AN:
I'm posting this second chapter because it was part of the one-shot from Office Hours. After this chapter, I won't be updating for a while. I'll be going back to writing for Office Hours before I write the third chapter. As I've said before, this story will be updating on a slower time frame, about monthly. I'm glad to see so many of you enjoyed the first chapter! I hope you enjoy this one as well!
TW: Blood and mentions of character death
Steven coughed, as a cloud of sand obscured the beach. "Two-cough, hack! Twoie! Answer me!" He strained against the arms holding him. This was all his fault. Steven felt tears well up in the corners of his eyes. He should've been paying more attention. It was his fault that he hadn't noticed the cliff breaking apart. And Twoie had paid for it.
The second the dust settled, Steven's gaze scoured the rocks for any sign of Twoie's powers. Any pink light reflecting off a shield or bubble would show that Twoie was okay, but he saw nothing. Garnet's hold slackened in shock, and Steven took the opportunity to wriggle out of her grasp. Ignoring the others calling his name, Steven darted across the sand to the rock pile. "Twoie, please!" He analyzed the pile and picked up a boulder that wouldn't cause it to shift. The kid tossed it aside. Then, he picked up another rock, only to throw it with a squeak of fear a second later.
"Steven?!" Pearl snapped out of her shock at Steven's exclamation and darted over. She gasped at the sight of blood on Steven's hand. "What-?" Steven shakily pointed at the rock he'd thrown. His eyes were wide, and he was shaking. Pearl didn't blame him. She felt cold terror grip her gem. The rock he'd thrown had a splash of wet blood staining it. "No… Stars, no!" Garnet and Amethyst rushed over to help as Pearl frantically threw rocks to the side. "Twoie!"
With all four of them removing rocks, Twoie was uncovered in seconds. Stars, it was horrible. Amethyst immediately covered Steven's eyes, but it was too late. The young kid had already seen the bloodied and battered body of his older brother. "Twoie, no!" Steven pulled Amethyst's hand off his face. He spat on his bloody hand and slapped his brother. Nothing happened. "Twoie!" Steven sobbed as he licked his other hand and slapped him again. There was no sparkle or anything that showed his healing powers had worked. "Wake up!" He repeated the action over and over. Did his healing stop working? "Wake up!" But he needed to heal him! This was his brother! "Wake up!" He needed his powers to work now!
Pearl felt like her gem was cracking at the sight of Steven. There was nothing he could do for Twoie now. She gently grabbed his hand and pulled him into a hug. There was nothing anyone could do for him. Steven continued to shake with sobs as Garnet gently lifted Twoie away from the rocks. When she laid the young man on his back on the sand, she noticed he was holding something. Garnet gasped as she uncurled Twoie's fingers and revealed a pink gemstone. A pink diamond. "What?" Pearl gasped at the sight, collapsing to her knees and taking Steven with her. Steven and Amethyst were dumbfounded at the sight of the diamond. Not only was it not a Rose Quartz, but there was also a crack going through the diamond's face. "He really was Steven…" Pearl cried softly at the realization of who they'd just killed. Before anyone else could reply, the gem glowed brightly and floated over to Twoie's body.
Garnet flinched at the glow. "Get back! Now!" She jumped in front of Pearl, Steven, and Amethyst, determined to protect them from Pink Diamond's wrath. If Pink proved to be too strong, she could at least buy time for the others to escape. The gem flashed with a blinding burst of light. Although she couldn't see, Garnet manifested her gauntlets and shifted into a fighting stance. The light condensed into a smaller form than the permafusion was expecting. In fact, it looked like… Twoie? The light faded away into a glitchy pink version of Twoie. What was going on?
Pink Twoie looked around stoically. If he was in pain from the crack in his facet, he didn't show it. He continued his slow appraisal of the beach, but when his gaze alighted on Twoie's body, he dropped to his knees. Garnet tensed as Pink Twoie gently took Twoie's hand in his own. "He's gone…" Steven flinched at the icy echo of pain in his voice. He couldn't look away, though. The kid was curious about this new gem that Twoie somehow released. Steven watched as Pink Twoie turned to face him. The gem's had an expressionless look on his face. Steven started to feel uncomfortable at the intensity of his gaze. The kid was so focused on the gem that he didn't notice the aggressive stance that Garnet had taken. But Pink Twoie did. His eyes flickered to their leader before flicking back to Steven. In a split second, the gem's other hand raised into the air, and a glitching pink fractal had separated Steven from the Crystal Gems. "Steven!" Amethyst cried out in surprise as she tried reaching out to him.
