I want to make one thing clear for everyone who's read up to this point and supported me.

I do not own the show "Steven Universe" whatsoever. Everything that appears in the show and all the characters involved belong to their respective creators.

The only thing I own in this story is my OC, Marcus Jade Castellanos, and The Iron Kings.

With that established, on with the show.


I definitely made an impression on the gems for my impromptu return. After a week of being gone, I guess the last thing they expected was for me to suddenly reappear with a large stack of cash, new weapons and other parts, and a new car. Luckily I came back just as they were dealing with some conspiracy enthusiast named Ronaldo in town and Steven was all tuckered out. I promised to explain to him what happened while I was gone but in a more… toned down version of what transpired. I told them about the kidnapping, the human gang, their weapons and armaments, equipment and gear they have at their disposal, as well as the lives I had to take. I didn't mention the whole regenerating thing I went through because I didn't want them to worry. Plus I'm gonna try to figure out just how this regeneration works. It wasn't just my arm that was fixed, any bruises and cuts I had sustained also healed as well. I don't know if it was the trauma of my arm being torn off that activated the ability but it's not like I'm going to test it out by hacking off my arm again, once was enough thank you.

When I told them, obviously, they were worried about the implications that this could bring.


"This… could be a problem." Garnet says uneasily.

"Yeah." Amethyst agrees with her and so does Pearl with a head nod.

"I know… crap." I let out a frustrated sigh as I stare at the ceiling. "The guys said that I pissed someone off to garner their attention. Out of all the moments in my past, I can't remember any one person that stands out that would want my head. All the guys I dealt with were either small time thugs or worked alone." I explain to them.

"Mmmmmm… we'll have to be cautious then." Garnet says with a hand to her chin. The other two nod in agreement.

I look at her, "What? You're not going to ask me to leave and take this problem with me?" I simply ask her. The Iron Kings want me for some reason, not the others. Anyone else would likely ask me to leave and take my problems elsewhere.

"Why?" Thankfully, the gems aren't just anyone. "You could have left when we were dealing with those monsters. You could have let yourself live in isolation and not deal with other gems in general." Garnet explains.

"You've had our back the whole time you've been here…" Amethyst says.

"…With some rough patches here and there," Pearl adds, "But you always came back." She finishes with a smile.

"If those humans want you," She smirks. "They're going to have to get through us."

I stare at all three of them for a few quiet moments before I close my eyes and let out a few chuckles. "He he he… haaaa…" I look at them. "Thank you. I won't let you down." I say with a smile.


After our conversation that night, they also got me up to speed on things I missed. For one, Steven, Pearl and Amethyst screwed up a little and decided to form a 'secret team' to fix their problem before Garnet found out…. Which she did.

Steven went on a camping trip with Sadie and Lars for several days because they couldn't find the teleporter back but apparently some issues arose and they returned battered, bruised and with a gem.

Finally, on the night I came back, Steven was hanging out with Ronaldo on some conspiracy theories he had about weird things happening in Beach City but proved false when he found out they were all caused by us gems. You'd think he would have been tipped off when he found some of my bullet casings laying around but apparently not. He then kidnapped Steven and the gems were forced to go rescue him, which is why when I came home they were gone.

After that, I spent the next week taking inventory of what I got from The Iron Kings and moving things around. As usual, I got plenty of arms and armor for me to use in the future. I've got some snipers to look at, an M40A3 bolt-action rifle with a forest green color to it and a bipod, Macmillan Tac-50, a Dragonov SVD, even an AS50 Anti-material sniper rifle. For assault rifles, I have an ACR, a Tavor X95, and I still have the AK12 in my car. SMG's: Uzi, Mac-10, and some Glocks fitted for full auto. Shotguns: Striker, SPAS-12 and a Mossberg 590A1. I would have had the AA12 but I was forced to leave it back at the base. I have a couple LMG's as well, an M240L, PKP Pecheneg and even two Browning M2 .50 cal machine guns. Another couple crates I got contained a variety of modifications and attachments I can add to all my guns, using rails, lasers, flashlights, silencers, different magazines, and even stocks. I also got a ton of other bullet variants to go along with my weapons, from tracer rounds to hollow point, slugs, buckshot's, solid brass rounds, and even incendiary rounds for all types of guns I have. Thanks to the replicator I still have, ammo isn't a problem for me but I have to be careful with how much I make, otherwise I'll start to overflow in gear.

