I say, "hi", can I ask what made you think I was dead?"

"No one has seen you for over two weeks! And you haven't texted me for that same amount of time either!" Even though I sent over three hundred of them!" Ronaldo exclaimed. "I was going to go to your house to make sure you weren't being held captive there, with all your electronics and methods of communication taken away, but Garnet made me turn back. Said that I wasn't allowed to see anyone at the moment, and then she just walked away."

"Of course she did," Steven mumbled, a momentary look of disdain crossing his face. "I'm guessing she just kept everyone away from the house for a few weeks. I wonder just how many people tried to visit me…"

"Probably a decent amount," Ronaldo said. "I know my brother and father tried to reach you, but they came back as well with no luck. I posted several updates on my blog about how you were being held captive as I suspected."

"You did what?!" Steven gasped. "Ronaldo, if the police or someone else saw that, and took it seriously, then they might have...have…oh, who am I kidding?" He asked himself. "I don't think anyone reads your blog anyway."

"I'll let you know that I have a very large and avid fan base for KBCW," Ronaldo said. "Just yesterday I had over a dozen views. It's a new record! Soon I might even get to twenty views, and then the blog will really take off."

"I'm sure it will," Steven said. "But I am surprised at how accurate your theory about me being held captive was."

"So I was right! Again!" Ronaldo said, before adjusting his glasses and smiling. "Of course, this should be of no surprise. When you're as deductive and as good at noticing things as me, you tend to figure things out pretty quickly."

"I doubt that," Steven said. "But how have you been, all the conspiracy theories aside? How have your dad and brother been? They weren't hurt by the explosion, were they?"

"Not at all," Ronaldo said. "We were in the shop when it happened, but due to the angle of the blast, none of the windows that shattered were pointed in our direction at the time. It was simply spread all over the boardwalk. But I do have a theory for what happened that day. Unless...of course...you already know?"

"I don't know." Steven lied again. "What's your theory?"

"I believe it was an attack from an enemy located in deep space," Ronaldo said. "Not the rock-people that everyone knows is real now, as I've been telling them for years, but someone else entirely. I have further reason to believe that the explosion was the result of the psychic powers that this unknown individual possesses, and they used them to cause an explosion in the area I personally call, "site-21". So what do you think? Does my theory make sense?"

"More than you know.." Steven replied, honestly disturbed with how much of that Ronaldo got partially correct. From the, "enemy from deep space", to the, "psychic powers they possessed", Ronaldo's theory was surprisingly correct. "But okay. I guess that makes sense. But what do you mean by, "site-21"?"

"Oh, that?" Ronaldo said. "I have spent several years cataloging the location of sites across the globe that I believe are the coordinates of structures left by these Rock-people thousands of years ago. My estimates conclude that there are about twenty of them in total. All ancient. But since this one is new, I have named it number 21. I hope there comes a day when a number 22 appears, so I can study that as well."

"You've studied Little Homeworld?"

"Site-21."

"Yeah, sure, whatever," Steven said. "But how did you study it? I don't think I've ever even seen you there. Like, at all. I thought it was odd at first, I suspected that someone like you would have been all over it, but eventually, I just passed it off. So...when did you study it?"

"At night. When a good deal of the residents were asleep. Or during the day, hiding in the shadows." Ronaldo said. "I've come to learn that people act differently when they realize I'm watching them. No doubt because of their awareness of my detection skills. So it's best to observe the rock-people in secret."

"Oh my god, you spied on everyone?!" Steven exclaimed. "First off, one, I'm actually kinda impressed that you haven't gotten caught by now, and two, why did you do that? What did you gain from watching everyone?"

"More than anyone but me could possibly comprehend," Ronaldo said. "I watch how they move. How they talk. How they interact with others of their kind. How they eat, how they drink, even how they-"

"If you say, "go to the bathroom", Ronaldo, then I swear I will-"

"I wasn't about to say that," Ronaldo said. "I was about to say, "even how they entertain themselves". And I find it fascinating to witness them interact with various bits of human culture. Perhaps they are planning some kind of merger into our society. To make a new home here."

"They don't need a new home. They have entire galaxies under their control. Little Homeworld is just the place for any Gems who want to live on Earth." Steven explained.

"Galaxies?!" Ronaldo exclaimed, before turning away from Steven. "Hm. I see. This goes even further than I thought. I initially believed that those creatures only inhabited a single galaxy, with a sort of capital planet or Homeworld leading them all. But they have multiple galaxies under their control? This is unprecedented. I'm going to have to quicken my research. Improve my observation skills. Perhaps figure out how to use the large pads that they teleport on. Maybe with those I can-"

"Humans can't activate the pads, not without a special tool," Steven said. "So don't even think about it, Ronaldo. And a lot of the places those pads lead to are dangerous. Much too dangerous for you to visit."

"Ridiculous!" Ronaldo said. "Your friend, Connie, I see her going on those things with you all the time! Why can she ride them but I can't?"

