Steven Universe: Double Pink AU, a steven universe fanfic

Important Note:

I love this show and its characters more than any other; that said, I see a lot of issues, so I wanted to give it my spin. I didn't change much from the earlier parts of the story, and I didn't feel like writing the whole thing with just minor changes, so here's the order in which you should watch the original show/read my chapters, and which episodes of the original show I would recommend skipping. Sometimes I skip certain episodes; this is because I relocated and changed them. Don't watch them. [S refers to the Season]. Also, there are a couple chapters I decided to write anyway, with small, specific, yet important changes. These, as well as chapters that are rather loosely based on premises set up by existing episodes, are marked "(Changed)" [As opposed to "(New)"]. Besides those, while watching the original show, pretend a bit more time passes, Steven's gets more offensive powers by S3, he shows more trauma, his body grows more as he gets more responsible, and Lars gets a bit nicer after the island episode.

Referring to the Wikipedia List (Others are Incomplete)

Watch: 1-19 (Skip: 5, 15)

Read: 1

Watch: 21-[S2] 9 (Skip: 22, 33, 48)

Watch: 12, 13 (Skip: 13)

Watch: 15-17

Watch: 19- [S3] 4

Watch: 6-9

Watch: 11-14 (Skip: 12, 13)

Watch: 16, 17

Watch: 22

Read: 12-14

Watch: 24-[S4] 5, 7, 8-13 (Skip: 1, 5, 7)

Watch: 16, 17

Read: 16-26

Watch: [S5] 9, 13, 14 (Skip: 14)

Watch: 15

Read: 29-35

Watch: 20, 21

Read: 36-49

Chapter 1 - Coach Steven (Changed)

Notes:

-All criticisms are welcome; one of the main reasons I'm writing this is to improve.

-The original episode was filled with racist stereotypes (I believe unintentionally due to the diversity of the crewniverse and how generally good their representation has been). Allow me to explain: Women of color have always been robbed of their femininity in an attempt to dehumanize them; this often happens in the portrayal of (for example) black women in cartoons, minstrel shows, etc., as ape-ish and aggressive (Which also coincides with the portrayal of black men as dangerous). Another important concept is coding. Nonhuman characters are often made to sound/look/act according to the characteristics of specific human groups. Coding itself, of course, isn't bad; it can be used to introduce proper representation into stories that don't have human characters. The problem is when it's used to perpetuate harmful stereotypes. Garnet is very obviously coded as black, from her voice (she's voiced by a black woman), to her hair, etc. Amethyst is (less obviously) coded Latina, and Pearl is coded white. In the original episode, when Garnet and Amethyst fuse, they form an aggressive gorilla-like beast named Sugilite, who goes berserk and attacks Pearl. Pearl (the elegant white savior) has to defeat them using her intellect. Again, I don't believe this was intentional, just careless. Plus, I don't think it makes sense; why would Amethyst (who's destructive) become more destructive when fused with Garnet (who's chill and responsible)? Anyways, I changed the plot of this episode and made Sardonyx the crux of the conflict. This also opened a couple more opportunities to make Pearl and Amethyst act more in line with their characters.

Now for the story:

With a chiming rush, the Gems materialize into an empty desert beneath a tower of glassy blue pillars holding up the weight of two thick floors. They each balance a smaller mass than the last. Emboldened ridges stand against each corner of the magnificent cascading tower; they reach upward to embrace at the top but hesitate mere meters apart to make way for an imposing white sky-bound beam.

"Wow!" Steven marvels, "What magical place of mysteries is this?"

Amethyst starts, "Well—"

"Oh, I'm so glad you asked!" Pearl talks over her excitedly, "This was once a communication hub for gemkind, but lately, it's begun transmitting bursts of electromagnetic interference."

"What's that mean?" Steven asks.

Garnet responds, "It's hurting television."

"Noooooo!" Steven shouts, "I'll save you, television! Hiya!" He kicks at the crystalline structure.

Amethyst picks Steven up, "Sorry!" She transforms into a large man clad with swelling purple muscles and Steven's face, "But we need a Steven at least this strong for this job!"

