The old barn was surrounded by lush, green fields littered with patches of vibrant flowers. A cool and refreshing gust of wind blew in, bringing an earthy and sweet scent with it. Steven lay on the soft grass, head resting on top of his arms as he stared up at the cloudless, blue sky. Sometimes he would catch glimpses of Lapis who circled the landscape from overhead, dipping and weaving in random patterns.
Steven pushed himself into a sitting position and let out a heavy sigh. "Well, this sucks," he complained out loud.
When Twoie and the gems had exited the temple, Steven had been prepared to apologize for his actions. He'd carefully gathered his thoughts and nervously approached only to be caught off guard when Twoie apologized to him. Then, he had gathered all the gems and announced his intention to begin construction of the drill.
Now, Steven was left to aimlessly wander the fields surrounding the barn as everybody else worked on stopping the cluster. Apparently, Twoie and the gems had all decided it was too dangerous for him to help and insisted he stay away from the barn.
Steven let out another sigh. "This really sucks."
The clanging of metal and distant chatter pulled his attention towards the barn. The inside was a flurry of activity. In one corner, Peridot and Pearl stood over a table covered with drill schematics. Occasionally, one of them would move over to the nearby chalkboard before furiously scribbling or erasing something.
The team consisting of Garnet, Bismuth, and Spinel was led by Amethyst. They busied themselves by sifting through the endless mountains of scrap metal, old clothing, and broken furniture in search of anything useful.
And overseeing the whole operation was Twoie who was silently trailed by Jasper. He checked on the two groups, answering questions and resolving any disputes that broke out. Most of the arguments were centered around Peridot and Pearl who were constantly at odds with each other, snapping and shouting insults while they worked.
Steven slunk around the outside of the building, taking care to not be seen by any of the gems and slowly made his way towards Peridot who was now alone. Her most recent fight resulted in Pearl throwing her arms up in frustration before stomping away. Steven positioned himself so that he was standing in front of the chalkboard, most of his body hidden from view.
He stole a glance at Pearl, who was busy discussing something with Twoie on the other side of the barn before speaking, "Do you need any help?" he asked.
Peridot who had been engrossed in her work up until that point let out a small yelp, dropping the pencil she had been writing with. She quickly composed herself before narrowing her eyes at him.
"Oh, it's just you," she said, voice flat.
Steven bent down and scooped the pencil off the ground. "Here," he said, offering it to her. "You dropped this."
Peridot eyed him for a moment before snatching the pencil out of his hand. Wordlessly, she returned to inspecting the small pile of schematics strewn across the table, occasionally tapping the pencil against her chin.
"So…" he began, leaning on the table to get a better view of what she was working on. There were various complicated formulas scrawled over several sheets of paper and strange symbols that he struggled to comprehend. Eventually, his gaze landed on a simple concept sketch of a completed drill. It reminded him of a spinning top. "Drills, huh?"
Peridot paused her tapping to shoot him an annoyed look. "What do you want?"
"Nothing," Steven quickly answered. "I was just wondering if you needed any help. I've never built a drill before, but I used to help my dad fix the van when it broke down."
Peridot scoffed. "I'm a certified kindergartner," she said.
Steven gave her a blank look.
Peridot let out an exasperated sigh. "No, I do not require your assistance," she said. "Now, leave me so I can work in peace." she made a shooing motion with her hand before turning her attention back to the schematics.
Steven frowned. He just wanted to help, so why wasn't anybody letting him? Wasn't he a Crystal Gem too? He grabbed a handful of papers from the table and sifted through them in an attempt to better understand the science behind the drill.
"Steven," Pearl said, her stern voice causing him to freeze and drop the papers. They scattered all over the floor in a jumbled mess.
"My formulas!" Peridot screeched, diving after the papers. She scrambled to gather them all up in her arms before dumping them onto the table and furiously working to organize them.
Steven winced and slowly turned to face Pearl, offering her a nervous smile.