'Maybe I should build or contract a house to be built for me. I'm sure I can get a permit from the mayor to build a house near where the gems live. A garage would be nice, an actual bed, maybe a basement, extra rooms for me to store my stuff…'

I'll probably petition to the mayor for a good spot to build a house but for now, I also got some other items that I can make use of. For one thing I got disassembled parts I can put back together to make an ammo press, and as well as benches I can use to shape, mod, change my weapons if need be. Hell, I also have parts I can use to build my own forge if I want to. Guns are nice and I have plenty of those, but maybe when I feel able enough, I can shift my field from just firearms to possibly melee weapons. Hiding a blade on me when my hands are bound would be quieter than me summoning mine. Not to mention new powers keep popping up for me at the weirdest or crucial of times so I need various tools of destruction at my disposal in case things get hairy for me at the worst of times.

Still, while all my gear is good, The Irons Kings are a problem we may have to deal with in the future and even though they are a human enemy and alone aren't as deadly as a corrupted gem monster, but they make up for that in sheer firepower they can possess, as well as numbers. I did some digging around for them and to the police and public, they are only a minor nuisance, a small gang that apparently traffics illegal arms and weapons. That is what only the public knows, even the government. But from what I can tell, all the gear they have, the weapons, the men, even the stuff I stole that was supposed to be sent overseas to some rich person, dictates that they aren't minor and only in the US.

No, these guys are big and work in more than just one country.

With that worry hanging over me, I also decided to address the issue that my allies are not ranged combatants. They are strictly and almost entirely limited to CQB. I asked them that if we are going to fight humans in the future, I need to train them in firearms. How to clean a gun, what types, fire modes, bullets and which kind is best for what, how to hold it, cover and the different penetrating powers.

"No."

"Yeeeaaaahhh, sorry man."

Unfortunately, Garnet and Amethyst weren't to privy to using human firearms.

"You taught me how they work, now I think it's time we learn how to use them."

Fortunately, Pearl was on-board with the idea.

"Pull!"

Which leads me to today.

With a slight grunt, Garnet throws a disc of clay far off into the distance, almost a mile away. I sight in with my AS50 and lead the clay target two mil dots ahead of it. I steady my breath and squeeze the trigger.

*BANG*

The dust kicks up around my prone position, the .50 BMG round leaving the barrel of my gun with a thundering roar and heading to straight for my target. A few seconds pass as I look over at my spotter.

"It's a hit." Pearl replies while looking through some binoculars.

"Nice." I comment as I take out the 10-round box magazine and pull the bolt handle back, sending the next round that was chambered clattering to the ground. I slip the round back into the magazine before standing up. "Alright I think that's enough for today."

"You think?" Amethyst comments from nearby on the benches gesturing around us. We are standing in the arena that Pearl took us to last time she was demonstrating sword combat. We put several tables around us, some that are near the base of the stairs that leads up to the exit have various weapons on it that Pearl and I practiced with. Other tables, pillars and the surrounding floor is littered with broken clay pigeons, hole filled drink bottles and cans, and paper back shooting targets.

Overall, she excelled in dual wielding semi-automatic pistols. If she were to use one pistol, or revolver, she wouldn't do as well when compared to either using two at the same time or a two-handed weapon. She made the comment that when she was younger, around a few thousand years ago or so, she excelled at using dual straight swords before she moved onto her spear, hence the two-handed weapon action. It didn't matter if the weapon was a semi-auto, full-auto, or bolt-action, she delivered with pinpoint accuracy across all the different forms of weapons I had. She says she prefers to use semi-automatic or bolt-action weapons but it's nice to note that she can excel at using most any kind of weapon I have in my arsenal. I'll need to teach her some of the proper techniques to use when holding the weapon or how to use the gun as an effective melee tool on the fly should the need arise.

I take a look around the carnage Pearl and I did to the place. I nod, "Yeah, I think so." I look over at Garnet, "Alright Garnet, no more skeet shooting. Put the rest down the table." I say to

"Alright." She says and places the rest of the clay pigeons on the table next to her.

"You sure you two don't want to try? It's pretty fun." I try to entice Garnet and Amethyst.

"While the idea of firing these primitive gunpowder weapons aren't as appealing to me, I will admit that there is a bit of an… exhilarating feeling when it comes to firing these weapons." Pearl adds onto me.

"No." Garnet outright stands firm with her original decision.

"Sorry, bro." She lets out a loud yawn and lays on the bench. "Sounds like too much work."

"*Sigh, Of course it does." I mutter as I place my rifle down the table. "Alright Pearl." I turn to my student. "You got the firing down pretty solid. You already know the inner workings of how most firearms are so we'll move onto the next lesson: CQB. Next chance we both have free time, I'll teach you how to fight using the weapon gun you have on hand."

"Why don't I just pull out my spear?" She says and proceeds to pull out her weapon from her gem.

Before she can fully pull it out, I grab her arm with my hand and halt her from fully pulling it while also pulling out one of my new steel plated Beretta's and place it below her chin. She stares at me with surprised wide eyes while I feel the others shift in surprise as well. "That's why." I let her go and holster my pistol, making her let go of the hilt of her spear and it disappears.

