Author's note: So… This took a while.
I would like to apologize to all of you who have been waiting patiently from the very beginning for this and I have already explained why this took so long on Tumblr. I originally was going to start with "Steven's Lion," since I had an idea of how to make it different compared to the already existing episode, but decided to do a rendition of "Bubble Buddies" instead because I think it would be a better introduction to this series(and I also came up with something that would change the plot up quite a bit). Also, I recommend that you watch all of season one before reading this story, for I, a lowly, too busy fanfic writer, don't really have the time and energy to rewrite all of the series, besides, most events stay the same anyway, so there is literally no point in rewriting them. I will try to keep the main plot episodes in, but as of writing this chapter, I have nothing creative planned for the Ocean Gem episodes. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this rendition of "Bubble Buddies!" Also, this was supposed to come out yesterday as a Thanksgiving gift, but that didn't happen due to the chaos that was happening in my house, so happy late Thanksgiving everyone! (Also check out my Tumblr page for artwork and teasers for upcoming projects and chapters of my stories! The address is split up to you can see it, sorry if it looks weird(:)
Enjoy!
Tumblr: the-dragon-tale
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Reviews:
spacerswap: Here you go!
foxchick1: Let your curiosity be vanquished... for now.
TheLatiKing: Don't worry about it. He's okay for now and I'm doing okay. I do hope you enjoy this though! And you're just going to have to wait and see about what Eve turns into. (Though that won't be for a while)
SilverWolf1130: Thank you for the support and yes, Eve will evolve(at some point) and I already know what she'll be. Also, Eve's name is Eve because that was what young Steven thought she said when he asked for her name(He didn't understand that that was her language). Also, nice pun.
Galaxies2007: More More indeed...
Disclaimer: I don't own Steven Universe or Pokemon, they are owned by Rebecka Sugar and Gamefreak/Nintendo respectfully.
It has been about eight years since Steven and Eve had met on the cliff and they had come a long way. They both loved to hang out with the gems, eat cookie cats and watch Crying Breakfast Friends. Eve lived with Steven inside his beach house, even though the gems seemed skeptical about this at first, though it worked out fine. Even though Eve couldn't talk, she understood English just fine and Steven could clearly see what Eve was thinking by just looking at her body language, so understanding each other wasn't much of a problem.
At the moment, Steven had his bike, a blue one with a small basket on the front for Eve to sit-in, and was pushing it down the stairs of his house, Eve waiting at the bottom patiently. The ground around them rumbled, startling the half gem, making him let go of the bike. Eve yelped and ran in the direction of the gems, who were walking toward them, to avoid getting flattened. The gems watched her rush by and then back over at the house as another quake rumbled through the ground as Pearl said, "I don't think they are earthquakes, they're too frequent!" Steven's bike rolled off the stairs, making him chase after it, and fell over in the wet sand near the position of the gems.
Eve came running back around and stopped at the gems' feet as Steven ran over to pick up his bike. Amethyst, with a big grin, said "Hey look! Steven's got a bike! Where ya goin', Steven?"
He lifted the bike again, holding it by the handles tightly and responded, "Just out for a ride." Eve walked over to Steven's feet, turned around and nodded at the gems with a big grin, tail wagging with excitement.
Pearl's eyebrow raised with confusion. "In the sand?"
"Yup!" And with that, Steven turned and ran down the beach, with Eve at his heels.
About ten minutes later, Steven struggled to peddle his bike forward, the wheels sinking in the wet sand, which wasn't helped by his weight and Eve's weight combined since Eve was sitting in her basket. Eve let out a little bark when they rounded the corner of the beach. There sat a girl with very tan skin, reading a book. She had long black hair, waving in the soft breeze that blew by. She was wearing a seafoam green dress and red boots, along with a pair of red glasses. A bunny's head popped up from behind a rock near the girl watched her curiously, the girl not even looking at it. Its main fur was a chocolaty brown and from its hips down, it had fluffy cream-colored fur. The tops of its ear had the same fluffy cream fur curled on the back like a cotton ball. One ear flopped onto its head, the other standing straight up. The bunny itself looked kind of familiar to Steven. Maybe it was a Pokemon from that device that Pearl had given him a while ago.
Steven grit his teeth and pushed the bike forward. He got off, Eve following, and put the kickstand down, though not all the way, due to the sand. "Some smooth ride…" he said, turning to look at the girl, who was still engrossed in her book. "Five speeds…" He repeatedly turned to look between her, Eve and his bike "Hand brakes... Electric blue finish… a basket and a tiger bell!" He smiled as he rang the bell to draw the girl's attention, with no luck. He started to climb back on the bike, even though Eve barked at him with concern. "I bet there are a lot of kids who'd love to ride this bi-woooah!" Steven's bike fell over since the kickstand wasn't all the way down and he had no balance. The girl finally turned her head towards him, who was sitting on top of his fallen bike. Steven's face reddened with embarrassment as Eve chuckled behind him, a paw over her snout. He got up quickly and ran back toward the beach house, screaming into his hands, which only made his face redder. Eve looked back at the girl, who looked totally confused, before turning and running after her friend.
