A/N: It is I! I have finally returned after a whole year! Sorry about that, lack of motivation as always was plaguing all of my stories but I'm glad I got the inspiration to write this. If you haven't noticed, I've changed my name from mtvlion2003 (which I've been known for) to TheTrashBoi (don't ask) simply because that's my name on most of my other medias. Information about the next arc will be at the end with the second authors note going into details. Otherwise, enjoy the finale!
3:57 PM...
It had been a few hours since Pearl and Amethyst told him about the meeting and quite frankly he only wanted to be a part of it just to kill time. He in fact hoped the Crystal Gems didn't find Peridot because if they did they would absolutely poof her and she would be bubbled, meaning no information about the room back at the kindergarten.
Steven was pacing anxiously around the house. Only three minutes to go...
Suddenly, the Temple Door made its usual sound which indicates that someone is exiting. This time however all four gems glowed and out came the three Crystal Gems. It looks like they were already in the burning room.
"Steven, we're ready!" Pearl announced across the house. Steven breathed heavily, glad that his boredom could finally end. He walked up to them and nodded.
"I'm ready," he said sternly. Garnet nodded towards everyone and they all entered the burning room together.
Steven glanced around and frowned as he saw all the bubbled Gems. They didn't deserve this. Any of them. They didn't deserve to be corrupted or forced to fuse. They didn't deserve to be apart of a war that caused them so much pain. And they surely didn't deserve to be stuck in a bubble for who knows how long.
Steven continued to think about all of this as he and the rest of the Gems walked. Garnet soon stopped walking and sat down. The rest soon followed and all four of them made one small circle. The meeting had begun.
"So...what do we talk about when it comes to..her?" Amethyst questioned, glancing at everyone. Garnet shifted her glasses as Pearl was in deep thought.
Finally, Pearl decided to speak up. "We've been searching for her for awhile now and we still haven't caught her. It's not like she knows this planet that well, so she has to be hiding somewhere. We just need to put more effort into finding her."
"It's not that easy. Beach City isn't that big but there could be a lot of hiding spots we don't know of. I mean since she's a gem she could just shapeshift into a freaking green bench for all we know. An annoying, complaining little green bench with eyes..." Amethyst joked, causing Steven to giggle a bit. Pearl wasn't impressed.
"Amethyst, this is serious! She could hurt someone! I think it'd be best if we spent more time searching for her then sitting on the couch watching whatever sickening cartoons some of uslike to watch." Pearl expressed, an obvious jab at Amethyst. Amethyst huffed with irritation at that.
"In that case, we shoul-" Amethyst was interrupted by Garnet putting a hand on her shoulder. Amethyst looked at her somewhat nervously.
"This meeting is about Peridot, not about what you two dislike about each other. So just drop it." Garnet ordered, a serious tone in her voice. Both Pearl and Amethyst crossed there arms.
"Fine." They both said in unison.
Steven however was tuning the arguement out the whole time. He wanted to find Cassiterite. Catching Peridot was just to get information about that kindergarten room. He decided it would be best to bring Cassiterite up now.
"What about Cassiterite?" Steven finally spoke, breaking the tension between Amethyst and Pearl. The Gems looked at Steven with puzzling gazes.
Pearl narrowed her eyes as and uncrossed her arms. Amethyst kept her arms crossed but she now had an interested expression on her face. Garnet simply looked at Steven with a blank stare.
"That gem you were talking about that told you about White Diamond or whatever? What about her?" Amethyst questioned.
"She also managed to put my gem side asleep somehow. She might be the reason why he was woken up in the first place..." Steven looked down at his hands as he answered.
"You..haven't talked about her in a while. We kinda all just forgot. Sorry we didn't think about her. We never really put her into account." Pearl apologized, a remorseful look on her face.
"I didn't forget," Garnet announced, "I've just been waiting for you to say something Steven."
Steven slightly widened his eyes at that. Right, future vision. Multiple outcomes that she can see. She most likely saw this outcome coming.
"I just- I just didn't want anyone to worry." Steven stammered, getting nervous. Pearl looked at him with a serious expression.