"Was that necessary?" Garnet asks me uncomfortably close from behind.

"Yes," I turn back to her. "It was." I tell her firmly and take a few steps away before turning back to the two of them. "Look the two of you may not want to do this, fine." I gesture to Garnet and Amethyst, "But at least one of you does so I'm going to make sure to teach her everything I know." I turn to Pearl and walk towards her. "That action I did, if you were dealing with a human that snuck up on you or somehow got very close to you like that, then a smart or highly reflexive one would stop you from pulling out your weapon and put a round into you before you could react. Every. Second. Counts." I punctuate each of my words firmly, making sure she understands the implication of the situation if it were real. I cross my arms, "You have your area of expertise, I have mine." I gesture to our array of weapons on the table.

She nods, "I understand."

"Good, now we should-"

"Guys!" A new voice interrupts me. We all look to the source to see Steven standing at the top of the stirs that leads to the warp pad. "Could you come back to the house? We have a problem."

I look at everyone else, "We'll finish up later. Nothings grabbing my stuff from here. Let's go." I nod my head towards Steven. The others nods and we head back.


"Hnn."

"Alright. 123!" I grunt as I pull the sweater down over Greg's head until it pops out of the head hole.

"Ahhh! Thanks Marcus." He thanks me for the help.

"No problem." I reply and look at the concerned kid pacing back and forth.

"How am I supposed to choose just one of you to bring to dinner? You're all so... cool!" Steven says in slight happiness. He quickly filled us in on the situation involving Connie's parents and now he's deliberating who to take to the dinner. His dad is an obvious choice but he's kind of got three moms to deal with and all of them have there… unique personalities.

"Why does it have to be dinner?" Pearl says in a disgusted tone. "We get all the energy we need from our gems, and while our human constructs are capable of eating, I find it very uncomfortable." Pearl says uncomfortably with a slight shiver.

"I love eating!" She says with a chuckle, completely feeling the opposite of Pearl on the issue of food. "Feels weird." She then pulls out chips from a bag and proceeds to munch on them grossly.

"Okay, okay, okay. Let's focus. Which of you would make the best and most nuclear mom?" From what Steven said, nuclear family basically means a mother, father, and there kid or kids, nothing too freaky or outlandish about it. "Garnet, you keep us safe by scaring off the bad guys, just like a mom would." Steven describes Garnet. Her reply is to say nothing. "But you're not the best conversationalist."

"That's an understatement." I mutter under my breath.

"Amethyst, you would be a super fun mom!" Steven continues with his evaluation. Amethyst doesn't say a thing, only instead she proceeds to continue eating, picking her nose and drooling a little. "Can moms be gross?" Steven asks out loud.

"Why not?" She asks as she pulls out a strand of mucus from her nose, making me a little queasy.

"Pearl!" He goes on without answering the question thankfully. "You're always worried about me, you teach me lots of stuff, you're approachable, and you're, like, totally not gross." He finishes while placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Thankfully." 'Definitely wouldn't suit someone like her.' I say and think. Amethyst continues eating loudly and being gross in general.

"Uh…" Pearl is in the same boat as I am, what with being more than a little nauseous at the sight.

"But... you can't eat dinner." He points out her one flaw about the dinner. With a sigh, he walks away sadly and sits beside Greg on the couch. "Man, why did Connie have to say I have one mother instead of zero... or three?" He says depressingly.

"We'll figure this thing out. We just have to put our heads together." Steven's father tries to comfort his son.

"He's right." I pat the kids shoulder. "I'm sure we can figure something out." I say and begin to think. 'Okay, we need to figure out-'

"Why didn't I think of this before? It's so obvious!" Steven interrupts my thoughts. "You can all come to dinner, all three of you, fused into one!" He proposes his idea with a snap of his finger.

"Wait, what?!" I ask in surprise. 'Is he proposing that they fuse?!'

"What?!" Pearl exclaims loudly in surprise as well.

"Whoa!" Amethyst is the same.

"What?" Greg is only a little confused.

"Steven, you know we only fuse in deadly situations!" Pearl exclaims to the kid.

"It'd be like… like I'm actually bringing my whole family!" He tries to reason to them.

"That's insane." Amethyst bluntly says.

"Holy…" I trail off the idea. 'Last time I dealt with a fusion, the thing towered nearly the height to the beach house and nearly killed me. All three of them-?!' I would be lying if I said wasn't a little freaked out at the possible result.

"Fusion is serious magic, not a trick for dinner parties.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I agree with Garnet." I hastily voice my shut down of the idea of fusing, especially since most of my experiences involved with fusion involved bodily injury.