Steven gasps, "It's all the me I could be!" Purple Steven's muscles strain with the aim to impress. Once Amethyst finishes showing off, she begins hammering at the pillar, knocking small shards off with each rocky knock.

Pearl snags one of the rushing rocks from the air and lectures, "Amethyst, we could be here all day taking out each of these pillars individually."

Amethyst assumes her normal form and rolls her eyes, "Ughhh, I hate it when you're right. You get this look on your face—" Pearl's features lift into a sly smile, "—yeah, that's the one."

Pearl stands attentively, raising her finger to lecture as her gem crackles and projects light, "What we need is a well-thought-out plan—"

"No," Garnet interjects with an intense force, "What we need is Sardonyx; Pearl, fuse with me."

Pearl squeaks, "Oh!" She abandons her plan.

Steven perks up, "Whaaat?!"

Pearl dusts off the baby blue base of her shirt and smiles as Amethyst shrinks and looks diminutively to the side before protesting, "Wait...Sardonyx sucks, and when you guys fuse, she takes over. You forget who you are...you should fuse with me."

Garnet dismisses the concern, "We'll be careful: a quick demolition, then we unfuse and warp back. We'll be done before you know."

Pearl says, "Sardonyx's combination of power and precision will allow a quick and proper demolition. She's perfect for the job. Go on home, if she upsets you..."

Amethyst grows cold and grabs the collar of Steven's shirt, "Fine." She drags him towards the warp.

"Hang on, I want to see her!" Steven protests.

Pearl chuckles, "Of course you do."

Garnet raises her hands, gems glowing, "Come on, let's do this."

Pearl stretches out, "Hang on...it's been such a long time for us!" She returns to her sincerely balanced standing position, and her gem activates. Pearl breaks out into a spin, her arms unfurling into practiced poses one after another, then retreating to nestle against either opposite arm. She shoots a glance at Garnet to see her push her arms out in front, swinging left and right in a melting pot of circular and martial force. She rolls her wildberry-colored body and rests her hands on the back of her pillowy hair. Pearl springs one leg out from under her, the other quickly following as she glides over the scratching stone floor. She collapses her frame into a tight turn just before she leaps to meet with Garnet. The gem receives her, lifting her arms up and twirling the Pearl until she falls into her steady hand. Grinning, Garnet effortlessly tosses her spinning partner up into the air, where she then plummets into a shining mass of the two gems.

A massive vermillion beam rings sonorously around the growing fusion, and out of the chaos births a giant woman—as tall as Opal. Four arms and four eyes suspend themselves alongside a decorative suit with a barely-cut-swallowtail flap flying behind the coat, a salmon bow-tie, and a pretty star in the center. She looks like the kind of sleek performer you'd see introducing guests on a show. Three orange gems nestle into a backdrop of rust-colored skin, like stone carved out of some deep desert canyon. Capping her shady-bespectacled head sits a creamy pyramid of hair.

The fusion pretends to speak into a handheld mic, her voice echoing quick and patronizing transatlantic tones, "Hello hello! Good evening everybody, and welcome to the show with yours truly," She winks, "—the lovely Sardonyx. Before we get started, let's get acquainted with some of the audience! I'm sure you all know Amethyst," She kneels down, fingering the tiny jaded gem. Amethyst smacks her hand away, to which the giant smirks. Sardonyx turns, "You!" She points at Steven, "What's your name, Steven?" Steven opens his mouth, but Sardonyx recoils at her 'slip', "Oh dear, my loose lips." She scoops the boy into one of her spare hands, "It's good to finally see you seeing me!" The fusion pulls at his cheeks like a grandmother, "Aren't you so cute," Two of her hands press and roll his body, "I could literally squish you; it would not be hard!" Steven laughs playfully. "Oh, I am quite excited to be here: you see, I haven't quite...been myself lately." Steven and Sardonyx laugh profusely.

Steven looks down at Amethyst and comments, "Fusion joke!"