She stood with her arms crossed, a disappointed frown on her face. "You shouldn't be in the barn," she said. "It could be dangerous."
"But I can help," he insisted. "And the barn is super safe, nothing bad is going to happ—."
Just then on the other side of the barn, Spinel yanked something out from one of the precariously balanced heaps. It shook before collapsing in an avalanche of sharp metals and plastic. When the dust settled, Spinel poked her head out of the sea of materials, an apologetic look on her face.
"Oops," she said. "My bad. 'Guess that fish was important."
A moment later, Amethyst appeared from the rubble, a large animatronic bass in her arms and a satisfied grin on her face. "Worth it," she said as she picked scraps of metal out of her hair.
Steven let out a nervous chuckle. "So, can I hel—"
"Go outside, Steven," Pearl said.
Steven visibly deflated, "Okay," he said, dragging his feet as he left the barn.
Pearl made sure that Steven had completely left the barn before turning her focus back onto Peridot and the plans for the drill. She suppressed a groan at the thought of having to work with Peridot. Of all the gems to be paired up with, why did she have to get the most insufferable one?
"Have you made any progress on the drill?" she asked, approaching the table. She peered over Peridot's shoulders to get a better view of the schematics.
Peridot pulled the documents closer to herself, obstructing Pearl's view of them. "Your assistance is not needed," she said. "You're free to leave."
Pearl's eye twitched and she took a moment to compose herself before speaking, "We'll finish sooner if we work together."
Peridot gave her an incredulous look, "A Peridot working with a Pearl," she said, shaking her head. "Ha! The mere thought is absurd."
Pearl clenched her jaw and bit back an insult. They needed Peridot to stop the cluster, they needed Peridot to stop the cluster, they nee—
"You're the one who's absurd, tiny."
Pearl looked up to see Bismuth leaning against the chalkboard, an easy-going smile on her face. She walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Pearl is one of the smartest gems I know," she said. "You're lucky to be working with her."
Pearl flushed at the compliment, her previous anger fizzling out.
"I highly doubt that," Peridot said dismissively, turning her attention back to her work. "She's just a Pearl."
"Bismuth," Pearl greeted, ignoring Peridot's jab. "I thought you were busy organizing the piles with the others."
"I decided to take a break," Bismuth said. "Looks like you could use one too." she gestured to Peridot with a slight tilt of her head.
Pearl smirked. "Yes," she agreed, glancing at Peridot. "My work has been rather… annoying."
"Well, what do you say we go for a stroll?" Bismuth asked. "I've been meaning to visit the old forge."
"The forge? I haven't been there in thousands of years!" Pearl exclaimed, clasping her hands together as she recalled the pleasant afternoons she used to spend in the forge. She would ramble on and on about their latest victory while Bismuth produced stacks upon stacks of swords, axes, lances, and other weapons essential for the rebellion. She would love to go there again, but the table littered with blueprints made her hesitate. "Oh, but I should probably stay here to work on the drill."
"C'mon Pearl," Bismuth said. "It'll be fun. Garnet, Twoie and Amethyst already agreed to go."
"Yes, please leave," Peridot agreed.
Pearl sent her a glare. "Well, I suppose a small break wouldn't hurt," she said. "And it would be nice to see the forge again. It'll be just like old times."
Bismuth smiled. "To the forge!"
Steven watched as Twoie and the gems headed out, their conversation becoming harder to discern as their figures faded into the distance. He plastered on a disinterested look and hummed a random tune until he was sure they were gone. Now was his chance to help. He leapt up from his spot on the ground, brushing the grass off his clothes and headed towards the barn.
He skidded to a halt, heels digging into the ground as he nearly crashed into someone. Jasper stood, arms crossed in the entrance of the barn. He tried to go around her, but she moved to block his path.
"My Twoie doesn't want you inside of the barn," she said.
