Gem Glow?
He felt goosebumps on his skin. He was shaking... Looking down at his small hands.
He quickly lifted his shirt. His gem was still there. But then he tried to summon his shield... And nothing came. He kept pushing, and pushing... and Pushing! But nothing.
He merely gasped. He was holding his breath... No. No this can't be.
He... Time traveled didn't he? Like back then. But, t-there's no hourglass this time. No way to go back. No... No this can't be.
It was then that he heard a screech, before being tackled. Falling on the living room sofa before falling on the wooden floor, he landed roughly as he looked up, and saw a Centipede-like monster trying to bite his face off!
"AHHHH! GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!" He shouts in panic before realizing no bubble was forming.
He did his best to try and throw it off. But even as he flung it to the side, it hadn't given up. It Immediately came scuttling back!
Taking a pillow, he swung at it as he tried getting to the kitchen, throwing the pillow at it as it was confused, before melting the pillow into a pile of acid.
He looked through the drawers, before pulling out a knife. It began to scuttle over, hissing and screeching as it dripped acid on the floor. He only had one shot at this... Adopting a defensive stance, he held the knife in front of him. It Lunged at him, Hissing with Hunger!
And as he raised his "Blade", ready to strike, he Suddenly heard the door Bust open and a Whip Crack as the Centipede was snapped in half, Poofing into magic dust as he stepped back.
"Yo! Steven! You alrigh-" Amethyst called out before pausing, seeing Steven with the knife. He quickly put it on the counter, still in slight shock.
"Woah, buddy, chillax. We're here." That's when the other two stepped in, battle mode engaged, with the exception of Pearl who Immediately saw Steven and the Knife just left on the counter before gasping and running over.
"Steven, you know how dangerous knives are! Always put them back in their place after you use them." While she put the knife away... Steven just looked at her, completely silent.
He looked at Garnet, with her cool, calm demeanor as she looked around, before reeling her fist back, and then throwing a punch in the air, timing it perfectly to punch a Centipede that suddenly fell from the ceiling.
Amethyst merely looked around, before catching one with her whip and tossing it over to Pearl, who impales it before it poofs. And right after that, Pearl picked up one that was biting a loose pillow to try and stop it from melting anything else.
"Sorry Steven. We'll get these Centipeedles out of your room. We think they were trying to get into the temple." Amethyst whips another, and it poofs harmlessly.
"Uhm, you guys?" Amethyst says "These things don't have gems."
"That means there's a Mother somewhere nearby." Replied Garnet before punching a rogue Centipede, and squishing the one in Pearl's grasp.
Pearl sighs. "We should probably find it before anyone gets hurt."
Steven, avoiding whatever Centipedes were here, then looked at the Freezer. Approaching it, he let them fight in the background and opened it to find... Cookie cats. Staring at it, the other Gems finished off the last of the pesky bugs before approaching him as he took one out.
"Surprise!" Shouts Amethyst "We know how much you love that junk, so we Stole It!" Pearl groaned. "I went back and Paid for them."
"The whole thing was My idea," Garnet adds. "It was Everyone's idea," Amethyst replied. "Not really." Garnet says without hesitation.
"All that matters," Pearl says. "Is that Steven is happy." And Steven, he was just... In shock. He remembered this day, this exact day. It was the first time his Gem glowed. It was the same day he met Centipeedle, and the same day cookie cat ran out of stock at the Big Donut. The day he summoned his shield.
The Gems quickly noticed his silence and were starting to get worried. "Yo, Steve-O, you alright man?" He looked at Amethyst. "Like... If you like em so much, I get it. But you're never this quiet."
"Y... Yeah. Yeah. I Uhm... Had a bad dream is all." He says before taking a seat at the living room, slowly unwrapping the cookie sandwich.
He thought about it for a moment. No... Eating the sandwich won't just summon his weapon. And he can't bring himself the same intense joy like last time. Even so, he took a bite from it. He hasn't eaten one since before leaving home, and... He could eat something to make himself feel better.
Amethyst looked at Pearl, who was clearly concerned. Looking at Garnet, she was as stoic as ever.
"...Well, I hope you enjoy it Steven. We'll be looking for more of these Centipeedles and their Mother. So, stay safe okay?" Pearl assures him as they follow Garnet, who immediately leads them outside. He listened to their footsteps and relaxed as soon as they were gone.
"...great. Now I have the squeaky voice again, I'm chubby too, and I can't even use my gem." His eyes widened in realization. "In fact... Everything's still there. The Cluster, the Diamond Authority, the- Lapiz!" He paused, deeply concerned.
This was Bad... This was Really Bad. Not only had he lost so much progress, but that means a lot of bad stuff hasn't been fixed, nor will be fixed!