"Ugh," Amethyst groans.

"And jokes aren't the only thing I have!" In a confusing sequence of events, Sardonyx quickly draws Pearl's spear from her forehead and balances it upright in her palm. One of her other hands taps on her own shoulder. "Hmm?" She looks at said hand to distract from the spear she tossed up in the air. She looks back at the first hand and gestures as if she didn't know where it went. The spear then falls right in between her slamming gauntlets, and with a grin, she lifts the fusing weapons. They enlarge into a hammer almost as big as her, with cubes carved into tightly wound fists protruding from either side.

"Boy, we have a special show in store for you tonight, ladies and gentleman," She grins, "It's me! I'm the show." Sardonyx takes a moment as her four eyes quickly scan the temple.

Amethyst growls, "Come on, Steven."

"Wait! I want to watch it!"

Sardonyx squats down, "You hear that, Ammy? He wants to watch." She turns again, eyeing the boy, "Tell you what, I'm sure I can break a few rules and get you front row seats; how about that! Great, let's go!" She scoops him into one of her spare hands and hops up to the first floor. She comments, "Good to get away from that poor sap, right? What a drag." Steven frowns. The fusion shifts instantly as if she never said anything, "Here's the plan" The gem in her forehead projects a simulation of the tower in orange light, and a little Sardonyx figure acts out what the gem dictates, "I will knock out this figure, this one, this one, well, you get the point. The tower will collapse all at once, exactly according to plan." The animation ceases.

"BRING HIM BACK DOWN!" Steven hears from down below. He peers over the edge at the disheveled Amethyst as she prowls. Sardonyx rolls her eyes and pops a pillar out behind them, it topples over the edge and cracks against the ground right next to Amethyst.

"OH, THAT'S IT."

Steven frowns, "Hey! What if she got hurt?"

"She's fine; I know what I'm doing, and don't forget, we're gems. Even if she's weak, she can take a pillar or two. As long as she doesn't keep messing with me, everything will go perfectly. I just needed to...warn her that she should back off."

Steven looks back to the tower above, "Are you sure it'll work?"

She smirks, tapping her sunglasses, "These eyes never fail me." She twirls her hammer around and swiftly sends it cracking into a pillar, which flies precisely through the maze of columns, bouncing off and crippling at least five other targets.

"Woah," Steven breathes.

Sardonyx swings her leg back to pop another pillar out, but something catches her leg—Amethyst's whip. It pulls, upsetting her balance, and the giant collapses mid-swing, forcing her full weight into the diverted course of her hammer. She smashes a pillar that screams through the columns indiscriminately—more destructively than the first. The floor above cracks.

Sardonyx groans, "Shit."

Part of the tower crashes prematurely around the fusion, but they manage to regain their footing, dodging around several chunks. The stony remnants scream down, clashing against lower floors. One narrowly skims past the vision of her passenger.

"Caarefuuul!" Steven shouts into the dragging wind.

Sardonyx looks down and smiles confidently, "I've got this."

One chunk of rubble flies off and breaks against Steven's head, "Aagh!"

"Are you okay?"

The rubble settles.

"Yeah…" Steven holds his forehead.

Sardonyx breathes, opening her eyes with a newfound fury; she turns to the little gem below and shouts, "Are you trying to get us killed, you deranged imp?!"

"I'm trying to stop YOU from getting us killed?!"

Sardonyx growls, "Fine you...go home." She puts Steven down.

Steven begs, "I'm fine, I swear!" Amethyst grabs him and stomps off, warping out.

The fusion sighs, upsetting the fragile calm; a large chunk of the tower resumes its fall, attacking the fusion. Her hammer snaps upward, atomizing it; but out of the crash, a boulder shoots into the warp pad and shatters it. Sardonyx screams in frustration and turns back to the tower, weapon in hand.

Marked by a dinging bell, the door to the Big doughnut swings shut behind Steven, his head wrapped in white bandages and blocked by shades. He wears his only sleeveless star shirt, baring his arms which lay crossed in feigned nonchalance, "Sup."

