A/N: Here's the next chapter. I hope you all enjoy...
Steven had walked Connie home after they had searched the Kindergarten. Now he was heading back to the temple. He soon heard his stomach growling, and Steven soon relished that he was starving.
He hadn't been eating much these past few days. How could he? Knowing that some psychopathic gem is out there waiting for the right moment to strike is very unsettling and could ruin anyone's appetite.
Once he had opened the door to his house, he could see Pearl at the strive already cooking dinner. After a few years of Greg teaching her how to properly cook for him, overtime she had received praise for her meals from him along with Amethyst on occasion.
Steven came up behind Pearl and greeted her.
"Hey Pearl." Pearl turned around and somewhat looked startled. "Steven! Oh, you startled me! I'm not use to seeing you in different clothes before. I have to say the new changes to your attire are..." Pearl trailed off, not wanting to make the boy upset. Steven noticed this.
"...Well, it's not that anything is wrong with your new clothes...I just think it doesn't quite suit your style is all."
"I guess I can see what you mean. These clothes don't really fit my personality, but I just wanted to see how I would look in them and to stop wearing the same exact clothes." Steven was now realizing that after saying that, Pearl went on a tangent on how changing clothes weren't just based on personality...or something like that. Steven said soon tuned her out as he began to hear a few faint whispers.
There goes that eerie feeling again, as if someone was watching them. Suddenly, Steven started feeling a strange sensation in his head as the whispers got even louder. Soon, he started staggering and he felt as if he was gonna fall down. Before he could however, Pearl caught him.
"Steven! Are you okay!? What's wrong?!" a now worried Pearl exclaimed, lifting Steven up and helping him towards his bed.
"I don't know...it felt as if I was getting light headed..." Steven muttered as he still felt a bit dizzy. "I-...I think I just need food is all." It wasn't a total lie at least. He was feeling pretty weak lately seeing as how he wasn't eating much.
"Well, dinner's almost ready so I suggest you rest for now." Said Pearl as she began to calm down. She soon went back to the stove in order to prepare the meal.
"What was that just now? It felt as if I was getting even more exhausted then usual and it felt like I was gonna pass out..." Steven thought as he closed his eyes in order to relax.
Soon, he heard footsteps coming towards him. "Hey, Steven, are you feeling any better?" Pearl asked.
She waited for a response. There was nothing.
"...Steven...?" Pearl was now getting extremely worried for the young boy.
Suddenly, Steven opened his eyes, but his they were colored a dark red, and he had a dark red aura surrounding him. Pearl backed away, suddenly startled.
"Steven! What's wrong?!" Steven looked at her with a blank expression. His eyes were practically glowing red now.
"You never learn, do you...?" Steven spat, his voice now having a somewhat robotic voice but still held the organic nature of talking. It definitely sounded different from the replica.
Steven soon collapsed on his bed, his red aura gone. Pearl ran up to him. "Steven! STEVEN! Are you okay?!" Steven slowly opened his eyes and stood up. He rubbed his head in pain, as if he now had a headache.
"Steven, what exactly just happened?! And don't try to get yourself out of this question this time." Pearl demanded.
"...I-I don't know..." Steven wasn't lying this time. He really didn't know.
"What exactly happened again...?" Pearl widened her eyes at that.
"You mean...You don't remember what happened just now?" Steven shook his head but quickly stopped as his headache got worse by doing that.
Pearl narrowed her eyes. She sighed. "We'll figure it out later. Just try to get some rest..."
After dinner, Steven was laying in his bed, wondering what had happened earlier. His headache was gone now, which was a relief.
Steven decided to get some sleep. He was just hoping that whatever happened today wouldn't happen again.
Once he went to sleep, he opened his eyes and saw that he was sitting on his couch, and in front of him was Garnet. For some reason, he couldn't move.
"Garnet?"
"I'm so disappointed in you Steven. I thought you could live up to my expectations, but your a failure. Now I wish Rose really was here. Maybe then I wouldn't have to see an abomination like you anymore." Garnet hissed, making Steven's eyes widen.
"W-Why are you saying this!? What's happening!?" Steven exclaimed, now trying to move.
Suddenly, a quick flash had happened, and it replaced Garnet with Amethyst.
"Your gonna get us all killed one day ya know. You can't save everyone, especially with the choices you made. You destroyed your replica, who offered you power and freedom, and it's a shame you wasted it all. But don't worry, your actions will lead to devastating consequences. Believe me when I say you're only going to let us all down..." Steven was now developing tears in his eyes. Why were they saying this? What did he do wrong?
There was another flash, and Amethyst was soon replaced by Pearl. "I can't believe you Steven. Rose is dead and your still alive? What kind of nonsense is this? Your mother saved an entire planet while you could barely save one small city! Such wasted potential. If it wasn't for you, Rose would still be alive. You're gonna get us all killed Steven, and I hope one day you realize that...But, in order to stop that from happening." Pearl suddenly summoned her spear and pointed it towards Steven. Steven shook his head in disbelief. Was she really going to...?
"Sorry Steven, but I can't allow you to kill all of us because of your stupid mistakes. One day you will know that I'm right..." Steven's eyes widened as he screamed while Pearl's spear made it's way to Steven's head.
Steven opened his eyes as with a gasp. He was sweating he gaily and his heart was pounding in his chest. Steven held a hand over his forehead, trying to process what just happened.
"It was just a nightmare Steven...Just a nightmare..." Steven looked at his phone on the nightstand. He picked it up and saw that he had missed two texts from Connie. He looked at the texts and saw that they were sent at 8:33 PM, but right now it was 4:44 AM, and by the time he went to bed it was only 8:11 PM, so that explains how he missed the texts.
Connie: Hey Steven, my school is having a little dance in a few days and I don't have a partner. Do you think you can come?
Connie: Hello?
Steven texted back.
Steven: Sorry. By the time you texted me I was already asleep. XD and sure, I think i can come :)
And with that, Steven put down his phone on the nightstand and tried to get more sleep.
However, throughout the night, Steven couldn't hear the faint laughter echoing throughout his house.
This was only the beginning.
A/N: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Reviews are always appreciated and give me more inspiration, so please leave one! Until then, bye!