"Because she has training and is used to this sort of stuff," Steven said. "You are not." He sighed. "Okay. This has gone on for way longer than what I anticipated. Ronaldo, stop spying on Little Homeworld. Seriously. They need their privacy right now, and if they see you sneaking around at night taking photos of them, they won't be happy."

"You can't stop me, Steven. I will find out the truth." Ronaldo said.

"There are no truths! There are no secrets! If you want to know something, just walk up to them and ask!" Steven recommended. "They're all super nice! Unless you act like an absolute jerk, they won't turn you away!"

"There's a thing called lying, Steven," Ronaldo said, before grabbing the metal roll-down at the top of the window. "But I have to leave now. Update my blog with the information you've presented to me. And to inform everyone that you're not dead."

"Fine. Go do that." Steven said. "But I don't want you sneaking around Little Homeworld. If I see you spying on Gems, I will make you leave."

"We'll see about that. Goodbye for now, Steven." Ronaldo said, and with that, he closed the metal shutter and left Steven standing alone on the boardwalk. A few seconds later, he heard the sound of a door opening, and he walked to the right to see Ronaldo exiting out the side of the restaurant before running into the night, holding what appeared to be a flashlight, a pen, and some kind of notebook. Steven groaned and then walked away, frankly too uncaring to deal with that.

And so he resumed his gaunt along the wooden walkway, looking for anyone that wasn't Ronaldo to talk to. Eventually, he came across Funland arcade, closed like everything else for the night. But then he saw a small shape in front of it, holding what appeared to be a crowbar. Steven was struck with a momentary jolt of fear, unsure if he should try and stop what was obviously a robbery or not, until he noticed just how small the shape was, and the identity of the person became known.

"Onion!" He shouted, causing the child to turn towards him. "What are you doing?"

Onion, without hesitating, dropped the crowbar and then ran off at a speed that Steven didn't know was possible for normal humans. Like Ronaldo, he vanished into the night. And also like Ronaldo, Steven didn't bother chasing him. Instead, he picked up the now vacant crowbar and shoved it as deep as he could into one of his pockets, knowing that it would be best if he disposed of it somewhere where Onion could never get to it. (Which wasn't a lot of places, so he had to choose carefully.) But after this, he continued walking along until he reached the end of the boardwalk, which led to a road, which led to his dad's car wash, faint music coming from the van parked out front. Steven approached it and banged on the back a few times, and the music stopped instantly. The door swung open to reveal Greg standing there, holding a waffle iron, with headphones loosely covering his ears.

"Who's there? I have a-" He started to say, before he noticed his son standing in front of him, an actual smile on the edge of his mouth. Greg couldn't help but look surprised, and took off his earphones, set the iron down, and jumped out of the van.

"Steven!" He said, before taking him into a tight hug. Steven was surprised by this move, fully expecting this father to ask him why he was here first instead of doing this, but he wasn't complaining. He returned the hug and they remained like this for a few movements, before Greg moved back and then asked that question. "Steven, what are you doing here? Did the Gems let you leave after the whole…eh, Garnet thing?"

"...No," Steven said, ignoring the sudden spike of anger that shot through him. "No, I left on my own. They're all at Little Homeworld right now. I saw a chance to leave, so I took it. They removed all the cameras, all the audio jacks...so I just left. I needed to get some air. And even if they knew I was gone...I don't think they would be complaining."

"Really? You just left?" Greg gaped. "Err...is that the best idea? I mean, we all know about those nanobots now, and they could be listening in to what we're saying, and if that Mirror guy knows-"

"Yeah?" Steven said. "Well, before we continue talking, I got this for them." He then leaned towards the ground and cupped his hands over his mouth. "Hey, Mirror. If you're listening to us right now, and if you make me go pink and hurt my father, then I will personally choke the life out of you when I find you. Okay? Okay."

Greg stared at his son after this proclamation, horrified. "You...you wouldn't really…"

Steven put a finger up to his lips and shook his head, "no", before leaning in again. "So yeah. Don't annoy us. Or else." He then turned back towards Greg, who was clearly happy that his son hadn't been lying. "Anyway, what were we talking about?"

"About you leaving," Greg said. "So you really just went out, huh? Couldn't stand being in there any longer?"

"In a manner of speaking. And it was also because of the whole Garnet thing." Steven replied. "She said we had to keep me in this house. I always assumed it was part of her "plan" that she came up with future vision in order to help me. But now I know that she didn't use future visions at all. It was all just a lie. She never used her vision. It was just something she made up on the spot. And while I'm sure Garnet is fine at making plans even without her vision, it doesn't change the fact that she lied to us. That all of this could have failed. That all of this might have been for nothing. I believed so much that things would get better because of her. And now...they might not." He sighed and leaned into the air, jumping on top of the van. "I know I shouldn't even be angry at her. As I mentioned, she's fine at making plans without her vision. Heck, even if it involved locking me in the house all day, this was a sorta decent one."