"Worry about what?"
"It's not anything big really. I just don't want to talk about it." Steven looked around nervously.
"You don't talk to us about anything anymore. It's like you don't trust us..." Pearl softened her expression for a more saddened one.
"I do trust you all! I just don't want anyone to get hurt!" Steven exclaimed, a mix of emotions circulating in his head,
"Hurt by what?" Amethyst was now getting intrigued as well.
Steven's mind was now racing. He soon realized that this "meeting" was turning in an interrogation. An interrogation that he hoped would never happen.
"You need to tell us Steven. Now." Garnet commanded, suddenly directing her serious tone to him now.
"I just need some space! I need some time to think!" Steven soon got up as tears were starting to well up in his eyes. He was now walking away from them towards the door.
"About what Steven!?" Pearl yelled as the rest of the Crystal Gems got up as well to follow him.
"EVERYTHING!" Steven shouted across the room, tears now flowing down his face. His vision was getting blurry from the tears as he was now speed walking towards the door. He could hear the others following him.
Once he got to the door he opened it with his gem. Once he exited, the door soon closed behind him, leaving the Gems inside. He knew that they could open it at anytime, and that it would probably be now, but to his surprise they didn't.
Steven wiped away his tears and sighed. He needed to get ready for the dance. He needed to get out of this house. He needed to get away from them.
Time to go to the mall again to get a suit.
In the Burning Room...
"We should leave him alone. He's obviously upset." Pearl suggested, looking at the door Steven just exited.
"Thing is, upset at what? It could be us, but it looks like it's something else. The point is, he NEVER talks to us about anything. It's annoying." Amethyst looked at the ground with an agitated look on her face.
"Amethyst is right, we should sit down and talk to him about this. He's hiding something. Something bad." Garnet reflected, which caused Pearl and Amethyst to look at one another with worry.
"Why do you say that?" Pearl asked, scared of Garnet's answer.
To their surprise, Garnet took off her glasses and looked at both of them with worried eyes.
"Because when I look into his future all I see is darkness."
3 hours later. 6:58 PM...
It was easy for Steven to find a generic black and white suit for the dance, however the actual thought of the dance worried him. Would it be awkward? Loud? What would Connie's classmates think of him? All these questions swirled in Steven's brain as he was approaching Connie's house to pick her up.
He approached the house slowly, inspecting it. It was a typical house. Nice looking lawn, brown with a mixture of white paint, and four windows, two upstairs, two downstairs. Steven soon reached the porch and took a deep breath as he lightly knocked on the door.
Ten seconds went by and he heard footsteps approaching the door he was behind. Soon the doorknob turned, and he was greeted with Ms. Maheswaran.
"Oh, Steven! You're on time! I'll go get Connie! Stay right there." Connie's Mom exclaimed as she soon left and went up stairs.
"Connie! Steven's hear!" He could hear her yell.
A few minutes went by and soon Connie came out. She was wearing a dark blue dress with white heels, and her hair appeared to be pressed. She looked stunning.
Steven blushed in embarrassment as Connie looked at him. She blushed as well and gave out a giggle. Ms. Maheswaren was right behind her and noticed this.
She soon broke the silence herself. "Now I want you two back here by 10PM, no exceptions! And please try to stay safe out there."
"We'll try our bests to get back in time Ms. Maheswaren!" Steven chirped with a reassuring smile.
"Enough with the formalities Steven! You can simply call me by my first name, Priyanka." Priyanka explained with a smile. Steven nodded back in understandment.
"Now hurry along you two, the party starts at 7:30 and you guys are just now leaving! Go! And have fun!" Priyanka commanded, ushering them off the porch.
"We will!" Both of them said in unison as they officially left the house.
On there way to the party Connie looked at Steven with a smile, grateful that he went with her.
"Hey, I just wanted to say thanks for coming with me to this thing. We've been through so much stuff these past few weeks that we could really use a break."
"Anytime Connie. I'm just glad I can get out of the house once in a while, y'know? It feels like I'm always coped up in there with the Gems." Steven's smile soon faded as he thought about them. He just needed some time away from them. Being in that house was driving him crazy.