Before the gems could respond further, a glitching pink fractal dome formed around them. Steven gasped and turned to Pink Twoie. The gem's eyes were burning with hatred. "HE'S GONE!" With a quick clench of his fists, the barrier began shrinking around the gems. Garnet immediately began punching the wall, hoping to break them out, but her fists went through the glitches in the fractals. Amethyst tried to shapeshift to go through the walls, but the openings from the glitches closed every time she tried to get through. Pearl didn't even try to escape. She just kept staring at Pink Twoie.
Steven didn't know what to do. The gem was clearly grieving for Twoie, but it was wrong of him to take it out on the gems. Panicked, Steven took a deep breath and did the only thing he could think of. He ran forward and hugged Pink Twoie. "Stop, please! I know you're upset, but this isn't the way! You can't take your sadness out on others!" Steven gasped when Pink Twoie clenched his fist and the barrier shrunk even faster. What else could he do? The kid flinched when Amethyst cried out in pain. He turned to see Garnet and Pearl were squished against her as the barrier continued shrinking. Steven turned back to Twoie, frantically trying to think of a way to calm him when his eyes alighted on the cracked gem. He didn't know if it would work, but it was his last chance. Steven licked his clean hand and pressed it to the cracked gem. Hopefully, Pink Twoie would listen to him if Steven healed him. The kid sighed in relief when he saw Pink Twoie freeze when the healing spit repaired the crack in his gem. Steven took advantage of the moment to try calming him again. "You need to stop! Twoie wouldn't have wanted you to hurt them." The barrier stopped shrinking.
Pink Twoie looked down at Steven, eyes glittering with anger and sorrow. "They killed him. They took him away. My human half." Steven's eyes widened in realization. It was hard, but Steven forced himself to walk over to Twoie and lift the black shirt. There was no gemstone in his belly. Steven never realized their gem could be removed. The new gem's grief and anger made sense now.
"He saved you…" Steven quickly stepped away from his brother's body and walked back over to Pink Twoie. "He knew with his gem cracked that he wouldn't be able to protect himself, so he pulled it out to save you."
Pink Twoie gripped Twoie's hand even tighter. His gaze shifted from the trapped gems to the little human. "I don't know what to do without him." Steven narrowed his brows in determination. He grabbed both of Pink Twoie's hands, making the gem look at him in surprise.
"You can stay with me. Since you are the gem half of my older brother, that means you're also my older brother." Pink Twoie's eyes widened in surprise. "Twoie wouldn't want you to hurt the gems. Release them from the barrier, and then we can go stay with my dad." Pink Twoie held his gaze for a moment, then nodded, expanding the barrier.
The second Garnet was able to stand, she angrily banged her fists against the barrier. "Why are you here, Pink Diamond! Why do you look like Twoie? What did you do?"
The pain from almost being crushed had finally snapped Pearl out of her reverie. She had always thought about pulling Steven's gem out. Thought that maybe Rose would return to them. But it was evident that she was just dreaming. Rose was gone. The prim gem quietly stood and placed her hand on Garnet's shoulder. Rose was gone. She'd been gone for years. Pearl needed to focus on the now. "I couldn't tell you before, but Rose Quartz was Pink Diamond. I was under a Diamond command to never tell anyone the truth." Garnet finally stopped punching the barrier. The permafusion was staring at her friend in shock. Pearl ignored her, though, slowly shifting in place till her eyes rested on Pink Twoie. "That's why I know now that Twoie was Steven because only Steven could have Pink Diamond's gemstone."
Amethyst was still sitting on her knees from when the barrier forced them all to the ground. Her mind was racing after Pearl's reveal. Twoie was Steven? Twoie was really Steven? Amethyst couldn't hear Garnet's angry remark to Pearl over the ringing in her ears. "Guys… we killed Twoie. We killed Steven." Pearl and Garnet flinched and turned back to Steven and Twoie. The weight of their actions hit them suddenly, and Pearl collapsed into a sobbing mess. Garnet dissipated her glasses as she dropped to her knees. Twoie was dead. And he died because of them.