"I'm not sure if I would say that," Greg said. "I might have gone along with it, but I certainly didn't like it. It deprived you of one of the most important parts of your life. Contact with people. Every day it seemed like that was the thing you looked most forward to, and then it was just...taken." He sighed. "About everything that's been going on in the past two weeks, or heck, months, I'm sorry I wasn't there to help you. I should have visited you or tried to call you. But when you didn't reach out, I assumed you were too busy and-"

"No, no, it's not your fault, Dad," Steven interjected, sitting down and letting his legs hang over the side of the van. "It's mine. Even if you did call, I would have tried to push you away or something. It's all I've been doing for those months anyway. Pushing people away, making excuses to be alone when it was anyone but Connie, and frankly just...being kind of a jerk." He rubbed the back of his head. "I should be the one apologizing for not reaching out at that time, not you. Because look where it led us."

"Sitting together on top of the van and having a father-son talk?" Greg joked, climbing on the van's hood and then moving his way upwards to sit next to Steven, who chuckled.

"Sure. Let's go with that." He said. "But you know what I mean. All this stuff with Mirror and the Diamonds and Charoite and-"

"Hey," Greg said. "We're not here to talk about that. And by that, I mean let's not talk about that right now. Just look! This is the first time you've been to Beach City in two weeks. The first time you've visited me by yourself in months. Let's not ruin that by discussing her things that ruined everything else in the first place. Like...who else have you seen? I know there's still a few people awake."

"Well, I saw Dewey and Ronaldo," Steven replied. "Dewey is about the same. He has some pet fish, he still works at the Big Donut, and I guess he was just happy to see me. Ronaldo was...also the same, if just as annoying as ever. Apparently, he's been spying on Little Homeworld for a while now, and I'm sure that's what he's doing at this moment despite me telling him not to. He also posted on that blog of his that nobody has seen me in two weeks, and I learned through him and Dewey that nobody knows I caused the explosion. Almost nobody…"

"Yeah…" Greg said. "We kinda swore everyone who knew to silence. We didn't want the citizens of Beach City to avoid you or try to alienate you once you were allowed back out of the house again. We did tell Priyanka, but again, sworn to silence. And she promised not to tell for the sake of her daughter's feelings."

"...Dad, did you know that Connie had amnesia?" Steven asked suddenly and solemnly, tightly gripping his hands together.

"...Yeah, shctu-ball, I knew," Greg said. "We all did. We all knew. But we didn't want you to worry. You were already so concerned for her that we thought it would be best if-"

"If you didn't have further reason to concern me?" Steven asked. "Dad, I'm not blaming you, considering that I'm positive that this decision was made by the Gems, but if you guys had just told me that the second you knew, then I might not have run off. If you showed that you trusted me with that information, then I might have just told you my plan to go get some Gem organic scientists and left you to it. The real reason I went by myself wasn't because I was in a hurry, dad." He sighed and looked up at the sky. "It was because I thought you wouldn't listen to me. I thought you wouldn't trust me. And now I'm not sure if I still trust you guys."

"Oh," Greg said, before gulping. "Well, after what happened, it's okay if you're a little adamant to believe what we have to say. But about the organic scientist thing...how is that going? Have you talked with the Gems about how you're going to continue with that?"

"We haven't. But I intend to." Steven said. "Whether they like it or not, I'm getting Connie the help she needs. I made a promise to Priyanka that it would work, so I am going to make it work. And I'm not going to let them stop me. I asked for a punishment after they found me leaving without permission...but after learning about what Garnet did, I don't think I care. And Mirror won't know where I am as long as I don't say anything aloud. And besides, most of the time I'll be off-world, talking with those Gem scientists about if they can help Connie or not."

"I see…" Greg said. "So when do you plan to start that?"

"The day after tomorrow," Steven said. "I'll spend the first half of the day visiting Connie, and then I can spend the rest of it planning things out, looking through the cubes I stole."

"Wait, you stole what?" Greg asked.

"Oh yeah…" Steven said. "On Homeworld, all the information in the archives is stored in these cubes. So I teleported some to Earth by bubbling them. All the ones with the info I needed. They're in my closet right now. I checked." He then looked at his father, an expression on his face that Greg had never seen before. "I trust you to not tell that to anyone, okay? If the Gems find out…"

"I won't tell them. I promise." Greg said. "But just be careful if you're leaving. After that attack by this Charoite character, I'm shocked that I'm not begging you to stay on Earth right now. I guess...I just don't want to help force you to be here anymore. And I don't mean that I think you want to leave the planet forever, it's just-"

"It's okay, dad. I understand." Steven said. "And no. I'm not leaving Earth permanently anytime soon. Or ever for that matter. I like it out in space sometimes, sure. There's a lot to see, there are plants and animals that would never even come close to evolving here, the architecture of some of the Gem structures can be beautiful...but this is my home. For better or for worse, it's where I'm staying."

"Well, I'm glad, Steven," Greg said jovially. "But do you think you're ever going to leave Beach City one day? Forge your one path out in the world? Go on a road trip or something like that? You've stayed here for practically your whole life after all. No one would blame you if you wanted to try something a little different."