"I know." He says sadly. "Then I guess this is it. I'll never get to see Connie again. Oh, Connie! I'll never know a star that shines as bright as you." He says in a way that I think he's intentionally getting sympathy from them… and it works as they look at him that way.

"*Sigh* We have no choice." Garnet submits.

'Damn dude, laying on the sympathy there… and it worked… props to you.' The fusion thing still sits uneasy with me but I can't help but smile at the kids way of doing things. I don't know if it was a ploy to get them to fuse, or he was actually being sincere, but it worked and I'm so proud of him for the manipulation.

"Alright, now that that's settled, you got something for me?" I ask them as I sit down on the stool at the kitchen table.

"Hmmm," Steven places a hand to his chin and contemplates my role. "I know! You can be my brother!"

"What?!" We all ask in surprise, me more so as I almost fall off my seat.

"Yeah, it's perfect! You're the older brother that cares a lot about his little bro. You're always helping me out and protecting me whenever danger passes by. I'd like it if you came and pretended to be my brother." He finishes with a smile. Everyone remains silent after his short explanation, and turn to me. I stare at him for a second with my mouth agape before I chuckle. "Damn Steven." I mutter under by breath before smiling and nodding. "Alright, you got it."

"Yaaay!" He yells in happiness with his arms thrown in the air.

"By the way, when's this dinner date?" I ask him. We know where the activity is supposed to take place but not the time.

"In 30 minutes."

"What?!" I yell in surprise.


"Alright, be cool. How bad could this be?" I say to myself as I drive my car towards the dinner date. After the almost last minute notice on the time that Steven gave us, I decided to go on time to the dinner while the others get there… situation… situated and possibly stall them till they arrive. I am wearing a simple gray dress shirt for me to use on the date so I can at least be somewhat formal. I managed to stitch together my jacket together as well as taking some cloth of the same material and remaking my sleeve. The colors aren't exact to the rest but hopefully I can make it work. It isn't long until I make it to the restaurant that we will be dining at right on the dot. "Okay, this is the place." I park my truck and get out of it before heading around the back. 'Usually when it would come to me meeting the girls, the cliché would be that I'm in the relationship with the girl and I would be freaking out about meeting the girl's parents and trying to make a good first impression. I'm still freaking out a little but not as much as one would expect.' After walking around the place, I spot a group of three sitting on one side of a table and from the hair on the child sitting at the end, it's Connie and her parent's. 'Alright, time to make this look good.' I take a deep breath and walk in a dignified manner around the table. "Mr. and Mrs. Maheswaran. It's a pleasant to make your-" I stop my talking as I spot the mothers face, a very familiar one at that, and one that I am very unprepared to make the acquaintance of. "Doc! Wha-What are you doing here?!" I ask incredulously and in a voice that's slightly higher than I intended to be.

"Marcus? What are you doing here?... and where are your injuries?" She asks suspiciously.

'Oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap! I was not prepared for this.' I think as I try to come up with a veritable response to her. "Uhhhh…"

"Wait. You two know each other?" Connie asks.

"He's my patient."

"She's my doctor."

"You're the reckless idiotic kid that fell off a cliff?!" Connie asks me in surprise while pointing at me.

"You're her mother?!" I ask in surprise as well, pointing at the doctor then to Connie. "Heeey." I say afterward in annoyance at her description of me.

"Yes, this is my daughter." Mrs. Maheswaran says firmly while placing her hand on her daughters shoulder. "And you," she points to me. "Did not answer my question. How is it that your injuries are fully healed when I diagnosed that it would take you approximately 5 months to heal?"

"Uhhh…" I draw out uneasily. My eyes glance over to Connie for a second but it's all I need to see the frantic movement for her as well. "Well… IIIII…" I draw out the I in hopes of quickly coming up with something. "I… decided that I didn't want to wait 5 months for myself to heal… sooooo I looked up various herbs, remedies, and exercises I could use and do to try to hasten the healing process." I flex my once broken arm. "Ancient techniques and healing trances used by Shaolin Monks and other tribes in and around Japan and China helped speed up the process." I completely make up what I'm saying on the spot. In plenty of movies and videos I've seen over the years, there are always those moments where people heal impossible injuries with stuff like that. I'd like to imagine that ancient stuff like that happened but she can't accurately disprove what I'm saying.

"You expect me to believe that some hocus pocus meditation sped up your recovery?" She says harshly and with arms crossed. Connie looks even more distressed at her mothers reaction.

I narrow my eyes at her. 'Alright, enough of this dog and pony crap.' I calmly sit down in the one of the chairs opposite of them and place my elbows on the table before crossing the fingers in front of my mouth. "Believe what you will, doctor. Fact of the matter is, I'm fit and able right now. Your work helped to set my body straight, all it took was time. My wounds are still sore and sensitive but the fact that I can walk and move around with ease proves that I did something right." I lean back and cross my arms. "I won't force you to believe what I want you to believe… just acknowledge the results." I finish saying by twirling a fork between my fingers using the arm that was once broken.

