"Alright, men. I know that this is gonna be hard for all of us. But it has to be done." Steven took one of his action figures and put it in a cardboard box. "If I want to be a Crystal Gem, I can't keep playing with action figures. Steven's a big boy now, so childish things have to be put away."
"Hey, kid!" he heard Ruby call. "What're you doing up there?"
"Hey, Ruby! Just putting some of my old toys away. I figure if I wanna be taken seriously as a Crystal Gem, then I gotta leave my more childish interests behind me. I'm gonna be a man in a couple months anyway."
"Well, if you really wanna be taken seriously as a Crystal Gem, then you should really come down for some mid-morning training. And don't worry, I've adjusted my training schedule to allow for breaks in between sessions."
"Coming!" Steven ran down to start training.
Ruby and Steven were outside on the beach doing some sparring.
"You ready, kid?"
"Ready!"
"Okay! Don't hold back!" Ruby summoned her gauntlet and ran forward with her fist raised. "Here it comes!"
Steven tried to imagine the warm sensation that built up in his stomach whenever he activated his Gem abilities. He tried to imagine the bright pink glow of his gemstone when he first summoned his shield. He tried to imagine the shield itself, round and pink with the image of a rose. But when he opened his eyes, all he saw before him was his red trainer charging at him with her fist raised to punch him before relenting.
"Where's your shield?"
"I don't know. I guess it didn't appear because I knew you wouldn't actually punch me?"
"Well, whatever. I guess we'll just have to get you to summon it some other way." Ruby started backing up, gauntlet still on hand.
"What do you mean?"
"When I launch my gauntlet at you, I want you to summon that shield, okay?"
"Uh, okay. Are you sure about this?"
"Positive! Just relax and think about your life being in danger."
Steven swallowed a lump that was forming in his throat.
Ruby reared her arm back, fist aimed at the half-Gem boy. "Here it comes... Don't flinch... Hah!"
The dark red gauntlet flew right off of Ruby's fist towards Steven, who instinctively ducked out of the way. A cloud of red light exploded on the wall of the Temple, and a piece of the statue's hair broke off and fell to the ground. Before either of them could react, a blue blur sped towards Steven and grabbed him before the chunk of stone fell onto the sand below with a thud.
Steven opened his eyes and saw that his savior was Sapphire. "I'm glad I caught you."
"Sapphire?"
Ruby sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck as she smiled at her. "Hey, Sapphire. You saw that, didn't you?"
Sapphire returned the smile. "Of course, someone needs to make sure that nobody gets hurt during your little training sessions. What am I going to do with the two of you?"
"It was really lucky you got here in time," Steven said. "Otherwise I would've been a Steven pancake."
The blue Gem put Steven down. "Luck has nothing to do with it, Steven."
"So, what is it then? How do you always know where to be when something happens?"
Sapphire hummed in thought. "Well, I suppose you could say... I have future vision."
Steven stared at her with stars in his eyes. "Whoa... What does that mean?"
"It means that I have the ability to see the possible outcomes of most situations, which comes in handy when danger is lurking around every corner."
"Such is the life of a Crystal Gem, right? You gotta be prepared for anything."
"Which is why you should keep up with your training so you can be prepared for anything too," Ruby reminded him.
"Can you see into the future too, Ruby?"
"Oh, no. Sapphire's the only Crystal Gem with that ability."
"And I don't see into the future either," the elegant blue Gem added. "The flow of time isn't as straight as you would think; imagine a river made up of many branching streams which lead to different possibilities. I am just able to foresee the most likely outcome."
Steven pondered Sapphire's words for a moment. "So, what chance is there that I'll be able to summon my shield?"
"You're more likely to summon your bubble."
"Now let's get back to training!" Ruby said.
"Okay!" Steven marched back to where he was standing earlier, and Ruby went back to her position and summoned her gauntlet.
"Ready, kid?" Ruby asked as she reared back her arm.
"Ready!"
"All right! Here it comes!" Ruby threw her gauntlet at him. Steven closed his eyes tightly and tensed his muscles. He cracked one eye open when he heard a poof. He opened his eyes completely to see that he indeed summoned his bubble.