"Leave Beach City…" Steven echoed, before sighing again. "I'm not sure how I feel about that. Just saying it makes me a little scared. I mean, I don't know much about the outside world. I've been to a few places and have learned tons of stuff about it, but staying there for an extended period of time, all by myself, trying to cope with whatever new environment it brings me…I don't know how comfortable I am with that."

"I didn't say you had to do it or were going to," Greg said. "Just an idea. And maybe you wouldn't have to be alone. I could come with you. Just you and me, on the road, visiting places, eating crazy foods, and just having a good time. After all the chaos that's happened recently, I think it could be fun."

Steven stared at his father for a moment before smiling slightly, clearly amused. "I'll think about it." He replied. "I guess that could be fun. But as for now, that chaos you mentioned still has to be taken care of, so I suppose we'll have to postpone any trip we want to take until this is all finished up. After we stop Mirror or maybe even make a truce with them, I don't know." He paused. "Oh, and Charoite. Maybe we'll just poof her or...something…" Steven's voice trailed off sadly, which did not go unnoticed by Greg.

"What's wrong, Schtu-ball?" He asked.

"We're talking about Charoite," Steven said. "Guess."

"Guess?" Greg said. "I'm not sure if...oh." He mumbled, coming to a realization. "You're thinking about what you did to her, aren't you? In that weird mind realm you were talking about?"

Steven nodded and then turned away from his father. "Everyone says that I'm not a monster for doing it. That I was just acting in self-defense. And ironically, I'm the only one who thinks otherwise. So...tell me, dad. Honestly this time. Are you horrified at me for what I did?"

"I...I don't know, Steven." Greg said. "I get what the Gems we're talking about. You were acting in self-defense, she was coming at you and wouldn't listen to what you were saying, and you knew that any damage you did to the...ground would seal up directly afterwards. But...I'm still not sure if I'm comfortable with things like that. I could never do it, for example. And to hear that you did it...well, as I said. I don't know, Steven. I guess I just have mixed feelings about the whole thing. I don't have a straight answer."

Steven turned away from Greg after this, shifting in place and thinking to himself. A moment later, he accepted this explanation, and his only reply was a weak, "okay".

"But that doesn't mean you should do anything like it again," Greg said. "I'm serious, Steven. Even if-"

"Don't worry," Steven said. "You won't have to worry. No matter what, I won't do anything like that again. And I'll also be more careful to avoid any situations that will lead to me being forced to do that kind of stuff in the first place." Steven shifted again before taking a deep breath, searching for something that would change the topic. "Oh, by the way, I actually saw someone else earlier. I saw Onion in front of the arcade, trying to break in for whatever reason."

"Onion? Really?" Greg said. "Hmm. I feel like I should be more surprised at this information, but honestly, I'm not. That kid always did have a knack for getting into trouble. Didn't he flood the town with those Guy things you used to like?"

"Still like them, dad. Just haven't touched them in a while." Steven said, his mind wandering to the numerous Guys and Gals he had stored in the back of his closet. "And yes, he did. He found Pearl's replicator and nearly killed us all...and it wasn't the first time."

"Well, hopefully, he tries to stay out of trouble. Or if he does, he won't get caught." Greg said.

"If he was going to get caught, I think it would have happened years ago," Steven said. "Seriously. How is he not on some kind of list?"

"Don't ask me," Greg said. "Although considering everything I've heard about him, I'm sure he is."

"Yeah…" Steven said, before looking at the stars again. "I think I'm gonna leave in a minute or so, dad. I'd like to get back to the house before midnight, so I don't look like a zombie while I'm visiting Connie tomorrow, but I still want to walk around a little bit more."

"Well, feel free. I'm not stopping you." Greg said. "First time outside in two weeks, go wherever you want, Steven. Visit people. Explore. Not much has happened since you were shut out from it all...but I know how I would act if I didn't get out of a house for over two weeks."

"Yeah. I do. You told me plenty of stories during your visits about how your parents never let you leave your childhood home." Steven said. "I'm guessing that those were supposed to make me feel better or something."

"That was the idea, yeah," Greg admitted.

"Mm." Steven hummed, before pushing himself off the van and hopping off. "Well, then I'm going. I'll see you tomorrow, dad. Again, I wish I could stay longer...but there are a few more people I hope to see."

"Of course," Greg said. "And like I said, don't let me stop you. Go have fun, Steven."

"I doubt it," Steven said. "But thanks anyway."

And with that, Steven took one last look at his father and then walked off into the night, the darkness consuming him and obscuring him from Greg's view after half a minute or so. Then it was just him, and the buzz of a nearby streetlight humming in his ear. A moment later he climbed down to the ground and went back inside his van, closing the doors and falling asleep the second his head hit the pillow he had placed inside.