A startled Sadie runs up, "Woah, Steven, what happened to you?"

He slides the tinted glass off his face and tucks it onto the collar of his shirt, "Oh, just a little battle damage from our last mission."

Sadie clasps her hands, "Really?"

"Like what?" Lars mumbles around a half-chewed sandwich.

Steven excitedly lifts the cloth to reveal a tiny fleshy mark, "I got hit by a rock!" Sadie and Lars double back laughing.

"It must not have been a very big rock," Sadie grins.

Steven pulls the bandage back down over the wound, blushing, "Well...there's...internal...bleeding," Steven grasps at his heart, collapsing on the table to his side, "My hurt is on the inside!" The doughnut employees laugh even harder.

Lars says, "Toughen up, Steven."

Steven looks on with doughy downcast eyes, "You're right, I'm soft."

Lars struggles with the lid of a sardine can, "If I weren't so modest, I'd whip out my sweet six-pack and—" He perspires in concentration, "—show you...what—" His voice flattens with strain, "—a real man...looks like," He groans and gives up, glaring at the jar which insulted him so. Sadie slides closer, smiling. Lars begrudgingly drops the can into her hands, and she quickly pops it open, offering it.

Lars grabs it, "Eugh, I'm not gonna say thanks."

Sadie smacks him in the leg.

Steven brightens up, "That's it! We all need a workout. Let's do it! Let's all work out together!" He points at Sadie, "You can beat up Lars—" Sadie beams, but Lars sours in anticipation. Steven's finger drifts towards him, "—and you don't have to starve to death if Sadie divorces you!"

"We're not married!" Lars' protests are muffled by sardine batter

"—and I know just the guy to help us out!"

Steven, Lars, and Sadie stand in athletic clothes, beholding the work of a drowsy, slumped-over Greg. A dry moat circles around a junkyard gym with a tire and monkey bars fashioned out of a ladder and some supportive shelves. Two pairs of boards stick out of the sifting sand floor, cradling a broomstick three feet off the ground for some unknown purpose.

Steven cheers, "Wow! This looks great!"

"Houh, wha-?" Greg ceases his slobbery snoring to lift his head.

Sadie and Lars purse their lips.

Steven runs over to greet the man, "Hey dad!"

"Hey, Steven...You like it? It's the best I could do on such short notice…"

Lars picks up a stick with two small full paint cans dangling off the edges. The cans fall and thunk to a stop against the sand. Lars comments, "No kidding…"

Greg puts his hands on his hips, "Well, I might join you kids: show you how it's done—" He looks to the corner of his eyes, "—I've been slacking on my workout routine for a few weeks..." He looks down, "—months..." His palm rubs against his head, "—years…" His audience looks on in silence. Greg coughs, "—decades…"

Steven pumps his fist, "Sure! The more the meatier. Oh! We'll need sweatbands!"

Steven runs up the hill leading to the house to see the blinds pulled down. Opening the door, Steven's eyes careen through the darkness to see a lounging purple slump on the counter.

Amethyst dangles a can of soup over her mouth hole, passively waiting for the semisolid sludge to slide out of its tin clothing. She turns her head, "Oh...hey Steven." The cold coagulation slops onto the side of her face. She ignores it, "What's up?"

"We're starting a gym! Do you wanna come train with us?"

"What for?"

"We're gonna get supa' strong, like Sardonyx!"

Amethyst frowns and turns her back to the boy, "Phh, you should see me and Garnet."

"Come ooon," Steven flexes, "Let's get beefy!"

Amethyst holds up the empty can, "Can't, busy."

Steven frowns but grabs a loudspeaker and a handful of striped bands left on the bench. As he scurries outside, he hesitates and ducks just beneath the windowsill to peek through the poorly blinded windows. Amethyst sets the can down and listens to the small circular sounds of her breathing.

I don't really get it. You can't see?

The way she just bends you to service

her ego. Destructive and guilesome,

the both of us lower, she'll force,

pretending she's higher; just trust me—

I know her—and you shouldn't want to.