"Whoa... Sapphire was right."
"Well, the bubble isn't exactly what I was hoping for, but I guess it's good enough for now. You wanna take five, kiddo?"
"Sounds good to me."
Ruby nodded and walked away, and Steven ran over to Sapphire. "Hey, Sapphire."
"Hm?"
"Can you tell me what my lunch possibilities will be for this afternoon?"
"Well, seeing as though you're outside, you will most likely get something from Fish Stew Pizza."
Steven's eyes lit up. "That's amazing! I was just thinking about that." He then hummed in thought while stroking his chin. "Do you see any possible futures where you come with me and we have a great time together?"
"Yes."
Steven and Sapphire sat at a table in Fish Stew Pizza. "So, what should I order today? Sapphire, what are the possibilities?"
"Well, you could order the typical pepperoni pizza, or you could order the vegetable special. Or you could order any pizza you choose."
"Okay. Those all sound good."
"But."
Steven frowned. "But what?"
"But you have a roughly 35 percent chance of getting food poisoning."
"Is that high?"
"It's less than half. Though I would still take my chances with a salad just to be safe."
"Right. Uh, hey, Jenny! I'll just have a salad today."
The teenager skated over to their table. "A salad? What, are you on a diet or something?"
"Well, you know, I just wanna be safe today."
"...Okay."
After he and Sapphire got back to the Temple, Steven resumed putting his toys away, as he hadn't finished doing so earlier. He was trying to make the rather difficult decision of keeping one of his old stuffed toys and putting the other two in the box with the other toys he was putting away.
"Now, which one of you guys should I keep? Ninja Bear?" He looked at a dingy grey teddy bear dressed in dark blue ninja garb. "MC Bear Bear?" He looked at a brown teddy bear wearing a gold chain, black shorts, and white shutter shades. "Or Mr. Queasy?" He looked at a bluish-green stuffed doll wearing a crab bib and a sickly facial expression. Steven picked the doll up off the floor, causing its head to loll to the side. "Ugh. Take it easy, kid," was the praise that it spouted.
The boy chuckled in response. "This is gonna be hard." He then pursed his lips before giving a small smirk. "Perhaps a certain blue Gem with future vision could help me choose."
Speak of the Devil, Sapphire came upstairs. "Hello, Steven."
"Hey, Sapphire! Can you-"
"Yes, I can."
"You didn't let me finish."
"I didn't need to." Sapphire looked at the three toys that Steven had. "You should keep MC Bear Bear. Ninja Bear is too worn out to keep much longer, and Mr. Queasy's voice box is going to give out soon."
"Of course. That was my original choice. You never know when you need a DJ for a cool dance party, right?"
"Hey, Steven!" Ruby's voice called from below. "C'mon, kid! Let's continue our training at the Solar Spire."
"I'm coming!" The half-Gem turned back to Sapphire. "Hey, Sapphire? What are the chances that I end up getting hurt while training with Ruby?"
"Well... you could get crushed by a falling pillar."
Steven gasped while covering the top of his head.
"Or you could fall off the edge of the arena."
Steven whimpered as he hugged himself.
"Or, most likely, nothing bad will happen, and you either summon your bubble, or you don't."
"Well, you gotta be prepared for anything, right? Better safe than sorry."
"If it would make you feel more comfortable to take some precautions, then go ahead."
"You still coming, kid?" Ruby asked him impatiently from the Warp Pad.
"Uh, yeah! Just give me a minute."
Ruby, Sapphire, and Steven all warped to the Solar Spire's arena.
The short red Gem gave Steven a quizzical look. He was wearing a bicycle helmet and had two pillows tied to his waist. "You're not seriously gonna wear that stuff the whole time we're up here, are you?"
"Well, you never know what might happen."
Ruby put her hands on her hips. "At least take off the pillows. They're in the way of your gem."
Steven looked at Sapphire, who gave him a small nod. "Okay..." Steven slowly untied the rope that he used to tie the pillows to himself and let them fall to the surface of the Warp Pad.