Steven, meanwhile, continued walking down the street, a look of disappointment on his face when he saw that nobody else was outside. Or, at least, that's what he believed. As he walked deeper into Beach City and made it to the edges, he soon began to hear music coming from his left. He looked, and saw a rainbow of lights coming from inside the old warehouse on the beach, used for wrestling and raves. Figuring that there was really no better place to look if he wanted to see any of his friends, Steven bent his knees and then launched himself into the sky, angling himself so that he landed right in front of the dilapidated building a few seconds later. He pushed over the door and was met with an explosion of music and more lights, along with the shadows of teenagers dancing all over the place.

After entering and shutting the door behind him, Steven surveyed the place. A few people he recognized, most he didn't, but there was one person out of them all that brought up a few painful memories. Kevin. Standing over by what looked like a punch bowl and talking to a girl that was clearly disinterested, the one person that Steven truly despised stood in the middle of it all, as if waiting for him. Deciding that he wasn't going to stick around and risk making a scene, Steven turned to leave, only for a voice to ring out and make him stick out like a pink stain on a white shirt.

"Steven!" The voice said, and instantly the music stopped, and everyone ceased their dancing like they had been hit with a freeze ray. Steven forced his eyes shut out of frustration and turned around, grimacing upon realizing that Kevin, of course, has been the one to make his presence known.

"Look at this!" He exclaimed, chuckling. "Beach City's biggest loser has come to the best party of the year! And here I thought that nothing could ruin it!"

'Oh my god.' Steven thought, glaring at him. 'Is this really happening? Can't I just walk out or something?' He paused and then frowned even deeper. '...Yeah. That's exactly what I'm going to do. See you never, Kevin.'

Steven then turned to leave again, but Kevin, clearly angry at being so casually ignored, scoffed before picking up a cup and throwing it at Steven. With incredible aim gifted to him from throwing hundreds of cups at people over the years, it hit Steven right in the back of the head, spraying his hair and jacket with something cold that smelled like root beer. Steven stopped where he was, his hand hovering over the handle that would open the door, before he turned back around and scowled.

"Don't think you're going anywhere, Steven. Now that you're here, you might as well stick around."

"...If you don't want me here, then why are you inviting me in?" Steven asked, trying to ignore the liquid running down his back (and his urge to walk over there and throw Kevin into the next county over). "Your logic is as shallow as your personality."

Several amused whispers and giggles came from the crowd after this, causing Kevin to grit his teeth.

"Because I want to be a nice host." He said. "Consider the whole cup thing as my professional way of greeting you. Now, I think this part has been put on hold for long enough." He turned to the DJ, who was busy snickering to himself. "Turn the music back up."

"..."

"I said TURN IT BACK UP!" Kevin screeched, and the DJ snapped out of his stupor and did as he was told, inserting a new song into his machine and cranking up the sound. Soon it blared out of the loudspeakers and people turned their attention away from Steven and Kevin, who began walking towards each other before meeting in the middle of the room. They stared each other down for a second, before Steven huffed and spoke again.

"Soaking me with whatever this is. Screaming at your DJ. Trying to flirt with girls who clearly hate you. Yeah, you're a great host." He said sarcastically. "You're lucky I don't dump that whole bowl over your head for what you did just now."

"And then what would you be?" Kevin asked. "You're the nicest person I know. It's sickening. Which means you're not going to do anything that might ruin that little reputation."

"They'll understand. If I'm doing it to you, they'll understand." Steven stated. "But what are you doing here? I thought you left Beach City after your car was totaled and you were out in the hospital after Spinel's attack. I was sure you'd be gone for good."

"Sure or hoping?" Kevin chuckled. "Sorry, Steven. But you're not getting rid of me that easily. And that car was only one of many. I just left to visit some relatives up north."

"Shame you didn't stay with them permanently," Steven mumbled. "I'm going to leave now. If you throw something at me again, then I'll do what I said I should have. Dump that entire bowl over your head. And then maybe I'll throw whatever car you have parked outside into the ocean. You know. Just for fun."

"Leaving so soon? I don't think so." Kevin said. "I told you that since you're here now, you may as well stay. Besides, plenty of your friends are here. I even think that weird teen with the pink skin is somewhere around…"

"Lars?" Steven said, now suddenly interested in what Kevin was saying. "That...that's a lie. Lars went into space and said he wasn't coming back for a couple of months. He's not on Earth, and even if he was, I'm sure he wouldn't be here."

"On really?" Kevin replied. "How when did Lars leave for space, so you claim?"

"...A few months ago," Steven mumbled.

"Exactly," Kevin said. "Kevin never lies, you know. Everything I've told you in the past has been the truth. So why would I start lying now, and for this of all reasons? I'm trying to build a friendship between us, Steven. And you're the one fighting it."

"You piece of…" Steven muttered, before calming himself. "You threw a drink at my head, and are now forcing me to stay here. Is that what you call, "building a friendship"?"

"A Kevin friendship is different from a normal one. If you want to be my friend, you may have to suffer some injustices." Kevin said. "But all in all, many people agree that it's worth it to call yourself a friend of Kevin."

