AN: Trigger Warnings: Temporary Character Death, Injury, Mentions of Blood
Hello, everyone! I'm working on finishing Templeschool on fanfiction, but it is complete on archiveofourown and has a sequel. This story au was a request based on chapters 11 and 12 from Templeschool, and after posting a one-shot of the idea, many readers wanted me to continue it as its own story. So, this story is going to be a side project of mine as I continue to work on Office Hours. I have made a lot of edits to this previous one-shot so that it could work as its own story. I hope you all enjoy it! Also, thanks to RoxasTsuna_TMNT for helping me come up with the title!
For anyone who wants a little extra context, Steven from Future ends up in the past after using the janky hourglass. He is given the name Twoie, and while Amethyst and Steven trust him, Pearl and Garnet are suspicious. Twoie doesn't behave like they'd expect Steven to be. He's closed off, secretive, and extremely powerful. They watch him for a while and become frustrated when he refuses to tell them where Peridot is, so they can poof her. Letting Steven get kidnapped is the final straw, and the gems have lost all trust in Twoie. Seeing him helping Peridot, and allowing Steven to help her, makes them believe he is just tricking them all so he can free Peridot and defeat the Crystal gems. The story then continues from here.
If you asked Steven Universe what he thought his life would be like as a thirteen-year-old, he'd tell you that it was unique but fun. He lived in a beach house with his mom's family, who also had really cool powers. He had a couple of friends in Beach City, but that was okay because everyone was friendly! He could do whatever he wanted, such as playing video games, hanging out around town, or visiting his dad at the car wash. His favorite thing, though, was spending time with the gems when they weren't busy. Most of the time, they were always busy. That's okay, though, because he knew they were busy protecting the earth! Life was great, and Steven loved everything about it.
If you asked Steven Universe what he thought of life as a sixteen-year-old, he'd tell you that life was just never-ending problems. He had almost died on so many occasions. He'd watched his friends and family get hurt, and Steven was even the cause of it in some cases. He'd had to deal with every mistake his mom had left for him and questioned who he was on multiple occasions. Steven had spent so much of his life trying to help people that he wasn't sure what to do now that the Diamond Authority had changed their ways. Don't take it the wrong way; Steven was so thankful that the second gem war was over, and most of the corrupted gems were healed. He had more friends and family than ever. Not to mention, life was peaceful again. But his friends and family were moving on. They were going out and doing more and more things. Discovering aspects of themselves that they had never considered or explored. It was terrific to see Pearl, Garnet, Amethyst, and all of the others so happy. But it hurt. It hurt so much.
Because Steven wasn't like them. He tried to be a teacher at Little Homeschool, and it was a disaster. Not teaching, he loved it! It was the advancing that tore him apart. His students would eventually graduate and move on, leaving him behind. He was so proud of them, and that made it hurt even more. He couldn't hold them back, but it was agonizing how much he wanted to. So, Steven had quit. The temptation would disappear if he took himself out of the equation, right? But it hadn't. Sitting at home, trying desperately to find something to do, just wasn't enough anymore.
Messing around with Amethyst's old hourglass had been a miracle. Now stuck in the past, Steven Universe had become Twoie Universe, past Steven's new older brother. And it was perfect. He was helpful again. He was spending time with family that wasn't going to just leave him behind. They needed him to watch over Steven, to protect him from the gems that wanted to take over the earth. That wanted to defeat the Crystal Gems. And wasn't that just dandy? How amazing was it that being in a war made him so much happier than being in peace? Twoie had many sleepless nights reflecting on the revulsion that followed such thoughts. So, he had made a vow. He would protect Steven at all costs. He would make his life better than his own had been. That way, Steven would never get the chance to feel like Twoie. He would be spared such a horrible fate. And if that meant keeping secrets, manipulating this timeline so that events would happen in the best way possible, then Twoie was more than willing to make those decisions.