He frowned. Of course, Twoie wouldn't leave unless he was sure Steven couldn't enter the barn. He took a step to the right. Jasper mirrored his actions. He moved left, so did Jasper.
He sighed. "Fine, I leave."
He took a few steps away from the barn and began to whistle. The second he didn't feel Jasper's gaze on him he turned on his heel and made a dash for the entrance. Just a few more steps. Almost there…
A pair of hands plucked him off the ground right before he could step inside. He squirmed in Jasper's hold for a while before giving up and going still. Sneaking past Jasper wasn't going to work.
"Can you please let me in?" he pleaded.
Jasper shook her head. "No."
"Why not?"
"You could get hurt. My Twoie said you're at a fragile stage of development." she gently placed him on the ground. "You're soft and squishy."
Steven pouted. He was sick of everybody treating him like he was made of glass.
"But I can make bubbles and shields!" he insisted "I'm not going to get hurt."
Jasper didn't respond and continued to guard the entrance. There was no way he was getting past her. Jasper was just too good of a guard, but maybe he didn't have to…
"Well, what if you guard me while I'm in the barn?" he suggested. "That way I can help while staying safe."
Jasper was silent, but seemed to be considering his request.
"Unless… you don't think you can keep me safe?" he innocently asked.
Jasper frowned and Steven mentally cheered.
The rocky, grey mountainside was devoid of any life. The cracked and dry ground made it impossible for anything to flourish and any wildlife they ran into was small and tough. In short, it was uncomfortably hot and it only got worse the closer they got to the forge. Twoie wiped the sweat from his brow and soldiered on, huffing and puffing as the steep incline of their chosen trail grew even steeper.
"I can do this," he whispered to himself as his legs burned in protest. Had climbing the mountain been this difficult the first time around? He leaned against a rugged wall in an attempt to catch his breath and decided that no, it hadn't.
"You doing alright there, dude?" Amethyst asked, backtracking to him.
Garnet, Pearl, and Bismuth continued onward too engrossed in their conversation to notice.
"Just give me a second," he said as his breathing stabilized. He pushed himself away from the support of the wall and made a conscious effort to take long strides in order to catch up with the others. Amethyst kept pace with him and shot him the occasional worried glance.
"I dunno man," she said after he stumbled and nearly collapsed on the ground. "You're not looking so good. Maybe you should go back…"
He made a dismissive gesture with his hand, waving her concerns off. "I'm fine, really," he insisted. "I'm just a little tired."
Amethyst gnawed at her bottom lip and looked straight ahead. "Is this because of…"
Twoie paused mid step before continuing like nothing had happened. "Yeah," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "I think so."
There was no point in denying or ignoring the problem. Twoie didn't have much time left and his body knew it. No matter how much rest he got he was always yawning and rubbing the sleep out his eyes, his body was constantly aching, and a faint but persistent headache followed him wherever he went.
He tried not to think about it too much and instead focused all his energy on preventing the emergence of the cluster. For the most part it worked and he was able to ignore his problems, but as he struggled to climb even the slightest incline his degrading health became glaringly obvious.
"Everything's going to be fine," Amethyst said, sounding more confident than she looked. "I mean, we already got Peridot working on the time thingy and with Pearl helping her out I'm sure they'll figure something out."
Twoie nodded, but chose not to comment.
Truthfully, he suspected that even with Peridot's help, Pearl wouldn't be able to save him. He didn't doubt their brilliance or their ability to repair the time piece, but fixing something that intricate would take time, something he was quickly running out of. Even if they halted the construction of the drill and focused solely on the timepiece he doubted it would make much of a difference, not that he would ever say that outloud.
Thankfully, he had a plan that would guarantee earth's safety, but a part of him was still holding out hope that Peridot and Pearl would be able to help him so he chose to do nothing for the time being.