Steven was already in the house by the time Eve got there and just walked through the makeshift dog door they had created when she first started living there. The gems were all staring at Steven with mild amusement as said boy stood there. "Who were you talking to?" Pearl asked, a small smile on her lips.
"Huh?" Steven asked.
Garnet replied, nonchalantly, "That girl."
Steven started to blush as he said, stammering and stuttering over his words, "Y-you saw? She's j-just a girl I know, e-except she doesn't know me. We-we never talked."
Amethyst, with a giant grin, jumped forward and squeezed Steven's face as she cooed, "You like her!"
The blush darkened slightly as he said, "Uhh... I like everyone." Eve let out a snort as her friend pushed Amethyst's hands away.
Pearl looked overly ecstatic at the prospect of another friend, which made Eve cock her head to the side with some confusion. "Let's set up a play-date! I'll write up an invitation and work out a schedule. Ohh! We'll have to find out her favorite kind of tea-"
Pearl was cut off by Garnet who stepped in and simply said, "No. Just talk to her."
Steven nodded and Eve hopped upon his shoulder. "Okay. But you guys can't watch this time! It'll mess up my funky flow," he said, raising past them and to the fridge.
Both Amethyst and Pearl asked, "Funky flow?"
Garnet adjusted her visor as she said, "We won't watch."
"Alright," Steven said as he opened the freezer door, revealing multiple stacks of Cookie Cats that Pearl and Amethyst had received from the Cookie Cat factory before it was shut down and a red glow stick bracelet. Steven grabbed it.
Steven then ran for the door, Eve following close behind, and Amythest said as she went to close the freezer door they had forgotten to close, "What's that?"
"Nothing!"
Connie was having a very strange day. All she wanted to do was sit here, on this quiet beach, somewhere that had been recommended to her by her mother. What good that did.
At first, it was normal. She had just sat down, minding her own business, reading her lovely book. Then the small earthquakes started to occur every ten minutes or so. She didn't know if they were natural for this area or not, but it was getting kind of annoying. Then there was the weird bunny creature.
Connie had heard of Pokemon before and read about them in her books, but she had never seen a real one before in her life. And it was kind of unnerving to see one staring at her quizzically. She was half tempted to call it over and read her book with it, but she was very socially awkward and usually stuck with her books instead of people. Besides, her mom would kill her to find out that she was hanging around a wild Pokemon.
And… the boy. Now that was odd. She had seen him "ride" his bike around the corner of the beach and that was the first odd thing about him. Then there was the Pokemon in the basket. Now, even though Connie hadn't met a Pokemon, she knew exactly what Pokemon was what(due to her books) but this was not a pokemon she had ever seen in her entire life, not in books or anything.
It was cute, if Connie was being honest but she just ignored the two, well three if you counted the Buneary that stared at all of them with curiosity, hoping that they would just leave her alone. However, this seemed to backfire, for the boy had stopped and tried to talk to her, which she just ignored, trying to get back into her book. Then there was the crash that startled her. When she had looked up, the boy had fallen over on top of his bike. The boy seemed flustered and ran off screaming in embarrassment.
That was odd because no one was ever embarrassed when it came to her, actually, it was usually the opposite of the situation that happened only a few minutes ago. Usually, she was the one running off embarrassed. She smiled at the thought, looking back down at her book. Maybe now she could get back to her book.
Eve trailed behind Steven as he talked to himself/her. She couldn't help but smile at that. She could already tell that this was going to either going to be adorable or embarrassing, which would make the whole situation hilarious. Steven had told her that he was going to make the best first impression ever and Eve had snorted at that. That idea had already been thrown out the window. "Hi! My name is Steven. Hi, my name is Ste-ven. Hi, my name is... Stevan?" he said to himself. Again, this was going to be hilarious. As they rounded the corner and the girl came into view, Eve noticed the Buneary from earlier looking over the rock, ear twitching nervously.
That was when a loud roar shook the area. Eve, startled by the loud sound, flopped to the ground and covered her ears. Her eyes went wide as Steven run past her as a large rock, falling from the rumbling and sound hurtled toward the girl, who looked terrified. The Buneary jumped from behind its rock and jumped toward the girl protectively landing on top of her. Steven had just reached them as the rubble grew closer. Eve let out a cry of panic as Steven said something toward the girl and bunny. His gem started to glow and a giant pink bubble formed around the three. Eve stared wide eye at this as the rock slammed into the bubble and broke into pieces.