That's why he always had the inkling that things could get worse. Life had beaten that thought process into him. But even life hadn't prepared him for what happened next. Twoie wasn't prepared for the gems to turn on him. To believe he would purposefully allow harm to come to Steven. Hadn't he proven time and time again that he was looking out for Steven's best interests? Peridot needed to kidnap Steven, or else the earth would've been destroyed. Steven was the only one who could befriend her. But the gems hadn't felt that way. And when Twoie allowed Steven to unbubble Peridot, a crucial step needed to get Peri to trust Steven, he never imagined the gems would attack him. Maybe life hadn't beaten it into him enough. Twoie should've remembered that things could always get worse.
The one thing Twoie took comfort in was that he had managed to protect Peridot. The gems had surrounded him, Steven, and Peridot in front of the temple. He held them off long enough for Peridot to dart inside the pink room, but Amethyst had taken advantage of his distraction in blocking Garnet's punch to pull Steven to her with her whip. Now, it was just him against the gems. Twoie gritted his teeth as his family advanced on him. Why didn't they trust him? Why would they attack him? The young man's gaze flicked to Steven, who was panicking while trying to free himself from Amethyst's hold. "Why are you guys doing this? You're going to hurt him!" The kid's pleas were ignored, and that hurt more than Twoie thought it would. The time traveler thought Amethyst at least trusted him, but Steven was the only one speaking in his defense.
Pearl aggressively closed in on the young man. She knew there was something weird about him. He was too secretive and closed off. Steven never acted like that with them. With her. Twoie must be a gem that was sent from Homeworld to trick them into trusting her. Then, she would backstab them when the time was right. There was no other explanation for why Twoie would help Peridot. Well, if this spy thought she could fool Pearl, Rose's right-hand gem, then she had another thing coming. Pearl would never back down. She would never betray Rose's dream. She would protect her family, her friends, and her home with her entire being. "You are protecting Peridot! You have betrayed the Crystal Gems. You have betrayed the earth."
Twoie dissipated his shield and held his hands out in surrender. Although his powers were mostly defensive, they could still be used to attack. He needed the gems to know that he wasn't going to attack them. The last thing he wanted was to escalate the situation. "Look, I know this looks bad, but I couldn't say anything earlier. Steven needed to talk to Peridot. She never would've trusted you guys enough to tell you about the Cluster unless she befriended him." Twoie winced when Garnet stepped forward.
The permafusion was clenching her fists in anger. She knew there was something off about Twoie. Ever since he showed up, her future vision had stopped working. He claimed to be Steven from the future, but he acted nothing like the Steven she knew and loved. He knew so much about the future but refused to share anything. Instead, any information had to be pressured out of Twoie. Little tidbits of the future that was just enough to deal with the situation at hand. If Twoie really was a future Steven, he would know the importance of informing her of future events. He would be acting like a Crystal Gem. Garnet would not let this imposter trick her. "And what is the Cluster? No more withholding information about Homeworld. You will tell us now." Twoie's gaze flickered from Garnet to Pearl to Amethyst. Each gem was staring him down, and he knew there was no getting out of it.
He rubbed his arm in discomfort. "The Cluster… is a geo-weapon created by Yellow Diamond to destroy the earth."
Quiet reigned through the house for a moment, then the gems bristled. If he thought that they were mad before, they were incensed now. "YOU KEPT SOMETHING THAT DANGEROUS A SECRET FROM US?" Twoie flinched as Garnet swung her arm out to the side. That was all the proof she needed. Steven never would've put his family in such danger. "That's it! You are telling us everything! Now!" Before Garnet could advance on him, Steven managed to sneak far enough away from Amethyst so he could run in front of Twoie.
"You're overreacting! If Twoie thought it was a good idea not to say anything, then he's probably right! He's one of us, remember? Right now, you guys are the ones betraying him!" Steven gestured to Twoie with one arm and held the other clenched over his chest. Pearl's eyes widened in shock. There, on the back of his outstretched arm, was a dark splotch.
"Steven! What happened? How did you get that bruise?" Steven blinked in surprise and looked down at his arm. Pearl rushed over to him, inspecting the bruise. He winced when she pressed lightly on it.