No, I've not jealousy.

There isn't a thing that I envy

about her. I don't want to be some...small

and slinking fox, prying for power

and primacy. Nor do I desire

her strength. It's merely the fusion—

And ours is far better than that hack.

If only you could see her plus me,

together—unstoppable force meets

immovable object—a sixty-foot

goliath, a blackberry bashing ball;

she could have just chosen that.

Then, in the stead of that asshole,

you might look to us—our amalgam—

to me.

Amethyst tosses the can so that it crashes against the cabinet. Steven stands and carries himself down the sandy path, thinking.

To you, I'll show a mettle true,

a heathered hearty colour's hue:

the warm of hearth, or vigor blue

of sky afar, to form anew

the jaded heart you hide into.

The rally roar of aching bones

all strained and sore with seizing drones—

adorn the pleasure-pain you'll hone.

Be not forlorn, in dark, alone;

but train your body, mind, and soul.

Be strong; create and meet your goal.

Near the gym and its prepared users, Steven pauses before an abalone gray radio. A determined look crosses over him as he clicks the dial up, lifting his loudspeaker and shouting, "Who's ready to get buff?" Greg and the doughnuters begin to crank out push-ups. "I don't wanna see your gut, I wanna see your guts!"

[After a moderate amount of exercise]

The athletes collapse.

Sadie pants, "Hey...Steven...maybe um...you could work out a bit too?"

"Huh?" Steven says, "...I have been."

Lars strains, "We've been working out...you've just been singing along to the radio through that megaphone."

Greg turns over, "But you're also doing a great job pumping us up with it!".

Steven determinately puts his hands on his hips, "Thanks—but I need to get strong too!" He stacks four tires around himself, obscuring his vision, "I'm switching to four-wheel drive!" He begins jogging around the dug-out path with hopping steps, breathing heavily over the crunching sand.

Steven reaches upwards from his tomb (the couch) groaning painfully, "So sore...from getting ripped."

"Hey, Steven," Amethyst paces, "Do you know where Garnet and Pearl are? They should be back by now—and the warp isn't working…"

Steven furrows his brow, then looks over his shoulder at the ocean, "Oh there she is!"

The four-armed humanoid pushes through the boggy water. She grabs her sunglasses and tosses them to the side, revealing her four resentful eyes. She roars, "AMETHYYYST!"

"Oh, shit...uh...stay here, Steven."

"Is she okay?" He asks.

Amethyst looks down at the resting boy with austerity and commands, "Stay here."

Steven's exhausted arm falls back to rest by his side, and he reluctantly agrees, "Alright..."

Amethyst walks forward like a wild western duelsman to meet the monolith on the beach.

Sardonyx shouts, "You BROKE the warp pad and left me behind."

Amethyst raises her voice somewhat tentatively to reach them, "What?! It was alright when we left...Come on, unfuse so everything can go back to normal."

"Normal, huh? Is 'normal' just whatever's comfortable for you?"

Amethyst growls, "You've been fused too long."

"No. I don't think I have been; in fact, I think I'll stay like this. Do you have a PROBLEM with that?"

"Yeah, a few really. Like you putting Steven under a falling tower."

"I had that under control until you ATTACKED me and caused the collapse."

Amethyst scoffs, "I didn't 'attack' you, I pulled you. And what was I supposed to do?!"

Sardonyx shoves her finger into the little gem, "What's your problem with me anyway?"

"What's MY problem? What's yours? Why do you always act like you're better than everyone?"

Sardonyx's thumb jabs at her own chest, "I am better. You're just jealous."

"JEALOUS?!"

"That's what this is all about, isn't it. You're jealous of me."

"I don't want to be anything like you."

"Maybe that's why you're so pathetic."

Amethyst twitches, "You've already lost yourselves. You need to unfuse, now."

"Or what? You're going to feel bad? Cry about it, bitch."

Amethyst reaches into her gem, pulling her whip and cracking it out at the fusion. Sardonyx summons her warhammer and brings it down on the offensive vipers, rending the weapon from Amethyst's hands. The hammer pivots, rushing at the small gem, but instead tears at the scrappy gym, scattering splinters from wooden junk.