The brown pokemon got up off the floor and dashed over to the bubble and padded it. Steven gawked up at the pink bubble that he formed before looking back down at the girl and bunny. "Hi, my name is Steven and the Pokemon outside is Eve," he said as he got off of them and pulled the girl to her feet, the Buneary flopping to the curved surface in a daze.
She adjusted her glasses and said, "Connie." Eve let out a whimper and padded the bubble again. Connie looked around the bubble and ask, "What… Happened?"
The bunny pokemon shook its head and looked at the pink surface of the bubble. It looked at it for a moment before, starting to punch the bubble as Steven replied, "I'm magic, well... half magic, on my mom's side." The Buneary and Connie both stopped touching the bubble and turned to stare at Steven. Eve could feel her face pale as she continued to scratch the exterior of the bubble.
"You did this?" Connie asked. The Buneary's ear twitched nervously and then it scuttled over toward Connie and hid behind her legs, its eyes nervously darting to Steven.
"Apparently," Steven said, shrugging. He then smiled and said, "I'm a member of the Crystal Gems, we fight monsters and protect humanity and stuff."
Connie blinked at him for a moment and said, "Oh! That's kinda like my dad. He's a cop. Well... more like a private security guard." They all stood there awkwardly for a moment in silence, except the muffled noise of Eve scratching the bottom of the bubble. "So... how long does it usually last?"
Steven blinked and that was when Eve thought he realized the situation they were in. "Oh… right." He closed his eyes and concentrated for a moment. Nothing happened. Eve began to scratch more furiously as Steven, looking a bit frustrated pulled up his shirt and tapped his gem, which the Buneary looked at with wonder.
Connie, with a knit brow, asked, "What's wrong?" Eve's eyes wrinkled in concern as a very embarrassed and worried expression crossed Steven's face.
The half breed rubbed the back of his neck as he said, "It uh... doesn't seem to wanna go away."
Connie blinked, before looking down at the ground with a small sigh. "Oh…" If Eve was watching closely, she would have seen the total resignation that crossed her face. The Buneary's ear twitched anxiously. Steven looked down at the Pokemon and pointed at it, making it hop in surprise.
"What's your friend's name? I don't think I ever asked," he said.
Connie looked down at the Pokemon and said, "Oh… We're not friends. I've never actually seen it before." The Buneary hopped out from its spot and snorted. Steven knelt down and put his hand out to it, in a similar manner as he did with Eve sometimes when she was nervous. It sniffed his hand curiously and let out a soft coo, rubbing up against it like a cat.
"Well… Let's give it a name!" Steven suggested. Connie raised an eyebrow as Steven giggled because the Pokemon had crawled up his arm and was now perched on top of Steven's head.
"Why?" Connie asked.
"I just thought I should give a name to my new friend!" Steven said smiling. Connie didn't say anything to this as Steven giggled again as the Buneary buried its head in Steven's hair. Eve let out a bark of support, her tail wagging slightly, trying to keep the tension of being trapped in the bubble. Connie looked at the bunny. Its fur reminded her of…
"Cocoa," Connie said.
"What?"
Connie blinked at Steven as she realized she had said that out loud and slightly blushed. "It's fur," she said, "it reminds me of the color of hot cocoa."
"Huh," Steven said, trying and failing to look at the Pokemon snuggled in his hair. "I like it! Your name is now Cocoa!" Cocoa let out a coo and pressed its face deeper into his hair. Steven then turned to face one of the walls of the bubble and pushed on it, hard. Cocoa looked up from its spot and gently took its paws and pushed on the wall as well. Steven then turned around to face Connie, still pushing against the bubble. "So... I don't see you around that often," he said.
Connie walked over with a slight shrug and said, "My dad works for a bunch of different beaches, so we're never in the same place long." She pushed on the edge of the bubble and it started to roll across the sand. Eve let out a tiny yelp as the bubble almost ran over her tail and then started to follow to bubble as it rolled down the beach.
"I go on adventures with the Gems sometimes. They usually say it's too dangerous for me though…" Steven trailed off as he slipped on the bottom of the bubble and collapsed on the bottom with a grunt. Cocoa let out a soft squeal at the sudden movement but held on tight. Eve let out a soft whimper of concern. She didn't notice the look of longing that Connie gave her. Steven picked himself back up and started to help Connie push the bubble again.
Connie looked over at the half gem and asked, "Do you always go in a bubble?"