Eventually, after what felt like a lifetime they arrived at the entrance of the forge. With a plain grey surface and no defining features, it wasn't initially impressive, but Twoie knew that hidden behind the layers of rock was something truly amazing.
Bismuth stood in front of the ordinary mountainside wall, her gem glowing softly at first but quickly growing brighter and brighter until it exploded in a burst of light and color. The slab responded to her gemstone, shaking and rumbling before parting and revealing a grand entrance that managed to impress even Twoie who had seen it many times before.
"Wow," Amethyst said as she inspected the entrance.
Pearl enthusiastically clapped, excitement twinkling in her eyes. "Bravo, Bismuth!"
The inside of the forge was even hotter than the outside and Twoie found himself constantly having to wipe the sweat from his eyes. The others, being gems, were completely unbothered by the shift in temperature and happily watched as Bismuth gave a short tour of her workstation. Twoie stood at the edges of the room, distancing himself from the lavafall in the center of it all.
Bismuth paced around the room in search of something. "Is it still here?" she wondered aloud. Her eyes lit up at the sight of a small chest. "Aha! Yes!" she rummaged through the chest. "Here, something to pack a little extra punch."
Bismuth pulled a pair of brass knuckles from the chest and tossed them over to Garnet who immediately summoned her gauntlets and attached it to them. She stared at her upgraded weapon in admiration, a satisfied grin on her face.
Bismuth handed a forked attachment to Pearl. "And why don't you try a trident?"
Pearl eagerly accepted the gift and wasted no time in summoning and placing it on her spear. She gushed over the weapon, pulling it close to her body in a sort of embrace.
"Oh, Bismuth, you shouldn't have," she said.
"It's no big deal," Bismuth said. "I was working on them since before—" she went quiet for a moment, a far away look in her eyes. She shook her head and continued on like nothing had happened. "Well, may as well give them to you now."
"It was worth the wait," Garnet said.
"Hey, it's a pleasure doing Bismuth with you."
Even though he had hear it a million times before Twoie couldn't help but crack a smile at her corny joke. It never got old.
"Don't think I've forgotten about you, deep cut," Bismuth told Amethyst. "You have a whip, right?"
Amethyst summoned her weapon in response and handed it over to Bismuth who immediately rushed over to one of her workbenches. She came back a few moments later and handed Amethyst the modified weapon.
"Aww yeah, baby," Amethyst said as she tested out her whip. It's added spiked flails cut through the air with ease. "Bismuth's the best!"
Bismuth barked out a laugh at Amethyst's enthusiasm, her smile dimming somewhat when she locked gazes with him.
"I don't really have anything for a shield," she told him.
"Don't worry about it," Twoie said, summoning two spiked bubbles around his fists. "I can take care of myself."
Bismuth's smile dropped. "Right, you're a powerful Diamond," she said. "Good job on taking down Jasper by the way. She seems really… loyal to you now, always following your orders and bending over backwards to make you comfortable."
"It's not like that," Twoie quickly said. "I don't force Jasper to do anything she doesn't want to, she's a free gem."
"Yeah, it's not Twoie's fault that Jasper worships him," Amethyst said. "And if it weren't for him she'd still be trying to destroy us."
"I guess that's true," Bismuth conceded. "I just find it strange that a free gem salutes you. She's always following you around, opening doors, acting like your bodyguard… bowing to you."
Twoie winced. He didn't like what Bismuth was getting at, though he could blame her for coming to that conclusion. As much as he hated to admit it, everything she said was true. Jasper really did follow him around like a shadow, and in the rare instances she wasn't with him she was watching over Steven. He was working on getting her to stop bowing and saluting with limited success. At the very least, she had started calling him Twoie.
"Twoie doesn't force her to," Pearl said. "She mistakenly believes that Twoie is Pink Diamond and refuses to listen to anyone who tells her otherwise."
"She's stubborn," Garnet agreed. "Changing her mind is… difficult."