"I hear that. I don't really get out much besides going to your house to train with Pearl, or going to school of course. I wanted to go to this dance because I thought it'd be good for me. I've never been to an actual school dance before...I mean, I've danced before with you, and as Stevonnie, but I never pictured myself going to a school dance ssince they're not really my thing..." Connie trailed off as she noticed Steven's expression. He looked tired and depressed, and once he stopped smiling she could really see it now.
"A-Are you okay?" Connie put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him from walking. Steven turned to her and put on a fake smile.
"Never been better! Just a little tired is all. Don't worry about me." Steven half lied. He was definitely exhausted, but he's definitely been better. Waaaay better. It felt like his mind was a mess and he didn't know how to control it anymore. He didn't want to control it anymore. He just wanted to let go for once.
"Are you sure? If you're really not up to it, we can always just go back to our homes..." Connie suggested, not buying Steven's words. Steven's eyes narrowed as he heard her say the word homes. He didn't want to go home. Not after today.
"I'm serious. I'm fine! Let's just get to the dance..." Steven fake chuckled as he continued to walk.
Connie only looked at him with a frown. "Whatever you say Steven..." She soon followed after him.
They entered the school dance and we're immediately blinded by the jarring rainbow lights. Their ears were soon bombarded with loud music and cheers, as it looked like the party had literally just begun.
Steven looked around in pure amazement as Connie held her hand in his, having the same amazement on her face as he did.
"Uh, jeez! Um wow! This looks pretty insane!" Steven exclaimed to Connie with a yell, not wanting the music to drown out his voice.
"Yeah, it is! I have to go use the restroom, so I'll be back in a bit. Have fun until I get back!" Connie yelled as she let go of Steven's hand and quickly speed walked towards the bathroom on the right.
Steven watched her leave and soon decided it'd be best to look around for a bit. He noticed a few people standing by the food and drinks talking to each other, and others sitting on some benches typing on their phones. If he was tired of dancing he could see himself doing the latter.
He looked around to see any familiar faces and to his dismay he found none. A few seconds later he accidentally bumped into someone.
"S-Sorry! Don't know where I'm going!" Steven apologized, sweat forming on his forehead as he sheeplishly backed away.
"Hey, relax. It's fine. My name's Jeff. Are you here with anyone?" The kid named Jeff asked with a reassuring smile.
"Uh, yeah! Her name's Connie, but she went to the restroom. I'm actually not from this school, she just wanted me to be her partner for this dance." Steven anxiously scratched his head as he spoke. It's been a while since he's met an actual normal human being, so he felt very nervous.
"Oh, I know her! I usually see her walking in the hallways but I've never actually tried talking to her. She always seems so distant..." Jeff went on, trying to start off a conversation. Steven thought that this would be a nice way to try and make some new friends while he was here, so why not indulge?
"She's usually pretty shy. She's doesn't have that many friends and her parents have usually been very strict. Me and her are like best friends though so I guess everything's okay!" Steven explained, really starting to enjoy the fact that he was making a new friend already.
However, he felt the slightest chill chiver down his back and he suddenly twitched. His eyes dilated and soon they grew wide. Jeff noticed this.
"Hey, are you okay? You seem pretty jumpy all of a sudden." Jeff questioned with a concerned look.
Steven was going to answer him until he heard a faint, haunting voice in his ear. "Steven..."
"No. No, no, no, no, NO. NOT now." Steven thought with panick, his eyes now suddenly wandering off into all directions. He was sweating way more now and he was breathing heavily.
"Dude, are you okay!?" Jeff was now extremely worried as it looked like the guy was having a panic attack at this point.
Steven knew he had to get out of this conversation fast so he decided to just end it now.
"U-Um yeah sure I'm fine! I-I just n-need to go find Connie now so u-uh yeah. Name's Steven by the way. B-bye!" Steven quickly walked away, his heart beating fast. Jeff simply watched him leave with a concerned and confused expression.
As Steven continued to walk across the room filled with dozens of lights and people, his eyes soon started to loose focus and he was starting to get dizzy. It felt like he was going to faint until a familiar voice broke him out of it.