Eve shook her head as Steven shrugged and said, "No, this is new. I don't know what this is. But it's okay! The Gems will know what to do." They continued to push the bubble, Eve trotting beside it. They eventually reached the hill that leads to the temple, however, the slope kept the bubble from being rolled any further. "Awww what?" he groaned as he tried to push it again. It didn't budge. Steven looked down at Eve and asked, "Could you go get the gems for us Eve?"
The Pokemon nodded and dashed up the hill, up the stairs and through the small flap to her small door. Connie, Steven, and Cocoa all stood there in awkward silence for a few minutes before Eve came dashing back down the stairs of the house and back toward the bubble. When she reached them, she shook her head before lowering and raising her ears in a gesture that Steven was quite familiar with. "What did she say?" Connie asked as a frustrated look crossed the hybrid's face.
"She said that they weren't in the house and they probably warped away, is that right?" Steven said, looking at Eve for confirmation to his translation. Steven sighed as Eve regretfully nodded. He facepalmed himself as he said, "Aaaww... That's right. I told them not to watch. They probably went to do a mission instead."
Connie shrugged at this and suggested, "We can just wait here until they come back."
Steven, a little panicked said, "I have an idea!" Connie's eyebrows raised as he turned to Eve and said, "You should try your speed star attack! It might break the bubble!" Eve gave him a skeptical look. If a rock couldn't break this bubble, how was hammering it with her move going to help? With a slight shrug, she jumped back and let out a cry. Her tail glowed a creamy white color and she swiped it toward the bubble. Speeding energy starts flew from the tail and struck the bubble hard making smoke appear on contact.
As the smoke cleared, Eve could see the pink of the bubble and let out a soft moan. Steven looked mildly disappointed while Connie looked a bit confused. "That move isn't called Speed Star, its called Swift," she said.
Steven smiled at her as he said, "I know, I just think Speed Star is cooler to say."
Connie smiled to at his innocence before frowning at the bubble. "Well, whatever you want to call it, it didn't work. Maybe we should wait until your friends get back."
Steven shook his head. "No, no, no, it's okay! I've got other friends that can help."
Eve glared at Lars as he laughed at the children and Pokemon in the bubble as Sadie(bless her soul) was hitting the bubble with a hammer. Eve had never liked Lars. The day she had met Lars, they had instantly hated each other. She remembered walking in the shop for the first time with Steven when he was giving her a quick tour, right after they met, around the town and he was immediately getting bullied by Lars for having a cute fluffy animal with him. Let's just say he has bite scars on his ankle to show how that ended.
All Lars was to Eve was an annoying bully who did nothing but put people down, even his friends, like Sadie. Now Eve liked Sadie. Eve had met Sadie right after she met Steven and she had been so happy that Steven had made a new friend to have around and that made Eve happy too. This thought made Eve frown. She didn't understand how such a nice person would like a person as awful as Lar. Then again, Steven thought Lars was like his best friend so…
"Way to go, Steven! Is this your magic love bubble or something? Did you make it because you're in looove?" he mocked, pressing his face against the bubble.
Steven turned to Connie with a big smile on his face and said, "That's Lars. We're basically BFFs." Connie looked at Lars and a look of confusion and disgust crossed her face.
"He makes weird faces." Lars was now making kissy faces on the bubble which made Eve angry. She let out a harsh bark which made Lars step away with a bit of apprehension. "Ugh, you still lug this ball of fur with you? That's so lame." He turned back toward the bubble and noticed Cocoa hiding in Steven's hair, nervous about the new people that were looking at her. "And is that a new hat?"
Sadie stopped her hammering at glared at Lars. "Lars quit being a jerk and help!"
Lars rolled his eyes and mockingly said, "What? I'm helping Steven on his date."
Sadie growled back, "You're embarrassing him!"
Lars rolled his eyes and said, "No, I'm not!"
Sadie approached him and shouted, "Yes, you are!"
Eve approached the two and joined in their ongoing argument by barking at Lars. Steven smiled, even with the situation that they were all in. Cocoa had cowered even deeper into Steven's hair due to the noise. "He and Sadie run the Big Donut," Steven said.
Connie looked at the arguing teens and asked with concern, " Do... they get along?" The kids turned back to the argument. At some point, Eve had climbed on top of Sadie's head for some leverage and was barking even louder, sometimes even snapping her teeth at him. Sadie kept yelling and Lars also continued to yell at both the Pokemon and coworker.
Steven eventually said in a very deadpan voice, "They're crazy about each other."
Sadie sighed as the argument defused and Eve climbed off of her head, though she still glared at Lars. Sadie turned and ran for the Big Donut doors and called behind her, "I'm gonna go try something else!"