"Okay, champ. You ready?"
"Uh, sure."
Ruby ran to her side of the arena and summoned her gauntlet. "Let's see you try fighting back this time around." She flashed him a smirk. "And don't think about cheating and asking Sapphire what I'll be throwing at you."
Steven hesitantly stepped down from the Warp Pad and walked to his spot.
"You wanna throw the first punch this time?"
Steven nodded.
"Okay! Let's see what you got!"
"Uh, r-right. Just gotta... punch you, and... then you hit me."
"That's how sparring works."
Steven just stood there, shaking in his skin and not moving an inch. Occasionally, he would look at the pillars, as if worried that they would collapse on themselves and fall right on top of him.
"Uh, kid? Are you gonna hit me, or...?"
"Uh, y-yeah! Yeah! I'm just trying to, y'know, get my bearings." Steven looked back at Sapphire, who gave him a nod.
He took a deep breath in and let it out. "All right. I got this." Steven ran forward, his fist balled up to punch his opponent, and then he stopped. "Wait! What if this is a trick so you can hit me first when I don't expect it? What if I miss and end up punching a nearby pillar and it ends up falling on me? What if I don't look where I'm going and I fall right out of the sky and into the ocean?! I can't even swim that well!"
"Hey, Steven, relax! Those things aren't even that likely to happen. I don't know what Sapphire told you, but you really shouldn't worry too much about what might happen. I never worry about stuff like that, and I'm completely fine!"
Sapphire came over and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Given the sorts of things that you tend to rush into, I would say that you're lucky."
Ruby smiled back at her. "About as lucky as I can be."
"We should wrap this up. There's an infestation of Rough Euclase somewhere in Asia." The two of them started walking back to the Warp Pad.
"Wait. You guys have a mission already?" Steven ran to catch up with them. "But, Sapphire, what about the future? How do I know if something bad's gonna happen?"
"Don't worry, Steven. You'll be perfectly safe and sound at the beach house."
Steven started tearing up. "But that just means I won't be safe anywhere else!"
Sapphire reached up to wipe the distressed half-Gem's eyes. "Steven, I can't be with you all the time. You just have to trust me when I say that you are in control over what happens; the future is a river, and the choices you make steer your boat."
Steven smiled at her and took off his helmet. "Okay."
The three warped back to the Temple, and the Door opened up, revealing Amethyst and Pearl having an argument in Amethyst's room. "I'm just saying, it would look a lot nicer if you tidied up more often."
"It's fine the way it is! Why do you always try to clean up my junk anyway?! You know I have a system!"
"Ahem."
The two bickering Gems turned to see Sapphire, Ruby, and Steven standing on the Warp Pad.
"We have a mission to take care of a Rough Euclase infestation," Sapphire informed them.
"Right," Pearl said. "Let's get to it, then!"
Steven stepped off the Warp Pad, and Pearl and Amethyst stepped on. "Okay, guys. Good luck, have fun, and I'll try to not worry too much about the future."
"Good. Now remember, Steven," Sapphire told him. "No matter what, do not go up to the lighthouse tonight." And with that, the four Gems warped away.
Steven felt his heart beating faster just then. "What's gonna happen if I go to the lighthouse tonight?"
All Steven did for the rest of the day was lie on the couch and stare up at the ceiling. It was now evening, and the only sounds were Lion snoring next to him on the floor and the heavy wind blowing outside. He just couldn't stop himself from thinking about what Sapphire told him before they left.
"Maybe I'm overthinking," he said out loud to nobody in particular. "I should probably just relax and watch some TV." He got up from the couch and walked up the stairs to his bedroom. He sat down across from his television set and pressed the power button, only to find that it wouldn't turn on.
"Guess the windstorm must've knocked out the power." Steven then looked over to the cardboard box that he had set up, then realized he hadn't finished putting all of his old toys away. He decided that he would take care of that when the power came back on and he would be able to see better, even if cleaning up would get his mind off of the lighthouse. His stomach growled, and he realized that he needed to make dinner soon.