"Ow…" Steven stared at it. What did he do earlier that would've caused that? Suddenly, the kid's mind flashed back to earlier in the day. Twoie had been angrily pacing their mom's room, and Steven had accidentally snuck up behind him. He'd been knocked down by Twoie's yell power thing, but it was an honest mistake. Steven knew if his older brother had known he was there, it never would've happened. And Twoie already apologized for it. "I didn't even notice. That must've happened by accident when Twoie was mad."
Pearl's pupils shrank in horror, Garnet tensed, and Amethyst covered her mouth with her hand. "Twoie hurt you?" Garnet whispered, but her words resounded through the room.
Steven flinched as he realized how his words sounded and immediately tried to backpedal. "N-no! Wait!" It was too late. Pearl picked him up and jumped towards the living room. Just as she hopped out of the way, Amethyst's whip cut through the air and wrapped around Twoie. The young man yelped in surprise as the thorns in the whip dug harshly into his skin.
"I actually believed in you!" Amethyst's eyes shone with unshed tears at her perceived betrayal. "When you showed up here, I trusted you. Even when the others were worried, I backed you up!" She snarled, using her strength to hurl Twoie through the front door. "I won't let you hurt him again!"
"Twoie!" Steven wriggled out of Pearl's hold and ran out to the porch, peering over the guard rail. "Why did you do that, Amethyst?" Twoie groaned in pain as he slowly sat up in a crater of sand. Steven yelped when Amethyst's whip wrapped around his waist.
The purple gem tied the other end of her whip to the porch rail. "It's for your own good, Steven. We can't have you running in front of him again."
Steven struggled to get the whip off as the gems exchanged a look of determination. "No, wait! Don't do this!" His plea was ignored. The gems jumped from the porch, landing next to the crater with their weapons pointed at Twoie.
The young man stared at the past versions of his family. He felt his heart shatter at the anger in their gazes. "Garnet… Pearl… Amethyst… Please…" He searched them for any trace of doubt or uncertainty. Anything that showed they had an ounce of trust in him. There was only anger.
"I don't care who you are." Garnet's face was twisted with rage. Twoie barely managed to raise a bubbe in time to block Garnet's rocket arms. It popped under the force, making him take a step back. "You do not hurt, Steven!" The young man cried out as Garnet punched him in the stomach. Pain shot through him, and Twoie gasped as he felt something crack. He doubled over, leaving him open for an attack. Pearl launched herself forward, sweeping her spear under his legs. As Twoie fell backward, Amethyst wrapped him in her whip again and spun, releasing him after she'd built enough momentum to fling him against the cliff. He slammed into the cliffside, landing heavily on his knees. A loud thud reverberated through the beach; cracks inched through the cliff where a small crater marred the rocks. Twoie held one hand over his gem, curling in on himself. Pain radiated from his gem and his whole body ached from his injuries.
The gems paid his distress no mind as they cornered him. "Where is the geo-weapon?" Garnet demanded as she stalked forward.
She grabbed Twoie by the collar of his jacket and held him against the cliff. Another spike of pain flashed through him at the motion, and he gasped. He couldn't think of anything that ever came close to this kind of pain. "I-it's in the earth's core, several thousand feet under the barn. You can't reach it without Peridot's help!"
Pearl snarled and pointed her spear at him. "I knew there was something off about you! If you were really Steven, you would've informed us of this weapon. We've finally got you, spy!" The usually graceful gem's features were marred with hatred.
Twoie flinched at the venom in her voice. Why was he the bad guy?! He couldn't fathom how things had become so wrong. Overcome with anger at his situation, Twoie stared her down, cheeks glowing pink. "I'm not a spy! Every time we had a stupid meeting, I told you that I would tell you when the time was right. Every single time you were mad at me and pressured me to tell you anyway!" His body became encased in a pink glow. "I'm trying to make things better, but you keep fighting me because you're too concerned with yourselves to LISTEN TO ME!" A shockwave resounded with his scream. Cracks traveled along the sandy beach and up the cliffside. The rumble knocked the gems back, tripping over their feet and tumbling to the sand.