Bismuth stared at the gems for a moment, then shifted her gaze over to him. Her eyes narrowed as she studied his face in search of something. Finally, after a few tense moments in which Twoie held her suspicious gaze, Bismuth backed off.
"I guess that makes sense," she said. "You're… Twoie not Pink Diamond, right?"
"Right," Twoie said, furiously shaking his head in agreement.
Bismuth's shoulders relaxed and they continued to explore the forge for a while before heading back. Everything seemed fine, although Twoie couldn't help but shake the feeling that someone was watching him. He glanced at Bismuth in those moments, but she was always looking away and eventually Twoie ignored those feelings. He was just being paranoid.
Once inside the barn, Steven decided to approach Spinel first since helping Peridot didn't work out last time. Spinel was hard at work sifting through a small pile of broken telephones, TVs, and kitchen appliances; occasionally ripping out useful wiring and other valuable materials.
"Hiya, Steven," Spinel greeted as she placed a microwave down. "I thought you weren't allowed in the barn?"
Steven flushed, embarrassed at being caught. Did Twoie tell everybody not to let him in?
"It's fine," he assured her. "Jasper is here to make sure I don't get hurt."
Behind him Jasper grunted and sent Spinel a nod as a greeting.
Spinel tilted her head and rubbed her chin, her gaze darting between him and Jasper. "Works for me," she said, shrugging. "So, you wanna play a game?"
"Actually," he said. "I was wondering if you needed any help. I'm pretty good at organizing stuff."
He moved to grab something from one of the massive piles surrounding them, but Spinel reeled him back, literally. She shapeshifted her arm into a fishing hook, attached it to the back of his shirt and dragged him away from the pile.
"Careful, Stevie," she warned. "It's pretty easy to get one of those to come crashing down. Maybe we should go outside. I wouldn't want you to get hurt."
"No, no, it's okay," he said. "I'll be careful. I promise." he eyed the mountain of electronics and gently pulled a small radio out from the bottom. He proudly presented it to Spinel. "See? I'm fi—"
The pile rumbled before toppling over, heaps of electronics raining down at him. Jasper tackled him in an embrace, taking the brunt of the attack and protecting him with her body.
"Are you alright?" Jasper asked, searching him for any scrapes of bruises.
He nodded and covered his face with his hands as heat rose to his cheeks. This wasn't turning out how he wanted. How was he supposed to prove himself if he kept messing up?
"Hey, it's okay," Spinel said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry about the mess. I'll have it cleaned up in a jiffy."
He pulled his hands away from his face and frowned at the floor. "It's not that," he said. "I really wanted to help with the cluster, but everything I did just ended up messing things up. I don't know anything about building a drill and I'm not smart enough to help Peridot and Pearl."
"Just because you're not good at those things doesn't mean you can't help in other ways," she said. "And I think I have an idea. Look over there."
Steven followed her gaze over to a small corner in the barn where Peridot stood hunched over the table, pencil in hand. She grumbled to herself as she yanked a paper off the table, balled it up and threw onto a slowly growing pile of discarded schematics.
"I already tried helping Peridot, but I don't kn—"
Spinel made a disapproving noise as she wagged her finger in the air. "Y'know, there is more than just one way of helping someone," she said sagely before a mischievous grin spread across her face. "Sometimes in order to work hard you need to play hard first."
At some point during their trek down the mountain, Twoie managed to pull Amethyst aside. They walked ahead of the group in silence as he collected his thoughts.
"What's up, dude?" Amethyst asked. "You wanted to tell me something?
The feeling of someone's gaze made the hairs on his neck stand up. Twoie glanced over his shoulder, but Bismuth was laughing and playfully shoving Garnet.
"Has Bismuth said anything about me?" he asked.
"Not really," Amethyst said. She glanced back at the joking group and in a lower voice asked, "Is this about what happened in the forge? It got pretty intense back there. I mean I get that Jasper's still kinda brainwashed because of Homeworld, but that's not your fault."