"But I don't want to be your friend," Steven said. "And that's the end of it. That ship has sailed. You had plenty of opportunities in the past to try and make amends with me, and what did you do? Absolutely nothing. Although I suppose that's all you really do, isn't it?" He asked rhetorically. "All those cars...all that money...all these so-called "friends" of yours...and what does it add up to? Nothing, Kevin. It adds up to zero, and that's what you are to me. A nothing."

"..."

"Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go look for Lars," Steven said. "And if I find out you really were lying and tricked me into staying inside the same building you're in for more time than I had to, then I really will throw your car into the ocean."

"If you do that, expect a sizable bill, universe." Kevin scoffed. "I'm sure that car costs more than your whole house."

"My dad's a multi-millionaire," Steven said, making Kevin arch an eyebrow in surprise. "We can take whatever piece of paper with a price tag you decide to throw at us. So don't waste your time."

And with that, Steven walked off and disappeared into the crowd of people, leaving Kevin standing alone, grimacing at anybody who walked by. Eventually, he resorted to going back to the snack table, mumbling all the way about Steven.

Steven, meanwhile, decided that searching for Lars regularly would take too much time, so he found the darkest spot of the party where nobody could see him and leaped into the air, settling himself in the metal rafters that made up the roof of the warehouse like a bird making a nest. From there he scanned the whole crowd, looking for the distinctive pink hair that would make Lars stuck out like a stain. And finding nothing, as he expected, Steven groaned and then turned to one of the many holes in the roof, made by various raves over the years with everyone too lazy to repair them. Taking one last look at Kevin, and realizing that he didn't want to put his dad through the trouble of a bill, Steven leaped through the hole and landed on the roof above, where the music could still be faintly heard, and the moonlight shown through the clouds.

"Now that you're here, you might as well stay," Steven said to himself, recalling Kevin's earlier words. "Why did he really want me to stay? We hate each other. That's obvious. Was there some other reason or…?"

"..."

"Actually, I just realized that I don't care," Steven said, and so he walked over to the edge of the roof and then jumped off, his feet hitting the ground a second later. He turned back towards the main town and started heading towards it, his now foul mood forcing a frown into his face. "Yeesh. Talk about a colossal waste of time-"

"Steven." A calm voice said, and suddenly the hybrid felt the urge to rip his face off out of pure frustration. Because standing behind him was, of course, Kevin, crossing his arms and looking like someone had told him he had to start paying taxes. "Where do you think you're going? The party is just starting up."

"I'm leaving. Again." Steven said bluntly. "I have other things to do. If I had known that you were here, I never would have come. I only talked with you long enough to leave me alone so I could go unnoticed." He bit his lower lip and looked away. "Although I guess when it comes to you, having anything go right is an impossibility…"

"You're not leaving until I say you're leaving. There's someone I want you to invite to this party, and you are going to get them to come." Kevin said. "I suppose I should have told you this earlier, but I was worried that the punch was going to run out before I got my fill. Alcoholic, of course, so I couldn't miss it."

"Oh, so you're also drunk now." Steven then. "Well, I should really leave now, huh? Because if you're drunk, then you're probably not going to remember this conversation in the morning, right?"

"I'm not drunk." Kevin spat, before facepalming. "But listen. That is beside the point. I wasn't aware you were going to show up, but when you did, a plan started to form. You see, Steven, the person I want here...is Stevonnie."

"Oh god, not this again!" Steven exclaimed. "Why do you keep going on about Stevonnie? Connie and I are never fusing for you, Kevin. And especially not for one of your parties. That is something that would have never happened, and you have to know it deep down. I'm not calling Connie here. Never in a million days, just to fuel your pathetic ego."

"Oh, but I think you will," Kevin said, grinning like an idiot. "You see, Steven. I know something. Something that almost nobody in this town knows. But I do. And I know that your "family" is doing the best they can to make sure it doesn't get out, and I'm guessing they and you would like to keep it that way."

"What are you talking about?" Steven asked.

"That big place up on the hill," Kevin said. "The place you call "Little Homeworld". It was recently damaged in an explosion. A gas leak, they said, caused by a faulty pipe. An incident that will not happen again. But that's not really what happened, is it, Steven?" He asked, smiling slyly.

Steven got a nauseous feeling in his stomach after this, like he was about to take a test that he hadn't studied for. He took a single step away from Kevin before forcing himself to stop, refusing to let the teen intimidate him anymore.

"What...what do you mean?" He asked. "What could you possibly know?"

"I know it was you," Kevin said. "I know you're the one that caused that explosion. I don't know exactly how, but I know it was you. And that's your dirty little secret. Steven Universe, "savior of the universe" and bomber of innocent people. I'm betting that if this got out, your reputation would go in the toilet, wouldn't it?"

"You...what...okay, hold on!" Steven said. "How did you know that one of my titles is the savior of the universe? That was given to me by the Diamonds and only a few Gems in Little Homeworld and the Diamonds themselves use it to address me. Only Connie and my dad and maybe Lars knew about it. How did you figure that out?"