Pink Twoie grabbed Steven's hand and led him to the house. As they climbed the stairs, Steven looked back at the gems, then back to Pink Twoie. "What about the gems?"
His older brother shook his head. "I'll release the barrier when we're done packing. I don't trust them." The kid nodded in understanding. He didn't trust them either. They entered the house, and Steven quickly packed his most treasured possessions in his cheeseburger backpack, including some pictures of him and Twoie. Then Steven packed his hot dog duffle with his clothes and a couple of plushies.
As he watched Steven pack, Pink Twoie reflected on his shared memories of the beach house. Twoie loved his home. There were a couple of things that he cherished here. After a moment of hesitation, the gem packed up Twoie's briefcase with some things he remembered Twoie liked. Once he was done, he met up with Steven in the living room. "I have gathered Twoie's belongings. Should we release the Peridot now?"
Steven dropped his bag on the floor as he remembered what started the fight in the first place. "Peridot!" He ran over to the temple door, and it opened up.
Peridot perked up when she noticed the door open and stepped out with a relieved sigh. "Finally! I thought you two were going to keep me locked in there." Peridot paused when she saw Pink Twoie standing in the background. "Uhh, what happened to the Twoie? I didn't know you could change colors." That's right… She didn't know yet. Steven couldn't hold back his tears as he threw himself at the technician. She flinched and looked around wildly, trying to figure out what was going on.
"Twoie's gone! The g-gems attacked him, and he's-!" Peridot's eyes widened in horror. Did the gems shatter him for defending her? But then why was he standing behind the Steven?
Peridot felt her anxiety swell, and she grabbed Steven by the shoulders. "That can't be right! There's no way the clods shattered him. Besides, if he's gone, then who's that?" Pink Twoie didn't respond to her when Peridot gestured to him. Instead, he held his hand out to Steven, and the kid took it. The two started walking to the front door, and Steven gestured for her to follow. With a huff, Peridot followed them out of the house, albeit cautiously.
"I've been calling him Pink Twoie in my head. He's Twoie's gem half." Steven choked up as he spoke about Twoie. It was still too painful to think about. Peridot sensed his turmoil and decided to stop asking questions for now. She figured she'd resume later when he wasn't as upset. They continued the walk back to the beach in silence.
The gems were still waiting for them in the barrier. They couldn't do anything except wait and reflect on their actions. How could things have gone so wrong? Pearl sighed quietly. They had only meant to interrogate Twoie, but seeing him release Peridot and the bruise on Steven's arm… She had let her emotions control her. Pearl had never meant to go that far. Now, Garnet, Amethyst, and Steven were all that she had left. The sound of footsteps made her look up. Pearl's eyes widened when she saw Steven and Pink Twoie with their bags packed. No! She didn't think she could handle that! "Steven, wait! Don't go, please!" Amethyst and Garnet looked at him with panicked expressions.
They all began begging him not to leave, but Steven glared at them. "I can't stay here! Don't you guys realize what you did?" They flinched as Steven gestured to Twoie. "My big brother is dead because you guys wouldn't listen to either of us! They'll never know why he's missing! You took him away from his actual family. And you took him away from us!" Steven couldn't look as Pink Twoie gently covered Twoie's face with his pink jacket, then picked him up. "I can't stay here anymore."
Peridot had gotten a glimpse of Twoie and promptly looked away in horror. It really was true. Twoie had been shattered by the gems because of her. She'd barely known him, but something inside her ached from the knowledge that, now, she never would. Twoie had been kind to her. He would've been a valuable ally. When Pink Twoie began walking towards the path that led into town, Peridot had no qualms following him and Steven.
The gems cried out as the trio walked away from the beach house. They kept walking, never looking back, even as the voices of the gems faded into silence. Once Pink Twoie deemed they were far enough, he released the barrier. He doubted they would come after them. And if they did, Pink Twoie would make sure they backed off. Twoie was all he had. There would forever be an empty feeling in his gem—a reminder of what he had lost. But now, walking beside Steven and Peridot towards the car wash, he had gained something too. A small reprieve from the pain. Pink Twoie vowed to protect his new family. Steven and Peridot were all he had left. And though the group continued in silence, they all had the same thought. Things would never be the same again.