We stare at each other for a few tense moments, waiting for the other to crack, as Mr. Maheswaran looks one between us and Connie is nervously biting her nails. "Very well."

"Ohhhh!" Connie lets out a breath of relief.

"But I will be looking into this."

"I would expect nothing less from you." I say with a smile and place the fork back down.

"Now back to the other matter, what are you doing here?" She asks me. Connie gives me a questioning look as well. I know she was expecting Steven, Greg, and one of the gems but I don't think she was expecting me.

"Well, ma'am. You wanted to meet Steven's family right? Well, a part of it's here. I'm Steven's older brother."

"You are?" She asks me while Connie does the same but she mouths it.

"Yes. My parents and I felt that if you wanted to have a dinner date with Steven's family, that all of it should come by and give you a shining first impression as a family." I tell her with a smile.

"Well, the more the merrier I say. Ha ha haaa." Mr. Maheswaran voices his acceptance of my presence being here.

"Alright then. We were most interested in meeting Steven's parents but meeting all of his family is definitely an improvement." Connie's mother says. She then looks around us. "Where are they? It's been 20 minutes already and there not here."

"Well, we were going to run late if we all left at the same time, so I opted to go on ahead and keep you all company 'till the others get here."

"Let's hope they get here soon, otherwise-"

*Rumble*

The ground shakes roughly, interrupting the mothers words.

"Uh... Oh." Mr. Maheswaran says uneasily. I look at him in confusion until I follow his eyes to behind me. MY eyes widen and my mouth drops as I see a towering figure come over the mountainous rocks behind me.

"Hi, Connie! Hi Marcus! Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Maheswaran!" Steven greets us from the top of the fusions shoulder, along with Greg on the other side.

"Holy…" I breathe out as I stare at the tall multi-limbed creature lumber towards us. The fusion uses some of its hands to lower Greg and Steven to the ground.

"Thanks… honeybun…?" Greg awkwardly says to his towering… wife. 'This is… wow.'

"You're welcome… Greg." The fusion replies somewhat hesitantly.

It takes a few seconds of awkward silence but Greg manages to get on the ball. "I'm Greg Universe. And this massive drink of water is my wife, Alexandrite." He introduces the fusion.

"Hi-i-i-i-i-i." Alexandrite says very awkwardly. I will give her credit, despite being powerful and large enough to crush my entire self with one hand, she can at least feel awkward. Dinner goes by for a few minutes until Alexandrite proceeds to start munching on 6 breadsticks at once in a crouched position.

"I hope this place has unlimited breadsticks." Mr. Maheswaran comments quietly to his wife.

"Don't be rude." His wife scolds him.

"Bleh." Alexandrite chews on the breadsticks a couple more times before sticking her tongue out in disgust, showing the chewed up breadsticks. 'Probably Pearls side there.'

Greg chuckles nervously at the fusions action. "Isn't my wife a riot?" He finishes while he continues to chuckle nervously. 'Can't blame him. His wife is taller than the restaurant we're eating at.'

"So, tell me, how did you two meet?" Connie's mom asks them.

"Huh? How did we meet?" Greg says in confusion, most likely not prepared to be put on the spot like that.

'Holy crap… is this actually working?' I ask in my head considering that the parents aren't really questioning the several feet tall multi-limbed creature in front of them.

"Well, we, um-"

"They met on a roller coaster!" Steven interrupts his father while standing up on his chair.

"What?" Connie and I both mouth the word to the kid.

"She was too tall to ride! Heh-heh." He makes a joke, I think, and chuckles nervously afterward while going back onto his chair. Connie shakes her head in disapproval while I slap my hand on my face.

I look up to see confused looks from the parents. "I thought I felt a fly on my face." I quickly answer.

"Uh, I remember it like it was yesterday. Right, honey?" Greg answers while chuckling and laughing nervously. He also places his hand on Alexandrite's leg but continues to laugh nervously more so. "Eh... sorry." He whispers to her while taking his hand away.

"Have some more breadsticks... dear." Her rebuttal is to make that suggestion and slam his head onto the table roughly. 'Real subtle Alexandrite.'

"Eh-hem." Connie's dad coughs to get our attention. "Uh, what is it that you two do for a living, Mr. and Mrs. Universe?"

"Well, you see, I own a local car wash, and my sweet, dear wife here-"

"Our mom works on an apple farm!" He says while standing up again. Connie and I both sigh and slam our heads onto table at the less than awkward explanations that Steven came up with. 'I should have been there to plan for these questions.'