"I'm rich," Kevin said. "If I want to learn something, then I will. Money is the most powerful thing in not just the world, but the universe, Steven. With enough of it, you can buy off anyone."

"What, are you telling me you bought off a Gem with human money to tell you all about me?" Steven scoffed. "I don't believe that. Gems don't even really use money. It's hardly even a concept! And the few places where something like it is used, human money, which would be nothing but a few green pieces of paper to them, would be worthless! How could you possibly buy them off?"

"I have my ways. And honestly, I don't have to fully explain myself." Kevin said. "But the point is, I know you caused the explosion. And I have evidence for it. So if you don't want that secret to get out, that you were the one who made so many people in this town have to go to the hospital, then I suggest you pull out your phone, call your friend Connie, explain the situation to her, and make her come over so you two can fuse and really bring the life to this party!"

"I...I can't." Steven said.

"What, you don't have your phone on you?" Kevin guessed. "Fine, I'll just give you-"

"No, she can't come over," Steven said. "Connie...Connie is in the hospital. She was hit in the head by a rock in the explosion, and now she had amnesia for everything going back two years. And even if she didn't and was just hurt...I couldn't get her to come over. Her mother would never let her leave, much less come to a place like this."

"..."

"..."

"He...haha...HAHAHAHAHA!" Kevin exploded, startling Steven. "HAHAHA! Oh! Oh my...is that true?!" He asked, wiping away some tears from his eyes. "Is she really in the hospital because of that?!"

"Yes," Steven said. "And if you don't believe me, you can call them yourself and check. But I'm not lying to you."

"Oh, I didn't think you were," Kevin said. "I just wanted to confirm it. Because...isn't that just perfect? Your best friend, whom I almost never see you without, is in the hospital with a head injury because of something you did! After all those years of you trying to protect her, and you find out that you're the greatest threat! It's like the world's best joke!"

"...I am already aware of that," Steven growled, clenching his fists. "I don't need you to remind me."

"Too bad. And I'm not even mad that she can't come over." Kevin said. "Because that's just so damn funny that it really overpowers any other emotion. This is...I wish I had a camera. Just to take a picture of your face when you told me about it."

"Are you done?" Steven asked in exasperation. "Point is, Connie's not coming over. End of story. And nothing you do can change that."

"Maybe so," Kevin said. "But you're forgetting. I still know your secret. And I'm not just going to ignore after this one failed attempt. So how about this: Because you hurt your friend and robbed this party of Stevonnie, I want you to do something else for us. How does that sound?"

"Stuff like what?"

"Well, we're almost out of snacks," Kevin said. "You could go get those. Yeah...I think I'll make you our personal errand bo-"

That was as far as Kevin got before he felt himself being lifted off the ground, and he looked down in shock to see Steven doing just that, holding him above his head by his back before moving and walking towards the beach.

"Hey!" Kevin yelled. "What are you doing, Steven?! Didn't you hear me?! If you do anything to me, I swear I will-"

"Just try it!" Steven said, as he got closer and closer to the beach. "After you're in the water, I'll explain why that's a horrible idea!"

Kevin began to struggle after this, trying to reach Steven to force him to let go, but the hybrid's grip was like iron. Eventually, Steven reached the edge of the water, and after taking a step back, he launched a now frantically yelling Kevin into the ocean, sending him flying at least thirty feet. He remained in the air for only a few seconds before he hit the water a loud slap, nailing an accidental perfect belly-flop. He vanished beneath the water and emerged a second later, quickly swimming to shore and shivering like he was caught in a snowstorm. Steven watched with an equal look of satisfaction and boredom as Kevin made it back to land, walking out onto the sand and collapsing to his knees a second later, gasping and spitting out a small amount of water.

"Okay," Steven said. "I'm ready to talk. Now, you-"

"Are you out of your mind?!" Kevin screeched, leering at him with pure fury. "Do you have any idea what you just did, Steven?! You...you…" His face suddenly became a panicked one as he reached into his pocket, only to find nothing. "No...no!" He screeched, before looking back at the water and running in.

"Um...what are you doing?" Steven asked.

"My phone!" Kevin shouted. "It must have been washed out of my pocket! I have to find it!" He started pushing his hands through the water like he was searching for a needle in a haystack, desperately trying to find what he was looking for. Steven watched the pathetic display for a few minutes before sighing and calling out to him, as Kevin was now so far out that he was waist-deep in water.

"You're not going to be able to find it!" He yelled. "It's probably washed out to sea by now! And plus, that water is pitch black! Even if it was right in front of you, you wouldn't see it! You might as well give up! Also, I'm not in the mood to save you if you start getting pushed out to sea!"

Kevin turned around to glare at Steven again, before realizing that the boy was right: It was hopeless. So muttering numerous profanities all the way that would have shocked Pearl, Kevin returned to shore, falling to his knees again and turning towards Steven.