...and just when he hoped Everything had finally been fixed, then This happens. Why can't he catch a break for longer than a month at a time? What's worse is... The Gems won't believe anything he says. Maybe Garnet, but she might get overwhelmed.
Why oh Why can't he just do something right for once? He was doing so good too. He just... Needs a moment to think this through...
"So... What's up with Steven?" Amethyst asked "I mean, like, he's never this quiet. And those were Cookie Cats. He even sings about how much he loves them!"
"He's probably just shaken." Garnet comments.
"True. They arrived just before we did. Perhaps he is scared? Humans aren't used to the unknown." Pearl adds.
"I dunno. I'm just saying, Steven just seemed weird right now." Amethyst adds, shrugging at the lack of real answers.
Alright. This helps. He had grabbed a notebook, and with a pencil and eraser, he started making a sort of detailed Timeline of Events.
"Right. Today is the day my Gem glowed and Centipeedle attacked. After that, the next thing to come here is the Red Eye. Next is the Sea Spire and the evil spirit scroll, then Frybo, Cat Fingers, and... Connie."
...right. Right. There's one issue here. How does he go back to his time? The Mini Hourglass back at the Underwater temple is his safest bet. But if he can't even summon his shield, then he's much less capable of using the warp pads.
Maybe... No, he can't get the Warp Whistle since the gems have it, and they'd be suspicious as to how he even knows it exists and why he wants it. Next is the whole flooded temple thing. From what they said last time... It's implied the temple is still flooded. So... No.
He wished Connie was here. She was better with stuff like this. Like... Okay, so, he's here right? But when he used the hourglass, it took him back in time where there was another Steven. So why is He here, and why isn't there a young Steven instead? And if he changes stuff here and goes back to the Future, will it be different? All of this was getting into his head and it didn't help. He didn't want to give up hope. He can't just lose all his progress, right?
...but what if he did indeed lose it all? What if he Was stuck here? He didn't want this. He didn't ask for this. The Gems see him as a kid. He Is a kid now. He can't do anything he used to. All he has is about three and a half years' worth of knowledge.
Hmm... No no, wait, there's a way to do this. There's... A way to accomplish this. He just needs to believe, and he has to try. He hasn't given up yet, right? Two hours. He has roughly two before the real Centipeedle attacks the house. So, in these first two hours, he's gotta make some progress. First off, weaponry.
He can try and make something, but the cookie cat machine worked last time. Though he nearly got shocked last time. So, he made himself some rudimentary gear. A puffy jacket, some rubber gloves, some black tape wrapped around the extension cables, and extra clothing. The jacket is good, but he needs padding to resist the acid. After some time, his gear was ready. It took him nearly an hour. What's next now is the cookie cat freezer. Off to the Big Donut he goes. And hey, maybe he can even buy a donut. Not very responsible or healthy, but... He has time now to work on that.
Walking to the Big Donut, he just... Realized how things were just getting worse and worse. The main warp pad hasn't been fixed, nor can it be fixed. And yet he needs it to warp to Spinel. Then... Lion. He is his best bet for transportation, but they won't be going to the desert yet, and then without Lion, he can't save Bismuth. Lapis, he'll have to trick Pearl into giving him the mirror. Anyone or anything else he's forgetting...?
He then stumbled and nearly fell as he walked into a wall. The Big Donut! Man... It feels so weird to know Dewey is still the Mayor, and that Little Homeworld doesn't exist yet... He was about to step in, until he paused. Not only will old Sadie and Lars be there, but he also has to convince them to give him the freezer. Taking a deep breath, he internalizes that inner hyper child and makes a big grin as he stepped inside.
"Oh, heya Steven." Greeted Sadie, Manning the counter as usual.
"Hey, Sadie! I just came here for my..." He then stared at the pinkish freezer, Really pushing in how shocked he was before screaming: "NOOOOOO!"
"This can't be happening! Please tell me I'm dreaming!" He played up the dramatic reveal.
Sadie felt bad about it, noting his distress. "I'm sorry Steven. I guessed they stopped making them."
"Stop making them? Why would they ever do that!" He felt a bit bad lying, but he had a valid reason, right? "They're like, only the best Ice cream in the world!?"
Lars could only roll his eyes at the annoying child. "Tough bits man. I guess they couldn't compete with Lion Lickers."
Steven sighs, and looks at the freezers. "Oh Cookie Cat... With your crunchy outside and creamy insides... You were too good for this world..." He gives it a little kiss, as awkward as he felt doing so.
"...uhh, Steven?" By now both of them were just staring at Steven. "Do you wanna take the freezer with you?" He gave the biggest puppy eyes he could and nodded. Everything was going to plan.
Half an hour left. He had to prepare himself.