Steven turned back toward Connie, Cocoa lifting her face out of Steven's hair as he said, "Anyway, this place has the best doughnuts! I come here, like, every day!" Eve nodded in confirmation of this statement as Lars scoffed, making the fox-like Pokemon growl at him.
"My parents don't let me eat doughnuts. They have trans fats," Connie replied, a look of longing crossing her face again.
"Whaaaaat?!" Steven said as Lars came up behind him and started making kissy faces at him again. Eve, with an annoyed bark, slapped her tail against his leg making him flinch. Steven, not paying any attention to them, had his face start to heat up in embarrassment at his comment and quickly said, "W-well it's still a cool place to hang out."
Screaming rang from the donut shop as Sadie ran out with a stool and slammed it against the bubble. The stool shattered on contact and Sadie looked from between the bubble and the two stool legs still in her hands. Cocoa had fallen off of Steven's head at the screaming and was now cowering behind Connie. Connie looked surprised and Steven chuckled nervously as he stated, "I have a better idea."
Eve and the bubble trio walked down the walkway toward the docks. Cocoa was back on Steven's head and Connie was looking at all the boats with wonder. "Whoa, a trawler! And a little skip-jack!"
Steven turned toward her and smiled. "You know a lot about boats. Eve has always been interested in them, but she probably doesn't know as much as you!" he said. Eve's grin brightened and she nodded her head.
Connie turned toward Steven and smiled. Steven's smile slowly fell as she said, "That's what happens when you hang out at the beach and don't swim and don't have friends... Y-you, look at boats…" They all stopped in front of one dock as Steven chuckled half-heartedly, "Heh, uh…"
That was when Steven noticed his new plan and waved at him, "Oh hey, Onion, Onion!" Eve couldn't help but raise an eyebrow as the little boy, who was eating popcorn, waved back at Steven. Onion was, to say the least, odd. He didn't speak and he often did things that made no logical sense. And if Eve was thinking the same thing that Steven was thinking…
"We need a Harpoon Gun!" Eve face-palmed herself. Of course.
"What!" Connie yelped in surprise. The Buneary's ears stood up, both of them, with alert alarm.
"To pop the bubble of course!" he said smiling, a bit to ecstatic for Eve's comfort. They really should just go back to the house and wait for the gems to come back to get help.
Connie almost immediately voices this exact sentiment but Steven just shrugs it off and says, "It's okay, I'm a Gem." He then turns and faces Onion and says, "Onion, we need a harpoon gun!" Onion just continues eating his popcorn, either totally ignoring him or not understanding. If Eve was being honest with herself, for the sake of these children, she hoped it would stay that way.
Steven started saying harpoon gun slowly as Eve inched closer to the front of the bubble in hopes of being strong enough to push it away. Eventually, Steven tried to draw pictures of what he wanted and Onion still didn't seem to understand. He groaned and gave up making Eve let out a sigh of relief, before Connie said, "Let me try."
She breathed on the surface of the bubble and started to write the words, 'harpoon gun' in the fog. Onion watched closely before giving a thumbs up and running off. Steven turned toward Connie with an ecstatic look on his face, and even Cocoa looked at her with admiration. Connie blushed a bit as she said, "It just made more sense." Eve, knowing exactly what was about to happen slowly took a step back, her face paling a bit.
A loud horn sounded across the docks as the children spin around to face a nearby boat, where Onion was standing with a huge harpoon gun. Cocoa let out a cry of alarm as the two kids screamed leaning in opposite directions. Eve stumbled away from the bubble as Onion shot the harpoon at it. The harpoon harmlessly bounced off the bubble and toward Eve. She let out a scream and launched herself over the dock's edge and into the water, making the harpoon strike the trawler that Connie was gushing over earlier. "Sorry!" Steven yelled as Eve resurfaced and glared at him.
After Eve had gotten out of the water and shaken herself(though she was still soaked), the group made there way down the boardwalk, until they reached…
"Funland?" Connie asked as they rolled into the park. Cocoa and Eve shared a look through the bubble. They both knew that this was going to be a terrible idea.
"Yeah!" Steven said, smiling wide. "Tons of horrible accidents happen here everyday! There's gotta be something to break this bubble." Connie gave him a skeptical look as they continued to roll, her brow knitting together in worry. "We just gotta find the right ride." They continued to roll along until they reached one of the rides. Eve immediately paled. She didn't need to look in the bubble to know that Cocoa's had as well. It was a roller coaster.