"I had that phone for a whole year." He spat. "Do you have any idea how much information was on there that I'll never be able to get back now!? You just ruined everything!" He coughed and stood up. "Okay. Okay then. Your secret is getting out tonight. I'm going inside, and telling everyone at that party what you did. Everyone. Everyone in that party, in this town, and I'll do it all tonight! I'm going to walk around waking everyone up just so I can-"

"You're not going to do anything," Steven said. "Because you have a lot to lose here as well."

"What are you talking about?" Kevin asked. "I have nothing to lose here. You're the one that's going to-"

"No, I'm not. Because the fact that you know that information at all is a huge red flag. You have your ways? Is that what you said?" Steven asked. "Do you have any idea what I could do to you with that claim? You've always hated me. Basically everyone knows it. No one will be surprised if I tell them, perhaps, that you're in league with Mirror? That you're using this information to blackmail me for their own nefarious goals?"

"Mirror? What are you talking about?" Kevin asked. "The information I got this from was one of those "Gems" that I met while driving around Beach City. They asked about the explosion, I told them, and then they told me that you did it!"

"Oh really? Then why did you claim that you used money to pay this person off?"

"Tch. That was a lie." Kevin said.

"Didn't you just claim that you never lied?"

"..."

"..."

"Get to the point, Steven!" Kevin demanded. "What are you trying to pull here?"

"I'm saying that you could have gotten that information from a source that doesn't particularly like me or the Gems. Like you. I don't think my family would be happy if I told them about you, and my suspicions. And this isn't something I'm making up to get you to stop either, I'm actually wondering who you got this from, and if they're someone that the Gems and I have fought before or are fighting."

"They never said anything about that," Kevin claimed.

"Doesn't matter. That could be a lie." Steven said. "So here's the deal. Unless you want me too to the Gems right now and tell them what I suspect you of, which would probably lead to you being captured by Garnet or Bismuth so they could question you, I'd suggest you keep your mouth shut."

"..."

"Understand?"

"..."

"Well?" Steven asked. "Do you understand-"

"Who are you…" Kevin muttered. "This isn't the Steven I know. The way you're talking right now...the way you're threatening me…this isn't like you."

"Is that so?" Steven asked. "I suppose you can say that I've just had a really bad day. And I found out that someone has been lying to me for the past two weeks. Someone I thought I could trust with every bone in my body. So I apologize if I'm not in the best of moods, but I am not going to stand here and agree to your pathetic attempt at blackmailing me without a fight."

"..."

"So you do understand then?"

"Yeah," Kevin said weakly. "I understand. But don't think you're completely off the hook! You have just as much to lose as I do!"

"No, I don't," Steven said. "The people in Beach City have known me for years. Even if they knew I was the one who caused the explosion, they would understand. Sure, maybe they would be a little scared of me, but they would understand. You, on the other hand…they only know you as the rich jerk who drives around all day in his car. Heck! I don't even know why I was so scared! Go and tell everyone!" Steven dared him. "And see just how many of them believe you."

And with that, Steven turned tailed and walked off down the beach, leaving Kevin behind. The teen prepared to say something, likely filled with obscenities, before stopping short and lowering his head. Then, clenching his fists, he turned as well and headed back into the warehouse, still dripping wet.

Steven, meanwhile, had already left the warehouse behind. The second Kevin had turned his back he leaped into the air again, eventually coming to land on top of the same hill from all those years ago. The one that he and Lars went to when the moss bloomed. Landing ever so softly, he stood and looked down at the whole town, feeling a sense of peace.

His mind then drifted to Dewey, to Onion, to his dad, to Kevin, and then to everyone else he wished he had met. Then back to everything that had happened over the past two weeks. All of it there, with him unable to change any of it. And just like that, suddenly he felt something. A feeling. One he had felt many times before. And like all those times, he didn't resist the urge.

At first, he hummed, then he looked up at the sky and the moon, and then he finally opened his mouth and began speaking.

"Here...again...alone.

Like time has froze.

Trying to ignore my throne…"

He glanced down at the grass, which was moving steadily in the breeze.

"But every time I try it comes back to me…

A new enemy that takes it all away…

And each time I just want to run and flee…

And sometimes all I do is sit and pray…"

He jumped back up into the air, all of Beach City below him like a million little flashlights dancing and blinking in the dark. The clouds rushed by him, but he barely acknowledged any of it, simply keeping his mind in what he was singing.

"And now I have to make the worst choice of all...

To see if I can help or harm that foe…

And despite everyone telling me I can stand tall…

I want to do nothing but just say no."

He slowly came back down to the ground, landing one foot at a time before approaching the cliff.

"But what if they don't allow me to do such a thing?

What if I can't make the choices anymore?

I'm afraid of what that foe might eventually bring…

Coming to even what they see as the score…"

He sat down at the cliff, his legs hanging off it, as he prepared to finish.

"And now I have nothing but this empty hole…

Just where my heart used to be.

It's like an absence of my very soul…

And now…

I wonder when I can go back…

To just being…

Me."

And with that, Steven sighed and cupped his face in his hands.

Then he jumped and floated down to the ground, ready to go back home.

With no idea of how he was going to do any of those things.