"What did we say about heads on the table?" Connie's mom scolds her daughter on her action. I quickly bring mine up before she gets suspicious.

'Wait, Connie's done this before enough times to the point she has to make a rule about it? Damn.' I think. I remember her telling Steven and I that her parents are strict but to make a rule on the exact action? Wow.

"She uses all her arms to pick apples out of huge trees." Steven continues to try to explain while also chuckling nervously.

"Well, you know what they say, an apple a day keeps the doctor away." Greg says.

"Oh man." I mutter to myself. 'And right in 'front' of a doctor.'

"Yes, I hate doctors." I look at Alexandrite in horror at her words.

"Well, I'm a doctor." Mrs. Maheswaran tells everyone her occupation.

"Steven, help me find the restroom!" Connie frantically asks him. He nods before heading off with Connie into the store. 'Alright, that gives us a moment of respite. Maybe I can do some triage on this mess.'

"What is it that you do, Marcus?"

"Huh?"

"You Marcus. What is it that you do for a living? You never mentioned it when you came to visit me." Mrs. Maheswaran asks me. 'Shit! 'I' should have prepared!'

"Well, he, uhhh-" Greg tries to come up with something.

"I go to college!" I blurt out.

"Oh! Well that's good of you." She says, satisfied with my answer. 'Okay, saved it.' "What particular field are you studying in?"

"Uhhhhhh," I drone out awkwardly. "Criminal Justice!" 'Holy crap that couldn't have been farther from the truth.

"Oh, Criminal Justice/Law Enforcement!" Mr. Maheswaran comments. "A good choice. You know I work as a security guard for a private security firm."

"Really?" I ask him in vague interest. I'm not overly interested really but I guess you could say I'm at least a little curious.

"Yes sir. We used to move around a lot because of it but so far this has been the longest we stayed in one place."

"Well, I'm glad you did then sir." I say with a smile.

"Where do you take your classes?" Mrs. Maheswaran asks me, continuing to drill me for info.

"Online. I have a laptop at our home so I take my classes over that when I need to." I answer.

"And it works for you?" She asks me with a raised eyebrow.

I chuckle, "Well, I've been going at it for a few years now and I'm pretty close to getting my Bachelors."

"We couldn't be more proud of him." Greg says with slightly more confidence, more than likely happy to not have the attention focused on him.

"Yes, we couldn't." Alexandrite agrees with him.

"Cah!" I gasp out roughly as my 'fusion mother' pats me on the back, which incidentally, knocks the air out of me while also slamming my chest onto the table. I try to gasp in a few breaths of air at the sudden abuse. I manage to reorient myself enough to give a fake smile to the other parents that I'm alright when in reality I'm desperately trying to suck in air. 'Oh god… hurts… hurts so much… help.'

"You know, correct me if I'm wrong but I also find the whole brother relation between you and Steven a little far-fetched. You certainly don't look like his brother." Mrs. Maheswaran points out.

"He's adopted." Alexandrite thankfully swoops, giving the few seconds I need to properly regain my breath.

"Yep, that's it." I weakly croak out, still struggling a little with air.

"So, Steven was telling me that on his mom's apple farm, they're bioengineering a gala-fuji hybrid."

'Thank you Connie.' I suck in a deep breath of air as their attention is shifted towards their daughter, completely derailing them from my 'adoption.' A waiter also comes by and places everyone's food on the table.

"Yes, that's definitely true." I hear Steven say in a somewhat annoyed manner. 'What happened while they were gone?' I think in confusion. He was happy and go-lucky when he left but now he seems slightly miffed.

" Isn't that right, Mrs. Universe?" Connie's mom asks Alexandrite.

"Ugh!" I look up at the fusion to see her attempting to eat some popcorn shrimp. One hand however smooshes the shrimp against her face. "What are you doing?" Another of her hands slaps herself in the face.

'What's going on?' I think in confusion at her actions.

"I'm hungry!"

'Oh, crap, the gems are fighting.'

A second mouth appears below her face. "I don't think so. Cut it out, you two. Grrrrr-ugh!" Alexandrite proceeds to fight herself, slapping, punching and hitting herself in various ways. I lean back as she uppercuts herself and chomps on one of her hands.

"Whoa! Watch it!" I cry out as their almost start to stand, their leg almost hitting me.

"Stop! You don't have to eat it!" Steven tells her in hopes to stop her fighting. Alexandrite starts moaning at the news and her face begins to crack. I hear everyone gasps as she breaks apart and unfuses in a flash. Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl are dropped from the same height as Alexandrite and hit the ground roughly.

"Guys!" I cry out and jump out of my chair towards them.