"Yeah, the kiddie coaster!" Steven exclaimed as they rolled the bubble up the ramp and onto the platform that leads to the main track. The half-gem didn't notice how Cocoa buried her head deeper into his hair. Right as they reached it, the coaster had launched and was moving fast against the tracks. "Alright, we just roll down this ramp as the carts are coming at us, and the crash will break us free!" Instantly Cocoa let out a whimper of disapproval and Eve ran in front of the bubble, barking, though her face was filled with fear.
Connie, looking at both pokemon's reactions, turned to Steven and asked, "What happens after the bubble pops?"
"We'll be free!" Steven said, arms raising to emphasize his point. There was a very awkward pause that only made Eve feel worse. She was about to let out another protest bark when the ground rumbled again and the roar of the coaster growing closer. Eve turned toward the noise and for the second she was distracted, the bubble rolled past her and onto the tracks. The slant of the coaster made the bubble start to roll down in the direction of the coaster. Eve let out a bark of alarm and covered her snout with her paws.
She didn't see the bubble making contact with the coaster, but she did hear the screams of both the children and the pokemon as they roared past her. She uncovered her snout and watched in horror as the emergency brakes on the ride slammed the coaster to a stop and launched the bubble, which hadn't popped(thank god), and its contents off of the tracks and soaring over the park and into the ocean. Eve felt sick as she turned and bolted away. She didn't care anymore if Steven still wanted to make a good first impression, in all honesty, that idea had been thrown out the window the minute Steven had mentioned a harpoon. All she cared about know was his safety. She was getting the gems.
Connie blinked. Everything was blurry and she couldn't see a thing. She did, however, notice the human blob and brown furry blob underneath her, so she quickly sat up and got off of them. The human blob let out a soft groan as it picked itself off of the ground. She looked around and said, "Where are we?"
The human blob(Steven, Connie assumed) gently picked up something off of the bottom of the bubble and put it on her face. Her glasses. Cocoa, the brown blob from before, let out a soft moan as it stood back up on its own two legs, before collapsing again. It looked sick. "At the bottom of the ocean," Steven replied. Connie couldn't help the audible gasp of panic that escaped her mouth. Cocoa also gave out a gasp, but if it were from pain or fear, Connie couldn't tell.
Steven's eyes widened at that the reaction and waved his hands in front of him. "It's okay!" he said trying to reassure her. It didn't work very well.
"Are we even close to the shore?" she said a tad panicked. Cocoa let out a whimper as it finally got back up on its feet, shaking itself. It looked up at Connie and Steven, who both looked a bit panicked and let out another whimper.
Steven apprehensively said, "Yeah, sure!" Connie looked around the area a bit and then sighed.
"Let's start rolling," she said and they began to push the bubble. Cocoa didn't get up on anybody for a ride, instead, it hopped along the ground, stumbling every now and again as they walked.
As they walked Steven tried to start a conversation by saying, "It's a good thing this bubble is airtight, otherwise we'd be drowning right now." He let out a nervous chuckle as Connie glanced at him with fear and Cocoa let out a gagging noise. "Don't worry Connie and Cocoa," he said quickly, looking at both of their terrified faces, "I have an idea that will definitely work, when we get back-" Steven stopped as a dark shadow passed over them. The shadow was attached to a giant pink worm-like creature with purple spots and tentacles that covered its mouth. Connie let out a terrified screech as Steven stared at it with awe. Cocoa let out a cry of alarm and started to scratch at the opposite of the bubble, with no result.
"A huge worm!" Steven gasped, before tugging at Connie's arm and pointing at the creature. "It's okay, look! It only wants to eat that bright stuff," he said as the worm creature ate a giant red glowy plant. Cocoa was about to let out a sigh of relief when the worm creature suddenly turned and dug a hole into the ground. This caused fissures to open up in the ground… Like right beneath their feet. Connie and Steven screamed as Cocoa jumped onto Steven's head as they all plummeted deeper into the sea, screaming for their lives.
Eve dashed down the beachside, panting hard. She had been running for maybe twenty minutes(which was usually just a ten-minute run when she had Steven to use as her bus). "Curse these tiny legs," she grumbled to herself as she finally reached the hill to their house. She scrambled up the staircase and collapsed. Her still soggy fur instantly soaking the wood under her. God everything hurt.
She gently pushed herself up and staggered toward her tiny door and pushed her way in. The gems weren't back yet, she noted as she moved toward the warp pad. She let out a sigh as she sat next to it. All that running, for nothing.
Steven and Connie were at the bottom of the sea with a pokemon, as well as whatever dangerous pokemon were still down there. Eve's eyes drifted toward the door. God, she hoped they were all okay. She laid her head between her paws and let out a huff. Now all she could do was wait for the gems to get back and then…
The thought stopped there as there was a crash from the temple behind her. She picked up her head as her ears twitched. Was that…
There was a second crash and a curse from the other side of the temple door. The voice sounded like Amythest. There was a short pause before a muffled argument broke out. That was Pearl's voice! Eve immediately jumped to her feet and ran toward the door. She jumped at the door, barking and scratching the door. The argument stopped as Eve started barking louder, fear and desperation starting to leak into her voice. The door opened and Eve took a step back, panting yet again from all the barking.