"Maybe I'm just being paranoid," he said. "But I feel like Bismuth's watching me. I think she still believes I'm Pink Diamond."
"What? That's crazy. We already told her that wasn't true. Why would Pink Diamond disguise herself as a human anyways?"
He shrugged. "I know it doesn't make any sense, but in my time she didn't believe me when I told her I wasn't Rose Quartz. She thought I was lying to everybody and with Jasper treating me like a Diamond…"
Amethyst grimaced. "Right, you said she went all psycho and tried to shatter you. You want me to talk to her about it?"
Twoie considered it for a moment before shaking his head. "No, it's fine. I'm probably just imagining things."
Twoie took in a deep breath, savoring the crisp air of the countryside. The forge had been hot and humid and he was glad to be back even if it meant having to get back to work. The group of gems following behind him chattered happily amongst themselves, the trip having been successful in relaxing them.
The barn soon became visible and Twoie increase his speed only to stop at the sight of the empty entrance where Jasper should have been. His eyes darted to the field where he had last seen Steven. It was empty, no one in sight. It was probably fine. Maybe Steven had gone home?
A blood curdling scream filled the air. Twoie charged ahead of the group and headed straight for the barn, heart pounding as a million scenarios in which Steven got injured unfolded in his mind.
From above the ceiling beams, a small screaming mass fell on top of him, knocking him to the ground and causing him to hit his head. He blinked the spots out of his vision and readied himself for a fight only to be greeted by the sight of terrified Peridot.
"Thank the stars! You're back!" she clung to his shirt like a lifeline, her wide and frantic eyes darting around the barn. "You have to save me!"
"Save you?" he questioned, heartbeat picking up at the panic in her voice. "Did something happen? Where's Steven?"
The sound of creaking wood and hurried footsteps grew louder. Peridot pulled at her hair.
"It's too late!" she shouted. "They've found me!"
"Found you? What are you talking ab—"
A small orange blur tackled Peridot off his chest and sent her flying. Twoie shot up off the floor, summoned a spiked bubble and rushed to fend of her attacker only to stop dead in his tracks. Pinning a trembling Peridot to the wall was an orange, cackling Steven.
Not a second later another Steven appeared, this one a mix of pink and white and with a large goofy grin painted on.
"Aww, shucks," he said in an unnaturally high-pitched voice. "I can't believe you found her first."
Finally, what appeared to be the real Steven walked in, slightly panting.
"You're really good at this Jasper," he said, leaning against a wall. "Are you sure you've never played tag before?"
Twoie blinked as he watched the scenario unfold. Amethyst, Garnet, Pearl, and Bismuth burst in a moment later, weapons in hand.
"Is that… Jasper?" Amethyst asked, dispelling her whip. She squinted at the orange Steven.
Jasper turned at the sound of her name, dropping a shaking Peridot onto the floor who immediately scrambled away to hide.
"I won," Jasper said, her gruff voice clashing with her short stature.
Twoie's mouth fell open at the oddly terrifying sight. He dispelled the spike bubble still surrounding his fist.
"What's going on here?" Pearl asked.
"We were taking a break!" Spinel cheerful explained.
"I was being tortured!" Peridot shouted at the same time, peering out from behind a small pile of clothes.
Twoie merely shook his head, a small grin on his face as he watched Peridot bicker with the three other Steven's who were all trying to get her to shapeshift into Steven.
Despite not winning the match of Steven Tag, he was happy to see that Peridot had been making progress on stopping the cluster. Her brows were drawn together in thought as she filled page after page with new improvements for the drill. All that running around was successful in giving her new ideas, although Peridot still insisted that she didn't have any fun.
Steven stretched out across the field and let out a small yawn. The sky slowly turned a soft orange as the sun dipped into the horizon. His eyes stayed close a little longer every time he blinked and he likely would have fallen asleep if it weren't for Bismuth taking a seat next to him.