"Steven, there you are! I've been looking all over for you! Wanna dance?" The voice belonged to Connie, who looked very excited.
"Maybe in a bit, I'm not feeling up to it right now." Steven panted, sitting on top of a bench as he lowered his head. Connie soon noticed that Steven was starting to look a little pale.
"Steven, are you feeling okay? You look really pale..." Connie sat next him as she asked. Steven lifted his head and gave her a reassuring smile.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just got finished dancing is all. I'm just a little exhausted from it all." Steven lied. He soon realized that lying was his only escape now a days. From everyone really.
"Well, we can always go home whenever you want to. I can afford to miss a dance if it has anything to do with your health." Connie implied with a small smile.
"I can get over it. Just need some time to rest is all."
Connie nodded and soon got up. "I'm gonna go get us some cupcakes. My parents wouldn't approve but sugar could definitely get your energy levels up!"
Connie soon skipped off, leaving Steven to his thoughts again. And he really hated his thoughts. A lot.
Steven was now worried that some kind of force might try to take over him again like what happened to Amethyst, and this time there are a bunch of people. What if he hurts them? What if he kills them? He couldn't bear to think about it. He just needed to get through tonight.
He could definitely feel something off about this party. Tuning out the music made the place even more unnerving.
Steven looked at the people dancing happily, be it with there boyfriends and girlfriends, or friends. He wanted that for himself. To be happy. To be happy with someone else.
"I'm back!" Connie greeted, holding two chocolate cupcakes with yellow icing in her hands. She handed one to Steven and he quickly helped himself.
Connie sat next him and began to eat her own cupcake as well. Once they were done eating, the music started to fade into a more quiet, soft song. Steven guessed that this was the slow dance segment of the party, as two partners each were now dancing slowly on the dance floor, hand in hand. Steven quickly got an idea. He didn't want Connie to go home from a school dance without dancing once.
Steven held out his hand to Connie, to her surprise and confusion. "Wanna dance?" He realized that this was strikingly similar to when he offered to dance with her back before they first fused. That felt like forever ago. He missed those days.
This time however, without a word or hesiatation, Connie accepted his hand and grabbed it, to Steven's excitement. He quickly rushed them to the dance floor.
Connie put her arm on Steven's shoulder as he put his hand on her back, there other hands locking with each other. Their feet matched each other's movements as their rhythms tried to match the songs slow beat.
"This is...weird." Connie claimed with a giggle. Steven raised an eyebrow with a smirk.
"Yeah, I guess it is..I like it though. This is the first time I've felt so relaxed and calm in a while it feels like. This is nice..." Steven reflected, his eyes twinkling.
"It is. I'm glad you came."
"Me too."
"Steven..."
Steven's eyes jolted as an excruciating pain started to swell up in his head. He let go of Connie and grabbed his head in agony.
"Agh!" Steven grunted as the pain was getting worse. Connie looked at him with frantic worry, shocked at the sudden outburst.
"Steven, what's wrong!?" Connie questioned frantically. Everyone on the dance floor heard this and stopped to look at what was going on. Steven soon got on his knees in pain. It was too much. Connie bent down to Steven, trying to help. Tears were starting to form in her eyes.
She soon realized however that the music all together had stopped. All of it. Then all of a sudden she heard a switch, then all of the lights went out. What was going on? She could still see pretty clearly, but was starting to get freaked out. She soon stood up.
Suddenly, the pain within Steven's head stopped all together as well. He soon looked up and noticed the lights were off as well.
Suddenly, a big boom shook the room, and from one of the windows, a white energy beam tore through it sending glass everywhere, and was heading straight for Connie.
Steven saw this and knew he had to do something. He quickly got up to his feet and pushed the already standing Connie out of the way, taking the blast head on himself.
Steven was knocked off his feet and sent into a nearby wall. He landed on to the floor with a thud.
"STEVEN!" Connie shouted in horror as she rushed towards him. The people at the dance were now completely in disarray. Screaming could be heard as well as people shouting for everyone to get out as fast as possible. Everyone was running in all directions as Connie lifted Steven's body up on to her shoulders herself to get him out.