The plan was simple in theory: He had to wreck the freezer, enough so that the entire thing was practically crackling with electricity. But not enough that he would get hurt or snap the cable. The issue now is getting Centipeedle close. He didn't like having to hurt her again, but if history is to repeat itself, then the Gems will get cornered regardless. There was only one problem with his plan.
"Yo! Steve-Zilla!" It was Amethyst. Oh no. He quickly tries to put away the stuff but was caught by Amethyst.
"Hey man, what's going on here? You trynna hide something?" She asked with suspicion.
"N-No!" He stammers "I'm just... Uhh, working on a project, y-yeah. Like... An extra-long cable for this cool freezer I found. So that uh... So that way, I Uhm, I can take my cookie cats wherever I want!"
...any person with a hint of sanity would've realized how fishy this sounds. Thank goodness Amethyst instead started Laughing, just falling on the floor.
"Ahahahahahaha! Oh, Steven, you're Way too funny sometimes. Hehe..." She slowly stood up. "I mean... Hey man, I ain't gonna stop your dreams. But if Pearl catches you, well, ya ain't gonna be able to do that you know."
Getting more in tune with this, Steven nods with an annoyed look. "Ugh, I know right? She never lets me do anything fun. I hate it."
"What can I say? Good ol P' always hates having fun. Just how she is." She says jokingly "Anywho, I'mma go to my room. You just stay safe, alright Steven?"
He nods with a big smile. This was too easy! And as soon as she left, he chuckled.
"Way too easy. They don't suspect a thing! Maybe I can even fix stuff before it gets too bad! That would be awesome." Wrapping the rest of the cable with some more black tape, he stepped back to look at his handiwork, a rather long, dangerous rope made out of extensions, cable, and tape. This ought do the trick. It was then that he heard rumbling.
She's here early.
Stepping out of the house, the Gems all looked up at the Centipeedle. "It's the Mother!" Garnet shouts.
"Stay in the house, Steven!" Pearl shouts and he runs inside. He hears the beast crash down on the roof and onto the beach, growling, and hissing.
Putting on the layers of clothes and the gloves, he gets the freezer in hand and runs outside. Right on time. They're cornered, trapped behind a melting stone hand.
Picking up a loose stone, he sets down the freezer before throwing the stone and shouting: "HEY!" It turns, gazing at him, confused. "Leave them alone!" He flails his arms to get its attention.
"Steven NO!" The Gems say in unison before nearly getting snapped by Centipeedle's tail. He narrowly missed its chomp before flailing his arms more, yelling "Hey, over here!"
With a large, Terrifying Screech, it Rained acid onto Steven. He managed to narrowly dodge it, but once it left the puddle behind he grabbed the freezer and tossed it at the puddle. It melted enough to become an electrical hazard, the acid mixing with the freezer's exposed components.
With the Gems rushing out to try and save him, they distract the Centipeedle as it focused on the Gems; He grabbed the freezer, thankfully avoiding the high voltage shocks before beginning to swing the cable. He Swung his makeshift Weapon, putting in All the force his young body could muster, before finally Launching it straight at Centipeedle!
"I'm sorry!" He semi-whispered as the large beast was shocked to Hell and back, the Gems taking this moment to finally jump at the chance, Poofing it in a Majestic display of Raw Power.
Steven just pants, sitting down on the sand. That was intense, more so now that he's so weak again. But in the end, he managed to save the day in his own way. The only weapon he needed to summon for now was his smarts.
Pearl was the first to run over to Steven, holding him with such Shock. "Steven! What were you Thinking?! That was dangerous and you could've gotten hurt!"
Amethyst though, she merely chuckled. "Nice one Steven. Guess you won't be able to carry those cookies anymore."
As for Garnet, she merely gave a nod and a thumbs up. "Despite the odds, you saved the day in your own, Steven-y way."
"It's fine Pearl, I swear." He showed his hands. "I even wore gloves and a lot of clothes." If he didn't look pudgy before, he sure did now.
"...alright, just... Be careful next time, okay?" She pleads, still rather concerned for the child.
He finished his cereal as the other Gems headed off for the night. This... This gave him hope. Until he can get the hourglass, he'll try to do what he can from this timeline.
Next on the agenda is... The Red Eye. He'll have to go to Dad's Van next, and fish out the Laser Cannon from his storage compartment. Until then... He washed his plate, got in his PJs, and looked outside.
...it was scary to think he's only barely starting, and has so much to do. But, if he does this properly, then perhaps he can do this right. Besides, he plans on getting the hourglass. Once that happens, he doesn't have to worry anymore, right? He'll be able to go back and rewrite stuff without any problem before jumping back into his own timeline. Simple as that, right?
He relaxed, yawning, and closing his eyes. Tomorrow... tomorrow...