"I don't think it'll ever stop being beautiful," she said.
Steven sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "What?"
"The sunset," Bismuth said, her eyes never leaving the horizon. "It reminds me of what I'm fighting for."
Steven followed her gaze and was silent as he admired the sight. Bismuth was right, it was beautiful.
"Let's go for a walk," Bismuth suddenly said, rising from her spot. "I've been meaning to talk to you about something… important."
Steven blinked, slightly taken aback. No one ever wanted to talk to him about anything important. He quickly stood and followed after. They walked in silence for a while, the barn growing smaller and smaller until it was a dot in the distance. Still, Steven didn't dare say anything in fear that Bismuth would change her mind and decide not to tell him anything.
"I know it's you," Bismuth said. "You can drop the act."
Steven glanced around in confusion, trying to decipher what she meant. "What are you talking about?"
She scoffed. "I can't believe you're still trying to fool me, Rose. Or should I say Pink?"
Steven's eyes widened. "I'm not—"
"Right, sorry," she shook her head and let out a bitter laugh. "You go by Steven now, or was it Twoie? How many names do you have?"
"I'm not my mom or Pink Diamond," he insisted. "I'm Steven."
Her eyes narrowed into slits. "So you just so happened to have Homeworld gems working for you, huh? They don't even try to escape. I bet there really even isn't a cluster. Just what are you having us build? And how stupid do you think I am?!"
"I don't think y—"
"You get a new look, a brand new name, and all of a sudden you got everybody following your orders. Well, not me."
Bismuth took slow, purposeful steps toward him, closing the gap between them. Steven stood frozen and could only watch in horror as Bismuth turned her hand into a sharp blade.
Her features darkened. "You may have everybody else fooled, but I know it's still you, Rose."
She swung at him, sharp metal slicing through the air. Without even thinking, Steven summoned his shield and just barely avoided being cut in half.
"Wait, Bismuth! This is just a big misunderstanding!"
Bismuth ignored him and sent another attack his way. He managed to block it with his shield, but the force of the hit sent him flying, his body skidding across the ground. Steven stood up, shifting all his weight onto his non injured leg.
"I'm not Rose Quartz! Please, you have to bel—"
"Liar! You say you're not Rose, but you proudly summon her shield!"
She ran up to him and swung again, and again, and again. Each attack was stronger than the last, but his shield was just as strong and withstood the blows. He wouldn't be able to keep this up forever. Twoie and the gems were still at the barn, too far away to be of any help. His arms shook as Bismuth landed another blow on his shield. He needed to do something now.
A memory danced at the edge of his vision. Twoie almost attacked Jasper when he thought Peridot was in danger. At the time Steven had not commented on it, but the spiked bubble that Twoie had summoned was now the only thing on his mind. He couldn't defend forever and he was quickly getting tired. If he wanted to survive he needed to attack.
He leapt away from Bismuth, putting some distance between them and giving himself some time to rest. He stared at his hands which were holding up the shield. Even if he wanted to attack Bismuth, he had know idea how to make spiked bubbles. He glanced at the barely visible barn, then at the rapidly approaching Bismuth. Even if he ran now, he wouldn't be able to outrun Bismuth.
"Stop running and fight me!" Bismuth yelled, barreling toward him.
She pulled the deadly weapon back and prepared to unleash one final and devastating attack, but in doing so she left her body wide open for an attack. This was his chance! It was now or never. Throwing caution to the wind, Steven dropped his shield, focused all his energy into summoning two spiked bubbles, and swung at her with all the strength he had left.
A puff of colored smoke filled the air. Bismuth's rainbow colored gemstone dropped onto the soft grass. Steven stared at his hands in shock, the sharp spikes reflecting the orange hue of the sunset. His gaze fell to Bismuth's gemstone, then to the far away barn. He wordlessly bent down, bubbled her, and began his long journey back to the others.