His chest felt like it was on fire and he could smell blood. His eyes drooped a bit and it felt like he could pass out any second now.
Soon he found himself outside as Connie had sucessfully gotten him out. She managed to get him onto a nearby bench. He could hear police and ambulance sirens in the distance already.
"Oh my gosh Steven are you okay!? Please talk to me!" Connie exclaimed in intense worry, tears now flowing down her face.
Steven only looked at her with a painful smile. "Nothing a little healing spit can't fix.." He chuckled. He soon looked at his chest and found a wide hole in his suit, showing his burnt chest. Blood was seeping out as well. He needed to heal this, and fast.
Steven brought his right hand to his mouth and licked it. He then proceeded to put his hand on his chest. It stung at first, but he could feel the burnt wound healing. With a sigh of relief, Connie wiped some sweat off her forehead.
"I'm so relieved. I thought you were gonna die. But then I remembered you had healing spit..." Connie wiped away her tears with a laugh.
"Still though, you saved my life. Thank you." Connie thanked, giving Steven a hug. Steven hugged back tightly, happy he did some good. As they pulled away, Steven was now definitely worried.
"A gem caused this. I just know it." Steven's expression soon grew dark, as did his tone.
"You think? Cassiterite obviously has something to do with this." Connie noted, crossing her arms.
"Yeah, but this time she put innocent lives at risk. Someone could have easily died tonight." Steven explained, looking down.
"So I guess we need to accelerate our investigation from now on huh?" Connie smirked, confident that they could stop this.
"You betcha."
The cops were now at the scene and Steven knew that it was time to go.
"Hey, I think I'm gonna go back to the temple. I need some explaining to do."
"That's fine, I'll just tell my parents you had to leave early. Please stay safe out there Steven. Text me when you get home." Connie pleaded.
"I will. Thanks for tonight Connie." Steven soon walked off with a wave and was now headed back home. Today was a long day and he needed some sleep. And family.
It was 9:53 PM and the streets were dark. Very dark. It was starting to disturb him. Suddenly, he heard the voice again.
"Steven...Come..."
Steven's eyes started to close as him and his body started to shut down completely. He was now starting to hear whispers coming from all around him, and that terrible voice in his ear getting louder in his ear, while still keeping it's same tone.
"Steven...Come...Now..."
These whispers were similar to the ones that invaded his dreams and he knew he had to get away. They weren't in his head anymore. They were real.
He screamed in order to get some sort of reaction from anybody nearby, but he knew it was in vain as the whispering got louder.
He soon collapsed onto the ground. In this state he couldn't put up any type of fight. His eyes slowly started to close now. As he was drifting into unconsciousness, he looked up to see a shadowy figure like the ones in his dreams standing above him.
"You're safe now." Is what it whispered.
And then everything went black.
A/N: Holy crap. This is the first time I've ever written a chapter this long! I know that it's only 4000 words, but overall that's a big achievement for me. I hope you all enjoyed this finale. ARC 3 IS FINALLY DONE JEEZ. I know a lot of people have left this story, but I hope the people still reading can stick around for the ride, along with newcomers.
Now let's get into future arcs. Arc 4 has officially been renamed "Hell Is Empty" (Shakespeare reference) and will cover the investigation into Cassiterite, Peridot, and most importantly...Amethyst. Lots of Amethyst. Plus the ending of arc 4 is going to be the most riskiest yet most exciting ending I've ever done, so please support me until then. Ive also extended the next to arcs. Arc 4 will be 15 (previously 10) and Arc 5 will be 20 (previously 15). This is to help me have more time to flesh out the storylines of the characters. And that's another thing, storylines.
I'm going to be taking a break from Steven in this story to focus on other characters, like Connie and Amethyst. Steven will still be the main focus of course, but other characters will have storylines of their own from now on.
Finally, I'm hoping to extend chapter lengths. I know this has been highly requested so I'm gonna try my best. It's hard to do, but I think I can do it.
Thank you all so much for any of you sticking by me this far! I love you! And thanks for reading!