"Eve?" Pearl said in confusion as she, Amythest and Garnet stepped out of the temple. Said pokemon couldn't help the relieved whimper that escaped her. "Hey, little dude, what's up?" Amythest asked, confusion also leaking into her. "And where's Steven?"
Eve let out a couple of barks, taking a few seconds in between each sentence to take a breath. "What do you mean he's in a bubble with a human and can't get out?" Pearl cried in alarm. Garnet didn't say anything as she watched the pokemon in front of her. "He could be in grave danger! Especially with those earthquakes that have been popping up today!" Pearl exclaimed turning to Garnet for answers.
Said gem knelt down next to Eve and asked, "Where are they now?" Eve let out a breathless bark and Garnet shifted her glasses as Pearl screeched, "The bottom of the ocean!"
Amythest let out a whistle. "Wow, he did all that in one day? Without us watching?" She let out a laugh. "Now I wish I had seen that!"
"This is no joking matter!" Pearl scolded. She turned back to Garnet and asked, "What do we do?"
Garnet stood there for a moment, before looking down at the worried Pokemon by her feet. She smiled softly at Eve and said, "Don't worry. Your friends will be fine." She looked back up at the other gems standing next to her and said with calm, collected voice, "Follow me."
For the second time that day, Steven groaned as he opened his eyes, wincing slowly. A soft whimper of pain came from on top of his head and Steven slowly reached his hand up there and lightly touched something fuzzy. "Cocoa," his mind registered before he realized his foot was in Connie's face. He quickly removed and said, "Oh, sorry! Are you alright?" Connie got up to her feet, not saying anything. Steven winced at the silence as Cocoa let out a soft worried whimper.
The half-gem looked around at his surroundings. It was darker now, which was understandable for the circumstances. They were surrounded by rocks and the only light they had, filtered through the crevis that they fell through. "I-It's not so bad," he stammered, looking back down at the girl in front of him. "Uhhh. I-It's okay, I uh-"
Steven was cut off as Connie blurted, "It's not okay!" Steven took a step back at the outburst and he could feel the Pokemon on his head shift nervously. "You keep saying that but you don't know what you're doing! Now we're going to suffocate or starve at the bottom of the ocean," at this point, Connie's eyes were tearing up which made Steven feel more alarmed as she said, "and only my parents will notice because no one else cares about me!"
Steven took another step back as he watched the girl in front of him slowly break down as she continued with, "I'm gonna disappear without ever making a single friend…" She trailed off as she collapsed against the walls of the bubble sobbing quietly. Her hands went her glasses and covered her eyes, trying hard to stop the falling tears.
Cocoa slowly shifted out of Steven's hair and lowered herself down to the ground. She slowly hopped over to the girl and put a gentle paw on her knee. Connie looked up a little at that and that was when she noticed the soft red glow that was in front of her. She looked up and met Steven's eyes. Guilt clouded his eyes but there also something else, something soft. "We can be friends," he said holding out a red glow stick bracelet to her. Cocoa let a soft sound in confirmation of this as well, her soft eyes sparkled in the light of the glow stick.
Connie couldn't help the blush that brushed against her cheeks as Steven said, also blushing lightly, "I saw you at the Boardwalk Parade last year. You dropped your bracelet. I picked it up, but then I couldn't find you. I saved it in the freezer so it would last longer, in case I saw you again."
Connie replied with surprise and realization, "Oh! You were the kid on the car wash float." She and Cocoa let out a soft chuckle as Steven's cheeks heated up. "You had soap bubbles in your hair."
Steven let out a soft laugh as he reached out his hand and placed the bracelet around Connie's wrist. "I was supposed to be a scrub brush," he said before his voice dropped to a bit of a sadder note. "I'm sorry Connie," he said, eyes welling with some tears of his own. "If I had returned your bracelet back then, you wouldn't be stuck in this bubble with me now."
Connie was about to reply, but Steven continued, "You were right, we should have just gone back to my house and waited for the gems to come back, but I was so desperate at making a good first impression, that I threw your safety and Cocoa's safety right out the window and…"
"Steven stop," Connie said, gripping hands, for they had started to grip his shirt. "Steven, it's okay. Even with all my worrying, I've been having fun, but I do think we started on the wrong foot." She released his hands before holding out one of her own, a soft smile on her face. "Hello, my name is Connie." Cocoa, who had been watching the exchange with quiet respect, nodded along and reached out a paw to the half gem, cooing softly in the same gesture.