"Steven!" Before I can check to see if they are alright, Pearl cries out and begins crawling towards the kid. "Ohh. Thank you so much. You don't know how horrified I was when that dreck nearly fell into our mouths." She begins to explain in utter horror, to her standards at least, on the situation. "Eating food is so disgusting! You chew it into nasty mush, swallow that goop, and it comes out of you? What a completely horrid experience!" She finishes her hysterical rant.

"Uh, speak for yourself." Amethyst puts in her two cents on the issue as she walks up to Pearl. "Ha! I love it when mush passes through my body." She says happily.

"It doesn't matter what you two think. We're doing this for Steven!" Garnet scolds the two as she summons her gauntlets and hits them both on the head.

"Ah!" The two cry out in pain.

"What is going on here? Who are they?!" Connie's dad yells out.

"Oh crap. This isn't good." I mutter myself. 'Things were going surprisingly good but now… crap.' I sigh as I run my hand through my hair.

"I knew I should have trusted my bad feelings about this new friend of yours, but I never thought I wouldn't be able to trust my own daughter." Connie's mom scolds her, much to the horror of the kid. She runs off crying with Steven behind her.

"Connie!" He cries out as he runs after her.

"Connie!" I yell after her and I go to chase after her but my foot gets caught on my chair, making me tumble to the ground. "Oof!" I grunt as I land on my chest. However to my horror, I watch as one of my pistols goes sliding out from under me. "Shit!" I curse as I roll forward in an attempt to grab my gun before the parents can see it. I quickly holster it subtly before turning back to see the gems continue to argue and the Maheswarans… staring at me. 'Crap.'

"What are you doing with that?!" Mrs. Maheswaran yells to me.

"Do you have a permit for that?!" Mr. Maheswaran yells in an equally high and slightly surprised voice as the two of them almost advance on me.

"Uhh…" I groan, not knowing what to say after being put on the spot like this. 'Damn, now I know how you feel Greg.' Before I can, try to reason to them, I hear a bus leave. Looking up the hill to the bus stop, I see a bus leaving with- "Steven! Connie!" I yell out as I spot the two of them leave on the bus. I look back to see the parents are focused on their daughter, the others are still arguing and Greg is quietly eating his food. "Guys!" I yell to the others and jog up to them.

"I for one will not partake in that disgusting action!"

"Who asked you too-!"

"HEY!" They finally stop arguing to look at me for my raised voice. "Steven and Connie left." I calmly tell them.

"What?!" All three gems say in surprise.

"Yeah, they hopped on a bus and took off." I inform them. The three of them look at each other while I turn back. "I'll head them off in my car and bring them back." I say out loud and start moving to my parked car. 'I don't know what you two are doing, but I don't think it was a well thought out-'

"STEVEN!"

"Whoa!" I duck to the side at the loud booming voice and thudding steps. Alexandrite barrels past me and over the restaurant before heading down the road. "Plan." I finish my thought from earlier. 'This won't end well.'


"I don't even know where to begin with you, young la-"

"What were you thinking, running off with Connie like that?" Pearls outburst interrupts Connie's mom from scolding her. "You could have gotten yourselves hurt!"

"Or gotten mangled in traffic." Garnet says.

"Or thrown in prison." Amethyst says as well.

"Or lost." I add, kind of as a means to lessen the consequences of his actions.

"Steven, you are in very big trouble, and we have no choice but to punish you." Pearl tells the kid.

"But…" He begs but only for a second before they tell him his punishment

"No dinner for 1,000 years."

"What?!" I ask in surprise at the punishment. 'I know the gems don't eat but they can't do that to Steven!'

"1,000?" He says with a sad expression, for some reason not at all angry or freaked out at the implication of not eating.

"We would never starve you, but you will lose your TV privileges... for 1,000 years." Pearl changes the punishment for something a bit more… lenient with a smile.

'Oh, okay. That's a somewhat better punish-'

"No!" Steven cries out in horror. "The midseason pre-finale of 'Under the Knife!' How can you do this to me?!" He cries slightly.

'Okay, I guess he's not as enthusiastic about the different punishment.'

"Because we love you, Steven." Greg tells the kid while giving him a disapproving look.

"Uhhhhhhh…" Steven groans out.

"Ahhh, no worries Steven. 1,000 years will go by just like that. *Snap*" I snap my fingers in tandem with the last word.

"You think?" He asks with slight hope plastered on his face.

I stare at him for a few moments before answering, "Suuuuurrrrree." I draw out the word both to maybe reassure him, but also because of my unsureness. I give a subtle head shake 'no' to no one in particular. He goes back to being depressed.

"Wow." The angry ready-to-discipline-mother from before comes up to us. "That was a masterful use of the 'because we love you' shutdown. I'm quite partial to the 'It's for your own good' myself." She says to them gems in a slightly upbeat attitude.

'Huh, guess they found common ground.' I think as I scratch my head at the bonding I'm seeing.