Twoie covered his mouth in horror. He hadn't meant to do that. He didn't know he could do that right now. Twoie's eyes were wide in panic as the other stared at him in shock. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to lose control." He stumbled back against the cliff in an attempt to put as much distance between them as possible. "I'm so sorry." The Crystal Gems got back on their feet.
"Twoie…" Whatever Garnet was about to say was interrupted by Steven landing in-between them.
The kid had managed to free himself when Twoie shook the beach. He looked furious. "What is wrong with you, guys?! We've both been trying to tell you the truth this whole time, but none of you are willing to listen!" Amethyst looked uncertainly at Garnet, then let her whip fade away. She trusted Steven. Even though Twoie hurt Steven, it was beginning to look like a big misunderstanding.
Pearl, however, glared at Steven for trying to defend him. "We gave her many chances to talk to us, Steven. And look at what happened? You got kidnapped, and she hurt you! She's most likely some kind of gem spy working with Homeworld, and we don't have Rose to help us if we get into another war!"
Steven matched her icy look. "You're still not listening! I'm not a dumb kid who doesn't understand what's going on, Pearl. I know you're scared of a war starting again, but I don't need you to remind me that mom is gone!" He gestured to himself. "I'm here now, so stop wishing for her to be here instead!" Pearl was stunned. She lowered her spear in shock as he continued. "He's not working with Homeworld. And he's not some kind of gem spy! Where did you even come up with that? He's trying to be careful because messing with the future is dangerous! You showed me that Garnet!"
Garnet had the decency to look ashamed. Steven clenched his fists in anger. He needed them to understand why they were in the wrong. "Twoie was upset that you guys didn't trust him. Yeah, he hurt me accidentally, but it was my fault too. He was in Mom's room since he knew he was upset, and I walked-in without getting his attention. He didn't know I was in the room with him! For once in my life, will you guys just listen to me?!"
The silence was palpable. Garnet looked from Steven, still in his protective stance, to Twoie. Now that she was really looking at him, the young man looked pained and was leaning heavily against the cliff. His skin was pale, and she could see the dark bags starting to form under his eyes. Blood trickled from his many cuts. That threw Garnet for a loop. Gems didn't bleed, and her theory of him being a spy crumbled around her. "Okay, Steven. Let's take this to the couch, and we'll listen. We won't interrupt; we won't judge. We'll let him explain."
Steven sighed in relief. It was a start. He turned to his older brother with a soft smile. "Twoie, did you hear that? It's okay now. They're gonna let you explain." Twoie collapsed in a sitting position. Exhaustion was prominent in the way he was slumped against the cliffside. Two outbursts and an emotionally charged fight with his past family would do that to anyone. Steven pulled him into a hug. "Come on." He whispered. "Everything will be fine. I promise."
Twoie nodded his head. He was tired of fighting everyone, and having to fight his family hurt him more than he could describe. It didn't matter that he wasn't ready to face the gems; he wouldn't let Steven deal with this by himself. Just as he was about to stand, a rumble shook the beach. He looked up to see a large edge of the cliff break off above them. Time passed in slow motion. Steven hadn't seen the danger, and the gems wouldn't be able to save him in time. Twoie also knew that he was the only one who was aware of his cracked gem. That outburst somehow activated, but there was no way he'd be able to use his powers again. There was no way Twoie would be able to save them both. He knew what he had to do. Steven's safety was his priority. It didn't matter what happened to himself, as long as Steven was okay. Twoie grabbed Steven and threw him at Garnet. "Garnet, catch!"
He didn't bother checking to see if she caught him. There was one last thing he needed to do. As the rocks fell from above, Twoie lifted his shirt and gripped the edge of his gem. He couldn't let his gem half die with him. Ignoring the crack in the diamond's facet and the fear in his heart, he pulled his gem out and shielded it with his body. As the rocks made impact, one last thought flashed in his mind. 'I wish I could've said goodbye.'