Amethyst dives backward to escape, she rolls into a crackling cyclone of purple and unfurls in a kneeled pose fourteen feet away, "I'll just have to make you unfuse."

Sardonyx widens her stance, daring, "I'd like to see you try."

Amethyst collapses back into the whirlwind, zigzagging unpredictably. Sardonyx's deadly eyes lock on, and she readies her weapon just as Amethyst springs up 25 feet. Out of the dense twirling storm scream two cans of paint, which crash into the fusion's face, and splatter the contents across her eyes.

"GAH!" Sardonyx screams, rubbing the paint off, trying to regain her sight.

Amethyst lands, smiling, and continues her charge. The giant gem swings wildly to the left, catching the gem, and flinging her out; however, the grasping hand of Amethyst's whip tethers to the hammer. At the top of the swing, Amethyst tugs on the cord, launching herself straight into the face of the fusion and sending her recoiling as the little gem falls back down to the ground. Sardonyx struggles with the coating on her face, revealing irritated eyes smudged with baby blue. She relentlessly punches down at the dancing blur before her. Each fist leaves craters of scorching rock, bent metal, and broken wood. One of her hands strikes Amethyst into the sand: mercilessly squeezing the struggling mass as she lifts her up. Sardonyx's scratched and tainted face glares down as Amethyst squirms to get an arm out, straining against the suffocating grip.

Fury engulfs the fusion, "You're done—"

Steven's voice erupts through the loudspeaker, "STOP FIGHTING!"

Sardonyx looks up and in her constituent voices frets, "Steven!" The fusion grasps at her head, stumbling back and dropping Amethyst. She screams in confusion and looks in horror at everything in front of her. She finally splits apart so that the gems hit the ground and writhe in the gritty sand.

Steven quickly hobbles over, "Are you guys okay?"

Garnet looks to the side and groans, "...Yeah...Sardonyx just...it's...a little painful."

Pearl sits in silence. Amethyst pauses then stands to shuffle away, with the other gems following afterward.

Steven grabs at Garnet's hand. The tall gem reservedly rustles his hair and smiles weakly in appreciation.

Steven whispers, "Are you guys okay?"

Garnet nods, "...I'm sure we can work it out." She summons her visor to hide the uncertainty in her eyes.

"Amethyst was really upset about you guys forming Sardonyx."

"I'll...talk to her."

The temple door dissolves along an expanding purple line, revealing the disorderly kingdom of Amethyst's, and the queen herself, donning a wrestling belt. The shadow slinks across the house, creaking the door open to reveal a solemn blue light cascading over Garnet's leaning figure against the rigid railing's grain. The waves whisper as they slide up the beach out front.

Amethyst sighs, "How'd you know I was going out tonight?" She rests on the wood as well.

Garnet lifts a flier advertising a '1v1 with the mighty Purple Puma'.

Amethyst tenses, "Yeah, I gotta go, so just…leave me alone."

Garnet pauses, "You were upset about Sardonyx."

Amethyst feels her spine squeeze, and she escapes down the stairs.

Garnet continues, "Why?"

"She's an overbearing asshole."

Garnet's visor reflects the light of hundreds of stars, condensing, swirling, and reflecting. She removes the covering and stares down the smaller gem with her three piercing eyes.

Amethyst shies away and continues down the beach.

"You're right," Garnet shouts after her, "And it's okay if you're jealous of her, but let's both promise to be better."

Amethyst shrugs her away, "Whatever."

Steven stirs from his sleep, but stays completely still to listen. Garnet stares at her hands, and the two glittering gems in either palm, "I don't get anyone except you. Except this. I'm lucky you're good company." Garnet stares back at the drifting waves, and mumbles to herself, "Five thousand years and I can't get through to them. Rose could. She could fix anything." Steven frowns. She turns to look through the window to see Steven's still figure, arm draped over the side of the bed, "But I see a bright future ahead of us."