"That '1,000 years of no dinner' bit ha ha haaa was pretty funny." Connie's dad proceeds to talk to Garnet about the whole thing while also laughing.

"All comedy is derived from fear."

"… You know, there is some truth to that." I say to myself at Garnets statement. Usually there are many types of jokes out there but scaring the hell out of someone and freaking them out are prime ways to do it.

Mr. Maheswaran decides to laugh off Garnets apparent joking manner when in reality she's kind of freaky right now. "You are too much."

"I did not know what to make of the two of- excuse me, four of you, but I see that you are responsible parents. Uh, caregivers? Guardians." Connie's mom is a little confused at the title she was to give to the gems but is satisfied with the Guardian title.

"Sounds about right." I say with a nod. Not just a guardian for young Steven, but also guardians of the earth itself. 'It's a fitting title.'

"So, I can still hang out with Steven?" Connie asks her mother hopefully.

"Sure." Her mom answers.

"Yeah." I lightly pump my fist in happiness at the answer. 'I'm happy with that. Despite still being younger than me, she's still awesome to have around.'

"Alright!" Steven says loudly with elated happiness. He laughs as he goes over and hugs Connie. Her response to his affection is to chuckle nervously at the contact along with a large blush on her face.

"Uh!" Both of Connie's parents say disgusted at the scene. Mr. Maheswaran grunts as he walks over to the two and separates Steven and Connie with a satisfied look on his face. I chuckle at the mans action.

"You never did answer my question." I turn to Mrs. Maheswaran who walks up to me. "You have a permit for that weapon?" She nods to the concealed weapon in my jacket.

"Yes, I do ma'am. It's not on me right now but I do have it." I lie to her. While the others begin to converse with each other, I lead her a little bit away and speak in a low tone. "Please don't think anything bad of me because I have this. There's a reason why I'm adopted ma'am." I tell her lowly. Surprise and slight horror adorns her face but I calm her down. "I've made my peace with it. I won't let it weigh my life down to nothing," I look over to the gems and Greg, "But I will not let my new family be taken from me…" I glance over at Connie, "Or my friends. You have nothing to worry about with me." I tell her firmly. The whole thing was a half lie. My parents are whole other matter but it's my friends that I was mostly thinking of and will not let a repeat of what happened.

She stares at me for a few seconds, examining me for her to think of a valid reason to doubt me. She soon looks to her daughter and after a few seconds of watching her and Steven laugh, she turns back to me before nodding.

"Thank you." I thank her before walking over to everyone else. "Alright guys. I think this dinner party has gone on long enough and I think we've all been properly acquainted with each other." I announce and walk over to my family, while the others do the same. Soon both family's are standing next to their respective members. "It's been a pleasure meeting with you all." I say to the Maheswarans.

"The pleasure was ours." Connie's dad replies and we shake hands. "This was an interesting dinner that's for sure."

Everyone else wishes each other well wishes before saying our goodbyes.

"C'mon, I'll drive everyone home." I say to them and they follow me to the parking lot.

"Bye Connie!" Steven wishes Connie goodbye one last time.

"Bye Steven!" She replies and heads off with her family.

Soon we all pile into my truck. It's a tight fit but before long we start driving home. "By the way, what happened when you three took off after Steven and Connie?" I ask them through the rearview mirror while they all sit in the back seat. Steven and his dad are sitting up front with me.

"Well, they, uhhh…"

"We picked up the bus they were in and threatened them to get out." Garnet answers bluntly, interrupting Steven's uneasiness.

"Real subtle guys." I comment.

"Hm, when aren't they." Greg adds as well. Thinking back on it, after everything I've been through with them, all the adventures, the pain and interesting nature of how everything went, I chuckle.

"Ha ha ha… true."

Alright, well this all looks good. Turns out the Battlefield 1 campaign wasn't as numerous as I thought it was. Some of my free time will be occupied with trying to get higher ranks in multiplayer so I can unlock new weapons and equipment but hopefully my writing schedule will remain uninterrupted.

Maybe… I have friends who play this game so when we all play it together, time kind of gets away from us. I'm trying to get to rank 10 for my assault class so I can get access to the No.3 Revolver so I can use it with all classes but I'm only half way there. My favorite class is the scout and you would be surprised at how much I can wreck with a bolt-action rifle, or in this case a lever-action as well.

Also, don't quote me on Connie's dad's job. The Wiki and the show says he's a private security guard so I just made the assumption there.

Either way, things are hopefully looking good and I hope you guys continue to like my work.

Also, I'm not going to do 'Garnet's Universe' because that's an interpreted story episode, so expect some watermelon action next.

And I have to be honest with you guys… expect things to get a little… crazy… and fun with the watermelons. Well, to me at least.

As always, have a great day and have fun reading.