Steven eyed both the paw, hand with apprehension before smiling and grabbing both in his hands and shaking them, "The name is Steven." With those simple words, the bubble suddenly popped leaving the trio in shock. Connie quickly covered her mouth to keep the water out as Steven grabbed Cocoa's flailing paw. He quickly grabbed Connie's arm and tugged her up. All three of them kicked quickly before reaching the surface. They all broke the surface of the water gasping for air.
Connie coughed and Steven let out a moan of air. Cocoa clung Connie's shoulder, fur dripping slowly into her face. Before either of them could say or do anything, the giant worm creature from before slammed up from the water, making all three of them let out screams of surprise. The creature slammed its body back into the water, making a wave push the trio onto the shore of the beach, near the pier. Steven didn't get up immediately but Connie did when she saw the worm creature slowly making its way toward them. Cocoa let out a screech and starting pushing its ears against Connie's head, making her go faster. "Come on, come on!" she cried, pulling Steven to his feet and pulling him toward the piers.
They both ran opposite directions as the monster drew closer. Cocoa shifted itself on Connie's shoulder and made a leap at it and slammed its foot into the creature's face. It didn't even faze it slammed its head in the Pokemon making it fly in the opposite direction. "Cocoa!" Connie cried before she dove out of the way of the worm creature. Steven stood further under the pier and watched the commotion nervously, frozen with fear.
"Why is it chasing us?!" he thought and that was when he noticed the bracelet's glow. It wasn't aiming at Connie, it was aiming at her wrist, where the bracelet resided. "The bracelet! It eats bright stuff. Connie!" he screamed as he raced toward the girl. Cocoa came back in with a war cry and slammed its foot into the creature's face(does it even have a face?) distracting it as Steven reached Connie. "Give me the bracelet!" he, quickly taking her bracelet off of her wrist.
"What?!" Connie said before there was a roar of outrage and cloud of sand appeared next to them. Cocoa shook her head dazed, as Steven picked her up and pushed her into Connie's arms.
The worm monster let out another shriek as it started making its way toward them and Steven's eyes widened as he said quickly, "It's okay, now go, go!" They both ran in opposite directions, Steven raising his hand with the glowing bracelet. Steven zigzagged around the pillars of the pier while yelling frantically, causing the monster to wrap and knot around itself. He was barely out of the monsters reach as he jumped over one of its entangled tail and slid to a stop next to Connie, who had Cocoa on her shoulder. He spun around and stood next to his friends as he gripped Connie's hand tightly.
The monster let out a shriek as it struggled, before the pillars of the pier cracked and split, making the whole pier collapsed on top of the monster, making it poof into a smoke. At that moment Eve and the crystal gems rounded the corner and cried, "Steven!" The kids turned and Steven barely had time to let go of Connie's hand when he was tackled by Eve. The pair flopped in the sand and Eve licked his face with vigor.
"It's okay, Eve. I'm fine and so is Connie and Cocoa," he said, rubbing the Pokemon's head with affection.
Pearl looked around at the destruction and said, "Steven, what's going on?! What did you do?!" Steven sat up, patting Eve's head slightly as they looked back over at the gems.
He opened his mouth to reply but Connie cut him off with, "He was incredible!" Her face was bright with amazement and wonder, as was Cocoa's as she nodded in agreement. Steven's face blushed as he stood up, Eve clambering onto his shoulder.
"Really? You mean it?" Connie nodded along with Cocoa, as Garnet ran behind them to grab a gem that had rolled out from under the pier. She picked it up and bubbled it, before tapping the top and sending it back to the temple. Steven saw the glow bracelet laying in the sand, where he dropped it after Eve jumped him. He bent down and picked up, turning back to Connie and handing the bracelet to her. "Here's your bracelet... again," he said, smiling as Connie took it and slipped around her wrist. She smiled back and chuckled out a soft thanks.
Amythest snuck up behind the pair grabbed Steven's shoulder, startling him a bit as she said, "So, are you going to introduce us?" Steven's face reddened as Eve let out a snicker.
Pearl turned to Connie and said, "Steven was so excited to meet you. Right, Steven?" Steven's face reddened even further as he let out a nervous chuckle and nodded. Before either of the two gems could say anything further, Garnet came up behind them and picked them up by the backs of their shirts.
"Hey! Don't mess with his funky flow," she said as she turned and dragged the two gems off.
Connie turned to Steven with an amused smile and asked, "Funky... flow?" Steven let out a groan as he covered his already red face with embarrassment as the new group of friends laughed together.