He carefully made his way downstairs, firmly gripping the railing, stepping down one foot in front of the other.
Then there was the sudden rumbling of thunder, and the startled boy practically jumped down the last two steps. He took a couple of breaths to steady his nerves, and he walked to the kitchen. He was just about to open the fridge before he stopped. But wait. What if...
Steven imagined the fridge falling on top of him when he pulled on the door handle. He imagined getting food poisoning and having to go to the hospital. He imagined the food in the fridge coming to life and attacking him as soon as he opened the door. Okay, maybe that last scenario isn't as likely to happen as the others, but the thought still scared him. He then shook his head vigorously to come to his senses.
"What's the matter with me?" he asked himself. "I'm a Crystal Gem. I'm not supposed to fear the future. If I want to be taken seriously, I need to embrace the future!" He ran to the front door and opened it.
Lion lifted his head to look at his owner.
Steven looked over his shoulder back at the pink feline. "I'm going out to the lighthouse, Lion. If I don't come back, take care of my Crystal Gem duties for me, okay?" And he walked out the door to see what the future had for him.
The Crystal Gems warped back to the Temple. "Steven, we're back!" Ruby called. But Steven didn't answer.
"Uh, Steven! Ruby just said we're back!" Amethyst called out, a bit louder. There still wasn't an answer. The purple Gem ran up the stairs to the beach house loft.
"Hey, Ste-man. Didja hear us?" Amethyst looked around, and saw no Steven. She walked up to his bed and pulled the covers off. Steven wasn't there. She then threw his bed off the loft to see if he was under there. He was not. "Well, he's not in his room."
"Where could he be?" Pearl asked, fiddling with her tie. "It's not like him to be away from home this late in the evening. Especially during a storm!"
"I know where he might be," Sapphire said.
Steven was marching up the cliff to the lighthouse, the harsh wind blowing through his hair and clothes and the ice-cold rain stinging his skin. "I'm coming, future. Whatever you have in store for me, I'm ready."
"Steven!"
The boy looked behind him to see the Gems coming up after him.
"What do you think you're doing?!" Pearl scolded, fear lacing her voice. "Come down here this instant!"
"No! I'm done hiding in fear from the future! Whatever happens to me, I should just let it happen."
"Steven, please," Sapphire pleaded, taking a few steps closer to him. "You don't understand."
"You don't understand! I can't stop thinking about the future! Everything I do could possibly bring me one step closer to the bitter, violent end!" Steven dug his fingers in his curls. "And I don't know what's worse: knowing what's gonna happen to me, or not knowing what's gonna happen to me! Why did you go and tell me about your future vision after I asked you how you always know where to be?!"
There was a moment of silence as the rest of the Crystal Gems just stared at their youngest member.
"Because I thought that it would bring us closer," Sapphire softly told him, turning her head away as if out of shame. "I knew that you might try to do something like this if I told you about my power, and I told you anyway. I'm so, so sorry, Steven." She looked back in his direction and brushed her bangs out of her face, exposing a single big, round, cornflower blue eye. The rain made it hard to tell whether or not she was crying. "I can see so many things that can hurt you, and it was foolish of me to let myself become one of them. The choice I made was a careless risk at your expense. Please, please understand that out of all the millions of possibilities for the future, you can make the choice of which possibilities become reality."
"I..." Steven looked up at the lighthouse. "I do understand that. And I'm gonna make the choice to come home and make myself a nice, warm bowl of mac and cheese for dinner." Steven came down to meet with the rest of the Gems.
Sapphire gave him a hug. "So, does this mean you've stopped being so worked up about the future?"
"Yep."
"I'm glad to hear it."
And so the five Crystal Gems made their way back to the Crystal Temple.
"Hey, Sapphire. Just out of curiosity, what would've happened to me if I went up to the lighthouse?"
"Oh, nothing too serious."
Meanwhile, a strange, cyan robot somewhat resembling a round, baseball-sized spider whose legs weren't attached to its body rolled out from a hole in the lighthouse's exterior and crawled away.
